A small altercation had occurred just outside the main academy, and after Dame was somewhat satisfied with his answer but wanted to find out more, the group had moved to the living quarters.
It was even quieter once they had entered the inside. There were next to no students that had stayed in the academy. Nearly all of them had decided to head home, as they didn't exactly know when the next break would occur.
However, oddly, there were still the same number of teachers guarding the place. As they walked through the courtyard to get to the building, they had even passed by Tod and the other assessors, which came as quite a surprise.
"I thought Teacher Lee would have eaten him alive after what he had done," Liam commented. "I guess he was in a happy mood after the results."
"I wouldn't be worried so much about what Teacher Lee would do," Simyon commented. "I'm seriously more worried about Raze."
That day when everyone had fought in the event, they had learned the truth of what the five main disciples had attempted to do. For those who heard this, it sounded like a revenge story.
Raze had shown some strength in the initial school assessment but not at the same level he had shown that day. So, in the students' minds, they had been building up a story of their own.
How he had worked hard and had pushed through every barrier possible, all in an attempt to take down the main five, and he had accomplished it. Simyon was sure that all of the students, when heading back, would be telling their parents and clans what they had seen.
"Raze, you really are going to become one popular guy," Simyon thought.
When they entered the inside, due to the lack of people, they thought there was no need for them to head inside their rooms, and instead, they sat out in the main room that was out in the open. There was quite a bit of dust that covered the sofas and chairs.
It had only been a couple of days, but the area looked untouched.
"So, are you going to explain to me what this Alter group is?" Dame said as he sat down, his fingers intertwined with each other. It was one of the very few times they had seen him being so serious.
Simyon was hesitating about what to say. Since he was technically a field agent of Alter, was he even allowed to say anything? But then again, what if 'Pink' was to kill him over this type of information? It certainly felt like there was a chance before.
"Alter is a group that any respectable clan should know," Liam said. "It's a surprise that you don't know it, to be honest. They're not a clan but some could say maybe an odd job group. Many of the clans contact them for multiple reasons.
"Information gathering for one, and sometimes when they have large issues that would be difficult for Pagna warriors to solve. It's hard to explain, but essentially, a request can be sent, and it seems like they can almost do anything. So they're well-respected among all of the clans."
Dame was now scratching his chin with the information he had just learned because he had never heard of such a group. But then again, the Demonic Faction was more segregated compared to the other factions to the outside world.
In fact, Dame didn't know much about what was happening outside of the martial arts tournaments, which was why he wanted to leave in the first place. He always admired Alba and her Crimson Crane group.
"Do they operate outside of the Dark Faction, or does their network spread wider than that, and are they strong?" Dame asked.
"That's a question that's hard to answer," Liam replied. "They seem to have a connection with everyone, to the point that if anyone was to upset them, there would be many clans that are willing to help them out.
"As far as I know, though, they do also operate outside of the Dark Faction and work with the Light Faction as well. I'm not sure about the Demonic Faction, but they are quite the neutral group.
"I heard that at times during clan disagreements, where large-scale battles are taking place, they choose not to take sides and will even cut off communication until everything is resolved."
The group of Alter was getting more and more interesting to Dame by the moment. He was sure he would have heard of such a group in the Demonic Faction before. In fact, Dame was quite sure that he had even seen the same item that the man from earlier was carrying.
'Has this group already tried to get into the Demonic Faction? Are they attempting to do something?'
Inside Dame's mind, he was conflicted. He didn't care much about the Demonic Faction, but then again he did. He felt like he had some responsibility to the faction that brought him up, and that his friends and family were a part of.
If something was happening, then he should at least make his father aware of it.
"So I understand somewhat about this mysterious group, but then why are they speaking to Raze, what is his link to them?" Dame asked.
There was a slight fear running through the back of Dame's mind. What if meeting the Dark Magus wasn't a coincidence after all? What if, just like many other groups, they were trying to take down the Demonic Faction from within?
Dame had let him in with open arms, without knowing much about him because he believed Raze was from another world, but it turned out the two of them were from the same world.
Once again, Safa and Simyon, based on their reactions as they averted their eyes, they knew something, but they weren't keen to speak on it.
"Stop pressuring them," a voice said as he walked over. "If you want to know something, you can always ask me."
The white-haired student, who was also slowly gaining the name the White Dragon, had entered the room. He had managed to catch the tail end of the conversation.
"Raze," Dame said as he stood up from his seat. "I like you... as a person a lot, and I'm not one to back down on our deals."
Before he spoke more, the smiling faces of Kirk, Carlson, and Fixteen had entered his mind, the time he spent with them and their families growing up. At the same time, he also thought about the Dark Magus handing him the win in the special battle.
It was possible that with what he was about to say, he might break the relationship between the two, and it might have seemed like a small matter to most, but he couldn't get it out of his head. The group Alter may have sounded nice to others, but it sounded dangerous to him.
Especially a group that was trying not to make its presence known to the Demonic Faction.
"I need to know what your relationship is with Alter, otherwise I'm afraid we might not be able to work together anymore," Dame asked.