Death Mage with an SS-Rank Talent-Chapter 168

All the members from the Dusk Academy woke up early and got ready to leave. They were afraid that the vice-headmistress might really leave them if they didn’t wake up on time and be ready before time.

Everyone was ready by five in the morning.

A van prepared by the alliance picked them up outside the hotel and drove them to the train station. It was too early in the morning, so the journey didn’t take as long as it did when they arrived at the capital.

At the train station, they had to wait for more than half an hour before the train that would take them to their destination arrived.

Similar to how they journeyed from Dusk City to the Capital, there were two cabins booked for the return trip, which can accommodate four each. The division was the same as it was back then.

Aaron had to travel with the girls for the next five days, while the four others had to share the same cabin. As usual, this distribution caused a small amount of envy among the boys but not as much as it did before.

Aaron once stood at the top of the alliance when they just awakened before getting to the academies. Though many praised him for such an achievement, there are many who struck that as a lucky situation.

There were many who believed that after going through training at the academies, there would be many who would overtake him, but Aaron proved them wrong by taking the first position in the Inter-Academy tournament.

This time, he even defeated Mary Hinters, who was absent for the entrance exam as she directly entered the Capital Academy, and there was no need to waste resources.

Now everyone undoubtedly believes that he is the number one among his generation of awakeners, but there are a few who still view that this would only stay true for a while, as he would falter after reaching the peak of Rank-6, as many Death Professionals before him.

The two boys, Bronn and James, were not among them. Whether that was true or not, that was for the future them to think about. At the moment, Aaron is stronger than them and that is a fact.

If they do anything to displease him, that might become problematic for them. That is all they know and want to avoid.

Who can say whether they can surpass Aaron in the future?

Though it was commonly known that Death Professionals stop at Rank-6, and no one has ever crossed to Rank-7, it was not a guarantee that other professionals would be able to cross to Rank-7 and above.

It was just that for other professionals, there is a path, while for Death Professionals, there is none.

It doesn’t mean that every other professional out there would be able to walk along the path. If that was so, there should be a lot of Rank-7 and above professionals in the world, but there aren’t many.

Though there is potential for growth in their professions, it’s not a guarantee that they can achieve success. Many fail to do so.

So, for them, even though they have a path to walk, it was guaranteed until the moment they achieve it. So, in their opinion, its best to not create powerful enemies, who can beat the shit out of them.

They accepeted their seats as the train moved.

---

Five Days Later...

Nothing much happened in these five days, except for the fact that Aaron made friends with Diana during the journey.

He was already friends with Erika long before coming to the capital. During the stay at the capital, he became friends with Lyanna, the vice-headmistress, though that was just when they are in private, not when they are among others.

Also, with him obtaining the top position in the tournament, becoming friends with Diana was easier as she took the initiative to become friends.

No matter who you are, as long as you become what was considered the main line of a society, whether it could be rich, powerful, handsome or something else entirely, others would compete to make friends with you.

It remains same no matter the world.

The reason for that is simple. They want to benefit by riding on your coattails. This way, when the one who was rich or powerful or something like that would get soup, when you get the meat. For others, this is an easy way to rise up in the world and for the rich and powerful, they do need some handymen to do simple work for them or connections to easily gather information.

It’s a win-win situation.

---

Except for the small addition of making friends with Diana, nothing much happened during the journey.

When the train reached Dusk City, it was almost noon. Once they disembarked the train, they went outside, where there was a van waiting for them to take them back to the city.

"Hey Archie", Lyanna greeted the man. This was the same man who dropped them here a few days ago.

"Hello, Ma’am, I hear congratulations are in order for the students", Archie said.

"Yeah, they performed well and I hope the ones who come next year would be similar", Lyanna spoke in a hopeful manner, but she knew that the academy was lucky this year around, but may not be so next year.

"I hope so too", Archie said and started the van, seeing that everyone was on board.

It didn’t take long before they arrived at the academy gates, where Archie dropped them off.

"I know everyone was tired from the trip. So, you can go to your dorms and rest for the day, but meet me tomorrow morning at my office. Also, I know most of you should have spent whatever Dusk credits you have during this travel. So, you can enjoy meals for free, just today. From the morrow, you have to pay to eat. Now leave", Lyanna spoke to the five as they entered the academy.

All five walked towards the first-year housing area, while the three staff members went to their residential area. Everyone is tired of the journey and needs rest for the day before doing anything else.