Chapter 224. Reality Check

Inside one of the executive conference rooms of the Sauna City University Combat Department, seven senior faculty members sat around a large conference table. Their attention was captured entirely by the massive holographic display hovering at the center of the room.

The screen was playing the nano-camera recording from Lecture Hall 4 on a continuous loop.

On the projection, a crimson blade hung motionless just a fraction of a millimeter behind the neck of Alfonse Adams. The young man was completely frozen in place, his face pale as he bowed several times in apologies to Professor Vhorn.

The polite, indifferent voice of Aiden echoed clearly through the room’s speakers:

"Stop it... that’s cringe."

Genevieve and Anly sat side-by-side near the middle of the table, staring at the holographic display in sheer, unadulterated disbelief.

When they had first met the man, he had introduced himself under a completely different persona. They hadn’t just recommended a senior named Alex Turner—the mysterious figure also known across the notorious Kahra Desert of the southern continent as the Lodgekeeper. They had unknowingly opened the doors of Sauna City University to Aiden Vhorn himself, the infamous Crimson Reaper, known for several large scale massacres and terrifying feats across the southern continent.

To think he would also be the disciple of Armstrong Lee.

"To think Alex Turner was Aiden Vhorn the entire time..." Anly said with a sigh as she shook her head.

"He completely fooled us," Genevieve added. "The man we brought into this department was not just the rumored Lodgekeeper of the Kahra Desert. He is a walking disaster."

To their right, Vice-Dean Arica crossed her arms over her chest.

"Look at his feedback during the practical instruction segment," Arica said. "He didn’t waste a single second quoting complex ancient theories or lecturing them on abstract philosophy. He looked at a student, identified an issue, that the student’s rapier was slowing down her thrusts, and bluntly told the student to switch to a staff."

She tapped the control panel on the table to skip the footage forward by a few minutes.

"He saw another student trying to execute shadow steps while wielding a sword, dragging down his own momentum, and instantly told him to pick up daggers instead. It’s simple, direct, and brutally accurate. He pointed out their physical and mechanical limits in plain, common-sense language. Even a first-year student looking at this record could grasp where they were going wrong within seconds."

The surrounding instructors nodded in silent agreement. There was no denying the quality of the instruction. It wasn’t flashy or needlessly academic; it was raw, practical survival logic forged through life-and-death experience.

"What gets me isn’t the blood blade," one of the department members remarked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "Alfonse is an Expert Rank 2 warrior. Yes, he’s an exceptional student who already had a solid foundation from the Adams Secret Sect before he enrolled. But aside from being a once in an era genius, Aiden Vhorn is a Rank 3 warrior. Of course a Rank 3 warrior can easily manifest an affinity construct behind a Rank 2’s neck before the kid even realizes what’s happening. That gap in cultivation and real combat experience is standard. That isn’t what makes this video terrifying."

"It’s the restraint," Arica agreed. "Alfonse tried to manipulate him in front of the entire class. The kid tried to use a professor as a pawn in his petty relationship drama with his fiancée. An ordinary Rank 3 powerhouse would have taken that as a direct insult and beaten him half to death right there on the floor. But Vhorn didn’t even raise his voice. He put the student in his place and even taught the students a lesson about environmental and situational awareness, and calmly moved right back to the lesson."

That level of polite indifference, combined with absolute control, was far more intimidating than a hot-tempered display of raw power.

Sitting at the head of the conference table was Dean Wembley. He hadn’t spoken a single word since the other department members arrived to curiously watch the results of Aiden Vhorn’s first lecture. He simply sat back in his tall leather chair, calmly sipping his tea while the rest of the faculty digested the contents of the recording.

Throughout the room, the surrounding department heads and instructors occasionally cast envious glances in Wembley’s direction. Everyone in the room understood exactly why Wembley was sitting there so relaxed and smiling smugly.

Aiden Vhorn was the fourth disciple of Armstrong Lee—a legendary Rank 4 warrior and the third strongest person on the entire planet. Dean Wembley was also a disciple of Armstrong Lee.

That made Aiden Vhorn the junior brother of Dean Wembley.

While the rest of the faculty had to tread carefully around a volatile, high-tier genius like Aiden, Wembley possessed a direct line of martial brotherhood to him. Having a Rank 3 powerhouse with that level of backing attached to their department gave Wembley immense political leverage over the entire university board.

The revelation recently by Armstrong Lee that Wembley was his disciple had already given him immense political leverage. But to think that a monster such as Aiden Vhorn was also his junior brother.

Not only that, Wembley’s senior brother and sister were all beginner rank 4 warriors now. This level of backing was terrifying. Even the President of the University would not get into Wembley’s bad books from now on.

"Dean Wembley," Arica turned to face him. Her words broke the quiet murmur in the room. "The recording has gone completely viral across the campus network. Over forty thousand students and professors have already spent their hard-earned contribution points to download the raw feed from the nano-cameras. Right now, the fourth-year students are choosing high difficulty missions in unprecedented numbers because Vhorn told them their grades for the combat course depend entirely on high-difficulty assignments."

Wembley gently placed his teacup back down, his expression completely calm and unbothered.

"Let them," Wembley said smoothly. "Our students have grown far too soft sitting in these classrooms. They absorb worldly natural energy, practice safe, controlled sparring drills, and delusionally think they are ready for the world outside these walls. My junior brother is simply giving them a much-needed reality check."

"And what if a significant number of them get killed taking on high-difficulty missions before they are ready, sir?" Genevieve asked, a genuine note of concern in her voice.

"Then they weren’t meant to survive the frontlines anyway," Wembley replied indifferently, without a hint of hesitation. "Aiden didn’t come to Sauna City University to baby children or play babysitter for pampered geniuses. He came here for his own personal reasons. But he’s also the kind to be professional about his job. He knows the students need to be given a reality check. Tell the artifact engineers to not intercept with the AI software regulating missions. Let the students take whatever assignments they dare to sign up for."

Wembley stood up from his chair. The rest of the department members immediately rose to their feet in respect.

"The entire university is watching Professor Vhorn now," Wembley concluded, a sharp, decisive glint flashing in his eyes. "Let’s see how many of these kids actually have the spine to stick to his methods."