Void Evolution System

It was just as expected.

After an hour of waiting in line, Damien finally got a chance to talk to the receptionist. Their conversation was quite streamlined as this was a process the Earth Temple went through at least a few tens of times a day.

"I have come to apply to be a member of the temple."

"Name?"

"Damien Void."

"Please take this ticket and have a seat. You will be expressly teleported to the trial area when it is your turn."

With a nod, Damien left and found a place to sit. There were quite a few seats in the lobby area. A lot of them were filled as well, likely by individuals related to the business side of the temple's operation.

Those who looked like him, who wore strange clothing compared to the rest and had an aura of war that hadn't yet faded, were few in number.

Damien could see only three others that gave off the feeling of an active competitor. 'It's as if we're the strange ones.'

It was odd. Even on Earth, after the World Awakening, Awakened individuals were the main class of society. People who lived average lives were seen as the minority.

Damien found a place that was more secluded so he could have some peace before he was summoned, but he obviously wasn't going to get that kind of freedom.

There was a strange thing about society. When everyone wanted to mind their own business, it was as if nobody existed. However, if someone decided to act indifferent in a place where others were hyper and curious, wouldn't they instead find themselves attracting more attention?

Damien saw that fighters were rare and decided that he wasn't going to interact with anyone.

The other fighters, however, were very curious about the new person who'd arrived at their temple.

"Hey!"

Damien's attention was caught by an approaching voice just seconds after he sat down.

"Sorry. You look like you don't want to talk to anyone, but I really can't help being curious. I've never seen you before. Are you new here?"

The person was a man with bright blonde hair that almost didn't seem real. He had blue eyes that sparkled on a young-looking face. In Damien's opinion, he couldn't have been more than twenty-four years old.

"Is it common to assume that someone is new just because you haven't seen them?" Damien responded.

"Yup! There aren't many of us in Terra. Every challenger is at least familiar with each other's names. I've never heard of you or seen you, so aren't you obviously from somewhere else?"

The man's response was instant.

Damien sighed. 'Troublesome guy.'

The man sat down next to him and crossed his arms.

"So? Who are you? Did you come from Alphea? Nah, you don't seem like one of them. Maybe you're a Rivean? It has to be one of those two. Rural folk don't know how to dress like you."

Damien raised his brow.

'Does he think I'm one of the children who was born here?'

Alphea was the name of the Water Temple city he walked through when he first arrived on the island. Rivea was the Fire Temple's main city and Terra was the same for the Earth Temple.

He spoke as if Damien had to be born here.

'Is it that they don't know?'

"Your name?" Damien asked.

It definitely wasn't the most courteous way to ask, but hey, he was still working on it.

"Ah, right! I forgot to introduce myself!"

The man didn't seem to mind. He knocked his head and held his arm out for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Darius Silver!"

Damien smiled.

'Same name, huh?'

He hadn't seen his younger brother in a while. Dominic returned to the palace while Damien was still there, but Darius was too busy. It seemed that he had become some sort of hero in the past ten years.

'I'll have to go meet him when I get back.'

Putting that aside, Damien shook the man's hand and introduced himself as well.

"Damien. As you said, I am not from Terra. However, your guesses are not correct either."

Darius' eyes widened.

"None of them? Then are you rural?"

"Not that either."

"Then…an outsider?! S-sir, I apologize for being rude!"

The man's whole attitude changed when he finally discerned it.

Damien smirked a little at the comedic change of tone.

'Makes sense. Most of the people who come here are old bastards who have been fighting each other for eons. They're more war-crazed than the kids here who see this island's challenge as nothing more than a competition.'

Darius was fumbling with his words, trying to show a respectful attitude to a person he knew could kill him without thinking twice.

The outsiders on the island, especially the ones who arrived more recently, were incredibly dangerous people.

Every family from those who tried to keep their kids away from the challenge to those who pushed them towards it gave the same warning.

Stay away from outside experts until they become insiders.

"...one again, I truly apologize for–"

"Darius, how old are you?"

"Me?" The man stopped and pointed to himself.

He scratched his head in embarrassment."

"Compared to you, sir, I'm probably just a child. I turned 115 a few months ago."

Damien couldn't stop his brow from twitching.

He expected the kid to be older than he looked. No matter what their constitutions were, the children in this realm still needed a considerable amount of time to practice Nonexistence to a level that matched even the weakest challengers on the island.

Still, what was this treatment from someone who wasn't even that much younger than him?!

"Hey Darius, how old do you think I am?"

It was something he logically should've skirted past, but something in his heart couldn't stand it.

He was not that old! No matter how he acted, he couldn't look that old to other people, right?

"Hmm…" Darius scanned him up and down. Since Damien asked the question forwardly, he didn't seem to have any hesitation about answering.

"Before I knew you were an outsider, I thought you might have been a few thousand years old? Now that I know the truth, though, I think you have to be at least five million, right?"

"Keugh…"

Damien frowned.

'What an insane number.'

Even he didn't know how old he was at this point, but he figured he'd just choose an age and stick to it whenever the question came up in the future.

"150. I'm only around 150 this year."

"Ehhh?!"

Darius' eyes widened once again, this time into saucers.

"Really?! Then it's fine to talk to you casually, right? I was scared since you act like one of those old guys, but I guess we're around the same age, huh!"

Damien gritted his teeth as he got the urge to cough up blood.

Darius' presence was doing nothing but hurting his pride.

He wanted to respond and say something, but he didn't get the chance as his conversation was so rudely interrupted by the buzzing of the ticket he picked up from the reception desk.

Damien was teleported out of the lobby with that being the last thing that he heard.

He definitely planned to go back and finish that conversation later. More than to make friends, it was because he wanted to see the perspective of this realm's denizens through Darius.

But first…

…he had a lot of anger to take out on the trial ahead.

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