When Saryn entered the chamber from which he had heard the blaster sounds coming from, his eyes showed some trace of surprise.
Sergeant Cormun, who had previously been guarding the entrance on the side of the Landing Pads, was now present in the chamber with his men.
They were currently being locked in battle with some tomb looters.
'I thought I killed all of those guys...'
'Guess I was wrong…' Saryn couldn't help but wonder how many of those guys had dared to set foot on Korriban.
Clearly, the galaxy was filled with fools.
"Do you need some help, Sergeant?" Standing at the entrance of the room, Saryn asked the Sergeant who was taking cover.
"My Lord! I didn't think you were still inside the tomb." The sergeant turned around in surprise.
"Your help would be most appreciated, my Lord." Without hesitation, the sergeant requested help.
If an Acolyte as powerful as Saryn fought on their side, those few tomb looters and mercenaries wouldn't stand a chance.
"Consider it done. Those vermin are blocking my path out of the tomb, and they should be ready for the consequences of such an act." Saryn directly unsheathed his warblade and rushed at the ten or so tomb looters.
With the support of Sergeant Cormun and his men, those Tomb Looters didn't stand a chance and were all killed in less than a minute.
"Are you on your way out of the tomb, my Lord?" As the fight ended, Sergeant Cormun approached Saryn respectfully.
"I am indeed, since I have finished what I needed to do in the tomb."
"Now, it is time for me to enter the Sith Academy." Saryn nodded in affirmation.
"In that case, let us escort you, my Lord. The Tomb of the First Dark Lord can be quite confusing to navigate." Cormun offered.
"Fair enough. Lead the way, Sergeant."
Saryn and the soldiers departed their position, walking at a steady pace toward the exit.
"How long do you reckon it will take for us to get out of this place, Sergeant?" As they were walking, Saryn inquired.
It had been more than half a day since he entered the ancient tomb, and he wanted to take a shower.
"It should only be half an hour if everything goes well, my Lord," Cormun spoke with great respect as he walked with Saryn.
He had been stationed on Korriban for a few years and had seen hundreds of acolytes pass through the Tomb of Ajunta Pall.
This made him even more respectful of Saryn as he was certain he had never seen an acolyte more powerful than the one standing beside him.
Cormun, like most soldiers deployed on Korriban, knew full well that getting promoted further was practically impossible on his own.
They were too far away from the frontline to have any chance of reaching the upper echelons of the Empire by merit.
That is why he had to find someone to support his promotions.
From the gift this acolyte displayed, it wouldn't be long till he became a Lord, and once he did, he could be of help to Cormun.
So the Sergeant had decided to gamble on the young man in front of him.
"I see. I'll ask you a few questions in the meantime." Saryn replied with a nod.
"Certainly, my Lord."
"First, how long have you been stationed on Korriban, and how familiar are you with the nearby ruins and tombs?"
"It's been seven years since I arrived here, my Lord. As for the ruins, tombs, and even excavation sites, I am familiar with them all.
"My squad was deployed to guard most of them over the years. And for those I didn't guard personally, I have at least heard rumors of."
"Perfect then, introduce me to all the tombs and ruins near the Academy." An interested glint appeared in Saryn's eyes.
"Of course, my Lord. We can start with the one we are currently in. The Tomb of the first Dark Lord of the Sith, Ajunta Pall."
"Even now, thousands of years after the death of the Dark Lord, the tomb still hasn't been fully explored."
"Before the invasion of k'lor'slugs, some of the Lords were still exploring the tomb, but they have stopped coming ever since the beasts appeared."
"Any rumors of people going crazy in the tomb, or a chamber where no one has managed to enter yet?" This was what interested Saryn the most.
The dark side often induced some form of craziness in the weaker minds. If some people had gone crazy somewhere in the tomb, most definitely, a powerful artifact or some abomination was at work there.
"Not that I know of, my Lord."
"Then again, most of the discoveries were made by the Sith Lords that came to explore the tomb and wouldn't be shared publicly." Sergeant Cormun replied after thinking a bit.
"True. Keep going, Sergeant."
"Very well, my Lord."
"Further away from the tomb, in the lower wilds area, you can find the Tomb of the Dark Lord, Marka Ragnos."
"I can confidently say that something strange is going on in that place."
"All the soldiers and researchers of the Imperial Military who have been sent there have, in fact, gone crazy and rebelled. Even some Acolytes and a few Siths were affected."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Saryn began to think about what he knew of Marka Ragnos.
'Marka Ragnos… One of the most powerful Dark Lords in history, a master of Sith Alchemy with a focus on breeding Dark Creatures.'
'I'm surprised some of his artifacts remain undiscovered to this day. From what I know, his teachings were highly sought after by a few recent Dark Lords like Naga Sadow, or Exar Kun… Interesting, could be worth taking a look.'
"Alright, you may keep going, Sergeant."
"For sure, my Lord."
"Two more tombs have been discovered near the Sith Academy."
"One is the tomb of the Dark Lord Tulak Hord, and the other is the tomb of the Dark Lord Naga Sadow."
"From what I've heard in a recent briefing, the tomb of Tulak Hord has been occupied by a bunch of revolting slaves."
"The Overseers have found it to be an opportunity to train their Acolytes."
"So, they have been using the place for trials in the last few months."
"As for the tomb of Naga Sadow, I cannot confirm it, but it is said that most of the final trials for the Acolytes take place there."
"I see, thank you for the information, Sergeant." Saryn then began to think.
"Anything for you, my Lord." Sergeant Cormun nodded and distanced himself, seeing that Saryn had begun to think.
'Tulak Hord was one of the greatest Sith philosophers across all of history. He was perhaps the one who understood the Sith Code the best after Ajunta Pall.'
'I've also heard that he was the first ever Sith to create a Sithspawn. This shows a deep mastery of Sith Alchemy.'
'From the record, I've heard his lightsaber is to this day considered one of the most powerful ever made, but it has never been found since he passed away.'
'As for Naga Sadow… Probably one of the most powerful Sith Sorcerers of all time.'
'I heard he even remodeled his spaceship to amplify his dark side attunement. Unfortunately, this ship is well known to have been destroyed.'
'He also possessed an amulet said to amplify his dark powers. I'm pretty sure it has never been found before.'
'If I could get my hands on it, I would be able to become much more powerful.'
'Well, no point in thinking too much about it now. I'll first focus on quickly shedding my Acolyte status. I'll have much more freedom to explore the galaxy once I become a Lord in the future.'
As Saryn gathered himself, he saw that his surroundings no longer looked like the Ancient tomb he had been in.
This place was filled with Imperial-issued equipment, platforms, and even barricades. Also, some soldiers were stationed there.
"My Lord, we are nearly at the exit. I will need to remain in this outpost to deliver my report." Sergeant Cormun informed him.
"Very well, Sergeant. I'll see you around then." Saryn nodded and didn't slow down. He had things to do.
He wouldn't waste any more time in the tomb for now. But he'd be back.
After walking a few minutes alone through the imperial installation, he arrived at the foot of a grand stairway at the end of which light could be seen.
"Time to leave this dusty tomb behind." With a smile, Saryn quickly arrived atop the stairs, and he finally laid his eyes on the reason he had come to Korriban.
The giant pyramidal structure in which the Sith Academy was located was still a distance away from him, but he could already see it clearly.
"The academy emits such a pure concentration of the Dark Side! What a majestic place!"
"No wonder those of the Dark Council like to come back here to hold the council!"
Even from a distance away, Saryn could smell the pure rawness of the Dark Side of the Force that was being fed to the atmosphere by the pyramidal structure.
"I won't waste any more time!" Saryn quickly started walking again.
He still had to traverse some old and half-destroyed ruins till he arrived at the Academy.
This walk through the ruin proved inspirational. The closer he got to the Academy, the sharper his mind became.
He didn't even need to voluntarily let the force empower him, as it was doing so passively. It was like the air was so full of it that the moment it found a place to enter, it rushed in.
Along the way, he saw groups of acolytes meditating in front of stone pillars adorned with paintings that seemed to depict scenes from the past.
The walk through the ruins only took him about half an hour, but when he finally arrived, his mind was sharper than it had ever been before, and his body filled with raw power.
"Yes, this is indeed much better than Dromund Kaas!"
"I made the right choice by not listening to the old man. Who cares about danger when you can live near such a pure nexus of the Dark Side?" With a smile on his face, Saryn quickly went up the stairs leading to the small outpost located at the foot of the Sith Academy
The outpost was entirely made up of prefabricated buildings.
After all, the dark council would never allow the military to build anything on the sacred homeworld of the Sith.
'Right, before I enter the Academy, I should take advantage of the fact that I'm in the outpost to report to Rike.'
It didn't take long for Saryn to find Rikel. He only had to order a passing soldier to guide him to the Sergeant.
The moment the sergeant heard that an Acolyte wanted to see him, he jumped to his feet and went to meet Saryn.
"I heard you wanted to see me, my Lord?"
The Sergeant was a tall, muscular, nearly bald man. He wore the red armor symbolic of the soldiers deployed on Korriban.
"Indeed. I have taken care of your problem with the looters in the tomb." Saryn acknowledged with a nod.
"I'll assume my men are dead then."
"Even so, you have done us a great service. Their loss is your gain, I suppose." The Sergeant didn't appear too sad about the loss of his men, but he did appear hesitant about having to pay an acolyte.
"I'll leave you to it then. Transfer the credits to my account." Having completed his task, Saryn left without hesitation.
He could barely wait anymore. Something in the Sith Academy was calling for him.
When he arrived at the foot of the ramp leading to the Academy, he finally saw the whole structure in front of his eyes.
Two giant stone statues stood on either side of the ramp leading to the academy. They were kneeling on one knee with their hand extended above their heads. They seemed to be holding the weight of the entire pyramidal structure.
As he ascended the ramp toward the entrance of the academy, Saryn looked at all the Acolytes going about their business.
Some were weak, some average. But till this point, Saryn hadn't seen a single one of them he could consider even decent.
'I didn't come to the academy because I hoped to find an equal anyway.'
'I'll have all the time I want to find such individuals once I roam the galaxy,' with a smirk, Saryn kept going.
When he arrived atop the ramp leading to the entrance of the Sith Academy, the first thing Saryn saw was Imperial Royal Guards standing on both sides of the giant doorway leading to the Academy.
Saryn was familiar with those people as he had sometimes seen them coming from the Sith Citadel in Kaas City.
Those men's only job was to guard and execute the Emperor's will.
Well, that was their job back when the Emperor still interacted with the Empire.
It had already been three hundred years since the Emperor last addressed his subjects, and this in turn led to a slow decline of the Imperial Royal Guards' authority and power.
Nowadays, only loyal fanatics were willing to join this group, as it greatly limited the potential of rising in the ranks of the empire.
Saryn ignored them and proceeded to enter the first hall of the Sith Academy.
The moment he entered, the ambient dark side of the Force that filled the Academy seemed to come alive to greet him fondly.
The dark side of the force here was so pure and vast that it even seemed alive.
Saryn couldn't help but close his eyes in bliss as he sensed the incredible power of the dark side flow throughout his body, seemingly boundless.
After a while, he gathered himself and finally had a look around the place with the most concentration of the dark side he had ever felt in his life.