Daru opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling of his classroom for a moment before adjusting his slumber capsule and standing up.

This was his first time exiting the realm first, appreciating the peaceful silence as he looked around.

Everyone was enveloped by a red protective sphere as expected.

Unlike the defenseless husks in the Myriad Sword Realm, one's body would be protected while one was asleep in Neo-Earth.

Not even the most horrifying of man-made bombs would be able to destroy the divine red barrier.

But of course, this barrier wouldn't be able to protect one from the long-established forces, especially once one is out of the academy and is on one's own as a professional.

The Seven Sword Guilds, for example, could merely send an assassin to the target's location in Neo-Earth before hunting them down in the Myriad Sword Realm.

If they somehow still managed to flee back to Neo-Earth, then the assassin would be taking their lives instantly the moment the red barrier dissipated.

This was why it was difficult to cross the large organizations and prominent families.

Laws just weren't as effective as they used to be, though they still existed and were strictly enforced for the upper-middle-class to the poor.

It was just that it's impossible for the world government to have the same iron-like grip on those at the apex.

After all, it is mostly the Seven Sword Guilds holding up the skies of humanity in the Myriad Sword Realm.

The world government inevitably had to give them and those under them some "special privileges".

Otherwise, even greater infighting would break out—as if the relationships among the seven and the world government weren't already strained enough—and humanity could collapse.

Appreciating the hum of the air conditioner journeying through the serene silence of Class 70's room for a few more moments, Daru left, returning to his room to prepare.

He needed to ensure he brought all the required identification documents, especially since he's still a student.

He apparently was also required to secure a pass from the Gatewarden's office before being allowed to leave the academy grounds.

After all, the institution is responsible for their safety, but once they signed a waiver and secured a pass for themselves, they would own the said responsibility.

At least for the span they requested.

"That should be everything…"

Aside from his old bag that contained all the needed documents, Daru brought nothing else.

He shall purchase the eco bags he needs to carry his merchandise on the way to the Sword Altar, located at the heart of Edgehaven Grand Square.

A few more moments later, he left his dormitory building, heading over to the Gatewarden's Office to obtain his exit pass.

The low-ranker dormitories are unfortunately located far from most essential offices. He would have to walk for half an hour.

On his way, he spotted students roaming the grounds on hoverboards, a few even having a bit of fun as they headed towards their destinations.

He could use one of those…

While Daru always liked his walks, he loved training more, and with a hoverboard, he would need less time traveling and would have more time for self-improvement.

Unfortunately, he could only look for now. Hoverboards were far too expensive for someone like him.

Soon, Daru arrived at the Gatewarden's Office.

There were surprisingly a lot of students requesting a pass, but there were also many cubicles, so he only had to wait for ten minutes before it was finally his turn.

Unbeknownst to him, a familiar face was right behind him in the queue, torn between whether he should approach Daru or not.

"Hello," greeted the female employee manning the cubicle, "how many hours would you like to request a pass for?"

Daru thought for a while before answering: "Ten thousand hours, please."

He didn't want to waste time returning here to request a pass every time he needed to leave the academy.

The female employee was dumbfounded for a moment before bursting into giggles: "Hahaha, sir does have a good sense of humor…"

However, when she noticed that Daru's brows were furrowed in confusion, she realized: the student wasn't joking.

"E-Err…you're serious, sir?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be serious? It's a waste of time returning here every time I need to leave the academy. I could use that time to train instead," he explained.

The young man behind him choked on his own saliva in disbelief, coughing continuously and capturing Daru's attention.

"Y-Yo, B-brother Daru." Cody greeted quite awkwardly.

They were rivals in the same high school for four years, yet this was their first interaction outside of a tournament.

"Hmm? Oh, Cody, correct?" Daru responded.

"Y-Yes…" Cody was a bit dejected that Daru didn't call him brother this time. "B-by the way, I heard your request. I don't think that's allowed…"

"Ah…I see…"

This time, it was Daru who was a bit downcast. He truly didn't want to waste time doing stuff like this…

It was then that the bewildered employee spoke to clarify:

"W-Well, actually, there's no rule that says that a student cannot request ten thousand hours…it's just that the academy wouldn't be responsible for your safety anymore for the duration of your stay here. If that's fine with you…"

"Ah, yes! That's fine with me…please give me a ten-thousand-hour pass…" Daru replied a bit too animatedly, dumbfounding Cody.

"O-Okay then, please wait for a few minutes…"

Just to be sure, the employee left, asking her superior if it was fine to issue such a pass.

Even though she believed it would be fine.

Daru is merely an F-ranker, anyway…

The academy probably wouldn't care much about him.

The moment the employee left, Cody managed to regather his wits, bursting out laughing, though in a controlled way.

"Hahaha, I didn't know you're quite the funny guy, brother Daru," the A-ranker began, tapping him on the shoulder.

Daru's brows furrowed at Cody's words, making the latter panic a bit.

"A-Ahh! Sorry, what I meant is I wouldn't have even thought of requesting a ten-thousand-hour pass. So I'm quite amazed you pulled such a thing off."

"Oh, I see…" Daru's brows relaxed the next moment after hearing Cody's explanation. "Well, I really don't want to waste time returning here every time, so…"

"Hahaha, no wonder I couldn't beat you all those years…" the A-ranker laughed and then sighed in acceptance. "Seems like I need to work even harder if I want to catch up to you, huh?"

A small but sincere smile appeared on Daru's face.

"Yes. You should work harder and try to defeat me. I'll look forward to fighting you again in the inter-class representative competition."

Cody once again froze for a moment before smiling in the next, finally catching a glimpse of Daru's true personality.

In the past, he thought Daru was a cold and aloof son-of-heaven type of guy, which was why Cody didn't dare talk to him in the past, thinking he would only suffer humiliation from doing so.

It turned out that he was merely overthinking things all those years…

Having realized something he might've been missing, Cody steeled his resolve.

"Hoh, you're fine with me defeating you? Then how about you lose deliberately to me next time, huh?"

Daru frowned again.

"No, that would be unfun. You should earn the victory yourself through hard work."

Cody burst out laughing again, a bit more uncontrolled this time after confirming something.

Daru Finnley…

This sword prince of Ashton High, whom he once thought was detached, cold, and arrogant, turned out to simply be someone so inexperienced outside of swordsmanship that he couldn't tell what was a joke and what wasn't.

"Hahahaha! Come on, brother. You couldn't tell that was a joke? Of course, I'll earn my victory against you!"

Daru's expression eased once more.

"Oh…that's good, then. Stop hesitating as you've always been doing in the past. I'm bound to have some holes, as I'm only human like you. You should go for openings without hesitation if you think you can score. Ahh…but watch out for false openings. I do show some from time to time…Oh, right, and…" Daru babbled on.

His rather adorable enthusiasm flabbergasted Cody, though the latter couldn't help but feel quite giddy inside as he listened to his schoolmate's words and observed his facial expressions.

To think he had mistaken the guy for a cold snob…

What a waste; he probably could've improved faster.

The past was the past, however, and this time he was determined to befriend Daru—both for the sake of having a pleasant, interesting, and refreshing companion to be around and for the chance to advance his swordsmanship by consulting a more skilled friend, who seemed more than willing to give advice.

Cody continued chatting with Daru for a while, learning that they were planning to leave the academy for the same reasons: to try withdrawing and selling materials they obtained from the sword realm.

A few more seconds later, the employee finally returned with a laminated card in hand.

"Here's your pass, sir."

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