'Oh fuck this novel.'
They both froze after seeing his rank.
Aegon's eye remained wide open, scanning the line again and again to make sure he was seeing correctly.
He blinked to make sure. Rubbed his eyes. Blinked again.
It was the same.
Number 2,235.
That was his ranking.
"Hahaha," Eli burst out into a frantic laugh, pointing at Aegon and trying to make out words, "And you thought 864 was bad."
Aegon folded his arms and stared at him, "At least I'm not committing beastiality, creep."
"I'm not committing beastiality!" Eli screamed, "It was all—"
Eli stopped as he saw Aegon grinning at him, he was clearly rage-baiting him.
He raised his arms up, feigning surrender, and retro walked to the door.
"At least I'm not 2,235 out of 2,245. Hey, at least you're not dead last."
He exited the room.
Then opened the door again, with just his head poking in.
"And just so you know, the Academy doesn't ban summons— just what students do with them."
He slammed the door shut, leaving Aegon alone with his thoughts.
He sighed. Pushing his fingers into his hair in frustration.
"Arrrgh!"
He screamed.
He raised his head to the sky, clasped his hands and shut his eyes, tightly.
"Come on, whoever you are, you can't tell me you brought me back from the dead just to make me die in another trial...
I'm not asking for much— an OP skill, a secret bloodline, a crazy system, fuck, even a yandere goddess would do right now."
He moved to bed and sprawled onto it, face down into a pillow as he let out another scream.
'Number 2,235.'
The number that was now etched into his soul, bound to him like a shadow yet it loomed heavy like a curse.
"No! I'm not going to my second life be as pathetic as the first,"
He told himself as he swayed to sit on the edge of the bed.
Brows furrowed, jaw clenched and staring out the window.
The room was silent but the hall outside wasn't— most awakened were still looking for their rooms.
He tuned it all out.
Might not have read the entire novel but the snippets, grit and luck has saved him so far.
He scanned his memory for any skill, any lucky affinity or some kind of hail Mary he'd heard of in the fandom.
Hmm.
"There's Ava Therin. One of the strongest heroines in the novel who's a substitute teacher and probably the most sadistic yanderes in the world. But she's not gonna get here for a while.
At least not before they survived the next trial.
Hmm... There's the corrupted Aetherfall not to far from town that could make me crazy strong... But will also make me crazy crazy.
There's The Thirteenth Bell, the bronze bell hanging in the academy's old clocktower— that's said to be able to give an unknown affinity when rung.
But... It picks randomly and there're too many different ways that things could go wrong.
"..."
I have it!"
Aegon sprung from his seat, a grin sliding onto his features.
"The Echo Vault— the deep carven under the school, where different cultivation techniques are stored, from the common knowledge to the forbidden techniques that no one had the balls to try."
Like the Dual Cultivation technique that was always mentioned by the author but never used because the MC was already unnecessarily OP and there was no need of it.
But that was it, his saving grace and the only way he could survive in a world where everything seemed to be against him.
He began pacing the room, his thoughts took over.
'There's the possibility that the technique and the vault doesn't exist in this world. The author mentioned it casually in passing but never actually let someone try to get it.'
There was a reason for this, it was an intriguing concept, however, if anyone actually used the technique they might actually be able to rival the overpowered MC.
Because in a school filled with horny powerful teenagers the ability to copy abilities from sexual intercourse was the perfect technique.
Aegon shook the thought off.
"What other choice do I have? If I don't get it then I'd probably be dead before I even get to the next trial."
He took over his phone and began to search 'Aetherion Academy layout' on the Aethera app.
It was an incredibly detailed aerial view of the school— from the registration building to the dorms.
He flicked his fingers across the screen, gaze narrowed and meticulously searching for a particular building.
The library.
He finally found it. A few minutes away from his dorm.
The library contained it all— history of the school, history of Aether, the Faculties, detailed explanations of different affinities and most importantly Cultivation Techniques.
But, like always, students will be students regardless of whether they are awakened or not, so they turned the back of the library into a hook-up spot.
But beneath it all, stood the hidden vault of cultivation techniques, cultivation techniques noted down and stored over the years by a mysterious someone.
But even after years of change, it was somehow always current on new techniques which made fans assume that the librarian or whomever was storing the book was passing it down to the next successor.
But this was all still unconfirmed fandom theories.
Aegon wasted not a hair breath, before bolting out the door.
---
It took a few minutes to get to the library especially after getting lost several times, no matter how reliable the map was it was still just technology.
Aegon froze, dropping his hand with the phone and left his mouth open.
The library was more like a castle. It basically took the entire block, from as far away as he was the red-brick exterior shimmered in the harsh sunlight.
Sprawling complex of terraces, squares and layered blocks, it looked like a university within a university which just emphasised how expansive the academy was.
Front and centre, an open courtyard paved in patterned stones, with quadrangles and broadleaved trees, whose leaves were in bloom, for shade.
He walked along the perimeter, iron railings with strange runes etched into the metal that sparkled in the sunlight, tall glass windows tucked between brick columns and the occasional bypasser within them.
The entire library felt like a beautiful aberration between the old and new world, modern yet ancient, simple yet outstanding, humble yet monumental.
Aegon's eyes trailed up, finally reaching the top as he squinted his eyes to avoid the harsh glare of the sun.
Half covered by the growing flora that crept off the roof and curling around the elevated sign that read—
'The Nebulas.'