Natasha grinned before offering an explanation. "Artifacts are unique treasures inside star gates. There are some that are said to grant heaven defying effects, and even artifacts that can miraculously bring people back from the dead or bend the laws of time."

Hearing her words, Amon's eyes widened in genuine surprise.

He hadn't expected artifacts to be so mysterious and absurdly useful.

'An artifact huh…' Amon mused silently to himself, the idea lingering in his mind like a half-formed spark.

Beside him, Natasha continued, her tone softening a little. "According to research, artifacts are treasures from civilizations that have fallen to the star beasts in the past."

"Civilizations?" Amon looked at her in puzzlement.

There were so many ranks of star gates, and if such incredible artifacts could appear inside the lower ones, didn't that contradict everything people believed?

Meanwhile, Natasha just smiled and explained patiently, "Although there are weaker star gates, the creatures there might have been stronger than we can imagine before deciding to migrate to a higher rank star gate… perhaps because of a better environment…"

She paused, then added lightly, "or something else entirely."

Amon fell into deep thought, her words echoing in his mind.

'Perhaps there's a grander world beyond what's visible currently?' he lamphonned, recalling Damien's statement about his main body exploring the vast universe.

… and also his encounter with the primordial dragon, that impossible presence that still haunted the edges of his memories.

With all these thoughts accompanying him, Amon and Natasha finally reached the location of the treasury.

Lined up in neat rows were more than thirty people, all waiting silently.

'Despite being early, there are always others who manage to be earlier.' Amon mused internally as he stared at the crowd.

Through the corner of his eye, he noticed something off and couldn't help wrinkling his brows.

There, at the front…

A slightly chubby student had just walked out of the building in front, a few pills clutched in his hand, when a low grunt resounded from a group nearby.

With a reluctant expression, the fat student walked over to them and handed everything over.

'Extortion?' Amon was slightly puzzled.

Infusing his eyes with primordial energy and activating the visualisation art, his line of sight sharpened instantly.

A bright red light flared within his vision, causing his expression to stiffen.

'A red core? Someone at the Origin Pulse Realm?' Amon's thoughts churned.

During the entrance test he hadn't sensed anyone remotely this strong…

'Wait. Entrance test… these people are…' Amon glanced at the group of five again and finally understood. They were most likely second years.

And it was clear the second years were openly extorting the freshmen.

He narrowed his eyes as he watched them glance at the next person stepping out of the building.

The girl hesitated before reluctantly handing over her pills too.

Amon was internally confused.

If resources were constantly taken away, how did the academy expect students to grow?

'And it's happening so publicly. Is the academy really not going to do anything about this?'

Puzzled, Amon glanced around but didn't notice a single instructor nearby, nor anyone moving to reprimand the five.

He looked toward the building where a few adults were handling the distribution. Occasionally, they peeked outside, shook their heads, and muttered faint comments.

"Anything wrong?" Natasha sensed the subtle shift in his emotions and couldn't help asking.

"Don't worry about it." Amon waved it off, though a smirk curled at the corner of his lips.

At that moment he understood why Damien had told him those words the previous day.

'Do whatever you want, you have my backing.'

It was obvious now. Damien wanted Amon to give him a show.

It seemed the instructor already knew Amon wouldn't casually hand over his pills just because some seniors demanded it.

He'd rather fight and settle it the proper way.

'Ha… haha.' Amon chuckled softly and patted the little cat perched on his shoulder.

The line continued. Just as Amon guessed, something had happened earlier to a student who dared resist, which explained why everyone else wore such compliant, defeated expressions.

One after another, they walked away looking disappointed.

Soon enough, it was Amon and Natasha's turn.

Leading the blind girl forward, Amon entered the spacious building.

Behind a long desk sat a few middle-aged men, each with distinct looks, but all sharing the same bored expression as they urged the two to step forward.

"What class?" a middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed mustache and no beard asked the moment Amon reached the counter.

"Mediocre," Amon replied.

The man raised his gaze, glanced at him briefly, then snorted and flicked his hand.

A small object shot forward. Amon lifted his hand and caught it instinctively.

A single bean-sized pill rested in his palm, radiating a mysterious and surprisingly large amount of energy.

'This is a pill?' Amon was momentarily stunned.

It felt oddly similar to some of the drugs he had taken back on Earth while dealing with cancer… except this one was purer, cleaner, and didn't make him want to throw up just from the scent.

The man addressing him turned to Natasha.

"What class?"

"Genius," Natasha replied calmly.

Amon noticed the man's eyes widen ever so slightly.

With a suddenly warm smile, he handed her a bag of pills.

Seeing the bag that was heavy and almost filled with a hundred pills, Amon felt his lips twitch repeatedly in disbelief.

Compared to his single pill, it was almost insulting.

He shot the shameless man a glare, scoffed, and left with Natasha.

As they stepped outside, Natasha giggled softly.

"Here," she said, offering him the bag. "Take as many as you need to increase your strength. I don't need many pills right now since I'm occupied with learning a few battle arts from the instructors."

Amon was startled.

"There's no need for that." He waved his hand immediately, rejecting the offer. There was no reason for her to give him anything. More importantly, he didn't want to owe her.

"It's alright. I insist," Natasha said with casual certainty.

Amon was about to refuse again when a harsh voice cut through the air.

"Where the fuck do you two think you're going?"

One of the five youths, slightly larger than the rest, growled like a wild beast as he stared them down.

Unlike the others who had approached students right after they collected their pills, Amon and Natasha had simply walked away, treating them like they didn't even exist.

They could excuse Natasha because she was blind… but Amon?

"Humph!" another youth snorted, glaring at him with clear disdain as all five walked up to block their path.

Noticing the large bag in Natasha's hand, their eyes lit up.

"Impressive!" one of them commented, giving a thumbs up. "Hand over the bag and the two of you can scram."

"What's going on?" Natasha asked quietly.

"Nothing much. Let's continue on our way to class," Amon replied casually, brushing it aside.

She parted her lips to speak again, but when she sensed Amon move, she simply followed his pace.

Seeing this, Jude, the youth who had first questioned them, looked furious.

"You!" he barked, shocked that Amon truly dared to walk away.

What happened to respecting seniority?

Suddenly, the pressure of a Spirit Pulse expert surged into the air. The terrifying force froze Amon and Natasha mid-step.

Tension rippled through the entire area. Students who were lingering nearby, along with those freshly coming out with their pills, stared wide-eyed at the unfolding scene.

Jude walked up to Amon with a sneer, grabbing his face to force him to look up.

Just then, a slight chill spread through the air. Snowflakes drifted around them as if the temperature had plunged without warning.

SWISH! SWISH!

A split second later, a fountain of blood sprayed outward.

Two arms dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

They belonged to the youth.

In Amon's hand was a sword, its blade dripping fresh blood.

"What were you trying to say?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.