Interrogation

"I knew he would come out!" claimed Hugo, satisfied.

"What are you going to do with him now, Brother?" asked Theodore.

"What do you mean 'what I'm going to do with him' we're obviously going to nurture him as a future pillar of the empire. Just like everybody else here!" replied Hugo instantly.

"But what if he has some evil intentions towards the empire? Shouldn't we give him special care? considering he's got the inheritance and all," reckoned Theodore with valid worries.

"THANK GOD I'M OUTTT!!!!!" screamed Kyle at the top of his lungs as he was blinded by the bright sun in the middle of the sky, not noticing any of the important figures right in front of him.

The silence after his scream brought him back to his senses as he noticed The Emperor and The Headmaster standing only a few meters away from him, which made him kneel down on one leg as per noble etiquette and introduced himself, "I am Kyle Fowler, your imperial majesty, Emperor Sierra. May I ask what has brought you here, sir?"

"What? I can't come to the Academy I created?" replied Hugo coldly as he released a fraction of his power. Before realizing what happened, Kyle found himself in a pool of blood, half-dead before regenerating.

All of this happened in a fraction of a second, showing just how strong and domineering a magic emperor is.

"Wha-", "HAHAHAHA, don't worry that was just a small test, to think you noticed. How impressive!" said Hugo sincerely as if half-killing Kyle and bringing him back to his original state in a fraction of a second was a child's play to him.

Kyle was still not able to comprehend the current events occurring to him, yet he had no choice but to laugh awkwardly with him, trying to please him, who knew what this crazy Emperor would do if he didn't.

"Well, let's get into the important things, what was the inheritance?" asked Hugo.

"T-The inheritance was a breathing technique, sir" stated Kyle.

"A breathing technique, huh! Is it good? How does it compare to our breathing techniques?" Hugo bombarded him with even more questions.

"Brother, calm down we can do the questions in a more private place..."

"Right, You're right Theodore, let's go to my meeting room!", "N-Now? You have a meeting room here?" asked Kyle confused. No one ever told him about the emperor having a private meeting room in the Academy.

"No, in my castle" replied the Emperor coolly. Before Kyle could react, Hugo held him and they were in his meeting room in the castle.

'I should get used to this' thought Kyle, as since meeting this Emperor nothing normal has happened.

Theodore also came to the castle almost a fraction of a second later than Hugo.

"Okay now tell me everything that happened inside," said Hugo.

Kyle then told him everything from how he got stuck in the maze for over 20 hours to how he absorbed the mana from the structure of the artifact, then to how he got the technique in the Royal-like room.

"Hooh, so that all happened, and... How's the technique?" asked Hugo.

"It's the best breathing technique I've ever seen in my life," replied Kyle.

"Show me, I'll be the judge of that," said Hugo, to which Kyle had a hard time replying, "Well, you see... After I finished reading the technique the book shot up to my head and disappeared," Kyle tried hiding the fact that he still had the technique in fear of the Emperor wanting it.

"Hmmm, Would cutting your head open and looking inside solve the problem?" asked Hugo with a serious expression which frightened Kyle, "N-NO sir, I remember the technique, in fact, it's still in my head and I can access it", Kyle was not only frightened because it was the Emperor who said such words, it was also because he believed this crazy Emperor would actually do it.

"Are you serious? How is that possible?", "I don't know sir, the moment it made contact with my head, a bright light appeared and it disappeared. However, after I thought about it, I found myself in a space filled with nothing but the book."

"That's unbelievable, to think there was a person so proficient with the space element that he was able to create a space in your mind after his death," stated Hugo, deeply impressed and slightly regretful that such a person wasn't from this era to help with future battles.

"So, about the technique..."

"Yes, sir..." Kyle started explaining the properties of the 'Mana Devouring Technique' to The Emperor and Headmaster.

"Hooh, I am a 9-circle mage, yet I still cannot only absorb the pure mana, and you're telling me that a technique that automatically purifies the impure mana exists!!"

"Demonstrate the technique for us" added Theodore,

Kyle felt relieved that they didn't tell him to give up his technique, but was still nervous because even he has not tried the technique yet, so thoughts about it not working surfaced which didn't help with his situation at all.

"Don't worry, even if it doesn't work we won't hold you accountable" added Hugo.

'Don't mess up, Don't mess up, Don't mess up, Don't mess up'

Kyle sat in position and activated the 'Mana Devouring Technique' and started absorbing the mana surrounding him, which left both Hugo and Theodore speechless.

Hugo's private room was very rich in mana, as that is the least 9-circle mages need to sustain themselves, yet in an instant, all the mana was sucked in by Kyle.

"T-This is crazy! aha-ahaahah-a" laughed Hugo in a crazed way.

Even Kyle was surprised by the effectiveness of his breathing technique, as he experienced a small breakthrough, reaching the high tier of the 3rd circle. However, Kyle knew that he shouldn't hurry up and skip levels with this technique as that would do more harm than good and his body might not last him. So he decided to train even harder than ever and resolved himself to look for an exceptional martial technique in the library when it opens.