Chapter 458: The Future of the Group

Lian was on his way back to the dormitory when he saw a few familiar faces near the smaller arena.

Rindo, Kain, Seraphina, Liana, Selina, Cassian, and Marcus were still there.

There was no sign of Ethan, he had gone to finalize his recruitment into the Guild he had chosen, he was also a third-year student and did not want to miss such an opportunity.

For the first time in a long while, almost all of them had a few days ahead without any forced missions or tests.

"How does it feel to be popular? All five of the top Guilds in the country were surrounding you." Rindo was the first one to notice him.

"Terrible, if Professor Aldric had not helped me, I would have gone crazy." Lian sighed.

"I still don’t understand why no one saved me." Kain was sitting on a bench beside the path.

"Because watching you suffer was entertaining." Seraphina answered without any guilt.

"Too bad you’re the Vice President of the Student Council, otherwise I would answer you."

"Oh? Looks like you became braver during these nine months, so you don’t dare say anything anymore just because I’m the Vice President?" she snorted, grabbed his ear, and started pulling it.

"Don’t—ow, ow, ow—I’m sorry, stop..."

The discussion quickly turned to their plans for the coming days, and almost all of them agreed on one thing.

A few days of rest and then returning to the Ruined Realm, none of them wanted to stay on Earth for too long, especially after seeing how quickly the other students had grown.

Rodrick was now Level 39, and the others had also improved a lot during their absence.

Although their group was not behind in raw power because of what had happened in the Special Area, no one wanted the Level gap to become bigger.

Rindo was the only one whose plans were more complicated.

He and the other third-year members of the Student Council had basically finished their time at the Academy.

From this point on, they had to decide what to do, joining one of the Associations, accepting an offer from an organization, or continuing their path as an independent Awakened.

He had no shortage of offers, and several large Associations had directly approached him because of his leadership ability, not just his combat power.

But he still had not made a decision.

Liana and Selina did not have the same problem, both of them were just entering their second year and had plenty of time ahead of them.

They had received several offers, but there was no need for them to sign anything yet.

For now, Liana was more interested in her new Griffin than any contract.

"I still don’t even know its abilities properly." She looked at the huge creature beside her.

"I want to know how far it can fly, how long it can fight, and exactly what kinds of food it likes before we return to the Ruined Realm."

"With how fast it eats, the last one is the most important." Kain looked at the Griffin.

"Are you jealous?" Liana frowned.

"Of what? Your food bill?"

Selina laughed.

She also wanted to rest for a few days, organize her skills again, and then return with the others.

But Kain had almost made up his mind.

"Are you seriously going to reject all the offers?" Lian looked at him.

"Probably."

"Even Heavenly Crown?"

"Even them."

"You know what you’re giving up, right? Better mission information, healers, cheaper equipment, private areas, resources, support teams... a lot of things that an independent Awakened has to search for by himself are directly provided by an Association."

"I know." Kain locked his hands behind his head, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"But for nine months, I went wherever I wanted, accepted whatever missions I wanted, and whenever I got tired of seeing people, I just disappeared." His eyes moved away for a moment.

"At first, I was forced to be alone. Then at some point, I realized I liked it."

His voice became a little quieter.

"The freedom I had during these nine months became kind of addictive. I don’t know if I’m ready to explain to someone again where I’m going, what mission I’m accepting, or why I haven’t answered for three weeks."

"But independence has a cost." Rindo added another point this time.

"Yeah. Fewer resources, less support, more danger, and when you get stuck in a mission, there is no group behind you, but at least if I fall into a hole, I chose which hole I fell into."

"That’s an amazing logic." Marcus muttered.

"Thanks."

"That wasn’t a compliment, I said it because it’s stupid, but I understand."

Kain ignored him, and the topic slowly returned to Rodrick.

"For now, we don’t need to worry about him too much." Lian listened to them for a while, then said.

"Rodrick?"

"Yeah. What he had been building for months took a hit today."

"His image of being unbeatable." Rindo immediately understood what he meant.

Vorhelm nodded.

"His network is still there, his resources are still there, and his people aren’t all going to leave him tomorrow morning. But no one thinks anymore that he can’t be stood against."

The Student Council President nodded.

"Exactly." His eyes moved toward the students walking in the distance.

"Until today, for a large part of the Academy, Rodrick’s name alone was enough. If his group made an offer, many people would accept it before even thinking about it, because they didn’t want to become his opponent." His eyes returned to Lian.

"But once fear is broken, building it again is much harder. Rodrick’s network is still powerful, but it can no longer act in the same wide and unrestricted way."

He paused for a few moments.

"In fact, the new problem is that many of those same people may now come after you...I originally wanted Cassian to become the next Student Council President."

Cassian, who was standing beside them, turned his eyes toward him.

"But after today, maybe you’re the only one who can really gather enough votes to stand against Rodrick." Rindo continued without paying attention.

"Me? Student Council President?" Lian stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Do you dislike the position?"

"It’s not about liking it, I need freedom to act. If one day I need to enter a Realm for a month or more, I don’t want ten meetings, signatures, and responsibilities to tie my hands." The young Vorhelm shared his view.

"You don’t need to imagine your coronation ceremony yet. The Student Council President isn’t a prisoner of the Academy." The Student Council President laughed.

Then his expression became serious again.

"But if you don’t want this position, after what happened today, I doubt Cassian still has much of a chance against Rodrick."

"Thank you very much for having this much faith in me." Cassian stared at him for a few seconds.

"I’m just being realistic." Rindo answered without the slightest guilt.

"I know, I really can’t be compared to either of them in popularity right now." He sighed, but he had no desire for this position.

From the beginning, he wanted to become the next Student Council President so he could continue on the same path as his role model.

"Unless Rodrick is miraculously expelled from the Academy before the election." The Student Council President added again.

"Is that even possible?" Liana immediately turned her head.

"Yes and no."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"The Academy is very strict about expelling students, the environment where Awakened are trained naturally allows more fights, injuries, and even breaking some rules than a normal school."

His voice became a little more serious.

"But we have red lines. Some things can no longer be solved with point deductions or punishments."

"For example?" Liana looked at him with curiosity.

"An intentional attempt to kill another student outside the legal conditions of combat."

The smiles disappeared from several faces.

"If it is proven that someone intentionally tried to kill a student, not only can they be expelled immediately, but they may also be directly involved in a criminal case."

"Anyway, I’ll think about the Student Council. The election isn’t tomorrow, it will be held six months from now, so there is plenty of time." Lian added.

"That’s what I wanted to hear, but make your decision sooner, because if you reject it, we have to find a way for Cassian to win." Rindo nodded.

The topic ended there, at least for now, and slowly everyone went their own way.