Caelen stood alone in the room. The blood sealing it was gone, and the assassin was now a paste on the ground. The assassin couldn’t provide any more reasonable answers, especially when asked why he had been sent to kill him.
The assassins were contracted killers from House Nyxen. Apparently, the House was considered a Lower House, and they were affiliated with the Neutral Faction. Apparently, their assassination trade was considered "Neutral" in the way that they could target anyone.
Caelen’s eyes flashed, and killing intent surged around him. "House Nyxen, eh? I guess I will have to pay them a visit one of these days to see why they want to kill me.
"No, why they want to kill my spirit body and replace me."
That much Caelen had figured out from the assassin. They wanted to kill his spirit and replace it with another. "How ironic. Caelen’s was indeed replaced by me.
"But this is also intriguing. They don’t want to kill his body, but they want to replace it. What use is a useless person?"
Caelen thought about it some more. "Several things are indeed problematic. The biggest of all is, why am I allowed in this Academy as an instructor? Why does the Academy give face to a falling House?"
He shook his head. "I need to trigger some of the host’s memories. Only then can I know some of what’s happening. Is Caelen truly weak, or is he pretending before his.....!!"
Caelen’s eyes suddenly narrowed and shook. "That assassin with a dagger! Did he kill the host body with that small dagger slice? Is that why I even entered this body?"
Caelen smiled, and then he looked out of the building. "I was right to let him go."
He began to walk out of the building. "Caelen was lured out here with a love letter from a supposed girl. I thought he had a girlfriend? And yet he’s still fooling around. No wonder he’s so infamous."
With an almost subconscious instinct, he began to navigate the Academy toward his own quarters, some memories from the previous body naturally coming to him.
The Academy was truly unique. It was a sprawling, fortified fortress-city designed for self-sufficiency if they wished. It was surrounded by colossal, enchantment-reinforced gray stone walls, shielding almost the entire thing.
Currently, Caelen was at the north side of the Academy, the section that was completely abandoned, leaving only old buildings and scattered skeletal stone structures overgrown with weeds.
"So this place also houses the underworld, eh." Caelen looked back at the vacant buildings that stretched back so far that even his inhuman eyes couldn’t see the end.
He could feel eyes on him, but he ignored them, choosing to continue walking. He looked up at the Grand Spire, the massive central tower that reminded him of those majestic skyscrapers back home. Only this one was even more impressive, made entirely of stone. It gave off the feeling of ancient fossils. It was where the administration of the Academy lay.
Surrounding the base were the main lecture halls, the central library, the staff and student quarters, and the Arena, where all sanctioned duels and tournaments took place in front of thousands.
Caelen walked leisurely as if he was simply out for a stroll. ’Since I can stimulate the host’s memories when I see the buildings, I should be able to get more information the more I familiarize myself.’
Both students and instructors walked about their business. The instructors mostly wore black and deep blue, while the students wore different colors depending on their class. Some students, while walking, would bow and greet some instructors. Some instructors would also greet other instructors more respectfully.
No one bowed or even greeted Caelen. He would have thought himself invisible if not for the looks of disgust that were thrown his way now and then.
But he simply ignored it. What he was doing was trying to measure the power of everyone he saw. ’Most of the instructors are Rank A if I use the Awakeners’ ranking system. And the students vary, from F to B.’
’Seriously. How did I... Caelen get the job? What’s he even teaching....!!’
The memory suddenly came to him, and he blinked. ’Mentor Instructor?’
The Academy had a unique structure whereby Mentor Instructors were like homeroom teachers, something that was familiar to Caelen but in a different way. Every student cohort was assigned a Mentor Instructor, who served a role similar to a homeroom teacher. They were responsible for the students’ welfare, evaluations, discipline, and overall development.
It was even more ruthless than that. Depending on the influence of the Mentor Instructor, the students would be able to get better things like Essence Arts, treasures, better meditation rooms, and slots for wilderness expeditions from the Academy. They could also use their personal connections to make deals with other instructors to help them.
Caelen’s eyes narrowed as he understood this, and he chuckled. ’I wonder how many students this guy has ruined. Did he even get any students at all? Huh? Surprise, surprise, he actually did get some.’
From Caelen’s faint memory that surfaced, he realized that he did indeed get some students, but the majority of them were there because they didn’t have the resources to push for a better Mentor Instructor.
Caelen shook his head as he entered the massive building of the instructors’ quarters. Surprisingly, he was assigned to a good place at the top, and with some memories, he navigated his way in.
His place was a two-room space. The main room and the bedroom.
The first room was cluttered, filled with papers, unwashed plates, and clothes thrown everywhere, and not all of them were his own. Some belonged to females.
Caelen frowned as he saw all of this. He went to the bedroom, and his frown deepened. The room smelled of sweat and body fluids. It was even rougher than the first room.
His eyes darkened. His first move was to investigate the room and see what clues he could glean. He had not expected it to be this dirty.
"I need to clean up first."
Just then, a knock came from his door, making him instantly tense.
A soft female voice called.
"Instructor Caelen? We’re having the first class of the year. The newcomers are waiting for you."