( The university teleportation hall, Sunday )


    As instructed by Principal Liam, every student gathered near the teleportation area of the university at 6am sharp in the morning.


    Everyone seemed to have prepared their survival backpacks and seemed to be ready for the uing mid-term evaluation.


    *Murmurs*


    *Whispers*


    *Gazes*


    Rocky, and his group seemed to be the centre of everyone''s attention as although they stood in an isted corner, everyone kept murmuring about them and turning their gazes towards Rocky.


    Because of his prolonged absence, some expected Rocky to be admonished by the professors upon his return, while many assumed that he had been kicked out all together.


    However, seeing him return and standing ever so calmly, gave rise to many conspiracy theories which were the hot topic of discussion this morning.


    (Jealous)


    (Happy)


    (Angry)


    (Hatred)


    (Crush)


    (Neutral)


    (Happy)


    (Jealous)


    (Neutral)


    Scanning the crowd using his aura skill, Rocky could immediately tell what everyone was feeling towards him.


    He did not need to judge their facial expressions, he did not need to guess what they were talking about in hushed voices, as reading the colour of their aura alone, Rocky could understand what they felt towards him.


    ''Hmmm…''


    A soft smile spread on Rocky''s face as instead of worrying about why so many people disliked him, or why so many people had deep set hatred towards him, Rocky chose to smile calmly.


    During his istion he hade to realise that public opinion was not something he could control and was hence something he had no point worrying about.


    Could their hatred kill him?


    If they acted on it, yes…..


    However, the best Rocky could do was to be guard against such people and not trust them, but he couldn''t forcefully change them.


    Rocky understood that if he went about trying to change the hate inside people, he would truly risk losing his sanity as regardless of what he did, there were always going to be people who disliked him.


    What he felt surprised about was that there were a few people in the crowd, roughly 10-15%, who were genuinely happy to see him return.


    While Rocky was not sure as to why they liked him-, he was happy to know that there were at least a few people who liked him for his personality.


    A majority of the crowd, however, felt indifferent towards Rocky.


    They were either jealous of his talents or did not have any strong feelings towards him, as these people constituted nearly 60-70% of the crowd.


    While they gazed towards him and talked about him, they weren''t really emotionally connected or invested in him as it was only after using this skill that Rocky realised that he wasn''t as big of a deal as he thought he was.


    He was popr because he was the Champion of Gemini, however, not everyone was obsessed with every move he made. Arge portion of the crowd just did not care about him, and it was only today that he realised this fact.


    ''Hahaha, I was truly naive before, everyone has their own lives to live. Not everything is about me 24x7'' Rocky thought as his soft smile widened and he nodded.


    ''Nubi was right, the biggest w in the previous me was indeed my conceited personality.


    exclusive-to-NovelFire


    Spending time within the chamber has shifted my mentality big time'' Rocky thought as he silently enjoyed this new worldview he had developed.


    Shaking his head, Rocky couldn''t help butpare his current self to the person he was before his disappearance. He remembered times when the slightest hint of disapproval or jealousy would set him on edge, leading to sleepless nights filled with doubt and self-criticism.


    However, he now viewed those whispered judgments and envious stares not as personal attacks, but as reflections of the insecurities and challenges his peers faced in their own lives.


    This shift in perspective allowed him to feel a deeper sense ofpassion towards them, even those who harboured negativity in their hearts leading to his smile deepening, not out of ignorance, but from a profound understanding that true strength lies in empathy and the ability to remain unwavering in the face of adversity.


    Would he befriend such people?


    No-


    However, would he take them seriously?


    Absolutely not!


    "Human, why are youughing to yourself, it looks very disturbing to Buhara" said Buhara as Rocky immediately checked his wide grin and returned towards maintaining a poker face.


    "Human, your expressionless face is more ugly than your smiling face, I change my decision, you should smile more-" said Buhara as Erin tried to hit him in the abdomen using his elbow.


    "Ouch" Erin groaned as in trying to hurt Buhara the only thing Erin did was hurt his own elbow as Buhara remained unaffected by his puny attack.


    "Are you trying to tickle me, little human?" Buhara asked Erin who made a helpless face towards Rocky, begging for his help.


    However, before Rocky had the chance to intervene, it was Principal Liam who addressed the ss.


    "Alright students, may I have your attention?" He asked in a rather groggy voice as it seemed like amand more than a request.


    "Do well on your mid-term evaluation, do your best to survive, do your best to kill monsters and put all the knowledge you have been learning to use.


    Life within the tower will get harder and harder the higher you climb so even though you might feel like learning these basics are useless, someday you will thank me for them.


    That said….. try not to die under any circumstances, use the emergency teleport button to reach the university grounds immediately.


    Floor zero is usually very safe and even the monsters you will face should not exceed the danger level of floor 7.


    If in spite of all this, anyone of you does end up dead, do understand that I''ll torment your soul forever….. that is my promise" Liam said, as he issued a rather chilling warning for all students.


    On his first day at the university, Rocky felt like Professor Liam was slightly entric, however, the more he got to know him, the more he realised that this man was not just entric but he was literally on the verge of losing his sanity.


    Professor Liam did not choose to be this way, and although he seemed heartless, Rocky understood better than anyone the sort of demons he must be battling for his personality to have be such.


    "Alright, into the teleportation portal you go!


    Go- go- go-


    Also remember, this is an individual evaluation, so kill points will only be given to one student even if you hunt in groups!


    So be greedy... the reward this time is pretty good if you ask me!" Liam said as the teleportation gate roared to life.


    "Alright, let''s head in-" Rocky said, as he joined the queue alongside his friends to enter, while nodding politely at Principal Liam when he passed him.


    "You especially, don''t die….. while floor zero is safe for everyone else, I''m not so sure about you and her" Principal Liam said as Rocky shed him the emergency escape token and smiled.


    "I''ve learnt my lesson principal, escape tokens should always be on me…. Never in the bag" Rocky said as Principal Liam nodded in acknowledgement.


    Rocky had indeed improved since hisst outing roughly 4.5 months ago.


    —------


    /// A/N - Apologies for uploading only a single chapter today although a bonus is pending.


    But I''ll make it up tomorrow morning early for sure! ///