Chapter 621: Student Michael (Refresh to remove error!)
To those who ruled worlds beyond, conquest was merely another form of survival. But to those on the weaker side of that conquest, it was no different from annihilation.
The difference between demons and intelligent races was intent. Demons consumed without reason, feeding like beasts. The others calculated, plotted, and waged wars for gain. Some wanted Aurora’s mana-rich atmosphere. And a few, far more sinister races, simply desired servants—vassal species to use as soldiers, researchers, or worse, breeding stock to expand their own bloodlines.
Each academy was more than a school—it was a forge.
A place to refine strength, discipline, and willpower into weapons capable of defending civilization itself.
The Cultivation Academies trained the knights and mages.
The Awakener Academies, like the one Michael was in, trained those blessed by the universal.
The two paths differed in method but converged in purpose: survival.
Lira had told him that every student in the world, knowingly or not, was part of a system that fed into the same goal—to produce elites capable of standing on the cosmic battlefield. Graduating from the academy wasn’t just a formality; it meant earning recognition from the Council as a capable defender of the realm.
"Do you mean everyone’s expected to fight?" Michael had asked her, his tone unreadable.
Lira had nodded. "Eventually. Whether as soldiers, explorers, or researchers, everyone contributes. The strong protect the weak, and the weak support the strong. That’s how we’ve survived this long."