《The Mysterious Black Magician》 Chapter 1 - World Destruction Bonk! (Sound of the sword hitting the monster''s head.) -1 (Health point deducted from the monster''s health points.) Ack! (The monster cry in pain.) "Gosh! This wooden sword does little damage!" ''Don''t ask why I''m using a crappy sword. I have no money to buy a better one!'' *Tears!* Meanwhile, the monster health points are 99/100. His attack could only deal 1 damage to it. He did all that he can to kill the Pale Toad monster, but his damage wasn''t high enough to kill it fast. Although the monster was only level 1, he was so weak that even killing this level 1 monster was a difficult task for him.. On the contrary, most of his peers could easily kill these types of monsters. "Dammit!" He grunted. "If only I am a little stronger, I can defeat it in the blink of an eye!" "I need to get stronger! Because why not? I want to be a strong Magician for my future and for my sister!" He shouted as he gasped for air. Right now, his peers are already at level 2 and above. Yet, he was stuck at level 0! Level 0?! What kind of dogshit level is that!!! What a shame. "No, I don''t care about shame anymore!" He bellowed. The most important to him at this moment is to earn money, to buy medicine for his ill sister. If only the beginner''s skill he acquired was an attack-type magic skill, he could probably kill the monster much easier. But too bad, he got a self-healing magic skill. This magic skill although not bad, wasn''t a good skill for starters. It couldn''t even be used to heal his sister''s illness as it was a self-healing only. So to speak, it is also useless in a group hunting. That''s why no one wanted to invite him to their party simply because his skill was useless in a group battle. Fwoosh!! The Pale Toad flung its 1-meter tongue towards him. He jumped on his right side to avoid the attack that was fast approaching. It passed at him with a whipping sound! After he sessfully avoided the attack, he shed it as many times as he could. Bonk! -1 Bonk! -1 Bonk! -1 The enemy''s life points decreased with every hit of his sword. Bonk! Bonk! Bonk! He waved his wooden sword again and again at the monster''s body, trying to kill it as fast as he could. If he didn''t maintain the amount of power he was applying in his attack, there was a tendency for the damage to be zero. So, it''s literally bad. Currently, he was at the pond fighting the Pale Toad. This pond is outside the town where he lives and near a Trove entrance. The current health of the toad was at 96/100 HP. His brows wrinkled and he felt his breathing was out of order already. Their ss will start on Monday, so it''s better to gain more experience before it. Speaking of experience, it didn''t mean the experience like in video games that you will receive after you killed a monster. No, no, nothing like that. The experience mentioned was the actualbat experience. If you''re wondering why he was fighting a monster outside the town, then let us turn back the time to where it all started. About three and half centuries ago, the whole world came to an end in a devastating apocalyptic cataclysm. In thest report of the astronomers, it was stated that the real cause of destruction was the abnormal force that pulled down the residing meteorites surrounding the earth. Those meteorites were being pulled on the earth''s surface and caused the rain of meteors. Thus, it was followed by high-intensity earthquakes and destructive tsunamis. Thanks to the advanced technology at that time, the earth was able to escape the immediate end. However, these cmities were not just the reasons for the world''s brink of destruction. One month had passed, humanity thought that the cmities had ended. However, something unbelievable happened next. Before they could grief upon the loss of their properties and especially their loved ones, another tragedy had started to peek out from the shadows. The whole world was shrouded by mist. From this mist, grotesque and vicious-looking creatures came rushing to feed on humanities. They were mutated beasts of different types of animals. Once again, humans were drowned in sorrow and despair. At night, the cries of humans and howls of these mutated beasts were the only distinct sounds that could be heard. Humans had no way to fight back this horror. Even modern weapons were useless against them. Many days passed by, and the human poption plummeted to 1/5. Yet, their suffering was far from over. Even though nothing had resolved yet, with all the cmities that had happened, a new predicament had started to bud. Pandemic! Humanity was pushed to the brink. A new kind of disease had spread. It killed millions of humans in just a month. No oneprehended the cause of the pandemic. Not even experts discovered the cause. Mostly, the cause of deaths was because of Cell Deficiency. Many years had passed since the cmity. The monsters from the mist were still causing havoc and the pandemic was steadily spreading. When humanity was about to give up, a ray of hope finally brimmed. A specialist doctor identally discovered a foreign cell inside one of the patients. The doctor was known as Dr. Eman Pablo. He said, "The cell is exceedingly vague, almost invisible from microscopic devices. This cell exuded a negative kind of energy. And this energy causes damage to other cells in a person''s body." Thereafter, many experts began to search for a way to stabilize the foreign cell. Later on, they called the cell a Hollow Cell. Ten years had passed, a foreign researcher known as Prof Mana Gram, had discovered another type of energy from the fallen meteorites, which was the positive energy. After so many years of extensive research, they finally found a way to stabilize the Hollow Cell, it was through resonance with the positive energy from fallen meteorites. Theyter named the meteorites Gram Metal. With the resonance of the two opposite energies, the Hollow Cell had finally stopped destroying other cells. But before they could rejoice for this sess,ter on, they discovered that the patient''s stability was still far from it. These two energies were too strong for the human body to handle; therefore, anotherprehensive research was established again. Finally, after many years of research, they finally seeded in curing the pandemic. They invented a gadget that could break the limiter of the human body. Only by breaking the human''s limiter could the patient handle the toll brought by these two powerful energies, the Hollow Cell, and the Gram Metal. With the help of the new gadget, everyone with the symptoms of Hollow Cells could level up their bodies to be stronger. Every level up was equated to a 1% breakthrough to their limiter. Now, the gadget is known as System Deity. Not just humanity had stopped the pandemic, they also now have the means to fight back these mutated beasts. Three and a half centuries had passed after the world''s destruction. Back to the current era. Numerous things have changed. One of the biggest changes was the world geography, from a big to a small country. On the outskirts of a small town from the Middle Region of the P-country, a young man was currently fighting a monster. This young man was known as Yman Talisman. Almost 2 hours had passed since he was fighting the level 1 monster known as Pale Toad. Currently, he flung his wooden sword in his hand to the monster at the front. Heyah! Bonk! -1 Bonk! -1 "Dammit!" He swore under his breath. But no matter how hard he flung his sword, the damage was still 1. Since the wooden sword has a +6 attack and his base attack was 5, it means that the toad had 10 total defenses. In truth, these status numbers are just a measuring tool. They were insignificant. What was the most important was the person''s ability on how he handled the fight. Chapter 2 - The System Deity Yman woke up early on Sunday morning because he believed with the saying, "the early birds that get a choice which, is more important than the worm itself". He knew this well, that''s why he got up early on that morning because the one who came early at the venue of the evaluation exam would be able to choose a better starting skill than theteers. But for some twist of fate, he had been dragged in the alleyway and beaten up byfive youths before he arrived at the venue. Therefore, he waste and had no choice left but to get the worst starting skill among the rest, the self-healing magic. He wasn''t only got a starting skill, but also a System Deity along with it. The System Deity was a round ball object as big as a golf ball. With designs of profound carvings and imprints. To activate the System Deity, the owner must feed it with his magical energy or mana to light up all the imprint on its body.Then it would spread automatically at the back of the owner''s neck like a wristwatch. And after it was stuck on the owner''s neck, they would follow up by whispering the word ''RESONANCE''.. System Deity was a super robotic AI(ArtificialIntelligence)that boosted the mortal body. Even if the user was stabbed in theheart or head, they wouldn''t die right away. Or even if the health points reached zero, he wouldn''tdie but the resonance would be cancelled.The person would revert back to a normal person after their resonance was cancelled. Then, they couldn''t use resonance for a month or depend on how long the person would be able to recover. The most important thing to do when the user''s body regressed back to a normal person was to hide quickly from danger. Or else, no more third life awaited for them. After Yman whispered the word "resonance", a full disy of window interface appeared on his vision. The truth was, any magician that was in contract with the System Deity was able to summon their Window Interface even not in their resonance mode. This window interface was also known as"Cyber Screen," Yman spoke softly. It was followed by, A lovely female voice tickled his ears, which followed by pop up notifications. Since this was his first time, he chose the choices. System Deity was a super-intelligent device thatcouldmunicate to humans like a normal person. Yman''s mouth leaked a smile. He was excited! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! He didn''t even think twice as he chose this name. It probably had a deep reason behind it. After he chose the choices, a list of sections in his interface had appeared. He tapped on the Status section. *Bling!* A magical sound rang in his ears. Followed by: ?STATUS SECTION? |TITLE| =========== Yman Talisman =========== Level: 0 HP: [_100/100_] Stamina: 100% Attack: 5 Mdef/Def: 5 Strength: 1 Vitality: 1 CombatExperience: 10/100 ?Self Healing Magic Currently, he only had strength and vitality to his Attributes. And the worst thing of all, he only had 1 point on both. To increase his attributes, he needed to buy a special medicine or to train ardously. To increase his level, he needed to pay using his gold points(There''s a reason why they use gold points as basic currency in this era). Once they leveled up, their attribute points would also increase. But the price of medicine to advance their level wasn''t low. They needed 1,000 gold points per level of advancement. However, the cost would increase depending on their level. Not just that, they must have a high CE(Combat Experience). As of now, Yman has 100 gold points in his wallet section in theCyber Wallet. These points were his allowance for a month. And his CE was 10/100. For Yman, what he wanted the most was to learn a new skill. Abat skill, like fireball or wind des. There were several ways to get them. The first and the mostmon way was to buy a skill book or ability scroll on the market or auction using the gold points. The second way was to learn a skill through arduous training. And then the third way was to kill the monster''s elder. These elders usually brought a skill book with them, because mostly they couldn''t use a spell without it. If a person were lucky to kill one,theycould take the skill book from it. Different skill books have different prices, but ordinary ones usually cost a thousandof gold points. Well, there was also a free random skill when a magician upgraded their System Deity for the first time. Specifically, their deity could also learn a skill through upgrading. And thest among the rest was to train some ancient or legendary techniques that were passed down by their ancestors. However, learning these type of techniqueswerenot an easy feat, they wereonlypatible with people gifted with an abundance of Mana or being thedirect descendants of their ns. Yman, at the moment, was currently fighting a toad. There were many kinds of toads. But today, Yman was fighting the weakest one, the Pale Toad. He found out that it''s not easy to level and earn points. Even though this toad was as big as a pig and moves slowly, his damage was one thing that made him want to vomit a mouthful of blood. It sucks! Currently, 10/100 Health points left on the toad. But Yman also wasn''t in good shape. His health points were 30 and almost depleted all his stamina. Every damage he took from the toad''s tongue-whip, was minus 10 points to his health. His stamina at most 10% left. ''Shit! Looks like my stamina will be the first to empty. With my self-healing magic, I can heal myself as much as I want. But my stamina will be consumed every time I cast magic. Tsk! I need to kill atleast this one, before going home,'' He thought. He dashed forward again and about to swing his sword, but the toad flung its tongue towards his head. Yman ducked quickly. *Swosh~!* Sound of whipping an empty air had reached his ears. He swung rapidly his wooden sword to the toad''s body. The toad was slow. Zing! Zing! 5/100 Now the Pale Toad health points were left with 5 only. Yman had be more eager to kill it, but he needed to be careful too. The toad was breathing deeply and clearly tired. Yman took a step back; he needed great timing before rushing in to finish the toad. The toad slowly opened its mouth. Yman gazes in a full alert. He noticed the tongue that came rushing towards him from its mouth. He smiled lightly and ducked quickly, but suddenly he felt a bad premonition and shifted from ducking to diving on his right in a quick motion. Whossh! *Bang!* -20Hp Ugh! Yman was hit by a fireball that came from his back. Now his clothes were on fire. He dived quickly on the pond to stop the fire from spreading. *Ssh!* "Haha oops! Did you guys see a frog jumping on the pond?" Asked by the young man to his entourage. "Haha, I saw one! Shall we kill it too?" answered by another young man. When Yman stood up, he saw 6 youth, 5 of them were the ones who ganged up on him this morning. The other one was no other than their leader and the cause of why he waste for this morning evaluation exam. The leader of the group was known as Kiko the hot-headed youth. Yman shot a re at them. Waters dripping from his body and his clothes were tattered. Chapter 3 - Defective Deity ''This punk! So irrational! Dammit, better leave for now ande backter. It''s better to hit some training dummies to increase mybat experience,'' Yman thought while trying to get rid of some algae that was sticking on his body. When the group of Kiko noticed him, "I thought it''s a frog. Who would have thought that it''s Yman? Haha!" Kiko said while sarcasticallyughing so hard. "Hehe, Kiko bro, I think Yman thought this pond was a river. Haha!``said one of Kiko''s friends. This guy named Marco.. "At least he knew how to wash his body. Haha!" Another of Kiko''s friends indicated. The guy named Bruno. "But now, he even looks dirtier than before. Hehe!" Marco said while covering his nose and mouth with his hand. Hahaha! The six youth were batshitughing. "Hah! What would you expect of an orphan? He can''t even buy food to eat." Kiko said while gesturing can''t be helped. "Kiko, he wanted to get away." One of their friends pointed. "Let him be. He smelled like shit I don''t want him near me." Kiko said in disgust. Yman''s brows twitched when he heard their ridiculing conversations. "Tsk, idiots." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Their ridiculing convo had no effect on him. But, he was annoyed that they stole the kill. And worse than that, they intentionally hit him with the fireball. ''Hump, I make you pay double the next time!'' He whispered and started his steps toward the gate of the town. Ymanfeltdown, he''s walking along the road, while shoulders drop. ''Hah, what a waste of effort. If only I''ve gotten an attack skill, it will be faster to kill mobs. Such bad luck, my dream to be the greatest `Seeker'', was shattered before it started. What could a self-healing skill do? It can''t even be used to heal others.'' He thought dejectedly. After some minutes of walking, he finally saw the towering wall ahead. Because of the monsters that were lurkingoutside, the mayor of every town and city decided to constrict the area with high walls. These walls would defend the citizens from monster attacks. It wasmade of concrete, basically hard and not easy to breach. Finally, he arrived at the gate. Some guards did some inspection to the passerby who wanted to enter. When they noticed him, they showed contemp on their faces. Some girls of his age passed by at him while twitching their noses and mumbled the word, "Gross!" That reached his ears. Yman frowned and scratched the back of his head. He wanted to retort but he thought that it was troublesome. After he went inside, he canceled his resonance with his System Deity, Sist. Now Sist was back on being a ball-shape object again. "Sist, time check," Yman asked his partner. <11:10 AM Master,> Sist answered. Sist has a realistic feminine voice. She could speak like a real person. "Hmm, just right, " he said while nodding. "Yes? What is it?" "Eh? How can you tell?" He suddenly paused while wide-eyed staring at his partner. "But you are a round ball!" "Ehhhh! Is that a joke?" "What?" "Argh! Don''t say it twice, I know it already!" "Whaaaat?! You hurt my feelings, you know!" ''Hah, can''t be helped, huh,'' he thought in defeat. Now, even his deity was showing contempt at him. 16 inches width and 12 inches in length transparent thin screen appeared in front of his face. He then checked the wallet section in his interface. In his wallet section disys his current bnce. As of the moment, he has 100 gold points. He went directly to the market and bought 1-kilo rice and vegetables. No need to buy meat and fish, both were expensive. 1-kilo rice cost him 1 gold point, 1 gold point is equal to 1 dor. Tsk! He clicked his tongue when he saw how little bnce he had. ''I can''t even afford to buy an Attribute point.'' suddenly, his partner called him again. "....." He ignored it. "Ugh, You''re mean!" She said knowingly. Yman felt excited to what he heard from his deity and his eyes lit up, "Oh, really, then what''s the easy way?" he asked curiously. "I''m more worried about your intelligence!" He shouted briefly disregarding his surroundings.'' ''Is this deity mocking me? Or urging me to be a criminal? Maybe I''ve got a defective one. In this era, there was only one currency, and that was gold points.'' While walking along the street, Yman saw some pretty young girls wearing an expensive-looking outfit. Their bodies showed a faint glow. And they were heading towards the gate of the town. It was advisable that whenever you left the town, you must be in resonance with your system deity. Because who knows what might happen outside, it''s better to be ready than sorry. Yman noticed the disgusted expressions that showed on some people''s faces when he passed by. Hah! He let out a sigh. ''I need to go home so that I can wash my body that smells so bad! I wonder what''s Yana doing at the moment? If only I have a decent ie so that I can take her to a good hospital, or hire a high-level healer to cure her illness.'' He mumbled. ... Inside a room of an academy, an aged man was sitting in front of the square-shaped table. He busied himself writing something. On the table, a pile of papers amassed. At the back of the aged man, was a ss window. Outside the window was a garden. A momentter, the door of the room made a creaking noise. The aged man nced. A middle-aged woman walked in. After she greeted the aged man, she proceeded, "Principal Mar, they had finished testing therge scale array this afternoon," said the middle-aged woman. The aged man paused for a moment then said, "Mhm, thank you, Mrs. Aurelia, " he replied. "No problem. Sir, what do you think of this year''s batch of trainees?" The middle-aged woman asked curiously. "Hmmm... I saw some promising youth, " Principal Mar said casually while checking the papers on the table. Mrs. Aurelia''s brows were slightly wrinkled when she heard the casual tone of the principal. "But sir, if the Academy still can''t produce a good result..." her words have been cut by Principal Mar. "I know, don''t worry, we have recruited two talented trainees." He said. "Tell them to get ready for tomorrow''s Inaugural, " he continued. "Yes, Principal Mar." She bowed slightly, then left the room. Chapter 4 - How Rare Yman and Sist didn''t stop bantering until they arrived at a rundown apartment. He was about to use the key when he noticed that it wasn''t locked. |She''s here.| He thought. The door made a creaking noise when he pushed it. "Yman, is that you?" asked by a voice from inside. "Yes, Miss Pai, " he replied. A woman wearing an apron came out of the kitchen. On her hands were a bowl, a bowl of steaming porridge. A system deity was floating beside her. Based on her figure, she was in her 20''s.. She''s pretty and sexy. She has chest-nut color and curly hair, which is shoulder length. She has beautiful eyes, and she stood at the height of 5"6. Same height as him. "Oh, how''s your evaluation exam..." She asked. But she suddenly paused when she noticed his figure. His clothes were tattered and wet. And all over his body were covered by mud and algae. "Eh? What happened to you?" she surprisingly asked. Yman scratched his head before opening his mouth. "Aha-ha, after I got my partner, I went outside the town to earn points. But, I slipped in the pond area when I fought with a pale toad," he said shyly. "Kuku, it''s good that you''re fine, but don''t be too rash next time. Your sister will be sad if something bad happened to you," she said worriedly. "Yes, Miss Pai, " he responded. "Clean yourself first." Yman nodded. He went to take a bath after putting in the kitchen the rice and vegetables he bought. He was grateful for her for taking good care of his sister when he''s not around. For him, if it''s not for Miss Pai, he doesn''t know what might have happened to him and his sister. Maybe they were still wandering on the street and sleeping on the roadside. It''s a good thing that he happened to help her in an incident. After that incident, she let him and his sister stay in this apartment free of rent. Later on, After washing his body and putting up new clothes, he went to his sister''s room. Before pushing the door, Cough! Cough! Cough! He heard the coughing sounds of his sister behind the closed door. ''Sadness was written on his face. He wavered, and anxiety slowly crawled in his heart. Hearing her coughing voice, caused a piercing pain on him. He bit his lower lip and balled his hands. If only he had a better source of ie. He regretted being an unreliable brother. Suddenly Sist called out. Pak! Pak! Pak! He slightly ps his face to regain hisposure. Sist was currently in his pocket, located at the chest area of his t-shirt. She can''t fly or float yet. She could only learn those if he upgraded his deity. But of course, a price was needed to pay every upgrade. That thing wasn''t in his mind at the moment. Currently, the most important to him was to heal his sister''s illness. The System Deity could feel what their owners felt. They were a super-intelligent system that was capable of feeling. Creak! He slowly pushes the door. His face wore a smile. In front of his sister, he needed to act cheerful. Aftering inside her room, he saw Miss Pai feeding his Sister with porridge. The two girls nced at him. His sister Yana forces a smile after seeing him. "Hello, Miss Pai, " he bowed slightly in her direction. "Come, " she nodded and called out. He slowly approached them and sat beside his sister''s bed. "How are you, Yana?" He asked with a smile. "I feel better now because bro is here." "Mhm," He nodded and patted his sister''s head. "How''s your evaluation exam, bro?" she curiously asked in a weak voice. "Huh, I''ve got a defective deity," he said while gesturing can''t be helped. Sist retorted. "Bro, let me see, " Yana excitedly said. But her voice was low. Cough! Cough! "Sure," he took Sist out of his pocket and gave it to his sister. "She''s a little mean, so don''t mind her personality." He reminded her sister. "A female deity? How rare, " Miss Pai said. "Eh? Miss Pai?" He asked. "Female deities have higher luck in alchemy." Miss Pai said. "Really?" "Yeah, but they are weak in battle." "I see, so that''s why I have little damage to the pale toad." Yman and Miss Pai were discussing System Deity, on the other hand, Sist and Yana were chatting happily. Unexpectedly, Miss Pai received a message from the academy. She excused herself and went on. The Academy wanted to hire her as an adviser. It''s already 5months since she applied. Finally, she got epted. She happily went back to the apartment. She goes to Yana''s room and sees her happily chatting with Yman''s deity. Cough! Cough! "Miss Pai, you''re back," Yana said weakly. "Where is your brother?" She asked. "Sist, where is my brother?" System deity and the owner formed a link with each other. After their resonance, they could tell the exact location of each other. They were one pair. Once registered the deity''s name, a pact was automatically agreed. The owner of the system deity was called MAGICIAN. Right, every person who owned a system deity was called a magician. "Oh, maybe he''s making an arrow again." Miss Pai said. Sist asked unconsciously. Yman was currently walking towards the apartment. On the street, he saw many people running everywhere. Commotions? He asked himself. "Monsters were attacking at the east gate!" A pale person shouted while running. Monsters at the east gate? He thought. He was heading to the north side of town, where his apartment was located. He paused for a moment, then decided to go to the east gate. He ran towards the gate on the east side. When he arrived, he saw a line of soldiers on the wall. They fired arrows and fireballs towards the outside. Since the gate was closed, Yman couldn''t see what monsters were attacking the town. Some soldiers crowded in the gate area, "Make some space!" Shouted by a soldier with a higher status. RAAAWWWWWWRRRR!!! A loud roar suddenly erupted. FWOOOOOOSSHHHHH!!! Which followed by wheezing sounds. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Then a few secondster, loud bangs rung all over the ce. Chapter 5 - Saving Grace He rushed to climb on the wall surface to peek outside. But before he came near to it, he was halted by one of the soldiers. The soldier was wearing steel armor and a helmet. Only his thick brows, round eyes, and bearded face were showing. "Hey Kid, what are you doing?! You''re not allowed here. Go home, quickly, " said the soldier while showing a worried look on his face. His hands were gripping tightly on his bow. But Yman noticed that his quiver was empty. He lightly smiled and said, "sorry venerable soldier, I''m here to offer my help," Yman respectfully said. The soldier couldn''t believe what he just heard. How could this young man be able to help in this hopeless situation? Where hundreds of monsters and with a mutated one also were rushing to attack this side of the town wall.. Even with the high-level magicians that were hurling high tier magic to the monsters outside, the monsters were stilling relentlessly. If this goes on, they would exhaust their stamina. "Kid, the monsters will be able to climb here at any moment. You''d better leave now," said the soldier in a husky tone. "Venerable soldier, sir, I see hundreds of soldiers currently raining arrows at the monsters outside. How can the monsters be able to climb here in this regard?" Yman said calmly. "Kid, they won''tst long. Look at my quiver. It''s already empty. They too will notst long and will empty theirs as well at any moment." The soldier said anxiously, and a sigh escaped from his mouth. Howling and roaring of battles could be heard at the wall area. Monster''s cries and soldiers'' spell casting was all over the ce. The pouncing of the monsters that were trying to attack the wooden gate of wall produces creaking noises. And the soldiers were running wildly while shouting. There were only noise of battlewith a mix of fears, sorrows, and despair, it was such a chaotic scene, but all of these things that were happening at the moment were amon scene in this era, in which monsters and magic exist. Just a small wrong move, and it cost them, their dear life. The injured soldiers were being carried by theirrades out of the battle while the other soldiers took their positions to maintain the formation. Yman nces at the soldiers firing arrows up ahead on the wall surface. Then he opened his mouth again, "Venerable soldier, sir, even if I run now, it just a matter of time before they gue the whole town. In this regard, there''s no safe ce to hide. My demise was already on a in sight wherever I go." He said. "Hah, you''re good with your word, kid, but. As long as you''re alive, who knows what will happen next. Maybe there''s a saving grace at the end," replied the soldier in a husky tone. He was actually a kind person. Yman''s honest feeling towards the soldier. It was rare to find someone like him. After listening to the soldier''s word, he smiled. With a smile on his face, he opened his mouth once again, "the truth Sir, I''m here to offer a saving grace to all in the lowest possible price." He said in a low tone. The soldier slightly wrinkled his brows. He wondered what this kid was saying. Offered a saving grace? At the lowest possible price? Wait, is he a vendor who tried to sell something in this chaotic situation? The soldier''s mouth curled downward. "Listen, kid, there''s no point in selling something now, and no one will be able to buy anything." The soldier said while shaking his head. But, Yman''s mouth showed a smile instead. In these kinds of attacks, archers were ying an important role, though Mage type magicians have powerful attacks, they don''t have an unlimited source of magic. Magic of the high tier needs more stamina to cast. So, Mage type magicians were easy to get exhausted, and they were not suitable for lengthy battles. Unlike the Archer type magician, they only need to generate a low tier magic, which is hardening, to strengthen and harden their arrows. As long as there''s more supply of arrows, they were able to support the vanguard for longer. Both sides suffered losses. When Yman nced at the soldiers firing arrows and magic, he couldn''t help thinking, "what a mess." "No, venerable sir, just like what I already said, I''m here to offer you all..... a saving grace." Without letting the soldier answer again, he opened his Cyber Screen. (Cyber Screen- is a holographic window interface.) After opening his Cyber Screen, he went to the storage section, which is called Cyber Storage. Then he took something out of it. The soldier he was conversing with widened his eyes in disbelief after seeing the things he took from his Cyber Storage. The soldier was also surprised after learning that this kid was not an ordinary civilian. He was a Magician like him! Only Magicians could open their Cyber Screen from out of thin air, while ordinary people needed a mobile gadget to ess their Cyber Screen. He thought the kid was an ordinary human because he couldn''t see a deity with him. For real? This magician walking casually without his System Deity?! The soldier had thought if the kid in front of him had treated his System Deity as a toy. Though he hoped that his thinking was wrong, it still bugged him to see a Magician casually strolling in this chaotic battlefield without their System Deity in tow. But the most reason he widened his eyes was the stuff that the kid pulled out from his Cyber Storage. A quiver that is full of arrows. "This venerable sir, every quiver has 10 ''arrows inside. Each quiver costs 10 gold points only," he said calmly. "Too expensive!" The soldier eximed and gaped his mouth. "Fufu, you''re wrong, venerable sir, these arrows were made from a rank B+Demon Wood. So the prices of these arrows are reasonable," Yman said with narrowed eyes. The soldier took one of the arrows and examined it. He tried to pinch it, then rolled all over his palm. Secondter, "aren''t these arrows made from rank -C Demon Wood instead? Look, it tilts easily," the soldier said doubtfully while trying to bend the arrows. Yman scratches his head while thinking this soldier was not easy to dupe, huh. But too bad for him, because the one who offered him was also not the type that was easy to give up. "Fufu, venerable sir, if you still did not believe what I just said, why not try to feed it with your mana?" He said with a sneer. Though the soldier was a little hesitant, yet he followed what Yman said. A brilliance of yellow-colored energy suddenly enveloped his palm. It crawled towards the arrow on his hand. However, after it fully enveloped the arrow, it hardened like a superalloy. It became unbendable and inflexible all of a sudden. The soldier''s mouth gaped after the trial. He wondered how such a thing happened. He assumed the arrow was made from rank -C Demon Wood. He didn''t notice when Yman''s mouth curved into a grin. Chapter 6 - What Is Money Without Life "Well, venerable Sir, what do you think?" He asked. After examining and feeding the arrow with magic, the soldier nodded in agreement. It looks like he was wrong. It certainly came from rank B+ Demon Wood. "But kid, is it not still too expensive for an arrow? Even if this was made from rank B+, I think it is still overpriced, " the soldier said. "Kufufu, venerable sir, what is money without life? Don''t think you can redeem your life with points after you die. As long as you''re alive, points or money wille back to you, as long as you work hard on it. But if it is your life that will lose, it will be lost forever," Yman said while his hands gesturing, it can''t be helped. "Well...... When you said it that way. I see no room for arguments." Later on, the soldier had decided to buy. Until more customers wereing to buy on him, at the moment, he sold 30 sets. And now he umted 300 points; he grinned from ear to ear. Now he could buy a decent skill. If Yman was not mistaken, there was a cheap skill that he could buy. The soldiers were joyful too, after all, the arrows they had bought could prate the resilient shells of the monsters. His arrows were unbending because of the crazy experiment that Yman did. There''s one type of slime which is unaffected by magic. Because whenever you shoot magic on it, it''s body bes tougher and harder. Luckily this type of slime is not hostile to humans. And they were tameable too with a Taming Skill. But most magicians choose not to tame these kinds of monsters. Because they were too weak, they had low attack. But Yman has a crazy idea to experiment using these slimes urine. He soaked the arrows for about a week, until every fiber of its wood that was made from Demon Woods was able to absorb the liquid. And that''s the reason why his arrows that are made from low-rank Demon Woods have hardened and became unbendable after feeding with magic. Because of the hardness, the pration force has increased as well. The battle was unceasing and many casualties from both sides. But unlike before, as of now, the soldier was able to hold their ground until their reinforcement arrived. "Soldier Moore, go buy another set of arrows at the kid vendor, " the Commander ordered his soldier. When Yman heard it, he grinned even broader. Not just he could profit with this chaos, he also was able to help in defending the town. But too bad, he wasn''t able to see what monsters were attacking outside because the civilians were not allowed to go to the wall surface. He can''t even peek outside because the wall was too high. But based on what he heard from soldiers, there was a mutated rank BB+ Wolf and Shelled Ants monsters. This kind of ants was as big as a cat. They were covered by shells, and hard to deal with. Not long after Yman emptied his stock of arrows, reinforcements from the Seeker Association arrived. They''d be small in number with only 10 people in total, but each one of them exudes dominating aura and brimming with confidence that couldn''t be lost to a toon of soldiers. They were wearing expensive-looking armors and robes. In hands and somewhere part of their body, fasten different types of weapons. Everyone who saw them would know that these people were magicians of a higher caliber. Yman''s eyes were sparkling with excitement. He yearns to be the strongest Seeker in the future. So after seeing these people, his excitement hit the peak. Some people and even soldiers around shouted and whispered in loud voices. "Look, that''s Pyro of the Red Dragon Party right?" One of the soldiers whispered to the person beside him, in a slightly loud voice. "Right, it''s him, no doubt!" Answered by the second soldier in an excited tone. "Woah, look at his armor... So cool!" Said by the other soldier. The person they called Pyro was wearing a red crystal-like armor with the carvings of dragon scales. It suits him well since Pyro has red spiky hair, deep-set eyes, and slightly muscr build. And stood in the height of 5"9. At their arrival, themander stuttered towards them. "You are the reinforcement sent from Seeker Association?" Themander asked Pyro. Even though he already knows the answer, he needed to ask anyway. "Yes, we are from the Seekers, of the Red Dragon Party." Pyro casually replied. After getting to know each other greetings, themander gave a slight briefing about the situations. After the briefing, the reinforcement from Seeker Association began their attacks on monsters. Not even an hour had passed that the fight had ended. The people from Seeker Association shoot high-level magic on the monster''s side, with an area of effect. Their vanguards brutally hack and sh every monster that tried to attack them. With his ming sword, Pyro burns every monster that tries to pounce on him. The battle became a one-sided massacre. While watching the fight, Yman''s eyes were full of envy. He wanted to be someone like them. A magician that is able to kill monsters with ease. While the magicians from Seeker Association were busy killing the monsters outside of town, the surrounding soldiers were also busy cheering at them. Yman was able to see the battle. The dazzling magic of different colors had reflected in his eyes. He could feel his heart''s loud beating noise. He was excited about the ongoing fight that was happening at his front. After the fight, everyone was joyful. The people surrounded the magicians of the Seeker Association. They have showered them with praises. Yman thought he could get thanks as well. Since it was thanks to his arrows, that the soldiers were able to hold their grounds, and they sessfully defended the wall before the reinforcement arrived. But they have forgotten his little help. Well, it doesn''t matter for him. Compared to the safety of the town, it was a trivial matter. Chapter 7 - Into The Academy The next morning, Yman wore his new uniform, a dress suit of ck and white, paired with ck pants. And a big backpack on his back. With him were his sister and Ms. Pai. They were heading into the Academy via train. Ms. Pai would be an adviser at the Academy and him as a trainee and a student at the same time. His sister, of course, would being with them, since no one would take care of her at the apartment. Sist and Alo were floating beside Yana. Alo was the name of Ms. Pai''s deity. From his profit of selling arrows on yesterday''s chaos, Yman was able to advance his deity, Sist, into level 1. Now, she was capable of floating.. But the pay wasn''t cheap, because he spent 500 gold points. Although he spent a considerable amount of his points, he acquired a new additional magic skill in return, a quick movement skill for a distance of 10 meters. The skill name was Rapid Leap. However, he wishes to obtain an attack magic skill. But too bad, he doesn''t seem to have luck in this aspect. Even though Rapid Leap was not an attack-type magic skill, it was one of the rarest skills that is difficult to get in a random. Exactly at 7:00 am that they arrived at the Academy. Yman proceeded to the auditorium where all the freshmen have to gather. When he reached the area, he saw a vacant chair located on the second row of the 5th column. He hastily went to own the seat before anyone else took it. *Creak!* After taking his seat, the chair made a slight creaking noise. It''s not even 10 seconds had passed that he was sitting when-- "Hey!" A loud call from someone beside him almost ruptured his ears. He nced to his right side out of reflex, to where the voice came. He was greeted by a pair of beautiful green eyes that were staring straight at him. A pretty face of jade-like skin, and with the hair ofvender colored that was tied in a ponytail, "such a beauty," he mused. "Hey!" She called out again in a slightly lower voice than before. But her brows furrowed when no reply from the guy she was calling. "Huh?" Was the only response that escaped off from his mouth; he wasn''t able to react because he was in a daze for a second. "Get lost, that chair has already been taken!" The girl said in a stern voice. Yman noticed the eyes of other students ring daggers at him, "taken?" he was surprised. Then he continued after letting a sigh, "i-it looks like I-I mistook this s-seat. If that was the case, then it can''t be helped," he said shyly, then stood up, but when he about to leave, murmurs broke out all of a sudden. Pfffffffftttt!!! Some students were trying to hold theirughter. "This bumpkin!" said the student with a mole on his left eye. "Countryside idiot!" another student with a thick make-up on her face whispered. "You mean mentally ill guy?" Said the girl with an extension on her eyshes. Their criticism that belittling his person reaches his ears. Some students were whispering while some intentionally murmured in a much louder voice. "How shameless, he was trying to sit beside Miss Kesha. One of the most beautiful trainees in this Academy. Haha." Laughed a male student with curly blond hair. "Hehe, thick-skinned mountain person," Said a girl student with purple hair. Yman sighed. *Hah~* "They were making fun out of small things. Idiots! It''s better to find a new seat than hearing your nonsense," He mumbled. Well, He was already used to this kind of treatment, so their taunts and ridicules or what so ever didn''t affect him anymore. He craned his neck and looked around, disregarding the taunts and ridicules that like bees because of the unharmonized volume of their voices. dly, Yman found a vacant chair, second row to thest in the same column. He went towards it without a second thought, and when he reached the chair, he was about to sit when a guy sitting next to it suddenly yawned and purposely spread his left hand on the vacant chair. The guy''s left hand blocked the seat! "Uhm, e-excuse me," Yman tried to grab his attention, but the guy was purposely ignoring him. He scratches his head, then decides to sit without minding the arm that spreads across the chair. Nevertheless, if something happened to this guy''s arm, then it was this guy''s fault alone. Right? But before Yman could take his seat, he noticed that the guy lifted his hand and was trying to push him, out of a sudden, he unconsciously dodged it by slightly hopping to his left side. He widened his eyes when he noticed that the guy''s hand became blurry because of its speed alone. Yman thought for a second if how much agility and strength have had this guy''s Attribute? It was obvious that this guy had higher Attributes than him! The guy''s fingertips were able to reach him, causing him to stagger 2 and a half step backward. Kyaaah! A sudden high pitched yell from someone when Yman bumped to the person behind him. Thump! Thump! It was followed by two consecutive thumps when two buttsnded on the auditorium grounds. Yman twisted his neck to look behind him and see who the other person was. He saw a young girl with neck length blue hair, beautiful round eyes, and a headphone in her ears. The girl was cute but not as pretty as the girl withvender hair that he saw a moment ago. "I-I''m so-sorry, Miss..." Yman apologized in a stammering voice. "Aww, I-its okay," The girl said in difficulty while trying to cover her private part that was about to disy because of the short skirt of the uniform she was wearing. The girl lifted her hand and about to grab the hand that Yman offered. But it pauses and in a half reach only. Yman stood up first and tried to offer a hand to the girl since it was his fault, to begin with. No, not actually his, but he was half at fault so he was partly to be med as well. However, he noticed that the girl had a second thought of whether to take his help or not so he gradually retreated his arm and bowed slightly to apologize again. Chapter 8 - Almina Amulet And again, a bees-like murmur had broken out once again. "Look, that mountain guy again," said someone around them. Yman couldn''t even recognize now if who was talking or not. "What a stupid person, it just a moment that he changed his seat and now already got into trouble, tsk!" someone grumbled and clicked her tongue at the end of her words. The girl looked puzzled as to what, why, or how the things turned out like this. Many people that had gathered around them were throwing insults toward the guy who bumped her. ''Is this guy the most hated guy in the whole world?'' She couldn''t help questioning herself. She nced at the guy who bowed 70 degrees. But it seemed this guy didn''t care what other people were saying towards him. . "Uh-Uhm, i-it''s fine, don''t worry about it, I''m fine, " she nervously said while urging the guy to stop bowing because she felt scared in this kind of scenario. After the girl said that she''s okay, Yman was about to leave when, "Kiko, look, look, Yman was here." one of Kiko''s friends pointed in his direction. Kiko gazed to where his friend was pointing. And he saw the guy to their left side at the back column of the second row. While, Kiko and his friends were on the third row. Seeing Yman surrounded by trainees like them, he smiled lightly and whispered something in his friend''s ear. Yman nced at the guy who pushed him. However, the guy was looking at him with a smirk on his face while spreading his arms across the seat. Seeing this, Yman was grumbling inside, "Idiot! Let me punch your face for once! Even if you''ll beat me upter, if Inded a single punch on your smirking face, you will see no world the next day!" For some reason, his blood pressure went up to his head. He grumbled while clenching his fist into a ball. And a pulse in a cross form surfaced on his forehead. Inside him, an evil Yman and good Yman were quarreling about what better choices to take in this kind of situation. "Let''s kick his ass and put a bamboo tube inside his arse!" Said the angel Yman. "That''s a wrong move, if we strike now, we will be beaten into a pulp instead. Look the smirking dude has higher attributes than us. And one more thing, it''s a pain in the ass to have enemies at all sides. Gimme a break." Said the devil one while surfacing azy look. "You''re afraid, huh! You devil sissies are no good, you''re only good at doing nothing and want to have azy life while doing nothing!" Said the angel one while kicking the devil''s ass. "Wait, Wait, you''re so mean!" The devil Yman cried while trying to cover his face using his hands. "Back off, you sissy! Go back inside your mama''s p***y!" Said the angel Yman while raining punches towards the devil one with a background sound of hora hora hora. Yman shook his head slightly to get rid of the quarreling duo in his mind. Well too bad that his defective deity was not with him at the moment. So he couldn''t use his useless skills. And in terms of attributes alone, he could surmise that he was below in all aspects. At the moment, he only had 2 Strength, 2 Vitality, and 1 Agility. He let a sigh escape from his mouth and about to leave when... "Hey, Hey, Frogman!" Called out from one of Kiko''s friends. "Frogman?" Someone among the surrounded trainee repeated. "Oh, isn''t it the Toadman?" The second friend of Kiko added. "Toadman?" And another person around repeated. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! An earth-shatteringugh and ridicule had been started once again. "Hey, hey, isn''t he the bumpkin man?" Said some random girl. "You mean the mountain man?" Followed by someone. "Shameless man!" "Oh, right! It was him! The mentally ill man." The ridicule was like a chain message, hard to stop once started. The meek girl who Yman bumped to, tried to reach him. Then again, her hand paused in a half-reach state. For some reason, his name was being connected to weird names. Yman''s face became pale. He silently walked towards the back row of chairs and stood alone. TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG!!! THE ridiculed and taunts have been cut off by the high pitch tone of a microphone. The trainees covered their ears but Yman was no care of what was happening around him. He was absent-minded at the moment. The trainees went to their respective chairs and went into silence without a single noise that could be heard. A katak-katak sound of heels tapping against the floor of the stage could be overheard inside the auditorium when a middle-aged woman went upstage. The woman took the microphone from the emcee. And she gave speeches thatsted for 1 and a half hours. Her voice somewhat made someone feel sleepy. Yman wanted to sleep, but he has to hold on because he''s the only one standing at the moment. He could easily attract any attention in this regard. The middle-aged woman while giving speeches was also sending nces at the most conspicuous person out of all inside the auditorium. Maybe she''s wondering why this boy remained standing even though there was a vacant seat. After the middle-aged woman''s speeches, it was followed byzy apuse from the trainees. Some trainees were yawning and some were rubbing their eyes, somewhat sleepy. The next to go upstage was a girl of the same age as Yman. Somehow, the girl looks familiar to him. He was not sure, but he seemed to have already seen her somewhere. Once the girl went upstage, all the trainee''s eyes inside the auditorium became heart-shaped. The girl was so pretty, with a nice body curve. Even though she''s still young, she looks sexy. Well, a 17 years old girl only needs 1 more year to ripen up. Her face was even prettier than avender haired girl. Everyone was in trance. Boys or even girls were no exception. Only Yman has remained conscious at the moment. He knows his boundary. No need to feel mesmerized in an out of reach kind of person. And he has only two things in mind. To cure his sister''s illness and to be a strong member of the Seeker Association. But for some reason, once the girl took the mic from the emcee she nced at Yman? While sending a warm smile? Yman looks in other directions. In his mind, ''maybe I''m imagining things because of how pretty she is,'' he thought. Yman without knowing after looking somewhere, the girl pouted her lips. The girl gave an inspirational and motivational speech thatsted 20mins. After her speech, earth-shattering apuse was followed. Yman noticed that the girl went beside thevender haired girl. It looks like she''s the one who owned the seat. Looks Like the girl''s name was Almina Amulet. Chapter 9 - The Innerworld After Almina''s speech, the next who climbed the stage was an aged man. The man had a slight beard on his face and medium length hair that was revealing the length of time he spent on this world based on its faded color that was no tinge of ck. He stood at estimated 5''8 feet tall; with a lean body and exude gentleman demeanor. He was wearing a dress suit colored by ck and white, and the emblem of Middle Region Magic Academy was distinct on the left chest area of the dress he was wearing. When the man stood straight at the center of the stage, every trainee went silent, with only their indistinct gulping sounds were slightly discernible. Every trainee staring intimately with a closed mouth; while awe-inspired at the man on the stage. He slowly lifted his arm holding a microphone toward his mouth. When the mic stopped at 3 inches away from his mouth, the man opened his mouth. His voice wasn''t high or low. First, he introduces himself, then, he greeted everyone, which is followed by a motivational speech. He ended his speech with the hope of sess for all of the freshmen trainees. The aged man was Mr. Mar Mari, the current principal of Middle Region Magic Academy.. The five guides had entered the auditorium after the principal left the stage. All the trainees were instructed to follow the guides. The first batch of trainees followed their guide with their system deity in tow and went into the door located at the right corner of the stage. The second batch also did what the first batch did. Yman''s batch was second to thest. When all of the trainees left the auditorium. What greeted them outside was a wide-open space. Almost 250 square meters in width, and on the ground, arge-scale magic array was discernible. Everyone had different emotions surfaced on their faces. But most of them were surprised by therge-scale array. All trainees were instructed to step on the array. Ten magicians covered with clothing embroidered by gold were standing around the array. They were lifting their glowing arms up above their heads while casting a magic spell. When the trainees stepped on the magic array, their silhouette instantly vanished like a sparkle of lights. He saw the pretty girl Almina with thevender haired girl stepping on it too. And their silhouette instantly vanished like others. But for some odd reason, before Almina''s silhouette vanished, he felt like she took a nce at him. Yman thought that maybe this was just his imagination. He shook his head to get rid of the thought. Then he also stepped on it with a mixture of feelings. But the most he felt at the moment was an exciting feeling. He closed his eyes after stepping on the magic array. But when he opened it again, what greeted him was a new world. A different world. A foreign world. Yana and Ms. Pai would beingter after the adviser''s briefing. And of course, Sist was with Yana at the moment. She was her bodyguard. It was her master who ordered her to stay beside his sister so that he would know what she''s doing at the moment of his absence. Yana and Sist were cheerfully conversing while waiting for Ms. Pai to get out of the briefing room. For some unknown reason, she was more fond of conversing with her master''s sister than her master. She could also feel the adoration of her master towards his sister. The trainees were greeted by an unknown sight. Birds of unknown species were flying in the skies. Even the trees, flowers, and animals that could be seen around were unknown to them. All of the trainees were in awe while craning their necks in every direction that their eyes caught any of the outs of ordinary things. Although they don''t know many things in this world, they knew that this world was not the world they used to live in, this world was a different world, that this world located within the earth, and this world was known as the Innerworld; whereas, the world they live in was called the Outerworld. Yeah, they were now in the second world of earth. About 50 years after the widespread destruction that humanity was able to discover this world. By no means to travel across this world, they madeprehensive research to find a way to travel across these two worlds. Many infamous, talented, and ingenious experts in the world of research, science, technology, and magic were gathered to find a way of crossing into another world of earth. After many years ofprehensive research, they finally seeded in crossing this world by using a teleportation array. At their first crossover, the veil of war was unveiled. The two worlds went into immense battle. It''s only natural that the residents of that world tried to defend their homnds from the potential conqueror of theirnds because humans were aliens for them. So, it was only natural that a war would spark. After so many years of fighting, the courage of soldiers, and the blood and sweat from the fallen warriors of these two worlds managed to kindle an intimate rtionship between the two worlds. To no avail. The two worlds both suffered a huge loss. And so they decided for a peace talk. All bigshots politicians from the Outerworld went to travel into the Innerworld to have a proper discussion with the leaders of this Innerworld. They have found out that this world was dominated by four great kingdoms and an Empire. These four Kingdoms were the Fishman Kingdom at the southeast, the Musang Kingdom at the northeast, the Gigant Kingdom at the northwest and the Winged-man Kingdom at the southwest. And in the middle of the map located thergest empire, The Empire of Engkantasya. They also found out that this world was unrest from monsters'' attacks. Even the kingdoms and empire in these worlds were not in an intimate rtionship with each other. One of the conditions that the Outerworld officials promised to the rulers of this world was that they would help in the subjugation of the monsters in this world in exchange for letting the people from the Outerworld to stay and live in this world in peace. And so many topics that they have touched, with agreements and disagreements from both sides. But all in all, they had managed to settle. And now, after many years of exchange from the two worlds, another batch of trainees had been sent to the Innerworld. Chapter 10 - Encan |At first nce, the world seemed not too different from the world we used to live in. But after realizing it, I could see how much of a difference this Innerword than the Outerworld was. Not just from the animals and trees that could be seen around, but also with the people living in this world. One thing about them, they were called half human half beast creatures or known as demihumans. That''s not all, there were half humans too that their figures were not too different from the humans of Outerworld. The only difference was they have pointed ears. When we arrived in this world, everyone had different kinds of emotions on their faces, but mostly everyone felt an exciting and surprised feeling. Not too long after we arrived that Ms. Pai, Yana and Sist had arrived as well. With them were the advisers and instructors that would be going to teach us.. The ce where we materialize was located in one of the public squares of the Engkantasya Empire. Old-style buildings could be seen at the distance surrounding us. They were built by bricks and stone pavements that are usually colored in gray and maroon. There''s also some that are colored in a milky white and blue. And in the air, we could see a huge bird with a person riding on it. Some hybrid animals like dogs, cats, birds, etc... could be seen strolling around. And different kinds of people were walking and running in all directions. Some soldiers wearing full golden-ted armors lined in not too far away from us. Maybe they were guarding this ce. And just like outside the auditorium that we came from, there was arge array under our feet as well. Looks like these two arrays were connected to each other. Suddenly, we saw someone walking in not too hurry and not too slow pace towards us. A man and two women, they stopped in front of Mr. Principal Mar Mari. The two men shook their hands then greeted each other. Secondster, They could be seen conversing with each other. Based on the serious expressions that were written on their faces, it looks like they were talking about something important. A few momentster, A man and 2 women with pointed ears weed us after calming down ourselves from the surprise we felt. First, they introduced themselves. They called themselves Encan a type of elf person. Even though they were elves, their ears weren''t long like most elves that could be seen in books, movies or games. Their ears were short like humans but pointed. The man was known as Vir Fortis, an ambassador from the empire of Engkantasya. He had long glossy milky white hair. With pointed ears and narrowed eyes. And stood at the height of 5''7 feet tall with a lean body. The two women with him were both gorgeous, same as him, they had long milky white hairs, and pointed ears. Both had curvaceous bodies. These twodies were his personal assistance. After giving us a slight briefing about this world, they then brought us to the city of humans or known as Human City Z7. Many humans from the Outerworld had decided to live here for all their lives. In this world, no machine transportations could be seen. Everyone rode on arge carriage, which was pulled by a monster that looked like an Ostrich. About 22rge carriages that could amodate up to 10 trainees each were fast traveling along the road. The first 20 carriage were for the trainees. Two of them were for the advisers and instructors, and some soldiers rode on their horses guarding us. In front of me was a familiar face. The meek girl that I happened to bump inside the auditorium a while ago. At the corner of my eyes, I noticed the girl darted her eyes from here to there. She seemed unrest. Maybe she felt awkward from what had happened this morning. I think even she didn''t expect that we could be sitting face to face with each other as of the moment. I caught her stolen nces at me, and her mouth would open slightly then closed again. Maybe she was trying to open up a conversation with me? Or want to ask something? I don''t know. I don''t know what she was thinking so I decided to act like I didn''t notice her and scratched my face at the same time. In the end, she ended up closing her mouth, then she sighed. She whispered a word to summon her Cyber Screen. After summoning her Cyber Screen, she took something from her storage. A headphone? I couldn''t help asking myself after seeing what she took. She then connected the headphone into her ears. She seemed to like listening to music. Her deity was sitting on her palms resting on her hips. I decided to let her be, and focus my attention somewhere else. Anyway, The ambassador Vir Fortis told us that we would arrive at our destination in exactly 3 days. Human City Z7 was located at estimated 2,550 kilometers west of the Engkantasya Empire. Good thing that the humans from the Outerworld managed to build cities in this world. They said that there were many Human Cities in this world. It was estimated to be about 100+ human cities that were currently here. And the Human City we were going to was the Human City Zone 7. | Yman was peeking outside while at the same time listening to the conversation of two girls beside the girl he bumped. "I heard that we will be going to stay here for 3 years until we graduated," said the first girl trainee with green colored hair. "Really, So, is it also true that we cannot contact anyone from outside this world?" asked the second girl trainee with a hairpin on her hair. "I guess it''s true, but I hope not since I couldn''t contact my boyfriend in that case," said the green-haired girl. "Eeeehh?! You have a boyfriend?" The girl with hairpin eximed. For some reason, their conversation took a quick turn. So Yman decided to stop listening to them and close his eyes. "Hey bro," a sudden call from someone beside him. But Yman didn''t notice that the guy was calling for him. "Bro," the guy called out again while using his forearm to bump Yman slightly in order to grab his attention. "Ha?" He was quite surprised by the sudden call with a bump. Yman nced at the guy on his left side. The guy somewhat had arge build. "Oh, it''s you," the guy said with a little surprise on his face. "Hmm... do you know me?" Yman asked with a nk expression. "Ah, no, no, it just, I happened to see you taunted by other trainees in the auditorium." The guy said while scratching his head. "Hah," Yman sighed. Then he continued, "I already used to it," he said with a sad expression. "Ah-Uhm, sorry, please don''t misunderstand what I just said, I''m just surprised to know that it''s you," the guy said while trying to smooth things. Yman answered with a nod. "The truth, I wanted to ask if this is also your first time here?" the guy asked. Hearing the guy''s question, Yman nodded slightly. Then he said, "I take that like you too." But he was quite puzzled by the guy''s question. ''Why would he ask a question with an obvious answer?'' Yman couldn''t help asking himself. "Yeah, you''re right this my first time too," the guy said. "Erm... wasn''t it natural for us trainees toe here for the first time?" He asked. "Ah-haha, you''re right, sorry for asking an obvious question," the guy said while scratching his head and wearing a smile that indicated he was wrong for asking an obvious question. "Oh-um... erm...," the girl in front of them mumbled which took his and the guy''s attention. They noticed that the girl wanted to say something, but her tongue retreated. Yman and the guy took a nce at each other and smiled briefly which reflected the expression of ''it can''t be helped''. "Uhm, do you want to say something?" Yman asked in a calm tone. The girl nodded her head slightly. "T-The truth is... this is my 4th timeing here," the girl said shyly. Yman and the guy stared nkly at the girl in surprise. ""R-Really?"" The two asked the same question in unison. The girl nodded. Chapter 11 - Monsters Ahead Yman and the guy with therge build beside him were both surprised by what they heard. "....." The girl was speechless for 3 seconds before she nodded. . "In that case, can you tell us how you manage toe and go?" Yman asked curiously. "Mm-mhm," the girl nodded again. Then she continued, "t-the truth is, there is a public entrance at Human City Zone 1," the girl said shyly. "Public..." Yman mumbled. "Entrance?" The guy beside him followed after him. The two guys mumbled after hearing what the girl had said. Suddenly the big build guy''s expression turned around, his eyes became glistening rounds and his mouth grinned widely. A happy feeling surfaced on his face. Then he suddenly opened his mouth again, "do you mean we are free to travel across these two worlds whenever we want?!" The guy asked the girl straightforwardly and failed to control his voice which took the attention of other trainees inside the carriage. "Ahaha," Ymanughed in a descending tone while scratching his face. The girl at their front flinched a bit, she was startled by the guy''s sudden outburst. "So-sorry, I didn''t mean to startle you," said the guy while trying to calm her. "Nn, it''s fine I''m just a little surprised. Uhm, about your question, w-we can travel," ... "kuhahaha," the girl wasn''t able to finish her words because of the sudden burst ofughter from someone within the group. The one whoughed was the guy sitting at the very end which was at the right side of Yman''s seat. Because of this, All the trainees inside their carriage nced at the guy sitting at the very end of their seat. Sitting at Yman''s side were all boys, whereas, at their front were all girls. There were two other guys sitting in the middle of Yman and the guy sitting at the very end. The guy whoughed had medium-length crimson hair, delicate body, and white skin. He was sitting in a posture that levering one of his legs and the other leg on top of it. While his arms were entangled to each other across his chest. He exuded the demeanor of a rich and wise person. Yman and the big build guy beside him slightly wrinkled their brows while ncing at the guy at the corner of their eyes, because they could guess based on the guy''s demeanor he exuded, that he was the type of person who usually looked down on the weak and the poor. "Haha. Dumb guys, did you know, it''s not that easy!" *Pang!* *Gueh!* The rich-looking guy wasn''t able to finish his words either. Because of a folded paper that was smashed straight on his head. Which followed by beads of tears that were forming on the corner of his eyes. The smart-looking guy scratches his head using his two hands. Yman and the other trainees inside their carriage were dumbfounded by what they had witnessed. "Big sis, why did you do that?!" Questioned the smart looking guy at the girl in front of him. "Shut up, who told you to open your mouth and butt-in to others conversation?!" The girl replied. Later on, they learned that these two were cousins. And that the smart-looking guy''s name was Brai and his cousin was Mai. The guy beside Yman was Bob, and the girl in front of him was Chloe. Mai told them about the reason why it''s not easy to travel across the two worlds. ''So it''s because there''s a huge amount of points that are needed to pay before essing the public array.'' Yman thought with a little bit disheartened. He thought he could travel across these two worlds freely. But it looks like it wasn''t that easy. Well, you could travel if you have enough points It seemed like the girl in front of him, named Chloe, was of a rich family. Since she traveled four times already in this world. Yman thought that maybe Chloe had a member of her family that was living in this world. Bob was disheartened as well after hearing the price that needs to be paid before essing the array. He also wishes to travel across these two worlds whenever he wants. The two poor men suddenly became gloomy. "Halt! Halt...!" Suddenly, they''ve heard a shouting from outside. Then all the carriage deliberately went to a stop with a creaking noise from its wheels. The passenger''s body slightly swayed to one direction brought by the inertia of sudden stop. "What happened?" The higher status guard asked the guard who ordered the halt. "Captain, some monsters of rank C were blocking the road." The soldier reported. The soldier''s brows wrinkled slightly upon hearing his subordinates report. "Okay, let''s go!" The captain said as he rode on his horse towards the front. The carriage that Yman rode was the tenth carriage in line. "W-What happened?" Bob asked anxiously. "Hmm... it looks like there were monsters at the front," Mai answered him in a serious expression. The soldiers that guarded them rushed to the front, to deal with the monsters. But they were halted by one of the instructors named Goki. The soldiers were puzzled and asked him, "why?". The instructor Goki answered that it''s a good chance to test the skill of the trainees. After that, all of the trainees were instructed to deal with the monsters. After hearing what the instructors said, some trainees were excitedly stretching up their bodies. Now they could show off their skills and strength with others. Though not all were as excited as them, because the others felt nervous. Instructor Goki added that... whoever among the trainees that were able to kill the monsters would receive +10% to their grade and with an additional of +500 gold points. Almost all trainees shouted in excitement. Such a huge additional point to their grade and money, who wouldn''t be feeling excited after that? Even Yman felt excited at the prize. It wasn''t easy to earn that huge amount of gold points. But, the problem was, if he was capable of killing the monsters. Without an attack skill, he could only trust his normal attack. But even his normal attack was very weak. Forget about killing it, even scratching would be difficult for him who was still at level 1. Maybe the other trainees who leveled up further could deal with them. Though he had gained additional attributes when he upgraded his deity Sist, his strength still not enough to hurt a rank C monster. Chapter 12 - Ice Elemental Sword He even had a hard time dealing with the rank -D Pale toad, what''s more, a rank C monster which was much stronger than the rank -D. Nheless, he had to participate as well. It''s fine if he couldn''t do a thing about the monsters. He just wanted to test his self-control when fighting. Most beginner magicians would flinch and feel nervous when in front of a monster. This was true to everyone who doesn''t have any experience in dealing with them. Although Yman was a beginner too, he didn''t feel nervous. His mind was as clear as a tranquil swamp. Even though he''s not that strong, the feeling of wanting to get stronger still gets the better of him. Unfortunately, there were only a few monsters while there were many trainees.. So it''s right to assume that not all of them would be having a chance to deal with the monsters. The road they currently have, has a total of 30 meters wide. On their left side was a forest and on the right side was a cliff. They were facing into the west while the monsters facing the east. "Big Bro, what happened?" *cough!* *cough!* Yana asked him with worries after he arrived at the carriage she rode on. It was the 21st carriage, located at the back which was second to thest. It wasn''t only Yana who came with them as family members, there were also some family members of some trainees who went with them. Mostly those trainees that only have 2 members in their family were allowed to take their family members into this world, like Yman and Yana. He smiled as he replied, "no, don''t get anxious, it''s just low ranking monsters," he said. Then stroke her hair before he continued saying, "Besides, there are more soldiers with the high level that are guarding us, and there are advisers and instructors as well," he said with a smile. After hearing his brother''s words Yana nodded at him. "Oh, by the way, I will be borrowing this defective deity of mine," he said as heid his palm below Sist who was currently floating beside Yana. "Big bro, you''re mean to Sister Sist," she said as she pouted her lips. Sist grumbled which followed by "Humph!". He patted his sister while thinking, when did the two of them had be sisters? Looks like his sister Yana was treating his deity Sist as her sister. They became much closer without him knowing. Well, at least Sist was able to make his sister happy and was able to heal her boredom. Yman also wondered when Sist started calling him ''partner''. She usually called him ''master''. After Yana nodded and said her Goodluck to him and Sist, he strode to the front. To where all the other trainees were. Yman saw some soldiers at the front nted their rectangr shields on the ground facing the monsters ahead. Almost 20 shields that were neatly lined in front of the soldiers. There were about 50+ monsters that were ready to engage at them at any moment. These numbers weren''t that small butpared to 200 trainees, they were still considered few. The instructor did not say that all must participate but the price was so tempting that most of the trainees glinted their eyes in excitement. Nevertheless, they were under the watchful eyes of the instructors. They thought that, if they fell into a bad situation, the instructors would surelye and help them. They were high level after all. Compared to this rank C monsters, the instructors could easily dispatch them. Bob and Chloe look at him as he walks towards them. Seeing Yman with a look that ready to rush in a battle, Bob couldn''t help opening his mouth. "Hey. Bro, you are going to join?" Bob asked with the face that looks like he gulped a mouthful of vinegar. He couldn''t help feeling grim at the sight of 50+ monsters. Even Chloe had worried expressions surfacing on her face. Yman noticed that these two have no n of joining. Well, they were not forced to participate in the first ce. Only for those trainees who have the guts to participate. And he also thinks that Chloe has no need of points, she was even able to travel in these two worlds four times. But, Yman did indeed need these points. And he thought that it was a chance for him to umte much Combat Experience. He wanted to get stronger after all. This was the only choice he had. To fight and survive. Of course, if he deemed that it''s difficult for him to kill the monster. He would give up before the monster emptied his HP. Since the instructor also said that they could give up. Anyway even if their HP reached zero, they won''t die directly. But they regressed back into an ordinary human for almost a month. They couldn''t use resonance with their deity; and if no resonance, it also means no magic skill they could use. The magician who lost their HP would also suffer Mana Deficiency, a kind of disease when a magician emptied their mana container. But Yman at the moment couldn''t even use his mana. At the moment, he could only channel his stamina as a substitute for his mana. Many magicians know how to do it. Good thing that he was one of them. Channeling your stamina as a substitute to your mana wasn''t a simple thing. And it is also not a good example to use it inbat. Because the magician would dry out their stamina they would be weakened fast. So it was advisable to use their mana in battle instead of channeling their stamina. But, Yeman was not a gifted child with mana. He doesn''t even have mana in the first ce. That''s why he struggled to learn how to channel his stamina as a substitute for his mana. In order to use a magic skill. About 50+ trainees, the same number as the monsters, were going to engage. Some of the trainees were waiting, as a substitute when some of the first batches were going to give up. Yman was not in the first batch as well. When everyone heard the signal of instructor Goki, they rushed towards the monsters, while grabbing their trusted weapon they specialized in using. Yman noticed the beautiful girl named Almina Amulet. In her hand was a 1-meter sword that was exuding a chilly aura around it. "Ice elemental sword," he mumbled. Chapter 13 - Raging Blade Immediate Assault She was walking steadily while pointing the tip of her sword downward. Around her, battles had started already. A few secondster, one of the monsters rushed towards her. The monster had a bulky figure. It has a body made of stone and on their head, there was an eye. A lone eye that circles in shape and red in color. Above its head, there was a red bar. This bar was the monster''s health point. Inside the red bar, the number 300/300 was visible. This number was its total health points. The monsters had four bulky limbs and stood on their feet just like a human did.. When the monster arrives ten meters away from Almina, it stops rushing and pierces its stone hand in the ground. Thend cave in as the boulder formed in its hand. A secondter it throws the boulder at her. Almina stomps her feet on the ground and jumps 10 meters above the ground while twisting her body in the air. The boulder passed below her and shended at a one-meter distance at the monster''s back. The enemy was an earth elemental type of monster. Seeing the monster''s back wide open, she hastily lifted her sword to stab. But Almina did not continue her attack, because of the spikes that suddenly grew on the monster''s back. Almina quickly shifted her body from attacking into retreating. Her movements were fast. "Woah, look at that. She''s not only beautiful but a good fighter as well," Bobmented while watching Almina fight. Watching the battle, even Yman was captivated for the way she fought. Her movements were like that of an experienced fighter. "...mhm, she is not only a beauty indeed...but a talented girl as well," Yman agreed to Bob. "Uhm...the truth is...she is a daughter of one of the rank S seekers in our world," Chloe who was silently watching the battle with them suddenly noted the two. Hearing her words, the two men could only admire even more at the beautiful girl who was fighting at the moment. Especially Yman who wishes to be a strong seeker in the future. "Looks like Chloe knows her very well," Yman voiced out. "Uh? Eh...we used to be ssmates in elementary," she said flustered. "I see," Yman replied. WOOOAAAAHHHH!!! Their conversation had been cut by the sudden shouts of the other trainees watching the ongoing battle. They nced at the cause and saw the beautiful girl Almina change her sword with an ice element to a fire element one. The monster throws three consecutive boulders towards her. Almina shifted her body to left and right in order to avoid the iing boulders. She moves in zigzag while advancing towards the enemy. The monster noticed that its attack had no effect. It then transformed the two hands into seemingly a de. When Almina arrived on the monster''s front, the monster rapidly swung its hand to tear her apart. Though the monster is a bit taller than her and had a bulky stone body, Almina was quick that the monster''s attacks all miss the target. The monster stretches its two hands apart which opens up its defense. All the audience who was watching the fight knitted their brows in wonder if why the monster let its defense open. Even Yman was surprised at the monster''s move. Seeing that the monster''s body was open. Almina rushed in while brandishing her sword with the fire element. If this sword hits the monster, it surely doubles or triples the damage, because the earth element was weak on fire element. All the trainees around opened wide their mouths and eyes at the intensity of battles that were happening around. Although the monsters were at rank C only, the trainees weren''t that strong as well. They were mostly at levels 1-3. To kill a rank C monster, one must be at level 3 or higher. Even at level 3, the win was not guaranteed. One must be a talented fighter to kill the rank C monster at this level. Almina''s sword lifted in a stabbing attack directly at the monster''s chest. But before the attack hit the monster, the two hand des of the monster suddenly stab and pierce at her figure. The audience shriek at the sight, the others had blood rushing their body while showing grim expressions. Although magicians could not literally die after their health points reach zero, and even their wounds have no blood would gush, but witnessing a beautiful girl brutally stabbed to her face was somewhat made anyone hold their breath in regret. But contrary to everyone''s expectation, what the monster had stabbed was just an afterimage of Almina. She quickly used a Rapid Leap skill to step back. This was the same skill that Yman got after upgrading his System Deity Sist. Seeing that she''s fine, the audience breathes a sigh of relief. Raging de Immediate Assault! She softly whispered the words and her body instantly vanished at her current location. She appeared 5 meters behind the monster enemy, which followed by a head that flew into the air and bounced in the ground then rolled many times when itnded. The audience fell into silence even though the other battle was still happening around. A few secondster, all the audience broke into murmurs. Even the soldiers who guarded them admired the beautiful girl called Almina Amulet. Her fighting was top notch. All the instructors that were watching nodded their heads. "What a fight!" Bob eximed while widely opening his mouth. Yman could only smile. He saw a familiar skill. It looks like he''s not the only one who got a Rapid Leap. Not just that, that skill that finished the enemy in one shot was rather powerful. He could only stare with envy at her skill. Almina let out a sigh after killing the monster in one strike. "I need to practice more," she thought, dissatisfied at her results. That skill almost emptied her mana. Her eyes wandered around the audience. And suddenly met his gaze a moment before she ran towards her best friend withvender hair. "Good job, Mina!" Her best friend shouted. "Thank you, Kesha," she replied with a smile. Seeing the two beautiful girls hugged each other, the boys around could only watch as their saliva gushed from their mouths. Yman scratches his face. Wondering if it just him, or she really nced at him? Weird. Mina was the first to finish the fight. Minutester after her, some had managed to finish as well. There were some talented trainees who caught the attention of the instructors after Almina. While some were able to kill their target in difficulty and some in luck. Though some had managed to kill their target, the other''s weren''t able to achieve and decided to give up. The instructor Goki randomly chose a substitute to rece the trainee who gives up. The substitutes excitedly rushed to the battlefield while grinning. "Get your ass out there noob!" Some random trainee shouted to the other random trainee who gave up the fight. Yman saw Kiko and his friends also, they rushed towards one of the monsters. They ganged up on one monster. Looks like they had found a good strategy to kill the monster easily. But since there were six of them, they needed to kill six monsters or above. Yman also noticed the guy who pushed him at the auditorium this morning. A sinister smile leaked on Yman''s face. How could he let them unpaid? After all, he was the type of guy who couldn''t sleep without paying back. Even though Yman was acting gentle and calm outside. Deep inside, he was oozing with enmity towards someone he deemed as an enemy. "I-I give up!" Another trainee shouted. One after another, many trainees shouted to give up. Even the substitute one decided to give up after experiencing how difficult it was to kill these monsters. "You, it''s your turn!" The instructor Goki pointed at Yman. A glint was visible in his eyes as he nodded. No matter if he couldn''t kill the monster, he was level 1 after all. In the first ce, it was impossible for him to kill it in a 1 vs 1 fight. But, killing the monster was not his n all along. "Instructor Goki, Sir, is it fine if I will attack several monsters at the same time?" But before he ambled towards the battlefield, a question from him stunned everyone in the audience. It wasn''t like he didn''t have a n, of course he has. But it''s uncertain if it seed. So he had to ask first because he wanted to try. After all, there''s no certain in a battle. Luck also ys an important role. However, he believed if nothing unexpected to happen there was a high chance for it to seed. Chapter 14 - Below Average Guy "....." All the trainees around were speechless at his question. Even the instructors have a loss for words. What was this young man trying to tell them? That he could defeat several monsters at the same time? Was it a joke? Could he do that? No, it was impossible! No one among the trainees could do it! Even fighting one of these monsters exhausts their mana. What''s more, fighting several of them at the same time. "Too arrogant!" One of the trainees muttered out of a sudden. . "Crazy suicidal bastard!" Another trainee followed up. Puffffftt!!! No one knows who the first who let out such a peal of holdughter among the crowd of people listening around. But after that... Whahahahahaha-ahaha!!! Theughter had spread like some kind of epidemic. Until almost all of them hadughed. Everyone went batshitughing at him. The loudughing noises even reach to the back of most carriages. Yana took a nce at the front. She was wondering why the trainees wereughing so hard that it even reached the back. She thought that maybe something funny had happened. Hearing this, she felt relieved. She actually felt nervous thinking that his brother was going to fight a monster. Since the trainees wereughing so hard and like they were enjoying themselves, she let out a sigh of relief. Looks like her brother was right after all. That no need to get worried. Well, for Yana, her brother was the most trusted person. And what he did was always for her good. Some of the advisers gazed at the front as well. But they couldn''t figure out what was happening there. They were just waiting for the carriages to proceed with traveling. Theughter is still growing louder. Some say, "delusional! Ahaha!" especially those trainees who give up after experiencing how hard to handle these monsters. Only a few manage to seed in killing the monsters. And more of the trainees decided to give up. Yet this dude had actually asked if he could attack several of them at the same time?! Did he know what his words mean? Many of them thought that this person made a joke out of himself. Or maybe he was seeking death. "Hey, look it''s him again!" Some of the students who recognize Yman pointed at him. Because of this, all those trainees that already knew him at the auditoriumshes ridiculing words again. Regardless, Bob, Chloe, Mai and Brai also noticed Yman beingughed at by the other trainees. But they could only shake their heads and sigh for Yman''s situation. Though they knew each of their names, they were not that close enough to understand what the other person was thinking. And also, what Yman had asked the instructor was certainly out of the norm. Anyone could say that he was too arrogant or maybe crazy in the head. So even them were puzzled as to why Yman asking that. But Chloe didn''t think any of it. She was just curious why Yman was asking that question. Even though he was still a trainee like them. She thought maybe Yman was really strong? Some of the instructors have shaken their head while chuckling lightly. Instructor Goki was eyeing Yman from head to feet. He was trying to analyze this young man who had the guts to ask such a precarious question to him. Instructor Goki thought, ''If this young man had such arge amount of mana. Maybe he can do it. But most of the trainees around have little mana. Only that girl named Almina Amulet and a few more had a slightly higher amount of mana than a normal student. The rest were average.'' Yet, the instructor Goki could not even feel any fluctuations of mana from this young man. It was even right to assume that he had no mana with him?! He was surprised after realizing it. So howe this young man asking him such a question without a slight fear?! The instructor Goki knitted his brows and could not answer this young man''s question. No, it''s better to decline this young man. But before the instructor, Goki could open his mouth... "I-I think...i-its fine to let him try..." a sudden voice came ahead before the instructor Goki. And quelled theughter of all trainees whoughed at Yman. The voice was not loud; not low either. But it brought a strong feeling even if the one who said it had stammered her words. Everyone''s attention had been caught by it. Weird, but this voice was known by all of them, especially to the trainees. They nced at the root of this voice just to see that pretty girl, Almina Amulet, she was gripping her hands into a ball, straight pointing below at both sides of her, while showing slight redness on her face and steaming out from her head. Beside her was her best friend Kesha, withvender hair that was tied in a ponytail. Kesha however, showed a puzzled look on her face. Wondering why her best friend suddenly fuming with anger. Almina''s face showed an irritated expression. Kesha also wondered why her best friend rmended letting that arrogant trainee. For some reason, that person looked familiar to her. Not long she remembered that that person was the same person who sat down beside her in the auditorium this morning. Goki stared at Almina, then thought that she was right. After all, even if this young man found himself in predicament, they could rescue him before the monster could kill him. These types of monsters could not really 1 hit any of the trainees around. And he also thought that there were still more than 40 students that were waiting to substitute the others. While there were 35 monsters left. And 34 of them are already fighting the trainees who took their aggro. The one that was left, was being held in a stalemate by one of the guards. The guard was waiting for the next trainee to fight this monster before he left it with him or her. Wait, did he actually think that this young man could kill several monsters? Of course, Goki knows it was impossible to do it. But he could not think of any reason why this person suddenly asked him that. They''re also a possibility that this young man was just a boastful person. Yman doesn''t know if that beauty was helping him or just wanted to see him embarrassed himself. In the first ce, almost all of the trainees in the area were throwing ridicules at him. Who knows what might this girl named Almina have in mind. Regardless, she looks angry for some reason. But, certainly, he felt some kind of Deja Vu seeing this girl. It looks like he already saw her before. Nheless, it was good that she was able to convince the instructor. He saw the instructor Goki nodded at him. Anyway, Almina managed to help him with convincing the instructor. "Let''s go Sist," he called out to his partner who was floating beside him. Shezily answered at him. She was grumbling as to why her partner was being ridiculed. But it seemed nothing to him. Although her partner was weak and poor, he adored his sister very much. Which was likable for Sist. But this person clearly lets himself be mocked by others. Regardless, they had to synchronize their thoughts and... "Resonance!" They chanted the word at the same time. After that, the imprint on Sist''s round ball body suddenly glows, and then, Sist deliberately changes her form into something like a wristwatch, then spreads apart, next, she is stuck on Yman''s back neck. Right after he opened his eyes, the list of magic skills suddenly appeared in his vision. His body was enveloped by the white glow made of energy. He could see the Mini Heal and Rapid Leap skill at the corner of his vision. It was to remind him that this was his current skills. And he could also determine when his skills were in cooldown or not. But veteran magicians had no need to disy their skills on their vision. They could exactly guess when their skills were on cooldown or not through experience. There was a setting to toggle it on or off. Yman took a peek on his status and showed a grim expression after he saw that there was only a small attack on it. He even forgot to buy a decent weapon. Right now, inside his Cyber Storage was a wooden sword, 1 vial of red liquid(also known as healing potion), and several pieces of arrows which was useless to the current monsters, it was useless because he doesn''t have a bow. Just an arrow that was for sale. Thest thing inside his storage was a rope of 150 meters length. All the trainees looked at him with disgust and scorn on their faces. He could surmise that each of them was waiting for how he embarrassed himself to the crowd. No, the truth was, he already knew why they looked at him like that. Because the glowing energy surrounding him was of white color. It also means that he doesn''t have mana. The most magician with mana was enveloped by green glow at level 1-10. Which then evolve into blue at level 11-20, purple at level 21-30, red at level 31-40 and gold at level 41-50 as the magician''s level and the rank were to raise. As they level, their mana increases as well. But of course, every level gives a random number of attributes. It depends on their activities before they level up. ''Fuh,'' he let a sigh depart from his mouth. For Yman, he was already thick-skinned or thick-faced enough to get embarrassed. As long as their mock and taunt would remain as that it was fine for him. Just no physical contact with him, especially to the person close or special to him... because if they did so, he just prayed that they wouldn''t give him a chance to fight back. What he wanted to do was not really that big of a deal. And he thought he already achieved the consequence of his question. He then sent a nce at the back of most carriages. Killing the monsters? He never thought of it. He was mana less for god''s sake. And no attacking skill. Just a normal attack using his swing with low attack stats was certainly useless to these enemies that were known as earth type monsters; actually, earth type monsters have higher defense than other monsters. That was why Yman suspected that Almina had used some kind of passive skill or buff skill that allowed her to one-hit these types of monsters. Aside from her strong ability and a good sword. ''What a joke!'' He eximed inside. He thought it was an unfair world. Almina was almost perfect. ''No, she literally is perfect!'' He thought. Yman noticed that she was staring at him. He could not read her, but Yman believed that it was not hate. Maybe a friendly expression? He could not tell. He sent a slight nod at her as thanks, then directed his gaze towards the battlefield. About 35 monsters were currently left. After Yman turned his head towards the battlefield, Almina clenches her hands in front of her chest while smiling warmly with slight redness. Inside her, she felt happy that he appreciated what she did. Kesha, on the other hand, was dotted with her eyes. She could not understand why her best friend suddenly sent a smile towards that arrogant person. He''s not even that handsome. For Kesha, Yman was gloomy, with a thin body that looks sickly. He even stood while his back curved slightly. And he has messy hair with no fashion at all. Though he''s not ugly, he''s not that handsome as well. He''s just a below-average guy. Not the type of person that someone like them with beauty, brain, riches, and strength willing to socialize. And he also stood slightly lower than them. Both her and Almina were 5"7 ft tall. While that person, if Kesha was not wrong, he was at 5"6 ft tall at most. If only he was strong there might be a chance for them to be a little friendly at him. But after seeing his glowing energy that envelopes his body. He was not just weak but also a mana-less person, better to describe as a normal person. Good for him having a talent of channeling his stamina as the magic source. Though he could be said as a talented person for learning it. But still, He certainly was just below average. Chapter 15 - Nonimportant Blurry Background With A Thick Face Yman took the wooden sword from his storage. Seeing this, everyone who was watching at him couldn''t help letting theirughs break out again. Now they were certain that this guy was just boasting only. "Hah, what to expect from someone like him. A no mana person," someone among the crowd sighed in disappointment. "Haha, for god sake! He was even poorer than I thought," another person followed up. "Look, he was wielding a stick that could not even be considered as a weapon," another trainee pointed at him. "Puffft, did he n on beating the monster through it?!'' Some girl questioned the other trainee. . "Oh no, where did he leave his brain?! That stick cannot even deal a scratch on that monster," Someone asked sarcastically. "If he was only wielding a stone sword, I might understand. But a wooden sword? Only kids would wield it for them to y," Among the spectators, one of the instructors wasmenting in dismay. After all, it was just a dummy sword that they used to hit a dummy target at training. But this person who was asking them if he could attack several monsters at the same time was wielding it against a rank C monster. Even Goki who was overwatching all the trainees shook his head when seeing it. Kesha sent a nce to her best friend beside her. She could not understand why Almina said that earlier. It was clear that that person was just boasting. Then Kesha was thinking that maybe Almina just wanted to see that guy embarrass himself to the crowd. She giggled, then she sighed in relief. Perhaps, she was just overthinking herself a while ago, that her best friend would show some interest in that guy. But it looks like she just wanted to make that person embarrassed himself more. She thought that she could not me her. After all, that guy was an unimportant person. He was like a passing extra that would be easily forgotten. Or a blurred background that was non-essential. Even though many of them ridiculed him, some were silent while looking at him. Deep inside they were expecting that maybe this trainee had really something, like a hidden ace. This also what Chloe was expecting of Yman. Since he was asking those words from the instructors, maybe he really did have something. Like he truly was a strong person but hidden his real strength. She was thinking some ''what if''. Like, what if...he had high Attributes. And what if...he had an overpowered magic ability... ... Yman was unaware of what the others were thinking about him. He was focusing himself on the fight. Ahead of Yman, he saw the soldier that was holding the monster in a stalemate. And about 20 meters to the right of him, the group of Kiko fighting three monsters at the same time. Some spectators showed amazement to their way of handling the monsters. Six of them ganged up the three monsters at the same time. Yman knitted his brows while ncing at them. They were circling the monsters while reigning attacks. Two of them had a shield magic ability. Whenever the monsters threw boulders, it was met by a wall that made earth rise from the ground. The other one was materializing a shield that made wind. Once the boulder touches it, it slows down then drops on the ground because of the loss in velocity. One of Kiko''s friends was an earth element user and the other was wind element. Yman let out a sigh. A sudden voice from someone who couldn''t read the mood. It was his deity Sist. "...hah, what are you... are you trying to dishearten me?" He questioned her. She replied. Yman wanted to cry for his pitiful life. Even his deity was saying he was weak. Well, he could not me her since it was indeed true. But he just wanted for her to time properly when she voiced out her statement. ... At the back, some instructors also noticed the group of Kiko. "What a clever idea. And they even have two shield magic ability users," one of them voiced out as they were watching them. "Indeed, but it was still hard for them to finish those monsters. After all, these monsters are of rank C. And only one of them had higher mana than a normal magician, while the other five were having normal mana capacity," another instructor replied while eyeing Kiko''s group. He noticed that some of them were rapidly spending their mana. If this continued for a minute, they would dry out their mana and would be useless in the battle. "Haha, I guess so..." the former nodded in agreement. Heyaaaaahhh! Ground Breaker!!! Kiko dashed then shouted the name of his magic ability. Next second, the ground shook lightly and the monsters were stunned for a moment. That skill of his had a mini bash effect. Which stunning the enemy for 1.5 seconds. Yman sighed then he nced around and also noticed that guy who pushed him at the auditorium. Still fighting the monster he was facing. The guy was wielding a dual dagger. Sometimes he threw them to the monster. After hitting, it bounced back while leaving some scratches on the monster''s stony body. But it was not enough. His attack could not prate. Yman noticed that every time the guy''s attacksnded, a minus of 10-20 points damage on the monster''s health points. Still better than his. Around the... Some trainees are raining magic attacks on the monsters. While the monsters were throwing boulders at the trainees, and sometimes charging at them or using their spike to counter a sneak attack from the back. Many trainees shouted to give up one after another. And some were running towards them to take over and rescue. However, some managed to kill their target. ... Nevertheless, Yman started his move. He ran towards his target and threw a stone on it. The soldier that was holding the monster retreated at the sight of himing charging. Yman leaps after arriving at 7 steps away from his target monster to shorten the distance rapidly. His movement was not so agile, but it was decent for someone like him who was level 1 only. And he was not using his magic skill or ability yet. The monster noticed him but didn''t give a care. It was facing the soldier a while ago. But the soldier had already retreated. An exmation point appeared above the monster''s head after it lost its target. But that''s just Yman''s imagination. There was really no exmation to be seen above its head. Since the monster lost its target, it nces around. Suddenly, Yman was able to get close to it and swung the wooden sword in his hand. The monster was not able to react fast and took a hit at its body. Which followed by... -1 And a sound of wood hitting a hard object. A red text could be seen in Yman''s vision. Although he exerted much force in that attack, he was only able to deal 1 damage on it. "Haha, look at that! He only took 1 point on that monster HP!" Laughed by someone among the trainees. "What?! Even his damage was too low!" Followed by the other. They assumed that even if he was wielding a wooden sword. He might have decent attack damage. But it looks like, even his Attributes were low. "Hahaha! How idiotic this person can be!" Some shouted. Hahaha!!! And everyone broke out intoughter again. Even the instructors that were expecting something of him shake their heads. The other trainees wereughing more when they noticed that the monster''s health points only lost 1 point. Even Chloe couldn''t believe it. It looks like she was wrong. Bob, Mai, and Brai could only leak azy smile on their faces. Almina, on the other hand, was gripping her hands tightly while staring at him without averting her eyes. Kesha, sighing at the sight of Yman, continued embarrassing himself. She was thinking that this guy was a thick face person. The monster then treats Yman as the enemy and faces him. But, he already expected it to happen. Nheless, he sessfully grabbed the monster''s attention. ''Now now, how to take some aggro from the other monsters?'' Yman pondered for a moment as he narrowed his eyes. Since he has a lower attack, it was hard for him to umte hate from the monsters. Good thing that the soldier did not attack this monster and just defended himself while stalling it. Yman knew that even if he was going to strike the monster using his wooden sword the damage would be 1. He could also throw a stone at them, but still, the damage would be 1 also. In this regard, he could only focus on one. At his left, there was a forest, and at his right side, a seemingly deep cliff. Chapter 16 - This Deity Is A Nono Yman hastily kicked the ground to distance himself. He noticed that the monster was trying to use its hand-de, the same thing did by the monster that Almina fought a while ago. It swung its ded hand to the right side to where Yman was. But he already retreated at a safe distance. The ded hand made a swooshing sound when it pierced through airs and it missed its intended target. Fuh! Yman let out a sigh of relief after sessfully dodging the attack. Sist curiously asked him. He smiled bitterly at her words. Yman gasped for breath.. "Hmm...it''s not just about winning..." he replied. He could not sum up why this deity of him opened her mouth without realizing if she was hurting someone through her words. And that someone was always... HIM!!! This deityis so mean to him but good at her sister. They was even treating each other like real sisters. Yet, the other deity of the other magician was so fond of their owner or partner. ''If it was only a chatbox, I had already chatted, ''Yman left the group...'' he thought. She said at him like a granny saying...'' hah, good grief, what a child.'' He doesn''t know if to cry orugh at her words. Suddenly, Yman knitted his brows. "Loop huh, hmm...loop...loop? fufu perhaps..." he mumbled. ''Wait, loop?'' He thought. "Hmm...maybeI can take down some of these monsters if lucky..." Even if Sist wanted to ask him. But she could feel that he was serious with his words. After all, she could feel what he felt. But, how would he do that? Somehow, sometimes she could not read her partner''s thoughts. "Tsk, now you are trying to use my sister, huh!" "Hehe." He sneered. "Now you are acting bossy, huh!" He said while running towards a trainee fighting not too far from him. Nheless, he noticed the monster rushing towards him. Yman doesn''t know if what was the name of these monsters. Above their head, only the health bar in red color and the numbers inside it were disyed. Above the red health bar, the three question marks could be seen. Since their system deity was from the earth above, the monsters registered on it were limited only from the monsters on earth above or Outerworld. So the monsters in this world were unknown to the system deity. Yman suddenly stopped but his feet skidded on the ground. He positioned himself where his back facing the back of the person behind him. That trainee did not notice him. Now Yman was at a 2-meter distance from that trainee who was fighting the monster evenly. Sist doesn''t know what her partner was trying to do. The monster that looks like a mini golem was chasing after him while carrying a boulder. The golem noticed the human target stop running while facing him. When it reaches at 10 meters distance from the human enemy, it directly throws the boulder without a second thought. Sist screamed seeing the huge boulder being thrown towards them. It was asrge as a wheel of a ten-wheeler truck. If this hit them, the damage would be huge. After all, Yman was level one only and has lower attributes. He only has 2 points on his vitality. Even Yman could not help gulping saliva seeing the boulder growing bigger and bigger in his vision as it rapidly flew towards him. Seeing Almina fight the monster a while ago, it seemed like it was easy to deal with. But in reality, what a huge mistaaaaaake!!! ''So that''s why many trainees choose to give up, huh!'' He thought. Nheless, the spectators were holding their breaths seeing the unfolding fights. They already expected that this boastful person would tten himself. And that''s what he got for being an idiot. Tsk! Kesha clicked her tongue while thinking, ''idiot! That is what you got for being a show-off even though you have no talent. Kuku, do you really think my friend would fall at you? You wish!'' Beside her, Almina was clenching her hands in front of her chest while trembling slightly. "Be careful," she whispered. "???" Kesha heard her. But to whom she said it? To that person? No way! She thought that Almina just wanted that person to humiliate himself. But, was it really like that? Now Kesha doesn''t know. Maybe she just misheard her. WOAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! WAAAAAATCH OUUUUUT!!! A sudden yell by the people around them disturbed her thoughts. Bang! -250 hp Gyaaaaahhhh!!!! A person was thrown away after he was hit by a bulging boulder. Chapter 17 - Disconnection, AI And Human Difference Yman was thrown about ten meters away from his current location. He could not believe that this monster''s attack was so fast. He even tried to use his Rapid Leap skill. But before he could activate it, it was already toote. BoooooOOOOOOOOOOO!!! The spectators were sending boos at him. While some wereughing and the others cursing him. He also noticed the instructors shaking their heads. Even the Instructor Goki did as well. Well, he already expected it.. What was important was that he''s alive. Good thing that he was able to block the boulder with his wooden sword. If not, surely, he would die in that attack. But even so, the damage was too high! He lost half of his health points. And the sword was broken. Well, he was fine, his right arm was feeling numb though. Nevertheless, the person at his back also took huge damage, like him, that person also was hit by the boulder. Yman grinned and took a nce at the person. He saw him standing not too far away from him. He was standing still while wobbling from side to side. ''He was stunned! Ahaha,'' heughed seeing that guy lost more than half of his health points and now was under the effect of Bash. That boulder throw of this monster could cause the Bash effect when hit directly by it. They would be stunned for a limited time. Since Yman was able to block it with his sword, no Bash effect on him. ''That''s a payment for pushing me this morning!'' He inwardly whispered. "Shut up, Sist!" He said while twisting his face. "Okay, I know I did something bad...but, that is because I know how twisted humans are. I already experienced many cruelties. And I learned that...if you act meek and weak, they would always pick a fight with you. Sometimes You need to pay them back. No matter if they paid you againter. What is important, is that...you fight back! And showed them that you are not just a training dummy that they can hit whenever they want!" He said while his eyes glistened. "I know! But since you are an AI and not really a human, it is hard for you toprehend what the real human felt," he said. "Yeah, because they programmed you...like that," Yman tried to exin to his deity the difference between a real human and artificial one. He could feel her displeasure at him. But Yman had no time to argue with her. He noticed the golem started to rush towards him. Sometimes, Yman felt that Sist was a human. The way she talked and acted, they were human-like. But, he also knew that she was just an AI, an artificial intelligence. And she could not understand some matters that only humans can do. Because her knowledge was limited only to what was programmed in her. All in all, he noticed that...before that person who pushed him this morning took a hit from the mini golem he was fighting with a while ago, Instructor Goki caught the attack of the golem and rescued that person. He even caught the golems attack with one hand only. Yman''s mouth formed like ''o'' seeing this. The golem tried to attack him using its ded hand. But his bulging muscle was like an imprable armor that could not be prated with any weapons. Instructor Goki nced at Yman and said, "I''m disappointed at you kiddo...regardless, you take care of this one too," he said at him while pointing at the mini golem. Since Yman asked him that he would attack several monsters at the same time a while ago, the instructor gave him the other golem that was supposed to be the enemy of that person who pushed him this morning. "Y-Yes...sir!" Yman replied. Even though he felt ashamed for what he did. But, he would not change the way he thought just for that. "Don''t act too rash kid." After leaving those words, the instructor left while carrying that person. Yman sighed. After losing the target, the mini golem pointed his hatred to the nearest enemy. And that was Yman. Now he needed to take care of these two monsters at the same time. Two monsters came charging at him in opposite directions. Without waiting for them to catch him, he ran towards the cliff edge while casting healing skills for himself. Heal! Heal... The spectators wondered what he was nning now. Almina didn''t care what the other thought of Yman. But after seeing him running at the edge cliff, she felt regret that she let him do what he wanted. That move of him was literally suicidal. Kesha sneered at that boastful person. Now he was running at the edge of the cliff. She thought that this person wanted to kill himself because of how embarrassed he was. "What a clown..." she whispered. "What the...why Yman went there?" Bob was puzzled. "Yeah, now he has no way to escape," Mai added. "Kuku, I bet he wanted tomit suicide," Brai chuckled. "Eh? Noway..." even Chloe had no idea what was Yman trying to do. She was as puzzled as them. Even the instructors knitted their brows. "That kid is crazy!" One of them said in a slightly loud voice. "We should stop this!" The other one added. "Fufufu," a female instructor chuckled and said, "let him die. After all, he will not literally die. He will revert back to normal humans only if that kid falls on that cliff. But of course, the injury was considerable." Yman stopped his feet at exactly 10 meters distance...away from the cliff edge. If the Boulder Throw would hit him, for sure, he would fall at this cliff. But before that, he needed to prepare himself for the monster''s attack. Yman noticed that his deity Sist was silent. It looks like she was mad at him. Floating beside Almina was his system deity named Cal. He was asking his owner Almina. "W-Why, Mr. Cal?" Almina was flustered, questioning back her deity. But her deity knew what she felt at the moment. Mr. Cal said at his owner while the imprints on his round body glowed whenever he talked. "Eehhhhhh? What are you saying, Mr. Cal? Why would it happen? He will die for real? Not revert back to a normal human?" Almina''s voice was loud that the other trainees beside her heard her. "...how? Why?" Almina asked while widening her eyes. Mr. Cal replied to her. "...d-disconnection?" "You mean...their resonance will be canceled?" Upon realizing it Almina felt a pang of pain in her chest. "Mr. Cal is that possible?" Almina asked. "D-D-Dear to me? W-W-What are you saying M-Mr? Cal?" Almina stammered her words while showing redness on her face. Mr. Cal mumbled. <...regardless, that person did the opposite of his deity''s likable personalities. In that regard, it will weaken their resonance. And if that happened, there is a higher possibility of disconnection.> Almina grimaced upon hearing her deity. But, what can she do? Stop the fight? Help him? But based on Yman''s personality, there was a chance that he would feel bad at her if she did that. She bit her lips. Beside her, was her stunned best friend. When the two monsters reached a distance of ten meters away from him. They used Boulder Throw at him. Two boulders rapidly flew towards him. Chapter 18 - EarthCrushing Technique This time Yman activated the Rapid Leap ahead of time. He knew that...if he was a little bitte of using his magic, it would bring him no good. He already estimated the right timing to use his Rapid Leap. And also, he estimated the distance. However, he was not 100% sure that his timing would work. A light was bursting on his feet when he leaped and dove to his right side in a very quick motion using his Rapid Leap. The two boulders passed through at the hairsbreadth of him. His body rolled two times on the ground and he pushed abruptly his body to stand. . He nced at the cliff edge and noticed one of the boulders at the very edge. He narrowed his eyes and ran towards the other side of the cliff where he saw a group trainee ganging up against their enemies. He needed to run fast. The two mini golems were chasing him. They sometimes throw boulders. "RapidLeap?" Mai muttered. "That is the same ability used by that beautiful girl, right?" Bob questioned. "Yeah, and looks like, Yman was lucky enough to get that skill too. Although, Miss Almina was much better in executing the skill," Mai replied. "Is that skill, that great?" Chloe asked. "Of course, every skill is great, but it depends on the one using it," Mai answered again. "Oh, T-that isright," Chloe mumbled after hearing Mai''s reply. Almina breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Yman was able to avoid the attack. "B-Best friend, w-why are you smiling? And why is your face bing red?!" Beside Almina, Kesha was flustered while staring at her. "H-Ha? W-What are you talking about Kesha?" Almina awkwardly touched her face. "Your face is getting red! Are you okay? You''re not sick, are you?" Kesha worriedly questioned her. Cal said but Kesha did not hear it. "N-No no-no, I''m fine..." Mina reasoned out. On Kesha''s shoulder, her System Deity was sitting on it and was firmly holding her clothes to avoid falling on the ground. He could fly though. The other trainees were still fighting with their intended target. Some of them managed to defeat their foe and some in equal strength and currently in a stalemate. While some had chosen to give up after they had experienced how difficult it was to kill this enemy. The other magicians had the upper hand with their magic while the others had a bad match up. It depends on their type of magic if they had the upper hand or not with the enemy they would be facing. The group of Kiko managed to kill the two enemies out of three, and now only one was left. Thud! Another monster''s attack was defended by an earth shield. Hah...hah...hah... each of them was gasping for breath. "Kiko, finish it now, Bro!" Marco shouted to Kiko. "Y-Yeah!" A bead of sweat trailing down on his handsome face. At the corner of his eyes, he saw that pretty girl Almina Amulet. He felt warm when he noticed that she was looking towards their direction. Kiko felt motivated and a smile leaked on his handsome face. Shing! A sound of piercing an air was generated when Kiko lifted up his sword in a quick action using his well-toned arm''s muscle. The tip of his sword pointed to the sky while his hands firmly held the handle. Suddenly, his sword was engulfed by surging fire. The spectators have focused their eyes on him. Even the instructors nodded their heads and smiled. "That Kid had some skill," one of the instructorsmented. "That form, could it be... The Earth-Crushing Technique?!!!" Another instructor shouted in surprise. "Hoy, hoy, hoy... wasn''t that skill supposed to be hard to execute. Did he learn it in advance?" An instructor wearing a robe and a straw hat plus a piece of a tree branch in his mouth said in surprise upon seeing Kiko''s stance. "Fufufu, that kid is quite amusing," the female instructor said. "Mina, look, look at that guy using a powerful skill. And he''s quite handsome too," Kesha said to her best friend. But Mina only took a quick nce before turning back her focus to the person that was trying to escape from the chasing two golems. While her white hands were firmly gripping in front of her well-developed bust. She was praying that...nothing bad will happen to him. To that person being chased by two golems. Not far from them... "What they meant by Earth-Crushing Technique?" Bob was confused upon hearing the instructors'' remarks. "Earth-Crushing Technique was one of the paths in pursuing magic. Skills that belong in this category were mostly explosive with high damage skills and sometimes have an area of effect type of skills, and are supposed to be taught in the academy," Mai exined. "Explosive skills, heh!" Brai muttered. "So, that guy had learned it beforehand, what a cheat," Bob said while knitting his brows. "Uh-uhm...i-is that one of those skills that can be learned through training?" Chloe asked shyly. "Yes, Chloe, that technique is one of the ancient techniques that can be learned through training, well, we will mostly learn it as well in the academy but that if, if you choose that type of skill category. I heard there are more categories that we can choose upon," Mai replied. "W-Wow! Miss Mai, you''re so knowledgeable in this!" Chloe''s eyes glistened like a child that got a new toy. "Hah! She was an idiot who was infatuated by magic..." Brai said tantly. "You!!!" Mai shouted at his face. Goaaar!!! Their conversation had been cut by the sudden roar of the mini golem. Kiko was about to sh the grieving mini golem at his front when... Tap, tap, tap... They heard fast stepping sounds approaching them. They nced and saw the guy they hated the most. Kiko scoffed seeing that guy fleeing away from his target and running in haste towards them. "Hahaha, look... it''s him! that dummy is fleeing like a chicken," Marcoughed. "Puwahaha, this shit cowardly man! Run for your shit life idiot! Puwahahaha!" Bruno yelled while ridiculing him. "Gyahaha, that guy was thinking he was ying temple run!" One of Kiko''s friend added. Wahahaha! All of them wereughing. Even though they were feeling tired, they still have time to ridicule. Even the group of instructors that were watching the battle was confused by this kid''s action. The other trainees and the soldiers from the empire were as confused as them. Yman did not mind their ridiculing words andughs. He had no time to mind them. The two golems were chasing after him like tails. Seeing Kiko''s stance, Yman sneered at him. Chapter 19 - The Real Reason While the others were thinking that Yman was out of breath trying to escape from the two mini golems chasing after him, Kiko on the other hand, doubted what that person was trying to do. Why was he sneering at them while being chased? Kiko''s face twitched when a sudden realization came into his mind, he shouted immediately to his friends to shoot that guy. Although everyone was doubting him because their mana was almost dry, they followed him anyway. Generating thest drop of their mana, two of them managed to cast a spell and shoot towards Yman. When Yman noticed the iing magic attacks. He wanted tough. Water des in the air and Ice Spike from the ground, these two attacks were fast approaching him. He was too envious of their magic. The spectators were dumbfounded of why those guys were attacking thatughing stock trainee. Even the instructors knitted their brows.. But they had guessed that that person might be trying to do something again. Like what he did to the other trainee a while ago. They could not sum up that person as to why he was doing these dirty tricks. Even though he was weak. Or should they say ''the weakest among all the trainees''? He doesn''t even have mana, to begin with, yet he was trying to do bad things to others. ''Disgusting!!!'' Their thoughts. Even the other instructors thought the same and shook their heads. For them, that guy was not fit to be trained by them. Instructor Goki knitted his brows upon seeing the battle. Many trainees shouted to give up one after another. He was quite dissatisfied that only a few of the trainees managed to seed. And yet there was one person who was ying on the battlefield. Even though what he did was outrageous, instructor Goki was quite curious about this person. Because not all magicians were able to act calm in the face of the enemy. Yet, that person had the guts to y on the battlefield and do dirty tricks to his fellow trainee! That''s unbelievable! "That person is just too shameful!" Keshamented. Beside her, Almina was just silent. She knows that person very well. He was not the type to hurt someone. But...why did it seem he was nning something bad for the group of trainees ahead of him? Watching them from a distance, anyone could tell that Yman was trying to lure those two mini golems to the group of Kiko. But Almina still believes in that person. Even Mai and the others could guess what he was nning to do. Since he already did the same thing to the other trainee. Bob and Chloe knew the reason why Yman tricked the person a while ago, that guy did something bad to him this morning. But what about those groups of trainees? Everyone had questions in their minds. Seeing the iing attacks, he felt a little nervous, but Yman timed his Rapid Leap perfectly. He was able to leap on his left and avoided the attacks. Because of his sudden leap the attacks missed the target and continued towards the two golems. On the other hand, Kiko was distracted and his skill stopped its effect and now he was currently contesting with the mini golem in front of him. He was furious at that guy. Because of that guy, he could not show off his skill to that pretty girl Almina. It was supposed to be his chance! However, that guy showed up while luring the other mini golems to them. Kiko''s brows greeted each other, at the same time he gritted his teeth so hard that it made a creaking noise. "I will fucking kill that frogman..." he was cursing while trying to push back the hand-de of mini golem through his sword. He was mad that even the pulse on his face down to his neck was visible. Yman evaded the Water des and Ice Spike, the two magic attacks flew towards the two mini golems chasing after him. The other one suddenly froze when hit by the Ice Spike. The second one was hit by Water des, but not much damage was visible, only a slight scratch on its body. Both of the mini golems health points were at 90% at most. Since the attacks dealt with higher damage than Yman''s attack. The aggro has been stolen by the group of Kiko. And now the mini golem''s eyes glowed in red while facing their direction. Seeing this, Yman chuckled while switching his course. Nevertheless, one of the golems was still in a frozen effect and couldn''t move. The other one threw a boulder at Kiko''s group. "Shit! Damn, you fucking toadman!" Marco shouted at Yman. But the person he shouted was already running towards the cliff edge. Looking at the new enemies Bruno wanted to run in fear, "K-Kiko dude, l-lets give up!" He suggested. ''G-Give up? Give up in front of that pretty girl Almina? Why the fuck I would do that?!'' Kiko''s pride could not let him give up. He had still mana left. But his friends already dried their mana. He was thinking about what to do. To redeem himself. He could not let that guy look down on him. He would kill these monsters then he would kill that guy next. GYAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Kiko screamed with all his might. Massive mana bursting from his body. It then covers all over his body like a skin of mana to protect himself. The name of the spell was Mana Membrane. It reduces the iing physical and magical attack by 50%. "Whaaaa! Look at that guy!" A trainee pointed to Kiko. "Cool! He already mastered his 3rd skill." Eximed by another person. "Wow! What kind of magic is that?!" A girl questioned. "Dummy, that is called Mana Membrane. A defensive spell." Answered the person beside her. "Mina! Mina! Look! That person is using his 3rd skill already. Such a genius!" Kesha''s eyes lit up. "Mhm." She nodded while ncing at the mana covering that person''s body. "I- Is that awesome?" Bob asked. "Of course, as a trainee, we can only master 2, but that person already mastered three skills. The first skill he used is an attack with a bash effect, second is the Earth-Crushing Technique which lost the effect when Yman intervened. And the third is that protective spell. He already had a good set of abilities with him. Such talent!" Even Mai eximed while nodding her head. "Tsk!" Brai clicked his tongue in annoyance. The instructors were quite amused by Kiko''s talent. They were watching him while nodding their heads. And each of them was thinking about how to further develop this person. The mini golem''s bash effect on their Boulder Throws no longer effective against the Mana Membrane ability of Kiko. It has an Anti-Bash and Anti-Stun effect. And all damageing to him greatly decreases. Everyone was watching with awe at him. Yman was so envious when he took a nce. He was wondering why all luck was in that person. What about him?! Almost all of the good things he wishes for were already with that person! "Well, he doesn''t have a cute sister!" He shouted while trying to distract himself from jealousy he felt. The unfairness of the world. He ran quickly towards another mini golem who lost their target. Now no one even nced at him anymore. They forgot he exists. Kiko shing the enemy, brandishing his sword from left to right. The three mini golems health points started to decrease little by little. His friends were already lying on the ground gasping for breath. He was the only one remaining standing in their group. "K-Kiko dude, d-don''t let that toadman mock on us..." His men watched him while cheering inwardly. Shing! -50 hp, a red text appeared in Kiko''s vision. GOORRRRrrrrr!!! One of the golems died while wailing in agony. "Fufu, t-that is awesome, he was fighting three at the same time, yet, he managed to kill one and wounded the other two," the woman instructormented. "Mhm. That kid had a bright future ahead," instructor Goki followed up. Kiko smirk. "Haha. Do you think you can make me surrender the fight, huh?! What are you now? Frog!" Kiko screamed, but when he nced at the back, he saw that guy running towards him again. Chased by three mini golems?! Kiko''s eyes went bloodshot as veins surfacing on it. His face was twitching as he shouted, "are you fucking kidding meeeeee!!!" Yman rapidly runs towards that guy while being tailed by three new mini golems. "Hehe. So what if you are talented. So what if you are a genius in magic. So what if you are loved by heavens. You can have all the luck on earth. I even help you. Here is the proof of my heeeeelp!!!" He yelled in his thoughts. Yman passed by on Kiko with a smug, before he used his Rapid Leap skill again to lose the trail of the three mini golems. Because of this, the golems suddenly stopped their pursuit. The aggro was gone after Yman left them at a specific distance. The mini golems were looking for the new target. And the one nearest at them was no other than that person with mana coating around his body and currently fighting some of their kind. The golem''s eyes suddenly glowed in red as they pounced their massive body towards Kiko. Kiko wanted to cry. Even the spectators watching the scene were dumbfounded. What kind of horror was this? Everyone''s thought. Only the random gulping sounds were discernible at the moment. Yet another batch came again. That specific person luring another batch of mini golems chasing after him. Everyone already guessed what he was nning, they only wished that that talented guy would give up. He was surrounded already. And yet, that person keeps bringing more monsters towards him. Because of his Rapid Leap, he could easily lose the trail of these not too fast golems. Truly, this was what Yman meant when he asked the instructors if he could attack several monsters at the same time. Of course, it was not for him. But for that guy that he hated. Yman chuckled inwardly. Bob and the others,ughed at the sight. They could not believe that this person had such a way of thinking. Mina chuckled at Yman''s silly behavior but she found it adorable for some reason. The instructors wished for that guy to give up. That other person was just too absurd with his tricks. Chapter 20 - A Bad Guy That A Little Stronger Than Normal Human Gritted his teeth, he was holding his sword firmly with his sweating hands. Again, pointing the tip of the sword to the sky; after permitted a huge sudden breath from his mouth, the sword once again was surging with fire. All around him, the monsters pouncing their massive body at him. He noticed his health points rapidly decreasing. Thanks to his Mana Membrane ability, the damages he took were not too high. But before his health points reached zero, his eyes glinted with fighting spirit. A momentter... Meteor st! Kiko shouted the name of the skill and sessfully used it this time. After he shouted, a loud bang was heard by everyone; smokes and clouds of dust hovered in all directions surrounding him forming like a ring, then it expanded in an instant like an invisible force that pushed back all of the monsters that hoarding him.. It was a strong downward strike onto the ground. Which generates a mini shockwave to knock-back all of the enemies within the radius of 5 meters away surrounding him. And it plows the ground in a line for about 10 meters. Minus (-50) health points for those who got hit by the mini shockwaves and minus (-100) health points were visibly taken from those who got hit by the explosion at his front which causes the ground to cave-in for 10 meters distance. This was the skill belonging to his Earth-Crushing Technique. At the moment, he only had this one at this category or rather in this Skill Tree. It usually has high damage because of its explosiveness. But none of the monsters had died, because the damage had been divided depending on how many targets took the attack. The shockwave happened in just an instant, and after it, the cloud of dust cleared in just a matter of second. The surrounding was cleared again. But arge pit was visible on the ground which was the center that received the full brunt of the force from his attack. Since Yman kept on delivering monsters at him, the monster hoarded him like ants that were attracted to sweets. After using the skill, his mana dried up because of how massive mana that he had used when he activated the skill. He suddenly felt weak and groggy after using it. After all, he was just level 3 at the moment. Regardless, he was cursing that person. He would definitely get back at himter. In the end, he had to eat his pride and chose to give up. That person was just too shameless, thick-skinned. Good thing that he was able to think rationally this time. Because if he did not give up he would certainly die in just a matter of time, that if his pride continued getting the better of him. Without him knowing, he was able to harbor favorable reactions from all of the instructors watching him. Five of them immediately rushed to rescue him. They could not let such a talented trainee injure himself. Everyone was feeling helpless at him. No matter what he did, that other person was just too shameless, he kept on bringing another monster at him. It just a matter of time that his health points would have reached zero if he did not give up. ... Yman somehow had no idea what they were thinking at the moment. He doesn''t care about them. He was to focus on what he was currently thinking. He continued doing what he originally nned to do. Now that he was able to pay those people, he had to try his luck in killing some of these monsters. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed that person who pushed him this morning at the auditorium. It looks like he recovered already. And now, he was sending piercing nces at him. Currently, Yman was tying up the rope on a boulder that was on the edge of the cliff. He was tying it in a loop manner. Then he ran towards the forest and changed course to his right while simultaneously dropping the rope on its way. After running for a few seconds, he turned to his right again and ran towards the cliff, then tied the opposite end of the rope to the other boulder that was also on the edge of the cliff. Now the rope formed like the letter ''U'' on the ground. Where the opening was facing the cliff. Some trainees were still fighting around the field but they were outside his rope range. The spectators watching him wondering what he was doing. But they felt something out of the ordinary already. Even the instructors could not fathom this trainee. His way of fighting was different from everyone. He doesn''t even have any attacking spell. "That person is about to empty his stamina," Kesha voiced out with a mocking face. Almina furrowed her brows, "yeah, I felt it too. Someone who doesn''t have mana will eventually drain their stamina faster than someone that does." "Hmph, that''s what he got for being an assuming person. He''s not even strong, but he did some bad things with the other trainees. What a disgusting person." Kesha as she shook her head and sighed inwardly. Hearing her best friend''s remarks, Almina''s lips curled downward. "H-He''s not like what you think..." She muttered although Kesha did not hear it. After muttering it, a scene has been yed in her mind once again. The same scene that happened on that day when she saw him. It was a scene from her childhood. About a lone boy sitting in the park while looking up to the tree. But the scene was cut when someone among the crowd cried out. "Eh, what''s that guy trying to do?" Another person pointed out, "look, he was pushing the boulder!" "Looks like he was trying to push that boulder down the cliff?" Instructor Goki stated which causes the other instructors to furrow their brows and smiled bitterly. Then he thought, ''but what is his purpose in doing that? Wait-- don''t tell me he''s trying to drag those monsters off of the cliff...'' Instructor Goki was surprised upon realizing this. The other instructors don''t like that person or that trainee who uses his dirty tricks to outdo the others and hurt them at the same time. He was the bad guy in their perspective. A vile person for them. He doesn''t even have mana, so it was useless to train him. No matter what he did, he won''t be a strong magician in the future. At most, he would be a little stronger than an ordinary person. In any case, they noticed that his skill was healing magic and Rapid Leap. He could be a healer in the future but he would never be a vital person in this academy. Since, there were more healers that had better healing magic than him and had high mana capacity;pared to him who had none. Even if he trained himself like a madman. He could not learn any good skills, because most of them needed high mana in order to use the full force. Chapter 21 - Yman Wished For A Knight In Shining Armor, But... He has 10% stamina left and he was currently pushing the boulder to drop it off of the cliff. The boulder made a shaking motion as it slowly lifted from its position. Instructor Goki fixed his gaze at the young man trying hard to push the boulder. Even the other trainees were watching him, they were wondering what he was doing. Not all of them were smart enough to figure his motive. Goki had no n to stop the battle if the one battling did not give up. This year was a vital year for the academy. So they needed to be strict at training them. Secondster.... GOOOOOHHHHOORRRR!!! The ground rumbles when the golems start running towards Yman''s direction while howling in weird sounding noises. Since Yman was the nearest among them all. He was the next target of those golems who he lured to Kiko''s group. After Kiko gave up, they had lost their target again and needed to find a new one that was nearest them. In the end, it backfired at him. His only chance now was to drop the boulder at the cliff - faster as he could. Kiko and his group scoffed at him. They were wishing for that person they hated the most to fall on the cliff together with those golems. Yman''s heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar howls of the monsters. He took a quick nce at the back and saw them charging towards him. His heartbeat started racing faster - he hastily used his full strength in order to quickly drop the boulder. Veins appearing on his face down to his neck - as he was exerting his full strength to roll the boulder. His body was shaking while he gritted his teeth. Not good if they catch up onto him! He noticed that Sist was quiet for quite long. But he didn''t care about it. What''s important for now was to push the boulder down the cliff. Because of the rumbling sounds, the other spectators who were not watching at him a while ago had shifted their eyes onto him. Some were wishing for him to seed but most of them were wishing for him to fall down the cliff, because of how bad they saw him. Especially the girl named Kesha. Almina anxiously darted her eyes to the instructors and to Yman. She was worried about what would happen if the golems reached him first. For sure Yman would fall down the cliff if they attacked him. Everyone was holding their breath! Each of them has different thinking at the moment. Just a little more push to drop the boulder! However... Yman lost strength and tumbled face-first on the ground. He suddenly felt weak and unable to lift his arms anymore. The resonance has been canceled unexpectedly just before he seeded! Looks like the Like Value of his deity towards him had dropped beyond the limit and it auto disconnected their resonance. Sist was surprised to find herself back as being a ball-shaped object. When she noticed the approaching enemies, she was scared and flew in a circle above Yman''s head while shouting, . But no matter how loud she shouted at him, he already lost his strength after the resonance canceled unexpectedly. His muscles became numb because of the toll brought for the sudden disconnection. Yman forces his head to nce at the back. But what he saw were the figures of the golems growing bigger and bigger as they came closer to him. Hearing the rumbling sound of the charging monsters like unstoppable trains, he grimaced and regretted. Now, even his mouth had no strength to talk. He could not scream to give up and he could only wait for his death. Deep inside he was wishing that someone would rescue him. Someone like a knight in shining armor. Bob and the others were shocked at the sudden turn of events. Yman was about to seed but howe his resonance with his deity suddenly canceled?! They anxiously looked at the instructors. Even if Bob, Chloe, and Mai would rescue him, they definitely won''t seed because they werecking in strength. Both of them have average scores on the evaluation exam. It means that their magic and strength were not strong enough to easily kill one of those monsters that were rank C. They were wishing for the instructors to rescue him immediately. But they noticed none of the instructors had the n to make a move. Mai was staring at Brai for some reason. He noticed her gazes but he chose to ignore her. Yman felt sleepy. His eyes started to close when a blinding warm reflection of sunlight hit the side of his face. He forced open his eyes and saw a sword user goddess with long ck hair and a bow user goddess with long blonde hair. Their slender back was facing at him like shielding him from the enemies. He wanted to cry because, for the first time, someone was trying to protect him. Although he wished for a knight in shining armor, the heaven-sent two goddesses instead. He secretly thanks heaven. It looks like heaven still remembers him. But Yman furrowed his brows. He knows the other girl that was holding the fire sword. It was the beautiful girl Almina Amulet. But the second person, he doesn''t know who she was. This was the first time he saw her. He did not see her at the auditorium either. But she was wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy like them. So it means, she was also a trainee in the same academy as them. Seeing the side of her face, he could assume that she was a super beauty like Almina. Although Yman was having difficulty in just ncing at them, he was stunned and balled his eyes when the two goddesses started attacking. They were killing the golems very fast. He saw Almina shing every golem at exactly the same spot. Her movements were graceful and measured. Yman admitted that she was really better than him at using the Rapid Leap skill. Maybe because she has massive mana. Compared to him that needed to channel his stamina in order to use the skill. So it has two hurdles upon him. First, he doesn''t have mana - that''s why the execution of his skill was a littleggy than her. Second, because of him using his stamina as a medium, he became weaker and slower each time he used the skill. But what surprised Yman, was how Almina was able to 1 hit these creeps! Even the instructors had no idea how she managed to do that. For some reason, she looks serious right now. Unlike the way, she fought a while ago. They were wondering if what was the cause that she was fighting seriously now. But they were assuming for two reasons. First, she was inspired by Kiko''s strength a while ago, or maybe she had a crush on him. In any case, Kiko was a handsome guy. Any girls would probably fall over him. But Almina was not an ordinary beauty as well. She was a goddess for them. So for her to have a crush on Kiko was just a 50 - 50 expectation. Kiko somehow has the feeling that Almina had a crush on him too. Because after his fight, she became serious as well. It looks like she wanted to show her real skill to him. Kiko felt happy, more on it, his friends were teasing him saying - that Almina probably had a crush on Kiko. But Kiko was feeling a little sad that Almina was helping that guy Yman. She could show her skillter after that person fell on the cliff. Kiko regretted that Almina chose the wrong timing to show-off her skill. All in all, he was happy. Happy that he felt she had something on him. The second reason that they assumed for Almina''s sudden seriousness in fighting, was because of the other girl. Maybe she saw her as a rival. Not rival in love but rival in strength. On the other hand, the blonde goddess sent arrows that prated every golem at the back of her target. The one at the back has been hit also and so on. So every two arrows she sent flying, multiple golems would instantly die. Just a few seconds that had passed when they finished them off. The noisy surrounding a while ago had suddenly be as quiet as the peaceful swamp. Everyone was dumbfounded at the domineering power of these two goddesses. The instructors showed a ''can''t be helped'' expression on their faces. Looks like these two beautifuldies were top-notch magicians. While the others were dumbfounded, inside the carriage - Principal Mar Mari was grinning. It looks like he made the right decision in recruiting this girl. But not just that, he also discovered another talented trainee that could rival his recruited trainee. Who would have thought that that girl Almina Amulet would be attending this academy too? Her mother was rank S magician, while his father was one of the top leaders from the Seeker Guild back on Outerworld. It was really unbelievable that such a talented magician was going to train herself in the lowest academy out of all the academies. ''Looks like this year would have a different route thanst year.'' Principal Mar thought. Chapter 22 - Different Kinds Of People Around You After Almina and the blonde girl defeated all the monsters charging towards Yman, he lost his consciousness. The battle ended and the soldiers finished all the remaining few monsters. Then the carriages proceeded from their halted travel. <><><> Yman slowly opened his eyes. He was greeted by a singlemp hanging up above the ceiling of the room and illuminating the surrounding with yellow brilliance. He nced around him and noticed that he was inside a tent. He frowned after remembering what was happened before he lost his consciousness, he slowly pushing up his body. He felt weak and dizzy. But he could manage somehow.. He scanned around him but he could not see his deity Sist. He needed to concentrate to feel his deity''s whereabouts, though he needed to use his stamina. But because he was in a weakened state, he could not carelessly use it. A momentter, Yman noticed a part of the tent-making a slight movement, which he believed was the entrance of the tent. After a second, Miss Pai came in. "Yman? Hah, good that you''re finally awake! But, uh, you''re not allowed to get up yet. Go back to the bed." Miss Pai said in surprise and sighed in relief when she noticed him standing beside the folding bed. "....." Yman was silent. He did not expect to see her here. After a second, he opened his mouth. "N-No Miss Pai, I - ''m fine... just a little groggy." He said to her while trying not to cause any suspicion. "By the way, Miss Pai, where am I?" Even though he tried to look normal, Miss Pai knew that he was still not feeling well. Yman noticed her knitted brows and pouting face with a ''hmmph...'' sound. It looks like she won''t answer him if he won''t follow what she wanted. He decided to sit down on the bed while scratching his face and lightlyughed. Miss Pai sighed before opening her mouth, "you are currently inside the medical tent. The group decided to take a detour to pass the night, since many of the participating trainees got tired from the battle this noon, and the soldiers guarding us said that it was not good to travel at night cause many hostile monsters will go out hunting. Early tomorrow the group will resume the travel. Right now, we are settling beside the river they called Silent River." Miss Pai exined. "S-Silent River?" He repeated. "Yeah. They said this river was historical and that it was the longest river in this world. Although, I''m not sure if I believe it or not, like you it is my first time here also." She said at him while blending an herb in a ss. "...weird." Yman knitted his brows in puzzlement. "Why?" She asked. "Because wouldn''t it be natural to call it the Longest River instead of the Silent River..." Hearing him, she stopped her hands and showed thinking gestures. "...hm, maybe because this river doesn''t flow like the usual river should be that''s why they called it Silent River." "I - I see. So that''s why I didn''t hear any gushing sounds." She nodded and resumed what she was doing. "Anyway, you made quite a blunder out of yourself this noon." She told him with knitted brows. After hearing her say this, Yman helplessly sighed and slightly downed his head. "S-Sorry." He mumbled shyly. He could not say anything since Yman knew it was his fault after all. "I know that some people made fun of you. But, don''t forget that there are people too...that cared about you." Yman slightly nodded his head and remained quiet. Somewhat her words feltforting to him. She was like an older sister towards him and Yana. Seeing him quiet. She approached him with the ss of herb in her hands. "Here, drink it," she said and handed the ss to him. "This is..." "That is an herbal tea made from Young Lilly herb that we found floating on the river and mixed it with a grinned 1-month-old root of Yellow Clover. I know that you dislike bad smell but this herbal was good for regaining your stamina a little bit faster. So please, bear with it and drink." She said to him, however, she did not leave beside him. Yman knew that she wouldn''t leave unless he drank it. He felt defeated when he took the ss. |So, these herbs can also be found here, huh...| He was a little surprised by these familiar names of herbs. |These herbs can also be found on Outerworld.| Slowly lifted the ss towards his mouth. His nose was invaded by the pungent smell it brings. She was right. He dislikes drinking medicine or herbal with bad smell. Glug...glug... Yman held his breath and drunk the herbal tea in one go. Good thing that it wasn''t so hot. He wanted to puke though. She nodded and smiled at him. Before Miss Pai left the tent, she told him that Yana was sleeping in her tent beside Sist. And that she didn''t know what happened to him. Yman sighed in relief. He was afraid that his sister would worry about him. Looks like Sist did not say about the fight to Yana. Miss Pai finished her words saying, "isn''t your goal is to heal your sister? (Yman nodded. She smiled and opened her mouth again.) From tomorrow onwards, your life might be more difficult than usual. However, don''t forget what you originally wanted from the start. You might find enemies and they might look down on you, but don''t forget that there are people too who finds you important to them..." After saying this she stood for a second before she decided to leave the room. Yman suddenly felt sleepy after she left. The herbal she gave him also has the effect of making someone feel sleepy. Just like what Miss Pai said, the trip continued early in the morning. Right now, Yman was inside the carriage just like before the fight with the monsters. Chapter 23 - Desire, Mana, Fate, And Bad Villain The words of Miss Paist night remained in his mind. |What I originally wanted to do, ha...| While thinking this. Yman''s face was twitching. Behind his bangs, a glint was visible in his eyes. And a scene was about to rey inside his mind when... "Y-Yman wee back.." A scene that was supposed to appear in his mind was interrupted by a sudden greeting from the shy girl in front of him. Yman likes waking up from a nightmare nkly nced at Chloe. He saw her staring at him with a puzzled look. He blinked his eyes. "Y-Yman, are you okay?" She asked. He also noticed the other trainees nces at him. The two girls and the other boys besides them were whispering to each other while stealing nces at him. He doesn''t know what they were talking about, and Yman doesn''t care. Though he felt that their topic was unkind to him. Maybe he developed a new skill that enables him to sense other people that are talking ill at his back. Yman sighed. Certainly, it was only his imagination ying tricks on him. He turned his eyes again to Chloe and smiled at her. Same as usual her deity was sitting on herp connected by a cord of an earphone. Yman wanted tough. |This Chloe really made her deity as an mp3 yer!| This was one of the uses of the deity. They could be used with mundane things such as this. |Good for her having a docile deity. Unlike my Sist.| For some reason, he envied her a little. He doesn''t have mana and he had a sulking deity, what an unlucky life. He smiled and nodded then said, "Uhm, yeah sorry, I happened to remember something that I shouldn''t have. Ah, by the way, thank you for the greeting, Chloe," he replied. He remembered that Chloe''s deity was also a female type like Sist. A small and cute voice from a deity also greeted him. But for some reason, it somewhat sounded rude. "B-Bad v-viin man?" Yman was dumbfounded. "Did you hear that? Even that deity called him a bad viin." The girl with green hair beside Chloe whispered to the other girl beside her, which reached to Yman''s ears. He suspiciously looked to Chloe. Chloe''s deity suddenly greeted him ''good morning'' but his name had been reced by a bad sounding name. Chloe was startled from Yman''s gaze to her, she hastily exined to him that she was innocent, and she didn''t teach her deity about it. She also said sorry from her deity''s mean words. And hastily asked her deity with worried eyes, "J-Jazz, why did you call him like that?" And that her reply. "N-No-no, Jazz, that''s not what he... ah, ehm, he did that because he had a reason to do it." Chloe who was flustered tried to reason to her deity. "Mhm!" She nodded. Chloe gaped with nk eyes. It looks like it''s not easy to convince her deity to change her way of thinking about Yman. Yman scratches his head. For some reason, he became the enemy of all-female deity! Yman forces augh to Chloe and says that it''s fine. And there was nothing they could do, looks like, female deities were programmed as kind and just. A secondter, he felt a slight tug on his left arm. He nced and saw Bob opening his mouth. "How are you, bro?" Bob sitting beside him, asked him after augh from the words of Chloe''s deity. Bob''s deity was sitting on his shoulder like a boss. Yman, even noticed that Bob''s deity already had arms. Looks like Bob''s deity was at level 2 already, same with Chloe''s deity. Whereas his Sist was level 1 only. Chloe was secretly thanking Bob for intervening before the situation became more difficult for her. Although, Bob doesn''t know about it. "I''m fine, Bob. Thanks for asking. I think my stamina is now at 80%." Yman replied while clenching his hand close and open to show that his stamina almost fully recovered. "Haha, that''s good. Really, what you did yesterday surprised us. We didn''t expect that you''re a channeler. It was unbelievable that you joined that fight, even though you don''t have mana. Haha," Bob said with a grin on his face. In front of them, Chloe was having a scared look, because of Bob''s unrestrained words. This Bob was as worst as her deity in way of talking! She thought. "Hm... But, unfortunately, I failed, huh." Yman was looking down while saying this, and it was clear that he was having an unhappy face. He certainly thought that he would seed in killing at least one monster if he seeded to drop the boulder in that battle. But in the end, the resonance of him with his deity had been canceled, unexpectedly. Looking at him having an unhappy expression, Bob felt that he made a big mistake in his words. "Ahhh, I - I don''t mean bad with what I said, Yman, Bro." Bob hastily added. "Ah, no, Bob, don''t worry I''m not thinking about that. It just...my bad luck that I''m not strong enough and I''m not gifted by mana. And yeah, I''m a channeler, I learned it when I was a kid, haha." Yman scratched his head and forced augh to assure Bob that his words were not the reason that he felt down. Chloe and Bob sighed in relief. "Yman, wasn''t channeling mana was a difficult task and hard to learn?" Chloe asked. "Yeah, it is. I''m just lucky that someone taught me when I was a kid. And that person said that I have a natural talent in this aspect." Yman said while ncing at his palm. Right now, he could only rely on this channeling that he had. "W-Wow, a master? I bet he was an old man with long white whiskers and hair." Bob eximed andughed. In his mind appeared an image of a benevolence master elder, stood while his broad back facing at his student and looking at the far horizon while speaking profound lines of wisdom. "Haha, no, Bob. I think he''s a young man if I made a guess of his age based on his voice, and the way he brings himself he was at least 20-30 years old at that time." "Eehhhhh, So young! But then again, it''s only natural since you were only a kid at that time. Haha, looks I overreact a little. Please say sorry to your master, Yman bro, for my mistake." Bob and Chloe were both surprised after hearing Yman''s words. Yman thought that these two might be thinking of an immortal master. But Bob noticed something in Yman''s words. "But howe that you based him from his voice and the way he brings himself or is it demeanor?" "Why not by his looks?" Bob asked curiously and Chloe added. "Ah, that? It''s because he was wearing a mask and his body was covered by a long gown from head to feet whenever he appeared before me." Yman nced at the two. He noticed that Bob and Chloe furrowed their brows slightly. It was easy for him to guess what they were thinking at the moment. He chuckled. "Haha, I know that you are thinking that my teacher sounds suspicious by the way he dresses. You bet, I also felt that way when I first saw him. But weirdly, when he started talking to me, that suspicion I had at first, magically gone..." "Oh, You mean...?" Chloe intervened with an indirect question. "I mean, he seemed so mysterious, and sometimes he knew what I was thinking. He could also guess what decision I would make at a specific moment." Yman added. "Hmmm..." Chloe and Bob were having long thoughts. "Hm... sounds like a Fate Master." Mai who was silent for a while suddenly intervened. "Fate Master?" Yman repeated. The three of them looked to Mai while wearing curious faces. Seeing their faces. Mai sighed saying ''can''t be helped.'' "Right. There was a tale about a person with a weird habit of foretelling someone''s fate. Some said it was a false and hoax tale. And some rebutted that he was real and that what he was telling was 80-100% urate. But I won''t say that he was the same person as your master." "Yeah. Me too." Yman agreed to her. But Yman narrowed his eyes. |Fate Master ha.| This name was familiar to him. Suddenly, in Yman''s memory, thest scene with his teacher before he left, was reying. <><><> "Teacher, why did I need to practice even though I don''t have mana? I don''t even need to learn how to fight. Since what I want is to be a rich man in the future. And live a normal life. My parents told me that I don''t need to learn how to fight. Only magicians have the right to it. Because even if I learn how to fight, it is impossible for me to kill even a monster of rank -D." An innocent statement of a kid. He could not read his teacher''s emotion behind the ck mask with a carve of one big eye in a gray color and inside that big eye was another 3 eyes in a triangr formation; whereas, the third eyes were in a close state. And another eye at the mouth area in an open state. "Ymane here." A person wearing a gown embroidered by gray and gold and a mask on his face beckoned on a 5 years old kid Yman. Gripping the wooden sword that''s taller than him, he tottered towards the person that he called the teacher. "Teacher, why?" He asked. The person gently ced his hand on top of his head. Then he looked at the sky. "Do you know that the person who was born with heroic desires will be blessed with an abundance of mana. The stronger the desire the more mana the person gets, and when his/her desire continues to grow stronger, the stronger the person will get as he/she grows. On the contrary, the person who doesn''t have this heroic desire will eventually have a lower chance to grow with mana." "Is that mean, the reason I don''t have mana was that I don''t have that desire?" His teacher nodded. "Although you don''t have mana, it is also true that the person who has the strongest desire can eventually kill a godly dragon even without mana. What a person needs is a boundless desire and limitless wisdom to step on the peak of the tallest mountain. You could even have a chance of killing the unkible enemy that was gazing at you from above." Kid Yman asked while looking up at his teacher''s mask, who''s staring at the sky. "Master, what kind of enemy is unkible that you just mentioned?" "#%$%#$꣤" He couldn''t understand his reply at that moment. But after saying it, his teacher left. Yman returned to his home and witnessed a scene. It was a scene that he doesn''t want to see, he wanted to forget but he couldn''t. Because a scene, in front of him, was a scene where his mother and father were brutally murdered. A long sword embedded in his father''s chest. Whereas, his mother was lying in a pool of blood, underneath his father. And a person with long spiky hair dyed in red and has eyes that look like the eyes of a predator. He was standing beside his father while his hand on the sword handle. On the sword that pierced his father''s chest. "Y-Yman... run..." his father''s grieving voice pleaded with him to run. But he was shocked and could not move. He was standing still with nk eyes. The killer twisted his neck to look behind him. He then saw him. Yman was staring with a crying face and was gravely afraid. Blood was sttering around when that person pulled the sword from his father''s chest. The killer was walking towards him. But Yman''s body froze in fear. He could only stare at that person''s menacing gaze as he deliberately walked closer and closer to him. "Hehehehe...a kid, huh," the killer said while licking the blood of Yman''s father that was staining on the killer''s sword. "This is, great! More soul...more soul...more soul for this greedy sword of mine. Hahahaha!" He was spreading his hands as he said it, and the sword was oozing with ck energy. On the hilt of the sword, the monster''s mouth was carved at the tip of it. And fangs were visible at the boundary of de and hilt. Yman felt the chilling from the sword. And a sinister feeling was pressuring him that made him unable to run and rooted his feet to where he was standing. He wanted to shout for help! But how? They were living on the mountainside. Their nearest neighbor was at a 1-kilometer distance from them. And his teacher already left. No one could help him. The killer was walking towards him in a not hurry and at a not slow pace. Any moment his death would be certain. His small hands were trembling as he summoned his strength and sessfully lifted the wooden sword in his hand. But the killer was already in front of him. He was looking down at the kid. While gazing at Yman with his eyes that look like the eyes of a fierce beast. That ready to devour his prey. Yman gritted his teeth, and tears were forming at the corner of his eyes. "Haaaaaa! W-Why?! Why did you kill my father and mother?!!!" he shouted while looking up at his face. Like looking at the most disgusting shit in the whole world. He stabbed the tip of a wooden sword towards the killer. But the killer caught the sword. The gap in strength between them was too wide. Likeparing heaven and earth. "Hehehe, hahahahaha kid, are you that angry to see your parents died? Hahahaha! Poor thing, poor thing! Soul give me your soul! Fuel this sword with that petty soul of yours! Hahahaha!" Theughter of the killer was like a curse in his ears. "Shut uuuuuup!!! M-Murderer, I will ki - kill you! I will avenge my parents, I will kill you!!!" He tried to pull the sword. But it won''t budge even a little. The killer wasughing at his struggle. Yman tried to kick the killer, but his legs that were at half-length only than his sword could not reach the target. "Ohohoho-hahahahaha- you want what? Avenge your dead parents? You can''t even save your life. Kufahahahahahahaha!!! The earrings that were lining on his mouth were dancing as he wasughing tremendously. "Haaaaaah!" Yman yelled again. Even though tears fell from the corner of his eyes, he did not give up and released the sword then leaped towards the killer''s leg. The fear he felt a while ago already vanished. What he wanted to do now was to avenge his parents. It doesn''t matter for him if he died, as long as he could wound this enemy. No matter what, he won''t die without a fight. "Hehehe, hey, kid, what are you doing?" Without answering him, Yman''s mouth opened wide. Then, he bit the killer''s leg. "Bwahahahahaha! That was useless! Useless! Useless! hahahahaha!" Yman seemed to notice that what he did nothing to the killer. His strength was not enough to cause a wound to the killer. It looks like this killer was not an ordinary person! "Hahaha, kid, are you done with your little game? Hehehehe! Now beg! Beg! Beg! Beg for your petty life! Then resign your soul to my sword! Hehehe!" Hisughter sounds sinister which sends a chill to Yman''s spine. He gritted his teeth and balled his palm. Yman summoned all his strength and punched the killer''s crotch. "Ugh!" The killer seemed to be affected by it. Since he stoppedughing and groaned. "You bastard! That''s foul!" Whoosh! The killer flicked his leg where Yman was sticking like a lizard. He tried to hold on to the killer''s trousers. But the second time he kicked his leg, Yman lost his hold and was thrown away then bumped at the house wall. His hand hit the flower vase which caused it to drop on the floor and broke. "Ughhh!" *cough!* *cough!* Yman was groaning as he balled his tiny body to endure the pain while coughing blood. "Waaaaaaaahhhh!!!" Suddenly, he heard a crying noise. His eyes opened wide and, "n-no way..." Yman muttered in a close eye and endured the pain that he felt. The cries of a girl kid were heard inside the room. It was the cry of his sister! "Y-Yana? Y-Yana p-please don''t cry he will hear you..." Yman tried to crawl towards the killer''s feet and muttered the words in difficulty. The killer smiled and nced at the room where the voice came from. "Hehehehehe, soul, soul, more soul..." he stepped towards the room while repeatedly chanting the word. The tip of the sword was pointing below, where blood from his parents was dripping on it. "W-Wait! Stooooop! No! Not my sister! Please not my sister..." He cried. Yman weakly crawled. But the killer did not stop and continued stepping inside the room. "Waaaaaaaaaahhhh! Mother, father, Big broooo! Where are you? I''m afraid, I''m afraid, please, don''t leave me..." Yman although having no strength to stand, crawled hastily towards the killer. The killer stopped in front of the cab, where the crying voice of Yana came from. He lifted his hand that was holding the sword. But before he could sh it, Yman dove on his feet and bit it. The killer had a mocking face. And kicked him towards the cab. Yman bumped on the cab and almost lost consciousness. "You''re a tenacious little soul...hehehehehe!" Yman was groaning. Brought by the impact when Yman bumped on the cab''s door, the cab opened. And there, a girl was trembling while using her tiny hands to cover her head. "Big bro?" She saw her brother in a bloody state while curling on the floor in pain. And a man was holding a sword with menacing eyes, looking at her. "Hewehehehehe, new soul, new soul..." "Y-Yana..." "Hehehe, now goodbye brat...Gwahahahaha!" Yana saw the scary person lifting his sword high. His target was her brother. The killer swung his sword, but before itnded on Yman, Yana dove to protect his brother. The sword hit her but a blinding glow suddenly erupted from her body. And pushed everything around her. The killer was thrown away and bumped his head on the wall. Although, it didn''t manage to kill him, he almost passed out. The killer blinked his eyes and seemed surprised by what he witnessed. Blood was running down from his head. On the other hand, Yana was standing in front of his brother. She was enveloped by a blinding glow. She was glowing even her eyes. Yman was dumbfounded staring at his sister. "F-F-Fate, one of the chosen...one of the chosen by Fate Master..." the killer muttered repeatedly these words. After that, the killer seemed scared he ran and fled. That was the first time he heard the word, Fate Master. Yman doesn''t know why he seemed so afraid and escaped. He was also surprised that his sister turned into amp. But a momentter she lost her consciousness. She became sick after that incident. And losing their parents, the two of them be an orphan. <><><> "Uhm, Yman, it might be presumptuous of me to ask, but I will ask anyway. Uh, don''t get me wrong, it''s just to make it an example, but that if if it''s fine with you..." Mai nced at Yman while crossing her hands across her chest, and crossed one of her ample legs on top of the other one. In front of her, Brai was silently sitting, in a posture that was like a mirror of her. Yman side-nced at Mai. He thought that she was a fine girl and looked ssy. The best thing about her was that she doesn''t look down at other people beneath her. He was curiously thinking about what she would ask him. Why him, and not Bob or Chloe? In any case, he was the only one who had no mana among them. So, he could guess somehow of what she would be going to ask him. It might be about his goal or ambition in life. Since they are already talking about mana and Fate Master. "...Uhm, I don''t know what you wanted to ask me, but, you said that...it''s just to make an example, so I don''t mind. I will answer if I have the answer, just spare me from questions that are beyond my imagination, haha," He tried to joke. Bobughed, and Chloe in front of them smiled. While the other trainees besides them inside the carriage were having floating question marks on top of their heads. "Understood." Mai nodded and blinked her eyes before she opened it again, the corner of her eyes nced at Yman, then she asked, "may I or we know what is you most wanted to do in the future?" |Looks like I''ve hit the mark. My guess was right.| He thought. "Future, ha, hmm..." Yman made the thinking gesture. He could really not answer her truthfully. "I think to be a strong magician, so I can join the Seekers Association. Then, gain lots of money. And after my retirement, live a normal life." His answer was simple and direct. Though he also wanted to be the strongest magician, that''s because it''s free to dream, after all, ambition is boundless and limitless. But the truth was, he could not tell them his real goal. "I see, so, that''s maybe the reason that you don''t have mana," she said. |Looks like Mai also knew about it.| Like what his teacher told him, about desire and mana. Mai exined to them about it. But Yman chose to not listen anymore since he already knew. He was thinking about his sister. On the other carriage, Sist was sitting on Yana''sp. Yana was thinking about what her brother was doing at the moment. Chapter 24 - Mustang Spider While the carriages traveled, they encountered many other monsters along the road. But the soldier guarding them handled the monsters with ease. It looks like they were professional in handling the type of monsters. Maybe these monsters weremon in these areas. Yman noted a specific monster with a metal-like body and crawled with 16 legs. It looks like a spider but different in some way. Since a spider has 8 legs, whereas, this monster had 16 legs. The soldiers said that it was a hybrid monster known as Mustang Spider. Its colored dark green skin was as hard as steel. The soldier requested to change the route. Not even they could manage to kill it with ease. They might be able to kill it, but for sure, some of them would fall victim to the monster.. That monster was rank C+. Monsters in this rank are also known as ''Wanderer''. Because they usually wander around the ce, hunting for enemies. Every time they kill their prey they be stronger. And they had the ability to summon mobs of the same race as them. "Why, I think we can deal with it. If me, Ms. Almina, and the other girl with blonde hair ganged upon it there is no way for us to lose." Yman heard the voice of Kiko shouted. It looks like he wanted to fight that monster that even the professional soldiers wanted to avoid. |This Kiko is really a no-no.| Yman thought and sinisterly smiled when something came to his mind. Then he went down from the carriage. Bob and Chloe were puzzled at Yman. They were wondering why he went down the carriage. "Yman, bro, where are you going?" Bob asked. "Nothing. Just, wanted to have a little walk. My butt hurts caused by sitting for long," He replied. "I - I see," Bob said. "Hehe," Chloe chuckled. Yman continued walking towards the voices. Ahead of him, he saw Kiko and an instructor talking surrounded by guards from the empire. "You can''t, that is a very dangerous one, Kiko, we don''t want something bad to happen to you lot before arriving at the academy." They suddenly heard the voice of Instructor Goki replied to Kiko. Kiko and the instructor nced at him. Kiko was about to open his mouth "I also wanted to try fighting it, Instructor Sir." Someone suddenly intervenes from behind. It was Yman. Hearing his voice, many of the trainees suddenly looked at him from the windows of the carriages. And suddenly bees-like murmurs enveloped the area. "That idiot again?" "What an arrogant person!" "(Facepalm) This toxic guy again." "....." |Looks like, my poprity hit the peak, huh. Although, not in a good way.| Yman thought to himself. Kiko narrowed his eyes to Yman while furrowing his brows. He wanted revenge on this guy who humiliated him at the first test. If not with the help of Almina and the other beautiful girl, this Yman already rotted on the ground. "Pwe!" Kiko spat. In his mind, for sure this Yman wanted only to leech at them. And there''s no way he trusted him. "How arrogant of you, Froggyman! You wanted to help, huh. Pwe! You don''t even have damage against a weaker monster. And now, you arrogantly stated that you wanted to help to fight that rank C+ monster over there. Pwe!" Kiko shouted at him. And he sent a smile to Kiko disregarding what he said. Yman nced at the monster. It was currently sleeping on its web house that was blocking across the road, about 150-170 meters away from them. It had the body that as big as 3 vans joined together. The monster was sticking on its web house where its head pointed to the ground, and it''s butt pointed to the sky. Its dark green color body had yellow linings on it. On its broad back, the markings of ck formed like a demon skull tribal. Its two eyes were closed. And the 16 legs that were sticking on the web were like pointed spears that could pierce even a metal. But one thing that interested Yman was its lustrous web. It looks like some kind of durable wire. He could find some uses of it in the future. The way it was blocking the road, it was impossible for them to pass. The only solution was to fight it or to find another route. Not just that, he also noticed something, something was entangled by a web beside it. It was encased by its web, like how the mummy looks like. It looks like this monster caught its prey. Instructor Goki narrowed his eyes at Yman. He couldn''t care less about this person anymore. Goki already had a gist of what kind of person Yman was. In fact, his damage was too low, he only has 1 damage at the monster of rank C. What''s more that rank C+. For sure he would have zero damage against it. He was thinking of how this young man did not traumatize from what happened to him in thest battle. He certainly could not read this specific young man. He has a fine resolution of a good fighter and wits of a wise general, but, his downside he had no mana, had weak strength, and low potential. And this young man would not think twice harming the other trainee. So Goki would not let it. "So-Sorry, but whatever you guys said I won''t let..." "I also wanted to fight it, Instructor Goki." He was interrupted by a female voice that sounded familiar to all of them. It was from the beautiful Almina Amulet. The other trainees looked at her. They also wanted to see her fighting again. Because she had a fighting style that was good for their eyes. They really were idolized not only for her beauty but also for her way of fighting, which could only be described as elegant, and as she moves she looks like a swan on the tranquil swamp. So they are looking forward to her next fight. And they were curious how she managed to one hit those golems from theirst battle! Which every one of them who participated had difficulty killing it. Some of them also wanted to see the mysterious girl with blonde hair. Especially boys. And some girls wanted to see Kiko fight again. His Earth-Crushing Technique was very intriguing. The one person they don''t wish to see was that shameless guy, Yman! They wish he buried himself on the ground like a mole. This person really wanted to spread its toxicity like viruses. And now he wanted to fight alongside Almina and Kiko. What a shameless bastard! They wish the lightning strikes would hit him and burn him like charcoal. Yman scratched his face. He could feel the negativity of the people around him. After Almina interrupted Goki, Kiko was very happy, more on when Almina showed up. His beliefs about her liking him increases. It looks like this girl wanted to fight alongside him. He blushed while ncing at her. He saw her staring at the instructor Goki with resolve in her eyes. Yman nced at the back where the voice of Almina came from. She was standing about 7 steps away from him. She stood elegantly. |She is like blooming cherry flowers. Or like a drifting white cotton cloud on the blue sky, that is hard to embrace. Or someone like unreachable.| This is what Yman felt when he nced at her. "Sorry Almina but not this time. That monster was way beyond the sum of your strength." Goki was part of the Amulet family. He was from their branch family and a subordinate of her father. That''s why he couldn''t care less about letting the carefree behavior that might cause harm to her. And he won''t have a full trust towards Yman. What if, he did something that might hurt others again. "Instructor Sir, I think we have a high chance of killing it," Yman stated. Goki furrowed his brows. He could not find a tinge of lies in this young man''s eyes. Wait, could they really kill it? But that monster was way beyond their strength. Even the soldiers are afraid of confronting it. Chapter 25 - A Grass Background Who Is Not Worthy Of Second Look... No matter what Yman said, Instructor Goki could not just believe him this time. Yman almost seeded in killing multiple monsters in thest battle, although in the end, he failed. So he could not believe him fully right now. Even if he said that there was a higher chance that they could kill it. Goki knew that this was just a baseless assumption by this young man. So Goki said, "no is no, sorry Lady Almina, your father will get mad when something happens to their princess, so, I cannot agree with you this time." Goki said and turned his back at them while saying, "go back to your carriages this is an order!" He was waving his hand to signal them to go back. After hearing him. Almina felt helpless. If it''s about her parents, there was nothing she could do.. She nced sadly at the back of the person in front of her. He was slightly shorter than her and his back curled slightly when he was standing. But even so, she was feeling warm while watching this person''s back. They were surprised to know that Almina and Instructor Goki had some kind of connection. Kiko knitted his brows when he noticed that Almina had a sad expression. He won''t let this girl down. "Wait, Instructor Goki! I can assure you that we can kill it and make Almina safe, sir!" Goki stopped his feet and nced at Kiko. "Kiko, I know you are talented, but you know overconfidence may lead to one''s disaster. You guys are just newbies. So being arrogant and overconfident ismon at your age. But... Don''t make yourself full just because you have the talent. Many talented trainees with that kind of thinking before you had died early in the process." Yman smiled. He knew that his words had some deep on it. He couldn''t argue with him in this regard. He doesn''t really care if they were going to fight it or not. He was just feeling curious about the web of this monster, and the crystal-like object that was embedded on the monster''s forehead. He knew it was a Magic Cryst. It cost a lot of gold points. It can be processed into essories or embedded into a weapon or armor. Yman thought |such valuable objects could not be found easily.| Not all monsters had that in them. Only those special ones. This Magic Cryst also increased the monsters fighting capability or ability. So Yman assumed that this monster would not be easy to deal with. But he wanted to try somehow. But after he heard the instructor''s words, he had to quit in forcing his beliefs. He knew that there was no 100% absolute in a battle. So he could not disagree with the instructor''s words. And he was just only thinking about their safety so it''s not good to disapprove of him. But Kiko had continued arguing about fighting the monster with the instructors. After all, he had the Earth-Crushing Technique. |Can''t be helped, huh.| Yman shook his head and smirked at Kiko, then decided to leave. But when he turned around, he saw the girl Almina Amulet was facing him with a surprised face. "....." He was speechless for a second and his heart skips a beat. She was so pretty looking at her face to face. Almina did not expect him to turn around suddenly, "ah..." she opened her mouth awkwardly. Yman noticed her mouth agape. He was thinking if she was surprised or angry. He remembered what he heard a while ago inside the carriage. The two girls beside Chloe were talking about Almina having a crush on Kiko. Wait. Maybe he was covering her sight. He nced at the back and saw Kiko and Instructor Goki were still arguing. They were in line at him and Almina. Looks like he was in the middle between these two''s eyesight. |Maybe she wanted to say ''hey, don''t block my sight. Get lost, you jerk!'' (Insert an angry face of devil Almina with horns and burning eyes)| Yman thought as he was feeling a little jealous of Kiko in having someone as beautiful as Almina Amulet to have a crush on him. Yman sighed and bowed slightly to her direction, then he slowly sidestepped to unblock her line of sight. But for some reason, her eyes followed him. "....." Yman doesn''t know anymore. But he started feeling embarrassed. Almina felt shy and her face became rosy red, although Yman did not notice it. Suddenly, he remembered something. Maybe this is the reason that she was looking at him. He had a second thought though if he would thank her or not that she rescued himst time. What if she snubbed him? In any case, his life was saved by her and that other girl. So, he needed to thank her no matter what. Kiko furrowed when he noticed Yman was approaching Almina. "Ah, Miss, uhm...t-thank you for the helps..." "Ohohoho!" Yman was interrupted by a suddenugh from someone. |Tsk, who might it be who spoiled my courage to thank this girl?| With narrowed eyes, he nced beyond Almina''s back. To where theughing sounds came from. "Mr. Principal," Almina called out after she saw the figure behind her. She was about to say something else but she stopped when she noticed the other figures beside him. Yman was thinking, |so it was the principal, huh. Good thing I didn''t shout ahead of my thought.| He also noticed the other figures besides the principal. It was the blonde goddess who saved him together with Almina. In Yman''s mind, |She really is a goddess. Such a beautiful face. Only Almina can contest with her.| The two beautiful women were facing each other again! The other trainees inside their carriages were whispering in bees like murmurs. If looking at this sight from the other trainee''s perspective, Yman looks like a grass background in a painting. Someone who''s not worthy of a second look. He doesn''t really know what the other trainees were thinking about him. Yman noticed Almina and the blonde girl were staring at each other for a second. Chapter 26 - To Be Stared At Before The Battle Is Embarrassing. Almina and the blonde girl seemed like there was some kind of rivalry towards each other. This is what Yman suspected after noticing their brief staring contest. Both of them were fairly strong. So it was just natural that each of them saw the other as a rival. He decided to ignore them. After all, he was an unrted person. He would be thanking Almina and this blonde girlter if he got another chance. Anyway, he noticed another guy with the principal and Miss Blonde. But Yman did not recognize him. He had a suspicious smiling face.. Yman stared at him. But it seemed like he noticed his gaze and nced at him and smiled. |Even his eyes were closed?| He was surprised seeing the guy had closed eyes. Even his deity wasying on his head, seemed like, having azy life. The principal beckoned to Instructor Goki to let the youngsters handle the monster. After all, if they could not produce results this year, the academy would be finished. Instructor Goki doesn''t like the idea since that monster''s strength wasn''t a joke. Yman understands Instructor Goki''s worry. After all, that thing was so big and it looked fierce. But after saying that the two trainees with him were from a foreign country and each was strong. Goki felt curious. In the end, he agreed to the principal. He was praying that nothing bad woulde out. Yman was surprised when Goki called him and asked if there''s really a chance to defeat the monster. He honestly replied that the odds were 30-70%. And that if the instructors joined the fight, it would be 99-1%. He reminded him that the instructors could not join the fight. Instructor Goki pleaded with him to behave and not do things that might harm hispanions. Yman scratched his face and wondered if he was really that bad from other''s perspectives? When the instructor Goki announced that Yman would take themand, Kiko was furious. He wasn''t expecting to be under that person''smand. For him, they don''t need him. The other trainees who heard them were murmuring, saying that the instructor Goki favored that waste person more than Kiko. The blonde girl also disagrees with having him as theirmander. Yman did not expect that even the beautiful blonde girl would disagree with him as themander. Her reason was, she doesn''t like being directed by a weaker person than her. For some reason, Almina was angry at the blonde girl and called her arrogant. Well, Yman understands her arrogant behavior though. She had the right to be arrogant since she was strong. He was just hoping that they would stop calling him weak already. Since it was not his fault that he was born weak. He already did all that he could, in order to get stronger, but the reality was cruel. The more he thought about it, the more reality reminded him that he was born a weak person. No matter what he did, he was only a little stronger than a normal person. He even trained himself every day, but still, the gap in strength between him and his peers bes wider. On the other hand, that other guy was just smiling with closed eyes, without saying anything. Yman was wondering when this guy would open his eyes. Kiko bes more furious when Almina agrees to Yman as themander. Although Kiko was furious, he could not change the instructor''s order. He tried to ask the principal but the principal shrugged it off saying that it wasn''t important who would take themand. You just needed to do your best in fighting the monster and kill it when a chance presented itself. Goki disagrees with him. In the battle, a finemander was needed. Even with how strong the soldiers, if themander was an idiot, there''s a big chance for failure. Finally, Yman would take the lead. He went back to his carriage and asked the others if they wanted to join the fight. At first, they were skeptical, but after he said that they could get some rare materials and that they could gain huge points, Bob excitedly agreed. Bob agreed but he said that his magic type was body strengthening and that he was only at the base of it. Yman said that it was fine as long as he could block the monster''s charge for once. Bob nodded. Next, he asked Chloe. She said that her magic was materializing a shockwave. And that she could only use it once daily, since like Bob, she was also at the base of it. Yman thought for a while and asked her about the impact. She replied saying that it could lift a van but notpletely sure. He smiled and nodded. Mai also joined them, but Brai chose not to go. Yman already has the gist of the magic that Kiko, Almina, and blonde girl had. But he hopefully wished that Kiko invited his friends. To his dismay, he did not. Maybe because Kiko was not themander. Yman thought this was bad if Kiko decided to mess up his strategy. He tried asking the smiling guy, but he just smiled at him and did not answer. And that blonde girl, he was sure that she would not follow his order fully. He was having a headache thinking of them. When the group was ready, Yman exined to them what to do. "Miss Almina, sorry that you have more tasks assigned to you." Yman said his sorry to Almina beforehand. "Tsk! If you feel sorry, then get lost, you jerk," Kesha mumbled. Chloe, Mai, and Bob frowned after hearing her words. Almina seemed shy from her best friend''s words. She bowed slightly and said sorry to Yman, in her best friend''s stead. And she said that she would do everything she could. While Almina was talking, Bob was having a happy face surrounded by flowers. Bob thought. Not only Almina was beautiful, but she also had a warm voice and a good personality. Unlike her friend. The other trainees were watching in the distance together with the instructors and guards from the empire. While they were approaching the monster, they noticed Yman without his deity. They asked him, but he scratched his face and told him she was with his sister. "You have a sister?!" The others seemed surprised to hear him having a sister. Yman nodded. He noticed Almina was ncing at him. But he chose to ignore it. It was embarrassing to be stared at by a beauty. He felt anxious and might lose his focus in the fight. Chapter 27 - I Don’t Like You Rejected! While they were approaching the Mustang Spider, it suddenly twitched. "Yman Bro, are you sure we have a chance to kill that?" Bob anxiously asked Yman. Yman narrowed his eyes and said, "Truthfully speaking, there is a low probability that we seed. However, no one knows what the oue will be like. Hopefully, everyone will follow the n." "Che!" Kiko spat at Yman''s words then he ran towards the Mustang Spider without waiting for the leader''smand, he''s right hand created a fire that was slowly forming a circle. A momentter, a fireball as big as a volleyball was dancing on top of his hand. Then he threw it towards the Mustang Spider without a second thought. The fireball did not travel in a straight line.. It was spiraling in the air as it fast approaching the Mustang Spider. This was the fourth ability of Kiko. That he used to hit Yman back on the Outerworld when he was fighting the Pale Toad in the pond area. Everyone was surprised again to see another ability from Kiko. Looks like he already learned 4 ability before the real training even started. Such a genius! Kesha nodded and muttered, "his really cool, very opposite to that shameless person." But... SCREEEEEE!!! The Mustang Spider seemed to sense it. It sent an ear-piercing screeched. "Damn this dude is too zealous. This is one of the variables that may change the oue of the battle! And ruined the n." Yman muttered. Every one of them felt dizzy. And their speed, everyone felt they be slower than before. He originally wanted to throw stone first to the Mustang Spider to avoid scaring it. Although he was not sure about it since this was also the first time he saw this monster, based on his teacher, that monster like this tends to activate its passive ability when it senses its life was in danger while they were asleep. And the fire was the most dangerous element for this bug type monster. Although it was huge and enormous, the bug still a bug no matter how anyone sees it. And most of them were afraid of fire! Now, it was toote to think, "Now, attack!" Yman shouted. The others rushed towards the huge Mustang spider. Seeing that the leader of the group was standing far behind the others. The other trainees trash-talking him. "Shit, what that shameless idiot doing? Why he didn''t join the fight?!" A trainee with narrowed eyes angrily spatted an insult. "Damn, look at that, he was not even bringing his deity with him!" A girl with a star on her eyes pointed. "So he was just tricking the others! Shameless! Tsk, tsk." A boy with a mole on his mouth said knowingly while shaking his head. "I bet his afraid!" A girl with ss stated. "Tsk, why did the instructor let him join that fight he was just leaching with the others." A girl trainee with pigtails hair regretted. "Hey! You bitch! What are you standing there dumb-shit?! One of the trainees with a skinny body and curly blond hair shouted. Yman wanted to talk back but he wasn''t that kind of person who easily bothered by these types of taunts. He already masters the ability of Skin Face level 100, Thick-skinned level 100, Snob level 100 and etc... While watching the unfolding battle, he was thinking that...if only being shameful would make someone stronger, for sure, he would be the strongest magician in no time. He would ascend into divinity or demonize, was it? Welp, whichever of the two. He noted that Almina was the fastest among them all, although, their speed was decreased from the monster''s passive ability. But the decreased in speed wasn''t noticeable in Almina. She was raining attacks using her fire sword. Poking the enemy while quickly dodging the iing counter from its spear-liked legs. Even the audience from far behind was cheering for her. Based on what Yman noticed at her, she was changing spots, and every spot that her attacksnded had different damage dealt with the enemy. |Wait, did she know where the weak points of this monster?| Yman asked himself. Although, it was only his guess. Next was Mai, which surprised Yman the most. He never thought that this girl would be the type who fought in melee. Based on her feet that were covered in a magical glow, and in monster form, her magic must be transformation type. And that transformation increased her speed. Sometimes she jumped and kicked the monster whenever an opening presented. Although, her damage was not great, but still considerable. She could also jump higher than the rest. Yman envied their ability. The third with the fastest speed was the guy with closed eyes and a smiling face. For some reason, he looks like he was toying with the monster. He goes in without weapon in hand and then awkwardly dodge whenever the monster attacks him. Which causes the other trainee who was watching from the distance tough. Yman was wondering if this guy serious or just wanted to y as clown. the blonde girl did not join the attack. She was standing beside him while watching the fight ahead. "Uh-uhm...miss, why you are not helping?" Yman asked while forcing a fake smile. "....." He was snubbed... "A-Ahem...miss?" he cleared his throat and called out. "Shut up..." she said coldly. "....." "I''m a leader." He said. "I don''t care." She replied. "....." Yman was speechless. "But miss" "Stop bothering me, I don''t like talking to someone I don''t like. Although I save you petty life before, that is because the principal asked me to do it. And don''t expect for a second time. I don''t want to waste my energy in saving weaklings like you." And again, she said coldly at him. "....." Yman was thankful that she save his petty life before, together with Almina. But why does he feel she was rejecting him? Chapter 28 - Even A Fierce Beast Will Lose Its Focus When Surrounded... Yman blinked his eyes. Wondering why this girl was so mean to him. Perhaps, he did something bad to her without him knowing, or she really was just like this, or maybe he was really that bad from other people''s perspective? That even someone he just met would dislike him? Frankly speaking, he also had something he dislikes. "Such coincidence, I was also thinking that...a weak soldier who is not afraid to fight is better than a strong soldier who refused to fight." After saying this he left her standing alone. He doesn''t want more unnecessary hate. It''s up to her how she would be going toprehend what he just said. What was more important for now was to kill the monster in front of them. Because if they could not kill this monster, the group would be forced to find another route.. And the soldiers from empire said that the other route would take them another 2 days before they arrived at the academy. The Blonde girl left standing with knitted brows. She felt awkward being left behind standing alone without doing anything. She doesn''t like the way he left her. Leaving words that were like insulting her for not doing anything. "Tsk, big words from weaklings!" She whispered. Then she took her bow. If not only because of the high offer from the principal, she would never evere to enroll in this academy. Not only there were a bunch of weaklings in this academy. Most of them were arrogant as well. In the end, these people would be grieving for their loss in the official stageter. And her? She could transfer to any academies whenever she wants. Hayaaahh!!! Thud! Thud! Thud! Three consecutive swords shing from Almina that wounded the Mustang Spider. Seeing Almina, Kiko also did his best, of course, he needed to show off his skills. He was using his groundbreaker which causes a bash effect to the enemy. On the other hand, Mai was using hit and run tactics. Before the spear-like leg of the monster could counter her she already retreated at a safe distance from the monster attack. Bob and Chloe were waiting for the signal of Yman if when they would use their ability. Right now, they were using normal attacks to damage the monster even for little. Chloe was using a magical pistol with magical bullets. The damage was based on the user''s magical strength and mana capacity. And these type of weapons cost lots of gold points. They were expensive. The materials used to make it was from the monsters body parts. Yman was checking the battle from the distance. He could not go near them. He tried throwing rocks, but he stopped doing after realizing that he had zero damage no matter how strong his throw. The monster''s health points were slowly decreasing as the battle progressed. Yman noted that every time the Mustang Spider lost 10% of its health points, it changes its attack pattern. At the start of the battle, it was using its leg only. Then after its HP reached 90% its started randomly firing its web from his mouth and butt. Its battle pattern keeps changing as its health points steadily decreasing. This was one of the reasons why its hard to deal with this type of monster. Yman told them about this discovery of him. He needed to warn his teammates for the sudden changes in the monster attack pattern. Right now, they needed to deal as much damage as possible. Good thing that Almina and Kiko both have high damage in their attacks. The blonde girl sometimes fired her arrow, but not actively, Yman did not mind it. It''s better to let her be than to get rejected again. But he could guess that she was feeling awkward that she was the only person who did nothing that''s why she decided to fire arrows every now and then. Although Yman was also doing nothing to damage the monster, it was only natural since he was weak, his damage was zero for god''s sake. He chuckled secretly. This was one of the advantages of being a weakling. You don''t need to do anything. Hehe. But really, he doesn''t like it. He wanted to get stronger too. He envied their skills. He was really hoping to learn some awesome abilities in the academy. Heyaaaahh!!! Bob shouted while punching the Mustang Spider''s butt which almost hit him with its web attack. Then it countered using its hind legs, which hit on Bob at his arms. Fortunately, he was able to cross his arms before the attacknded. Bob''s legs skidded for 5 steps backward. Looking at them from the audience''s perspective, they were seemingly having an easy fight. Even the audience far behind were saying that the monster wasn''t strong; it really was just a weak monster; who said it was a strong monster? I promised I won''t kick your ass; damn, I could even do better than some of them! They were spouting any kinds of nonsense! Kiko parried the iing stab attack using his sword. Then he shed it vertically. He followed up by firing a fireball while chanted some kind of spell and was intentionally making his voice louder than needed. However, he was dealing high damage to the monster whenever his fireballnded. Yman decided to let him be. Of course, he understands that it was because of Almina that he was showing off. Although Almina was more focused on fighting with the monster. He really admired this girl. She was undistracted in a fight. And did her best. Unlike the uncooperative blonde. The smiling guy was still doing some funny stunts, but for some reason, the monster could notnd a hit to him. Only Almina and Kiko dealt with visible damages on the monster. Followed by Mai and Chloe. Bob had lesser damage. But he was betterpared to the smiling guy who didn''t even do a hit to the monster. They surrounded the monster and attack at it at both sides which causes it to lose its focus to where he should attack first. Yman smiled. Even a fierce beast being attack aggressively like this would lose its focus. KHAAAAAAAAA!!! The monster cried after its health points reached 30%. Its whole body suddenly was shining in golden brilliance. He hastily ordered them to retreat. Although, not all of them followed him. A momentter, the monster health points, returned to 100%? Chapter 29 - An Arrogant Weakling Who Loves Seeing His Comrade Hurt... Everyone was staring at it with wide mouth open. "Oh, my Gawd..." Such words escaped unnoticed from Bob''s mouth. From the idiot expressions that were showing on their faces, it was clear that this was the first time they had witnessed something like this. Even the smiling guy had a mouth that shaped like ''0''. But still, his eyes were in a closed state. This was the biggest question that Yman wanted to know. If how this guy able to see while his eyes like this. Besides the monster, Kiko was watching at the monster''s red bar in disbelief. This red bar was the monster''s health points. Almina, Chloe, and Mai wore the same reactions on their faces. Even the audience far behind had uniformed expressions. Most of them gawked in disbelief. All of them had already expected the monster to die fast and easily. But it didn''t happen. Tsk! The blonde beauty clicked her tongue. Not far from her, Yman narrowed his eyes while staring at the monster. He noticed the crystal on its forehead briefly gleamed and shined after it healed itself. A while ago, its body had already been bathed with its own blood of muddy ck color from all the wounds it took. Yet now, itpletely returned to its original color, like nothing happened in the first ce. Feeling suspicious, Yman knitted his brows. Although he was not sure, he could still remember some of his teacher''s teachings. He said that the monster with ''+'' on their rank tend to have a crazy mode that will be triggered when the monster''s health points dropped at a certain percentage. But... A monster in crazy mode usually changed its skin color different from its original color. Then bloodlust and killing intent would burst out from its inner core to the outside. This inner core was where its weird energy was circting. And an eerie feeling will be felt by all the people around it. Yet... This monster''s body went back to its original color. No bloodlust, and no killing intent. No eerie feelings either. It was just scary by how huge it originally looks. And the squirming 16 legs looks so bizarre just like before. After it sessfully healed itself, the monster took the initiative in attacking and sessfully hit the still in a daze Kiko when it charged towards him. Its massive body bumped him. But good thing that his reflexes were able to save him. He managed to negate the bump power by blocking his sword, although he was sent flying towards the tree not too far from his back. Blood spurted from his mouth and -70 health points were visibly taken from his green bar when he collided at the tree branch. It causes the tree with a 1-meter radius thickness to bend and shake. Leaves and branches fell on the ground and a bird''s nest with scraps of eggshellsnded on Kiko''s head like a cap. "....." Yman was speechless seeing the sorry situation that Kiko had. The damage was not too high but still, it''s painful. He did not feel the need to use his Mana Membrane ability awhile ago since he had never thought that the situation woulde up like this. If he was a littlete in blocking the attack, perhaps the damage would be much higher. Kiko had a total of 500 health points, and right now he had 430 health points left. Still fairly high. The audience, especially girls, cried out when they saw Kiko bumped into the tree branch. They grieved for him. And feel sorry at his current state. But he quickly stood up. He could not let himself be embarrassed in front of Almina. Almina sent a quick nce at him. Then focus her attention on the monster again. But when he noticed a slight grin on Yman''s face, a pulse in a cross shape surface on his face. While sending a piercing nce at him. Yman wanted tough at Kiko but he chose not. Because the situation was unfavorable for them. Well, he warned them to retreat, but this idiot did not follow hismand. So, he only had himself to me for what happened to him. Although, he secretly said ''good job'' to the monster. |Hehe, I wish to add-friend this monster on my facepalm ount. But unfortunately, we have to defeat it.| (.facepalm: a very popr website nowadays where most people use it. Many kinds of content were posted there every second. Mostly about life problems, love quotes, discoveries, advertisements, and etcetera...) Yman did not notice that the blonde sighed at him when she noticed a grin in his mouth. "Such an arrogant weakling who loves seeing hisrade hurt. Hump!" She muttered with a cold gaze. She really doesn''t want to fight along with this fool. But she also wanted to arrive at the academy sooner. This travel was already long enough! She was so sick of this! She aimed her arrow and fired three shots. The monster was able to dodge it though. Tsk! She was annoyed. For some reason, she could not focus herself. She was annoyed looking at this weak guy! The sudden attack from the monster alerted each of them. They looked at Yman with questions in their eyes. Which he understood. Yman was having two conjectures of this monster''s ability to heal. First, this monster crazy mode was different from usual. Second, his ability to heal was because of the Magic Cryst that on its forehead. Among these two conjectures. He more felt that the second one was more valid than the first one. Anyways, in order to confirm his conjectures, there is only one solution. To test it. "Listen, everyone, that crystal-like object embedded on its forehead is something called Magic Cryst!" He said. "Magic ..... Cryst?" Bob and Chloe repeated. Mai had an ''aha'' expression on her face. "Do you mean...the the magic cryst that cost lots of gold points? That it could be fused to any type of weapons or armor? With additional ability or skill?" Mai fired question after question after hearing the familiar name of such an item. "That''s it, Miss Mai. I think that crystal on its forehead was the reason why its health points went back to full again! If we able to ex!" "So that''s it huh! Then I will destroy iiiit!" Yman was not able to finish his words when Kiko suddenly shouted and was dashing towards the monster, wielding his sword in both hands. The monster fired the web on its mouth at the approaching Kiko. But he dodged it by leaping side to side. When he arrived near the monster, he jumped about 5 meters high above the ground which was at the level of the monster''s head. He wielded his weapon by both hands and lifted it above his head. "Idiot stop!" Yman cried out. But Kiko seemed did not hear him. No, he chose to disregard him. Earth Crushing Technique - Meteor st! Chapter 30 - This Idiot Is Really A Fool... Baaaaang!!! "!!!" Thunderous sounds followed after Kiko mmed his sword onto the Mustang Spider''s forehead. Almina and the other who also near the monster covered their faces using their arms. Yman frowned, its not because his warning camete, but this idiot chose to disregard his warning. A momentter... Swoosh! A steaming figure was sent flying back. All of them were staring at this figure with wide eyes. . "???" "Is that a bird?" Chloe subconsciously asked. "It''s a ne." Muttered by Bob. "No, it''s a human being!" Mai screamed seeing the smoking figure flew away from the explosion. Yman sighed, he was right. |What an idiot.| Yman muttered in his mind while staring at the body who passed by at him and was flying like a crashing ne. Then itnded on the ground with sounds effects of bouncing and rolling. |Ugh, that might hurt a little...| With indifferent looks on his face, he whispered in his mind. How could a boss-like monster like the Mustang Spider just disy its weakness wide open? Of course, it was a trap! This Kiko was too reckless for rushing in without thinking. However, he was happy about what happened to this guy. Yman already suspected it after seeing the Magic Cryst on the monster''s forehead. Since, in the first ce, Magic Cryst usually hid inside the monster''s inner core. Yet, this monster disyed it on its forehead. He was only not reading books about monsters on the Outerworld, he even experimenting with some of them. And he likes watching the soldier fighting with the monsters on the town walls. So his knowledge about Magic Cryst was fairly high. Magic Cryst was formed from the umtion of excess energies andbat experience in the monster''s inner core. Which solidified through toughed battles. That''s why Magic Cryst had random effects or abilities. It could also be meant that this Magic Cryst was like their trophy for winning battle after battle. But this idiot did not let him finished his words and suddenly rushed towards the monster. What he heard was not a collision of two opposing forces. But a loud explosion of magical energies from Kiko''s own Meteor st. His attack triggered the monster''s passive skill, which would activate once the attacker hit the Magic Cryst on its forehead. It sent back the attack to the attackers. So the one who got injured by his own ability was no other than himself. Although the bounce attacked was not 100% of its original strength. Still, that explosion of his own ability toasted him. He doesn''t really care about that person, but as a leader, he had the responsibility for their safety and for the sess of this mission. But since he did warn that idiot and still did what he wants, then Yman could only wash his hands to what happened to him. "n A!" Yman shouted. There was no time to be in a daze and they could not wait for some idiot to regain his bearings. They needed to kill the monster as fast as they could. Else, everyone''s stamina would run out first. <><><> When the rolling body stopped, "It was Kiko!" The audience screamed after they identified the person. The audience at the distance was having ashen faces. Especially the girls. The person they admired was sent back like a charred lump of a tree branch. The brand new uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy that he was wearing was tattered all over. His handsome face and wellbed blonde hair were in a mess. He was having a shock expression on his face while trying to get up. His friends who were in the audience shouted for his name. While the other trainee shouted abusive words to the only person who did not do anything. Cursing him, and telling him ''gayman''. That he was afraid to fight. And he''s the reason why Kiko was hurt. Yman didn''t know if where to hide so that no one would mind him. He was wondering why their idol''s fault was thrown towards him. These people were just too unjust. In this era where strength and looks had a bigger impact on the masses, someone like him was not worth noticing. Yet, he was noticed by them. But in a very bad way. A beautiful girl with ponytailvender hair ran towards Kiko''s side. |See? Even in his embarrassing situation, there was still a beauty that would lend him a hand. How about if I was the one who hurt myself in the process of saving others? For sure I had only myself to me. For sure no beauty would run to my side and reached me a hand.| In Yman''s mind. That was one of the unfairness of this era. Only strength and looks were mattered. In any case, he really doesn''t care about other people. He only cared for his sister. In this world, there''s only him and her. After all, they don''t have a normal childhood. The two of them went through hell after their parents were murdered. Their life only became a little nicer when they met with Miss Pai. So for Yman,ing to the academy and have a peaceful life was already a refreshing event for him and his sister''s life. They were able to run away from that dark passed they had. So the ridicules and taunts that they were throwing towards him, were just speck of dustpared to their past. <><><> On the other hand... Kiko for some reason could not hear the noiseing from his surrounding. His eardrum had been damaged by that loud explosion earlier. He doesn''t even have any idea of what really happened. After he smashed his sword on the monster''s forehead, to where the crystal object embedded, he was hit by an explosion. ''Wait, don''t tell me...it was a trap and that frogman purposely said it to fool me! He already expected it that I would attack it! It was his fault after all! You damn frog! I will kill you!'' Kiko thought while gritted his teeth and glints of hatred were visible in his eyes. He nced at Yman and saw that guy giving amand to others. The others resumed their attacks. They surrounded the monster like before. He also saw Almina still focused on the fight with a serious and mad expression on her face. He thought that maybe she was mad because that monster hurt him. Seeing Yman''s casual behavior, Kiko was furious. Looks like, he was right thinking that this frogman really did fool him. Look, he was ordering the others to attack the monster but he said, ''do not hit the crystal.'' ''Fuck! What is this?! Damn, his getting into my nerves! I will kill this frog! I will kill this frog! I will kill this frog!!'' He was staring daggers at Yman''s thin back while repeatedly thinking of killing him. He reached on the sword hilt thatying beside him. But, "Hey, are you okay?" Kneeling beside Kiko, Kesha was calling at him. He noticed her and gawked for a second, he recognized her! She was the girl that always with Almina. Although he was at the sorry state and looks haggard at the moment, he noticed that he still had 170 remaining health points. His face twitched, he could not believe that he was fooled by that guy. "Here take this." Kesha handed him a vial with red liquid in it. Everyone knows that it was a potion that enables them to regain back their health points and cured the wounds on their body. When Kiko''s hearing finally returned to normal, he heard the other trainees and even the instructors shouting him to get up. And asking if he was fine. He felt a little embarrassed about what happened to him. And a smile suddenly surfaced in his mouth when an idea appeared in his mind. He was staring at Yman''s thin and unhealthy back that seemed like it would crumble with just a little smack. Kiko strengthened himself and stood up once again. He took the vial handed to him by Kesha. Then thanks her after drinking it. Kesha smiled sweetly. But his eyes not directed to her. It was directed to her best friend Almina. Kiko sighed. He already embarrassed himself twice in front of Almina. What if, she was turned off of him. He must redeem himself. But first, he needed to punish this frog for fooling him. Far behind them, Goki was shaking his head. He really did not believe that these youngsters could kill that monster. It was a C+ after all. Even him who was having a 10%(level 10) breakthrough in his limiter, did not wish to fight it alone. Yet, these youngsters asked to fight it. He shook his head once more and said, "They really had no idea how strong that monster." He mumbled. The fight continued for several minutes. Everyone was having difficulty damaging it as time went by. Right now, they could only rely on Almina and the blonde girl to do the damage. Yman felt relieved that this blonde beauty finally bes more active firing her arrows. Kiko also came back and shed the monster as much as he could. Of all the trainees in their group. Yman believed that Kiko has the highest normal attack damage. And because of that, he could easily take the aggro of the monster. The monster also became more aggressive and active. It was using his size to rummage its enemies. And sometimes spraying his web randomly. Which was very dangerous for them. The smiling guy, finally using weapons. Although he was using different kinds of weapons and threw it to the monster. The monster tried to bump him. But he skillfully dodged its every attempt. Still in closed eyes. Yman had already stopped wondering how he could see in this state. "Heyahhh!" Bob used his bare hands to throw punches on the monster. Even though he had strengthening ability, but he was waiting for Yman''s go signal. Chloe was rapidly firing the magic pistol in her hand. Raining magic bullets on the monster''s body. Suddenly, they noticed Kiko was running towards Yman, and since he had the monster''s aggro, it followed him... Yman narrowed his eyes. And a glint was visible in his eyes. His mouth leaked a smile. Then he shook his head. "Hah, this idiot is really a fool." He sighed and muttered. Chapter 31 - Colder Than Any Glaciers In The Whole World... Staring at the approaching Kiko who was being chased by the Mustang Spider, Yman steadied his breathing. Watching that person''s gaze to him, and the way he lured the monster towards him, he was 99% sure that this idiot was up to something not good. Kiko was grinning inside seeing that Yman was standing alone in a safe distance at their back. He was not in resonance with his deity. What a perfect scenario to kill this frog. If the Mustang Spider able to collide at him. For sure he was dead meat! And him? No one would suspect him. After all, it was easy to find a reason. Just several seconds it took that he neared that guy. The others were having different outlook at the current situation. Chloe, Bob, and Mai were having stupefied faces. . Almina on the other hand was tailing the monster and Kiko with all her might. She was able to cut one of the monster''s hind legs. But it didn''t stop and continued chasing after Kiko, while Almina lost her pace. Because of this, the monster lost her tails. The blonde girl and the smiling guy had puzzled faces. On the other hand, many in the audience were having dumbfounded faces. They don''t like that person, but it was still too cruel to die here. Although, it was his fault foring on the battlefield without his deity''s resonance. However, none of them thought that Kiko did it on purpose. In their''s perspective, Kiko just wanted to get rid of the monster from focusing its attack on him. The principal was speechless. While beads of sweats were forming on his face. Some shook their heads. While Instructor Goki wanted to rush. But he was held by his co-instructors. They said it was toote. In any case, that person was unimportant. What important was to hasten those young trainees who had visible talent. And let go of the untalented one. If he died here, then there was only his bad luck to me. And it was his fault for being arrogant, he went into the battle without his deity''s resonance. Hearing this he felt he was being showered by cold water all over his body. Instructor Goki had mad expressions while staring coldly at his co-instructors. He was wondering what these people were saying. They just stood here while watching a death that about to happen? It was okay because that guy was unimportant? Because he was untalented? In the first ce, he doesn''t want to agree with this fight. If not because of the principal, he would not let this fight happen. "Wtf world! Fuck off!" He shrugged off the hand that was holding him and ran towards where the trainees were fighting. But he was toote. ''This is it! You die, Frog!'' Kiko screamed inside his mind after he passed by on Yman. Yman shook his head. People who were full of hate tend to lose their reasonings: "Im-be-cile." A word was shot to that person as he passed by. The way he muttered that word was not loud and was not low. Just as normal as conversing with someone. And Kiko heard it clear. After hearing Yman''s words he felt he gulped something bitter in his throat. But it happened only in an instant before a smirk appeared on his mouth. No matter what this person was saying. In the end, he would die today. Hehe! And they could not me him, since he was not the one who did it. He was not even touching him. Everyone would think that it was just an unlucky ident. ''Hehe, me yourself for being arroganting here without your deity!'' Kiko shouted on Yman''s arrogance. After shouting this in his mind, he nced behind him to witness how that guy''s body being torn by the monster. But to his dismay, the expected scene did not happen. The Mustang Spider leaped overhead on Yman. It was like the monster was avoiding touching him. Kiko was dumbfounded. Even the other trainees, the instructors, the soldiers from the empire, and even the principal all of them that were watching from the distance were dumbfounded. The monster directlynded on Kiko who paused from running. Kiko staggered and fell butt first on the ground. He was using his sword to block the monster''s rapid attack using its spear-like legs. Yman noticed that the monster could not use its web attack. He sighed. He wanted to see Kiko in such a state. "Hehe, listen to me everyone! Our benevolence teammate offered himself as a good bait! Let''s not waste his courage. Or his sacrifice was it? Regardless, let''s proceed to n C!" Ehhhh?!! ''Wait, did we have a n C?'' Bob thought. Yman noticed that his teammates were having second thoughts. "Chloe!" He shouted at her. "Y-Yes!" Chloe with the body that was glowing in bright green colors of mana replied to Yman. Looks like her deity knows she was troubled and cheered her. Most of them were enveloped by bright green mana. Since all of them were having a breakthrough below 10%(level 10). Only Yman that wasn''t glowing. Chloe stored back her magical pistol. And aimed her right hand below the monster to where was Kikoying trying to defend himself from the monster''s attack. W-Well, she believes her magic could not kill him. But it might hurt him a bit. Her left hand was supporting her right hand. A momentter, her right hand was enveloped by energies with purple color. And a sphere of purple-colored appeared below the monster. Then it exploded. The ground cave in and the monster''s body hovered in the air and was flipped whennded. Below the monster, Kiko with white eyes was being pinned by the monster''s huge body. Seeing this situation, Yman grinned. "Miss Almina!" "Yes!" She dashed and shed all the monster''s legs. Almina followed him without any questions. Her cheeks even went rosy when he called her name. After losing all its legs, the monster had no way to retaliate or overturn its massive body. And Yman was checking on its health points not to drop at 30% to avoid activating the ability of Magic Cryst. "Now archer!" Yman shouted. But no archer fired. He looked behind him. Just to see a cold gaze from that blonde. "Hey, you! What are you doing?" He asked with a sneer. He was already tired and wanted to finish this fight. "Shut up! Did you forget what I said a while ago? I don''t want a weakling to order me!" And she replied. Almina knitted her brows: "Hmph, this girl is too callous," she muttered. Yman sighed: |This girl is a pain in the ass.| He thought. "I''m not too sure about that blonde." Suddenly, the smiling guy said and dashed towards the monster while summoning a javelin with 3 meters long. Secondster the javelin was enveloped by green mana and he threw it directly on the monster''s butt. The monster''s head was not easy to pierce from the back of its forehead or below. Because it had a hard shell protecting it. It was protecting pretty well the Magic Cryst on its forehead. So Yman instructed them that their only choice was to pierce it from its butt towards the monster''s forehead. And so the javelin he thrown pierced through its butt and hit the Magic Cryst from behind. They were shocked by the power of the javelin. The Magic Cryst popped up and it bounced and rolled on the ground before it stopped. All of them sighed in relief seeing the monster health points dropped at 10% and it did not heal itself again. Kiko was being pinned below the monster and could not make a move. He almost lost his consciousness from Chloe''s shockwave. If not because of his Mana Membrane ability he might die already. But right now his health points were at most 150 left. He was enraged but he could not do anything in his current situation. He wanted to kill that frogman! He really was puzzled why this monster leaped and did not hit that guy. Chloe after she fired that shockwave had lost her strengths and the resonance with her deity Jazz, already canceled. Same with her, Mai also already exhausted her mana and was resting beside Chloe. Together with their deities. Almina was about to finish the monster''s life when suddenly it was enveloped by dark red energies. And it was oozing with killing intent and murderous aura. Everyone felt the eerie sensation. Their knees were about to lost strength. The body of the monster slowly changes its color into dark red. Then rolled rapidly. Because of this the guy below it Kiko had struggled and tried to push the monster''s enormous body. They could hear the other people far behind them were shouting. But none of them understands what those people were shouting. Yman knows this was the moment. The crazy mode! "B-Bob!" Yman who was having difficulty maintaining on feet had managed to call out for Bob. "Yosh!" Bob''s body muscles suddenly were bulking. His body muscles grow bigger and veins were surfacing everywhere on his body. Even his eyes change into a reddish color. Then he jumped in front of the oozing monster. And tried to stop its rotation. Yman sneered at the person below it. He could order Almina to finish the monster. Or let Bob pushed the monster to save that guy. But he did not do it. He wanted that guy to die miserably first. After all, he was the first one who had thought of such a thing towards him. He could not let such a dangerous person live. Anyone that could harm his and her sister''s life was not worth letting live. No one among them knows what he was thinking at the moment. No one among them knew what Yman and his sister went through in their childhood. In order to survive in such a society, he needed to have a cold heart. Or else, he would not live long. He would never be able to see that smile of his sister. In order to avoid that from happening, he must be colder than any ciers in the world. Kiko could not even make a noise since his stomach was being pinned by the monster''s rotating body. No one even noticed his miserable state. No one except for Yman. "Yman, bro, I could not hold any longer!" Bob shouted and it was clear from his face that he was at his limit. "Just a little more..." he was waiting for Kiko to die. Bob''s veins were about to pop out from its muscle while fending the monster. Yman noticed Kiko already lost the resonance with his deity. Looks like his health points already reached zero. And now blood and wounds started to appear all over his body. Suddenly, BANG! The monster was sent flying towards the forest and crushes all the trees it passes by. Someone punched it. "This battle is over." Instructor Goki''s voice resonates. He nced at Kiko''s state and frowned. Then he hastily called for a healer. Later on. Kiko luckily managed to survive in a thin as thread luck. If Goki had beente for one second, Kiko would already be buried deep down below the ground. Among them all, only two people had seen through Yman''s sinister n at the end part of the battle. Goki was wondering why that monster did not hit Yman. But the smiling guy was the one who answered him instead. He first praised Yman saying that he really was a wisemander. He said that the spider loves having a living meal. And it saw Yman as a meal from the beginning. Since he was the monster''s meal, he must live until the monster decided to eat him. It only attacks those it deemed dangerous. But because Yman was not in his resonance. It was looking at him as a harmless being and was treating him as a food that shouldn''t be touched. In this regard, Yman was the safest in their group. Because that monster would kill first the harmful entity around it. Goki gawked. His admiration for Yman hit the peak. Chapter 32 - A Warm She’s Seeking... Goki knew that even if he did not intrude in that fight, they could kill that monster sooner. With Almina''s unfairly high damage thates from her unknown ability, and with the addition of those two specially recruited trainees, it was only a matter of time that they would finish that monster. Although he could not save Kiko if he did not rush to help. And those three others with them(Mai, Bob, and Chloe). They both had interesting abilities, although, they were weaker ifpared to those four: Almina, Kiko, blonde, and smiling guy. It was unbelievable for them to kill that monster since it was a rank C+ Wanderer. Not even him would wish to challenge it. ......Yet with that person''s direction, it bes possible for them to kill it..... Goki also felt scared at that person, not because he''s strong he doesn''t have strength, not because he had a genius-level skill he had no mana. But because the way he nned out his battlefield was unprecedented. However, the problem was he would always disregard the other''s life! After looting on the monster''s corpse, the smiling guy with the close eyes appealed on Yman saying he admired him. And that he wanted to get closer to him. Yman on the other hand, felt a cringe to the guy while awkwardly distancing himself. Then he called him suspicious for having closed eyes. The smiling guy said that he likes Yman''s eyes and wanted to trade one of his eyes to him. "....." He was speechless at the smiling guy''s offer. Yman hastily back steps. Then he ran away and hid. Right now, he was sitting in a different carriage beside his puzzled sister. While on his carriage the smiling guy sitting on his seat. Chloe and the others had a tired smile on their faces. They wondered what happened to these two. As the carriages were traveling along the road towards the academy, Mai and Chloe fell asleep. They really exhausted their mana and stamina. However, all of them had gained a big profit from that fight. The principal paid them 5,000 GP(Gold Point) each from the Magic Cryst. And they also looted some rare parts on the monster''s body. Which then stored in their Cyber Storage of Cyber Screen. Not only they''ve got gold points and rare loots, but their Combat Experience also increased as well. Bob was in a good mood. Grinning from ear to ear. Now hisbat experience already at 100%. It also means, he could break through to a new level after injecting the Level 3 Syringe of Advancement into his body. Which cost 3,000 GP. Currently, Bob was still at a 2% breakthrough in his limiter. So after injecting the Level 3 Syringe of Advancement he could breakthrough to 3% of his limiter. Which then increases his body''s strength, speed, durability, stamina, vitality, senses, adrenaline, dexterity, and etcetera. Even his mana capacity would increase also. But, it''s not 100% that a breakthrough would happen if a magician injects the syringe of advancement. Sometimes they fail. Inside the syringe was medicine with initials of MM or also means Morph Medicine. It was a mixture of different types of magical herbs. And it has different kinds of levels. It was strictly advised that someone must in deep meditation while injecting the Syringe of Advancement. A person needed to synchronize the flow of medicine and guide it towards the Hollow Cell(also known as Magician''s Seed). After absorbing all the medicine into the Hollow Cell, it then distributed to all parts of the body. Thus, Human Morphing undergoes its process. A person who seeds would have a feeling of being enlightened. If fail, the umted CE would be gone and goes back to 0%. So Bob could only wait when they arrived at the academy before he goes into deep meditation and secluded himself to absorb the MM. .....Nevertheless..... The other trainees could only felt sad at what happened to Kiko. Even the other instructors could only pray for him to regain his consciousness. Their travel halted once again when night came. They needed to take a detour since it wasn''t good to travel at night. Everyone busied themselves in making tents. And some were gathering any edible foods around the ce. A big bonfire was lit in the middle of an open space that was surrounded by trainee''s tents. Yman was babysitting his sister. He was a doting brother after all. Sist who was still not in a good mood towards him was sitting on his shoulder. Every time he prompted a conversation with her, she always snubbed him with a . His sister could only force a smile at these two. Yman really wondered why he got a sulking deity. In any case, he needed to buy some new upgrades to Sist. The system deity could be upgraded by adding additional data in it. Before, Sist was just a round ball who cannot do a thing. But after upgrading herst time, she learned how to float. Now Yman thought of downloading a new app. Which enables her to sing. If ever Yana wanted to listen to music. But Sist was like a sulking girl. She snubbed her owner. Yman doesn''t know whether he wouldugh or cry. She''s mad at him because he fought awhile ago without her. Although, he told her the reason. In the end, he needed to promise not to go in the battle without her, which he agreed with a forced smile. When Yana feel asleep soundlessly, Yman decided to stroll outside. He left Sist with Yana as her bodyguard. He looked up to the sky. Stars were twinkling like jewels. And the moon in crescent was overlooking the night. With some birds passing by. Chasing each other like tag-ying children. He made a tired smile and thought that it was a waste that Kiko escaped his death this morning. Yman felt that guy would certainly get his revengeter. "Troublesome." He muttered. One month before Kiko could use resonance with his deity again. In this regard, Yman had 1 month to prepare himself before Kiko would take his revenge. |If only the instructor did not meddle that time. It was the most perfect scenario for Kiko to die.| Yman sighed. Now he had to waste some of his energy again in thinking for some solutions to solve that undying problem. Yman nced at Yana''s tent, then decided to walk towards the bonfire and saw a familiar figure beside it. It was Almina. Sitting alone. He remembered he was not able to thank her for saving him awhile ago. He thought that it was the right time to thank her. Yman walked for several steps towards her when he remembered about Almina having a crush on Kiko. And looking at her sitting alone, she must be saddened from what happened to that guy. Yman stopped on his feet and decided not to bother her for now. He wished for Almina to find someone else better than that waste. For him, Almina was a kind girl, very opposite to Kiko. Yman went to his tent to sleep. Almina was staring at the bonfire. Wondering where Yman went. She visited his tent but he wasn''t there. She wanted to make a conversation with him. To cut the distance between them. For long she had wished to ask him to be her friend. But every time she tried, he would always gone. She nced at the fire. It was burning brightly. That hot sensation that caressing her skin. Just as warm when he called her name. Another night had passed... The travel continued that morning. Everyone was wishing that no more monster would block them. Finally, after their horrendous travel, everyone finally saw the city gates at the distance. And shades of skyscraper buildings and roofs of houses. They were like painting in their eyes. They could finally rx. Everyone suddenly felt excited. <><><> In the dimly lit room. Where only the footsteps that could be heard. A man wearing a ck tailcoat was walking steadily. He was walking towards a person sitting on a bronze chair with an entric design. The person was sitting while levering one of his legs on top of the other. And levering his right fist below his chin. On his face, was a mask with eyes. When the man arrived near that person, he downed on his knee and said: "My lord, looks like the Tadpole finally arrived in this ce." Said the man in a tailcoat in a voice that full of respect towards the sitting person. The masked person made a slight movement: "Let''s see, I wonder if he remained a tadpole in a tiny pond, or be a scavenger to roam thend, or be a brainless falcon and owned the sky when he spread his wings and learned to fly." His voice had a tinge of mystery. Chapter 33 - Training Grounds The sun was already setting at the west when they arrived at the Human City Z7. City lights were shining brightly from all the establishments they had passed. Yet they had noticed that even in this city, any modern vehicle was absent in this ce. Everyone directly went into their rooms that were reserved in advance. All of them were exhausted from the long travel and had no time to appreciate the ce. Each of them has their own hotel rooms allocated to them. This hotel was one of the biggest hotels in this city. For most of them, the room was decent; with a 1-bed room, a restroom, a kitchen, a sofa, and a terrace. But for Yman and his sister, this room was grander. He had just finished taking bath and now he was sitting on a sofa while staring at the night sky through the window gap that slightly opened. . The modern vibes inside Human City were differentpared to a fantasy-like Empire of Encantasya. Yman was wondering if this world was really the second world of earth. In the morning, the sun was burning hot; while at night, the moon and stars were brightly shining. In Yman''s mind, he questioned: |Is it also mean that there was another sr system inside the earth? Even in a fantasy world such as this Innerworld, this seemed sounds absurd. But who knows right? Maybe it''s true, or maybe not.| He wondered which of these were true. Regardless, these two worlds look simr and different at the same time. While staring at the dim sky, Yman yawned. He could also hear his sister soft snoring sounds who was sleeping on the bed that only few steps away from the sofa. His body felt sluggish after that long travel. Even after taking a bath, his body''s fatigue already reached the limit. Yman forced a smile. His eyes for some reason felt heavy. So he adjusted and spread his body to amodate the sofa. As his breathing went steady and softer, his world slowly turned into the dreand. Morninges pretty fast to someone unaware. Wearing his Middle Region Magic Academy uniform, he went early to the academy. While walking along the street, he saw some giant birds traveling across the sky. They hovered in the air as they unfolded their wings and flung every now and then. Humans or magicians were riding on top of it. Without taking a detour, he was walking with his feet at a steady pace towards the academy. It took him about 30 minutes of walking to reach the ce from the hotel room he stayed with his sister. Before leaving his sister he already prepared all her necessities. It just 6 in the morning but the academy training grounds already flocked by trainees. Yman directly went into the dressing room to change for a training suit; a fitted ck suit from neck to feet with protection pads on the chest, back, shoulder, elbow, and legs. And ckbat boots on his feet, and gloves on his hands. Every one of them was escorted by their deity. They were asked to line up in rows. While searching for the row to line up, he saw some familiar faces. He noticed Kiko''s friends not far from him. But Kiko not with them. They were sending piercing nces at him, like trying to melt him with their gazes. He also noticed the blonde girl. Yman noted that she stands out within the crowds together with Miss Almina Amulet. The two of them gathered more nces from the other trainees because of how sexy they looks with this fitted suit: |Goddesses indeed.| Ymanmented in his mind. Although that blonde raised her brow when she noticed him. "Prince!" At this call, Yman felt a chill running down his spine. The voice seemed familiar to him because Yman''s brows twitched after hearing it and he quickened his every step. It was the smiling guy with close eyes. For some reason, he started calling him Frog Prince after yesterday''s battle. He also learned his name. It was Keremi. But Yman likes calling him a smiling guy or closed eyes dude. "Wait, Prince!!" The voice became louder than before. And it caught the attention of other trainees. They looked at Yman with puzzled looks. Wondering why that guy calling him ''Prince''. They wondered if he really was a prince. But looking at Yman''s appearances, it''s so not prince-like. Yman felt embarrassed by everyone''s attention. Almina''s face warmed and felt anxious when she noticed Yman. But she felt sad that he did not even send a nce at her. She wondered if she was not that attractive. "Yman, bro!" Suddenly, Yman heard the voice of Bob. He was lining up in one of the rows and at the back most, he was at the right side in Yman''s perspective. "My Frog Prince," Keremi called again and followed him also. Yman lined on Bob''s back while Keremi lined on Yman''s back. He felt the cringe from this guy and wanted to run away. No matter how he denied him and told him not to call him that... but he still did it no matter what. Bob forced a tired smile watching these two. Chloe was lining up on the row beside their row together with Mai. Before Yman could run away and scaped from the smiling guy; "Everyone listen up!" A loud and powerful voice rang over the academy grounds. All of them suddenly put their attention on the speaker. Yman noticed that the number of trainees had increased. He also noticed some demihumans. It looks like, they were not the only trainees in this academy. There were trainees also who were natives in this world. The speaker was wearing a training suit like the trainees. But the color of his suit was dark green. He wore eyesses on his eyes and on his hands was a paper and pen. He was standing on a round stage with 30 meters radius. And the rows of trainees were surrounding it like sun rays. A big bulb stood beside the speaker and a monitor screen with 12 inches long and 6 inches wide in front of it. Two old men and one old woman were sitting in front of a long table behind the giant bulb. On top of the table were papers in different colors, pens, books, a bottle of water, and others... "My name is Stone De Guz Man, head instructor of this academy..." The speaker first introduces himself. Chapter 34 - The Unfortunate Fate Of Someone From The Weakest And Unpopular Academy... Yman noticed some other trainees on the distance. They were watching at them. Based on their looks, he surmised that they were senior trainees. Although he was wondering that there were only a few senior students in this academy. Every row of trainees there was an instructor facing them. Watching them while managing their actions. If any of the trainees made any unnecessary movements they could be easily be caught and be punished. So every one of them was too careful not to make any slight movement that could be caught the instructor''s attention. They were standing straight with both hands straight down on their sides. Everyone''s attention must focus only on the person on stage. . Only the gulping sounds of their drying throats were slightly discernible. Everyone was having mixtures of feelings. They were excited and nervous at the same time. After introducing himself to the fledgling trainees, Instructor Stone De Guz Man greeted the new batch of fledglings. They were the new freshmen of this academy. In the distance, some senior trainees were watching the scene. This was the same scene at their time when they first came to this academy. Every one of them had the ambition of being the one to raise this academy''s reputation. That they would be the ones to lead this academy to victory. That they were fated to be the great leader of this academy. But reality pped them very hard on their faces after they experienced the crushing defeat in the official stage of academy contest. They were out in the preliminary round of the contest. The gap in strength was too high. The other academy was just too strong. And they have better facilitiespared to this academy. They could not evenplete their quests because the other trainees from the different academies would hunt in their territory. And they could just flee, run with their tails. How could they able to get stronger when the other academies had stronger senior trainees who apanied their fledglings to hunt in this academy''s own hunting ground? In this repeated fate of defeat, when the official match had begun, they had lower levelspared to the magicians from the other academies. All those senior trainees who would be going to graduate in this academy could only sigh in regrets. After they graduated here, it would be hard for them to find decent jobs in the future. In this era where only looks and strength were matters, a loser like them had no ce in these two worlds. And, those who graduated from the strong and popr academy would have a better future ahead of them. For sure manypanies or guilds would flock to recruit them. This was the reality of these two worlds. Well, those losers who graduated from the weak and unpopr academy had a future of bing a canon-fodder. They could join the subjugation mission to reim somends that were fallen to the monster on the Outerworld. Or they could stay here and joined the adventurers guild to support themselves. Being an adventurer could help them gained money to be rich, but their life would always be in danger. Since high reward mission means high difficulty. And if no mission, it also means no work, so no pay. Unlike the seeker association on the Outerworld where their sry was set for monthly even if there was no mission. And also, in the seeker association, many benefits were given. For example life insurance, medical, health, and much other insurance. But in adventurer''s guild, no insurance you would get even if you died. This was the unfairness of this new era. Where looks and strength only matters. If you''re wondering why looks were also mattered. That was because any good looking individual could use it to their advantage. Right now, those seniors who were watching at these new batch of fledglings could only sigh in regrets at them while shaking their heads. All of them knew, that these people don''t know yet if what kind of unfortunate fate awaited them. For sure if they found out about it, many of them would transfer to the other academy. Instructor Stone followed his speech by introducing those three old men on stage together with him. They were the Elders who were managing the academy together with the principal. They mostly taught the trainees about magic. The advisers taught them about minor subjects; such as math, history,nguage, and etcetera. Those three old men on stage were the ones responsible for teaching them about major subjects. These subjects were of course all about magic. They would be teaching the trainees about magic and its history and they would be teaching them how to better increase their understanding of it. And how to better manipte them. On the other hand, the instructors would teach them about fighting and how to efficiently use their magic in livebat. In this academy, not only they learned about magic, but they would also learn other things, such as this world. The three elders were known as: Elder Nitan A 150 years old man who was an expert in wind magic. He would be teaching the trainees about magic understanding. Currently, he was a level 25 magician or having a 25% breakthrough on his limiter. Not only the magician bes stronger whenever they breakthrough. Their lifespan also would increase. And their aging bes slower. There were even some rumors that a magician who leveled up beyond level 50 would be having a reverse aging. Where their visage would start to look younger and younger, the change in appearance would stop when you achieve your prime appearances. Mostly at the age when you''re at 18 - 30 years old. But this was just an unproven rumor since no one had been reported yet that there was someone who achieved such a level of above 50. Elder Gatan an expert in water type magic. He would be in charge of teaching the trainees about magic history. Like the Elder Nitan, he also was at level 25. He was 199 years old and the oldest among the three elders. He was also an expert in healing magic and spirit summoning magic. Also, he was the longest Elder who was teaching in this academy. Some rumor said that he used to be the principal in this academy. Then he resigned and chose to be a magic historian. Andstly Elder Paan She was an expert in earth type magic. About 129 years old. The youngest and the only female among the three elders. It was said that this granny was a beauty in her prime. But now she was just a strict unmarried old woman. Aside from that, there was not so much information about her. She was kind of mysterious. Even her level was unknown to others. Other people had no way to know about the other''s level. Even if they were in resonance with their deity, they could only see the life bar on the green bar above the other''s head. While on the monster, sometimes their ranks, names, and life points were visible inside their red bar. But that depends if the system deity had information about that certain monster. And if not, only the red bar would appear. She would be teaching the trainee about magic maniption. The reason why this batch of new trainees was gathered here, was to check their magic aptitude, best element, magic type, etcetera and to measure their magic power they currently possessed. Chapter 35 - The Bully Cute Bug... After introducing the three elders, the speaker Head Instructor Mr. Stone De Guz Man proceeded by giving a slight briefing about this world and the academy. After the briefing, one of the elders, Elder Gatan used a resonance with his deity. After that, his body was enveloped by blueish mana. A momentter, all those mana that was surrounding him slowly faded like it was being absorbed by his body. This was the skill that only an expert magician could do. The level of understanding and control over magic was not based on a magician''s breakthrough level, but it was based on his training and perseverance to learn and how eager he or she wanted to advance his/her level of understanding and control. Elder Gatan was absorbing that mana that was encasing his body to minimize the use of mana at a reasonable degree. Fledgling doesn''t know about it. All of them thought that encasing one''s body with mana could increase their defense and attack power. But the truth was, it only increased a little while at the same time eat much of their mana. That mana that was wasted from covering one''s body could be used in a more specific and efficient way.. Although he could absorb it in an instant, he chose to do it slower to show it to these fledgling trainees the difference in their level of understanding and control over magic, and what they could possibly learn in this academy. All the trainees were watching in awe. Everyone suddenly felt the urge to learn and to perform better. Secondster after absorbing all those excess mana in his body, he summoned a circle object, with an estimated 3 inches radius or lower. The object he summoned was a pale orb with hazy bluish light. Watching the object on elder Gatan''s hand, Yman believes that it was some kind of weapon used by a magician who has had the expertise in Casting Magic Spell. A momentter, the orb glowed after he chanted a spell. Then the water on a ss hovered to the air like a fountain until it empties the ss. Magically the water did not spill and scattered. The water swirled in the air as they gathered in one spot trying to make a form. Elder Gatan continued chanting the spell and what happened next was amazed all the fledgling trainees. Hundred Sprite Summoning! The umtion of water broke into pieces and those broken pieces formed tiny sprites or water spirit then they flew around on top of the elders like tiny bugs. About hundreds of tiny sprites, each took 1 piece of paper on the table and flew towards the trainee as they handed those papers to every trainee. The trainees took the paper handed to them by those cute tiny creatures. The trainees were more than amazed at the magical spell used by Elder Gatan. Every trainee has a different conclusion for these tiny water sprites. Some thought it was illusion magic. Some surmised they were summoning magic. And the others believe it was some kind of ancient spell. The other had different guesses as well. When all the trainee got a piece of paper in their hand, the speaker HI Stone De Guz Man instructed them what to do next. Those papers handed to them were not ordinary papers. They were magical devices or also known as Magical Tools. These magical tools were more efficient to use than the conventional one. Magical particles followed when Yman''s finger was trailing down the papers as he wrote something on it. The water sprites were flying beside the trainee''s side. After he finished writing on the magical paper, Yman noticed the tiny sprite ying tag with Sist as they swirl around him. He scratched his face and forced azy smile after seeing Sist trying her hardest to catch the water sprite which undoubtedly more agile than her. Although Sist was already a level 3 deity and already got her arms. But too bad for her, her speed just enabled her to float. He felt pity for his deity, looks like this water sprite with him was a yful one and a bully at the same time. When Sist was about to rest, the water sprite would appear before her and would poke on her round body. Then the annoyed Sist would chase after the water sprite again. Yeman noticed the other sprite was behaving ordingly only this sprite with him was a bit different. "Yman Bro, shall we write only the name and magic type we currently have?" Bob who failed to follow what the HI instructed awhile ago looked behind him and asked Yman about the other information that was needed to write down on the paper. "Your name, age, gender, blood type, Outerworld address, your deity''s level, and your current breakthrough level," Yman replied. "Ohh, thank you, Yman bro!" Bob was so thankful that he asked Yman. "Don''t mind..." "Nice memory, my frog prince," from behind him, Keremi softly whispered. Yman suddenly felt a chill that tickled his ears. |The heck, I forgot this dude!| He eximed inwardly. Yman was wondering why this guy kept calling him a Frog Prince. Isn''t the Frog Prince some kind of ancient tale from a lost era? After they finished writing all the needed info''s of themselves, they handed the paper back to the water sprites. The other sprites dove back to the ss after putting the paper back on the table which already signed by the trainee. Yman noticed sist already out of gas. She was sitting on his shoulder and did not twitch. She must be tired of floating already. Regardless, the bully sprite was poking her but Sist had no reaction at all. She must be reaching her limits. He shooed the water sprite. But the water sprite flew in front of his face while staring at him which make Yman surprised. "Fufu, look at that little thing, even this tiny one showed interest to you, my frog prince," Keremi whispered again. Chapter 36 - Going To Perform On Stage... The water sprite seemed to be interested in him. It was staring at Yman with its big twinkling eyes. It looks so cute as it swayed its small head from side to side, and its small finger pointed below its mouth. Seemingly wondering about him. This female water sprite was having long light blue hair down to its feet and light blue gown that well match on her cute figure. Like a princess, she was sitting on a bubble that was obviously bigger than her body, although this bubble magically did not pop up. Elder Gatan noticed that one of the water sprites still did not return. He nced towards the trainees and saw one of his water sprites at the backmost and was in staring contest with one of the trainees. Elder Gatan narrowed his eyes, slightly interested at that trainee who got the attention of his water sprite. Yman then lifted the paper in front of him and the water sprite.. Seeing the magical paper, the water sprite was seemingly realized her task. It smiled big at him and saluted, then quickly took the paper on Yman''s hand. The water sprite spiraled back to the stage and it handed the paper to Elder Gatan. She waved to Yman''s direction before diving into the ss then she turned into ordinary water again. When all the papers with the information from all the trainees werepletely handed back to Elder Gatan, the trainees had been called out on stage one by one. The first one who got called out was a dime-human with dog ears. He has brown hair and green eyes. With the tall, lithe figure, about 5 feet and 8 inches in height. On his back, a tail with sleek fur was waving downside to side as he walked towards the podium. The speaker HI Stone De Guz Man instructed him to ce his naked dominant hand to the screen surface in front of the big bulb. Then he needed to feed it with his densest mana that he could muster. After feeding the screen with its mana the giant bulb shone and the color was changing until it stops in bright green color after several seconds. The elders on stage nodded after seeing the result of what the dog person did. Seeing their nods, it must be a good result. After he left the stage, another trainee came upon the stage. Then like the first one, he musters his densest mana after cing his naked dominant hand on the screen that was having 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. The color stop in blue. Yman guessed that that color represents the element that a magician had more affinity with. The test proceeded at a steady pace. As time gradually passed, many trainees already went upstage and they deliberately step down after they finished their test, then another trainee would follow to test themselves. The test results had yet to announce. The three elders on stage showed different reactions, sometimes they nodded and sometimes just did not. There was also a time when they had a big smile on their faces, which Yman assumed that that specific trainee had better results than those trainees who came up before her. Of course, because that specific trainee that mentioned was no other than Miss Almina Amulet. When she ced her soft white naked hand on the screen surface and summoned her densest mana, Yman felt the sun descended. Everyone was awe-inspired at her. Rather than that, before she even reached the podium many eyes already were stolen by her, not by force, rather by how elegantly lovely stunning she looks. Regardless, there''s a mixture of color on the giant bulb: reddish, bluish, and yellowish that shone brightly. Brighter than those who came up before her. Yman noticed the widened eyes of the elders after seeing this. One of the elders took a tablet(Elder Paan), might be a magical tool, she scanned on it, and after a few seconds, she whispered to the other elders beside her. Then all of them suddenly showed an understanding looks. But it was clear on their faces that both were surprised and in a good mood. Yman narrowed his eyes and thought that Miss Almina might not be just beauty and strength. Maybe she was an outstanding person, to begin with. "Fufu, that''s the cool princess for you, she really is an idol wherever she goes." Keremi behind Yman suddenly muttered which caught his attention. Yman was quite surprised hearing the smiling guy, "do you know her?" He nced at his back and asked him. "Fufu, my frog prince " "No, skip about the frog prince!" Yman retorted. "Actually, me, the cool princess, and the blonde came from the same school beforeing here in the academy," Keremi told him. "Really?" Yman was surprised for what this dude with closed eyes said. "There was this school that was recruiting children who showed hollow cell symptoms at a much early age," Keremi added. "A school that recruits children with hollow cell symptoms?" Yman repeated while showing a doubtful face. "Yes, my frog prince" "No, I said drop that way of calling me." He hastily reacted. Then Yman continued, "Regardless, what school did you mean?" "Elite School of Elementary Magic," Keremi answered directly. "Hm, Elite School of Elementary Magic?" Bob suddenly middled and repeated Keremi''s words. Bob and Yman had puzzled looked. This name of the school was foreign to both of them. But based on the school name, they must have been taught about initial magic at a young age. In this regard, they were experienced enough beforeing to the academy. Regardless, the bulb showed multiple colors, it also meant that she had the affinity in multiple elements. Based on the color, it must be fire, water, and light. Yman envied and muttered, "a cool princess. Such a gifted girl, she''s almost perfect." The next who came up on stage after Almina was the blonde girl. Like her, her beauty also garnered much attention from the other trainees. She took her gloves off and after she ced her soft naked hand on the screen surface, it shined as brilliant as Almina Amulet. And the bulb also had mixtures of colors. The elders were whispering at each other again and showed excited faces. The test proceeded ordingly. Many trainees already did the test and only a few left. But it still continuing without a hitch. Some other trainees showed remarkable talents like Almina and the blonde girl. One of them was from the natives, a Demi-Human who was from Encan race, or an elf. She was an astounding beauty with long milky white hair. There was also another guy who Yman and the others know. It was the cousin of Mai, the guy named Brai. It looks like he acted low-key while traveling but in truth, he also was a rare talent. He also had the affinity in 3 elements. And had high mana capacity based on how brightly lit the bulb was. Mai on the other hand had 2 element affinity and had normal mana capacity. Same also with Chloe. And the girl who always with Almina. Bob had the affinity in metal elements and normal mana capacity. Yman was walking towards the stage. He was excited to know what kind of element he had an affinity with. He noticed some piercing gazes towards him. But he disregarded it. "Good luck, my prince!" Keremi''s voice reached his ears but he chose not to hear it. "You can do it, Yman bro!" Even Bob with his loud voice was cheering at him. Yman made a huge sudden breath before climbing up onto the stage. Seeing him, Elder Gatan narrowed his eyes. This trainee was the one who was in a staring contest with one of his water sprite awhile ago. Since the water sprite showed interest at him. He must be not an ordinary trainee. Almina was looking at the specific guy with a lithe figure and not so tall. He was standing while his back curved slightly. He looks unhealthy from other''s perspectives. His messy hair slightly dancing in the air when a light gust of wind passed him. Looking from afar, he looks like he would crumble with just a little pinch on him. She noticed him gulped before taking a step on stage. He looks nervous and excited. Silently, she was wishing him good luck. Almina slightly chuckled while looking at him. He looks like he would be going on stage to perform a dance or sing. Chapter 37 - Barracks When Yman''s handnded on the smooth screen surface, he felt a little chill on his skin. He also noticed some evidence of nervousness from those who came before him. Looks like some droplets of sweat stayed on it. He could hear the noise from his surrounding but he had to disregard them. Their murmurs were not of help to him. He needed to concentrate his mind to summon his densest mana. Like what the others did, he also did what he needed to do. His hand slowly envelopes by white brilliance. Although the other''s mana was of bright green color, only his that was of white. And everything happened like a dream.... Night came pretty fast to someone unaware and happy. But for Yman, he had a lengthy day! Right now Yman was sitting on the sofa while facing the window of his room from the inside and was looking towards the distance outside. Wearing an old t-shirt. His thin shoulders dropped down at a certain angle. In his hand was a ss of cold water. He felt like, he had the longest day of his life. He was remembering what happened this morning. Before he ced his hand on that screen surface, it''s not like he expected a great result to begin with. The truth was, he really had expected a little great result! But sadly, he could not muster any mana and could only rely on his channeling magic. He sighed. |My mana capacity is of the lowest because it onlyes from my channeling magic. And don''t ever ask me about the color of brilliance inside the bulb. For some odd reason, I could only manage to make it glow a little. That glow not even enough to produce any brilliance. And the color of the bulb remained a hazy ck. Not even the elders had any idea. Well, truth be told, I already expected that results. Maybe I''m not cut out to be a magician in the first ce. I had to force myself on believing that the reason why I''m different than others was that I am special. Or is it what called as self-redemption? Self-pitying? Or self encouraging? "..." Regardless... That hazy ck...might also mean I do not have affinity in any elements. .....I don''t even want to remember what happened after that. Just another wave ofughter which I''m so used to. Rather than that, after the test, the initial training had started. And that''s the reason why I felt so tired as of now. We were required to do some basic exercise. A basic exercise. About running 20 kilometers in an hour, 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 pull-ups and etc. For how many times I passed out Welp, I could not even remember. "..." Meh, I want to forget that hell of a morning.| Yman sighed after thinking about what happened this morning. "Big bro, are you okay?" Yana who wasying on the bed asked him worriedly when she noticed her brother sighing several times already with eyes that fixed looking at the distance and with an exhausted face. Hearing her worried voice, he nced at his sister and forced a smile. "I am just fine. Just a little tired from some basic exercise this morning, haha." Yman forced augh at the end of his words. "Is that so?" She asked. "Mhm!" Yman nodded then ced the ss with cold water onto the table. Then he walked towards his sister''s side. He was thinking about how to earn money while he was training in the academy. Of course, he needed some source of ie. Morninges pretty fast to those people with great responsibility... Yman came to the academy early for the morning training. They needed to run 20 kilometers again, repeatedly running around the 10-kilometer training ground of the academy for 2x. It would be followed by push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and etc. Yman once again copsed for many times. His body wounds could easily be heald by his healing magic. But not fatigue. Bob was physically fit and Keremi had high stamina for being one of the Elites who took his training at an early age. While Yman as a channeler, always spends some of his stamina in using magic. So, Bob and Keremi would be the one who would carry him to the infirmary. A girl was watching him from a distance with a pity expression written on her pretty face. Holding a piece of paper in his hand, he was searching for a certain room section while walking like a zombie. Written on the paper were his results on yesterday''s test. Name: Yman Talisman Mana Capacity: Rank -D Magic Power: Rank -D Magic Type: Channeler Magic Abilities/s: Mini Heal(Self Healing Magic), Rapid Leap. Element/s Affinity: ? Year: 1st(Fledgling Trainee) Section: Bronze The academy building formed like three squares if looking from above; with inner, middle, and outeryer. Each building was 3 stories long. And other small buildings which 3 stories long converged to the outeryer to form like eight sun rays. Just like the logo of Middle Region Magic Academy, which represents the Innerworld, the Outerworld, and the Sun. There was a long and wide pathway connected to the centermost of the inner building from the outermost towards the academy gates, which people used to pass. In the innermost building, it was for the senior trainees, the middle building was for junior trainees, and outer building for fledglings. It amodated like this because there''s always a high number of fledgling every year. The next year, the number would be lowered for the junior since many dropped outs and some would choose to transfer. Then lowered again in the following year. Those sunrays-like buildings were for academy staff: like faculties, principal office, even the canteen, gym, and etc. Good thing that Yman easily found his ssroom. It was located in the fifth ssroom of the first floor in the outeryer square building. It was on the left side when facing it from the gate. When Yman opened the door of the ssroom of year 1 section Bronze, all the students that already inside stared at him. And they murmured that he was the guy who always copses at the training grounds. Yman without minding them continued walking to look for the vacant seat. "Yman Bro!" "Y-Yman." Suddenly he heard familiar voices from someone. It was from Bob and Chloe. Yman smiled to see Bob and Chloe in the same section as him. He wondered why Chloe in the same section as them. If he remembered correctly. She had good results in that test. The three greeted each other. After a trivial chatting, he saw a vacant seat to the backmost near the window. Before sitting on it, he looked left and right to see if this seat was taken. But it looks like, no one owned the seat yet. Not long after Yman took the seat that their adviser entered the ssroom. Yman was surprised to see the figure of their adviser. He was staring with wide-eyed as she wrote her name on the ckboard. "You can call me Ms. Pai Magnum. I will be your adviser starting today. Let''s get to know each other first. You first..." she pointed on the girl at her right side who seated at the first seat of first row. The girl stood up and presented her name, age, and hobbies. Then the girl next to her followed after her until all of them were able to present their names. Ms. Pai was a little bit surprised too to see Yman at the section where she was going to teach. Before she left, Ms. Pai just gave them some pointers and collected all the papers with their test results from yesterday. It looks like she had something she needed to do. After the ss, Yman, Bob, and Chloe went to the cafeteria. They directly lined to order some foods. The cafeteria wasn''t so noisy when they arrive. Only some of their ssmates were lining to buy foods. Maybe because they were the first section who had a break time at the moment. After getting their foods, they quickly found themselves a vacant table. Near the window. Some of their ssmates were talking noisily at the different tables around them. After their break time. Yman and the others had to get a mission from the barracks. They needed toplete a mission at least once per week to increase their grades and points. Every mission has a level of difficulty. Any of the trainees shouldplete the mission via solo. Or they could recruit mercenary to protect them and help in their mission. Although, recruiting the mercenaryes with a price. Anyone could apply as mercenary but they needed to aplish some special trials. Yman, Bob, and Chloe went into the barracks together to take their first mission. Inside the barracks, there was a counter and some clerks were checking some files and writing on the paper while the others scrutinizing the drawers below. About five clerks who busied themselves by doing something. At the sides of the counter, there was 2 wide screen which Yman assumed was where the missions disyed. Chapter 38 - What Kind Of Horror Is This... Inside the barracks, some people were sitting on the chairs that were surrounding the tables ced near the walls and windows. Most of them were wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy. Yman believes that they were junior or senior trainees. A pub on their left side caught Yman''s attention. They were selling some drinks and food. He never had a thought that there would be such a pub inside this ce. He also noticed some of the senior and junior trainees that were fixedly staring at the t screen located on the right side of the counter. But for some reason, they were staring at it without really doing anything. Their deities were beside them. Some were floating while some were sitting on their shoulders or on their heads. Some people that already inside just sent a nce towards them when they stepped in.. Then returned back their sights to where they were originally staring awhile ago. Their images barely reflected in the dusted white tiled-floors that turned yellowish. A big ceiling fan was rotating slowly on the ceiling. And lights were on but barely lighten up the inside. The walls painted in maroon below and yellowish on the upper, and some posters of monsters, hot chick, old paintings, and etcetera were pasted on it. The chairs, desks, and tables were in uniformed dark brown color. Yman noticed the weird ambiance inside the barracks. Everyone that was inside was having solemn expressions. "What an unhealthy atmosphere is this..." He mumbled. For some reason, the tiredness he felt at the moment had multiplied inside this room. Sist who was sitting on his shoulder asked him. Yman forced a smile and said, "I don''t think so." Although he knew why she asked it. Looks like even Sist also noticed the weird atmosphere. "Y-Yman, d-do you think the atmosphere is kind of listless?" Chloe who was standing beside him also noticed that something was amiss and whispered to him. Her deity Jazz was sitting on her hands while raising them at her chest level. Jazz sitting on her hands called Chloe''s name, maybe she felt nervous. Chloe gently massaged her deity Jazz while saying, "it''s alright, Jazz." Yman nodded at Chloe and said, "don''t mind it, let''s go and ask at the counter." "Yeah, he''s right, let''s go," Bob agreed to him and followed after him to the counter. Chloe nodded and followed after them. "Uhm, Miss..." The three directly went on the counter and Yman called out to one of the clerks. But none of the clerks seemed to hear him. They were still busy doing something. Although the room was not even that noisy it was as solemn as someone had passed away. Only the guys in the counter that making some noises from their works of cing some things in order or scrutinizing some objects. "....." Sist whispered on him. He wondered if his voice was just too low. He cleared his throat and he called out again for the second time. Now he intentionally made his voice louder to make sure that all people inside would hear him. But... "....." |Wth,| Yman eximed in his mind after noticing that he was intentionally ignored. <.....> Sist and the others were speechless. He narrowed his eyes to see if these people were some kind of robotic dolls or what. But however he looked at them. They seemed to be human. Even the other people around had such unbothered faces. Bob and Chloe also noticed the odd situation. At the corner of Yman''s eyes, he noticed a silver bell on top of pieces of paper on top of the long t surface of the counter. He took it and shook it twice which reverberated and blew away the solemness of the atmosphere inside. Because of the sound caused by the ringing bell, he sessfully took the clerk''s attention. But they were staring at them with indifferent faces. Sist eximed. Jazz called out her owner''s name again, might be feeling scared. Bob''s deity just snorted like a boss. |What kind of unusual situation is this?!| Yman inwardly screamed. One of the clerks after noticing the three new young faces had stopped his work and took off the gloves on his hands. Then, he walked near the counter which in front of the three. The clerk forced a smile on his face after seeing the young man in front of the counter was having a tired face and looks unhealthy. And also, they look scared for some reason. His force smile turned into a chuckle seeing their reaction. "Are you three one of the fledglings?" The clerk wearing a polo shirt of white color and ck pants asked them. He wore eyesses on his eyes and his short ck hair was a little messy. Based on his figure, Yman assumed that he was in the mid-''20s. "Yes!" Bob''s voice was slightly louder while Yman and Chloe nodded their heads only. Even their deities were nodding as well. "Is that so, ah, sorry about the messy ce. Everyone was kinda busy putting things in order. We just reopened and much cleaning needed to be done," the clerk apologetically stated. Yman was wondering if how this ce used to be closed. What are the seniors and juniors trainees doing without the barracks? Weren''t they supposed to do some missions to increase their grades? And it was stated on yesterday''s test that every trainee would be doing the quest for the entire 3 years as some additional source of their ie and also their grades would be greatly affected by it. "Oh, sorry for being a bother in your work, sir," Yman said his sorry. Bob, Chloe, and their deities just remained quiet while listening to Yman and the clerk. "Ah don''t mind it. I believe you came here to acquire your first mission, right?" The clerk asked them which they nodded. "In that case, you can ce your dominant hand on that screen." The clerk told them while pointing on the screen located at their left side about a hand reach away only. It was on top of the long t table of the counter. Yman noticed that it has the same screen size from yesterday. He then asked Sist to resonance with him. But... "Ah, wait! You don''t need to use your mana. Just ce your hand and wait after the screen light turned into bright green." The clerk suddenly said when he noticed Yman was about to use resonance with his deity. "Ah, I see. Thank you for telling," he said. |So it is much simpler than yesterday.| Yman thought. The clerk nodded and Yman ced his hand on the smooth surface of the screen. After the screen lights turned into green, the process was finished and Yman was presented by an identification card and a badge. This protocol was to assure that he was registered in this academy. This was connected to yesterday''s events. In that ID card were some of his information and a pin number. The badge was used to identify him as the barracks member. And Yman felt this ID was a magical tool also. Maybe it automatically registered their ranks. There was even a record of: Mission Seeded: 0 Mission Failed: 0 And there''s even, Total Gained Points: 0 GP Not long after him that Bob and Chloe had finished too. The clerk gave them a slight briefing about the barracks and the missions. The three went into the mission screen and inserted their ID card in one of the slots below the screen. Then, they scanned the beginner''s mission. Beginner''s mission was usually rank bronze. And has the lowest difficulty rate. "I''ll be taking this one!" Bob toggled on the screen and he clicked ''select'' on the choices with the title: Rampaging Mad Pig! After taking his card, Bob noticed the word on the backside, it says: Current Quest: Title: Rampaging Mad Pig! Quest Rank: Bronze Details: Kill 5 mad pig within 1 week. Rewards: 100 GP Status: ongoing... Remaining Time: 167hr: 59min: 12sec Bob waited for Chloe and Yman to choose their mission. A momentter, Chloe also chose her mission. Current Quest: Title: Thief Blue Beak Bird! Quest rank: Bronze Details: Kill 5 blue beak bird within 1 week. Rewards: 100 GP Status: ongoing... Remaining Time: 167hr: 59min: 50sec Yman was having a hard time choosing his mission. He needed to find a more suitable quest for himself. But no matter how he scanned on the mission screen. Nothing was good for him. He was looking for some Pale Toad missions. But he could not find even one. Not even slime was there. There were Evil Horned Bunny with a difficulty rank of Bronze, but when he checked the details, it said that this bunny was quite agile and able to use the paralyze effect by shooting their horn to the target. Yman sighed. He was not proficient enough in using his Rapid Leap skill. So these bunnies were deadly for him. And the paralyzing effect was scary. He needed an enemy that was not so agile and not so strong. Sist who was sitting on his shoulder pointed on one of the missions on screen. Yman nced at where she was pointing. The title said: Gross Evil Rats! Chapter 39 - Getting Ready For The Mission... "Tsk, if only Lady Ice is here, she will kick their asses," said the voiced one. "Right, but it was already had been 3 months after she went into seclusion and didn''t return yet," replied by someone. "Do you think, her advancement had failed?" Asked the former voice. "No way, that''s impossible!" Eximed theter voice. "Right. As talented as her, there is no way for her to fail her advancement," the former voice agreed. "Yeah. But unfortunately, she''s not here. Now we can''t even aplish our quest. Those fuckers from the other academies won''t give as breathing even in our own hunting grounds," theter added with ack of enthusiasm.. Some of the loafers inside the barracks were conversing about someone and something in bitterness, which caught in Yman''s ears. Their voices have ack of vigor. He really was wondering if why the atmosphere inside the barracks was kinda gloomy. He wanted to ask the clerk man. But he decided not since they were seemed to be busy at the moment, and other fledgling trainees had started to arrive one after another. Bob said goodbye to Yman and Chloe after they exited the barracks, which they understood. They already knew that Bob''s CE was at the peak. He needed to seclude himself for meditation while absorbing the MM. "Ummmp!" Yman stretches his hand higher. If not because of his healing magic, for certain, his body would be aching all over now from those hell-like training. Although he felt like his strength, stamina, and speed had increased a little. Yman and Chloe walked on the street with their deities. Even though the ce was a city but it seemed not so bustling with people. "Yman, what do you think is the reason for those weird atmosphere inside the barracks?" Chloe who was walking beside suddenly asked him. Lately, Chloe was able to converse with him casually, which made him happy about it. It also helps to get rid of the awkward atmosphere between them whenever they were side by side just like now. Yman side-nced at her before opening his mouth. He noticed the doubt and worry that was written on her face, "Hmm... I''m not too sure. I also was wondering, maybe something had happened? (sigh)" He said with a furrowed brows, then he followed his words with an uncertain question before he sighed. Two days of consecutive training already bullying his fatigue. Now he could feel his body started to turn sluggish. He wanted to take a bath and fall asleep at the moment. But he could only wait until he returned to his apartment. And also, he was worried about his sister being alone at the moment. After hearing his reply, Chloe also nced at him. Then opened her mouth. "Mhm, it seems like that. R-Regardless, what you are nning to do with your quest?" She nodded and asked him about his mission. She really wasn''t expecting for Yman to acquire such a quest. After all, rats were a very hated pest. They were gross and scary. Yeah, they have fluffy fur, but they were not cute to pet. Well, depending on rats though. Since there were rats also that looks cute like a highbred hamster. Highbred hamsters intentionally bred for petting purposes. But the thing was, Yman took the quest about the Evil Rats! Those Evil Rats were hideous looking with the body as big as normal pigs. And their mouths were dripping with greenish saliva that contains poison. And those pointed teeth outside its mouth, well, scary and gross when it bites you. However, the most problematic part about rats was their dwellings. They usually gathered inside the tunnel and any other nasty ces. While thinking about it, Chloe felt a chill running down her spine, and her body pores were opening. Yman on the other hand forced a tired smile. He knew why Chloe asked him about his mission. But, it''s the only mission he had the chance to aplish. While they were conversing, Sist and Jazz were also conversing with each other. For some reason, Sist was patting Jazz who was seemingly afraid of rats also. Looks like, she and Chloe were both scared of rats. The two of them were floating in between Yman and Chloe. Yman and Sist also parted with Chloe and Jazz when they arrived at the crossroad. He needed to buy a weapon and other items that might be helpful in his quest. After saying their good lucks, the group parted to each other. Yman with Sist first went to the weapon shop. He needed a new weapon to hunt for rats. He already broke his wooden sword. Now that he umted some GP, he believes he could buy a decent weapon. He really was thinking to buy a magical gun. But he had two problems. First, his GP wasn''t enough. And second, his dexterity attributes still very low. Someone who was nning to be a rangedbatant should have high dexterity attributes. Because it would be a waste if onecks it since a person who had low dexterity would be having bad aiming ability. After 15 minutes of walking, he finally arrived at the front of a 2 story building. Above the close ss door, the name ''SARSMITH WEAPON WORKSHOP'' was written in bold fonts and in blue paint color and having the design of shield, sword, and gun. Yman pushed the ssed door, then he together with Sist stepped inside the workshop. They were greeted by the smell of metal that invaded their nostrils, although Sist doesn''t have it. However, she could read the data surrounding her. After all, she was a super high-end system who was capable of five senses. The inside was illuminated by yellow brilliance from the big circlemp on the ceiling. Inside the weapon shop, different types of weapons were lined ordingly. Some were neatly hung. In their Cyber Screen, there was also an Auction option in the Market Section. Where some people posted their items for sale in there. And after you bought it, it will be delivered to you at ater date. But Yman doesn''t trust that auction, because sometimes, what posted their usually different from the item they delivered to you. They only looks better in the picture that was posted, but in reality, they were trash! Chapter 40 - Magician, Deity, And Resonance... When they entered the shop, a "Ting!" sound rang alerting the people inside of some visitors or costumers stepping in. Which followed by, "Wee kid!" A greeting from a man sitting in a rxed posture on the back of the counter in a slightly hoarse voice. Which his two legs on top of something and leaning his back on a softback of a chair. But Yman could not see the man''s face, because his head that was facing the ceiling was covered by a straw hat. The shirt he was wearing slightly loose up to his chest where the bulging naked stomach as round as ball in full view. And a diety wasfortably cushioning on top of it. "Mhm..." Yman just nodded with a little deep sound to his throat. Emphasizing his appreciation from the greeting.. "???" On the contrary, Sist floated near the man while question marks floated above her head as she was staring at the man and his deity with doubt. She might be wondering why such a person had the same body as her. Maybe this person was the mother of all System Deities. (LoL) Yman''s mouth leaked a forced smile. Then he walked to the sword area leaving Sist on the counter. Swords in different designed and sizes were lined on top of a table covered by dark-colored clothes besides their scabbard. The sword shined as the yellow illumination of light reflected on its de. He took one of the swords and thought, |It was a well-made sword.| Then he checked the name of a smith who made the sword, he picked the scabbard after noticing that no marks of sword-smith on the de itself, good thing that it was written on the scabbard. "SarSmith..." he mumbled as he read the name of the swordsmith. He''s not really proficient enough in using a sword. Since he was only 5 years old when his teacher taught him some basic sword techniques. From all his teaching, the words that deeply marks in his mind was to always appreciate the name of the smith who made the weapon. The man behind the counter made a slight movement after hearing his mumble. He seemed to be peeking under the straw hat that was covering his face. "!!!" Sist seemed to be startled by it and hastily flew to Yman''s side. Yman was not really chossy of weapon. After all, he was not a master of a specific weapon. Any weapon was fine with him as long as it could help him in the battle. Yman opened his Cyber Screen and summoned a cursor, then he pointed it to one of the swords. It was followed by a window disy that appeared in front of his face. [Silver Sword] Rank Common Atack + 20 "The sword that saves one''s life is a fine sword no matter it was edgeless." Such a description was written on the sword details. Yman thought that this quote might be hiding deep meaning. He suddenly remembered something. His teacher used to tell him before that, "a wooden weapon that can save one''s life is better than a divine weapon that chooses its wielder." These two quotes seemed to be connected to each other. He thought. But quickly pushed this thinking at the back of his mind. The Silver Sword was about 1 meter long. He thought that it might be difficult to wield inside a tight area such as a tunnel. But really, he wasn''t sure if the area he would be going to hunt had such ack of space. Of course, he rather not chose such a ce to fight. He nced at the price located in front of where the sword ced. 500 GP was written on the price tag. No need to checked his Wallet Section in Cyber Screen, he already knew that his current money was at most 5,700.50 GP. Last time he upgraded Sist twice. Actually, like the owner, the deity would also learn some helpful skills when they were upgraded to a certain level. At most at level 1, 10, 20, 30...etc.... Yeah, Yman''s Rapid Leap was not his personal ability, it was his deity''s skill. He could train himself to execute the skill better than others. But he could not upgrade it through training. This deity''s skill could only be ascended through upgrading the deity itself. That''s the reason why Yman was upgrading his deity twicest time. Since every level also gave 1 skill point. So right now, his Rapid Leap skill was at level 3. And its cooldown time drops at 3.5 seconds. While the amount of mana needed also lowered. Whereas, the Mini Heal (self-healing magic) was a gift from the academy together with his deity. It was a scroll at first. But after absorbing the magical scribble inside to his body, the magician then able to learn the type of magic written on it. If he could not learn it at the given time, it also means he was not qualified to be a magician. This was one of the exams he went through on that evaluation exam back on the Outerworld. Of course, inside the ability scroll that gifted from the academy were of low tier magic only. But the price wasn''t cheap if someone bought it with their own money. In any case, the effect of skill could be improved through training. Actually, any magician could manifest mana without the help of resonance with the deity. But it wasn''t advisable. Since low-level magician''s body could not handle the negative mana that was exuding from their Magician''s Seed(Hollow Cell). They needed a breakthrough until their body could stand alone from the negative mana of Magician''s Seed. And being in resonance with the deitieses with many benefits. One of them was fast chanting. With the help of deities, they could manifest their mana at ease. No need to go to the process of nature bending. Like for example, a magician who was a fire user. In order to avoid burning himself with its own fire magic. One must tamper his body to acquire such fire resistance. To seed, he/she first would be ab-rat and be the subject of repeated tests. That''s why if they wished to use their abilities without going such a hurdle, they only needed to resonance with their deity first. There was even an incident that a magician of level 20 lost his sanity after forcing his way of using his own mana without the resonance with a deity. In the end, he murdered the parents of a family. That family''s 2 children bes an orphan as a result. And that certain magician goes into hiding. Until now, no one knew what happened to him. But rumors bound to exist. Some said that that magician bes a demon. And some say he died after he suffered mana exhaustion. No one really knew the truth of what happened to that person after he flees from the scene... However, what he did that time birthed a great desire from a certain person. After all... ''hatred is the best fertilizer to nourish a great desire.'' Chapter 41 - A Young Magician With The Aura Of Normal Human... Yman chose the sword that about 2 feet in length. It wasying beside the silver shortsword. The name of the sword was dius. It has a double edge. It wasn''t too short and wasn''t long at the same time. It cost 350 GP only. Much cheaper than the silver shortsword. And had an additional attack of +15, much lowerpared to the shortsword. And weirdly enough, he also bought a spear of 2.5 meters long. For a strategic purpose. It was named as Silver Spear, but only the de at the tip was made of silver. And the long body stick was made from hardwood, which he assumed was a Demon Wood of rank B+.. This type of wood was unbending and hard as metal. |So, even in this world, such wood also exist, huh.| He thought as he took the Silver Spear with him to the counter, together with the dius sword and 2 daggers. Each weapon was of Common Rank only. Even as Yman was in front of the person in the counter, the person seemed to be unbothered and only showed him the total price while lifting his thick arm. Without even taking off the straw hat that covered his face. However, Yman noticed a strap of ck garter connected to his ear. He guessed that this guy was wearing a mask or an eyepatch? The two daggers cost 250 each, so Yman paid 1,350 GP in total. There were some rare quality weapons in the disy also. But they cost 5k from the cheapest. And at the moment his money could not be wasted in such a high-quality item. After all, having a good quality weapon could also put one life at risk. No good owning such an item without some strength to protect it. He doesn''t want to gather unnecessary trouble for himself. After paying the bills, seeing the back of a leaving young costumer. The man''s eye was peeking underneath the straw hat. No, it wasn''t an eye, but a form or marks of an eye. "The looming storm that gathering above, will soon fall to devastate thend. New heroes will rise, and manyrades will fall. Soon, the minions of light will be scouring the forces of darkness. Yet only the uninvolved residence will suffer more from this insurgence." The man whispered behind the straw hat with a tinge of mystery. However, Yman and Sist both did not hear it. All the equipment that he bought were stored in his Cyber Storage. Yman and Sist next went to the tailoring shop to buy a cloak with poison resistance. It was stated in mission details that Evil Rats were a poisonous beast. Although the resistance mostly could only resist 10-15% of the poison effect. Then he goes to the store to buy some potions with poison resistance. For him, more resistance means much safety. He also bought some food. Yman and Sist asked some of the residences about the address of certain individuals who posted the quest in the barracks. Of course, the missions that were posted there were not random quests only. They were posted there by some people or residence who wanted some assistance or wanted to get rid of some problems such as monsters who cause some issues in their daily life chores or works. The person who posted the mission with the title of Gross Evil Rats was a middle-aged woman whose line of works was collecting some weeds inside the Underground Channel. They traveled 30 minutes using a carriage to locate the person. After seeing the magician sent by the barracks, the middle-age woman seemed to be skeptical. The person in front of her looks like not a magician at all. He looks sickly for some reason and doesn''t have a well built healthy body. Or the blooming face of a magician. Although this person not ugly, but he wasn''t handsome as well. The most magician was of a high standard of beauty. But the person in front of her seemed to be normal. He doesn''t look strong as well. He already saw many magicians, and all of them had an aura that was different from an ordinary human. "Are you really the magician sent by the barracks toplete the given mission?" Asked the woman that sounded skeptical. While looking at Yman with furrowed brows. Yman scratches his head and did not choose to answer, instead, he took his ID card and showed it to the middle-aged woman. Seeing the ID card with the mission listed on it, the middle-age woman could only agree and ept the fact this young person in front of her was no doubt a magician sent from the barracks toplete the quest she posted in there. "About a week ago, like what I had been always doing, I went to the Underground Channel to collect some weeds. The weeds are no ordinary weeds. They have the ability to heal a person sickness...h h h!" The middle-aged woman exined to them her experience. She said that she was just collecting these magical weeds that she discovered appearing sincest 3 months ago. And these weeds were magically made of ice. No, basically the weeds were coated in ice. And those weeds when boiled with water and let the sick person drunk it. It could heal their sickness. And give the person a rxing feeling. They then called the weeds as Iceweeds Cold-Reliever. After the news of such weeds reached the ears of other people who''s a line of works was gathering herbs, they also started collecting the weeds. And so the Iceweeds be popr inside the city. The price also started changing. Behind the scene, some people started to manipte the price in the market. Yman has the gist of what the woman said. After all, humans are born scam no matter what era. Not all but most. Although the market price bes messy. And the original collectors earned less day by day. But this ie gave them big help for their daily life needs. However, this past week some Evil Rats started showing up. They attack the people who tried to gather the weeds inside the Underground Channel. Which causes a big hurdle in their line of works. Yman did not expect such drama for his first quest. Although what written in the quest description was just to kill 5 Evil Rats. Was the test really just as simple as killing 5 beasts? However, it might be simple to others, but not for him. After 1 hour and 30 minutes of travel, Yman and Sist reached the entrance. The Underground Channel entrance was located on the westside of the Human City Z7. Chapter 42 - Love Moves In A Mysterious Way... <1:10 PM> Yman asked Sist about the current time before they going to enter the Underground Channel entrance. He nodded at her after her reply and reminded himself that he only had 2 hours to finish his intention in this ce for the day. But Sist has seemingly noticed something. Suddenly, herint was heard by him. At the moment he was wearing a cloak of ck color. It covered his body like a robe. His mouth and nose were covered by a mask to get rid of the pungent smell that might invade his throat. The cloak and mask both had poison resistance. His enemies were poisonous creatures, so, it was only natural for him to dress such a way.. No one knows if when the danger woulde. One could only realize a danger after they found themselves in a situation. Yman''s lips extended into a smile after hearing her, then he cleared his throat and said: "It''s not like that. The air inside this Underground Channel might be carrying poison, although, the woman did not mention it. However, it is better to be ready than fall to the unforeseen state of sorry. At my current level, for sure, certain death to me if that was to happen. Although, I hope not," Yman replied at her while scratching his face using his index finger. That''s why, even though he looks suspicious in his current attire, Yman had to do it. Anyways, they were going underground and not in the park. So no matter how he looks at the moment, he doesn''t care. Yet... "Tsk," going into the battle really scares the shit out of him. More on that, he was alone at the moment. Although, he always alone from the beginning. |Ah, my bad, right I''m with my deity. Rather than that, I cannot afford to make her angry and lower the Like Value likest time. This is a very dangerous situation for me. So, I can only depend on her this time.| He thought while having a hard time controlling his knees and his heart that started to pound a little bit faster than normal. He could even hear his heartbeat. Yman already experienced to be in a face to face with a stronger monster like the Mustang Spider, but he was not the one who fought with it. In any case, he was afraid also at that time, he was just acting cool. After all, he was also a normal young person. Although, his acting cool only bears taunt and discrimination from others. He nced at the round object floating rtively close to his face. His lips extended into a tired smile. Then it slowly opened..... "My deity, let''s go?" He asked her with a little tease. She replied while crossing her two robotic arms across her round body. Secondster, RESONANCE! After the resonance, his health bar appeared in his vision. His skills were disyed as well. Yman inhaled and exhaled deeply. He was readying himself for theing fight. But of course, he doesn''t want to engage in a fight yet. His n was to scout the area first. And do some mapping. Since the mission needed to bepleted within a week, he still had much time left. No need to be so eager to finish the job. After letting a huge sudden breath escaped from his mouth, Yman was about to lift the loose metal bars that were barred the entrance when a sudden, Ding! Notification sound rang out in his ears, which only he and Sist was able to hear. Located at the lower center of his vision, there was a blinking icon of a white envelope or also known as the Mail icon. Yman''s brows slightly furrowed seeing this. He did not expect to receive a mail. He summoned the cursor by summoning a little bit of mana at his fingertip and pointed it to the blinking icon of mail. Then, it directly brought him to the Mail section of his Cyber Screen. He stared at the sender''s name. |Anonymous?| Yman asked in his mind. Sist asked him too. Which he answered with a big: "No." Shemanded, but Yman seemed to be doubting the mail. |Hm... looks suspicious no matter one saw it. Wait, what if, this person is a scammer? Or a hacker? Dang, it! Not me... at least if I am a hacker, I will choose to hack those rich looking magicians. In any case, I don''t remember such an issue that someone''s ount was hacked by some anonymous person through a mail. Though, it is my first time receiving a mail from someone except my sister and Ms. Pai. Rather than that, the hacker could only hack if the System Deity is not online or should I say in hibernation mode. Regardless, I needed to read whatever was written inside this mail. Hopefully it safe. Dang! Curiosity kills!| He shouted in his mind and tapped the mail unwillingly. Without even ag when the system responded on his touch. Anonymous: [Hi, can we meet tomorrow? (Blush emoji)] "....." |Meet? But no specific time and ce stated?| "Dang it! It''s a prank!" Yman screamed out after 3 seconds of silence. He noticed that there were no addresses and times from the sender. "(Sigh!)Even the content of this mail was anonymous." After saying this, he then canceled the Mail Section. What appeared next was fragmented disys of Cyber Screen that were divided into different sections. Yman tapped on the Status Screen section. Like before, without ag when the system responded to his touch. STATUS SCREEN |TITLE| =========== Yman Talisman =========== Level: 1 Rank: Fledgeling HP: [_350/350_](+300) Stamina: 98%/100% Attack: 20(+15) Mdef/Def: 20 Speed: 10(+15) Perception: 10(+15) uracy: 10(+15) Strength: 4(+3) Vitality: 4 Sense:2(+3) Dexterity:2(+3) Agility:2(+3) CombatExperience: 60%/100% ?Mini Heal(Self Healing Magic) "....." No reaction on his face after seeing his status. Although some of his Attributes went up after those horrendous training he had been, he knew that it''s not enough to defeat enemies at rank D in a fight of 1 vs multiple opponents. And his problem was, these Evil Rats were known to attack in a horde. He swiped his status screen and checked his deity''s status next. ============= Deity Name: Sist ============= Upgrade Level: 3 Rank: Low Land Deity Battery: 90%/100% ?Air Float(+3 Agility) ?Robotic Arms(+3 Dex and Str) ?Radar(+3 Sense) ?Rapid Leap(Level 3) After the resonance, the additional attributes from the deity''s inventory were added to the owner''s attributes. So, upgrading the deity reallyes with many benefits. After all, it was easy to upgrade them at a lower level than leveling up the owner, since a magician needed to increase his/her CE first. Later on, the price of upgrading the deity would be much expensive when the Upgrade Level bes higher. Yman closed his Cyber Screen and decided to continue taking off the metal bars that barred the entrance of Underground Channel. The entrance was not so big. It only has 2 meters tall and about 3 meters wide. Yman gripped one of the metal bars and summoned his force to forcibly took off the metal bar. With his magician''s strength together with additional strength from his deity, the metal bar did not take long before it was taken sessfully by him. ng! ng! ng! ttering noises could be heard while he was cing the metal bars one by one on the ground. And rusts were staining the gloves he was wearing in his hands. But Yman did not seem to mind it. After taking off 3 metal bars, he finally stepped in... <><><> On the upper floor of the fledgling trainees building inside the academy, the Elites students with exceptional talents were ced here. Each of them had their own room. To give them more time to focus on their training. But at the moment, one of the Elite trainees wasying on her bed while blushing and buried her face in the soft pillow. She was an exceptional beauty with long ck hair. And at the moment. "Kyaaaaahhhhh!" She screamed inside her room but she''s not alone. Beside her was another beautiful girl withvender hair that was tied in a ponytail. She was rubbing the back of the beautiful girl with long ck hair while asking her what happened. "Mina best friend, what happened?!" These two girls were of course Almina and Kesha. Kesha was asking Almina of the reason why she was screaming while having a red face and her head was steaming. "K-K-Kesha!" Almina called out in a stammering voice. "Yes?! What is it, best friend? Is there a problem? Are you sick?!" Kesha was feeling perturbed at her best friend''s odd behavior. "I - I - I identally tapped the send button..kyaaaahh!" Almina said and buried her face in the soft pillow once again. ''What? Send button only?'' Kesha thought in dismay and relief. She thought her best friend had some serious problems. But it seemed, it was only because of sending something. ''Wait, what she sent? And button?'' For some reason, Kesha suddenly felt curious. "Bestfriend, what you meant by sent?! Please, tell meeeee!" Kesha asked her, but Almina already lost in her own world of fantasy. Like what if, he really came to her? She did not even notice that there were no addresses and specific time in her mail. Beside them, their deities were ying cards while shaking their heads. Almina''s deity named Cal let out a sigh. But only smoke came out from the tiny hole in his small round head. Cal mumbled. Some question marks appeared on top of Kesha''s deity. Almina really was having a second thought if to send him a mail of invitation to lunch together tomorrow after a break, or not. However, she unintentionally tapped the send button and some part of the message was deleted. But she did not notice it. She even was using an anonymous name. On the rooftop of the building, a blonde girl was sitting crosslegged while her body was enveloped by green mana brilliance. Yman on the other hand was already walking inside the Underground Channel... Chapter 43 - A Scared Magician And Mean Deity... The Underground Channel entrance located at the west side of the city, under the bridge, and near the river-dam that streaming steadily towards the end. On the opposite side of the entrance, there was a big dumpsite area that could be seen a little distant from the river-dam. The ce was known as West District. At the dumpsite, he could see some smokes that were flying towards the sky and resembles the clouds as they continued to hover higher. After Yman stepped in the entrance, he asked his deity to activate the radar. Sist replied: He said: "It''s not sudden. It''s better to have a perfect mapping from the entrance towards the farthest area that we can reach." She questioned him. He scratched his face and replied: "Don''t worry, we sure to leave the ce before it happened.." Hearing what he said, she resigned then followed what he wants and activated the radar without further retorts. But she really was worried if she emptied her battery. Because when the battery of the deity was emptied, it also means disconnection with their resonance. Ding! Something materialized... 12 inches in height and wide window screen reflected in his eyes as it animated before his face in a holographic manner. It was sending luminous brilliance around and slightly illuminating his face and the ce. Inside the screen was a tiny dot of green color. Around it was shaded in darkness, but as he was advancing slowly, the inside of the screen, around the tiny green dot in the holographic screen was slowly forming a map outline that resembles the ce he currently in. The radar had a distance of a 10-meter radius surrounding him. Only within this area the shaded part that was surrounding the green dot was contorting automatically to form a map outline of the unexplored ce he was strolling. Yman slowly dragged the screen on his upper-left side to avoid distracting his vision. Currently, it was floating on the left side, above him. This thing was no doubt his Map Section from his Cyber Screen. Tak-tak-tak... The deliberate sounds of his footsteps that slightly echoed the inside of the channel could be heard by the person itself. And sometimes droplets of water from the distance ceiling tickled his ears, sending chill in him which causes his body hairs to stand upright. Yman was walking in such a ce. His hand was gripping the hilt of a sword with odd size. His face was covered by a mask and his body simrly covered by a piece of cloth. He was wearing a pair of brown boots on his feet, which produces some noises whenever his bootsnded on the dirty pavements inside the channel. His trusted partner whispered in his ears out of a sudden. He smiled wryly and said: "As you can see, this ce seemed to be a scene from a horror movie." Yman replied to Sist and darted his eyes while cautiously scanning his surroundings. He tried to sound as normal as he could while seemingly unbothered by her question to avoid her from noticing what he truly felt at the moment. Although there was only darkness around him, it was manageable to see because of the illumination from his Map Section. He could even define theplexion of everything around him. Sist asked after noticing his a little quickened heartbeat. "Of course, not! Maybe you!" Yman strongly denied and throwback the words. He was wondering why this deity of him bothered asking him unnecessary things. "Then, that''s that." He intentionally shrugged off the topic. Though his breathing was steady, Yman was really scared at the moment. Under the mask, he wetted his drying lips. Sist whispered again after she noticed some green weeds sticking and hanging on the ceiling and walls of the Underground Channel. "I-It''s just some algae." He replied after his eyes briefly followed to where Sist mentioned. Suddenly, his eyesnded on the ground and noticed something. Using his free left hand, he dragged the Map Section down below to illuminate the ground and have a clear full view of the ground. |Seemed like the dirty pavements were already littered in dark and brownish stains and were smelling odd.| Although he was already wearing a mask, the bad smell still invaded his nostrils. |Such a strong prative force, huh.| He truly meant prative smell. Yet, he paused for a moment while knitting his brows. |Wait, why does it smells like some kind of rotting flesh and not muddy smell?| He questioned himself after noticing the oddness in the pungent smell. Then, he scanned further on the pavement floors. Sist suddenly screamed out. Yman shuddered even more upon seeing the bloodied pavements. Certainly, it provoked his trauma from that certain day in his childhood. He suddenly felt goosebumps at this ce. His body slightly trembled. He tried to bite his lips inside the mask to dispel such negative thinking that was trying to challenge his weakening braveness. The inside of the channel was quite spacious for a person to pass. If he did an estimation on it: the wideness was about 5 meters from the walls on his left to the walls on his right, and the height of the ceiling from the ground was about 10 meters tall. Certainly, he was more scared at the ce than the monster itself. For some reason, he felt like someone was following him. He even felt some cold arms trying to hold his legs. But of course, it just his mind ying tricks on him. Yman remembered something as he was walking quietly. "My deity, do you have the data of the Evil Rats?" Yman tried to relive the atmosphere by talking with his diety. To lessen the scare he felt at the moment. Yet truly, what he asked her was not just from out of nowhere question. He just forgot to check it awhile ago. After his question, she immediately answered with: Hearing her reply, he sighed in relief. It was very helpful in the fight to have the monster''s data that you would be fighting. Yman continued asking her some question that was out of nowhere and unimportant. When she noticed his intention, she annoyingly ignored him and even teased him by scaring him through words. Yman thought that this deity of him was really a mean one. There bantering automatically died down when he finally reached a dead-end. At the moment, he was facing the wall that was covered with darkened algae. A small water-passage hole was present below it. But there''s no water passing on it at the moment. Yet, the hole was too small for a person to pass by. Next second... Squeak! He heard some squeaking noises from the other side of the wall. Yman jolted back and readied himself from posible attacks. Chapter 44 - Cottonlike Ballshaped Object... Yman scratches his head and forced a dryugh when he realized that the water passage was still too small for the monster to pass through. He remembered what Mrs. Merced (the woman who issued the quest) said to him. That when he reached the dead end, there was a hole where a person can pass through to his left side. But Yman could not see it, the hole that she mentioned. Suddenly, he heard Sist''s call: He then nced at the map that was hanging steadily above him. He noticed a thinyer of the wall outline. Based on the map, it was located two steps away from his left side. "Must be a camouge." He muttered and summoned his spear from Cyber Storage.. He then pokes the part where the thinyer on the map was shown. Yman narrowed his eyes when the wall that looks so sturdy bend inwardly like a piece of something soft like it was made of cloth, a camouge cloth to be specific. |It''s a well-made replica of the wall.| He thought. |But why such a thing ced in here? And who was the target to prevent getting inside with this camouge?| Yman wondered. Yet, he reached in the conclusion that it might be ced here intentionally to avoid someone that was unaware of the danger that lurks around here to wander inside. But of course, he wasn''t sure if it was the real reason or not. He proceeded to lift the cloth. Behind it was a hole that was done in a crude manner. Seeing this, he presumed that someone might be intentionally broke this part of the wall. Yman realized something was odd. Mrs. Merced did not mention such a thing to him. She just said that there was a hole in the end. But did not say about the camouge cloth. Maybe she also doesn''t know about it? Regardless, he needed to crouch slightly to enter the hole passage. The squeaking noises were still can be heard from the other side of the wall. But Yman chose to disregard it for the meantime. After he cautiously entered the hole, he was greeted by darker surroundings. The ce was a little eerie with some kind of coldness in the atmosphere. He saw a small gap on the wall ahead of him which he believed was an alley. As far as his eyesight could reach inside this dark room, there was no other corner or intersection that could be seen except for that little alley. He proceeded at a careful pace. Like every step of him was measured. He also redied the dius sword at his front. When he reached the alleyway, he decided to check on it first. But just after 15 steps of walk, he already faced the dead end. He also found out that only one person can pass inside because of how narrow the alley was. Yman then retreated from the alley and continued advancing in the dark straight passage. The holographic screen that was floating slightly above him was steadily drawing the map outline of the ce as he continued to advance. Every step he made was light and careful; to not make any unnecessary noises that could attract the lurking danger''s attention. Nheless, his body that was slightly glowing in white brilliance was very attractive in this dark surrounding. He still doesn''t know how to absorb it into his body to minimize the use of mana like what one of the elders did. However... Not even 1 minute that had passed after he retreated from the alley when his ears caught some creaking noises ahead. Based on the noise, it seemed like the friction of ws that repeatedly brushing the wall. Yman''s heartbeat quickened a bit. He really was not the type to be scared easily by a beast. But inside this dark and enclosed area, where all he could feel was an eerie feeling and cold surroundings, Yman''s braveness was waning every second passed. 2 pairs of red eyes glowed in the dark ahead of him. Yman stopped his step immediately upon seeing this. He felt something cold was being poured behind him, and his heart was about to leap because of how sinister those eyes look. When he noticed that they wereing closer to him at a rapid pace with the addition of stomping sounds against the ground, he readied himself for the fight while tightening his grip on the hilt of dius sword in his right hand. Based on the eyes that positioned rtively close to the ground, these monsters must be ground type monsters and not flying types. Actually, not only Evil Rats that could be seen inside the channel, there were some other monsters like Evil Bats, that usually hides here also. His left hand hastily took a ball-shaped white cotton-like object as big as a golf ball from his Cyber Storage. After feeding it with little mana from his channeling talent, he threw it without a second thought on the ground about 5 steps away from him. He could feel the decrease in his stamina after using his talent, even when he was in resonance with his deity. He needed to activate his channeling talent for the whole time. This was also the reason why he had a slow execution of his abilities. Sist questioned him when she saw the ball-like object. He did not answer immediately, yet, he threw another 4 pieces of it. 5 pieces of ball-like objects were scattered on the ground about 4-7 steps ahead of him. "Just some toys made from spider webs." He answered after he thrown the five balls made from spider webs. Secondster, he finally saw the name and red bars on top of the enemy''s heads when they closed at 10 meters distance away from him. Sist screamed out. "Their data!" "....." "That''s it?!" Sist reacted. "What" Yman was like he just eaten his words. He really thought that if the deity had the data of a specific monster or beast, he/she could appraise it. But it looks like, he needed to buy the head part of the deity first to unlock their appraisal talent. |In that case, no choice, huh! I must use this finishing touch!| After saying this in his mind, he threw on the ground another ball-shaped object but this time with gray color. The gray-colored ball-shaped objectnded near those five white cotton-like ball-shaped objects. After it hit the ground, smoke suddenly raises around it. But it wasn''t so thick. Actually, this thing was a smoke bomb, but it only smokes a little. The good thing on it was, it lowered the enemy''s vision for a few seconds. Regardless, he noticed the monsters were already neared him. The one that was running ahead of the other had blindly stepped on one of the ball-shaped objects. It suddenly stopped like something was holding it, and its head hit the ground by itself. And the number -50 in red color was visibly floating above the monster''s head. These balls that held the monster was very sticky. After all, it was made from the web of a Wanderer type of monster, the rank C+ Mustang Spider. Chapter 45 - Evolution Sist warned after noticing the second Evil Rat made a wise leap in the air while opening itsrgemouth. Some green liquids were sttering around and looking like small particles of lights when they were hit by the illumination of brilliance from his holographic map. Yman narrowed his eyes. Even though this Evil Rat managed to avoid the ball-web traps, the smoke abled to hinder its vision. He summoned his strength and sent a stab to the leaping Evil Rat. Shing! -30 HP in the red text was visible in his vision when his stab was sessfullynded on the Evil Rat''s jaw, which followed by squeaking noises from the Evil Rat when the tip of dius sword dig in about 3 centimeters in its flesh. |20 defense!| Yman quickly calcted the enemy''s defense based on the damage that he dealt it. He has 20 attacks and an additional 15 from the resonance with his deity and another 15 from his dius sword. It was 50 in total, but he only managed to take 30 of the monster''s health points.. So Yman reached the conclusion that this monster had a total of 20 defense. He already thought that this fight would not be an easy fight. But... he could manage somehow. After all, his deity already at level 3. On top of its head, the number 220/250 was visible inside the red bar that at the moment not in a full state. As the number inside the red bar decreases, the red in its bar also decreases. Dark muddy blood drips when he hastily retreated his sword. The Evil Rat fell on the ground with back first, which followed by a loud thump when its back mmed on the ground. Another -5 HP in red text floated above the monster''s head, but this only visible in Yman''s vision. He about to follow up with a sh attack but stopped when the Evil Rat''s body was twitching even it was still lying on the ground. He noticed the wound he dealt on it, it''s visible on its jaw. But not so big. The Evil Rat was at a hand-reached distance only, he back stepped and change his weapon into a 2.5 meters spear without waiting for the Evil Rat to regain its control. The Evil Rat abled to flip his body and now on its four limbs. It blinked its eyes while shaking its body, perhaps it was trying to clear its vision. A momentter, its vision seemed to clear up a little. It stared at him with fierce red eyes. But what greeted it was a silver pointed edge of a spear that was hastily approaching on its forehead. The dizzy Evil Rat had no time to react. Chaaaaaap! Such a sound of piercing the flesh and skull has been heard by the attacker itself after the pointed spearhead pierced into the Evil Rat''s head and into the ground. The Evil Rat did not die on the spot. It was twitching and tried its best to free its body. But the spear was well-anchored its tip in the ground and was seemingly preventing the Evil Rat to free itself. The Evil Rat''s health points were slowly decreasing as more blood was dripping from its body. This spear has an additional 30 attacks and a 5 percent pration force. It was also a good weapon for mid-rangedbat. After a minute, the struggle stopped and its body was seldom heaving high and low. It was deeply breathing as its health points reached in a critical condition. When the red in its bar emptied, the movement also stopped. Which followed by a notification of: [You killed rank D Evil Rat!] A notification inside a rectangr text box and in a broad text. After this notification, it followed by another notification saying... [Mission update: Killed 1/5 Evil Rats!] Yman has no time to read these notifications. He noticed the entangled Evil Rat finally freed itself from the ball-web traps that he nted. This trap had a limited time of effectiveness. After the mana from his channeling talent expires, the stickiness of the ball-web objects would be less and less until it bes an ordinary ball that made of the web. Thest Evil Rat sent a loud shrill while rushing at him at full speed. Yman gave up on the spear and summoned the dius sword from his Cyber Storage. He realized that it tried to tackle him, Yman chose to evade it by leaping normally to his right in good timing. The Evil Rat passed at him with a whooshing sound. He originally wanted to stab its side while avoiding its attack, but he figured out that it was impossible for his speed to do it at the moment. He''s not so agile enough tond a hit at the moving target who rushes at full speed. And he was not in a good spot to do it. Creaaaak! The ws of its four limbs skidded and were drawing a long line of scratches on the ground when the Evil Rat missed its tackle attack. It used its front limbs to turn its body while skidding. When it stopped at 5 meters distance, it was already facing at him. Yman also was facing at it with caution. They both rushes towards each other at the same time like in sync with each other and was having the same thought. He noticed that this one was much faster than the other one that he killed earlier. Yman knows that he would find himself at the disadvantage if he chose to wait for the attack toe. He needed to umte force while rushing to counter the full brunt force sent by the Evil Rat. Ting! Such high-pitched sound was heard by them when the poisonous two front teeth of the Evil Rat met the dius sword in Yman''s hand. Both of them were sent back from the force of the collision. Yman staggered back, while the Evil rat was thrown back and was flipping its body in mid-air to maneuver a safending. Yman''s hand trembled slightly and was seemingly numb: "Dang! As expected, this rank D beast really had quite the strength!" He whined. He heard Sist''s exciting voice. |What this deity saying?| He thought. He then rushed again towards the enemy who already rushing towards him with itsrge pointed mouth dripping with poisonous green saliva. When they neared at each other, swoosh! Yman shed the sword downward but hit empty air. The Evil Rat was able to leap to its right before the human enemy''s swordnded on its dark blue fur. "!!" |Oh, shit!| He eximed. Swish! Gyah! After the sessful evasion, the Evil Rat sent a tail whip thatnded on his back. Yman was sent 5 steps at his front. And his front was mmed on the ground which his body skidded on the ground. -125 health points had subtracted from his green health bar. He promptly pushed his body to get up immediately. Even though his back was still aching from the whip attack, he could not wait for a follow-up attack that would being from the monster. But before he could stand up, "Ha?" He doesn''t know whether tough or cry at this warning. He hastily nced in the air and saw the Evil Rat was maneuvering its body like it was dancing. A momentter, he noticed that the Evil Rat''s front leg was shining. He gawked in disbelief with eyes opened wide. Yet, Yman felt something bad wasing. So, he quickly dove to avoid. Bang! The inside slightly shook, and Yman stared dumbfounded at where he wasying just a second ago. Now, there were spiderweb-like cracks. And in the middle was the Evil Rat with the body that enveloped by brilliance. Sist screamed out. "Oh, my god..." he subconsciously muttered. Chapter 46 - The Elite Reflected in his eyes the shining image of the Evil Rat that was undergoing an evolution phase. The brilliance that envelopes its body had even brightened the ce a little. Tsk! Yman as he gnashed his teeth. Never in his wildest dream to be able to see an actual evolution phase of a beast. Seemingly, beasts or monsters will undergo an evolution phase when their battle experience reached a certain threshold. Currently, Yman was downed on his butt on the cold pavement ground, while staring at the Evil Rat in surprised and without batting an eye. Sist''s voice rang in his ears which made him snapped from the shock and pulled him back to reality. He did not even notice his health points which now short of 150 points. After the tail whip attacked thatnded on his back, -150 health points were taken from his health bar.. He certainly questioned his luck. If seeing it from a different perspective, he might be lucky for witnessing such a rare event. But the situation he had at the moment was not favorable to him! And could only be considered as bad luck. Yman''s face twitched. He was thinking if he would run away and escape. Decisively, he already made a decision. A dagger materialized in his hand when he summoned his Cyber Storage and clicked on a dagger icon in it. After clicking the dagger icon, he quickly chose the [Take] choices that could be seen popping out after. With his well-practiced hand, all of this had happened in an instant only. A dagger of about 10 inches in length had magically materialized in his hand. Without waiting for the evolution phase toplete, Yman resolutely threw the dagger in hand. Even though his dexterity attributes were low, within a distance of 7 steps away, he was confident that his throw would not miss. As expected, the dagger flew and tore-up the space between them in an instant. Its tipnded on the intended area with a whoosh, but... unbelievably, the dagger was seemingly hit an unknown barrier when it bounced back and was repelled. Yman knitted his brows. Anxious by uncertainties. He noticed that some unseen force was protecting it. He scanned his storage to find something that might help him. Yet, he finds nothing that could help. He looks around him and saw the still anchored spear protruded on the ground. It was located at 7 steps behind him, slightly at his right. He promptly jumped on his feet and ran towards it. With his 1 percent breakthrough of his limiter and with the addition of resonance with his deity, his agility attributes were high enough to reach this distance in below 2 seconds time. He firmly held the spear-pole and exerted strength to uproot it. Noticing that it was tightly dug in the ground and would only budge a little, he wobbled it promptly at any directions with the intention of loosing it from being anchored. Underneath, theying corpse of the Evil Rat that was pierced by it had made undefined movements. The noises of metal and ground scraping tickled his ears. Yman nced at his back to where the evolving beast. His eyes balled upon seeing that the Evil Rat had now looked different. He noticed its image was already different from before. It grew taller. Based on how he sees it, the Evil Rat seemed to be standing on its 2 limbs as a human did! Even the name ''Evil Rat'' on top of its red bar had started to blur, and a new name was about to happen. Beads of sweats surfaced on his forehead. He could even feel his breathing that started to be heavier. His stamina was deliberately declining. He heard Sist''s anxious voice demanding him to run. But Yman did not react, nor did he replied? No. He remained quiet and focus. Only the hard breathing sounds were discernable from him. A few momentster, Shing! Such sounds were heard by him when the spear tip had sessfully unburied from the ground. Getting rid of the corpse that was pierced by it, he briefly kicked on it. The corpse rolled away after a kicked from him. Yman held the spear in his hand and walked towards the evolving beast. He was holding the spear rtively close on its tip and was dragging the opposite end that scraping the ground. When he reached at 5 steps away from the evolving beast, he held the spearfortably in two hands and rushed to the beast while pointing the tip on it to it. Haaaaaaa! He screamed out loud which signifies his courageous charge, summoning all his strength in the body into one hasty stab with all he has. Sist''s from demanding to pleading voice was heard by him. However, Yman already had the resolute to fight it now. If not now then notter also. It would be impossible for him to defeat it when it matured. It''s better to strike it now that it was still on its shell. No. It was already out of its shell! Swoosh! The stabbed attack hit an empty air! The Evil Rat had gone from its supposed position. It jumped high in the air away from him. When its feetnded on the ground, it was already at 10 meters distance away from him. Sighed. |Well, stabbing a newborn chick is okay too.| Yman as he thought. His face already showed tiredness. He just walked not so far and killed one Evil Rat but he already gasping for breath. Getting hit was also demanding in stamina. He knows that the enemy had be more agile. And the battle would be more difficult to him from this point onward. Certainly, there was also a choice of forfeiting the mission. But it also meant that he was incapable of aplishing such a lowest ranking mission and bes a more of aughing stock from the others. Although it could not be considered as a lowly mission anymore, with the appearance of this evolved beast. But the unknowing people would only believe what their eyes had seen. So basically, even if he reported it, they would only think that he made up things and that he was just afraid and so. It may cause more unwanted attention to himself which already made him so sick. And they might suggest to him to hire mercenary to help him aplished the mission. However, Yman was not a money bag. He was in a tight situation financially. Hiring mercenary woulde with a price that depends on the mercenary rank. "Heh!" He scoffed after seeing the new name that appeared above the enemy''s health bar. Noble Rat was written in an exchange for the Evil Rat. He was sure that right now, this enemy had already evolved into a Wanderer rank D+ beast. He certainly wondering why such a noble name was on a gross rat! He then followed another rushed. Anyhow, no matter what he whined about would not change the fact that he was currently facing a Wanderer type monster alone! Right at this moment that Yman was fighting the evolved Evil Rat, inside the academy, Kesha was dragging the still in fantasy Almina in the hallway. She was dragging her towards the room for the chosen Elite trainees together with their deities. The hallway seemed empty since this top floor of fledgling trainee building was for the chosen Elite trainees only. "W-W-Wait Kesha..." Almina called out while trying to free her hand that was held by her best friend Kesha. Cal and Kesha''s deity was floating beside the two girls with a bead of sweat that appeared on their round body. Why not on their small heads though? "No. We need to hurry. Else, we will bete in the meeting. The others are already gathered there. Even the blonde already there too." Kesha firmly stated. Almina sighed and said: "Hah. Why you even mentioned her. In any case, what''s the point of dragging me? I also was nning to go!" Cal and Kesha''s deity had the same thought. "Eh? But your mind is flying everywhere and screaming while burying yourself with the pillow!" Kesha replied. "Wha, erm... I - I am okay now," Almina said shyly yet her face showed rosy red. She really was nning to get a mission in the barracks but Kesha went into her room with a piece of news about a meeting with all the Elite trainees. Creak! When they opened the door of the room, all of the other Elite trainees were already in there, sitting around the round table in the middle of the room. They now staring at the two who just happened to open the door. An olddy was standing facing the window with its back facing the Elites. Almina noticed some familiar faces inside the room. It was Keremi and the blonde. They then proceeded to seat on the vacant chairs which made some creaking noises. She noticed the blonde girl staring at her. Almina replied with a sharp nce at her. Right now, 10 chairs were surrounding the round table but only 9 was taken with extra one empty seat. "Looks like, everyone is already here." Said the old woman after Almina and Kesha took their seat. This old woman was one of the elders, Elder Paan to be specific. Chapter 47 - Deity’s True Form... The other Elite members seemed like they were from the native of this world. Kesha nced at the empty seat. The person who owned it was still recovering at the moment. He was sent to the famous magical hospital in this city. Sadly, he had injured himself at that time when they fought the rank C+ Mustang Spider. But because of having great talents in magic and owning 4 different types of ability for being a fledgling trainee only was more than enough for him to acquire a seat as an Elite trainee without going through the test. Kesha could only sigh and prayed for his fast recovery. Next to her was a man with medium length red hair. He was sitting calmly while closing his eyes and arms across his chest. With his right leg on top of his left knee.. This person was no other than Mai''s cousin, Brai. Kesha noted that this person was also a handsome man and was kind of mysterious. Unlike the infamous wastrel who only knows how to hurt hisrades. Everyone certainly thought that that guy would be kicked out from the academy on the first day after he failed to light up the bulb on the test. He was even passed out many times in physical training. Nothing really was interesting about that guy except for being a joke. He was just wasting his timeing into the academy. It was better for him if he chose to go to a normal school instead of a magic academy. In that regard, he could choose a better course which brings him a fortune in the future. She was hoping not to see him again. Seeing his unhealthy figure andck of vigor will ruin her mood for some reason. It''s not like he did something bad at her that''s why she disliked him. But because of his awkwardness that seemingly triggered her past self that she mostly tried to forget. Anyhow, she must rid that guy from inside her mind. Or else, her mood will get spoiled. "Ahem," Elder Paan purposely cleared her throat to grab everyone''s attention. Which she seeded. The Elites looked at her and was waiting for her words. At the moment, she was garbed with a coat embroidered with silvery-white and ck colors towards her knee. Her neatly tied grayish hair was being hung towards her back. Her looks were the same as a 60 years old normal person. However, she already had passed a century of her life. Everyone was eagerly waiting for her words. But before she spoke out, a deity in green color with the appearance of a pixie that was flying beside her suddenly glowed. Indicates the use of resonance. Seemingly, a magician can decide whatever their deity''s future design is. Like for example, the deity of Elder Paan looks like a wood fairy. With small transparent greenish wings stick on its back. And two antennas on its cute little head. And with two round big eyes of red in color. Of course, this deity''s body was made of special metal. Ormonly known as robotic. Yet, with the addition of its dress and skin color, it looks seemingly a real pixie. It has a size that is 2x bigger than the water sprite of Elder Gatan. Even Elder Gatan''s deity resembled a whale. A whale that was floating in the air. Although he had water sprites, those creatures were from his summoning ability. Currently, the trainee''s deity was only a scrap of metal with no particr form or color. They were mostly round at the moment. Which resembles an egg. It was only natural since they were newbies only. They still needed more money, time, and experience to level their deity to such a degree, like the deities of the elders. The Elites were silent waiting for Elder Paan''s words together with the deities thaty everywhere around them. Some were sitting on top of their heads, some on their shoulders, and on their hands. While Cal, Almina''s deity, was sitting like a boss on a table in front of his owner. Keremi was in his usual closed eyes. Yet, no one inside the room had questioned him if how he could see in such a manner. On top of him was his deity that was sittingfortably on his head. Keremi was sitting on the left side of the blonde and on the right side of Almina. Sitting at Almina''s left was Kesha then followed by Brai, the Encan girl, and the others in a clockwise manner. The others were as silent as them, waiting for the Elder to speak. Even the beautiful Encan girl. Who seemingly had a genius-level magic talent as the others, were waiting with her narrowed eyes focused on the elder. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, the elder did not open her mouth. However, the light inside the room automatically died, and a holographic screen as big as a 32 inches TV screen appeared on top of the elder''s palm that slightly lifted at waist level facing the ceiling. The elder tossed the holographic screen to the center of the table. Whichnded on a te-like object in the middle of it. It was called a Receptor te with a magic sequence that was able to transmit and receive magic-based light waves such as the holographic screens the elder produced. The holographic screen that the elder summoned was a cube with 32 inches square meter. She did it on purpose so that everyone from different angles would be able to see the perfect picture she intended to show. The Elites were staring at it, wondering what the elder was nning to show. Secondter, Boom! Bang! Wham! Waaah! Charge! Attaaaack! Ting! Ting! Ting! Shing! Swoosh! Woosh! Chaotic scenes with thunderous explosions ringing everywhere around the area where the scene was ying. It was in the middle of a battlefield!!! Everyone eximed in their minds. The scene was in the middle of the battlefield where humans fought with monsters, demi-humans, and humans themselves. After 10 minutes of watching the scene that seemed like from a fantasy movie, the scene in the holographic cube ended while showing 10 images in ck shade. But who were those people that shrouded in the dark shade? They could not even identify their tribes. What is the purpose of the elder for showing it to them? Is this rted to the topic of today''s meeting? Everyone had such questions in their minds. Chapter 48 - Resources Not only humans fighting against humans, but also demihumans were against demihumans, and beasts fighting against beasts. "The video you just watched were collections of clips from the previous battle in the Worlds Magic Academy Competition." Suddenly said the elder in a stern voice that devoid of emotions. It was cold and a little hoarse. Ahem. (She cleared her throat once again.) The Elites remained silent waiting for the continuation of the elder''s words. "Probably, some of you might already know the purpose of Magic Academies. Or why it was in such a rule or system. It was of course to prepare you from the sudden attacks of the real enemies lurking everywhere.. But before that, some precarious issues needed to be solved at first. Right now, this academy was in a tight situation and was in danger of getting pulled out from this world. If that happened, not only the academy would be gone. Also the city itself. Since, this city''s resources mostly came from the academy''s trainees, who were tasked toplete some task at hand or to gather some resources in dangerous ces such as the outskirts of the city. And mostly by winningpetitions. It was one of the world agreements in the Worlds Alliance that humans from the Outerworld were not allowed to pull resources from this Innerworld. Such as mining or drilling oils, even farming was not allowed. This is also the reason why there is no modern transportation in this world. Actually, we could acquire resources through product trading. The value of the resources we get depends on the value of the products we traded. These products are, for example, herbs, monster parts, potions, and any items that can be gathered around the city or can be made by us. With these products, we could acquire resources such as oils, stones, metals, foods, and etcetera in exchange. Yet, the value we acquired could only satisfy the city residents'' daily needs. And we are even in danger of starving our fellow residents. More on that our current situation was at the bottom of resource ranking. Every academy who won thepetition would be able to acquire a massive amount of resources aspetition prizes. This prize was equivalent to 10 years of total consumable resources in a city. That''s why, in order for the city to function longer, we needed to win in thepetition. Yet it was not easy to seed. After all, in this world, there are 300+ academies around the Innerworld. At the moment, the city had only year-long resources at hand. Ordinary citizens had no means of fighting mutated beasts. Some might be able to gather some, but not so many that it could satisfy the consumers'' heavy demands. Moreover, ordinary citizens could only gather enough for themselves. Thus, right now, not only us, the elders but also the academymittees decided for you to undergo more serious training. Magic Academies are also the training grounds of future militaries, professionals, association magicians, and heroes. But these past few years, the Middle Region Magic Academy''s'' previous results could only be described as bad. The rank bottom in all the academies resource ranking. Although in power ranking, the Middle Region Magic Academy ranks higher. That was because of the appearance of two individuals. One is the son of the famous magician from the Seeker Association and from a prestigious family, known as Almond Amulet." Almina''s eyes twitched from the name. This name was of course very familiar to her, after all, It was her big brother. "Before he entered the academy he already reached the level of 5 percent breakthrough in his limiter, which is very rare. With his expert level in wielding a longsword. He was able to reach the top of ranking in the academy. And garnered interest from the other academy''s leader. But something happened that made him no choice but to drop out of the academy." For once, the elder''s voice was trailed with sadness. Almina made a twitching face. She noticed the blonde muttered: "Birds of the same feather. Traitor," while ncing at her directions. "This girl!" Almina thought. She was angered by what the blonde said but did not react openly. Almina chose to remain quiet. She was not a child anymore to argue on the spot with a little provocation from others. And she had things that she wanted to do for herself and not for the others. Keremi who was in the middle of the two just forced a smile and acted he did not hear anything. Suddenly, his deity who was in sleeping mode fell from his head andnded on the table with a bang. Which caught everyone''s attention. The deity''s body rolled a few times. When it stopped, it suddenly pushed his round body using his frog-like robotic arms. Then it poses in a fighting stance. It looks awkward as it doesn''t have feet yet. "Pufft," Keremi chuckled a bit and said sorry to the others, especially to the elder. Almina sighed. The bitterness from what the blonde said a while ago still remained in her mind. She wanted to graduate in this academy as a top ranker or an ace. She really did not care to be in the lowest ranking academy. She most wanted to clear the name of her brother, which was falsely used as traitors from the others. Almina knows her brother very well. Two years ago, her brother was used as a traitor in a case of crippling 5 Elite magicians in this academy, which were hisrades. Crippling a magician was like taking their bright futures from them. And the victims were Elites. So even with the reputation of his parents in the Seeker Association, it was not of help to him. After all, the users were of famous families also. Elite trainees weremonly from prestigious or infamous families. Families that were able to acquire ancient techniques from their predecessors. Almond Amulet was brought to the court and was detained in a prison for three months and was not allowed to participate in thepetition before the issue was resolved. After all, the academy''s purpose was to produce a hero that would save the world from danger and not a viin who seriously hurt hisrades. This traitorous deed was really a big issue. It even affects the reputation of his parents in the Outerworld. But the issue automatically died down after thepetition ended which was very mysterious and doubtful for the Amulet Family. The Amulet family was also of the top family on the Outerworld. Their family even had their own guild and had many allied families at the top. Yet after the issue in the academy, their allies started to leave one by one. However, it did not weaken their family''s strength. After all, Almina and Almond''s mother was one of the rank S magicians in the entire Outerworld. Since the Seeker Association was not allowed to meddle in the Innerworld''s affair, his parents had no way of investigating the issue. Losing 5 elite members and an ace, the academy had no way of winning the resource battle, which was a team battleposed of the academy''s strongest trainees, the elites. Anger surged in other trainees'' feelings after their loss in thepetition. Looking for someone to me for the loss, thus, he has deemed a traitor after thepetition. Which is very unlikely to happen in Almina''s perspective. Her brother was a kind person who disliked fighting even with his talent in sword and magic. For her, he was a caring brother. Almina knows that even a magician was born with heroic desires, not every heroic desire was for good. There were many aspects of human behavior that resulted in the twisted thinking of a person. Even a magician was no exception about this. And his brother was an ace. So it was only natural that jealousy towards him bore from others who had the ambition of bing one. Good thing that the issue only revolves around the upper families. And did not reach on the lower families. In any case, most of the lower families had no time to mind the upper family issues. Some might gossip, but they usually only ride on the issue thenshes insults but mostly it only at this level and so on will be forgotten. And also, a person she met from before was here in this academy. Although, he might already have forgotten her. "Second is the known Ice Queen, Miss Ice. She was a powerful ice user magician and had high proficiency in casting magic. She is a mysterious girl who appeared and disappeared without anyone knowing where she went or goes." The elder paused for a moment and gulped some saliva to wet her drying throat. Chapter 49 - A Human Deity... While the meetings of the members of the Elites were ongoing, Yman was struggling against the evolved Evil Rat which now had the name of Noble Rat and reached the pinnacle of D, the D+ Wanderer. Now it stood on its 2 limbs. It''s supposed red eyes had turned into hazy yellow. Its pure dark blue fur that covered its whole body, now had milky-white fur arcing on its stomach down to its middle part. Its two ears grew longer, about 10 inches long that stood like horns on its pointy head. And on its face, gleaming in metallic luster, the whiskers were protruding like long needles. Even its razor-sharp ws had grown longer and sharper. Khaaaaaaaa!!! It suddenly yelled. The raspy shrill from it sent shivers on him. The cloak he was wearing had already torn, the clothes were tattered, and marks of blood could be spotted on some of its torn areas. If not because of his healing magic, not only his clothes would be torn at the moment but also his flesh.. For once he was thankful for having such healing magic, a self-healing magic though. Which was not usable to others. Actually, his body was covered by rashes as of the moment. It was the effect caused by the poison. So, at the moment, he was still in danger. If not because of the resistanceing from his cloak and mask, for certain he was already dead at the moment. Hah, hah, hah... Yman was breathing heavily. Currently, he was on his feet and was maintaining his bnce not to fall on the ground. At the same time, he also was eyeing the enemy in front. They just finished an exchange of attacks, however, Yman was at a disadvantage. This monster''s agility and strength had increased for many folds after it evolved which he already expected. Yet, he did not choose to escape, how could he just leave this monster roaming down here freely? Although he did not really care if some people wandered inside the channel and found themselves in unfavorable situations, he was not the hero type person who would sacrifice himself just to save someone. Actually, he did it, he did rescue someone from before. When he and his sister wandered around the town. He was carrying his sister on his back for days after they lost their parents. But because he was just a 5 years old brat that time, he could not find work to feed both of them. It was a bright sunny day when they passed at the town''s park. He saw a rich-looking beautiful kid girl running towards the dark alleyway while being chased by a Hybrid Mad Dog. That time, the town where they live was unrest from the attacks of these relentless creatures. They usually prowled the town and attacked their victims with their leagues. They usually appeared from sewers or canals, and also went through it to escape. Hybrid Mad Dog was at the rank C monster. They mostly attack their victim when they are with their group or if the victim is alone. Seeing the rich-looking girl running aimlessly towards the dark alleyway, Yman thought that if he managed to save this girl, her parents might be thankful and gave them food by saving their daughter. That time, his mind was devoid of fear and shrouded because of his stomach that mored in hunger, he did not even think that they might find themselves in danger by doing so. TOGETHER with his sister that was tied on his back, he chased after them without a second thought. He saw the girl cowering in a corner while covering her head with her little hands. She was crying while shouting: "Mom! Dad! I''m scared! Help me! Help me! Help me! Noticing a dirty 1-meter stick that was leaning in the wall, he immediately grabbed it then rushed in difficulty towards the Hybrid Mad Dog. Even though he was still 5 years old at that time, he was trained with basic swordsmanship by his mysterious teacher. Before the Hybrid Mad Dog could gnaw its prey in front, it suddenly stopped when it heard a yell from behind it. Yman flinched a little upon seeing its red eyes, those piercing gaze of the killer, it was almost identical with that eyes of that person who murdered their parents. Its wide-mouth was dripping with sticky liquids, and heinous-looking razor-sharp fangs protruding like inverted nails. Definitely, it could tear him without difficulty if ever it bit him. Regardless, after hearing the grumbling of his and his sister''s stomach, he was looking at it like looking at the food instead. In his mind, if he won and sessfully rescued the girl, he could get some food. And if he loses, then they would be a fresh meal for this beast together with the rich-looking kid girl. Yman continued his charge and made a basic downward strike to the monster''s head. The dirty stick made a whipping sound in the air as it came from above to below. Yet It hit empty air. Yman''s eyes trembled after his attack failed tond on its target. However, the Hybrid Mad Dog leaped overhead and sneak unto the opposite wall, then gone in a second. He sighed in relief. Looks like the Hybrid Mad Dog really did not attack if there were multiple enemies in its vicinity. No. The reason why it chose to escape was Tak, tak, tak A moment after the Hybrid Mad Dog escaped, some steeping sounds reached their ears. When the owner of those steeping sounds reached the dark alleyway where the children were. They saw a young boy holding a dirty stick in his hand that was pointing its tip to the cowering girl. "You bastard! What are you doing!" Angry yelled from someone who just arrived. Yman suddenly threw the stick and tried to exin what really happened, but instead, he was beaten up. And that guy even acts heroically in front of the girl''s rtives when they arrived, like he just rescued a damsel in distress from some viin. They even took his sister and brought her into the orphanage. And used him as a coborator of the criminal group who kidnapped children to sell their organs or made them a puppet for killing. He tried and tried to reason out. Yet, those so-called magicians who are supposed to be heroes would only believe what their eyes saw and not the actual scenario. Because of hunger, he lost his consciousness just moment after the beating. He was so hungry that even what happened in that time was pretty vague now in his memory, yet he was sure that something like that happened from before. However, what he got in exchange for rescuing someone was a beating and not food. And he was sent into a facility to be ab frog. After all, they were looking at him as not human. But a scam criminal. For god sake, he was just a kid at that time. Right now, he believes that that issue was not as simple as that. It was already nned by someone lurking in the dark. However, all of these were just a tant hunch. After he was brought in the facility, repeated tests and experimentation was done to him. They were making a living weapon from him. nting artificial Hollow cells into him together with a built-in deity. Failures after failure. Which causes him pain, pain, pain, pain for a long time. Yet Yman chose to be obedient while waiting for the right timing to escape. Yeah...inside him...or he himself was a living deity... Until one day, he was able to escape from that facility with the help of Miss Pai. She was a new attendant at that time. And something happened that changed her perspective from helping to develop a living weapon which is him, into helping him to escape. Yman that time was already 15 years old. After his sessful escape. He went to look for his sister with Miss Pai''s help. That time when they took them, they were using an alias. After their parents were killed, it was only natural for him to change their identity. Who knows what that murderer''s true goal was. It was taught to him from his teacher to always conceal yourself from your enemy. Sist''s warning reached his ears, yet Yman seemed like he did not hear it. Hah! Hah! Hah! Deep breathinging from his mouth hindering the noiseing from around him. Even a call of warninging from his deity seemed to be unheard by him. Regardless, the enemy was still unhurt, standing a head below him, yet it was looking at him like looking at someone below it. Such an arrogant pose for someone who was crawling just a moment ago! Yman inwardly thought. A thing in his throat seems to be itchy and his chest felt a little pain. Cough! A taste of blood in his tongue followed after his cough, a mouthful of blood that almost choked his throats departed from his mouth. Chu! Yman sent a spit of blood to his side. He coughed several times before he lifted his left arm and wiped his mouth that was wetted by his own blood. However, Exhaustion had started to creep out in him. His muscles that started to numb signified how beat-up he had be for just a little time that had passed. But Yman seemed to be unbothered by it. His eyes even glinted with excitement. This beast, for sure would give him big loot. A sinister smile finally creeped out on his mouth when he noticed his stamina at almost 0%? Chapter 50 - Black Mana... As the fight of Yman against the Noble Rat reached the peak, the meeting of the Elites was still ongoing. After exining to the Elites about the current situation of the academy, Elder Paan proceeds on discussing the shaded individuals that could be seen disyed in the holographic screens at the end of the clips. "I''m sure you are wondering who those people on the screen..." the elder stopped then nced at the Elites one by one. Noticing that all of them had no idea who those people are, she continued by snapping her fingers. After the elder snapped her fingers, the ten shaded in ck figures suddenly revealed their real appearances. The Elites noticed that each of those individuals was wearing academy uniforms of different academies. They also noticed one specific person wearing an academy uniform from the Middle Region Magic Academy. . She has smart looking-eyes, a small nose, and rosy red lips. Her sky-colored pupils gleamed like the crescent moon reflected on it. And her shoulder-length silver hair was paired with a white headdress embroidered by ck. She looks stunning and beautiful. "That is our own Ice Queen, Miss Ice," said the elder after noticing that the Elite''s eyes were focused on a specific person. "She was the top 8 strongest in thest yearpetition," she added. "Wow..." one of the Elites muttered in amusement. She was a short girl with short sakura-colored hair. She looks cute with her big round eyes and rosy cheeks. Her figure was of that half-human half roon. But no one inside the room dared to belittle her. After all, all of them inside this room all possessed exceptional abilities and wielder of great mana. "Amazing..." Kesha followed after the little girl. Almina and the others also had the look of admiration towards the person on the screen. "So, she is the mysterious Miss Ice," she and the blonde had the same thought at the moment. Elder Paan proceeded on discussing who those people were and their backgrounds one by one. The Elites learned that those people on the screen were the top 10 strongest individuals in all the academies. Some of them were from the Outerworld and some from here in the Innerworld. But this ranking was inconsistent, almost every year that new talents bound to rise and took a top spot. She also exined that the Resource War would be starting early this year, about 3 months from the current date. It will be held in the early days of September. The elder required the Elites to form a party, a team, group, or squad. This party was essential for the training in preparation for the uing Resource War. She then added the details corresponding to the Resource War and training. And what they needed to do. After the meeting, Elder Grenn left first the room which was followed by the Elites and their deities. Each of them had their own ns after it, but most of them went to the barracks to acquire their individual mission. Before Almina could leave the room together with Kesha and their deities, she heard the blonde whisper some words when it passed her. Inside the underground channel, Yman was staring at the Noble Rat in cold eyes. On the other hand, the Noble Rat was staring at him like staring at a dying insect. Yman who was tired and barely able to move had a face contrary to his situation even in the face of danger. Inwardly, he was grinning when his stamina was at 1% left only. His enemy had some weird abilities. Every attack was deadly. He nced on the pavement ground and saw some pit on it. Debris of concrete scattered everywhere, because of the Noble Rat''s ability which its limbs would be enveloped by powerful mana. It could even maneuver its body in the air! Which gave Yman difficulty in making a n to defeat it. He even was thinking of using the narrow alleyway as thest-ditch, but he disregarded the thought. The enemy was getting wiser as they fought. Yman was afraid that instead of trapping the enemy in that ce, the opposite would happen. He lifted his hand, but because of tiredness, he felt like he was lifting a stone brick, which is his hand. Sist''s tense annoying voice of warning rang in his ears repeatedly. But he chose to ignore it. Before his stamina reached zero percent, he selected a hibernation option for his deity. Only through this that their battery can recharge. Suddenly, after choosing hibernation mode, the floating Map suddenly went puff and gone which caused the ce to suddenly turn dark and hinder his vision. But why did he do it? Even the brilliance that envelopes his body also fades at the same time. The annoying tense voice of his deity was also quieted. Sometimes, he wished that his deity was like aputer. Would answer only if he ever asked, because he could not think clearly of a good n whenever Sist started to rapid-fire his ears. But Yman could only sigh at that. He thought. If only he could fully wield his real ability he was just fine going alone without a deity. But of course, he was doing it because of his Sister. It was followed by a thud. Yman suddenly felt weak and fell down on his knees onto the ground after the resonance was canceled. After his kneesnded on the ground, it followed by his face that smacked hard onto the ground. He even had no more strength to stay on his ground. Yman groaned from the pain of having his face hit the hard pavement ground. Right now, he was lying on the ground where his back was facing the ceiling of the underground channel. The Noble Rat seemed to be puzzled by what happened. Although the ce suddenly turned dark, the Noble Rat was unaffected by it. In its vision, it just likes staring outside in a noontime, as bright as day. He could even perceive the enemy''s chest heaving deeply as sweats trailing on his body. The mask the enemy wore a while ago had long since torn to pieces from its w. And even the clothes and cloak were in no good condition. The enemy''s action seems like he was giving up. The Noble rat sneered. And smoke blows from the crevices of its face. It then stepped towards the human enemy to finish it but suddenly stopped on its feet when... Something''s wrong with the human body! It was enveloped by ck thingy. The Noble Rat immediately back stepped. It could feel his life was in danger. The Noble Rat seemingly made the right decision. After it backstepped, from its supposed position, where it was standing just a moment ago, had now scratched marks of ws. The Noble Rat stared at the enemy in puzzlement. Yman''s body was enveloped by ck mana as he was slowly pushing his body to get up. The Noble Rat wondered if this person just ying dead a moment ago. Never did the Noble Rat expected for this human to hide such a card up his sleeves. He was dying just a moment ago, but now, his body had something weird on it. The current Yman has ears the same as the Noble Rat but it colored like ck smoke. His hands have ck long nails but the sizes and forms were the same as that of the Noble Rat and his eyes had turned red, but in this state, his vision was unhindered in this dark surroundings. He even has a ck tail grown on its back the same as the Noble rat. He was imitating the Noble Rat. But not the face though. Actually, not only some of its appearances were imitated by Yman. He jumped into the air and maneuvered its body like dancing. Then he suddenly dove while swinging its hand that was wrapped by ck mana. Seeing the iing attack. The Noble Rat scoffed. This attacking from the human was the same attack he did a moment ago. The Noble Rat''s hand also was enveloped by mana and thrown an attack towards the iing enemy. He was the real user of this attack, he could not let anybody to imitate it without paying the price! Booooooooooom! When the two shining hands met each other, it was followed by a loud bang that shook the entirety of the underground channel. Smoke was covering the entire area. But big cracks were visible on the ground and walls. A minuteter, the smoke finally dissipated and the surroundings finally cleared. Yet, only those individuals who could see in the dark were able to have a full picture inside this dark ce. A silhouette was standing in the middle. With the outreached hand pointing towards the wall where a hole in the form of a human-shaped one, where its two hands extended in opposite directions forming a letter ''T'', while its legs forming a letter ''Y'' invertedly. And the owner of the silhouette who remained standing on the spot was no other than... Yman. In his extended hand, there were two gleaming objects. The other one was the Inner Core of the monster, and the second one was a Magic Cryst! These two objects could of course be sold at great prices! But Yman was more interested in the ability this Magic Cryst holds. He could use it to his armor or weapons to increase his fighting capability. Actually, he could not use this ck mana freely. To use it, he needed some preparations. He was a failed weapon they experimented from before. In order to activate his ck mana, his body must be in an exhausted state! But in good condition where no wounds even a scratch! And in fact, he could not increase his Combat Experience when using this ability. And because Yman had a weak physical body at the moment, he could not handle much longer his ck mana and could only use it for a few seconds. In order for him to use it freely, he needed to break through his body limiter first by using the System Deity and not the built-in system in him. That is why Yman could only eat those taunts about him being weak. He could not reveal such power with so much weakness. And he was avoiding being discovered by those people who did the experimentation on him. Although they might not know his real ability, Yman had to be careful and wary somehow. He could not let himself be discovered before bing stronger. So he could only hide this power for now. He could not use it redundantly also. Because the after effect was too awful. A fucking DIARRHEA! After he looted the Noble Rat, he quickly left the area. And returned to the hotel where he and his sister stayed. He would sell the materialster. But before he could reach the hotel, he suffered many stops. And Yman was really as tired as fuck! After all, he exhausted his stamina. That time before his attacknded on the enemy''s own attack, the tail on Yman''s back abruptly bound the Noble Rat''s arm then he quickly used Air Dance and increased his speed using his channeling talent. With the power of ck mana, his channeling could be manipted without ag. Then he shifted his body andnded on the enemy''s back. Yman once again used the Hard Strike ability of the Noble Rat at the monster''s back. It resulted in it being thrown on the wall where the Noble Rat was facing. But on its chest area, where it was hit by Hard Strike, a palm-size hole was visible. The exchange happened in an instant. Chapter 51 - Shooting When Yman finally arrived at their room, his sister was so shocked when she saw him. He looks so beat-up and sluggish. She asked him worriedly of what happened, Yman told her that he went to map the Underground Channel where his solo mission as a trainee was located. But unfortunately, he had met with the monsters so soon and a fight was inescapable. He did not mention the evolved one and about his power. Because he knew that his sister would feel regretful if she knew what happened to him in the past after they were being separated. Even though she was not at fault about it. However, she keeps on ming herself for being a disabled person. Which Yman is trying to avoid. An idea popped up in his mind. He must bring extra clothes next time so that beforeing back he looks fine and avoids worrying his sister. Hmm why did it juste to his mind? Yman regretted.. Anyways, he was too exhausted to think of any sensible things. Regardless, at the moment, only he and Ms. Pai knew about his secret. He also told his sister that the monster inflicted a poison on him but good thing that he was well-prepared, not only he wore some suit with poison resistance, he also bought potions for poison ailments. He exined to her that after drinking the potion, the poison healed but his body protested because of the side effect and that he was having diarrhea at the moment. Yana had a worried face and was trying to get up and sit on the bed. He hastily said that he''s fine now and that no need to get worried about him. This diarrhea will probably go away after taking some medicine. In reality, his diarrhea was the after effect from using his ck Mana, and it could not be healed by ordinary medicine. Although it would be gone even without medicine, he just needed some rest, but for the main time, Yman had to suffer before that. To assure his sister that he was really fine as of the moment, Yman self-proimed that he was a strong person, and this kind of disease was nothing to him. Yana could only force a smile to her brother''s act. She knew that he was forcing himself too much, and right now he was acting fine. She could even feel his deep breathing at the moment, and his messy hair was even messy and clearly wet from his sweat. He''s exhausted no matter how she looks at him. Certainly, Yman was not a good actor in front of his sister. If only she could stand on her own. If only, she could help even with the house chores, she could help to lighten up some of his burden that he was lifting through his thin shoulders. However, here she was, limped lying on the bed. Could only sit but could not walk. She doesn''t like this, being an addition to his heavy loads that he carried on by himself. She really doesn''t care if her brother was the weakest person in the world, as long as he''s fine and away from danger. Yman noticed that Yana had a solemn face, and at the corner of her eyes, started to wet. He then moved beside her and gently touched her head while forcing the sweetest smile a big brother can muster. "Sorry, I made you worry again. Don''t worry your big brother will be more careful next time." He said with a gentle smile and gently wiped her eyes that started to get wet and red. Yana also smiled from her brother''s words: "Mhm." And she nodded her head. Then entangled her arms on Yman''s thin waist. Yman knew what his sister was thinking. That she felt like she was a load on his shoulder, which is not true. He was very happy to see her again, after many years that they had separated. Every day he was praying to reunite with her. Because of her, he was able to stay alive from that torturous hell-like ce. And because of her, he did not lose his sanity and remained sane even after that horrendous past of him. Yman gently brushed Yana''s hair with his hand. His hand slides on his sister''s long silky brown hair. A momentter, she asked about Sist when it came to her mind. Yman exined truthfully, he said that Sist was in hibernation mode at the moment. Then he handed to her the soundless sleeping ball-shaped deity. Every 2 seconds, blue shes of lightning asionally trailed in the imprint that could be seen around its body. Indicating that it was charging at the moment. The next morning, Yman woke up early per usual, he needed to attend the physical training which is held at 4 AM - 8 AM early in the morning. But this time, Yman was not in his top condition. His stamina did not regain fully. He had to suffer being woken up and had to run to the toilet several timesst night. He didn''t even have a good sleepst night. And now his eyes have ck circles surrounded around it. Sist was left in the hotel to take care of his sister. There is no need to bring her to the training grounds. After he finished changing his uniform into a training suit, he directly went into the training grounds where he saw Bob and his deity doing some stretching in front of one of the punching dummies. Near it is a shooting area, where every trainee can practice their shooting skills. He even saw some trainees using magic-based guns and some using bows and crossbows while shooting at a distance of 30 - 50 meters, each one of them was busy trying to hit the bullseye target inside the t wooden cardboard. Yman noticed from Bob''s face that something good happened to him. He guessed that he sessfully advanced into level 3. When Bob saw him, he immediately lifted his hand in the air and called out to Yman excitedly. "Yman bro!" His voice was so loud that even the other trainees around had to take a nce at him. When they noticed the most hated person, they scoffed at Yman. Yman disregarded them and walked towards Bob''s direction. He also noticed Chloe together with her deity Jazz sitting on a bench near the shooting area, she was talking with the other girls from their ss. Looks like she made some friends already. But for some reason, she was having a red face and was trying to shake his head and hands in between her and the other girls. It was easy to guess what their topic was. He used to read some romance novels inside the facility. It was his way to divert himself away from the thought of suicide. Yman was thinking that they might be having some girl talks. It''s not umon with girls of such age to have such conversations. He wondered if Yana was not ill, would she also have an interest towards a person of the opposite gender? After all, his sister was a cute and beautiful girl also. Yman immediately disregarded the thought and chose to forget it without a second thought. He believed that Chloe just finished her shooting practice. A magic-based pistol with blue color was hanging on her waist, inside its holster. When Yman finally neared Bob, his guess was proven right. Bob had sessfully advanced to level 3. And right now, all his attributes had increased a lot and so his mana. However, his strength and vitality had greater growth than his other attributes. This is normal for someone like Bob who had a physically fit body, and most of his activity before the advancement was based on strength and endurance. He could only envy this guy. His physically fit body, had now glimmering, this is one of the effects after a sessful advancement of a magician. On the other hand, Yman''s CE is almost at the peak. Probably, he believes that after the training it would reach the peak. So he was excited also for hising breakthrough. When Yman checked his mission tab after he woke up, he noticed that killing the Noble Rat was not counted in the list of total Evil Rat killed. Maybe because it was an evolved form, and since his mission was the Evil Rat, so killing monsters other than that would not be counted. Yet a question from Bob stunned him: "Yman bro, what happened to you? You look like -- you are dying!" "Wha ?" |What an insensitive person!| Yman screamed inwardly. However, Yman knew that Bob didn''t mean bad for what he just said. He knew that Bob is the type of person who''s not concerned about his choice of words. But mostly he did not mean ill with his words. After noticing the stunned face of his friend: "Ah - aaaah, I - I didn''t mean for you t-to die bro. I - I''m just kinda..." Bob hastily exined with a stammering voice after he noticed that his words might sound rude to Yman. "Haha. No, don''t mind it, Bob. The truth is, I met with an unexpected bad luck yesterday while mapping the area of my mission." Yman said with a can''t be helped gesture. "Hah, I - Is that so? Then how''s your progress?" Bob sighed in relief when he felt Yman was not angry with his remarks. He really was trying to change his way of talking but sometimes it woulde out unexpectedly from his mouth. Especially when he felt excited or tense. Yman sighed and said: "Not bad, I guess. Although I killed one in difficulty." Bob forced a dry smile. He knew how Yman had zero mana. And had to rely on his channeling talent. In any case, what is a channeling talent? Even Bob has no idea what this talent can do. Not only him. Even Yman himself was not quite familiar with it. Because the logic behind it was whenever he used it, his stamina would be consumed. In these thoughts, he assumed that he was channeling his stamina as a substitute for his mana. Regardless, after their small talk, and before their 20 kilometers run started, Yman excused himself first and went into the shooting tform. He really wanted to increase his uracy. He saw some magic-based training guns, bows, bowgun, throwing weapons, and etcetera lined ordingly on a long table in front of the shooting tform. Yman did not decide long as he picked the bow. He checked on it. It was a normal wooden bow bind with a garter on its handle for a stable gripping. He took a quiver of arrows next and positioned himself in front of the shooting tform. He adjusted the target at 10 meters distance only since he was not proficient enough as a range magician. When everything was set. He readied himself and inhaled then exhaled three times. He focused himself, getting rid of all the surrounding noiseing from around him. His eyes were dead set on the tip of the arrow towards the bullseye. After rxing his hands and the tip of the arrow well aligned on the bullseye, his hand released the grip on the arrow''s tail. The arrow travels the space between him and the bullseye in just an instant. Andnded a few centimeters at the top right corner of the center. Yman sighed. He needed more practice. Chapter 52 - Passed Out Again... After the first arrow, he followed up by another one then another and so on until his quiver was emptied. Yet, not even once that his arrowsnded on the bullseye. Yman finally gave up hitting the wooden cardboard when thest arrownded farther off from the bullseye. He used his arm to wipe the sweat on his forehead. He already expected such result. Not far from him, some trainees were snorting. "Puffft, what that idiot trying to make a fool of himself?" A rich looking guy wearing a training suit like the others asked the other trainee beside him. His deity beside him replied. "I heard that guy is a mana-less person.." A rich looking girl said. "A no mana person? Then why is that guy allowed to enroll in this academy?" Asked the rich-looking man. "I heard he has a weird talent that enables him to use magic even though he has no mana." Said the second girl with them. "What? A talent that enables him to cast magic without mana? What bullshit is that? Uhm... wait, do you mean mana channeling?" Said the rich-looking guy. Said the deity beside him. "It is a crap ability though!" Said another man with 2 earrings on both ears. "Right?!" Agreed with the girl with purple long hair. "I told you he is crap. In any case, don''t get bothered by him. That guy is a waste!" Said the rich looking girl. "I''m sure he came into the academy to brag himself as a full-fledged magician." The rich-looking guy added. "Hahaha. What a joke person." Said the girl with purple long hair. "It''s better not to waste our time talking about him. He was so gross. Look how unhealthy he looks! He looks like someone who had no money to buy decent food." A rich looking girl said. "Yeah, hahaha!" Laughed the guy with 2 earrings on both ears. "Let''s go, sweetie!" Said the man with them. Yman briefly nced at his back and saw the leaving figures of some trainee, two boys, and 2 girls together with their deities. He wondered if he did something bad to them. Although they didn''t mention a name, he knew they were talking about him. Their voices were slightly loud. Regardless, who are they? Yman didn''t even know them. Looks like his being infamous reached a different height that even some random group of people would take notice of him. Well, they were already gone, so Yman decided to leave the firing tform too and went back to where Bob is, who was busy punching the punching dummies. Beside him was his deity named Mac. Mac was imitating what Bob is doing and also threw punches on one of the punching dummies beside his owner. Bang, bang, bang! The consecutive one-twobination of left and right punches that shook the training dummies. When Bob noticed him, he stopped and asked: "You''re done with your training, bro?" "Yeah," Yman nodded. Bob asked him: "How is it?" "Ahaha, not quite good. I needed more training but I guessed I would do it next time..." Yman replied while scratching his face then pointed out a direction towards them using his head. Bob nced at where he pointed. They saw the other trainees together with the instructors. Those trainees were the chosen Elites. They also noticed Keremi waving his hand at the two. "It''s Keremi," Bob muttered. Yman sighed but soon he frowned and wondered why the Elites came together with the instructors. They also saw the beautiful girl Almina Amulet and the blonde. Both of them were wearing their fitted ck training suits. The other trainees started whispering how cute, how pretty, or how handsome they are. Looks like those Elites had be academy idols for some reason. There was even a group of trainees quarreling about who was more pretty, Almina, the blonde, or the Encan girl. The other male trainee on the training ground suddenly liven-up seeing those two goddessesing. Not only them, but there was also another beauty. There were the beautiful Encandy and a cute loli, even Kesha was of top-notched beauty also. So seeing these groups of people really liven the atmosphere of the training grounds. Yman was not aware, while he was staring at theing people, Almina''s eyes darted to his direction with a rosy-colored face. She remembered her message to him yesterday. Now she was shy to stare in his eyes. As of the moment, she could not focus on her mind. She wondered if she made an excuse that the message he received was a wrong sent. Yet deep inside something in her wanted to protest that it was not. Almina''s mind was in a mess. What if Yman asked her about the message? What will be her reply? For some reason, she was not ready and she was shy. Her face was bing redder every second. "Best friend, are you okay?" Now, even Kesha who was beside her noticed her redness. "Ha?! A-A-Ah y-yes! Of c-course!" Almina replied in difficulty and was shaking her hands in front of her and Kesha. Kesha frowned. It was clear that her best friend wasn''t okay. And it looks like something was bugging her. Nevertheless, Yman was unaware of it, and he already forgot about the message. His mind was focused on what he would do with the Magic Cryst that he looted from the Noble rat. He could sell it or use it. "Formation!" Shouted by Mr. Goki. Whenever the HI Stone De Guzman was not here, Instructor Goki would take his ce. All the trainees immediately ran to their respective position per usual and lined in rows. Not the sun-rays formation but the regr rows and columns formation. Like usual, Yman was at the back of Bob and Keremi was behind him. "Before we proceed in our training, there is an announcementing from the Elites. So all of you listen up!" After instructor Goki said this, he beckoned on Almina Amulet and the other members of Elites. Almina and the others walked to the front. "Hey, why are you still here? Your group went to the front though." Yman asked Keremi when he noticed that only him didn''t go to the front. "Ahaha, there''s no need for me to go there, my prince," Keremi replied. Yman wondered what''s up with these people, will they go to perform a dance or sing in front? Needless to say, this Keremi still calls him my prince, my prince... Which was very inappropriate for him. He already tried to put a stop on it but this guy still kept on calling him like this. What a weird dude, he thought. After Almina and the others went in front, they immediately announced their purpose. "What? A party?!" Bob eximed in surprise. "Yes, that''s what the Elder told us in the meeting yesterday." Keremi approved. "Hmm... A party of trainees to explore a wider hunting grounds?" Yman also muttered. "Yes, my prince," Keremi nodded. "And what is this Resource War mentioned by the Elites?" Yman asked. "I don''t really get it. The elder only said that it is one of thepetition mechanism where trainees from different academies fight in a team battle. And at the end of the battle, each team will be ranked ordingly depending on whoever had the highest umted resources." Keremi exined what he understood. |Hmm... what a vague exnation.| Yman thought. The other trainees seemed to be excited after hearing that they could get a chance to join a party with Elites. "Whooo, I wanted to join Miss Almina''s party!" A guy trainee shouted. "Please Miss Blonde, my love invites me to your party!" Some un-shameful guy with thick-skinned shouted. "Miss Rui-Rui chose me, I offer my life to be your servant!" Another shameful bastard shouted and offered his life to the beautiful Encan girl. "Loli is life!" "Must protect!" "Loli is life!" "Must protect!" "Loli is life!" "Must protect..." Some chanted the words repeatedly. Yman wondered if loli was an endangered species. But when he noticed Bob screaming ''Must proteeeect!'', |For real?!| He shouted in his mind. "Ahahaha..." Keremi justughed. Looks like the loli girl had many fans. Some girls also scream the Elite boy''s name. Yman finally understood why Keremi had chosen not to go in front together with the Elites. Before the trainees lost their control, the Instructor Goki immediately announces that the recruitment and building of parties would be held tomorrow morning in an open forum event for the trainees. When the heat finally calmed down. The training immediately resumed. Yman had to suffer again from passing out several times. The other instructors could only shake their heads at him. However, Instructor Goki was secretly cheering on him. But from a distance. A girl was snorting, "Tsk, that guy is literally a waste. I wonder why he kept on staying in the academy. Even though the academy doesn''t need him." Kesha muttered. The blonde girl just rolled her eyes and thought that Yman was struggling for nothing. "Look, that guy, he passed out again. He really was the weakest in the academy." Some girls pointed out. Regardless, his vision had started to dim. Not only was he physically weak, but at the moment his stamina was also very low. He needed more rest to regain it. Although, he passed out again. But Yman felt that his CE already hit the peak. He was excited somehow. But right now, he had to sumb in the face of exhaustion, and slowly closed his eyes. Keremi and Bob immediately ran to his side and took him into the medical tent. Afterying him down. The two left the tent and continued their training. Yet, after the two left, a girl sneak-in inside. Chapter 53 - Unreasonable "Ssshhh, lower your voice, Mr. Cal. We are going for a rescue mission." Said Almina as she sneak-in inside the medical tent where Yman was currentlyying. "!!" Mr. Cal was puzzled. He wondered who was in need of rescue here. . Cal mumbled. He added while shaking his metallic tiny head, and lifted his robotic hands at both sides. Noticing that there''s no other person inside, she breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran to the side of the resting person. Almina stared at his sleeping face. She could not believe that she had the chance to stare at him this close. In her mind, she thought that he was so tired just looking at how messed-up he looks at the moment. His breathing was deep and his eyes seemed like he had ack of sleep. Almina felt something poking her heart seeing how tired he looked. She wanted to help him. Almina was unaware that at the moment, her face was burning in red. But while looking at his resting face, she couldn''t avert her eyes anymore, until her face slowly moved on its own towards the sleeping face of Yman. Her throat made a slight movement when she gulped and cleared something in it. She felt like some invisible maic force was pulling her face towards him, and was inside a separate world where no one inside except the two of them. His words that day are still fresh in her memories. The scene of that certain day had automatically reyed in her memory, their first encounter. Five-years-old Almina was sitting on her usual seat in the park. Being the daughter of the famous Amulet family, she was treated like a princess. Ten maids would follow her wherever she goes. Only at school that she could find herself breathing away from her maids. Yet even in school, she was always surrounded by friends. There''s really no space for her to be alone. However, on that specific day, as usual, together with her friends, they went to the park to y. Almina lost track of time, and the sun started to set. Her friends started to say goodbye and left one after another. When Almina finally left alone, she noticed that the surrounding was already dark. And now she was alone inside the park. When she checked the time on a watch inside her shoulder bag, it was written 6:10 pm. At a young age, she was always afraid of the dark. Almina was so afraid to move; therefore, she remained in her position while sobbing. A momentter, she heard an eerie growling sound from behind her. Almina slowly nced behind, but what greeted her was two red eyes, dripping in sticky saliva razor-sharp fangs. And a smell of rotting flesh and blood. "H-Hybrid Mad Do " after muttering such words she lost her consciousness in too much fear. What follows next, she was awakened by the sensation of something touching her lips. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a pair of shocked wide eyes of a young boy while his lips were on top of her. Almina blinks twice. The boy immediately separated himself and told her... that he was trying to wake her up because it was almost dark but no matter what he did she was not waking up, hearing it, Almina immediately nced around and noticed that the surrounding was still not dark. She checked the time on a watch inside her shoulder bag, it was still four pm and 10 minutes. Almina did not know if to get angry by the stolen kiss or felt relieved about it. "I''m sorry for the kiss, I just no way of waking you, and I remember a scene in the old book I happened to read from before. It was about a prince and a sleeping beauty. In order for the prince to wake up the sleeping beauty, the prince kisses her and so the sleeping beauty finally wakes up... and that''s why I tried it on you. Guess it was effective..." For some reason, the boy started telling her about an old tale from a storybook. Almina chuckled, she wanted to get angry but she also felt relieved that he woke her up. "My name is Almina Amulet, how about you?" She reached a hand to him. Seeing the girl not angry for his rude behavior, the boy cracked a smile and reached her hand, "I''m Yman Yman Talisman." After that the two of them be friends. The next days, they went into adventures of rescuing some high breed little animals and other cute pets. They always y after school. But suddenly, Yman just left and went away one day. And Almina could not find him again. She also was recruited at the Elite school when her Hollow Cell symptoms awakened early. And when the academy evaluation started, she checked in the website the list of names of the trainees who participated in the evaluation exam. And finally, saw his name on the list. She immediately downloaded his photo and pasted it in her room so that she won''t forget. When she saw his face, she could not believe it at first. He looks so thin, very far from the chubby face kid that she used to y with. But anyhow, those eyes that greeted her that time when she woke up from the sensation on her lips, was the same eyes he had that time. Yet, there was a tinge of hardship in it. Her pinkish lips almostnded on his when she heard some noiseing from the outside. Almina jerked back like she just awakened. Almina took something from her Cyber Storage, it was a vial with yellow colored liquid inside. She then tucked it inside Yman''s mouth. When the bottle was emptied, she immediately ran towards the entrance. Right at this moment, Yman opened his eyes and noticed a leaving back of a girl and a deity. But he couldn''t tell who were they since his vision was blurred. Cal was having a puzzled face. He wondered why this girl had to leave like that. Why not pretend to be a medic though? Cal thought once again as he followed his owner. Chapter 54 - Dormant State Yman pushed his body to get up. Weirdly, he felt like his stamina had fully recovered already. He clenched his hands repeatedly and figured out that his stamina had fully regained truly. He was about to stand when his eyesnded on an empty vialying on the ground. He picked and smelled it. "This is...!" He muttered with wide eyes and he frowned in puzzlement. The smell on it was familiar to him. |What is a stamina potion doing here? And who was that person who just left now?| Yman had some questions in his mind. He could also taste the smell of potion at the tip of his lips and tongue.. He then nced around and noticed that he was inside a medical tent. Looks like he was carried here after he passed out again. He believed that it was Keremi and Bob that carried him here. Like always. He could not return to the training grounds. Although his stamina went back fully, the umted fatigue still exhausted him. And he needed more rest. He felt hungry also. All the food he ate yesterday was donated to the toiletst night. And now his stomach started to rebel. Yman took a mobile device and contacted Sist to give him permission to ess the Cyber Storage. Magicians who were not with their deity could ess their Cyber Screen after getting their deity''s permission. Although Yman had his own Cyber Screen, he needed to used his ck Mana first. And it''s not easy to activate it. After getting permission, he quickly took his lunch box from inside the Cyber Storage and gnawed his lunch ahead of time. Someone entered the room right after he finished eating his lunch. "Miss Pai?" Yman was surprised to see Ms. Pai enter the tent. Ms. Pai also had a surprised face, "Oh, I thought you passed out, but seeing you now with a grin of food on your face, I bet you faked out losing your consciousness. So that you can have your time eating your lunch in advance. Hehe," Ms. Pai giggled. Yman suddenly wiped his face with his hand, "No it wasn''t like that, regardless, did you see someone came out from here?" Yman denied shyly and asked when he remembered the leaving figures of a girl and a deity a while ago. "No, I didn''t, why? Did someonee here?" Miss Pai asked curiously. "Hmm... yeah, but I only saw their leaving back. I could not tell who it was since my vision was blurred at that time." Yman exined. Ms. Pai narrowed her eyes, "Hm, did that person do something to you? Did you feel something unusual right now?" Ms. Pai fired consecutive questions. "No, it''s not like that. Here..." Yman denied and handed the empty vial to her. Ms. Pai took it and smelled it. "A potion?!" She muttered. "Stamina Potion to be specific," Yman replied. "This type of potion is expensive." Ms. Pai thought that that person who just came here might have fed this to the resting Yman without him knowing. "It''s weird that someone had the heart to feed such an expensive potion to you. You must feel gratified." Ms. Pai said while handing back the empty bottle. But Yman declined it and said, "Can you check if there are some foreign substances mixed on it?" "Ok, but you muste with me." Ms. Pai replied and urged him toe with her. "Eh, is something wrong?" He asked. "There''s someone that I want you to meet." Miss Pai replied. "Hmm..." Yman didn''t answer right away and checked the time first inside his Cyber Screen. Seven hours and twenty minutes in the morning was shown on it, "Okay!" He nodded. He followed Ms. Pai. The two of them walked in the hallway and stopped in front of the door of one of the rooms inside the outeryer building. When they stepped inside, Yman''s eyes were greeted by a row of apparatuses. Monitor screens of different sizes could be seen around. And he noticed a door, towards a room where he could see through a ss window. And inside that room was a stale bed. A woman of about 20 years old and in white clothing was sitting in a swivel chair in front of a big monitor screen. Yman suddenly felt a bad premonition after seeing the inside. He froze where he stood and wore a sour face. Ms. Pai felt Yman''s change in the face. She was taken aback when she saw his grim expression on the face. "Y-Yman, c-calm down." She did not expect him to have such a reaction after seeing the room. "Ms. Pai, what is the meaning of this?!" Yman bellowed. Yman could not believe that Ms. Pai would sell him to those people. "It''s not what you think, please calm down Yman. Besides, we are inside the academy," Ms. Pai tried to calm him down. He bit his lips until it bled. "Yman listen to me..." Ms. Pai approached him and slowly reached him. But he subconsciously stepped back with an afraid look on his face. "Yman looks at me, Listen to me!" Miss Pai forced him to look at her. He stared at her eyes and noticed that they were the same eyes from that day when she helped him escape from that hell-like ce. And what she just said was sensible. That they are inside the academy. However, he could not get rid of the feeling that started to creep out once again from within. "L-Look, I''m sorry for not telling you ahead of time. I - l thought, you''ve already gotten rid of your trauma from that ce," She added in her trembling voice as she slowly embraced him. Yman was standing still. Letting himself be embraced. He could even feel her slightly trembling body, and her breasts poking on his chest. Yet, for him, she was like an older sister to him and Yana. A moment of silence before he finally let a sigh escaped from his mouth, after he calmed down himself he said to her, "Sorry, for my sudden outburst," Yman whispered his sorry shyly. "Ahem!" When would the two of you stop flirting in myb? "!!" "?" The two of them got startled, by a sudden question from someone. Ms. Pai immediately released him. Yman nced ahead and noticed the woman who was sitting on the swivel chair just a moment ago. Now she was standing in cross-arms while leaning her shoulder on the door of the room that was separated by a ss window. "W-W-What do you mean flirting, Elona?!" Ms. Pai stammered her voice. Yman was stunned. This was the first time he saw her like this. He always saw her as stoic, calm, dignified, and a woman of good virtue. But right now she looks awkward, but he finds it cute though. Very different from her usual self. Miss Pai immediately introduces the two of them. Yman learned that Ms. Elona was Ms. Pai''s cousin. And they even had the samest name. Looks like their fathers were brothers. The two of them are both physicists. But Ms. Pai quit after he helped him escape that time. And now she works as an adviser at this academy. "So this is the kid that you are very interested in, huh," Elona said while walking in a circle around him, like sizing-up him. Yman was standing stiff. "W-What do you mean interested, Elona? Yman is just my student." Ms. Pai said with a red face. "In any case, stop walking in circles around him and do your work!" Ms. Pai roared. Elona was older than her for 1 year. But the two of them were as close as real sisters. "Ehehe," Elona snickered at Ms. Pai''s reaction. "What''s the rush, Pai. Although this kid was not so handsome, he''s not ugly as well. He''s thin yet cute. But don''t worry I won''t steal him from you, ehehe." Elona cracked a joke and chuckled once again. Yman noticed that Ms. Pai had be redder every passing second. He really didn''t know why. His first impression of Ms. Elona was someone who likes teasing other people. "Ms. Pai, what is the reason for meing here?" He asked. Actually, he just wanted to change the topic. "Ha?" Ms. Pai startled by his sudden question as she gawked. "Ah, that, yeah, Uhm, erm... I mean... I asked Elona to help you and have an in-deep inspection of your Hollow Cell. Hah!" She said in aggy voice and breathed a sigh at the end of her words while pressing her chest with her hand. "In-deep inspection to my Hollow Cell..." Yman repeated. A momentter, Yman was nowying on the steel bed, connected by some apparatus. He was nervous though. Since it was like this when he was being experimented in that facility. Four big chords were connected to the crown on his head towards the device that was seemingly an amplifier. The steel bed was slightly bent upward like he was sitting on it. And beyond him, Ms. Elona and Ms. Pai were staring at therge monitor in front. Suddenly, the monitor lightened up and a disy that separated the monitor screen into two areas was being disyed on the monitor. "Yman, what can you see inside the monitor?" Suddenly asked by Ms. Elona. Yman narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, "On the left side, it is like a snake that is spiraling away from its hole. And on the right side... on the right side, why there''s no movement on it?" Yman was puzzled on the right side of the monitor. "Hehe, on the left side, that is the normal reaction of the Hollow Cell inside a magician while distributing mana to every part of the body. And on the right side - that is your Hollow Cell... in a dormant state." Exined by Elona. "Dormant - state?" Yman repeated with a frowned. Chapter 55 - Elder Nitan And Magic Understanding What Yman saw inside the monitor screen was the description of Hollow Cells while it exuded mana to a person''s body. His Hollow cell somehow was in a dormant state, or inactive. Elona had a face of disbelief. This was the first time that she saw a Hollow Cell in such a state. Mostly, Hollow Cell was a very active cell. It was also the reason why many people in the former era died before the experts discovered the mystery behind the cause. Many thought it was a pandemic, but no, it was because of this foreign cell that invaded a person''s body. There was once a rumor at that time, that the Hollow Cell was an uncontroble cell and it had the tendency to transfer into another host after its former host died. But this rumor wasn''t proven. That might also be the reason why many experts that time wrongly used this cell as a new type of vtile virus. Which is very destructive to the other cells inside a person''s body.. "Ms. Elona, is there a way to awaken my Hollow Cell?" Yman asked in a somewhat curious and solemn voice. Actually, if his Hollow Cell would be active like a normal Hollow Cell was, there''s a high tendency that he can control his ck Mana freely without going through such a hurdle of its side effects. Also no need for preparation such as emptying his stamina that gives Yman too much headache just to activate his ck Mana. Elona nced at him and sighed in defeat. "Sorry, Kiddo. As of now, I don''t know, this is the first time that I witnessed such a case where a Hollow Cell was in such a state." Elona honestly answered him while staring at the screen with knitted brows. Yman fell into silence. Maybe there''s no way for him to awaken his Hollow Cell normally. He was contemting. Suddenly, a tug was felt on his shoulder. Yman didn''t nce at it but he knew that the owner of the hand was Ms. Pai. "Don''t feel down. Just rx. I''m sure we can find a way to awaken it." She said with a smile, concerned at him. "But " Yman stopped his words when Ms. Pai again tugged him twice on his shoulder. Then she said, "No buts. For now, do your best in training." He nced at her and noticed her eyes full of determination. Yman felt embarrassed. Although he was the one who needed such determination. Actually, he was afraid that his ck Mana was discovered. Not even Ms. Pai knew. As of now, only he knew about it. What Ms. Pai knew was only at the level of him being a product of the facility. But never did anyone know that he could use this weird mana. Even Yman himself only discovered this ability by coincidence. Regardless, he was not too worried that his Hollow Cell was in a dormant state. As long as he could manipte mana through his channeling talent. Seemed like a bulb light on his head when he realized something. "Ms. Elona, do you know about Channeling ability?" "Channeling?" Elona repeated with a frown. "Yes, Channeling!" Yman confirmed. "Actually, I heard some information about it. Channeling ability is also in line with understanding nature which we physicists also do. But I don''t have much deep understanding about Channeling ability..." she turned her head and nced at him. Yman sighed. |Looks like no one knew about it, huh.| He thought. Yet, he heard her continue saying, "However..." He nced at her and waited for the continuation of her words. "...I saw a book once in the library about this Channeling ability." She added. His face brightened after hearing it, "A book?" He repeated. After Yman left theb, he checked the time and figured out that it was the right time for phase 2 of training which is about magic. Today, it was Elder Nitan''s turn to lecture them about the Magic Understanding and Simtion test. Yman thought that this must be a fruitful lecture. He decided to go back to the training ground first and would check the bookter. After all the library was just there, it won''t run away from him. Most important was to learn about magic. And he thought that he would learn something new in the lecture. Before Yman arrived at the spacious training grounds of the academy, all the trainees were already in a sun-ray formation while sitting on the ground with their butts. In this formation, the trainees were surrounding the circle podium where the elder was giving his/her lectures while using a magic tool known as an enhanced microphone. This enhanced microphone was very different from a conventional one. With the enhanced microphone, the elder seemed-like he was talking to them face to face even if he was speaking in a low volume while on the stage. This is the first day that Elder Nitan would give his lecture. "Ahem. No need to introduce myself and yours because I already did introduce myself on the first day. ''MAGIC.'' What is magic? Where does ite from? How does it affect us? ''MAGIC.'' Such words are not umon to us. With magic, our daily life was much easier than from the lost era. Using magic, we can cook food without the use of stove gasses, when we are far from home. Create water to quench our thirst. Or make a breeze when we feel hot. With magic, we can do many things a lot easier. But magic is like an addictive drug that slowly kills our striving essence. Especially for youth like you. At your age, it is easy to drown in a more easy lifestyle. Youths arezy! And it was easy to lose their paths. Before the age of modernization, people at that time were very industrious. They walked miles, to reach their destination. They trained their body arduously. When the automobile was invented, it slowly killed the hard-working spirits of the youths at that time. They started to bezy, especially those youths who love to show off their riches to their friends and to not. But when the inte was invented, that''s when the worst era in human civilization was recorded. Lazy people were doubled, dirty-minded people were multiplied. Crime marched to the pinnacle. That''s how the economic rise affects the mindset of people..." [In that case, don''t use the enhanced microphone and shout with your old lungs you Oldman!!!] The trainee''s thoughts. But no one was brave enough to voice out such a thought. The elder continued his lectures. "When the world''s destruction happened. Maybe just maybe, it was God''s will to end that era to start anew. Now, in this new era of magic and technology, if not because of the incessant dangering from the mutated beasts. This era might be the worst. Thanks to the implementation of the academies, magicians like yourselves had the means to do meaningful things..." All the trainees were dead silent as of the moment while listening to Elder Nitan''s words. However... Right at this moment, Yman was casually walking towards his position, at the back of Bob. "Well, well, well, and we have ateer...a VIP? Mr. Coolman?" "!!" Yman suddenly froze and noticed that everyone was staring at him. |Wtf?!| He thought. Looks like Ms. Pai did not excuse him when she brought him into theb of Ms. Elona. Maybe she did not expect them to get longer in theb. Well, they were discussing his Hollow Cell, and it eats too much of time. Now Yman found himself in an awkward situation. Chapter 56 - To Whom Her Smile He was caught by Elder Nitan since he was the only person who was standing at the moment. Yman scratched the back of his head and thought of how unlucky he was. "Come here, Mr. Coolman." The Elder beckoned on him while gesturing with his hand for Yman toe closer to him. He nced around and noticed Bob and Keremi saying, "Goodluck, Yman bro," said Bob in a low volume, seemingly whispering him from the distant, and Keremi in his usual closed-eyes state signaled, "Goodluck, My Prince," while using his hand to cover the side of his mouth and gestured a whisper. It was the biggest mystery for him how Keremi was able to see his surroundings in such a state. May be ced at 6th in the top Five Greatest Unsolved Mystery on earth in the current era. Regardless, |I''m so dead.| He thought to himself as he deliberately changed his destination towards the podium on which the elder was standing.. Bob and Keremi forced a dryugh while cheering him inwardly. Bees-like murmurs struck once again. Honestly, he already knew of how infamous he was, in the eyes of the others; therefore, he epted their murmurs from one ear and let it through to the other side. 5 steps closer before Yman arrived at the podium when suddenly, "Elder, Sir!" a call from someone that came from the trainees was heard by everyone around and caused to minimize the rising murmurs immediately. All the trainees simultaneously nced at the source of the voice, Yman did too. He nced at his left side located in the 3rd row from where he was currently standing. She was the 7th trainee lined in that row. And she was raising her hand in the air to grab the Elder''s attention. |Almina?| Yman muttered her name in his mind when he saw her. Also wondering why she called the elder. "Hmm... who might it be...?" The elder muttered as he adjusted his eyesses. After adjusting the eyessesfortable to him, "Oh, the young miss from the Amulet family. Do you want to ask something?" Elder Nitan said in a mellowed voice. Almina immediately stood up which caused the inconsistent noisesing from around to die for good and all eyes were caught by her, "Elder Sir. Uhm... h-he waste, b-because he p-passed out a while ago." She said shyly and darted her eyes to Yman who was now a few steps away from the podium. Almina was stunned for a moment when their eyes met. At that moment, a few hundred fireflies were dancing in her eyes. A smile subconsciously happened on her face. Yman gawked and abruptly nced behind him. He could not believe such a smile was directed to him. It''s not like he was thinking of courting her. He just wanted to be sure if that smile was for him or not. Right when Yman nced behind him, his face contorted into a cold gaze. |Dang, how could it be... Why did he recover so fast?!| He mused for a moment, couldn''t believe what his eyes were seeing from behind him. Kiko was walking towards the podium as nothing bad happened to him. Yman was wondering how this person recovered so fast. Just like before, Yman was currently situated in the middle of Almina and this guy. Yman thought that he was right, after all, that smile was not for him. Good thing he nced behind him. He would probably bury himself in embarrassment if he went ahead and smiled at her too. That smile of Almina was for that guy. Looks like the rumor was true. Because Almina smiled the sweetest smile whenever she saw this guy. And he remembered her having a solemn face in front of the bonfire that night after they fought the Mustang Spider. Kiko was badly hurt at that time because of an ident. Well, that''s what everyone believed, however, the truth was, it wasn''t because of an ident. Yman did it to him. Kiko tried to hurt him first, and he just fought back. So Yman had no feeling of conscience about what happened to Kiko. However, he did not expect this guy to recover so fast as nothing happened to him in the first ce. Yman guessed that Kiko used some expensive medicine to quickly heal and recover himself in just 2 - 3 days. He was wary that his peaceful days will start to turn upside down. If a situation urred where he had no way to escape and his only way out was to engage him in a head-on encounter, he will probably retaliate even at the expense of his secret being revealed. Kiko was approaching his direction but his eyes directed far behind him. He was walking with a smile on his face. Like some main character in a book, exuding with handsomeness and overbearing aura. The trainees once again started murmuring but this time not about Yman. It is about Kiko. Some shrills of excitement escape from the mouths of some lovestruck girls who admired the shit out of Kiko. Only those trainees that are natives in this world are wearing the face of ''Who is this guy? Is he someone popr?'' They were puzzled by the sudden gossips around them. The Encan girl just nced once at Kiko, seemingly curious at him. The Encan race was known for its beauty and elegance. So seeing a handsome male was a natural thing for them. The Blonde nced as well, but sooner, her eyes darted to Almina with knitted brows. No one knows what she was thinking at the moment. The elder forgot to reply to Almina, as he also was looking at the approaching young man. "Are you the one who the instructors talking about?" Elder Nitan suddenly asked Kiko. Kiko passed by in front of the wary Yman and stopped beside him, then he turned around to face the Elder. His body bent into a bow while his hand on his chest. "Yes, Elder. My name is Kiko of Sun family." Kiko answered in the most respectful voice. The Sun family was one of the strongest families in the Middle Region of the Outerworld. "In that case, wee to the lecture, good that you recovered already. I heard many things about you from the instructors. Looks like they were expecting great things from you. We hope that you bring this academy into the highest podium and achieve great results in the uing challenges." Said the elder, sounding like full of expectations to the person he was conversing with. "Of course, Elder Nitan, Sir, I will do my best with all my strength. And face whatever challenge thating into my way. Then ovee them all in my power, together with the whole academy." Yman had question marks floating on his head at the moment. Wondering what happened to this person suddenly sounded so heroic. And why did it sound like he was representing the whole academy? How could their conversation suddenly turn in this way? Regardless, there are many other strong trainees around, but why is this elder so hyped about Kiko? Yet no matter how Yman thought, he could note up with answers. He really was puzzled by this development. Noticing the changes in Kiko''s demeanor, he guessed that this person was being rained by praises from the instructors and maybe by teachers also. And now it went to his head, resulting in this new version of himself. He just hoped that this change of Kiko also changed the way he treats him, and stopped bothering him from now on. Kiko secretly nced at Almina. But Almina was looking to the elder. What she said just a while ago seemed like it was already lost from the elder''s mind. Chapter 57 - How Mana Works? One other girl was very happy and excited at the sight of Kiko. It was Kesha, Almina''s friend. Kiko went to his group of friends without causing trouble for him. No matter the reason, Yman was still wary of Kiko. A person might change but not in a day or two. Maybe he was plotting something while in the hospital? Yman was not sure. But one thing he believes, those rages from yesterday might alleviate as time went by but would never pop like a bubble. On the contrary, Yman had to remain. Almina went back sitting on the ground while fuming deep inside. She could not believe it, that Kiko was alsote, but the elder just let him go because he had just recovered. While Yman with the same reason ''of just recovered'' from being fainted awhile ago had to remain and go on the stage. She thought that the elder was too biased.. Contrary to Almina''s expectation though. Yman had be the elder''s demonstration assistant. ''Sigh. I thought the elder would reprimand him. But it looks like he just wanted his help.'' Almina sighed in relief. Yman went on stage and stood a little behind the elder, waiting for what the elder wanted him to do. Not only Almina that sighed in relief. Bob, Keremi, and also Chloe did too. And also Yman himself. Seeing their mortal hateful person on stage, the other trainees, mostly those trainees who already had a bad impression towards him, had their faces twisted in sour expressions. He was like a stain in a perfect portrait from their eyes. *Flip!* The elder flipped a page of the book and said, "Okay, let''s proceed to our lectures. Since we only have little more time left. Let''s directly go into the topic." After he said this, he nced at the person standing behind at his left side like a stone statue. "Ahem. Mr....? Ah, sorry what is your name again??" the elder asked as he nced at Yman. "Yman Tal " "Ah, Mr. Coolman. Right, Mr. Coolman, under the table there is something in there. Take it and bring it here. So that all our friends here can see the demonstration." Yman wondered if the elder did it on purpose about calling him with that name. However, he could not disagree. And should not make the elder angry! This elder was a level 25 magicians! One flick of his finger will put a stop on his age! He was just wondering why his name had always been reced by other names. Even a deity from someone he knew did too. He could only force a dryugh to his name''s fate. "Yes. Elder." He nodded obediently and followed what the elder instructed him like a puppy. Yman peeked under the table while the elder continued his lecture to the trainees. He saw a box under and some training gadgets. "Oh, I forgot to say, just leave the box there and take the things inside it!" The elder suddenly notified. Yman sighed in relief when the elder mentioned it. He really was puzzled about which one should he take. When he opened the box, he saw a bulb as big as a ball of basketball. Together with a 12 VOLT 40 AH battery. Yman wondered what the elder nned to do with this old model battery. Anyhow, he must do what the elder instructed him. He took the bulb together with the old model battery and let the now empty box under the table. The battery was slightly heavy but as a magician who trained his body every day and with a 1% breakthrough to his limiter, this weight was nothing to him. Just like lifting a fist-size stone. The other trainee was as puzzled as him when they noticed the things he was carrying. They knitted their brows and whispered to the person beside them. Almina for some reason felt so proud of him. Even though what he did was just simple things only. She was sending a warm smile at him without him knowing. He ced down the battery. Next, he was cing the bulb on a single pedestal stool where a bulb socket could be seen on top facing the sky. After tightening the bulb on its socket, he then dragged it in the middle of the stage so that everyone was able to see. Yman extended the wire towards the battery and waited for the elder''s next instruction. The elder nodded his head, seemingly d at his help. "I know most of you still have no idea how mana works inside our body. Now, look at this..." said the elder as he pointed on the bulb. All the trainee''s eyes were focused on the bulb. They were wondering how this bulb represents magician''s mana. They originally thought that the elder would test them again using the bulb to light it through mana like the first-day test. But it looks like it was different from that time. "To further increase your understanding of mana. Let me show you the simplest... and easiest to understand demonstration." Said the elder in normal volume as he walked beside the bulb. Yman was on his knee in front of the battery, holding the wire as he was waiting for the elder''s next instruction. He also was excited to learn about this demonstration. Probably, he could guess a little now of why the elder was using the bulb as an example. The trainee''s murmurs together with their puzzled expressions enveloped the whole training grounds. After the elder signaled at him, Yman connected the red wire on the positive and then the ck wire on negative. Next second, the bulb lit up and was glowing brightly. "Isn''t this a familiar sight? Can any of you rte to this bulb?" Suddenly questioned by the elder. Yman smiled. Looks like he was right after all. This demonstration is indeed a familiar sight. Most of the trainees were having ''aha'' expressions surfacing on their faces after seeing the bulb lit up. It was truly a familiar sight for both of them. It was the same sight when they did resonance with their deity. The murmurs increase but this time most of them with an understanding look on their faces. The Elderughed lightly and nodded his head. "Looks like you already got my point. That''s good. This is how mana works in our bodies. Every one of you has your own mana within, from the energy released by your Hollow Cell. Because of how destructive this cell, it was given a scientific name as -e. Or negative energy. Whereas, the energy releases from the Gram Metal was given a scientific name of +e or positive energy. This Gram Metal was what used to create the deity''s core..." The elder nced around him and saw that everyone was silently listening to him. He smiled and continued his lecture. Just like what happened to the bulb after its wire was connected to the power source which was the battery, the bulb lit up brightly. The same thing happened when a magician used resonance with their deity. The magician''s body would light up like what happened to the bulb. Then the elder instructed Yman once again. To lower the power output by pulling down the lever that could be seen on the battery. Once he pulled the lever down, the bright glow of the bulb suddenly sunk until it dim. "That''s how you control your mana. By lowering your mana pressure. You will be able to minimize the use of it. That glowingly bright mana was just excess. After all, we are notmps. We are magicians. So we don''t need those glowing bright things as long as there''s no reason to use it. For you to be a genuine magician. You must learn first how to conserve your mana. Control it! Then after that. You will be surprised by how easy to manipte your element that you have the affinity with..." Before ending his words the elder inhaled. Then he opened his mouth again. "Before we end this lecture today, I will give you your first assignment. Since I will be seeing you next week, that time you must already know how to conserve your mana. If you are still having a hard time understanding how mana works. The library is open twenty-four/seven. You are free to RESEARCH.....Now see you next week." Before the elder left the stage. "Oh, Mr. Coolman, thank you for your help." Said the elder while tapping Yman''s shoulder. Yman felt a sack of gravelnding on his shoulder. But he had to endure it, if not, he would beughable. "I-I''m d to be of help, Elder Sir." He replied somehow. "Mhm. I hope the next time we meet you can also control your mana. But don''t think about it too much." He said before he left. Yman was puzzled by the elder''sst line. |Don''t think about it too much...?| He repeated his words in his mind. |Why was the elder said that?| After the lecture ended. He was instructed once more to help clean the stage. And bring those pieces of equipment to the storeroom. Yman did what the elder said. He carried back the battery and bulb and ced it inside the box again. Then he carried it towards the storeroom. It was located near the library. The 10th room from the entrance. Whereas the library was in the 12 rooms from the entrance. When Yman went back on the stage to get the other stuff, he noticed someone at his back. He looked at his back and saw the girl Almina Amulet?!!! Standing about three steps away from him. He was quite surprised. Chapter 58 - Invitation Almina was trying to invite him to her party. Yman initially thought that she was inviting him into a celebration but when he remembered about the Elites announcement from this morning, he figured out that she was inviting him into their group. Yman felt excited and happy for the invitation and it was showing on his face. Although he felt bashful being in a face to face situation with one of the most beautiful girls in the academy, he was dejected when he remembered that his ability might not be of help to Almina''s group. Actually, after the evaluation exam on the Outerworld, he tried to join some groups, but when they learned that his ability was self-healing magic, they kicked him out of the group. Now Yman was afraid that Almina might kick him too after she would know that his ability was useless to their party. Not only that, but his physical strength was also way weaker than the rest. Even the girls were stronger than him. So Yman had to decline her invitation with regrets on his face. . "I don''t care...!" Yman was about to leave but rooted on his feet and stared nkly at her face when Almina suddenly eximed. She opened her mouth once again and continued saying, "I don''t care if your abilities are no use in the party. Yourmanding talent is more than enough to be qualified in my group. And besides..." She added then stopped her words again and bit her lip, unaware of how blushful her face had be. Even Yman had noticed the redness in her face. But he somehow did not give it any malicious meaning. He just thought that the heat from the sun got her. However, she looks more stunning and lovely than usual. He could not help admiring her beauty once again. If his memory serves him right, this was the second time that he was in a face to face situation with this girl. Now that Yman thought about it, he was yet to say ''thank you'' at her for saving himst time. She lifted her right hand in front of her chest, and her left arm was straight down pointing the ground on her side as she gripped her hand into a fist that slightly lifted to the side. Then she stared at him while furrowing her brows. After a deep breath, she said, "And besides, I - I want you at my party, not because of your magic." She said shyly. And even be redder. |Hm, not because of my magic...?| He had a puzzled expression surfacing on his face. Howe someone invited someone into their party of magicians but not because of his/her magic? |So it must be because of mymanding talent again, huh.| He wanted to rebut that what happenedst time when they fought the Mustang Spider was just a lucky one because he had a little knowledge about that monster, to begin with. But if they encountered an enemy that unknown to him, it would be a problem. However, he really wanted to join their party. It would be easy for him to increase hisbat experience if he had a party to help him kill some monsters. Which was difficult for him at his current state. He needed to increase his breakthrough level as soon as possible so that he could control his ck Mana for a longer time. And besides, he could not execute a strong spell if he was low level. "Uhm, can you tell me... what do you mean by not because of my magic?" For some reason, even though he expected already that what she meant by it was about hismanding talent but oddly enough, he was curious about it. Hoping for a different reason from her. "Hmph, you''ve got guts for asking someone you have forgotten after you stole her first kiss," Almina mumbled in an indefinite voice, the reason why Yman did not understand what she was mumbling. She could not believe that even though they were in this distance. This guy still did not remember her. After stealing her very first kiss. This guy had the nerve to forget her. She initially wanted tosh mean words at him for forgetting her. But she could not bring herself to get angry at him for some odd reason. "Ha?" Yman awkwardly asked after he failed to understand what she mumbled about. "I - I will..." she hesitated. But Almina opened her mouth again. "I will tell you the reason after a few months." She said blushfully. "Eh?" He could not follow what she meant. |Why does the answer have to take longer?| He thought. "Anyway, you don''t have the right to refuse, hmph!" She said with a pout then she retreated away while her face was painted in redness. Though he finds it very cute. "See youter!" She shouted while waving her hands before she left for good. |And now she was demanding, huh.| He thought as he scratched his face. Actually. Yman could not decide yet. He needed to bnce the cons and pros before joining her party. |To be in a party of one of the most beautiful girls in the academy, certainly, it was a dreame true to most of the boys out there. Not just that, she was one of the strongest magicians also in this academy. So it was easy for her teammates to umte enough Combat Experience and breakthrough. But, the cons... No doubt, Almina was an exquisite young girl, it would be easy to fall in love with her, but I had to shake it off of my mind. The feeling of trying to grab the smoke in the air, was the same feeling if I let myself fall in love with her. Just like reaching the stars in the sky. Right in front of your eyes but will never be yours. In fact, she already had someone she likes. So joining with her group was like luring myself in the abyss. It''s hard to suffer a one-sided love. I could not let myself fall to someone out of reach. It would only be a bother to me in the future. And besides, being with someone as beautiful and popr as her would attract unfavorable attention to me which I tried to avoid. I do not want to stain my already infamous name.| For Yman though, falling in love was just a pretense. They were unnecessary feelings that may distract one''s decision making. After Almina left. She regretted that she forgot to mention her message yesterday. And wasn''t it supposed to be now? Almina went into the canteen together with Kesha. She was waiting for Yman to show up there. She already spends all her guts just for inviting him to their party. Her only wish that he would show up tomorrow. Wait, she forgot to tell him that it was tomorrow the creation of the party! Well, she could message him though. One person in the distance had fierce-looking eyes. He knew that Almina was a kind girl, so she must be trying to help that person. But his mind wanted to know what they were talking about. Yet he could not do some unnecessary things as of now. No matter what happened, he would be the ace in this academy, after that, Almina''s love for him will surely be deeper. He was just wondering why she did not wee him yet after recovering. Although her friend named Kesha already did. And Kesha told her that Almina''s mind was just too full at the moment because of the many events that wereing. And it looks like she was nominated as the Elites leader. He really wanted the position but if it was for his girl, he could only let her be. In any case, he would help her to lessen the loads on her shoulder. Once he bes the ace of this academy, that will be the time he would im her. With his talent in magic, he was sure no one was above him. And he almost reached the pinnacle of his CE to advance into level 5. As talented and handsome as he was, it was only natural to be loved by the most beautiful girl in the academy. He was regretful but he needed her to wait for a little longer. He would surprise her one day and will tell her that he also likes her. For sure, when that timees, that will be the most unforgettable moment in Almina''s life. He could not wait to see how happy she will be when the timees. Then after that, he would squish that frog under his shoes. Before he left, Kiko smiled as he thought of that day. Then together with his friends, they walked towards the barracks. After delivering all the equipment into the storeroom, Yman directly went into the library. Chapter 59 - Buy And Sell Store "Kiko, bro, we must do something about that Toadman, we had yet to get our revenge!" Marco, who was walking beside Kiko and their friends, said in regrets. He really wanted to see that guy in a sorry state after what he did when they fought with the golems. That''s why they were delighted when Kiko finally came back. But to their surprise, their friend seemed to be acting low key. It was strange to see Kiko acting like this. "Heh, I don''t want to waste my time in garbage like him. Anyway, that person will neverst long in this academy." Kiko replied with a glint in his eye, followed by a wicked smile. Who said that he would let that froggy go easily? After what he did to him? That guy almost killed him. That''s why he made some preparations while in the hospital. Kiko suddenly stopped on his feet and nced on his hand and said, "For now, let''s just focus on getting stronger.. I must be an ace in this academy." He added with a smirk and a cold gaze. "Hahaha, right, don''t get too excited about that guy, Marco dude! I''m sure, Kiko dude already nned something for that Froggyman." Brunoughed while resting his arms on Kiko and Marco''s shoulders. "Yeah, and after that let''s have a party when Kiko and Miss Almina started dating!" One of their friends shouted. "Ahaha, sure thing!" Bruno screamed. Kiko smiled. That was already in his n. They continued walking towards the barracks. When they arrived at the doorsteps. They were greeted by a solemn atmosphere. Yet Kiko did not mind it, although his friends had puzzled expressions on their faces. They already went here and took their individual mission yesterday. And that time too many fledgling trainees were taking their mission. So they did not notice the somber aura inside the barracks. Some junior trainees were loafing inside. Sitting on the chairs with the table in front. It was located on the left side of the door. Suddenly, one of the people sitting in one of the chairs stood up when he noticed Kiko and his group. "Young master, Sun," said the person as it bowed slightly in front of Kiko. "Abel," Kiko called. Abel is one of the people sponsored by the Sun family. And Kiko was a young master of the Sun family that''s why. He was so respectful towards Kiko. "Let''s go to the VIP room, Young master," Abel said, to which Kiko replied with a nod. Marco, Bruno, and the others had an understanding look on their faces. They could only wait for Kiko as the two of them went to the VIP room to talk for something important. Around this time, Yman was searching for the book about Mana Channeling. Yet it''s already 15 minutes of searching but he could not find it. The library here was bigger than the public library in Sitona Town. But the books here are well-arranged on the bookshelf with their names in alphabetical order. Yman tried to change the order of searching from Channeling, Mana Channeling, Magic Channeling, Ability Channeling, or Talent Channeling. However, he could not find it. He went to the librarian''s desk and asked the nerd looking girl. Probably a bookworm person. She was reading a book with reading sses on her eyes. In front of her was a pile of old books, amassing on top of the table. "Uh, Miss," Yman called out but the girl seemed to be unbothered. She was having shoulder-length brown curly hair and a white headband. Like him, she also was wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy. Seemingly a trainee as well. However, she looks a little older than him. He believed that the girl was a junior trainee. Although she looks cute and timid. "Uh, Miss!" Yman purposely increased the volume of his voice and seeded in attracting her attention. The girl seemed to be surprised to see a person in front of her. She was deep into reading the book in her hand that she lost connection in her surroundings. And now, suddenly there''s a thin-looking person in front of her which she assumed was a newbie. She pushed her eyesses and fixed her sitting position. "Y-You need some help?" She asked shyly. "Yes, about a book for Mana Channeling." Yman directly told her what he was looking for. He noticed the librarian girl stared at him with doubt. Probably, it was the most unexpected thing to happen that someone would be looking for such a book such as Mana Channeling. "A-A Book For Channeling Mana? Uh wait..." she said and took a journal book. Then she scanned it. "Shelf number 21," she said after a minute. "Hmm... that ''s weird," Yman said while scratching the back of his head. "Why?" The librarian girl asked. "I already searched all the shelves but I could not find that book," Yman said dejectedly. "I-Is that so? Uhm erm... give me a second." The librarian girl took another journal and flipped over the pages. After several seconds of waiting, the girl knitted her brows in bewilderment, then she looked at him and said, "S-Sorry, that book someone borrowed it, and had yet turned-over." The librarian girl said while shyly scratching her face. "S-Someone borrowed it?" He repeatedly asked. "Y-Yes." The girl nodded. "Uhm, may I know who the borrower was?" He asked her. Not willing to give up. He needed that book. For his guidance in understanding about his mana channeling talent. But what the girl''s reply stunned him for a second, "Hmm... I-I advised you to give up looking at that book." "....." "W-Why I have to give up?" He was puzzled by her words. "The person who borrowed is somewhat a mysterious person." Her reply was somewhat vague for him. "What? May I know who that person is?" Yman asked her. No matter who it is, he must find that person. And borrowed the book. "M-Miss Ice." "Ice?" Yman frowned at the name. This name sound familiar to him. He tried to scan his memory and was sessfully remembered where he heard it. It was yesterday inside the barracks. Some junior trainees were gossiping about the name Lady Ice. So it must be the same Miss Ice that the librarian girl mentioned. "Ah, may I know where I can find that person? Do you know that person''s address?" Yman asked. "Sorry, but you can''t find her." Yet her reply surprised him again. "Why can''t I?" But he needed to know. Wait, if he remembered correctly, weren''t those guys in the barracks talking about how that person went into seclusion for three months? As expected the librarian said that Miss Ice was gone for three months and no one knew where she was currently. Yman left the library dejected. Since the book was not there, he decided to go back to the hotel room. But before that, he must go to the market first. He needed to buy some stuff and food. Yman rode on a carriage. After several minutes, he went down and paid 5 gold points to the coachman via the trading system. Every Magic Tool Mobile Device has such a Wallet Section and Trade System just like a magician''s Cyber Screen. But for ordinary people, they use this MTMD or Magic Tool Mobile Device. Even some magicians were using this device. Yman was one of them. Since he sometimes left Sist to look after his sister. Yman first went to a buy and sell store. He saw a few people leaving the store with solemn faces. Each of them was wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy. He assumed that they were Junior students because of the color of their badges. They were wearing silver-ted badges. While the fledgling had bronze, and gold for the senior trainees. "Tsk, if this continued like this, the academy''s defeat will be a sure thing," said one of the juniors in a dejected voice. "That is if Lady Ice would not return." Replied the person beside him. "Tsk, it was already three months. Yet no one knows where she went." Added the third person. "You guys are such sissies. What''s the purpose ofing to this academy if you''re too dependent on others." Yelled the fourth person. "Yeah, and I heard there are many talented newbies this year." Said the first person. "Man-up dude! I just said not to depend on other people. What''s the use of being a magician if we can''t stand on our own feet? Let''s get our revengeter and hit them hard!" The fourth guy shouted. "Yeah, yeah, but no matter what you said, we still have no match against those magicians from the other academies." Replied by the third guy. "And they always steal our loot. Hah~" sighed the second guy. "....." Yman was just listening to their conversation as they passed by. He knitted his brows. He wondered why the juniors seemed to be troubled. Regardless, he must finish his business here. So that he could go home already. When he stepped inside the store, ack of vigor ''Wee'' from a middle-aged man at the counter, greeted him. When the man saw him, he frowned and thought. ''Tsk, just another weakling again. For sure this young man will sell his low-quality materials only. Such a waste of time.'' He thought while twitching his face. "Hah, this shit, what''s your business?" Such a rude way of asking. However, Yman just ignored it. Although he did not like it. But what else could he do? He came here for business. "I wanted to sell some monster materials," Yman replied normally. The man in front frowned in disgust as he thought, ''As expected. A seller of trash materials again. Just the same as those groups of idiots who came just now. Those fools in the academy could not even produce a talented magician. I have to start packing my things and go back to the empire. Not only academy magicians will sell their monster loots there, but also some of the adventurers. Even the soldiers of the empire did too. Compared to the empire, the business rate in this ce is the lowest. Pwe! And look, this magician from that academy looks unhealthy and sick. Can this boy even be able to kill a worm? Tsk, tsk, HAHAHA... Are they starving their magicians? What a joke! In that case, that academy is good to be shut down together with this ce!'' The man shook his head andughed. "50 gold points to all your materials. No excess and no price offer!" The man said tantly. Yman scratched the back of his head and thought, |Is this store a fraud?| A monster core of rank D+ Wanderer already cost not lower 5,000 GP. Yman wanted tough at the man''s price. And he also had a fragment of the monster core from Mustang Spider. Which might sell for 2,000 GP. Plus the other parts. He already checked the official price of these materials beforeing here. "Uh, Mister, do you think this monster core(inner core) only costs 50 gold points? What a swindler!" Yman said while showing the purple color hard rocky objects. That glistened when lights hit on it directly. "A p-purple monster core?!" The man widened his eyes. Chapter 60 - Mysterious Magician "Since Mister, only buy it for 50 gold points I guess I can''t sell it here," Yman said while trying to sound regretful. "....." "Wait, Kid!" Shouted the man at the counter. The man has narrowed eyes, a little beard and long ck hair that is tied at the back of his head. When he saw the object in the hand of Yman, he almost choked himself in regrets. Common quality core had gray-ash color, and the blue inner core is for rare quality materials. . Whereas, Wanderer monsters were known for their high-quality Inner Core. Only this kind of monster or beast had such purple color of Inner Core. "No way, who wanted to sell such high-quality materials for 50 gold points." Yman rebutted as he tried to leave the shop. Regardless, if he could not sell it here, he would just find another buyer through online trading. Although it was riskier. More scammers nowadays online. He could also let the barracks sell it for him. That was part of the agreement. But, Yman wanted to avoid causing trouble to himself. It was known that the weakest Wanderer beasts were as strong as level 10 magicians. So if Yman went into the barracks and showed the material to them. He was certain that they would rain him with questions. How did he get it? How did he kill the monster? Such things are very troublesome for him. So his only choice was to sell it in a buy and sell store. "Wait, kid, I''m just joking a while ago, hahaha." The man at the counter said as he pped his hands near his face and showed a delightful smile. In his mind, if he seeded in buying the purple core, he could gain a huge sum of money in return. After all, the purple inner core was one of the rarest cores among all the monster cores. And this core is hard to gather. Since Wanderer monster or beast tends to roam all over the ce looking for victims to be preyed upon. They fought humans, Demi humans, beasts, or monsters alike. They were the hunters who did not choose which enemy to kill, even monsters of the same species as them. More on that, they became stronger as they won every fight. So it''s hard to kill them. Since they could also use some unique abilities. "No Mister, I could not trust someone who tried to swindle me just a moment ago. *Sigh!*" Yman replied with a sigh. "No no, kid, listen up, I-It''s just a misunderstanding. We cane up with the right price. I may even extend 10% of the price of your low-quality materials. Just sell that purple core to me. Ahaha, but of course I needed to check it first if it''s real or not." Said the man. |10% my ass!| Yman yelled in his mind. This man certainly from a secret fraud society. "But, Mister, your minimum price for low-quality materials is 50 gold points per gram only. However, the original price is 100 gold points per gram. Isn''t that still a scam even if you added 10% on it?" "....." The man was speechless. Looks like he was unveiled. "Ahaha, no no no, what I mean is 100 gold points per gram. With an addition of 10% for you as a good customer! Hahaha. How about that kid? Wanna do a partnership with me?" He really did not know how this kid acquired such high-quality material. But he needed it. Even if he added 10-20 percent in every gram of low-quality materials he could still earn a lot of money if he managed to resell the purple core into another buyer. Yman sighed. He certainly knew what this man was thinking. But his offer was good enough for him. As long as he bought the purple core at its original price. And he could sell his low-quality materials at a slightly higher price. This offer is good enough. But he was certain that this man would flee after that. So that the partnership he mentioned of about a 10% increase in all his low-quality materials would render invalid after this one-time deal. "Hmm... 10% was not enough. Still too low than the ie you may get from reselling the purple core." Since this man already thought of escaping after this one deal. He should try to increase the price somehow. ''F*** this kid!'' The man shouted in his mind. "S-Sorry kid but, I could only give you a 10% increase. And besides, it''s not easy to sell materials nowadays." He replied. ''Hehe. Too bad kid. You don''t know about business! While you are still going, I''m already returning! That''s the gap of knowledge in business the two of us had. Hehehe!'' His real thought. Before Yman could reply... BZZZZZZZZTTTT!!! His MTMD made a vibrating noise. "Oh, sorry Mister, I got a call from a friend." He said and picked the device that was stored in his trousers pocket. "No problem kid, just go on." The man said at him with a smile. No matter what, it''s just a call though. What he was most concerned about was the purple core. However, "Hello, Bob?" Yman said in a normal volume which the man at the counter could hear him. "Yes, Yes!" "What?" "Is that true?" The man was wiping the ss with a delighted smile on his face. Waiting for the kid''s call to finish. "A merchant from the empire will being here next week and wanted to buy low-quality materials with a 20% increased in price?!" Suddenly, Yman yelled in surprise. The man''s smile suddenly froze upon hearing it. ''The heck, is it true? A merchant from the empire?'' The counterman could not believe. "Really?" Yman continued talking on his MTMD. "Yeah, that''s good news!" "What? That''s not all?" While Yman was talking, the surprise of his face was very literal. "He is also buying rare and high-quality materials with a 30 percent increase?!" The counterman had sweats forming on his face. Looks like his n will be ruined. "Damn, that merchant sure thing is a rich man." The man was thinking of who was this merchant? If it''s true, then the more he needed to buy the purple core before that damn merchant came here. Actually, before the change in price was announced to the public. The legition would give a margin of 1 - 2 weeks prior, before it would announced to the public. Justst night he received a message from one of his trusted friends working in themissioner department that there would be an increase in price for all the high-quality materials because of low supply and high demands. The price would increase two-times the original price. So it was only natural that some of the merchants would send their people into the other cities to scout for some high-quality materials. So what this kid said wasn''t really illogical. More sweats were surfacing on the man''s forehead as he thought of money slipping from his hands. "Okay, Bob, I guess I''ll wait for that merchant." Yman said with delight. It was evident that he was grateful for the news he got. But before he ended the call, the man growled and said that he would increase the price higher than the merchant. A smirk silently appeared on Yman''s mouth as he said, "Sorry, Bob, I''ve got a better deal here, so I may pass for now with the merchant''s offer." He said and ended the call." On the other side, Bob was having a stunned and puzzled face. He called Yman to ask him about the Open Forum tomorrow. But Yman was talking about something he could not understand. Yman was thankful for Bob''s timing at calling him. Actually, Yman already knew about the price hike. It was easy to figure out, online. Because some of the dealers seemed to be improperly increasing the price of high-quality materials in the online market. And even so, the price increased, the material still sold out in no time. In the online market, almost all of the products were being posted there repeatedly. So it was easy to figure out which materials arecking. But these past days, there were no high-quality materials being posted. So Yman had guessed that something was amiss. Finally, Yman was able to sell the purple crystal with a 50% price increase, 30% on rare quality materials, and 20% to low-quality materials. Yet he believed that the man at the counter was still able to get a goodmission after he resells those materials. Although, it depends on his business strategy. After proving that the materials were genuine the deal was concluded. Actually, Yman had more rare materials and low quality than those two high-quality. If he wanted to gain more, he just needed to wait for a few days when the price-hike will be announced. But he needed money now. He had to finish his mission before the time limits. And needed to buy a Level 2 Syringe of Advancement for him to advance into Level 2. Before he left the store, the man in the counter asked him if how he got the purple core. Since he could not believe that such an unhealthy and sick-looking person could manage to kill a Wanderer monster. And the kid did not look strong no matter how the man looked at him. Yman forced a dryugh. Fortunately, he remembered about the mysterious girl Miss Ice. He replied saying, "A mysterious magician just asked me to run an errand." After scratching the back of his head he finally left the store. The man was puzzled though. But, anyway, he did not give care on it and just pushed it at the back of his mind. Then he hastily contacted some business partners. Yman next went to the smithing shop. And asked for an item that suits the ability the Magic Cryst holds. It was the same round person who was at the counter when he first came here. When he entered, that person was sitting on the chair in the same position as before. With his face covered with the straw hat and his deity was resting on top of his bulging belly. When he showed the Magic Cryst, the man finally took an interest and stood up. Then he took the Cryst from Yman and examined it. Probably he was appraising it. Yman''s guess when he first came here was proven right. The man was really wearing an eyepatch with the design of an eye. The eye design was familiar to him though. Simr to the eye on his teacher''s mask. He wanted to ask but he assumed that he would not get a truthful reply. The fat man asked him toe back tomorrow because he would prepare the item. Then he returned the Magic Cryst to Yman. It would be attached tomorrow when the item was ready. But before he left, the man measured Yman''s hand first. After leaving the smithing shop, he directly went to the market and bought some food and other stuff. After buying all the stuff needed. He directly rode on a carriage. Yman was contemting while inside the carriage. |*Sigh!* Going on the market was so tiring, huh. Wait, I have something I need to do. To order a level 2 Syringe of Advancement.| He thought and then took his MTMD. He directly brows on the main website of Seeker''s Association. |Not only the Seeker Association fought against monsters. They were also one of the most trusted suppliers of Syringe of Advancement. After issuing my order, I will only need to wait 5 hours for the item to arrive. Of course, I was filling up some forms before the order was made. Since, they must know my address.| |Oh, right. I have to buy a head part for Sist. This will be helpful to appraise the monster''s strength. After all, it is useful to know the enemy''s capability in a fight.| After several minutes, "Wee back, bro!" Yana greeted him with a warm smile. "I''m back," Yman replied and sat beside her then patted her head. Someone came out from the kitchen. Yman nced and saw Sist. She was keeping theundry into the restroom and boiled some water. Sist shouted. Actually, she just recovered her battery and now she had to do the house chores. Yman chuckled. Although Sist was sometimes mean to him. But she was a big help to him and his sister. "Don''t worry, My Deity, your head ising." He said with a grin. "Ehehe, he was only teasing you, Sister Sist." Yana chuckled. Chapter 61 - Jin Makorov Yman and Yana had just finished their dinner when they heard pecking sounds from the window. The two of them nced at the window and saw something outside. "Hm, must be the items I ordered this noon." He said and hastily walked towards it and saw a bird outside the window. The bird looks gentle, plump, small-billed birds with a skin saddle (cere) between the bill and forehead. Yet it has a grayish color. Actually, it was made of light alloy. This bird was known as the mechanical bird of the Pigeon100. It is called Pigeon100 because there are total of 100 different versions of this mechanical bird. . It was powered by an internal engine made from Gram Metal and purified-core of some beast. These two acted as its power source. Whereas, its green eyes acted as a camera, radar, and scanner to avoid thievery of goods. It could even fly higher and faster than the original pigeons. It was also said that these mechanical birds had a self destruct system and an escaped system within. So whenever the operator detected malicious intent towards the parcel they were delivering. The operator could decide to self destruct the mechanical bird together with the goods or use the auto-escaped system. Yman immediately opened the window to permit the bird inside. It was 2 times bigger than the original one. The birdnded on his arm. And Yman noticed a parcel that was locked on its robotic leg. After sessfully scanning Yman''s identity as the one who ordered the item, the mechanical bird opened its beak and a 12 inches in height and 6 inches in width holographic screen appeared in front of it. It required him to input his ID number and the total amount of the item he ordered. 2,000 GP for the Syringe Of Advancement. And 5,000 for the head part of his deity. And delivery payment of 1,000 GP since it came from the Outerworld. Currently, his total GP in his Wallet Section was at most 13,500.50. Now after paying the bill, he was left with 5,500.50. Yman could only sigh. Tomorrow he needed to pay for the equipment he ordered from the smithing shop. So he will probably be left with hundreds of GPter. After paying up the exact amount through the trading system, the parcel was automatically unlocked from the mechanical bird''s leg. It was said that this series of mechanical birds were able to carry a total of 11.023 pounds. And still able to fly fast. Yman took the parcel and rubbed the mechanical bird''s head while saying ''thank you'' to it. Then he let the mechanical bird through the window again. It then pped its robotic wings and in just a second it twinkled far in the night sky as its figure disappeared from his sight. "Brother, congrats." Yana, who was talking with Sist not far from him, suddenly congratted her brother. Yman smiled at his sister and said: "Thank you, Yana." "And you too, Sister Sist," Yana said while happily staring at Sist who was sitting on herp. Sist suddenly floated as she shouted her thanks. She was floating up and down like a kid. Yman walked towards them with a parcel in hand, while smiling. After opening the parcel and saw the head part, "Wow!" Yana and Sist were amazed by it. Sist asked him. "Mhm." Yman could only nod his head. The head he ordered was a Nixie series. It was modeled from a known water spirit. He originally wanted to order the Imp series because of its extra ability that gives him an increased vision in darkness. But Yman thought that Sist might get angry at him if he did it. So he chose the Nixie series which had better appraisal ability and low battery cost than the other series. There were also Sylph Series, Pixie, Dragon, Angel and etcetera. But after seeing the Nixie series he was inspired by that cute little water sprite on that day of the test. But this Nixie series was a little expensive. The Nixie head had two little blue oval eyes. And wavy hair of blue color made from strange materials. And a little doll-like mouth. Upon imagining, Sist having a cute face but a round metal body, Yman could not help letting some chuckle escape from his mouth. And it''s not like he likes cute things. It just, he did it for his sister. Since Yana seemed to like cute things. He wondered if the head was coated by silicon. Since it feels smooth when he touches it. He then equipped it on Sist. After attaching the new head of Sist. As expected, she looks weird as of the moment. Like a pregnant deity. (Lol) Yman was thinking that he might need to buy new arms and body for her, next time. So that it wasn''t embarrassing bringing her to the academy like this. Nheless, Sist was very happy though. She repeatedly asked Yana: "You look so lovely, Sister Sist," Yana replied with a smile. She shouted. On the other hand, Yman was scratching his face while forcing augh. Then he stood up. "Sist, Yana, I''ll go on the rooftop for a bit." "Okay, bro." Yman arrived at the rooftop. It was empty at the moment. Most of the trainees in this hotel like going out instead of chilling here. Whoosh! Whoosh! He made two consecutive leaps andnded on top of the big water tank. On this height. He could see the other buildings around. And some people walking on the streets are as big as ants in his vision. He nced at the sky and noticed that there were not so many stars up above. But it wasn''t cloudy also. The wind wasn''t so strong but the atmosphere was a little chilly. Yman inhaled the fresh airing from around him. Then he sat in a meditation posture and he took the Level 2 Syringe Of Advancement from his pocket. After injecting the syringe, a secondter, he felt weird, like millions of ants started to crawl all over his body. Uhm, No, Yman thought it was more like his whole body was being pierced by millions of needles. He was in pain and perspired. But he knew it was only the beginning. He focused his mind. Around this time, In a dim room that was illuminated by yellow brilliance, a young handsome man with medium length silver-white hair was cushioning on a soft red sofa. Beside him were two young sexy girls wearing sexy short dresses that almost disyed the whole of their ample legs and were slightly opened on their chest area. Showing their voluptuous assets. The two girls were sitting on both sides of the young handsome man while leaning on the man''s broad naked shoulders. In front of them was the exquisitely made table which reflected each of their figures. On top of the table were 3 wine sses and a half-filled bottle with purple liquid inside. Suddenly, the door of the room made creaking noises. The topless young man''s brow twitches. A momentter a young person walked in. He was wearing white long sleeves toppled by the ck vest and was paired with ck cks and shiny ck leather shoes. And was wearing a smile on his handsome face. He has medium length wavy blonde hair that is open on his forehead. "You jackals, you have the guts to disturb my pleasure." The naked young man said in an annoyed tone but in a normal volume. "Ahaha, rx, Jin! I''m here to deliver you some news." "Go back if it wasn''t a good one." "Ahaha, probably both." The topless young man called Jin narrowed his eyes. "Speak." "The academy failed to recruit The Cool Princess." Jin was silent with his face that showed bitterness and his brow twitched. "Those academy officials are useless fools!" He groaned. The guy seemed to be delighted at Jin''s reaction as he waited for sometime before he opened his mouth again: "Heh, but..." "....." Jin did not open his mouth again and waited for his next word. "We can do something for her to transfer here." "Pressuring?" Jin seemed to catch what the guy nned to do. "Ehehe." "What academy?" Jin asked with a glint in his eyes. "Middle Region, at City Zone 7." The guy answered. ''Tsk, that girl did choose to go to that waste academy, huh. I will punish her after she transfers into this academy. She only belongs to me. Not even that sissies from the Sun family had the right to im her. Just you wait, My Cool Princess, you will be sharing a bed with me in no time. Hehe.'' Jin thought. "By the way, what''s the news with the blonde?" Jin suddenly asked. "Ahaha. Wherever the cool princess is... you will find her there." The guy replied. Jin smiled as well. ''This is good. My most desirable threesome wille to reality in no time.'' He thought as he was imagining those two most beautiful girls in a bed together with him. Just like these two sexy girls with him now. Jin smiled wickedly and said: "Sent some of our men! And show them that they don''t belong in that trash academy! Here in the City Zone 1 where they most belong together with these arms of mine." The Human City Zone 1 was the 3rd finalist ofst year''spetition. And most of the talented individuals from the Outerworld were here. It was said that this year, Zone 1 has the highest chance of taking the championship. Because of the appearance of this man, named Jin Makorov. He was the grand champion of the Outerworld''s Grand duelist Tournament. He already fought many fights. And never been defeated once. He really wanted to fight the man who said to reach the apex of sword mastery. The man named Almond Amulet. But that person was banned from joining the tournament after an incident. Yet when Jin saw Almond''s younger sister in the Elite Schoolpetition. He admired her beauty. He could not get rid of her image from his mind. His heart was screaming to own that girl. Yet until now, that girl is still rejecting him. It must be the boy of the Sun family. He really felt that Kiko was the reason why he could not advance with Almina. Almina must be in love with that guy. But he was not giving up. He will surely make that girl his. And not just that, another blonde girl also appeared. But for some odd reason, that girl was more interested in Almina than noticing him. He could not let this. All girls are supposed to be flocking at him like affectionate ants towards sweets. Yet those two girls destroyed his pride. He made an oath that no matter what happened he will own those two beauties. "As you wish!" The blonde guy replied and turned around as he took his leave. After an hour, "Yes, a breakthrough!" Yman screamed in delight after he sessfully advanced into level 2. Chapter 62 - Mana Control Yman was having a hard time falling asleep. He was too excited because of his level up. Until... Bzzzzzt! His MTMD on top of the table danced when it suddenly vibrated. He was currentlyying on the sofa beside the table. He lifted his left hand and reached on it. A mini holographic screen appeared after tapping it. |An email?| Yman had doubts when he noticed an email icon blinking repeatedly.. Around this time of night, he was least expecting to receive a mail. And who might it be? Regardless, he needed to open it. He was also curious about the mail. And he was not using his System Deity. So he was safe from hacking. Even if it was a hacker, they could only hack his back-up ount and not his System Deity ount. Tap! Anonymous: [(Shy emoji) Hi, Good evening, pleasee to the auditorium tomorrow. Don''t bete! Goodnight! Uhm... uhm... (heart emoji)(blush emoji) Sleep well] |What?.....Anonymous again. So it''s just a prank, huh. *Sigh!* Why do even these guys keep doing it? Even though it was only a prank, it is not good to prank my petty heart. I may not be so handsome, but even I was wishing for a girlfriend. This prank is just too heartless for me.| Yman was whining in his mind. He immediately closed the device and returned it back on the table, before he exhaled in defeat and forced a dry chuckle for himself. He thought that, if not because of the emojis, that message looks so legit. He might think of it that someone just forgot to add their name. But with those emojis of heart and blushes, no matter how he looked at it, it was literally a prank. He was not degrading himself. It just.....he knows his boundary. And besides, he was too inconsistent. His feelings and emotions kept on changing. He knew that his mindset was not normal. Sometimes he was impulsive. And sometimes timid, and sometimes just normal, then next time different again. These were his biggest shorings. So. Probably. It was unthinkable that someone showed interest in him. Yman was peeking at the window when suddenly Almina''s figure appeared in his mind. She really was too beautiful, he thought. Then he shook his head to get rid of it immediately. It''s fine to fantasize but not too much. Noticing that he could still not fall asleep, Yman stood up and took Sist who was sleeping beside his Sister. The deity was not really sleeping like a human, they were just going into a sleeping mode. Sist suddenly asked when her two oval-shaped eyes glowed and saw him carrying her body. "I-I needed to train my mana control. Well, you help me?" He said and asked. Her mouth twitched as she was speaking. Her new head was so cute, yet, it was dragged by her robotic arms and body, which was unsuited to her head. The two of them went to the rooftop. He must practice his mana control until he is tired. Actually, hiding the brilliance of mana within his body could also help him to do some sneak attack. It was because of the brilliance that he was so attractive in the dark and could not hide properly. They immediately used resonance and Yman''s body was envelopes by a colorless or white brilliance. Without wasting time, He began his mana control training. The next morning, as usual, he woke up early and went to the academy for physical training. Last night he fell asleep veryte. Yet, he is still able to wake up early. His body knows when to wake up like it was in auto function mode. Well, it must be out of habit. Everything seems normal like the usual day. But perhaps, today was different for Yman. He felt so light. Like he was oozing with vigor. Even his eyesight seemed so clear. His hearing, senses, and even his stamina. Maybe this morning training he would seed in not fainting. Yman smiled. This was a different feeling. The same feeling when he first levels up. But right now he felt more alive. Stronger, faster, and his mind was clearer. He also noticed that his skin was more glossy unlike his unhealthy-looking skin from yesterday. However, all of this was still far ifpared to the other trainees. He was not bothered by it though. What was important for him was to keep going and improve himself bit by bit. After changing into a training outfit, he directly went to the training grounds. Many trainees already on the field, he also saw Bob in his usual activity, punching the training dummy together with his deity. Yman went to the shooting area. Where he finds Chloe firing at the bullseye on the wooden cardboard, using her favorite magic-based pistol. He noticed her body was glowing, this must be how she trained herself. It was effective to practice her marksmanship if she was in resonance because she could fire her pistol as long as she wanted. And maybe she wanted to practice her mana control at the same time. Yman chose not to bother her and went to choose a weapon to practice his shooting skill too. He went to one of the shooting tforms. The weapon he chose this time was a magic-based pistol for training. After adjusting the wooden cardboard at the distance of 10 meters away, he aimed the pistol then pulled the trigger. Bang, bang, bang! Out of 3 sessive shots, 2 hits the bullseye. He smiled at the results. His dexterity had finally improved. But It still wasn''t enough, however, this result could only bear a smile on his face; therefore, he continued firing the pistol. He took another weapon after he was done with the pistol, then continued firing. He also adjusted the distance farther and farther. A girl was standing beside him with a puzzled look. But Yman seemed not to notice until the arrow on the quiver was emptied. "Oh, hey?" Yman called out when he finally noticed someone at his side. "Ahaha. Yman, I thought you are leaning on swordsmanship. Have you perhaps changed your profession?" Chloe asked in wonder. "Hm, not in particr. Apparently, there are no weapons that I am proficient in, to begin with." "Eh, what do you mean by that? I-I thought your teacher taught you swordsmanship. Since that day when you fought with the golems, you have been using wooden swords. And I don''t think it was bad. Although you only use some basic shing." "Oh, that? No, it wasn''t like that. It just..." Yman scratched his face shyly, "...it just, I don''t have enough money to buy a decent weapon. And my master only taught me basic techniques in the sword. That''s probably why you only saw me using basic strikes." "I-Is that so." Chloe felt bad for asking. "Mhm. Regardless, your marksmanship has improved quite a lot. Congrats Chloe." Honestly, Chloe''s dexterity must be improving a lot. This is what Yman believes after seeing her performance while in a practice. Out of 10 shots, 6-7 was on the spot at a distance of 25 meters. Such results could only be considered as excellent. "Y-You watch me practicing?" She asked in surprise. "Ah, sorry, should I not?" He immediately said he''s sorry when he thought that Chloe might not like it when someone was stalking her while in training. "No, no, it wasn''t like that. It was fine, you know." Actually, she felt embarrassed to be stared at while practicing her shooting. She was the type to lose her focus if stared at. "Ah, okay, then." "Anyway..." suddenly Chloe noticed something different on Yman. "By the way, Yman, are you in resonance with Sist?" Sist''s triumphant voice was heard by Chloe which widened her eyes. Right now, Yman is not glowing. He looks normal. Like he was not in resonance with his deity. "D-Did you perhaps.....already master the mana control?" "P-perhaps. Regardless, I don''t even have mana, to begin with." He said while showing can''t be helped gestures and emotion. Chloe felt sorry for Yman. It was already known to everyone about him having no mana. It must be also the reason why he was the target of mockery. Somehow, she admired his dedication. Even though he had no mana and was only clinging on his unsure talent, he kept bringing-up himself moving ahead disregarding the taunts and contempt he received from the others. Although he was the weakest in this academy in terms of strength and magic, for Chloe, Yman had the bravest heart. "R-Right. T-Then. Is that because of your Channeling talent?" "Hmm... you could say that." Actually, when Yman was practicing with Sistst night, Sist noticed that what Yman was channeling was not his stamina. It was her own mana! After equipping the head of the Nixie series. She was capable now of inspecting the Mana usage and statistics. This must also be the reason why the Nixie series was more expensive and had better appraisal value. Since it was modeled from a water spirit, it was only natural that it was capable of high mana control and excellent appraisal ability plus low battery consumption. Yman and Sist learned that. Yman''s body was like a bulb, and his Channeling ability the wire. While Sist is the battery. Yet, his Channeling ability was a bad wire. Instead of being a wire, Channeling was more like a parasitic wire. It must be clearer to say that he was leeching on Sist''s mana alone. Not only did Yman not contribute with his mana, since he had none in the first ce, but he also took a share from Sist''s mana. In order to control the use of mana. Yman was the bulb and his Channeling must be the switch only, while Sist bes the battery with a lever. As a lever, the mana control muste from her. Therefore, what Yman needed to do was only to activate his channeling talent, and as a lever, Sist controls the mana usage. In this regard, they finally seeded in controlling the mana. But Yman was puzzled with one thing. The resonance should beposed of positive mana from Gram metal and Negative mana from Hollow cell. So howe even without using negative mana the resonance is still activated. His doubt toward channeling talent increases. He believed that channeling wasn''t a simple talent. Although many magicians said that it was a trash and weak talent like a fire in the dying candle. And that it wasn''t useful in a fight. However, it was also the most mysterious talent that a person could have. It is even capable of activating a one-sided resonance. This must be also the reason why the brilliance envelopes him when in resonance with Sist was colorless or pure white. Since it was the mana color from Gram metal. "G-Good for you. I never thought that the first one who seeded in controlling the mana would be you!" Chloe said in bewilderment. She really finds him interesting. Even from the start. She had this vibes about him, that Yman seemed to be different from the others. There''s an aura around him that Chloe could not express. "Thanks. Chloe." Yman smiled as he thought that Chloe had be more open every time they conversed. Which, a good development for her seemingly shy personality. "Yman, bro! What you said yesterday?!" Suddenly Bob shouted when he noticed him. He was walking towards them together with Mac. Chapter 63 - Duel Bob who was drenched in sweat ambled towards them. Yman remembered that he owed an exnation to Bob from yesterday''s call. He decided to tell him the truth. "Oh, so that''s what happened? Man. I thought you hit your head so hard and lost your sense of talking. Ahahaha!" Bobughed with hands on his waists and his deity was sitting like a boss on his shoulder. ''Ahhh, here he goes again!'' Chloe thought. The reason why she did not choose to cancel her resonance yet was that her deity was calling Yman with rude names. Yet this Bob was a ssmate of Jazz! The two of them wantonly opened their mouths without thinking if their words might irritate someone. Yman, who already knew Bob''s way of talking let a sigh depart from his mouth.. He was not affected by Bob''s way of talking though, and justughed at it. He thought that Bob was already beyond help. "A-Aah, Yman....." And suddenly he heard Chloe''s seemingly tense call. He nced and asked her if what''s the matter. "You know. I-I heard that we will have a mock duel in today''s training." Chloe said while darting her eyes from side to side. Honestly, she just wanted to change the topic. Good thing she managed to find a subject within her mind. Yman was surprised by what Chloe said. He felt a bad premonition about this duel. Almina who was walking towards one of the training tforms noticed Yman who was busy talking with a girl with short blue hair and a physically fit guy at about 20 steps away from her. Suddenly she heard stepping sounds from behind her and nced. She saw the blonde fixedly staring at her. She narrowed her eyes and shortly returned her gaze to the training swords lined on the table. But... The blonde showed a disgusted expression then opened her mouth and called, "Almina Amulet!" Almina nced back at the person calling her name, "What you want, Maena?" She asked while raising a brow. "Let''s settle our score in today''s duel." The blonde girl named Maena Hex dered in a cold voice. Almina smiled with a glint in her eyes. They both staring at each other eye to eye. Like a goddess of death and heavenly goddess. "Hey, bro, look look! The beauties are facing each other. Kuku. What a sight to behold!" Bob dubbed at Yman and pointed to the direction of Almina and the beautiful blonde. Not far from them. |Hm, what a sight indeed.| Yman as he thought. He wondered if the two girls were going to face each other in a duel. He was having this vibe towards these two that they both saw each other as rivals. They must have had some unsettled score from their childhood days at Elite school that the smiling dude mentioned to him a while ago. Before Almina could ept her challenge, "Wait, wait, wait, best friend, let me handle her!" Kesha rushed to Almina''s side and dered to challenge Maena by herself. She really wanted to challenge this beautiful blonde who seemed to have had some grudge towards her best friend. Although this blonde was seemingly strong, Kesha wasn''t afraid of her. They both were a member of the Elite trainees. So she believes she stands a little chance. "Guys, guys, look, the goddesses were going on a duel." Some random dude in the area started which caught the attention of other trainees around. "Really?" "It seems!" "Wohooo, interesting!" "Let''s go!" And so the crowd suddenly gathered and formed a circle around the girls. On timing when Instructor Goki together with three other instructors and some well-dressed people arrived. About 7 people in a well-dress came with the instructors. Seemingly some high officials in this academy and this city. "Ahaha. Look how spirited our newbies are. I wonder what they are up to." Said one of the well-dress people. Wearing an ash-gray polo suit. Paired with ck pants and shiny ck shoes. The person was having a wide forehead and fatty belly. With slight mustache on his round face. "Hm, you are right Mayor Chan. But I came here to watch the said kid with genius-level talent in magic. The young man of the Sun family." Seconded by a middle-aged man wearing a military officer suit. With badges hanging on his chest. This man was the military chief stationed in this city. "Fufufu. Then lets the fun begin." Principal Mar Mari stated and beckoned on Goki. The other people with them are probably these high personnel''s assistants. Goki''s brows twitched upon noticing the gathering of trainees. "Formation!" Instructor Goki demanded in a shout. The crowd suddenly dismissed in regrets as they rushed into their formation forthwith. They lined in their usual rows and columns formation. Goki, who was wearing a ck cap, a ck t-shirt that paired with green military pants andbat boots, walked in front with his hands hidden on his back. He stepped back and forth from side to side, seemingly examining the trainees. About 15 secondster... "Alright, as I already announced in advance this morning, today''s training will involve a mock duel. Each of you shall participate. If you have someone you want to challenge just state the name. Each of you could only challenge in a duel one time. So choose your partner wisely!" He stopped and scanned each of the trainees. He nodded when he noticed that most of them were full of fighting spirits. Except for one though. Goki just ignored that specific one, after all, he was not the fighter type. More or less, he was the weakest, although he felt bad for him. Actually, the higher-ups just announced it on the whim about having a mock duel in this morning''s training because some high personnel would being to inspect the newbies. He finds it unsuspicious, so why not. And that is how this mock duel was decided on a whim. He just hoped that no one would choose to challenge that littlemander. And let him be. He would give an exception for him. Not because he disregarded him, but because he felt sorry for him. Yman felt a chill, like someone just thinking bad at him. Or maybe felt pity at his situation. Really, this duel was bad news for him. Someone like him, who was hated by many, for certain, most of the trainees salivating to embarrass him in this duel. After all, some high officials are here to watch. This was the perfect time to embarrass someone like him. As expected, a group of trainees were having wicked smiles at the moment. Kiko''s eyes glinted in excitement as he thought, ''What a great chance.'' Yman''s face twitched. If he knew that something like this would happen today, he would choose to be absent in today''s training. By the way, howe he got no news about it yesterday? Maybe it was announced so early this morning? Hah! He could only let a sigh escape from his mouth. Well, he was a little excited too. After all, this was only a mock duel. Since it was a mock duel, for certain, they would stop the duel before it got out of hand. So this duel would probably be beneficial to him too. "Instructor Musk, Instructor Torr, and Instructor Beth will be the judge of today''s mock duel!" Goki added. "Fufufu, this is going to be exciting. Too much hype." The woman instructor named Beth stated as she stepped forward and licked her red lips. Most of the male trainees suddenly felt a burning aura within them. She looks elegant in a navy blue dress outfit that she wore at the moment. Red lips and light makeup summed up with her waist-length wavy brown hair. She was oozing with adult demeanor. And a faint smell of expensive perfume carried by the wind towards the trainee''s twitching nose holes. Most of the male trainees salivate at her voluptuous chest. With their eyes turned into a heart shape, like some dude who was under the effect of love potions. Although she was not as pretty as Almina and the blonde, she had a womanly charm that was unique to her. A sunflower-like deity was floating beside her. Every time the deity moves, the petals around its body rotated. "I wonder if the young man from the Sun family will join this duel?" Instructor Torr added. He was a towering man. Stood at 6 feet and 5 inches. With stone-like muscles and chest that seemingly made of stone; topped-up with a in military green shirt and paired with military fatigue pants. He was wearingbat boots on his feet. Then a long nted scar on his left eye that add a seemingly first impression that this guy had already taken many lives before. The trainees immediately gulped and went into deep silence. Scared at the towering man in front of them. A crow-like robotic deity in full ck color was nesting on his broad shoulder. "Oh my, you really are a detestable person senior Torr. Look how you chickened out our newbies. Kukuku." A man in a straw hat and was chewing a piece of tree branch spoke sarcastically as he took a step forward. Two slim single-edge swords were hanging on his waists. And a panda-like deity was resting on top of his straw hat. These three people were the instructors that will be the judge in today''s mock duel. "Hmpf!" Instructor Torr just scoffed at Instructor Musk remarks. "Okay, everyone. Make a 50-meter radius of empty space!" Instructor Gokimanded in a whole loud voice. The trainees hastily made a circr space in a radius of 50 meters as the instructor required. When everything was set, ironically, the first who stepped forward was the girl withvender hair that tied in a ponytail, it was Kesha. And she demanded to challenge the blonde girl, Maena Hex. Maena wanted to challenge Almina, but she was not allowed to refuse the challenge. The two girls were facing each other in the center of the round empty space after choosing their weapon of choice. 5 long tables were ced around to act as the ring or boundary. The guest officials and judges were sitting in front of some of these tables. And on the other table was ced the different kinds of training weapons. Instructor Goki stepped in the middle of the two girls. He would be acting as the referee. "The rules of these duels are just simple. Whoever hits their enemy 5 times will automatically be announced as the winner. The duel will be stopped if serious damage was dealt with with your enemy. You can''t choose to give up either since the judges will judge you through your statistics that can be seen inside a thin transparent magical widescreen(Holographic Screen). Your vital will be disyed in there, so only they had the power to decide if when to stop the duel..." After the long announcement of rules, the duel finally started. Maena''s weapon of choice was a bow and a quiver full of arrows. While Kesha chose a shield and a magic-based pistol. "What a wise weapon choice," Ymanmented. "Fufufu, what a cheeky girl." Keremi, who was at his back, suddenly stated, but Yman did not know who he meant by it. RESONANCE!! The two girls shouted at the same time. Immediately, their body was enveloped by the brilliance of green. Twang, twang, twang! Three arrows flew sessively towards Kesha. Chapter 64 - Spotless Shield, Ultimate Defense Disyed in the wide transparent magical thin screen were the vital statistics of Kesha and Maena. Both were at level 4. But had a noticeable gap in their health points. Kesha''s total health points were 2,000 and Maena was 1,250. And besides their names, the kind or ss of warrior (Profession) they are, is being disyed. Kesha was a Gun Shielder and Maena was an Archer. Although these professions were just temporary since they never even received serious training yet. The instructors were more inclined to basic training first. It was better for the trainees to build their foundation before the proper training of their magic and chosen profession began. It must be because Kesha was holding a shield that right now she had more total defense than Maena. And actually, her attributes were leaning more in Vitality and Dexterity. Whereas Maena''s attributes were more on Dexterity and Agility. The three arrows that Maena fired sessively tore the space as it appeared in a second in front of Kesha. ''Pft, don''t think that shabby attack can hit me!'' Kesha inwardly snorted and raised the shield in her left hand to guard herself and block the fired arrows. Thud, thud, thud! It was followed by three consecutive dull heavy sounds when the arrowsnded on the shield. With her defense, such an attack is child-sy. Kesha reacted fast by aiming the magic-based pistol at Maena. A second after feeding it with her mana. She pulled the trigger continuously to return the fire. Bang, bang, bang! It hit the curve shield that covers the whole space like a dome. This shield was a defensive barrier, it was generated by magic tools known as Defensive tes. The sudden loud and sharp noises from the pistol reverberated in the area. And the seeminglyser-like bullets in greenish hue travel the space much faster than the arrows. It hit nothing, except the defensive barrier, when Maena managed to evade the bullets by swaying her body left and right in a hasty motion. Maena forthwith ran to his right while releasing arrows one after another. This was a known tactic of most archers like her. They orbited on their enemy while kiting them. Because of her agile movements, Kesha was having trouble aiming at her. Yet she was able to defend herself from Maena''s kiting attack. But a momentter, an arrow managed to graze her leg. Kesha frowned. ''Heck, Mina was right, this blonde is really strong. But no matter what, I won''t lose without a fight.'' After pursing her lips, she yelled a war cry. "Haaaaah!" Almina who was spectating together with the other trainees knitted her brows. Around Kesha, the soil raised at the knee-length level. As of now, this was the only she could manage. She was not proficient yet at using her earth element. What she had practiced more since before was her light element. So as of now, she could only raise an earth shield at this level. It was enough to cover the lower part of her body where the blonde might be aiming. All the spectators narrowed their eyes. The military chief Henderson''s mouth extended into a smile. "Ohoho, incredible, these twods are not only beautiful but also talented." Mayor Chan eximed. "Mhmm!" The chief nodded slightly. On the other hand, the Principal Mar Mari grinned. As expected, Maena''s arrownded on the shield and some are on the soil that protects Kesha. Without wasting time, Kesha''s hand and the pistol were suddenly enveloped by green brilliance, then she fired once again. Ironically, the bullets traveled much faster and more destructive than before. It even plowed the ground and the shield that protects the spectators shook vehemently. Maena evaded all the bullets in a very small margin. Then she leaped to the right and released another arrow. Twang, Twang! And yet again, it was caught by Kesha''s shield. She even reinforced the shield with her strengthening ability to make it more durable. "Wooah!!! What an epic battle! As expected of Miss Almina''s friend, she wasn''t an ordinary girl also." Bobmented on Kesha''s skill. The other trainees immediately broke into a loud cheer, cheering for the two girls. The two were exchanging fires. But in the current situation, it was clear that Kesha has the upper hand because of her shields. Yman who was watching the duel thought that the ponytail girl did a good jobbining a shield and a pistol. The arrows fired by the blonde could easily be a no threat by the shield. And while she was blocking the arrows, she could also return the fire. Although Miss Blonde easily avoided the bullets, it was only a matter of time before she tired herself. Regardless, are these two even a beginner? If they are, then what am I? A super beginner then. I''m sure these two can easily pass as junior trainees. Someone who was capable of evading the bullets at such a degree could only be said as remarkable. And the other one was having spotless defense! Like hiding herself in a turtle shell. He could only admire the two. Although both of them were nasty towards him. Regardless, he was not the type to be easily affected by verbal abuse. Kesha continued firing while shielding herself like a turtle in the shell. Not only did she have a shield, but she also had a cover-up. She looks like a real soldier in this regard who was battling in a war. Everyone could tell that in the current situation, the blonde was at the disadvantage. It is only a matter of time that Maena will tire out her stamina from running and evading Kesha''s attacks. Kesha grinned and thought that if she kept doing it, she might have a chance to win. Somewhere in the spectator side, Kiko''s eyes were fixed at the front but he was not looking at the twodies battling in the duel. His eyes went through them and fixed to a person watching the duel in silence. It was Almina Amulet. However, even though they were facing each other, Almina''s gaze was on the duel. Maybe she did not notice him yet? A momentter Almina felt someone was staring at her and her eyesnded on that person known as Kiko. One of the talented trainees on this year''s batch. The young master of the Sun family. A potential rival for being an ACE of this academy. Almina was dead set on bing the ace. Because being an acees with many benefits. And it was easy for her to prove her brother''s innocence to the top 10 outstanding families on the Outerworld. Kiko was more than happy when he felt Almina''s eyes on him. He was right after all. Seems like Almina could not resist the urge to nce at him. "Hehe." Kiko giggled. From time to time he also was sneaking nces at the blonde. But this blonde although exquisite youngdy, yet Kiko felt that she was the type of girl that was having a superiorityplex. He finds it cute though. However, his heart was dead-set on Almina Amulet. But even a king of a Kingdom had many concubines. What''s more, him. He could also get one or two. In any case, if he could manage to attract the blonde and Kesha also, then wasn''t it more fun and sessful of him? He could get more lovers if he wanted, but he would let the number 1 spot for the dearest, Almina Amulet. Kiko grinned at the thought. In this era, where humans civilization is at the lowest, polygamy is allowed. POLYGAMY IS ALLOWED... POLYGAMY IS ALLOWED... POLYGAMY IS ALLOWED... The words reverberated in his mind. IT was only natural to someone like him who was born talented and the man who was destined to lead the academy to the highest podium would captivate all the beauties. Someone like him who was not only born handsome, rich, and strong as well, must im all that he wants. Not only in this academy but also in the whole world. When his name spread widely as he triumphantly endeavored to the apex of power. Such thought was inside his head at the moment. He could even feel that at this moment, Almina and Kesha were already attracted to him. He could let Almina as his number one and Kesha as his second. It only a matter of time that the blonde would also fall on him. Only a little show-of of his ability is enough for the girls to scream his name in excitement. And for his most hated person, the waste, he would give him a slight pity by making him a ve. A loyal dog that would only bark whenever he was told to. Kiko grinned once again as he wetted his lips. Such a dream was not impossible for him to achieve. After all, he was strong. Beside him, his friends were loudly screaming for the girl''s name. Suddenly, "Ahaha, looks like the duel wille to an end much sooner," Keremi mumbled in a descending tone. Yman''s brows slightly raised and focused his eyes on the two who were in a duel. If he remembered correctly, wasn''t the blonde had some kind of ability that enables her to easily deal damage even with the stone-body of golems? As expected. After Yman remembered it. The wind was gathering on the tip of the arrow on the blonde''s bow that was aimed at Kesha''s direction. Yman with wide eyes was staring at the arrow. Weirdly, he felt some simrity when he was channeling mana. The wind gathered on the tip of the arrow, and when Maena released it, it tore the space in an instant but Kesha immediately raised her shield, then the arrow bore on the shield with low piercing noise. It was defended?! Most people thought in their minds. The arrow that looks so intimidating was sessfully defended by thevender haired beauty in a ponytail. But the crowd suddenly went into a deep silence. When they noticed a big hole in Kesha''s stomach. Yet no blood could be seen. Only pieces of light particles that were slowly dropped onto the ground. It was one of the best effects of resonance. Their body was just a copy of their original. In this state even if they pierced their body, as long as there were still health points left, they wouldn''t die immediately. Well, they won''t particrly die, they just reverted back into a normal person when HP reached zero. And could not use resonance again for approximately 1 month longest period. However, they could still feel pain. The same pain was felt by Kesha when her body was pierced. Kesha was agonizing from the pain of having her stomach being pierced by an inexplicable force. Herplexion immediately turned pale. She groaned. And her knees trembled. "Kesha!" Almina screams her best friend''s name worriedly. ... Kesha''s health points plummeted to 800 HP in just a hit. Thanks to her high defense, her HP is still above the limit. Her vision turned hazy. If she won''t do something, she was certain that she would lose consciousness in a second. Kesha in difficulty bit her lip and summoned more mana from within her body. Then, "Heal!" She shouted and next second, her body was enveloped by brilliance. It was her healing spell from her light element. The hole on her stomach slowly went back to normal as more light particles were gathering on it like they were covering or reinforcing the wound. Just a few seconds had passed when the wound was totally healed. In Kesha''s mind, she could not let herself be defeated easily, after all, Kiko was watching. Although that attack from the blonde was unexpected to her. "She really was above of my league," Kesha mumbled. Finally, the hole on her stomach was fully healed. And her health points went up once again. However, before she could act again, another arrow that was also covered in the wind element came faster than the first one. Faster and more wind was visibly coating it. Out of reflex, Kesha covered her body with her shield in hand. Whoosh! Thud! Another low dull sound was heard when itnded on Kesha''s shield and bore its tip on it. Kesha''s shield already had 10+ arrows sticking on it turning into something like spikes. Yet... "The battle is over! The winner is the archer Maena Hex!" Goki''s loud announcement was heard. The other trainees, even the mayor, had knitted their brows, wondering why the battle had been stopped so suddenly. The girl with the shield was still fine and still standing within her defensive wall. And the arrow only hit the shield! But when the judges showed the vital statistics screen. Kesha''s health points were left with 500 only. They also noticed a bigger hole in Kesha''s stomach once again. Bigger than before. They could not let the battle continue like this. If the health points reach zero, it will take longer for the magician to use resonance again with their deity if not using an expensive medicine which the academy did not want to waste their finance in mundane things. And the instructors could not approve that a trainee will be absent at the training for long. Because the real magic training will begin soon. So 500 HP is the boundary for a yer to lose the match. A secondter, Kesha fell on the ground and lost consciousness. Then the resonance has been canceled. Her body went back to normal. The greenish glow from before is already gone. And a deity was floating beside her calling her name anxiously. "Kesha! Kesha!" Almina immediately rushed to her side. "Ha~haaa~! I never thought to see such a skill in the first duel. Indeed, this year''s batch had much promising youth. Kudos to you Principal Mar for finding such a magician." The Chief let out a yelp and praised the principal. Principal Mar Mari cackled. "Hmm...In any case, what kind of skill is that?" The mayor who was not proficient with magic matters asked in puzzlement. "Ah, it was one of the signature abilities of one of the heroes who fought the Dominion Devil inside the infernal regions, the Netherworld or Abyss. (The chief face turned grim slightly.)" Then he continued saying: "That skill is known as" "The Arrowbites?!" Yman eximed after Keremi exined the skill used by the blonde. "Yes, my prince." Chapter 65 - Death Immunity Particles After the fight ended, the hole on the stomach of Kesha had already gone and it returned back to normal after the resonance had been canceled, like no wound on there in the first ce except for the torn part of her training suit. Yet some marks of blood are still on the ground. Wounds may not bleed while in resonance, but coughing blood is different. The resonance''s main priority is to ensure the body is safe by sustaining it with death immunity using the particles known as Photonocules, from the root word of Photon-Nano-Molecules. It''s not a type of molecule, it''s just modeled after the molecules using the super-advanced technology and magic that became possible through resonance. However, unlike the molecules, it prevents the person''s body from heavy loss of blood and prevents him/her from dying when the person in resonance took a hit or wounded himself gravely that may cause a person''s death. Some people even called these Photonocules as Death Immunity Particles or DIP. Although, it would only activate when a person was in resonance with their deity. . However, these DIP neglected wounds like a scratch or graze or any trivial injuries that would never cause death to a person in resonance. After all, its main function was to maintain the body''s safety of the person. Even if the person lost blood and took grazes, as long as it won''t cause the person''s death, the DIP would neglect it. That''s why, even if a person was in resonance, there''s a chance for him to lose blood, suffer exhaustion, and take some grazes or any small wounds. The light particles on Kesha''s wound were the so-called Photonocules, Death Immunity Particles, or DIP in short. Kesha lost her consciousness due to unbearable pain and from the umtion of fatigue. But her condition was far from danger. Just a little rest and she would regain her strengthter on. After all, the magician''s body was tougher than the normal human. She was stretchered to the medical tent that could be seen in the distance from the training grounds, Almina went with her. Nheless, the battle she showed was highlymendable. That shield and a gunbo of hers will surely put headaches to all her opponents who don''t have an ability capable of high pration power. It might be the reason why she was selected as one of the Elites even though she only has the affinity of 2 elements. Whereas most Elites had 3. On the contrary, the Arrowbites ability of the blonde will surely be a big nemesis to enemies leaning towards Vitality and having low agility, and without any ability to counter it. *Sigh!* Yman let out a sigh after some thinking. If only he had such ability, he could probably finish his mission much faster and easier. It was a good decision for the judges that they stopped the duel before something more serious would happen. After all, it was only a mock duel. He nced at his left side and noticed the blonde panting slightly. A bead of sweat sparkled on her forehead when it was hit by the sunray. It added more appeal to her beautiful face. Her fair, smooth, and wless skin was bing paler, yet more attractive. Looking at her, Yman could tell that she was exhausted. It is only natural though, for all that running and evading the bullets she did, certainly, anyone would be gasping for breath after that. And they were still fledgling, to begin with. "Wow, congrattions M-Ms. Maena!" "....." He forced azy smile when he noticed her ignoring the girl beside her who was praising her for winning the duel. |What a snobby girl, ahaha.| Ymanmented inwardly and forced augh in a descending tone as he thought that this blonde really had no eyes and ears towards someone who was weaker than her. She would give notice only to those people who she deemed strong. For some reason, Maena felt someone was gazing at her, so she nced to her right side and caught that unhealthy person promptly turning his head to the front. ''Tis! This weakling.'' She clicked her tongue. Her brows wrinkled and sent a sharp gaze towards him. She was certain that that person was looking at her originally. Yman immediately returned back his eyes at the front while scratching the side of his face, because unexpectedly, that girl nced to his direction. He wondered if that girl caught him staring at her. Regardless, he must focus himself on the instructor''s announcements for the next battle. ''Hmph.'' Maena narrowed her eyes at him and snorted before she returned her gaze at the front. Waiting for the next battle. "Heck, I don''t even know how Ms. Kesha was defeated." Someone among the trainees whispered. "Yeah, me too." Added by another voice. "Didn''t she sessfully block the attack of Ms. Maena?" Someone asked. "Right." Answered by another person. "In any case, I don''t know how Ms. Maena was able to pierce the stomach of Ms. Kesha." Another person stated. "Yeah. Me too!" Seconded by someone. "But. What a good duel that was! Now I feel I am burning with a fighting spirit." Someone eximed. "Right?" "Ahaha." "Whoooo! I''m motivated to fight too." "Me too....." The topic about the first duel still continued and did not die yet even after Instructor Goki went into the center and was announcing about the second duel while holding a tablet in his hand. Even Bob was looking at his back and asked Yman and Keremi about that duel. He nodded his head in reply. Currently, his head was full of thinking for theing duel. Some trainees shouted in excitement. Excited for their turn to show their skills to the officials. Most of them felt motivated after watching a good duel from those two pretty girls. Kiko was grinning at the sideline. Waiting for his turn. He really was etching to embarrass that person he hated the most. Not only him, but all his friends around him were also thinking so. Ahem! Goki cleared his throat. "Alright, the next person I will be going to call out next shalle forward and you will choose the person you want to fight," Goki announced. Yman frowned at this arrangement. It was not good for him if the instructor chose Kiko or his friends. Those guys had personal issues towards him. Not good to fight them at this stage. Even though it was only a mock duel, those guys for sure would not let him go with a scratch only. There were some ways to bend the rules in ordance with their motive without being penalized. His only chance is that Instructor Goki would choose him first so that he could select a better non-hostile opponent towards him. Like for example those natives from this world. Most of them didn''t know him. Even if he lost, he would lose in a fair and educational way, and not in a hotheaded confrontation. Although they looked fierce and scary, he believed that they would show mercy at him. At Least that''s what he believes in. For Yman, it wasn''t about being scared, it was about knowing one''s capability. Yman knows that he was the weakest person among all the trainees here. Not just because he had lower statuspared to others, these statuses are just there to put in numbers their strength, vitality, senses, dexterity, agility, and etcetera. It''s not really that 100% urate. Maybe about 99% urate. One''s capability can only be decided by his own ability and skills or how he handled himself in a fight. But the big difference between him and the others is their magic abilities and breakthrough level. They were much faster in casting. And it was only natural since he has no mana and depended only on his channeling talent that was known as trash talent or ability. Which is probably true based on his experience, since the execution of his skill was even slower than those with mana. Yman swallowed his saliva. But it was a different issue if he used his ck mana. Whenever he used his ck Mana. He could easily manipte his channeling talent like it was an extension of his limbs. It actually puzzled him. Since even if he was in resonance with Sist and used her mana, the execution of skill is still a bitggy. Unlike when he was using his ck Mana. Although many people have channeling abilities, he was certain that most of their knowledge about it was only on his level. The breakthrough level of their limiter also yed an important role in one''s strength. Which is Yman also behind in this aspect. He was having a headache thinking about it so he decided to put it at the back of his mind for now. Yman made a gesture of putting his hand on his head to catch the instructor''s attention. Yet... the instructor seemed to be snubbing him as his eyes wandered around the trainees and did not even give a nce at him. After all, he was hidden at the back of Bob''s broad back. And in Goki''s perspective, Yman''s arms must be numbing that''s why he raised them. Goki already chose the next participant. He pulled down his hand in dismay. The next one who went to the stage was a boy. Yet Yman seemed to remember the dude. If he wasn''t wrong, that guy was one of those four from yesterday who was talking on his back when he was training on the shooting tform. After checking the guy''s info, Instructor Goki''s eyes narrowed: ''Another well-known name.'' He thought. Then his mouth opened and said: "Bren Storm, choose your opponent." Instructor Goki said. Bren in a toothy grin scanned around the trainees, for his desired opponents. And his eyesnded on the specific person. Everyone was shocked as he called his opponent''s name. Chapter 66 - Fusing Skills "Kiko Sun?!!!" Everyone shouted under their breaths after Bren Storm called out Kiko''s name as his opponent. This decision of his was unexpected to all. Even his friends were having shocked faces. They also weren''t expecting Bren to choose Kiko to be his opponent. Why did he choose someone of such caliber to be his opponent? His friends asked in their minds. It was known to everyone that Kiko was from the Elite section. And he was a wielder of great talent that was favored by the instructors and even by the elders as the one who has a high chance of bringing the whole academy into the top of the ranking.. Such thoughts were present in everyone''s mind. Each trainee has scattered thought at the moment. Actually, this was also the reason why Bren chose Kiko as the opponent. Kiko frowned. He never expected that someone would challenge him so tantly. "Fool," Marco muttered while staring daggers at Bren and shook his head in disgust. "Hahaha. What a joke! That guy probably hit his head so hard and forgot who he shouldn''t choose to challenge." Bruno followed while guffawing. "Hehe. Is that guy an idiot?" Other friends of them said and chuckled. "Tsk, such a pushover." Kiko felt awful at Bren. He originally wanted to fight that Froggyman and embarrass him. The judges seemed to be excited at the next duel. "Hehe. So we are already at the climax of the show?" Instructor Musk asked with a grin. "This is what I''ve been waiting for...! Finally, finally! Ahahaha!" Torr eximed excitedly. Finally, he was able to witness again that kid''s ancient technique, the Earth-Crushing Technique. "Oh, I started to like that kid. Someone who is not afraid to challenge a strong opponent is worthy of praise." Instructor Beth pointed to Bren. Yman who was near the judge''s table heard what the Instructor Beth said. Because of her words, he felt some arrow let loose and hit his head from behind. Regardless, for him, he would rather escape or chose a weaker opponent than feed himself to the beast. Safety first! Most of the trainees wanted to question Bren of why he chose Kiko as his opponent. But Bren had reasons that were not simple to achieve. He knew that Kiko was strong. And that is also the reason why he chose him as an opponent. If ever he was able to defeat him in this duel, even out of luck only, for sure his poprity would rise immediately. And he might get a chance to be close to the most beautiful girls in this academy. Actually, not just that. It is also about his family. The Storm family used to be one of the tops in the Middle Region. Yet their family slowly declined for not producing talented offspring for about 5 generations. In order to prove himself. He must defeat someone stronger. And the best target for him was Kiko who was favored by many in this academy. If he lost in this duel, nothing really much of an impact on him. After all, the gap in their strength was noticeable. On the official''s table, Mayor Chan and Chief Henderson also have curious faces. They already had some news about this specific trainee who was said to have a great talent, with the high probability of bringing the academy into the top of ranking once again. After choosing their weapons, everyone expected for Kiko to use a sword. But contrary to their expectations, he chose nothing. He was barehanded! Bren felt like he just swallowed a bitter food. And he was wearing a grim expression on his face. "Arrogant. I will defeat you." Bren mumbled and the sword in his hand trembled from his grip. "Hehe..." Kiko smirked while spreading his hands open, weing Bren to attack. "Haha, that kid even has the heart to feel pity to his opponent and present a handicap." The judge''s Torr chuckled at Kiko''s behavior but he found it amusing. "I don''t think he was pitying him. More like, he is looking down on his opponent. Mhm." Instructor Musk added while nodding his head. "Kufufu. I hope to see a good fight." Instructor Beth cackled. After their resonance, their body was immediately enveloped by greenish brilliance. Without wasting any second, while he was holding the sword hilt in his right hand, Bren caressed the sword de using his left hand and it was followed by the mana of green brilliance, coating the sword de. Then more mana burst on his feet as he made a huge sudden stride towards Kiko. "Dieeeee!!!! Bastard!!!" He dashed towards Kiko like aet. And followed by... BANG! A loud explosion was heard. The mixture of smoke and dust arises. Forming like a tree. Then, Whoosh! The burned smell was carried by the wind as it invaded their nostrils. The area was dead silent like it was dested. A momentter when the dust and smoke were carried by the wind and caused the surroundings to clear up, a charred body fell face-first on the ground. Then it glowed for a moment and next second, a deity cushioning on a person''s back. His color went back to normal also, but he lost his consciousness. "He was defeated in one explosion?!! All the people in the area shouted behind their breaths!" "Such domineering aura!" "A true genius indeed!" Everyone thinks so. Kiko walked towards his friends as if nothing happened in the first ce. After three steps he stopped and nced at Yman. Narrowed eyes and disgust was visible on his face. In Kiko''s mind, it should be that person that isying like a charred piece of wood at the moment. ''Well, there are still more chances toe, and next time I will make sure to grill that frog as crispy as possible.'' After a quick thought, he proceeded towards his friends who were at the moment in full excitement. "Hahaha, Kiko Dude, you have never told us that you''re bad at grilling this whole time. Ahahaha!" Bruno who was holding his stomach eximed with a bigugh. "Yeah, gyahaha, oh boy, you overcooked that one. Gyehehehe!" One of Kiko''s friends added and cackled. "Ha~haaaah! I already expected this to happen." Said Marco as he shook his head in disappointment for that guy who challenged Kiko. *Sigh!* Kiko sighed as he wanted to fight that froggy originally but was spoiled by that side character. For Kiko though, everyone was a side character for his glorious path of achieving his goal. Even that frog was just aedic viin for him. He just wanted to squash him for a swallow reason of ''that guy was like a personified bad omen, whenever he saw his face, his goodwill will be sullied, because of how unhealthy and gloomy he looks. Like, he was spreading negativities around him.'' Seeing his face made Kiko want to vomit. It was what he originally felt before. That was also the reason why they ganged up on him when he passed by in the alleyway on that day of the evaluation exam. However, after that incident on the cliff, his anger towards that person had reached the pinnacle of a mere disgust. And now sprouted a real animosity towards that person. But after realizing that even that mere frog, an unessentialedic viin has almost killed him?! Kiko realized that he could not just let loose his cool. And so even in the hospital, he practiced and invented new techniques. With his high level of control with his mana, he finally found a better ability for him. An ability that suits that person. An ability to grill that frog for good. And now he wanted to thoroughly dispatch him. Everyone was having surprised and unbelievable faces at the moment. Not all of them were smart enough to understand what happened in that instant. And most of them were ovee by deep emotions that wanted to scream that man''s name. "He-He-He''s so coooooool!!!" Most of the trainees thought so." "Kyaaaaahhhhh!!!" Some girls failed to hide their emotions and burst into deep admiration then shouted on top of their lungs as their emotions finally wailed up. "Kiko!!!" "Coooool!!!" "Marry me!!!" "Please be my boyfriend!" "One night is enough!" "Two nights is okay too!" "No, make it three!!!" "No, daddy K'' make me your baby!" Some random gay shouted in a flirtatious tone. Screams of excitement ovee the whole training grounds at the moment. "Woah! What was that?" Bob eximed in puzzlement of what or how it happened. That guy named Bren was KO''ed in just one instance! "Kere boy, Yman bro, what was that explosion?!" Since the two remained silent, he asked again after calling their names. "Ahaha. Must be his new technique. What do you think, my prince?" Keremi replied while showing a tired smile. He too had no idea why that guy named Bren suddenly exploded before his sword tip pierced Kiko''s face. Yman scratches the side of his face before opening his mouth, "Actually, I failed to see the whole picture of the skill execution but..." "But?" Bob repeated. "It must be some kind of skill fusion." "Skill fusion?" Bob repeated in puzzlement as more question marks floated above his head. "Hm, must be abination of skills or techniques. Right, my prince?" Keremi exined. "Mhm." Yman slightly nodded. He really felt awkward about the way Keremi called him. "So it''s like that." Bob in realization mumbled and added, "But what kind of skills he fused?" Keremi and Bob nced at Yman. Who was now in between of the two. Yman''s eyes slightly narrowed. "I''m not too sure, but, hm..." he stopped for a moment and thought, while slightly biting the tip of his thumb. "If I made a guess, it would be his explosion ability with the addition of fire and wind element. And hid it in the ground using his earth element." Yman exined. "A-A-And mine?" "Basically. Fufufu. As expected of you my prince." "No. This is just my honest deduction but I''m not too sure if it was really the truth. Regardless, only the person himself knows the truth." Actually, this was just based on Yman''s observation of Kiko''s skill that he saw he used from that day on the cliff. And because he used some earth element ability on that day, he assumed he had an affinity for it. Then he used fire also. And the explosion happened from below of that guy named Bren. So it must be something like andmine. It was also known to everyone that Kiko had an Earth-Crushing Technique which is an explosive type of ability. Not just explosive but it also can cause an explosion. Although not a strong explosion, it would have different results if hebined it using his fire element. It only means that Kiko dyed the explosion like a timed bomb. But the problemes, how he managed to dy the explosion? Or hold it for a certain period of time? The only possible answer that Ymanes up with is...he coated it using a wind element. Only wind elements can do such. If it was water, then it will defuse the explosion instead. Earth and water was not a good pair, it shortens the water''s time of manifestation. Because basic knowledge says: earth absorbs water. That''s why Yman assumed that Kiko also had an affinity for wind elements. Yman suddenly noticed some realization. The mechanics and execution ofbining the skills to create a new type of skills. Just like when he was executing his channeling ability. Maybe he could also do some tricks with his ability? Not only the trainees were surprised at the results of the duel, but also the judges themselves. And even the officials. "Ahaha. So that''s the reason he did not choose a weapon. I thought he was just cocky. Hahaha. This kid is really an interesting person." Instructor Torr eximed in excitement. He became more of a fan of Kiko''s talent. "Fufufu. In any case, although the fight I expected did not happen, the result is more than a good fight. Fufufu. I wanted to train him personally." Beth dered. "Heeehehehe. No. That kid should be trained by me." Musk also dered. "No way. That kid belongs to me. His abilities were more suited to be one of my students." Torr joined the two. They were really surprised by Kiko''s skills. But because of excitement, they failed to voice it out. The chief showed more interest at Kiko after such a domineering performance. Mayor Chan and Principal Mar giggled in excitement as they thought, ''Middle Region Magic Academy will surely reach the top ranking on this year''spetition with this person.'' Kiko''s name resounded. Almina who was tending on Kesha heard a loud cheering noise from the training ground. She looked towards the area and thought something interesting probably happened. |Not only does he have high control with his mana, but he also has super-fast casting speed.| Yman thought in dismay. Yman nced at the blonde and surprised that she was having the same face. No reaction at all. Only nodded her head slightly. Probably, she appreciated Kiko''s performance. Looks like she found a new friend. After the unconscious Bren was brought to the medical tent, many trainees went next after Kiko''s duel. Some shouted as they won, adding more confidence in themselves. While some griefed as they lost but it only bore courage to make themselves stronger. Although some took it seriously and felt down. While their friends tried to liven them. As more trainees finished their duel, Yman''s turn came closer. Sist who was in standby mode a while ago finally woke up, she yawned and asked. Actually, as of now Yman and Sist are still in ''resonance'' state. In standby mode, the use of battery and mana was being conserved and only a little of it would be spent. But it also means some of its features are in lock mode. Yman could not show Sist''s form to others, she looked so funny. Although her head was cute, her body was awkward. So he had to spend some mana and battery. And it also a part of her training in controlling mana by herself. After all, she will be the lever and Yman was a switch only. ''Nothing. Just some kind of a game.'' He replied through a ''thought conversation''. Chapter 67 - The Person You Used To Look Down Yman made some obvious gestures just to steal the attention of Instructor Goki; however, without him knowing, Goki also was intentionally disregarding him. Actually, he was wondering if why seems he was purposely ignored by the instructor. Instructor Goki does not want him to duel so as not to hurt himself. For him, Yman had no need to fight in this duel. What he needed to do was to practice his leadership skill. Being strategist was more suited to him. Maybe he would be the one to lead the academy to group battles on some of thepetitions. Now that Kiko was already out of the picture, Yman was finally able to breathe in relief. But for some odd reason, after the instructor chose the next trainee to duel, he would whisper in their ears. Yman just thought of it that the Instructor Goki was giving advice to them.. Actually, Yman''s thought was spot on. "You''re next," Goki pointed at one of the trainees. "Yes sir!" When the trainee stood beside him, Goki whispered in his ears, "Actually, if you want to be stronger choose a stronger opponent or someone as strong as you in this duel. Not the like of that infamous brat who had zero mana and was the least talented in a fight. You won''t gain good experience in fighting someone like that. Understood?" "Y-Yes sir, I u-understood! Thanks for your guidance sir!" Yman noticed the trainee bowed slightly at the instructor. The trainee chose his opponent who he thought was a good opponent for him. ng, ng, ng! Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! Their duelsted 3 minutes. And both of them took damage. The trainee that was called out first by Goki was defeated but he was happy at the result and even said his thanks to him. Goki grinned. Not only did he avoid the trainee feeling down after their defeat, but he also was helping them so as to more improve themselves. And not only that, he avoided Yman to go on the duel too. Just like hitting 3 birds with one stone. Hehe, Goki giggled. The duel continued. Many trainees finished their duels. Bob was able to make a draw result with an opponent that has the same ability as him. His opponent was one of Kiko''s friends with the element of earth and wood. While Bob''s element was metal. Their fight was like two boulders crashing into each other. It was the longest fight to finish. And the judges decided to finish it with a draw. "Damn! I can still fight! Why did the judges stop the fight? I almost got that gori!" Kiko''s friend roared in dismay behind his breath. "Chill up, Mario dude! Hahaha, since both of you did your part already, let me handle that Toadman!" Bruno dered with a bigugh. Kiko and the others could only cheer at him. Yet... "I choose that person as my opponent!" Someone pointed at Bruno. "What? Damn it dude! Why me of all people here? I have a mission you know!" Bruno growled. His friends chuckled as they thought, ''Mission my ass?!'' Yman on the sideline just forced a dryugh. After Bruno and the guy who chose him as his opponent finished their duel. Bruno won in a domineering manner. His opponent was having a hard time countering his shield magic that was made from wind. All of the attacks of his enemy were being slowed down by it, and sooner dropped on the ground because of the loss of velocity. The next duel was between the guy who Yman never forget. It was the guy who pushed him inside the auditorium on the Outerworld. His enemy was a knife user. And that guy used a dagger. The two of them contested through speed. Both were agile and used the same elements. However, the fight ended with that guy''s victory, using a special move. Before he left the center, he sent a sharp nce at Yman. He just scratched the side of his face and thought, |How troublesome.| Chloe managed to win in difficulty against a girl opponent, and Mai won too against a bestial girl opponent with cat ears. Although she was agile and sent abo of swipes to Mai, Mai''s transformation magic dominated her. Chloe sent a cheer on her while Bob''s voice dominated the other''s voice. Yman just sent a thumbs up at her. She said her thanks to them. Although they were not in the same section, both of them were able to get close to each other from that horrendous travel. Keremi won against a bestial opponent without receiving a single hit. Yman was wondering about Keremi''s speed. Although he didn''t look fast while he was fighting, the enemy could notnd a hit at Keremi. Just like before when they fought with the Mustang Spider. The spider failed tond a hit on him too. Brai and the other Elite members dominate their opponents easily. Goki was grinning broadly, actually, he wasn''t only avoided calling Yman, he also avoided choosing those trainees who had clear animosity towards him. Until the other trainees would choose them. Chief Henderson, Mayor Chan, and principal were very pleased with the results of every match. "Haaah~ Now I agree that this batch of trainees has many talented individuals. Hehehe! This is getting more exciting. I wanted to train some of them personally!" Instructor Musk said while chewing a small piece of a tree branch. "Yeah! Hahaha. But that Kiko kid shall be taught by me alone! Gyahaha!" Instructor Torr dered in a loud voice. "Ufufufu." Beth justughed. Kiko on the distance felt proud of himself after hearing the instructor''s words. Yman on the other hand raised his hand and called out, "Instructor Goki, sir!" Goki nced at him, "Yes? You have something to ask?" "Yes, sir. What about me? I did not take part in the duel yet." Yman asked him. The other trainees went into random murmurs again after hearing him. "Pufft, that guy again." "Haha, who would want to duel him? It''s just a waste of time, anyway." "Yeah, and we would probably not learn anything if we did fight him." "You got it right! Hahaha!" Such murmurs reached his ears. Goki forced a drily smile, "Ah, is that so? Oh sorry about that. But that''s fine I guess. Since you have no pair." Suddenly, Judge Beth also asked, "By the way, Instructor Goki, is that thest pair?" Beth asked Goki. "Yeah, it seems. Actually, there is one person left here. But no need to push him to duel since he has no pair." Goki replied like it wasn''t important talking about it. "Hmm... is that so? Okay then." Said Beth as she was about to stand. "....." Yman was speechless, wondering if he was lucky or not. Shall he rejoice? Or be sadden? "So that''s thest pair, huh." "I guess." "Then, are we free to leave now?" The other trainees started to leave. "Oh, so that''s thest pair?" The chief asked. "Probably." Mayor Chan replied. "Fufu. Well, we did see a very entertaining performance from these trainees." "Kuku." Principal Marughed. Yman was in dismay. He wanted to try this duel too. But somehow, he had something more important needed to do. But... "Sir Goki," everyone stopped on their feet after hearing this familiar voice. Goki and Yman nced at where the voice came from. "Y-Young Miss?!" Goki with a little shock in his voice called out her name. "When is my turn to duel?" She asked. Yman nced at Goki. Goki had a sour face. Like he gulped something awful. He forgot her!!!, he thought. Almina just came back from tending on Kesha. "Oh right, the strongest girl had yet to duel. Fufufu. How forgetful of you Instructor Goki, sir." Beth said sarcastically. If Kiko was the strongest male trainee, then Almina was probably the strongest female trainee. But actually, this is just their assumptions, since no actual ranking yet. Goki immediately announced thest duel. "Okay, this is thest duel, Almina Amulet versus Yman Talisman! Hah~" Goki announced with a sigh. Yman with the face like it was hisst day of being alive walked towards Goki and whispered, "Instructor Goki, sir, are you perhaps intentionally tried to feed me to the abyss?" Yeah, he wanted to duel, but not to the final boss! "Ugh," Goki felt he choked his own. He then put his hand on Yman''s shoulder and said in a somber voice, "Kid, I did all I could but a miscalction happened." Yman narrowed his eyes from Goki''s reply, |So, it was your fault after all!| He eximed inwardly after realizing that Goki did something all this time. He wanted to preach it to the instructor, but Yman thought that it can''t be helped now. He sighed in defeat as he thought, |So, that''s why no one called to challenge me, huh.| He remembered the murmurs from other trainees. "Regardless, can I pre-register for medical insurance?" He asked seriously. Goki nced at Yman and noticed he''s serious, "Pft," Goki was about to burst outughing but managed to hold it. Almina who was having a red face at the moment was wondering what these two were whispering about. Her heart was racing like someone drumming inside. She''s not nervous, it''s just, she did not expect that she would be fighting him. In any case, it was also her chance to punish him right?, for forgetting her that is. She will make sure that he will never forget her again, fufu. After hearing Yman''s question, "Pft! Although, life is beautiful and you are still young. But d-don''t worry kid, even your funeral will be on my expense." Goki replied while tears were about to appear at the corner of his eyes because of trying to hold hisughter that about to burst out. "....." "And now you''re expecting me to die, huh. How mean." He said as he exhaled slightly while closing his eyes. Seeing his reaction, "Man up, kid, cheer up!" Goki tried to cheer him up while tapping on his shoulder repeatedly. Actually, he started to think of him as someone like a younger brother to him. *Sigh!* Almina chose a dual sword as her weapon. And Yman chose a sword too but paired it with a magic-based pistol. "A pistol and sword?" Bob asked in doubt. "Fufufu, I wonder how this duel wille out," Keremi muttered. Originally, Yman wanted to use a shield and a pistol like Kesha. But he realized that he would be a training dummy against Almina''s speed. The Chief and Mayor were having curious faces. And the judges were excited to see Almina abilities. Most of the trainees didn''t have any expectations towards her enemy. Kiko on the sideline was having a fierce look on his face, thinking that if that Froggy touched even the slight hair of Almina, he would grill him on the spot! When Almina and Yman were facing at each other in the center, only Almina who shouted resonance. The people around were puzzled. "What? Will he give up?" "No way, that is against the rules!" Kiko grinned, "Hehe, that guy is afraid!" "No balls! Ahaha!" "Man up, Toad!" Bruno shouted. Chloe smirked, "Look at the person you guys used to look down, he managed to seed first before us in controlling the mana." She mumbled and looked at Yman with a smile. Then silently said her ''Goodluck''. Until one of the trainees noticed a cor on Yman''s neck, "No. Look! He was in resonance already!" "Resonance?" "Resonance already?" "He''s in resonance already? What?" When they looked at Yman''s neck, they saw a cor. "He already mastered the mana control?" Beth asked with widened eyes. The others could not believe it. Almina was shocked also. But for some reason, she felt proud of him. Like, that person belong''s to her. Chapter 68 - False Magician It has only been a couple of days since they arrived at this academy. And yesterday only, that the topic about it was lectured to them. Yet now, someone already mastered controlling it? Is this for real?!!! The other student and even the instructors and officials thought in surprise. However, it''s not just a random someone who achieved it. It was the infamous person, the weakest among the rest, and known as a no mana. What the hell?! It''s like saying that the crow changed its color to white! Very unbelievable! Everyone was bbergasted. This is the first in history! No one was able to do it even those geniuses from before. The fastest one that had been recorded was about 3 days. And that person was a real genius. Every official in the academy that was present at the moment in the training grounds seemed like they had witnessed a miracle. They gawked in disbelief. The chief and mayor realized that all of the trainees who fought first were still not able to control their mana. But this kid right now had already done it?! They stared at him full of curiosity and doubts. Yman on the other hand was puzzled by everyone''s reactions. He asked his trusted partner, ''My deity, is it that great to learn how to control mana?'' Honestly, Yman didn''t feel any out of the ordinary that worth taking notice about it except for it being able to conserve mana. Sist replied in an annoyed voice. Yman scratched his face and thought that what Sist said was right, ''Hah~ sorry about that,'' Yman was sorry for her and sighed. For him, aside from being able to conserve the mana usage and able to conceal the glow if ever one wanted to do a sneak attack, nothing else is worth mentioning about it. And it was easy to learn. He believes that others could do it fast too if they know the fundamentals of it. Like for example, he and Sist; his way of learning it might not be applicable to others, but they only need to understand the fundamentals of it. Wait... Yman realized something. Actually, the curiosity he felt towards his channeling ability has always been lingering in his mind recently. Like something always reminded him about it whenever he forgot about it. But maybe it was only his imagination. |What if my channeling ability also followed certain fundamental rules? Hmm... possible. But... the question is... what kind of fundamental it is?| Yman in deep thought disregarding the noise of surprise around him. He felt he was moving towards the realization. Yet he also felt that what he knew was still too shallow. Actually, He had this urge to search and to practice every time an idea popped up in his mind but now is not the right time. ''My deity, do you feel anything weird whenever I use my channeling ability?'' Again, Yman asked Sist. <"....."> Sist was wondering why this partner of hers was asking her out of the blue questions. But she also noticed that he became polite at calling her. So she must pay him with kindness, after all, she was a kind deity. Her kindness knows no bounds. Sist replied in her honest feelings. For some reason, he felt like he was being emphasized as a thief. ''Ahaha.'' Yman was sorry for her andughed despondently, and thought that it was hard to search for something if you are in the dark, just like his situation. Actually, he didn''t think highly of this ability. Just, he has nothing else besides it. Since he could not use his ck Mana to breakthrough, he had to cling on this channeling talent of his in order to achieve a breakthrough. To be stronger. "That kid. Is he from the top family?" The chief finally asked as he couldn''t hold his curiosity anymore. "Hm..." Principal Mar was having a thinking gesture but could not remember that kid, so he tried to ask his assistant who was standing at their back about the identity of Yman. The assistant nodded. Then she took a tablet and scrolled on it. After a moment, the assistant whispered in Principal Mar''s ear. The principal nodded. Then he opened his mouth saying, "Unfortunately, he''s not. He is an ordinary kid. Based on his information in the panel, he came from the orphanage." "Ordinary person and orphanage? .....So he''s not from the top family." The chief sounded dejected. He was a bit curious about that kid; after all, being able to learn how to control the mana in just a day was a very rare event. Kiko who was silently listening to all the conversation of surprise from the people around him had knitted his brows. Based on what he heard, most of them thought that that person was awesome. He was the first one who seeded in controlling the mana. Kiko didn''t like the way the situation was going. The others slowly changed the way they were seeing that person, ''If this went on, there is a high possibility that they will think of him as an outstanding personter on. Tsk. This isn''t good.'' Kiko thought. He must do something before that guy bes an awesome person in the other''s eyes. *Beep!* Unexpectedly, he grinned when something came up. Currently, Yman and Almina were standing opposite to each other at the center while gripping their weapons of choice in hands. The duel had not started yet, but both of them were ready to go. They were distracted by the people around them. Suddenly, "Hahaha." A roar withughter broked the noise of whispers and murmurs in the whole training grounds. All the trainees, even the officials, and judges looked at the source. Goki, Yman, and Almina also nced. They saw the guy in Kiko''s group guffawing while holding his stomach. The guy named Bruno. Kiko grinned. After noticing that everyone came into a sudden dead silence, Bruno opened his mouth saying, "Everyone, dude, I think it is only natural that Toad-guy has no mana-excess, enveloping his body. After all, that Toad doesn''t have mana in the first ce!" The crowd suddenly broke into whispers again. They thought that, what Bruno said was logical. Almina knitted her brows in disgust towards Bruno. Goki and Yman frowned. He knew what this guy was trying to say. But actually, he didn''t care about it. If this mana controlling really that great, then he needed its greatness not the praises from others. On the official''s table, Mayor Chan and Chief Henderson were having dumbfounded faces. "That kid had no mana?!" Mayor Chan asked in a slightly higher voice. "Is that right, Mr. Principal?" Followed by Chief Henderson. The principal nced at his assistant and saw her nodded. "Yeah. It seems he was born as no mana." The principal replied with a forced smile. "Then he is an ordinary person. Howe he was epted in this academy? I thought you only recruited talented magicians this year, Principal Mar? Wait, he could not even be considered a magician in that case." Mayor Chan questioned the principal with a frown. "Wait. Wasn''t it against the rules of the academy to ept a no mana trainee? After all, it was a Magic Academy. This academy only belongs to magicians." The chief added. The principal felt he was in trouble. Thankfully the assistant whispered in his ear. The principal sighed in relief. "Actually, the attendants who evaluated him found a Hollow Cell inside him. But in the report, it says that his Hollow Cell was acting abnormally. It didn''t produce mana. However, that kid seemingly had this ability known as ''Channeling''?" "Hm, channeling?" The chief repeated. The chief was a little bit surprised. It''s not like this ability was not known. Actually, this ability was well-known for being a trash ability. "Yeah, it must be like that." Principal Mar nodded. "Tsk. Wasn''t that wasting our resources only? If that kid was admitted to this academy just because of that channeling then it''s just a waste of resources." Mayor Chan spat annoyingly. Not only that kid would never be a talent worth mentioning. He would never be a vital magician in the future. It was better to send him into the construction site or be an herbs collector outside the city, or any work to contribute to the city except being a trainee. In this world, or in every Human City in this world, the most banned type of people is those unproductive people and has a vague future. Every human sent to this world was only those humans that could contribute to the city. The trainees that were sent here were free of tuition and they had been given a free allowance in the first month. After that, they needed to do a mission to earn money for themselves. While they were doing missions, they not only fed themselves they also made contributions to the city and even to this world. They needed to be independent while being helpful to the city at the same time. This was the other side of this Human City and the academy. And being a trainee wasn''t easy. They needed to be strong if they wanted to stay long in this academy. If not, they would definitely find themselves at a loss when the timees that they needed to venture into the more dangerous ce. However, no mana and only a channeler? what can it do? This kid will probably face a dead end sooner orter. Only a true magician with actual mana could breakthrough this dead end. This kid is not suitable inside the academy. The Mayor thought. "So he is a channeler, or also known as a False Magician." Chief Henderson muttered. Principal Mar started to feel troubled, "In any case, for now, let''s see his performance first." Principal Mar said in order to divert the issue. "Hm, yeah, it must be the best we can do at the moment," agreed by the chief. He knew a little about the channeling ability, but he was in a hollow about the mana controlling ability of it. Although, that other kid said that it was because the other kid has no mana. However, the chief knew that a channeler could ess mana in a different way. But he didn''t know how it works. This channeling ability is actually hard toprehend. This was the chief honest thought at the moment. Mayor Chan knitted his brows in annoyance but didn''t contradict the two. Kiko on the sideline was grinning. Looks like the officials, the trainees, and the instructors had started to doubt that person. This is good, he thought. After noticing the discontent on the officials'' faces towards that person, especially the mayor, "I have a suggestion!" Kiko voices out. "Suggestion?" The crowd started to whisper at each other again. "Suggestion?" Beth repeated. "Bwahaha, that brat seemed to be up to something," Torrughed and said. "Why not let him speak about this suggestion of his," Musk agreed. The chief nodded his head slightly. Yman felt that this guy was up to something. He was sure Kiko was nning something against him. Anyway, when did this guy able to use his brain? It was out of his character. Chapter 69 - Let’s Drag All Of Them All eyes were gathered on Kiko when he stood and walked towards the center while carrying his deity on his shoulder. He spreads his hands open on both sides like a professor who would be giving a lecture to his students as he announced that he has a suggestion. Yman, Almina, and Goki were looking at him with knitted brows. Especially Yman. He was wary of Kiko since he came back. He knew this guy won''t just stay silent after what happened on that cliff. The other trainees were busy conversing with the person beside them upon hearing Kiko''s sudden announcement, but most of them were staring at Kiko in silence while waiting for his next words. "What kind of suggestion do you mean, Kiko Sun?" Goki was the one who asked him. "I heard that it was in the academy''s rules that only magicians with mana are applicable to admit in the Magic Academy," Kiko said as he nced at the officials. The officials on the table were looking at him in silence, waiting for Kiko''s main point for stroking this topic.. It was just a few seconds that they touched this topic and yet Kiko tried to relive it. The instructors on the judge''s table were also having the same faces as the officials. They were curious about Kiko''s said suggestion. After noticing that the officials stayed silent, Goki opened his mouth again, "What do you want to point out, Kiko?" Goki again urged Kiko to say his main point. Kiko did not answer yet but he walked and stopped beside Almina. Almina seemed to be puzzled by him as she retreated a bit and moved near Yman and Goki. She was on Yman''s left while Goki was on Yman''s right side. They were looking at Kiko who had a puzzled face and contorted into a frown when Almina walked away from him. And not just that, she also stood beside his most hated person! Yman didn''t give any thought of Almina''s reaction, he was more concerned about Kiko''s n. He just thought of it as her being shy or anxious to the guy she had a crush with, which was what Kiko thought also. Actually, Kiko thought the same but with a little doubt. He even questions himself if Almina truly likes him? In spite of that, Kiko still believed that maybe Almina was just shy at him or maybe anxious. After sending a warm smile to Almina; Although Almina frowned and thought that this guy was weird, Kiko continued saying, "Since I am a man of virtue, and Yman was a close friend of mine, I wanted to suggest to the mayor, chief, and to the principal to let Yman prove himself that he was qualified to this academy." Almina twitches her face after hearing the words ''A man of virtue''. For her, someone who imed that they are good openly is mostly the opposite. Yman narrowed his eyes, now he understood exactly what this guy was trying to make of. And, |What the hell is a man of virtue? And close friend my ass!| Yman revolted inwardly but he didn''t voice out his thoughts. Frankly speaking, he has this attitude of swearing inwardly, but would never voice it out. After all, everyone was free to swear in their thoughts. Then he thought again, |Regardless, when did this guy start to be an actor?| Yman chuckled a bit. He didn''t know about the rules of the academy. But he was already epted here and it was toote now to kick him out. So the only conclusion he came up with, probably, Kiko would try to use these rules to prompt a duel on him. However, he doubted if Kiko would seed in his n. As expected, his guess was spot on. Kiko suggested a duel to him while saying it was to help Yman to prove himself to the officials that he has the strength to be capable of staying in this academy. Saying to help him but his real goal was the opposite. Yman knew about it, like knowing the back of his hand. Before Yman could reply at Kiko, everyone was stunned when Almina screamed saying, "How shameless!" Yman was surprised too at Almina''s sudden outrage. Kiko smirked at Yman while thinking that even Almina was angry at him. Yman on the other hand had puzzled expressions. He didn''t know if to whom those ''being shameless'' wordsing from Almina were aiming. Yman slightly widened his eyes in puzzlement while thinking, |Did Almina also think of me like that? After all, she has a crush on Kiko. So aside from Kiko, there''s only me who will be the target of that word.| He thought, disheartened. Then deliberately nced at his left side and saw Almina was facing the ground. He could not fully see her face because of her beautiful silky ck hair that looses slightly and covered her face from the side. Almina was a little bit embarrassed by her outburst. But she was mad at this guy who shamelessly proposed a duel to Yman. She bit her lips in annoyance but before she could open her mouth again, The principal butt-in saying, "Sorry Kiko Sun, but, what you suggested is not possible. That kid passed the evaluation exam in a legal process, and even though he has no mana, as long as he could use a spell, he was qualified to train here in the academy. You''re right though, that there''s a rule that stated that a normal person could not be admitted to this Magic Academy, but there''s also no rules stating that a ''False Magician'' could not be admitted to this academy. As long as anyone could use a spell, they are more than qualified to train here." This is the principal''s honest feelings. It was not only to point it out to Kiko but also to the mayor. The other trainees suddenly have been whispering upon hearing the words ''False Magician''. "False Magician?" "Wasn''t that what they called to someone who uses channeling ability in order to use a magic spell?" "Yeah, just like that guy with no mana." "So, he is a false magician!" "Probably!" There muttering enveloped the training grounds. In actuality, Principal Mar could size up Kiko''s true intention. The principal was too fed up with these people from the top families. Most of their children grow up spoiled. The only exception was that person Almond Amulet, who was a silent type of person. One of the reasons why the academy could not produce good results was because of those brats from the top families. They usually schemed with each other. Inside fighting or urging the other trainees to fight with their rivals. Principal Mar was not against rivalries. Honestly, the rivalry could also be one of the elements needed to encourage a person to improve himself. But those kids from the top families usually used this rivalry in a different way. In a negative way. With this kind of thinking, they were too focused on their own devices that they neglected what they wereing here for. That was also the reason why the principal chose to recruit those two foreign magicians, Keremi and Maena Hex. Because before, whenever he especially recruited those people from the top families, their heads became bigger sooner. Most of them were saying that they were special and the other should see them in a different light than the others. The principal was too fed up with this kind of person. So seeing Almina Amulet, the younger sister of Almond Amulet enrolled in this Academy on her own devices, the principal was very happy. Not only is she a kind young girl, but also a great talent to behold. The principal believed that together with those two recruits, there was a high chance that this year, the academy has a higher chance to ce on the top rank. However, the road was uncertain. There were 300+ total academy participants inst year''spetition. And each academy breeds their own talents. That''s why with the addition of Kiko who is said to be the strongest male fledgling trainee of this year, the principal''s joy could not be contented. But, if this Kiko is also the same as those spoiled brats from the top families, then he needed to straighten up his attitude firstly. Chief Henderson nodded his head in agreement with Principal Mar Mari''s statements. On the other hand, because of the principal''s sudden butt-in, Almina finds herself at a loss for words. And chose to remain quiet while stealing a nce to her side and saw him wearing a serious face. Almina abruptly felt her face was burning hot. Deep inside, her thought had been spiraling like she was about to copse with too much shame of what she did a while ago. Yet she never regretted saying it. She actually dislikes this person in front of them. For Almina, what Kiko had suggested was upright bullying! Just because he has a stronger ability than Y-Yman, he cannot just propose a challenge to the person who was clearly w-we-wea, in any case, Almina could not say the word. Her mouth could not say it. She could not say that Yman was ''weak''. He came here to train and to make himself stronger. That''s why it was too early to assess the person. And it was only a couple of days that they started the training. They even were still in the basic part of it. One blonde girl was annoyed at this development. This whole thing was a waste of time for her. She needed to train herself. And she also wanted to see Almina and that weakling fought, although she already knew what would be the oue. In spite of that, she wanted to peek on Almina''s strength for future references. Kiko on the other hand had knitted his brows from the principal''s reply. But he didn''t back down. And was able to find a hole, "I didn''t mean to test his strength now. After all, I''m not a bully. As I said before I am a man of virtue. For it to be fair, the duel is not needed to be now. It can be on ater date." Kiko said with a smile. Principal Mar sighed and shook his head slightly. Disappointed with Kiko. He wondered why Kiko insisted on dueling that False Magician. It wasn''t important right now. If that False Magician could not develop himself to be stronger, then he had the choice to leave the academy to find new professions to feed himself. Until the higher-ups on the Outerworld took him out of this world and brought him back to the Outerworld. But before the principal could voice out his reply, "Excellent!" The mayor eximed. "I like that idea! I approved it!" He added. Not all officials had the same thought as the principal. The mayor really likes this Kiko kid of the Sun family. Not only was he strong, but he also was a man of virtue and a kind person who wanted to help his friend to prove himself to others, that he was capable. Not only the mayor but some of the instructors also agreed to it. The chief remained quiet. He also was curious about that False Magician''s growth. After all, he was able to control the mana flow in just a day. So he had high expectations of him somehow. Goki tried to disagree but the mayor and the others already decided. Yman was not even allowed to say ''no''. The worst thing was, if he lost, he would be suspended in this academy. |This Kiko was so desperate,| Yman thought. However, everyone was dumbfounded at Yman''s next words. He could not let Kiko''s idea win. Now that he was not even allowed to disapprove of this duel, Yman grinned and thought with a glint in his eyes, |Then let''s escte this to all of them.| Yman walked a step then stopped on his feet. Everyone turned silent when they noticed him. Almina was watching his narrow-back and wondered why Yman made a step forward. She also noticed his back made a sudden heave as he permitted an air left from his mouth. Then everyone heard him saying, "If that is the case, since I can''t even say no to this predetermined duel, perhaps I can also suggest something?" "Fufufu looks like it is going to be interesting." Keremi from the audience podium was delighted at the event that was going to happen. He knew Yman would never let himself be at the disadvantage without making a faireback. But he had no idea how Yman would upset this disadvantageous situation for him. That''s why he was curious about this suggestion that Yman spoke of. Bob on the other hand had no idea what was going to happen. He wanted to see the duel of Yman and the beautiful Almina Amulet. But it looks like things swayed away from it after that rich-looking person named Kiko went to the center and suggested something outrageous. The blonde Maena Hex sighed in annoyance for what currently was happening. Hearing Yman''s words, "Pufft!" Kiko held augh. Well, Kiko was certain that whatever this frog tried to suggest was just unnecessary. Almina knitted her brows at Kiko''s rude behavior. Ahem! The principal cleared his throat and said, "Well, well, just to be fair, let''s hear it." "I agree with Principal Mar." The chief seconded. "Speak, False Magician," Principal Mar Mari beckoned him. Yman didn''t know whether heughed or cried. He was called with another name yet again. However, it wasn''t important at the moment. He opened his mouth and, "Heh," he sent a smug at Kiko. Kiko knitted his brows and felt something bad was going to happen. He tried to open his mouth to ruin Yman''s pace but Yman has already opened his mouth while saying, "Thank you, Mr. Principal and Sir Chief for this favor. My suggestion is... since it was a duel where my future in this academy is betted. In this regard, it would be much better and fairer if the principal made it an official contest instead. In which all the other trainees can join." Since he had a little chance of winning in the first ce. Then he wanted to make Kiko troubled by it also. After all, there were more strong trainees out there who chose to hide their real strength and stayed low key. If Kiko is still able to win the championship after that, then it also means that he was no doubt the strongest trainee in this academy. After that, he could only ept his defeat in silence and leave the city. Yman also suggested that if both of them lost thepetition, then both of them must leave the academy. Kiko felt like he just ate a mouth full of bitter foods at this proposal of Yman. He tried to disagree but the chief and principal already made their approval with glistened eyes. Kiko was enraged and thought did the principal did not think highly of his ability? Yet he had to calm himself. He could not let any uncool behavior happen in front of Almina. Actually, Principal Mar did not decide on a whim. He also thought of Kiko''s importance in the academy for theingpetition. But if Kiko could not win in thispetition against the other trainees inside this academy, then how could he be able to win those super-geniuses from the other academies. And like what that False Magician said, to be fair. Since it was Kiko who decided it first. For the sake of fairness, it was only natural to give both of them a suggestion. The chief suddenly straight up on his seat after hearing this False Magician''s suggestion. A feeling of admiration towards that young man slowly wailed from inside him. He chuckled and muttered, "What a crafty one." "Ufufu, this kid, wasn''t really that bad," Instructor Beth muttered in fascination also. Although he was weak, his craftiness and wittiness started to fascinate her. She knows that this kid suggested it to avoid a head-on confrontation with Kiko. With such a number of participants, only a little chance that the two of them would be facing each other in a match. "Kukuku." She giggled at the thought. With this proposal, the other trainees be livelier. Especially those who lost recently in the duel. They wanted a rematch and won next time!!! Principal Mar was very grateful for this proposal. Not only it encourages the trainees to be stronger. They could also use it to earn money and entertain the people in this city. Unlike those old years, where the trainees only thought of their personal issues. Not even productive for the city. And sometimes the city resources were spent on useless things. Goki''s admiration for Yman leaped higher. However, Yman was still in high danger of leaving this academy. Beside them, Almina was having red eyes. She didn''t know why. But the thought of Yman leaving the academy, hit her hard. "Oh yeah! Good Job for that, Yman bro!" Bob eximed in excitement. He also was excited to duel again. "Fufufu, as expected of My Prince. He really was one of a kind." Keremi cackled. Maena felt this was her chance to settle the score between her and Almina. And she thought, ''Not bad for that weakling. I will be good to him in our next life but not in this lifetime.'' She said with a glint in her eyes. Yman and Almina lose their desire to continue the duel after Kiko interferes. The date and rules of theingpetition will be announced at ater date. Yman directly went to the smithing shop for the item he ordered. Together with Sist who was sitting on his shoulder. He had to be stronger somehow. Chapter 70 - Core *Ting!* A sound of warning about a visitoring from the outside was heard from the inside of the smithing shop. "It''s you. Wee back." The man sitting on his usual spot greeted his visitor. Yman did not reply through words but nodded his head slightly. "I''m here for the item I ordered yesterday, Mister Smith." He said directly his main reason foring. Actually, just yesterday he found out that this man was the cksmith Sar Smith himself, the owner of this smithing shop. "Ah that. Don''t worry it''s finished.. It''s here. Now, where is that crystal?" Yman got excited when he heard his reply and saw the item on top of the ss table in between them. He then handed the Magic Cryst to him. Sar Smith took it and pointed against the light and meticulously checked on it against the pinch of his fingers. The Magic Cryst was seemingly alive as it twinkled when Yman took it from his Cyber Storage and handed it to the smith. It was in bright red color and sparkled whenever the smith rotated it slowly. After checking on it for a couple of seconds. He nced at Yman with a little doubt. Then he opened his mouth, "Really. How did you even able to acquire such a valuable item?" Yman''s lips extended to one side. Probably the smith didn''t mean bad at his words. So he smiled with a smug. After another couple of seconds, Sar Smith took it in the next room together with the item. *Gluggglug!* *ng!* *Bzzzzzzzt!* Sist who was sitting on his left shoulder asked him in doubt. The two of them heard some scraping noises from the next room where Sar Smith went to with his Magic Cryst and the item. "He must be peeling the Cryst," Yman replied. "It was a skimming process of peeling the outeryer of the Magic Cryst in order to iy it to the equipment of choice." "Ah, that? It is because the outer part of the Magic Cryst is just a normal crystalline. The real Magic Cryst was the core of it." "Mhm." "How big, huh. Hmm, I think..... half as big as the nail on my shortest finger." Yman replied and lifted his left hand to show Sist his fingers. Sist nced at Yman''s shortest finger then she nced at his nail and shouted, "Ahaha, right." After an hour and a half of waiting, the smith Sar Smith finally returned. Yman and Sist noticed a box in Sar Smith''s hands. "It''s been ages since Ist iy such a rare crystal in a piece of equipment." Mister Smith said while wiping the remains of sweat on his forehead using his left arm. The eye patch on his eye made a slight movement when his arm unintentionally touched it. Yman noticed a bluish glow in it. He wondered what it was. Sar Smith handed the rectangr box to Yman. Yman grinned in excitement and asked for the total price. "Hmm... 5,000 GP for the equipment and 300 GP for thebor." Upon hearing his reply, Yman''s eyes slightly widened but he already expected it. After all, the materials he chose yesterday for making the equipment was of rare materials. And if he''s not been mistaken. The actual item was made at the tailoring shop then delivered here to attach other materials. And today for skimming and iying the actual Magic Cryst, or the core of it. Yman paid the total price through a trading system after checking the item. It was made of good materials from the high ranking beast. It was colored in ck and a small chip on its back in red color sparkled when hit by the light. The tiny chip on it was no doubt the core of the Magic Cryst. Yman caressed the crystal chips and felt the smooth and chill on it. Like touching the water surface of the tranquil swamp. Yman excitedly wore it on his right hand and his five fingers went through each hole of the glove, not so tight and not loose. It fitted well on his hand. A kind of joy when a kid received a new toy from his/her parents. But at this moment, he was unaware of that expression he was wearing on his face. He repeatedly closed and opened his hand. Checking if it''sfortable on his hand. After realizing that there was no issue. He smiled in appreciation to Sar Smith. Suddenly, he felt a surge of power from it. Like, his strength increases a little. For certain, with this item, he had the feeling that he could dispatch those rats a little bit easier than before. In truth, his first choice was to iy the Cryst in the weapon. But after appraising the Magic Cryst, Yman and Sar Smith found out that it was in a strengthening category. Then Sar Smith rmended him to iy it in a glove while saying that it would be a waste to iy it in a weapon if the one who used that weapon was not proficient with it. Yman was surprised that Sar Smith knew that he was not proficient in any weapon. But he thought that maybe he was found out based on the equipment he bought the other day. Since a man who was proficient in swords probably stared at the sword only when buying a weapon. While him, he bought different kinds of weapons. The second reason why Sar Smith rmended him the glove and not armor or anything else is that gloves can be used in both offense and defense. The Cryst he got was looted from a rank D+ beast, so it increases his strength for a certain percent only. After Yman and Sist left the shop, he checked his money and noticed that he had 200.50 GP left on his Wallet Section. He sighed then checked his mission status: Current Quest: Title: Gross Evil Rats! Quest rank: Bronze Details: Kill 5 Evil Rats within 1 week. Rewards: 100 GP Status: ongoing... Progress: 1/5 killed Remaining Time: 102hr: 22min: 49sec He still had much time left toplete his mission but he needed money so he had to do it now. So that he could acquire another mission with much higher rewards. Before he proceeded, Yman suddenly stopped on his feet. He remembered that Almina invited him yesterday. And it seems around this time that the open forum in the auditorium will start. He wanted to message her but then again, he doesn''t have her IDA or Identification address. So he could not contact her. Yman exhaled and thought, probably, Almina just pitying him. She must be thinking that he could not find a group because he was hated by most trainees in the academy. Regardless, there was a high chance for him to be suspended in the academy, so it was useless now for him to join a group. It''s better to finish his mission first so that he could keep enough money when the timees that he has to leave. After that, he would start to find another job in this world until the higher-ups on the Outerworld decide to pull him out here. Hmm... maybe he goes and travels to some ces in this world too together with Yana and Sist. It''s a waste to just leave in this world without seeing what''s beyond that horizon. Yman thought as he looked at the distance where his eyesnded on the far away shade where the sky meets the mountains. One and a half hour had passed, Keeeeeek, keeeeeek! Two Evil Rats rushed towards him in a zig-zag movement. Yman threw a dagger. The first rat evaded it by jumping to his left but the one behind had no way but to retreat in order to dodge. Yman rushed immediately. Seeing the person in front rushing towards them, the first rat increased its speed and leaped to bite the person. However, the person suddenly twisted his body to the right in a hasty motion. The rat''s eyes followed the person but his body waste to react. Next second, the rat felt someone rudely grabbed his tail. Then the world seemingly became hazy and blurred as the rat felt he was spinning. A secondter, Bang! The Evil Rat felt excruciating pain when its body bumped into something. The Evil Rat coughed muddy ck blood in its mouth. It forcefully rotated its body that wasying back-first on the cold and dirty pavement ground. The rat was able to stand in difficulty, then he noticed another ratying beside him while twitching his body. The Evil Rat came into the realization that he was thrown to the other rat by that person. Before the rat was able to get rid of the dizziness it felt, it widened its eyes when it suddenly felt something was piercing its head. The same thing also happened to the other one. [Mission update: Killed ? Evil Rats]! [Mission update: Killed ? Evil Rats]! Before the rat lost its consciousness, it heard the person saying this line, "Phew! That''s 3 out of 5, huh!" After it, the rat''s consciousness traveled into the darkness when it finally stopped its breathing. <2 more to go!> "This glove did a good job." "Not only it increases my strength, but it also increases my attack." "Right. Then, let''s proceed." < Lets go!> The two of them were cheerful with their new equipment. Yman and Sist continued their hunts. After his breakthrough to level 2, his movements became swifter than before. He even grabbed a rat sometimes and smacked them onto the ground or to the other rats. Even his uracy became sharper. He sent two daggers flying towards the two Evil Bats that were hanging on the ceiling. At a distance of 7 meters away, the two daggers travel the space and pierced through their bodies. The two Evil Bats shrilled in agony before they dropped dead on the ground. Yman took the daggers back and wiped the muddy blood on it before storing it back to his Cyber Storage. Currently, his CE is 12%/100%. Yman also checked on his mission status: Current Quest: Title: Gross Evil Rats! Quest rank: Bronze Details: Kill 5 Evil Rats within 1 week. Rewards: 100 GP Status: Return the quest before the time limit! Progress: 5/5 killed. Remaining Time: 100hr: 10min: 48sec "Finally." *Sigh!* Before he replied to her, Yman nced at the deeper part of the underground channel. All he could see was darkness. But, in some weird cases, he felt something weird beyond it. Also, the atmosphere seemed to be abnormal. It was way colder, and he almost could not stand the rigidness it brought. Suddenly Sist voices out. "Have you felt it too?" He asked her while thinking that Sist might be feeling weird also as he does. Yman was helpless when he heard her reply and said with augh, "Ah-ahaha. Must be because of my breakthroughst night." <...Hmm... that must be the reason. Hehe!> "Mhm." After he nodded to her, Yman nced again at the deeper part and thought, |I have to investigate this ce.| Chapter 71 - Not Made For The Better Later, after Yman and Sist came out of the Underground Channel, he checked on his mobile device and noticed that there were many new mails in it. He turned it silent before entering the channel so as not to distract him while he was fighting. He wondered if it was from Yana or Ms. Pai who sent him the messages. He hoped nothing bad happened to his Sister. But when he saw the sender, he sighed in relief. That anonymous again... He disregarded it and didn''t bother checking the content of the message as it was probably another prank again. This was what he believed in.. Together with his deity, they went back to the hotel room where they were staying. When Yman and Sist entered their room, they saw Yana soundlessly sleeping on the bed. Yman immediately went to take a bath as he was smelling bad. On the other hand, Sist flew beside Yana and went into sleeping mode; initially, she wanted to tell her of what happened today. After a refreshing bath, he wore a white T-shirt paired with pants; then, he walked beside the bed and pulled the nket up to Yana''s shoulder. His lips extended into a warm smile as he watched his Sister''s serene face while it was sleeping. After turning off the light to dim the inside, he nced outside and saw the blue skies and the drifting clouds. There were also some weird looking birds flying at the cloud''s level. They flew towards the distance together with their peers. The beautiful scenery captivates him. He walked towards the window to open it and permit the fresh air inside. Also, to illuminate the room with its natural brilliance, and at the same time, to peek outside and to have a clear full view of this mysterious world. His messy brown hair danced slightly when the wind passed through the opened window and caressed his skin. Gazing through it, he saw some people riding giant birdsing from the left and flying towards his direction in haste. Each of the birds was carrying one person. He also noticed some objects besides them, lying horizontally on the bird''s back, which Yman assumed were pieces of luggage. Each of them was flying not so high. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...! A momentter, they passed by at the height of a hotel''s window on the third floor, where Yman presently was gazing through from the inside. Yman''s eyes widened a bit when theying objects that he initially thought as luggage were not really as he thought. Human corpse?! He eximed in surprise. Hmm...probably not, he instantly retracted his initial thought when he noticed that one of theying people twitches her face. Likely, she was in pain. However, whether they were all conscious or not, he had no idea. Each of the birds was carrying one personying and tied on top of the bird behind the person who was maneuvering the birds or also known as the pilot. Yman also noticed the solemn expressions worn by each of the pilots. Do they belong to the junior or senior trainees? He had to question himself. Since based on their faces, they don''t look old, and likely, just a little older than him. Yman was marveling at what really happened to them. Wait... aren''t they in a group? So maybe they were on a mission and encountered a fierce beast. They even looked so worn out. He was pondering, and thought, how scary it was outside the city. He saw their back be tiny and tinier as they rapidly flew towards the distance which he assumed to be the direction of the hospital. Yman sighed and was about to leave when in an instance, the corner of his eyes caught something from his left side again. Before his head could fully nce to his left, his eyes widened in disbelief when a streaking azure light straightforwardly trailed to chase those people on the birds. The azure light traveled rapidly and in an instance, it was already in front of his face. His mind went nk for half a second. Then, Yman felt a bad premonition and immediately leaped over his sister and shielded her using his body. A sound simr to fireworks reached his ears when the streak of light passed by the window and went towards the distance. However, since it passed rtively close to the windows of the hotel''s third floor, the pressure it was emitting broke the ss windows of the hotel rooms. It was followed by a loud explosion. People''s jarring shouts from the outside reached his ears. But it seemed he didn''t hear it. Because at the moment, some shards flew towards Yman and pierced on his back. Blood immediately spurted on the wounds and from his mouth. "!!" "!!" Because of the loud rustling noises, Yana and Sist woke up abruptly at the same time. "Bro?!" Both called out to him when they saw him above them. Yana and Sist were puzzled and bbergasted. However, the two of them froze upon seeing him bloodied all over. "Cough, cough, cough...!" Yman coughed blood and stained Yana''s face and the nket. "I - I am fine..." he tried to sound as fine as he could so not to worry his sister. Yana''s lips and eyes trembled, "B-Bro, y-your b-bleeding..." she said with a grim expression. Her heart immediately beats rapidly, and it suffocates her. Summed up with her trauma from the past; her vision abruptly bes blurry and she feels strong dizziness attacking her. A secondter, because of her weak resistance of seeing blood from her family member, and having a weak constitution, she ckout. *Cough!* "Sist resonance!" Yman shouted immediately after lifted out most of the shards. Blood sttered from Yman''s mouth. Sist though puzzled, forthwith agreed to him. After shouted resonance, he noticed his health points barely made him alive. Perhaps he felt it too. The DIP or photonocules instantly did their rules. Retracing the most lethal wounds and avoiding it from further blood loss. Even the damaged organs were reformed. Yet he forced his hand to pull out the broken ss shards that stuck on his back. Then without wasting time, he cast his healing ability multiple times. A couple of secondster, he finally felt better. The DIP could only avoid him from dying as long as his health points still did not reach zero percent, but it could not heal wounds or can it replenish his health points? The answer is a t ''No''. "Y-Yana?" Yman''s voice was trailed with sorrow when he noticed his sister was unconscious. "H-Hey, Yana?" He called out again. "Yana! Yana!" He called out again and again while shaking her. He was afraid since Yana was covered by the blood. Sist notified him. Yman immediately checked her breathing and figured that she was indeed breathing. Then he scanned if she was hurt by the shards. Thankfully she wasn''t. Yman spected that it must be traumatic for her to see him in such a state a while ago. Therefore, it causes her to faint. He sighed in relief but he needed to do something. The ss shards flew around when he lifted the nket away. Then he carried his sister towards the sofa. He gets rid of some shards on it by kicking them. But before he began cing her on the sofa, Woosh, woosh, woosh...! Yman nced through the broken window and saw five people with their bodies covered in dark blue clothing. Each of them was riding a giant bird. It was the first time he saw such a bird. With a long neck, pointed red beak, fierce-looking eyes, and in red feathers. "Hehehe. Those weaklings truly run fast with their tails like scared chickens!" "Heh! Just as I thought, this city''s academy magicians were a bunch of cowards." "Boss, shall we made an artistic explo" The third person didn''t finish his words when he saw a young man carrying a young unconscious girl on his arms inside the broken windows of one of the hotel rooms. "Bleeeeeeeh!" He then sent middle fingers on both hands while tucking out his tongue towards the young man. "Hehehe!" Each of them nced at the young man and grinned wickedly. "Hahahahahaha!!!" "Gyahahahahaha!!!" "Hehehehehehehe..." Yman saw their taunts before their silhouette went when they passed by; leaving behind their hideous peals ofughter. His eyes were hidden behind his messy and bloodied bangs. He felt a strong desire. The same desire that he wanted to forget. A desire for revenge. Then a wicked smile appeared on his mouth. He tried to change for the better. But maybe he was not made for the better. Suddenly... ck smoke was oozing from his feet. Sist''s voice was like a broken machine. Chapter 72 - Playing Tag "Sylvia! Are you okay? Don''t give up, we''re almost there!" Shouted the man pilot of the bird. He knitted his thick brows, and his sharp eyes with azure pupils were filled with worries; sweats were flying from his spiky red hair that dangled in the air caused by the wind pressure, and his long pointed nose twitched. His swollen muscles were unnoticed by his slightly tanned skin; in his mouth, he was grating his teeth. The unshaven beard was settling on his chin. He was wearing a sweated dark red t-shirt doubled with a padded vest of red color as well, it was paired withbat trousers. He was wearingbat boots on his feet. Both pieces of equipment were made of good quality materials with fairly high resistance from physical and magical attacks. "Y-Yeah, s-somehow, Jun." Said the person in grave voice who was lying horizontally on top of the bird and behind the pilot. Her chocte-colored hair that is tied at the back was fluttering caused by the wind.. At the moment, her features look pale. Even her lips had faded colors. The dark circles below her eyes gave off a hint of how weak she was at the moment. Swoosh! The bird they were riding glided to the left behind the 4-story building. Jun felt relieved at her reply. But. "Damn it, those assholes chase even here!" Swear Jun under his breath. Swoosh! Another bird glided closer to Jun''s bird. Rode on it was a girl, and a man was well-tied on the back the same as Sylvia''s situation. "Jun, Sylvia! Are you okay?!" Worriedly asked the girl pilot rode on another bird. Her ck hair with highlights of pink was tied in a pigtail. She also has lovely big eyes, pointed small nose, rosy lips, and cute face. She was wearing a pink fitted suit toppled with a ck vest and ck shorts. "We managed to evade at thest second! Where are the others?!" Jun replied. Because of the wind pressure, they had to shout in order to converse. Most of them had knitted their brows and frowned to fight back the pressure that was caressing their skin. Actually, they could converse usingmunication features in their Cyber Screen. But right now, they were conserving their deity''s battery. "They turned right, we will reunite them after we pass this residential area!" Shouted the girl pilot. "Okay! By the way, Sierra, how''s Pol?!" Jun nodded and asked in a loud voice. The girl named Sierra nced at her back and signaled a thumbs-up to Jun while saying, "Still unconscious, but he was breathing!" Sierra replied in a mischievous manner. Jun sighed in relief and nced at his back yet he widened his eyes. "The heck! Watch out!" He shouted a warning. Swooooooosh! ~~~~Bang! Another line of azure light trailed towards them. It went straight and hit the building in front. Debris fell down from the broken part of the building. "Hehehe! The rats managed to evade, boss!" One of the people covered in dark blue cloths jibed. "Tsk!" The leader of the group clicked his tongue. Fortunately, Jun was able to maneuver to his right. He also saw Sierra glided to her left. The both of them went into the opposite directions and twirl around the 4-story building. Many people below were shouting. Some were taking videos using their MTMD''s. But magicians mostly use their Cyber Screen to record it. "Damn it! Who are those people??!" Angry shouts of one of the residents below. "I believe they were magicians from the academy! But I don''t know those people who are chasing after them!" "Oh my god! They even intruded here in the city at this time of the day!" "Are they from another academy''s magicians?" "No one knows about that. Since they were disguising themselves!" "Gosh! They were firing high-level magic without consent!" "Call for military guards!" "Are you an idiot?! Do you think it''s easy to get a hand of a Transpo bird? Even if theye, they could only watch below together with us!" "Fucktards! It''s better than doing nothing!" "I agree. Let them work!" "Hump! Their work is to balloon their bellies! They could not even catch a single thief who stole my husband''s underwear!" "Ah, this morning I woke up and saw male underwear beside me but I didn''t steal it! I promise!" Shouts a guy with thick makeup on his face. "Damn gay!" "....." "Hey, guys look!" "What is that?" "Is that a monster?" "Oh no!" Such noisy shoutsing from the people below. They suddenly focused their cameras on a mysterious individual running and jumping from building to building at a high-speed going towards the directions of the bird riders. "Holy shit! What kind of monster is that?" Jun didn''t even recognize these people. They suddenly attack their group while they were resting in the woods afterpleting a mission of killing a fierce beast that wrecked a vige located to the east of this city. They tried to fight back since they have the number advantage. However, most of them had already exhausted their mana and stamina before the battle started, hence, they were barely able to return fire. Jun had no choice but to order a retreat when half of them fell wounded together with their two most trusted medic magicians. ... After Jun seeded in evading the azure light attack, he proceeded to maneuver the bird in full speed, trying to lost the enemies. Three members of the people from the enemy side chased after Jun, and the other two went to chase Sierra. The enemies were raining fires at them. Jun had no way to return the fire and focused himself on evading. Jun stole a nce at the back and saw a red hot me shot towards him. He hastily maneuvered the bird to descend; yet, he noticed an azure light shot below. Jun grated his teeth and disregarded his initial n and chose to increase his speed while crouching his head on the bird''s back. The me passed by a hair''s breadth away from his head, his scalp could even feel the burning aura of it. Abruptly, he glided to his left because another high-level magic wasing to his way. Weng, weeeeng, weeeeeeng! A wind cutter attack was fast approaching him! It was a spinning crescent moon-shaped. This attack was no doubt could easily slice him in half! Jun felt he could not avoid it by simply swinging left and right. He strengthened his grip on the bird''s rope and forcefully maneuvered it. The Peon bird hid its wings and dove free falling on the ground. Because of this, he was able to avoid the wind cutter attack and it passed above them while leaving sharp spinning sounds behind. It then hit a billboard of a product and sliced it in half. Before the Peon bird hit the ground it suddenly spread its wings and hovered above, then it flew at full speed. It spinned its body to avoid the falling half of the billboard. He continued evading while swirling around the building. The enemies continued their nonstop attacks. "Guehehehe, boss, we are almost at the academy. We shall make a huge explosion at their barracks." "No. We can''t do that." "Eh? Why?" "What do you think of us? Terrorist? Our mission is to pressure the magicians in this city." "Isn''t it a better idea to destroy their barracks instead? I''m sure it gives them more pressure if they lost their barracks." "If we do that, those high-level elders won''t just stay silent, idiot." "Then, why are we chasing them until here, boss?" "Hehehe, don''t you think those girls in their team are very attractive?" "Guehehehe! I like that idea boss! Looks like joining your team is the most right decision that I''d ever made." "Ehehehehehe!" "Gyahaha, the boss is right, Bean Cutter! With this disguise, I bet they wouldn''t know who we are!" "Damn you! Who''d you call a Bean Cutter?" "Gyahahaha! It''s you! Dumbass!" "You yourself are dumbass, Lighter!" "Lighter, huh! You want a go?" "Sure, the challenge is epted! Guehehehe!" "You two stop it!" "Pwe, say thanks to the boss, Bean Cutter. You avoided turning into a crisp!" "Guehehe, you must be the one to thank the boss, Lighter. If not, your good as a piece of swiss cheese." "Hehehehe, before the two of you fight each other, At least hit the target in front. I heard after this residential area was a hill with thick forest. Then the academy is beyond it. We must catch them before that!" The leader eximed then decided to increase the bird''s speed. Immediately, his hand was enveloped by azure brilliance once again and he shot it to the person riding a Peon transport bird in front. He frowned when that person was able to evade it. "Boss, wait up!" "Wait for us, boss!" Jun nced at the back and clicked his tongue. ''Damn it! As expected of those Hell Chaser birds, they really live to their name! They could easily chase the Peon birds. Although they don''t have high staminapared to the Peon birds, Hell Chaser birds are known to be one of the fastest transport birds.'' Jun mulled. Beads of sweats sttered and mingled in the air. He returned his gaze in front as he was already able to pass by the residential buildings. Looking from others'' perspective, they looked like they were ying tag. Drifting along the buildings in every direction to lose the trail of the enemies that are chasing after them. "Jun!" He saw Sierra at his left side being chased by two people. She shouted his name while dodging the rapid-fire of magical attacks. Sierra seemingly annoyed as she summoned a wind element in her delicate hand and formed it into a shape of the disc then threw towards one of the enemies while shouting, "Fuck off!". Yet. *Shing!* It was sliced by a sword coated by a simr wind element. The spell she shot was just a low-level spell. But at the moment most of them could not muster high-level spells because of mana exhaustion. Jun knew that Sierra was as tired as most of them. A momentter, "Guehehe, we finally caught up on you, boy!" Said one of the people covered in dark blue cloths. His wicked eyes were peeking under the hood of cloth. ''Damn it!'' Jun curses inwardly. Just a moment that he nced somewhere and they already caught upon him! Jun tried to maneuver to his left to increase the distance from them. But... "Gyahaha, where are you going, Sissy?" "Tsk!" Jun gritted his teeth when another person appeared on his left. Now he was in the middle. He was being pincered. "Ehehehe, you are chicken-mate(He means checkmate), punk!" Jun nced above and saw one of the enemies said this line. Jun felt dejected and his face turned grim at the situation. He bit his lips and tried to summon one ounce of his mana. But with a puff, he suddenly felt weak and his deitynded on his shoulder. "No, way..." his mana and deity''s battery hit the limit and it canceled their resonance. He also saw Sierra in the same situation as him. ''This is the end.'' He thought in dismay. He could not even save Sylvia. What a loser party leader he was. He nced behind to see Sylvia. He noticed that she already lost her consciousness. ''Damn it!'' He curses inwardly. "Ehehehe, too bad, Chickens, You almost seeded in getting away! Ehehe," said the group leader and wetted his lips that broke into a toothy grin. "Gyahaha, don''t cry cow, I mean coward! Haha...!" "Guehehe. Boss, this girl here is barely alive, let me have a taste of her before she passed away!" Hearing this remark, Jun''s face turned sour, but he could not even summon a little bit of strength. Suddenly. "Heh, so that''s what this is all about, huh!" They heard a cold voice, but none of them recognized it. The three nced behind them but... Bang! The leader was sent flying below. And a person? Monster? Landed on the bird''s back where the supposed position of their leader. "What?!!" Both of them gawked in disbelief. And question marks floated above their head. Wondering where this one came from? And how was he able toe here?! Chapter 73 - Mysterious Person In Black Before Yman chased after the bird riders. Inside their room. "Sist?" Yman tried to call out after Sist''s voice suddenly sounded like a broken machine. Yet. Only silence had remained when Sist''s voice ironically went out. "......" He was wondering what happened to her. She suddenly went silent. Yman gentlyy Yana on the sofa and positioned her on her back. Then he took some pillows and put them under her legs. Currently, his body was enveloped by ck Mana. Probably, this was the third time he would be using it. However, only now that he felt soplete after activating it. He grinned and thought, |This is a different kind of feeling from before. I feel like I have theplete control of this power. Is this because I activated my ck Mana while in resonance with Sist? Perhaps. Since thest time I''d used it, I was not in resonance with her. I had no choice at that time but to cancel our resonance because of theck of battery. Now that I think about it, I activated it, though my stamina was still at 10 percent. In this regard. My hypothesis was in actuality! After I breakthrough, the needed preparation to activate my ck Mana had be lesser. Hehe.| Yman felt a surge of satisfaction from within. He lifted his hand in front of his face. It was oozing with ck mana, but a momentter, it was absorbed within his body. He concentrated and thought of it as an extension of his limbs. The smoke-like ck mana seemed to feel a familiarity towards him. When Yman silently ordered it to return within him, the smoke obeyed as he wanted. He felt like he was not only in resonance with Sist. But actually, he was in fusion with her system. No, it probably was, he was dominating her system. |Dang! Is this ck Mana actually hacking Sist''s system?| Yman eximed and questioned himself. Yet, He was delighted with this discovery; however, he had no idea of what happened to Sist. He was a little concerned for some reason. Yman was stunned when his appearance reflected in one of the ss shards on the floor. "Who is this handsome face?" He mumbled. This was the first time he saw his image when he was using the ck Mana. Never in his wildest dream, he would be looking like this! Yman touched his face and gawked. He tried to rotate his face side to side. Then the reflection in the mirror did as well. "It''s actually me!" He was in disbelief. Regardless, Yman has almost entirely changed his appearance. His messy brown hair had turned ck, and his brown pupils in his eyes had be red agate. Yman thought that it must be because of ck Mana that changes his hair color and his pupils. All in all. He looks so handsome! His unhealthy and dull-looking face from awhile ago had now beamed with vigor. He scanned his body and noticed his skinny body was covered with muscle. Though his body was covered with muscles, looking from other''s perspective his features still look slim. Yman shook his head as it wasn''t the right time to be thinking of such thoughts. Regardless, He wanted to chase after those people who were the cause of why his sister was in such a state right now. But he had to do something for his sister first. She was more important to him than chasing those goons. With his 10 percent stamina, he believed he could remain in this state a little longer as long as he was not in battle. Yman took something to fan Yana. However, a few secondster. Tok, tok, tok! He heard hard-knocking sounds from outside the door which followed by, "Yman! Yana! Are you there! Are you okay?!" He heard a worried familiar voice. "Ms. Pai?" Yman muttered and gawked. Hastily, Yman nced around him. He must do something with his appearance. Or should he say she was in the wrong room? No, he could not do that, he needed her help! At the corner of his eyes, he saw something, |A hooded jacket? Good!| Yman noticed a hanging jacket outside the dressing cab. He forgot to put it inside this morning. He nced around again and saw another thing, |Sunsses! Nice!| His face lit up with impish glee. |A perfect disguise!| He muttered inwardly. He hastily went to open the door cause if not, he was afraid that Ms. Pai might destroy it. When Yman opened the door, "Eh?" It was clear from her face that she was surprised to see his attire. "Ms. Pai,e in." He urged her, but she was standing still on her spot. "Y-Yman?" Ms. Pai looks suspicious at him. If not because of his familiar voice, she might think that he was a robber. Suddenly, Ms. Pai''s face turned grim when she noticed that the white T-shirt under the ck jacket that Yman was wearing was stained by blood. No, it was almost all red. Even his face and mouth were stained by blood. "Y-Yman are you o-okay?" Ms. Pai in wide eyes asked in panic while trying to grab Yman''s T-shirt. But Yman jerked back a little out of reflex. He forgot he was bloodied all over! "Yman, you''re hurt!!" Ms. Pai shouted. "No no no, Ms. Pai. I am fine. I managed to use my healing ability in time." Yman shook his hands in front of his face, then exined to ease her. She sighed in relief but it was still visible on her face that she was worried. She could not tell if he was telling the truth because of the sunsses he was wearing. Ms. Pai was puzzled why Yman was in such attire. But did not choose to point it out. There was a more pressing issue in front. Ms. Pai rolled her eyes to scan the room, and saw how messed up it was. She opened her mouth, "Hows Ya" but she stopped when Yman said in haste, "Regardless, Ms. Pai, I need your help. Yana had fainted." Her eyes widened and hastily forced her way inside then saw Yana on the sofa lying unconscious. Yman asked Ms. Pai to excuse himself, he had to grab something outside. Although doubtful at him, she nodded somehow. He directly ran towards the rooftop and jumped on the water tank to have a higher view. At the distance, to where those riders went, he saw some smoke and fire in some of the buildings. He also noticed some shouts and people were running around disorderly. His eyes glinted and a wicked smile happened on his face. Howe he just let those who tried to hurt his sister let off without paying a price. Yman jumped off of the water tank and free-falling off the building while tucking his hands in the jacket''s pockets. 20 meters above the ground beforending, a momentter, his silhouette dashed forward towards the direction of those bird riders. He was jumping rapidly in the air just like when he did it on the surface. Sometimes hended in the building and sometimes just rushed in the air. In fact, he was sequentially using Air-Dance ability and the Rapid Leap. With thisbination, he was able to maneuver in the air without descending or falling. Because of the sunsses he was wearing, the wind pressure could not bother him. He even was thinking that it would be better if he wore a mask too to cover his mouth. Yet, Ironically, something happened. The cor on his neck, which was supposed to be Sist''s shell, turned into a mask! Covering entirely his mouth and nose! Yman was surprised. It looks like this thing could also change its form by following his thought. And yet another discovery. Now for certain no-one could be able to recognize him in this disguise. He decided to quicken his pace. ... Presently, Jun and the 2 people in the enemy side were dumbfounded as they stared at the individual in front of them. Yman was surprised too after hearing his voice. It sounded like a mixture of his and Sist''s voice. However, it sounded cold andputerized. He noticed the three people just staring at him. Two of them were the enemy whoughed at him a while ago while the other one was he believed he was a magician from the academy. Yman also noticed an unconscious girl tied well on the bird''s back. Yet he didn''t mind it. The three were dumbfounded at his sudden appearance. At first, they thought it was some kind of monster. But on second look, he was a person in disguise. He was even wearing a weird mask. His face was well-covered: with hood, sunsses, and a mask with the designs of two blue oval-shapes forming like eyes. What''s eerier about him was the ck smoke he was exuding from his feet and hand. The most mysterious part was how he managed to climb on this height. When Jun and the two people on the enemy side nced around them, they noticed that they were 50 meters above the ground and the nearest building from them was 35-40 meters away. Summing it up, that currently they were flying at a speed not lower than 90 mph. So howe this person managed to climb here? The three were in bewilderment. After a moment of silence, "This shi....t!" One of the people in dark blue cloths managed to spat the words. But it seemed to be a signal when the other one shouted, "Bean Cutter, save the boss!" After a scream, his hand was enveloped by fire and shot it slightly above him without a warning to where the mysterious person in ck was currently standing. "Damn it!" Bean Cutter curses before hoisting the rope to maneuver the bird. The bird sped up its descend and chased after their boss who was currently falling. On the other hand, Jun was staring with wide eyes when the other person in blue cloth shot a high-level me Attack. He wanted to shout a warning to the mysterious person but he was toote. These guys who hunted them had fast incantation ability. They could easily summon mana like it was normal to them. The zing fire that burns like the sun, it travels in an instance and shot to the mysterious person. Jun countenance turned bitter. He felt dismayed that he didn''t warn that person beforehand. Yet his eyes widened again. Weirdly enough, the me failed to hit the target! "Eh? What happened?" Jun was staring in puzzlement. The person in a dark blue cloth called Lighter was staring at the mysterious person with the same question. Both were wondering how he wasn''t hit by that attack! Did he dodge it? Evaded it? No way! They didn''t see him move on his feet. And he was still standing on its original position. "Heh!" The mysterious person scoffed behind the masked. Lighter broke intoughter, "Gyahaha, don''t get cocky! I will kill you!" He released the rope and stood also on top of the bird just like the mysterious person in ck. Now both of his hands were enveloped by me. This time he will make sure to turn this cocky person into a crisp! Yet the mysterious person was standing still on top of the bird without doing anything. Perhaps he was waiting for the enemy to fire again. He only lifted slightly his hand that was exuding with ck smoke. And doubly stayed it at above waist level. Aside from it, nothing else seems weird. No one knew of what face he was making because of the disguise he was wearing. "NOW DIE!!" Lighter shouted once again. Then he sent sessive shots of mes. Then again, none of his mes were able tond a hit to the target. "Hehe." Yman finally grinned behind his mask. ... "What the fuck is that?!" Inside the auditorium where the open forum was being held. One man screamed in puzzlement. Together with him were the other trainees who were present in the open forum at the moment. The one who shouted was one of Kiko''s friends, Marco. Beside him, Kiko and the others also were staring at therge monitor in the auditorium with their wide eyes. Currently, most of the trainees were present inside. Maybe only the infamous person was currently absent in this open forum. Actually, the forum had just ended, but one of the trainees shouted about some live coverage happening in this city. About an unknown group of people chasing after the juniors of this academy. Almina as a leader of the Elites, and the one who led this open forum event decided to y it on a big widescreen monitor. Although they could watch it through their Cyber Screen, it still gives a different feeling if all were watching it together. She was actually dejected at the moment. That person she personally invited did not show up! Almina was thinking of how she would be going to punish himter for snubbing her invitation. Not only in this academy that the current fight was being watched. Yman was unaware that millions of people were currently watching them at the moment from different parts of this world. Everyone was puzzled about how that guy in dark blue cloth couldn''t hit the mysterious person in ck, who was standing at a close distance to him! None of them could exin the reason behind it. ... "Oh my, hehe, you can''t even hit at this distance," Yman said while shaking his head. "Say what? kill me? Before that, aim properly first, hehe." Hisputerized voice rang out on their ears. Lighter stared wide eyes under the hood. He could not believe it, ''How in the hell that guy is still standing and breathing like nothing happened?!'' His fury of attacks didn''t toast or even graze him? Lighter was stunned and thought to himself, ''How is that possible?'' Jun on the other hand had already turned white while thinking, ''What kind of curse is this?'' Actually, it was one of the abilities of his ck Mana, which enables him to weaken the senses of the enemy and create some illusions. While the ability he used to defeat the Noble Rat was a kind of ability that enables him to copy the Noble Rat''s abilities and used it for himself like the Air-Dance. The ck smoke he was exuding was not just an ordinary mana. They enter the enemy''s body and modify their DatS(Soul Data). Finding possible weaknesses or any possible data that might be helpful to him. But no one knows about it except Yman himself. Chapter 74 - Discoveries And Modifying Skill Everyone who was watching the present fight has no way of hearing the conversations between those people who were in battle. Most of them just pushed a thought that the reason why the person wrapped in dark blue cloth couldn''t hit the person in ck was probably he just wanted to send a warning shot. The video was taken from 50 meters or more away from the scene, so none of them knew exactly what they were talking about. On top of that, their faces were hidden behind the hood. In this regard, the spectators could not read their faces'' reactions. Yman nced at the sun above while also in full alert towards the enemy. He said in mind |Hm. The sun couldn''t be seen as it was hiding behind the clouds, huh. But I believed that currently, it was hitting the angle of 3 o''clock pm. Gazing below at the front, My enemy gnashing his teeth like some kind of angry beast.. With his eyes peeking under the hood were staring at me with doubt? Wariness? Scared? Or loathe? Such emotions from this person. These are the same emotions I used to wear before. Or maybe until now. After all, that''s what makes humans a unique creature. Honestly. I''m always ''doubtful'' of my decisions and every action I made. I''m always ''wary'' of my surroundings and the people around me. I''m always ''scared'' of whates tomorrow and the future. And ''loathe?'' Yeah, I loathed all the people who were living luxuriously and still not satisfied, then snatched what a person living in poverty has. Moreover, I loathed everyone who tried to take my only family away from me. Regardless. Seems like this person in front of me was wondering why his attack could not hit me. Probably, he started to think that something wasn''t right. That something was amiss. I was staring at him attentively while secretly scattering my ck Mana around and was stealthily invading him through every pore of his body. Then a t-screen appeared in my vision. This t screen was different from the usual screen that usually came out whenever I summoned it at my normal state. Now, this screen was having a dark theme. Like it was made intentionally to match up with my mana. The screen disys my enemy''s data about any oscition of mana or any activities happening inside his body. It was giving me a report that a dense gathering of mana was happening inside. Under the mask, my mouth extended into a wry smile.| "Don''t get too cocky, bastard!" Lighter roared at the top of his lungs; more fire wasing out of his hands,busted like magma. He screamed out. Sshing me Wave! Without wasting time, a barrage of me was fired to Yman''s direction. They were shapeless mes, unlike fireballs. The enemy was insanely sshing them to him like a madman that had lost his bearings. Bang, bang, bang...! Loud explosions erupted when the mes hit the target. Everyone who was watching from different parts of this world showed a grimace when they saw his silhouette engrossed by the mes, obstructing the viewer''s view on him. "Let''s go, let''s rescue them!" "Damn, I don''t have a transport bird!" "Tsk! Just rent!" "Are you nuts! Did you forget where the rental station is? It is located at the east gate! If we go there now, it will already be toote when wee back!" "You guys are already toote! Look at the screen!" Many junior trainees in the barracks of Zone 7 Academy were in haste to find a way for them to rescue Jun''s party. However, they froze when they saw that the enemy sent a barrage of me attack and hit the mysterious person in ck. At the forum, Kiko shook his head as hemented, "What an idiot that person. Acting mysterious and cool but getting himself killed on the spot. Haha!" He cackled. For some reason, an image of that detestable person appeared in his mind. Hisughter reverberated inside the auditorium. His friends beside him also shake their heads and sighs. They even thought that that person in ck had a cool entrance, but reality showed them that it was not only how cool you look like. You needed strength also to back it up. Almina knitted her brows at Kiko''s remarks. Wondering if this guy was cheering those clearly bad people rather than the person who clearly came to save those juniors of their academy. She sighed and focused her gaze at the monitor, but for some reason, she felt a weird feeling of uneasiness when she saw the person exuding ck smoke receive the relentless attacks. All of them were wondering what were those ck smokeing out of that person''s body. Maybe some kind of trick? They don''t know or they were not sure what to think of it. But it seemed alreadyte for them to wonder about it because that person was probably dead already at the moment. Most people were already expecting a charred person in disguise. They were even shaking their heads of why that mysterious person just stood still on his feet without moving and was receiving relentless attacks of such a degree. It was clear just by seeing it from a distance, that those attacks were no ordinary. Sshing me Wave was part of high-level spells and that person in dark blue cloth executed it well. It was clear to everyone that he was no ordinary magician. The spectators who were currently watching the scene shook their heads and sighed in dismay. Jun saw that the fight wasn''t in favor of his situation. He was puzzled why this person had to meddle then let himself be killed sooner. Probably, he was charred already. Looks like that person who uses fire was not serious in his shottely. Jun was not sure if he could defeat him in a one versus one duel even when both of them were in a top condition. Those mes he was firing were just too destructive. He must do something! He needed to escape while the enemy''s focus was not with him. Gripping the hilt of the rope once again, he hastily maneuvered the bird to distance himself. No matter what, he needed to save Sylvia. The Peon bird fluttered its wings in haste as per the rider''smand. At the distance, he saw Sierra being pincered by two enemies. She tried to struggle but he believed it was only a matter of time that they would catch her. Lighter did not even notice he sneaked away as he was busy raining attacks at the meddlesome person in front of him. In some of the academies, some people were watching the battle wide-mouth open, some frowned; and some were entertained by it. "Hahahahaha! What a spectacle, look at that me, the way he was controlling his mes was by no means weaker than most of our sophomore magicians. I wonder who these people are. Are they from a rebel group? Or some sort of organization?" A boisterousugh broke the silence inside a room with a 50 square meter width. A man was crossing his arms across his chests and having the demeanor of a young noble person. He was sitting in front of the long oval shape smooth wooden table that one''s image reflected on it. Hemented as he was watching the battle that happened in one of the Human City the Human City Zone 7. He has trimmed short milky white hair, round face, long pointed nose, thin lips, square jaw that oozes with manliness, fair white skin, and short pointed ears that most Encan people have. "I do agree that the battle was a good show. But I''m sorry to disagree with your assessment of that person, Son of Baron Elsen Senrod Nichs Senrod, that he was by no means weaker than our academy''s sophomore magicians. After all, we in the Encantasia Magic Academy are the strongest Magic Academy. And our magicians are of such high prestigepared to the other academies. Don''t forget that we are the blessed children of her grace, the goddess of nature Htraerea(He-ra-ya)." Firmly asserted by the person sitting opposite to the person named Nichs Senrod. He has middle length blonde hair, droopy nose, thin lower lips, monolid eyes with azure pupils, hearty shape face, and like the guy named Nichs Senrod he also has short pointed ears. "Haha, fair not, Son of the valiant General Beleggor Gorthalion Jura Gorthalion. I didn''t mean to degrade our magician''s prominence. You see, I''m just jesting." Again with a heartyugh Nichs cleared his meaning with the words he had been spokentely. "Is that so, sorry to misunderstand you then, son of the Baron, Nichs Senrod. Nheless, I am more intrigued by that person''s ck smoke thing. However, it looks like it was toote. That person likely turned into a crisp already." Jura Gorthalion said as he brushed his blonde hair using his hand and leaned his back on a chair. Before Nichs could open his mouth again, a female voice came ahead of him. "Oh right, Nichs Senrod, Jura Gorthalion, I beg to the two of you to turn it off already, we cannot waste our time watching at some academy''s predicament. Nheless, the princess ising." Sternly said the female sitting at the opposite end of the oval-shaped table. She has straight long blonde hair, an emerald green pupil in her almond eyes, oval lips, small Nubian nose, cute triangr face, and the same as the two male she also has short pointed ears. Currently, there''s a total of 9 people sitting around the oval-shaped table. All of them are the chosen Elites of the Encantasia Magic Academy. After hearing thest line, Jura and Nichs be excited. With a can''t be helped expression, Jura flicked his fingers. Then the holographic monitor screen on top of the Receptor te located in the centermost of the table immediately disappeared. Honestly, none of them was bothered by those individuals who were fighting in the far city. What they were more concerned about was their academy''s matter. They needed to win in this year''spetition. They could not let some outsiders dominate the ranking and took more resources from this world. Shortly after turning off the screen, a young beautiful girl walked inside the room. She has snow like long hair and also with short pointed ears. She was a peerless beauty that every male inside the room could only stare at her with mouth agape. Everyone inside the room immediately stood up and greeted her. "Wee princess!" Jura and Nichs already turned red. They bowed slightly towards her in a more gentleman mannerism they could present themselves. The princess nodded at them in a dignified countenance and said, "Let''s start." In the battle, "Gyahaha! You''re dead! See! You''re dead!" Lighter broke into a guffaw after a barrage of ming attacks towards the enemy. In just a matter of seconds, the smoke caused by his me''s explosions was cleared already. Yet, the expected results were contrary to what was standing in front of him. "Hehe! So this is how this channeling ability works, huh. Now I understand a little bit." Yman mumbled after the smoke from the me explosion cleared out. His body was covered by thinyers of ck Mana. He modified his healing ability and used it as a shield. So after receiving damage from Sshing me Wave, it was automatically healed. Although, he had to suffer from experiencing pain repeatedly, being ab-rat was more than enough for him to be used to this thing called ''pain''. He noticed a dumbfounded enemy in front of him. "What? How the fuck you''re still alive?" Not only Lighter was dumbfounded, everyone who was expecting a bitter result also did. Kiko on the other hand felt he choke himself and shyly nced at Almina who was standing not too far from his right. Good thing that she wasn''t paying attention to him. But for some reason, he dislikes this person in ck. "I guess, it is my turn now." Everyone felt a chill when they heard his voice. Shortly after saying this. His silhouette disappeared and, *Shing!* A head flew. Chapter 75 - Aerial Advantage "How the f**k was that happened?!" No one knew how it turned up like this as it happened instantly. Even the person who was taking the video gasped in surprise. A second after that person appeared behind the smoke caused by the explosions, his silhouette vanished and materialized behind his enemy. It was followed by a head to fly then shortly became light particles. A System Deity, in a bird shape, floats in front of his enemy, seemingly their resonance had been canceled after he was decapitated. A secondter, Lighter''s body returned to normal. He briefly touched his head and felt relieved that his head was still intact. He hastily massaged his neck as it was still fresh in his memory when the cold metallic de severed this part. Out of a sudden, a sensation of floating was felt by him. He nced below just to find himself hanging in the air. His heart immediately leaped out of fear. . "As expected, the neck is one of the parts of the human body that is easy to cut, huh," A cold mutter from behind him. ''What?!!'' When Lighter heard it, a chill ran down his spines, and subconsciously gulped. Then he noticed someone was grasping his cloth from behind. Deliberately, he nced at the back just to see those same weird disguises, though his clothes and hood looked tattered. He tried to struggle and free himself, but he froze right away upon the idea that he would fall and die if this person behind him released his grasp on him. Yman frowned when he saw the enemy''s face. The guy was only a little older than him. He assumed that this person must be a trainee from a different academy. So why are they attacking those juniors in this academy? He was puzzled. He decided to put this topic at the back of his mind for now. Unhurriedly lifted his hand that was gripping the sword while pointing its tip at the right side of the enemy''s neck. Lighter gawked while thinking, ''Why my neck? Did this person think of me as a chicken? Maybe this person a neck-freak!'' Once again, that familiar sensation was on his neck, a sharp tip of a weapon was poking on it ''Ahhhhhh!'' A shrill so loud escaped from his mouth out of fear. Then he begged, "P-Please bro stop! D-Don''t kill me! I don''t want to die! Please, mercy! Spare my neck!" He cried out in trembling voices. Yman mulled, if Yana was the one who had been receiving those hits from the ss shards awhile ago, he was afraid she wouldn''t survive. Supposedly that fate happened, could these people be able to revive her if he begged them? Of course not! He was even sure that these people would justugh and mock him. Just the thought of it made Yman simmer with resentment towards these people. Honestly, he cared not if they did it to others, but he wanted to vent his anger for almost killing the most precious person in his life; these kinds of people were unworthy of mercy. "Ahhhhhhh! No, no, no, no!!!" Lighter tried to struggle and free himself, disregarding the thought that he might fall. What he was thinking at this point was to avoid being decapitated once again. Yet, The coldness of the tip of the dius sword started to prate on his neck. Blood percting from his skin. He felt regretful that he chose toe here. If he knew that there was such a person in this academy, he would stay behind. Lighter had realized something, ''Wait, is this person the one they called Lady Ice? This academy''s strongest trainee? The Ace? But they said she''s gone for almost three months! Did she return already? No! this person is not the Ace, I couldn''t feel a strong surge of mana from him. However, at this person, I felt an eerie feeling instead. Wait, this is weird, his mana wasn''t as dense as the junior trainee like mine! If my guess won''t upset me, he was a level 4 magician only. Then how was he able to defeat me? Impossible!'' Only now that Lighter realized that something wasn''t right. *Gulp!* Even though they were 50 meters above the ground, and the wind was strong at this height, yet beads of sweats tickled his forehead. Lighter closed his eyes and sumbed to his predetermined death when that cold sensation on the tip of dius sword was prating deeper and deeper on his neck. He had no strength to struggle further. His deity tried to help him by perking on Yman''s hand. Blood sttered every time its pointed beak pierces his hands, but the wounds it dealt immediately healed by his modified healing ability. "ze?!" Lighter weakly muttered his deity''s name with tears. Yman grinned at the deity''s struggle of helping his partner to escape from his grasp. Blood was dripping when the tip of the sword went deeper. However, Contrary to Lighter''s expectation, his vision turned hazy when the sensation of being dragged and thrown came at him. *Thud!* it was followed by a dull sound when he bumped into something. No, it was someone! Yman had to do it after killing intent was felt from his back. He couldn''t let himself be careless, if he wasn''t wrong, after activating his ck Mana, all of his attributes doubled. Since he was level 2 magician, then currently, he was as strong as level 4 magician. And probably, his opponents were at most level 6-7. Thanks to his ck Mana and Channeling abilities that enable him to reduce their senses, he could mislead their attacks by creating an illusion of himself that only he and the one under it were able to see. After Lighter bumped onto hisrade, he heard an annoying tongue clicking noise, "Tsk!" That person didn''t bother to catch him, and he was pushed aside by that person''s forearm. Because of this, He found himself falling. "You! Dumbass!" He shouted as he fell, and his voice trailed lower and lower. Without wasting time, Yman flipped back as he scattered his mana once again. It was mixing into the air. Shing! Just right after he flipped, a sword coated in wind element shed at his position in the past half a second. "Eh? Why those people...?" Jun was surprised when he nced at Sierra and saw those two people who were trying to pincer her suddenly left her at her own devices. Then he nced at the back and gawked in disbelief. "H-Ho-How did -- he was alive?!" Jun screamed from what he was seeing. The person that should be crisped by now was still alive. Not only that, but he also saw an enemy -- was falling. However, one of hisrades caught him before he crashed onto the ground. "Howe the situation turned out like this just a moment that I looked away?" Jun mumbled. "Jun!" Behind him, he heard Sierra''s tired voice. "Are you okay?" Jun asked without slowing his pace. He was embarrassed that he chose to abandon her a while ago. In his mind, he must save at-least Sylvia. "Mhm, somehow," she replied while gasping for breath. ''Looks like, she was not angry, but exhausted.'' Jun thought. "Let''s hurry!" Jun urged her to increase their speed. "By the way, who is that person?" Sierra tried to ask him., but his reply stunned her a little bit. "No, don''t mind it, just focus on escaping," Jun didn''t mind what Sierra would think of him after this, but right now, he couldn''t help it, he was too exhausted and about to pass out. However, before that, he needed to save hisrade first. He also had no idea if whoever was that person helping them. Jun thought that he would be tolerating it as a debt to that person. He would return this favor someday if they survived here. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he swallowed his pride for running away while someone who''s not rted to them betting himself while trying to save them; this was how Junprehended the situation. Then he sped up towards the direction of the hospital. Sierra stayed quiet as he followed him. She almost was at her limits and barely able to remain conscious. Without them knowing, many people in the barracks were cheering for them to survive and to reach the hospital. Some of them were even waiting there and guarding the area for a safending if ever the enemies still chose to chase them there. In the video, their images be tiny and tinier when they flew farther and farther towards the hospital. But they noticed another two silhouettes came after them. "Boss, are you sure we just let off that person who punched you?" "It''s not as important as seeding to catch those escaping rats!" "Okay, boss!" The people in the barracks were in a racket. They were shouting and swearing towards those two who chased after Jun and Sierra. The situation had be tense. Out of a sudden, Almina ran outside. "Best friend!" Kesha called out, then followed after her. Without waiting for Kesha, Almina rushed towards the hill. "You! Coward!" The enemy bellowed when his strike hit nothing. The enemy in front of Yman seemed to be puzzled that his attack couldn''t hit him. Although this person in front of him was seemingly not a high-level magician, his strikes onlynded on empty air. More wind des shot rapidly at Yman, but Yman easily evaded it with his full essibility in the air. The enemy started to get annoyed as he could not hit him. He then uses some high-level spells. A wave of Storm Wind hit Yman and cut off his arm, but it was healed automatically by his modified healing spell. ''The f**k is that? I can''t even celebrate my sess in cutting his arm!'' He screamed inwardly. Red veins had been surfacing in the eyes of the enemy underneath his hood, after witnessing the cut was already healed like it was nothing there in the first ce. The enemy sent another high-level spell. Wind Vortex! Yman ran horizontally to escape from the barrage of multiple Wind Vortex. His illusion was a huge help. Yet the enemy was just too powerful. He could not even get close. Yman suspected that this enemy was of level 7. Thanks to his advantage in aerial maneuvers, the enemy was having a difficult time hitting him. And he could not carelessly copy the enemy spell also as it was very taxing in his stamina. A momentter, Yman found himself standing in front of the enemy. "Hehe, I will make sure to kill you," the enemy said his threat with a perky chuckle. About ten meters away from each other, the enemy maneuvered his bird and made an aerial assault towards Yman, while the person (himself)riding on it readied his weapon coated by the wind element. Tossing his weapon repeatedly in the air slightly above his hand, Yman readied and was waiting attentively at the enemy''s attack. Many people were watching the fight while holding their breaths. Kyaaaaaahhh!! A wail so louding from the Hell Chaser bird bes the signal of their head-on sh. The bird''s aerial assaultbined with the rider''s wind technique birthed an attack that looks like a raging tornado. Dense, heavy, and suffocating pressure of wind was gathering on the tip of his sword that was pointing at Yman. Assault Tornado! The enemy shouted as it passed at Yman in an instant like a whirlwind. However, "....." Where was his enemy?!! It was suddenly gone!! A momentter, Swoosh, swoosh! Two objects tear the space which followed by Kyah! The bird cried in agony when two daggers prated its body and neck. The bird was twitching in pain. Then it flew unsteadily like a crashing ne. "You cowaaaaaaard!" The rider shouted. His voice trailed lower and lower as the bird rapidly fell together with him. Yman did not choose to finish the guy, because he had to save his stamina; he nced at the direction of the hill, to where the other two members of the enemy chased after the trainees. Since he was already here, he might as well try helping them escape. Chapter 76 - Puzzled And Surprised Before the enemy could collide at him, Yman let himself fall below, because of this, he evaded and avoided the head-on collision at the right time. After the expected collision did not happen, the enemy had lost in thought for his surprise, which led to losing his focus. On the contrary, Yman took advantage of it and threw his daggers overhead to where the transport bird was hovering. It then hit squarely at the bird''s neck and body, which caused it to lose its bnce, and fell towards the ground together with the rider. He heaved a sigh, then turned his eyes around him, and saw the retreating figures of the other enemies. They were riding in tandem and rapidly flew towards the east side of the city. Yman had a surprised face when he saw the person who fell before was able to escape his death. "Looks like he has the devil''s luck," he mumbled then decided to let them be. He darted his gaze again and saw a Hell Chaser bird orbiting in one of the buildings around.. He wondered why this bird did not choose to escape, but in his mind, he thought, it was probably because of the bird''s nature. To be honest, most transport birds have a timid, docile, and friendly nature. Without wasting time, he kicked in the air and dashed towards the riderless transport bird. His breaths were a little bit off, and he felt his stamina was almost at the limit. Modifying a skill was stressful. He needed an exceptional talent in concentration and mana control to achieve the results he wanted. In a few seconds, he leaped andnded on top of it. The jolt of impact startled the bird, and a low growl escaped from it, but Yman did not mind it. "And now, how to drive this?" He muttered to himself and scanned the bird. He saw a rope tied from its beak to the back. Being a first-timer, he had no idea how to handle this thing. "Hm, anyhow, it''s easier to learn by experiencing it to yourself," He said as he picked the rope and positioned himself -- sitting on its back, imitating someone who rode on a horse. The bird seemed to be puzzled to where this pilot wanted to go as he was hoisting the rope randomly. The video already cut-off after everyone left the area. Meanwhile, at the foot of the hill, four transport birds were racing. A chilling feeling of bad premonition tickled from his back. Jun nced behind just to see his face shortly turned cold. "Dodge!" He shouted. Without looking behind, Sierra skillfully controlled the bird to drift on her left. A hissing reached her ears; a spear-like azur light passed before her face. Bang! The unlucky trees below turned into smithereens. Without decreasing the speeds, Sierra and Jun swerved left and right to avoid the follow-up attacks. Both frowned from the relentless attacks; their visions started to be unsteady. "This is bad, I have no idea why they had to be persistent in chasing after us," Jun weakly grumbled, while trying to evade all the spear-like magical magical attacks that fired at them. Suddenly, his deity voiced out. He nodded and said his thanks; his cat-looking deity went inside his clothes and curved into a ball. Yet a wind de magical attack almost hit him. "Idiot! Are you trying to kill them?" The leader of the enemy shouted. "Ah? Aren''t you trying to shoot them down, boss?" Said hisrade in puzzlement, who uses wind element magic. "What you! Of course not, I''m just scaring and tiring them out by forcing them to evade!" The leader exined. "Ah! So that''s the reason why up until now your attacks are all missing, boss?" "Of course! Why? Did you think I had a bad aim, huh? If I wanted them dead, they had already turned into a piece of s**t by now!" "No, I would never think bad of you, boss. You are certainly the man who stood like the mountain, boss. Your wittiness knows no bounds! HEHE, I will do as you do, boss! Please, forgive this ipetent fool," Hisrade excitedly proimed. "Don''t mind it. You are still growing and learning. What''s more important is that you understand now why my attacks didn''t hit them," the leader said in a dignified manner crossed his arms and raised a brow. However, inside his mind, ''Damn it! Why couldn''t I hit those fools? Not good. This idiot with me has better uracy than me. I will lose my face if they find out that I have pitiable uracy!!! If only I had been practicing my shooting skill until now, this predicament of mine would never happen. If this idiot beside me will be the first to hit those fools, my pride as the leader can''t take it!'' He shouted in panic inside his head. "Ahem! In any case, we must capture them before they reach the peak of this hill." He added, then sped up his flight. "Okay, boss!" All of them were climbing the hill while flying parallel to it, a little above the trees. Every second, the distance between them had abridged tremendously. "Hehe, boss, let''s hit their birds!" "Okay, but let me handle it!" Replied the leader. His arms immediately envelope by azur brilliance. Jun and Sierra shuddered at their fate. The leader of the enemy pointed his palm towards Jun''s bird. At this distance of about 3 meters away from his target, he believed that he could hit it. Jun tried to confuse the enemy by flying in a zigzag. But he failed to lose the enemy''s track. The leaders were gathering more brilliance until to the point that he needed to fire. A figure leaped from the tree branch and brandished a weapon to him. The enemy was startled but he managed to block the attack. Ting! A piercing noise invaded their ears when their weapons shed. If not because of his quicker reaction time, he was particr that his head would already fly away by now. Though, because of the sudden attack, he lost his bnce and fell on the grounds. The ambusher thought that his back would hit on the tree branch as he fell; however, he concisely flipped his body, and his footnded on it. He nced in front of him and saw an exquisitedy. His mouth extended into a grin. "Hehe, what a stroke of luck." He mumbled. Almina stood at the opposite tree from the enemy, wearing a cold face and disgust expression towards thescivious smile of the enemy. Without wasting time, she sent me shed using her elemental swords. The leader of the enemy extended its hand in front of him and created a barrier. The ming sh hit the barrier and exploded "Hehe, what a sweet girl. I like it!" The leader shouted. After hearing his ecstatic voice, without waiting for the smokes to dissipate, Almina rapidly retreated. "This person was at a high level!'' She thought. Then she noticed other enemies swirling up above the trees and rode on a bird. "Boss?!" Hisrades called out. "What a beauty!" He eximed after noticing Almina. Soon he jumped off of the bird andnded beside his boss. Jun nced behind and saw the enemy confronted by a beautiful girl. The enemy''s leader rushed towards the retreating figure of the girl. In just an instant, he already caught up behind her. The enemy extended his hand to grab on the girl''s back with a wicked smile. Jun grimaced. But his grasp only caught an empty air when the girl suddenly dove and rotated her body to 180 degrees while horizontally brandishing her ming sword. The leader was able to backstep and evaded Almina''s sudden attack. "Come at us, baby!" From above her, the other enemy leaped in the air and tried to reach her while smiling like a maniac. She instantly kicked the ground and backstepped. However, Almina''s foot tripped on a stone and lost her bnce. The enemy broke into a toothy grin, seeing her about to fall. His hand came closer to her. Yet, "Ugh!" He felt an impact from the side of his face. His face twitched in pain; he was sent and bumped on the three. A shield was thrown onto him by Kesha. "Almina!" "Thank you, Kesha," she said her thanks without ncing at her, she hastily took her ground and readied herself, because the enemy''s leader was rushing towards her again; he looked like a hungry beast. Jun shook his head towards Sierra, who wanted to help. They barely can move, and their resonance had long since been canceled. What they needed to do now was to reach the hospital and ask for backups for those girls. Jun and Sierra turned their back and continued flying towards the hospital. "Kesha, run!" Almina shouted after seeing the other person rushed towards her. However, Kesha was not the speed type magician. "Come to me, darling, hahaha!" Heughed and jumped above her while spreading his hand. Kesha felt a chill, seeing him. On the other hand, Ting, ting, ting! "Hey, babe, let''s enjoy ourselves," The leader teased her while raining sword attacks at Almina. Almina tried to parry his attacks, but the enemy''s level was twice higher than hers. Even if she used some of her advanced abilities, it was still not enough. She used her Rapid Leap to distance herself, but the enemy still managed to catch up on her with his speed alone. He was never even using his full strength yet. A momentter, Almina finds herself in the same situation as Kesha. The enemy in front of her was raising his sword overhead while saying, "Hehe, let''s see what is inside that dress," the leader said, licking his lips. Not far from her, the enemy who went after Kesha was about to grab her. Then, "Gotcha! Hehe," the enemy tightly hugged as he sent kisses. But suddenly, he felt weird, why does this beauty rough and solid? Not the expected smooth skin. He opened his eyes just to see he was hugging a tree trunk. "What the heck!" He shouted in his mind. Almina''s face grimaced at the de of the sword brandished rapidly from above towards her. She subconsciously closed her eyes and thought, "Am I going to die here? So, those many years of training were just for naught? After all these years, I''m still that weak girl from before. Afraid of the dark, I wanted to see him. I wanted that smile who woke me up from that time. Yman!" She unconsciously shouted his name. In the next second, Shing! She heard a shing sound, but she didn''t feel any pain. Almina slowly opened his eyes, just to see the enemy lost its hand. And seemingly at the back of that enemy was that person. The mysterious ck magician who fought to these high-level enemies in the monitor. Inside the hood, under those ck sses, Almina could see-through his eyes were staring at her puzzled and surprised. Chapter 77 - Going To Leave Seeing him at close distance, Almina felt he was more mysterious and also weird. And yet, she also felt some kind of inexplicable familiarity with him. YMAN''s sneaked attack to directly decapitate the enemy had been spoiled, when Almina called out his name out of the blue. His heart went ''ops'' out of a sudden. Because of this, his attack that was supposed tond on the enemy''s neck deviated to its arm. "Ugh, s**t, this sneaky person again!" The enemy who was still in pain swears in his breath. Without wasting time, the leader tried to escape to his right, but a kick wasing to his face. Seeing that the kick wasn''t fast approaching, the leader snorted on it.. ''Damn, he''s not even that fast. If not by a sneak attack, this sneaky ck bastard would nevernd a hit to me!'' He grumbled inside. But contrary to his expectation, he saw the kick deliberately approaching his face. He was watching it like watching it in slow motion. However, his eyes slowly widened as the kick came closer and closer, and he could not bring his body to evade. The kick wasn''t quick like it was a kick from a low-level magician, but why did his body have a slow reaction speed? He felt like someone was cursing him! Almina had wide-eyes watching at it. She thought that the ck magician would miss his attack. She hurriedly followed up to stab the enemy if ever he evaded the ck magician''s kick. However, Almina stopped, the kick bore deep on the enemy''s face, under its hood. The leader was sent flying and knocked on the tree. She wondered if the enemy just let himself get a kick. However, she quickly pushed the thought at the back of her mind when she noticed the enemy was wearing a puzzled face with blood gushing out of his nose. "Bestfriend!" She nced at the one calling her name. She sighed in relief, after seeing that Kesha was fine. "You again, bastard!" Seeing the other enemy rushing towards him, Yman was about to use his illusion, "Let me!" But he stopped when Almina muttered at him, and she dashed towards the approaching enemy. Behind the mask, Yman forced a smile and extended his hand towards Almina, but she was unaware of it. The enemy molded sharp winds and sent them towards her whileughing maniacally. But Almina wasn''t afraid. He dodges using her sharp and elegant moves. This enemy was weaker and slower than the other one. Almina wielded the ice sword on her left hand and the fire sword at the right. The enemy was annoyed after all his attacks did not hit the target. Then it molded in both hands a bigger sphere of winds and sent them towards the beautiful girl. Amina narrowed her eyes and increased her speed while leaping left to right to avoid the spheres. Then she made a sudden leap, using her Rapid Leap ability together with her Sudden Assault, her figure disappeared, leaving some spec of light particles, forming like a piece of beautiful petals, dancing in the air. "D-Dazzlingly beautiful..." Yman gasped and subconsciously muttered. Dancing Petals Of The Twin des! Almina whispered after her figure appeared ten steps away at the back of the enemy. The enemy stood with an unbelievable face. A vertical and horizontal cut was visible on his body. "A goddess..." He muttered before his body -- divided into four, then limped and fell on the ground. A momentter, his body was glowing then a deity was sitting on his back when the glow died down. His body went back into normal also. They nced around to see the other enemy, but it was already gone. "Kesha, where is that person?" "Who?" "The mysterious ck magician." "Eh? He was just standing here awhile ago. I didn''t notice when he left." "Is that so." "Ah, I could not even say my thanks for saving me!" Kesha shouted. "Me too." Almina added. Momentster, many people from the academy arrived. They also said that the juniors sessfully arrived at the hospital. The unconscious enemy was taken to jail and will interrogateter. Everyone couldn''t believe that Almina was able to defeat the level 7 junior trainee. Almina''s name slowly gained poprity after defeating a junior level enemy. For just a fledgling of level 4, it was rare to defeat level 7 junior trainees. Everyone in the Academy thought that no doubt Miss Almina Amulet was the uing Ace second only to Lady Ice. Together with Almina''s poprity, the rumors about the mysterious ck magician started to take notice inside the city. Almina didn''t understand, that moment when she rushed in towards the enemy, she felt her power had increased tremendously. On the other hand, the other academies had different reactions to this. Some started to show wariness at the Human City Zone 7, while some just thought of it as their ploy. Inside the faculty room of Academy in the Human City Zone 1, a person on his 60 broke into a burst ofughter. "Hahaha, what kind of facy news is this, Principal Li?" The person asked in amusement. "But Principal Kim, there were many videos regarding this guy that they called, the mysterious ck magician." The person of his 50''s said in a worried tone. He has a broad forehead and white hair on the side, wrinkled face, and a little beard. "Oh no, Principal Li, that ck magician was probably just a gimmick to scare the magicians of other academies. A magician who used something like ck smoke? What a joke! Puffft! Perhaps the academy officials of Zone 7 just came into that idea to scare the other academy trainees to avoid bullying their weak magicians." Said Principal Kim as he tried to suppress hisughter. "Indeed. Tsk, why do I even think of it as real? Damn, those people in Zone 7 came up with shameful tricks again. Thank you for enlightening me about it, Principal Kim." Principal Li agreed with a sigh of relief. "Haha, don''t mind it, Principal Li. It is my honor to help an ally." Principal Kim smiled then lent his back on a leaning back of his chair. "Hehe, allying with you was indeed a wise choice for me. Perhaps the rumor about that girl of the Amulet family is also one of their tricks." "Oh, about that, I''m not too sure about it. After all, that Almond Amulet." Principal Kim''s face suddenly turned serious. "So, do you mean... It could be true?" "Perhaps, as I said, she is a younger sister of that person who reached the apex of sword mastery. The Amulet family is known for their sword techniques." "In that case, there is a possibility that that girl could defeat a higher level -- magician?" Principal Li asked with a can''t believe face. After all, it was rare for even a talented magician to defeat an enemy with a 3-4 level above theirs. "Well, honestly, we can''t be too sure about that. We all knew that Zone 7 is way too desperate now. So it could also be one of their ploys." "I see." "Nheless, let your magicians continue pressuring that Academy. They probably will be unrooted at the end of this year. And we could get hold of the hidden treasure lying underground of that city." "Hehe. Let my magicians handle them, partner." The two principals shook their hands like a business partner who came into a deal. When Principal Li left, Principal Kim grinned, "Hehe, this year, our Zone 1 will take the top 1 ce in all the rankings. After the Zone 7 would be kicked out from this world, soon the bidding for ownership of thatnd will take ce. Isn''t merely that we will take hold of thatnd, but we also have a high chance to take their talented trainees. That girl -- Almina Amulet -- together with Jin Makorov, will be an unbeatable duo." Principal Kim mused. The other academies did not show any reactions towards Zone 7. They were busier with increasing their magician''s strength. Inside a room that was only illuminated by a singlemp, a young man was leaning his butt on a crude table. He was wearing white long-sleeves that slightly loosed to his forearms, doubled with an ash-colored coat, and paired with ck pants and shiny ck shoes. The man had a cold gaze, looking at his front without bearing any emotions. A momentter, his mouth slowly opened. "Your mission was clear and simple to pressure the magicians of that city. Not only you carelessly went inside the city, but also let one of your men -- be caught by them." The blonde young man said. He was the same person who talked with Jin Makorov. And he also was the one who sent these people to pressure the Human City Zone 7. The leader of the group trembled slightly. At the moment, they were surrounded by vicious-looking creatures: Human skeletons, beast skeletons, and many more. They were howling that sent chill down their spines. Each of them was waving their hands towards the group. "B-Boss..." muttered the guy who uses me magic while grabbing on their leader''s hand. "S-Sorry, Young master Chad, it was actually the fault of that meddlesome person," the leader reasoned out. "Shut up, you failed your mission and even put the academy at risk." He said and lifted his hand. The group felt like their backs were being poured by cold water. The leader hastily opened his mouth. "No, Young master Chad, I assure you that the Academy will not be at risk." "What do you mean?" "That guy they caught is not from any Academy. He joined us because he thought that we are some kind of bandit group." Chad narrowed his eyes. "Please, Young master Chad, give us a second chance!" Chad grinned. A momentter, the room was enveloped by cries and screams. ... For an entire week, Yman was busying himself for mission and self-training, like the usual day. His unhealthy figure came back whenever he was not activating his ck Mana. Because of Almina''s deeds on defeating a higher level magician, the officials of the Academy decided to advance the training to phase two. Each instructor would be choosing the desired trainees they wanted to train specially. These included livebat with magic and physical. Yman was not one of the lucky one to be chosen. Kiko mocked him, saying it was only natural that no one wanted to train someone like him. It was a waste of effort to train him. The elders gave them lectures on how to improve their powers. However, except forbat and physical training, none of the magic tutorials were suitable for Yman. For the entire week, he managed to level up again, and now he was a level 3 magician. Nheless, Sist came back to normal after the resonance that time was canceled. But she doesn''t have any memories of what happened that time. Yman was currentlyying on the rooftop while staring at the night sky. He just finished packing up his things. He got good news from Ms. Pai when she came to their room that day of the attack. It was about a medicine that might heal his Sister''s illness. He would be going to leave tomorrow at dusk. Chapter 78 - New Name Again Yman asked Sist about the time which she answered, <5: 50 Am.> As per usual, Yman got up early, but he didn''t go to the Academy this time. Instead, he jogged to the barracks. The barracks was opened 24/7 since most of the clerks work in shifts. So by now, many people were inside when he arrived. After the news of Almina defeating a level 7 magician, many juniors and seniors became activetely. If before they only loitered here, now most of them were taking the quest. Yman at first didn''t understand the situation of the juniors and seniors of this academy, but now it was clear to him. For these past days, he learned that the magic academy''s purpose was not solely for training and learning, but also for acquiring resources. Therefore, magic academies werepetitive with each other. They were going as far as bullying the weakest academy to downy them and to lessen the numbers of possible rivals.. He also learned one of the shocking truth that this Academy was on the verge of getting pulled out from this world. Whether this information was credible or not, he wasn''t sure, but the source of this information was Ms. Elona, Ms. Pai''s cousin. When the trainees inside saw him enter the barracks. "Yow, Rat yer," one of the people inside shouted at him and beckoned him. Then it was followed by more heads turning to nce at him. One after another called out to him. Some were calling for pure sarcasm while some for mockery purposes. Just in a few days, he became popr in the barracks so soon. Believe it or not, there were three hot topics inside the barracks. These topics were like appetizers to them. The most popr topic was, "Really, Ms. Almina Amulet will get personal training by Elder Paan herself?!" A female junior trainee on the left corner-most of the barracks eximed in surprise, and almost spit the coffee she was sipping. Yman forced a light giggle as he thought that Miss Almina had wholly be an idol. She was the favorite topic for favorable gossip these days. If his memory serves him right, Keremi once said to him that Almina was an idol at the Elite School of Elementary Magic. In this regard, Yman believed that Almina was someone with inborn charm. She could easily attract people around her. Not because she was beautiful, nor because of her talent in magic. Well, these two factors yed a big part in it. Regardless, Yman believed the most reason for it was because luck was on her side. Yman darted his eyes to the other group. The next popr gossip was, "The academy was allocating rewards for the one who could uncover the identity of the mysterious ck magician?" A junior trainee asked in surprise the senior trainee at his front. After that incident of the attacks, the other academy became aggressive with their attackster on. So once again, he had to show up and test his newly found abilities. If Almina was there, he could secretly buff/boost her capabilities while hiding in his illusion. After boosting Almina''s capabilities, a magician of level 9 was defeated by her. Level 9 magician was the Senior level. That time Almina was level 4, so winning against a level 9 was out of sense. The other academy became wary of her, and the attacks had reduced drastically. The magicians in Zone 7 were finally able to do their missions. Yet what left them was an insufficient quantity of resources around this city''s perimeter. It was already toote for them. Right now, the city officials were having headaches by now, because it implicates the economyter on, especially at the pricing value of all the products in this city. But if Yman''s intuition would be proven right, he might be able to solve this issue ofck of resources before he left. It was also the reason why he was here at the barracks Regardless, the third popr topic of gossip was no other than, "Oh, it seems the venerable Rat yer will again blow steam on the rats! Haha." "No, my baby rats hide!! The fierce Mr. Rat yer ising!" Hahaha!! Suchughter. Yman once again received a new nickname. It happened because this past week he took missions of killing rats only. Yman did not mind it. After all, it was their daily routine to find victims of their sarcasm, and he was an easy target for it. If he got angry and tried to quarrel, these people would find it more amusing to tease him instead, and they might be intense in their sarcastic approachter on. It wasn''t like he was afraid, just find it troublesome to argue with it. And one more thing, he didn''t have extra time to spend on their humor. Truthfully, it was Bob''s fault, one time that he came here together with Bob, Chloe, and Keremi to get a mission, Bob unintentionally blurted the words, "Gross rat again?!". Then his mission history had been revealed since that time. That since the first day, he was only doing a killing rats mission. "Rat yer,e here!" The first guy who called out to him beckoned him toe. This guy wasn''t bad -- actually. He was the person he saw one time when he visited the trading store. Yman sat on the chair opposite the guy who called him. "Sir Ult, good morning," Yman greeted him. He was called Ultima, but Yman was calling him Ult in short. The ''Ultima'' was the codename given to him after he seeded in the trial to be a Mercenary. "Likewise, so are we going now?" Ultima asked him. "Not yet, Sir Ult, someone wanted to--," Yman was not able to finish his words because of the suddenugh that reverberated in the barracks. "Haha, Ultima, so you are joining a rat ying game together with that Rat yer?" Laughed a guy with narrowed eyes, long ck hair tied at the back, and had a medium build body. "That''s none of your business Vortex, it''s my duty as a mercenary to help those who need my assistance; besides, I''m not choosy of missions," Ultima replied with his ideals. "Fue, then how about the payment? I''m sure that Rat yer can only earn 120 GP at most," the person added with a smug. "Fufu, talk about being greedy. Don''t worry about that. This friend little Rat yer had already paid me in advance. And even if he did not, I would not force him to pay me now. It can be tomorrow or the next day or month." "What?" That person with the codename Vortex was seemingly surprised. "Haha, actually he paid double the price," Ultima said in glee. After hearing it, Vortex and the other people have their mouths extended on the floor. They were wondering how this Rat yer able to pay such a price of 500 gold points. "doubled?" "Hey." "What?" "Did the price of Evil Rat materials increase?" "I don''t know." "Let''s ask the Rat yer." "Lol, he probably won''t tell the truth." "Then let''s go to the trading store." "Okay!" Most of the people around ran towards the market. Yman was listening at their exchange of words; had scratched his head, then he signaled to order a cup of coffee in the bar. But he was surprised when, "Tsk," Vortex clicked his tongue and, "Mr. Rat yer, maybe you wanted to hire me also," he said. "Yes, Mr. Rat yer Sir, hire us," the others also followed up. Ultima giggled. Yman''s mouth extended on one side and formed azy smile. "Haha," Yman forced a troubledugh. "I can''t hire another one," he said. "Ratyer bro, a 3-4 man party is better than two," Vortex did not give up. Yman scratched the side of his face and said, "I agree with you, Mister." Vortex broke into a broad smile but froze after when Yman said his next words, "In fact, we are waiting for that third member of ours." After saying it, the other people inside the barracks suddenly broke into a furor. They nced around and saw all of them were gaping at the door. Yman and the others nced and saw that person. "Are wete?" Vortex and the others almost have their eyeballs dropped on the floor. He smiled at her and said, "No, Ms. Almina, we came earlier than the appointed time." But Yman gawked upon seeing the other person with her. Chapter 79 - Gauntlet The two most beautiful girls in the academy of Zone 7 came together with their deities. It made the people inside the barracks go hyper. They were staring at them like staring at two exquisitely made figurines. Yman reluctantly asked, "Uhm, Miss Almina, why is she here?" he beckoned with his chin towards the girl beside her. Never did he expect that Almina would arrive together with the blonde."S-Sorry, but it''s a long story. C-Can we bring her with us, Y-Yman?" Almina said bashfully while staring at him with sorry eyes. ''So cute!'' the people around them shouted in their minds when they saw her begging eyes. Ultima was no exception. As per his habit, he scratched his face before opening his mouth. "Uh, hmm, Erm...." Yman was a little hesitant. But when he took a nce at the girl with Almina, he was being skewered by her piercing gaze. Like that of a predator staring at her prey. He gulped. Then he noticed her mouth twitched and said, "What? You are unwilling? I didn''te here because of you. So please don''t fantasize over me," she said coldly while raising a brow at him when she noticed his gaze over her. He frowned. |What is this girl talking about? Grr, she got on my nerves. On the contrary, having her in the party is a big addition of strength and this is what I really need right now. With Miss Almina''s help, I could fully use this girl''s ability. Maybe, probably, I hope so.| Yman thought. "M-Maena?! What are you talking about ''fantasize over you?'' in any case, d-don''t say bad things to him, eh, eh, sorry about her behavior, Y-Yman. B-But she''s not bad -- actually," Almina was flustered. Yman was surprised to see Almina like this. The people around them were whispering of how cute Almina''s reaction was when she was flustered. Some of them secretly took a picture of her and made it as their Cyber Screen wallpaper. A sigh departed from his mouth when he nodded in defeat and said, "Hah, well, the more the merrier I guess. As long as she doesn''t do any unnecessary things." "Hmph!" Maena snorted to him before she asked, "So, what mission are we getting?" Maena asked. Yman looked at her with a grin and thought, |Hehe. Let''s see how this sophisticated beauty''s reaction after seeing the gross mission.| "Hehe, asking someone with the nickname of Rat yer," he said with a smug. Maena''s countenance turned grim and uttered, "Gross," then he nced at Almina with doubt. Almina looked away from Maena while a bead of sweat appeared on her smooth jade-like skin. Yman introduced Ultima to the others then they ordered some coffee. After warming their stomach, without wasting time, they immediately left the barracks. Vortex and the others left hanging their mouths down to the floor. Never did they imagine that Rat yer was known by those two beauties. "Did Rat yer actually an awesome person?" Vortex asked himself. "Did you see how friendly Miss Almina was while talking with him? I even heard that she''s a stoic beauty. She was even showing a flustered face in talking to that guy," a man beside Vortex said. "Damn it, I should have been friendly with Mr. Rat yer Sir from the start!" Vortex eximed. "Yeah me too!" His friend seconded. "I will send a friend request to him in the Facepalm ount." Vortex uttered. "I will too! I also wanted to get close to the two beauties!" "Damn, that Ultima bastard was so lucky to go on a mission together with two beauties!" Vortex finally howled. Thankfully, Almina was a party leader, if not, making a party like this together with other trainees that were not part of mercenary would never be allowed. But since Almina was a party leader of her own team, she had the right to issue a party mission together with other trainees. Yman and the rest went first to the smithing shop. He needed to get the items he ordered from the other day. "Look, who we have here," said Mister Sar Smith. "Mister Smith, I''m here for the item I ordered," Yman directly states his intention without pleasantries like usual. "What" Ultima was surprised that Yman was casually conversing with Mister Smith. "Why Sir Ultima?" Almina asked in puzzlement when he noticed a surprised expression on the junior''s face. "Uh, it''s nothing," Ultima was flustered being questioned by beauty, and that beauty was no other than the most popr Almina Amulet. Seeing the two beauties staring at him with doubt, he quickly opened his mouth, "In truth, this wasn''t the first time that I came here. However, whenever I came here, Mister Smith wouldn''t bother conversing with me." "Maybe he just doesn''t like talking with you," Maena butt in. "No, actually not only at me but the others also. None of the customers who came here was able to converse with him as casual as Yman. There were even some thatafraid toe here." "Maybe they didn''t like the equipment that was being sold here," Maena tly stated. "That can''t be true," Ultima disagrees. "Mister Smith was a popr smith. He was getting offered by the empire and other kingdoms to work for them. But weirdly he always tly declined to their offers," Ultima exined. "Really, then what''s the reason, Sir Ultima?" Almina asked curiously. "What we didn''t know as of yet," Ultima said in a can''t be helped expression. "So seeing him how friendly he was conversing with Yman was out of his character. That''s why I was surprised to see it with my own eyes," he added. "I-I knew it, Yman was awesome!" Almina''s admiration towards Yman leaps no bounds. After hearing the senior trainee''s words, she felt so proud of Yman. A strong surge of feeling wanted to explode within her. "Fufu, I don''t know how you get this item like picking them on the street, Kid. Did you have a factory for this?" Sar Smith amusingly asked. Pinched in his fingers was another Magic Cryst. He certainly could not believe it, this kid was easily getting this super rare item. Not just that, it was hard-fought to get this. Since it could be looted only from a Wanderer ss beast/monster. "Just lucky, Mister Smith. Haha!" Ymanughed gleefully. Sar Smith sighed. This kid probably won''t tell his secret of how he was able to get this item so quickly. "Magic Cryst?!" Yman nced at his left side out of reflex when someone eximed in surprise. He saw the blonde with wide-eyes, but since he was a little shorter than her, he had to nce a little higher to see her face. "As you can see," he replied. "How did you get it?" She asked. "Eh, why should I tell you?" Yman said with a smug. Maena stared at him before annoyingly said, "Then don''t!" She said with pursed lips. He giggled. Finally, he was able to make her annoyed. Before Yman could celebrate his sess, "Okay, let me excuse myself first before the two of you go into a lover''s quarrel. Hehe, I''m so excited to iy this material. Let''s see how this thing wille up," said Mister Smith disregarding the gulping Yman with beads of sweats trailing at the back of his head. Yman froze into a block of ice when he sensed a burst of dense energy at the blonde. That energy seemingly formed an entity like a goddess of snow, wielding a huge crystalline bow that shines brightly like a star. Her eyes gleamed into a cerulean glow. Inside his mind, |Mister Smith you idiot! Take back your words! Take back!!!| "Don''t ever think I have a feeling for you!" The blonde said in a ticklish cold overbearing voice. "I-I-I didn''t. I swear I didn''t. Hey, Blonde, calm down, calm down..." yet another surge of energy burst from his back, melting the block of ice encasing him. But for some reason, it was burning his flesh, like he was swimming in the magma. Yman was sweating profusely. He deliberately nced behind him, and saw a burning sexy suited goddess, with burning in crimson eyes and protruded long crimson horns that curve to both sides forming like arcs. Huge crimson wings simr to that of a dragon fluttered at the back of that goddess of hell. The source of this was Ms. Almina''s energy! "M-Ms. A-Almina, y-you are b-burning. You are burning!" Yman said in a hush. "Say, what''s the rtionship you have without me knowing?" Her voice was melodious and enticing. But yman felt a bone-cracking pressure bore towards him. Ultima at the side had a surprise (Pikachu) face. "Eh? Rtionship? We don''t have any. We''re not even friends," Yman said, but briefly covered his mouth when he realized that Ms. Almina was angry at him because he was not friendly to her friend. "No, you look suspicious!" Almina''s overbearing voice stunned him. "I''m so dead," he thought. He was trapped between two goddesses. Yman stood still and shouted in his mind, |Mister Smith, you idiot, your shop will be destroyed sooner!!| On the contrary, their deities were shaking their heads while thinking about how childish their owners. A momentter, "Fufufu, you''re still at it, ah you''re two-timing the two beautifulds?" Sar Smith who just came back after iying the Magic Cryst said without consent. When the energies from the two beauties surged towards the sky, Yman''s countenance immediately turned into that of a dead fish. |I don''t want toe back here again!| Yman screamed inwardly. A minuteter, the atmosphere finally calmed down. "Wow, what an exquisitely made gauntlet," Almina, who was peeking from his back, said when Yman lifted the ck gauntlet. Yman grinned. This gauntlet also had a tiny red chip embedded in it. The same as the Magic Cryst on the glove, it also was of strength category. Yman wore it on his right hand together with the glove. He felt that his right arm was exuding with strength the moment he wore it. With this, he could break a boulder with a punch. "It looks good on you," Alminamented, which made Yman a little bashful. Maena thought the same. But she wasn''t showing openly her true feelings of admiration towards it. Mercenary Ultima was telling Yman of how cool the item and praising it. Sist who was sitting on his shoulder suggested. The group next went to their destination. Chapter 80 - Merciless After a small incident of Yman hallucinating the incarnation of goddesses in the background of Almina and the blonde, they directly went into the Underground Channel. To be honest, Yman didn''t n to bringpanions today, but Almina rants at him for forgetting toe in the open forum. Although he didn''t forget it, he chose not toe. Yman said his sorry and told her that he went toplete his mission. Almina asked him if he would be going on a mission again. He told her the truth that he would, but Yman soon realized that he fell into her trap. She insisted oning with him! He wanted to decline because the ce he would be going to wasn''t suitable for her, but before he could say no, Almina with a pout, soon threatened him that she would tell the other trainees that he was bullying her with a tear forming on the corner of her eyes. Yman froze on the spot. He was bbergasted as to why Ms. Almina was going so far to threaten him just toe with him. Does she really have a crush on me? A wild imagination happened in his mind, but he shook his head in a second as he thought that he was too assuming. Yman believed that Almina wasn''t serious about her threat, but what if she did that? Argh, thinking about how popr she was at the moment, Yman felt the unfathomable pressure if ever most of the trainees fledgling to a senior trainee, going to trouble him! Before answering her, he looked at her and saw her puppy eyes. He thought to himself, it was unfair. He sighed in defeat and nodded. When Yman realized that he would be doing a mission alone with Almina, he immediately surmised the consequences. The others might think differently about it if someone saw them. And it probably became awkward to both of him and Almina to be alone. After all, he was not a chatty person. He decided to hire a mercenary and how their party was made. Although he didn''t expect that Almina would bring someone with her too. The least he expected was the someone she brought with her the whiny blonde. Well, he also had a bigger reason why he agreed to let Almina and the otherse with him. Before they entered the underground entrance, Yman nced at his side. "Hey, blonde are you sure you''re not going to wear a mask?" He asked Maena. The three of them were wearing a mask with poison resistance and its basic resistance the bad odor resistance. Only the blonde declined to wear it for no reason. "Tis, I don''t want to as long as ites from a weakling like you!" She firmly said. Yman felt an arrow let loose and hit the back of his head. "Eh, M-Maena, please be kind to him. A-ah, Y-Yman don''t take her seriously, she really was a good person." Flustered Almina tried to ease the atmosphere. But contrary to her expectations, Yman wasn''t mad at the blonde, he snickered before saying, "W-Well, it won''t be my fault if you need themter. But if that''s going to happen, you can only get it if you pay the price." Yman was meaning to say that he would be selling it to herter when the blonde needed it. "Hmph." Maena pursed her lips as she looked away. "Uh, Miss Maena, if you want, you can have my mask," Ultima tried to offer his mask also. "....." But what he got was a cold stare. Ultima cried on his knee while Yman rubbed on his back while saying, "Yosh, yosh, don''t take it to your heart, Mr. Ult." Almina tried to soothe the atmosphere again. They decided to enter after their resonance. Like him, all the fledgling trainees were able to control their mana this past week. It was also one of the reasons why their training advanced to phase 2. Since Yman already mapped most of the area near the entrance, they easily reached the camouge wall, to where the hole was hidden. When they passed the hole, they noticed that it was darker on this side. They summoned each of their Floating Map. The brilliance of it could illuminate the ce. Yman casually walked in the middle of the group. He already did mop-up the mobs in this area. So if there were beasts to appear it would only be counted at one hand. When the group went deeper and deeper, everyone noticed the blonde was coughing. She tried to bear it, but as they went deeper, the coughing became intense. Almina worriedly asked her, "Maena, are you okay?" She replied that she was fine. After saying her reply, she took a vial from out of thin airs, then she drank it after uncapping. The coughing soothes a little. "Enemies," Yman warned. Hissing and scraping noisesing ahead of them. Three pairs if red eyes were peeking from the dark. The two pairs were closed to the ground while the other one was hovering in the air. "Evil Rats and an Evil Bat." He said. Before they could summon their weapons, three arrows flew into the dark. It was followed by piercing shrills. They nced at the back and noticed the blonde holding her bow. When they passed at the lying corpse both of them noticed that they were all pierced at the same spot. "What a scary uracy," Yman whispered. He could not deny the fact that this blonde was as talented as Almina Amulet. He also wanted to increase his uracy but it probably took him ages to achieve it. Not only Yman was the one who admired Maena''s uracy in a bow. Even the mercenary Ultima could only sigh in admiration. Not only to her beauty but also to her talent. To be honest, junior trainees in this city''s academy had pitiful strength. They were poorer than most of the fledgling. Especially those who came from normal families and had average strength. No rich family would bother to sponsor them, they could only depend on their ie in finishing a mission, which was too low of rewards. Not even enough to buy a Syringe Of Advancement for them to breakthrough. The scarcity of resources resulted in a price hike to allmodities. In this regard, even living in normal was hard for them. The beasts kepting at them in a group, but they were dispatched easily by hispanions. Yman did not even do a thing. He just keeps on checking his Floating Map. A few minutester, "Blonde, if you keep being hard-headed you only have yourself to me," He told her. Yman didn''t feel soft towards her, he just did not want any unnecessary trouble because of her refusing to wear the mask. Her coughing still did not alleviate and it might cause a weak link in their formation. "Tis, you don''t need to feel pity, it sends goosebumps at me and I wanted to puke. And besides, we are just killing your kin. Something as weak as you are nothing to me. I will rather be poisoned to death than wearing that mask of yours. Cough!" Yman''s brow twitched. He wanted to punch the top of her head for some reason. He sighed. "Maena, why are you so mean to him? Yman just wanted to help you," Almina said with a sad face. In Yman''s head, I don''t even want to help her. I just worried about team formation. "Tis, hmph!" She pursed her mouth again. "In that case, you can''t me us when you drop deadter on!" Yman said before turning his back. Maena was staring coldly at his back. The group decided to continue. Cough, cough, cough! The blonde started coughing again. And it was more intense than before. Blood even wasing out from her mouth. She drank another vial of potion to alleviate the poison. But the soothing feelingsted for a moment only before the coughing attacks again. As time went by, it affected her battle. She missed a shot at a distance of 5 meters only. "Maena!" "Miss! Watch out!" Almina and Ultima shouted when they noticed one of the Evil Rats moving rapidly towards her. Baring its fang as it leaped to bite her. But Maena''s vision started to get blurry, and Almina as a vanguard was in the front most. She would bete to rescue her. On the other hand, Ultima who was 10 meters away at her right side was being surrounded by 3 Evil Rats. Maena shook her head to clear her vision but what greeted her was a pair of fangsing closer at her. She jolted back, but the rat was so quick and she had no time to dodge. Her countenance turned grim. In a split of second, *Snap!* "....." Someone snapped the head of the Evil Rat! They noticed it was Yman. Using his right hand, he snapped the head of the rat. It tried to bite him. Yet Yman didn''t seem bothered by it. He used the full strength of his right hand to crush the head. It twitched and tried to escape from his grip. However, his right hand had two Strength type Magic Cryst. And right now, he was at level 3. The head was easily crushed by him; muddy ck blood was dripping from his hand and sttered on the ground. "....." The three were speechless at his mercilessness. Chapter 81 - The Reason For Those Tears Thump! A dull sound intertwined to the solemnity of the atmosphere when Yman threw the corpse of Evil Rat to the side. Plok, plok, plok! Droplets of blood departed from the tips of his fingers. It was dripping onto the ground like sticky excrement. His back was still facing at her when they heard him saying, "How ironic..." his voice was trailed with regret, dismay, and disappointment. "I remembered someone told me that as weak as I am was nothing to her. Yet..." he stopped and side-nced at the girl at his back.. "Is this the extent of your ''Power''? Or you misunderstand the concept of the word ''Stronger''?" Maena frowned but she remained quiet because she felt something unusual with him at this moment. "Someone who has strength but incapable of surviving a little struggle is much weaker than someone with a little strength but capable of advancing through any hurdle." His voice wasn''t loud nor low. But the meaning behind it was clear to them. Ultima was surprised to see this part of the famous Rat yer. What they knew about him was a silent and serious person but not to this extent. Whenever he went inside the barracks, there were only two reasons for it: to rx while sipping tea or coffee and to take a mission of killing rats. Even though those around him were mocking him, he only replied with a forced smile. So seeing him killing the rat mercilessly, and casually talking to the beautiful girl like the blonde. He could not help to feel more curious about this person. Yman noticed she stared at him. Then it grew into a piercing gaze. Yman''s brow slightly raised. "Don''t talk like you know me!" She screamed, and her voice echoed inside the channel. "You don''t know what I''d been through." Yman was taken aback. He noticed some tears running down from the corner of her eyes. He knitted his brows and nced at Almina. Yman saw her had a solemn face. Perhaps something happened to the blonde in the past which Almina knew. Yman sighed and lifted his left hand. A momentter, he threw something on the blonde''s head. "H-How cruel," Ultima muttered but no one heard it or maybe they just pretended not to hear it, especially Yman himself. The thing he threwnded on her head. Maena stared at him like pointing a dagger on his throat. Yman exhaled, "Don''t misunderstand I''m not forcing you to wear that. Regardless, if you want to talk with something, I''m willing to listenter. But right now is not the right time, and if you still insist not to wear that mask, then it''s better for you to return to the surface. I can''t let youe with us in that state," he said firmly. "W-Why are you so adamant in killing rats?" "Adamant you say? That word is more suited to you, you know. Anyway, look around you," he beckoned her to look at the people around her. "What do you mean?" Maena asked with doubt. "If I only came here just to y with the rats, what''s the point of bringing you all here?" After saying it, a glint was visible in his eyes; Yman''s face turned serious. Maena and the others widened their eyes. Now that they thought about it. Ultima thought, ''Why did the Rat yer have to hire me with double the price if he was only killing rats? He even squished that rat a while ago.'' In Maena''s mind, ''He''s right, it''s weird that he hired a mercenary if he already had Almina as hispanion, to begin with. If killing only these rats, Almina was more than enough by that. He was even capable of killing them with his hand." Maena''s gazended on the mercenary. "Wait, weren''t the price of hiring a mercenary mostly cost 500? It was impossible that he could earn that lots in killing these rats. So what''s the reason foring here? Wasn''t he here to y? No, this person was so wicked, it was impossible that he wasted his time ining here just to y." When her gaze darted to Yman''s right hand, "Wait, that Cryst... could it be..." She absentmindedly stared at him who was showing a grin. Almina ran and stopped beside him while saying, "Y-Yman, I don''t care what the other may think of you. I am more than happy that you chose your safety than going on a mission that might hurt you," She said with full of concern. "Eh?" Yman lost in thought after hearing Almina''s words. "T-Thank you for your concern Ms. Almina." She smiled sweetly at him. He thought, |That smile again.| But before he could think much of it, He heard Sist whisper in his ears. Yman narrowed his eyes to the dark part of the tunnel. He said his thanks to her through thoughtmunication. Then he nced at the blonde. "Are youing?" He asked her. Maena stared at him for a couple of seconds. In her mind, ''This person is a vile person who has no qualms of hurting hisrades as long as his n seeded. But why is he showing this kind of concern right now? Is it genuine? Or just fake?'' She took the mask off of her head and tightly gripped on it within her hand. Inside his head, he wanted to bury himself in the ground for saying those embarrassing lines a while ago, but he needed this blonde''s strength in order to seed in this mission. So, he had no choice. Well, he would be leaving hereter on, anyway. He noticed her mouth slowly opened. "It''s fine, Maena," Almina went to hug the blonde. "W-Will you listen... to-to my storyter?" She said a little bashful. "Eh?" Yman was surprised. Although he said that he would listen if she wanted to talk with him, it was an out of the blue utterance. Never would he imagine that the blonde took it seriously. Now he was a little curious if what really was the reason for those tears a while ago. Wait weren''t these two supposed to be rivals? Maybe it was connected to the story she wanted to tell? But why me though? Perhaps she already thought of me as someone that can be trusted after I saved her. "Sure, when we both had the free time," he answered with a smile. "Cough!" Maena slowly lifted the mask towards her face. However, "Wait," Yman stopped her. "Why?" She asked. "Drink this first," he handed a vial of potion for poison. She nced at his face; he was the shortest than the rest in the group. But right now, she felt he was exuding a demeanor like he was staring down at them. Like he was stepping in the higher podium. Maybe this was just her imagination. However, this is what she feels at the moment. This is the first time she feels like this. She subconsciously took the vial and drank it without opening the cap. "....." "Eh, S-Sorry!" (Facepalm) Almina and Yman were having nk eyes while watching at Maena. Ultima had a surprise (Pikachu) face once again while thinking, ''This Rat yer was so awesome! Not only he was so merciless in killing that rat. He is also able to tame the blonde tiger!'' (Cries) Flustered Maena quickly opened the cap and drank it out of embarrassment, yet it almost choked her. "Cough, cough, cough!" Yman giggled. Never did he imagine that this cold blonde had this cute side of her. Sist warned. "Mhm!" After Maena wears the mask, ''Well, it''s not bad. The smell is nice also. Eh? What I am thinking?'' She shook her head. "Now everyone, I know all of you think that Ie here every day just to kill those slightly weaker rats. But that was wrong. From here onward bear it in your mind that we might be facing a real danger where our lives were at stake," Yman said with his eyes gleaming in an instance. Everyone was puzzled by his words. Even Almina had question marks floating on her heads, wondering what Yman was saying. Wait, didn''t he mention to Maena of why he brought them here? Before everyone could process what Yman''s words were meant, they felt a cold sudden pressure ahead of them. It was likepressing the air inside the tunnel, sending chills on their skins. A suffocating feeling of strong pressure was baring onto them. The others slightly trembled, but they noticed the guy in front of them, the weakest guy they all knew, he was standing unaffected by the strong pressure while twitching his hand casually. Everyone was puzzled. Why was Yman standing unaffected by it? Whereas, they had difficulty in grasping their breaths. Yman nced behind him and frowned immediately. "Eh? Are you okay?" He asked in puzzlement. "R-Rat S-yer, how can you talk casually in this situation?" "Eh? Why not? I''m more wondering why you guys are having a hard time with this slight breeze of pressure," Yman replied. "S-Slight breeze?!" The three cannot believe. A momentter, they heard a steeping sounding closer to their direction. The ground vibrates at every step. They immediately readied their weapons in hand. "The hunt is going to start," Yman mumbled. Chapter 82 - Teamwork A leg with silver fur had first stepped out from the darkness. It was slim at the lower part and on its feet, there were three fingers with inch-long nails. Next to emerge was the face, it was pointed to a certain extent. Around its ck nose, six whiskers were protruding like metallic strands. Its xen big eyes, squinted at them like it was peering at its prey. They noticed when its shut mouth extended into a toothy grin; then blood colored energy was oozing from its body, sending a chill to its prey. "W-Wanderer?" Ultima muttered in a trembling voice. It was clear from his voice and face how shocked and afraid he was at the moment. Never would he have imagined to see such a monster in this ce. He nced at the Rat yer''s back and thought, "So this is what he meant a while ago.." Maena and Almina also wore unbelievable faces at the moment, and it was clear that both of them were scared. ''How can it be that there is this monster down here?'' Almina thought. Maena also had simr thoughts as her. Then both of them remembered what Yman said to them a while ago, the reason why he brought them here. Now Almina and Maena understood why Yman had a Magic Cryst with him. ''He didn''te here for those low ranking rats, but because of this Wanderer!'' They could not believe it. ''Wait, he already had a Magic Cryst with him, so howe there is still another Wanderer beast here?'' Yman noticed the others were having puzzled faces. His mouth extended to one side. It was easy to guess what they were thinking at the moment based on their faces. He as well noticed that they all bore a scared feeling towards the monster. He opened his mouth and said, "Bit your lips," He advised them. His voice was just enough for them to hear. The three looked at him and saw that he was serious. "I-I feel better?" Almina muttered after biting her lips. Under the mask, Maena also bit her lips, the scared feeling she felt towards the monster shortly cast away. "Tis, so it''s some kind of illusion?" Maena said after her bearings returned. "It was the effect of intimidation and fear," Yman told her without averting his eyes from the monster. "Tsk, so we are under this kind of ability," Ultima said in a frown. "Then why you''re not affected by it?" Maena doubtfully asked him. "From experience I guess," Yman replied immediately. Maena shut her mouth and did not bother asking him again. It was known what he was doing since the first day. "Is that mean that you are fighting this kind of monster for these past days?" Almina couldn''t help asking. She thought Yman was securing himself for taking a low-level mission, but it seems like it was contrary to her expectation. He nodded at Almina. Then said, "It''sing." The monster rapidly rushed to them. The feeling of being scared had already been lifted after Yman instructed them to bite their lips. Almina with a fire sword in hand immediately intercepted it. Which followed by metallic noise. It was followed by multiple exchanges. The monster clearly outmatched her, but whenever she finds herself at a disadvantage, she would use her Rapid Leap ability to distance herself. Before the monster could chase her, consecutive arrows from Maena and waves of energy from Ultima would rain after it. The monster had no choice but to step back. It was a wanderer D+ monster, killing it wasn''t as easy as killing those normal rats. Before Yman joined the fight, he signaled to Maena where to hit the monster. Wielding the dius sword in his right hand, he made a sudden swing towards the monster''s head, but the monster was able to evade it. Yet Almina with her Rapid Leap was already waiting at the other side to where the monster would go when it dodges his attack. Shing! Kyaahh! The monster cried when the fire sword cut its waist. The monster''s health points dropped to 75%. It tried to distance himself immediately but the wave of emerald energies shot towards it. The monster lifted its hand in front, its body immediately enveloped by xen energy. This technique was the same as Kiko''s Mana Membrane but with higher effectiveness. However, an arrow enveloped by wind and water tore the space, it rapidly shot to the monster. The Wanderer squinted its eyes at the iing arrow, then it casually crossed its arms to guard its body. Arrowbites! Maena''s soft utterance of her ability''s name reached their ears. In an instance, the monster widened its eyes when arge hole appeared on its chest. They noticed the unbelievable feeling written on the monster''s face. The monster dropped dead without knowing how the barrier was pierced by that arrow. Everyone sighed in relief. All of them did their job efficiently. "Congrats," Yman said to all. "How did you know that the monster''s weakness was on the chest?" Maena asked. "Ah that, it was Sist, my deity. Her appraisal ability was a little better," he replied. "Sist did a good job," Almina said. "Mhm." He heard his deity''s proud voice but Yman chose to disregard. It was because all of his money was spent to upgrade Sist''s part. Right now, if they were not in resonance, her figure was of that Nixie spirit. "Let''s take the valuable parts," he urged them. Everyone nodded. They took the monster''s Inner Core, Tail, Nails, and fangs. Everyone brightened up when Yman lifted a Magic Cryst. "I never thought that there''d be a day for me to see this kind of item again," Ultima tearfully said. "Kuku, wasn''t that an exaggeration Sir Ult?" Yman tried to tease him. "No, it wasn''t!" Mercenary Ultima Shouted. Yman and the two girls chuckled at him. The group continued their advance and they encountered lots of monsters. There once an Evil Bat that evolved into a Wanderer ss. In order to kill it, Almina and the others bombarded it using long-range attacks. Almina used her me waves, sending me in the form of a crescent moon. However, it wasn''t an effective long range. It had a short distance and it wasn''t so fast. She said she was sorry for not being helpful and told them that it wasn''t long when she learned it, and that she wasn''t proficient enough to use it. This technique was the evolved form of the technique she used to attack one of the attackers on the hill. Sist was also feeling helpless, it was the first time for her to encounter this type of Wanderer, so she could not pinpoint its weak points. Maena was able to pierce the monster to every part of its body. And the left part of itsrge wing was skewered by Mercenary Ultima with his wave of emerald energy. This wave of emerald energywas a secondary ss ability. It was supposed to be strong, however Ultima''s breakthrough level wasn''t enough to manifest the real strength of this technique. The Wanderer Bat had the ability to heal itself like the Mustang Spider. It was a headache for them to kill it. Yman suggested something on Almina. She tried to decline but when she noticed Yman''s firm gaze at her. Before she agreed, she bashfully said, "Promise me that you won''t look up." Yman felt a little embarrassed at Almina''s words. But he nodded multiple times. Almina was on Yman''s back, waiting for his signal. It was hard to find a perfect opportunity because the enemy was sending gusts by pping its wings. Suddenly, it dove towards Maena who was one of the decoys. Maena evaded by diving to her side. When Yman noticed that the enemy was about to ascend. "Miss Almina!" "Just call me Almina!" She shouted. "Eh?" For some reason, her reply almost stunned him. "O-Okay, A-Almina!" Wearing a smile on her face, she quickly stepped on his shoulder. Then Yman used Rapid Leap towards the ascending enemy. He, together with Almina who was stepping on his shoulder appeared in mid air, closely behind the enemy. Then Almina summoned all her strength on her feet and used her Rapid Leap. Because of this, Yman was sent crashing on the ground, while Almina appeared on top of the monster, brandishing her firesword downwards with all her strength. me Wave! She shouted. Mercenary Ultima rushed and dove to where Yman wouldnd. The fire sword sliced the Wanderer Bat neatly, and it was engulfed by the me. On the other hand, Yman crashed on the back of Mercenary Ultima. The two of them were lying on the ground, withtheir backsfacing the high ceiling of the underground channel. "Kyaaaaaah!!" Maena wanted to rush to catch Almina but he calcted that she would fall on the guys so she decided to let her be. Before Yman and Ultima could stand up. "Yman, catch meeeee!!!" Almina was rapidly falling. The two boys gulped as they felt a bad premonition. A momentter they both groaned in pain when Alminanded on Yman''s back. Mercenary Ultima and Yman''s eyes turned white. Chapter 83 - A Dense Gathering Of Mana The Wanderer ss bat was charred by Almina''s me Wave. Yman felt all the bone in his body was crushed by Almina when it crashed onto him. He had to use his healing ability multiple times. Although Almina said her sorry to him and to Mercenary Ultima, he told her that she didn''t have to, in the first ce it was his n. Since the enemy was charred and most of its flesh and bones were wasted, they could only take the Inner Core and Magic Cryst from it. Well, it was the most valuable part of this monster. Yman and the rest had lingering doubts about the ce. The farther they advanced, the more they found out that this underground wasn''t ordinary. As they go deeper, space inside bes wider and wider.. Not only that, but there were multiple alleyways also. They even noticed some kind of crystalline objects stuck on the walls and ceiling. It radiated the ce with cobalt radiance. "S-So pretty," Almina muttered while ncing at the glowing crystalline around them. The three chose to turn off their Floating Map as the ce was bright enough for them to distinguish. Only Yman that let his Floating Map stayed in the air as he had the area''s data. He mapped this area when he came herest time; like them, he also was amazed the first time he saw those crystallines. The only thing that puzzled him was the growth of Wanderer ss monsters in this area. For these past days that he visited here, he only encountered mostly one Wanderer ss. But now, they have encountered three already. This appearance of multiple Wanderer ss monsters was the most mysterious in this ce, and it was dangerous if these monsters went to the surface. Almina as well thought of how weird this ce was. She also thought that maybe the reason why Yman came here every day was to check and guard the ce, but she quickly disagreed with this thought of her. Because there was a high risk if he encountered those Wanderer monsters. Yman likely could not handle this type of monster alone. Yet howe he was able to acquire two Magic Cryst? Maybe he bought it? After all, he had no mana and only depends on his channeling talent in order to use a spell. With this, he could only depend on using items that could boost his strength. However, the problem is, does Yman have quite a sum of money to squander around? Although this item may boost one''s capability, they only give a slight increase in their strength. Not exactly advisable to squander one''s money for such an item. While thinking about this, her eyes wandered to the person walking at her right side. She opened her mouth under the mask and asked, "Y-Yman, how did you able to get those Magic Crysts embedded in your equipment?" She finally was able to ask him. He nced at her and wondered why Almina suddenly was interested in it, then he darted his eyes to the glove and gauntlet on his right hand. "I was just lucky to kill some of them," he answered. "A-Are you alone when you killed it?" Almina asked with a slight surprise. Yman as well was surprised by why she was asking about it. "Yeah, but it was when they were at their weakest," Yman replied. "What do you mean by it?" Maena who was walking at the left side of Almina suddenly joined and asked him. Yman nced at the two girls who were staring at him, waiting curiously for his answer. "I happened to be there when they were at their evolution phase," he told them. It was half a lie though. "You witnessed them in such a state? H-How lucky!" Eximed by Mercenary Ultima who was walking at his right side. Yman nodded. "Haha, no wonder you''ve been able to acquire such super rare items," Mercenary Ultima said enviously. If someone like him who was a junior trainee couldn''t defeat it alone, what''s more someone like Rat yer who was weaker than him. But it was a different story if the monster was in the evolution phase. He felt a little envy at his luck. "I-I see," Maena muttered. It was known that the monster which was undergoing an evolution phase was vulnerable since they could not move in this process. "Next time, if you go into a mission don''t be shy to ask me for a favor, okay," Almina told him. Yman blinked his eyes and stared at her for a moment before he nodded. He smiled at the thought that Almina had a different concern for asking the question. He could see in her eyes that she wasn''t concerned about how he looted the item specifically. More likely, she asked because she was concerned for his safety. Sist''s voice was suddenly heard by him. Yman noticed that they reached thest save data on the map. Beyond this point, they needed to scurry around the ce while mapping it all along. They had been killing monsters they encountered as they advanced at a steady pace. "Another dead end?" Almina said listlessly. "It is the 7th alley," followed by Maena. "Besides the appearance of many Wanderer ss monsters. It seems this ce was only a little above than an ordinary Underground Channel," said Mercenary Ultima. Yman scratched his face in dismay, "Shall we take a break first?" He was puzzled. Seems like, his guess was wrong after all. The area where they are at the moment has a size of 10 square meters and the ceiling was about 20 meters high from the ground. It was also illuminated by the radianceing from the crystalline. Anyhow, there was only one exit, and that was the entrance on their back where they used to enter. He was checking their whereabouts and put a red ''X'' mark on the dead-end alleyways. While he was busy fiddling on his Floating Map, "Yman, what is this?!" He heard Almina''s question. Yman saw her and Maena fixedly staring something on the ground while hugging their knees. On the other hand, Mercenary Ultima walked towards them, and said with a frown, "T-That is..." he said with a pause while trying to remember something in his mind. They both nced at him and waited for his next words. "Right it''s Iceweeds Cold-Reliever!" He eximed when finally able to remember. Yman''s eyes widened and immediately went to them. He went down sitting at the back of his right foot, while his left leg was bent. His left elbow was on top of his left knee; his back slightly curved as he was staring at the weeds on the ground. |It was really as Mrs. Merced described.| He thought after seeing the object that was lying on the ground. Yman noticed that there were a number of these, scattered around. He didn''t notice this at first because his mind was muddled in thinking of how the beast in this ce mutated faster. "Iceweeds Cold-Reliever?" Almina and Maena asked the same questions. "It is a medicine for cold," Yman answered. "Right, Rat yer was right," Mercenary Ultima said while nodding his head. "Can we take it?" Almina asked. "Yes, Miss Almina. Actually, it cost a lot and of high demand. We are lucky to find it here," Mercenary Ultima excitedly said. Almina gazed on Yman. He didn''t answer immediately, rather he picked one and lifted it in front of his eyes. |A stem of it has three symmetrical mint leaves converge on its tip and constitute a triangr-shape. From stem to the leaves it''s covered by a thinyer of cerulean ice.| Yman described the weeds in his mind based on how he saw it. Yman felt a ticklish feeling from it when he touched it. It was chilly and felt like a breeze of wind caressed his skin. This was a familiar feeling that he usually felt whenever he was channeling mana. "Yman?" Almina who was beside him muttered his name when she noticed his face contorted into a frown. "Weird," it was the only word departed from his mouth. "I-Is something wrong?" Almina asked. "It seemed like this ice was made from mana," he replied. Almina and Maena also picked one, "Right, this is made of mana," Maena said in surprise. "Mhm," Almina agreed. "Eh? Is it true?" Mercenary Ultima asked. He knew about these weeds but only now that he saw it in person. So he too had no idea about it. Yman and Almina nodded their heads at him while Maena took off the white glove on her hand. Then her naked jade-like hand tapped the ground. They saw her summoning a bit of her greenish mana. She closed her eyes then a momentter, they noticed her brow twitched. "There is a dense gathering of mana, and it wasing from... that.... wall?" She said as she opened her eyes and pointed on the wall in her left side which was in front of Yman and Almina, and at the right side of Mercenary Ultima. Yman briefly nced at the Floating Map, then he noticed that in the map outline that part of the wall was having a thinner line than the rest. He pointed his hand on the ground then summoned a bit of white glow on his hand, trying to sense the mana like what Maena did. This was his channeling talent at work, it enabled him to percieve the flow of mana. Unlike the real magician who had the ess of internal and external mana, a False Magician like him could only sense mana externally but in a much wider range, as long as he used his channeling talent. A momentter, Yman gawked in disbelief, there was truly a dense gathering of mana behind that wall. Not just dense, but super dense. A momentter, he felt a vibration on the ground. "Enemies!" He warned. Chapter 84 - Something Behind The Wall After Yman said it, squeaking noises reached their ears. They hastily came closer and closer to the entrance. "This is bad, it was a trap," he muttered worriedly. The others also got alerted then focused their senses. Based on the noises and the trembling of the grounds, everyone''s awareness enabled them to surmise that there were multiple monsters hastilying to this ce. "Rat yer, let us handle the monsters, while you take care of the wall, maybe there is an entrance somewhere on it!" Mercenary Ultima shouted in a hurry. He nced at the two girls in their party and saw them nodding their heads at him. "Okay, you guys be careful," he said as he hastily went and check the wall. It was the wall opposite to the entrance.. As the noises were getting closer and closer, Almina and the rest readied themselves. "Almina Amulet," suddenly Maena called out in her usual aloft manner. Almina smugged at her but the blonde couldn''t see it because she was wearing a mask. She knew what this girl wanted to tell her, "Let''s see whoever gets the highest number of kills," Almina dered. "Heh, don''t die before your defeat!" Maena snorted in a mocking tone under her mask. Almina further smug. "Kuku, be sure your arrows willnd on your target," she rebutted. Maena sent a sharp gaze at her, "Talk bigter!" She replied. When the news that Almina had defeated high-level enemy magicians reached her ears, it irks her. While she was improving herself, Almina as well was improving at an iprehensible pace. She could not let herself fall behind her. The two of them were candidly like predators of equal terms in a small pond. Each of them was trying to overtake the other. Almina side-nced at Maena. She too, like this kind of rtionship the two of them had. It motivates both of them to improve. She never expected that Maena would follow her in this academy and did not choose to go to the more advanced academy like Zone 1 or the others; it looks like, Maena''s rivalryplex towards her took the better of her. "Enemies here!" Mercenary Ultima shouted a warning and put a stop in Almina''s thoughts. The monsters scurried at the entrance while trying to overtake their kins. They wereposed of Evil Rats and Evil Bats and they were rallying to reach and skewer their enemies. Looking at their visage, it was easy to figure out that they were in frenzy mode. All of them had something inmon, they both had bloodshot eyes, dripping basil salivas, and their countenances revealed an upheaval. Before the monsters could near them, "Darn, I was hiding this ability for long, but I guess now is the right time to use it, hehe," said Mercenary Ultima as he chuckled. After saying it, yellowish brilliance shone on his hands. Version 555 Daffodil Shield! He shouted. His voice was loud and strong and couldn''t be defeated by the messy noisesing from the monsters. He lifted his hand then pointed it to the enemies. A radiant daffodil shield made of light particles had materialized on the right side of the alleyway. It had five meters in width, five meters in height, a thickness of five inches, and had a design of a daffodil flower on the t surface. It upied half of the pathway which followed by low dull sounds that were overheard in the area when some of the frenzy Evil Rats crashed on it. His hands shook at the impact. "As expected of a junior trainee, Mr. Ultima truly has an interesting technique," Almina suddenly praised his secret technique. He felt a surge of emotions from within. His hard work had paid off. Praise from the most popr academy goddess brought extreme joy to him. He called it a shield but in actuality, it was more of a screen than a shield. Despite that, it was able to hinder the sudden escapade to gue them. The unlucky Evil Rats that crashed on it have to suffer bone-cracking and flesh sttering pain when they were hamburger in the middle of the shield in front and their frenzy kins behind. To the monster''s perspective, only the left side of the alley was blocked. Those who came at the right side originally were able to rush unhindered. Almina forthwith dashed forward to intercept them. It was just a matter of seconds that the first victim was horizontally sliced in half. She did not stop and continued swinging her fire elemental sword. Three Evil Rats leaped to bite her at the same time but met with a quick sessive strike instead. Their body turned into a lump of meat when they fell on the ground. Almina didn''t stop after killing the three idiot rats. She fueled her fire sword with more mana which caused it to aze. "That''s four," she whispered. She then brandished it at her front, sending her newly learned technique the me Wave. me of unbearable heat bursts out from the fire sword then rapidly swallows sixapproaching Evil Rats. The unlucky victims were charred. "Ten," she whispered again. Then she twisted her body to dodge the leaping monster from the side. After her sessful dodge, she stabbed the monster''s side. The sword pierced the monster''s body and it dropped twisting in pain on the ground before it lost its ability to move. "Eleven," she continued counting. Three Evil Bats tried to dive towards Almina but before they seeded, they were met with three arrows instead. "Nine, ten, eleven," Almina heard the blonde mutter. She side-nced at her and saw her raising a brow. Sparks flew in their eyes. Mercenary Ultima thought that these two beauties were scary. ''So this is the disparity between me from a normal family and them from a rich family plus talented magicians!'' Ultima thought in dismay. But he could not give up, ''In any case, as a junior trainee I can''t let myself fall behind!'' He yelled inwardly and summoned more mana to repair the shield that started showing cracks. Almina and Maena continued their onught. Monster corpses were massing on the ground and painted it with blood. These monsters were of low rank but Almina and the others noticed that more monsters wereing. They were wondering if where these monsters came from. They also started to feel tired and their mana had greatly decreased. Ultima''s shield had been broken long ago and now he was helping in killing the monsters using his main ability the wave of emerald energy. Emerald color energy traveled the space from him towards the target enemy. He was supporting the two who charged in a melee to the monsters. Never did he imagine that the blonde was capable of wielding a dagger. She was executing weapon-exchange pretty quickly. The approaching enemies were met by her arrows and the one who neared her was cut by her dagger. Actually, she was annoyed at the moment because the mask she was wearing hindered her breathing added more pressure to her. On the other hand, Almina was wielding a dual sword with two opposite elements. She was moving agile and killing the monsters withbo attacks. What made Mercenary Ultima dumbfounded was that these two beauties were counting the number of their kills. Looks like these two were in some kind ofpetition! Yman was still scrutinizing the wall. He tapped it, "Errk!" He jerked back his hand. "This wall is so cold." "I don''t know." "Okay." Yman borrowed Sist''s mana. His both hands were now glowing in pure white. He tapped the wall again. It was still cold but it was bearable now than before. He tried to push it, "Dang, it seemed like something was blocking or holding it from the behind." No matter how he pushed it, it won''t budge even a little. He anxiously nced at the back and saw the others were already fighting in a melee. It seemed like most of them had spent their mana. Yman quickly turned back his eyes on the wall when a piercing gaze from the blondended on him. Based on that gazed it was easy to read that she was annoyed at him. She must be asking him if what he was dilly-dallying while they were fighting with the monsters. A bead of sweat appeared at the back of his head. A momentter, Yman noticed that the mana he borrowed from Sist was being consumed by something. He closed his eyes to sense it. The mana that enveloped his hand traveled towards the other side. He thought that whatever was on the other side of this wall, it was no ordinary. |Wait, if I''m not mistaken, the thing that holding this wall firmly should be a massive amount of ice since the wall is freakin cold. Then how about the thing that absorbs mana?| Suddenly, his eyesnded on the Iceweeds Cold-Reliever on the ground. Yman''s eyes widened. Chapter 85 - Magic Structure And The Outcome This thing! Yman picked one of the Iceweeds Cold-Reliever. He pinched to discard the ice. With his strength, it turned into powder in no time. He then blew to get rid of it. Staring at the bare weed on his palm, he narrowed his eyes then used his channeling ability onto it. Yman was surprised at the result. A fluctuation of mana emitted on his hand. A cursor was summoned on the tip of his finger. Unhurriedly, he pointed it on the weed. Without ag, a screen section with twelve inches height and 6 inches width appeared in the air in front of his face. What written on it was a list of data concerning the weed: [Weed Lunaria]. ?Magical weed. ?Rich in mana. ?Grow in ces with direct moonlight and in ces with an abundance of mana. ?For medicine purposes. ... Such information was listed in it together with the other rted data. "Looks like this is not a simple weed, but a magical weed. And the reason why this weed coated by ice is the ice was trying to absorb mana from it. For this weed to grow here, this ce might be rich in mana, and that mana source was no other than the ice itself. The weed and ice are seemingly in a ''give and take'' rtionship or ''friends with benefit'' or something like that, but in a weird way," Yman muttered in surprise. Sist stated. "Mhm..." He agreed to Sist, There was no way a massive amount of ice would appear here. In the first ce, it was weird that this ice did not melt. Could it be the caster was... behind this wall too? He was taken aback at this thought. Thinking about it, when he first saw the camouge cloth on the hole, he had a suspicion that something was amiss in this ce. "Regardless, it''s difficult for us to lift this wall," Yman said in dismay. He nced at hisrades. Most of them were breathing heavily, yet the number of monsters did not decrease. They keep oning from who knows where. "Hmm, looking at it is, I think no one can do it at the current state. This wall is not ordinary. Rather than that, everyone is exhausted." <....> Sist fell silent. Yman squinted his eyes around him as he fell into thinking... Could it be a preset trap? To trap someone who was trying toe here. Whoever did this must be hiding something behind this wall. Or he/she itself must be hiding behind this wall. The ce and the ice were rather suspicious to him. Howe a thing that materialized through mana able to absorb another mana? It was as if the same as my channeling ability. Eh? Right! Why I just realized it. Damn it! Yman thought with a grin. Sist worriedly told him. Yman made a quick nce at the back and saw the unfavorable situation. Almina and the rest had received bruises. Their bodies were covered by blood from the monsters and a little of their own. He felt a little regret for bringing them here together with him. Never did he imagine that the situation would be as dangerous as this. He shook his head slightly to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts for his current situation. No matter what happened he must do his part. He bit his lips and focused his mind. If ever he failed on it, he would activate his ck Mana and force his way for them to escape this ce, even if there was 20 or 10% or lesser chance of escaping alive. Sist wanted to ask him, but when she noticed his concentration she quietened. "Let me try something first," he said. He tapped the wall without using Sist''s mana. Yman''s brows twitched because of the coldness of the wall. The cold was biting him and his hand immediately turned numb. However, he had to endure. A momentter, he activates his channeling talent. His hand immediately glowed. As long as he had direct contact on the mana, Yman believed he could modify it using his channeling ability. Sist was surprised to see his partner''s hands were deliberately glowing. |I was right!| He eximed in his mind. It was his first time doing it to the mana owned by someone else beside him and Sist. It seemed his channeling talent could actually be activated as long as he had a contact on it. He was able to connect to the flow of mana on the wall. The coldness that he felt a while ago had finally eased. Before getting drowned to his excitement, the next step he must do is to alter the construction of magic. However, something unexpected happened. His hands further glowed in a more blinding brilliance of silver. Almina and the rest felt a strong fluctuation of mana behind them. They sneak a nce and gape at what their eyes were seeing. Yman''s hands were enveloped by blinding brilliance. Yman struggled to maintain his bearings. The massive surge of mana was trying to devour him. Tsk, it was trying to go against my will. Whoever was controlling this magic... must be a renown magician! He shouted in his mind. Sist''s warned. "Is it affecting the resonance?!" "Tsk," He clicked his tongue while trying to brawl the unrestrained mana. Damn it, stupid brain! Think, think think... Yman curses and chants the words repeatedly. "Ymaaaan!!" Darn, now I started to hear Almina''s voice calling my name. Or was it just my hallucination? The unrestrained mana crawled to his shoulder. Then it started to appear on his feet and climbed to his legs. Yet, he didn''t let go of it. Becauseeven if he let loose on it, there''s still a little chance of them surviving. The unrestrained mana climbed to his neck. Yman''s vision started to get tipsy. "Yman let go of it!" For some reason, he heard Almina''s worried voice again. "Hmph, that idiot!" Ironically, he also heard the snort from a certain blonde. Syst''s voice turned like a broken machine. He heard hasty stepping sounds behind him. Could it be Almina? He thought while thinking that Almina''s concern towards him was a good motivation. Yman shook his head to get rid of the dizziness he was feeling. Suddenly, Yman felt a soft sensation hugging onto his back. He was surprised and a little happy that someone wanted to embrace him out of worry. His mouth extended into a smile. He slowly nced behind but he already expected who it was. Who else could it be if not Almina? Yman nced to his back to see her worried pretty, beautiful, charming, lovely, and attractive face. But what greeted him made him freeze on the spot. It wasn''t the expected pretty, beautiful, charming etcetera... It was an ugly, grotesque, hideous, and poisonous creature instead! Yman''s eyes be dead as the dead fish. His face bes nk. Spinning flowers in the background recently turned into a nightmarish Castlevania. The kissable rosy lips he expected to see when he turned around had be twofrontliner-teeth. Her supposed to be a beautiful soft face had turned into a pointed dark blueish face and with some whiskers protruding onto it. For some reason, in his mind, he heard the Evil Rat saying, "Are you lost, baby boy?". Damn it, I''m so dead!He eximed inwardly. It was followed by two frontliner-teeth bore on his shoulder. "Ugh!" A deep inarticte sound escaped from his mouth. -43 hp He saw a certain number of his health points departed from his health bar. Those numbers were the equivalent of the pain plus the blood loss he suffered after he was bitten. And also the monster''s poison ailment took a minimal effect on him which subtracted little health points on him per second. But these numbers were just there to measure or calctethe damage on his body. Yman immediately used his healing ability. He didn''t even notice that at the moment he was using the mana he was channeling to activate his heal spell. However, the clingy Evil Rat bit him again, then again he shouted ''heal''. Almina and the others did not notice as they were facing one of the Wanderer ss monsters together with lowly mobs. Yman and the clingy Evil Rat repeated a bitand healed. A momentter, he noticed that the wild mana that was trying to devour him was retreating every time he used his healing spell. Who would have thought that I just need to spend it to calm it down. A smirk happened on his face. Then he let the rat bit him and used his healing spell after the bit. His problem was the ticklish feeling of being poisoned. But he knew, he won''t die by it. The pain from being bitten was endurable somehow. After all, he had a high pain tolerance. Someone like him who survived for long torture from the facility, this kind of pain he was suffering at the moment was insignificantpared to that day. Yman focused once again. He needed to modify the magic structure of this so-called ice. Since ice is a solidified water, he could modify it back into a liquid or break it by turning it into dust. Once again, hepointed his hands on the wall. Then he closed his eyes. Trying to process the information on how ice was formed and the ending it might be. In order to get rid of the ice that was blocking on the other side of the wall, Yman opened his eyes once again and spoke of the modified version or the oue of ice that he chose. "Crumble!" He spoke the word a little louder than a whisper while simultaneously gripping his hands like he was crushing something in it. They unexpectedly felt vibrationsing from the other side. The wall trembled and so the ground. Ironically, the frenzied monster returned to normal. They hastily scurried away to escape, like they were scared of something. Almina and the others were startled by it. They nced at the back to where Yman was. They saw the wall in front of him shook slightly and fell. He grinned at his new ability. His belief turned to be right, he could use his channeling talent to someone else mana. It also means he could modify their magic! Chapter 86 - Im Free... Thud! A dull, heavy sound resounded when the part of the wall fell on the ground. Apparent cold smoke and pulverized pieces of the crushed ice wafted in the air like dust, when the broken part of the wall crashed on it. It blew the rigid smoke and embracedYman''s skin as he stood close to it. The chilling cold caused a biting sensation on him. However, he wasn''t bother by it. The ce turned quiet and onlythe heavy breathing were conspicuous at the moment as it was the sole noise left presently.Both of them were gasping for breath; none of them were in good shape. .... Step, step-- From the back, unhurried footsteps wereing closer to him. His neck twisted a bit to his left to nce to hispanion. To his surprise, both of them were wearing stunned faces. "Is the matter?" He asked with a frown, wondering what kind of ploy was this. They did not answer, probably tired. However, both of them lifted their fingers and pointed on his back. As he could not see what they were pointing, he turned his head to the right. And there, he saw the still biting Evil Rat on his shoulder. Yman''s brow twitched. "Get off, buddy!" He yelled, then he grabbed the head of it, and crushed it with his hand. Within his grip, the rat''s misery onlysted for several seconds, when he crushed themonster''s head. "Merciless as ever, huh. Truly a Rat yer," Mercenary Ultima said jokingly. "Y-Yman, you should kill it properly," Almina said. "Hmph, no matter how he did it, the conclusion is still the same," Maena said to contradict Almina''s words. ''As if that guy knows how to pity others, he was even no qualms in hurting hisrades, what''s more, a monster...'' she thought. Almina nced at her, and their eyes met, then electric sparks were shot to each other. Yman forced a tired smile and said, "I agree to blonde. No matter how you did it, in the end, you were still going to kill it." Almina was enveloped by dark aura for some reason. She never expected that this guy would choose to agree with this girl. But his next words put a smile on her face, "But I think Miss Almina''s way of killing them suit her better. Very elegant," he had to soothe the atmosphere because he ironically felt a dangerous ambiance from Almina. He didn''t know if his words made her mad. The dangerous ambiance recently suddenly castaway.With a flush red face, she pushed some strands of hair behind her ears while asking, "Really?" "Mhm!" He nodded. Almina broke into a broad smile which stunned the three of them. Then she opened her mouth andsaid bashfully, "B-By the way, Y-Yman, cut the M-Miss when you speak of my name," "Ah, sorry, I forgot, ahaha," he drilyughed while scratching the back of his head. She sighed. "Always forgotten," Alminamumbled with teary eyes. "Pardon." But Yman did not seem to hear it. "N-Nothing." Ahem! They heard the blonde cleared her throat. Then said,"Oh right, I don''t want to be called blonde by you, call me Maena from now on. Be d!" Maena said in her usual aloft demeanor. He wondered if she''s trying to be friendly or what. He smiled and nodded at her then said, "I''m d." "Of course, you should be." "Hehehe, seemed like Miss Cold Woman here started to melt away," Almina grimly said. Yman gaped while looking at Almina, surrounded by an eerie aura once again. Is this her passive skill? -- his thought. "You!" Maena shouted at her. Yet the two of them started their bickering. He wanted to ask if they felt no tired as of yet. A momentter, they decided to enter the room but before that, "Wait! Miss Almina, Miss Maena! What about me, can I also called you without honorifics?" Mercenary Ultima, suddenly asked as he was pointing himself. He believed that he was more than capablepared to Rat yer. With this in his thought, he had high expectations that these beauties would not mind if he called them without honorifics too. "Eh?" The three paused for a moment and said, "Who this guy?" Maena asked indifferently. "A wanderer?" Almina added. "Tis, here I thought all of them escaped already," Maena gnashed her teeth. "Looks like one of them remained," Almina replied. "Oh, by the way, how many you killed?" Maena remembered theirpetition. "150 mobs and one Wanderer. How about you?" Almina replied. "Tsk, the same score again, did you cheat?" Maena clicked her tongue and bit her lip. "Hell, no!" Almina yelled at her. "Then shall we kill this one here to settle the score?" Mercenary Ultima instantly froze at Maena''s words. "Kuku," Almina chuckled then summoned her twin des with no further words. "RAT SLAYER HELP!!" Yman chuckled at the Junior''s pitiful yelped and giggled at the two girls. They were totally in sync at bullying the Junior trainee. Suddenly, he felt an itchy feeling down his throat and throbbing pain on his backs. Hmm, looks like, the poison exacerbates, and the wounds are bleeding -- his thought. He took a potion from his storage and drank it to counter the poison. Then he used his healing spell to heal the wounds from the bite. The group proceeded when he urged them once again. He was very suspicious of what was inside this next room. Recently, when he was fighting with the wild burst of mana, his senses were muddled up. And he felt a strong affection towards Almina. It feels like something or someone yed on his senses and emotions. So he had to figure out if what''s inside this room. When they entered the room, "Woah!" No words can express what they felt at that moment. They have felt that theye into another ce out of a sudden. They wondered if they were still inside the underground channel as of the moment. The room''s estimated-width was 100 Square meters. On the ground, crystallized ice of different sizes was protruding, and some were on the wall. And on the curvaceous ceiling, numerous stctite jutting out; the whole room was illuminated by white and blue. In the middle of the room stood a what seemed like an altar. "Who are you?" A soothing melodious voice resonates in their ears. Simultaneously, they nced at where the voice originated. She has smart looking-eyes but with a tinge of dreary, a small nose, and pale lips. Her sky-colored pupils had no gleamed, it was shady and no reflection on it. And her long messy silver hair was paired with a tattered white headdress embroidered by ck. She looks beautiful, but something was odd. She was standing on top of the altar, encasing her body up to her neck by crystal ice, while her arms stretched open to the opposite directions. And at her back stood a 5 meter tall and 3 meters wide mirror. Although the mirror trailed with cracks, it gave off a feeling that it wasn''t an ordinary ice mirror. But something was off; her hands were tied by the chain that was seemingly made of ice as well. This chain of ice adjoined her hands to the two opposing ice pirs at the corners of the altar. "Lady..." Yman heard a whisper from the man on his left side. "Do you know her?" He asked. "Mhm," Ultima nodded. "It''s Miss Ice." "The Ace." Almina and Maena eximed, however they did not expect to see this person here. "Right, it''s Lady Ice. The one and only Ace in our academy." Mercenary Ultima also eximed. Yman was surprised that that woman was the so-called Ace. And he was surprised too that Almina and Maena knew about her. Wait. Miss Ice? This name sounds familiar, though. Yman scanned his memory, and he remembered that this was the person who borrowed the book for channeling ability from the academy''s library. But why is she here? And why she was covered in ice and tied to the pirs of ice. Such thoughts were present at Yman''s mind. "Miss Ice, we are the new batch of trainees from the academy!" Almina introduced them. Though she looked awry, her countenance was no doubt that it was her. "I see... can you help me?" She said in a pleading voice. "Of course, Lady Ice, in any case, what happened, why are you entangled?" Mercenary Ultima agreed without a second thought then asked her. "Don''t mind my situation. It was sealing magic that I had been practicing for a long time. But something happened, and this is the result. Notheless, will you guys climb here?" She said. Mercenary Ultima immediately ambertowards the altar.And Yman, Almina, and Maena followed after him. When they arrived on the altar, everyone frowned at her state. How could such a thing happen to this person? Right now, she seemed so weak. But really, this person was the academy''s Ace. "Lady Ice, what do you want us to do?" Mercenary Ultima asked worriedly. "Can you pick that book on the floor for me?" They nced to where she pointed. "That''s..." Yman muttered in surprise upon seeing the book on top of something like a seal, a seal that was written by blood. But suddenly, something happened... "Wait, don''t... Urgh! Don''t take the g-grimoire. The d-demon will -- escape." Yman, Almina, and Maena were surprised to hear her pained voice. It was far from the soothing voice of her recently. And why she was stopping them to the book that she called grimoire? They immediately nced back at the book, but it was already in the hand of Mercenary Ultima. "Eh?" Ultima stared at them, puzzled. Suddenly, the whole room vibrated. Thenthe ice pirs and the ice around the body of Miss Ice had crumbled. Seeng that she about to fall, Yman immediately caught her body. "Y-Yman, something happened to Mr. Ultima, " he heard Almina''s trembled voice. Ehehehe-ehehe-hehehehe! For some reason, Ultima broke into anunpleasant chuckle. Almina and Maena backstep subconsciously. Ultima was standing in front of them, holding the opened book on his left hand. He was guffawing while staring at the ceiling, and his body exudes crimson energy. His figure turned into that of a demon? Yman and the others could not believe what was in front of them. One little horn stood at the right corner of his forehead. His eyes turned ck, and sharp fangs were visible in his mouth. "Cough, cough, cough, you guys, run! He was possessed..." Miss Ice warned. But Yman and the others could not move because of the different levels of pressure bore onto them. "I''m freeeeeeeee...." Ultima said in a chilly and loathing voice. Chapter 87 - Who Is He? For some happenings that he could not exin, theirrade Mr. Ult turned into something akin to a drug addict. Even the green bar floating on top of his head had turned into a red bar. It also meant that he became a hostile person towards them. "Ehehehe-hehehehehe..." Impish glee reverberated inside the cold room. It was a kind ofugh stimting everyone who heard it to sumb to their fears. Not even the two Elites trainees with him were immune to this kind of intent.. Almina and Maena wore scared faces. It was clear that they were under the enemy''s spell. Though they were wearing scared faces, they tried to fight it while on their knee, really two persistent girls. The enemy was nting fear and a whole lot of intimidation into their hearts and minds. But to his experience of being the subject of the repeated experiment, ironically because of it he developed high immunity towards these kinds of attacks. Merely biting his lips could dispel it. However, the oppressive aura it exuded made him down onto his knee as well as the others. Yman used his right hand to support his body and not to fall down. Beside him, he noticed the Ace of academy knitted her brows. Yman was surprised that she seemed to be alright even with this overbearing aura exuded by Mr. Ult. Yman had no idea what was going on. But his intuition was urging him to run. However, he could not even lift a single finger. Whatever was that that possessed Mr. Ult, it must be some kind of entity that could crush them into tiny pieces in just a little lift of his finger. To maintain his visibility, he had no choice but to close his left eye to add more strength to the right. He took a nce at Almina and Maena, he saw that both of them were in pain and their bodies were shaking. The enemy continuedughing sinisterly while covered by crimson aura; even his skin changed color akin to that of a monster, a currant red color. Suddenly, he felt a tag on his left arm. He nced and saw a pale face, Miss Ice. "Help your friends..." she whispered weakly. He narrowed his eyes, "How about you?" "I can move on my own..." He wanted to ask why she was in that state a while ago, and where is her deity, but now was not the right time for it. On the other hand, Ice was wondering. Even though she could not feel a strong aura to this person beside her, he was not affected by mental attacks of such calibering from the enemy. On the contrary, the two girls that she felt having strong auras within them, were clearly affected by it. Then Ice realized something. How did they manage to enter this ce? If she wasn''t wrong, she cast a high-level spell on the wall-door. Did the Demon of Possession do it, while she was under the process ofpleting the seal? The seal she was working weakened her inner self. Because of this, the demon took advantage and possessed her body. She knew that it would happen so she set-upped and locked herself on her own before the demon possessed her. In this regard, she could only wait until the demon sessfully sealed in the grimoire. Yet, when she woke up, she saw some stranger around her, and the grimoire was already in the hand of one of them. So she had no idea what happened before that. ... Yman stared at her and simrly was shocked that the mental attack and oppressive aura were not able to affect her; in any case, based on what he saw within her eyes, it seemed like she had a n. Suddenly, he felt a tickle under his palm. He darted his eye towards it and saw some specs of light particles. The sensation when it touched his skin was very familiar to him. If he wasn''t wrong, "This is..." He nced back at Ice and did not decide long when he nodded. The long euphoria of being freed hadfinally stopped as ck pupils of his eyes bore to the insects in front of him. "Ehehe..." his shoulder shook as his mouth broke into a toothy grin. Looking at her looks so weak at the moment, Ultima who was now possessed by the Demon of Possession, taunted her with a mocking grin. "s, I can punish you finally, Little girl. Ehehehe..." He said as his sneak like pupils were bored on Ice alone. Then he lifted his palm facing the ceiling. The extreme heat of crimson fire coagted into a ball. First, it was as big as the golf ball, then its size deliberately increased until its size grew into a 1-meter radius. Seeing the enemy lifted his palm above his head, Ice squinted her eyes. Then she shouted, "Now!" After it, four-pointed crystallized ice jolted from the floor of the altar and rapidly shot to the enemy. "Heh, so you still have energy left? As expected of someone who almost sealed me. Ehehehe..." He said as he made a huge leap backward to evade the attack. "Do you think you could catch me again, huh, Little girl?" The demon Ultima mocked her. After the enemy leaped away, the effect of the intimidation and fear had lessened and also the pressure. It was because the nearer the caster, the stronger the effect, and vice versa. When Yman was finally able to move, he directly rushed and grabbed the two girls who were still groaning in pain. Then used Rapid Leap skill to escape. "Yman?" "You! Ugh." The two girls are finally able to get back to their senses when Yman sessfully distances at above 20 meters away. He didn''t even notice the redness on Almina''s face as he was grabbing them by their waist. Before he ran towards the opened wall, he nced at Ice. He saw her jumping high in the air and rapidly came closer to their direction, while her white dress embroidered by ck was fluttering. She looks like she was flying,but actually some transparent b of ice appeared in mid-air and she was using it as a foothold. On the other hand, the Demon Ultima was being surrounded by sharp-pointed crystal ice. "Don''t stop!" He heard Ice shouted. Yman without minding the two girls quickly ran towards the passage. When he finally neared it, he suddenly felt a bad foreboding at the same time that he heard Sist''s warning. Yman immediately stopped on his feet but because the floor was littered with ice, he slid for a couple of steps. A crimson fireball passed at a palm-size distance away from his face. The fireball continued towards the entrance. And it was followed by an explosion that shook the entirety of the underground channel. Even the people on the surface felt it. Those living at a rtively close in the area rushed outside while shouting, "Be careful there''s a quake!" "Noooo, maybe some terrorist group were attacking the city again!" "Call the soldiers! And the guards!" "Romeo? Where is Romeo?" "Careful everyone, thieves may take advantage of the cmity!" "Hide your husband!" "Oh no, Juliet was still inside the house!" "Yamete kudasai!!" "Dang, those people are idiots, I would rather take a video for this. I''m sure to get more subscriberster in YT if I made a live coverage!" One person was able to think rationally. Then he took his MTMD to start recording the scene. Some poorly-made houses showed cracks. And some people kneeled on the ground while praying to the sky. Momentster, because the title of the video was very catchy, which was ''The City Of Zone 7''s Demise!'', the viewers started to appear one after another. A girl of about six years old was crying on the roadside while looking for her parents. Then a shady man came near to the kid and asked her. The angry shrill of the vlogger named ''NoToPedopie'' could be heard in the video. He was shooting the shady person who came to the lost child. After seeing the vlogger recording a video, the shady person rushed rapidly to who knows where. Jarring shouts from the rattle crowds could be overheard in the area near the Underground Channel. All of these scenes were caught in the video. Sooner orter, some random explosion could be overheard also. And the quaking of the grounds followed closely after the explosion. Inside the underground channel, in the cold room, Yman and the others had no choice but to face this so-called Demon of Possession. Some parts of the ceiling had crumbled and a segment of it blocked the passage. "What is he?" Almina asked while wiping the blood on her mouth. "That is one of the Demon of Possession," Ice replied. "So he possesses the Junior trainee," Maena said. "Mhm, you guys must be careful not to enter his range. With your current strength, you won''tst long. Forgot evensted longer, you couldn''t even move near him." "Miss Ice was right," Yman agreed to her while readying himself at the next attack of the enemy. "Okay!" "Tis." "Ehehehe, insects....." The demon Ultima sneered at them. He was currently standing on the altar facing towards them. And on his palm was a bigger crimson me that coagted into a fireball. Ice stepped on the front, while Yman was a little on her back, Almina was on his right and Maena on his left. Both of them were gasping for breath already. Never did Yman imagine that something like this would happen in this underground channel. Now he was facing a being that way above their strength. "Heeeh!" The demon Ultima sneered, showing his pointed teeth. Then he lifted his hand and threw the Crimson Fireball. It was rapidly approaching them. Seeing the fireball that rapidly approaching, each of them grimaced. Yman knew that even if they sessfully avoided it, the demon would soon follow up with another attack. So basically, they be a live target. At this thought, he ran on the front and extended his palm pointing at theing fireball. "Yman!" Almina shouted. His left hand was supporting his right arm. Then his eyes glinted while gritting his teeth. And in his mind, he shouted, ''This time, I will not make a blunder of myself!'' He shouted inwardly. "Watch out!" Ice shouted, but it was toote. In a split second, the fireball that was shot had hit him, which followed by a dazzling explosion. "Ehehehehe.ahahaha such idiot ahahah" the Demonughed at the person who sacrificed himself. Almina and the others were shocked at what Yman did. She was staring at the ce where he was standing a while ago, but right now it was enveloped by blinding lights. Tears flowing at the corner of her eyes. Even Maena and Ice gaped in surprise. Never did they imagine that Yman was so courageous. Yet a momentter. "Heh!" They heard a snort. Everyone turned silent and stared with wide-eyes. Even the demon was no exception. When the blinding light dissipated, they saw him standing still at his original position. But, who is this in front of them? He seemed to be different. Chapter 88 - Time After the light of explosion glistened like silver dust, "I did it..." his voice resounded in the room of death silent. Though his appearance had changed, his voice could be easily remembered, and even the clothes he was wearing were still the trademark of him. "Y-Yman...?" He heard Almina''s doubtful call. Twisting his neck to nce at the back, he saw their surprised faces.. Yman slightly frowned and thought, ''Maybe they are wondering how I was able to survive that attack?'' For some reason, they all stared at him with curious eyes and agape. Standing in front of them was a youth with a height of 5 feet and 8 inches. He had medium brown hair that some strands of it had turned silver, and his face aged a bit, about a year. ''It''s really him!'' Almina and Maena shouted within their minds. Ice, on the other hand, had a curious look towards him. She wanted to question him about something, but it wasn''t the right time and ce for it. They were wondering how Yman was able to survive that attack earlier, or why that oppressive aura of crimson fireball suddenly exploded dazzlingly, and why his appearance had some changes. But before they sought his answers, they needed to survive here first. "From now on, let me handle the defense!" He shouted. Almina and the rest fell silent in surprise. But thinking about it, nothing happened to Yman after that oppressive fireball was caught by him. And besides, even though sometimes he did reckless actions, he was not the type to let himself in danger without a n to survive. Basically, right now, he probably found a way to render the enemy''s attack as ineffective. She and Maena were the most doubtful of him. Because they knew that Yman had no mana. But right now, they could only nod their heads as they didn''t have another choice. Ice, of course, nodded her head as well. Then again, everyone was alerted when another fireball was shot to them. The demon smirked. He was puzzled why that guy was able to avoid his death. Or how his fireball did not explode a while ago. But this time, he would burn them all together with that b***h who sealed him in this ce for a little longer. What was most frustrating to him was that even now that he was able to free himself, and avoid getting sealed in the grimoire, it was still useless because he could not leave from this altar. That clever b***h turned this whole ce into a sealed room. Whenever he tried to step down, those stctites at the ceiling and crystal ice on the floor would then bombard him. Tsk! He could only click his tongue. If only he knew about it before possessing this human''s body, he would wait until they walked outside this room before possessing this body or anyone within their team. But all was in the past now. The fireball he shot went directly to the human boy once again. ''Human is a despicable creature. They are weak and yet arrogant. Just like this boy in front of me!'' The demon thought. Yman lifted his hand in front. His palm was waiting for the fireball tond on it. Almina felt cold sweats at Yman''s action. However, she did not interrupt him, because since he did it awhile ago, then maybe this time he could too. Each of them readied themselves in full alert. On the other hand, Almina could not settle her hard pounding chest. A momentter, everyone saw it clearer than before, when the fireballnded on Yman''s hand and immediately shattered like particles of light. Finally, the demon''s jaw dropped on the ground! Last time, he was skeptical to believe that this human boy was unhurt from his attack. But right now, he finally saw it with his two eyes. ''That human certainly caught it like it was nothing! FOR DEMON''s SAKE! We are from the race way above humans. Every human would tremble in fear in front of us. Yet, how did this boy able to catch it like it was a normal thing, and then popped it like it was a bubble! Did my power reduce greatly after being sealed for 3 months? The demon was in long contemtion while showing a face that wanted to escape reality. Not even that clever girl would dare to do it. Yet this boy in front really did it! What is he? He''s not even that strong however I look at him. HOW THE DEMON F**K IS THIS! Grrrrr!! The Demon Ultima gnashed his sharp teeth. Not only the demon was dumbfounded, Almina, Maena, and Ice were also dumbfounded at what their eyes saw. But Yman did not notice it because, Sist''s voice was heard by him. ''Ha? W-What do you mean?'' Did he be a demon too? Yman frowned at Sist''s words. ''W-What?!'' Yman was quite surprised to hear it. Then he finally noticed that his hair was now a little longer than before. And some strands of it were discolorize. Hmm, does it have to do with my channeling magic? Wait, now that I think about it. That moment on the altar, when I used my palm to support my body, I felt something familiar. Then I noticed that this whole room was filled with a massive amount of mana. Yman sneaked a nce at his back to where Ice was standing. He saw her gawking. He slightly smiled and thought, She is probably the source of this massive mana in this room. The Ace is truly a whole lot level beyond the rest of talented trainees. She is truly an ace of the academy no doubt. I could even feel that she is stronger than the instructors. Look, even in such a weakened state, she was still able to avoid the demon from executing a charge attack. Regardless, that time when the first crimson fireball was shot on me. I tried to coagte a massive amount of mana into an ice shield by using the pieces of broken ice around as the secondponent for my supposed magic ice shield. However, It didn''t happen as I wanted. The mana gathered around my palm but did not coagte to form a shield. Maybe I can only destroy but not reform? This is very opposite when I use my ck mana that I can modify abination of skills to form a new type of skill. Wait, if it only can destroy, then it cannot exin how my appearance turned like this. I aged in advance, my hair strands lost their original color, I can destroy any magic, and I can shut down an object that was flowing with mana like the ice that blocked the wall a while ago. Maybe.....it has something to do with Time? He muttered in his mind. Then his eyes formed to that of surprise. "Tsk," Yman gritted his teeth because it was not the right time to contemte. The enemy in front was way beyond they could imagine. He then asked Almina and Maena to attack the demon using range attacks. Gripping her favorite ice elemental bow in her hands, she once again focused her mind. She already lost much of her mana. And the enemy was so tough beyond beliefs. She aimed her bow at the enemy on the Altar who was still wearing a puzzled expression on his face while staring at Yman with disbelief. Twang, twang, twang! Maena took advantage of it and released some arrows. The arrow travels the space one after another in the distance of 24 meters away from the target. However, "Grr...sneaky b***h!" The Demon Ultima showed an annoyed expression and snapped the arrows fired by Maena. Then he crushed it within his hand. Almina followed after her, she coagted a low tier ice javelin and threw it at the Demon Ultima. They already asked Ice a while ago about the Junior trainee''s possible rescue. She replied that the possibility was there, but at a very low percentage. If they wanted to survive here, they must not restrain themselves in attacking. A pulse appeared at the corner of the Demon Ultima''s forehead while ring at the fast-approaching ice javelin. However, the Ice javelin she fired did not even reach the target. Question marks appeared on top of the demon''s head. Seeing her javelin did not hit the target, Almina once again manifested an ice javelin. Since she could not fight in melee, this was the only she could do. It was only a low tier spell. She knows that it''s not even enough to scratch the enemy, well for distraction purposes only. She threw another javelin again, but for some reason, it went off farther. Almina noticed Maena staring at her with pity. "Maena..." Almina called in teary eyes. Maena didn''t know whether tough at her or cry at their current situation. Then she attacked once again. Maena gathered cold wind at the tip of her arrow. After umting enough pressure, she fired it. Ice was surprised when she saw her. She was wondering who Maena was. How she was able to manifest this skill known as Arrowbites! The enemy once again used his hand to catch it. The arrow was sessfully caught, but Maena sneered at him, then the demon''s eyes bulged when he felt a piercing pain on his shoulder. The Demon did not know how it happened, he sessfully caught the arrow so how he was pierced by that annoying insect? "Grrr.....I fucking feed you to the Uncivilized!" His voice turned angry. Damn you girl! He shouted at Ice.Theseal preventing him toleave the altar, because those stctites were mixed with heavenly water the demon''s weakness. However, the demon knew that she couldn''t hold any longer. After that, the seal will weaken. Then he directly rushed and skewered their innards. "Ehehehe," the demongiggled. Chapter 89 - Plan On the surface, the panic had calmed down a little. However, inside the cold room of the underground channel, the battle was in a standstill. "Belong to the lowest rank of the Civilized demon?!" Yman and the others asked Ice. Ice, without ncing at them, nodded her head, "Mhm, although Demon of Possession has the weakest physical and magic ability, their mental attack is the scariest about them..." Hearing what Ice said, Yman and the two girl''s countenance turned sour. In their minds, ''Weakest? Even the mere presence of it was enough for them to get down on their knees. How about those of the strongest family? Does it mean the mere presence of them can tear them into pieces? For some reason, they do not wish to encounter such beings." "....So for now stay away from his range?" Ice exined. Yman and the two girls nodded their heads. Then she opened her mouth again, "If only I have a little of my mana, I can do something for you to be unaffected by his mental interference," Ice mumbled in dismay. Yman narrowed slightly his eyes. "Do you mean... the seal will cancel if you use that something you mentioned, Miss Ice?" He asked. "Mhm, but forget I mentioned it, whether I can do something about his mental attack or not, it isn''t still the best choice, since that monster will be able to free himself; even if that monster was from the lowest family of the Demon Sect, his total strength is a hundred folds than yours." Yman frowned. He knows what she was saying wasn''t an exaggeration by her. He could feel how enormous that monster''s strength was even at this distance. ''Such disparity in level,'' he thought. Yet this demon finds himself his nemesis in the form of Miss Ice. It''s not because Miss Ice was stronger than him in terms of strength or magic. It was clear to each of them that this demon''s level was way beyond even for Miss Ice. However, his greatest weakness was someone like Miss Ice who was capable of sealing magic. Not just that, she was a genius talent also. Yman could only sigh, because he feltit was his fault that the demon avoided beingpletely sealed in his mind,he must do something about it. Not because he felt guilty, but because the most important person to him was in this city. Maena and Almina were both silent while listening to Yman and Ice talking. Ice thought that Yman would probably get scared when he heard what she told them that the seal would be broken when she did something about the demon''s mental attacks. After all, it also meant death for both him and these pretty girls with him, together with her, if ever the demon could run free. But contrary to her expectation, Yman''s mouth curved upward. "Perhaps I have some way to defeat that monster, Miss Ice." "Eh?!" "Eh?!" "?!" Not only Ice was startled by his words, but even Almina and Maena also did too. "Hey, what are you saying?" Ice was startled at this guy. Although he performed unbelievable stuff a while ago, it wasn''t enough to defeat the demon. She stared at him who was at the same time gazing at her with confidence. ''Is this person...for real wanted to defeat that demon?'' Ice could not believe it and had to read his eyes. She saw no lies at them, at his eyes. On the other hand, Almina and Maena stayed silent. They had the gist of Yman''s personality, if this how confidence he was stating it, then he must really have the means to do it. Though doubtful, they trusted him somehow. "How confident are you that you will seed?" Ice asked. His mouth extended to the side, then said, "It all depends on how we perform." Ice stared at him for a second before saying, "I see." Yman then exined his n to them. The demon tried to sneak a barrage of magic attacks. But that human boy did really catch his attacks, then it disappeared like a bubble. The demon wondered if this boy was also the same as that Icy girl who uses sealing magic. He could not let those fools escape from here before he escaped at this altar, so he had to minimize the power of his attack. After a minute, "Not bad, though it is a bold and risky n. Also, it is better than none," Ice muttered. Yman couldn''t helped showing a tired face then said, "There''s no risky n, just risky mission." Ice knew thatthe seal won''tst longer. Her body almost gave up. "Hah," She sighed. Almina and Maena smirked. "Yman..." Almina called out. He nced at her. "Let''s do our best!" "Yeah, let''s get out of here alive," Yman replied. No matter what, he can''t die here. The demon stared at the human boy and girl with long ck hair when they walked in the front. For some reason, his attack was barehanded-caught by this human boy. He has no choice but to stop his attacks and find another way to attack them. If only he did not appear in this ce, at this moment he probably already sitting on top of the countless corpse of humans and of those fools demi-humans. He saw it when that Icy girl tapped her hands at the back of the human boy and girl with long ckhair. A momentter their bodieswere enveloped by a silver glow. But after it, the cold room crumbled together with stctites on the ceiling and the ice crystal on the floor. After it, a deity appeared beside that ice girl. He immediately nced at the ice mirror at his back. But unfortunately, it was the only exception that did not crumble. "Grrr, clever girl..." the demon gnashed his sharp teeth while coldly staring at Ice. When all the ice crystal inside the room crumbled, Yman and Almina dashed towards the demon on the altar. Seeing it, the demon was puzzled, "Are these humans reallying for their deaths? Hehe!" The demon giggled. Looks like these two humans were so idiotic to charge at him. He even thought that humans were capable of logical thinking, but looks like, except for that ice girl, the rest were mindless! "Guehehehehehe!" The demon broke into impish glee. Now that the crystal ice and stctites had finally disappeared. He could finally escape from this predicament. And not just that, he could also take his revenge towards that girl! A momentter, the demon rushed toward the two humans who dashed towards him. "Ehehehehe, how courteous for you toe at me on your own devices!" The demons shouted. He could not use a magic attack as long as that human boy was present. So he needed to kill him first using his bare strength. Thinking about killing that human boy through bare strength, he wanted to puke. Although in the Demon sect the Demon of Possession was the lowest rank family, their ability could defeat those of the top family. The Demon Ultima red at the two humans who leaped rapidly towards him. Just a second had passed, they were already in front of each other. The demon Ultima immediately brandished his w towards the most bothersome insect! With a smirk on his mouth, his w tore the air and brandished downright in haste! Shing! Yet the smirk froze when he didn''t feel any flesh-tearing on his ws. The two humans suddenly disappeared from his front! But at the corner of his eyes, he noticed them appeared at his back, while their fingers entangled at each other. Actually, they were using Rapid Leap consecutively while dragging each other. They sneered at him. The demon''s face twitched and said, "Do you think you can fool me? Guehehehe!" Hisugh reverberated inside the room. He summoned more energy, the dark red energy burst out from his body. The demon noticed the two humans stopped on their feet at a mere hand-reach away from him. His mouth broke into a toothy grin. It seemed like the disparity in level from them was still proven right! His ws fast approaching the human boy. No matter what! He must finish this one first! "Guehehe!" Heughed. Then, Swoosh, swoosh! "Ugh!" He suddenly paused when he felt piercing pains on his back. The demon staggered a little then nced at his stomach. He saw two arrowheads jutting out on it. His eyes turned cold. Then nced at his back just to see that girl who uses a bow aiming at him. Bloodshot eyes were shot at her. "Humaaaaans!" The Demon Ultima shouted. Swoosh, swoosh, shoosh! Yet what greeted him was three consecutive shots. The demon tried to evade by stepping back. But because of anger, he forgot who was behind him. Shing! "Ugh!" He suddenly felt another piercing pain. He slowly darted his eyes down and saw a tip of the sword pierced on it. Not only that, but he also felt a chill from this sword. He turned his head to look back, and there he saw a long ck hair girl holding a sword that exudes a freezing aura, while her left hand was dragging the despicable human boy. He was on the floor while his back was facing the ceiling. His eyes were half crying while saying, "A-Almina... you forgot to release my h-hand..." the demon did not know what he meant. Actually, Yman and Almina should attack together. But for some reason, her hand did not release his. Since she was faster than him, Yman lost the momentum and was dragged by her. "Eh?" Almina was flustered. Chapter 90 - Fooling The Enemy The Demon Ultima was puzzled. ''Why his mental interference did not take effect on them? Why are these two able to move in the face of him?'' He could not believe this! Then he noticed the glow that enveloped their bodies. ''T-That girl again! Meddlesome girrrrrl!'' He angrily screamed in his thoughts. In truth, Ice cast a spell that temporarily boasted Yman and Almina''s resistance to mental attacks and pressure. Yman guessed that the enemy would not expect them to dodge his attack at the first encounter. He believed that proud beings would always look down on the weak and thus the bearer of limitless pride. After the enemy''s attacks were caught by him, Yman assumed that the Demon Ultima would take him first.. Topletely evade his attack, Yman had to use Rapid Leap towards Almina, then Almina would use Rapid Leap towards the enemy''s back-side while pulling him. With this, the enemy could easily pick their presence. Fueled by pride, the anger rose in him and therefore he lost his awareness to his surroundings. He turned his back and faced them. He forgot that there was someone who could easily tear his flesh among their group. And that someone was aiming at him urately. Ice was staring at it knowingly, but in reality, she was dumbfounded, everything that happened at the moment was really as that person told them. It was like he already knew how the enemy would react in the battle. "I-ls this for real?" Maena heard the Ace muttering in surprise. She sighed inwardly, then chose not to be bothered by it. However, deep inside, she started to question, ''What is true strength?'' Maena pushed it at the back of her mind for now as she had more important things needed to do! ... The Demon cried in agony as his body was pierced one after another. However, Despite the fact that he was pierced multiple times, Yman noticed that the demon''s health points were still at 70% at most. Yman quickly stood up and signaled Almina for a retreat. Almina quickly retreated her sword that bore in the Demon Ultima''s stomach, when she felt Yman''s hand was strengthened his gripped onto hers. The warmth from it proliferated into hers. Right now, the guy beside her looked like a real man. Stood taller than her, and with a mature aura around him. She couldn''t understand what happened to him, but it wasn''t important right now. Because she was very happy at the moment! To be able to hold his hand is like a dreame true to her. She was caught unguarded when Yman proposed this n to them. Seeing her flustered and awkward yelped, Yman had to exin that he wasn''t taking advantage of the situation. Almina knew about it, but she was caught in surprise, so her face was burning hot. Regardless, Yman felt something unusual and immediately signaled Almina to retreat. Without a second thought, he used Rapid Leap and jumped into the air while pulling Almina with him. Right after they leaped, the demon stomped his foot on the ground, followed by countless spikes that protruded from it. Spikes in the form of fangs and with dark red colors raised 3 meters while racing to pierce them. Fortunately, Yman and Almina were already 10 meters above the ground. But the demon didn''t seem bothered with it. He in fact was snoring at them. "Guehehe, do you think you are sessful in your escape? Now let''s see if you can stay for long in the air!"The demon had expected them to fall after they reached the highest level of ascending. Later on, they would start to descend. A while ago, Yman felt a disturbance of dense mana around the demon and on the ground. He felt a bad premonition about it and had to retreat. Even if he had the ability to crumble the enemy''s magic-based attack like it was nothing, it was still dangerous to do it when he didn''t know what kind of ability the enemy would use. His decision proved right after he saw those countless spikes raised on the ground. Yman had no way to make them all disappear. "Tsk, an area of effect," he clicked his tongue and mumbled while still on the air. "Area of effect?" Almina repeated. "It is a wide-range attack that is able to hit multiple enemies," Yman exined while twitching his brow. Almina peeked below and saw the 10 meters radius spikes surrounding the demon. On the other hand, Maena was bombarding attacks of freezing arrows towards the demon. Those arrows were purely made of ice. It was the secondary ability of Maena in learning magic; to be able to materialize an object out of thin air, using the element she was having an affinity with. The demon seemed to find a way to defend himself from Maena''s barrage of attacks. He was using the spikes to block it. The arrows she fired had pierced about 5-7 spikes before it broke into pieces like powder and turned into smokes. Inwardly, the demon was wondering why ice Elementalist humans are always troublesome. He wanted to skewer their flesh and scattered their innards while bathing from their blood. The demon eerily thought. Almina noticed that Maena''s attacks had be lesser and lesser. She was probably getting tired by now. Yet, she did not stop. "C-Can we do something about it?" Almina anxiously asked Yman. Yman gazed at her and smirked, "I and the others can''t, but you perhaps can do it," Yman replied. "Do you mean " "Mhm, your me Wave," Yman added. Almina looked at him and noticed that he was serious. "W-What I needed to do then?" She asked. "Just fire everything you have towards him," he said with a grin. "O-Okay!" After saying it, their body started to descend. The demon fired a crimson energy wave towards the two humans in the air, without waiting for them to descend. Yman noticed and figured that it was the same ability used by the Mercenary Ultima. Not only the color had changed, but he could also feel that its power had increased greatly. Looks like this Demon of Possession could also use the ability of the person they possessed. Yet, the demon frowned once again when his crimson energy wave was caught again by that human boy and disappears shortly. He was kind of annoyed for not knowing if what kind of ability this human boy had. ''What a waste of effort!'' He thought to himself. In actuality, He could fly and tear them in the mid-air or shoot these spikes towards them, but he was doubtful about that human boy''s ability. So he chose to wait because he also wanted to see the pitiful oue of these humans, thinking they could escape by leaping in the air. When the demon saw them started to descend, he smiled wickedly. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! The demon while staring at Yman and Almina had heard familiar sounds of something rapidly traveling in the air. The demon nced at the source of sounds and saw some arrows racing to hit him. He slightly frowned. These arrows were much more powerful than the one she fired before. And now this girl fired as many as she could. ''Tsk, she''s annoying.'' However, the demon believed it could not hurt him, forget about hurting him. It could not even reach him. As expected the arrows Maena fired did not reach him. It was stopped by spikes and sometimes was using the crimson energy wave to collide with the arrows. The freezing arrows lost its durability and exploded into white powder smoke when they collided at thest spikes they could pierce. "Fool, guehehe," heughed. Nheless, Maena did not stop and continued firing. The demon tried to fire a crimson energy wave but good thing that it didn''t have a long-range. Whenever the enemy demon fired it, it could not reach them. The smoke powder proliferated around the demon, then it covered the whole area where he was standing. The demon had no need to worry about it, he had high perception ability and could clearly identify what was happening around him. But suddenly, his attention was caught by the two humans falling towards him. The demon smirked and broke intoughter, "Gyahahaha, die!" He shouted. The demon lifted his hand towards the two descending humans, then unexpectedly the spikes rose up and flew to pierce these humans. Actually, he was waiting at his current position, and let himself beaten-up for the humans to think that he was having a hard time dealing with their attacks. But actually, he wasying a trap for them! "Gyahahaha, humans are still naive creatures! They were lowlife with little brains! They are easy to fool! Gyahahaha!" Once more, he broke intoughs of great delight. Almina widened her eyes at the approaching spikes. Her heart started to pound. She wondered if they would be going to die here. She nced at the person at her left side, who was descending rapidly together with her. His brown-white hair was fluttering, while his brown eyes were straight-staring down below, with his left hand extended in front, and his right hand firmly gripping her left hand. Almina noticed no fear in his eyes. His face was not the face of someone who gave up. It wasn''t also the reminiscing face of someone who was prepared to die. In truth, it was the face of someone who was looking forward to tomorrow! Suddenly, he nced at her, smiled, then said, "Let''s survive." She then felt his hand firmly gripped her hand. Almina with teary eyes nodded her head. Like him, she turned her gaze in front full of resolve. Then a momentter, they collide with the spikes. The demon broke into a guffaw! But suddenly froze. Because a block of ice crystal suddenly appeared and he was at the center, frozen inside it. Chapter 91 - The Rift Thump, thump! Yman and Alminanded on top of the ice block. "What the hell is that?!" The three girls had simr reactions after a huge block of ice covered the entire area surrounding the demon with him at the center. The demon was freezing inside together with the spikes. Ice and Maena looked at Almina. Although Almina had an affinity for ice also, they didn''t notice that she did something to create such a degree of iceblock. And they both knew of how bad Almina was in controlling her ice element. They figured out that it wasn''t her doing. Since it was not her, then there''s only that guy who at the moment extended his hand on the surface of the ice block. ''It was him who did that?!'' Ice and Maena eximed in their thoughts.. But Ice had the notion that what happened wasn''t as simple as creating a block of ice. She then fell into deep contemtion. In truth, it puzzled her how they managed to enter this ce. Even if the demon was able to possess her while she was in her weakened state, she made a proper preparation so that the demon could not use her skills with her sealing ability. She believed that even if the demon was sopelling, he could not break the seal that she ced on the wall. At this thought, Ice seemed to realize something, ''Now that I think about it, he could dispel any magic thrown to him, and now he was capable of producing them even without using an ounce of mana. Could he be...'' Ice was still doubtful but right now she could onlye up with a conclusion. ''...I-Is he a special case too? If he is, then it also exins how they get to enter here,'' Ice came up to believe. She didn''t know how his ability works, but if she made a guess, it would probably dispelling and recreating things. About 10 steps away from her, Maena also widened her eyes. Did she misjudge this guy all along? Is he really an awesome person? Did he just pretend to be weak from the start? Maena questioned herself. At these thoughts, she felt ashamed for herself for always looking down at him and saying how weak he was. She bit her lips. "No, this is impossible, he cannot do something like that unless he has an affinity with ice elements," Maena muttered. "I think he refroze the powdered ice from your arrow," Ice suddenly told her. "What, i-is that possible? Does magic like that exist?" Maena was astonished. "Mhm, actually there are some magicians who had special abilities," Ice replied. "Magicians with special abilities?" Maena repeated. "Yes, and I think that guy is one of them," Ice said. "Then, are you one of them too, Miss Ace?" Maena asked. "Miss A-Ace? So you know about me?" "The academy told us." "I see, in any case, to answer your question about me, I let you guess about it." "Isn''t your sealing magic special magic?" Maena asked. "It is special but it doesn''t belong to that category. My sealing magic is an ancient technique passed down from our ancestors. It is different from the special ability I mentioned earlier." "I see," Maena said in doubt. "Then how about him, what kind of special ability he has?" She asked while pointing to Yman. "To tell you the truth, I''m not too sure what kind of ability he has. But my intuition was telling me that he refroze those powdered ice in the air." "So that''s why he asked me to fire a barrage of freezing arrows at the enemy as much as I can." "Mhm, looks like that guy not only has a special ability, but he was also a smart one. I bet he is a famous person in the academy," Ice said. Maena didn''t know whether tough or cry when she heard thest line. That guy was more than famous for being an infamous person in the academy. Thud! Suddenly, Maena heard a dull sound, she nced and, "Miss Ace!" She called out when she saw her fell on the ground. Looks like her exhaustion gets the better of her. Almina and Yman were on top of the ice block. Actually, she was as surprised as the others. But right now, she couldn''t let herself lose her focus. Yman nodded to her, seeing his nod, she gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands while pointing the tip upward. Then the sword exuded with intense heat, it was enveloped by fire. Yman and Almina noticed the block if ice shook. They both frowned. However, Yman expected it to happen. Looks like, this amount of ice wasn''t enough topletely entangle this monster. When the shaking started to produce cracks on the ice block, Almina leaped in the air once again while Yman leaped in a different direction. Before the block of icepletely shattered, Almina brandished her me sword downward. Immense me abruptly shot to devour the block of ice. It then melted it in no second. The impact of fire on the block of ice caused an unforeseen pressure to st. It was followed by the blinding smoke to proliferate around and was forming like a tree. Rushing sounds reached their ears, then it was followed by smoke as dense as clouds to rise up towards the ceiling. On the other hand, Almina was sent flying away because of the st. GwaaaAAARRRR!! They even heard a howl of someone in agony. A momentter, the area where the block of ice was supposed to be standing a while ago was now like a sea of fire. Burn smell and smoke were carried by the st. Maena knitted her brows, she could feel that Almina was stronger than her at this moment. Then out of sudden, they noticed someone in the smoke, a silhouette was visible in it, standing still in a position without twitching. A momentter everyone felt an eerie feeling. Everyone was twitching their faces. Then, a massive pressure burst out from his body and wafted all the smoke surrounding him. "Tsk, he was able to manifest the daffodil shield of Mr. Ultima in time!" Almina mumbled in disbelief after seeing a shiny screen appeared in front of the monster. Her attack was blocked by it! "Guehehehehe!" They heard his impish glee once again. This kind of Almina believed that herst attack was the finishing move to defeat the monster. She sighed in dismay. Looks like, in the end, they are still going to lose. She gave her all in thatst attack. And now she was barely able to move. When the smoke around waspletely wafted and the surroundings finally cleared, everyone was gaped at what their eyes were seeing at the moment. "H-How that person was in there?!" Maena asked herself. Even Almina and Ice gawk in disbelief. Not only them, "Eek?!" The demon felt someone touching his back. He nced at his back and his eyes bulged. "You!" The demon yelled. "...hehe!" The demon heard a chuckle from the human boy at his back. Then, Yman''s hands were enveloped by a silver glow. The next second, the Demon Ultima felt something was dragging him away from the body he was possessing. Then with a poof, the Demon of Possession found himself outside the body and was in spirit form. Ultima''s body fell down but was caught by Yman. It went back to normal as well. Ice and the others were dumbfounded. "Is he an exorcist?" Ice thought. "Yman, was capable of that too?" Almina gawked. "So he was a priest before?" Maena muttered. "Miss Ice, Now!" Yman shouted. A question mark appeared on top of the demon spirit''s head. "T-The g-grimoire!" Ice screamed weakly. Based on her voice, there was no doubt that she was exhausted. Yman noticed the grimoire in the hand of Mr. Ult. He then quickly took it. Seeing the human boy took the grimoire, a foreboding feeling rose inside the demon. He quickly flew towards the big mirror on the altar. However, he could not pass through it. "Damn that b***h, she sealed my real body behind this mirror!" The demon eximed. "Looks like this ice mirror is not ordinary ice!" He muttered. Ice shook his head at Yman. Her mana wasn''t enough to cast sealing magic again. Yman suspiciously nced at the ice mirror on the altar, ''Did she spend most of her mana on that thing?'' Yman thought before throwing the book into his storage then rushed towards the altar. When the demon noticed him, it quickly flew to the ceiling and he passed through it. "Tsk!" Yman clicked his tongue. He nced at everyone. All of them had a pale faces, mostly tired. Yman wondered what was behind the mirror. He asked Ice, but Ice instead told her to secure this ce. Even Though tired, her eyes lit up after the topic touched about the ice mirror. Yman wondered what she meant. "Behind that mirror is the dimensional rift, it was the entrance of thebyrinth." "Labyrinth?" "Labyrinth? Maena and Almina asked in puzzlement. "I see, so my intuition was right," Yman muttered. Maena and Almina were puzzled with his words. "Sorry Miss Ice looks like we intruded in this ce at the wrong timing," Yman added. He felt bad that because of him the sealing of the demon was disturbed. Ice seemed to read his mind. "No need to say sorry, actually, I don''t think I will seed even if you don''te. That demon is a Civilized demon of the Demon Sect. It''s not easy to seal it at my current state. Anyway, now that the demon left here. We needed someone to inform the officials on the surface about the demon and this dimensional rift. Fufu, I''m sure we will get richter!" Miss Ice suddenly said excitedly. ''Her real self revealed!'' Yman and the others eximed inside. Yman forced augh at the famous Ace of the academy''s sudden flipped of personality. Looks like she persevered this long because of the possible ie she would get at thisbyrinth. They noticed hereyes turned into gold coins while drooling. He nced at Almina, "Mi Almina, can you inform the officials? And ask to send a medical team here," for some reason, it was kind of awkward calling her first name. Almina nodded, "But how can we get out of here?" "Hehe, let me handle it, before that Maena, (She looked at him) please guard this area and the seniors." Although she was exhausted too, her exhaustion wasn''t as serious as the seniors. "Mhm," she nodded. Almina handed her a stamina potion to ease a little of her fatigue. Ultima on the other hand was unconscious lying on the ground. Now that the mana was scattered around the ce, and some were absorbed by the wall. He could easily destroy a segment of it. Once again, they were reminded of this weird ability of him. When Almina and Yman reached the surface, the ce was already in chaos. Chapter 92 - Honorable Blogger The ce was so chaotic and many people were shouting for help. Houses were on fire, and some people were wounded on the street. Almina and Yman jump at the roof of the buildings. No need to tend for those wounded people, they are both certain that someone woulde to help themter. And after all, they were not healers, and right now, they have more important things needed to do. "Tsk looks like he was possessing another person," Almina gnashed her teeth and muttered. Yman''s face twitched. "Almina, it''s up to you now...". "How about you?" "I will try to find a way to seal that demon..." "....." She turned silent for a second. She was a little doubtful but thinking about all he did below, Almina could only pray for his sess, "P-Please be careful, I wille back to help youter," Almina said while biting her lips. He nodded but before she left, Yman stopped her. Almina was puzzled. Then she heard him whistling while looking at the sky. A momentter, he heard a howl of a fierce bird. "A Hell Chaser?!" Almina eximed. If her memory was right, this was the same transport bird used by those bandits who attacked the city recently. The Hell Chaser birdnded beside him, which made Yman and Almina look small beside it. Almina wondered how Yman was able to get it. If she was right there was no Hell Chaser bird in this city. The rent house for transport birds only had Peon birds. ''Did Yman caught it when the chaos happened at that time?'' Almina questioned herself enviously. "It will be faster if you used this," he said. She wanted to ask him how he caught it but now wasn''t the time. "Okay, thank you!" She nodded then quickly rode on it. "Oh, before that... it was easy to control," Yman reminded him. "O-Okay," she nodded again. "Mhm, good luck." After Almina nodded her head, she immediately maneuvered the bird, she was happy and sad at the same time. Because she felt she wasn''t able to help much in this battle against the demon. If she continued like this, bing an Ace would be impossible for her. If shepared herself to the current Ace, she was too far. She couldn''t let herself ck. "I must be stronger..." she muttered and her voice blended in the air. After Almina left, Yman looked around. "Sist, can you trace him?" He whispered in the air. "Okay, thank you, Sist!" Yman looked ahead. If he wasn''t wrong, there was a residential area in that ce. He then jumped on the alleyway. Secondster, a person wearing a ck hooded jacket jumps out of it. He leaped on the air and ran rapidly towards the direction of the north. In the northern part of the city, in the residential area, "W-Who are you?!" A man asked the creature in front of him. "Ehehehe, you are asking who am I? You insolent insects had no right to know!" "S**t, what is this scary creature with a horn and red skin? Tsk, I should have escaped a while ago, but who would have thought that he easily defeated those three guards! I am only doing live coverage here when the quake happened. Yet right after that, this creature suddenly appeared and attacked the people around!" Said the blogger in a panic. "Hehe, it was toote to feel bad, human!" The demon said with a grin. ''Grr, I needed to find a strong body with great magic before the human boy and Icy b***h came here! If only I had my real body, I could squish them easily,'' The demon thought in dismay. A momentter, the demon noticed that the person in front of him was pointing the device in his hands towards him. ''Grr, what is this human trying to do with that toy? Wait, is it a weapon?!'' The demon was rmed. Then, ''No, it''s impossible, I couldn''t feel any danger from it,'' he thought. The demon grinned broadly, "Now it''s your turn to die humaaaaan!" He shouted. Around this time, in all the neighboring cities or at the far kingdoms, peoples of different stature were watching the live coverage while knitting their brows. Principal Kim from Human City Z1 had a broad smile on his face. "Hehe, looks like that city''s demise wille faster as nned." Said him. Although that monster was kind of scary, he wasn''t bothered by it, he had many strong individuals who could defeat it. This was what Principal Kim thought. Chief Henderson immediately sent his men for a rescue mission for the possible victims from the high-intensity quake. In front of him was one of the soldiers he sent to that mission. He just returned and now giving his report. "Sir, when we arrived at the area most affected by the quake, we encountered an unforeseen danger. One of our men unusually changed its frame and started attacking ourrades out of nowhere. We tried to constrict that person, but he had unusual strength, and nine of us together with the captain had no match for it. The captain ordered us to fight the enemy, but when we were about to defeat it, another of our men started to act unusually too, then it started to attack us. We can''t understand what was going on. The captain also started to act weird like our other men who attacked us. But before the captain lost his sanity, he asked me to retreat and report about what happened there," one of the soldiers sent by Chief Henderson reported. Chief Henderson who was sitting in front of the table, massaged his temple. He wondered why these attacks suddenly happened one after another in this city. "So it wasn''t just a normal quake?" "Yes, sir!" Is this city cursed by the great god? What kind of enemy his men encountered this time? The chief contemted. However, before Chief Henderson could open his mouth again, one of his men came rushing into his office. The chief was a little startled and frowned, but he beckoned to his men to speak his intention. "Sir, there is a call from the academy!" Reported the soldier. The chief was a little surprised. "Is it from the principal?" He asked. "Yes, sir!" The chief connected the call to his private line. Then he immediately strengthened his back when he heard what the principal said. "What! a civilized demon of possession?!" The chief''s countenance immediately turned sour when he heard the principal''s words and the enemy''s race. Not just that, it belonged to a higher family of that race. The chief gulped a cold sweat trail on his forehead. ''Maybe this will be the end of this city,'' the chief thought. The principal then asked him for a rescue team to the underground channel. "Underground channel of West District?!" "...Yes, chief," said the principal''s voice from the other line. "Okay, I will send some men right away!" "...Okay, thank you chief." Toot, toot, toot The call finally ended. The chief immediately ordered another rescue operation with another squad together with some medical team. It was led by the only survivor from the first team. Well, they werecking soldiers and that soldier was the only person who knew the frame of the enemy. No matter what happened, they needed to rescue the Ace of the academy. She was the only one who had more knowledge about that enemy. Since she already fought it for a long time. Inside the academy, all the officials were bbergasted from Almina''s news. "The Ace fought a civilized demon for a long time without us knowing?!" One of the faculty officials roared. "It seemed like it, based on what I heard inside the principal''s office." "This is a big negligence of the principal''s duty. It is because he doesn''t give importance to the trainee''s safety that the Ace puts herself in danger!" "Shh, don''t shout too loud Mr. Noy. The principal will probably hear you if you keep shouting," said the person beside the person named Mr. Noy. "Like I care! We need to oust the principal and reelect another one who is more capable than him!" Mr. Noy roared. "Yeah, I second the motion," said the person beside Mr. Noy. "Come, Mr. Trillo, help me gather some friends to protest against the principal." "Wait, Mr. Noy, look at the video, someone appeared," the person named Trillo pointed on the screen. Mr. Noy then nced at the screen on his table. Currently, the predicament of the blogger was being disyed in it. Inside the barracks, all the people inside were silently staring at therge monitor. On the other hand, Chief Henderson''s deep thinking was disturbed when his assistant rushed inside his office and showed him a video. ... In the area where the fight was happening. The blogger closed his eyes when the monster started to dash towards him, seeing this he resolved himself that no matter what happened, he won''t stop his live coverage. So that if he died today, many people would witness what he did. Maybe when he died today,ter on, they would build a statue for him, and honor him as the National Blogger. For some reason, he felt proud of himself at this thought, even in the face of predicament. The blogger named NoTopedopie thought to himself, "It isn''t bad to die like this," after thinking about it, he prepared himself for his dramatic end. A few secondster, the blogger noticed something weird. He felt no pain even after a couple of seconds that had passed. He slowly opened his eyes and saw someone. That someone was wearing a ck jacket beside something like a corpse of a soldier?! Now it seemed like it was still breathing, but deeply. The monster with a horn and red skin had gone. He didn''t know what happened because he closed his eyes. But it was all caught in his video. Suddenly, he heard the person whisper the word, "Hah, it was easier than I thought..." That person nced at him. The blogger caught that person''s face in the video. He has very dark hair and red agate eyes. Yet what caught his interest was, "...he looks so handsome!" The blogger eximed in his mind. Then he noticed some kind of ck smoke on that person''s right hand and on his left. "W-Wait, are y-you... the ck magician?!" Looks like the blogger was updated. ... The blogger was unaware that at this moment. All those people who happened to watch the whole event had dumbfounded faces. Inside the faculty room of the academy. Only gulping sounds were discernible. "How the f**k he did that?" Mr. Noy screamed in surprise upon seeing the video. When he noticed his voice echoed inside the room, he awkwardly shut his mouth. In the barracks, "Ehhhh?! He defeated that monster so quickly?" "Wait, isn''t he the ck magician?!" "You are right, he really is!" "Kyaaaah! So handsome!" Some girls and some semi-girls in one of the tables inside the barracks shouted. In the office of Chief Henderson, he felt like he just saw something unbelievable. That mysterious person summoned some ck smoke and enveloped the monster. A momentter, something from the monster was forcefully taken out from its mouth. And then a sphere-like thing made of dense energy floated from and hovered to his hand. Currently, that sphere object was floating on top of that person''s hand. The chief muttered, "We needed that person." "You''re right, chief, someone like him, if we had a soldier like him, we could easily build an outpost in our borders," his assistant excitedly said. "It will be your assignment to figure out that person''s identity. Since he already appeared and helped the city three times, he must be someone from this city," The chief felt joy about it. With this person, this city would surely be a powerhouse like the other city. "O-Okay chief." Chief Henderson sighed. Actually, he was curious if what the mysterious person in ck talking with the demon. Looks like the blogger unintentionally turned off the audio, because of fear. In some of the cities, some officials gnashed their teeth. One of them was of course, Principal Kim. He never thought that ck magicians would save that city again. Now Principal Kim was wary about this ck magician. He needed someone to investigate that person. Chapter 93 - The Labyrinth The demon was ck-jawed, never would he imagine that there was someone who was also skillful in using mental interference in this city! He was beaten immediately in their battle between mental attacks! He was at odds because the real owner of the body he was possessing resisted him. In this regard, his footing in that body wasn''t so fortified. In addition, it was only a few minutes that had passed since he possessed that body, because of it, his spiritual link on it was quitex and he was defeated when the battle with this neer started. Not only that, but this person who defeated him had also invaded so soon the body he was upying. Looks like those smoke-like things he was exuding weren''t normal. What puzzled the demon about the smoke of that person, he couldn''t feel any malicious intent from it. Well, the battle had already been decided before it even started. Ice and the others were sessfully rescued.. However, The soldiers who came down the underground channel were gasping in shock for what they saw. The ground was littered with corpses of Evil Rats, Evil Bats, and Wanderer ss. Nevertheless, Those magician''s experienced being possessed by the demon were tended by specialist doctors to have a deep inspection with their health issue. While their deities also needed a deep scan. Many people were wounded gravely, but they were rescued in time before the worst came to them. Almina and Maena only took minor wounds and were healed immediately. Nheless, they were prohibited from joining the training the next day. They exhausted their mana with that fight with the demon, so they needed enough rest. The Mercenary Ultima had been taken to the specialist together with the other magicians who were possessed by the demon. On the contrary, the Ace Miss Ice was obliged to rest for a week. But the next day, she was seen strolling around the academy. Her fans immediately took some stolen shots of her. Most of the fledgling trainees didn''t know much about her. But the Juniors and Seniors were looking at her with so much respect. She actually was admired by them, not only her beauty but also her strength. Her appearance awakened the tigers and dragons who currently ruled the other academies. "Finally, the uncrowned queen showed up! The realpetition will about to start!" Only their fierce eyes were visible. But both of them exuded an extraordinary aura. Chief Henderson, Mayor Chan, and Principal Mar Mari were having a meeting. As the three higher officials together with the three elders, they have the final say for every decision needed to be made in this city. Although there was also a church, they were not allowed to enter such as political stuff or managing the city. "The biggest problem we have is theck of resources and security. I suggest to form a special squad to guard our perimeters outside and inside the city." The mayor suggested. The others knitted their brows at this suggestioning from the Mayor. Not only was the citycking in resources, but the military was alsocking soldiers. While their meeting was in a heated discussion, all of them froze and stared wide-eyed when the door of the meeting hall mmed open and that girl walked in, as nothing happened. Miss Ace?! Everyone eximed in their minds. Never would they imagine that this girl would appear here at this moment. "Ace! Why are you here? Didn''t I tell you to rest for a month!" Elder Paan roared at her like a tiger. "Wha? Fufu, I see. Looks like Paan Elder is having a sign of age. Ehehe, for what I know, you asked me to rest for one week only," Ice chuckled yfully. "This child! Then what you called yourself? It''s not even 2 days yet since you rested!" Elder Paan yelled with a cross-shaped pulse appearing on her forehead, then she smacked her head. Ice was holding her head with teary eyes, "Eh, but I am too bored staying at the hospital, besides I feel okay now." Everyone was dumbfounded by what they heard. Is this girl even a human? They thought. The other elders were wearing a can''t be helped expression on their faces, while thinking, ''Elder Paan was having it hard time again. Maybe it''s time for her to find a husband.'' (A/N: Elder Paan age = 129) Suddenly, everyone noticed the slight change in Elder Paan countenance. "What you say, you are okay now?" She asked. "Fufufu, you are as quick as ever, Paan Elder," said Ice. "Don''t tell me, you already mastered the Perfect Breathing technique of that man?" She eximed. "Eh," Ice suddenly blushed. "It wasn''t perfect yet," she said bashfully while ying with her hair. ''This girl really admires that person too much. In any case, it''s good that she finally able to learn that technique,'' Elder Paan thought. "That''s good, I want you to teach it to someer," Elder Paan told her. "What?! B-But I just came back! And I almost die of exhaustion! Well, I better go, hehe..." Ice tried to escape but the Elder Paan already gripped her cor and lifted her in the air. Such a grip from an elder, even the Ace of the academy could not budge it. "P-Paan Elder? Isn''t it too rude to bully a patient?" "Kukuku said someone who escaped from the hospital." Ice eyes turned nk. "Fufu, let''s ask our Ace what is really her intention ofing here. I bet she came here with a reason," Principal Mar Mari said with a chuckle. "Principal Mar, I think the academy is just toox towards this girl, that''s why she acted too spoiled. Look, if this girl didn''t go that time of thepetition, the academy won''t suffer from such humiliation." He immediately shut his mouth. No matter what, he could not anger an elder, especially someone like Elder Paan who was an unmarried woman. Ice remained quiet, but actually, her shoulder was trembling, and she was chuckling while looking in different directions. She really did something silly at that time. "Kuku." Out of a sudden, they heard Elder Paan grinned menacingly. For some reason, a foreboding feeling creeped out in Ice skin. Then they heard Elder Paan saying, "Although, at first I dislike the ipetent n of Mayor Chan..." Hearing his name spoken by the elder, Mayor Chan felt a chill running down his spine. It was known all around the city that Elder Paan was the scariest Elder. Even he would not dare to anger her. He gulped. Everyone showed interest in Elder Paan''s next word. "Let''s do what Mayor Chan suggested. And I wanted this silly girl to be the leader of that special squad," said Elder Paan coldly. Question marks floating above the head of their so-called Ace. Ice for some reason felt she made a big mistake invading here! "Even though I am the renowned Ace of the academy...why bullying such a lonely girl..." she mumbled. The others did not react against Elder Paan and drily shrugged their shoulders. Later on, Ice told them what she came for. She exined to them all about that demon, if how she encountered it. And she also told them about the rift. After she mentioned it, everyone''s eyes lit up. The solemn atmosphere a while ago immediately washed away. Because the rift was mostly connected to thebyrinth. And thebyrinth was known to store a massive amount of treasure and resources. But of course, it wasn''t easy to gather these resources. After all, thebyrinth was also the house of many kinds of monsters and traps. It was the very meaning of danger. However, it could also be the best training grounds to umtebat experience. So this achievement of securing the rift or the entrance was truly big sess. Before they celebrated, Ice asked them about a certain magician that made the elder''s brows knitted to each other. "A talented fledgling male magician who defeated the demon?" Elder Nitan asked. "Yes Nitan Elder, that person did defeat the demon," Ice said but she noticed the puzzled expressions shown in the faces of these oldies. "Wasn''t the ck magician the one who defeated the demon?" Mayor Chan asked as well. "Actually, I also was curious about this ck magician who defeated the demon. But before that, that demon fled from the underground channel in haste after he was defeated by a newbie." "What? It was not because of you that the demon flees from the underground channel?" Chief Henderson eximed. "Yes, Mr. Chief." Everyone was surprised by what they heard from the academy''s ace. It was out of the question that a fledgling trainee was able to defeat a demon of such a degree. Never in history, it happened. "Was that person really had fought the demon?" "Wasn''t it Kiko of the Sun family?" Mayor Chan said. "Possible, after all that young man was truly a talented person," the principal added. "In any case, let''s find it out tomorrow..." Elder Paan said. The next morning, it was already 2 days ago when the demon attack happened. Most people in the city of Zone 7 were in the celebratory mode. The officials together with some important people(Probably businessmen) in the city were currently in the underground channel. They were watching the academy ace as she lifted the ice mirror she cast to cover the rift. A momentter, they noticed the whole underground channel trembled slightly. Then they saw the ice slowly broken apart. When the ice mirror finally broke apart, their eyes were greeted by 10 meters in height and a 5 meters surface that looked like a surface of the water in crimson color. Some tester soldiers tried to enter it but after three minutes. "I-It''s an activebyrinth!!" Eximed the soldiers when it came out. They went out with some herbs, loots and they even found a chest treasure. And some scratches on their armors. Everyone immediately jumped in joy. The excitement they felt could not be asserted after it had been proven as an activebyrinth. The bigshot businessmen together with the city officials did not waste their time and immediately made a conclusion. It was agreed that The Ace of the academy would get a 10 percentmission as the one who discovered and secured the rift. 2 percent for Almina Amulet and Maena Hex as the two girls contributed with the fight against the demon. 1 percent for the Mercenary Ultima who at least did a little thing. 2 percent to the mysterious ck magician who defeated the demon. Everyone was looking at the poster posted in the academy andbarracks announcement board, and on the academy''s website with full of envy in their eyes. Everyone gawked in disbelief after they saw the final name listed. Yman Talisman - will get a total of 3%mission of the total ie of thebyrinth. WHAAAAAAAAT??! The chief and the other officials and even the elders, could not believe it at first. But the one who told them was the famous Almina Amulet, that it was that person who came with them and the one who first defeated the demon. "Tsk, what the f**k is this? Did they make a bluff in it?" Marco questioned annoyingly. "Damn, that toad! I wonder how he cheated!" Bruno added. He believed that person was only leeching at the others. But howe he had the second biggestmission? He was even bigger than the mysterious ck magician who defeaed the demon. Kiko on the other hand was burning in anger. Chapter 94 - The New Beggining Wearing her tracksuit, Ice jogged early in the morning. Sealing herself inside the underground channel, she felt her body turn stiff. Last night she had to write a 5 pages long report. It was about how the rift appears in that area. It was because that time she was in seclusion for her advancement. At first, she was able to guide the medicine to her mana output then directly to her mana source which was the Hollow Cell. Then something happened after that endangered her life. A massive amount of mana ironically burst out from her Hollow Cell. She didn''t expect that her advancement would lead to a sudden increase in mana. A dense and massive amount of mana bursts out and almost ruptures her mana outputs. In order to ascertain her safety, she released the mana from her body by letting it flow outside, through every pore of her body. Because of this, the mana scattered all over the ce.. Then it causes a ripple in the space. It was followed by the formation of the rift. Ice gaped seeing it, it was a very low chance that such a rift would ur. Yet it happened in front of her. Ice immediately used her ice mirror skill to cover the entrance in order to avoid monsters or any kind of hostile creatures to pass through from it, if ever there is. But not only that, but she also felt another presence baring an enormous pressure that was trying to take advantage of the ripples, it was the demon. Unfortunately though for the demon, when he invaded, the rift had been covered by an ice mirror already. It was a high-level magic spell for sealing. However, Ice knew that it wasn''t enough to entangle the demon. So she decided to borrow a spellbook from the library to use it as the medium. Before she left the underground channel, she used a super high-level spell to assure that the excess mana would not overflow to the outside of that room. It was also the reason why the room was covered with ice crystals. And that''s what happened at that time. But Ice didn''t write it in the report. And she didn''t tell about the hidden body of the demon inside the rift for personal reasons. Maybe because of the hype that everyone was feeling at the moment, but no one asked her about it or even mentioned it. Later she would sell the demon''s body secretly. Ice couldn''t help getting excited at how much money she would receive from it. "Hehehe." She giggled. Actually, she felt more exhausted in writing a report than sealing that demon for three months. She wondered if those oldmen loved bullying their lonely beautiful ace in the academy. Around the city, in every corner, she noticed the pictures of the mysterious ck magician were being posted. No one knew who he was. But he was a handsome guy, Although, his face was a little simr to that fledgling trainee. However, this ck magician was a very handsome guy and that person although not ugly, wasn''t as handsome as the ck magician. Maybe because he was so thin. She also noticed that the picture had a message saying, "Mr. ck Magician, the city officials hereby announced to reward you for your sessive help in protecting the city from the attackers in the recent events. Each of the officials wishes to speak with you, kind sir. And thus, you are given a 2%mission reward from thebyrinth ie together with some promising youth. In addition to that, on the following date mm/dd/yyyy, we would like to grant a medal of appreciation to you, kind sir. But if you don''t want to reveal your identity, please at least leave your Cyber Wallet ount or any contact number. So that we can send your money to your ount. Or you could also contact one of these ID numbers...'''' It was followed by lists of ID numbers. Such posters were visible in every street corner of the city. She was kind of curious as to who this magician was. "He really made a name for himself. But what''s the need in hiding his identity?" Ice wondered. In any case, she needed to go to the academy for morning practice. It seemed like, when she was gone, most of the juniors were cking. And that granny wanted her not to bete in their magic training. Looks like that granny wanted her to meet some promising newbies who she took under her wing. Ice also was expecting to see that fledgling trainee who defeated the demon. Some people greeted her when they saw her. Some were cheering at her. And most of the people took a stolen picture of her then showed it off to their friends with them or in their group on social media. Right now, inside the barracks and academy. There was a poll about who was the most famous person in the academy. At this moment, many people were excitedly watching the poll. Currently, the most popr person was Ace Miss Ice, followed by Almina Amulet, the mysterious ck magician, the loli elite girl, Kiko Sun, and then Maena and Rui-Rui. Mercenary Ultima slowly gained poprity as well. On the contrary, Yman the Rat yer was still the most infamous person. But everyone was puzzled how he was able to acquire such a highmission. Even though he eventually leached with the girls only. No one really thought that he could help in the fight against the demon. So many trainees questioning how he achieved such a feat of acquiring a 3 percentmission from thebyrinth. However, the officials did not disclose more information regarding the fight against the demon. Vortex and his friends were so envious with Ultima. Although he was still currently under quarantine and in the observatory process, his future was so bright. Getting a 1 percentmission from thebyrinth was really a very big deal. Perhaps at this moment, many businessmen are already offering to buy this 1 percentmission from him. Actually not only him, but even Maena and Almina were also getting a call from left to right. Asking if they wanted to sell theirmissions to them with a huge price and resources. Maena couldn''t believe what was happening. She didn''t expect that just by going with Almina Amulet and that gloomy person, she would receive such huge benefits. In any case, now is the day that she and Almina Amulet could go back to the training grounds. Actually, she not only received a huge benefit financially. She also received an invitation to be trained personally under Elder Paan. Together with Almina Amulet and a junior trainee. This makes her more excited. But actually, Maena wanted to go to the more advanced academy like Zone 1. Now she wasn''t sure of herself. But before that, she wanted to see that guy. I - It''s not because she was concerned about him or whatsoever. Not only Maena wanted to see him, but even Almina was also excited to see him. However, when they arrived at the training grounds, they learned that Yman was absent for several days already. Maena and Almina wondered why. But even the group of friends of Yman did not know where he was at the moment. Even Bob was wondering where Yman went. He tried to contact him but his call could not go through. He also went to visit his apartment room, where Yman and his sister were staying. But no one was there. "Fufu, seeing you and the cool princess looking for the same person is a very surprising thing," Maena who was currently stretching up suddenly heard a voice from her back. She looked and frowned. "W-What are you talking about?" Maena tried to act like she didn''t understand what this person meant. She answered while raising her brow. "Fufu, in any case, I thought you dislike this ce. I see that you started to have a change of heart. Remember that this ce couldn''t give you back what you lost. Only the young master could do it for you. Please don''t forget about it." After saying it, that person turned his back and walked away. "Even in this academy, he is still able to spread his connection," Maena mumbled. ... That time when Ice lifted the ice mirror seal, many merchant agents came into the city to buy high-quality materials. Because of this, several merchant agents were able to catch the news of thebyrinth entrance. Therefore, they immediately called back to their bosses about it. Many bigtime merchants requested a partnership with the businessmen in the city of Zone 7. Not only that, but the news about it also reached the neighboring cities. Mayor Chan and the other officials were very busy at the moment. The rebuilding of broken houses and streets were ongoing. The underground channel was also undergoing remodeling. Another week had passed, Many people from different cities came into the West District of Human City Zone 7. Different kinds of businessmen were present at the ce. Not only businessmen but also magicians. In just two weeks, the West District had changed so much. The city ie also leaped at a new height. The people whoe from the other city came here not only for the rift. Some came here to see the famous Ace of this academy. Not only was Ice famous in this city, but she also had many fandoms from other cities. Especially those who saw her fight before in thepetition. Summed-up with her beauty. Nheless, some came here for the mysterious ck magician, and for those promising youth of the academy, especially Almina Amulet who defeated high-level magicians. Regardless, Many kinds of stores were lining rtively close to the underground channel, and people from different parts of the world were crowded around it. The whole city was celebrating. After the mayor went to the stage, he gave a dramatic speech of how this city suffered. Then he said thanks to some individuals. He ended his speech saying, "The Dungeon officially opened!" The people present at the ce broke into a loud cheer. On the contrary, Almina was not in the mood. It has already been 2 weeks since Yman was gone. And no one knew where he went. In order to forget the unease she felt, she drowned herself in training. At first, she and Maena were surprised to see that the junior trainee the Elder Paan mentioned would be training together with them was no other than the current Ace. The Elder guide them well. On the other hand, Miss Ice taught them some super high-level techniques. One of them was the technique known as Perfect Breathing. Almina was familiar with this technique. After all, it was her brother who invented it. She wondered how Miss Ice was able to master it. Not just that, she was a good teacher toopared to her brother. She didn''t even learn even a little about it when her brother tried to teach it to her. And now, Almina''s abilities have improved a lot. Next time, if ever the same thing would happen, like the demon incident, she would make sure that she was helpful. One thing that puzzled her, whenever they were resting, Miss Ice would asionally bother her asking things about her brother. Actually, Ice was a big fangirl of Almond Amulet. Chapter 95 - Adventurers Guild In the Empire of Encantasia, inside the adventurers guild bar. Some adventurers could be seen loafing around while chatting with buddies. Most of the adventurers after their missions came here to drink, to have a rest, eat, and mostly chatted with their friends. Suddenly, a bell rang when the door was pushed open. Out of reflex, some of the customers and clerks inside nced at the door to see who it was. But some people just did not care about it and continued what they initially did as usual. A secondter, a middle-aged man together with two handsome young men and two exquisite youngdies came in.. Each of them was wearing a grand looking-dress. With them were 5 people with burly figures that were wearing full-ted silver armor from head to feet. Each of them held a 2.5 meters long spear in their hand. And a well-known logo of a green fairy in a side view with 6 protruding transparent wings was apparent on the banner held by one of the 5 people in armor. It was the logo of the royal family of the Empire. These five people were from the Wolfmen Tribe. The tribe of half-human and half-wolf people. One adventurer asked in irritation, "Who are ?" But when he saw the logo, he quickly swallowed back his words. "The royal family?" Everyone eximed in silence at the visitors. "Wait, isn''t that person the Royal Knight-Captain?" "Do you mean... Captain Borge Bergal?! the person who defeated the rampaging Winged-Lion at the south border of the empire?!" "Yeah!" "Then those handsome young men and beautiful young women must be the sons and daughters of the nobles." "Looking at their dresses, there''s no doubt about it." "The heck, you don''t know? That is Miss E!" "Miss E? The popr artist? Who sometimes uploaded her work in YT and Facepalm?" "Yeah! And I''m one of her followers! I even subscribe to her YT channel. Then I clicked the bell beside it for notifications!" "Eh?! What are they doing in a ce like this? And why is she with people from the pce?" "Don''t tell me those two handsome youths are her suitors?" ''Am I not beautiful in their eyes?'' The other girl together with the girl named E thought to herself when she happened to hear what the people around was conversing. Actually, she was the Encantasia Academy''s student council president. Having long blonde hair, green eyes, beautiful face, and perfect body the same as the girl named E. And she goes in the name of lonely Hannah. The beautiful lonely Council President of Encantasia Empire. She also was a beauty, but E was very popr in the empire. The atmosphere inside the guild bar immediately rose to see such an idol. Even the empire was affected by the technologiesing from the humans in the Outerworld. The whispers and murmurs gradually be louder. An adventurer yelled in excitement, "Whoo never in my wild dreams to see her in person!" The visitors stopped in front of the counter. "G-Good day, e-esteemeddies and gentlemen," greeted by the clerk in a shaky voice. Never did she imagine that some high profile individuals woulde to visit such a ce. The clerk was an 18 years old youngdy from the Rabbitmen Tribe. She has brown long wavy hair and a cute face. She was supposed to be energetic but seeing such kinds of people unprepared, she was at a loss of words. "Miss clerk, sorry for the trouble," said a beautiful youngdy about 17 years old. She has shoulder-length snow-like hair, pointed ears, sky-like eyes, and was wearing a cerulean gown. Everyone was in awe seeing her beauty in close-up. A fan could not help screaming, "What a godlike being!" On the other hand, some people around were drooling at her. A guy next to her twitched his brow after seeing the malicious looks in the face of the people around. None of them knew who the young males were together with Miss E and the unfamous council president with her. Because of the Knight Captain''s presence, they can''t openly show malicious intent towards their idol. Well, the other girl was beautiful too. But... In any case, The young manbeside E seemed to perceivewhat was in the minds of the people around. He knitted his brow, "Ahem!" He intentionally cleared his throat to take everyone''s attention. This caused the noisy whispers to turn silent, immediately. "Uncle Borge, let''s finish what we came here for. This ce is awful for thedies," said the young man in disgust. "Eh? What are you talking about Gilion? W-We didn''t say anyints..." disagreed the girl named E. "R-Right! And in fact, we didn''te here to cause enmity to the people here. We came here with important matters, Gilion," the unfamous Hannah said. "Ahaha, sorry about this guy''s way of talking Princess I mean Miss E. Actually, he was just thinking about the two of you," said the other guy with them. The people around seemed to dislike what the young man named Gilion was saying. "The heck, this young man is courting death!" A person with bunny ears eximed. "Maybe he doesn''t know where he is currently at!" Added a person with fox ears. "Too arrogant, shall we sew his mouth?!" Said another person with bunny ears. "I bet he''s acting lofty because of those guards! Damn! I remembered killing a rank BB mutated beast yesterday! What''s a mere delicate young manpared to it!" Said the person that looks like a tiger. "What a weakling, I remembered killing a Wanderer ss Btely,pared to some boastful young master, I can guarantee to bury him with a nail!" Followed the person with wolf ears. "You guys are courting death? Do you want to anger the Royal Knight-Captain?" Said an innocent person who just came here several days ago. "I see, you don''t know about this empire. You are either a migrant from a far kingdom or a mountain person who just came here to the maind of the empire. For your information, no one can order the Royal Knight-Captain except her majesty the queen." Hearing theintsing from the people around, the guards immediately encircled the group of youths to protect them if ever the situation escted more. They really couldn''t understand why the young master had to anger the people in this room. This ce was the den of the adventurers. Most of them were used to fighting and not afraid to anger the noble families. Well, not all. Some of them would probably chicken out. But some were brave enough to buy a fight even with a noble. So it was really not a good idea to act arrogant in such a ce. Captain Borge Bergal forces a drilyugh. "Are you sure you want to anger the people here Young Master Gilion Gustav?" The Royal Captain Borge Bergal asked. He really doesn''t care if a riot broke out here. Her majesty only told him to guard and secure the safety of the girls, though both of them were capable magicians. He only tags along for safety purposes if something unexpected were to happen. After all, E wasn''t an ordinary person. She was the Queen''s niece. But only the nobles that had close ties to the royal family knew about her real identity. Nheless, these two young men with them were no ordinary nobles as well. As long as their lives were not in danger, he could let them do their thing. Although the people here were battle-freak, none of them had the guts to actually kill a noble. So Captain Borge Bergal just shrugged this kind of stuff. He also was curious about how strong the people in this ce were. Or how strong the young master from the Gustav family. After hearing the words of the Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal towards the arrogant youth, the people around gawked in disbelief. "Eh? Do you hear what the royal captain said?" "Did he mean Gus-tav?" "That name sounds familiar though." "Damn it! Wasn''t one of the great families in the empire also has Gustav''s name?" "The fuck! Is he the son of Merlion Gustav?" "The 3rd strongest great noble family in the empire?!" "Who else..." "....." The people around immediately froze and trembled in fear. "Eh? Why did you guys suddenly freeze? Didn''t you kill a strong beast before? Then why do you suddenly look scared with just the spoke of a name?" The innocent man questioned in puzzlement when the brave people awhile ago suddenly turn silent. "Dumbass newbie... that guy is not just a simple noble! If what the Royal Knight-Captain said was true, then we fuck up..." "What''s the deal with the Gustav family that made you all like wet chicks?" The innocent person asked. A momentter, "Hehehe, so you are strong, huh. Gustav family? Like I care." A person with arge build, wearing a vest made of fur from the high-rank beast. His body and face have several scars. He has spiky ck hair and has pointed ears. The young man and the other people nced at the guy who was just talking. They saw him slowly stand up from his seat. Together with him, where 3 people, both were wearing wicked smiles on their faces. The royal captain squinted his eyes. He knew this person. This guy used to be a renowned soldier of the empire, but something happened that led him to quit being the soldier. Thest thing he heard about this guy was that he joined the adventurer''s guild. Seeing him here, it seemed to be true. "Vince the Menace! The person who was feared by his enemies," Captain Borge called out. The people around once again broke into random whispers. "Vince? Isn''t he the golden rank adventurer?" "Do you mean the famous Vince who beheaded a phantom snake?" "Right. It''s him!" Vince on the other hand raised a brow when he heard Borge''s call. "Ohoho looks like someone still able to recognize me in that name, Bergal!" Vince menacingly said. "You! I''m not talking to you!" Gilion yelled at Vince. "Ohoho, so the renowned and feared Gustav family were a bunch of chickens, huh!" Vince said at Gilion with a toothy grin. Borge Bergal felt this wasn''t good. He shook his head towards Gilion so as not to be teased by Vince''s words. However, "Miss E, it''s better toe with us than that pussy over there! Hehehe!" Hehehehe! The people with himugh after him. Suddenly, dense mana was circting in the hand of Gilion, "Insolent!" Lightning Emerald Dragon! Without a warning when he castit. A lightning emerald dragon was shot towards Vince! Everyone gaped in surprise. Such a high-level technique! Eand Hannah also froze and stared with wide-eyes open. The Lighting Emerald Dragon shot like electrifying energy to Vince. Everyone gasped and held their breaths. Seeing the iing burst of energy, Vince grinned. A momentter, his left hand was enveloped by golden energy. Before the Lightning Emerald Dragon could hit him, he pped it from right to left, using his left hand. The Lightning Emerald Dragon seemed like a puppy who gets pped. It immediately changed its trajectory and flew towards the door of the guild bar. The clerk wore a grim face. It was her new job, but it looks like everything would be over for her. If that thing hit the entrance. It would probably destroy the whole building! Right at this moment, the door was unexpectedly pushed open. And a young male about 5 feet and 8 inches height came in. He has medium white hair and wears a white long coat. He has almond eyes with golden pupils. A very definition of the word handsome. "Watch out!" A warning from a female voice reverberated inside the guild bar. Everyone knew who this voice was. It was from the popr Miss E. But the warning came toote. Woosh! The weird sound of explosions reached their ears; then the whole room was illuminated by emerald brilliance for a moment. Next second, They saw the young man with his hand extended in front. While his palm was smoking slightly, and the Lightning Emerald Dragon... was nowhere to be seen. Chapter 96 - Noble’s Pride Everyone had their mouths almost dropped onto the floor as they stared at the neers. None of them were able to react for a second. A momentter, "How did it happen?" E subconsciously muttered. Followed by Hannah, "Where did that scary high-level skill go?" "Why did it suddenly disappear like nothing was there in the first ce?" Some random people around also muttered in puzzlement. Most of them had questions, but none had the answer. Even the Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal couldn''t understand what just happened. Although what Vince The Menace did was surprising, that young man did something beyond that. Or perhaps the Lightning Emerald Dragon disappeared before it reached that person. The only thing that baffled him was the brief spark of crimson energy in that person''s hand.. Although the spark of crimson energy happened in a split second, it didn''t skip at his perception. Unaware of the situation, the newly entered Yman narrowed his eyes and muttered, "What a greeting..." Never would he imagine that after opening the door he was greeted rudely. He scanned the room and noticed some unusual people. Ahead of him, near the counter, he noticed several people staring at him. He was baffled by the bemused expressions on their faces. ''Hmm... what''s going on here? It seems there is an argument happening,'' he thought when he noticed a young man in an elegant dress wearing an angry expression on his face. As of the moment, that young man was staring at him with knit brows. It didn''te to his mind that the angry face was for him, because in front of that young man there was a burly person towering over that young man. The golden energy that enveloped that burly person''s hand caught his attention. It was so dense and suffocating. If Ymanpared this person''s energy. It was clear that this person was way stronger than the soldiers in the City of Zone 7. Yman didn''t give any regards to it as he was here for his essential matters. He darted his eyes and itnded on two beautiful young girls, seeing them he changed his initial thought and believed that the weird scene in the room was involved by those girls. Well, in such a ce like this that could only be described as a wolf den. It was an inappropriate ce for them since many men would probably tease them. He also noticed some warriors wearing heavy silver armors and a knight wearing a distinct heavy golden armor. Yman assumed that these people might be from a distinct high profile family. However, he didn''t know much about the nobles of this empire. Or the people of the pce. So he only assumed they were not ordinary noble since they brought some knights with them. From behind him, Sist peeked and asked, Yman tilted his head, "I thought I just saw a stray cat with a body of a snake rapidly running towards me the second I opened the door," He replied while looking at his hand. His voice was neither loud nor low, just enough that most of the people inside could hear it. "....." Gilion was speechless after hearing him. Vince on the other hand broke into a chuckle. But he was curious as to who this person was. Sist was confused about what kind of animal he meant. A high breed? In any case, she didn''t care for the inevitable things such as a lost pet. she replied to him. "Yeah. But don''t mind it, let''s go and order some take out," Yman beckoned. Suddenly, Sist remembered their recent conversation, Yman''s mouth opened to form a voiceless chuckle. He was perplexed. It had already been 2 weeks since they arrived here, and his money was barely enough to pay the rent for an Inn, and also he needed to buy foods to feed himself. With shoulders dropped, he opened his mouth saying, "There''s nothing we can do about it. Most of the quests in the mission tab were all low tiers and low pays. It seems we need a friendly connection with the guild''s clerks to reserve us a high-tier mission." Sist crossed her arms, His mouth opened broader and let a sigh escaped from it, "It''s not even my fault. They tried to pick a fight on a newbie like me. And I only give them a little beating. Wasn''t I generous for showing mercy?" Sistnded on his shoulder and gave up the conversation. She mumbled which Yman did not hear. The two of them were walking towards the counter, disregarding the dumbfounded expressions on the face of the people around them. Only their voice and steeping sounds were audible at the moment. And the gnashing of teething from Gilion together with the chuckle of Vince. Everyone was watching the human with a System Deity in tow, talking casually like nothing happened. Wait, is he a human? But they noticed his ears slightly pointed. Suddenly a murmur broke out. "Wait, he seemed to be familiar to me for some reason," someone among the crowd said. "Hey, hey, isn''t he the fierce newbie?" Said the person wearing leather armor and two scabbards was in ''X'' shape on his back. The person beside him slightly frowned but when he took a clear view of that person that his friend was talking about, his eyes slightly widened, "I-It''s him! He''s that newbie who defeated 5 silver rank adventurers when he first came to the guildhall!" Eximed the person wearing moss-colored leather armor. It was paired with a basil-colored pointed hat and a cape. The others started whispering to each other. "A newbie who defeated a 5 silver rank adventurer?" "Yeah, I heard something like that the other day." "So it was him..." "I also heard that in his first mission, he soloed the encampment of the bandit group. Although he didn''t kill them, all of the bandits surrendered." "What? Did that really happen?" "Do you think I''m a liar?" "The heck, then he''s an irregr newbie!" "Cool, he''s also a newbie like me!" Eximed the innocent-looking guy. Hearing what the other people whispering around, Vince and his men sneered at this famous newbie, "Heeeh, so he was that newbie I heard about..." Vince muttered in exhration. "Kekekeke..." His buddies chuckled weirdly. Yman was wondering why it suddenly became noisy. When he passed by the group of the people wearing nice dresses, he heard one of them utter the words, "C-Cat...with the snake body...?" He gave a quick nce at the person. He noticed his twisting face and a pulse in cross-shaped appeared on his forehead. Gilion Gustav couldn''t believe it! Never had anyone looked down on this ability of his! He understood that it was pped by this person in front of him like it was nothing. After all, this person named Vince was an expert. But it doesn''t mean he didn''t have a way to defeat him. Nheless, this person who just arrived called his high-level technique as a mere ''cat head with the body of a snake!'' Gilion''s face turned sour, "A cat head with snake body.....?!" He repeated. Yman heard again the mutter from the guy with a handsome face, long milky white hair braided at the back of his head, and pointed ears. And he was wearing a white long dress embroidered with gold. However, he disregarded it and directly passed at the two beautiful young girls. His eyes met with the eyes of the girl with shoulder-length snow-like hair and beautiful eyes. Yman couldn''t help admiring her beauty. E on the other hand was puzzled. The Lighting Emerald Dragon still lingering in her mind. ''What did this person do?'' She was in thought. She wanted to ask him but her tongue seemed to retreat when she saw his indifferent gaze. For her, he gave a feeling that he doesn''t care about everything around him. Like a very portrait of a man staring to a faraway horizon. The meeting of their eyes happened for a moment only. Yman startled the still in a daze Bunnygirl when he opened his mouth and ordered food, "Miss, A medium slice of rank B Ram beef with a salty sauce. And please add a soup," he directly said to the counter. "E-Eh?!" Seeing the handsome man in front of her, the Bunnygirl was at a loss for a second. Then she said, "O-Okay sir, right away!" She then hastily took what he wanted. Yman scratched the back of his head but froze when he felt an ill intenting from his back. He took a nce and saw the handsome man with his body exuding emerald energy. But it was spoiled when, "That''s enough, Gilion Gustav. Remember why we came here." "The Royal Knight-Captain is right Gilion!" E added. Yman saw the man wearing heavy golden armor ced his hand on the handsome young man''s shoulder and said those words. And the beautifuldy agreed to that person she called Knight-Captain. The ill intent bothered him. There''s no way he mistook it. After signing a contract with that demon. His perception of any bad intentions towards him had increased greatly. Right now, that demon''s spirit was lurking inside his Hollow Cell. Yman learned the signing contract technique from the grimoire. Well, the demon didn''t want to disappear. So for now, he had to cooperate with this human, until he retrieved his body. Yman on the other hand did the contract to help him in his journey of searching the medicine for his sister. Nevertheless, Gilion''s pride got the better of him. After all, he was from the renowned family of Gustav. If the news that he didn''t punish the person who ndered the technique from the Gustav family reached the ears of their family elders. Gilion would certainly lose his face in the family. And he might be branded as a coward to the other family members. "Hey, you! I Challenge you into a duel!" He roared while pointing his finger to Yman. Vince on the contrary broke into a smile. "Hehehe, let me join." E and the others tried to stop Gilion, but it seemed like, for him, his pride was on the line. The people around were astonished by this turn of events. Yman and Sist on the other hand had indifferent faces. In their minds, ''What the heck is this?! We just came here to buy food, you know!'' Chapter 97 - Laura Agila "Ufufu," everyone fell silent when a sudden giggle was heard by them. They nced at the source of it and saw a person climbing down the stair, it was at the left side of the counter and right side of the customer perspective. This stair led to the third floor of this building. Actually, the first floor was for the reception area. The second was for this guild bar, and the third for lodging, and fourth for the Headmaster Office. "Headmaster Laura Ag!" The people around eximed when they saw who was the person who climbed down the stairs. "Aunt!" Suddenly, they heard a yell from the famous E. She immediately dove towards her. Everyone was astonished seeing the famous artist Miss E hugged the headmaster of the adventurer''s guild.. Never had they imagined that the famous Miss E had a close rtionship with the headmaster of the adventurers guild. "Merea, how are you little, girl?" Headmaster Laura Ag asked E who she called Merea. She then hugged her back and gently brushed her head. After hearing her aunt, "I''m not a little girl anymore Aunt..." she retorted bashfully while slightly emphasizing her well-developed figure. Most men in the room were having tion for the cutie behavior of their idol towards the headmaster. Laura shook her head slightly, this niece of hers did not act like the princess she should be. Well, her being a princess was only known by few. After saying her thanks to the Knight-Captain for apanying her niece and her friends, she smiled at E and looked at the men in front. She was amazed to see a few handsome men near the counter. Laura raised a brow as she said, "Let''s chatter, Merea sweetheart." E nodded at her, "Mhm!" The others just remained silent so as not to distract the reunion of these two, especially Yman who came here only to order food. He didn''t care what was happening around him, but it was good to take note of those people with an influential background like the headmaster. After E nodded at her Aunt, Laura darted her eyes back to the men in front and asked, "I wonder what is it that made the atmosphere here to boil, hm, gentlemen?" Laura asked with a smug. Yman nced at the so-called Headmaster. This was his first time seeing her in person. When he applied to join the adventurers guild, he was only able to talk with the clerks and the headmaster''s assistant. Never did he expect that the headmaster was a woman with shoulder-length wavy red hair, wearing an eyepatch on her left eye. She was dressed in ck fitted-pants that were paired with a long-sleeves Aegean blouse, adorned with a canary cardigan. Out of sudden when the headmaster showed up, Yman noticed the emerald energy enveloping the young man suddenly dissipated. "Goodmorning Headmaster Aunt Laura Ag, my name is Gilion from the Gustav family. I came here together with our friends and the knight captain to apany your niece....." Gilion takes the initiative to greet the headmaster and introduce himself. Then he told her what happened after that. That Vince was being rude to E and the newly entered Yman belittled her family''s technique so he wanted to propose a duel with him. "Gyahaha, it just a little prank kid. No way, I will be rude towards the headmaster''s niece!" Vince eximed while scratching the back of his head. Well, he didn''t know that she was the headmaster''s niece. Vince inwardly thought that this young man of Gustav family delegate like a bullied kid. On the contrary, question marks floated on top of Yman and Sist''s head. she whispered. Yman squinted his eyes, "I don''t even know him," he replied. Sist showed an understanding look. She and her partner were together all the time. And she didn''t remember encountering this young Encan man before. Yman scratched his face from Sist''s heartless description for the guy, "P-Perhaps..." he replied while holding a chuckle from escaping on his mouth. After hearing Gilion Gustav''s words, Laura was in deep thought, ''Gustav, huh, one of the big-shot families in the empire. So this young man came together with my niece,'' She nced at her niece suspiciously. E on the other hand had a puzzled face from her Aunt''s malicious stare. Upon seeing the innocent face of her niece, she sighed. She initially thought that there was some kind of intimate rtionship between the two. But it looks like there was nothing like that as of now. It seemed her niece was gathering connections by befriending the big shot family. Nheless, She nced at the person pointed by Gilion and saw a toy(Sist) sitting on its shoulder. ''A human?'' She thought. However, she noticed his ears were pointed like the Encans. Her brows knitted, it was unusual to see an Encan ying with such a toy from humans on the Outerworld. Encan people dislike using such toys. They have their own way of casting a spell. And for their body to get stronger together with their magical energy, they used artifacts and trained their body from their childhood. Actually, their researchers are able to make a status artifact that is able to measure their growth level like the System Deity of humans on the Outerworld. The natives in this world solely believed the deities they believed-in such as the goddess Htraerea. Whilst, the other Kingdom also had their own deities they believed in. That''s why most of the natives in this world dislike the fact that the humans on the Outerworld named their toys as deities. This was also the reason why Yman had to change his appearance aftering to this empire. Because most people here hated the Outerworld humans. However, it doesn''t mean that there was no native who uses System Deity. And it doesn''t mean that there were no human natives in this world. There were many human magicians who became adventurers after they failed to find a good job on the Outerworld. However, most of them were not well-received by the people here. Yman noticed the headmaster''s eyes on him, "Fufu, who might be this young man?" Headmaster Laura asked while facing Yman. If her memories served her right, this was the first time she saw him. Since the headmaster asked him, it would be presumptuous of him if he disregarded her. "Good day, Headmaster, I am an adventurer who just joined recently," Yman slightly bowed, he greeted and introduced himself to the headmaster. Yet, Yman was puzzled at the beautiful girl beside the headmaster. She was staring at him with a curious look. He then smiled at her. "Eh?" E was taken aback and thought he was handsome but also suspicious. What happened a while ago about the Lightning Emerald Dragon, still puzzled her. After hearing the handsome young man''s reply, the headmaster''s eyes slightly widened, "Are you the newbie they called the Crimson Canceler?" Yman was surprised by the headmaster''s question. Actually, it was those guys who he had beaten up that started calling him that name. And now some people in the guild started calling him that name too. Well, it was better than bothering himself to think of a nickname for himself. He nodded at her. Then he saw the headmaster''s mouth curled upward with a suspicious smug face. "Crimson Canceler...?" E muttered. ''This nickname was suspicious,'' she thought. Yman nced at her and smiled again. E blinks her eyes. Wondering why he kept on smiling at her. On the contrary, In Yman''s mind. ''Why she kept on staring at me with a suspicious look?'' Gilion noticed their little exchange of staring and smiling. A wave of anger burst towards his head. He wanted to beat this insolent guy. A momentter, Yman noticed her sighed in relief, then opened her mouth saying, "What a nice timing. Good thing that you are here, I was about to ask the receptionist below for your contact. Actually, I have something I needed to ask you personally," Yman did not able to reply directly. He wondered why the headmaster looking for him. A secondter, he said while narrowing his eyes,"Uh,r-really?" It was very unexpected for him that the headmaster herself would be looking for him. Not only Yman was wondering, even E and the others. "Uhm, may I know the reason, headmaster?" He added. "Sorry, I can''t openly tell you the details here. Please follow us upstairs." After hearing her Aunt''s words, "Auntie wait, how about my" E was not able to finish her words when a finger of the headmasternded on her lips. Then she smiled saying, "It was also about that, Merea, so you too wille with us." "Eh?" E was puzzled. Yman on the other hand had be more suspicious, but at this moment, a smirk appeared on his mouth. Since the headmaster couldn''t tell it in the presence of others. It must be a secret mission! Since it was a secret mission. It could also be said that it was a high tier quest! And since it was a high tier quest! It also means a huge reward! But he was wondering at the headmaster''sst line, that also involved her niece. Not only Yman and E were surprised with the headmaster''s words, even E''s friend, Vince, and the other''s were also surprised at her. Vince narrowed his eyes. He could smell a high tier mission from the tone of the headmaster. Secondter, "Sorry gentlemen, but I have to talk these two in private," the headmaster excuses herself together with E and Yman. Most people in the bar were envious that a newbie was able to have a private talk with the headmaster and more on that, together with Miss E! "Holy cow!" They eximed in their minds. They suddenly had the urge to curse this newbie. "Wow, even though he was a newbie like me, he was already going to have a private talk with the headmaster!" The innocent-looking newbie eximed in admiration. However, "Wait, headmaster," Vince called out. She nced at him, and immediately recognized him, because he was a gold rank adventurers and already made a name inside the guild. "Oh, Vince, do you need something?" "Ahaha, nothing really... (Vince rubbed his hands against each other while having a toothy smile.) actually headmaster, it was almost a week since I was out of high tier mission. And isn''t it a waste of time for a golden rank adventurer like me to have such a long vacation?!" The headmaster seemed to understand what he meant. "Tomorrow there are tons of new high tier missions that will be posted," She said. But she noticed that Vince wasn''t happy with this news. The headmaster was about to open her mouth again when another person interrupted her. "Wait! Headmaster, I can''t just let that guy go without a duel!" Gilion shouted. E frowned. She wondered why Gilion was still insisting on a duel with this person. Even her friend Hannah knitted her brows at Gilion''s incessant remarks for issuing a duel. The knight captain just sighed and Gilion''s friend showed a can''t be helped expression. The other people started cheering for Gilion. Well, out of envy towards the newbie. Vince grinned. For some reason, he started to like this Gustav kid. The headmaster knitted her brows, "Sorry Gilion" "Oh, a duel with me? Kuku, I won''t mind." Everyone fell silent when the newbie suddenly agreed. They wondered if this newbie didn''t know about the Gustav family. Chapter 98 - Artefact And Spirit Beast "No need for that, we came here for two reasons. First is to apany Miss E and second is to announce that tomorrow there will be an open sh of Strength at the main city, sponsored by the royal family. Everyone was allowed to join. The details regarding it..... you can read it in the reception area. It is already posted there," said the Knight-Captain Broge Bergal. This caused the surrounding people to fall silent while processing in their minds what the knight captain just said. Then the knight captain faced Gilion, "If you wanted to have a duel with this man...... isn''t it better if you do it on that stage tomorrow? In that ce where more people would be watching. Not only that, but you can also fight and defeat him in a reasonable way," he said to Gilion and sent a nce to Yman before darting his eyes at the surrounding people. Yman understood the knight captain''s nce at him. This was to emphasize that his words were not only for Gilion but also for him and to everyone here. Gilion''s twisting face revealed a non-convinced expression. But he calmed down when the knight captain ced his hand on his shoulder again and whispered something on his ear. Everybody broke into tions of whispers. Most of them had surfaced excited faces. The sh of Strength was where they could gain a sum of prizes and also test their strength in a more legal way. Even if they can''t be the champion as long as they defeated an opponent, they could get a rich constion prize, since it was always like that whenever the royal family was the one who sponsored it. Sist muttered while tilting her tiny head from left to right. Then pointed her little finger below her mouth. "Must be a tournament of strength and power. It was a battle between knights," Yman replied. "Tsk," Vince clicked his tongue when he noticed the Gustav kid calmed down. He stepped in front and personally proposed a duel to Yman in the guise of testing the newbie''s capability. Everyone knew it was absurd for the golden rank adventurers to propose a duel to a newbie with a bronze rank only, however, they didn''t care for this newbie. They were too envious of him that they wanted to see his handsome face to be beaten by Vince. They were curious too by his ability to cancel a spell like what he did a moment ago. Headmaster Laura agreed too. After all, it was also to assure if this newbie was really capable of the thing she wanted him to handle. Everyone was relocated to the underground chamber of the building. In this ce, the adventurers normally did their daily training. The Royal Knight-Captain Borge Belgar together with Gilion and the others also went to watch the duel. He also was curious about this young man. Yman was astonished to see such a ce underground the Adventurer''s Guild building. It has a total of 250 square meters and the height of the ceiling from the ground was about 25 meters. He noticed some rooms on the sides. Probably, weapon storage and dressing rooms were one of them. He also saw some training dummies and training tforms in rows on the other sides. At the center could be seen the wide empty space where the people could spar, it was illuminated by the lighting from the ceiling. Themps were crystals known as Crystalights, some expensive crystals that were able to produce its own light mostly could be seen in some areas with a dense gathering of mana. It was simr to those crystals stuck in the underground channel in the West District of Human City. "Before you proceed, you can choose whether you use weapons or not," said the knight captain. "I don''t need it," said Vince with a broad grin on his face. Yman noticed that no one reacted to it. Looks like no one expected this guy to lose. After all, a golden rank adventurer was of another level. Yman also noticed that even the knight captain was wary of this person known as Vince. "How about you?" The knight captain asked him next. Yman''s mouth extended into one side, then it slowly opened and he replied saying, "Since he did not choose a weapon, for fairness sake, I will be fighting empty-handed too." However, this decision of his caused some whispers from the audience. Even the knight captain thought that this young man was acting arrogant. But he dismissed this thought when he remembered that this young man actually didn''t know about Vince. He then nced at the headmaster who was sitting on the empty table in one of the tables that could be seen around, beside her was Miss E and her friends. "Eh? Isn''t he a newbie only? He didn''t choose a weapon also?" E asked, bemused. "Blunder. Later, he would regret this arrogant decision of his. Tsk, it''s a waste of effort to mind him," Gilion scoffed. "But..... you came here to watch his duel right?" E tilted her head while asking Gilion Gustav. Gilion was slightly blushed when her gaze was on him, "I-It''s not because of that guy that I wanted to watch their duel. I was intrigued by that person named Vince that even the Royal Knight-Captain knew him," he replied. The other guy with them held a chuckle."Pft, for fairness''s sake? Is this man out of his mind? He has the guts to evaluate himself highly in front of the gold rank," said the other young man beside Gilion. "Isn''t it good to y fair, Ellias?" Hannah asked the young man. Actually, even she would choose a fair fight. No matter if she loses. "It is good if you''re strong. But if you are weaker than your opponent, it is better to take advantage of the handicap that was given to you," said the person named Ellias. But Hannah wasn''t convinced by it. She had a strong attitude towards fairness. Maybe it was also the reason why she was elected as the Council President of Encantasia Academy. Nheless, It wasn''t them only who were wondering why that newbie did not take advantage of Vince handicap for not using a weapon. Some people around also did. "What he meant for fairness sake?!" Someone asked. ''Is he an idiot?!'' Everyone thought. On the contrary, Vince''s friends were busy chatting with each other. They were not even focused on theing duel. They tagged solely because of Vince. But they could somehow guess the oue of the fight. On the other hand, the Headmaster Laura Ag was also curious what the result would be. However, she could guess why this young man did not choose a weapon also. "Such a clever person, now let''s see if he had the ability to stand for it," she whispered. "Aunty..... who''s clever?" E asked when she vaguely heard her Aunt''s words. She ced her hand on her head and patted her, then she said, "No, nothing. Look, the duel is about to start." E was puzzled by it. She really heard her saying clever. But who was it that her aunt meant? From her perspective, both of the duelists acted unwisely. The first one did not use a weapon, maybe because of the reason that he was a high ranked adventurer. Might be pitying his opponent, however, it wasn''t a good habit if they asked her. Even her personal trainer in the pce told her that she needed to grab the opportunity of taking advantage of the opponent. Regardless, The second one didn''t take advantage of the handicap and probably chose his ego. ''Truly unwise of them,'' she thought. In any case, just like what her aunt said, the battle was about to start. Everyone immediately focused their eyes in front, to where the two were facing each other at about 25-meter distance away from each other. The knight captain as the mediator of the duel nced at the two. Yman noticed his enemy''s mocking smile at him. But he disregards it and asks Sist for resonance. "It is so weird seeing a half-human using the toys from the weakling pure humans. Someone like you must be pped to the butt by a senior like me!" Vince suddenly jibed. "pped to the butt?" Someone among the audience repeated his words. Then it was followed by, "Puwahahaha!" "Right! pped his butt so hard, Viiince!" "Damn, we will be going to see Vince''s pping-butt technique!" "Shall we record it?!" "Yeah! It probably be a hit on YT!" Yman didn''t know whether tough or cry. These people hated the System Deities but they were one of the craziest users of YT, facepalm, and any other sites made by humans. On top of that, almost all of them had the new version of MTMD''s. After shaking his head, he then shouted ''resonance!''. From what he learned from the grimoire, he could safely initiate any spell he had without the help of resonance. But it depends on his mastery level and his channeling talent. He also learned a very shocking truth about this talent. It wasn''t a simple talent, and there were several abilities branches under it. Regardless, this wasn''t the right time for this talk. After Yman shouted his resonance, the person in front of him took something from out of nowhere. It probablyes from the spatial ring that he was wearing at the moment. Actually, the demi-human used this to store their items in a dimensional space like the Cyber Storage. The thing he took was a ne with a ruby-colored pendant. The people around once again broke into a beez-like murmur after seeing it. "Damn it, Vince was pitying the newbie on a whole different level!" Someone shouted. "Hahaha, a rank 1 ne artefact, made from a rank 1 Ruby-Eyed Venomous Mouse!" Yman was puzzled by what they were talking about. Maybe they meant Rank D+ Noble Rat, the evolved version of Evil Rats. It seemed like the natives here had a different sense of naming the monsters. A momentter, "Grace!" Yman heard his enemy shouted. Then the ne in his hand glowed until the glow covered all over his body. The next second, the glow was absorbed into his body. And on his forehead appeared a ruby diamond. "I''m ready. Mwahaha!" Vince dered. The people around got excited. They were even cheering his name. Even Though most of them know that Vince losing against the newbie was almost zero percent. The Knight-Captain Borge Bergal showed azy smile, before he shouted, "Start!" Vince immediately umted electrifying ruby energy on his right hand. "Thunderous-Spirit Venomous Mouse!" Yman noticed his enemy summoned electrifying energy with the form identical to the Noble Rat. "Hehe!" Vince grinned. "Woah look at that! Even Though it was only a rank 1 spirit beast! But it so domineering!" Eximed one of the audience. "As expected, Vince''s ability to increase the power of a low ranking spirit is still the best of the best," Borge Bergal muttered. "Tsk, so he wasn''t even serious awhile ago when he pped my Lightning Emerald Dragon," Gilion also muttered in disgust. On the other hand, the headmaster was looking at the fight without averting her eyes. E stared at Laura, "Aunt, looks like, that golden rank adventurer of yours, wanted to end the fight so soon," E said. Laura smiled and said, "Mhm..... but I wonder if it is going as he nned....." "??!" E couldn''t read what her aunt wanted to say. A momentter, the people around shouted in excitement. E immediately returned his eyes to the front. She saw the spirit beast dashed towards that handsome young man who was standing still like a steady rock. Or maybe he was nervous? She thought. Then she saw his shoulder made a heave. E was wondering if that guy wanted to give up. She sighed and thought, ''He should have taken a weapon. What a bummer.'' Vince smirked. That rank 1 spirit beast was enough to defeat that young man. A second before the razor-sharp ws reached him. They noticed the newbie lifted his hand to the front. Just right when the spirit beast brandished its razor-sharp ws at him, they saw the newbie''s hand exuded crimson energies. Then everyone fell silent. Because the spirit beast suddenly disappeared like glowing dusts. "Eh" E felt like she just ate her words. This was the same thing that happened to that Lightning Emerald Dragon! "....." Everyone gasped in surprise. "What the heck was happening!" Chapter 99 - Obvious Weakness "What the hell was that?!" Screamed the person with dog ears. "He could even cancel a spirit beast?!"Asked the person with narrowed eyes and wolf ears. "Did my eyes y tricks on me?!"Said the girl with roon ears. Most of the people inside the room eximed randomly in surprise. The Knight-Captain Borge Bergal wrinkled his face. It was unbelievable even for him that someone was able to cancel a spirit beast. "Aunt?" E called out. ''It seemed what happened recently was real. That guy did cancel an attack! How could he do that? I wonder what level his current Grace power is,'' She thought.. "Fufu," Laura giggled, "Unexpectedly, he could not only cancel some simple attacks but even a spirit beast. Although it was only a rank 1 spirit beast, to cancel it is already beyond belief. That newbie is a wielder of unique ability," She said to her niece who was staring at her with a face that was full of questions. "Unique ability?" She repeated. Laura nodded her head. She could not exin the newbie''s ability. She had no idea what it was, but she felt it wasn''t ordinary. Beside her, E heard her friend muttering. "H-He''s not only handsome but also has an interesting ability," said Hannah with gleaming eyes. E forced a chuckle from her words of admiration. Ellias and Gilion countenance turned sour. Anyhow, Vince''s friends seemed to be unbothered by it. Vince gritted his teeth. "Eat this shit!" KREKKKKKK!! Everyone''s attention returned back to the duel when Vince shouted and jumped higher in the air then consecutively sent golden-colored electrifying spears towards the newbie. Seeing the iing 10-15 electrifying spears, most of the spectators cheered once again. "Woah! A high ranking spell!" "That''s overkill for sure!" Some people shouted. A secondter, Bang, bang, bang...! It was followed by loud consecutive explosions that reverberated inside the training room. Everyone fell silent once again when the newbie was enveloped by smoke caused by the explosion. However, they could discern a person''s shadow inside the smoke. It was standing without making any move, though, they could feel him alive. They wondered if he was too beat-up to move. Maybe Vince overdid it. Although they noticed some of the spears disappeared when the newbie waved his hand to protect himself, he was not able to cancel all of them. Everyone admired that Vince was quick-witted in thinking of a way to render useless his enemy''s ability. Vince on the other hand stopped his barrage of attacks. It wasn''t good if he identally killed the newbie in the presence of the empire''s knight captain, headmaster, and the others. Everyone expected a beat-up face when the smoke finally cleared up. However, they saw him standing still. "Damn it, is that newbie an immortal?!" "Not even a tiny wound is visible!" "Forget about the wound! Not even his clothes have a scratch!" Vince knitted his brows and his face started to grim. It was impossible that he canceled all those attacks. Not only Vince could not believe that this newbie was able to cancel those barrage of attacks, even the knight captain and Headmaster Laura also did. In truth, Yman only canceled those which might bring greater damage to him. Hence, he was hit by the explosions from the other spears. But with his healing ability, it seemed like nothing happened to him. And to further fool his enemy, he had to cancel his resonance with Sist and use it again so that the torn part of his clothes returned back to normal. This was the power of System Update. Well, at the moment Sist was already a level 7 System Deity. He updated her frequently whenever he had extra money. Because a high-level deity brings many benefits to its user. More stats also added to him when they were in resonance. E and Hannah widened their eyes. On the contrary, Gilion and Ellias narrowed their eyes. Seeing the newbie without a little damage, Vince''s friends finally took interest in the duel. "You!" Vince shouted. Then he gnashed his teeth. It seemed like no matter what kind of ability he threw to this newbie nothing would seed. ''This is bad,'' he thought to himself. If the fight lingered longer, the headmaster would certainly think he was incapable! He summoned more energy on his hands. Out of sudden, his left arm was covered by dense golden aura while his right was covered by dense ruby aura. Everyone bulged their eyes while staring at him. Vince tapped his hands on the floor of the training grounds. "Earth Shaker - Twin Crush!" He shouted. The ground trembled then it split and the crack ran towards his enemy. They also noticed something glowed in the cracks, looks like it wasn''t an ordinary crack. It rapidly shot towards Yman. A second before it reached him, a crimson-colored aura burst out from his body and formed into a thinyered transparent shield of about 12 inches away surrounding him. The glowing-crack stopped when it bumped the thinyer shield. Everyone was dumbfounded that even the ground attacked was useless against that newbie. "Having a reliable mana source is quite convenient," Yman muttered under his breath. ''Yeah, I know don''t worry we will find some way to cover the cons of it," he replied via thoughtmunication. Nheless, Yman noticed the training floor was alreadyrestored. Looks like some high-level spell was cast on this whole room. Yman smirked at his enemy. Then he shook his head while spreading his hand, looking disappointed at the enemy, "Haahh, that''s it?" He sighed asking. Looking at his enemy showing disappointment to him, Vince''s anger was visible on his face. Summed-up by the murmursing from the audience saying that he was about to lose from a newbie. Vince took a ring from his spatial storage. "Grace!" He shouted once again, then the ring in his hand glowed in golden color. But the same as before, it was absorbed in his body. A momentter, 2 diamonds were visibly embedded on his forehead. His hair changed color too. It became white. Yman felt the pressure wasn''t right. Then he heard the spectators shouted. "Vince is serious now!" Said one of Vince''s friends. "Look, he used a rank 2 artefact!" One person pointed to Vince. The Knight-Captain Borge Bergal narrowed his eyes and muttered, "That newbie made a very big mistake in provoking his enemy." A golden werewolf appeared on Vince left and the Venomous Mouse appeared on his right. "Dang it, this Vince can uphold two spirit beasts at the same time! No wonder he''s a gold rank adventurer!" "Mhm, looks like the fight is about to end, kukuku," said Gilion. "Right, although that other guy has an extreme defensive ability, his weakness was clear as day," added Ellias, then he sighed. Hannah knitted his brows, "What do you mean, Ellias?" E gazed at Hannah. "He must be talking about how that guy did not use any attacks since the fight started. Probably he was waiting only to tire out his opponent. Maybe his ability and attributes were focused mainly on his defense," exined E. "As expected of the princ ah I mean Miss E..." said Ellias in a hurry. He was about to call her princess. E and the others sighed. He immediately said his sorry. Their eyes returned back to the duel when they heard a warcrying from the gold rank adventurer. They saw him rushing rapidly towards the handsome young man together with his two spirit beasts. "Looks like Vince decided to bring the fight in a melee since the newbie can cancel all his ranged attacks. In this regard, even if the newbie cancels the two-spirit beasts with him, as long as he has enough mana with him, he can recreate them," the headmaster said. Everyone who heard her looked at her. Then they thought, ''He really was a smart guy!'' "That newbie made a big mistake of provoking a smart person!" Someone shouted. They stared at him while holding their breaths. Vince and his spirit beasts leaped in the air towards the newbie. He sent another barrage of electrifying spears while in the air to keep the enemy busy. They saw the newbie wave his hand, then one after another the spears disappeared. Everyone cheered in tion. This was the exciting part and Vince did some witty moves. They knew that those spears were decoys only to fool the newbie. Most of them were waiting for the Butt-pping Technique of Vince. They wanted to see this handsome newbie in an embarrassing situation. When Vince and his spirit beasts entered at 5 meters distance away from that person, BANG! A loud sound of crashing reverberated inside the underground training ground. Everyone had ck-jawed and immediately fell silent while staring at the front with wide-eyes, and with their mouths shut. Vince was mmed to the floor by an invisible force. His spirit beasts were nowhere to be seen. They disappeared like bubbles. Vince pushed his body, but everyone noticed his difficulty in getting up. His arms and body were trembling. It seemed like something was pushing him down. Actually, at the moment, strong pressure was pressing onto him. And he felt like he was being stared at by a being far beyond him. "W-what happened?" Someone among the crowd muttered a question. The knight captain frowned. Everyone was puzzled by the scared look on Vince''s face while staring at the newbie. "What the heck?!" One of Vince''s friends screamed. And another one asked, "Is Vince just acting?" "Aunt? What happened?" E asked Laura, but she noticed her Aunt''s disbelieving face while staring at that person with great surprise. "It can''t be. He could even use an in...ti...midation?" Said Laura in surprise. "Intimidation? That''s impossible. Only the elders hadthe ability to unlock such skill!" Gilion disagreed. But how could he exin what his eyes were seeing at the moment? It was clear by the expression written on the face of Vince that he was scared of something. And an invisible pressure was pressing him on the ground. Tak, tak, tak...! Their ears picked an unhurried stepping sound. They saw that person finally move from his position. This was the first time he made a step. He was walking towards his enemy who was on his four. While trying to push his body upward. They saw the gold rank adventurers who couldn''t even look directly at his newbie enemy. Everyone had question marks on their heads. Even the knight captain could not believe it. But he and the Headmaster Laura Ag knew what kind of skill the young man was using. And it was also what bugged them most. All the people who were watching at the moment saw the newbie move behind Vince who was still on his four limbs lying on the floor. Vince felt something bad when he noticed the wide-grin on his enemy''s face. He tried to shout to give up, but his mouth couldn''t even produce any sounds. A momentter, everyone gawked in disbelief. Their eyes turned dot when the newbie kicked the butt of the gold ranking adventurer Vince! Pak! Ahh! Pak! Ahh! Pak! Ahh! The pitiful yelp of him was like a creepy scream to those who heard it. "What a merciless man!" E screamed while covering her face with her hands but her eyes were peeking on the gap of her fingers. Hannah on the other hand had a nk face. Everyone prayed for Vince''s fast mental recovery. Chapter 100 - Special Mission The duel had ended in an unforeseen ending. Everyone initially thought of a senior bullying a junior kind of result, but it was contrary to everyone''s expectation. The most inconceivable part was that it ended in an outmatch manner where the newbie was the one who was bullying the veteran. Everyone was now wary of this newbie. They were thinking of how he didn''t think twice when he did that shameless act of kicking the butt of the gold rank adventurer even in the presence of beautiful girls, and the headmaster together with the knight captain was there too! The scene would forever embed in their minds, especially to Vince. But on his part, it might be the worst nightmare in his waking time. After the fight, Yman left the dumbfounded faces of the other people as he went together with E and the headmaster to have a private talk to her office.. Although Gilion and Ellias didn''t like it, they could not do anything. Yman together with the headmaster and the beautiful girl arrived at the office. The room was 25 square meters wide, and in the middle, there was a small square ss table surrounded by sofas. It must be ced there for the purpose offortable and lengthy conversation. He noticed another table positioned at the corner, near the ss wall. And on that table, a golden te with the headmaster''s name was on there together with number of things and writing tools. Yman ced himself on the sofa opposite the beautiful girl. Then the headmaster came and served a cup of coffee and a slice of cake for each of them. She sat on the single sofa on the left side of him and right side from her niece''s perspective. He could feel the slight puzzlement on the face of the girl opposite him. She must be wondering why her aunt the headmaster had to talk the two of them at the same time. Like her, he too had a slight puzzlement for the same reason. But he guessed it was in ordance with a special mission that he was expecting. Distracting himself from the fact that at the moment he was too hungry and was not able to eat because of the duel, he rolled his eyes around the room. The room has a simple design. Aside from the art of a gloriousknight ying a humongous monster and a simple curtain of parmesan color with the design of converging squares, not much feminine vibes that one would expect in a girl''s working room. Yet the room was having a rxed andfortable ambiance. One part of the wall was made of sliding ss that was mostly seen in the grand establishments on the Outerworld. Yman smiled on it, although people here disliked the fact that the Outerworlders saw the piece of metal as deities, their economies were influenced greatly by the Outerworlders product. Yman nced outside through the ss window, he noticed the sky started to dim. Just by looking at it, he believed that the current time was at most 4-5 pm. As of now, he could not get rid of the feeling that this world was from a separate universe than that of earth. Maybe this world was a twin of the earth? That was orbiting around a different sun? Actually, only the advanced country on the Outerworld had the ability to seek the truth. Mostly, the least powerful country and economy was shrouded in mystery. But who knows what was the truth? Not even in the social media that news about outer space nowadays was posted there. If there were outer space videos or topics about it roaming on the inte, it was mostly about those from the lost era and already torn out from millions of views. While he was musing, Yman suddenly felt an itchy feeling like someone was staring at him. He darted his eyes like it was being pulled by an invisible maic force towards the person in front of him. He caught her staring at him. E''s brows twitched upward as her eyes widened a little, then she awkwardly darted her eyes away from him, in haste. Yman had noticed her covering her mouth slightly, using the middle part of her right index finger. Then again, he noticed her holding a chuckle. He wondered what was the reason. He touched his face with a frown, wondering if there was a stain on it. Maybe his disguise was canceled?! He briefly asked his deity through thoughtmunication. Sist who was currently resting on his shoulder replied with a ''no''. He then sighed in relief. Yman knitted his brows. Maybe this beautiful girl was mocking on him? He suddenly remembered a specific person who didn''t show even a slight contempt towards him. Her image suddenly appeared in his mind. He wondered what happened after he left. Actually, when he left the city, his MTMD had broken. And when he made a contract with the demon, it caused an unexpected bug on Sist''s System. Now he could not contact even his sister. He needed to find the medicine as soon as possible. He had only a little time before thepetition in the Zone 7 academy would start. Yman was unaware of the reason why the girl in front of him seemed like she was holding a chuckle. In truth, E was having difficulty getting rid of the scene that unfolded in front of her awhile ago. A chuckle was attempting to escape from her mouth whenever she remembered that little parody. And the author of it was no other than this man who was currently in front of her. Yman took a sip of coffee and bit a little piece of cake, still wary of the girl in front. The coffee''s taste was not his preferred taste, but it tasted good together with the cake. Ahem! The two of them heard the throat-clearing sounds of the headmaster. After officially introducing herself, she also introduced her niece to him. Which Yman had to introduce himself too. Laura took the initiative to exin the reason for the meeting. "A bodyguard?" He gawked. This was unexpected. He also noticed the same expression on the face of the beautiful girl in front of him. "Yes, I needed you to act as her bodyguard for several weeks," Laura said after sipping her tea. "A-Aunt? B-But isn''t he just an n-new adventurer?" E said while trying not to sound rude. The headmaster seemed to understand her worry. The way she said it as a new adventurer and not newbie means she tried not to be rude to him. Laura nced at Yman, she noticed that there was no slight change in his countenance. Looks like he too knew that her niece didn''t mean to mock him. He has the usual calm demeanor that she saw on him this whole time. She sighed in relief. Actually, Yman didn''t care if it was meant to mock him or not. What he was more concerned about were the consequences. He might drag himself into danger because of this mission. Before Yman could speak again, something tickled his ears. Sist suddenly said to him via thoughtmunication. Yman''s mouth broke into a soundlessugh, ''Y-You are right,'' he replied. But when Laura told him the rewards, Sist was the first one who epted the offer. Even Yman was speechless by the reward. It really was tempting. "100,000GP and Rank A Level 10 Soul of Advancement?!" Yman and Sist ck-jawed. With that much money, he could fully equip Sist. And with the Rank A Level 10 Soul, he could advance her into the rank of Main Land Deity! In this case, he could finally use her to attack like those spirit beasts. And Rank A to boot! It has the stats equivalent to a Rank A+ Wanderer Monster, Or Rank 6 Spirit Beast in terms of the demi-humans. To advance the System Deity, not only the user needed to equip their deity with body parts, but the System Deity must also be up-to-date. Their system must be at the newest version of its System OS. But it wasn''t just that, like the magicians who needed the Syringe of Advancement in order to breakthrough, the System Deity needed the Level 1-100 Soul of Advancement in order to level. The more soul the more humanely they be. Even Sist was drooling. Yman scratched his face. Looks like the headmaster really is an expert in baiting. Although, most people here didn''t like the System Deities of humans. Yet the headmaster knew how their power-ups work. In the end, Yman had to agree too. After all, it could also solve his money issue. He could use the money to buy the needed materials in order to Synthesize medicine. After gathering all the needed materials, his next problem was to find an Alchemist who could process and Synthesize the medicine for his sister. But before that, it now depends if the beautiful Miss E would ept him as her bodyguard for several weeks. "I ept him as my bodyguard if he joins tomorrow''s sh of Strength and defeats his first opponent in a domineering way," E firmly suggested. Well, for her, that duel a while ago wasn''t valid since it was only a duel and it was like a child''s ypared to the real tournament. And his enemy even though gold rank adventurer, he was only using a rank 1 and rank 2 Spirit Beast. It was that guy''s fault for looking down on his opponent. But the great noble of the empire would never make such a mistake. Certainly, many nobles would be joining tomorrow''s sh Of Strength, since it was one of the most popr tournaments in the empire. She even heard from Hannah that most of their Elite magician students from year 1 to year 3 would be joining. Yman scratched the back of his head while nodding. He wasn''t really nning on joining it. But now he had to. ''And what the heck is winning in a domineering way? Do I need another butt-kicking?!'' He thought. Chapter 101 - The Curse Swamp Before their talk reached the end, he asked, "Right, headmaster, why me?" Though his growth was beyond normal, he won''t im that he was the strongest in the guild. There were lots of stronger and veteran adventurers who he hadn''t met yet, he was still new in the guild. And it isn''t like he was on par with those high-ranking top adventurers. He stared at the headmaster with a curious face. The headmaster''s red lips extended and formed a smile. "It is because of your abilities and looks," Yman was puzzled from her reply. He understands that at the moment he looks like a handsome Encan male. Though these looks were the effect when he used the modifying ability on himself. His height, hair and eyes color, and even his ears, he could modify them, but it was very taxing on himself to maintain it in a day. Seeing the doubt on his face, the headmaster leaned her back on the soft leaning back of the sofa and put her right-thigh on top of her left, then she continued saying, "It is easy for you to sneak in the academy as a new student. With your age and looks, you can admit there as a sophomore or even as a freshman student.. In that sense..... you can guard her even inside the academy," she said. He finally understood, however, he doubted that the reason was only like that. If he wasn''t wrong, probably, she chose him because if ever he tried to make some foul move, it was easy for them to hunt him. And maybe she based it on his performance in every mission hepleted recently, and on how he mostly used defensive spells only. So probably, for her, he was more harmless than those stronger adventurers. Looks like the headmaster had a trust issue. And so for her, he was the most suited person in this job. Not too strong and not weak either, and had the fittest abilities to act as a bodyguard. "....." But what?! Academy?! Yman suddenly took notice of her words. Did the headmaster want him to attend the Academy? "A-Academy.....?" Yman repeated in a mutter. Clink! Laura ced the fork on top of the small te which caused a slight scraping sound, then she nodded and said, "Mhm, the Encantasia Academy." E-E-Encantasia Academy?! Isn''t it for nobles only?! And if what he heard these past days of staying here were true, that academy was where most of the royals from different kingdoms attended! Yman was astounded. There were 5 Kingdoms under the Encantasia empire. These 5 kingdoms, although not as big as the four leading kingdoms of these worlds, they both have strong armies and are rich in different resources. Nheless, most of their royal family members went to the Encantasia Academy to learn both magic and academics. Because this academy was special and only members of royalties and high nobles could attend. So basically, Miss E was not an ordinary noble?! Yman eximed under his breath. He was stunned for a moment before he went back to reality, "Wait, wait, wait, headmaster, isn''t that academy for super nobles and royalties only? You see I''m a nameless individual and an orphan to boot. In spite of that, I do not own a handful ofnd," Yman immediately affirmed. (A/N: In this empire, ''nameless'' means peasant. Because only nobles had the right to own a name for the nameless, they were called with nicknames and no actual surname.) Actually, it was also one of the reasons why he got in trouble the first time he went to the adventurers guild. Because they thought he was a noble and those guys seemingly had enmity towards them. So when they saw him, they tried to pick a fight on him. In front of Yman, E also had an unbelievable face. More-on when she heard him saying that he was a nameless orphan. E could not believe it. How could it be possible? He looks like a noble no matter how anyone saw it. On top of that, he has unique abilities! She wondered. Anyhow, it wasimpossible for him to attend the Encantasia Academy with that background, and besides, isn''t it embarrassing that someone would be tailing her? Not even her cousin the princess of Encantasia Empire did that. "Right, Aunty, is it not awkward that there is a guy following you all around? And besides, could he even be qualified there?" E followed up. Laura found their reactions very amusing. She took a sip of coffee before answering both of their worries, "Fufu," she chuckled. "You don''t need to concern yourself with such things. I will do the rest of the work for it to be possible," said the headmaster. Regardless, she was telling him that she would do something about it right? Well if that''s the case, then he needed only to win against his opponent in a first match to get the favor of Miss beauty in front of him. He noticed the girl in front took a spoon of cake and pushed it in her mouth with a pout. Yman scratched his face and said, "Don''t worry Miss E, I don''t need to be at your tail. As long as the distance between you and me didn''t pass 50 meters, I will do what I can to make you safe," Well, he needed the money and that Rank A Soul of Advancement. That''s why Yman had to do it. But he cannot guarantee that he could give 100 percent protection to her. E raised a brow from his words. Yman felt he just spoke something embarrassing. This was so out of his character to boldly im to protect someone. Looks like, money shrouded his logical thinking. On his shoulder, Sist wasn''t bothered by their conversation. At the moment, she was browsing the online market, checking for the limited edition item that was being posted there. There was a list of 100 different kinds of Wings being posted. Every hour, 1 wing was taken out of the list when some unknown people in the world ordered it. She seemed unrest and having a sad face whenever the icon of the Wing she had interest turned gray color signified that it was being ordered. Her tiny face darted back and forth to his owner and to the item posted in the online market. Unaware of her predicament, Yman wanted to take back what he just said. But it was already toote as he already spoke it. Regardless, he must take advantage of the offer. The headmaster said that it would onlyst for several weeks. As long as he could make her safe in that long, everything would be fine. He could even return to the city much sooner. Now that Yman thought about it, It might also be a great chance to spy in the prestigious academy of super magic, the Encantasia Academy. "Fufufu, you heard him," Laura said to her niece. Then she added, "In that case, good luck for your first match Crimson," Laura cheered him. "Well, let''s see first if he can pass the challenge," E muttered. It wasn''t like he disliked him as her guard, it was just weird that someone would be following her. She came here because her Aunt the current Empress of Encantasia Empire and former Queen of the Mangrove Kingdom sent her here to ask for protection from Laura. Since the adventurer guild was famous in this empire for having many high-level members that were experts in special missions such as stealthy, reconnaissance, and ambush missions. And vice versa, they are also good at counter-attacks. Laura was the sister of E''s father, and her mother was the sister of the current Empress. So her situation was kind of special, not just that, she was a popr artist. Most people in the empire knew about her as E the artist. But only a few knew her for being a princess. And these past days, she noticed some people who she thought were stalkers. The situation in the Mangrove Kingdom wasn''t good at the moment. Currently, her grandfather retook the throne after her Aunt became the Empress of Encantasia. Since her mother has been suffering from an illness for a long time. And she was still too young to rule the Kingdom, at that time. Before the talk ended, he asked them, "Who were the people that after the life of Miss E? Regardless, why was she being targeted anyway?" Laura and E exined to him the situation. About 7 o''clock pm that their meeting had ended. He first went back to the guild bar to eat after the meeting. Afterward, he was strolling the street together with Sist towards the Inn where he was staying. The Guild Hall was located in the northern part of the main city. Whereas the inn where he was staying was at the mingo Town. It was located onthe east side of the empire. The ce has only a total of 1,500 poption and it was the smallest out of all towns in the empire. In order to arrive here, from the main city, Yman has to ride a carriage for as good as 5 hours. Since it was located 250 kilometers away from the main city. Whereas, if he rode on a transport bird, it only took him 2 hours and 30-50 minutes. Good thing that he had his own Hell Chaser bird, so he arrived at the town before 10 pm. When they arrived at the inn, it was already 10:30 pm. But Yman did not immediately go inside. Instead, he proceeded to the near forest, about 200 meters away on the back of the Inn. The surroundings were unperceivable by ordinary people. But even without using his trusted Map Section to illuminate the ce, it seemed like the darkness was nothing to him as he proceeded walking without a hitch to the forest. Actually, after his contract with the demon, his perception ability had increased to an unimaginable degree. In this forest, some low ranking hostile beasts were lurking. But they mostly didn''t go to the town because they were afraid of lights. That''s also the reason why Yman did not choose to use any lights at the moment. After 20 minutes of walking. He arrived at the center of the forest. In the center, there was a swamp. The residents of the town were afraid toe near this swamp. They even called it the Cursed Swamp. Many residents went without a trace in this swamp. Rumors about this swamp weremon in the town. About how a person who was resting nearby suddenly went. And how some people swimming in that swamp were pulled by something towards the deepest part. Their bodies didn''t even float even after a couple of days. Not only that, but many other bad rumors about the swamp were alsomon in the town. After that, the town residents didn''t dare toe near this forest again. But at the moment. Yman was here. Finally, after a couple of minutes walking, he finally reached the swamp. He walked and stopped beside it. If he made an estimation, probably the swamp had a total of 30 meters radius. However, it has a shape slightly identical to an hourss. He stared at the replica of the full moon on the water. The sound of insects and nocturnal animals reached his ears. Even the slight brushing of leaves did not escape on his perception. The slight breeze of chilly wind caressed his skin. And it caused ripples at the replica of the moon on the swamp. Yman''s countenance was tranquil while staring at it without averting his eyes. A momentter he noticed the ripples became bigger and wider. Then his mouth broke into a grin, "It''s here," he whispered. Chapter 102 - The Knight Of The Goddess A piece of long plump flesh rapidly shot out from the deeps of the swamp towards him. Without waiting for it to hit him, he evaded it by leaping to his right. The thing that shot him hit and bore on the grounds. Yman narrowed his eyes, "Bingo!" He whispered upon seeing the thing that attacked him. "Looks like my guess was proven right A Mutated Kraken!" He yelled and took a sword from his storage. Then he hastily summoned crimson mana from his hand and enveloped the sword. "Right," he replied. Yman abruptly threw it towards the tentacle. The sword traveled the space and hit squarely on the tentacle.. The tip of the sword pierced on it. And the red text -5,000 Hp was visible. "Dang, it has high defense!" Yman eximed.