'So that's why I got Karma points earlier after my conversation with Audrey.'
I rubbed my chin. 'Hmmm… I wonder… if I tell him another lie right now, would I get Karma points again?'
I looked back to the speechless and gullible Leon to test it out when he suddenly cleared his throat and said, "We are here."
"Huh?" I turned to look at the tall building he was pointing at. It was a fairly large building with sturdy grey stone walls, and while it was nowhere near the grandeur of the high-ranked dorms, it still stood over ten stories tall and possessed a somber, neoclassical design fitting of nobles.
"Here is the key to your dorm room." Leon said, his formal demeanor returning as he handed over a plain old metallic black card.
I took the card and studied it until my gaze fell on some initials that were inscribed on it: [J-10].
Leon spoke again, pointing towards the top part of the building. "I believe your room is on the tenth floor."
My gaze shifted from the card to the direction he pointed, and when it returned to Leon, he added with his annoying smile, "If you need anything else from me, please feel free to let me know."
I simply nodded.
"Oh… and, uh, I'll be coming by your class tomorrow to collect the form the Dean asked you to fill out."
I nodded again.
Then I left him and began walking towards the building, heading for the entrance and the stairs that would lead me to the tenth floor.
By the time I arrived at my room, I was already gasping for breath out of sheer exhaustion from the climb.
I swiped the card and stepped into the large room, and then a large smile formed on my lips.
'Finally, a proper bed!'
A large, luxurious bed dominated the center of the spacious room. I began walking toward it, intending to collapse, but just then, Aika flew off my shoulder. She soared towards the bed and, just before landing, turned instantly into her human form, crashing dramatically onto the mattress.
"Gaaahh… I'm drained," she groaned, her voice muffled as she lay with her arms and feet sprawled across the silken sheets.
I gritted my teeth and muttered, "Wasn't I the one who did all the walking?!"
Aika turned her head slightly to look at me and arched a brow. "Huh? What did you say?"
I immediately looked away. "Nothing."
Turning around, I scanned the spacious, beautifully lit room. It featured large windows that adorned one entire wall and granted a truly lovely, commanding view of the Bastion and the academy grounds. Various artworks decorated the space, including a large, intricate map of the Lumierian Empire mounted prominently on the wall. In one corner, a sturdy, dark-wood writing desk and accompanying chair were arranged beneath a hanging oil lamp.
I walked over to the desk and sat. Pulling out the form the Dean had given me, I reached for a writing instrument. By the side of the inkwell lay a handsome, silver-tipped fountain pen. I picked it up and began to fill out my basic information.
For the section on Level, I deliberately entered 14, classifying myself as a Grade 2 Dominant. That way, my level was not too high, yet at the same time, not too low. Not like anyone would be able to find out the truth anyway.
Then, for the Class section, I paused, before firmly writing: Rogue.
The moment I was done with that, a notification popped up by the side, causing me to smile:
[You have acquired 10 Karma points.]
[Available Karma points: 470]
Turns out, even just writing a lie on an official academy form like this could grant Karma points. Though it looks like the reward for lying is disappointingly low.
My gaze returned to the form where a section was left for me to fill, and that was the Bond Moniker.
In this world, a Bond's true name was considered sacred. And so, it was viewed as profoundly disrespectful and improper for anyone, aside from the Bond's bearer, to utter the name of another Dominant's Bond. There were exceptions to this rule, like for instance, if you were close to a Dominant and their Bond, they could grant you permission to use their Bond's name.
Aside from instances like this, anyone who wished to address another Dominant's Bond had to do so by using the Bond Moniker, which functioned as an officially recognized honorific or nickname.
I turned to Aika, who was laying on the bed, hugging one of the large pillows and swinging her feet lazily in the air. Looking at her right now, one might easily think she was a perfectly harmless, spoiled woman.
I sighed and shook my head then asked, "Hey Aika. Do you have a moniker you would like to be known as?"
Aika paused her leg-swinging, glanced at me, and shrugged. "What do you think about The Raven of Decay?"
'The Raven of Decay?'
God that sounds so corny.
I blinked. "That sounds so badass!"
"I know, right?" she replied, beaming.
I immediately turned back to the desk and wrote it down:
~Raven of Decay.
***
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully.
After a really long, luxurious shower in the private ensuite bathroom, I headed to the cafeteria for dinner.
Since I was currently tired, I decided not to visit one of the training centers as I had planned. Our private training would have to be postponed till another day.
Plus, with the earlier duel, I could confidently argue that I had already achieved a full day's worth of intense training.
When I got back to the dorm, Aika left as usual to go smoke the whole night and said not to stay up late for her.
Although it looked like she was just a smoke addict who enjoyed smoking at night, that was not the case.
Even though she didn't straight up say it, I knew that the reason for her spending the entire night awake under the guise of smoking was that she was trying to grow my small Mana Core, since the only way to do so was for either the Dominant or the Bond to absorb mana constantly from their element.
And since my element was darkness, she took it upon herself to spend the entire night absorbing mana for me.
Although I knew she was doing this primarily to enhance her own chances of survival, I couldn't help but feel profoundly grateful.
That aside…
I spent most of the night using my exclusive skill, Flames of Decay, to hasten leveling it up. However, after a few hours, I went to sleep as I needed to be awake for the entirety of tomorrow's class.
It was a very important class that focused on the World Beyond the Veil, and though I had knowledge of it from the game, I still needed to pay attention as I wasn't exactly sure if things were going to be the same as they were in the game, or not. And with the day of the lunar eclipse looming just a few weeks away, I couldn't afford to miss any critical piece of information, as that could be disastrous.