Tom leaped up, raised his blade high overhead, and then swung down.
Russam, still closing his eyes, jumped to the side, dodging the attack.
But then something weird happened.
Another Tom appeared out of nowhere, and swung the blade straight towards Russam's neck, stopping half an inch.
"I got you," Tom said.
"You think?"
Tom raised an eyebrow and saw the nunchuk wrapped around his left leg.
The atmosphere became silent except the sound of blowing wind.
"You defeated me, senior. I thank you for the lesson," Tom said before pulling his blade.
"No. It's a draw."
The students were in uproar. A draw! How could that be possible. Russam, a high Diamond Rank, and the top twenty student fight a draw against a mid Diamond Rank?
There was no logic to that result. If they tell this to their friends, no one would have believe them.
"A draw… does Senior Russam say that to not humiliate the new kid?"
"Senior Russam is not a bully so that might be possible."
"But he never give mercy to his enemies before. Even against lower rank, Senior Russam always put them in their place, so why is Tom different?"
"Does their fight really a draw?"
"Are you fucking dumb?"
Murmurs of students start to become loud as they could not believe what they just saw.
Russam looked at Tom's Phantom Doomblade. "It's a good weapon."
"Thank you, senior," Tom replied.
Russam turned around and left the premise immediately.
"Just like that? The fight ended just like that?"
"Damn, I was sure that new kid will die today."
"Maybe senior Russam is just not in the mood."
Zerdar, Helid, and Hemur approached Tom.
"Are you okay?" Helid asked.
"I am fine."
"Are you sure?" Zerdar continued: "Senior Russam's attack is known to left a lot of internal wounds. Unlike swords which left external wounds, his nunchaku only showed some bruises and strain, but the internal organs of their enemies would always be wrecked. One of the reason why he is so feared is because of this ability. Internal organs takes much longer to heal, and sometimes, you couldn't tell until it's too late. Let me tell you, some people didn't have the symptoms until they are on their deathbed."
Tom frowned and activated the chip inside his head to execute a scanning procedure.
'Beep! Scanning began…'
'Scan Complete: damage detected: brain 8%, lungs 12%, liver 2%, bladder 10%, kidney 4%'
Tom frowned. When did Russam attacked him? He could not remember during the battle. Tom was pretty sure that Russam's attack was non-fatal, and should not cause any trouble, but apparently he was wrong.
"Dangerous… truly dangerous. The top students should not be underestimated at all."
"What did you detect something?" Zerdar asked.
Nodding, Tom spoke: "My father gave me something that allows me to scan my body. The device told me that my internal organs are slightly injured."
"We need to bring you the healers then. I can do healing magic myself, but they are not as potent."
"Don't worry. I can heal myself."
Tom looked around and pointed at a beautiful student. "Hey, you. Can you come here?"
The lady was confused as to why she was called, but she weirdly obeyed.
"What do you need from me?"
Tom's eyes turned red and he stared deep into her blue eyes. "May I drink your blood?"
The lady's muscle relaxed as she spoke. "Sure thing."
"Thank you." Tom grabbed her by the shoulder and bit into her neck.
Zerdar and Hemur looked at each other.
Even Helid was slightly surprised.
After a few minutes, Tom pulled out his teeth and smiled at the woman. "Thanks again."
"Anytime," she said before leaving.
"Uhh… what just happened?" Helid asked.
"I can drink someone's blood to heal myself. I can usually use my own blood, but for some injuries, I need to use the blood of others."
"Are you a vampire?"
"You can also say that. What's wrong?"
"Well, I did not expect that. A lot nobles had mixed bloodline with demons, vampires, elves, and even ogres, but most of them are pure human."
"I know. It's because mixing your bloodline will limit your potential, although it give you temporary boost in strength. Isn't that right?" Tom said.
Zerdar nodded. "Most human has low talent, and so they mix their blood with other race to improve further on their strength. But these depends on the quality and purity of the blood essence they use. The nobles of course use the best thing they can find."
Tom smiled. "Don't worry. It won't affect my talent at all. I will reach Adamantite Rank in no time."
"Enough about that. How did you get that lady to let you suck her blood?" Helid asked. He was a skinny guy and even though he could get as many peasants girls as he wanted, Helid did not want them, and wanted the high-class lady instead.
"I simply asked, and my handsome face do the rest of the job." Tom laughed.
Helid could not tell if Tom was joking or not. He was even prepared to take some notes.
"Come, let's go somewhere else," Zerdar invited. "I know a good place where we can eat."
Tom felt a little hungry, so he nodded in agreement and followed them.
As he took a step however, space and time froze and the world turned black and white.
Tom could not move, but his eyes saw a magic circle appearing above him. He tried to activate the chip installed in his head but it did not work. He even tried to open his Divine Dimension, but he could not.
Nothing worked.
Suddenly, The magic circle shattered the space above, creating a vacuum that sucked Tom deep into the darkness.
He twirled, spun, and rolled, but then suddenly, he was walking on a carpet. Looking left and right, a dozen or so teachers with white robes looked at him.
He looked forward and saw a man seated in the seat of honor.
Tom activated his godly eyes, but got no information. It was a projection. This whole reality was a projection, so he could not scan it.
What a powerful magic. How did they do it? What kind of spell was it? Creating an entire alternate reality… if that was the case, then where was the exact location of his body?
Tom tried to open his inventory and divine dimension again. It did not work. A theory appeared in his mind. Perhaps he was unconscious and his consciousness was brought here. It was even possible that his entire soul was brought here.
There were so many possibilities because magic was almost limitless.
"Do you know who I am, Tom?" The man spoke as he sat with dignified yet relaxed posture on the seat of honor. He looked old yet firm. He long white beard trailed on his chest and ended on his thigh.
"I apologize, but I do not know."
A teacher in white robe stepped forward. "You are now facing one of the Great Grandmaster of Withokere University: Stordisk Tough."
Tom tried to access more information about Stordisk Tough, but his internal chip did not work at all, so there was nothing he could do.
But he had heard of that name before. Stordisk Tough was definitely one of the ancient being that had protected the Kingdom of Withokere for many wars.
He was one of the few that survived. His status was even considered to be higher than the current king, and the king was reported to ask for advice from them.
"Tom," Stordisk called in a calm voice, yet something about it made Tom tremble in fear. It was like the grunting of a lion. The lion was relaxing on the ground, but Tom knew that it could rip him apart anytime it wanted.
"I offer you to be my student."
Tom bowed. "With respect, Grandmaster Stordisk, but I am already your student. According to the school, every student in Withokere University are your student."
Stordisk laughed. "You amused me. But that is not what I meant. I want you to be my personal disciple."
Tom considered the option. Becoming the personal disciple of an Adamantite Rank doesn't sound bad. Maybe he could even obtain a lot of secret skills and potion.
"We can formalize with blood-ritual."
Crap! Blood ritual was a powerful magic spell that could bond his fate with the other person. In this case, he would really have to obey the master's whim.
Aldred trusted no one with his fate. If god himself appear and write his destiny, he would steal the pen and break it with his knee.
Though he was still grateful that the gods reincarnated him into this life.
But still, the point remain, he would not leave his fate to someone else.
"I apologize, Grandmaster."
A teacher frowned and took another step. "Tom Nicholas! Are you really going to refuse the Grandmaster's offer?"
"It is unfortunate, but my father always taught me to be the man of my word. I have accepted Miss Claudia's offer to be her personal disciple. Therefore I have no choice but to refuse."
"Claudia?" Stordisk raised an eyebrow.
A teacher walked to the Grandmaster and whispered something into his ear.
"Ah, a young beautiful teacher. You are indeed still young, Tom. I am slightly disappointed, but I must remind myself of your age. When you are older you will soon realize that beauty means nothing."
Tom blinked a bunch of times. Did the Grandmaster think that he picked Miss Claudia because she was beautiful?
He did not like that assumption, but he could not refute it either, because he did not have any other good reason to reject Stordisk's offer.
"So be it. But since you are already here, let me give you some things."
Tom's eyes lit up.
