Christian remained silent.
He rubbed the back of his neck lightly, his eyes drifting into the void, as if searching for the best solution in the emptiness. Around them, the classroom was still noisy, but for him, everything seemed muted, distant.
He glanced at Kael who had started at him for a moment now.
Kael said nothing.
He didn't rush him, didn't stare insistently. He was just there—calm, almost too calm… and that somehow made the decision feel even heavier.
Christian let out a soft breath.
"Honestly… I didn't expect this."
He gave a faint, bitter smile.
"I thought you'd either tell me to sell it quickly, or… try to take it from me."
He looked up at Kael.
"But instead, you give me an option that's safer… and somehow harder to choose."His gaze dropped, his fists tightening.
"Selling it to a stranger is dangerous. I know that. But accepting your offer…"
He paused.
"It's like putting my future in your hands."A brief silence followed.Then Christian lifted his head.
"I need some time to think more fully about this .
Kael simply nodded has these words an said
"Take your time You don't owe me anything, and I don't owe you anything either."
so you don't have to be nervous or be afraid to take a decision .
Those simple words, spoken without pressure, reassured Christian more than any promise could have.
The barrier faded away, and the voices of the other students rushed back in.
The noise of the classroom fully washed over them now, as if nothing unusual had ever happened. Desks scraped softly against the floor, students laughed, others argued excitedly about their newly born worlds—whose was bigger, whose laws were more refined, whose future seemed brighter.
Christian returned to his seat, still quiet
Kael, meanwhile, sat down with measured ease. To anyone watching, he looked no different from the others: just another student returning late from a break. But beneath that calm exterior, his thoughts were moving.
A divine artifact… and an unawakened one at that, interesting.
The door at the front of the classroom openedimmediately drawing the room toward silence.
Conversations died down, one after another, until only a low murmur remained. With a single glance, he surveyed the class, his eyes briefly lingering on a few students—including Kael—before he turned toward the board.
"Settle down," he said evenly. "It seems many of you have made… significant progress."A few students straightened proudly at those words.
"We will now move on to the next phase," the professor continued. "World maintenance and long-term stability. Creation is only the beginning. Without proper balance, even a god's world will collapse."
Christian's fingers curled slightly under the deskKael's gaze sharpened, just a fraction.
Maintenance… stability…
He already knew the answer to that lesson—because he had paid the price of learning it firsthand.
As the professor began to explain, Kael leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression calm, almost indifferent
The only thing truly occupying his mind was Christian's situation.
Opportunities like this did not simply appear—encountering a divine artifact was already rare enough, but an innate, unawakened one made it almost unreal.
Kael understood its value instinctively. It far exceeded anything that could ever be spoken of openly in a classroom like this. An unawakened innate divine artifact was not merely a tool to be wielded—it was a seed.
And in the right hands, that seed could grow into something capable of shaping worlds themselves.
That realization was exactly why he had named such an exorbitant price.
Not as an act of generosity.
Not as a gamble.
But it was also a calculated move—one meant to test something deeper.
While Kael was still lost in his thoughts, Mr. Jonathan brought the lecture to an end. Instead of dismissing the class immediately, he paused, then spoke again.
"There is something important I need to tell you before we conclude."
At once, the room fell silent. The sudden shift in his tone drew the attention of every student—Kael included, as well as Christian, who had been lost in his own thoughts only moments before.
"In one month," Mr. Jonathan continued, "the Divine Trial will take place."
A subtle tension spread through the classroom."This is a competition organized by the upper echelons of the human race, designed to help newly born gods—or those who have successfully created their own worlds, like you—better adapt to the Divine Realm."
Murmurs rippled through the students.
"During this trial, you will face participants from several other academies like ours, across different challenges.
Your performance will determine which divine university you will be transferred to."
His gaze sharpened.
"So I expect you to take this trial seriously."
Then, after a brief pause, he added,
"To better support you, the academy will grant each of you the freedom to choose three resources, none exceeding the rank of demigod, from the school's God Network."A stir of excitement broke out.
"In addition," Mr. Jonathan said calmly, "there will be no classes this month. This time is granted so you may prepare properly for the trial."
The words lingered in the air.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
A month…
Three demigod-grade resources… interesing
A heavy silence followed Mr. Jonathan's announcement,Then the classroom erupted.
With Excited voices overlapped, questions burst out from every direction, and more than a few students were already dreaming aloud of divine universities, powerful lineages, and futures far grander than the ones they had imagined moments before.
Kael, however, remained calm, as if nothing could reach or touch him .
Mr. Jonathan then said, "That's all for today. You can go rest.
"Kael stood slowly, his movements deliberate and unhurried. He gathered his belongings with the same calm composure that had marked him throughout the lecture. Nothing about the noise or the excitement of the classroom seemed to touch him.
But as he walked toward the door, he felt someone watching him. He looked and saw that it was Christian. He then gave him a gentle nod before he stepping out the door.