Ascent [II]

The Apex Academy was unarguably the best hunter-training institute around the globe.

Why was it the best?

For starters, it had state-of-the-art infrastructure, several famous Hunters in the faculty, a harsh yet rewarding curriculum, and access to more than fifty Portals.

But that was just scratching the surface.

In the game, the Apex Academy was the focal point of everything for the first three acts—the starting stage of the story.

The academy itself was located on one of the numerous massive floating islands known as the Ascent Isles.

The main island was rumored to be as large as a medium-sized city from the old world, while the smaller islands orbiting it were each bigger than dozens of football stadiums combined.

At the end of each year, these floating islands flew around the world, passing through all four Safe-Zones – East, North, West, and South – before returning to the Central.

Each Safe-Zone was protected by a force field controlled by its Monarch, allowing nothing to enter or leave their domain without their will.

In simpler words, the only way to reach the Apex Academy was to board the Ascent Isles while they were still passing through your Safe-Zone.

Failing to do so meant having to obtain permission from the Monarch to leave the Zone – a process that could take weeks, if not months.

Monarchs were busy, after all.

Since I was unconscious for nearly two days, Juliana wisely decided to leave for the Isles this morning while I was still out cold.

Her decision was correct. The Ascent Isles were in the West for only three days—two of which I had already wasted.

That meant the islands would leave the Western Zone today.

Had we delayed our departure any longer, we might have missed our opportunity to reach the Apex Academy in time.

"See, I get all that…"

I began speaking with a deadpan expression, cradling a cup of mocha as a hollow laugh escaped my lips.

"But I don't think it was safe to take a flight while I was unconscious. What if something had happened to me during takeoff?"

Juliana stood at my side, her icy blue eyes fixed on me, betraying no hint of emotion as she replied:

"The doctors gave you the all-clear, Young Master."

"...Right."

I highly doubted that.

It was blatantly obvious that I still hadn't fully recovered from my injuries.

If there really existed a doctor who'd cleared me for travel in my current state, I could only hope his children had learned to make dinner out of thin air because they wouldn't be eating anything else.

Perhaps Juliana noticed the skepticism etched on my face as she quickly added:

"Besides, it was imperative to leave today. The Isles will fly South by tomorrow morning and return to Central after three days there. If we hadn't left today, you would've missed your chance to reach the academy."

She paused briefly, folding her arms.

"If that had happened, your only option would have been to enroll in some no-name training academy in the West, living a life of irrelevance for the next three years."

I raised an eyebrow.

She really had a way with words.

First, she shifted my attention from what she did to the urgency of the matter, emphasizing how important it was for us to leave today.

Then, knowing how much I loved being in the spotlight, she indirectly suggested that I would be living a worthless life if I failed to get into the Apex Academy.

She was good at manipulating the flow of conversation. Well, she was a true noble by birth. This skill should be in her blood or something.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded and took a sip from the cup of mocha in my hands.

It tasted way too sweet.

Just the way I liked everything.

Juliana nodded back, faking her role as my devoted servant.

'She must think she has me convinced.'

In truth, I was grateful she decided to leave for the academy. I would've been disappointed in her if she hadn't.

As I said, the academy would be the focal point of the story for the next three years.

There were going to be countless opportunities for me to grab there.

Most of the main characters would also make their appearance there.

So, naturally, if I had any intention of changing this story, the Apex Academy was the place where I needed to start.

"If I may ask a question, Young Master…"

Juliana's voice pulled my attention. There was a note of hesitation in her tone.

I turned to her, frowning slightly. "Sure, go ahead."

"Why did you take up the Duke's challenge? That was not like you at all."

Surprised by her remark, I scoffed. "Fighting? Not like me? On the contrary, that's all I know."

"No, I didn't mean the fighting itself," she clarified, shaking her head. "I meant standing up to your father."

Indeed.

Why did I stand up to him? That was a good question.

The old me would never have dared.

In the past, I would have bowed my head, apologized profusely, and asked for mercy, doing everything to avoid his wrath.

Maybe even going as far as begging him not to throw me away like something worthless.

But the old me was no more.

I had changed when I remembered my past life. Those memories had affected me, altering the very core of my psyche.

It was like being shattered and rebuilt anew, just on a non-physical level.

I suppose the closest medical term for my condition would be Dissociative Fugue.

It's a form of dissociative amnesia where a person forgets their identity and starts a new life. When they regain their memories, they face a conflict between their former and current selves.

Imagine a soldier who loses his memories during a war and finds himself in a foreign country.

He starts a new life there, marrying a beautiful woman and later having children with her.

Then, one day, his memories return.

He realizes he's living among people who waged that same bloody war against his country and committed unspeakable atrocities.

He loves his wife and children, cherishes his neighbors, and has grown fond of the country he once viewed as an enemy in the past. But that is his current self.

His past self is still haunted by the war he fought and consumed with hatred. After all, because of this country and its people, he lost his friends, his family, and his home.

He wants vengeance.

His two personalities clash, tearing him apart until he can no longer bear the mental strain. In the end, he takes his own life.

His wife mourns his death, and with no one to provide for the family, she works herself to exhaustion and dies as well.

Their children are now on the streets, with not a single penny to their name, and homeless.

The big brother steals food from a restaurant to feed his starving little sister, but he is caught and shot to death by the police.

The sister later succumbs to hunger and cold in an abandoned alleyway.

Their family line ends.

…W-Well, fuck!

That example turned dark pretty quickly. I shouldn't let my mind wander.

Anyway, while my situation wasn't quite so extreme, I was still in a similar predicament. The personas of Samael and Noah were at war within me.

That's why I was unconscious for an entire day after regaining my memories. The clash between my two personalities had taken a heavy toll on my mind.

But in the end, it seemed that my current identity prevailed. I was Samael, not Noah.

I still had Noah's memories and his experiences, though, which gave me a new perspective on my current life.

This inner conflict led to drastic changes in my behavior. I had to re-evaluate everything I had done until now, everything that I was.

Not to mention, I also knew my fate. The direction in which my life was heading.

That was why I accepted the duel with my father.

I was tired of always kneeling before him.

I was tired of being intimidated.

I was tired of looking up to a man who didn't even bother acknowledging my existence.

It was as simple as that.

After all, finding out that you're nothing more than a minor villain in a world that's essentially a video game tends to alter your outlook on life, no?

"Young Master?"

Juliana's call broke through my reverie. I glanced up to meet her frigid blue eyes and sighed deeply.

"Because I wanted to," I replied with a shrug.

"...Huh?"

She looked confused when she heard my answer.

"Because you wanted to?"

"Yes."

Finally, a flicker of emotion crossed her usually impassive face.

It wasn't a look of approval.

Instead, she gazed at me as if I was crazy.

But I was only being honest.

"You fought the Dawn's Scourge himself, someone who is said to even rival a Monarch, because you… wanted to?"

"That's right. Isn't wanting to fight someone reason enough? I accepted his duel because I felt like punching his face."

"....."

An awkward silence hung between us as she considered my words. Eventually, she wore her usual stoic face and nodded.

"I see," she said, nodding her head low enough to be considered a bow before turning to leave. "I'll be in the lounge, Young Master. You should rest."

With that, she vanished from sight.