Night had quietly descended on the National Academy.
Most buildings were submerged in darkness, and only a few scattered lights could be seen around the grounds.
A cool breeze blew through the old trees, and a heavy silence ruled over the space.
Lian walked through the paved paths and stopped in front of the Student Council building.
A large, multi-story building that during the day was always full of students, staff, and council members. But now it looked almost empty.
Almost.
Because only one section was still lit. The top floor. The office of the Vice President of the Student Council.
Lian went up the stairs. The higher he went, the more light could be seen from under the doors. Finally, he reached the office door.
Without delay, he knocked a few times gently.
"Come in."
Seraphina’s familiar voice was heard from inside.
Lian opened the door and paused for a moment. What he saw matched the image he always had of the Student Council Vice President’s office.
On Seraphina’s large desk, a mountain of files was placed.
Dozens of lit tablets, official reports, mission requests, student complaints, unallocated budgets.
The report on Andreas and Sarah’s deaths.
The emergency minutes from today and yesterday. And hundreds of other documents.
Almost the entire surface of the desk was occupied.
Even a few files had fallen on the floor next to the chair.
Seraphina sat behind that mountain of papers.
Her hair was slightly messy. A few buttons of the formal council uniform were undone. And a faint shadow could be seen under her eyes.
For the first time, she really looked tired. Not the tiredness from fighting, but the tiredness from responsibility. And Lian secretly laughed at the thought.
The girl who was once so lazy that she wouldn’t even do her smallest school assignments now had to handle such responsibilities. Of course, it was amusing to him.
Lian entered quietly.
"I didn’t think being the Vice President of the Council was this much trouble."
Without raising her head, Seraphina closed one of the files
.
"Most students think the same." Then she finally looked at him and gave a faint smile.
"Welcome."
"How long have you been awake?" Lian sat on one of the chairs across from the desk.
"I don’t know." Seraphina thought for a few seconds, then sighed.
"I couldn’t sleep last night."
"Why?" Lian raised an eyebrow.
"Everyone went to the Ruined Realm, and I’m still here. As the Vice President, there’s a lot of work to do. Besides, over the past week, all my focus was lost because of worrying about you."
"And I couldn’t take care of any of my duties. Now I’m trying to finish them as soon as possible so I can go there too." She answered with frustration and looked toward the window.
"Kain is there. Most second-year students are there. Third-years too."
"Even some elite first-years have entered the
realm." A few moments of silence passed.
Then she continued.
"Every day I stay here... I fall further behind."
Lian quietly nodded. He knew better than anyone that this worry was real.
Unlike himself, most Awakened didn’t just get stronger by killing monsters. They needed resources. Mana crystals.
Rare medicines.
Ancient treasures, skill books, and valuable legacies, and the Ruined Realm contained almost all of these.
Every new area discovered could change an Awakened’s life forever.
Exactly like Frostheart city had been for him and Seris, giving them significant profit and preparing them for that village. And there are many areas like that city.
His mind briefly went to the mana crystals he had obtained in Frostheart and were now in his storage space.
All of them remained untouched. Maybe it was time to sell them too. After all, more money was never bad.
And of course... maybe he would keep a few for Kain. That guy could probably make good use of them.
After all, he is his best friend and had helped him a lot in the past.
In the days when his family had rejected him and he had nowhere to go, it was Kain who helped him.
His gaze fell on Seraphina again. Should he give her some too? No, she didn’t need it.
Seraphina came from a family whose wealth was even greater than many large guilds.
If she wanted mana crystals, she probably just had to ask.
"You don’t need to worry about these things. I’m sure they can’t get ahead of you that easily. Besides, I’m sure your work will be finished sooner or later." He said in a calming tone.
But his words didn’t help. Seraphina looked at all the files in front of her and sighed, feeling that it might take days.
"Well, maybe it might take a little more time than that." Lian also saw those files and couldn’t help but laugh.
"No, no, no, I have to finish these files as soon as possible! I want to get there no matter what or I would lose my chance"
"To what?"
"Actually, there’s some interesting news. The Federation discovered a new area a few days ago."
"Inside the Ruined Realm. An area that is currently completely sealed."
"Sealed?" This caught Lian’s attention. A hidden area discovered? And an area that the Federation itself had discovered?
Areas that the Federation monopolizes have very high value and importance.
"Even big guilds aren’t allowed to enter." Seraphina continued.
"There are various rumors. Some say an ancient city was found. Some say a legendary tomb. And some believe it’s related to a civilization that existed before the realm’s collapse."
Lian leaned back in his chair. This was interesting. No matter which rumor was true, in any case, this hidden area could cause quite a stir.
If he was not mistaken, this should be the first official hidden area discovered by Awakened.
Of course, if he didn’t count Frostheart, which was also a hidden area discovered by him and Seris.
And they were considered the first Awakened to discover a hidden area in the tenth realm.
But the Federation doesn’t know this. In fact, no one except the two of them should know this. So the area the Federation discovered should be considered the first known area.
’Of course, the system notification definitely tells them they’re not the first.’ He thought to himself.
"What about the guilds? What’s their reaction?" He then asked.
Seraphina smirked.
"They’re going crazy. Everyone is negotiating with the Federation to get entry slots. So far, they haven’t gotten any results."
"Will the Academy get slots?"
"Probably. Maybe five, maybe ten." Seraphina shrugged.
"That’s not bad either." Lian smiled.
Seraphina laughed.
"Of course, when you’re among the people almost guaranteed to get a slot, yeah, it’s not bad." If the Academy gets slots, Lian will definitely have one of the spots.
That’s guaranteed.
A few seconds later, her gaze narrowed, as if she had just noticed something.
"Anyway, what’s the news with you? Why did you want to see me?"
Lian was silent and Seraphina waited.
In the end, he told the story of today. About the family’s call, about the expulsion request, about his conversation with Aldric. The more he explained, the stranger Seraphina’s face became.
When he finished, a few seconds of silence passed.
"I need to hear your opinion too. You’re the only person that knows both my family and me" Lian added.
"So they’re really scared." Then Seraphina said quietly.
"They used to ignore you. Now they want to bring you back." Her tone suddenly turned cold.
"What do those bastards think you are?"
"A doll? A tool? Something they can throw away whenever they want and take back whenever they want?" Hatred and disgust were completely clear in her voice.
Lian shrugged.
"My family has always looked at their children as assets. If you’re useful to them, they keep you. If you’re not, you get thrown away. I’ve expected this since childhood."
"But you’re their own child! How can they do this?" Seraphina looked at him in disbelief and pressed her fists on the desk.
"That’s why I don’t want to go there. My father was invited, and I was invited too. But I refused."
Lian said nothing, and Seraphina sighed.
"The problem is, even if you don’t go, they won’t leave you alone. And if they really want you expelled..." She paused for a moment.
"There’s a high chance my father will help them too." There was hidden anger in her voice. Anger clearly directed at her own father.
"Right, you’re right. So maybe I have no choice." Lian quietly nodded.
Seraphina looked directly into his eyes.
"So you’re going?"
"Yes."
"And how are you going to convince them to leave you alone?"
A few seconds of silence passed, and then Lian laughed. Not a normal laugh, but a quiet and dangerous laugh.
A laugh that even made Seraphina feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Convince them to leave me alone? Oh, no."
His smile deepened.
"I’ll make them regret wanting me back." His gaze fell on the darkness outside the window.
"And too bad... by then, it’ll be too late for regret."
Seraphina stared at him for a few seconds and unconsciously felt a bit bad for the Vorhelm family.