Darius Supreme

Ash woke up, feeling groggy since a strange electric current was running through his brain. It wasn't painful, but extremely irritating and pervasive, beating away any desire to return to sleep.

Yesternight, he had ended up falling asleep at the time Darius had specified thanks to the help of the HoloBrace and now it had woken him up.

Admittedly, Darius' allocated sleeping schedule had granted his pupils more than enough hours to sleep, but as a noble, Ash was used to sleeping slightly longer.

The boy stretched and got off his bed to walk to the attached bathroom that had everything. He quickly brushed his teeth and had a nice soak in the bath that refreshed him even more.

The water came from a pipe in the mage tower so he didn't have to wait for a servant to draw it. He wondered what kind of water this was that made him feel so comfortable and refreshed, like he could melt into sludge within.

Eventually, Ash got out of the bath and wiped himself down before changing into a set of Apprentice Robes. The Maidbot had brought them in yesternight, saying that Darius had just prepared them.

Just like Ash, the others too had received five pairs, each one styled in the colors representing their chosen elements. They were told to wear only these attires for the duration of their stay and for the foreseeable future.

For today, Ash selected the white-green robe which likely represented the Life element. He found that apart from being quite comfortable and simple, it looked very good on him.

Despite being a noble Ash was not a vain person, yet no one wanted to look like crap if they could help it, especially when they would spend time around their peers. At 7.30 am the HoloBrace sent Ash a reminder to move out for breakfast.

He went down to the dining room where they had eaten lunch and dinner the day before, meeting up with his four Apprentice Brothers and Sister. Ash greeted them and they returned the greetings in kind.

One of the first rules of the HoloBrace clearly stated that now that they were all under Darius, they were to treat each other as family, no matter what kind of dream each one of them had or what background they possessed.

After all, it was a fact that all of them were practically guaranteed to become powerhouses in the near future. In the pursuit of their goals, having each other as friends could help them in many ways.

The Maidbots had long since arranged the table with their breakfast, a selection of eggs, toasted bread, sausages, bacon, cereal, and oats. They could also select between coffee, tea, or pure milk.

The five ate their fill, with Anthony eating more than the other's combined. Even though they had seen his voracious appetite displayed yesterday, they still marveled at his efficiency.

He alone had made sure there was only 10% of the food left on the table by the time they were done.

Ash couldn't help but wonder what about Anthony's physiology required him to eat so much? Maybe it was his high Intellect?

Ash hadn't been able to sense such things before, but after Awakening, he could understand why Darius had looked at Anthony so fondly as he could vaguely sense the other's life level.

(Author's Note: Remember, Life level is comprised of three things: Strength, Endurance, and Intellect.)

After breakfast, they all headed down to the first floor where Darius had set their lecture room to be. They arrived at 7.55 am and sat on the same cushions that they had been on yesterday when they awakened.

At 8.00 am sharp Darius himself appeared by blinking into the room, and the five Apprentices rose to greet him. Darius accepted their greeting and allowed them to sit before he started today's lecture.

"Yesterday, I've explained the fundamental nature of magic and how it came to be. Today, I shall continue and explain the reason why magic exists the way we see it."

Darius then spent the next three hours teaching them important theories. Most mage schools would start off new students with something small, but they were nowhere near as in-depth as Darius because they simply lacked the information the young man had.

His five students were not lost. After all, with their Intellect at their ages, they were akin to the students of Harvard in terms of quality. The theory presented may have been abstract, but Darius was able to explain it concisely enough that they were able to understand.

By the time the lecture ended, the five were still seated at their positions, with pondering looks.

"You can use the next hour to ask me any questions you have pertaining to the topic today or yesterday." Darius informed them with a smile. He had deliberately allocated three hours for his lecture and one hour in between for questions or relaxation.

Straightaway, all five raised their hands, making Darius feel pleased. He then proceeded to answer their questions one by one and made sure they were satisfied with the answer before proceeding to the next one.

Eventually, it reached 11.55 am and Darius shooed them away for lunch. The five Apprentices still had unsatisfied looks like they wanted to learn more, but they knew this was just the first day. There would be many more opportunities to post their questions.

Lunch was served by the Maidbots again, this time being a mixture of steamed rice and a choice between a set of five different stews, tomato stew, curry stew, beef stew, chicken stew, or fish stew.

There were also boiled potatoes, a mixed salad with cream, and a bit of spice pepper. They ate with relish, their bodies tingling at how good the food tasted compared to what they had expected.

Then again, their food had been made using the best techniques found inside the Supreme Portal's archive. The basic Cooking skill Darius had might not be a match even if he maxed it out with Skill Points.

After all, the Maidbots were mechanical in nature. They could follow the recipes to utter perfection without a single failure, so as long as the recipe itself yielded a great result, it could be perfectly replicated.

What made Ash curious was the fact that the drinks they were given were sweet and all shared a strange blue color. It filled his body with energy and made his muscles tingle with the will to move.