Two blurry shadows move inside a training room. One was black with dark green tints, while the other was silver.
Marks of destruction appeared all over the room each time the two made contact before an inscription formation appeared, reforming the room to its previous state.
In an area far from them, an old man was screaming in front of a holographic television.
The two blurred shadows collided once again before being pushed apart.
"Fire Blades"
Three blades of fire emerged around Kieran as he rushed at the training dummy in front of him.
The earth elemental particles around him stirred, and a platform of earth as big as his torso formed behind him.
Leaning on it with his feet, he propelled himself forward, arriving in front of the training dummy with his blades of fire. He lifted Shard of a Broken World, ready to slice it.
A barrier of water suddenly formed around the training dummy, stopping the fire blades as a silvery liquid flowed from his right hand, taking the shape of a solid sword.
*clang*
The sound of two swords clashing against each other echoed through the training room. Once again, both were repelled by the shock of their attacks.
Water swirls started to spin around the training dummy, arrows of water were created in an instant by the swirls before being thrown toward Kieran.
A dull yellow color appeared in his eyes, and several earthen platforms arose around him.
Leaning on each of them, he easily dodged the water arrows, rushing back to the training dummy without any break.
Kieran has learned many things since he started practicing his control of his elements these past few days. Notably that he needed to improve his Elemental Affinity cultivation if he ever wanted to merge his Earth and Fire elements into a single attack.
He had also learned that he could manipulate fire and earth within a certain range around him as long as they weren't already under the control of another cultivator. Finding fire in its natural state might be rare, but earth was different.
"Earth Spikes"
Earth spikes shoot out from under the training dummy, forcing him to leap into the air to dodge the spikes when Kieran appears above him.
He spun his body in the air, spinning Shard of a Broken World with him in his hands while swinging a slash at the training dummy.
A fist-sized condensed bubble of water appeared in front of the dummy's body, which began to twist in all directions as if its form was unstable before exploding, pushing it back and allowing it to dodge its attack.
Kieran tightened his grip on Shard of a Broken World, his right arm reaching back before throwing it like a spear at the training dummy.
A platform of earth appeared under his feet, allowing him to continue chasing him.
He joined his two hands together. A red glow appeared between them as he gradually spread them from each other. A long spear of fire more concentrated than his blades of fire formed into his hands that he threw on the training dummy.
"Fire Spear"
The two attacks rush toward the training dummy in different directions as he chases it using the earth's platforms.
The fire spear and the double-bladed sword approached the training dummy when he created a giant water sphere in front of him, capturing the two attacks inside.
Kieran appeared next to the dummy simultaneously.
"Crystal Essence Claw"
A blue slash sliced through the air. His claws were about to rip the dummy's head off, but a green light formed behind his metallic body and pulled him back.
The giant water sphere suddenly deformed.
*boom*
An explosion sounded in the training room, Shard of a Broken World fell to the floor. An earth prison made of earth spikes from the ground had formed all around Kieran's body, protecting him from the exploding water sphere.
"That fucking dummy! Why did I configure it with two elements!"
He picked up Shard of a Broken World with a smile, rushing back to the training dummy.
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Runihoril glanced in his direction, seeing a wild smile on his face as if the anger he showed towards the dummy a moment ago was entirely fake. He seemed to enjoy that the dummy had many ways possible to exchange blows with him.
'I already realized it when he faced the man-looking stone golem, but this kid is really a battle junkie. He increases the power of the training dummy every time it becomes too easy for him... In return, his progress is faster than I expected. He's been fighting with this training dummy at the early stage of the Silver rank for 5 hours already. He doesn't lose at all against him in terms of strength or endurance. His crystal essence remains stable even after all this time.
Although he can't beat him yet without using Earth Shattering, with the freedom of movement he granted to the training dummy in the room options. He manages to take inspiration from it to create his own attacks. Human technology is truly fascinating to successfully create such things,' thought Runihoril.
Coming to his senses, he looked at the time on the holographic television before calling Kieran.
"Kieran! It's almost time to leave if you don't want to miss the spaceship!"
"Okay!"
Kieran, who was still bumping into the dummy, quickly backed away while pointing his left hand in his direction.
"Earth Pillars"
Four pillars of earth came out of the ground, trying to restrict the dummy's movements.
A powerful wave of crystal essence shot out of Kieran's body before being devoured by the blades of Shard of a Broken World.
"Earth Shattering!!"
Golden blue light filled the training room as he swung his arm forward, and the next moment the sound of a metallic body falling to the floor was heard.
A small alarm sounded in the training room.
"Programmed power level exceeded. Please increase the resistance of the room! Any material damage affecting the training room will involve an increase in the cost of nova credits."
"Programmed power level exceeded. Please increase the resistance of the room! Any material damage affecting the training room will involve..."
"Programmed power level exceeded..."
The announcement sounded three times before the alarm stopped.
The training dummy was found about twenty meters from him, cut in half. His body turned into a silvery liquid as he slowly reformed. A small gash several meters long had appeared behind the dummy's body.
*sigh*
"I still can't control Earth Shattering well. The two blades devour my crystal essence so quickly that I can't control it once they release it," said Kieran.
"When you return to your city, I'll teach you blacksmithing. It will help you have a better control over your crystal essence, then using Earth Shattering and controlling the direction of the attack won't be so difficult," replied Runihoril.
Kieran's eyes followed the small gash on the training room floor.
"I hope I don't have to pay a fortune to fix such a small gash."
In the end, the price for repairing the 'small' gash cost him 1 million nova credits, making his heart bleed.
***
It was almost eleven o'clock in the morning when Kieran arrived at the spaceship port. A flame and a stone the size of a fist floating behind him.
For ten days, he had gotten used to having his elemental abilities constantly activated in order to better learn how to control them. As he moved around the city, he reduced their size to avoid any accidents.
He checked the time and saw that there was still time before they could start boarding the starlight spaceship. He bought snacks and drinks from a nearby store and sat on a bench near Pier 59, admiring the spaceships entering and leaving the port.
After a while of waiting, he grew bored and logged on to the aurora net, checking the news.
[The success of the peace treaty between the Aegis Alliance and the elves of Loania has opened an entirely new world of commerce between the two nations. Today, Gerhardt Rhohral, the President of the Aegis Alliance, welcomes his guests from Loania, including the prince himself, on the planet Diestea, the center of humanity in this new era. The Prince of Loania, who has been residing within the Aegis Alliance for the past three months to strengthen the bond between the two races, has arrived safely with his escort. The elves of Loania will continue their visit of the Aegis Alliance for an indefinite duration...]
"Huh?! Elves have come to our universe?" said Kieran.
"The relationship between our two races seems to be going better than I thought," said Runihoril.
Kieran continued to watch through the news.
Particular scientific advances had been made, and new planets had been conquered. Continuing to scroll down the news list, he came across an article that caught his eyes.
Several cities across the Aegis alliance had been destroyed over the past few months by hordes of crystal beasts. According to initial reports, multiple spatial rifts had opened simultaneously. The cities could do nothing against the endless wave of crystal beasts pouring out from all the spatial rifts.
'How is that possible?! Some of these cities are even B grade like Aldrines. This kind of city is protected by several cultivators in the transcendent realm,' thought Kieran.
After wandering around the aurora net for a while, it was almost 11:30.
A spaceship gradually descended to Pier 59, slowly docking at the pier. Lights activated all around the dock as an inscriptions formation that surrounded the entire spaceship formed.
The starlight spaceship had luxurious cruise ship-like designs with black and silver colors. It had several floors. People stood on the balconies and looked around, admiring the view of Aldrines.
"Interesting, they use anti-gravity formations to park spaceships. Hurry up on board so I can see what the interior looks like," Runihoril's excited voice came from behind him.
"Alright, Alright."
Kieran advanced until he reached the boarding area. After having his ticket checked, he was allowed to board.
Once inside, he looked at his ticket to check the room number.
"Room 050352. According to the instructions, I must use the elevator to reach the 5th floor where my room is."
He quickly found the elevator. Once he reached the floor, he arrived in front of room 352. He scanned his ticket before entering the room.
For a moment, he thought he was entering a luxury hotel suite. A large living room, a fully equipped kitchen, a bay window opening onto a balcony, and a bedroom with a large comfortable bed.
"I shouldn't be so surprised, given the price I paid for this ticket. It's normal to have a minimum of comfort."
He headed for the balcony, where he could see the entire spaceship port of Aldrines.
After more than an hour, the starlight spaceship began to leave the port. Gradually flying away, an air bubble formed all around the ship, surrounded by a force field.
Inside the bubble, Kieran continues to admire the landscape that opens up in front of him. Little by little, the spaceship reaches the atmosphere before crossing it without incident.
Kieran's amber eyes gleamed as the starlight reflected inside them.
"That's wonderful."
He felt like his mind went blank at that moment. The only thing that remained was this myriad of stars that hovered in the universe.