Chapter 372: Fragments From The Past, Wake The F*ck Up!
"Now, now everyone," Min Jin announced as he clapped his hands. "Every single one of you is an official Knight Apprtice of the Omega Dome, and as such, I hope you all strive to bring the Omega Dome to greater heights!"
Hearing this announcemt put the newly appointed Knight Apprtices in a slightly fired-up state. All of them had come from the boonies, and as such, they never had a purpose as noble as this one. In all fairness, their pumped-up attitudes were well-warranted.
Of course, that was the case for everyone except one…
As nonchalant as always, Azmodeus had his hands behind his head and his gaze focused anywhere but where the commotion was situated.
\'That kid is… sigh…\' The Examiner thought in exasperation. "Anyway," he said as he pointed his hand toward the exit for the building. "I will now show you all to the Knight Apprtice Dorms, which is where you will receive free Basic Room and Board. Anything more than that will depd on your own capabilities."
Beckoning the young adults with his hands, the Examiner\'s words seemed to foretell some unforese evts in store for them.
None besides Azmodeus noticed the underlying meaning hidd within Min Jin\'s tone.
\'There are definitely going to be some hardships ahead, but like usual, I will deal with everything by myself,\' Azmodeus thought as he narrowed his eyes at the overly fridly expression on the Examiner\'s face.
He knew better than to buy into all the flowery words and promises of paradise.
Just like his previous vironmts, he would treat this place as if life and death were a every corner.
There was no telling what sort of organization he just joined…
"Right this way," Min Jin said to Azmodeus.
Still deep in thought, these words snapped Azmodeus out of his reverie and put him in active motion toward a far-off six-story building. The building was high in the sky, lined with lit-up windows, and had the typical college dorm vibe. Still, there was one thing that came off as rather off-putting for the Knight Apprtices.
"Auras," Azmodeus muttered to himself. "Their are powerful Immortals residing in that building; some ev stronger than the Examiner."
"Hmm…?" Hearing the faint murmurs of the peculiar red-haired Knight Apprtice, Min Jin softly chuckled. "Within the confines of the first geration Knight Apprtices are kiddos ev more powerful than I am. After all, I am just a servant of the Omega Dome."
The Examiner laughed it off, treating the tire subject as something only natural.
"In case you all are curious," Min Jin said after catching his breath. "Knight Apprtices all start off weak like you bunch, but with time, the talted ones will begin to break apart from the sheep."
"These are the Knight Apprtices who have a chance of going on to become guine Omega Knights," Min Jin explained. "And th there are those who couldn\'t keep up with the times. People like me and the other Eximaners."
Ev though he broached upon a touchy subject for most of the Examiners and other servants of the Omega Dome, he seemed unbothered about the whole ordeal.
"We all used to be Knight Apprtices, but we couldn\'t quite make the cut to become part of an elite force," Min Jin said with that same smile on his face. "Though it may sound depressing, and most of you will wind up with the same fate, the Omega Dome still treats its servants very well. And in most places, we are treated like royalty."
The Examiner seemed to recall a few euphoric experices as he erupted into a peel of laughter.
After taking the time to calm his nerves, Min Jin stopped in front of the normal-looking doors of the dorm. Turning to look at his dumbfounded recruits, he once again burst out in laughter. "The point of this little retelling is that you all should do your utmost to excel and not d up like me!"
Min Jin proceeded to slowly fade away with that same grin on his face. "Oh, and try not to be too discouraged after getting a better understanding of how things work a here. Just try harder," he cautioned before fully vanishing from view.
Silce.
"Well, that was not ominous at all," Chun Mu said with an awkward look on her face. "Still, isn\'t it incredibly exciting to be in a place like this? Sured by monsters like those in this lowest-level dorm??"
She turned toward the dorm door and oped it up. She th took her first step into a future that she couldn\'t wait to experice. "I don\'t know about you bunch, but I plan to make it big here!" She exclaimed.
"..."
Looking at the valiant back of the black-haired girl and that side view of her dazzling smile reminded Azmodeus of someone he tried his best to forget.
\'They say that time is what allows the scars to show,\' he thought with a sigh. \'Over and over again, time proves itself to be right…\'
Following behind the group of giddy childr, Azmodeus, the gloomy red-haired young man, seemed to flow in and out of reality. Like an invisible kite, he tered the dorm and quietly left the group, making his way up multiple flights of stairs and evtually to his room.
After seeing that the room number matched the one on the folded-up piece of paper that the Examiner had slipped into his pocket before he disappeared, Azmodeus neared the door and listlessly stood there for a second.
\'Deja vu,\' he thought.
Entering the room, Azmodeus observed the simple interior for a few momts, th he found himself sleeping on the full-sized cotton bed in the left-side cter part of the room.
Time passed like a river stream, and a lonesome, brok man was allowed to spd some time in the land of dreams for the first time in what felt like forever…
9 hours flew by in a flash.
It was now morning, and it was time for everyone to wake the f*ck up!!
"Cacadooddledooo!!!"