The concept of different races wasn't foreign to the planet Nehari, nor was it strange for Damian and Arthur, who had seen people from various races in Black Pit City. However, they hadn't seen a wide variety of races there, unlike in Khanaka City. The trio saw many races in Khanaka City, from humans to elves, dwarves, vampires, dragons, half-humans, monsters, and many others. Of course, the races weren't limited to what they saw; there were many other races.
The coexistence of different races wasn't easy, as each race had its own pride and a great deal of racism that didn't allow them to live together without problems. But thanks to the Union, the barriers between the different races were broken, which significantly reduced racism among them. Of course, there are still racist people, as it's impossible to completely eliminate racism.
Currently, the trio had rented three rooms in a cheap hotel after selling the bodies of the killed monsters. They earned enough money from it to rent rooms, buy some new clothes, and change out of their old, blood-stained ones, in addition to buying a smartphone for each of them. The trio was currently in the hotel's buffet, discussing their next steps.
"It seems the Union Academy entrance exam is in a week. What do you plan to do now?" Arthur said, putting a piece of meat in his mouth.
"I plan to focus on coordinating my skills with the new katana I got. I don't want to continue cultivating mana cores and break through while I'm still not used to my new power," Damian said, drinking his coffee.
"Same here. There are a lot of things I want to improve," Aurora said, then continued, "By the way, when did you two wake up?"
"This is the eighth day after waking up. Some silly things happened after we woke up, and we had to jump into a black hole, and then you know the rest of the story. What about you?" Damian said.
"Eight days? That's very fast. Even I took a whole month to reach Advanced Rank Level 9. It would have taken a little longer if I hadn't entered that portal," Aurora said with a sigh.
Damian turned to Arthur, then looked back at Aurora, saying, "If you don't mind, how did you enter the same world we did, and you're from another unknown planet?"
Aurora sighed and said, "My original name is Aurora Nomos, and on my planet, my family is one of the strongest families. I am the only heir to that family, so there were many assassination attempts against me. In the last attempt, I was betrayed by someone from my family and dropped into a valley called the Valley of the End. When I woke up, I found myself in this mysterious world. After a few days, I found you two, and then you know the end."
"Hmm, I guess being born into a powerful family has its pros and cons. It turns out being poor has its own positives," Arthur said.
Damian looked at him and replied, "Really? So you'd prefer to be born poor rather than rich?"
"Hahaha, of course not! I'd always choose to be born rich. Whether you're born poor or rich, danger always surrounds you, so the only guarantee for survival is power. Besides, money helps you get stronger faster," Arthur said after taking the last bite of his food and finishing it. Aurora nodded in agreement, finding his words a hundred percent logical.
"Anyway, I'm going back to my room. See you guys at the end of the week," Aurora said, standing up and heading to her room.
Damian and Arthur said their goodbyes. After she left, their expressions turned serious. Damian said, "When we enter the academy, our family names will remain hidden. I'll be Damian White and you'll be Arthur Fletcher. We don't know what kind of trouble our family names might bring. Also, don't leave the city for now until we join the academy."
Arthur nodded and said, "Yes, we still don't know who those assassins are or why they were after me. It's best to join the academy, as it will provide us with protection from them." Arthur sighed, then looked in the direction Aurora had left and asked Damian, "What do you think of Aurora? Can we trust her?"
Damian and Arthur weren't foolish enough to put their trust in just anyone they met and make friends everywhere. It should be noted that they didn't have any friends in their old school, as they didn't care to form friendships with people they wouldn't remember once they graduated.
Damian replied, "For now, I'm testing her. You can't say she's a friend, but you could say there's a temporary alliance between us until we can trust her or until the opposite is proven."
Arthur nodded, finished his drink, and got up from his seat. He looked at Damian and said, "I'm going back to my room to improve my understanding of runes. I'll come out of my room at the end of the week."
Damian nodded, letting Arthur return to his room while he remained alone in the buffet. No one could study the thoughts in his mind but himself. Since birth, Damian's intelligence had been high. His mind worked like a computer, analyzing and studying everything, but there was a side effect to that: his feelings and emotions were always in a state of calmness. Even when the head of the orphanage died in front of his eyes, he felt a slight trace of sadness that then disappeared. His interactions with people were minimal. He always planned ahead, and now he was thinking about how to use his power to its maximum potential.