Entrance exam
Dungeon center
First floor, Lower level
16th May 285
Eren was in the backyard, sitting under the dreary sun of Pele City, trying to see if he could summon the purple light from the night before. It had been two days since he woke up from his coma, and now in the months to come, the Entrance exam will begin. Eren didn't have much time, so he was doing his best to get stronger. And the best way he figured was to master the innate ability he had awakened. According to Mother Ruth, a cultivator could awaken a special form of power known as Ability. This Innate ability could either be specific to an individual which is called a Unique ability or it could be related to someone's Lineage. This was known as Bloodline ability. Most powerful families were known for their Lineage power. An example would be Ash and his spatial abilities. For Eren, who probably came from some unknown background, it seemed his Physique had given him a unique ability that was related to his physical abilities. Physical Enhancement. It sounded so simple. So basic. But Eren knew that there was more to it than just enhancing his physical prowess. Everything about him could be enhanced by stacking his power which could augment every aspect of his cultivation power. In other words, he could temporarily elevate his cultivation rank, making his Magic and Martial power stronger than those of his rank. Unfortunately for Eren, he lacked certain knowledge about Magic and Battle aura arts. So there wasn't much he could do about it. Right now, what Eren could do was learn to use his unique ability to enhance himself. And not just that. Eren had discovered the martial art in which he developed was not as powerful as he initially thought. Now that he could utilize Battle aura, Eren's sense of combat had grown tremendously to the point that he had noticed some flaws in his execution of the moves he made and the output of power he generated when in motion. His control of his power output was very inefficient, making him waste his stamina and power. Not only that, he also realized that there was more to his Fa jin that he had yet to realize. So Eren was looking forward to not just exploring his unique ability, but also rebuilding his Martial arts, but this time, he would learn to implement his own Aura technique on them. Luckily for Eren, it seems his Grimoire not only contained spells for him to master, but also Mana arts that could help him. So he kept his Magic and mana art training to the side and focused more on his ability. But it was not going as planned. Nothing was happening. He could feel the power within him, but for some reason, it wasn't being responsive to his call. He tried squeezing it out again, closing his eyes as he concentrated on summoning it, but no matter how much Eren squeezed his brain, concentrating and wishing for it, the Purple light didn't budge one bit. He sighed as he fell on the grass. Ash was not around, off doing his training somewhere where Eren couldn't reach him. Eren was forced to use the backyard of the orphanage to train. It was no different from the time when Mother Ruth had trained him in martial arts. Eren's mind went back to that training. It had been rigorous learning just the basic Steel ball martial art, Hado martial art, and Mantis kick martial art. And after he had learned them, he had chosen to blend all those styles together into a form that fitted him. Now all he needed was to combine his unique ability with it, and he would be good. Those days of training with Mother Ruth, even under the burning sun. How hard it was for him to breathe-
"Ahhh...That's it." Eren jumped from the ground. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it from the beginning. He remembered the first thing that Mother Ruth had taught him. Breathing techniques. She had explained how essential breathing was to martial arts. How breathing could affect the flow of energy within one's body. And not just that. With his Internal sense, he would be able to examine how his unique ability truly functions.
"Eren are you ok," Ina came out of the backdoor, with a tray of lemonade drinks for him. He couldn't help but smile at her as he took the drink. During the chaos of the Maleficant's attack, the other sisters had managed to get everyone down in the basement which had been warded against any kind of attack. Eren was just glad they had been safe. He didn't know what he would have done if anything had happened to them because of him.
"How's training," Ina asked. After the chaos of that day, the truth about Eren's awakening had been revealed to his foster siblings and their admiration over him had gone through the roof.
"It's good," Eren said. "It's coming along well." He gulped down the drink and went back to his training. He took a deep breath and took a stance, stretching his right arm, and drawing his left arm backward. His legs were set firmly on the ground as he focused and took a deep, cleansing breath as he expanded his lungs, and relaxed his shoulders. He held it within the count of seven, and then he exhaled it all out. And then he repeated it again, doing so until his attention was on his breathing. His focus had become strong enough that Eren's Internal Senses were examining his body. He could feel the beating of his heart that was in sync with his breathing, a scan of his muscular body appeared in his mind's eye, followed by his blood circulatory system. Within his blood vessels, Eren scanned what was his Mana circuit that was still forming. They were attached to his blood vessels, acting as a channel that carried Mana throughout the body. Eren knew that the more he leveled up, the more Mana circuit his body could develop. Eren scanned further to the point that he could see his cells. And within his cells, there were spikes of purple light emitting out. These lights pooled out of the cells to form a mosaic that looked like Nebula gas. In the center of the image was a pulsating blackish purple light. This was Eren's vitality, the Vital force that determined his lifespan. It was also the source that powered his Physique, the energy behind his unique ability and how much stamina he possessed. By merging his Mana and his Vital force, Eren could activate his unique ability. Of course he had to be careful with how much of his vitality he used because one's vital force was constant according to what cultivation rank one belonged to. If he should drain himself of his vitality, that was certain death for him. All this knowledge, Eren gained instinctively by using his Internal sense. He also realized why he was having a hard time activating his ability. Before he was just trying to coax his Vital force by itself, but what Eren had to do was to make his Mana flow towards the Vital force, in order to influence it to activate his ability. And that was what Eren did. He felt his cells explode with power as soon as his Mana interacted with the Vital force within his cells, and he felt a rush of energy permutate his being. To test himself, Eren focused the boost towards his Internal sense, and before he knew it, his Internal sense expanded, the range covering around five kilometers, something that he was not prepared for. All kinds of sensory overload hit Eren all at the same time, taking him off guard as he felt his mind go blank.
~
You showed up again.
What exactly are you?
I would devour you little trinket, but for now, it seems the boy needs you. But bear this in mind, that body is not yours. Keep it warm for me while I sleep for a while. And when the time comes...hehehe!
Eren opened his eyes, expecting to see the pearly gates of heaven but instead, he was facing the rotating ceiling fan of what looked to be a hospital room. Eren checked his chest to see if the hole was there, but his chest was alright. He was still dressed in his uniform outfit which he had worn for the exam. Fuck! The exam. He got up from the bed, looking around. The Hunter had gotten in his way, and now there was no telling if he was out of time. He checked for the wristband but it was gone.
"The exam is over," Someone on one of the hospital beds said. He looked at the person who had spoken and was shocked to see it was another female. This one was different. She wore fighting gear, and her black hair was shorter than the Hunter's silver hair. She looked to be around the same age as him. Her curved eyes weren't on him but on the device within her arms. It looked like a monitor screen though it had a keyboard attached to it. Eren noticed that her ear was slightly pointed with the golden hue to her skin which indicated she was of mixed blood. Her ears and skin showed she had Lightfolk blood running in her veins though her ears were not as long and pointedly as the annoying one he had seen before.
"How can it be over," Eren said.
"It's been over for a while now," the girl said. Eren checked out the garb she was wearing and it dawned on him that this girl might be an Adventurer. He decided not to use his Internal senses on her to check her rank as in the cultivation community it was considered rude to do so. "You talk in your sleep, do you know that?"
"Are we still in the Dungeon," Eren asked, ignoring the last part she had said..
"Pretty much," she said. "You were knocked out for quite a while. Some girl dropped you and a guy came to see you." Fuck. He had missed it all. He had failed. There was no doubt about it.
"Damn it," the girl swore. Eren had laid back on the bed as his situation had dawned on him.
"What's wrong," He asked. Surely she wasn't having a worse day than him.
"It's my girlfriend." The girl said. "She broke up with me last week and she refuses to pick up all the messages I've sent her."
"Is that so," Eren said. He didn't really care for the girl but he was asking because it was better than thinking of what had happened to him. The girl got up from her bed and walked over to him. She had put away her tablet, and up-close Eren could better tell how pretty she was.
"You look sick," She said. Indeed, Eren felt sick to his stomach. His dreams...his goal...they were all gone. Gone because of some stupid bitch...the door to the room opened and walking in was none other than the Hunter.
"Sheesh, she's back." the Lightfolk girl said. "Don't wanna mess with that.." She walked away, leaving some distance between herself and the Hunter. She gave a slight bow to the Princess, then left the room. It was just the two of them alone in the room and Eren could feel his rage increasing, a bloodlust to -
"That's some killing intent you've got there," Rey said.
"If it wasn't for you, I would have passed the test," Eren said.
" Who said you failed?" the Princes retorted.
"I...I obviously didn't meet the requirements for passing the exam," Eren said.
"It seems you don't remember, do you," Rey said. "Of course, you don't. I shouldn't be surprised after what happened."
"Remember what," Eren said. "Look, I don't know what kind of trick you're playing, but trying to kill a civilian for no reason-"
"Which clearly didn't work out," She said pointing to Eren's chest which had a hole in his cloth where his chest was.
"How is that possible," Eren said. He remembered his abdomen had healed from that critical wound the roach Maleficant had inflicted, but to heal a hole through the chest. Could his enhancement fix something like that?
"It seems you don't remember," Rey said. "After I struck you with my Lightning bolt, I was going to leave you for death. But something bizarre happened."
"What happened," Eren asked.
"The World energy around you began acting strangely," She said.
"What exactly are you saying," Eren asked.
"I'm saying that the Spiritual energy within the surroundings was absorbed by your body, reconstructing the damaged parts like it was nothing." She said "That is something only an Asetian should be able to do. No regular cultivator possesses recovery power like that."
"Are you saying I'm an Asetian," Eren said. If being called a Mundane was a derogatory insult, being called an Asetian was an accusation that could send you to your death. Asetians were Devils. Devils according to the Lumerian church. They were ancient enemies of mankind and the bad guys that Hunters fought besides Maleficants. The Third Age of Mana came to an end because of the undoing of the Accursed King's seal which had been the prologue to the third Spiritual world war. This all happened more than two millennia ago. Eren hadn't been so sure if he believed such beings existed, but now that he had seen a Maleficant with his own eyes, he didn't doubt their existence.
"No. You're not an Asetian." Rey said. "If you were one, I would have made more of an effort to kill you,"
"This is fucking crazy," Eren said. He took his leg off the bed and on the ground, fully facing the Hunter. He had to get away from her and find out if he passed the exam or not. Eren wanted nothing to do with this girl.
"I don't know what Alastor was doing, undoing the seal on you," Rey said. She made it known that she knew exactly what Eren was. An Irregular. Mother Ruth had told him to hide the fact that he was an Irregular as the Global Hunter Association didn't take kindly to people like him. But this Hunter seemed to know a lot more than Eren.
"He did what a Hunter was supposed to do," Eren said. He won't let anyone question Alastor's noble deed. "Saving lives," The Hunter smiled thinking the same thing. She knew Alastor after all, he was her Master.
"After your wounds were healed, you released a massive amount of Mana." Rey continued. "Enough power to draw a Basilisk towards us."
"A Basilisk," Eren said.
"You know how high a basilisk is in the Mana Beast rankings." the Hunter said. Eren nodded. Basilisks were the kings of the Naga race. They were incredible and powerful according to the information Eren had. And they were also a Mythical grade making them a Spirit beast instead of a Mana beast.
"What happened," Eren asked. "How did I survive,"
"I killed it," She said simply. Eren blinked at the ease with which she said it. Eren wished he could remember these events that the Hunter was explaining to him.
"After I killed it, I brought you to the Guild building after you fainted." She said, "So who knows, maybe the Basilisk Mana core and the Kobold's Mana core might give you enough points to pass."
"But...But..."
"What's the but for," Rey said. "You got what you wanted, right," But not this way. Winning without him even doing a single thing.. If what she said was true.. Eren had been knocked out for most of the exam. Which meant he did nothing. The only thing he could remember was the way this Hunter in front of him had easily washed him like he was nothing. Eren was confused and didn't know how to take all this information. Why the hell had this Hunter attacked him? Why was she interfering with him? And what was the connection between her and Alastor-
"You knew my Master, Alastor Kinsway," Rey said.
"Not for long," Eren said with a bit of bitterness in his voice. "I only met him for one night. He...He was protecting me from a Maleficant. And it was the same night that I fully awakened-"
"What happened to him after he undid the seal on you," Rey asked. Eren looked at the ring on his fingers. The ring had returned to him even after she had stopped his attack like it was nothing. He looked at the girl, acknowledging how strong she truly was. He had been unable to gauge her rank due to how powerful she was. His inability to sense her rank had to do with her being of a higher rank in the cultivation hierarchy.
"I don't know. I was out of it for weeks," Eren said. "Do you think that he's…dead?"
"Tsk! Of course not," She said glaring at him murderously. Her tone and attitude was really annoying and getting to him.
"I've answered your question, so answer mine. Who are you and why did you try to kill me?" Eren said, jumping from the bed. He had lots of questions. There were still things about that night that bothered him. Things that maybe this crazy hunter might tell him.
"I'm Reyna Greyron," Rey said. She bought out an Identification card to show proof. "A Hunter of the fifth Division. And Vice-captain of Squad one."
"That's impressive," Eren said. Even though she looked around the same age as him, she was already a Hunter and a Vice-captain of a Squad. And she was also a member of the Fifth Division which was like Eren's dream Division to enter when he became a Hunter. "Alastor was a Kinsway-"
"What about it?" She said.
"That means he was a member of the Six Great Families," Eren said. Two members of the great family he had come across. Eren couldn't believe what was going on. That night has completely uprooted his life."I've never met a member of the Great family but he was very noble."
"We don't know if he's dead yet," Rey said. "That's why I'm here. I'm searching for him. So could you please stop speaking in the past tense"
"Yeah, well maybe search for him somewhere else instead of attacking innocent civilians," Eren said. "I don't know what kind of Hunter you are-"
"Innocent. You're not really innocent of everything are you," Rey said with a dry laugh.
"What do you mean," Eren said.
"You're an Irregular. I'm very sure that Maleficant was after you," Rey said. "So technically, you're responsible for everything that happened." Eren winced at the coldness within her tone. This Bitch surely didn't have manners.
"What does me being an Irregular have to do with the Maleficant coming after me," Eren said. "Do you know why it was after me? Did Mister Kinsway leave any clue-"
"All you need to know is that your weakness nearly got those close to you killed" Rey said cooly. Eren squeezed his fist, fighting back his anger. He thought of everybody back in the Orphanage. The Orphanage was all he had in this world, a place filled with warm memories and delight. It was a place that had shielded him from most of the brutal truths of the world. And in exchange, Eren wanted nothing more in the world to protect it. To protect that which he held deeply within his heart. That was why Eren had so desperately wanted power so much. That was why he had trained his body so extensively. But that still hadn't been enough for that night. And though he had gained the fundamental thing that could give him the tool to become strong, Eren knew he was still at the bottom. His encounter with this crazy Hunter had informed him as much.
"You're right," Eren said. "I am weak. Which means it's my fault that my family nearly died. If Mister Kinsway hadn't shown up when he did, I don't know what would have happened to me or my family. Which is why I have to become strong…. Why I have to go to Namer University" Eren stopped speaking, not sure why he was revealing his heart to the Hunter in front of him. Rey turned away from Eren to face the outside. There was a bright light hanging in the sky, Eren couldn't tell if it was a real sun or an artificial one. Residents of the hospital could be found outside in the courtyard. Some were sitting, playing cards, and laughing. While a reading group was circled around in a corner. Everything looked safe and calm. But Eren was anything but calm and collected. There were numerous things racing through his mind. Eren walked away from her. He wanted to get out as quickly as possible. He looked at the clock on the wall, and according to the time, he hadn't spent that much time in the hospital. Luckily for him, it was still the same day as when the exam took place. He stopped by the door and then turned to Rey.
"Thank you for bringing me back." Eren said. He opened the door and left.
*
Rey thought back to that moment after she had struck him through the chest. The moment when the World energy in the air reacted to the sudden surge of spiritual power from Eren. She had never felt a presence so dangerous as she had in that moment. Right there and then, she had to admit that the boy had to be an Irregular. Rey's hand shook as she recalled that cold presence. She would have tried to kill him again if not for the orders that she had. To Rey, the boy was an aberrant that should have been taken care of long ago. Irregulars went against the standard that the World's will have set. She still couldn't believe how he could have survived without the Global Hunter Association finding out about him. It must have been the seal. Rey had been struck by the gathering of World energy towards his body. It wasn't only the World energy that he had been absorbing. She felt her own Mana leave her body towards him. The boy's body was absorbing Mana at an unprecedented rate. Maleficants feed on strong Spiritual energy. So too did the Asetians. Spiritual gates allowed cultivators to siphon spirit essence from the World energy to grow one's Essence core. But there was a limit to how much a core could contain Spirit essence before breaking apart. The only one she had ever met whose reserves was as close to boundless as him was the Sword King. And Eren's Spiritual power reminded her of it. The explosiveness upon its release after he had absorbed the ambient energy, it was no surprise that a Basilisk had been attracted to it. Basilisks were high-grade mana beasts with a high level of Spiritual power.
"This Data that you sent," Her Captain said. "Is it true?" Rey was outside the Dungeon's center, the bright sun of Pele city was setting already, and she was waiting for her car to return from where the driver had parked it. A hologram of her Captain, Alexander Kinsway was projecting out of her transmission cell. She saw her vehicle approach and stopped in front of her. Her driver came out, bowing to her, and then opened the door for her. Rey got inside as the driver took her back to the hotel she was staying.
"It's true, My Lady," Rey said. "It confirms the existence of the Irregularity,"
"A seventh Irregular," Alexander said. "And here I thought there could only be six of us according to the Lumerian doctrine"
"His power is nowhere close to yours," Rey said. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she hesitated not wanting to speak out of turn to a superior officer. Alexander noticed the question in her eyes and smiled at it.
"What is it?" She coaxed her to ask her question.
"I..I still don't understand why you wanted me to attack him," Rey said. "I don't get the point of attacking him when his power has barely bloomed. I feel bad messing with him and not giving him the chance to take the exam." The projection of Alexander sitting on a chair, moved her body from one position to another. She had on a smile that made Rey feel unusual, not knowing what she was thinking. But the truth was that Alexander was thinking hard for an answer to give the girl.
"Let's just say I'm planting the seeds," She finally settled on one. "How long before you return to HQ," She had given her answer and from her tone, Rey could tell she didn't want to linger anymore on it. So Rey moved on.
"I should be in Haumea for a while," Rey said. "There's still the matter of who broke into the Star King's palace. Master Alastor never discovered who the perpetrator was."
"About that. I don't know if this Eren brat is responsible for that, but for some reason, he was attacked by the same force who broke into the Zangretus Library." Alexander said.
"Do you think it's them," Rey said.
"Don't know. There hasn't been that much chatter about them making a move. I think for now, you should back off from any further investigation and return home,"
"Do you have a plan," Rey said.
"Not right now," She said. Rey could see the devilish smile that the Captain was trying to hide. She hoped to her family god Keraunos, that it wouldn't be as outlandish as her usual takes. Especially now that Alastor wasn't here to hold her back.