'Famir? Mavenna? Those two kids started this tower?' Ning felt a sense of pride when he realized what they had succeeded in doing.
Ning was a little hesitant asking about their life when he got to Vilmore again, so the most he had asked was how long they had lived, which the system had told him were 359 and 455 years for the brother and sister respectively.
Learning that they had lived so long, he had simply assumed that they had lived a good life. But, to learn that they actually started an organization that would go on to become the towering figure they were today.
Thinking about all of this, Ning couldn't help but feel… angry.
'These damn fuckers are trying to ruin what those siblings created, using it to further themselves when it was supposed to help the others,' Ning thought.
The siblings, especially Famir knew hardship from a young age. Living in a small village, taking care of his only sister, he knew how hard the average person had to work to meet the week's end.
Ning could guarantee that when the tower was created, neither of those siblings had any intention of keeping something like Aether away from the normal folks.
Yet, the people that came after them had twisted their beliefs, turning what they cherished into something that actively impoverishes the average human.
Ning closed the book and placed it back on the table.
"You can see that the scroll initially did belong to us. However, we won't ask you to return it to us for free. In exchange for returning the scroll, we will give you a high-ranking position in the tower. That way yo—"
"Enough!" Ning shouted. He was truly angry right now. " High ranking position in the tower? What a joke. You have kept this farce going for long enough."
The people in the room were startled at the sudden shout from Ning.
"What do you mean by farce, mister Ning," the President asked.
Ning did not answer her and instead turned to his side to look at the vice president. "How high in the organization do you have to be to learn about the absorption techniques?" Ning asked.
"We don't know about absorptio—"
"I know about your damn treaty with the nobles. I know you keep the techniques for yourself and give them to the nobles only. So just tell me how high do you have to be in the organization?" Ning asked.
The vice president was stunned. He hadn't expected a student to shout at him like that.
"Mister Ning, please understand who you are speaking to. He's the vice president of the tower," Merilyn said from the side.
"And what is that role supposed to mean to me? Is it supposed to be something I should admire? Is it supposed to be something I respect?" Ning asked.
"I admire none of you. You all lost my respect the moment you decided to throw the common man under the bus to further establish yourselves," Ning said.
"How dare you talk to us like that," the president said with a serious face. "Not only did your ancestor steal from us, now you say such rude things in front of us?"
"Hah! Steal? My ancestors stole what? I gave you a made-up scroll, and somehow you gave it a history of your own. You think that scroll that I would use to wipe my ass is of any worth at all?" Ning asked.
"I could shit out 1000 of those scrolls and you guys would all eat it like it's the most wonderful delicacy."
Ning stood up from his chair. "I will give you 2 weeks. In 2 weeks, I want to hear the common folks down by the commercial zone, by the slums learn about the existence of the absorption techniques, and be handed a copy of the scroll each."
"If you do not do that, I will give them scrolls of my own, and believe me, they will be much better than that scroll. With that, I will establish an organization of myself, and topple yours down."
The teachers and president that listened to Ning were in utter shock. They didn't expect the person they had brought in to sneakily join their tower would speak up in retaliation.
"Hah! Do you think your fake threats will work here? Do you expect yourself to be so good to create an organization that will topple ours? Just because you became a mere Aether Emperor, you must have let that go to your head if you seriously believe you have any power against us," the president said.
"You don't have to worry about that. That is my concern now," Ning said and walked away.
The two buff men stood in front of him, not willing to budge. Ning stopped and looked at them. "Move!" he ordered.
The two guards shuddered when they saw his eyes. Those were the eyes of a killer who would kill without hesitation.
They moved to the side, and Ning opened the door to walk away. Just before he was gone, he turned around one last time and looked at the president.
"2 weeks! Remember. I want everyone in the city to have a copy of that scroll," Ning said one last time before walking away.
While Famir and Mavenna cared for this organization a lot, he knew that it would be better to destroy this organization now that it had gone in a direction they had never planned to.
Ning walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the lowest floor. With what had just happened, he had practically expelled himself from the tower now, so there was no point in sticking around.
'Well, I hope the new students don't get indoctrinated into this system that benefits oneself at the expense of others,' Ning thought.
He was very much sure that his threat of toppling the tower would be seen as a joke by them, so to prove them wrong, he needed to think how he would go about it.
He needed to prepare a lot of things.
