!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis & Tembulon who not only both pred it but improved this ch's quality greatly please rep them ^^!!!
like the past chapter this is 80% pred once temb finishes his copy il update the two posts ^^
so this is the final chapter for today im going to be taking a 2 week or so break from sr so i can fix a few things and improve. i have quite a bit planned mainly i want to organize the forum a bit more and rename asmuch as i can.
when i return il try my best to have a steady supply of chapters beforehand for a good while, i also owe you guys a suprise that was promised but it isnt finished yet so bare with me till i return XD i also took into account that people have seen no real plot or story that is long term for sr :)
this chapter is my first step to solving that issue but remember nothing can be rushed, open doors need to be closed before new ones can be opened.
Please Rate/Follow/Share/Enjoy chapter 96 :) and il see you all in 2 weeks where i am hoping that my quality will have improved! il still be around the forums lurking a bit so if you have questions or want to pm me go ahead, but dont expect spoilers >.>
im sure this is all that needs to be said unless i forget something in which case il just update this post XD
quick chapter afterword at the end of the chapter for those who are curious
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The Staff member’s expression changed. He was skilled enough to tell the difference when the atmosphere had suddenly gotten colder by a few degrees within Avrin’s Divine Sense, but by then his anger had overtook him and he realised he had just been provoked to act.
“You!!” Was the last word he spoke before the Phantom Pulse pushed him to the ground, his face pressing heavily against the tiled hall. Of course, he tried to resist a little, but by trying to force himself up with his hands it only caused the ground to crack bit by bit and make him sink deeper.
Suddenly a surge of fire affinity mana emitted from Geon within the room as he stood up and walked over towards Avrin and the staff member, but was careful to not enter too close for worry of getting within the Divine Sense. “Let him go…or I promise you that leaving here alive will not be possible. Even for someone of your age” Geon uttered a simple phrase that carried a harsh tone.
Avrin wasn't a fool. He didn't want to overdo it and become enemies with the academy. He wanted entry, and he had gotten his point across. He released his Phantom Pulse and spoke. “Firstly, because I don't have a Spirit Stone I'm not given a chance?. Secondly, because of a few words, I'm going to be attacked? Thirdly, the fact I'm capable of using my Enigma ability to defend myself I'm being threatened? Hmph!”
This was also part of Avrin’s ploy. He understood the situation of Laymist and purposefully continued to gently hype and goad them by using certain phrases. The individual he defeated was a mid level Expert, and by uttering that he used an Enigma ability to defeat someone at that level within moments, who wouldn't drool at the prospects of having a student like that.
Though Avrin also didn't go too far, he knew he couldn't act too harsh or make it obvious. He simply turned and left, exiting the hall and making his way towards the carriages that had many people who weren't able to enter Laymist waiting to board.
Though he was careful to keep his Divine Sense extended to a degree just to check if anyone would take the bait, with the first few steps he hadn't heard anything and got a little worried, but it was after he passed the 2 meter mark that he got what he was looking for.
“Wait!!” A voice resounded out. Avrin stopped casually and turned to look. He spotted a robed individual with short black hair and a circlet. The man himself looked dignified, in the sense that he had a look of pride and even more so a look that he had just struck gold.
“Yes?” The man who had been running over quickly stopped, laughed, then spoke. “To think that our Laymist would find such a gem. Don't listen to those old fogies, you're certainly qualified to apply to Laymist.”
At this moment, Geon and the other two came out, as they wanted to be sure Avrin left. But when they saw that individual near him, their faces paled and then showed a look of frustration. “Norith, what are you doing?...That boy…”
Norith, the individual with Avrin, replied quickly and calmly. “Let’s head inside before we cause a scene.” Of course, seeing a few teachers about wouldn't get much attention. But to see them arguing over a boy would of course attract attention and would also be bad for Avrin.
A minute had soon passed and they were within the same hall that Avrin had been in before. Of course, everyone was standing up. Norith took the initiative to speak. “Since you three don't think this boy has any worth without testing him, I'll personally take him to the vice principal on recommendation and have him tested there.”
Norith’s words were somewhat provoking. If he had indeed done so and revealed to the vice principal that these three considered Avrin useless despite having an Enigma ability it would be their necks on the line.
“W...Who said we think he is useless! He is our response” Norith, though, was quite calm and collected. “From what I saw, Geon, you even went as far as to threaten this talent.” Geon showed hesitation before speaking. “What you saw?.. You scum, you were spying on us all along, huh?..”
Norith laughed and simply said. “Well let’s not put it like that. After all, we are all in the same academy. I'm just making sure you don't make any mistakes. Thankfully, I saw this young man’s ability. But let’s not beat around the bush. Let’s give him a choice.”
Everyone remained quiet and only Avrin had a smile on his face. This was a good opportunity for him as well as to iron out some details. “Well, I do not want to cause any issues. But I also appreciate the assistance Mr. Norith has provided me. But I want you to know that I don't want any trouble, I just want to practice and study in peace. Please understand that if people know I have an Enigma ability, I won't ever get peace.”
Geon had at first expected Avrin to tell him to get lost and was ready to take a heavy loss, but would never have thought that it wouldn't be the case. And even more shocking was that Avrin didn't want anyone to know about him. As if he just wanted to go along his business with no interruptions.
“-What sort of child wouldn't want to be looked upon with good gazes by his peers?-” But it was Norith who reached over and placed his hand on Avrin’s shoulder. “There is no issue there! I'm sure it would be quite dramatic if everyone found out one of our faculty members was beaten by a child in the blink of an eye, so other than us, as well as the headmaster and vice principal, we will leave it to you”
Avrin’s heart began to beat a bit calmer. He had expected them to make a scene out of this and announce it all around, but he was glad that wasn't the case. “Yes, yes. I also agree to it.” Geon quickly spoke.
Avrin, of course, was one to take revenge. But under these circumstances, he truly didn't want to cause a scene. He was willing to let it go once. The real reason he wanted to choose when to show himself was so he could research the Dark Abyss Chasm as well as study a bit of alchemy.
“Perfect. Then, how about this? Let’s test your Spirit Stone affinity.” Norith replied before opening his hand, to which a small wooden case formed. He opened the case to reveal a half inch, transparent, triangular diamond shaped stone. “As a token of thanks for not walking out on Laymist, this is one of a few special gifts I'll give you.”
Geon looked at the spirit stone as Norith handed it over to Avrin. “Uh?..Where did you get a second Spirit Stone? It's quite hard to obtain a second one.” Norith took a proud stance. “A mage owed me a favor. But I won't go into detail for now. We’ll focus on this, but,” Norith glanced at the faculty members who lingered around to watch curiously.
“Shouldn't you all be tending to your duties?!” He spoke with annoyance. This was also to help Avrin, just in case something spectacular happened. The less that knew about it, the better. Of course, there was no real loss if something ordinary happened.
The faculty members all gave gloomy looks as they gazed at each other, then looked at Geon pleadingly. It was a once in a lifetime chance to see an Enigma ability user, and who would get to see one activate a spirit stone.
“Don't look at me like that you fools, scram!” Geon spoke harshly, and the faculty staff scattered. Of course, the woman and the bald headed man remained quiet up until now. This was because their ranking was lower than Norith’s and Geon’s, but they still had the ability to remain.
“Thank you.” Avrin spoke to thank Norith before walking over to the Spirit Link. As Avrin held the Spirit Stone he quietly thought. “-I'm not capable of hiding my real name, so I will just think of something-”
As he stepped into the Spirit Link, the Spirit Stone began to glow. The Spirit Link also began to glow as the first bits of information revealed themselves on the scroll. “Let’s see. Name, Avrin Sygin, age 11.” From there it began to tell his height as well as weight. Information like this was the usual, as it didn't reveal anything personal. This was not allowed without a special order.
“Seniors, please know that I had my name changed. I come from an wartorn part of the Northern continent and want to start anew. Is there any way to have my name listed as Herth Versil?”
A look of surprise adorned all their faces after hearing about Avrin’s circumstances. “Northern continent... Incredible, just like that Mahck boy. Maybe they’re acquaintances?” The bald headed man spoke.
“Well, I don't see any problems in this request.” The woman also spoke. Geon remained quiet as he looked over the scroll carefully, but Norith spoke.
“Ah, you poor boy. Of course it's possible. We would know after all. The Northern continent, if I remember correctly, you three had quite a talent from there. The North truly breeds geniuses” Speaking with admiration, Norith spoke before emitting a faint wisp of mana that entered his scroll. Soon, the name Avrin Sygin changed to Herth Versil. This linked to the other scrolls and they also had this name changed.
“Truly, I thank you” Avrin responded kindly. Geon soon spoke out. “Now then, boy. Emit your mana into the spirit stone. Let’s see what you're capable of.” Geon wasn't sure what to think. He had been aggressive towards Avrin, but had been forgiven. He was somewhat cautious and wanted to tell himself that being kind towards this boy was worth it and that being aggressive is a mistake.
Avrin looked down at the Spirit Stone. He had finally managed to obtain one after many years. A light shined in his eyes as a smile crept upon his face. “-It's finally time to see what happens-”
While thinking, Avrin channeled dark matter into the Spirit Stone. The stone began to shake before turning a metallic, pitch black. Soon, cracks began to form and the air around the stone began to ripple somewhat. The stone began to shake violently before it hovered in the air. Avrin knew this was bad and quickly dashed backwards, causing the stone to lose it's link and fall onto the ground.
But as it hit the ground and shattered, a small vortex exploded out and drew in everything within a meter of itself into a pitch black core, completely disintegrating it. And just as it disappeared, it emitted a faint ghostly ripple that shot out. Of course, it was then that several glowing runes upon the walls of the hall activated.
These runes are intended for emergency situations, but had never in their life been used and remained silent to the point where they had almost reached the end of their lifespan. Shining brightly, the light within these runes shot out and formed a barrier to contain the ghostly ripple of energy.
As the ripple touched the shield it engulfed it, turning the originally bright yellow color a transparent purple before expanding outward then suddenly collapsing and vanishing into thin air. Avrin was gazing with fascination and his heart was beating quickly. This was something even he couldn't control. It was a good thing he had dashed away. If he had gotten caught up in it, he was unsure if he would survive.
Looks of shock and horror adorned the faces of the teachers as they had already jumped back. “What happened!?!..” The bald headed man called out. He was unable to sense the dark matter, but he could see it with his very eyes as regards to how horrifying it was.
“Incredible. What happened? The Spirit Stone reacted in such a way to this boy’s mana? Or could it be his Enigma ability?” Norith spoke with a calm expression, pondering the situation.
“Mana?! How is that mana!? I was incapable of even feeling anything other than the protective barrier that activated...boy!” Geon gazed nervously at Avrin, looking at him with fascination and confusion. “What did you do?!..” Geon truly wanted an answer.
“Your guess is as good as mine, Senior, hahaha. I just used my energy. Maybe it's because my mana is different because of my ability?” Avrin was also a little dumbfounded regarding the reaction, but he expected as much. A stone used to test mana would not react right when testing dark matter.
“Hmph!...Well, there is no real way to test you if that's the case.” Geon helplessly spoke. Norith then stood up and laughed. “Well, there is no need for it. We understand he is an Enigma ability user and truly a treasure of our academy. We don't need to test he's affinity, he already has a bright future ahead of him.”
“But the results... How are we going to deal with this? We won't be able to judge what rank he is.” The lady who had an odd look on her face spoke. “Easy. Since Herth wants to keep low key, I'm sure he won't mind if we place him as a copper rank student?”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Avrin gazed at Norith, who had just spoken, and smiled. “I don't mind at all. But there is something I'm worried about.”
“Huh? What is it?” Geon spoke in reply. “Well, if I'm a copper rank student, will I have access to the proper resources? I would like to study a few things and I'm sure the library can help, but will I be able to access everything?”
This thought was, of course, from Avrin’s caution. He had read a novel once about a boy who had been reincarnated and faced a similar situation, only to be denied access to certain books in a library due to his rank. In Avrin’s case, it was taking extra care.
“Easy. Usually, copper rank students are allowed access to the first floor, but I can guarantee access to you up to the 4th floor. Anything higher requires the headmaster or vice principal’s orders. But I'll talk to them about it. After all, you're going to help Laymist in the future. Such an investment in a gifted student cannot go wasted. But be careful not to get seen by other students who may take it the wrong way since you want to keep a low profile. I recommend going during midnight before the library closes”
Norith seemed optimistic and easily trusting towards Avrin, who didn't know whether he was being praised or taken advantage of. “Well, it's settled. Library access up to the 4th floor seems fair. How are we going to arrange resources other than learning material for him?” Geon uttered.
Avrin was a little confused and spoke “Seniors, what do you mean?” From there, the lady replied. “Every fortnight, Laymist academy gives an allowance to the students. These are special tokens that can be used to buy equipment, materials, or other things. It's true that gold is the perfect currency, but this way it avoids the richer students from purchasing all the valuable materials.
It also means that students will train and work harder to earn these tokens. Other than the monthly allowance, they can be earned by doing various things. Of course, tokens can be purchased from other students by using gold, but it is their decision to make.”
Avrin was quietly thinking. “-Interesting system they have set up. Of course, it's not an issue for me-” Norith then stood up and walked over from behind the desk and made his way around the small, clean crater that the Spirit Stone had caused. “Herth, it seems everything is settled. Before we send you off, I need to tell you some important details if you want to survive better at Laymist”
Avrin listened intently while the other teachers were looking over the aftermath of the Spirit Stone with fascination, as if trying to decipher something that wasn't there. But time passed on, Avrin had talked with Norith and Geon for a full hour regarding the details of Laymist, the student hierarchy and other such topics.
He was currently walking over to the copper student male dormitory. The first day was considered an off day, where new students could relax and get used to the atmosphere, so there were many people loitering around and chatting while showing off some magic in the training fields.
Avrin, of course, had none of it. He entered the dormitory and soon entered a long hall before finding his room number. Usually people would have to share rooms, but Norith had done Avrin a favor and given him one of the vacant rooms that hadn't been filled. Thankfully, it would be that case until next year.
“-My foundation of strength is already established, so there is no need to rush ahead. I should properly establish myself with other things that may assist me in advancing-” Avrin was quietly thinking before he entered his room.
It was quite large and had two beds on both the far left and far right side with the usual furniture. A table, two chairs, two wardrobes and the like. Geon had told Avrin that the higher ranked you are, the better you were treated. But this was fine to Avrin. He didn't need anything overly fancy.
Instead he walked over and looked out the window, seeing over a thousand students doing their own thing in the training fields and courtyards. He also saw several individuals picking fights with one another, but this was none of his concern.
He walked over to the table and emitted Nebula Mist that reached into the enchanted bag and pulled out the alchemical chalice, placing it onto the table. Avrin eyed it carefully. He was actually quite thankful for today, because he learned a valuable lesson. A very valuable lesson.
It was that objects which require mana work differently using dark matter. He wasn't sure if the chalice would repeat the actions of the Spirit Stone, but he could at least channel a little bit at a time before throwing caution to the wind.
Alchemy and blacksmithing was something he didn't consider wasteful. After all, Astaroth was a weapon that was forged internally by him. It gave him the idea that maybe one day he would be capable of creating equipment on that level capable of shaking the foundations of the universe.
Alchemy, to him, was something less personal. This was something he would do to see if he could create things to enhance himself and his people. He didn't doubt that there would be trouble down the road.
Gathering two ingredients, he placed them onto the side before emitting dark Nebula Mist that he gently channeled into the alchemical chalice. The chalice began to light up before changing it's color from a brassy steel to a rusted black. Avrin was completely focused, just in case something went wrong he would try his best to disperse the dark matter.
The chalice seemed to slightly change and shift, deforming strangely. If one could say a flower bloomed healthily in spring, than the chalice was currently withering in autumn but still retained its main from.
Suddenly, a liquid spiral of dark matter converged in the cup of the chalice. It emitted an all but familiar aura to Avrin. Thankfully, it seemed the first step was a success. The chalice had converted under Nebula Mist. And now, the second step was concocting.
This wasn't to say it was easy. Alchemy required focus and control. He was sure it was also the case when using dark matter. Emitting Nebula Mist, he placed one of the ingredients within the milky dark spiral. Strangely, something began to happen.
It seemed to disintegrate, but every part of it turned into a miniature bead no less than a fingernail in size. These beads were strange, and although they looked similar to a Dark Core, their color reflected the color of the ingredient. In the case of rose root, the beads were a soft red.
Avrin wasn't sure what step to take next, as it was different from the usual concocting. He expected the rose root to turn to a fine powder, but instead, it turned into five small red beads. Avrin brought the next trial ingredient, the Alovi leaf.
He slowly placed it into the milky spiral that had its center orbited by these red beads. As soon as the leaf entered the dark spiral, it was sucked into the pitch black mixture, and a few seconds passed before five small green beads, half the size of the red beads, appeared.
All of them began to orbit around the center of the chalice’s cup. Avrin quietly gazed at it all. “This is strange. It’s completely different from the instructions. Then again, it's to be expected. Uh! Wait a second, there is that!”
Avrin shut his eyes and entered his inner workings. There was something he remembered. This was that whenever he discovered a new feature or opened up a new path for himself, the book that God had given him would open up a new page that allowed him to start new and gain an understanding on how to improve it. The only downside was instructions were sometimes vague and it was incredibly difficult to do things.
He had remembered that when he was blacksmithing, nothing seemed to change in the book. But he contemplated on this while searching through the pages of the book that seemed to hover in the darkness. He had an idea of why this was so.
It was until he came across what he was looking for. “Matter Alchemy? It shows this when I discovered it, but not for when I attempt blacksmithing. I can only assume that it will reveal new things I discover and not things I am training with that are already discovered.”
Avrin began to happily read over the introduction. “Matter Alchemy. By using a dark chalice, one is able to channel dark matter to convert ingredients into corresponding beads of dark energy. Using these dark energy beads, one has the chance to fuse them to create an elixir capable of enhancement. Failed attempts will result in the complete disintegration of these dark energy beads.”
Avrin remained quiet for a moment. “Dark energy is indeed different from dark matter. I don't know anything about it currently, so I can only resolve myself to learn more about it as I go.” Leaving his inner workings behind, Avrin gazed at the chalice before willing each single bead to fuse into its counterpart. The red and green beads fused into a mixture of green and red. The color changed to drops of gold, but Avrin knew these were still beads. He then willed the five gold beads to fuse together.
It had taken a total of 10 minutes for the green and red beads to fuse, and a further 10 minutes for the gold beads to fuse together. At the moment of completion, the swirling dark, milky vortex seemed to be sucked up by the golden liquid sphere.
Avrin looked at it strangely as he willed the liquid to float upwards. “It contains a little dark matter which I can control, but the rest of this energy is like those beads. Truly strange. But no one ever got anywhere without sacrifices..”
He willed the liquid towards him before it condensed to a smaller size which entered his mouth and then went down his throat. The result was felt immediately. His body seemed lighter and refreshed, but this wasn't what he wanted to see. He reached to his palm and used a thin line of sharp dark matter to cut across it. A faint line of red blood seeped out, but within three seconds, the wound was healed perfectly.
“Incredible. A wound like this would take at least ten seconds, but to have it lowered to this degree... I was right. Alchemy is handy. Usual elixirs would do me no good, they would be broken down and converted into dark matter which is stashed away in my body unless I add some dark matter beforehand and give the elixir time to reform, but I'm sure this is only for special cases like that Enigma potion. Hmm I'll test this theory out another time”
Avrin stood up, feeling incredibly refreshed. He clenched his hands, forming fists. Nebula Mist emitted from his body, clutching the chalice and placing it back into the enchanted bag he had. He then showed a slight grin.
“Norith said Gaia academy would be hosting its yearly mass tournament in a week. This is perfect for me. I'm sure they don’t expect new students to compete within these tournaments and hold them for the older students, but in one week I'll be sure to thoroughly establish myself”
Avrin left his room and began to walk off. He had several things he wanted to do. The Dark Abyss Chasm was the main task. The next was establishing his fame that he could use to hold connections. These connections would allow him benefits and advantages in many cases.
The most beneficial advantage to gaining fame and prestige was that he would be a step closer to the apparent piece of Skymetal owned by the current empire’s king. Avrin knew how powerful it could be. Astaroth was a constant reminder, and just by absorbing it, his power shot up significantly.
Although Avrin was currently planning, he would not know that within the depths of dark space, something was stirring.
A dim, dying star although small and insignificant it had something coiled around it. The large, tyrannical figure trapping the sun within its snake-like body opened its eyes, causing the space nearby to quiver and distort. It had eyes that were larger than planets and pupils that shined brighter than the lifeless star. This dark leviathan-like figure was gazing within the depths of space.
A deep, ancient voice resounded from this creature. Yet, as large as it was, the voice only shook the space around it for a moment. “How many years...have I waited for your kind...for he's promise. Your kind has been spoken once by him, and I know once I devour enough of you, I will surely be strong enough to Proceed.”
The coiled creature began to tense it's body as the dim star began to collapse in on itself. Within moments, an explosion rang out in that section of space as the dying star shined brightly once more before flickering to a sad end.
The supernova it caused had made cosmic gases and the like nearby to burst outwards. Not even the planets that had been chilled to the bone due to the stars loss of nurturing were safe, as they cracked and turned into dead cold and heated fragments.
Within this occurrence of universal marvel, the leviathan-like figure, hidden within clouds of cosmic gas, was flying towards the direction it had gazed at before, it's eyes shining a deep red of hatred and greed. It uttered one more sentence before focusing on its long journey.
“Wait for me, Spectral kin, become my sustenance in advancement”
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Afterword for this chapter.
Spoiler :
1- dark energy and dark matter are different i want to utilize both but at the same time i want dark energy to be unique and more flexible.
2-alchemy is something i like but i know if i waste to much on it then the story will lose its momentum so il balance it a bit.
3-yes 1 week to the tournement but you all know me by now im not so cliche and the story can take a turn whenever in a sort of realistic manner who knows what will happen.