Chapter 230: Noticing the Aura in the Tower
"Hey, wait," Stark stopped Lana as she was walking toward the street like all the other students after checking out the academy.
He got a gut feeling in his heart, and his mind was screaming for him to stop as they were "observed".
[Focus: Look up, toward the top window of the middle tower]
He did as he was told and then…
~GULP~
"Oh shit…" Stark\'s eyes widened as he sensed an extremely powerful aura coming from that room, it was actually so powerful he had a hard time not vomiting on the spot.
"Hey, are you okay, what\'s happening?" Lana looked worried as she peered at Stark, who was still looking at the window with a determined look.
"Yeah, I\'m fine," Stark sighed after thirty seconds, "Let\'s just go, I\'m kind of tired."
Stark didn\'t like this at all, and if it was coming from the academy, then it meant they were probably teachers watching them.
Lana and Stark hailed for a taxi and the car drove them around twenty minutes away of the academy, arriving in front of a luxurious apartment complex.
"Thanks for the ride, sir," Lana bowed as she paid, she was actually very kind and respectful to others, yet somehow found the strength in herself to speak casually to Stark.
"Anyway, my father has rented out an apartment in this complex for you and me, its pretty close and luxurious enough to last for the two years as he already gave the down payment on all of it," Lana smiled as she pulled out a card, it had Stark\'s name on it with the room number [502], which meant the second room of the fifth floor.
"Oh," Stark took the card and thanked Lana, he didn\'t expect something so good to be given to him out of nowhere.
And yes, it was too good, so Stark squinted his eyes while looking at Lana, knowing something was up.
Apparently she didn\'t know anything, as she happily entered the elevator and ordered him to come.
"It\'s fine, I\'ll take the stairs," he gestured, and she just shrugged then clicked on one of the buttons, "Well, we\'ll be separated anyway so might as well get used to it, huh…"
An apartment so close to the academy was really useful, and although he didn\'t know what to expect there, it was still good.
He climbed up the stairs quite easily, his stamina now so good that doing that didn\'t even make him break a sweat.
\'5th floor…\' he lifted his gaze and saw a [Floor 5] sign written in blue letters.
Apparently, each floor only had two apartments, allowing for an immense amount of space, but that is why it was very expensive: only the rich could afford it, and Stark would sure as hell not waste his precious money on such a thing, a shabby hotel room was more than enough for him.
But right as he stepped inside the hall, reaching his room, which was the 502… the elevator door opened.
"Oh wooooow," Lana acted shocked, "What a coincidence, my room is the 501!"
"…" Stark looked at her with the most neutral of eyes, "Alright."
He entered his room by scanning the card and then closed the door behind him.
Of course, he already figured it out: the sole reason Arthur, the archer king, put Lana and Stark so close together wasn\'t because of good will, but because he wanted the latter to protect his daughter.
\'Fucking hell… I\'m not a bodyguard…\' Stark wasn\'t found of that idea, being solo was his entire way of life, and it wouldn\'t change no matter what, "Well, worse case scenario I get evicted somehow, and Lana should be able to defend herself…"
As for the interior of his apartment, well… it was pretty damn good.
Luxury furniture that were already placed, a bedroom, living room, kitchen, basically everything he would need during those two years.
He was used to living alone, so giving him a bigger space was useless, but it still felt better than going into a hotel room and entering it to directly see your bed and everything it had to offer.
He lay on his bed and looked at the ceiling.
Somehow, that bad feeling of his never went away, and seeing all these students and this new city added to that pressure he was feeling.
What could be waiting for them in two days.
"I… I\'ll find out eventually… let\'s just sleep…" he was so tired.
He shouldn\'t be at such an important time, not after being so close to entering the hellish academy.
"Zzzzz…" even Stark, the most promising of [Domination] users, who was being watched closely by the [Domination Association], was tired.
Yes, even Stark knew and felt that sometimes he was being watched by a distant pair of eyes.
They did tell him they would ALWAYS keep an eye on him, probably already aware of the second trial and its results.
He hadn\'t heard of any type of \'Calamity-Level\' monster attacks like the first time over though, but maybe it was because they figured out all the participants and contained them all?
Were they even capable of checking out the trial and its results as well? Such a big organization should be able to, right?
This was probably what happened.
\'So many things I don\'t know about… I wish… it was this peaceful, huh…\' Stark closed his eyes, "Zzzz.
And he slept, hopefully not long enough to miss the academy entrance, as it would mean instant expulsion.
***
(Dream World)
"…" Stark didn\'t even act surprised, at this point, even a single second of rest meant that he would find himself in this place.
Was this a curse or a blessing? He didn\'t know.
It was calm, though.
"Oh, hey," [Domination], who was merged with [Exorcist], visible by the strands of golden aura in its body, was currently playing chess with [Alchemist].
"Hm~" Alchemist seemed to be concentrated on the game, moving his knight to take one of Domination\'s pawn.
"Is this what all of you do when I\'m not here?" Stark questioned as he approached their table, a chair magically appearing out of nowhere.
"Well, somewhat, we can see through your eyes since we are you, but we still are forced to stay here," Domination moved his rook.
"…"
"You know, I\'ve been wondering," Alchemist looked at Stark, "How do you feel about all of this?"
"…?"
"I mean, with the ApostleDex, your goal in this world is probably to complete it by killing all the apostles, then meeting the \'Godless Demon\' and kicking its ass," Domination resumed the discussion, "Check by the way," it moved its bishop, checking the king, "But what about all the rest?"
"The rest?" Stark was confused.
"I mean, do you plan to obtain all the classes? It makes more people to interact with, obviously, but also, what about the academy? And relationships? Fame? Power?" Alchemist took back the discussion, and it was almost like the two were in synchro.
"Basically… you\'re asking what I plan to do?"
"Yeah, I think that Lana chick is onto you, no doubt, and you\'re strong enough to earn enough money to live your life like this in luxury, what is your true goal, Stark Heartsouls?"
"I don\'t know, but I don\'t have a choice but to keep going anyway."
"Why?" Alchemist asked, trying his hardest not to get checkmated.
"Because, well, the [Domination Trial] is still present, so if I sit back and do nothing, there is a huge chance that I will still be teleported away and get fucked as I would be too weak," Stark\'s argument was literally unbreakable, and even the two classes knew it: Stark couldn\'t stop until all [Domination Trials] were over, or until he killed all the apostles and proved himself to the world.
It was a never ending cycle.
"But anyway," Stark smiled as he continued, "I actually do enjoy fighting."
"We do too, we were just asking," Domination smiled, "Checkmate, Alchemist," it cornered the king using his queen and rook.
"Well… Then everything is settled, just have to survive the academy and not get destroyed by the other students or some impossible tasks!" Stark felt optimistic.
"We\'re gonna be fine, just wake up, or you\'ll be late," both Domination and Alchemist said as they looked at Stark.
"I did guess a long time would pass, thank you," Stark got up from his chair, and all the furniture, as well as the two class figures, disappeared.
What was that feeling inside of him? Why did they talk about something so deep with him after acting goofy and carefree all this time?
"I… Ah, fuck, doesn\'t matter," Stark lost consciousness as he closed his eyes.
***
"WAKE UP! WAKE UP STARK!"
"…?" Stark\'s vision was drowsy, but he could hear someone calling his name and frantically shaking him.
"Oh! Oh my god, finally!" he also felt someone embrace him.
"What the fuck is happening…" he was still confused, that dream of his lasted less than five minutes, but a long time must has passed in the real world.
And so right at that moment…
"COME ON, THE ENTRANCE CEREMONY IS IN AN HOUR!"