Acknowledgement
"..." There was now silence with Ciemnosc standing closer to the main reception desk and a few meters in front of what were pretty much the most important people in the academy, with the crowd of other students and some leading students on his back with a distance of a few tens of meters, watching from afar as something marvelous was bound to happen.
Their eyes could be seen much different from before when Ciemnosc was first showing himself in the eyes of the academy as a student, one that is not 'prophesied' to 'be' but that has arrived for the better of the entire world nonetheless. As if the hero that the world needed the most was a hero they got in return; in return, for all the incredible advances that this academy has provided to the rest of the world, unlike what the 'major' organizations of the strongest Region in it have been wanting.
“We are here reunited, timely because of this brilliant child’s submission of his missions’ status and for the sake of delivering what is promised to him.” From the much smaller crowd of the academy’s staff, the old man with a long, thin white beard and not much white hair left on the top of his head spoke. The small, little hushes that were already there and were barely audible quieted down in a matter of 2 seconds, smoothly.
“Student Ciemnosc, as a student of the Rocaloi Academy, you have indeed proven yourself. And there is no doubt about it,” the old man spoke, flinging from his sleeves a long document that looked more like a scroll as it rolled itself out and became all so clear for himself to read through. “A total of 3 targets. Which were humbly the ones most pressing on our shoes. Settling themselves on our territory, this ‘true west’, and daring to even terrorize the people of these lands as if they are still on their own lands.”
“Ciemnosc, despite the fact that you were just a Spirit Gathering realm cultivator at the 4th stage and even recently broken through, you have shown how much more capable you are in front of our old people’s eyes and thoughts. You deserve the pride and the notion to act arrogant if you were to wish to.” The old man spoke, his hands holding the scroll-like document low and not hiding his face by a single little bit.
“I, as the current headmaster of the Rocaloi Academy,” the old man spoke, his words making the entire atmosphere turn peaceful and yet serious and so damn respectful at the same time. “Am now going to show these individuals lurking behind… The reason why you have become such a sudden hope that the academy discovered from nowhere.”
With a light smile, around his mouth were wrinkles as he began. “The assassination of a 2nd stage in the Conflagrate realm was done so without any problem. Ciemnosc wasn’t noticed by the enemy forces coming in and out and no disturbance was detected by their forces until the 2nd day after his disappearance. Only then did the enemy cultivators break into their boss’s quarters to find a… very large amount of blood written all around according to our spies.”
“The assassination of a 3rd stage in the Conflagrate realm was also done without the slightest of complications. Ciemnosc wasn’t seen, nor did he leave any trace behind, only another ‘note’ containing the clothes of the enemy forces’ boss in that village with her top’s upper left side having a hole and the middle of it also having a large gnash that ran all the way up to her top’s neck.”
“Lastly, your last assassination against a Conflagrate realm 4th stage was completed successfully… but you were not only sighted by the enemy, he even became so heavily injured he couldn’t even stand up and run over to chase the fleeing enemies who became… so terrorized knowing of Ciemnosc’s new power and advancement, as well as the fact that he was still alive.”
Flip flip, flap.
The headmaster dropped his arms, his face stern as he looked at the crowd behind Ciemnosc before setting his face on Ciemnosc’s shoulders, then face. “This is… even as it looks… a job done at a mediocre level for someone a whole realm above their own. This is an incredible feat!”
“...” The crowd of students, and some students, were all silent! It was just like the headmaster had said, if this wasn’t something crazy, then what could?! As for the reports from the academy’s spies about how the ‘other side’ was all too surprised to see that Ciemnosc was alive, who didn’t know that Ciemnosc was a person who was sought after by the major organizations simply to ‘study’ his body? All students and leading students around could feel the disgusting form from the very bottom of their hearts and the soles of their feet!
But even then, when hearing about Ciemnosc’s assassination attempts being more than just successful, knowing that their other students and leading students sending teams to ambush the very same type of enemy all had heavy casualties, really heavy. The students and leading students were naturally even more left speechless. Who can fight and kill someone above their level is different from someone who can easily assassinate someone who is a whole level above themselves!
They were all barely processing this all, even as they were also shocked by the way that the major organizations treated such an incredible living being, such a cultivator who had basically the opportunity to lead this world all on his own towards a great future!
They couldn’t understand how come those people would do that when their answer is right in front of their eyes as they chased and distanced this chance away the moment their greed and lust took over, as well as their incredible pettiness.
Thud thud thud, pu~ tong pu~ tong.
Without leaving room for what is doubt itself, Ciemnosc suddenly began hearing sounds of bodies hitting the floor in some way right behind him. He turned his head around, his Spirit Sense could never be wrong, but seeing it with his own eyes was something he wanted to do, to see.
In a mere matter of not even 10 seconds, the previously wide-eyed, excited, and entertained eyes of the crowd… that had suddenly turned either severely stern or closed had their owners kneeling with one knee on the floor and their right arm or left arm crossing through their torso. Their arm, whichever was in front of their torso, and against their left or right thigh while the other knee was against the floor, ended up with their respective wrist against their heart.
“...?” Ciemnosc returned his head to the front. And from there he saw the current headmaster of the Rocaloi Academy serenely looking at Ciemnosc, but also noticeably glad and proud of the images right behind Ciemnosc and that they were all according to his expectations.
“Ciemnosc, the academy breathes, there isn’t something - anything, that can stop the will of our people.” The headmaster pressed his hands together, the scroll still in his left hand in-between as it made contact with his own right hand, before continuing in a light but stern-like tone in his voice. “Thereby, I announce the first arrival of the Rocaloi Academy’s… Genius… Ciemnosc, you are the academy’s first and only Genius in hundreds of thousands of years!!”
“...?-” Ciemnosc half-blinked his eyes somewhat, showing just how damn unsuspecting he was of this ‘Genius’ title that he has been awarded just now. But before he could even question his facial expressions alone, he heard a thundering simple ‘chorus’ behind himself as he could not help but look back and take in with his eyes everyone just becoming so… determined.
“First Genius of the Rocaloi Academy! Savior of our world!!”
“...” Ciemnosc felt himself being so lonely now as he didn’t have anyone to look at so that they could just wink at him or show him that it was all cool, all alright. He could only return his head to face his front and saw the group of the academy’s staff step towards him and take out 2 bags from one of their members.
“This is your prize for having completed the most dangerous assassination, I assume you want the 5 Supreme Powerful Stones more than the inferior grade Powerful Stones since you didn’t mention anything else. So here they are, and these…” The headmaster grabbed that small bag and passed it over to Ciemnosc. While taking another one from his Covert Space bag which was obviously bigger and of a dark-like starry nature, also presenting it before Ciemnosc.
“These are for the foreseeable future, Ciemnosc, as well as some incredibly important materials that the Rocaloi Academy would like to give you so that you can start off studying in your new workshop beside Miss Tini. I’m sure she has already made sure you know she exists, so I’ll let you in her hands if that’s not a problem for you.” The headmaster was really kind when speaking to Ciemnosc. This title of ‘Genius’, it could really be seen how much it meant for… the whole Rocaloi Academy.
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“Th… thank you,” Ciemnosc said, looking up lifelessly and with serene eyes at the headmaster. But the headmaster, instead of growing weirded out or speechless like the teacher, supervisor, or dean back then that introduced Ciemnosc to the academy’s goals, the headmaster kept that kind face and he simply nodded back slightly.
‘Waah…’ Ciemnosc was really thankful, the new and small amount of unknown materials and ingredients in his hands right now, by name as he could somehow know perfectly all of what they were capable of and how they could ever work already and could work if it was him dealing with him - it all made him feel itchy for starting to get back to studying, as he didn’t even know how to make or improve to weapons of the Mortal grade!
“Ciemnosc, though I know you may have already been… ‘told’ some things from one of our greatest teachers, would you mind hearing us out in a few days? Take a few to settle yourself and also, make sure to choose a room in our dormitories where leading students get to share a room with more students or even another leading student. Those are designed for the sake of the academy’s harmony and cooperation if you don’t mind.”
The headmaster continued, revealing a hopeless expression on his old, wrinkly face. “It would be nice to allow for the intended 3 students to sleep in their respective rooms, don’t you think?”
“Oh,” Ciemnosc stored the small and large bags without a problem, not finding it shameful nor embarrassing to be so blunt and obvious. He then looked up at the headmaster before responding accordingly. “I can let that happen, yes. But when can I participate in more missions? I would like to have more Supreme Powerful Stones.”
Ciemnosc’s eyes remained lifeless and serene, but his voice was now just quiet, with nothing in between. The headmaster nodded and placed his left hand on Ciemnosc’s right shoulder, “We can talk about those things when you come back after taking a rest, don’t come here until in another week at the very least, understood? Take your time picking up where you left your research, Ciemnosc. Though we might have some advantages, our technological limitations might prove to be perilous in… what is to come.”
‘So, in other words, ‘we’ rely on me. I see.’ Ciemnosc looked at the headmaster’s face without any case, as if he was just looking at a portrait and not at a living being right in front of him in the flesh. Ciemnosc opened his slightly pale meaty red lips, speaking surprising words indeed, “I can help with that. My commanding vehicle can be made into much better situational and smaller vehicles. But we are too close to the Little Lake…”
“After we take the rest of our territory and fortify it, not letting the ‘major’ organizations think of trying anymore, they would become useless, you definitely don’t want to start a war with the center and north of the Region alone, let alone at the same time,” Ciemnosc said. And those were indeed words that struck down the Rocaloi Academy’s hopes and goals, as well as ambition that was quite big after being treated so savagely by ‘the other side’.
“Oh… oh, which other roads can we take then?” Feeling perplexed, the headmaster asked Ciemnosc, who didn’t have a face or eyes of ‘just ask me’, but the headmaster himself could not help but impatiently ask in the end.
“The Little Lake, of course.” Ciemnosc looked up at the old man, his darkest pool of eyes sending an unknown shiver down this more than 2,300 years old Obsidiafying realm cultivator who had spent not a single moment of his life in danger.
“...!” But not only was he, the headmaster, feeling lightning struck as he envisioned the old records and… the new! Those behind him who remained standing in their original spots were also shockingly excited! They looked at each other and saw the incredibly bright shine on their eyes and their teeth, all showing as they unavoidably smiled at each other’s faces.
“That reminds me, Ciemnosc!” Just as Ciemnosc was stepping backwards twice and about to turn around to walk out, the headmaster mentioned these words, and Ciemnosc accordingly waited up for the headmaster to go on.
“Our people have incredible theoretical and safe practice but no actual experience in battles.” The headmaster’s eyes got smaller. He seemed to become a person riddled with guilt as he went on still. “It was thought that our students could learn well in this incredibly dangerous situation we are in, but as we have seen, it has become too perilous for any of our students, even leading students for such a matter.”
“I would like to ask you to help train these people, I would really like for you to help the academy in only one thing at a time but… Only you who has such rich experience and cleverness can rapidly teach our students in the act of… killing and survival.” The headmaster looked apologetically for a few seconds but then turned firm and decisive, which Ciemnosc denoted was because of the headmaster not being able to feel ‘sad’ but rather responsible.
“Okay sure, send me 10,000 of your most ‘experienced’ students and 1,00 of your best leading students. Make sure to include those who have survived when facing the recent missions to me as well but as an extra. I am not the best at something like this, but I will try.” Ciemnosc’s words awoke a certain other large amount of information about Ciemnosc. But before the headmaster could ask anything, Ciemnosc rolled his eyes and turned around.
“We can continue speaking after that week.” And with that, Ciemnosc slowly began to leave the Mission Request & Acquisition building, his footsteps like thin bells sounding over and over again.
Step, step step, step step, step step, step step, step step, step step, step step. Dunn~ dunn~...
“Congratulations, fellow student.” - “Congrats, lil’ bro.” - “Congrats, savior!” - “... Oh, the calling, it’s going to be inscribed in the wall of honor!” - “Let’s go see!” While Ciemnosc was walking away, receiving many, many words as he walked through the crowd, a sound that was akin to a bell but semi melodic on its own and very flat without any undulance in its rhythm went out.
The sound was, however, audible everywhere in the Rocaloi Academy, and it didn’t take Ciemnosc any minute to figure out that it was all about one of the many ‘great’ things that the Rocaloi Academy had since its day of being founded.
He saw many people, all just rushing towards another section of the center of the Rocaloi Academy, naturally closer to the mountain that faced the west but that was also almost part of the mountain’s side. Ciemnosc could only see a tiny part of it, and it was the topmost left corner of it, as every student was making their way towards it, Ciemnosc instead turned around just in time for a young girl to appear as she finished her jump, and bent her back a little.
“Howdy partner!” Her face was so close to his right shoulder, as she was smaller than Ciemnosc and even more now that she bent her head a little, his dark glasses were above her forehead and way behind her hairline from there. She stuck out her tongue and waved it up and down a little as Ciemnosc before straightening up her back and sticking her tongue out once more while closing her eyes at him.
Then, she dropped all dumb acts and lowered those dark glasses onto her glabella, pushing its middle section against it with her left middle and index finger. Smiling at him, slightly but largely, the young girl then saw Ciemnosc stand in front of and facing her.
“Where to? I’ll drive you.” Though Ciemnosc was unaware of how he looked right now, the young girl was not, as she looked at him with twinkly eyes for a couple of seconds before gladly hugging his arm.
“Hurray then, let’s go. Our place is towards the middle of the mountain. See that huge little place with a lot of space remaining to be built upon? It was supposed to be used by Older Brother and me when we grew up and had our own families, continuing the tradition and keeping the legacy of the academy’s inspiration and reasoning for existing in the first place.”
“Let’s go there.” Tini’s voice became dull as she spoke the last 3 words. But by then Ciemnosc had already taken a good look at that place, which was basically a really large platform that hadn’t gotten many buildings on it yet, still leaving about ⅓ of it all left unused. And he was in need of a whole lot of space for his studies to continue, it was really convenient.
Trckrr… … … … …trckrr trckrr trckrr trckrr..
Ciemnosc took his commanding vehicle out. Tini’s eyes were all shiny and flowing with intense light as she watched all around it for a little bit. After hopping around it thrice, she made a little dance with her body spinning nonstop for some time until she placed herself right at the front of the entrance. Ciemnosc pushed her in and, before she was able to sit on the driver’s seat, pulled her small nose away from it, closed the door, and sat her on the co-drivers seat.
While Tini was rubbing her perfectly fine, not even reddened nose, he started the commanding vehicle and began driving directly towards the mountain.
Up until now, Ciemnosc hadn’t visited there, and as it was the first time he actually and genuinely went to a mountain, with also a purpose to do so now. And because of the clear lack of being used to technology such as cars or vehicles in general, he had a hard time arriving at the mountain. While he could’ve reached it already in just half an hour at most and that was without even going max speed ahead.
Only now was Ciemnosc beginning to understand the worries of the headmaster and the staff of the academy when also knowing of the major organizations' main strength right now; those armored cars. And what was even worse, they also knew of the ships and that they could be armed with the same kind of cannons - but they didn’t know what the ships themselves were capable of doing; not even the major organizations know of it.
Not only was Ciemnosc not worried about his own projects and works in progress being pried open from their secrets, he was even looking forward to showing what his ships would be capable of once he got to build them again. Their greatest strength was something that Ciemnosc didn’t have the time to teach them. After all, it was also the worst of times for him to be betrayed just like that.
‘Hm… I’ll be back.’
…