Chapter 209 — Revolution II

Damian turned to Naomi, noting her dazed expression.

"Have you written everything down so far?"

"One second!"

Naomi’s fingers flew across her tablet, catching up with the backlog of revolutionary announcements.

Damian looked at the faces around the table – all of them appearing like they’d seen ghosts – and smiled slightly.

’They understand what I’m doing. Dismantling the entire Academy’s power structure. Making professors willing and even eager to teach. Forcing a stop to commoners seeking Noble family support out of desperation.

From now on, the greatest suppression mechanism against commoners will be dismantled.’

Elena Dray finally found her voice, her platinum hair catching light as she leaned forward.

"...Are you absolutely sure about this? You’re making yourself the enemy of everyone. Including many professors who benefit from the current system. And Noble families..."

She hesitated, choosing words carefully.

"You must realize – most of the fresh talent recruited into Noble families comes from Academy students. You’re cutting off their primary source of skilled subordinates."

Damian interrupted her with a cold smile.

"And you just made my point perfectly clear. All of you already know exactly what’s been going on.

You understand the system is corrupt and designed to exploit commoners. But you won’t push for changes because you’re part of that system. You benefit from it."

"..."

Silence spread across the room like a physical weight.

Elena sat back, unable to argue.

Gareth spoke up, his voice resigned but curious.

"...Then what about the clubs? How will they function without Academy funding? Many clubs provide essential services – training groups, research collectives and combat practice organizations."

Damian’s expression didn’t change.

"They can fund themselves. Or you can get your families to sponsor them if you care so much. You can continue your recruitment of so-called ’subordinates’ that way if you want."

His voice became harder.

"But no Academy funds will be spent training your future servants! The Academy’s resources will train future elites for our entire race. For humanity’s survival. Not for Noble family politics."

Gareth sighed, but his eyes showed something unexpected: respect.

Even Liam and the others displayed a fearful kind of respect, recognizing the brutal logic behind the decisions.

Arielle looked troubled but couldn’t find grounds to object.

Adrian was taking mental notes, clearly already thinking about how to implement these changes as the new Clubs Committee Chairman.

Elizabeth remained silent, watching Damian work with an expression mixing concern and fascination. But... she was all up for it!

"Now that Academy resources are settled," Damian continued, "we come to the matter of justice."

He looked directly at Arielle, his gaze making her straighten involuntarily.

"You will continue as Disciplinary Committee Head only if you can remain completely unbiased going forward."

Arielle looked confused, as did everyone else.

What did he mean by "going forward"?

Damian’s next words made several people’s blood run cold.

"All cases related to violence against commoners, suppression, bullying, or abuse of power will be reopened. Every single one from the past three years."

"What?!"

Multiple voices overlapped in shock.

"Any student found guilty after review will face appropriate punishment ranging from temporary suspension to immediate expulsion, depending on severity."

Elizabeth opened her mouth, her voice carrying genuine concern.

"Damian... is this really necessary? Some of those cases are years old. The students involved have moved on from those issues. Opening old wounds will create enormous backlash."

Damian looked her directly in the eyes and said nothing.

Just held her gaze with absolute certainty.

Elizabeth sighed, recognizing he wouldn’t budge on this.

"I’ll take personal lead on the review process and make sure it’s done fairly and thoroughly."

Damian paused for several seconds, considering, then nodded acceptance.

Elizabeth’s involvement would provide credibility and reduce accusations of pure revenge.

As Naomi frantically typed everything, Damian added one more announcement.

"One final change to address."

Everyone tensed, wondering what else he could possibly alter.

"From now on, every class will conduct regular excursions to the forest behind the Academy to hunt beasts and gain practical combat experience. Professors will lead these expeditions and ensure student safety."

Immediate objections erupted from multiple Council members.

"That’s not safe!"

"First-years aren’t ready for live combat!"

"The mortality rate will increase dramatically!"

"The forest contains beasts that could kill even third-years!"

Damian listened calmly to the protests, letting them exhaust themselves.

Then he spoke, his voice cutting through the noise.

"You know... this Academy is the only major institution in the Federation that sends students directly to face Monsters during battlefield missions every year without proper preparation."

"..."

He let that truth sink in.

"And the result is a high mortality rate that makes talented students fear joining us. They choose other Academies with lower death rates, even though our resources are superior. Our reputation for excellence is being damaged by our reputation for getting students killed."

"..."

Nobody could argue with those facts.

"My goal is to ensure every student faces controlled danger before meeting real threats. Minimize losses by building genuine combat experience gradually rather than throwing unprepared teenagers at Monsters who’ve killed veteran soldiers."

He gestured dismissively.

"We can submit the proposal to the Headmaster first. He’s responsible for maintaining barriers that keep stronger beasts in the deeper forest regions. If he determines the outer forest is safe enough for supervised student training, we proceed. If not, we revise the plan."

"..."

Everyone still looked at each other in concern, but no one dared to say anything to Damian.

Damian’s expression showed mild annoyance at their concern.

"I survived in that forest easily when I was significantly weaker. It’s not particularly dangerous if students stay in outer areas under professor supervision.

The beasts there are mostly E rank and D rank. Manageable for organized groups."

Everyone in the room thought simultaneously: That’s because you’re a fucking freak!

As if reading their thoughts, Damian’s voice took on an edge.

"Just look at yourselves! All that proud talk about maintaining Academy honor during the orientation ceremony! About being humanity’s elite defenders.

But you don’t even have the courage to face basic beasts in a controlled environment. Talk less about becoming strong enough to actually defend humanity from the Monster threat."

"..."

His cold words rang through the chamber, making everyone wear complex expressions of shame and denial.

Then Damian’s voice dropped to something almost like a whisper, his eyes showing something distant and knowing.

"You fear entering the forests where you have all the advantages – numbers, professor support and proximity to safety.

But what happens when the beasts come for you? When they’re the ones attacking, and you have nowhere to run?"

The words carried weight beyond their literal meaning, like prophecy rather than hypothetical.

Liam’s green eyes narrowed.

"...What are you talking about? Beasts don’t leave their territories. The forest barriers have held for decades."

Damian didn’t respond, his face becoming carefully blank.

’I can’t tell them I know beasts will cause catastrophic damage soon. That an old man read about events in a novel that described this world.

Those things are already deviating from what I remember, which means the danger might be even worse. Elizabeth will believe me, but not others.’

So he stayed silent, letting the ominous implication hang.

After several seconds, he shifted topics.

"Anyway, Elizabeth, you can submit the forest training proposal to the Headmaster for review."

Elizabeth nodded, adding it to her mental list of impossible tasks Damian had just assigned.

"Since there are only eight members in the Student Council currently, I’m adding four more from the first-year class as temporary members until proper replacements come up."

Everyone leaned forward, curious who he’d select.

"Ariana Sterling, Edrin Kael, Fiona Sigurd, and Victoria White will join as interim Council members."

Arielle’s mouth opened immediately.

"Why them specifically? What qualifies–"

She stopped as Damian looked at her silently, his gaze carrying so much pressure that she felt her words die in her throat.

She remembered his opening statement: This is not a democracy. Do what I say without questioning.

So... the question was useless. His decision was made.

Damian stood up and started walking outside of the room, indicating the meeting was concluding.

"I have other matters to attend to. Naomi, announce all rule changes and new policies on the forum and distribute them to all professors through official channels."

Then... he looked back at the assembled Council members.

Kuro materialized on his shoulder, the raven’s presence somehow making Damian’s next words more threatening despite their simplicity.

Both of them – student and bonded creature – exerted pressure that made the air feel heavy.

"Don’t give me a reason to come after any of you. There is already one council member... missing."

"..."

Silence!

Then Damian walked out, the door closing behind him, leaving the Council members sitting in shocked stillness.

Everyone realized that the disappearance of Mara was really related to Damian!

Liam’s face became completely pale.

All their faces were pale as they considered the sudden indirect admittance of a murder and also the changes about to sweep through the Academy.

It was safe to say... Stormhold Academy was now completely under Damian Valcor’s influence.

Several minutes passed before anyone spoke.

Gareth finally looked at Elizabeth, his bear-like frame seeming smaller somehow.

"Fourth-years are leaving soon for graduation. We don’t have much to worry about personally. But aren’t you concerned about the consequences? The political backlash from Noble families will be enormous."

Elizabeth stayed silent for a long moment, her purple eyes distant.

Then she spoke quietly.

"...Consequences? Think about every rule he just announced. Every change he’s implementing. And tell me – what are the actual long-term effects if we stop thinking from a Noble perspective?"

Everyone sat straighter, processing her words.

"Stop thinking about family politics. Stop thinking about subordinate recruitment. Just think about the Academy’s stated purpose: developing humanity’s defenders against the Monster threat."

She looked at each of them.

"Really think about it."

They did.

And slowly, realization dawned across multiple faces.

If they removed Noble family interests from the equation...

If they looked purely at what would make students stronger, more capable and better prepared for the wars humanity was fighting...

Every single change Damian had announced was beneficial.

Opening resource access meant more students could develop their talents fully instead of being artificially limited.

Making professors actually teach meant knowledge wouldn’t be hoarded by those who could afford it.

Providing combat experience in controlled environments before throwing students into life-or-death battles meant lower mortality rates.

Reopening justice cases meant students wouldn’t be abused without consequences, which meant better morale and loyalty.

What Damian had done today would elevate Stormhold Academy to heights it hadn’t reached since its founding.

Every talented commoner in the Federation would want to attend an Academy where they wouldn’t be suppressed. Where they’d receive genuine instruction. Where merit mattered more than birth.

The concentration of talent would increase dramatically.

And professors would actually teach to earn those incentive rewards, which meant more powerhouses graduating, which meant humanity’s strength against Monsters would grow...

There were only benefits... for everyone except one group.

Noble families!

They would lose their primary recruitment pipeline. Lose their ability to monopolize advanced techniques and lose their systematic advantages.

"..."

Silence spread across the Council chamber as understanding crystallized.

Damian hadn’t just changed Academy policy.

He’d started a revolution!

And the only question remaining was how the established powers would respond when they realized what he’d done.