Ion quickly arrived at the first-year student residence. It was a very long building, easily capable of accommodating more than 10,000 students.
As soon as he entered, he saw a group of three people. He recognized two of them well—after all, he had fought them during the entrance exam. He had seriously injured one of them, while the other had pushed him close to revealing his trump card.
Arthur Grimlock, with black hair streaked with white and crimson eyes, and Eleanor Al Verilion, with white hair and orange tips and black eyes. The third person had relatively short black hair that reached just below the shoulders and deep violet eyes. She was Aria from the Arius family, though he had never spoken to her before.
Normally, he wouldn't look at them for long, but this time he couldn't help but recall what he had seen through Alfred's memories. He saw images of Arthur, Eleanor, and Aria on that screen Alfred used to watch for hours… they were heroes in that game. But he hadn't really seen much more information, and that caused him great confusion and unease.
He truly didn't understand—would what happened in the game also happen in his world? Even though he had only seen fragmented images, he had seen the "heroes" of the game fighting various figures—sometimes humans, some wearing academy uniforms, and at other times half-demons. There were also many other images, all accompanied by what seemed like disasters befalling an academy.
So he didn't know how to feel… what if there were dangerous events in that game that could threaten his life—and Alice's?
---
Ion continued walking, lost in thought. When he snapped out of it and raised his head, he saw that the trio had entered the elevator and were looking at him strangely.
Although Ion had relaxed a little after his duel with Cyril and regained some of his energy, his aura was still somewhat unstable and weak, which puzzled them.
But Ion didn't care. He entered the elevator with them and pressed the button leading to the floor where S-rank students resided.
---
Tension filled the elevator as no one spoke. It seemed Ion had put some pressure on Arthur and Eleanor—especially Eleanor, who had lowered her head and was only looking at her feet.
Arthur tried several times to speak, but each time he closed his mouth again, not knowing what to say.
Aria smiled as she watched this scene, then turned her gaze toward Ion, who didn't seem concerned or tense at all.
"Ion, are you alright? You suddenly lost consciousness this morning. Isn't that a bit weak for someone like you? Losing consciousness from light training? It seems Arthur and Eleanor exaggerated your strength…" she said playfully, ignoring the tense atmosphere in the elevator.
Arthur and Eleanor both turned to look at Aria in surprise. They hadn't expected her to say something like that to Ion—mocking him. Or did she genuinely want to know why he had suddenly lost consciousness? It had been strange, even for the instructor.
Ion smiled sarcastically and replied,
"It's nothing important. I just had a disturbance in my blood energy due to intense training… thank you for your concern."
He emphasized the last three words, making it clear he wasn't unaware of Aria's intention behind the question. He didn't comment at all on what she said about his fight with Arthur and Eleanor.
Aria found herself unable to respond. He hadn't left her any opening to continue the conversation.
The tension inside the elevator increased, but Ion didn't seem to care. As soon as it reached the top floor and the doors opened, he stepped out ahead of them, heading toward his room.
---
As soon as Ion opened the door, he heard a voice calling him from the hallway.
"Hey, Ion…"
He turned his head in response to Arthur, who seemed to have made up his mind.
"Next time, I won't lose… that's a promise."
Ion was slightly surprised by Arthur's suddenly serious tone, but then he couldn't help but smile.
"Do your best, or don't blame me for beating you like a dog again."
He said that, then entered his room and closed the door behind him, leaving the trio in the hallway.
---
Aria said with a slight frown,
"I feel like he's a bit different than usual… even though he's weaker than he was this morning, the sense of danger he gives off has increased several times."
Arthur replied,
"I didn't really feel any difference except for his eyes… it's like they've gained a deeper depth than before. What about you, Eleanor? Did you notice anything?"
Eleanor said with a faint blush on her face,
"I was a bit nervous… I didn't really notice anything."
---
Aria smiled mockingly and nudged Eleanor's arm.
"Are you still affected by that match? It's just one loss. You can take revenge later when the academy opens the Fountain of Heaven and Earth—our strength will increase dozens of times."
Eleanor remained silent for a moment before speaking softly,
"It's not the defeat that makes me nervous… on the contrary, that fight made me realize my weaknesses. What makes me nervous is that when we fought, he suddenly used killing intent. Every time I remember that moment, I tremble in fear…"
---
This statement shocked both Aria and Arthur.
"Killing intent? That's rare, but it shouldn't scare you, right? Everyone among the nobility—and even some commoners—has it. Who among us hasn't killed a few people or monsters?"
Arthur nodded, not really understanding how Ion's killing intent could affect Eleanor like that.
Eleanor shook her head and said,
"This is different. His killing intent actually formed into a domain. And when I tried to cast a spell, he shattered it, causing my spirit to fall into chaos for a brief moment. He then took advantage of that and pulled my consciousness into his domain…
And it wasn't just a few humans… there were thousands of humans, half-demons, monsters, and sea demons. The number truly exceeded one hundred thousand…"
---
Aria and Arthur's eyes shrank in shock.
A killing intent forming a domain? And over one hundred thousand killed?
Wasn't that exaggerated? This wasn't something a sixteen-year-old should be capable of.
To achieve something like that, one would have to be a warrior who spent years on the battlefield, constantly fighting and refining their will. And to condense it into a domain, they would have to endure the erosion of their mind from the souls of those they killed. If they failed, they would lose their sanity entirely.
For Arthur, Aria, Eleanor, and everyone who had killed before—after killing someone during missions given by their families or guilds, they would need hours of rest to cleanse any lingering resentment from the slain soul. Otherwise, if it accumulated and their will was weak, it would slowly erode them… and eventually explode at a critical moment, potentially causing them to lose their minds.
---
Before either Arthur or Aria could speak, Eleanor continued,
"The reason I was severely injured during the exam wasn't physical… when Ion pulled my consciousness into his domain, I only lasted for a single breath before it shattered. That caused chaos in my inner sea of spirit, and I couldn't properly control my mana, which worsened my injuries. I couldn't suppress it… if it weren't for my second aunt using a third-grade healing pill, my injuries would have lasted for days before I recovered."
---
Aria took a cold breath as she listened to Eleanor. She had never really spoken to Ion before, aside from the elevator just now. In class, aside from his monstrous combat instincts, she hadn't noticed anything particularly special about him. Even his aura was weak—and today it was even worse.
That's why Aria had assumed that Eleanor and Arthur had exaggerated his strength to hide the embarrassment of losing to him.
What Aria didn't know was that, thanks to Ion's near-perfect control over his power, all of his strength was contained within his body. So unless someone was strong enough, they wouldn't sense his aura at all—and would think he was just an ordinary person who had never trained. The only reason she could sense his aura at all was due to her talent.
---
Aria soon smiled mockingly and lightly hit Arthur's arm,
"Well, don't worry, Eleanor. Arthur promised he'd take revenge on Ion for you… didn't you see how hard he's been training every day?"
Eleanor's eyes widened at Aria's words. She turned to Arthur, who looked away and began walking faster. When she looked closely, she noticed his ears had turned slightly red… perhaps from embarrassment.
A faint smile appeared on Eleanor's face, and a light blush spread across her cheeks.
"Yes…" she said softly.
---
The three then parted ways, each heading to their own room.
---
Inside Ion's room,
Ion saw that those annoying companions were already asleep on the couch.
He shook his head, then went to his bedroom and sat cross-legged on his bed.
He sent his consciousness into his sea of spirit.
It was calm, and that blue sphere was still floating there, slowly repairing the core of his soul.
He wanted to see if there were any other memories he could access—perhaps something that could help him or give him a better understanding of his current situation.