Draconic King of Shadows-Chapter 54: Turbulent Eve

Damion checked his timer, and seeing that he had only a few seconds before Shadow Possession ended, he gritted his teeth and jumped through the window, leaving behind a few words for Aspasia.

"I will return!"

***

In a secluded office hidden in an unknown area of the Academy, a few personnels were working, going through several files, video footages and charts.

One personnel in particular had a senior worker standing beside him, both of them going through a recent report.

"It matches sir," the personnel said. "And that makes him the sixth suspect."

"Good job," the senior worker praised. He read the report for a few more seconds, before placing it on the table and working away.

On getting to an elevator, he raised a communicator to his mouth and spoke. "I’m sending the files to you now, Shodan," he said. "If any one of them applies for the Training Program... let them in immediately. We can’t afford to lose such a strong potential assassin."

***

The lights flickered on. There was an A/C streaming cool air into the room, and Damion stood directly in front of it, cooling down his heated body.

"I didn’t realize this side effect, because I was too focused on the battle, and Matilda," Damion soliloquized.

Thinking of Matilda, he clenched his fists, remembering what he had said to Aspasia before he left.

’I have a Drakaina?’ he thought. ’Why did I say that? That was cringe as f**k!’

He refocused his attention on his body and turned, letting the cool air touch the other parts of it.

Shadow Possession came with an annoying side effect. The skill literally pushed his body beyond its limit, forcing his strength to skyrocket and double, and when the skill was deactivated, or the duration came to an end, his body heated up and risked shutting down.

__________

[Shadow Possession- Lvl 1]

[Skill Description: Your shadow is your alternate version in the Shadow Realm, and can be manipulated at will.

Fuse with your shadow, and all your skills and physical stats would be doubled]

[Cost: 10 MP]

[Duration: 5 Minutes]

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It said something about an alternate version of himself in the Shadow Realm fusing with him, and doubling his skills and physical stats.

What was this Shadow Realm?... What, or who was this alternate version of himself?

Damion turned again, positioning another part of his body in front of the A/C. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"This skill, though strong, would give me trouble if used unwisely," Damion complained. "Because of it, I couldn’t question Aspasia like I originally wanted to."

Damion stepped away from the A/C and laid on his bed in his underwear. He was too tired to put clothes on, and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

This night was his last night taking on the persona of Agony. Not that he was tired of doing so, but he wanted to prepare properly for the Training Program which was coming up in two days.

***

The next day was unlike any other.

Damion spent half of it searching for tickets along with Lyra, while the other half was spent with Hakuro in the Combat Class.

Fights erupted throughout the day, mainly between those with tickets.

On the surface, Damion didn’t participate in these ’useless’ fights, but, he took the fights to a whole new level and ambushed a few students when in the dark, earning four more tickets.

He crossed paths with Kenzo and his twin sister during the day, but Damion didn’t bat an eye, to which Matilda was secretly pissed when she saw him with Lyra.

Lyra on the other hand, understanding the gravity of the situation that day, came out with her full body Exoskeleton Armor. She dealt with a few students who were brazen enough to attack her, and earned three tickets too.

Her Exoskeleton Armor was an interesting piece of technology. It consisted of interconnected mechanical parts that synced well with each other to form a comprehensive war machine.

The parts were of different sizes and proportions, with each having different functions. It was almost like a Mech, the only thing different about it being its size, portability and unique skill set.

Her combat prowess was at its best when in her full body Exoskeleton Armor, but because she was a researcher and developer, she didn’t have much time to hone her skills. Still, she was a formidable opponent.

To put it simply, it was a chaotic day. There were lots of smiles, and lots of cries too.

There was violence for many, and peace for a selected few. And amongst those few even, it was just a front, because deep down within them, their hearts were in turmoil.

Damion discussed with Hakuro for a very long time that day, and he gave Damion some tips on how to go about the creation of his Martial Arts.

They both worked for a few hours, training and practicing.

Hakuro noticed Damion’s sloppiness, and he linked it to the fact that Damion was taking his words seriously and forgot everything he knew about fighting, so he could create a new fighting style.

If only he knew that he had merely made Damion weaker than he already was, though it was just for a while.

Damion and Kenzo sparred on the orders of Hakuro, and Kenzo defeated Damion easily.

They fought a few more times, and the same thing replayed repeatedly. Damion didn’t mind the defeat, he was only training himself and didn’t take it personal.

Kenzo on the other hand had a victorious smile on his face with each win, yet, there was no satisfaction in his eyes. He was winning, yet losing.

The preparations for the Training Program continued, spilling over to the next day.

There was an uproar when the students termed ’Strong’ decided to show themselves in public, and at some point, the other first-years became wary.

A few dark horses showed themselves too, proving that coming from a wealthy or talented family didn’t always decide your fate.

Damion was among those dark horses, along with Kenzo, Melruen and two other students. They showed strength that rivaled the ’Strong’ students, and their fame quickly spread.

The day went by quickly, and night did the same. Before anyone knew it, the day had arrived, and everyone applying for the Training Program headed to the Academy’s Hall.