CLEAVER OF SIN - Chapter 285

Chapter 285: Bully
A month had gone by since Asher began using the training chambers of the Star Academy, and within that short span, his progress had been nothing short of astonishing. In merely two weeks, he had achieved what could only be described as a monstrous improvement. His abilities had advanced to such a degree that, for the first time in a long while, Asher himself found it difficult to contain his desire for a true battle, one that would allow him to unleash his newfound strength.

During this period, he had visited multiple training chambers: those dedicated to the Space element, the Gravity element, the Lightning element, and even one meant for mastering the rapier. After his very first day in the Light Element Training Chamber, Asher’s curiosity had driven him to explore every other chamber connected to his abilities, studying how each environment influenced his growth.

Even Astra cultivation, an essential process for increasing one’s Life Rank, had its own specialized chamber. But Asher had deliberately refrained from beginning that form of training. He understood something most might overlooked: true power was not measured merely by one’s Life Rank. It was defined by refinement, balance, and control. Moreover, Asher was aware that raising one’s Life Rank was not something that could be achieved every single day through sheer effort alone; it demanded control and patience.

Nonetheless, he was making gradual progress in that area. Unlike most cultivators, Asher did not require the traditional meditative lotus position to cultivate Astra. He could draw Astra into his body during even the most mundane activities. Whether he was walking, eating, sitting, or simply breathing, his body continuously absorbed and refined Astra at a subconscious level. Though the process was slow, it was constant and efficient.

Asher had attempted to take this passive state to the next level by using his Perfect Astra Control that granted him precise mastery over the energy. He sought to cultivate Astra even during strenuous activities such as combat and high-intensity training.

However, Astra cultivation was vastly different from mana or spiritual cultivation, which were often portrayed in countless novels as simple acts of absorbing energy from the air into one’s core. Astra was far more complex and refined. One did not simply sit cross-legged and draw Astra into their veins, it required careful guidance and delicate refinement. Were it as simple as mana absorption, Asher would have long perfected the art of cultivating even in battle.

The cultivation of Astra revolved around the manual refinement of each Astra vein in the body, strengthening, expanding, and reinforcing them. This process ultimately led to breakthroughs in one’s Life Rank and a significant increase in Astra reserve capacity. It was slow, meticulous, and demanding work, one that separated prodigies from the average.

Yet, despite all this progress, Asher had also encountered an unfamiliar problem, he had gone broke. A word that had been completely foreign to him during his time on Earth, and even throughout his stay at the Wargrave Ducal Household. Within a nonth, he had exhausted nearly all his points on access to the training chambers, leaving him with a pitiful seven hundred points to his name.

Of course, Asher wasn’t the only one training with intensity. His classmates, too, had begun pushing themselves to their limits. Many had started using the training chambers after witnessing their incredible effects firsthand. The results were so visible, so intoxicating, that they became addicted to the progress. However, this sudden hunger for advancement also brought out a darker side in many students, some of them began growing bolder, crueler, and more aggressive toward their weaker peers.

At that very moment, Asher sat quietly in the back seat of the classroom near the window, the sunlight reflecting faintly against his purple hair. Class would begin soon, and he was simply waiting. In front of him, however, a scene of bullying unfolded.

“You fool, I don’t care if you have only ten points, give them to me!” one student snarled. Without hesitation, his leg lashed out violently, the kick connecting squarely with the other student’s abdomen. The victim stumbled backward, crashing into the wall with a dull thud.

Despite the pain, the bullied student’s expression remained firm. He had been tormented repeatedly for several days, yet he refused to surrender his points. His face was bruised, but his eyes still carried a flicker of defiance. He endured every punch, every kick, without a word.

“It seems you wish to die, huh? I’ll happily fulfill your wish,” the bully said with a chilling calmness, raining down another set of blows on the student lying helplessly on the floor.

Fortunately, the injuries weren’t severe. The Academy tolerated these sorts of confrontations, but only to a certain extent. They did not allow students to inflict life-threatening harm or cause what was termed as “permanent damage.”

After all, where would the bullied find the points to pay for healing in the Academy’s Healing Department?

It was common knowledge that a student had once crossed the line, going too far during one such bullying session. The result had been immediate expulsion. That event had served as a temporary deterrent, causing a brief period of calm, but the peace didn’t last long. The bullying eventually resumed, only with more restraint in terms of the damage inflicted.

This was the state of Star Academy barely a month after enrollment. The initial harmony that once existed among the students had long vanished. The addictive allure of the Training Facilities had changed everything. Once they experienced rapid progress, everyone wanted more, more strength, more power, more advancement, and they were willing to obtain it through any means necessary. The peaceful atmosphere had become nothing but a distant memory, buried beneath the chaos of ambition.

Asher continued to sit still, watching the unfolding scene with a blank expression. He neither pitied the bullied nor interfered. To him, this was simply the Academy’s natural order, the survival of the fittest.

Besides, on the bright side, every student had been granted five hundred points upon admission to Star Academy. That amount, however, was far too meager to last long. Within weeks, many students were left with almost nothing, some with barely two points, others with only one.

Those who still had their points hoarded them carefully, while a few chose to spend them all at once, fearing that bullies would take them anyway. To such students, it was better to enjoy one’s points lavishly than to lose them while receiving a beating.

Among the student body, one figure stood out, Finch. Though officially ranked as the weakest student, holding the 200th position, he was paradoxically the richest among the weaker ranks, thanks to his teleportation services.

Finch had once been targeted by a bully as well. The aggressor didn’t dare seize his teleportation ring, as it was a valuable piece of magical equipment owned by the Tenth Sun, but demanded every point Finch had. Finch complied without resistance, transferring all his points with a polite smile.

However, at that exact moment, William had walked in. Without uttering a single word, he reduced the bully to a bloodied pulp using nothing but his bare fists. Afterward, Finch calmly took back his points, along with the bully’s personal stash, as compensation.