Chapter 5: Sudden Activity
Leo's face was etched with concern as he approached Lev. “It's good that you're here. I heard there was a kidnapping in the city. Several students have already been taken,” he paused, his voice dropping to a whisper. “They're specifically targeting those who've awakened their Soul Space!”
Lev's brow furrowed as he recalled his own encounter on the way to school. It seems I wasn't the only one who got attacked!
Leo continued, his voice barely audible, “I heard they were Heretics. They'll either kill the captured students as sacrifices for some ritual or brainwash them.”
“Heretics...” Lev muttered, suddenly realizing the gravity of his earlier encounter. A chill ran down his spine as he considered what might have happened if someone hadn't forced the contract with Darkness on him.
Leo, noticing the change in his friend's expression, asked with concern, “What's wrong, man?”
Lev hesitated for a moment before recounting his encounter.
“What? But how? I thought they were targeting students with Soul Space...” Leo's voice trailed off as realization dawned. His eyes widened. “Did you awaken your Soul Space already?”
Lev responded with a nod and a smile.
Surprised, Leo was momentarily stunned before breaking into a huge grin. He slung his arm around Lev's shoulder, ruffling his hair. “Congratulations, man! I knew you were gonna be on this path too. I believed in you!” His joy was genuine. “But how did you survive an attack from Heretics?”
Before Lev could answer, their homeroom Instructor Jane's voice cut through their conversation. “Go back to your seats! I have an announcement.”
As the students settled into their chairs, Jane began, “I believe you've all heard about what happened. Several of your schoolmates have been kidnapped, but the principal and the authorities are already working to get them back.”
“While your elders are doing their best, you students also have roles to play,” she continued. “Students who haven't awakened their Soul Space will go to the auditorium, while the awakened students will follow me to the School's Main Hall. Am I clear?”
“Yes, ma'am!” the students chorused.
“Good. Unawakened students, exit orderly. Awakened students, follow me!” With that, Instructor Jane stepped out of the room.
As the unawakened students began to file out, they noticed Lev following behind the awakened group.
“Lev! Shouldn't you be coming with us?” one called out.
“Yeah, you're going the wrong way!” another chimed in.
Lev could only offer a wry smile. “I'm sorry, but I'm not coming with you guys.”
“What do you mean?”
Before Lev could respond, Leo intervened with a mischievous grin, “Because he already awakened his Soul Space too!” He winked at Lev, who could only shake his head at his friend's antics.
The other students were stunned, muttering among themselves, “How...? Why...?” They couldn't believe that Lev, known for his laziness, had awakened before them.
Ignoring their bewilderment, Lev followed Leo and his other three awakened classmates out of the room.
Moments later, they arrived at the School's Main Hall, a spacious entrance area now filled with other awakened students led by their respective Instructors. At the gate entrance stood a gentle-looking, gray-haired elderly man clad in a tight robe matching his hair color. It was the Serene National High School Vice Principal, George Finch - a Soul Monster Warrior himself!
Curious, Lev attempted to appraise him, but the Soul Interface didn't appear. Puzzled, he mentally asked Darkness, “Why can't I use my Soul Interface?”
“You can only use your appraisal ability on monsters,” Darkness replied matter-of-factly.
Though disappointed, Lev understood the logic. ‘It would be overpowered if I could appraise everything,’ he thought.
Vice Principal George addressed the Instructors, “Are these all the awakened students?”
After receiving confirmation, he added, “We still have some time. Double-check your students. Count carefully; someone might come running late.”
Instructor Jane began counting her students silently, “Winter Nordstrom, Apple Lauv, Mark Styles, Leo Blaise... eh? Lev Belos?”
Her eyebrows lifted slightly when she spotted Lev. “Mr. Belos, are you sure you belong here?”
Once again, Leo jumped in before Lev could answer, “Miss Jane, Lev awakened just last night!”
Realizing words weren't enough, Lev focused and softly waved both hands. A marble crystal materialized in front of him - his Soul Space.
“Okay, that's enough. I believe you,” Instructor Jane said, her voice serious. “Don't easily show your Soul Space again in the future. The world is cruel.”
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She then addressed the entire group, “You all should be cautious as well. The outside world has never been safe. Especially later, you have to be extra careful.”
“Later, you'll be following Vice Principal George to the Soul Monster Wilderness to choose your Soul Pact.”
Surprise flickered across the students' faces. Seeing this, Instructor Jane explained, “I know you're surprised. Normally, you'd only go for a pact on your graduation day. However, after what happened this morning, the principal and counselors decided it would be safer if awakened students had a pact with a Soul Monster to protect themselves.”
The students' expressions shifted from confusion to a mix of excitement and apprehension. Leo, standing beside Lev, was clearly thrilled. “Finally! We'll officially be Soul Pact Warriors!”
Lev, while not overly excited, was looking forward to it. According to Darkness, he could have a pact with another Soul Monster.
Instructor Jane continued, “I know you're excited, but you must always be careful. Soul Monsters might be reasonable, but there are still many bad apples among them. Understand?”
The students nodded in unison.
“Soul Monsters might be dangerous, but what you need to be even more careful of are the students from other schools,” she added, her eyes flashing with a hint of killing intent that Lev immediately caught.
“I won't say anymore. All I want is for you all to come back in one piece,” Instructor Jane said, concern evident in her voice.
“Don't worry, Miss Jane. We'll be extra careful!” Mark Styles assured her.
“Yes, miss, we'll come back safe!” Apple Lauv added.
Lev, Leo, and the ice-cold princess Winter simply nodded.
“That's good to know. You must carefully follow the Vice Principal's orders later. Especially you...” Instructor Jane's gaze settled on Lev. “You, Mr. Belos. You've just awakened; you haven't had any special training like your classmates.”
Leo immediately chimed in, “Don't worry, Miss Jane. I'm going to protect our Lazy Star!”
Lev subconsciously nudged Leo's side with his elbow, making him yelp, “Ouch!”
“You dare to hit me after my good intentions?” Leo retaliated, attempting to lock Lev's neck in his arm.
To everyone's surprise, Lev smoothly dodged the attack.
“Nice dodge!” Mark couldn't help but comment.
Even Winter Nordstrom was inwardly surprised by Lev's movement, though her expression remained unchanged.
Instructor Jane, slightly taken aback, simply ordered them to stop fooling around.
Thirty minutes later, Vice Principal George's voice rang out, “Alright, I've given enough time. Students, be ready, we're leaving now!”
He casually waved his sleeve as if summoning someone. A few breaths later, the clear bright sky suddenly darkened, drawing everyone's attention upward.
Lev caught sight of a huge shadow flying through the air. It slowly descended, causing a heavy wind to sweep through the area.
It was a towering winged creature with the appearance of a sparrow, adorned with blue feathers and a pair of white wings. As it landed, it let out a deafening screech.
Lev instinctively appraised the creature:
[Name: Bluecloud Sparrow]
Type: Wind
Grade: Silver
Level: Tier 3 (5★)
Power: 1,500
Defense: 1,000
Potential: Silver - Tier 4
Abilities:
* Flight Speed - increase flight speed by 100% for a period of time.
* Wind Blade - summon wind blades to attack.
* Fierce Claw - increase claw attack by 10%.
* Morph - ability to morph size for a long period of time, decrease movement speed when in giant form.
* Wind Element - passively increase wind element by 20%.
“A Tier 3 and silver grade monster?!” Lev exclaimed. It was his first encounter with a Tier 3 Monster, let alone one of silver grade.
Leo softly explained, “That's the tamed monster of our Vice Principal—Bluecloud Sparrow. I heard Vice Principal found it several years ago in the abyss realm when it was just a cub.”
“A tamed abyss monster...” Lev muttered, his eyes shining with excitement.
I will have my own tamed monster in the future! he vowed silently. With Darkness as his Soul Pact Monster, having a tamed monster didn't seem impossible as long as he grew stronger.
Vice Principal George caressed the Bluecloud Sparrow, which amicably bent down to its master's touch. After whispering something to the creature, George smiled slightly.
The Bluecloud Sparrow proudly lifted its head as blue light enveloped its body. Its figure began to expand slowly, using its Morph ability. When the light faded, it had grown several times larger.
Vice Principal George jumped onto its head, and the newly morphed Bluecloud Sparrow bent down, inviting the students to climb aboard.
“Students, hop on. We're riding Little Blue to our destination,” Vice Principal George commanded.
Instructor Jane urged her students, “Go on, be careful on your way.”
“We will, Miss Jane. Thank you!” The class 2-E students answered in unison.
Soon, nearly a hundred awakened students from Serene High School stood on Bluecloud Sparrow's back.
The Serene High School Instructors looked up at Vice Principal George, wishing him a safe journey.
“Thank you. I'll be protecting them; they are my students, after all,” he replied with a smile. Turning to the students, he asked, “Are you all ready?”
The students' reactions were mixed, some excited, others hesitant.
“Alright, just take a seat and enjoy the ride. We'll be there in no time,” Vice Principal George assured them. Once everyone was seated, he commanded, “Little Blue, let's go!”
Little Blue strongly flapped its huge wings, causing heavy winds on the ground as it shot up into the sky.
Lev, anticipating a strong gust, was surprised to feel no wind at all. He soon discovered the reason: a blue transparent barrier, like a dome, was shielding the students from the strong winds.
His gaze landed on the gentle-looking Vice Principal, the only one capable of deploying such a barrier. Lev's mind began to wonder about the world of Soul Pact Warriors and their abilities.
Turning to Leo, he asked, “Do you know how strong our Vice Principal is?”
Leo raised his eyebrows before smiling, “So you're wondering about that too. To be honest, I'm not certain, but I've heard our Vice Principal has the strength of a Tier 5 Soul Pact Warrior!”
“Tier 5? Isn't that already at the level of a City Leader?” Lev questioned, intrigued.
“It's just a rumor, but I can assure you our Vice Principal is powerful,” Leo replied.
“How powerful?”
“I once witnessed him fight a Tier 3 (5★) monster. He killed it in just a few moves!”
“A peak Tier 3 monster?!” Lev exclaimed, astonished.
“Yes, it was a Bear-type monster on the verge of breaking through to Tier 4,” Leo confirmed.
“How did he kill it?”
“I didn't see it clearly. It was over in just a few moments.”
As they conversed, Vice Principal George, who had been meditating at Little Blue's head, suddenly snapped his eyes open. His eyebrows furrowed as a loud screech reverberated in the distance.
They had barely been airborne for an hour when trouble arose. Several miles away, a huge dark creature was flying rapidly towards their position.
Vice Principal George immediately recognized the creature: a Four-Winged Hawk!
Lev and the other students were also alerted by the sudden appearance of the monster.
“Abyss monster!” One of the students exclaimed.
“It's a Four-Winged Hawk! That means it's a Tier 4 monster!” A knowledgeable student commented.
“Will it attack us?”
“Isn't that obvious?”
“T-Then... are we going to die?”
“Shut up! If you think you're gonna die, don't drag me into your nightmare!”
Lev frowned, hearing the heated arguments among the students. Leo and the others from class 2-E also felt the weight of the situation.
Amidst the panic, Vice Principal George's calm voice cut through, “Alright, alright. Calm down. I know you're scared, but I'm still here, aren't I?”
“Even in the worst-case scenario where I couldn't beat it, you'd all be safe with Little Blue,” he assured them.
The Bluecloud Sparrow screeched as if agreeing with his words.
His reassurance worked wonders, and the panicked students began to calm down.
Lev, however, didn't bother with the other students' reactions. He focused solely on the incoming Four-Winged Hawk. As it drew closer, he immediately appraised the monster.
The details of the Four-Winged Hawk appeared in his vision: