Chapter 207: Room
Asher’s gaze tore through the hallway of the top floor, sharp and observant, as though his eyes were blades carving through space itself. Just as he had predicted, the floor was designed with exactly, ten rooms neatly aligned, each numbered from one to ten. His calculations had not been wrong.
Some of the top ten rankers were already present in the corridor, their figures scattered like shadows in the golden glow of the hallway’s lights. A few lingered for only a moment before stepping silently into their assigned rooms, closing the doors behind them without a single word exchanged, as though their pride alone spoke for them.
"I suppose this is where we part ways," William stated calmly, his tone devoid of hesitation.
Asher inclined his head in a silent nod, his expression unreadable, as though carved from stone. With that simple acknowledgment, they separated. Asher turned toward the door with the bold number "1" etched above it, while William walked toward the door marked "4."
When Asher placed his hand on the door handle, he felt resistance. The door refused to open, as though denying his presence. Narrowing his eyes, he immediately understood. Without a second thought, he infused a wisp of Astra into the metallic handle. A soft click echoed through the corridor, and the door swung open smoothly, granting him passage.
’So, it functions just like the point card,’ Asher mused, his thoughts calm but analytical. ’The door reacts to Astra signatures as a form of security. Efficient and clever.’
The sight that greeted him inside the room left him momentarily impressed. It was an expansive chamber, almost palatial in size, exuding extravagance from every corner. The walls rose tall and regal, etched with intricate designs that shimmered faintly under the illumination of a chandelier suspended from the ceiling.
Its glow cascaded down like a shower of starlight, bathing the room in a refined brilliance. At the side of the chamber stood a sleek black table and chair, their craftsmanship so fine it seemed as if they had been carved by the most skilled artisans in the world.
Asher stepped inside, his footsteps soundless on the polished floor. Against the far side of the chamber rested a massive bed, so enormous that its size could rival the breadth of an Alaskan family bed. It was capable of holding four to five individuals comfortably without the faintest hint of crowding. The mattress looked so soft that it seemed to beckon sleep itself.
Even the chambers he had occupied within the Wargrave estate paled in comparison. His family’s wealth and standing were great, but this, this was pure opulence, bordering on arrogance. The sheer scale and elegance of it was overwhelming, almost as if the Academy sought to drown its students in luxury while simultaneously bleeding them dry.
Three other doors stood within the chamber, each promising something different. Without hesitation, Asher approached one at random and pushed it open.
To his mild surprise, this door required no Astra infusion.
The room revealed itself as a bathroom, sleek and modern in design. Every detail had been crafted with deliberate precision. The walls gleamed with polished stone, a small but elegant mirror hung on one side, and beneath it rested a wash basin that seemed carved from a single flawless piece of marble. It was a room designed for both simplicity and comfort.
Asher walked out silently, his footsteps leading him toward the second of the three doors. When he pushed it open, he was greeted by a personal training chamber. He surveyed the room calmly, unsurprised. To him, such an addition was almost expected; equipping each top-tier room with a chamber for practice was nothing short of standard.
However, the chamber was barebones. It contained no advanced mechanisms, no specialized tools, and no training equipment that might give students any undue advantage. It was simply a room dense with Astra, nothing more.
’Of course,’ Asher thought with a faint smirk, his mind laced with irony. ’They would never provide personalized training equipment, not even for the rank one student. They are intent on draining every last point from us. Calling this place "The Point Sucker Academy" is indeed fitting.’
His musings ended as he stepped out and moved to the final door. With a push, he entered what appeared to be a grand living room. Three plush couches were neatly arranged in a crescent formation. A red carpet, rich in color and sheen, stretched across the floor beneath them, and above, another massive chandelier hung, its brilliance flooding the room in waves of light.
Despite its grandeur, something about the living room felt incomplete to Asher.
’A flat-screen television, a PlayStation console, and a proper gaming setup,’ he thought dryly. ’That would finish it off. But then again, I am not on Earth anymore.’ A quiet sigh escaped him as reality grounded his wandering thoughts.
He compared this room to the ones in the residential buildings they had once occupied as exam candidates, and the difference was like that between a mortal and a god, an unfathomable gap.
His gaze drifted toward the far end of the room, where a sliding glass door opened into a balcony. The sight caught his attention, and he approached it calmly, pushing the glass aside to step into the open air. Sunlight washed over him, warm and unrelenting, illuminating his sharp features and his deep purple eyes.
He turned slightly, realizing he was not the only one with access to a balcony. Just a few meters away, a boy stood on his own, someone Asher did not recognize. The boy’s expression was bright, brimming with awe and excitement, as though he had never seen such wealth before in his life.
Their gazes met, and the boy froze. Immediately, he bowed with respect before retreating into his chamber, vanishing from sight.
’That must have been either Oliver Twist or Michael Morningstar,’ Asher speculated silently. ’They’re the only ones among the top ten rankers I have yet to meet.’
Returning inside, Asher slid the glass door shut behind him, sealing off the balcony. His eyes moved to the walls of the living room, tracing the careful designs embedded within them. The Academy had clearly gone to great lengths to ensure privacy, installing layers of protection against espionage. With such powerful abilities and techniques at play, preventing students from spying on one another was an absolute necessity.
He shook his head, pushing aside further speculation. Instead, he focused on inspecting smaller details around the chamber, ones he had overlooked during his initial exploration. To his surprise, the Academy had not provided even the most basic of necessities, not a toothbrush, not toothpaste, not even a bathing sponge.
At the exam residential building, those essentials had been provided freely. But here, it seemed such "rights" had been stripped away.
’So that’s how it is,’ Asher thought, ’the Academy ensures that every student’s first expenditure of points will not be on luxuries or power, but on necessities. It forces us to spend from the very first day. Ruthless.’
Though he thought this, he felt no worry. He had already prepared for such circumstances and carried all the essentials he needed within his system inventory.
Moving to the nearest couch, Asher lowered himself onto it with calm composure. The fabric was soft, almost drowning him in comfort, yet his mind remained sharp and vigilant. With a flicker of thought, the small booklet the facilitator had given him earlier materialized in his hand.
"Best to read this," he murmured under his breath, his voice quiet but resolute. "Better to understand the Academy sooner rather than later."
He flipped open the cover of the booklet, his purple eyes glinting faintly as he prepared himself to absorb every detail within.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hey everyone, help me thank AURANOVA for the Golden Gachapon, this is the second one she has sent me since the beginning of this journey. And of course, if any of you send a super gift or normal gifts, this greedy author would gladly accept and appreciate it.
Thanks for reading.