Malakai summarized each of the disciplines they offered in his mind, silently reading through everything they entailed.
To him, the names of the disciplines were already very self explanatory.
And after reading their descriptions, Malakai had been able to get an accurate understanding of each one.
‘I shouldn’t waste time.’
The book he had been given contained only the disciplines and nothing more.
It didn’t even take Malakai up to three minutes to read through everything under them.
Without wasting time, he approached the counter.
“I’m ready.”
“Oh! N-Ninth Vein… are you sure?”
The Sanguine man at the counter, Oda, had been stealing glances at Malakai the entire time he was reading.
He had waited, half expecting Malakai to take longer to prepare himself. And yet he still found himself surprised when Malakai returned so quickly.
‘Didn’t he just evolve three days ago?’
News of Malakai had spread across the entire clan.
But, as with all stories, different versions had been told, and ultimately, Oda didn’t know what to believe anymore.
‘There’s no way he defeated a Blood Champion… right?’
Oda shook his head furiously to clear the thought.
Quickly bowing to correct himself, he said, “Alright! I’ll go inform the Head Instructor now.”
Questioning a Vein was one of the fastest ways to die in the Sanguine Clan.
Malakai said nothing, simply watching as Oda retreated deeper into the building.
Moments later, Oda returned with Grinner following closely behind.
“May your bl—”
Before Grinner could finish, Malakai cut him off.
“That’s not necessary anymore,” Malakai said plainly.
Grinner’s words got stuck in his throat. He stared at Malakai for a second before nodding silently.
“Alright, Ninth Vein. Follow me,” he said.
Grinner didn’t bother asking whether Malakai was sure.
Malakai nodded and, instead of dropping the book, carried it with him just in case he needed to refer to it again.
He followed Grinner through the door behind the counter, passing into a long hall.
They walked for some time before stepping out into an open courtyard.
It was large and expansive, with the ground covered by neatly trimmed grass.
Scattered around were several instructors who had woken early for their upcoming classes.
It wasn’t time for their lessons yet, so they idled around, chatting casually amongst themselves.
Most of the instructors in the evolved section were Synergy Stage evolvers, which was why it was no surprise that Grinner and Malakai’s entrance immediately drew attention the moment they stepped in.
Heads subtly turned in their direction.
Conversations paused for a moment as gazes quietly followed them.
Without paying them any mind, Grinner circled along the edge of the courtyard, leading Malakai toward a particular door.
Still, all the instructors could see, and feel, was Malakai.
As Synergy Stage evolvers, they immediately sensed the silent pressure the fourteen year old radiated.
Expressions morphed into shock as They instinctively began whispering among themselves.
Grinner led Malakai into a room and said, “Ninth Vein, from the book I gave you, it was mentioned that we have a total of seven disciplines.”
Malakai nodded, scanning the room.
It was a large, auditorium like hall with individual desks and chairs facing a raised platform in the center.
“We’ll be dealing with the Darkness Theory & Tactical Drills first,” Grinner continued.
“This is the only one that will be done in writing.”
He motioned toward a desk that already had a pen and paper set neatly on it.
Without hesitation, Malakai moved over and sat down.
Seeing this, Grinner nodded.
“You have fifteen minutes, Ninth Vein. I’ll be back by then.”
Grinner turned and exited, leaving Malakai alone.
Without delay, Malakai turned his focus onto the paper before him and began reading.
‘Hmm.’
In under a minute, he had scanned through all the questions.
They were simple, far too simple for him.
They asked about the behavior and attack patterns of darkness creatures, how they were birthed, methods of neutralization, different classifications, and the tactical drills designed to counter them.
Malakai didn’t just know these things from books, he had lived them.
He had survived what most of the other youths here could only imagine.
Without wasting a second, he picked up the pen and began writing.
In the next second, Valentine’s voice rang out in awe.
“Wow! How are you so smart!? And why is your handwriting so beautiful!?”
He gasped at Malakai’s speed.
It was insane, not just the pace, but the precision.
Malakai didn’t even pause to think. He just wrote in clear, flowing handwriting, every answer making perfect sense.
In less than three minutes, Malakai was done.
He had filled out every page in far less time than the fifteen minutes he had been given.
Without hesitation, he stood up, gathered his completed test, and stepped outside.
As he exited into the courtyard, his eyes immediately locked onto Grinner, who was conversing with a few other instructors nearby.
Grinner’s head turned sharply the moment he sensed Malakai’s presence.
“You’re done, Ninth Vein?” he asked, surprised, as he approached.
Malakai simply nodded and handed him the papers.
Grinner’s eyes widened the moment he received them.
‘Already?’
Even pretending the questions weren’t difficult for a fourteen-year-old, completing them in barely three minutes was absurd.
He flipped through the papers quickly, only for his shock to deepen.
‘They’re all correct. A perfect score.’
There wasn’t a single mistake.
In fact, if it weren’t mandatory for Malakai to attend all disciplines throughout the course of his time here, Grinner would have graduated him from this course immediately.
Grinner forced himself to regain composure.
Then he said, “Congratulations, Ninth Vein. You will be placed in the Advanced class for this discipline.”
Malakai nodded, his expression unchanged.
“What’s next?” he asked calmly.
Grinner turned to the other instructors and called out, “Clear the field. We’ll be making use of it.”
The instructors bowed slightly toward Grinner before moving aside, clearing space without delay.
Classes were minutes away from starting, yet none of them seemed ready to leave.
There was no way they were going to miss this.
They needed to see it with their own eyes whether the rumors about the Ninth Vein were true or not.
