The Demon Monarch System

----

Several moments after he was safely ejected from Ashiraem by Saehtyn, Apollo opened his eyes back in Astarat. As he rose to his feet, he staggered for a moment. Due to the continued usage of copious amounts of mental strength, his body felt faint. Even though there was no damage done, the first experience was always the hardest.

On the other hand, Apollo tapped his forehead. Now that he exited Ashiraem, he could tell there was something additional in his mind. Moreover, it felt extremely different. It went without saying, it was the symbol Saehtyn implanted on him.

"It's like a little voice is in my mind telling me how to move forward. However, before I do so, I need to refill my depleted reserves. It appears this ability was more consuming than I thought. Over 3,000 units have been exhausted and I was only there for 5 minutes.

〈System Alert! Your conscience has returned after 8 hours and 30 minutes of suspension. Or, to put it differently, 30,000 seconds. Additional travel of the same type will be barred for 30 days to allow your soul to recuperate.〉

While reading this message, Apollo blanked. He didn't understand what happened. Based on what the system told him, he was only in the world for 5 minutes. If that was the case and his soul was suspended for over 8 hours, there was a mystery with the Chaotic Temporal Dissonance.

'Could it be it caused the time flow surrounding my soul to increase 100 fold? I was only gone for 300 seconds but it turned out to be 30,000. Or, perhaps Ashiraem's time flow is much slower than here? That's also a plausibility,' Apollo through while ruminating over the matter.

Nevertheless, he soon stopped. Regardless of whatever he thought at the moment, until he gathered concrete evidence, it was all mere speculation at this point. Besides, he didn't have any intention of visiting that world again until he solved the issue of arriving there properly. 

The abysmal state was far too powerless. If it weren't for the unpredictability of the Chaotic Temporal Dissonance, he would have been unable to defend himself. Him being akin to a sitting duck was a sensation that didn't sit right with him.

Fortunately, the general classes until the Institutes opened from enrollment was only a weekly matter. Obviously, it was done this way to allow the students ample time to cultivate. After all, if they attended class too often, it would hamper their progress with advancing.

This, unsurprisingly, was detrimental to the grand purpose of the War Academies. On top of grooming them into soldiers as the years passed, they also needed to make sure they possessed ample strength to achieve a sufficient amount of strength and contribution to the World Reclamation Task Force.

Be that as it may, Apollo summoned more resources and started to recuperate. Although he wished he could speed up the process, in his current state, there was no way to do so. 

Only after sitting in a single position did his reserves return back to their peak state. But, as this happened, Apollo realized a blaring issue. If his absorption rate stayed stagnant as his reserves increased, upon utilizing all of it, the recovery process would take far longer!

In light of this, Apollo delved deeper into his mind to interact with the voice present in his mind. Unfortunately, before he could do that, a knock was heard on his residence. First, he wasn't going to reply and just focus on cultivating. But, after not answering the first knock, the second set was harder and faster as well.

Thus, Apollo knew, the more he didn't answer, the more the knocking would become obnoxious. Furthermore, Apollo had an idea who was at the door. Or, at the very least it was summed down to a very minute list of people.

In frustration, Apollo flung open the door, "Damn! What is it?"

"Ahem, the old quirk has told us to come to fetch you and meet at the Practic Building," Nadida smiled innocently. Behind her, not only was there Ragnvald, but the whole gang was there—including Rhett, Adeon, and Socorra. In fact, even Aaron was present.

"Why are we being directed there? Shouldn't we focus on cultivation?" Apollo questioned in a grumbling tone. Just as he was about to immerse himself, he was interrupted. If he could, he could bathe all these people in Hellfire.

Yet, this was just something he couldn't do. As a result, he tagged along. As he did so, he continued to look at Rhett. Compared to before, he couldn't fathom the change Rhett went through. Based on what he remembered, he was sure the glutton should be the size of a boulder but that wasn't the case.

"Uh, are you all sure this guy is Rhett? Wasn't he a tub of lard before?" Apollo blinked incredulously.

"Yes, but he has a special constitution. After he turned 15, almost all of his fat was burned and turned into a source of energy. Now, his cultivation is even on par with us. To tell you the truth, we were surprised when this happened," Ragnvald answered as he ruffled Rhett's hair.

"Oi, stop! Unless you're giving me some treats, don't pet me. Unless, do you have some meat in the ring of yours? Share, share!" Rhett exclaimed with a fervent expression in his eyes.

'Well, even though his body has changed, his personality is exactly the same,' Apollo thought to himself.

In the meantime, the group of 7 arrived at the Practice Building. Awaiting their arrival was Irauk as well as a beauty in which Apollo frowned upon seeing. 

"Ah, you tardy bunch have made it! Anyways, you all need to meet the Head Instructor of the Umbra Night Institute, Sapphyr Braum. Should any of you want to enter, you'll most likely end up in her class.

"So, why are we here?" Adeon interjected as Irauk spoke. Of all of them, he was the one with the least. No matter who he was before, his attitude was always the same.

For a moment, Irauk remained silent. However, as he calmed himself, he smiled. "Well as you know, freshmen are prohibited from leaving the area. And, without combat the senses dull. So, I have arranged for you all to become sparring partners. In this way, you all can sharpen each other's faults. Ah, except for Socorra of course."

In response, the bunch looked at him oddly. Something was amiss, he was acting too much like an actual teacher right now.

"What's the catch?" Apollo inquired with narrowed eyes.

"Well, that's easy! You all will have to foot the bill for using this area's special area!" Irauk cackled. After slapping his knee, he left the area, leaving a displeased group of youths. As they were now, they all possessed a finite sum of resources. None of the options to acquire more had been opened to them yet.

Luckily, Sapphyr was much more level headed. "Be at ease. There is an area solely for freshmen. While it is less intense, it is free of charge, you can spar there. You may all go, but stay behind Apollo, I need to ask you something."

While the others moved forward, just Sapphyr and Apollo were left.

"Ahem, first, I want to say sorry. It was rash of me to behave like that. I hope you can understand I wasn't exactly in the best space when that happened," Saphhyr said after exhaling.

Although he didn't like the fact he was the one subject to the thrashing, Apollo still nodded. In short, he understood how embarrassing her situation was. Furthermore, he could say he was slightly more learned in the matters of women.

"I understand, but how about some recompense. I'm sure you have some Spirits Stones, no? Why don't you give me some? I think my trauma will be perfectly healed then," Apollo smirked mischievously.

Even though she knew this was a facade, she still felt she was slightly wrong. Thus, she handed Apollo 25 Spirit Stones while questioning him, "Is it true you were disqualified from the latter part of the trial?"

"Yup! Not just me, all the Glories were. It seems we got into a scuffle and none of us can remember," Apollo answered. However, it appeared there were some untruths to his words. As he said this, a hint of malice appeared in his eyes that was quickly concealed.

"I see," Sapphyr nodded, "Well, make sure to watch your back. Go and meet with the others."

As Apollo entered the building, Sapphyr summoned Xezym, "It seems it is true. But I don't understand why."

"We'll learn later," Xezym responded before they both disappeared.