(First POV)
(2 hour before dungeon opening)
We had finally reached the entrance to the dungeon, but that also meant we were targets for other parties.
The good thing was, there were numerous groups here who have 5 keys. So the map showed multiple dots overlapping in this area, making it difficult to find one specific group. Besides, with so many parties here who had acquired all five keys, there was an unspoken agreement to join forces against those trying to steal our keys.
I was trying to reach peak rank before entering, this way I could receive a boost in power.
——————————
(1 hour before dungeon opening)
There hasn’t been a lot of trainees targeting us. That was a good thing but because no one targets, I haven’t been able to get to peak rank. However, I did manage to exchange my wind scroll for a fire scroll. It was another high rank who had the fire scroll. He was teamed up with his sister, and while his zodiac was Taurus; his sisters was Scorpio. So, he wanted to raise their combat power by giving it to her.
But what he chose to do with the scroll was none of my concern. For now, all I could focus on was the scroll.
I lifted the glowing scroll into the air, feeling its warmth radiate through my hands and into my body.
Jack noticed my actions and asked,
"Are you going to use it now?"
I nodded in response, determined to do so before entering the dungeon.
He replied with a nod of understanding.
"Alright, I'll keep watch."
With a flick of my wrist, I summoned a fire that engulfed the object in front of me.
As the flames grew higher and hotter, a strange sensation filled my mind, as if something had burrowed its way into my thoughts. I closed my eyes and focused on every detail of the spell. I remembered it.
The fire began to die down, leaving behind a sense of power and control within me. "Ember," I whispered, naming the spell that now belonged to me.
Raising my hands once again, I aimed them towards a specific direction. A burst of bright yellow light shot forth from my fingertips, forming a pillar of fire that illuminated the surrounding area. But just as quickly as it appeared, the flame vanished into thin air.
Jack let out a low whistle in amazement at my newfound abilities.
“That seemed nice! How much mana did it consume?”
“I don’t know, let me check.”
I opened my status screen
(93/109)
I had around 103 mana earlier so…
“It consumed around 10 points”
Jack smiled at that “Only 10? If i’m not mistaken, Ember has a short duration but destructive spell. It should usually consume around 30 mana points to make something like this as a high rank, and you’re also close to becoming a peak rank. You made the right decision, with this, we might have a chance at winning this.”
“I hope so”
Jack’s analysis was spot on. Ember was a spell that lasted only a moment, but was extremely fast and destructive. This spell was extremely good, especially since it barely consumed any mana.
For the remaining 1 hour, I should focus on absorbing mana to refill my mana and try to reach peak rank.
—————————
(Unknown place)
(30 minutes before dungeon opening)
The man, draped in a luxurious robe of shimmering gold, stood at the window and gazed out at the endless expanse of space. The stars twinkled like diamonds against the blackness, mesmerizing him with their beauty and mystery.
One of the employees at this place scurried in behind him, bowing low as he approached. His duty was to attend to the needs and questions of this esteemed guest. He knew exactly who he was or at least have heard tales of him. But to see him in person…
He needed to give a good impression.
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“Sir! Welcome to the Eden Sector! We are pleased to meet you.”
His face beaming with excitement and hospitality.
The other man responded with a silent nod before asking
“Is there anyone of attention in this sector?”
The employee straightened his posture and replied.
“There are definitely some standouts. Our sector has 170 testing grounds and roughly 30,000 people populate each one.
Of course! none of them can compare to you when you w-”
“Just answer my question”
“Yes, yes! ”
The employee held out a notebook.
“This is a book containing all the standouts.“
The man started flipping.
The employee continued "Currently, there are 200 peak ranks in our sector's testing grounds. The most notable ones include Alun Silver, an Aquarius who is close to forming an advanced ability and should master it once he reaches core rank. And Jack, a peak rank who has inherited an advanced ability from birth [Taurus:Power]. A power that strengthens your physique. He’s from the ischyros clan. A middle ranking clan. He seems to be quite adequate at using his inherited abilities. He also seems to be close to forming his own advanced ability as well. Besides those two, there really aren’t many standouts.
“Ischyros clan… That’s the clan that old man made, right?”
“Old man?” the employee questioned
‘It doesn’t matter” The man dismissed
A thick, heavy silence descended upon them like a suffocating blanket.
Suddenly, a deep voice broke through the quiet
"Hmm? Who is this?"
The man asked, directing his question towards the figure before him.
The employee hesitated before responding.
“Ah! him? He is only a high rank. However, he is very close to Peak rank. He stood out because he was the only one willing to ally with Jack after seeing his behavior. But he isn't truly among the creme of the crop, just smart."
“You sure? That name, Wildesmit, it sounds vaguely familiar,” the man said, his brow furrowing as he tried to remember.
“Sir, you might have heard of them. They are quite an influential family, one of the seven that control this sector. Their leader is a formidable woman, who has recently reached Ignition stage but just barely,” the employee replied with a respectful tone.
The man shook his head, trying to recall the name.
“No clue who they are. But I definitely remember hearing this name before.”
The employee’s eyes lit up.
“Maybe you’ve heard of Marin Wildesmit?”
“Marin… Ah! Yes, now it's coming back to me. That's the youngster who has been making waves recently. Becoming a core rank at the young age of 37 with two advanced elements? That's unheard of. What? is he related to her?”
The man's curiosity was piqued.
The employee nodded thoughtfully.
"It appears that he is her stepbrother, but from the paternal side. His father married into the family and his wife, who was a member of the family, passed away. He was engaged to someone outside of the family, but since he was already part of it through marriage, the boy became a member as well, even though he isn't biologically related. The first wife gave birth to his sister and the current one gave birth to him. Sadly, both of his parents have passed away and he has no other family."
A knowing look settled upon his face “Ah, I see. Well, keep an eye on him. Even if he only possesses a fraction of his sister's abilities, it could still be valuable. That's why we established grounds in the first place, right?"
“Yes sir!”
The golden robed figure dismissed the employee with a wave of his hand, his gaze immediately returning to the outside.
—————————————-
(12 minutes before dungeon opening)
Teron let out a triumphant yell. " I reached peak rank!"
"Nice, good job," Jack congratulated him with a high five.
Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Teron decided to take a closer look at his stats. With eager anticipation, he scrolled through each attribute, reveling in his impressive numbers.
[Status]
Taron WiIdlesmit
Age: 18
Zodiac: Aries (fire)
Rank: Shard {Peak rank} (0%)
Strength:9.5
Agility: 7.4
Mana: 12.7 (131/131)
Advanced element: None
Spells: Ember
As expected, his strength had only increased slightly, followed by a boost in agility and then mana.
He gazed at his newly updated stats with satisfaction, knowing that he now had a higher chance of winning now. However, he also noticed an extra spell part on his stat sheet.
Focusing back on Jack, he suddenly realized that he was more sensitive to mana now. He could perceive the energy radiating from Jack, who seemed to be at peak rank?
Unable to contain his curiosity, Teron questioned Jack about it.
"Hm, you finally noticed. Yes, I am," Jack replied nonchalantly. "I became one just a few days ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Teron asked.
"Well, I believed that you would become a peak rank soon. Then, you could perceive it yourself. It would be like a surprise," Jack explained as he played with his watch.
The more Teron hung out with Jack, the more he realized that he was actually quite laid back and easygoing. A little too much. Some times, he made decisions without really thinking of any consequences. But, that wasn’t really matter too much.
"So, how are your stats looking?" Teron asked
"Well, here, you can take a look for yourself," Jack replied as he started fidgeting with is device.
Soon, a notification popped up on Teron’s screen- "You have received a mail!"
Intrigued, Teron opened the message and found an attachment from Jack with the subject line "Jack Ischyros - Stats".
Teron opened the attachment to find detailed information about Jack's abilities.
[Jack Ischyros]
Age: 19
Zodiac: Taurus (earth)
Rank: Shard {Peak rank} (8%)
Strength: 14.5
Agility: 8.4
Mana: 8.7 (94/94)
Advanced element: [Taurus:Might]
His eyes widened as he stared in shock.
"Wait, you have a 14.5 strength stat?"
Jack nodded, trying to play it cool. "Yeah, that's pretty high, right?"
Teron said with surprise.
"No, that's not pretty high, that's very high!"
To have a strength stat of 10+ at shard stage is impressive, let alone a 14. Besides that, his agility was also very high. Teron’s agility was already very high among peak ranks. But Jack's was even higher.
The only area where Jack seemed to fall behind was in his mana, but his other strengths more than made up for it.
‘With both of us, we might actually win’ He thought to himself.
——————
(0 minutes until Dungeon opening)
"Jack, are you ready?" Teron asked, glancing over at his friend who nodded confidently.
"I was born ready." Jack replied with a grin.
"Let's go." Teron said, taking a deep breath before starting to walk towards the daunting dungeon.