Silence ruled in the infirmary room.
A heavy silence. A silence that even the sound of the healing devices could not break.
Professor Aldric Voss stared at Lian for a few moments.
"Everyone out." Then he said without taking his gaze off him.
Kain, who was standing next to the bed, frowned.
"Professor, but—"
"I said out." This time, his tone left no room for argument. Kain bit his lip and glanced at Lian.
Seraphina was also hesitant, but she knew this professor. Even she, as the Vice President of the Student Council, could not see this man whenever she wanted.
One of the highest professors of the Academy. An Awakened who had gone through three evolutions. Even large organizations and governments respect such a figure.
And more importantly, he is one of the seat holders of the Academy’s High Council. If they disobeyed him, it would be bad for all of them.
In the end, she looked at Kain and gestured for them to leave. Finally, the doctors also left the room.
The door closed.
And suddenly, the atmosphere of the room changed. As if the air had become heavier. Now only two people were in the room.
Lian.
And one of the Academy’s most powerful professors, Aldric Voss.
The professor pulled the chair next to the bed and sat down quietly. He placed his hands on his knees and stared at Lian for a few seconds without speaking.
As if he was trying to read his thoughts from his face.
"I want to hear the truth." He then said. His voice was calm, but there was a strange pressure in it.
"Tell me about the tenth Ruined Realm. What happened there?"
Lian was quiet for a few moments. His mind started working quickly.
The truth? The truth was not believable. If he talked about the Dreadmaw Sovereign, no one would believe him.
If he talked about Unholy creatures, they would probably all think he was hallucinating. After all, no one, even in their wildest nightmares, could believe that someone who had not even gone through their first evolution could survive against an Unholy.
And even if they believed him, the next questions would start. Questions that would lead to his class, talents, and innate skills.
Something he could not allow. So he had to tell the truth with some distortion.
At least for now.
Lian sighed.
Then he said:
"When I entered the realm... I woke up inside a valley."
The professor said nothing, just listened, deciding whether he was hearing the truth or a lie.
"There I fought a wolf-like monster. Luckily, that monster was near death." The image of the Fallen Wolf appeared in his mind for a moment.
But he did not mention that fight or state its rank.
"After that..." He paused for a moment.
"I managed to have a second awakening."
For the first time, a frown appeared on the professor’s face.
"Second awakening?"
"Yes." Lian nodded.
"You awakened inside the realm?" Professor Aldric leaned forward and asked. This time, even he could not hide his surprise.
Lian nodded again.
"Yes."
Silence. A few seconds of complete silence. Even the professor’s breathing had stopped.
Awakening inside a ruined realm? Such a thing was almost considered a legend. In that dangerous and terrifying environment, who would have the chance to become an Awakened?
But this boy had survived and awakened in the middle of a living hell. The professor leaned back in his chair. His gaze became deeper.
But he let him continue.
"After that, I started searching for the exit key. Along the way, I reached a village."
The professor’s eyebrows went up.
"A village?" His curiosity about this was because of the existence of a civilization in the ruined realm.
In ruined realms, it was very rare for a civilization with life to exist. That is why they are called ruined realms.
"Yes, at the base of a golden mountain."
For a moment, the image of that massive mountain appeared in Lian’s mind.
"At first, I thought they were normal people. But later, I realized they were monsters."
"I see. You are lucky to have found a golden mountain." Professor Aldric nodded. So it was not a real civilization, but the remains of one.
"I guess I really am lucky." Lian gave a bitter smile. Lucky? What luck?
He had faced a mutated race whose leader was an Unholy. More than luck, it was like bad luck on a disaster level.
But he did not have the patience for more questions and trouble, and he did not want to give all the details.
And then Lian continued.
"I guessed that the key should be on that mountain. So I climbed up."
"It was not an easy path. In the end, I reached the peak and found the exit key."
"That’s all?" The professor asked quietly.
"That’s all." But both knew that was not all.
The professor looked at Lian’s wounds, at his destroyed eye, at his broken ribs, at the burn marks. If that was all, where did these injuries come from?
And how had this boy become so powerful in such a short time that he could fight a whole village of monsters? Unless he was not alone, or there was another secret he did not want to tell.
"And was it not guarded by anyone?"
Lian paused. He noticed the suspicion in this man’s eyes.
"Yes, a very powerful guardian. I think it was at least a Fallen monster, but its level was not that high. My injuries are from fighting that monster."
"And you escaped from it?" The professor’s gaze sharpened. He did not think an Awakened who had only been an Awakened for at most a week would have any chance of defeating a Fallen one.
"I barely managed to get the key with my life and get out of that hell." Lian nodded.
He knew this man definitely had a way to find out if he was lying or not, so he said every sentence carefully. There was no lie in any of them, just hidden details.
The monster was level 20. Even though it was higher than him, it was not really that high. The man sitting in front of him was at least level 50 or even higher.
The professor said nothing, but it was clear he was not convinced.
A few minutes of silence passed, then the professor sighed.
"Some parts of your story do not add up."
His gaze moved over Lian’s body.
"These injuries do not match what you described. I heard about your condition yesterday when you returned. You were practically a walking corpse. So in that condition, you managed to escape from the monster?"
"You do not know anything about my talents and innate skills. With their help, I was able to survive." Lian shrugged.
The professor gave a faint smile.
"Perhaps." But his eyes said he had not believed it.
Then he took out a folder from inside his robe and placed it on the bed.
"Do you know what title you have gotten in the Academy now?"
Lian frowned.
"No."
The professor opened the folder. Inside it were several reports.
"The only survivor of the tenth realm."
Lian fell silent.
The professor continued.
"Seven days have passed. No one has returned. No one. At least, no official report has been published by the International Awakened Federation confirming the return of even a single survivor."
His gaze fixed on Lian.
"Only you."
For the first time, Lian felt the weight of that sentence.
The only survivor.
He knew what he had seen in that hell, and he knew that many who had entered that realm would probably never return.
Of course, saying he is the only one is wrong. Alisa and Seris also returned, and news of their return will probably spread in their countries as well.
The professor stood up. The conversation was apparently over. He moved toward the door, but just as his hand reached the handle, he stopped.
A few seconds of silence, then without turning around, he said:
"Oh, right."
Lian raised his head.
Professor Aldric turned back, and his eyes locked directly onto Lian’s.
"Since you have become an Awakened, you can attend the Awakened classes. But first, your level of abilities must be determined, to see if you go to the elite class or the normal class."
"And I will personally test you."