Raiven understood why his father made that decision.
He didn't want Raiven to become too dependent on them and grow up to be useless.
'Well, the original Raiven was already useless a long time ago, this decision wouldn't have changed anything,' Raiven thought.
If he hadn't taken over this body, the original Raiven would've remained the same asshole he was and would have also awakened a shitty Soul Ability.
Finally, they arrived at the Academy and came down from the car.
A middle-aged man dressed in a black suit approached them as if he had been expecting them.
"Welcome," he said, smiling. "Follow me, I'll show you where your room is."
Raiven nodded.
He and Lily followed the man, together with the driver who carried their belongings at once as if he had some kind of super strength Soul Ability.
On their way, they walked past a four-storey building.
"That's the male dorm building for students with a Soul Ability below Calamity Rank," the man said.
Within minutes, they arrived at the school forest. They entered the forest, and after walking for a bit, they saw a house in a small clearing.
"This is how the accommodation for students with a Soul Ability of Calamity Rank or Disaster Rank looks," the man said.
They continued walking in the forest, and they passed about four more houses in clearings like the first one.
They arrived at another clearing, and the man finally stopped.
"This is your house," he said.
Raiven looked at the exterior of the house.
It was made of fine, polished wood just like the ones they passed, designed with beautiful flowers, with a small staircase leading to the door of the house.
Raiven walked towards the small staircase and entered the house.
He was greeted by a large space. A king-sized bed was situated close to the window. There was a wardrobe, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, producing a warm glow. A chair and a table were present in the room, not too far from the bed.
There was also another room like this, but it was smaller.
"This is your room," the man said, "and the smaller one belongs to your maid."
"Her name is Lily," Raiven said reflexively.
"Oh, Lily, right, haha," the man laughed nervously.
Raiven just ignored the man and continued observing the room.
'I'm pretty sure the other buildings have just one room,' Raiven thought. 'But maybe Dad used his influence to get one with two rooms.'
After explaining a few things, the man left.
The driver also left after dropping their belongings in the room.
Now, it was just Raiven and Lily.
"I'll help you unpack," Lily said.
"Thank you," Raiven said as he began walking out.
"I'll get going now," he added before leaving the house.
After walking for a bit, he exited the forest and began walking towards the administrative building.
As soon as he got there, he located the receptionist.
The receptionist was a young lady with long black hair.
"Good morning, how may I help you?" she asked, flashing Raiven a smile.
"Good morning. I came to collect my Soul Shards."
"Alright," she said. "Show me your watch."
She scanned his watch, and after checking a few details, she gave him a small box.
"Thank you," Raiven said before walking away.
On his way out, he opened the box, and indeed, the twenty Soul Shards of the Blue-Tongue Tigers were inside.
He put the box in his inventory and left the building.
"Classes start in the next one hour. I have enough time to sell these Soul Shards for some Credits," he muttered.
After the appearance of Beasts and the establishment of the WSO, Credits became the currency used worldwide.
Raiven glanced at his watch, which displayed his current balance.
Balance: 500 Credits
"Dad didn't send me Credits before I left the house," Raiven muttered. "Well, that's not a problem because I didn't plan to be dependent in the first place."
Raiven walked towards the trading building, and after a few minutes, he finished selling the Soul Shards.
A Soul Shard gotten from a Tier 2 Normal Rank Beast was usually sold for 550 or 600 Credits, though it could be more than that, depending on the type of Beast.
Raiven sold the Soul Shards of the Blue-Tongue Tiger for 600 Credits, and he sold 10 of them.
'I'll feed the remaining 10 to Tongue later...'
Balance: 6,500 Credits
This wasn't really a lot, considering the fact that weapons and other things in this world were expensive, even low-ranked weapons.
Raiven still had some time left, so he decided to explore a bit.
He ended up walking towards a building that was no longer in use. The door was even sealed shut, and merely looking at it, it was obvious that it couldn't be opened normally.
'I wonder what this building was originally used for...'
Raiven squinted his eyes, curiosity etched on his face as he walked towards the back of the building.
There was no clue as to what the building was used for.
He decided not to dwell on it any longer.
He was about to leave, but then...
"Look who we have here... hehe."
"Shit," Raiven clicked his tongue, his expression changing into that of annoyance.
Three boys emerged. Two from the left side of the building, and one from the right side.
They were Tim's closest friends and also Avin's bullies.
The boy who came from the right ruffled his black hair as he spoke, "Raiven, you've been avoiding us."
He smiled eerily.
One of the two boys coming from the left also spoke.
"You didn't come to the meeting we usually have today before classes, and we've not heard anything from you ever since Tim was killed."
Raiven kept observing them, preparing himself for any move they would take.
He wasn't going to lie that he was busy or pretend like he was still part of them.
He was no longer part of them, and it would remain that way.
The boy on the right spoke again.
"Or did you, perhaps... kill Tim?"
The fact that Raiven had not said anything yet seemed to aggravate them further.
The boys suddenly began inching closer, their eyes showing hints of malicious intent.
The black-haired boy spoke again.
"You may have awakened a Disaster Rank Soul Ability, but that doesn't automatically make you strong," he said.
With a grin, he continued, "moreover, there are three of us, and there is only one of you."
The second boy on the left cracked his knuckles. "Apart from that, we definitely have more fighting experience than you..."
Raiven inhaled deeply.
He could feel it.
There was no escaping here.
They were right. His high-ranked Ability didn't make him automatically strong, and he was even outnumbered.
But at some point, you have to make a choice about who you are and what you want.
And now, this Raiven wasn't the same Raiven as before.
"And as for what I want... I want to survive in this insane world.
I want to survive the coming Armageddon and build a life for myself."
Raiven's eyes suddenly sharpened. He glared at the black-haired boy, and without him even knowing, a certain pressure emanated from his body.
"And I won't let anything get in the way of that... not even these three assholes..."