Sorry for the delay. I've been a bit under the weather lately and I'm also starting winter swimming. So that's going to take a good 3-4 hours out of my day (week days). I'll still try to write as much as I can. Enjoy.
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A few seconds later, the ocean of fire slowly disappeared. Kyte's eyelids were slowly drooping down his eyes as he felt his vision darken. He didn't realize it but using the black light in that situation took the last of his strength. However, despite this large exhaustion, Kyte gripped a small rock and slammed it against his almost-healed leg. Pain soared through his body which quickly snapped his eyelids back up.
Kyte used two more pills, one being an energy recovering pill and the other being a healing pill. He tried to re-position himself but his hand slipped in the puddle of blood and his head hit the wall behind him.
Ow ow ow...
Kyte, this time, slowly re-positioned himself against the wall. The right side of his body was slowly healing back to normal. The skeleton had already reappeared and red flesh began to manifest around the bones. Due to him missing his entire right lung, he could barely get enough oxygen into his body. He spit out a mouthful of blood which then slowly seeped back into his flesh.
In the simulation chamber, the simulation administrators were currently watching Kyte's simulation test with great interest. They never imagined someone would appear with such a strange power. They've seen a large range of different powers over the several years they worked for the Wux family but they've never seen something so abnormal before. Right after they saw Kyte unleash the power of his black light, one of them turned to the other.
"Sir, this is..."
"Yea. We might be able to see another Gifted that will directly qualify for a Core League. According to this Gifted's records, he was picked up by Branch 4 a few months ago. He lived with his parents until his freshman year in high school when they got into a horrible car accident. Both his parents died and the man miraculously survived with just a few broken bones. However, the weird thing is that there are no reports of any Gifted-related activities around him until a few months ago."
"What? Maybe he awakened late?"
"That can't be it. Everyone that awakens always accidentally use their power at least once. Especially if it's a regular Gifted. Since their power is originally quite high, Guardians will immediately come and kill them at the right moment. That's why GG is weakening; we lose a lot of great talent before they even have the chance to improve and defend themselves. This is especially so in the north."
"Sir, should we stop the simulation? Just look at him, he's missing the whole right side of his body."
"No, don't stop it. Didn't you already see his extraordinary healing abilities? I've never seen something like that before......Just give him the normal end-wave notification."
"Yes, sir."
The man pressed a button, signaling the end-wave notification. The voice sounded in Kyte's mind, making him slightly tremble. As the two men and a few other assistants watched the giant screen, they heard Kyte say:
"Continue."
That one word mad a few of the assistants shocked. Everyone else just thought that it was normal. He had already made it that far and he was quickly healing. If he had more of that black light, then wouldn't he be able to pass straight into S rank?
Just as the man was going to press a button, the lead administrator stopped him.
"Sir?"
"Give him a minute."
"But, sir, that's against the-"
"I don't care about the rules! I'm the head administrator here, aren't I? I make the rules. We wait one minute before you press that button, understood?"
"...Yes, sir."
"Good. I've had enough of letting such good talent go to waste."
The head administrator mumbled under his breath as he closely watched Kyte lying in the corner. He could clearly see the speed at which Kyte's body was healing. The skeleton, instead of being white in color, was a deep blue that shined under the omnipresent light within the simulation. This unusualness spawned even more questions within the older man's mind.
The voice range out in Kyte's mind as he silently leaned his back on the wall. He looked at his skeleton and its beauty was very apparent. The otherworldly shine gleamed brightly, as if it was wanting to breakthrough its outer shell and begin anew.
Heheheh, I know, I know...just a bit more and I'll be able to breakthrough into the seventh stage. Then, you'll evolve into top-grade Earth rock. I wonder when my skeleton will transform into low-grade Heaven rock...
After a full minute had passed, flashes of light appeared in random locations in the area around Kyte. His body was at most half-way done healing and the only thing he could do what sit there and wait. Every second that passed felt like an eternity; it was as if he was waiting for the wooden floor underneath his feet to disappear, thus breaking his neck from which it was hung.
Kyte already had several S rank Guardians within his Spiritual energy. There were about fifteen of them around his immediate surroundings and more were moving closer.
Suddenly, one entered his vision. Kyte's left hand was already raised with a black light glistening in the omnipresence of the simulation light. It was as if it was absorbing the light around, turning the area it occupied into a black hole. Kyte locked his eyes with the Guardians life-less "eyes". He immediately let loose a pillar of fire directly into the Guardian. The flame was the same light-blue color as it completely decimated the Guardian.
Heh, this stuff is really powerful.
Kyte silently laughed because he knew that this black light was the only way for him to pass through into S rank. His Internal energy and skeleton were just too weak to battle S rank Guardians like he had battled A rank Guardians. That is one of the reasons why Kyte wants to breakthrough into the seventh stage. Breaking through this large bottleneck would grant him an enormous increase in strength. Not only that, but another section of the storage necklace would be unlocked.
One second after the first Guardian was destroyed, every single other Guardian leaped toward the destroyed room that Kyte was in. When he felt all of them move, Kyte knew that this was his last chance. His last chance to show everyone, and himself, just how powerful this black light really was.
Kyte moved all of the black light left within him above his body. It morphed into a single large black sphere. It looked like a spherical black hole that sucked in any light that came near it. Even looking at it proved a bit difficult, and this was in a simulation. What would the real thing be like?
Not only that, but anyone that looked at it suddenly got a strange feeling. They felt that they were looking at an authority that was far above anything they had ever seen. This authority was unlike any other; it was if a God was staring into their very souls. It made them have a sudden urge to kneel down in-front of it as they felt the unworthiness well up within them. However, everyone that did see it held back those feelings. They didn't even know why they felt it at all. They all thought that this black light was within a simulation. How could it make them so strongly feel the way they do?
Even Kyte was a little taken back by the power of this black sphere. However, he didn't have the feeling of kneeling to this great power. Instead, he felt like he had gained the power to be the one who forces others to kneel. The longer he stared into the black hole, the more bewildered he became.
That didn't last long though. The first Guardian smashed onto the floor in-front of Kyte as if it was unaffected by the black sphere. However, once it saw what was above Kyte, it slightly hesitated. Kyte took this small chance to unleash the power of this giant black sphere. This sphere is at least ten times bigger than what he usually used, so he was hoping it would destroy everything inside this simulation.
Kyte looked at that Guardian and just slightly waved his hand.
"Bye~."
Then, the screen within the simulation chamber went white. The screen was completely bathed in white light for several seconds. The white light then slowly dimmed, and the workers watching were completely shocked. The head administrator was utterly stunned to the point that no sound came out of his mouth.
When the light dimmed enough for everyone to see what exactly happened, they all saw a giant mushroom cloud billow into the sky within the simulation. A raging light-blue fire covered the entire simulation perimeter, completely destroying everything that was created within it. Fire was continually spreading out from the epicenter of the large explosion as if there was a never-ending supply of energy.
After a full minute of continuous waves of fire spreading out, it began to calm down. After another full minute, the fire was quickly disappearing and the mushroom cloud within the simulation also began to fade. When everyone was able to see the aftermath, they were all flabbergasted.
Nothing remained within the simulation. All that was left was a flat plain of nothingness. The cloud suddenly and quickly disappeared, leaving behind a single speck within the vast nothingness. The head administrator quickly zoomed in on that one speck and found Kyte silently laying there on his back. The right side of his body was still healing, although it was almost done. All that was remaining was the last fibers of muscle and layers of skin.
Kyte felt a supreme emptiness within himself. He felt as if he had just lost a huge part of himself as the last specks of black light had disappeared. He felt that overpowering might disappear with the black sphere. He slowly sat up and looked around himself, just to see absolutely nothing. Just a vast white space was left over from the ultimate destruction.
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It was completely silent. No one in the simulation chamber could speak a single word to describe what had just took place. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Sure, there have been instances when an abnormally powerful Gifted would charge straight into S rank without too much of a sweat. However, no one has ever completely destroyed the entire simulated world. This was completely unprecedented and greatly surpassed everyone's expectations.
After a few moments, the head administrator spoke.
"Immediately bring this recording to David Wux."
"Huh?"
"Now!"
"Yes, sir!"
The assistant administrator quickly got up and took a small metallic chip along with his tablet. He immediately left with quick steps out of the testing hall and directly to the capital mansion.
The head administrator then leaned over and pressed a button.
A voice range out inside Kyte's head. The space around him began to distort and he once again felt like he was being sucked out through his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the in the next he felt soft padding around his head and underneath his body. Opening his eyes, he lifted the helmet off and sat up to looked around.
He saw that Azali was still within her simulation, though he has no clue as to what Guardians she was fighting. He looked toward the large group of workers and noticed them all staring at him with shock and bewilderment.
"So, what's my rank?" Kyte asked as he stood up with a slight wobble.
"...It...hasn't been decided yet." The head administrator stood up and replied.
"What do you mean?"
"What you just did surpassed all of our expectations. Something like this has never happened before. So, I took a recording of your simulation to David Wux for him to decide."
"...Straight to David Wux?! But, what is going to happen now?"
"I don't know. I don't have the authority to determine your rank."
"What do you think will happen?"
"...I think Mr. Wux will enter your recording into the Core League Recruitment test, or CLR test. If you pass, you'll be able to enter into the CLR competition. Only the top five will be able to enter a Core League."
"I see. Well, thank for the information. Is it fine for me to stay and watch her simulation?"
"Hm?...Uh, sure, I guess. There's no rule against it so why not."
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-Capital Mansion-
-Video Viewing Room-
An older man with golden hair and eyes, with a long red golden-trimmed robe walked into a large room with a huge screen. The golden aura around his body exuded a sense of majesty, and the power from the aura some-what suffocated those around him.
"You better not disappoint me, Zack." David Wux said as he sat down in a chair.
"Yes, sir, no problem. You will definitely not be disappointed. I promise."
"Hmph."
Why should I waste my time coming here. The last time this happened I was extremely disappointed.
David silently sighed to himself as he remembered that scene several years ago. However, that was long gone now.
"Start the recording."
"Yes, sir."
The recording appeared on the giant screen in-front of David and the assistant administrator, Zack. The first twenty seconds played which showed Kyte effortlessly destroying all the Guardians from D to B rank. Kyte never moved; he never took a single step but all of the Guardians were destroyed. David watched with great confusion after seeing this. Not only that, but he also felt a slight bewilderment after seeing Kyte destroy the Guardians.
Then, the A rank Guardian wave started. David was slightly disappointed to see that Kyte wasn't able to destroy the Guardians like he previously did, but he still continued to watch. He saw Kyte slash apart the Guardians one by one with his crimson energy and he could clearly tell that Kyte didn't have much combat experience. David thought that if it was him in Kyte's position, he would've never let any of those Guardians hit him, let alone get close to him.
He saw Kyte get group attacked by the six Guardians. Kyte turned into a tornado of crimson energy and three of the Guardians were destroyed as the other three smashed Kyte down into the ground.
Hmph, such recklessness. Does this kid even know how to fight?
After seeing Kyte's severe injuries heal almost immediately, David felt somewhat impressed. But, in the next moment, that disappeared. He watched as Kyte was blasted through two entire buildings and into a thick concrete wall that still cracked from Kyte's impact. Kyte's injuries were even worse than before but they were still healing very quickly.
"Zack, if this is what I'm supposed to be impressed with, then I'm disappointed. This kid doesn't seem like he's been in real combat at all."
"Please, sir, keep watching. The best part has yet to come."
"..."
David silently kept watching the screen. Suddenly, two black gloves appeared on Kyte's hand while a white sword manifested in his right. The aura around Kyte instantly changed as the three pieces of equipment faintly shined. The Guardians relentlessly attacked Kyte's wall of energy, but they weren't able to break through it. Then, Kyte blasted them back with the wall of energy and instantly charged forward. The Guardians only had seconds before they were destroyed.
As Kyte relaxed and let all of his defenses down, David heavily sighed. He watched as the last Guardian sliced Kyte in half. Kyte's body flew hundreds of feet away and crashed through several piles of rubble before his top half stopped in a corner of a destroy building.
"So, that's what you wanted me to see?" David was about to get up but he was stopped by Zack.
"Sir, please, with all due respect, keep watching."
"...Fine."
David only sighed again as he continued to watch. He could visually see Kyte's body repairing itself with incredible speed. The last Guardian landed a few feet away from Kyte, and Kyte lifted his left hand. David saw the small ball of black light and he was immediately stunned when he saw it. The next thing that appeared on the screen was an explosion and waves of light-blue fire that spread out to cover a large radius.
"That was..."
"Sir, that isn't all."
"What? But he's practically half dead, what's left to show?"
"There's still the S rank wave, sir."
"...Right."
David watched as Kyte's body healed itself. The shining skeleton also caught his attention, but not as much as the black light.
I've seen that somewhere...but where? There's no Gifted that has that type of power, so where did I see it?
David tried to remember, but his memory was failing him. He might have only seen it once within his whole life. Silently, the S rank wave began. David focused his attention back onto the screen.
The first S rank Guardian appeared before Kyte but it was quickly destroyed by a pillar of fire. A second later, a large amounts of black light escaped Kyte's body and morphed together to create a large black sphere.
David felt fear as he stared at that sphere. A feeling of powerlessness enveloped him as he felt the urge to get off his seat and kneel. He felt the overpowering authority that exuded from that sphere as it devoured all the light around it, creating a black hole that was devoid of all light. David forced himself to stay calm. On the outside he looked completely normal, but on the inside he was slightly panicking as confusion struck him.
The screen went white. A few seconds later, the white light began to dim. David watched as the light dimmed to the point where he could see the aftermath of what just happened. A gigantic mushroom cloud billowed to the simulated sky as waves upon waves of fire flowed out from the epicenter. After several more seconds, everything calmed and the mushroom cloud disappeared. All that was left was a single speck: Kyte.
David was completely speechless. He looked on with amazement and bewilderment. His excitement exceeded that of when he found out his favorite robes were being sold on a special deal. He had never felt this feeling before, and he couldn't even describe what he was feeling.
"So this is what you actually wanted to show me."
"Yes, sir. Mr. Tael did not know what to do, so he sent me to show this recording. We wish you will be able to decide his fate."
"I see. Well, he was right. He doesn't have the authority to rank this Gifted."
"Also, sir, there's something else you need to know."
"What is it?"
"This Gifted's name is Kyte Stone. He was picked up by Branch 4 a few months ago. However, the most confusing thing is that Kyte's records show no Gifted activity until a month or so before Branch 4 took him in. He just suddenly...appeared."
"What? So you mean he was hiding?"
"No, sir, that's not what I mean. I'm saying that he was a regular human until a few months ago. Every single Gifted within GG's records have at least one incident involving their powers, but Kyte has none. He's also a Special Gifted."
"Hmm...well, I'll look into that later. Considering his raw power, he's far above S rank. However, that's only with that black light he has. Excluding that, he's a Gold A rank."
David grew silent for a few moments before finishing:
"Give him a bronze S rank badge. Also, don't show this recording to anyone else. I will be taking it myself."
"Yes, sir."
"You may leave."
"Thank you, sir."
Zack left as David slouched back in his chair.
"Haaaa, I hate putting on that mask all the time."
David sighed as he scratched his head.
"...This simple Outer Branch...definitely can't contain this kid."