It seemed they weren’t the only ones inspired to challenge the tower, as the arena was nearly filled to capacity when they arrived, with students from all years gathering. Even some professors and academy staff members were present, seated in their usual spots and discussing casually amongst themselves.
A large holographic screen dominated the sky, displaying the names of more than a dozen third-year students who were already within the tower and fighting their way up the Advanced class. To see people easily ascending levels that he couldn’t even reach humbled Aodhán slightly; however, it did nothing for the competitive fire burning within him. Without hesitation, they made their way to the arena stage to sign themselves up as challengers for the evolved class.
They added their names to a growing list of challengers that were already numbered in the fifties, after which they were directed towards the tower entrance, which was a shimmering red portal almost no different from that of a dungeon. The physical manifestation of the entrance wasn’t exactly in the form of a tower, but it towered over them nonetheless.
They were each given an ejector, after which they joined a line of students waiting their turn to get into the tower. Unlike a dungeon, the tower was manually operated and calibrated, so the handlers preferred to send the challengers in all at once rather than make them go in one by one.
While they waited for the third-year students to exit the tower, Aodhán, Daruk, and Andrew discussed with Alesh Vilaris and Azul Fetherson, who were also in the line.
The last time they’d all challenged the tower like this, Aodhán had barely managed to spend more than three minutes within the 24th level, where he’d faced a Tier 24 Kraken within a watery marsh. However, at the time, he’d only been at the 20th tier. This time, he was comfortably sitting at the 21st tier. He had a seal, the {Elemental Lightning} skill, and a determination that he had lacked the last time. Was he challenging the tower to test himself? Yes, but he was also doing it to piss Cyrus off. In essence, he would be killing two birds with one stone.
More people joined the line, including Cyrus and his followers. In less than thirty minutes, their numbers had entered the early seventies, which was surprising considering that there were only hundred students in the first year. This meant that more than half of the students had come out to challenge the tower today. Perhaps they all just wanted to test themselves after the break, or more likely, they were all just fired up because of principal Zatya’s speech that morning.
After nearly an hour of waiting, the last third-year student finally exited the tower at level 51. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Eldrith whose name Aodhán hadn’t even seen on the holographic screen; instead, it was a tall, muscled youth with jet black hair and skin, dressed in cultivation robes, and surrounded by a miasma of dark energy that Aodhán quickly identified as fear. The billowing essence surged immediately the youth appeared on the stage, and Aodhán felt like he’d been dumped within a lake of ice-cold water.
A shiver ran down his spine, and his heartbeat echoed loudly in his ears. The youth, whom the holographic screen identified as Edgar Veradis, glanced at the mute crowd for a moment before simply disappearing. As soon as the youth disappeared, though, Aodhán and countless other students let out a breath of relief as their instinctual fear subsided.
“Damn, that’s overpowered.” Andrew muttered quietly and shook his head. “To hold the entire arena in abject terror even for a few seconds is goals, men.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say he held the entire arena, because the fourth-year students look pretty comfortable to me.” Aodhán gestured to the section of the arena where the fourth-year students sat, their pose almost nonchalant.
“It’s still crazy.” Azul shuddered. “He definitely held me down.”
“Me too.” Daruk confessed and asked. “Do you think he’s the strongest student in the third year?”
“Most likely.” Aodhán shrugged. “The only other person I know in the third year is Eldrith, and I’m not sure he’s strong enough to take out a Tier 50 monster and come out looking so fresh.
First-year students had a requirement to reach Tier 25 before being allowed to graduate. The required tier for second years was tier 45, and for third years, tier 60. Knowing this, one could assume that the average third-year student had an advancement level between 45 and 50, since the higher one advanced, the harder it was to ascend; besides, it was still only the first semester.
Aodhán didn’t know what tier this Edgar Veradis was, but from the reaction of the crowd and knowing the average tier of third-year students, he presumed that the boy had probably fought nothing less than four or five tiers up. How he had never seen the boy in the assembly hall was bizarre. Perhaps it was because he’d never really had the chance to sit at the front during the assembly.
They waited a few more minutes for the handlers to calibrate the tower to the evolved class, after which they were given the standard entry speech concerning safety and ejection. Once that was over, the tower entrance pulsed with green light, and the next instant, they were all teleported into the tower.
The teleportation was seamless, and when Aodhán opened his eyes, he found himself alone within a white room identified as the start room. Before he began, Aodhán made a small rope constructed from storm essence and hooked it into the ejector to form a sort of necklace that he hung around his neck so it wouldn’t get lost during a battle. Ready, he took a deep breath and stepped into the portal of the first level.
The first level was a cavern filled with stalactites and large crystaline protrusions. The moment Aodhán appeared within the space, a shrill cry rang out, and a bundle of brown fur launched itself at him.
With a careless wave, Aodhán reduced the {Earth Ifrit} to a pile of ash and stepped into the next portal without delay. He arrived within the second level barely a second after he stepped into the first, and the third an instant after that. Effortlessly, he climbed through the lower levels, and when he arrived at level 16, where the silver Mamacore resided, he only spared it a glance before reducing it to ash with a crackling ball of black electricity.
With single-minded focus, Aodhán continued forward. He had only two goals: to push himself to the absolute limit and use up all his strength just to see how far he could really go if he gave it his all. The second and more interesting goal was to beat Cyrus and knock him off his pedestal. Someone had to do it at this point, and Aodhán was more than willing to volunteer himself.
As his focus narrowed further, the world blurred away, and the creatures of each level barely registered in his mind as Aodhán simply tore through anything and everything that stood in his way. Even the {Fire Drake} that had almost exposed his transmigrant tattoo to the world during the tournament only managed to let out a torrent of blue flames before an empowered {Lightning Beam—Red} drilled a fist-sized hole into its skull.
In just twenty-five minutes, Aodhán had raced through nineteen levels, but as the swirling portal to the 20th level appeared, a slight shiver ran through him. The memory of the {Cursed Ravager} was still vivid in his mind. However, unlike the last time he challenged the tower, Aodhán was much more prepared to handle the shadowy.
The last time he challenged the tower, Aodhán had relied on the same tactics that helped him defeat the Ravager the first time, but this time, he was eager to try something new. He wasn’t entirely certain it would work, but he was willing to take the risk—after all, if it failed, he could always escape into the moonlight and drag the Ravager along for the ride.
He stepped through the portal, and appeared within a familiar forest cloaked in darkness. There wasn’t a single trace of light in sight, and although, that little titbit should have clued him to the fact that his plan would fail woefully, Aodhán wasn’t exactly thinking straight at the moment.
It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and when it did, Aodhán saw the {Cursed Ravager} creeping forward soundlessly. It was just as he remembered, with dark fangs that couldn’t fit into its mouth and instead jutted out of the sides, glinting with a green paralytic liquid.
With a wave of his hand, Aodhán created several balls of white gold electricity that burst into existence with a bright flash and began to revolve around him. The light they emitted spread out to cover an area about four meters in diameter, and the {Cursed Ravager} hissed in pain as it leaped away and into the underbrush, leaving the faint smell of burnt flesh hanging in the air.
Just like the last time, the intensity of his pseudo-lamps began to decrease as darkness sapped their essence, but at a much slower pace, and Aodhán estimated that he had about twenty to thirty minutes before the revolving balls of electricity winked out.
The {Cursed Ravager} growled, lurking around the edge of the light zone, but Aodhán didn’t pay it any mind, instead, he walked towards the closest tree and used his {Merge} perk for the first time. The sensation of transformation was a weird one. Varéc’s consciousness, which usually lurked at the back of his mind, came forward, not to take over, but to work together.
Despite the fact that Aodhán had never actually tested the perk before, he had instinctual knowledge on how to use it, and with a single thought, the skin on his right arm was replaced by black scales. His fingers lengthened into black claws, sharp enough to slice a man in two, and with a grin, Aodhán began carving LUMUS—the rune of light unto the tree bark.
The bark was rough and jagged, so it took him much longer to inscribe the rune perfectly. When he finally finished, he infused the rune with willpower to jumpstart it’s activation,and moved on to the next tree to repeat the process.
The light zone shrank steadily, but Aodhán wasn’t too worried, as he fully expected the runes to activate any minute now and engulf the entire area in light. However, it wasn’t until he jump-started the fifth LUMUS rune, that he realized that none of the runes he’d jump-started earlier were even close to activation. A quick reassessment of his surroundings pointed out the obvious problem, and Aodhán cursed himself for being so stupid. The area was so dense with darkness essence that there was barely enough light essence to activate a single rune talk less of five.
In essence, he had wasted the last fifteen minutes, and a glance at the shrinking light zone showed that the darkness had consumed his light faster than he’d anticipated. His light zone barely covered more than two meters in diameter, which meant he only had a few more minutes to—
“Oh crap!”
The {Cursed Ravager} pounced, not willing to give him a chance to come up with another plane. Instinctively, Aodhán activated {Lightning Surge—Red} and empowered it with all eight strands of willpower that his technique allowed. Willpower rushed into the skill at the speed of light, and in an overwhelming cascade of destruction, a river of red lightning exploded out of Aodhán and engulfed the entire clearing. Thunder boomed, and the world exploded in a shower of wood, leaves, and sap.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The {Cursed Ravager} let out a shriek of utter agony, but Aodhán didn’t stop channeling the skill until the Ravager was completely obliterated. When he finally deactivated the skill and the explosions subsided, Aodhán found himself at the center of utter destruction. An area about a dozen meters in diameter had been completely destroyed, and was filled with potholes and ash.
“A little overkill.” Aodhán chuckled as he took in the destruction he had wrought. On the downside, though, his clothes were shredded as they weren’t resistant to lightning. This exposed his body to the handlers who were most likely watching, but Aodhán wasn’t too worried as Varéc’s tattoo covered the transmigrant one.
With a flick of his fingers, he manipulated his storm scarf, and with a bit of effort, he transformed it into a sort of armor that fit him perfectly, and covered his body from neck to toe. With one last look at the destruction he’d caused with a single skill, Aodhán grinned and stepped into the swirling portal of the 21st level.
This time he arrived in a grassy plain filled with flowers and the scent of spring. However, in the distance, not too far from him stood a bull-like creature identified as a {Wild Bonnacon}. The creature had four large horns and glowing red eyes, and when it saw him, black smoke puffed out of its nose and mouth. With a roar, the {Wild Bonnacon} rushed forward, but Aodhán just grinned and whispered. “Come out, Varéc, it’s time for your favorite snack.”
The {Wild Bonnacon} had been the first ever creature Varéc had fought, and without hesitation, Varéc rushed out of his spirit, wings and claws extended in predatory excitement. The {Wild Bonnacon} barely stood a chance as Varéc shredded it to pieces and destroyed the stripes of flesh and bone with a condensed ball of crackling black electricity.
Aodhán grinned and massaged Varéc’s bloodstained snout, while the Bonnacon's ashes scattered in the wind. “Who’s the best familiar in the world?”
Varéc growled in excitement, and Aodhán chuckled. “Yes, you are Varéc, but the world doesn’t know it yet. How about we show the world just how magnificent you really are?”
Varéc growled again, rearing his sinuous neck back in determination, and Aodhán grinned as he felt their emotions start to bleed into each other. If uncontrolled, their psychic link was more of a handicap than a perk at times, but this time, Aodhán would make sure it worked in his favor.
Varéc’s determination and excitement bled into his own, feeding his emotions and causing them to surge. Hesitation flew out the window as his determination soared. His focus narrowed to a pinpoint clarity, and with only the thought of victory left in his mind, Aodhán climbed unto Varéc and whispered. “Come on, partner, we have a leaderboard to shatter.”
***
Rahim stood within Principal Zatya’s office, watching the holographic screen along with professor Dubois, professor Alaric, and a few other first-year professors who had decided to watch the screen from the office rather than from the arena. There were over a dozen professors present, and they had all raced to the office when they heard the number of students challenging the tower this time. It was obvious that the principal had succeeded in riling up the students, and injecting a healthy dose of competition into them. However, Rahim was concerned that the healthy competition would quickly devolve into something...unhealthy.
The ban on information regarding the war was a bandage patch to avoid the spread of panic within the academy. It wasn’t only the fifth academy that had enforced the ban, in fact, almost all the academies, with the exception of the 1st and 2nd, had enforced it to prevent the recent occurrence in the war camp of Conquestia from spreading and causing panic. Hopefully, the champions would resolve the changing situation quickly before things devolved further.
His gloomy musings were interrupted when professor Alaric, who was seated on a construct of air at the far end of the office, suddenly let out a bark of laughter and said, “Ah, simply astounding!” He pointed to a name on the holographic screen that had sparked several arguments and contention among the staff ever since his affinity reveal a few weeks ago. “I knew he could do it. Twenty-two levels in and he isn’t showing any signs of stopping.”
Professor Aleran snorted in annoyance. “His strength and abilities have never been my point of contention, Alaric. It is its possible usage and the fact that it has almost no counters.”
The student they were referring to was obviously Cameron Lorde, a commoner with a very sketchy background who had posed as an {Invisibility} awakened for the first few weeks of the semester. Of course, some of the professors had known the truth from the beginning, but the fact that the boy had been able to fool even a few of the professors was the problem. Cameron’s mother’s bloody reputation didn’t help matters either, and if principal Zatya hadn’t put her foot down, many of the staff had been ready to expel the boy immediately.
The boy’s affinity for intangibility was so rare, that although principal Zatya hadn’t taken him on as a project, she had claimed him anyway. Rahim shook his head and let out a small smile. Cameron Lorde was one of those students who half-assed everything, content to remain average and irrelevant, but for some reason, during the simulation exercise, he had revealed his actual affinity. Rahim wasn’t sure if it was stupidity or a mistake on Cameron’s part, but if he were the boy, he would have continued with the farce until he graduated. Despite being a commoner with no bloodline, the boy had begun attracting the attention of several high ranking nobles and officials who no doubt had a long list of illicit and illegal activities they wanted to use the boy for.
Professor Alaric let out another roar of laughter as the boy ascended to the 23rd level, three whole tiers above his current tier, and Rahim smiled. If things continued this way, it was only a matter of time before the boy was named a champion candidate along with the other more promising members of his year who had already been named, either officially or unofficially.
Overall, Rahim had to admit that his students were making decent progress. They had grown from the simpering whelps that had come into the academy a few months ago, and although, there was still room for improvement, Rahim was satisfied with their progress so far.
His gaze roamed the gathered professors until they landed on professor Dubois, who was seated beside the principal, her gaze serene as she gazed at the name of one of his best students; Cyrus Valerion, who, despite his rash and pompous disposition, was a genius of spatial affinity just like his elder brother, with control even more advanced than that of Aodhán Brystion.
Aside from his immense control, Cyrus had already gained two seals, a truly astounding feat, although not quite as astounding or as rare as a familiar, and during the break, it was rumored that he'd almost gained a third. That would have been truly exceptional.
It was no great surprise that he had managed to consecutively keep his rank of first on the tower leaderboard, although, at the rate the other students were growing, Rahim wondered just how long he would be able to keep the rank. When Cyrus ascended to the 23rd level, a little slower than Cameron, professor Dubois snorted and muttered. “He’s faltering.”
Principal Zatya nodded in agreement, although her gaze remained fixed on Aodhán’s name, which was climbing the tower as if his life depended on it.
A quick check on the time Cyrus had spent in the 22nd level showed that he’d spent three minutes more than the handlers had estimated. It wasn’t exactly a bad thing, as it simply meant the creature guarding that level required a little more time to take out, but the problem with lagging was that it usually spiraled downwards. You lag three minutes in the 22nd level, and before one knew it, you were lagging ten minutes in the 24th.
It wasn't exactly a hard rule, as seen in Aodhán’s case, who had spent almost fifteen minutes in the 20th level, but barely thirty seconds in the 21st. What Aodhán had been doing in the 20th level, Rahim didn’t understand, but the lag had almost given the principal a heart attack, or at least a semblance of one, as she was too advanced to experience such a mundane sickness.
Rahim returned his gaze to the holographic screen, and as he scanned the list of ascending students, Professor Vyris Caldwell who was also seated beside the principal spoke up. “I’m particularly fascinated with the Astral awakened, Lysirel Cosmind. She’s not in my class, but I could definitely use her help in some of my recent experiments.”
“I guess it’s not too surprising that she didn’t apply for your course given her family’s snobbish reputation.” Professor Alaric mused. “Although, I see how she might be useful to your runic experimentations.”
“I like her.” Professor Aleran chimed in. “The fact that she’s one of the handful of students who can counter Lorde grants her several points in my book. If that boy goes rogue, we’ll definitely need her to put a halt to his activities.”
“He’s not going to go rogue.” Professor Alaric scowled, but professor Aleran just shrugged. “whether he does or not, it’s better to have her around.”
“She's not the only one.” Professor Jorendil spoke up for the first time. He probably hadn't meant to speak out loud, but when the professor's turned to stare at him,he cleared his throat and said. “She's not the only one who can counter Lorde. Kellan Dravynor, if he can improve his control should be able to counter him too.”
A silence descended on the room as the professor's mulled jorendil's words, and a moment later, professor Caldwell added. “Even Lyra Davenport, the force awakened. I gather she was one of the few who sensed Lorde in the simulation exercise.”
“Yes,” professor Alaric replied with a frown. “Although, her control is severely lacking, where as Lorde can be considered a genius…”
“Then we need to improve their control.” Principal Zatya cut in. “As useful as Lorde is, we can't have him roaming around unchecked. Lysirel will not always be available to check him, but with Kellan and Lyra now in the picture, I'd say you have nothing more to worry about, Aleran.”
Professor Aleran scoffed, but he settled down and glanced at Rahim. “Speak to master Lamarr, and ask her to give more attention to those two during control training exercises.”
Rahim nodded and added the task to an unending list of things he had to do before the end of the day. With that settled, the professors lapsed back into silence, and Rahim turned his gaze back to the screen. He scanned the screen for Lysirel’s name and when he found it he smiled. She was currently in the 24th level, three levels above her current tier. It wasn’t exactly champion level, but it was definitely peak elite.
“As astounding as they all are for their tier, I can’t help but be concerned that some of our students have yet to even challenge the tower.” Principal Zatya spoke up suddenly, her voice cutting into his thoughts like a knife. She flicked her fingers, and a smaller holographic screen containing about a dozen names appeared beside the large one. At the top of the list stood a name written in bold letters, Ayisha Helsarin, and underneath it were the names of the three Calodan siblings, Scarlett, Ankaz and Ursaz Urdania. “What are your thoughts on the matter Rahim?” Principal Zatya asked quietly and shrugged. “After all, you are their mentor.”
Despite how casually the question was phrased, Rahim knew that the principal was serious, so he cleared his throat and laid out his thoughts as succinctly as he could. “Just yesterday, Cameron Lorde’s names was at the top of that list, along with Dihlon Heshborn and a few others who have finally challenged the tower today. Lorde’s hesitance to reveal his abilities is understandable because of his origins and the attention his affinities will inadvertently draw, but the others don’t seem to have anything in particular to hide. The Calodans are usually secretive with their abilities, so their case isn't too surprising. For this reason, I can only assume that if given a little more time, they’ll come out of their shells without us prodding them.”
Principal Zatya nodded and pointed at Ayisha’s name. “A time Awakened who likes to keep to herself and hide from others. What are her capabilities?”
“She has two seals and an Epic+ grade bloodline.” Rahim responded smoothly. “As for her affinity buffs, she’s estimated to already have a Grasp of her origin plane.”
“So she’s just as strong as Cyrus’s Valerion then?” Professor Caldwell asked curiously, but professor Dubois responded with a snort. “She wishes. Cyrus Valerion is a genius of spatial cultivation, just like his half-brother Artemis. To compare him to the heiress of an upstart noble house is insulting”
There was a barely noticeable pause in the room before everyone simply continued their conversations as if professor Dubois words hadn’t been both derogatory and discriminating especially to the members of minor noble houses within their midst.
Rahim brushed off the sting of the insult and continued. “The Helsarin family hasn’t said a word about Ayisha’s prowess or capabilities, which could mean one of two things. Either Ayisha is so strong that her family wants to keep her strength under wraps for now, or that she is so weak that it would be truly shameful if she were to engage in any public activities, but considering her bloodline skill, {Foresight}, I’m more inclined to believe the former.”
Principal Zatya smiled. “So, in other words, we might have another champion candidate on our hands or a total dunce.”
“I’m in agreement with Rahim.” Professor Alaric chimed in. “Ayisha’s performance in the simulation exercise was excellent, especially when she combined her abilities with that of baroness Cavanaugh. In fact I saved a clip.” Professor Alaric waved a hand, and another holographic screen appeared, displaying Lupin in the war camp of the black order as she easily cut down tier 18 soldiers left and right. Her attacks were swift, precise and on time. Sometimes, she stabbed seemingly into empty air, yet without fail, her daggers pierced flesh. When the clip ended, professor Alaric shrugged. “Lupin did all this with Ayisha’s help. I think that alone is proof that she isn’t dense.”
Principal Zatya grinned and steepled her fingers. “Champion candidate it is then. It seems we’ve got an exceptional batch of Awakened students this year.” She glanced at Rahim and winked. “Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop.”
“Thank you, principal Zatya.” Rahim grinned and turned his gaze back to the holographic screen, his expression a mixture of satisfaction and pride. Who would have thought that after cursing then out so much during the tournament, he’d ever feel proud of them? Ah, Rahim couldn’t wait to show off his students in the academy tournaments and rub Gerald’s face in the mud when his students did better than the second-years and brought glory to his name.