“Are all of the students like him?”-Jack
Jack and Sulong were sitting on their favorite couch and staring at the cross-legged youth whose eyes were closed and his body literally emitting a faint green light.
“Nah! We were just unfortunate enough to cross paths with one of the crazy ones. He hasn’t moved an inch since last night.”
Even though Sulong would constantly bicker with Zeke, he had to admit that the latter was excessively hard-working, so much that he gave up on any rest for the sake of non-stop training.
It has been five days since Zeke came to live in their office, and despite their rocky beginning, he mostly kept to himself and rarely, if not ever, interfered with their work.
The pure Aether revolving around Zeke then getting absorbed suddenly came to a full stop as his body twitched twice and then fell to the ground. By now, this odd occurrence had become more and more frequent, so Sulong no longer voiced his worries or surprise.
Zeke groaned in pain, supported himself by pressing his hands against the ground, and spat a bit of blood.
“You really weren’t bullshitting us, huh…”
Sulong’s remark didn’t escape Zeke’s ears, who wiped his lips and glared at them.
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“Of course, I wasn’t. I told you my life is at stake.”
In fact, Zeke didn’t reveal the whole truth, but he did tell the two thugs about his worsening condition. He did that to build a bit of mutual trust as they were going to help him separate Amelia and Jonathan.
Jack opened big cardboard sitting on the table and took out a couple of military knives and electric batons.
“Will these even work? I don’t even know if we could hit that mist.”
“They’re better than nothing. I’m going to go face a mad serial killer empty-handed, especially not one capable of using Aether.”
“Hey Long…” Jack grinned and whispered, “Imagine if we could wield it too. Wouldn’t that be awesome? We could be like… emm… bodyguards or something.”
In response, Sulong smacked his friend’s head and instructed him to hide the illegal weapons laid out in the open.
After he was done stretching his sore limbs, Zeke looked at the bald man and asked,
“Do you have something to eat?”
“Leftovers from last night.” Answered the man while grumbling,“But, once this is over, I’ll be expecting a full compensation from all of this.”
“Consider your help as a front payment for a future of collaboration between the two of us. Even though I have nothing to my name, things will change once I graduate. Instead of conning the students, wouldn’t it be better to befriend one of them?”
“Tsk!”
…
As he was gobbling down the cold food in the dirty and small kitchen adjacent to the office, Zeke examined his Stats, which have not risen as much due to his single-minded focus on leveling up.
[User: Zeke Orland]
[Race: Human]
[Level 5 (2/65 EXP)]
[Strength: 56]
[Agility: 56]
[Aether: 53]
[Fortitude: 6]
[Paths: Martial Arts (1/12) inactive | Aether Voltage (22/22) active | Groundbreaker (1/32) inactive- Sreyzhan Rune (1/9)]
[Skills: Fists of Fury(Proficiency 100%) - Aether Control(Proficiency 89%) - Voltage Zap(Proficiency 100%) - Spark (Proficiency 41%) - One-star Side-kick(Proficiency 100%) - Life Motus(Proficiency 100%) - Rune of Life (Proficiency 30%) - Voltage Arrow (Proficiency 100%)- Rune of Death(6%) - Sreyzhanian Arts(0%)]
[Survival Skills: ‘Rune of Life: Voltage Manipulation(Proficiency 32%)]
[Available PE: 0]
[Available Skill Points: 1]
Excluding the easily-completed Daily Tasks, Zeke put his all into gaining the most amount of EXP in just five days. That required him to train in all non-mastered skills and subject his body to hellish physical training.
The physical training itself was composed of basic moves, which were repeated for hours on end not only to be rewarded by the System, but to also enhance his reflexes and strengthen his brute power. Additionally, all gained PE were converted into EXP, which was the only way he could have reached Lv5 in such a short amount of time.
Unfortunately, no new paths were ‘unlocked’, but Zeke didn’t particularly care about it as there were many ones available, to begin with. For now, he needed to hone his skills and try to get used to the newly-unlocked Sreyzhanian Arts.
Alas, there wasn’t a suitable sparring partner like Julia, so he contented with the reluctant Jack and burly Sulong.
Due to the absence of good ‘fighting’ areas, they headed to stinky basements, which were filled with forgotten card boxes.
“Don’t forget your words. You’re not allowed to use your lightning.”
Jack was holding a bent metal pipe and hesitantly staring at the stoic Zeke, making sure there was no lightning dancing around his body, specifically his hands.
Sulong too, was overjoyed to be offered an opportunity to beat up the insufferably guest he had to host for almost a week.
As they charged at him, Zeke concentrated and, as if it was natural, used ‘Sreyzhanian Arts’ to defend himself. In fact, the skill itself was completely different from ‘Voltage Zap’ or ‘Voltage Arrow’, for example. To be precise, it was a collection of defensive and offensive moves, so in more than a way, they could be categorized as advanced forms of ‘Fists of Fury’ from the Martial Arts Path, though these ones were imbued with a new type of energy.
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Sulong swung his fist and Jack used the pipe, and despite relatively large bodies, they were easily deflected by Zeke. From an outsider’s point of view, the youth moved in a seemingly slow but effective way, allowing him to easily dodge the attacks and counterattack on the spot.
He stretched his arm and used a simple palm attack to push Sulong a couple of steps to the back, and, simultaneously, he spun his body and sent the pipe flying out of Jack’s hand. Just like that, the ‘fight’ came to an end and Zeke didn’t even have to use his superior physical prowess or his magical abilities.
‘It’s a really good skill, but I find it odd how it was literally engraved into my mind. It’s different from ‘Fists of Fury’... this one seems to subtly guide my body and protect it from any and all incoming danger. It consumes a sizeable quantity of Life Aether too…’
“Shit! Let’s go again!”
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On the eve of the 5th day, when the sky was darkening, Zeke finally left the loan shark office along with an apprehensive Sulong and a fearful Jack. He already called Vans Valort and told him to distract the Special Investigation Squad, which was spread all over Kethra’s Arms, waiting for any signs from their quarry.
“Your only job is to take Amelia away. I hope you don’t change your mind at the last second and run away.”
“Hah! Who do you take us for?!”
“Yy-yes… we will avenge our fallen brother!”
Jack was wearing an old and thick set of armor acquired a long time ago. It was an old version of the artifacts worn by the special soldiers deployed by the Department of Defense. Sulong, on the other hand, was only wearing a black tank top and large military pants.
Thanks to the System, Zeke knew where exactly the Crown was, so, by an extension, Amelia and Jonathan should be at the same location. His Life Aether was replenished and he had an additional to defend himself, however, his main objective wasn’t to kill Jonathan but to stall for enough time for Sulong and Jack to take Amelia away.
He needed the Crown, and the first step was to separate Amelia from her captor.
The trip took almost an hour as Zeke had to rely on his two companions to lead the way and make sure no Erys students were roaming the area. Thankfully, Detective Vans did a good job as Maxine and her team members were nowhere to be seen.
Soon, they arrived in front of a local and bustling pub, much to Zeke’s surprise.
“There’s a basement on the other side of the building. Make ready.”
Sulong and Jack circled around while Zeke followed, lightning sparks appeared around his hands. As per the baldy’s words, there was indeed a small wooden door leading downstairs.
Moreover, it was fully open as if it was welcoming them in. With the youth taking the lead, they slowly descended to the basement only to be welcomed by an expected sight.
Jonathan and Amelia were there, the former coldly smiling and the latter standing at the corner of the room, fearfully looking at a shining oblong-shaped purple portal.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.”
Before Zeke could react, a monstrous force pulled him right into the purple portal, and just as he got absorbed, Jonathan followed thereafter.
“W-what’s going on?!”
“You there! You have to come with us.”
Sulong beckoned the motionless Amelia, but once she snapped out of it, she leapt forward and entered the portal.
“Fuck!”
Sulong smacked the startled Jack then, while letting out a manly roar, ran straight into the portal. The last one was the dread-filled Jack, who squeaked like a child and, after mustering a bit of courage, tentatively touched the portal, which reacted instantly by pulling him in.
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Lore: The planet of Wonders
Author: Archeologist, Geologist, and Historian Sebastien Whitefort
Chapter 1: The Aether planet
Following its serendipitous discovery, the Aether Planet quickly became a new home for a new breed of genetically-altered humans. Although the planet was, at least, half the size of Earth, it was situated in the perfect spot, thus making it habitable and ripe for colonization, or so thought the ‘Earthlings’.
However, there are many unexplained terrains and occurrences happening all over the Aether Planet.
First, there are the contrasting biomes adjacent to each other and equipped with violent environmental conditions. Notably, the Vermillion Sea of Flames, the Whitefrost Planes, the Kingsmen’s Ruins, and the Living Forest.
Similar to Earth, the Aether Planet was mostly covered in stretches of waters, which was mostly inaccessible and relatively devoid of any exciting discoveries. However, the available and crossable lands were either too harsh and dangerous to venture in or relatively peaceful and welcoming to any and all visitors.
Right before the Stellar War happened, the humans that were living on the Aether Planet divided themselves into three groups, which would later flourish into large and widespread nations;
- The Nezulian Republic, which operates mostly in the Sunken Metropolis and Poudel City.
- The Witch Association, situated on the other side of the globe and surrounded by numerous dangerous regions
- The Serey Zhan Empire, an isolated monarchy deep into the blistering and snowy Northern Wastes.
Most of the unexplained and abnormal environmental factors witnessed all around the Aether Planet could be attributed to humanity’s lack of knowledge about Aether, its properties, and its effects.
The scarcity of resources notwithstanding, we managed to establish a foothold on a planet that was utterly devoid of life, or so many claims. However, recently-excavated fossils and the existence of human-constructed runs suggest otherwise.
With even the Zyth Race denying any involvement in the shrouded history of the planet, we had to rely on experts to study what could be accessed, such as the mysteriously sunken ruins believed to be still present right under the Sunken Metropolis.
A common hypothesis goes as such; The humans that once dwelled on the Aether Planet went extinct due to a successful ‘raid’ from the notorious and deadly Proto-Demons.
(Please note that, as of today (26th of June, year 2129) we have yet to determine the origin of the Proto-Demons or the motive behind their elaborate attacks on, specifically, the human race.)
Even with the absence of conclusive evidence, I too, believe that the past inhabitants of the Aether Planet were eradicated by an unknown force, which could possibly be the Proto-Demons or the ever-eccentric and inscrutable Zyths.
Throughout the planet’s unique biomes and distinguishable regions, we discovered several anomalies in the form of ‘randomly positioned stone formations’, for want of a better word.
These so-called stone formations are, quite literally, a couple of dozen large stones or rocks close to each other. Strangely, even after intense study, no meaning was found behind the formations as the stones weren’t artifacts or imbued with any Aether, which was a weird occurrence in itself considering that all inanimate objects on the planet naturally have either a small or big quantity of Aether.
A famous theory suggests that the formations were like a prayer to the Gods, pleading to them for salvation and deliverance, but the lack of tangible evidence pushes me to believe that the theory was merely the ramblings of religious zealots rather than sophisticated and truth-seeking individuals.
As it is particularly close to Earth, the Aether Planet follows the exact same day-night cycle and, for most regions, the same four seasons. However, high-concentrations of Aether, either stable or unstable, were proven to have led to sometimes disastrous environmental degradation or the exponential and unabated evolution of the wildlife and flora.
For instance, in the Whitefrost Planes, there have been sightings of Ice Energy that literally evolved into sentient elementals that were capable of speech and thought. Such phenomena could be seen all across the planet, but it is mostly influenced by natural rather than exterior or artificial means.
In all of my years as an Archeologist, I could never forget the gargantuan treant found in the Living Forest, or the miraculous herbs that were able to regenerate an entire limb just by consuming them. In fact, a close friend of mine, who was also an Archeologist, once insisted that a certain golden plant in the Living Forest was able to bring back the dead to life. He spent all of his life searching for it and, gradually, his reputation plummeted as he was accused of heresy and Black Magic… later on, he was publicly executed in the Serey Zhan Empire.