Gorak stared down at mory for a long moment, eyes cold.
Then he waved a dismissive hand.
"You don't need to bow. And I'll forgive you… if you call your son here. I want to talk with him about something."
Mory froze.
His heart lurched violently.
In his mind, panic exploded with countless thoughts:
This devil wants to use Silas… to get into the Central Academy, or steal the cultivation system from there. Telling me not to bow—it's all a show. He wants Silas compliant. Will my son suffer like that poor child…?
The thoughts nearly broke him.
He couldn't bear to see Silas dragged into the same nightmare.
But he didn't dare speak against Gorak.
This man was the local mafia boss—ruthless, connected to politicians, with dozens of armed thugs under him.
Gorak had joined the school days ago, posing as a normal teacher.
He wanted to enter India Concord through the school and learn the breathing technique.
When he applied directly, he was rejected.
So he hid his identity, enrolled his own son, and became a physical education teacher—teaching basic exercises to children.
Until an "accident" forced him to reveal who he truly was.
From then on, he became a nightmare for everyone.
It was fortunate the students had shifted to Eternal Ascendancy for studies—most were spared from facing him daily in real life. In eternal ascendancy, he dare not do the same thing.
Only one child hadn't escaped, he survives in eternal ascendancy, but not in real world.
Even teachers and the principal lived in fear. Mory had endured it too.
But now Gorak wanted Silas.
Mory's hands trembled behind his back.
He couldn't stop him.
If he refused, Gorak would murder his entire family—wife, daughter, him, and Silas. All of them.
It wasn't just fear. It had happened before.
A teacher once tried to resist.
Gorak killed him on the spot—in front of every teacher and the principal.
Then he warned: "Whoever speaks of this will be next."
The teacher was a single man, no family. The matter ended there.
When police investigated the missing person report from neighbors, they found nothing—or chose not to look. The case closed quietly.
The incident never reached the students.
They still believed Gorak was just a normal physical education teacher, only strict with a single gloomy student.
In the Eternal Ascendancy, when Gorak teaches, he teaches like any ordinary instructor. He never targets anyone in particular, because he is fully aware that in this game world, every action he takes is being watched. If he ever crosses the line or acts against the rules, he will almost certainly be arrested.
The students of the school know nothing about his true identity. Only the principal, a few select staff members, and one single student are aware of who he really is.
Gorak makes certain that these few remain disciplined and never reveal his secret. The respectful bows he receives from the staff and principal are not empty gestures—they are the result of his hard work in training and controlling them.
Back in the present moment, Mory realized Gorak was waiting for an answer. After some visible internal struggle, he finally managed to speak one careful sentence, while straightening his body:
"Sir, my son currently cannot come. He has gone to his university celebration. I will call him afterward."
Mory could not afford to lie or make up excuses. Gorak had almost certainly already checked his son's background—where he was, what he was doing. Lying in this situation would be digging a grave for himself and his entire family.
When Gorak heard the honest reply, he burst into loud laughter. He stood up, walked right in front of Mory, and patted his shoulder while saying:
"Good, Mory. You really know how to be an obedient dog."
Mory did not react to the insult. He remained completely silent. He had long mastered the art of staying quiet—even when he witnessed or experienced something deeply wrong.
Then Gorak turned his gaze toward his subordinates. He gave an order to one of the men:
"You. Go bring that filth here. He didn't answer when I called for him in today's class."
The man immediately saluted and left to carry out the order.
Gorak, meanwhile, sat back down in the principal's chair.
Everyone else remained bowed low—principal, staff, all of them—leaving only Mory and Gorak's bodyguards standing upright.
In his mind, Mory deeply regretted attending this meeting in person. He wasn't alone; the others felt the same regret burning inside them. They should have just handled everything through the game world. But that wasn't an option. Certain documentation and formalities required their physical presence here. There was no point in regretting it now.
A single thought echoed silently through every bowed head in the room:
"We have to show that again…"
Some time passed in heavy silence.
Then the bodyguard who had left earlier returned. In his grip was the back collar of a small child—no older than seven years—whom he dragged roughly across the floor. The boy wasn't struggling at all. He simply let himself be pulled, his body limp, eyes fixed blankly on the ground beneath him.