“There has been an awakening,” a cacophony of two thoughts spread its awareness across the outside world.
In a short while, others began to respond.
“We did not notice this,” a creature of epic proportions said, it is hidden among the clouds on a mountain range.
“It happened in our domain, who else besides us is able to detect anything in the expanse of the Void,” the first creature informed it.
“This will prove a serious threat to us, how many and of what origins and form does it take?” another creature of massive size joined the conversation, it laid beneath the depths of the ocean.
“As far as we know, there is only one, and its origins are unknown, but its power is unquestionable. It takes the form of a puny primal wolf,” the first creature told them.
“There is only one of them, it wouldn’t be difficult to destroy it before the others appear,” replied a fourth, it opened its massive maw, as it fed on magma within a chamber, deep beneath a volcano.
“Our powers are rendered useless in the Void, you may need to handle it,” said one more to the first creature, while it lumbered further into the depths of a cavern near the border of the planet’s crust and the outer mantle.
“That may not be a wise decision, if it can retain its powers in the Void, this will prove an extremely dangerous situation for you to face it alone,” the wisest amongst them finally entered the conversation, its limbs swaying in response to alert.
“We wield the elements of light and dark, no single foe should be beyond our abilities. The only troublesome thing, is that the seedling with the anomaly, is somehow involved with it,” the first creature replied.
“Like you said, no single foe should be a challenge to ANY of us. Even if that seedling is involved, his powers are miniscule, there shouldn’t be a problem,” the creature hidden in the clouds opined.
“I concur, his most recent episode a few years ago, was extremely lacking. It was not even a noticeable fraction of what he showed for the first time,” the magma eater advocated.
“That has changed, he is no longer a seedling. The powers he just displayed today in the Void is worrying, and it is considerably more powerful than we have thought,” the first creature replied, in its weird cacophony of two voices.
“You said this happened in the Void, if that is the case, I can safely say his powers is what awakened one of them,” the wisest amongst them interjected.
“We are not exactly sure, but according to what you say, that may be a possibility. The awakened one, appeared shortly after that seedling almost destroyed a Chaos Barrier,” the first creature surmised.
“Was the barrier fully destroyed? If not how did the awaken one enter into this realm? There has got to be a connection, else it is unchartered territory for all of us,” the ocean creature responded.
“While that is a fact we do not know for sure, there is definitely a connection between the seedling and the appearance of an awaken one,” said the wisest one.
“That doesn’t matter, I shall proceed with my own plans,” the first creature informed them.
The rest of the creatures paused for a moment, then all replied at the same time.
“So be it.”
**********
Ux stared off into the ocean, the team have arrived on Paiza.
Under the direct order of the organization, they were all to let their hair down and relax at the premier destination of the world.
While she never questioned the organization’s authority, or the punishment carried out for mission failure, she always wondered who she really is.
It was and still is self-preservation, that she obeyed every command without question. This unlike many cases of disobedience within the ranks, allowed her to survive this far.
Compared to the thousands who die every year, be it mission related or punishment related, being able to survive beyond 2 years is very uncommon. For Ux, she have survived for over 4 years, and that is considered rare.
While it is rare for someone to manage such longevity within the organization, there were others who have survived longer, and even made it to the upper echelon of the organization.
At this moment, she was lost in thoughts, enjoying the cool breeze of the ocean air.
All this time, she failed to notice an old man looking at her from a distance. He seemed rather engrossed at staring at her, but left soon after another man approached and spoke with him.
-
“What is it that is so important, that the toad needed to see me for?” Menon asked irritably.
He just arrived at Paiza’s main transportation hub, and noticed a young female who looked very familiar to him. When he was about to make the decision to approach her, Dongbae have informed him of the summons.
“I am sorry your excellency, it seems the crown prince wishes to tell you that in person,” Captain Dongbae replied.
“Pfft, he doesn’t deserve that title,” Menon scoffed.
“Your excellency, while I have no idea what is going on, please try to calm down, this is not MeisterSchloss,” Captain Dongbae whispered in hush tones.
Menon muttered some curses under his breath, and turned back towards the girl he saw.
She was no longer there.
**********
Xue left the guild in a bad mood, the information he acquired at an obscene price, while proving to be useful, also gave him some worrisome details.
Among the other guild members who are participating in this pseudo-bounty-competition, there were 3 who are in the top 10 of the guild rankings.
Xue himself was a only a little within the top 50, which means those 3 had to be much more superior than him. The others were hardy worth noticing, as none of them were even in the top 100.
However something was nagging at him, the top 10 do not get involve with this type of menial bounties. If this particular bounty was 100 times more valuable than normal ones, then the bounties those in the top 10 usually accept, are themselves another 100 times more valuable than this.
It also shook his confidence, as he thought among the top 50, accept for the top 10, he could take all of them on and emerge victorious. His confidence initially was overwhelming, but now it is not.
To make matters worse, they were not the only Assassins’ Guild involve. There was at least one more guild, confirmed to have interest in this bounty.
Another 2 are known to have been contacted by the contractor, but their involvement is still unconfirmed.
The final nail that sealed his miserable mood, was the identity of the target and a previous engagement.
Apparently, there were 2 individuals in the Unknown Realm spotted with him. Their exact abilities were unknown.
The Assassins’ brotherhood, the founding body of all Assassins’ Guild, have sent 10 elite members specifically chosen for the job.
All have not reported back, and are presume to have failed the mission. The verdict from the council, was that all must have died, else there would at least have been a little communication.
“Damn it all to hell!” Xue cursed.
The money he saved so hard just to buy the information on Huiling, has almost been dried up buying this information.
The possibility of success is zero to none, and he could not withdraw from the assignment, or risk being expelled from the guild.
If he was expelled, he would not be able to join another guild, due to the black-mark. He is also ill suited for any other careers, which meant he will probably find it hard to earn a living.
“There is only one thing I can do,” he thought, as he disappeared behind an alleyway.
**********
Three females appeared at one of the many transportation hubs in Paiza, and they all wore clothes which displayed a crest of significant fame.
They were Charlotte, Libby and Instructor Wei.
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“Instructor! Let’s go have some fun!” Charlotte chirped happily.
Libby smiled and nodded in agreement, hardly speaking a word in Instructor Wei’s presence.
“Girls, I have to handle something now, you can carry on and have some fun, but please keep out of trouble,” Instructor Wei told them.
It is now a little over three weeks till the World Cup, but all teams were not due till 2 weeks before the tournament. It is a usual practice for teams to arrive then, in order to acclimatize themselves to the climate and environment.
The 3 of them were here earlier, because Charlotte have insisted on relaxing a little before practicing in earnest for the World Cup. She managed to coax Libby to agree, but was rejected by Sem.
Having been there, when the girls asked to be in Paiza earlier, an eureka moment befell Instructor Wei. She basically threatened Sem, so that the three of them could go earlier.
She also managed to ensure that the 1 week advance visit, would be fully sponsored by the Academy for ‘research’ purposes.
“Now time to find that sports bookie,” Instructor Wei said to no one in particular, the moment the girls were out of sight.
-
“Hey Libby, don’t you feel a little warm here?” Charlotte asked.
Libby shook her head an uttered a barely audible, “No.”
Unlike Charlotte, Libby was accustomed to the barely bearable heat of the run’ah desert, place of her birth, home of her people. The slightly warm weather was nothing to her, and she actually appreciated it.
She found MeisterSchloss to be bitterly cold and always hid beneath thick layers of clothing.
Charlotte on the other hand, was perspiring like mad, and streams of sweat literally rained down from her skin. She found MeisterSchloss’ weather to be a hint above the cool limit.
It was not their first time in Paiza, since they have on occasions taken part in previous competitions over the last few years.
“Come lets go garb ourselves in some local fashion!” Charlotte dragged Libby off into one of the many large gateways to various strip malls.
Along the way, they passed many other students from other academies, who had the same idea they had, to enjoy the world’s no.1 tourist destination before the World Cup.
“I do hope we can get into the top 1000 this year,” Charlotte said cheerfully, while arm in arm with Libby.
Whether she was serious, or just saying it for the sake of it, was not clear to Libby, who just nodded.
While many Schools and Academies take part in the World Cup, many do not even make it to the top 1000 in the rankings.
Due to no ruling on killings, the Yuan Zhong Academic Board strongly insisted that all student participants give up on the slightest indication of an overwhelming opponent.
This insistence, kept the death rate of participating students to the minimal, and there were years when not even a single student died.
It also made it so, that most participating academies do not even last till the end of the first day, of the 3 day competition.
While there is only one official ranking throughout the board, there was also an unofficial one for schools. This was formed as a tribute to schools, who were mostly made up much more younger participants on average, compared to the amateur and professional teams.
Likewise, advertisers and sponsors swarm top ranked schools who participate, hoping to become their sponsors. It was huge money as well for schools.
While the Academy of the Six Element’s club have been approached before, not a single sponsor nor advertiser have successfully contracted them.
The Chairman, made it clear that accepting offers such as these, was in all honesty degrading for an Academy of their wealth and status.
“Hah! Top 1000? You can’t even clear 5,000 last year!” a voice loudly ridiculed Charlotte.
She immediately recognized the voice, and knew exactly what to say next.
“Oh, isn’t this the beggar team from Paiza School for the Nations,” Charlotte retorted.
Facing the person who spoke those word earlier, she looked at their familiar outfit.
“Is this the best you can do? Runt of the schools?” a young boy asked sarcastically.
“I see, beggars like you still can’t learn proper manners. Oh? What is this? I spy another few more new pieces of fabric holding your hobo clothes together,” Charlotte responded in kind.
She was referring to the new sponsor and advertiser tags that were sewn all around the other teams outfit. Every single available exposed area of their team uniform, seems to be covered with a piece of logo or advertisement.
The exchange of insults and sarcasm lasted for minutes, before the young boy was lost for words. Still not letting it rest, Charlotte who seemed like she can go for another few hours, continued hurling insulting and degrading remarks at him.
Unable to find new and creative ways to respond, the boy’s anger slowly and gradually built up to the point of breaking. When it finally did, he scream loudly and lunged towards Charlotte.
“DIE BITCH!!!”
“Whhomp!”
Surprisingly, he did not even move an inch, before an invisible force lifted him up from his feet and blew him backwards into a few low lying shrubs.
While obviously winded and a little shock, the boy glared at another person in his group.
“Why the hell did you do that for?” he demanded.
“Shut up, didn’t your parents told you never to hit a girl?” the other person replied, he was a slightly older boy.
“How dare you speak to me like this, I will make sure you get punished!” the young boy replied and was gathering Ki energy.
Before he could complete what he wanted to do, another blow struck him squarely on the jaw, knocking him out cold.
“My apologies, I am Mark, 7th year student. Also the new captain and advisor for this team,” the older boy apologized and introduced himself to the girls.
“Hi and bye,” Charlotte replied, while quickly walking away with Libby in tow. She did not care for other guys, especially if they were not Xiaoxia.
Libby looked a little worried and said something in hushed tones to Charlotte, when they were no longer within range of the other team.
“What? Are you sure?” she asked to confirm.
“Yes, it is definitely him,” Libby quietly replied in her soft timid voice.
“What a small world, looks like this is going to be an interesting year,” Charlotte replied.
The older boy who introduced himself as Mark, took part in the Inter Continent Freshmen Competition. He was involved in the Team competitions, and would have been assured absolute victory if it wasn’t for something.
That something that stole the trophy away, and made The Academy of the Six Elements team champions, was that Mark, or known by another name then, single-handedly and intentionally caused extreme harm that killed half the team members of another team in the quarter-finals.
The referee of the match, could not even react in time to notice what happened before it was too late. By the time he blew his whistle, and got Mark disqualified for breaking the rules, the rest of the opponent’s team who were not dead, were already seriously injured.
It is generally agreed, even by Charlotte and the team, that Mark and his team had showed enough dominance to claim the champion’s title easily. They still could not imagine what made him lose it and went out of his mind during the quarter finals.
While this is the Sole Plate World Cup, and not the Freshmen Competition, there were still battles being fought, and since there was no ruling against killing others, it made Charlotte a little uneasy.
“Guess there is going to be more deaths in this years Sole Plate World Cup," she thought.