The Copy Mage

As soon as Damian regained consciousness, Kong jumped onto him, while his other friends who had been sitting around and waiting for him to regain consciousness also sprung up.

They had also only recently regained consciousness and weren't completely healed, so they had been circulating their energy to boost their recovery.

While they also found that their bodies were ready to progress and able to store and digest much more energy than before, after pushing themselves past their limits on the staircase, so had been diligently cultivating.

Obviously, they had all thanked the elder that had healed them all and she went to rest and recover in her private quarters before Damian could, but he would get his chance to repay and thank her in the future.

Since they had all been in the infirmary, they had no idea just how far Damian had gotten and whether he had been able to complete the ninth step or not.

After experiencing how difficult it was for themselves, they felt as though it was impossible for anyone to be able to complete it, but then again, Damian was someone that continuously surpassed all their expectations.

"Um, well, I did complete the ninth step. And I got halfway onto the tenth step, but got distracted and was launched off," he answered, causing them all to be gobsmacked.

They had expected Damian to last longer than them and he had shown the most tenacity and willpower so far. However, to not only complete the ninth step but also get one foot onto the tenth step was unbelievable.

To anyone that hadn't experienced the pressure of the staircase for themselves, they would think that climbing a few large steps was easy, but with the minimum requirement being the third step, it showed just how difficult it was.

"Do you know what that means?!" exclaimed Matilda.

"You can go to the central branch of Akegria Academy and request anything from the principal!" they all said.

Nobody had seen the principal for years, and to have such an opportunity, considering that he was one of, if not, the most powerful figure in the country, was amazing.

They began bombarding him with questions about what he was going to request, but in truth, he hadn't decided yet and there wasn't much that he wanted.

Thinking to himself about it, he decided that he would probably just end up asking him to teach them all or give them unlimited access to all resources in the academy, which would benefit them most.

Hearing that his possible requests included them, his friends were grateful on overjoyed, but quickly began to settle down.

"Let's take a few hours to cultivate, since we can improve a lot and still need to recover. And since you guys have said that the third round has been postponed until tomorrow, we should get as much rest as we can," Damian said, feeling as though his body was on the verge of reaching the next level.

After regaining his old memories, Damian's mind was clearer than it had ever been before while Utsusu was shocked out of his mind after realising what had occurred.

Due to the hidden power within him, his own drive and the pressure of the staircase, the seal that had been weakening by Damian constantly prying at it, had finally broken.

And when it did, the benefit to Damian's mind, goals and emotions were great, but it had opened up a rabbit hole of endless possibilities.

Utsusu knew no more than Damian when it came to what had happened and how it had happened, but he had come to the same conclusion as his host did.

There was someone or something out there that were greater than they could ever imagine and there was so much in the universe and the world that they were yet to discover.

And Damian already knew much more than most, and likely even the principal, already having communicated with the deceased Shadow Kin King and forming a connection with the fallen race.

Hours passed by quickly, with Damian and his friends enthralled in their cultivation and progressing rapidly, while also quickly recovering.

Then after all of them were finished and ready to move on, they left the infirmary and on their way out, had looked for the elder that had healed them, but couldn't find her.

It seemed as though she had tired herself out so much she would need quite a while to recover, and Damian and his friends were grateful for her help.

Although they would have been healed by nurses in the infirmary anyway, the speed and quality of the healing they would have received would have been much lower, and they likely wouldn't have even regained consciousness yet if it wasn't for the elder.

10,000 contribution points was an extreme amount that would take many months of taking on many difficult missions to gather, and they had been rewarded that as well as any weapon for completing the eighth step which went to show just how difficult it was.

Then after eating their fill of beast meat and all sorts of delicious food, they made their way to their shared residence, and all went straight to their rooms. 

After quickly cleaning themselves up, they jumped into bed and slept like babies the entire night.

Excited for the third and final round of the Inner Academy Examination.

The combat tournament round that they were all eager to participate in, and were sure to come out on top. Well, that depended on how they organised the third round, which would vary slightly every time....