Life wasn’t easy for Katran. Already a permanent member of the outer academy students, he was a true veteran of the group. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much effort he made to advance beyond these limitations of his, no results would appear.

Cultivating day after day, using every means possible to obtain more resources, currying favors with those who could potentially help him later on… Yet, amidst all of his hard work and relentless pursuit of strength, there was only one bright element that shone upon his life.

Irea, one of the few teachers that Katran truly respected.

Even though Katran only ever had three or four personal lessons with her and maybe three more done in a group, he could easily notice the living energy in this woman’s eyes. Just from the fact that she managed to obtain a quasi-teacher position at the academy was a testimony to her capabilities.

Once Katran caught the wind of this particular persona, his curiosity was piqued. He went from asking his academy friends to outright stalking her in just three days. Yet, just as he was about to make use of the rare opportunity to speak with her, to ask how to reach greater heights like she did, to offer her his life… She disappeared.

It was the moment when the young student of the academy learned about the outside world. So far, Katran only cared about the academy. Even since he learned about the god’s barrier and the desert beyond it, about all kinds of towns, outskirts, nations, and wastelands, a single wish appeared in his soul.

‘I want to see it all.’ This naive delusion of being someone special pushed the youth into trying even harder. Over the course of the entire hunting season when his beloved teacher was away, he continued to push himself beyond his own limits. Pain, humiliation, and boredom became his friends. Because behind every bout of pain, behind every moment of humiliation, and behind every second of boredom, a potential to grow awaited.

“I will kill this bastard…” Walking down one of the many paths of the academy, Katran continued to think about his situation. But no matter how much he wanted to focus on preparing his next move, the face of this arrogant fellow that occupied his spot besides Irea continued to reemerge in front of his eyes.

“I will kill this bastard…” Muttering to himself over and over again, Katran finally reached his destination. The office of the outer academy’s elder. Truthfully though, its name long changed to logistical center, something that everyone acknowledged outside the officials who forcefully kept the old name.

“I will kill this bastard…” Pushing the doors open, Katran shook his head to get rid of those stupid thoughts. As for now, he had no means to infringe on that annoying man. During their first meeting, he already learned how little his entire strength could do in the face of that bastard’s might. Even the entire party of followers that just happened to be on an outing in the city back then proved to be insufficient to break through that man’s barriers.

But Katran didn’t give up. Reaching the absolute limit of all the favors he could call and all the debts he could make, he managed to gain the attention of a single student from the inner academy. Given how even the elders of the outer academy were barely on par with the lowest of the inner academy disciples, he dared not to worry about the results of his small revenge and plan to reconquer his teacher.

Yet, as if to spite on all his efforts, on all the debts he made to get this single favor… ‘Just how unlucky am I?!’ The memory of the senior student that he managed to hire dropping ass-first to the ground without receiving even a single attack continued to induce nauseous thoughts in Katran’s mind. Recalling it even once was enough to upset his stomach, yet he was constantly plagued with those memories as if the gods themselves descended to torture him like that.

‘As for now, I’m completely and utterly defeated.’ Despite all the flaws that he had, Katran wasn’t an idiot. Even with all the desperation and determination, even after all his efforts and hard work, he could still tell when he was wholesomely defeated. His means no longer could oppose that bastard. And as heartbreaking as it was, Katran accepted the demise of his first, true love born out of admiration.

“This fucker…” This time, it wasn’t Katran’s voice that uttered this curse. This time, it was the senior Katran hired recently, returning to the inner sect with hate written all over his face.

“Senior…” Bowing his head, Katran couldn’t care about his situation any longer. Right now, all that the young man could think about, was sinking his sorrows in the bottomless well of wine and booze. And for that end, he had to avoid the attention of the man who he hired, only to see him humiliated in front of the entire crowd that followed them a few hours prior.

“Wait, it’s you!” Initially only leaning his head to the side, the inner-academy disciple froze on the spot when he recognized the youth’s aura.

“Senior, I’m at your disposal.” Bowing even deeper, Katran refused to reference the man’s words. ‘As long as I remain respectful, there is a chance he will think I’m someone else.’ As stupid and naive as this hope was, Katran no longer had the willpower to come up with any better plan.

“It’s great that I found you. Come with me!” Ordering the defeated youth, Katran’s senior didn’t even bother waiting for his answer. Pushing forward right away, he only stopped after a few moments when he realized Katran didn’t follow him at all.

“Senior, it’s a great honor to be invited by you, but I have to report to my master.” Lowering his head even further, Katran tightened his lips. What was his master? An average elder of the outer academy. When compared to the senior in front of him, his master couldn’t even hold a candle. Yet, between momentary punishment of his dissatisfied senior and permanent drawbacks of opposing his greatest backer, Katran knew pretty well who to humor first. “He left me a note at the academy’s gate. As much as I would like to follow you, I need to take care of my own matters first.”

Katran’s head reached the lowest point he could possibly bring it to. Right now, all he could do was wait for his punishment to be served. ‘In the end, I only can blame myself. If I didn’t try to hire him…’

The young man’s thoughts all stopped when a hand suddenly appeared on his shoulder. Raising his head in shock, he saw something that made his eyes widen to their limit.

His senior was actually acting compassionate, trying to cheer him up? What was this, some kind of prank where a huge crowd would grow out from the ground as soon as a hint of acceptance of the reality would appear in his eyes?

“Don’t worry about it.” Patting the young man on his shoulder a few more times, the barely older man pulled out a strange, shiny yet carved stone before passing it to Katran’s hands. “This is my personal token. When you will bring it to the inner academy’s gate, the guards will bring you directly to me.” Explaining the small token he presented, Katran’s senior smiled.

“Today’s humiliation… I won’t let it pass. I won’t let someone as insignificant as that group run their mouth the way they did.” A hint of clear hostility if not killing intent appeared on the senior’s face. “Once I will get a few things done, I will use their blood to wipe off the stain at my honor.” Once Katran’s senior released his anger out in the open, his face softened a bit. As his eyes turned to Katran’s face, the younger student could only tremble in anticipation.

“And once I do, I will be sure to leave an honorable seat for you to watch it all!”