The man said to him as he placed down his cup and rose to his feet before moving to the balcony of the roof. Ryuk naturally followed after him, and from this point, one could easily see the entire academy below, even the 2nd year area.
"I’ve been watching you, Ryuk. Ever since you stepped forth before the Ascension Academy grassland and prepared for the Hierarchy tests."
"But you only truly caught my attention during the Hierarchy test itself."
"I’ve watched your battles, and I have to say, you’re quite talented for a human."
"I am?" Ryuk asked, bewildered.
Are humans really that weak?
"Just so you know, the next human in the ranking is placed at 205..." the man said with a smile as Ryuk’s eyebrows furrowed.
Rank 205!?
Even if it made sense that a human couldn’t be in the top 100 rankings—because they belonged solely to the members of the ten families—there was still the 101-200 range. Yet, a human couldn’t even get into that spot, ending up in the third 100th row at rank 205.
That was truly ridiculous.
"And just so you know, that human is referred to as quite the genius in the human world. He’s very popular."
"Yet compared to the other races, do you see how low in the ranking he is?"
"But then, there is you, ranking in the top ten itself. That should be enough to catch the attention of a fellow human instructor, shouldn’t it?" the man said with a small smile, and Ryuk nodded.
Now it makes sense why the man had recognized him here. It would really be hard for them not to notice.
"I have been following after you ever since you left your dorm room for the training room..." MadWhite continued drawing his attention.
"But I purposefully didn’t interfere with your interaction between you and Fenrir. I wanted you to see the reality of it—how these other races really view humans."
"As for Sanguine’s entrance, that was pure coincidence too, and one I didn’t stop because it should allow you to see even more."
"Tell me, what can you say about both of them?" MadWhite asked as Ryuk’s eyebrow furrowed, and he replied.
"They see themselves as above humans."
"They both do."
"Fenrir might argue that he doesn’t see me as prey, but the fact that he referred to me as ’human’ instead of calling me by my name when Sanguine entered showed how he really viewed me."
"Unworthy of even being called by my own human name and instead slamming my race name on me." Ryuk mused to himself.
He had thought Fenrir was a cool guy, but when Sanguine entered, he had seen how his character had changed. How he started referring to him as ’human’ instead of using his name.
He could sense in his eyes that he really didn’t consider Ryuk as an equal.
He might say Ryuk wasn’t prey, but that was just sugarcoating it.
His true perception of him was clear, and that was why Ryuk had turned his blade toward him along with Sanguine.
They both were the same thing.
"Just so you know, this isn’t just a special characteristic attributed only to the Wolves and the Vampires."
"99% of Endearth’s other races look down on humans and don’t consider them on equal footing—especially the top ten strongest races. Their treatment is the worst."
"But they are right. During the Dark Era, we humans were truly their most favored snacks. We were mainly slaves for them or food for them."
"If not for the appearance of the Knulls, we would have still been the same slave race today."
"So somehow, the Knulls’ appearance can be considered humanity’s help from God, as it made the ’boss’ races pay less attention to us, and in return, gave us time to experiment with Apex Energy and grow our strength."
"When they had their attention on us, they wanted us to become cannon fodder in the war—to be pushed to the front and die first."
"But then, we had become strong enough."
"Not that if an all-out war broke out between humans and them we wouldn’t be losing—we would be wiped out for sure—but we had built so much destructive power that 50% of the races on Endearth would be wiped from the surface if the humans unleashed their ultimate artifact."
"It was partially what called for the truce..." Instructor MadWhite recited as Ryuk’s eyebrows furrowed.
That wasn’t the story he had really heard from the books.
"The Knulls and Mutated Beasts are getting more active these days, and more dimensional gates are opening up. Things are getting more chaotic."
"In these peaceful era, we humans are rapidly developing, but compared to the rest of the races, we’re still not much."
"We need powerhouses—human beings who can strike fear into their hearts. Once war breaks out, the race at the weakest end of the food chain will suffer the greatest injuries."
"I am afraid that if there is any race that will be wiped out, we humans will be among the first."
"That is why, right now, my eyes are on raising a powerful human genius."
"One whose heart has not yet yielded to the thought of other races being above us eternally."
"Because, truly, humans are quick to give up."
"The majority of humans have chosen to be slaves rather than fight back."
"During these ’peaceful’ eras, they are getting cozy with the other races. Not knowing that if the Knulls disappear one day, then the Dark Era will once more encroach upon us."
"So, the human race needs not just a human talented enough to be powerful. We also need one whose heart is still flaming with pride in being a human."
"Your action to instantly turn your eyes toward not only Sanguine but even Fenrir himself—quickly finding out his facade and not being afraid or bowing to him..."
"It really won my heart, Ryuk. It moved me."
"And just so you know, not much can move me these days..."
________
A/N
I took a few hours out of my sleeping hours to write these two chapters because of a generous donation made by the current top 1 fan of the book. The book have never been gifted so many golden tickets all at once, so I write this in your name.
Muchos Gracias.