Chapter 104: New Routine
(Rodova Military Academy, Leo's Dorm Room)
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
The alarms blared loudly, as Leo woke up with a jolt, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his body unusually drenched in cold sweat.
'What the hell did I just witness?' Leo wondered, as his pulse pounded like war drums in his ears, his chest rising and falling rapidly as if he had just surfaced from drowning.
'It felt like I was the one being executed… It felt like I was the one who was betrayed,' Leo realized, as he glanced down at his hands, watching them tremble violently.
For a split second, the world around him still felt unreal.
His dorm room—his bed, his desk, the faint glow of the academy's night lights filtering through the window—it all seemed distant, almost wrong.
The battlefield still clung to his vision.
The screams. The lightning. The sickening crunch of bone and flesh being torn apart.
The gods tearing into their own.
The betrayal.
His ancestor's face—no, that man's face—his face, twisted in agony, staring into the eyes of the son who had orchestrated his downfall.
Leo could still see it all.
He shivered uncontrollably as the memory burned into his mind like an open wound.
'Was it real?' he wondered, as he slowly rolled up his sleeves, his eyes scanning his forearms for something—anything—that would prove the pain he had felt was more than just a dream.
But there was nothing. No visible burns. No scars.
And yet, the sensation remained. The ghostly imprint of divine chains searing into his flesh, refusing to fade.
His stomach churned, his muscles coiled tightly, his entire body felt wrong.
'Was this real?'
'Was this my memory?'
'What the hell did I just witness…?'
He wondered as—
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
The academy's alarm system forcibly snapped him back to reality.
*SIGH–*
Leo exhaled sharply, running a hand through his damp hair as he forced himself to sit upright.
His sheets were soaked.
His skin was too hot, his muscles tense, as if his body had been preparing for battle even in his sleep.
He needed a moment.
But a moment was a luxury he didn't have.
'Can't be late for physical training…' Leo thought, as [Monarch's Indifference] finally kicked in, numbing his emotions and pulling his mind back into clarity.
The dread, the panic, the humanity in his reactions—all of it was methodically wiped clean, leaving only focus in its place.
'Kaelith and Chakravyuh… I need to learn more about that name and that formation when I can,' Leo mused to himself, as he stood up, his mind already shifting gears.
Striding toward his closet, he pulled out a freshly pressed uniform, his fingers moving with mechanical precision as he unbuttoned the fabric, preparing for the day ahead.
—----------
(Rodova Military Academy, Physical Training Grounds)
As Leo arrived for the morning lineup, the first thing he noticed was how different the entire class looked compared to just a couple of days ago.
Several students had gained a few inches in height, while others had experienced sudden, almost comical, hair growth spurts. Almost everyone had changed in some noticeable way.
"Good morning, Elder Brother—"
A small voice called out from below, as Leo glanced down to find Mu Ryan tugging at the hem of his uniform.
"What? Did you shrink a few inches or what?" Leo asked, as Mu Ryan puffed her cheeks in protest.
"It's not me who shrank! It's you who unreasonably grew taller—" she grumbled, stomping her foot in irritation.
"Hmm—" Leo mused, his lips curling into a slight smile.
Even though [Monarch's Indifference] had dulled his emotions, he still felt a flicker of amusement at Mu Ryan's frustration.
"Morning, Skyshard. Ryan."
Another voice chimed in, as Mu Shen approached with his usual calm expression.
"The long hair suits you, Skyshard. Makes you look more refined," he commented, extending his hand for a handshake.
CLAP
Leo accepted the handshake with a curt nod, as both men instinctively tightened their grips.
'He's grown stronger—'
'He's grown much stronger—'
Both reached the same realization at once, as the brief handshake alone was enough for them to gauge each other's progress.
"Where's Yang?" Mu Shen asked, scanning the crowd for Su Yang, but the Su Family young master was nowhere to be seen.
"I haven't seen him since this morning. I don't know where he might be—" Leo replied, as Mu Shen let out a deep sigh.
"He might be suffering from the aftereffects of his first Ghost Sleep… I'm kind of surprised you look fine this morning, Skyshard—" Mu Shen speculated, as Leo simply shrugged his shoulders.
"I slept like a baby. No Ghost Sleep whatsoever—" Leo said with a perfectly neutral expression, lying through his teeth.
In truth, he had endured a horrifying Ghost Sleep experience, but he had no intention of sharing it with anyone.
Unless absolutely necessary, he had no interest in discussing his dreams—especially ones as disturbing as the one from last night.
It was common practice for nobles to discuss their Ghost Sleep experiences with each other, but Leo had no desire to be part of that tradition.
His dreams were his and his alone.
And if lying was the price to keep them private, then he had no problem paying it.
*Huff—*
*Huff—*
*Huff—*
A sickly and ragged-looking Su Yang finally stumbled onto the Physical Training Grounds, his labored breaths drawing attention almost instantly.
Snickers and murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Pfft—The loser is here."
"He couldn't even land a hit on his opponent, while Skyshard blew his opponent's arm off! He's nothing compared to Skyshard."
"He's worthless without his family name, Su Yang."
The taunts came sharp and cruel, their words laced with ridicule.
But Su Yang wasn't in the mood for their nonsense.
As he swept his gaze over them, his eyes—now deeper, darker, almost predatory—locked onto the most vocal member of the group, as his cold stare alone was enough to silence them all.
"Fuck off—" he muttered, his voice low but laced with something menacing.
As just like that, the student closest to him flinched violently, his body seizing up—until a dark stain spread across his pants.
The fool had pissed himself.
His legs trembled, his face twisted in horror, as he realized he had lost control of his bladder under Su Yang's gaze alone as the silence that followed was suffocating.
Nobody dared to mock him anymore.
As Su Yang marched like an unopposed lion through the crowd of jealous students, until he joined his gang at their usual meet-up spot.
"My head hurts, my body hurts, my muscle coordination is off and I find it hard to control my newfound strength.
Overall, I am a mess and will shamelessly be a liability in today's training—" Su Yang declared, as both Mu Shen and Leo shrugged their shoulders at once like they did not care if he were a liability or not.
"Today's training should be easier than before with our enhanced strengths… unless Professor Marvin increases the intensity too—" Mu Ryan noted, as after thinking about it for a while, she sighed and continued, saying "He will probably increase the difficulty–"
As hoping that the level of difficulty in training dropped was nothing more than a pipe dream.