Before Osho could continue to dwell on the matter, though, he was snapped out of his thoughts when someone approached.
He looked forward and saw Ahmed and his beast walking towards them.
He had half the mind to get into a combat position, but judging by the look on Ahmed's face, he knew that he wasn't a threat anymore.
Ahmed looked totally and utterly defeated. His previously arrogant demeanor was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the sinking realization that he was indeed no Osho's match, whether in a 1 v 1 without beasts or with their beasts involved.
As soon as he got close, he got on his knees and bowed his head, with the lion doing something similar.
Seeing this, his companions rushed to his side, wanting to support him, but he held up a hand, stopping them in their tracks.
Seeing his demeanor, Osho was a bit surprised.
With how arrogant he'd been at the start, Osho was sure he'd pull some sort of stunt the moment he started to lose, but seeing him admit and accept his loss without preamble was quite surprising.
That said, Osho wasn't entirely impressed.
"Is this a show to gain my mercy? Or do you want to paint yourself as a martyr?" He asked coldly. He was still miffed about the way he regarded Ellie.
However, Ahmed shook his head.
"Where I come from, we settle disputes with duels, and we take those duels very seriously. After someone loses, that person must apologize to the winner, regardless of whether they were right or not." He bowed his head further.
"I apologize for antagonizing your group as well as making inappropriate comments about your member." Seeing the earnest apology, Osho felt some of his anger subside a bit, and he exhaled.
'Well, I suppose it's can't be mad at an honest apology like that.' He sighed and sheathed his swords before folding his arms.
By now, the others from his group had arrived. Ellie immediately started inspecting Osho's body to look for wounds, but somehow, he managed to come out with only mild burns that would heal on their own.
Compared to his fight with Peter where he took many needless risks, he'd been far more careful during this fight and paced himself carefully, allowing him to come out on top with minimal injuries.
"I need to ask, what's your deal?" Sam was the first one to ask, her brows knit together in irritation. "We just came here to train, and then out of nowhere you attacked us, talking about territory and whatnot. Is it so difficult to fathom that a group of students came to come and train? Isn't that the point of the forest?" She asked with thinly veiled annoyance.
Hearing the genuine frustration in her voice, Ahmed looked up with a frown, and that's when he saw the looks of annoyance and anger on the other party's faces.
It was like a switch flipped in his brain, and his eyes widened.
"You guys... aren't part of any faction?" He asked with dawning realization.
"You still thought we were?" Kurt snorted. "Wow, how fucked up must a school's internal structure be for its older students to be so sure that anyone who goes to a public hunting ground is part of some faction." He scoffed, and Ahmed's jaw clenched at being called out so blatantly, but he couldn't deny the truth in Kurt's words.
"Explain it to me," Osho said flatly as he stared down at Ahmed. "The internal politics and faction system that seems to have caught us unaware for no reason." Hearing this, Ahmed looked up at Osho and asked.
"You guys are freshers, right? The new batch from Blossom Citadel?" His question caught them off guard.
"I thought that was confidential???" Irene said with confusion. While they hadn't put in that much effort to hide that specific truth–Osho's immense curiosity during his first class being an example–the fact that Ahmed saw through them so easily was both very surprising and immensely suspicious.
Seeing their surprise, he shook his head.
"That is another example of just how prominent factions within the Academy are. Factions are constantly trying to build up their power, so they keep a close eye on the admission of new students. After all, no one who manages to enter Stellaris can be weak or lacking, so every successful recruitment is an increase in their power. As for how they can do this, well, every faction has at least a few people in high places, so it's not hard for them to get information ." Hearing this, the group shared looks.
This was... a lot worse than they thought it'd be. Content orıginally comes from Nove1Fire.net
Sure, Veronica and Mateo warned them, but hearing that some of these factions had such authority within a place they believed was immutable was... shocking, and it made them question whether Stellaris was as pretty as it made itself out to be.
Ahmed seemed to see their doubts, and he just shook his head...
"Don't get me wrong, the school isn't corrupt, it's perfectly aware of everything that is happening and have lines that cannot be crossed. In truth, al of this, th factions and hierarchies between students, is simply part of a bigger experiment." He explained,and now they others were confused.
"Can you elaborate?" Ellie asked.
"Think of it . Virtually everyone who graduates from here will become a significant figure within humanity. Due to this, one of two things happen, they join an organization, or they create their own organization. Rarely do graduates go solo. Anyway, with such recognition and influence Stellaris has to ensure that when its graduates leave the college, they aren't just powerful, but decisive," He paused for a moment, then continued. "Power means nothing if the one wielding it doesn't know where they stand." As he watched them digest his words, he shifted from being on his knees to sitting, leaning against his beast and looking oddly regal while doing so.
"Every faction represents an ideology, a belief system, or an idea for how humanity should move forward. Some believe in strength through unity, others in evolution through conflict. Some believe that only a certain group should have access to certain things, others believe in serving the collective. None of them are officially right or wrong. The Academy allows all of them to exist because it wants to see how people react and stand when their beliefs are tested."
"So it's a larg-scale social experiment?" Sam asked dryly, and Ahmed sighed.
"Honestly? Yeah. Some call it the world's longest-running experiment in human philosophy and power dynamics. Stellaris won't interfere unless someone crosses the line. They observe, record, and evaluate. Every alliance, every choice, every betrayal, it is all recorded." Hearing this, Irene crossed her arms.
"So we are just lab rats."
"Yes," Ahmed nodded without any hesitation. "But that's the point. Think about it, out there," He twirled his finger. "You'll have to deal with people who think differently from you, people who have ideals that clash with yours. Stellaris believes that learning to navigate that now, in a controlled environment, is better than falling when it matters."
At that Ellie tilted her head.
"So... it's like a training ground for leadership and conviction." As soon as she said the word 'conviction' a flash of irritation appeared on Osho's face, but it was so brief that no one noticed.
"Essentially. Stellaris doesn't want students who, A). Follow orders blindly. Or B). Crumble under pressure. It wants people who can decide and stand by their principles even when things get dangerous or inconvenient. Like a senior said one time, its better to have a weak but determined person than a strong but mentally weak person. Whether your ideology is right or wrong doesn't matter to them. What does is whether you believe in it enough to act when it counts." Then his expression darkened slightly.
"That's why conflict is tolerated. They say those who can't defend their ideals don't deserve to have them. It's harsh, and borderline cruel, but that's simply how it is outside. Stellaris reflects reality... and prepares us for it." Ahmed's tone was calm, patient even. There was no sign of the previous arrogance he displayed before the fight, instead, it was like an older individual instructing his juniors about the intricacies of the world, which wasn't far off from the truth.
"So to summarize. Stellaris doesng care about the fights, politics, or chaos, as long as it shapes those involved into stronger individuals?"
"Exactly. As long as it creates people who won't break as soon as their ideals are tested."
When he finished, the group fell silent as they digested his words.
Like Ahmed said, it sounded strict and cruel...
'But from an objective standpoint... it makes sense.' Osho tilted his head as he thought about certain matters related to the cult and the similarities they displayed when it came to defending their ideology...
"Enough about that. We want to know about the factions factions themselves what could have possibly happened that would make you jump a bunch of new students thinking they were part of an opposing faction." Osho psued the thoughts to the back of his mind, and Ahmed smiled wryly before nodding."
"That's fair." He sighed.