Chapter 68: Gajia Academy 4 - Exploring the academy

Akuma remained seated for several minutes, watching Kida sleep peacefully on the desk until he finally decided that enough was enough. He stood up and approached him, lightly tapping the desk.

"Hey, can we start cleaning? I want to go and explore the academy."

Kida slowly lifted his head and looked at him with an annoyed expression. "What’s there to explore, anyway? It’s just a bunch of buildings."

Akuma’s expression immediately soured. "Well, I don’t care what you think. We still need to start cleaning."

Kida stared at him for a few seconds before finally letting out a tired sigh. "Fine."

The two began cleaning the classroom, with nothing but the occasional sound of their brooms scraping against the floor breaking the silence. After several minutes of working, Akuma finally glanced toward Kida.

"If you’re that uninterested, why did you even join the academy, Kida?"

Kida continued sweeping for a moment before answering. "My brother is also here. You could call it family pressure, I guess."

Akuma’s expression softened slightly. "Well, that must be difficult."

Kida didn’t respond, and the silence between them returned as they continued cleaning. Eventually, they finished the classroom, and without saying another word, Akuma left the room and began exploring the academy grounds.

He had always been curious about how the students from larger cities trained, especially those who had access to knowledge and techniques that would never reach his hometown. Now that he had finally entered Gajia Academy, he wanted to see everything for himself.

As Akuma walked across the academy grounds, the sound of wooden weapons striking suddenly caught his attention.

He followed the noise and found two older students engaged in a friendly spar. One was an elf with long white hair, wielding a wooden sword, while the other was a druid wearing a pair of reinforced gloves.

The moment the spar began, the elf launched himself into the air.

His fingers traced along the surface of his wooden sword as a faint magical connection formed around the weapon. "Red Blade."

The wooden sword immediately became surrounded by a crimson aura.

With a single swing, the elf released the aura from his blade, sending it tearing through the air toward the druid.

However, the druid was no slacker.

He slammed his fist into the ground, causing the dirt beneath him to tremble as vines suddenly erupted from the earth. They twisted together in front of him, forming a thick barrier that intercepted the incoming attack.

Akuma’s eyes widened. "So this is how the seniors fight..." he muttered. "It’s completely different from what we have back home."

The elf suddenly descended from the air and swung his sword toward the vine barrier.

The druid reacted instantly, jumping forward and grabbing part of the vine wall before using it to intercept the incoming strike. The wooden sword smashed into the vines, sending fragments of leaves and bark scattering across the ground.

For a moment, the elf remained completely still.

Then he closed his eyes.

When they opened again, his figure vanished.

Akuma’s eyes widened as he desperately tried to follow the movement, but the elf had already disappeared from his sight.

"He teleported?"

Before Akuma could even finish the thought, the elf reappeared beside the druid.

The blunt side of his wooden sword struck the druid’s chest, sending him stumbling backward and bringing the spar to an immediate end.

The druid rubbed his chest and laughed.

"That Signature Shadow Blink still amazes me."

Akuma remained there for a few more seconds, trying to process what he had just witnessed. Compared to the training he had seen in his hometown, the techniques of the academy’s senior students seemed to belong to an entirely different world.

Eventually, his curiosity pulled him elsewhere.

He continued walking until he reached a large building near the center of the academy grounds.

The library.

As a poor child, books had always been a luxury to Akuma. Even a single book could cost more than his family could comfortably afford, so the thought of an entire library filled with knowledge had been one of the things that motivated him most to enter Gajia Academy.

Now that he was finally here, he intended to make use of every opportunity it offered.

"Welcome, student. Please tap your Gajia Stone here."

Akuma looked toward the entrance and found a kind-looking griffon standing behind a small reception desk. He took out his Gajia Stone and pressed it against the designated surface.

A faint glow appeared before the door unlocked.

Akuma stepped inside.

Rows upon rows of books stretched far beyond what he had imagined, with countless shelves disappearing deeper into the building.

His eyes wandered across the titles.

"I want to learn more about the Demon Race..." he muttered to himself as he walked deeper into the library. "And the Zillagod Calamity."

Akuma wandered deeper into the library, his eyes constantly moving from one shelf to another as he searched through the countless books surrounding him. The sheer number of them was overwhelming, and for someone who had grown up rarely seeing even a handful of books, the place felt almost like a treasure vault.

He ran his fingers across the spines as he walked, reading whatever titles caught his attention.

"The Art of War..." he muttered, stopping briefly before glancing at the thick book.

He moved toward another shelf.

"The Sky Greater Than Ocean."

Akuma tilted his head, wondering what kind of knowledge could possibly be contained within a book with such a strange title.

He continued deeper into the library, occasionally pulling out books only to return them after realizing they had nothing to do with what he was searching for.

"The People’s Enemy..."

He paused again, reading the title carefully before placing it back where he found it.

There were books about ancient kingdoms, legendary figures, magical techniques, forgotten civilizations, famous battles, and even creatures that Akuma had only ever heard about through stories.

Yet he continued searching. Then, after several more minutes, his eyes suddenly stopped.

"Oh, there it is."

His hand reached toward a dark-covered book buried between several larger volumes.

The Demonic Force.

Akuma carefully pulled it from the shelf, his curiosity immediately taking over as he opened the first page.