Chapter 26: The Factions

"What should I do? Should I just tell them it's a bad idea to share this house?"

[Aren't you being a little too paranoid about this?]

Sam was surprised by the system initiating a conversation.

It had never spoken to anyone before, even when it revealed that he was favored by the system administrator.

The system had always remained silent unless absolutely necessary, but now it had taken the initiative to speak to him.

"What do you mean I'm being paranoid? They have no reason to act like this, yet they do. I refuse to believe it's all natural," Sam argued.

[Their feelings for you are genuine. There is no conspiracy as you believe.]

"Why should I believe you?" Sam asked skeptically.

[You should believe the system because it would never deceive the only person favored by the system administrator.]

"Hmm, then tell me why I'm being favored by this system administrator," Sam demanded, but predictably, the system did not respond.

[I may not be allowed to discuss certain things with you, but I can assure you, no one is manipulating those girls. There are definitely no external factors influencing their feelings.]

[Whatever they feel towards you comes from within them.]

After saying this, the system fell silent, leaving Sam to ponder deeply about Isabelle and Yuki's interactions with him.

As he closed his eyes, he drifted into a deep sleep.

The next day, Sam woke up early, the sky still dark and filled with twinkling stars.

"The training area should be empty," he thought, heading towards the training grounds for an early morning workout.

The training grounds were an enclosed dome-like structure, built with thick walls to contain the effects of intense training.

As he walked inside, he noticed someone was already there—Lucy, who acknowledged his presence as he entered.

"Early morning training?" she asked.

"Mm," he nodded, then moved a little distance away from her and began stretching in preparation for his sword training.

Lucy didn't take much notice of him ignoring her.

She was preoccupied with thoughts of Sam's duel with Yami from the previous day.

He should be with the student council, she thought as she approached him. 

He was in the middle of doing pull-ups with no shirt on, his well-built and maintained, heavily desirable body on full display.

She couldn't help but steal a second, third, and fourth glance.

At the same time, the powerful, dominant, and strong demeanor he had shown when he beat the shit out of Yami played out in her mind.

She couldn't help but feel attracted to him.

Then, she shook her head, reminding herself why she wanted to talk to him.

Sam noticed her approach and sensed her emotions.

He let go of the pull-up bar and landed on his feet before looking at her. "What do you want?"

"I'm sure you've heard about the student factions in the academy, right?" she asked, maintaining eye contact.

"Yeah, I've heard of them, but they have nothing to do with me," Sam replied.

"You might think that, but they certainly have things to do with you. Join the student council," she said, getting straight to the point.

"Why should I do that?" Sam asked, curious to hear what kind of benefits he might gain from joining the student council, which was supposedly the second strongest faction after the Hounds, even though he had no intention of joining any faction.

"Because of your incredible display of strength yesterday, both the Hounds and the Reapers will be after you, and they won't take no for an answer. They're a dirty bunch," Lucy said with a hint of disgust.

"Your best option is to join the student council. We can provide immunity."

Sam smirked. "Immunity against what, exactly?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "You don't understand. The Hounds, the Reapers, and the student council all have equal strength, but the balance is starting to tip towards the Hounds."

"This is a critical time. The Hounds want to maintain the status quo, and the Reapers will do everything to prevent that from happening."

"And what about you? Where does the student council stand in this power struggle?" Sam asked, crossing his arms.

"The student council would rather consolidate all the power."

"Sounds to me like you guys are no different from them," Sam scoffed.

"Don't put us in the same category as those dirty scoundrels. We are nothing like them," Lucy said, almost letting her emotions get the best of her, releasing a slight killing intent.

"If you say so, whatever," Sam replied, ignoring the faint killing intent emanating from lucy.

The soul power not only made his soul stronger and denser, but it also gave him significant resistance against such intents.

This level of killing intent was nothing to him.

In the academy, two things were of paramount importance: resources and opportunity.

Both were equally crucial in a place like the Academy.

While the academy itself provided ample opportunities, the real challenge lay in acquiring resources.

There were two primary ways to obtain resources: winning them through duels or competitions held by the academy, and acquiring them from the Alchemy Division.

The Alchemy Division was an integral part of the academy, where students studied alchemy alongside cultivation and martial arts.

These resources, produced by the students, were sold in Consumer Street.

However, the majority of these students belonged to one of two factions: the Hounds or the Reapers.

In essence, because these resources were produced by factions, they had the power to monopolize the flow of resources, manipulating prices and distribution.

If one faction grew stronger than the others, it could force the weaker factions into submission, further monopolizing resources.

This scenario is where the student council came into play.

They opposed such monopolization, advocating for equal treatment of all students—or at least, that was their stated goal.

"If you join the student council, you'll receive your share of resources without resorting to the dirty tricks used by those other bastards," Lucy continued.

"You can't grow stronger without a faction backing you up. Your talent will be wasted," Lucy said, taking a deep breath.

"Thanks for the offer, but the way I see it, relying on others is a waste of my talents. I don't need resources handed to me. And frankly, even if I did need resources, I could acquire them on my own," Sam replied.

He was not someone who followed orders or worked well with those who relied on underhanded tactics and others to grow stronger.

He would never consider joining a faction or coming under someone's leadership.

He would rather be the head of a cat than the tail of a tiger.

"You can reject me just like that, but the Reapers and the Hounds won't let you off as easily as I do. They'll do anything short of killing you to make you submit. You may be the strongest among the first years, but even you can't face the monsters from the second and third years."

"It doesn't matter," Sam shook his head.

He had already prepared for whatever troubles these factions might throw his way.

They were nothing but stepping stones on his path to invincibility.

"Are you confident or arrogant? I can't decide," Lucy smiled wearily.

At first, she thought he was arrogant, especially before he fought against Yami.

But soon she realized he had the power to back up his arrogance.

This was different, though.

This time it was Sam against two factions of older and more experienced students.

If it were anyone else claiming they could go against so many students, she would have laughed and ridiculed them to their faces.

But coming from Sam, she couldn't do that.

For one, he was abnormal, that much was obvious.

Second, he didn't seem like he was boasting or being arrogant.

"It's not about confidence or arrogance; it's about doing what I want. I would never let someone else dictate my actions."

Lucy turned her face away and began to walk away from him.

After a few steps, she stopped. "The student council's door will always be open for you," she said, before continuing on her way.

"Like I care" Sam smirked, before going to back to his training.

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[A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting it with a few Power Stones. And if you absolutely loved it, you can even contribute a Golden Ticket. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much! - Arigato! 🙏]