Three days later.
The Voidship slowed.
The violent currents outside gradually calmed as countless runes engraved beneath the ship's hull dimmed one after another. The constant hum of mana that had filled the vessel for days slowly disappeared.
Dante, Vexion, and Lexa stood on the outer deck alongside hundreds of passengers. No one spoke. Even the loudest nobles had fallen silent. Before them stretched something that could barely be called an academy.
It looked more like a land of empire's.
An impossibly large wall, hundreds of meters high, curved beyond the horizon in both directions. Behind it rose mountain ranges, forests, lakes, floating islands suspended by enormous chains, and towers so tall they pierced the clouds themselves.
Dante looked at it his expression normal yet all he could think was 'is this a fucking cultivation world?'
Void ships constantly entered and departed through massive gateways carved directly into the walls. Flying beasts circled overhead while smaller transport vessels moved between districts inside.
Somewhere in the distance, an explosion shook the sky before a barrier quietly absorbed it.
Students merely glanced at it before continuing with their day.
"..."
"..."
Lexa slowly looked toward Dante.
"...My Lord?"
Dante stared for several long seconds before finally speaking. "...That shit is ... unnecessarily big." Vexion giggled. "I was expecting that response." Dante scratched his chin before putting his hands in his pocket "It looks like they built seven kingdoms and forgot to separate them."
Even Lexa couldn't disagree. The academy occupied more land than many empires. It wasn't simply a place of learning. It was a civilization. A deep voice echoed across the ship. "We have arrived at Midvest Academy. Please prepare your identification tokens before disembarking. The use of Skills without authorization inside Academy territory is strictly prohibited. Violators will be detained."
Dante sighed. "...Already giving me rules." Lexa shot him a glance. "My Lord..." He shrugged, "I'm just saying." The ship slowly docked against a platform large enough to accommodate dozens of Voidships simultaneously.
Thousands of people moved through it in an orderly fashion. Some wore outfits that somehow differed , only similar in the academy insignia.
Others wore armor. Some carried merchant insignias. Others clearly belonged to powerful factions. Dante observed everything while walking. His expression remained as lazy as ever.
His eyes did not. They continuously drifted through the crowd. Second Mind quietly began working.
…..
[Scanning...]
[Candidate rejected.]
[Candidate rejected.]
[Candidate rejected.]
[Low compatibility.]
[Insufficient combat potential.]
[High espionage potential... loyalty probability 11%...]
[Rejected.]
Dante didn't react. His gaze continued moving from person to person. Vexion eventually noticed. "My Lord?" He answered without looking, "Looking for people."
She nodded. Naturally. That was exactly what he always did. A few seconds later— [Potential candidate detected.]
Dante's footsteps slowed. Among the endless crowd walked an ordinary-looking young man.
Average appearance. With a outfit that made him look like quite a gentleman. Yet apart from that, everything about him screamed nothing out of the ordianry , just average even his mana, flow. Nothing stood out. He simply disappeared into the sea of students.
[Estimated future value: 94%.]
Dante blinked. "...Interesting." Lexa followed his gaze. "My Lord?"
"Nothing, for now." He continued walking. If Second Mind rated someone that highly...They were worth remembering. And remember it did.
....
The registration district was enormous. Hundreds of desks stretched across a plaza that resembled a city's government center more than a school's entrance.
Students queued according to continent, empire, age, and finally skill tier and levels. Dante looked at the lines in slight annoyance"...I hate paperwork." Lexa folded her arms. "You haven't even reached the paperwork yet." Dante looked around "Doesnt mean I cant hate it, so , I already hate it."
Vexion quietly laughed beside him. Hours later...Dante's opinion had only worsened.
Identity verification.
Origin verification.
Age confirmation.
And one that Dante arbored but he expected couldn't really be hidden, Skill registration.
Combat assessment scheduling. Dormitory allocation. Student insignia on the outfits. Emergency regulations. Academy laws he didn't even bother remembering. Temporary movement restrictions.
Dante's soul looked ready to leave his body.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The elderly registrar glanced up.
"Name?"
"Dante."
"Full name."
"Dante."
"..."
The old man, was tired and couldn't be bothered to care, sighed.
"Fine." After another several minutes, three black metallic bracelets were placed before them.
"These are your Academy Tokens."
"They function as identification, communication devices, point storage, access permits, emergency distress beacons, and ranking displays. Without them, you can't do anything in the academy, not even enter your own rooms."
"Do not lose them."
Dante picked his up.
"...Useful."
The old man nodded.
"You'll learn the remaining functions during orientation."
Dante immediately lost interest.
...….
After leaving registration, the three followed signs toward the residential district. Along the way, Lexa looked around with fascination. There were restaurants. Weapon stores. Halls for skills with certain purposes
Libraries and Entire marketplaces. The training arenas were absolutely enormous. Even merchant caravans were allowed in. There were also Auction Houses. Somehow even ordinary people lived in the academy.
"My Lord...This isn't an academy."
Dante nodded. "It's just massive empires formed into one pretending to be an academy ."
Vexion smiled.
"That makes it more interesting. It makes it expensive." Lexa couldn't argue with that.
...….
Eventually they reached Residential Sector One.
The attendant checked Dante's token.
His expression immediately changed.
"...Please follow me."
Lexa noticed.
"So Mythical Beings really are treated differently."
Dante shrugged.
"They're probably just scared I'll complain."
"..."
"..."
The attendant pretended not to hear.
Several minutes later...
They arrived.
Lexa stopped walking.
"..."
Vexion blinked.
"..."
Before them stood an estate. Not a dormitory nor was it even a mansion. It was literally an entire estate. It had a courtyard, private training grounds added with a personal workshop and servant quarters. The size was a whole three-story residence. Added with a defensive barrier. Yet this large estate was just one of many Dante felt like they were about 10 in this Residential District.
Dante looked around before nodding.
"...Acceptable." Lexa turned toward him. "Acceptable? My Lord... this is larger than the palace my father gave some governors."
"Hm."
"I've slept in bigger."
"..."
"..."
Lexa wasn't sure if he was serious anymore. Vexion simply smiled. "My Lord."
"Hm?"
"I like this place."
Dante looked toward her. "Good. Because we're probably going to destroy parts of it."
She laughed. "I expected as much."
As the three stepped through the front gate, Dante looked across the distant skyline.
Thousands upon thousands of students. He could already see it countless factions, unknown geniuses. Quite possibly political monsters as well with future enemies and allies.
A slow grin appeared on his face."...This place..." He looked genuinely interested for the first time since arriving. "...might actually be fun."