CHAPTER 178: RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRESSURE

The first thing Darian did was head straight for the main areas of the academy. He went to the biggest library, where everything was still intact.

All the academy blessings were the same. They were all created in the past, before there was only one academy left. To avoid losing knowledge, all academies had copies of every blessing.

But in that library, there was also way more knowledge, about things that existed in the universe’s past. This was one of the biggest academies in the whole universe; Celestia Academy couldn’t even compare.

On top of that, Darian found tons of Jade Slips and knowledge about alchemy, inscriptions, and forging. Stuff that had been lost for ages in this universe.

"Veyle’s gonna benefit a lot from all this. Next time, I’ll bring everyone from the clan. And also... I really need to find a forger as soon as possible," Darian muttered, deep in thought.

He grabbed everything about alchemy and stored it. The academy was his now, so he could take whatever he wanted.

"Sir!" Endi’s voice echoed in the library. "It’s intact! The Summoner Altar can still be used!"

Darian ran over to another building to check. Niara had told him that, on the day new Summoners were chosen, all Mannaz taking the test had to go to a small altar to receive a mark.

After that, they had to activate the mark and wait for a Spiritual Guardian to connect with them.

Darian stepped into the building, which looked like a big warehouse. No floors, just a giant hall, really well built and full of fancy details. In the center, there was an altar similar to the one he’d seen back on Earth.

It glowed faintly, showing it was still active.

That meant that, in exactly 11 months, the Shadows of Heaven Academy could try to create new Summoners.

The problem was... they had exactly six pure Mannaz with them. All of them were, or had been, Summoners already and couldn’t try again. As for the ones who turned Risen and got cured, they were no different—worse, actually, since they couldn’t even have kids.

"In the future, we’ll try bringing selected Mannaz to live here," Darian nodded, leaving.

’Let’s go, let’s go! They must have some crazy martial arts here!’ Niara said mentally, excited.

Darian nodded, but the little dragon floated slowly in her ethereal form. Without Niara running around for him, moving felt awkward.

Soon, they reached the second most important building around. Inside was Howlyn, checking things.

"Sir, the treasure vault’s almost empty. The academy people burned through everything in the final fight, trying to survive," she said, disappointed, but it was expected. "But the secret spots are still intact."

Darian nodded, and she led him to a hall.

Inside, on the walls, there were twelve glowing rune marks. Each one led to a small sealed world.

At Celestia Academy, they didn’t have things like this because they’d always been mediocre. But this academy protected its important places using high-level spatial power, creating little worlds that only they could explore.

Howlyn, who had already checked them, confirmed: "There are thirteen in total. One’s hidden and really well guarded. As for these twelve visible entries, nine lead to B-level martial arts trials, and three of them to A-level ones. The hidden one... is the academy’s supreme S-level martial art."

Niara and Darian swallowed hard. They had almost double the B-level martial arts compared to Celestia Academy. Plus three A-level ones, which the other academy didn’t even have. And the S-level... there could only be one, since all the top academies became what they were because they had one.

"The thirteenth entry... the old leader of this academy put a complex seal on it. There are also other sealed rooms, could be anything inside. Endi should be able to open them in the future, but he’s insanely busy right now," Howlyn finished.

Darian and Niara sighed. Just when they could finally score big, Niara didn’t have a body and couldn’t use the martial arts. Oh well... at least the twins would benefit. In the future, them too.

"When Endi finishes connecting with Celestia Academy, tell him to make a copy of all the B and A-level martial arts from here and send them over. We need them to keep fighting and protect that galaxy."

Darian spoke calmly. He might be strengthening enemies too, but it wasn’t anything too serious.

To get one of these, you had to pass a test and still be compatible with it. Out of the few B-level ones from Celestia Academy, only about a dozen Summoners had actually gotten them.

The A-level ones... even fewer. More likely that non-traitors would get them than the traitors themselves. The most important was the S-level one. That, he wouldn’t be crazy enough to hand over.

Darian took a quick look at the martial arts, reading their descriptions. Niara was totally frustrated. There were three A-level ones she thought were amazing. As for the S-level... still a mystery. Only once the seal was lifted would they know.

After leaving the place, Darian saw all the beasts and others starting to rebuild the buildings and houses. Around the academy, there had once been a city. They’d slowly rebuild everything, using the stones and stuff they found around.

Endi was working hard to carry out all the orders. By the time Darian came back to this universe, both the trade with the other academy and life on the planet should already be underway.

Whenever a Spiritual Guardian returned to the universe, they always appeared next to their partner. Since Niara and the twins’ Summoners were staying here, that would be fine. As for the others, Darian would let them know on Earth where they could secretly meet so he could bring them over.

He went looking for Lucy and Lucius. Both were waiting anxiously for Darian, wanting to take the martial arts tests, but he hadn’t allowed it yet.

Darian needed to confirm something first. He walked up to the two caterpillars and checked their souls using his rings.

After several minutes, he didn’t see anything wrong.

’I think you’re looking in the wrong place,’ Niara commented mentally. ’I can feel something really strange and heavy tied to their souls... just don’t know where.’

Darian nodded. If Niara felt something, he’d learned to trust her. She was super useful in moments like this.

He stopped trying to sense anything inside them and started focusing on detecting any energy with the rings...

Nothing abnormal.

"Hmm... can you guys use Summoner support techniques?" Darian asked the young Summoners.

They nodded, so Darian asked them to store the twins’ bodies, letting their souls stay free in the world.

When they did that...

Darian felt a subtle shift. It was something tied to the universe’s laws. Like they were marked by the world itself. On their souls, countless marks, invisible to everyone and everything, existed. He could only sense it because of his rings.

"So that’s how it is... Merit power, at the start, is just a mark from the heavenly laws. Like credits that get paid out later. When we go back to Earth, we automatically get everything."

He muttered, then waved the rings, trying to interact with the marks...

But stopped immediately. His rings really could affect that. He felt that, if he pushed just a bit, he could trigger the merit power payout and fill the twins with that energy.

They were still newbies with just one ring. When they got back to Earth, they’d be evaluated and put in the spotlight by the Empire. If they returned already with two rings, without even having time to absorb their merit power, it’d draw insane attention. Just awakening with ancestral power was already enough trouble—they didn’t need more complications.

That was only for the newbies. The others would just come back and no one would check anything.

As for Darian, the power of his rings let him evolve without even needing to go back to Earth. When he revived, it all just came to him automatically. He didn’t know if that would ever come in handy, but it was good to know.

"You can go do the tests now. We’ve got just two days left, don’t forget that."

Darian said, and the twins got excited. They ran off with their Summoners, heading straight to try and get a high-level martial art.

Darian felt proud and worried. Now the twins really understood how tough and scary this place was. They couldn’t waste any chance to get stronger.

Finally, he organized the weapons, bones, and items he’d stored in his many spatial rings. He split everything exactly in half and left one part at the academy. That would be used for trade and bring in resources. The other half, he’d take back to Earth, where it’d also generate resources for his clan.

He let out a long breath... now he had two places to worry about and help grow.

In just over a year... he’d gone from a regular human living in poverty... to someone leading both a clan and an academy. It felt like with each new day, his responsibilities and the pressure on his shoulders only kept growing.