His answer surprised Owen. "A Cursed Land?" he asked, staring him straight in the eye.
"Yes, professor," he replied.
"Are you crazy? Even if it's flawed..."
"I think it'll work out." Edward smiled.
To tell the truth, he believed Aurora was overestimating him. He didn't think he was good enough to pass a mission there based solely on the four beasts and his sword skills. But if he counted on his system, things changed.
It was a cursed land of fire. The undead used fire and fire magic to attack; they were the perfect food for his Fire Caterpillar!
Therefore, if he could kill a few, according to his system, he could level up, which would strengthen him and give him a better chance of passing. It was his golden opportunity to try.
Right now, he didn't care if it went wrong; anyway, it was his only way to find out.
Owen didn't respond immediately. They continued walking down the long hallway to the end, where a huge door awaited them.
He paused before opening it. "Come see me in the elders' office when you think you're ready. If you come before the end of this week, I'll give you the mission. What happens next is up to you," he said before walking through the door and disappearing on the other side.
Edward didn't have time to thank him, because when Owen opened the door, the Central Academy greeted him.
Something spectacular was before his eyes. He couldn't help but walk quickly and cross the threshold to look.
His mind and body were paralyzed as he tried to process what he was seeing at that moment.
There was an entire city in front of him.
'The other side of the city?' he thought, but that wasn't possible; Central Academy wasn't supposed to be a long corridor with the other side of the city at the end.
Besides, the issue here was the peculiar construction on "mountains," or rather...
'Walls... Am I underground?' He immediately realized.
Suddenly, he noticed that there was a shadow covering much of where he was, so he turned his head sharply upward.
There was an enormous structure above him. It was difficult to make out what it was from below, but its shape seemed strangely familiar... like that castle that was said to be the Central Academy, from where Lor City was ruled.
Beneath it, to support it, were large piles of foundations like those of a bridge extending toward the walls of the civilization built below. From where he was standing to that castle, there was a considerable distance.
More than 100 meters, for sure.
There were stairs built to take people there and even elevators made with teleportation magic...
The Central Academy was not essentially in the city, but rather underground.
Although the sun could enter, there were huge holes in the "ceiling" of the cave, and also fields for planting crops below.
'I see.' He suddenly understood two things he had heard during his year here.
First, it was said that the grounds of the Government Castle were so large that it could be an entire city. He had previously thought it was for training soldiers... and he was partly right, it was for training Beast Masters.
The second and most important thing. In Lor City, there is a saying that goes: When the Castle falls, you can consider the Western Province lost, and consequently, it is the beginning of the fall of Linnava.
Now it all made sense. He wasn't referring to a figurative fall representing the decline of command power; rather, it was because it represented the fall of the Beast Masters—the destruction of the underground city; the destruction of their training ground.
Edward swallowed hard. Now those tunnels made sense. He hadn't noticed, probably because they were so gently sloping, but being so long, it was normal for them to lead to a place like this.
'How was this cave made? Was it made to put the academy here, or is it for another reason?' He was finally able to think about other things, and the initial shock of seeing this huge city underground wore off.
Now this would be his place of residence for several years... five, to be exact.
"Student Edward Lux, correct?"
Suddenly, a man's voice woke him from his thoughts, and he looked at the man who had come to greet him. He was dressed as a teacher, so Edward greeted him respectfully, nodding.
"Very well." The teacher handed him several items, including the key to the room where he would now live, and explained the rules of the underground city.
He explained where he would live, where the markets were, and so on. He also explained that he could go out to the outer city through certain tunnels that led to the outer offices of the city or through the castle above them.
He didn't have to tell him where the academy was, because it is evident from this height. In the center of the city, covering almost its entirety, were the grounds of the academy.
He also handed him a rulebook. "You can go to your room now, and remember that classes start in a week. Get to know the city while you can, train hard, and read a lot. That will surely help you understand how to cope with low talent."
Although the professor didn't know whether Edward had low talent or not, it was something that all professors in charge of welcoming new students routinely said. Generally, those at the highest level would complain, but Edward didn't care.
In any case, he did have low talent.
He walked around the city, getting to know it a little. He got a map of the town, with instructions for everything, and also bought some things he thought he would need.
As it was early morning, there were few people on the streets, but the workers were still active, showcasing the grandeur of this underground city: all the stores operate 24 hours a day.
After more than an hour of shopping, he went to his room, which was inside the academy.
In the northern part of the academy, numerous housing complexes served as dormitories for the students. There were separate dorms for men and women, divided equally.
"Room 30-09..." He read the sign above the room.
'Being sent to the last of the nine complexes, in the last room, shows my status,' he thought, smiling helplessly, and went inside.
The room wasn't too big, but it had two bedrooms. It was clearly a shared room, but with so many rooms available in this place and in the other larger buildings, it was unlikely that he would have to share it.
He chose one of the two bedrooms and furnished it with what he had bought, and finally, he was able to lie down. Although it was small and the mattress he had purchased was not the best, he was so exhausted that he slept peacefully for many hours, trying to forget everything bad and preparing himself mentally for the test that lay ahead.
It was his week off, but that didn't mean he had to slack off. It was time to get ahead of those who had looked down on him.