The Copy Mage

The old man that was lifeless and laying in bed for the past few years, after suffering from illness and old age, had for the first time shown interest and curiosity ever since he became bedridden.

Hearing that someone his daughter had mentioned randomly as a young talent accomplished the impossible made him impressed by his daughter, and also curious to hear more about him and the friends that she had mentioned.

"Tell me more and alert me about anything else. Is he still on the staircase?" he asked.

"Yes, he is still on the staircase and has been there for many hours, as for his friends, they all got onto the ninth step, but were flung off, with one of them, Milo, being able to beat Darren's record," she answered.

Hearing that he was gobsmacked. The principal had met Darren, and he was one of the greatest talents he had seen and was confident he could become a force to be reckoned with, that was famed throughout the continent.

Never in his wildest dreams did he think that someone would be able to not only beat that talent's record, but also manage to complete the ninth step. That group of friends was too incredible to be real, but it seemed as though a gift had been given to Akegria Academy.

"I need to see them for myself. The reward for the ninth step is to come to me and get to request anything from me, but this time I have decided, I will go to them," he decided.

"Are you sure, father? Your body is very weak and you haven't left here for years, as for that boy. He is the same one that killed a royal academy student and severely injured another, while he was also involved in another incident involving the deaths of some royal academy students and Royal Mercenaries that was covered up by the Royal Academy," she said.

That revelation shocked him, but death and conflict were ordinary in the world of cultivation and that just made him more curious and eager to see these young talents for himself.

Climbing out of bed, she asked how he was feeling, and to her surprise, he appeared to be moving around comfortably and better than he had ever been for the past few years.

"I am feeling better than ever," he answered as he pranced around with a wide smile on his face.

He had founded Akegria Academy after coming from another country outside of the Gobe Country, in order to create an unbiased and competitive environment for young cultivators to grow and develop. 

He wanted the Gobe Country to no longer be secluded from the rest of the world and to grant the new generations with the opportunities to explore the continent, and train them into being capable enough to do so.

The continent was vast and there were many dangers involved in leaving the country, due to the dangerous beasts and environments that surrounded the Gobe Country, but a powerful and skilled group of talents should be able to make it through.

Breaking through the shackles holding the country back would allow everyone to live greater lives, but would also place the eyes of other powerful countries and organisations on the small Gobe Country.

There were so many uncertainties, but one thing was for sure, the next generation needed to be nurtured and trained as much as possible, as the times were changing and the internal strife within the country was nowhere near as significant as what was happening in the world.

"Alright father, let's go to the Aria Branch of Akegria Academy together, since I also want to see how much those kids have grown. However, before we do, we should wait to see whether he manages to make it onto the tenth step," his daughter says, knowing that there was no point trying to persuade him not to do something once he had made up his mind.

"There isn't any point in doing so. I made the tenth step so that it is impossible for anyone to complete, and even placing one foot on it would be suicide. I merely added it to encourage students to strive higher and never become complacent, showing them that there is always another step that they could aim to reach. Even elders would struggle to get past the sixth and seventh steps, so the ninth step is already unbelievable. That kid has no chance at the tenth step. It's just impossible for anyone to take on," he said, completely sure that the tenth step was impossible for anyone to even step foot on.

"How about this? I will prepare us a quick and docile flying beast to get us there, and in the meantime, you can just watch the live feedback report transmitted by the staircase to your Array Monitoring Centre," she suggested.

Knowing that his daughter could be just as stubborn as he was at times, he gave in and smiled as he looked at her walking away, thinking about her mother. Ever since her mother had died when giving birth to his daughter, the principal strove to make the academy that she formed with him great.

All the good things that the academy stood for and wanted to achieve were from her, while she was the true master of arrays and intelligent one. The principal was merely acting in her memory and from what she had taught and passed onto him before dying.

That wasn't to say that he wasn't capable, and he was the furthest thing from weak in his peak, but she was the light in his life that he had lost. His daughter was a new light that appeared, but it was a light that wanted to light its own path, and that left him to devote his life to the academy.

At the end of it, he knew that death was inevitable and around the corner, but before then he wanted to find a group of students within his academy that would carry his will on.

And it seemed as though Damian and his friends may be some of the students that he was looking for....