A silver-haired man sat on a bench, he licked his ice cream gleefully. A beautiful black-haired woman stared at him calmly.
"I thought you would immediately leave after sealing the deal," he said calmly.
"It's not everyday that I get to move around freely, you know. Let me just enjoy the view and fresh air around." She leaned back and looked upwards at the sky.
Unintentionally, her chest was pushed forward, her big breasts perched forward. This earned her a glance from him.
Being a beautiful woman, these small gestures were too alluring for him.
*Focus, Anorax. Take a deep breath.*
{Stop it, my lady. Are you trying to seduce him?}
{Shut up.}
She composed herself immediately. It happened naturally but was not intentional.
"Do you know of a way to become a student at Xephila Voniac Academy?"
His question surprised her. Didn't that mean they would be good friends if he joined?
"The Academy values talent and potential greatly. They make sure to pick those with potential to grow far higher. It's the best Academy ever as far as history has it.
First, a Professor can pick you directly due to your potential, powers, talent, or anything of great value in the eyes of the Academy.
Second, you can enter as a regular student through the normal assessment.
Third and impossible one: have the Principal take you in herself.
There is no fourth, no 'bribing' to get in. The Principal oversees the entire Academy."
"So, I will join as a normal one. No problem."
*As long as I enter, there is no problem for me.*
"It will be nice meeting again. Try to survive the assessment trials."
She stood up, fixed her long hair, glanced at him, and left.
He looked at her mature body in appreciation. The woman was beautiful.
[She is strong for her age. You won't last long against her 'normally'. She is a realm above you, and thanks to you, she will have a breakthrough to the next realm. Thankfully, it seems you've gained an ally unknowingly.]
"That's a given then. I didn't have any use for those vials. I can't imagine what would've happened if I used them on myself."
Even the thought brought a shiver down his spine. The most frightened one was Lisaria.
*Thankfully, he didn't do something that stupid, or else 'she' would have descended to force that lesser bloodline out.*
☆☆☆
Hilosura walked gracefully out of the park. It was at the edge of Dragnart City. The Park had various families and children playing around, truly a family place.
"People choose weird places to do business. Many choose fancy hotels to please their customers but why choose here?" she muttered.
A woman in a white shirt and short black skirt appeared. She walked up to her.
"You know, places like this feel secure and it's quite relaxing. But in hotels you have to keep a serious and professional facade till the end. He is very intelligent—he didn't want you to bargain the price," she said in amusement.
"That was my first thought, but after checking everything, I feel like I'm the one who benefited in this," Hilosura said with a smirk which just made her cute.
*That's new of her.*
"Anyway, have you got anything about him?"
"He didn't lie about his name, though there are no records about his family—only his home address. He has a personal villa at the city side. It's near a beach."
They entered a black **Rolls-Royce** and left.
The car **sped** through the city towards the Royal Castle. Giant gates opened.
The car continued. The castle was amidst towering trees which **spanned** a few kilometers. It took a distance to reach the castle from the gates.
Hilosura went straight inside. The castle had stood the erosion of time for countless eras. Its beauty failed to diminish with time.
The castle was spacious inside. There were various paintings on the walls which spoke volumes to the pure heritage of the Royal Dragon family.
In the Empress' chamber, a tall woman whose beauty transcended mortal realms rested her head between her palms.
She looked at her dear daughter who appeared restless. She was in a white loose transparent nightgown.
Her body was incredibly mature compared to Hilosura. She was very beautiful. Her **curvaceous** body spoke volumes—big breasts which stood firmly on her chest, slender waist, and big ass which **giggled slightly** at any movement.
"Come here," the Dragon Empress said in a sultry voice.
Hilosura did as she asked.
"I had you go to meet someone."
"Yes, I had to go personally," she nodded as she saw no problem with it.
"And it was a man around your age. Finally, my dear daughter has found someone to love~" she teased.
Unintentionally, she blushed and started fuming in anger.
"Not that, Mum! We just had business, that's all."
"But your body says otherwise, dear. Don't lie to me. Is he good for you? Do you like him or—"
She immediately covered her mother's mouth to avoid further embarrassment.
She then narrated everything that happened. She released her only after she finished.
The Empress' expression was stoic at first, but the mention of the blood and essence origins threw her into shock.
"Is what you said true?" she couldn't help but ask.
Her daughter placed the black box on the bed. She couldn't help but look at her mother who didn't have the word shame in her dictionary.
Her nightgown clung tightly to her body, exposing the hidden walking bombshell.
***Sigh, let's leave it for now.***
The Empress' eyes shot in surprise at the suppression and pressure she felt from the vials.
She bit her finger. A red blood drop with golden highlights appeared.
*Interesting.*
"Dear, as you can see, be proud. I'm not far from that level—just a little push. So generous of you to think of your mother, huh."
"Shut up!" she shouted as she removed one vial and bolted away.
"Did you find anything about that boy?" she asked. A shadow flickered slightly.
"**Other than** what the Princess said, nothing at all," a genderless voice replied.
*I've been stuck in this realm for several years. It's time for a breakthrough. He said he wants to go to the Academy, huh. We shall meet then.*
☆☆☆
"Fuck! Damn you, Lisa! You said it was a 'low-ranking' Labyrinth. Why are they this strong then?"
He cursed furiously as he dodged mandibles which threatened to slice him in half.
*Boom!*
He stomped heavily on the creature. Its body **caved** in. He swiftly beheaded it.
He had been fighting nonstop the moment he set foot in this damn graveyard.
At first, they were small spiders which he burnt without lifting a finger. But as he went deeper, they jumped levels to this...
*Shit.*
*Boom!*
A strange creature—head of a buffalo and hind of an elephant—nearly embedded him into a rock.
*This place is as if you blink, you die.*
It charged at him. Its mouth lit up. A **fireball** shot out.
He swung and split it into two. His sword lit up with flames. He swung.
A powerful flame arc closed in. Unfortunately, the creature just shrugged it off.
As it neared him, it jumped and **spun** mid-air. Hind legs shot out and struck him heavily in the chest. The thing was too fast.
He crashed into a rock. He felt as if struck by a car in the chest.
*Cough.*
He coughed up blood. This was what he hated the most. Making him bleed.
Lightning cracked relentlessly. His silver hair gained a golden hue. Sparks covered his body. He moved.
*Boom!*
He appeared before it. He struck its head without holding back. The creature staggered back. He struck up.
*Swoosh!*
It shot up. He appeared above it mid-air. He **raised** his hand up. A thick golden lightning **bolt** descended with a thunderous roar. The whole Labyrinth shook.
The **lightning** tore through the creature's body effortlessly. Everything about it was burnt—nothing remained.
His gaze landed on them. **There were hundreds** laying in wait. No matter what he did, these 'cockroaches' kept attacking him relentlessly. They gave him no break; it had been hours now.
He was now **fed up** with this shit. Lightning **increased** in intensity. He attacked head-on.
Bones shattered, skulls **caved** in, and blood flowed like a river. Fire beams shot out, ice spikes flew, poisonous gases and fluids scattered.
The battlefield descended into chaos. A golden trail was what remained before a **head** rolled.
Low-ranking adventurers were quickly evacuated. The Labyrinth shook intensively. It was on the brink of collapse. What everyone was sure of: there was a deadly raging battle inside.
*Who is that?*
Numerous news reporters made sure to capture every movement outside. Something which caused such a 'reaction' from the heavens had to be extraordinary. There was no spell used—just a natural response.
This was the question on everyone's mind. The sky outside was eerily dark as lightning cracked and thunder roared with great intensity since the Labyrinth started shaking.
It was as if Heaven was 'bending' to someone's or something's will. The area was covered in darkness; golden lightning sparks flashed in the sky. They descended in thick beams at a time toward the Labyrinth.
Anorax moved. Beasts fell. A river of blood flowed. Lightning descended.