However, the crowd were still confused as to why he decided to join the Dark Tower, which has been declining over the past few decades. The other students were still confused and whispering in the seats.
The professors were still stunned and confused, looking at each other with bewilderment, not understanding why the most talented freshman in the generation had decided to join the declining tower instead of the Combat towers.
There were several Tower Monitors in the area near the high noble’s seat. One of these was Vane, the monitor of the Dark Tower. He wore a black uniform with two white stripes on his sleeves and a white collar. He had crossed his arms and was simply sitting there silently watching. His keen eyes were watching Zane’s every move, looking for any sign of doubt or pride.
The principal looked down over the students. "Vane has taken Zane to the dark tower, he is now a member."
"Okay principal," Vane said, standing up.
As Vane started to walk towards the staircase.
Zane noticed Eveline running over from the martial arts section. She was looking very concerned. She pushed through the confused students still crowding around. Her eyes were fixed on Zane.
"Zane, are you sure about this ? I know you have your own reasons and I’ll support you however don’t make a mistake that you will regret later!" She said, nervously holding Zane’s hand. Her hands were shaking slightly due to how worried she was about him joining somewhere known throughout the Royal Academy as a tough and forgotten place.
Zane looked down at her concerned face. "Don’t worry, I know exactly what I’m doing," He said, gently patting her head.
"I shall visit you okay," He said, rushing towards Vane who was waiting at the entrance.
He reached Vane and they began walking towards the Dark Tower.
After a while of walking in silence, Vane finally spoke.
"I don’t know if you’re mad or just an insane Freshman," Vane said, speeding up.
"You should have known by now, you are the strongest of all the monitors who were sitting with you," Zane said, placing his hands in his pockets.
’Wow, this kid can tell how strong I am without fighting me! That means that the aura wasn’t fake!’ Vane thought, his eyes widening slightly. He adjusted his high collar slightly and looked at Zane walking beside him. To know someone was holding back their mana without fighting them was incredible.
"Just because I’m stronger than them doesn’t mean you will accomplish what I have," Vane said.
"Why would I want to accomplish what you have done?" Zane asked.
"Mmm... So what do you expect to accomplish in the Dark Tower?" Vane asked, looking at Zane.
"I have the power to do whatever I want or beat my enemy but I feel like there is something missing in the magic, swordsmanship, spearmanship and other classes," Zane said, looking at his hand. He slowly made a fist.
"What do you mean missing?" Vane asked, interested in what Zane was saying.
"I feel like there is a flow to how people are using their classes. I think I should study Ancient magic and learn how they used to use magic," Zane said.
Vane looked at Zane, impressed. ’Most nobles only cared about having high ranks, fancy titles and modern magic. However this guy is looking into the actual basics of martial and magic arts’Vane thought
"Looks like you have a purpose for coming to the academy huh," Vane said.
"Yeah, how can I become the strongest if I don’t know anything?" Zane said.
"It is possible."
"It is, but if you have both you will be hard to beat," Zane said.
"You are very clever, get ready to meet the person you just described, we’re here."Vane said.
Zane stopped walking and looked around. "Huh! There’s nothing here," He said, looking around at all the dry trees. The air was dry and silent. Only the soft rustle of dry leaves could be heard.
"Just take one step forward," Vane said, walking forward and disappearing.
Zane followed. When they entered the area, the atmosphere was completely different. They were surrounded by well looked after flowers and grass. They walked towards the tower. The whole area was protected by a barrier, hiding the tower from the rest of the academy.
Vane pushed open the heavy door. As no students had been recruited in the past two years, there was some dust. The huge iron fixtures squealed as they were forced open. Inside the large dark stone hallway, dust particles floated around in the pale light escaping from the stained glass windows above.
"You’ve brought someone to visit us this time, Vane," a smooth voice said.
Zane looked around and saw a middle aged woman walking down the stairs. She had an intense aura around her, showing she had trained in forgotten arts for decades and fought on countless battlefields. Her footsteps were silent as she walked down the worn cobblestone steps.
"Yes ma’am, he wanted to come to the Dark Tower," Vane said, bowing respectfully.
She looked at Zane. Her eyes were sharp, dark and analyzed. She looked Zane up and down. "Have we met before? What is your name?" She asked, sitting down on the chair near the stairs.
"Zane William," Zane said.
Her face softened as she realised who he was. Her calm eyes widened slightly. "Oh! I know who you are! You’re the child of the late Queen! You have definitely grown, but why have you come here? You must be talented seeing how many talented princes and princesses there are," The tower leader said, leaning back in her chair.
"Since I have appeared after 10 years, everyone is talking about my mother. What kind of person was she?" Zane said, his voice quiet but intense.
The middle aged woman paused. A small smile appeared on her face. "The only word I can think of is Battle Maniac," She said with a laugh. Her laugh echoed around the tall stone walls.
"My name is Joy Ravenscroft. This is my son Vane Ravenscroft. Welcome to my Dark Tower. We study and practise Ancient theories, magic, cultivation and techniques," She said, standing up and walking towards her office. Her dark robes swayed slightly.
"This way, I’ll show you to your room and introduce you to our last students we recruited two years ago. Even though they are graduating this year," Vane said, walking further into the dark corridors of the Dark tower.
Vane then started showing Zane where the library was, where the training grounds were, and then they went to the dining hall.
There, five students were about to eat their supper since the exam had ended late.
"Hi guys, we have a newcomer today," Vane announced.
Everyone who was in the room turned to see who had chosen the declining tower.
"A newcomer, that’s surprising," said a boy with blond hair who was wearing a white shirt and dark trousers.
"Yeah, that surprised me too, since every tower wanted him," Vane explained.
"To make every tower want him, he must be strong and talented," a girl with white hair sitting at the edge of the table said.
"Saying he is talented... you are undermining him. This guy is a monster," Vane said, pointing at Zane. "Anyway, his name is Zane William."
"William, as in the Royal Family?" another girl who was receiving food asked.
"A prince in the Dark Tower? That’s surprising," another boy who had long black hair and black armor said.
"So Zane, that girl who is eating is Lilith, the one sitting on the edge of the table is Celeste, that guy wearing white is Darius, that one standing over on the wall is Soren, and that girl receiving food is Talia," Vane introduced.
"Nice to meet you guys, I hope we will get along," Zane said.
"Nice to meet you too,"they replied.
"Why don’t we eat first and then I will show you your room?"Vane said.
"Fine by me I was starving anyway"Zane said while walking towards the line to receive food.
"He seems to be calmer than I thought,"Lilith said.
"Yeah and he didn’t even look down on us, which is surprising though"Celeste said.
"With the conversation I had with him, he seems to know his limits and he may be stronger than me," Vane said while sitting down.
"We will find out if he is stronger than you after the freshman exam next month, and also we need someone to represent us in the Tower Competition that is happening next year," Darius said.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same," Vane said.
"Thinking about what?" Zane interjected.
"Well, as we were talking about, the Tower Competition next year," Vane said.
"I don’t like the spotlight, but if it’s for the Tower, I will help."
They continued their conversation, and after they finished, Vane took Zane to his room.
"Tomorrow I will give you your uniform, okay?" Vane said, standing at the door.
"It’s fine, good night anyway," Zane said while standing up and closing the door.
’Those beings appeared again... is it the system’s doing? No, the system only gives me rewards after I accomplish things out of hard work, so what was that?’ Zane thought to himself, looking at his status window.