The Demon Monarch System

----

As Apollo entered the Tethered Shadow Origin Room, the door closed behind him almost immediately. As that happened, Xezym rose from Sapphyr's shadow, "Lady Sapphyr, it seems that child has a destiny with darkness. The amount of times the Headmaster has allowed such a thing to be done can be counted on hand. Do you believe she has taken interest in him?"

Sapphyr's looked at Xezym with an equally interested expression, "It may be possible. To enter the Tethered Shadow Origin Room, you know what that means. There's a chance he'll contract with a spirit similar to you."

Unlike a regular area, the Tethered Shadow Origin Room was special. The environment was created by an artifact that came from a world specialized in utilizing shadows. As a result, anyone who trained inside without already possessing a contracted Spirit would be more inclined to contract with such a being.

The shimmering orb in the middle that also rooted the independent space of that room in place doubled as a tool that subtly morphed one's predisposition. This was one of the reasons students typically joined one Institute and nothing else. It was rare to find a Spirit that gave off enough supplemental spirit energy to substantiate taking up a second element.

Typically, a Spirit would follow one strict path. In turn, this would influence their contractor's body by storing the Spirit's essence inside their Soul Temple. Meanwhile, only sometimes would there be some unexplained mutations or anomalies. However, the chance of such a thing happening was infinitesimally slim.

On the other hand. Xezym became pensive. He wondered if it was the correct time to ask this. But, when he realized his earlier words about having ties with the destined path of the shadows, he spoke up, "Lady Sapphyr, there is something I must ask you in place of that lad."

"He wants you to train him, doesn't he?" Sapphyr responded, sparing Xezym a meaningful glance. Since there was nothing but loyalty with him, he nodded without hesitation.

"That is correct, my Lady," Xezym admitted. Then, he looked at her with an expression to showed he possessed some desire for such a thing. In fact, he lowered his hood that usually hid his face. What appeared was a handsome appearance with snow-white hair and abyss black eyes.

"This isn't something you need to seek my permission for. If you would like to train him and his abilities agree with your methods, then by all means train him. In the future, he will be an ally, or at the very least, he is one to repay those who help him. Also, is it offensive or defensive techniques that he wants to learn?" Sapphyr questioned.

"Neither, he wanted to learn evacuation techniques. Actually, his current technique is similar if not identical to the rudimentary form of mine. It intrigues me. I wonder just where he learned such a technique without meeting a Spirit," Xezym muttered while falling into thought.

In the meantime, Sapphyr also mulled over a few things. Firstly, she recalled defensive being Apollo's leading shortcoming. During the trial, all of his movements showed that he was what they called a pure attacker. Even if he utilized defensive techniques, they didn't exist outside of the elementary Essence Aegis technique.

Thus, Sapphyr thought he would try to tend to this matter. However, as she thought more about his personality, she realized that wasn't something he would do. To correct any inconsistencies, she was sure he would find a way to make his offensive absolute. 

And, what better was there to do that than to use the boost in agility given from movement techniques to increase lethality. Soon enough, a small smile crept on Sapphyr's crimson lips, 'That kid is too zealous and aggressive. He belongs with those Dongguangs.'

----

Meanwhile, as those two decided on the matters of Apollo's future, he was focused on other things. Upon entering the Tethered Shadow Origin Room, the first thing that caught his eye was the environment. Even though it wasn't as enrapturing as the shimmering obsidian orb in the middle of the space, something felt off.

First and foremost, there was no atmosphere. It strictly comprised Spiritual Essence with faint amounts of Natural Essence. Yet, it felt more relaxing to breathe here than anywhere else. Unbeknownst to him, at a set interval of 20 seconds, the orbs undulated a wave of energy.

Those who possessed a decent Dark Affinity would have their bodies refreshed. For those who didn't, it would feel like a portion of their energy was sapped away. If Fuhrer was here, he would tell Apollo this was the basis of a strong Sin's ability and a famous Noble Art.

As he looked up, he witnessed what seemed to be a black vortex moving in an orthodox and unchanging pattern. Yet, as he stared into it, he felt as if his soul was being sucked from his body. Fortunately, a hand touched his shoulder that allowed him to regain his wits.

"It seems you're new here," spoke a newcomer as he assisted Apollo in extricating his entire focus from that vortex. When he recovered, he looked at the person to find it was someone he had seen once before.

"Lance?" Apollo muttered, before continuing, "I took a glimpse and it felt like my consciousness was being consumed. Mind informing me about the matters related to that thing?"

"Before I do, I have a question of my own. How did you get in? Furthermore, it seems to be without vital prior knowledge. This is a first for me. The Institutes shouldn't reopen for another 2 days. You must be rather famous, what was your name again?" Lance rubbed his chin, examining Apollo closely.

"Apollo Kaiser and I just happened to stumble inside his," Apollo stated. Based on what Sapphyr told him, it was best not to disclose when preferential was given and who bestowed it. Not only did it create hostility, but it could also result in the environment of the academy becoming chaotic.

Even though the students weren't naive enough to believe the world didn't have scenarios where favoritism was shown, they still liked to believe in the rules laid bare by the administration.

In response, Lance gave a knowing smile but didn't pry further. However, he also didn't do any to garner a relationship. In fact, he crossed his arms, "If you want information, we can perform a transaction."

"A transaction?" Apollo praised his eyebrows. He then followed Lance's line of sight and noticed he was eyeing his academic identification card. Naturally, Apollo was at a loss. Besides containing his identity, he was sure it didn't contain much importance.

Of course, he was wrong. "Correct, we'll deal in Academic Credits. If you're interested, I can offer 3 tiers of information. A basic breakdown of the guidelines here will only cost 10 Academic Credits, more detailed shall be 60 Academic Credits and lastly, a complete run-down will be 150 Academic Credits."

When he heard the large differentiation in the prices, Apollo's jaw almost dropped. Not only did he have to pay 3x the typical student, he felt he was being extorted. Truth be told, he was.

A few of the meditating students opened their eyes and sneered in Lance's direction. Some of them even mumbled things under their breath. Although they didn't mean to butt in, Apollo's acute hearing picked up on what they were saying.

According to what they said, except for the basic information, the prices were trumped up a great deal. Needless to say, extortion was not something Apollo would let happen willfully.

"Where's the generosity amongst peers? Would you really go as far as to extort your upperclassmen? I know those pieces of information aren't worth more than 30 and 50 Academic Credits respectively," Apollo replied with a chuckle.

At first, Lance was shocked, "How did you know? Ahem, I mean-" Lance recovered his demeanor after stuttering before shamelessly talking, "It seems you're a smart one, the wool has not been pulled over your eyes. Very well, which will you choose?"

"That's better, I'll choose the largest one," Apollo responded.

Lance then went on to show Apollo how a transfer of credits took place. Holding their cards together, a screen appeared. Once they agreed on 30, that was the exact amount that deducted from Apollo's card. Shortly after, Lance gave him an in-depth breakdown the of area.

He even explained how certain areas were special zones. Sadly, they were almost always occupied by the most monstrous individuals. Upon receiving all the need-to-know knowledge, Apollo claimed a seat and sat down to meditate.

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