Zane — bald and dressed in an orange jumpsuit — calmly looked at the imposing figure before him. Ignoring the blood on his mouth, he stared intently at his attacker, who soon turned into a wolf after a brief hesitation. Without thinking, Zane engraved a spell on the air while chanting the incantation.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
Three magic bullets pierced the wolf's body, and it lay on the ground, whimpering in pain. It had no chance at all, a fact that immensely pleased Zane. However, the smirk on the corner of his mouth didn't last long as the wolf slowly morphed into JJ's body.
"No, no, no," Zane screeched before rushing to hold the body. There it was: JJ's pale face, blood dripping from his eyes, and a look in his eyes that terrified Zane. "Don't worry, this time will be different. This time, I have magic." Zane placed his hand on the wound and injected his mana, trying to see if he could stop the bleeding.
Staring at him with haunting eyes, JJ suddenly uttered, "Why did you kill me, Z? Why? Weren't we friends?"
"I didn't. I mean, it wasn't my intention. I-I —"
"It should have been you," JJ said, his face wrathful and judgmental. "It should have been you."
"I didn't mean to," Zane roared. He looked around and realized he was in his dormitory; his clothes and bed were soaked. The darkness greeted him, and Zane was not a fan; all his fears seemed magnified by its looming presence, so he swiftly reached for the magic circuit beside his bed to turn on the light.
"It's been a while," Zane thought as he exhaled deeply to calm himself. The last time he had this dream was the day before the tower descended into this dimension. And this time around, the dream was even more intense. "Is it because of Instructor Seiya's Aura Training or due to stress? Well, I guess it doesn't matter."
A few minutes passed before Zane had the strength to stand, so he immediately dragged himself into the bathroom for a cold shower. The feeling of the cold water hitting his body was very soothing; more importantly, this state allowed Zane to focus on anything else to distract his mind. Previously, he would count the digits of pi for as long as required, but now he had a better distraction: magic. In the past few days, he had learned so much, and now was the perfect time to review.
An hour and a half later, Zane walked out of the shower, feeling calm and refreshed. However, he will soon face another challenge: sleep. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but after the day he'd had, he truly wanted a long, peaceful rest. Luckily, he was an expert at navigating those damn dreams.
Fetching his headphones and smartphone, he opened his playlist labeled [Soothing Jazz] and played the first song, "What a Wonderful Day" by Louis Armstrong. The slow cadence and Louis Armstrong's gruff voice did wonders for his psyche. So, by the time the playlist was halfway finished, Zane had already fallen asleep.
"Luckily, there wasn't a second dream," Zane thought as soon as he woke up. Those initial days after his release were rough, and it didn't help that he was still living with his mother. He hated seeing how worried she was — or the pity and guilt in her eyes.
Standing up, Zane prepared to shower and start the day with his morning meditation. And that's when he remembered: a controversy occurred yesterday, and everyone was waiting for the tower's response. With the utmost haste, he checked the Student Board and, as expected, found an official reply.
[Sara Madini (official account): Hello, earthlings. For those who do not know me, I am the Dimension Tower's Communication Director, responsible for communicating the tower's ideologies, philosophies, and positions on matters you may be concerned about. I'm also responsible for direct communication between the tower and Earth representatives, if required.
[Now that is out of the way, let's get into the matter at hand. An event occurred yesterday that warranted our attention. A student has launched a complaint about the manner in which they were treated. The tower understood why the students felt and reacted in this manner. We are aware of Earth's history and fully acknowledge the tragedy that was the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the lasting damage — whether socially, economically, and culturally —it has caused, even generations after it had ended. That being said, according to the Supplementary Accord of Dimension Law 9ZP3 signed by the tower, we reserved the right to train our recruits in any manner we see fit, as long as our actions serve a purpose and are not purely malicious.
[As much as we understand and empathize with many of our recruits' societal conditions, the tower will not change our modus operandi for one dimension — for one individual. Is this unfair? Yes, but the Astral Cosmos has never been fair. The sooner many of you accept this, the quicker you'll be ready for what's to come.
[That is all we have to say on this matter. I hope you have a wonderful day, and may the Arcane Truth bless and guide you all.]
"Well, at least the worst-case scenario didn't occur," Zane thought. The fact that the tower released an official reply showed some basic respect to Earth as a dimension. Zane scrolled through the reply, and people's reactions were mixed: many felt this was expected and that the tower was in the right, while others boldly admonished them. Of course, a few people remained neutral.
Zane did not focus too much on the response; instead, he read the post a few times, trying to glean as much information as possible. Some of the wording is concerning, especially the part about the "right to train our recruits in any manner we see fit." However, he was more interested in something else:
"I already guessed the tower had strict rules it had to follow. Are they outlined in that accord?" Zane pondered. He was quite interested in reading the content of the accord, since knowing what the tower can and cannot do would be immensely beneficial to him and to the entire dimension.
"I doubt I'll find it in the library, but it's worth checking out," Zane thought.
A few minutes passed, and Zane finally stopped caving through the post's language to try to gather any hidden information. Today was still a practical class, so he stopped his morning run, but the morning meditation continued. And boy, Zane was glad he did so. As soon as class began, Instructor Seiya not only made them run laps around the field, but he also forced them to run up and down the bleacher stairs. Poor Tom Nguyen — no, poor necromancers, this class had turned into their nightmares.
The Mind Section of this training was still resisting the aura, and even after preparing himself, Zane still almost passed out. The worst part is the instructor keeps changing auras, one moment he's using one based on fear, and the next, it's all about intimidation — and those are just the basics. And unlike yesterday, the mind training did not stop after thirty minutes; it continued until the class ended, leaving the magic aspect for the afternoon class.
"Logically speaking, I understand why mages need a powerful body, but this is really too much," Tom Nguyen complained while hydrating near one of the fountains.
"Don't you have any titles that can increase your physical stat?" Zane asked.
"…I only have one, and it only increased my focus."
"In that case, I recommend you eliminate a goblin village; it should boost a few of your stats."
Tom Nguyen washed his face, feeling refreshed. "Why do you sound so cavalier about killing dozens of living creatures?"
"Kill or be killed," Zane shrugged.
Tom Nguyen frowned, "Your ideology fits too well with these tower people, and I don't know how I feel about that."
"And if you don't adapt quickly, I will soon be attending your funeral."
Tom Nguyen was momentarily speechless. "Do you really think we must have this ruthless and cutthroat mindset to survive this environment?"
"I don't know for sure," Zane shook his head. "However, it seems to be the most efficient method and the one the tower encourages."
"What do you think?" Tom Nguyen asked, turning toward Evans, who jerked slightly, surprised that the latter would address him.
"In my opinion, the crux of your argument is: Does the way someone wins a war matter? Some people believe winning at all costs is all that matters, while others believe the way the victor secures victory matters."
"Of course, the way we win matters. Isn't that why we have the Geneva Convention?"
"Why don't you tell the Demon Race about the Geneva Convention?" Zane countered.
"That's different. There is no need to follow rules when dealing with a hostile force that will not do the same. That would be foolish."
"And that's my argument. The Demon Race can do anything for power, to ensure a successful invasion. As the weaker side, we should also have such a ruthless mindset."
"But we are not demons; we are humans — a race capable of empathy, love, and respect. If we start acting like the demon race, then what makes you think that one day, we wouldn't be like them?"
"You said it yourself. We are a race capable of empathy and love. Now that we are in a situation where our civilization is on the verge of annihilation, survival must take priority. After passing that hurdle, we can consider other things during the rebuilding phase."
"You make it sound so easy," Tom Nguyen sneered. "You should understand that once some lines are crossed, there is no turning back. If we forfeit our humanity to win a war against the demon race, then the humans that survive will no longer be a race of love and empathy — it will be a human race that is thirsting for war and power."
"You are —"
Evans suddenly coughed, which directed these two's attention to him. Evans motioned behind him, and the two saw a line of at least a dozen people listening to their conversation, some even recording it. They were so focused that even their perception did not detect so many eyes on them.
"Our apologies for holding the line," Zane said. With a swift motion, he dragged Tom Nguyen away from the field, with Evans trailing not far behind. A few people wanted to stop them and join the conversation, but Zane bolted out of the training hall.
"Why are we running? We could have received some input from many people?" Tom Nguyen stated.
Zane ignored him. Instead, he turned to Evans, "You wouldn't by any chance know how the US government plans to treat the recruit?"
Evans hesitated briefly, "I heard there is a Gifted Program that will be announced soon. The plan is to recruit anyone with special abilities — even the ones with just a soul crest and no extraordinary powers."
"Is it mandatory? Any incentive?"
"I don't think it's mandatory," Evans shook his head. "As for incentive? It should be a lot of money since the idea is to also entice foreign transcendents to migrate to the US."
"So, they are using the same old tactic," Zane muttered. The US has a long history of attracting talented students, scientists, and engineers from abroad. After World War II, they even recruited Nazi scientists. And in the modern century, the H-1B visa exists for the same purpose, and it's basically how places such as Silicon Valley became so powerful. However, this method is also flawed: many of those recruits will use the knowledge they acquired from the US and return to their home country, further developing it. That situation is very prominent among Indian and Chinese students.
Zane did not loiter around the training hall. After leaving the premises, he rushed to his dorm for a quick shower before heading to the library to search for information about Dimension Law 9ZP3 and the supplementary accord. However, aside from a few books that briefly mentioned the topic, nothing was available. Zane even checked for paid content, but the results were still limited.
Running out of options, he had to ask Madam Valeria, who coldly refused to provide any information, stating all would be revealed in time. Zane sighed to himself and continued amassing knowledge, but he was not in a good mood, which drastically diminished today's study session. But time heals all, including minor inconveniences and annoyances.
The day passed, and Zane wouldn't have felt it if not for the cruel Mana Draining Training of the afternoon class, or the crueler Orc training — or to be precise, Orc beating — of the Elite Class. The only good news is that he finally remembered to exchange his class points for a magic crystal, regaining the previous meditation efficiency.
Class ended, and after saying a few words to Keesha and Evelyn, Zane headed to his dorm. On his way, he checked the student board to see if he had missed anything. He was right to check. The most trending topic was still the tower's answer to what happened yesterday, but the second most discussed topic was about him; to be specific, the argument he had with Tom Nguyen during the morning class. Someone had posted about it, and many people chimed in to offer their opinions.