Forest of Obscurity
Namer University
Academia City, Namer Island
8th September 2285 A.G.M
Eighteen years after Hailey Incident
"Uh! Looks like he's more capable than you assumed, Professor," Ayden, the Dwarf noted as he and Professor Wingram watched the monitors observing all the students within the forest. They were sitting on the podium, which had been transported to the forest exit. Behind them was the path that led to the Northern gates that led to the school campus ground. Professor Wingram snorted, not caring for Ayden's intake. The student who Professor Wingram had marked as the lowest of the students due to his cultivation was suddenly moving up the rank quicker than any of the other students. Most of the students were focused on fighting the Maleficants who were worth ten points, while he had gone for both of them.
"Looks like he knows how to handle himself in combat," Ayden bought up another point.
"Hmm, so he could fight against those of the lower tier like himself," Professor Wingram said. "So what? I'm more interested in the Rykkel boy and the other geniuses,"
"Ok," Ayden said as he looked away from Eren's screen and focused on the others.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the forest, Victor Jaeger and his bunch of cronies were dealing with a swarm of Maleficants that they had stumbled upon. Victor barely put in any effort as he made a simple gesture with his fingers, white claws of energy tore through ten of them like they were nothing. He had already killed twelve of this Maleficant, and an additional ten made him have around two hundred and twenty. But Victor was not satisfied with just these points. He stomped his feet on the ground, and a whitish wave of energy rolled out and crushed the rest of the swarms that his cronies couldn't finish off. Now it was two hundred and ninety after those seven ones he got rid of. He put his hand right back in his pocket and kept on walking. The others looked at each other, knowing well that Victor was not in a good mood.
"So uh...Who's it gonna be? The Rykkel guy or the Asterion bastard," Ken, Victor's right hand man asked.
"Who do you think, the Rykkel bastard," Victor said. He was using his Internal senses along with his physical sense of smell to track down Reo Rykkel. Victor had no care for the second place, he intended to go straight for the guy at the top. He was so focused on getting to Rykkel that he missed the presence of a foe watching him from above the tree. Two sets of arrows fell from the sky, hitting two of Victor's group. He stopped, turning his attention behind him as more arrows came out from the branches of the trees behind them. Victor simply moved his head out of the way of an arrow's path while more of his guys got hit. When he picked up the scent of his attacker, Victor felt a buildup of rage lit within his guts.
"Show yourself, you Asterion bastard," Victor roared. Ken and the others who were still conscious looked up in rage as Ash appeared in their view. He had his legendary grade enchanted bow in his hand, an arrow already manifested as he got ready to fire more. Ash said nothing as he concentrated on casting a spell this time, instead of just using his Mana.
[Nebula arrows]
Five lances of black tendril of darkness fired off like they had been shot from a cannon, the darkness spells moving so fast that they generated a kinetic charge. Normally darkness spells were slow, compared to Light magic whose properties consist of being fast, but thanks to Ash' enchanted bow, the darkness element was boosted. Victor was forced to leap out of the way as the spell blasted the others, creating a decent size crater on the ground, while the others were knocked out. Victor landed away from where the spell had hit, making sure not to let the remnant darkness affect him. The darkness element was an element of erosion and volatile power. And the spell Ash had cast was strong. He watched as the soil where the spell had hit became eroded, the little weed on the ground withered from the spell, its vitality sapped away. His group mates who had been hit by the spell were unconscious, and luckily the armor that they wore over their uniform had protected them from the effects of the spell. Of course, Ash had known about the protection their equipment provided, which was why he had not hesitated to hit them with a lethal spell. Ash got ready to cast more spells, this time going for one that would take out Victor before he could react.
[Gran-
A slash of white light tore through the space heading straight for Ash. He stopped his casting, jumping from the tree branch as the attack cut through it. Ash moved swiftly from one branch to another as more of the energy claw mark came after him. He was trying to keep a little bit of distance away from Victor, but the Beastfolk boy had no intention of letting Ash get away. With great agility and dexterity, Victor was able to jump from branch to branch, sending out his attacks. Falling from one branch, Ash's hand got hold of another and used it to somersault and then land on that same branch. He went into a firing stance as Victor leaped towards him. His yellow-green eyes were full of rage, sharp claws extended from his fingers. Ash was not fazed by it one bit.
[Exploding flare]
A bright surge of yellow light and explosion began to form as Victor reacted on time. He opened his mouth and let out a howl, a sound attack that brought forth white light that tore through the explosion spell. Both attacks canceled each other, the force of the collision pushed Ash off the branch, his bow slipped out of his hand, and then he landed on the ground, sliding through it before he put a brake on it. Throughout all of that, Ash's Internal senses were still locked on Victor, who wasted no time coming straight for Ash. His claw tore past the ground as he ran towards Ash, an expression of untold rage on his face. Ash got into a fighting stance, timing the time when the claw would go for him, and then he leaped out of Victor's fist trajectory. Ash was calm and collected as he channeled his Mana from his Mana circuits. His fist was imbued with pure Mana as he danced around Victor's claw attack. He waited for the right time to parry one of Victor's claws away with his left palm and then sent his right palm infused with Mana at Victor's back.
[Butterfly Piercing Wave]
An aura of butterfly wings appeared, a shockwave spreading all out in every direction from the Piercing technique Ash had used. If Onyanko had been there, he would have recognized the technique Ash had used as one of the Simple Magic that the MMA fighters used in the ring like Mana Cannon. Ash's eyebrows raised as he noticed that the technique did not affect Victor.
"You think because I'm a Mana Warrior, I'm weak to Magical attacks," Victor yelled as a brown aura of energy covered his body. He stomped the ground, and the earth broke into several shards of rocks. Ash jumped a few paces away from Victor realizing what had happened. He was in surprise and awe of Victor's power. He can already use Elemental energy. Mana warriors were unable to use elemental energy not till they reached the peak of the first stage of cultivation or they entered the second stage, but Victor was already fortifying his body with the earth's elemental energy. No wonder his Piercing attack couldn't go through. The Earth element was quite a sturdy element after all. Leave it to a member of the Great families to show off such skill. That only served to infuriate Ash a lot. Victor kicked the rocks with such force that they blasted towards Ash.
"And you think because I'm a Mage I'm weak to physical attacks," Ash whispered. His fist, infused with a golden light, distorted the paths in which the rocks were flying toward him. The spatial distortion released a wave of pressure that crushed the rocks into dust, the wave of the pressure smacked against Victor, sending him crashing through the ground. If it wasn't for his body fortification, Victor's bones would have been crushed by the pressure. That didn't stop him from getting bruised all over his body, blood gushing out of his mouth. He had landed on the other side of Ken and his group. Ash picked up his bow and walked past him. Victor couldn't believe it. He was defeated by a Cursedborn.
"You fucking Curse-" Ash's leg slammed against his mouth, sending blood across the ground. He was impressed by Victor's durability and the fact that he was still conscious. He could already tell that Victor would heal soon enough. Beastfolks were known for their tenacity.
"You should be careful with how you speak against me," Ash said. He bent down over Victor's face, the cold look in his eyes only infuriated Victor more. "I'm not after your points. I have no interest in it. But I can't have you going after Rykkel yet. You see...Someone more suited has already set his sights on him. So stay here and rest. You should be able to get to the exit soon enough." And with that, Ash disappeared, leaving for the exit as he already had all the points he needed.
****
"Do you think it was wise to make Rhea go out on her own?" Boyd Adkins, one of Reo's earliest companions, asked. Reo and his companions had just recently hunted down two hundred Maleficant and had divided the points among eight of themselves. Reo, who already had five thousand points from the first evaluation, had decided to just hunt down Maleficants, not bothering to attack his classmates. His group had increased from four members, which had also included Rhea, and now he had added four more students to his group.
"Rhea has a job to do," Reo said. He knew about Boyd's crush on Rhea, and how much of a fuss he liked to make about her. "She can handle herself well, Boyd. You don't have to worry."
"Do you think they'll accept her proposal," Jarvis, another of Reo's companions asked.
"Why not," Dev said. "We all accepted Reo's proposal, and look at us. We've gotten stronger all because of him." The other four newcomers all nodded at what Dev had said. Dev and the others had been at the lower tier of the Intermediate rank. But after Reo had used his power on them, their cultivation had gone up to the middle tier.
"Some people would rather go their own paths than rely on others," Boyd said. "It's human nature. I don't see her getting so many, especially from the Aristocrats."
"Don't worry about the Aristocrats," Reo said. "I'm not interested in them yet," Reo had a certain goal, and for him to reach that goal, gathering comrades and increasing his influence was vital to it. But more than that, Reo was also interested in making alliances with those with great potential. And one of his targets was just around the corner...
The group turned to their left and stopped upon seeing the view before them. Reo couldn't help but let out a small grin that those who barely knew him would be unable to notice. Standing before them, smacking the crap out of a student was Eren Walker. Surrounding him were some unconscious students. They looked like they had received their share of beatings. Eren was done with beating the crap out of the Nobleborn who had pissed him off by underestimating him. He hadn't held back as much as he did against Percy and his group, so he had finished these aristocrats a lot faster. When he let go of the Noble, Eren finally noticed Reo and his companions, who had shocked faces from the situation.
"Hey! Wasn't he at the bottom of the ranking?" Titus, another latest addition to Reo's group, said.
"Not anymore," Boyd said.
"Eren Walker, right," Reo called out. Eren couldn't believe his luck. Standing in front of him was the number one first-year. If he defeated Reo and took his points, wouldn't that make him the number one? That would be a great start to his career as a Hunter.
"Reo Rykkel! Just the guy I need," Eren said. He stared at the rest of Reo's group, who he assumed were his friends. "You've got more people with you than you did at the beginning. What are you, recruiting or what?"
"Hmm! Yes, you could say that," Reo said. He stepped away from his comrades and raised his right hand to Eren. "You're a Commonborn, aren't you, Eren Walker?"
"Don't know," Eren said. "Never knew my parents, so you might say I could be either Commonborn or Nobleborn. Can't tell you."
"If you have no Family, then you're a Commonborn," Boyd said.
"Hmm! You're right about that," Eren said. "What does it matter if I'm a Commoner or not? Looks to me that you all are commoners too. Maybe not you, Reo. With that talent of yours, you're probably some member of the Great Families."
"Don't put Reo on the same level as those bastards," Dev said angrily.
"I'm as much a Commonborn as you are, Eren," Reo said. Eren raised an eyebrow at what he said. Commoners could give birth to Geniuses. There were precedents for it, as most well-known Hunters were Commonborns who were able to gain fame and status. Enough to become a Great Minor Family. So Eren didn't think Reo was lying. But that didn't change Eren's desire to take the top spot for himself. "Say, Eren, why don't you join us? Join my group, help me with my goal, and I'll help you achieve whatever it is you desire. You don't have to-"
"Sorry, but you're on my list," Eren said, pointing to Reo. "I intend to get to the top, and you're my ticket to it," Eren's fist got covered by a swirl of Mana, the Battle aura blazing bright and intense.
"Reo, we should teach him a lesson," Boyd said.
"Yes, show him that we're not like those aristocrats he played with," Jarvis said.
"No," Reo said. He made a gesture for them to back down. He had not expected Eren to accept his offer right away. "I can help you with your cultivation, Eren Walker." Eren squinted his eyes as his Internal senses probed Reo's group. He noticed that those additional students who had joined Reo and the four companions had gotten stronger. Eren was very observant. Though he might not remember the names of all the students in the first year, he recognized their faces and what their rankings had been. Dev and the other four had been at the lower tier, one tier above Eren. And now they were at the middle tier, the sixth tier. They had jumped one tier like it was nothing. Eren figured it had to be the work of Reo. He was, after all, the Hero candidate. Eren knew what the Hero candidate was. Everybody raised in the Lumerian doctrine knew about the chosen one, the World's will choose to do their bidding within the world. Individuals who were tested in a trial that tested their battle skills, bravery, merits, and honor. It must be nice to have the world backing you up.
"Help me the same way you helped them," Eren said.
"Yes. What do you say?" Reo said. "With my help, I can blossom your potential beyond what it is."
"Thanks, but I'm good. Like I said, I intend to climb to the top, and I can't do that if you're at the top also." Eren said. His Internal sight was able to pick up on Reo's aura within the cultivation aura of all seven of them. It must be his Ability Factor or something.
"I think I understand what kind of person you are now," Reo said. "Which also intrigues me. Very well, if you want my points, you will have to come and take them." Reo pulled out a green dragon-looking hilt from his side. The hilt had two handles with the dragon's lower body twisting in a circle to make the second shorter handle that ended in a claw shape. A blade was on top of the circular part of the handle, a curved shortsword with six holes along the middle of the sharp blade, and five moon holes along the other side of the blade. The blade was split into two colors, the sharp edge was bronze colored, and the other side was a dark scarlet. And to finish it off, the front and the back bevels converged to form the tip. Eren noticed how the edges looked blunt for such a beautiful sword. He wondered what grade the Enchanted blade belonged to. He felt an ominous sensation from it. "Are you coming or not?"
"You don't have to tell me twice," Eren said as he got into his fighting stance. He had his left arm drawn out, and his right fist drawn back. His legs got into the right footwork, his knees were slightly bent, and his heels elevated to generate as much power as possible for his speed. And like that, he shot forward, his right fist whipped toward Reo's face like a pistol shot. Eren was so quick that most others didn't see his movement. But not Reo. Reo moved his body sideways, easily dodging Eren's punch. He smiled as he flipped the sword in his hand backward and sent a slashing attack. Eren immediately jumped backward, barely dodging the slash. He fell back to the ground just as Reo readied another slash again at Eren. But Eren was ready as well, he somersaulted backward to evade the blade, and at the same, his right foot sent a forward kick at Reo who caught the foot with his other hand. And then he pushed Eren away. Eren flipped backward, putting some distance between him and Reo. Reo had a grin on his face that was pissing him off. He pulled his arms backward, channeling his Battle aura within his fist, condensing the Mana as it flared up, taking the shape of a blue beast-like skull.
[Fa Jin style-Dynamic engine]
Eren rushed over to Reo, swinging his fist at Reo. The barrage of punches rained against Reo, who swiftly dashed through the sequences of attacks. Eren couldn't believe it. He had always prided himself on his physical strength and speed, especially his speed, but now there was someone stronger and faster than him. Reo slipped through Eren's attack like they were nothing, not even bothering to block or even attack Eren. After five minutes of dancing around each other, they put some distance between each other.
"Impressive," Reo said. "You've managed to center your Ability Factor as your Battle art. I assume your ability allows you to increase your physical stats. But it's more than that. It's not just an increase in physical ability..."
"Enough talk," Eren said. The aura flared up, sparks emitting off his fist. The Mana skin flowed through his entire body, his skin being reinforced by it.
"I agree," Reo said. Then he took one step, and then a trail of slashes converged upon Eren, each stroke of slashes as ominous and deadly as it felt. Eren activated his movement technique, his speed seeing a massive boost that allowed him to step out of each of the slashes' path. For a moment, Eren felt like he was at the edge of a cliff, and beyond it was his death. He despises that feeling. That feeling of being weak, so Eren increased the power that allowed for his enhancement. He felt his heart beat faster, the pumping of it was in synch with the release of the energy that was the source of Eren's physical enhancement. But this time, Eren didn't just focus the energy on his body; he allowed it to enhance his mental force, the power behind one's Internal senses, increasing his perception skill. He also felt the energy boost the size of his core, allowing for more Spirit energy production and conversion to Mana. Reo seemed to notice the changes that were happening with Eren, how he was growing stronger.
So I was right. So there's more to his enhancement than just boosting his physical stats. Reo's grin widened. Right now, he felt like he was fighting someone at the peak of the intermediate rank, just like him. In the end, Eren had the ability to temporarily raise his cultivation level beyond its normal rank. For now, it seems he could just raise the quality of a rank, but there was no doubt that the more he explored his Ability Factor, the chance to be able to raise the quantity would be possible. Very well. Let me see more. Reo took another step, his second one, and then the trail of slashes seemed to increase even more.
Eren couldn't believe it. Reo was still able to keep up with him. Still, that was not enough for Eren to get caught by the storm of slashes that was coming from every corner of the space around Eren. Eren's movement was not that simple. He used everything in his arsenal. He leaped over a slash that was coming for his torso, rolling on the ground behind Reo, then he sprinted off towards him, but then Reo responded quickly. He made another step, producing more blitzes of slashes, but this time Eren caught on to something. He noticed how each step Reo had taken, the number and speed of the slashes seemed to have increased. Somehow, two slashes appeared like they were just one, and five became two slashes coming from the same direction. Does this mean that his movement is connected to how much power he can deliver to a strike? Eren decided to test something. As he weaved out of another five chains of slashes that appeared as just one slash by rolling through the ground, Eren grabbed a couple of rocks that lay on the broken earth. He did it in such a way that Reo wouldn't notice. He then imbued his mana within the rock, and imitating how Reyna Greyron used her coins, Eren fired them at Reo. The attack caught Reo off guard as he hadn't seen Eren pick up any of it. His focus had been on Eren's evasion of his slashes, and he had failed to pick up on the fact that Eren had purposely thrown himself on the ground to pick up some random rocks. Though it wasn't much of a problem for him as the chain of slashes he had produced got rid of some of it. But then at the last moment, he saw another rock heading for his left leg. The rock seemed to have somehow slipped through the chains, like Eren had calculated the trajectory in which the rock would fly through. Such an act required a powerful Mental force that could calculate such a feat. The rock was squarely aimed at his kneecap. He had no choice but to leap aside as the rock exploded, little shards of it flying everywhere. Even with all that, Reo didn't stop his attack on Eren. The chains of slashes descended on Eren. But this time, Eren noticed a considerable difference. The slashes had lost their power and speed. There weren't as many storms of blades coming for Eren. Instead, the situation felt like the beginning of their duel, where Eren felt no pressure from the attack. After Eren dodged the first set of slashes from the steps Reo had taken, Reo finally finished his attacks.
"Excellent. You could deduce my battle art," Reo said as he and Eren walked around each other. "You're more intuitive than you appear." Eren noticed that the Hero candidate had been giving him praises since they began their duel as if he was testing Eren's skill. Well, the same could be said for Eren too. After all, he was interested in the Hero candidate's capabilities. Eren wanted to see what kind of Magic he could use. But so far it seems Reo was not concerned with relying on his Magic.
"Are you ever going to take this seriously," Eren said as his fist flared up with more of his Battle aura.
"I'm more serious than you realize," Reo said. "After all, I am waiting for you to take my points," Before Eren could jump towards Reo, he caught sight of something moving from above making him stop himself from attacking. Landing in front of Reo was the Rhea Mogarin. Around her was a ring of shield that covered her and her companions including Reo. She held a long silver rapier sword.
"Rhea..." Reo said.
"Enough of this, Reo. We need to finish the evaluation," Rhea said. "Not indulge whatever this is," As she spoke to Reo, Rhea couldn't help frowning at Eren, who looked irritated at being interrupted. They were just about to get to the good part of their dance. What is it with girls driving him crazy?
"You should mind that killing intent of yours," Rhea said. "It betrays your thought,"
"Maybe you should mind your business," Eren said. He did not like this interruption at all. HIs fist flared up with his Mana being enhanced by his ability.
"We should get going Eren," Another voice interrupted them. Eren's Internal sight landed on Asher as he walked out of the shadows of the trees in the corner. How long as he been there? Eren dismissed his battle aura, his mood for battle gone.
"Don't worry Eren Walker," Reo said. "I'll see you later," He weaved a couple of gesture, traces of green lines formed underneath him and his group. And then a flash of green light and they were gone. Eren's eyes felt like falling off his face.
"Was that..."
"A Warp spell," Ash said. "And a high level spell at that," Ash turned to see Eren's fist being squeezed so hard. Looks like the hero candidate is more than he seems.