Chapter 45: Aurora University

"Are you saying this extremely young-looking man might be the Dark Lord?" the officer asked, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"I don’t know. So don’t spread any rumors. That might make things worse. Just go with the flow," the commander replied, suppressing the excitement among the officers before things got out of hand.

...

At the Evergreen Corporation, the corpses and destruction left behind by the battle were already being cleared away. Workers moved quickly through the area, removing debris and cleaning up the traces of the intense confrontation that had taken place only moments ago.

Arthur and Noah returned to the building, but this time, they didn’t go to the thirtieth floor. Instead, they headed directly toward the rooftop, where the surrounding city could be seen beneath the evening sky.

"Noah, I want you to buy an empty piece of land, around two thousand acres," Arthur said calmly, his expression completely relaxed as though he had just asked for something ordinary.

"Why do you need so much land?" Noah asked curiously while pouring wine into both of their glasses. He handed one to Arthur before taking his own seat.

"As you might have imagined, I am the Dark Lord, and I need to place the shelter I just conquered in reality. It will need a large, empty piece of land," Arthur replied casually before taking a sip of wine.

Boom!

Noah abruptly stood up, nearly spilling the wine in his hand. His eyes widened, and he stared at Arthur as if he had suddenly discovered that the person sitting beside him wasn’t human at all.

"Are y...you saying you’re the Dark Lord himself, the world’s strongest player?" Noah asked. His voice trembled, but there was unmistakable excitement hidden beneath his disbelief.

Arthur gave him a strange look. He couldn’t understand how Noah had managed to remain clueless for so long.

"You haven’t realized it yet? Was my evaluation of you earlier wrong? Could it be that you’re actually dumb as fuck?" Arthur asked with disdain, his calm expression making the insult even more irritating.

"Cough, cough! Don’t talk nonsense. I had my suspicions, but who would have guessed that the playboy, idiot, simp cousin of mine, who couldn’t even speak properly in a public gathering, would be the great Dark Lord?" Noah retorted violently, clearly feeling that his intelligence had just been unfairly attacked.

"How can you blame me?"

Arthur’s mouth twitched. He wanted to argue, but after thinking about it for a moment, he realized Noah wasn’t completely wrong.

Back then, Arthur really had been a pathetic figure in the eyes of everyone around him. He had wasted his youth chasing Amelia, throwing away his pride and dignity just to gain her attention.

Now, remembering that version of himself made Arthur feel a strange mixture of irritation and embarrassment.

"Ehmm! Let’s forget about the past. Now, go and handle the affairs here. Then enter Herian City. I’ll take you inside the shelter. Besides, I have other tasks, but those will have to be handled by others once they finish their class evolution trials," Arthur said calmly.

Noah nodded, though his expression was still somewhat dazed. Even now, he was struggling to connect the Arthur he had known for years with the mysterious Dark Lord who had shaken the entire player community.

"By the way, what exactly is this shelter? And how powerful are the monsters in the city?" Noah asked, his curiosity quickly replacing his initial shock.

Arthur gave him a brief description of the shelter, the monsters, and how the city worked. As he spoke, Noah’s expression gradually became more serious, realizing that Herian City was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

"And listen, there are many Mythical God Temples scattered throughout the Great Sun Kingdom. Try to become a member of one of those temples. It will bring you many benefits," Arthur added, giving Noah some information about the temples.

Noah listened carefully this time. He knew Arthur wouldn’t casually give him such advice, and the seriousness in Arthur’s voice made him understand that these temples were probably far more important than they appeared.

They chatted for a while before Noah finally stood up. He had already begun thinking about how to find a suitable piece of land within Arthur’s requirements.

"I’ll handle it," Noah said before leaving.

Arthur watched him disappear before leaning back in his chair.

A faint, amused smile slowly appeared on his face.

"That bitch should have seen me already. I wonder what kind of vile plan she’s making now."

The thought of Amelia’s future expression made Arthur almost laugh.

"Hehehe... Once you enter the city, you’ll understand the true horror of the game. Yours truly will shove bamboos up your ass continuously."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he imagined the future. There was no anger in his expression, only a strange anticipation.

It had been only two hours since he left the game, and Arthur now wanted to go out into the city and relax his mind.

The atmosphere around him had become surprisingly quiet after everything that had happened. For a moment, Arthur simply wanted to experience something familiar.

At this stage of his life, he still had several friends from high school. Unfortunately, most of them had slowly vanished from his life after the game descended.

Thinking about them brought a faint feeling of nostalgia to Arthur.

"I wonder how Fatty is doing. He should be in the varsity right now."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Let’s go meet him."

Fatty was Arthur’s best friend from his school days, Paul. He was the son of a medium-sized business owner, so the two had attended the same school.

Paul had always been a cheerful and straightforward guy. Even when Arthur’s life began falling apart after his father’s death, Paul had remained one of the few people who genuinely treated him like a friend.

After graduating from high school, however, Paul went to college while Arthur gradually lost interest in studying. Instead, he invested almost all of his time into simping for Amelia.

Thinking about that period made Arthur sigh inwardly.

He had truly wasted far too much time.

Arthur slowly walked out of the building, and every guard he passed immediately bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Young Master Arthur."

Their voices echoed around him, and Arthur simply nodded in response.

"Prepare a car for me."

One of the guards immediately rushed toward the parking area. Three minutes later, he returned with a Rolls-Royce.

Arthur took the driver’s seat and drove away.

As the familiar streets passed by outside the window, Arthur’s mood gradually relaxed. There was something strangely refreshing about simply driving without having to worry about monsters, players, battles, or the countless dangers waiting inside Genesis Realm.

He drove toward Aurora University.

Fatty was actually a genius when it came to studying, and he had managed to get into the best university in Arvia, Aurora University.

Thirty minutes later, Arthur arrived near Aurora University.

He parked the car outside and glanced toward the university gates.

The Rolls-Royce didn’t cause much of a stir because Aurora City was already a city filled with wealthy families and luxury cars.

However, this was a special edition, so it still attracted some attention from the people nearby.

"Who might that be?" one passerby wondered.

Arthur slowly stepped out of the car.

He was wearing a hoodie, so most of his face remained hidden beneath the hood.

However, his tall and well-developed physique, visible beneath his black hoodie and black trousers, still attracted quite a few curious glances.

Arthur noticed the attention but didn’t care.

Instead, he looked toward the university entrance and suddenly became surprised.

There were actually a large number of people entering through the gates.

Then he remembered.

Aurora University would eventually become one of the greatest universities for players and cultivators in the later years.

They had acted extremely quickly after the game’s descent, restructuring their entire education system to adapt to the new world.

At this moment, they were probably recruiting powerful players under the age of twenty.

The principal of Aurora University also became an extremely powerful Demigod in his previous life.

Thinking about that, Arthur’s interest was immediately piqued.

"Interesting."

He had no intention of enrolling, but seeing how quickly Aurora University had adapted made him curious about their current admission standards.

The criteria were actually quite strict.

A candidate needed to possess a Golden Foundation or above.

After passing the initial requirements, they would then have to compete against other candidates to secure a seat.

The university was also backed by the government, so countless powerful players had rushed here.

Arthur looked toward the testing area.

Several punching machines had been arranged outside.

A Warrior needed to possess at least 250 kilograms of lifting strength or a punching force of 400 kilograms or above.

A Mage needed to demonstrate a powerful Royal Grade spell.

They had already created different evaluation systems for every class.

Arthur couldn’t help but feel slightly impressed.

They had adapted much faster than most organizations in the country.

That was one of the reasons Aurora University would eventually become so great.

Arthur slowly stepped forward and stood at the end of the line.

One by one, people attempted the tests.

Some failed and left with disappointed expressions, while others succeeded and walked inside with visible excitement.

The line gradually became shorter.

Arthur quietly waited for his turn, looking completely indifferent despite the attention he occasionally received.

"Sir, please give me your ID card," one of the guards said.

Arthur handed over his card.

The guard glanced at it.

Name: Arthur Miller.

Age: 18.

Blood Group: A+.

There was some other basic information listed as well, but the guard didn’t react much.

He wasn’t aware of what had happened earlier. The guards were simply too busy handling the massive number of applicants.

"Alright, you can go ahead. Which class do you belong to?" the guard asked.

"Assassin," Arthur replied casually.

He had no intention of actually attending the university.

He was simply bored and wanted to have some fun while also finding Paul.

However, just as Arthur was about to move forward, a commotion suddenly erupted behind him.

"Hey! Get out of the line and stay behind!"

"Young Master Lucious Grandvale is here. He has a Platinum Foundation. If you know what’s good for you, stay back!"