As Alen entered the Academy through the giant gates, a long, paved path stretched out before him.

Beside the path lay lush gardens filled with different kinds of trees and vibrant flowers that Alen was seeing for the first time in his life. Straight ahead stood the massive main building of the Academy. On top of it, a grand flag bearing the symbol of a sword and shield fluttered in the wind.

A short distance away from the main building were the student dormitories.

Alen walked inside the campus with the policeman. While Alen looked around at the scenery, the man stopped to speak with the guards.

"Let’s go, kid. You should wash up first before meeting the Principal," Kailas said, returning to him.

"I got a key for one of the dorm rooms. There will be spare clothes available inside for you to change into. I’ll wait out here."

Alen accepted the key. He looked down at his own clothes; they were covered in dust and still gave off the foul stench of blood from his recent battles.

"Ok... I’ll come back soon."

"But don’t you dare call me ’kid’ again!"

Alen walked off down the path, leaving the awkward policeman behind.

He followed the winding walkways, passing through different sections of the sprawling gardens. It looked incredibly beautiful, but to Alen—who had just survived brutal battles in a disgusting, dead environment—seeing such peaceful scenery felt bizarre. Because he had spent months fighting for his life in the ’Ascension Realm’, his mentality had been deeply affected. The total tranquility here made him feel completely out of place.

He walked past a few students, who stopped and stared at his bloodstained, dirty appearance with deep curiosity.

He ignored them and entered the large dormitory building. Fortunately, the halls weren’t swarming with students, likely because classes were currently in session.

Alen climbed the stairs to the second floor. There was an elevator available in the building, but he didn’t want to waste his time waiting for it to come down. After reaching the second floor, he walked straight down the corridor to the very end.

He stopped in front of Room 207.

He opened the door with the key and stepped inside. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Damn, what kind of luxurious place is this? Is this really a student dorm room? Why is it so big?!"

The room was so incredibly spacious and well-furnished that, for a second, Alen thought he had accidentally broken into someone’s private home. It was basically a high-end apartment. There was a modern kitchen, a plush couch, a large bed, and a television. Bright mana lamps illuminated the room warmly.

Alen opened the wardrobe and found a few plain black and white shirts hanging inside. He picked out a clean white shirt and went straight to the bathroom.

The bathroom was equally spacious. It contained a large bathtub, a changing area, and many other high-tech amenities.

Alen didn’t waste any more time and quickly started to bathe, washing the dried blood and grime off his skin.

After he was done bathing, he dried off and put on the fresh white shirt. He had found some bandages in the bathroom cabinets and used them to carefully wrap the injuries hidden beneath his shirt. Fortunately, there were no visible wounds on his face or his limbs.

His injuries were entirely concentrated on his back and chest, caused by hitting the boulder and the intense air pressure from the boss monster’s mana core explosion.

He walked over to the bathroom mirror to style his wet hair. He let his silver bangs fall naturally over his forehead; it looked good on him.

He stared at his reflection.

"My face really has changed a lot... I look completely different from before. I look like some kind of handsome model now."

"Hehehe... If I had this face in my previous life, I definitely could have done modeling, or I could have just seduced some rich girl... hehe..."

"Forget it, Let’s see what I get from meeting the Principal. It’s impossible for them to have any background information on me because I technically don’t exist in this world..."

He straightened his posture, turned away from the mirror, and walked out of the dormitory building.

Outside, the policeman, Kailas, stood waiting calmly. As he waited, several students passed by, looking at the officer suspiciously.

’When will that kid come back? This is starting to feel awkward,’ Kailas thought to himself.

’Sigh... What a pain. I have other work to do besides babysitting some kid.’

’But still... looking at his situation, he just came out of the ’Realm of Challenge’, and he was completely alone. That means he likely lost his companions in there. It’s not a big deal for me to help him out a little, right?’

Just as he was muttering to himself, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Kailas turned around and looked at the incredibly handsome, silver-haired boy standing behind him.

"Who are you, kid? Do you need something?"

Kailas asked obliviously.

"Hey, old man. I’m the boy you were waiting for."

"Wait! What?! Are you really the boy from earlier?!"

Kailas stared at him with a thoroughly shocked expression.

’Damn! He looked like a beggar before, and now he looks like a prince! Is he actually a prince of the Empire? No, that can’t be. Why would a prince be alone? He would have had plenty of powerful bodyguards with him in the trial.’

"Sigh... Just stop overthinking it."

Alen said, noticing the man’s blank stare.

"Let’s go. Or should I just go by myself?"

"N-No, let’s go together," Kailas quickly recovered.

"Besides, without me, you won’t get to meet the Principal. She is an incredibly busy person. It’s already fortunate that she has time available today."

Alen nodded, and the two of them walked together toward the Principal’s office. As they passed through the campus, students stopped in their tracks and stared at Alen’s striking appearance.

Alen ignored the constant gazes and kept walking down the main corridor.

After a few minutes, they finally arrived outside the Principal’s office.

Her assistant was standing guard outside the large double doors. She had neat brown hair and wore sharp glasses. She glanced at the boy, then turned her stern gaze toward Kailas.

"Is this the boy you were talking about? The one who seems to have lost his memory?"

she asked briskly.

Kailas nodded silently, showing clear respect for her authority. Kailas had asked Alen earlier in car about his situation and Alen had lied him that he lost his memory.

The assistant looked at Alen coldly for a moment.

’Do they know each other?’ Alen wondered, noticing the tension.

"Wait out here. I will ask the Principal if the two of you may enter," the assistant said, turning around and slipping inside the office.

"Sigh... Women these days... it can’t be helped," Kailas muttered under his breath.

Alen looked at him curiously.

"Do you know her?"

"Well... kind of... you see, I am—"

The heavy office doors opened again, pausing Kailas mid-sentence. The assistant stepped back out into the hallway.

"The boy may enter. You have to wait out here, Mr. Kailas."

"But he is just a kid! How is he going to face her alone?" Kailas protested.

"Just shut up! It is the Principal’s direct order," she snapped.

Kailas immediately stopped talking, keeping his mouth firmly shut like a scolded puppy.

The assistant turned her sharp gaze back to Alen.

"You may enter."

Alen nodded. He took a long, deep breath to steady his nerves, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.