Meanwhile, in another luxury mansion, a middle-aged man was comforting his younger sister.
"Don't worry, little sister. After investigating, I confirmed Kaizer has lost all his childhood memories."
"What if he remembers? I'll lose Lucian forever. I love him so much," the young woman, Cyra, Lucian's second wife, said anxiously. She had come to meet her older brother after failing to reach him over the phone, desperate to keep certain secrets safe.
Luther sighed, "You're worrying too much. If he could remember, he would have by now. The chances of his memories coming back are… slim."
He paused, his expression turning more serious. "And right now, we can't touch him anyway. He's been invited to the Astra Federation Academy. That means they're backing him."
His brows slowly drew together. "What bothers me more is something else… how is someone who was supposed to be dead suddenly alive? That's not normal. I need time to figure that out."
The next morning, the Astra Federation Academy was livelier than ever. New students were everywhere—walking around, exploring, and talking excitedly. It made sense. This was the place they had all worked so hard to get into. Of course, they wanted to see everything.
The next morning, many newcomers roamed the Astra Federation Academy. It was natural to explore a new place, especially one they had yearned to attend. The new student classes would begin after two days with an opening ceremony. Many newcomers had already arrived, waiting for the senior batch to return from missions outside the academy.
Kaizer just left his room and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.
Upon entering, most tables were filled with students, mostly seniors. He turned to leave, but he saw a hand gesture at the front row table that called him over.
He walked forward and said with a smile, "Good morning, Miss Saira, and thank you for helping me yesterday."
Beside Saira sat a senior with nine elite badges—the highest Kaizer had seen so far. Even the red-haired student and Arlo were respectful in his presence.
'He must have quite a status in the academy,' Kaizer thought. "Good morning, senior."
The senior nodded but did not reply.
Kaizer didn't want to disrupt their breakfast and said, "Miss Saira, senior, I have something to do, so I'll take my leave."
"Didn't you come here for breakfast? Join us," Saira said, noticing his hesitation, adding teasingly, "Brother, even newcomers take my words lightly."
"Come join us," Filan said expressionlessly.
Kaizer nodded and sat beside Saira, ordering a sandwich and coffee. He reached for his wallet to pay, but Saira stopped him.
"This is my treat," she said.
"Miss Saira, no—"
"Even if you want to pay, this table is pre-booked. Payment is done at once, so you can't do anything," she interrupted.
Kaizer knew about the prebooking and smiled. "Thank you, Miss Saira. I will treat you later."
"It will be quite expensive," she teased.
Kaizer focused on his breakfast. Nearby, Isla and Lara were also eating. He noticed them but said nothing.
Lara whispered, surprised, "Isla, your man is here."
Isla almost choked on her bread. "Lara! I told you already about my relationship with that newcomer. Have mercy and don't tease me!"
Lara only smiled; as best friends and housemates, teasing was inevitable.
Isla added teasingly, slightly louder, "I thought a wet mouse that ran away would hide for a while. Didn't think it would return so soon."
Kaizer heard her clearly, understanding exactly what she meant, but didn't react, continuing to eat. He noticed Saira and her brother finished first and were waiting for him.
Filan paid for the table at once using his smartwatch.
"Kaizer, I heard that you picked a manual from the towering drawer," Saira asked with a curious glance.
"yes"
"I thought it was just a rumor," Saira said, staring at him. "You're truly reckless. Do you even know what you've done? Most students only take that gamble on their last day at the academy."
Kaizer frowned slightly, clearly confused.
Seeing his expression, Saira sighed and continued, "Once word spreads, seniors will come looking for you. They'll pressure you. Some won't even bother hiding their intentions—they'll try to take it from you."
She crossed her arms, her tone turning serious.
"Even if the manual you picked is low-level… even if it's incomplete or rarely used… it doesn't matter. Anything taken from the Towering Drawer can be passed down to outsiders. That alone makes it valuable. The legacy families especially won't ignore this. To them, it's not about the level of the manual—it's about ownership."
She paused before adding quietly, "The academy might protect you inside its grounds. But outside? You're on your own. Unless you've officially joined the military. Once you have a formal position, the military will back you."
"That's why most students from humble backgrounds only attempt the trial on their final day—after they've secured an official rank. By then, no one dares to move against them." Saira looked at the boy in front of her for any facial expression, but she only saw the usual expression.
Her only thought was, 'Is this guy dumb, or didn't he understand my word?'
Filan said, "I have a solution for this problem."
Both Saira and Kaizer turned to look at Filan.
Saira's eyes were filled with admiration—clearly impressed that her brother had come up with a solution. Kaizer, on the other hand, remained calm, as if the matter barely concerned him.
Filan leaned back casually.
"How about this? Sell the manual to me. I'll pay you merit points according to its level. In addition, I can recommend you to the upper crust of the Black House."
Saira's face flushed red.
A moment ago, she had thought her brother was stepping in to help. But hearing his words now, she realized it wasn't much different from the others who would come to pressure Kaizer.
Filan continued smoothly, as though negotiating a simple transaction.
"You might think I'm trying to take advantage of you. But I'm actually relieving you of a burden. With those merit points, you can purchase another technique from the Sacred Vault Hall."
He folded his fingers together.
"And if you join the upper crust of the Black House, you'll have good connections with influential people."
Kaizer understood perfectly what "upper crust" meant.
Influential families. Political backing. Power.
But joining meant something else, too—it meant not standing on equal footing. It meant obedience. Alignment. Following orders.
He had seen such arrangements many times before.
In that moment, Kaizer categorized Filan clearly in his mind.
They weren't so different.
The only distinction was that Filan followed the new generation of power, while he followed the older one.
After hearing her brother's explanation, Saira's mood brightened again. To her, it now sounded reasonable.
Kaizer spoke calmly.
"Thank you, Senior, for the offer. But I've already considered another solution."
He gave a polite nod.
"And thank you for the meal. I'll take my leave now. I have something to do."
With that, Kaizer rose from his seat.
"How about I accompany you? I don't have anything to do today," Saira said quickly, standing up as well.
But before she could take a step, she felt a firm grip around her wrist.
Filan had stopped her.
"Little sister, remember today you are training with me."
"Brother, please, just let me go. I've been practicing all winter vacation."
"No, you're coming with me,"
Kaizer looked as Filan dragged his sister away. He left the area to explore the academy, having already made a plan for the day.
Leaving the dorm, he reached the main academy building. His destination was not a classroom but the botany room, where students learned about plant properties and uses. Access to the room was free, but using the equipment required merit points.
With the academy webpage, Kaizer easily located the botany room. Most students inside were seniors, seated at small desks near the entrance, while a service robot refilled plants in large drawers along the back wall.
Kaizer approached a desk with touchscreens displaying plant types and their merit point costs.
He was here to search for herbs to make interlock poison, a substance he had created in a past mission using his frequency sense by analyzing plant genetics. Each of these exotic plants had unique genetic effectiveness.
Present students in the room were using the advanced microscopes to view plant sequences, but for Kaizer, these microscopes were unnecessary—his abilities made him a walking super-microscope. However, he had to pretend to use these microscopes, lest others suspect anything unusual about him.
Currently, kaizer mind was ringing with two words: merit point.
For the rest of the day, Kaizer spent most of his time in his room, using energon serum to store as much energon in his genome as possible. He wanted to practice acoustic levitation, but he didn't even have enough energon to reach the evolution phase, so he postponed it.
Late at night, he went to lunch and ended his day. Most newcomers were excited, while the seniors were nervous about the following day.
Early the next morning, students of the Astra Federation Academy were preparing themselves. Today was special—not only for newcomers but also for seniors.
In the first month of the new year, from junior to senior students, all had gathered. It was the day of the fourth-year graduation farewell program and the welcome for newcomers. Most of the event was featured by the media, and this was the only day the media was allowed inside the academy. They could record only inside the Gathering Hall to maintain complete privacy and security.
Students at the academy held a prestige above idols or famous athletes. They were more beautiful and more talented, and if they chose the path of an idol or athlete, nobody could surpass them.
Many students, after serving in the military without distinction, often joined agencies to become celebrities. Thus, the academy was the dream of many youths, and the success or failure of students had a strong effect on others.
Outside the large hall, media personnel held expensive cameras, waiting for the students. In recent years, media houses could have sent humanoid robots instead of staff, but for such a major event, reporters wanted to experience it themselves, to blend with the atmosphere and write compelling articles.
As the students arrived, camera flashes lit up their faces. Some reporters asked for individual photos of the most famous students, some of whom even had fan pages on the Meta Web.