After leaving, William asked Cypher once again about his intentions.
"Why do you allow him to go to the dungeon? Is that even within the law of the tradition?"
"Of course it is, even if he must be tortured every night, you must understand this is also torture."
"It is torture? But would refusing his request not cause him more pain?"
William knew that Cypher must have something in mind, but still wanted to learn.
"Listen well, while refusing his request has some benefits, it is not in accordance with the path I am choosing. Refusing his request would only make him more resilient and less compliant."
William's eyes widened.
"You mean refusing his request would make future tortures less potent?"
"In a way, the important thing is that the pain he endures must be self-inflicted. We are mostly beyond the physical torture; however, the human mind becomes resilient under pressure."
"Self-inflicted," William wondered, "The one thing he can not escape is himself."
"Exactly, no matter where he is, he cannot escape the grasp of my hand. Soon, every action I perform, malicious or not, will become a source of internal turmoil in his mind."
"He will torture himself without the need for my hand."
William kneeled on the ground, "You are truly deserving to be our king."
…
Cassian was almost late to school, since they were entering the dungeon that day, when they planned to meet earlier.
A dozen buses for the students were already lined up, and people were already seated inside.
Cassian quickly searched for his own homeroom teacher, which was easy with his senses. He ran up and jumped straight into the bus.
"Tch, what a pity that you showed up."
Mr. Hill muttered while checking his name off a list.
Since he was the last to arrive, only the seats at the front of the bus were still available. He chose to sit by himself, but immediately Alizée sat down next to him.
"What are you doing?"
He already agreed with her father to stay away from her.
"Can I not sit where I want?"
"I guess."
He replied and started staring out the window.
"Anyway, my father told me to stay away from you. Do you know anything about this?"
She grabbed his arm and literally yanked his attention back to her.
"Maybe he doesn't want his precious daughter around a useless F-rank."
"My father isn't like that; he doesn't care about rank. There must be another reason."
Alizée stuck out her chest, which was not that impressive.
"Have you ever considered that I may be dangerous?"
He went back to staring outside.
"How are you dangerous?"
Her curious voice was soft on his ears.
His brain flashed back to the wolves and the noise they made while eating him.
"I could be dangerous to you, your reputation, your future, and your wallet, since you seem to like spending money on me."
"It's not like that," She hit him with balled up fists, "How could you be dangerous to me?" She immediately pushed off all the other concerns.
Cassian fell silent; he could not answer her.
No matter how much she begged, he did not respond. Eventually, she turned her back on him and chewed her lip.
Cassian instead focused his time on the system, just some final checks.
_________________
Name Cassian Locke
Level 1
Experience 0/1259
Grade F
Class Swordsman
Health 42/42
Mana 41/41
Stats
Strength 8.4 (+6)
Agility 6.9 (+8)
Stamina 8.7
Intelligence 8.2
Free Stat points: 0
Attributes
Defense 1 (+2)
Penetration 0 (+1)
Critical Rate 1%
Critical Bonus 50%
Skills
Pseudo-Immortality
Sense Enhancement - Level 3
Swordsmanship - Level 2
Sword Cut - Level 1
Sword Slash - Level 2
Skill points: 0
He was vastly overpowered compared to E-ranks.
Average E-ranks should have less than 26 total stat points, depending on the equipment they are using. Cassian, however, already had over thirty without equipment and over 45 with it.
Moreover, most E-ranks only have two skills. The one they awakened to and one they learned.
Cassian, on the other hand, had five, with three of them past level one.
Not to mention his pseudo skill.
Cassian was in no way losing out in the dungeon. He was in the perfect place to take advantage.
He was vastly overpowering, but that was only in comparison to E-ranks.
D-ranks start with seven stat points and might have a third skill or a level two skill.
C-ranks start with ten stat points and a skill point.
B and A ranks were likely on the same power level as Cassian without his pseudo skill. They likely received multiple pieces of uncommon equipment.
He could not even make a comparison to Dragon, the only S-rank in their school; each S-rank is unique in stat and skill points.
An hour later, the buses arrived in front of the dungeon. The entrance was a red portal that had a pure white border. Additionally, it gave every awakened, including Cassian, a special feeling.
They wanted to get closer to touch it, to walk into it. However, the feeling was not big enough to actually halt somebody's intentions, only add to them.
Everybody bled out of the buses and gathered in a trained order. The principal walked ahead towards the portal, but turned back to face the students.
"I will not waste any time. I would just like to mention the rewards for certain achievements in the dungeon briefly."
At the word of achievements, everybody focused.
"Your teachers should have mentioned the attunement stone rewards for the elite monsters, as well as the skill scroll for the boss monster kill. However, I have decided to add a reward for the student with the highest level and experience points in the dungeon."
'Wouldn't most of these go to the same person?'
Cassian thought.
"The reward will be an experience-boosting piece of equipment."