Zane did not comment on their discussion. After so many years, he had let go of many of his resentments of things that had happened in the past. However, today's discussion reminded him that there might still be hope to get some justice. One day, when he's a powerful mage, Boston Dynamics and a few others should spit out the things they swallowed from him.
Zane didn't know about Evans and Tom, but his next destination was his dorm; he needed a short one-hour power nap before heading to his afternoon class and ending the day in the training hall. Evans wanted to walk around the campus, while Tom decided to return to the library.
Zane didn't care and enjoyed his nap. An hour later, he woke fully energized and ready for the day. He had borrowed many books, and now was the perfect time to read them. Professor Burbank had mentioned many interesting things and concepts in today's class that he wanted to verify. The art of asking questions requires a balance. Many answers can easily be found in books, so Zane usually reserved these types of questions for himself and would only ask them if the books did not provide any answers or the explanation was insufficient.
As he was reading basic information about the demon race, an interesting point caught his attention: just like Dark Mages, powerful demons can absorb negative emotions from people and the world. Such information might be inconspicuous, but Zane realized the implications: how many horrors are currently going on on this planet? War, famine, disease, poverty, genocide, rape, killing, and so much more. All these actions generate so much negative emotion that this planet is essentially a buffet for these demons.
"Just by using the technology of the Virtual Lab, many of these issues could be solved," Zane suddenly thought. His mind — still reeling from the wonders of the lab — could not help but ponder. If all governments worldwide had access to that virtual technology, Earth's situation could change drastically.
However, he soon shook his head, "Why am I thinking of such a naive thing?" Most of the issues plaguing the plan are not due to a lack of technology, but systemic problems. For capitalism to exist, there must be poverty and a lower class to extract money and resources from. Wars are highly profitable, and without diseases and poverty, the lower class will not sign up to become soldiers.
"Not to mention, 99% of government entities are highly corrupt. After gaining access to the Virtual Lab, would they truly use it to fix the world? I would rather believe Santa Claus is real before I think these people would use it for the betterment of society," Zane shook his head. Regardless, since the thought of the virtual lab and its application was in his mind, he decided to share his thoughts with others.
So, without hesitation, he used his soul crest to access the Student Board and posted an article titled "Earth's Terrible Fate: How One Piece of Magical Technology Could Save It." In it, he outlined the current social and political issues of the dimension and the problem it will cause once the demons descend. Then, Zane explained how the Virtual Lab could be used to solve these problems.
After posting it anonymously, he continued reading. In the afternoon, he headed to the second class of the day, which still focused on Rune and Mana Directive Theory. Then, after a haughty meal in the cafeteria, he ended the day with his regular trip to the training hall.
Unfortunately, an hour after his arrival, Zane received bad news: the single magic crystal he was using for meditation had run out of mana after three days. It happened in the middle of the meditation session as he immediately sensed the decrease in efficiency. Resisting the urge to complain, Zane remained focused to avoid interrupting his meditation.
After finishing the session, Zane opened his eyes and sighed, glancing at the dull crystal. "Luckily, I can still exchange some with Professor Burbank," he thought. Despite his reassuring words, he was not too happy. The professor's exchange list requires at least 150 points for one magic crystal. So, it's hard to say when Zane will have an opportunity to get his hands on the next one.
After lamenting his poor financial situation, Zane headed to the Spell Training Room. For the past few days, his training has focused on achieving [Mental Energy Condensation] without closing his eyes or focusing intently. He cannot properly use Mana Projection in battle if the first step takes so long, let alone the fact that it requires him to lose his sense of sight. So, the current plan is to master condensing mental energy with eyes open; the next step will be to do it instantly.
Once this aspect of the training ended, Zane focused on the other parts: Mana Projection and Target Practice. With his condensed mental energy, his mana does not need to circulate from his body into his finger for rune engraving; it can be projected and expelled from the body from anywhere. So, technically speaking, even if Zane's hands were tied up, he could still use Mana Projection to cast a spell, essentially using his mind to cast. As for Target Practice? The focus is still on improving the aim at fast-moving targets.
At around ten o'clock, Zane finished his training, and he headed to the dorm. It seems today, he was not the last one to arrive: most of the mages were in the living room, but the knights were nowhere to be seen. However, Zane noticed something: normally, Tom Nguyen and Evans should be talking, but today they sat at opposite ends of the dining table, both distracted from their holograms.
"Was it you?" Tom Nguyen immediately asked.
"I just returned, so you'll have to be more specific," Zane said as he sat between the two of them. He removed his school/gym bag and placed it on the table. He hated that the dorm lacked a kitchen or a refrigerator, since he'd love to snack at night after practice. Luckily, he was prepared and brought some dark chocolate from the cafeteria.
"The article."
Zane's heart skipped a beat, but his action did not stop. "What article?"
"Someone wrote an article about Earth's accumulation of negative emotion due to societal issues and its impact on the Demon Lord's invasion; the writer also provided a solution to these issues through the use of Virtual Learning Lab."
"Oh? Sounds interesting," Zane said after munching on a piece of chocolate. A screen manifested in front of him as he hurriedly checked the Student Board. His focus was not on the content but on the post's popularity and the comments. After seeing that over half a million people had checked the post and the number was still rising, Zane felt lucky that he had posted it anonymously.
"So, it wasn't you?" Tom Nguyen asked again.
"Why would it be?" Zane calmly replied. Many students should have visited the Virtual Learning Lab even before today. And since Professor Burbank recommended it, other teachers should have done the same, so he was not worried that it would be traced back to him.
"I figured since the writer displayed great knowledge in engineering, it may have been you."
Zane shook his head, "While that's true, the author also lacks social awareness. Most of these issues are not due to the lack of technology, but societal issues such as capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy, government corruption, and many more. If these governments wanted to solve them, they would have been solved."
"True."
"But the author did raise a good issue," Evans interjected. "Those problems should be solved before the invasion."
"Do you think that's possible?" Zane asked. "Based on Lord Drakken's speech, we have a minimum of five years and a maximum of ten. Do you think that in any of this allocated time, these nations could put their differences aside and work together to solve these issues?"
"…No," Evans shook his head. More than these two in the room, he knew what those billionaires — the ones who truly ran the world — were planning. A large portion of them do not believe the so-called invasion. They believe the tower is an alien power with advanced technology, and that the invasion was staged to manufacture consent for their involvement in Earth's affairs. These people are already planning on how to fight back. Unfortunately, his father didn't tell him how they planned to do that.
"Is Earth really doomed?" Tom Nguyen asked. "Are we really going to watch these vile creatures destroy our home?" He had read about the variety of demon species in the library, and he truly detested them despite only seeing them in pictures.
Zane had no words for him, and just as the conversation was about to become awkward, the dorm's room opened, and Devonte, Ahmed, and Sanjay walked in.
"Oh, you're here," Ahmed said, walking toward them holding a plate of food, with Devonte trailing behind. Meanwhile, Sanjay looked at the couch and, upon seeing it empty, headed directly to his room.
"You're looking for me?" Zane glanced at him, his head tilted; he usually did not have much to talk about with Ahmed or most of the other knights, since their schedules were vastly different.
"I want to thank you," Ahmed said, placing the plate of food in front of Zane and removing the lid. Zane immediately realized it was magical food, which increased his puzzlement.
"For?"
"For motivating us to head to the gym on the first day of school."
"Just for that?"
"During today's class, our instructor selected everybody who trained on the first day and gave us an opportunity to learn a Battle Art. I, Devonte, and a few others passed his trial, and this is my way of thanking you."
Zane glanced at him. Based on his analysis of Ahmed, this man was well-off, probably upper-middle class, but not wealthy enough to be considered rich or a millionaire. The fact that the latter did not hesitate to use his savings to buy Zane's magic food as a thank you showed his character.
"I accept your thanks," Zane said, thinking this man was worth befriending.
"I owe you a plate," Devonte added.
"No problem," Zane nodded.