RE: LORD OF TIME

"Brother, why did you stop me from bringing him back with us?" Harley asked with a confused expression once they left the basic dormitory.

Harley and Finley were biological brothers who had joined the academy the previous year.

Both of them were commoners with High-Grade Aether Affinity. On top of that, they also possessed Uncommon-Grade Traits.

Every year, the Student Council recruited new members, and the two brothers had been fortunate enough to pass the assessment and join the council.

Moreover, they had both been assigned to the Disciplinary Department.

It was one of the most important departments within the Student Council, as it was responsible for maintaining law and order throughout the academy.

More importantly, the head of the Disciplinary Department also served as the president of the entire Student Council.

This was no coincidence.

The head of the Disciplinary Department had always been the president of the Student Council.

In the academy, the position of Student Council president was extremely important.

Since the Student Council managed almost every aspect of life within the academy, if its president were incompetent, the academy would not be able to function properly.

Furthermore, if the president were someone who shared the ideals of most noble families, the lives of almost all commoner students would become extremely difficult.

Because of this, anyone wishing to become the Student Council president had to pass numerous assessments, one of which even required the approval of Duke Charles himself, the principal of the academy.

The Disciplinary Department was no different. It was responsible for enforcing the academy’s rules and maintaining order. If its head were some crooked noble brat, one could easily imagine what kind of "justice" would be enforced within the academy.

To ensure that law and order remained fair and stable, the Student Council president, who had already received Duke Charles’s approval, also served as the head of the Disciplinary Department so that nothing excessive or unjust would happen inside the academy.

Earlier, even though William had claimed that he had acted within the academy’s rules, Harley and Finley still had the authority to bring him back to the Student Council for further questioning.

However, in the end, Finley had stopped Harley with a glance and signaled him to leave.

Hearing Harley ask why he had stopped him, Finley remained silent for a moment before replying.

"You already know what kind of person that guy Zavier is. He registered as a student only three days ago, yet we have already received multiple complaints about him. Especially regarding him harassing new students..." He paused before shaking his head.

"We already know he must have done something that caused him to get beaten by that guy. Now that William has already explained the reason, why should we bother dragging him back with us?"

"But Zavier is a member of Norn’s faction," Harley said in a low voice. "If we bring William back and help them a little, we could receive a nice reward."

Finley sighed and looked at his younger brother seriously.

"Don’t let small benefits blind you, Harley," He said in a deep voice. "It’s fine for us to do some minor favors once in a while in exchange for a few benefits. But never get involved in muddy waters. Have you forgotten? We deliberately chose not to join any faction because we didn’t want to get caught in the nobles’ internal struggles."

Harley was taken aback and asked in confusion.

"Muddy waters? Brother, are you saying that William isn’t ordinary?"

Finley glanced at him and asked quietly.

"Do you think a normal commoner who had just joined the academy would behave the way he did?"

Recalling everything that had happened, he shook his head.

"From the moment he saw us, it was obvious that he had already predicted someone from the Disciplinary Department would come looking for him. Yet he remained calm the entire time, as if everything was under his control."

Harley thought carefully about Finley’s words and realized that they made perfect sense.

"Brother, are you saying there’s someone backing him as well? Is that why he is so fearless?"

"I don’t know," Finley shook his head. "He might be someone pushed forward by a person who has a grudge against Norn’s faction and wants to use him to stir up trouble. Or perhaps he’s acting on someone else’s behalf."

He paused before speaking seriously.

"In any case, we don’t need to get involved in these muddy waters. We will simply report everything that happened today. As for what to do next, we will wait for instructions from the higher-ups."

If William had heard Harley and Finley’s conclusions, he would have been genuinely impressed by the extent of their imagination.

When he had acted against Zavier, his only objective had been to attract the attention of the current Student Council president and had no other hidden motive.

There was something he needed to accomplish, and without that person’s help, achieving it would be much more difficult.

"Considering that the Disciplinary Department is under his control, once those two submit their report, it should definitely attract his attention," William muttered as he returned to his room.

Around two hours later, Liam finally came back carrying several bags.

It had taken him much longer than expected because he had gotten lost several times after entering the marketplace.

After he returned, the two of them headed to the academy’s cafeteria since it was already late evening and neither of them had eaten anything.

The academy’s cafeteria served all kinds of food, including the meat of high-level monsters, which was highly beneficial for Evolvers like them.

However, monster meat was extremely expensive, costing two Academic Credits for a single dish.

Neither William nor Liam intended to waste their credits on food.

Instead, they simply ordered ordinary meals that could be purchased with copper, silver, and gold coins.

After finishing dinner, they strolled around the academy, familiarizing themselves with its various facilities.

William had expected Zavier or someone connected to him to come looking for trouble.

Surprisingly, however, no one showed up.

As night fell, the two of them returned to their dormitory and began cultivating.

Liam cultivated with great determination because he knew William and Alicia had delayed entering an Astral Rift solely because they were waiting for him to break through to the Star Warrior Realm.

William, on the other hand, was thinking about something entirely different.

’Which Astral Rift should we enter?’

One Astral Rift after another flashed through his memories and after nearly a minute of contemplation, his thoughts finally settled on a particular Astral Rift.

’Considering my current situation and what I intend to accomplish, this one is the best choice.’

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before closing his eyes and focusing on his Aether Core.

’But my current strength still might not be enough to handle everything inside that Astral Rift.’

William pondered for a long time before finally making up his mind.

’I will buy that item tomorrow. Academic Credits are meant to be spent. Even if I use them now, I can always earn more later.’

Having made his decision, he calmed his mind and began cultivating the Time Star Codex.

Just like that, three days passed in the blink of an eye and Liam successfully broke through to the Star Warrior Realm.

With his breakthrough complete, the time had finally come for the three of them to enter their first Astral Rift together.