Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 374 - 020. Minister of Education

Chapter 374: 020. Minister of Education

Atkez Ziegler lowered his head, pacing back and forth outside Minister Balkmon’s office for half an hour, hesitating whether to enter.

During this time, he kept looking at the student’s records in his hand, muttering, "How should I handle this?"

If anyone else saw this scene, they would be greatly surprised: the head of the Academy Committee—directly under the Education Ministry of Baizhu Star—Professor Atkez, holding a student’s file, considering showing it to the Minister of Education.

As a purely educational planet, Baizhu Star’s highest administrative institution wasn’t the Mage Council, but the Ministry of Education directly appointed by the Crystal Tower’s highest council. The current Minister of Education, Balkmon Barlevi Bast, held the highest power on this star.

"How should I report this matter? No matter how I look at it, it’s too suspicious. Such a mistake at this point may very well anger the Minister. However, if I ignore it and something goes wrong in the future, the entire civilization could be affected."

To outsiders, Professor Atkez, at the young age of 78, already serving as the head of the Academy Committee, overseeing the alliance of sixteen colleges, responsible for adjusting student resources and planning resource allocation, was already a high-ranking bureaucrat with a promising future.

But even so, the thought of dealing with Minister Balkmon made Atkez extremely cautious.

Because this Minister had just returned from the second layer of the Starry Abyss—the Border Abyss—after a trial, already suffering from the Curse of Ascension, making his personality strange.

There were rumors he was the biological child of a senior mage in the highest council who should have stayed on the mother star, but due to the Curse of Ascension, he faced distrust and exclusion. Out of fear of his power, he was placed on the back end educational planet, not to waste his talents and not to cause potential issues.

Atkez had never been to the Starry Abyss. As a young person newly entering Iota Rank, he wasn’t planning to dive in and break through the limitations too early. Meanwhile, the Minister of Education had already returned from the battlefield as Kappa Rank. If he wished, he could obliterate this star in an instant.

And yet, he was unsure if the data he was going to present would affect or provoke the Minister.

Dealing with someone like the Minister meant bearing significant psychological pressure.

After hesitating repeatedly, with the basic professionalism of a technocrat, Atkez finally decided to knock on the door.

Thud, thud, thud.

"Come in."

A calm middle-aged man’s voice sounded. Atkez straightened his formal mage’s robe and immediately pushed the door open.

As soon as he entered, he first noticed not the desk but a painting high on the wall. The artwork was exquisite and luxurious, yet its content was chaotic and abstract—cold blizzards gutted a corpulent woman, a baby transformed into a giant, standing tall and bursting forth, holding the umbilical cord like a whip to lash flames and thick smoke. Numerous praying mantises rode humans as large as spaceships, firing bottle caps like popcorn at the giant baby’s feet, tearing green wounds that gushed gold coins and oatmeal.

Each element in the painting Atkez could understand, but together, they only induced physiological discomfort and terror. He felt he could grasp the painting’s meaning, but the overly abstract expression and abundant emotion completely overwhelmed his rationality.

"Head Atkez, no need to forcefully interpret the painting’s content."

The middle-aged man’s voice echoed again, awakening Atkez from his reverie. He dared not look at the painting again, turning instead to the middle-aged man behind the mahogany desk and respectfully said:

"Minister Balkmon, I apologize for disturbing your work."

"No matter, I have no work today."

Balkmon was a stern-looking burly man with a shaved head and neatly shaven beard. His inverted triangular eyes and bear-like physique made him look nothing like a mage but more like a Martial Artist. However, this wasn’t the most prominent feature.

When Atkez first laid eyes on Balkmon, he was struck by his aura—a mysterious atmosphere. Light fell on Balkmon and subtly twisted. Even though Atkez knew that the man, a soldier by trade, sat upright and poised, Balkmon appeared off-kilter from his perspective, his features and nose always giving a spiraling, perpetually twisting impression.

Balkmon noticed Atkez’s hesitation and odd expression, casually explaining:

"That painting is a specialty brought out from the Starry Abyss. I was lucky it wasn’t confiscated by the Narrative-level."

By implication, his current state was entirely due to the Starry Abyss.

"Sit down, this is not the domain of the Narrative-level. You don’t need to stand while talking to your superior."

As he spoke of the Narrative-level, his tone involuntarily sharpened, a trace of dissatisfaction and resentment flashing in his eyes.

Taking this cue, Atkez quickly added, "The Narrative-level Civilization is the cosmos’ overlord. They are accustomed to running rampant, thinking the entire universe revolves around them."

"Hmph, I’ve seen General Hercules of the Empire of Heralds. He is arrogant, short-sighted, and condescending. In the Starry Abyss, if they weren’t in groups to share the curse, relying solely on themselves, they wouldn’t be doing any better than me now."

Balkmon muttered: "The people from the Obliteration Sanctum are even worse, a bunch of preaching madmen. They’ve been searching for something called Spirit Maggots. Many have died or gone mad for its sake. And the scoundrels from United Enterprises, these loyalists of Redd Gold, they’re truly a rotten bunch."

Atkez’s eyelid twitched. He cautiously suggested, "Isn’t it improper to criticize deities? Moreover, He is the Chief God of the Raiding Pathway."

"Don’t worry. The people from the Obliteration Sanctum and the Empire of Heralds scold Him just as much. I’ve never seen such backstabbers. I will never cooperate with them again."

Balkmon was unconcerned: "Besides, Redd Gold has already betrayed the Starry Abyss. Furthermore, He wouldn’t even notice small fry like us. Feel free to scold—by the way, you must have come to see me not just to discuss the Starry Abyss, right?"

Since Balkmon took the initiative to inquire about his intentions, Atkez felt more at ease. He explained, "Minister Balkmon, during today’s Magical Aptitude Test on Baizhu Star, we admitted a particularly special student."

"Oh? How special is he? To make the youngest head of the Academy Committee take a teleport to see me in person for this matter."

Atkez’s previous small talk had put Balkmon in a leisurely mood. The stern soldier even teased Atkez:

"Do tell; did you admit a hairless rat into the university? Actually, it’s not impossible. The Crystal Tower is a very open civilization. As long as they are not Bio-Entities with Implant Gear or sinister man-eating creatures, we are happy to accept non-human races and subhuman creatures—including silicon-based life forms and atmospheric beings. This also reflects our interstellar influence."

Balkmon couldn’t resist telling a cold joke:

"Although we haven’t aligned with interstellar civilization."

"It’s good that you think so, but I’m just afraid something unexpected might happen that you’d have to bear the responsibility for."

Atkez, half joking and half serious, replied with a worried attitude:

"Minister Balkmon, this student’s examination took only five minutes."

"Five minutes?"

Balkmon was shocked.

"I didn’t expect—there is such a prodigy in the Layer Abyss? If I remember correctly, after the exam reform 20 years ago, the number of questions increased by 40%. For a mortal (Gamma Rank), finishing the exam in five days is already impressive. He did it in five minutes? Has he already become a transcendent?"

"We initially suspected him of cheating or using magical or technological means, but everything was normal. There were no traces of plugins, and the magical fluctuations were stable, ruling out cheating."

Atkez explained: "Objective questions can be cheated on, but subjective questions cannot. Regardless of how much one avoids it, they cannot change the fact that they are influenced by their subjective emotions. Their words will reveal the author’s beliefs, knowledge, education, and even emotional state and physiological experiences. Our checks confirmed he did not cheat."

"Well, that’s good news. Our planet has produced such a genius—contact the highest council immediately and bring this young man into the ’Crystal Hall.’ He will be our future focus of cultivation."

Balkmon happily, an eerie twisted smile forming on his already distorted face, made even more grotesque and terrifying, making Atkez deeply uncomfortable.

"So, you came to tell me we struck gold? Is that it?"

"Well, there are specifics you need to see for yourself."

Suppressing his physical and psychological discomfort, Atkez handed over the student’s file.

Balkmon took the neatly arranged documents. Atkez immediately noticed that where his fingers touched, the text unnaturally distorted, just as gravity would bend light, or wire coiled into loops.

"Name: Leoz. Hmm, not special; a common name. I could throw a stone and hit someone with the same name as a deity or angel, whether it’s Redd, Arthur, or Leviathan..."

"People’s creativity is indeed impoverished."

Atkez touched his nose:

"Most parents hold some aspirations for their children. Some give their children the names of great individuals. Of course, some intentionally give them awful names."

"You’re right; bad names are easier to raise."

Balkmon smiled knowingly, seemingly reminded of something pleasant:

"My father initially wanted to name me ’Akmond,’ supposedly a Great Demon’s name, hoping I wouldn’t be disturbed by evil spirits—I’m digressing. Let me see Leoz’s results. Objective questions, full marks; experimental questions, full marks; subjective questions, full marks; essay..."

The more Balkmon read, the stranger his expression became. His already distorted face grew even more contorted.

He spread the documents and carefully read each line, his gaze serious and stern. His brows furrowed, and on his rugged bald head, veins bulged like worms, looking terrifyingly fierce.

Balkmon placed his hands on the table, slowly standing up, and paced around the office while holding the report. First, he walked to the bookshelf, shaking his head and frowning. Then, as if Atkez didn’t exist, he sat on the sofa, scratching his head and resting his chin on his hand, his face almost scrunched together.

After a while, he stood with his back to Atkez, walking to the window, staring at the Baizhu Star, shrouded in white atmosphere, in its orbit.