Loki Irminsul
August 23, 2225- 65 Km from Onyx Academy
It was around 9 am in the morning, and few horned rabbits could be seen on the grassland foraging for food. They were peaceful animals, only ever using their razor tipped horns for self-defense. Some wealthy individuals even kept them as cute pets for this reason. It truly was a peaceful sight of nature, the ideal spot for a picnic with the family, and it could be said for this reason what happened next was all the more saddening.
The once still wind began to rage as a whirlwind formed from a massive disruption on space. With so many teleports coming in at once there was a strain put on the fabric of space in the clearing. The horned rabbits began screeching, as they became caught in the unexpected storm, and dashed away ignoring any foods they might have foraged. Their instincts saved most of them because not a moment later the once grassy field was flattened to the point of turning the dirt into a smooth reflective surface. The few rabbits that hadn’t made it out were crushed, becoming red stains on the glossy surface.
In an instant, the beautiful scenery was no more, and in its place around a hundred young adults appearing between the ages of 15-18. Most of the students looked like they were in a daze. Such a powerful teleportation spell left most of them muddle-headed, and unable to move.
It was near the edge of the large group of students where what looked like a young man stood. This was because the individual’s head was covered in a black scarf that fluttered slightly from last breath of the once roiling wind. A tall individual with his only other noticeable feature being his stunning golden eyes that radiate their own light. This individual was none other than our protagonist Loki Irminsul.
Loki had from the moment of arrival covered his face with a black scarf that had once belonged to his now deceased father. It was a unique item he was given to by his mother, a powerful individual as well as Odin’s wife. While he didn’t know all its secrets, he knew that when worn it helped strengthen the mind by a small amount, as well as muffle his voice. It was also surprisingly breathable for a scarf wrapped around the face.
Even though Loki had brushed aside his grandfather words before he left, he wasn’t an idiot and knew that to be able to do what he wanted he would need a disguise. He didn’t want anyone recognizing him later down the line when he began having his fun.
Once he was done doing the wrapping, he looked around hoping no one had seen him, only to find most of his fellow peers in a dazed state. No one had seen him disguise himself let alone notice his existence. “Wonderful seems like this just might work.” Loki then looked around himself once more and sighed. “Though where exactly am I?” While glad that his plan had worked the fact that they weren't at the academy but in an unknown location irked him. For being some of the best mages in the world, the people who set up the coordinates for the teleportation array seemed to have fucked up big time. He could only hope the teleport hadn’t gone too far, of course, leaving them stranded in the middle of Beast territory. As though sensing his annoyance Ragnarök growled from within his spacial ring. “Easy there girl, I’m going to need you to stay as quiet as you can. I promise I’ll find something for us to fight soon.” Loki gripped Ragnarök’s handle as he calmed it down.
A combination of his wisdom stat and space attribute had stopped him from feeling vertigo from the teleport that seemed to plague most of the students. Keeping his distance from others, Loki took a proper look of his surroundings. They seemed to be on a flat area surrounded by grassland. The nearest treeline being 2km away towards the north, and 4km to the west. The trees were almost 3 times as tall, and wide, here compared to his hometown. The sight reminded Loki of a lesson his grandfather Odin gave him on mana dense environments. He quickly realized that in his rush to disguise himself he hadn’t noticed that the mana density in the air was over 4 times what he was accustomed to.
Making good use of the situation Loki sat down and began to absorb the ambient mana in the air as he waited for the rest of the students come out of their stupor. If they indeed were in the middle of Beast territory, it would be suicidal to run off on his own. His best option was to remain here with the group until someone came to retrieve them. Being in such a large group should scare away most of the weaker beasts Loki hoped.
For the next 5 minutes, Loki remained motionless as he cultivated Shifting Seasons. He felt the atmosphere around him change as he shifted between spring and summer. It was only recently that he had learned to accurately control Spring, and while Summer still required more time to master, it wasn’t far off. Even while deep in cultivation, Loki's awareness of his surroundings hadn’t dropped at all, so when 10 minutes later everyone seemed to have regained control of themselves he saw dozens of them begin to panic. The clamor got so bad Loki had to stop his cultivation because of the danger of cultivating with such a large disturbance near him.
Shifting Seasons- The Cultivation Method that makes up part of Yggdrasil's Blessing. There is a different stat gained every Martial Level for a cycle corresponding to the 4 seasons. The user is also allowed to choose 2 stats to specialize in. The first stat will increase by 25 every martial level(Current-Agility). The Second stat will increase by 30 every other martial level. (Current-Perception). The cycle of stat gains begins with Spring providing 15 vitality. Summer the next martial level will provide 15 strength. Autumn Follows with 40 intelligence. Lastly, Winter ends the cycle with 10 wisdom and 10 endurance. The cycle then starts anew. This method cultivates the 4 seasons of Earth within the user's body, the 4 Arts, Rejuvenating Spring, Raging Summer, Descending Autumn, and Absolute Winter.
He had just exited his meditative state when a powerful voice was heard from the sky. “Greetings future students!” Loki looked up towards the sound and saw quite an interesting sight. There was a massive hologram of a head in the sky. It held the appearance of a 40ish-year-old man, with brown graying hair. His face was sharp, and well-defined matching really well with the bright blue eyes. His voice and appearance reminded him of a drill sergeant Loki had seen in some of the old military films his grandfather like to collect.
“While it might seem like the teleportation spell failed, it was in fact on purpose. We at Onyx Academy have a tradition that has been going on for the last 60 years. You students could also consider it your first test of sorts.” As the giant head went on about tradition Loki’s irritation grew. Why didn’t the dam fogie just get to the point?
The head continued to prattle about tradition, before a voice behind it coughed, and said. “Just get to the point Ludo, we don’t have all day.” The giant head glowered in displeasure after being interrupted. The now named Ludo growled, “Didn’t your mother teach you any manners, Leo.” The other individual said nothing, so Ludo just turned back towards the students, and began speaking once more but this time about the reason as to why they in the middle of the forest.
“All of you will be playing a game of sorts, so please grab onto these stones.” Ludo's head radiated power as the ground around them began to have dirt loosed around them, and small glowing pebbles appeared in front of every student. While Loki was wary at first, if the hologram head wanted to hurt them it could have easily disrupted the teleportation to rip them to shreds. So Loki grabbed the pebble, gave it a squeeze testing its structural integrity and finding it to be solid enough.
“Every year we take around 1000 new students, but as you can see, there aren't more than a 100 around you. The reason for this is that there are 9 other similar locations including your own. This hologram and sound is being projected to all these areas simultaneously. But worry not you, because all of you are roughly 65 Kilometers away from Onyx Academy. The purpose of this is because you're all going to have a race to see who can get there first. Those of you that lack speed doesn't have to become fluster either because you can also earn prizes by collecting the stones I have given everyone. You can all consider this to be a combat race of massive proportions.” This intrigued Loki, but until he heard the prizes he didn’t wish to attract too much attention to his capabilities yet.
“Now for the prizes, I’m sure you wolves are dying to hear about. The first hundred students to reach the academy will receive 10 gold as a gift from the academy, this is also the same for those who collect the most stones. The top 10 is where the real prizes lie though, not only will you receive the 10 gold you’ll also be given a powerful elixir that can help you break through into the next Cultivation level, with anyone below mortal level 4 guaranteed an increase to level 5. The top 5 of each section will also receive 1 spell or martial arts of their choice at the uncommon tier.” The crowd of students began to grow excited at the prizes being offered, and you could even see some of the more rowdy students staring around at those they believed to be easy pickings. Loki himself wasn’t very interested in fighting others yet, so he decided to solely focus on the race since he was quite proud of his speed.
“Finally for those amazing students who are just a step above their peers, who manage to get first place in either the race or the battle portion, they will be bestowed an item from the Academy's vault of up to A- rank as a gift of good faith for such promising students.” The crowd went wild at Ludo's words. An A-rank item was tough to gain even for an individual at a professor's power. Having such an item would increase their combat potential significantly, making their debate at the academy a lot smoother. The intense gazes of the students grew sharper with some of them even containing killing intent. All they were waiting for is Ludo's approval to begin before they let loose their desires. Even Loki himself was getting psyched for the race.
“Almost slipped my mind but, there are a few obstacles, and rules you need to be aware of. Murder and permanently crippling another student is not allowed and will result in your immediate expulsion. This is final so don’t kill your fellow students, it won't help you win those prizes. Also, don’t expect your fellow students to be the only complication on the way. Everything within 100km of the Academy is booby-trapped, but we have disabled all of the lethal ones within your range. I don’t recommend heading in the opposite direction of the beacon though otherwise, we won't be able to guarantee your safety.” To reach the academy simply follow the blue beacon in the sky that will appear 2 minutes after the competition begins.” A few of the more savage student looked visible disappointed at not being allowed to kill or maim others. Loki made sure to burn their faces into his memory, he’d have to keep an eye on them.
“Now that’s you all know the rules, prepare yourselves for the RACE BEGINS NOW!!
The instant the words left the giant head’s mouth the once still field was lit up by a barrage of colors that astounded Loki. Chaos was the only way to describe what was occurring before his eyes. The tensed up students naturally jumped at each other throwing spells and martial arts around in a flurry. Loki being on the edge of the teleportation drop only had to dodge a few spells that came his way. Most of the focus was on the middle of the field which was an eruption of mana, and abilities. While Loki was enjoying the sight, he wanted to begin heading towards the academy, but just couldn’t. The 2 minutes beacon delay meant that even the faster individuals had to remain amongst the chaos before they could leave, lest they head the wrong way into the lethal booby traps.
The fighting got more intense, and eventually, a few students saw Loki by himself and chose to attack him. It appeared as though they had grouped up to take down people faster. They surrounded him like a pack of hyenas, ready to dig their claws into him. Even one of them laughed like one as he spoke up.
“Give up your stone, Mr. Mysterious, and we might just stop ourselves at breaking a few of your bones.”
While Loki was surprised at his peer's obvious threat, this was one of those people whose faces he had scanned before.
“Have you tried going to a doctor to get that laughed checked? Or would you have to go to a vet instead?” Not one to take such abuse Loki chuckled the venomous words. The student with the terrible laugh had his face go crimson red as, a deep rage overtook his mind, as he proceeded to yell at his now goons. “Let’s break his bones, I want to see him laugh then!” They ran forward giddy at the promise of violence.
The goons rushed Loki from 4 different sides trying to block his path of escape leaving him trapped. Unfortunately for them, Loki’s agility stat was nothing to scoff at, as he seemed to move faster than their minds could keep up. One moment he was surrounded about to take a beating, and then the next he was behind one of the larger goons. “Paralyzing Viper Strike” Whispered Loki as he aimed for the back of the goons neck, his palm soundly connecting with it, making the goon unable to react with is own mana, knocking him out instantly. As the body fell forward, Loki rushed beneath its arms coming face to face with another one of the goons and using Viper strike with both palms he clapped them over the goon's ears instantly rendering him unconscious, and bleeding.
Viper strike - Attacks from the hands inject foreign mana into the enemy, disrupting their ability to manipulate mana. Addition bonus of increasing agility of the arms by 10 for every letter rank. Use currently consumes .5% mana and stamina, per successful injection. (Paralyzing Viper strike is lightning attribute version- also has a small chance of inducing some paralysis) Martial Move Tier-Common-----Preferred Attribute- Chaos, Lightning, Death
Seeing their friends get knocked out with such precision the other 2 goons felt a deep sense of fear begin to gnaw on their minds. They quickly came to the conclusion that they wouldn't be able to beat this strange golden-eyed guy and instead chose to run away. Seeing his goons running away the student with the hyena laugh grew even more livid. “Useless trash, I’ll deal with him on my own then!” Having seen Loki’s prowess at combat, the student was wary but still remained confident that his arete would help him deal with this black scarfed individual.
Curious as to what made the student so confident Loki remained 3 meters away, but wary of any surprises. The student rushed forward, nothing special from what Loki to could see, but then a deep sense of danger-filled his mind as he subconsciously dodged to the left.
A strange insect stabbed where his neck had just been a moment before. Its deep sickening green carapace, and silent blue wings that didn’t make a sound surprised Loki. Its needle-like legs were over 7cm long, with the body having a length of 9cm and a height of 13cm. It was by far the most bizarre insect Loki had ever seen, but what worried him was how fast, and silent it was. His opponent's arete must be tamer related in nature.
As his opponent got within his range, Loki had to deal with both the flying dagger like insect and the short quick blades of his opponent. While he was still able to dodge easy enough he wasn’t able to break the entanglement. It was during the middle of this dance that a bright blue light rose from the north distracting his opponent for just a breath of a moment, but it was enough for Loki to capitalize on.
“Charged Haste” The moment the words left his mouth his body's speed increased instantly, leaving a crackle of electricity in the air. Being stuck in the middle between the flying insect, and his opponent Loki grabbed the student's shoulders and flipped over him while still holding onto the shoulders. Using this momentum, Loki flung his opponent over his own head, and slammed him into the ground stunning him, then following up with Viper strike to the face knocking him out completely. Loki still wasn’t out of the clear though as he quickly snapped his neck backward to avoid the needle-like legs of the insect. Apparently, the insect wasn’t directly controlled but given commands to follow.
Haste- Increases Agility by a flat amount depending on the rank, as well as a 5% base increase after the stats have been added. From F-rank to A-rank the flat rate increases by 10 every letter rank, leading to a max of 50 agility at A rank. Once it has reached A+ rank the 5% bonus increases to 10%. Use currently consumes 5% of stamina as well as 1% mana upon activation and lasts 1 minute. (Charged Haste is the Lightning attribute infused version-Provides an additional 3% agility increase but consumes 3% of the practitioner's mana instead of 1%) Martial Move Tier-Common-----Preferred Attribute- Wind, Lightning, Fire, Light, Darkness, Time
Not being confident in shattering its carapace with his bare hands Loki pulled Ragnarök out of his spacial ring as he rolled backward to stand back up. The insect was relentless as it followed up its attack immediately. Not wanting to let this thing pester him any longer, the moment the insect was within his range Loki swung Ragnarök upwards bisecting the insect. A corrosive liquid sprayed out, forcing Loki to dodge once more.
Ragnarök was ecstatic as the corrosive liquid on its surface was absorbed by it almost as though it were having a drink. While happy for his sword Loki calmed it down and restating his promise from earlier as he stored Ragnarök again.
The battle was over, but Loki wasn’t done yet. Though he really should get going, he couldn't resist doing one more thing before leaving. A marker materializes out of a ring he wore on a necklace under his shirt. He proceeded to write, and draw something on the goons face, before leaving. After having had to deal with the annoying student Loki felt he deserved something in return, so writing on his opponent's face with a super magical permanent marker felt so right. Loki looked around and saw a few stragglers still battling it out. Having seen his fight against 5 others, none of them chose to approach him. This was perfect for him since he was already a minute behind everyone else.
Refreshing Charged Haste Loki ran towards the northern edge of the forest 2 kilometers away, his goal the blue beacon in the distance. He quickly entered the forest and making sure that there weren't any individuals around him, began to morph into his second fastest form. The process was almost instantaneous as he shrank in size, and his clothes and scarf morphing along with him. What was left was an elegant ebony Owl with streaks of red in its feathers. His storage ring was wrapped around his left talon, in a snug fit. Loki flapped his wings, and instantly disappeared from the forest floor and took to the skies. To any observers that might have seen him all they could make out was a rapid black streak heading towards the beacon, becoming a black dot in the distance within seconds.
Owl Form- When morphing into this form the user's strength decreases by 70% while agility increases by 60%. Perception and wisdom also increase by 40% decreasing Endurance by 20%. Transformation consumes 3% of stamina and mana. Current Form Skills- Detect Life and Razor Wing. Tier-Uncommon
As the forest beneath him sped by Loki looked around with his enhanced eyesight. In the distance, he could see dozens of students running through the forest floor, and even more battling it out in small clearing here, and there. Even farther ahead he could make out the shapes of people in the sky. It would seem he wasn't the only one who had chosen to take to the sky. Being up here made it difficult for spells to reach them decreasing the overall difficulty of the race. Unfortunately, nothing was ever this easy.
Loki had just been catching up when he saw that the student leading the group began to slow down as he sensed something. The student was using flame propulsion to push himself forward almost like a jet. A blue-tinted flame exploded from his palms as he used the force to quickly retreat. It wasn't long afterward the wind began to rage, and blow, resulting in a tremendous whirlwind.
A cyclone was forming in the middle of the sky stunning many of the students both in the air and on the ground. Lightning blue eyes emerged on the surface of the cyclone, increasing the sense of danger in the hearts of those in the sky. “Wind Elemental!!!!” screamed one of the students rustling everyone from their shock. They had been fools to expect the academy to leave its skies unprotected.
The Elemental roiled and churned making flight almost impossible, forcing even Loki who was over 200 meters away to land, and transform back into his regular form. Only the stupid, and those extremely confident with their flying capabilities remained in the air, just above the treeline. Their speed significantly reduced, but still safer than the battle royal beneath them.
Loki had managed to transform back, but it wasn't even 5 seconds later when he felt something rush him from behind. Diving forwards he saw himself avoid a blond hair student swinging a heavy black spear with a curved blade. Not missing a beat the student then followed up by stabbing downwards towards Loki’s legs trying to lessen his ability to move. Not wanting to get into another fight so early on Loki simply dodged, and using his momentum ran up the vertical tree, and left the blonde student behind. “Ye bloody coward! Come back here and fight me like a man!” Loki scoffed at the insult, the bastard himself had tried to deal a sneak attack on Loki, and he wanted to talk about being a man.
Ignoring the fuming yells from behind Loki jumped from tree to tree moving at a steady pace, and only having to dodge the odd spell here or there. The skies were still a mess, with even more wind elementals joining the initial one as they got closer to the academy. For the next 5 minutes, Loki rushed by faster, upping his speed by a small margin. He began to see even more fights as people from the other locations ran into his own group of peers.
It was as he was about to land on a tree branch that he felt the strongest sense of crisis of the day by far. Not willing to take the risk he spun around, and cast a “Shadow Decoy” and using the semi-solid clone’s shoulders pushed himself towards the tree trunk, knocking the breath out of himself. This proved to be a smart move as the entire branch, and the decoy became encased in ice without any sort of warning.
Shadow Decoy- Summons a semi-solid Clone from a shadow. This clone has no combat capabilities but retains up to 90% of the real bodies current agility. The user can either manually manipulate them, or give them simple instructions. Consumes 3% of mana on use. Every letter rank increases the number of clones the user can summon as well as how responsive they are to the Casters instructions. Spell Tier-Uncommon-----Exclusive Attribute- Darkness
‘Holy shit that close, I almost became popsicle there.’ This was by far the most potent attack he had ever received besides from his grandfather who always held back on their spars. Loki glanced around trying to find the attacker and quickly found her. She floated there surprised that he had been able to avoid what she believed to be an undetectable attack for those her age. While he couldn’t make out her face because of the witch-like hat she wore, her lithe body and platinum white hair that cascaded down her back let him know that she was probably quite the beauty. He swore he could even feel her cold, and slightly superior glare penetrate him as though trying to figure out how he had been able to sense her attack. Not letting himself get distracted he gathered himself just as he saw an ice spike form, and hurtle towards him.
The difficulty had reached a level that Loki had hoped he could avoid. It was still too early to give away to many of his abilities, but this girl was forcing his hand. Pushing off the tree, he propelled himself forward towards the floating girl, and then cast multiple Shadow Decoy's that rushed her, blocking him from her sight. The clones were almost instantly dissipated by an unknown force that pushed them aside, but it was too late. Loki had gained the time he needed to morph into his Snake form, which was around 9cm thick and 2.5m long. With an alternating pattern of black, and crimson the snake rushed the girl, and wrapped itself around her body shocking her. Loki made his way up to her neck and opened his mouth with its long fangs, that dripped a neon blue liquid, and, sank his fangs into her shoulder. Activating a particular skill he only has while in this form ‘Mana Fangs,’ he injected his mana poison into the girl.
Snake- Strength decrease by 20% while agility increase by 40%. Endurance decreases by 40% while perception increases by 40%. Currently consumes 3% of stamina and mana on use. Current abilities, Mana Fangs, Heat Vision. Tier-Uncommon
Mana Fangs- While in snake form the practitioner is able to inject prey with a potent Mana paralyzer that completely renders prey beneath a certain level unable to move, or manipulate mana. This last up to a minimum of 10 seconds for something up to 50kg with additional time depending on the individual. Martial Art Tier-Uncommon Preferred Attributes- Chaos, Lightning, Death, Darkness, Water, Fire,
The girl sensing the intruding substance in her body let loose a rage-filled scream, and Loki felt a strange feeling surround him as though something was grabbing onto him. He was then ripped off the girl by this invisible force and slammed into the ground violently, and instantly pierced by an ice spike pinning him down. Just as the girl was about to follow this up, the poison took effect, and she fell from the air, onto a branch high up on the tree out of sight for those at ground level. Seeing this as an opportunity to get away before she cleansed the poison, Loki morphed back into his Human form diverting his flesh around the spike so he wouldn't stay pinned to the ground. The injury on his human form was on his left side narrowly missing his organs, and it had chunked around 20% of his HP. The girl seemed to have given up on mercy after his attack, and just sent the ice spike towards him wanting to pin him down regardless of the injury it would deal.
Now that he was free from the crazy witch girl he decided that he had to move as fast as he could before he met up anyone else with similar capabilities. His best option was to finish the race as soon as possible. Loki began circulating his mana throughout his body, the process taking over 3 seconds. While this could be considered fast, it made it really difficult to activate while in the heat of battle.
“The cycle begins, from the dead grows the future, Rejuvenating Spring.” Loki began to feel his body lighten, and fresh sensation envelops him, as well as his surroundings. Flowers began to sprout beneath his feet, as nature felt the vitality emanate from of him. He was just about to leave when he heard a soft whisper behind him. The voice was lovely, but it was tinged with such a fierce cold that it caused Loki to-shivered. “I’ll be sure to pay you three-fold for what you have done to me today, Black scarf.” Knowing he had made an annoying enemy today Loki sighed, what was done was already in the past, for now, he would just think about it another time. He took a step forward and exploded forward with a speed that few his age could replicate. Having Charged Haste still on Loki felt the wind rush by him as he made his way towards the beacon avoiding traps, and students alike.
Rejuvenating Spring- When this is activated a fresh sense of vitality surrounds the area within 10 meters of the user. This does not affect what the user deems as an enemy but will increase the growth rate of plants nearby. Those within this space will feel as though they are experiencing the ideal spring day. This provides Loki with a flat 50 agility, followed by a 10% base increase to agility. A secondary effect of Spring is increasing the user's regeneration of hp, and stamina, by 1% a minute. This stance currently consumes 3% of the user's mana and stamina per minute. Martial Art Tier-Unique
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Sometime later he breached through the thick forest into a flat plain with tall grass, and a few trees dotting the landscape. In the distance, the end goal could be seen around 10 kilometers away, Onyx Academy. Besides the large black walls, Loki couldn't make out all that much else.
Not seeing any others ahead of him Loki was about to continue when he heard an anguished filled scream to the left of him around 100 meters down the tree line. “You’ve won already Voran! Just take the stones, and leave her be!” Loki with his sharp vision caught sight of two girls on the ground, with one of them bleeding quite intensely. Next to them standing with an intimidating air was a large muscular man with a longsword on his side. The girl was what someone could only describe as an angel, with her golden curls, and sky blue eyes that glisten with heart-wrenching tears at the moment. “Sorry, Lady Linvala but I must clean this filth that seems to have stuck itself to you.” Said Voran maliciously as he lifted his leg about to kick the wounded girl away from Linvala.
Linvala was about to throw herself in front of the kicks path to protect her friend when Voran who was in the middle of his attack was hit by something flying at unbelievable speeds. Voran's body visibly bent at a 90-degree angle as the sounds of his hips, and parts of his ribs breaking echo into the ears of Linvala. Voran's body flew a total of 25 meters before it hit the ground with a sharp crunch, and rolled a few more meters. Disbelief covered Linvala’s face after she saw Voran get launched away like a rag doll.
Turning her sight back to where Voran had just stood she saw a black scarfed man whose golden eye’s grabbed her own and didn’t seem to want to let go. She felt her heart quicken, as an uncontrollable blush spread across her face. “Thank you for saving my friend, and I.” A whisper was all she could manage, as she eventually tore her gaze from his own. The young man grunted an ok, and then tossed a small flask onto the floor. “Apply that onto her wounds, and you might still make it to the top 10.” Linvala could tell he was faking his voice, but she didn't care. She was just about to thank him again, but as she raised her head from the flask on the ground, he was already gone.
Linvala could feel deep gratitude towards the young man swell in her heart. She needed to find him again so she could properly thank him. Maybe they could even become friends she thought. Those golden eyes would be all she would be able to think about for the next few days, and she didn't feel as though she'd mind.
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After getting back into the race, Loki couldn’t help but become angry at his meddling. He was in the middle of an important task yet he still went, and wasted time jumping into someone else’s problems. If he didn’t correct this part of him soon, it could easily lead to his death. He could tell that asshole named Voran was taking things too far, but still, he wasted time for people he would probably never interact with again. Shaking his head Loki forced himself out of his rut and regained focus once more.
He wasn’t alone anymore as when he took a glance behind himself, he saw Jetboy once again this time flying low to the ground, as well as a few others. He could feel multiple hot gazes on his back as he made his way forward. He could even sense a few of them closing in on him. Realizing that he would have to morph if wanted to finish first Loki sighed. Seems like his ability to morph would become public knowledge, but an A rank item was worth the loss.
Just as Jetboy was about to past him, Loki jumped forward into the air and spun transforming into his Owl form once more. With the bonus of Haste, and Rejuvenating Spring, and now his Owl form Loki disappeared from the sights of the students next to him. Even the Jetboy was stunned as Loki became a streak of black that quickly left their vision. Loki was reaching his bodies limit on agility, as all the buffs pushed him closer to 700 agility. Any more and his muscles would begin to tear, ripping his skin as they were forced further.
The group seeing him disappear into the distance raged, releasing all the special techniques that they had held back, hoping to save for the final leg of the race. Jetboy was the most interesting as he yelled “Afterburner” and the flames on his palms became a bright blue, and he disappeared from sight at a speed even faster than Loki had, everyone else was left to eat their dust. The two of them flew by at insane speeds, as Loki in the lead slowly had Jetboy catching up to him. Air scattered as they rushed by. Being only a few feet of the ground their rapid speed ripped plants, and grass from the field as they passed by. There was less than a kilometer left, and they could both see the entrance where Professor Ludo and Professor Leo stood.
They grew closer, 800m, 600m, 400m, 100m. Jetboy was just about to past Loki, and a smile plastered his face when Loki not wanting to lose after coming this far used one of his hidden trump cards. Adaptable activated as he felt his strength, and stamina drop rapidly but his speed increased significantly enough to gain a small lead ahead preventing Jetboy from passing him. His avian muscles screamed under the pressure, but he held fast believing he it would only be for a moment longer.
Adaptable- The user is able to move 15% of any stat over to another one, with a max stacking of 4 different stats into one. Forcefully going above this will hurt the user. The user is also able to lower other attribute ranks to increase one. The conversion rate is as follows. For every 2 letter grades, the user takes from an attribute, they can increase another by 1 letter grade, up to the current maximum of A rank. Lastly, the user is able to once a month switch any of his attributes to one he does not currently have, but it starts at F-rank. If he raises it up to C rank the attribute becomes permanent, and the previous attribute will return. More abilities can be unlocked as Adaptable evolves, and improves. Arete Tier-Unique
Closer and closer they got, 75m..., 50m…., 25m…. 10m….. Jetboy was pouring as much mana as he could into his flames and was now neck, and neck with Loki. It could be either, or right now, as the boy with flames, and the ebony Owl were too close to measure at the moment. Within a split second, they barreled through the finish line without even trying to slow down. They were actually about to crash into the solid Onyx wall when a giant fence of snow appeared before them. They plunged through soft snow cushioning them as they regained control over themselves.
Loki's muscles ached, but he changed back into his human form as the snow rapidly melted leaving him, and the Jetboy soak. Once the snow had disappeared entirely they heard the voice of Ludo speak to them once more.
“What passion, you two have, it's been years since I've seen such a close race. I can feel the youthful vigor radiate of the two of you. This will be an amazing batch if even 5% of the other students have a similar tenacity to you two.” The praises flowed from the man named Ludo as he held nothing back.
“I don’t care about that! Who won!” Loki yelled at the Professor, not caring about possibly getting in trouble for disrespecting a professor. This bastard reminded him too much of his grandfather for him to ignore. “Yes stop spouting your nonsense, and tell us the winner the others are about to arrive.” Jetboy was also irritated with Professor Ludo. The race was so close, so it could honestly be either of them.
Surprised by the sudden rudeness of the two students, Ludo couldn't help but grunt. Students these days seem to be ruder towards their elders as the days went by. “Don’t worry you, scoundrels, if I get any of you in my combat course, I'll be sure to teach you how to respect your elders. As for the race since you two happen to be so rude, I’ll announce it once the top 100 finish. For now, just relax, and rest up.” Both Loki and Jetboy groaned. People like this just couldn’t be rushed. Otherwise, they would just become even more stubborn.
Loki sat down, and began to revert Adaptable, and pulled out a sandwich his grandfather had made as lunch for him. Jetboy also sat down and proceeded to rub his hands which appeared inflamed, most likely from the prolonged exposure to his afterburner ability. They sat in silence as more of the students came in finishing the race. Loki sat there munching on his sandwich having unwrapped enough of his face to eat but still making it impossible for anyone to recognize him later on. Jetboy, on the other hand, pulled out some special ointment for his hands and began to apply it. Eventually, the silence was broken by Jetboy as he began to speak. “That was really impressive what you did back there. Never thought I’d meet someone as fast as me this early on. Names Benjamin by the way, nice to meet you.” Surprised at the politeness of Jetboy, now properly named as Benjamin, Loki almost choke on his sandwich.
“Well you weren’t so bad yourself, Jetboy,” Loki said jokingly as he finished his sandwich, and tighten the scarf once again. No one seemed to care that he was hiding his identity but he would keep it on anyway. Benjamin gave him a weird look before laughing. “How did you know my nickname from back home?” This time Loki was left speechless, not only was Benjamin optimistic he also didn’t seem to care about people calling him Jetboy. Giving Benjamin deeper look, Loki noticed that his face had traces of Asian descent. Soft hazel eyes that seemed to radiate warmth as well as straight blue hair up giving him an interesting appearance, handsome even. He was also shorter than Loki by quite a bit, being just over 170cm”.
Loki sighed, and just chuckled at the absurd individual before him. If it wasn’t for Benjamin's crack at Professor Ludo, he might have assumed him to be a goody to shoes. “Well nice to meet you Benjamin, but don’t expect us to become friends. You won’t be too happy when they announce me to be the winner.” Loki smiled in his signature Cheshire cat way, the scarf seeming to stretch enough to let others notice the smile. “Naw you wish, I’ll be sure to give you some pointers when they announce me as the winner, and as for friends that won’t happen in a day, but as fellow students, I’m sure you’ll eventually see how awesome I, and beg to become my pal.” He began to laugh, and Loki just smiled. As lovely as this interaction was Loki wasn’t kidding about what he said earlier. An acquaintance was fine, but anything more than that would be ignored.
It took 10 more minutes before the top hundred people made it. Those collecting stones would be given another 10 minutes before being teleported here. Loki, and Benjamin having heard that they had achieved a photo finish, and were now waiting for Professor Ludo to give the answer of who came in first. Amongst them stood a girl who radiated an aura the shouted of stay away from me. It was Nyx, the girl Loki had fought earlier.
She had somehow managed to still make it into the top 10 getting 10th place. While she stared at Loki, she didn’t let any of the pressure actually touch him. She would deal with him once she figured out his name. He must not have had someone inform him that even if you could disguise yourself, everyone's name would be announced through the Name Stone when entering the academy. So she merely bided her time.
Expecting a nice chunk of stones from someone able to move so fast she attacked him, instead of the easy prey on the ground. Turning into a snake had entirely caught her off guard, which led to him leaving her in a state that she utterly despised. Powerless, and at his mercy. He luckily didn't bother searching for her stones. She had collected a treasure trove of them, most likely getting enough for top 10 for the combat portion. Ignoring the stares some of the boys were giving her Nyx quietly brooded plotting on how she would repay him for earlier.
Another 10 minutes rolled by as eventually, all the remaining students were teleported to the victory grounds. Hundreds of bloody individuals appeared with many of them being unconscious. One such unconscious individual even had the words HYENA written on his forehead with a pair of whiskers on his cheeks. The produced some laughs from those near him, glad that even in their bloody state they hadn’t ended up like the poor bastard on the ground. There was also a few dozen students who shivered on the floor, with broken bones ranging in severity, but nothing past the point of the medic's ability despite how gruesome it appeared.
Ludo seeing everyone was finally here sent some medics to attend to the more seriously wounded. “Now that you're all here we can properly give out all the prizes, but hot damn I am impressed with this year's batch. The intensity I saw from all of you has left me proud of being called the professor in charge of your group of 1000.” He then snapped his finger as lights began to emit from 200 students. “Normally It’s the race results that are announced first, but with it being a photo finish, and the 2 scoundrels being rude to me I’ll leave it for last to build some tension. For now, our first place winner who collected the most stones may come forward.” As he finished one of the lights grew unimaginably bright forcing those nearby to cover their eyes and move away from it.
The winner come into view, and it was on this day that dozens of young men and even some young women fell in love. A beautiful tall redhead stood there with dark yet starry eyes and a face that said she wouldn't take any shit from anyone. She held up a bag practically about to burst because of the number of stones it held up. She then yelled out “My name is Nike Shori, and I've collected 189 stones, Professor Ludo!” Even her voice while serious in tone felt magical to everyone's ears.
“Beautiful, respectful, and powerful, looks like I’ve found one of the gems of this batch already. Might just make you my personal student.” Ludo laughed as the young Nike impressed him. While it seemed like she hadn’t participated in the race she was definitely fast enough to have, otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible for her to collect so many stones.
Loki in his own area, felt Ragnarök purr softly from its sheath, noticing something Loki didn’t. The purr was similar in softness to the ones it gave him. While surprised, Loki held himself back from questioning it about what is sensed. Instead, he just tried to keep his eyes from staring at the redhead. He didn’t want to get caught gawking at the beauty even if dozens of others were doing it already.
Ludo continued to call forward winners, and eventually, Loki even saw the witch girl he had fought come forwards having won 6th place in the combat portion. Loki not interested in collecting the stones had ignored searching for them on the people he had defeated, leaving him feeling a little regretful now. The feeling quickly left him though since as long as he got first, it would more than make up for the loss. Eventually the last 2 people were called forwards, and who they were was a shock to him.
It was the two girls he had saved earlier. While he had told them they could still make it into the top 10, he had been talking about the race portion, not combat. The winners gathered around the podium where Loki and Benjamin had been from the start. Everyone kept their distance from each other beside Linvala and her friend. When she caught sight of him, she gave him a quick bow thanking him for his help. While she wanted to say something the atmosphere in the winner's circle was a bit tense, being these were the cream the of the crop of the battle portion meaning the tension was hot between the future rivals.
Once the 100 hundred for the battle portion of the race came forward and went to their own podium larger than the top 10 one, Ludo turned around, stared directly at Loki and Benjamin. “Let's move on then, towards the most exciting part of the day so far, the photo finishes between these two scoundrels right here.” He waved his hands as a curtain of light appeared above him, large enough for all the students to see. While it was close, we do have an identifiable winner.” An image began to form on the curtain of mist. What it showed surprised everyone besides the other early finishers of the race. An ebony Owl, and a young man with jet flames spitting out of his palms. The image began to enhance multiple times until eventually a winner could be discerned.
The Owl had finished by a hair's breadth with its beak giving it the win. Loki stood up as well as Benjamin. While Loki was excited he simply smiled beneath his scarf. Everyone would now know he could morph into an owl, but at least he could get the A rank Item. Benjamin though at first was slightly disappointed, but then began to laugh. It had been extremely close, and he wasn’t all that upset anyway. He had found a decent rival in speed, and maybe even a new friend.
Ludo walked over to Loki and waved his arm from Loki to the crowd. “So Mr.Owl what is your name, and how does this victory show others your worth?” While no one could actually see his face besides the golden eyes, they could all tell he was smiling widely as the scarf moved upwards on the sides of his face.
“Well, Mr. Ludo you can all call me Lester the Jester, and as for my worth? I’m going to bring some much-needed fun to this academy.”
Ludo’s smile tightened awkwardly. Who was this guy kidding, no one was going to believe that his real name was actually Lester the Jester. Did this so call Lester think others wouldn’t notice that he had his face wrapped in a scarf, and was trying to hide his identity? The absurdity baffled Ludo as well as many of the students. Even the serious mood Nike, couldn’t help letting out a muffled giggle. As for Nyx, her brain began to hurt realizing she might have lost to an imbecile.
As for what he meant about bringing fun to this academy they had no idea. The academy could also be considered to have dozens of recreational activities to relieve the stress of the students. What sort of fun could he possibly bring that they couldn’t already find? Some students, as well as all Ludo, couldn’t help but sigh, realizing this guy didn’t know about the Naming Stone check-in.
“While I would like to tell you how stupid what you just said sound’s I am also aware of how large this world can be, leading to some questionable decisions from parents. I will inform you though that if that truly is you name the Naming Stone will confirm it for us.” Ludo then pointed at an enormous stone at the entrance of the academy, which happened to be a huge 2 door entrance made of some unknown substance for the general public.
‘Fucking what! They have a way to check my name!’ Loki while appearing the same on the surface actually felt his back gain a cold sweat. ‘SHITSHITSHIT. I’ve got to get somewhere alone so I can use Ygg’s Pen. Loki needed to find an excuse to get away from so many eyes for a moment, otherwise, everyone would learn his real name, and his plans would crumble before he could start them.
Ludo then turned to Benjamin and gave him some good news. “Young man while you didn’t win you showed a will to succeed that I rarely encounter. You're also a great sport actually trying to become friends with your opponent, and even remaining the same after being told you lost. These traits make a great man, and for this, I will give you a B rank Item from my own collection for your outstanding character. Just promise me you’ll work on respecting your elders.” Ludo patted his back and smiled as Benjamin readily agreed with him. While it wasn’t an A rank item, he doubted many other first years would have one as well.
“Now everyone you’ll all receive your rewards later in the day, and as for the top 10s, you’ll be taken to collect your additional rewards tomorrow after you've settled in at your dorms. Top 10s for being above the rest, the academy will also provide you with luxurious dorms for you first years. They are exclusive to wealthy individuals, and the winners of the Race.” Ludo then looked at the injured, and spoke up once more “We will now split for a break until the rest of the injured are attended to. Till then feel free to mingle with your fellow students.
Loki was just about to use the excuse of needing to go to the bathroom with the redheaded girl from earlier Nike stood in his way. “Congratulations on getting first place on the race portion... Lester.” Her serious face visible twitched as Loki saw her barely holding back her laughter. Loki decided to respond casually without any jabs knowing that this was someone who he still couldn’t afford to make an enemy out of. He could feel her power, and confidence radiate from her making him feel a real physical pressure.
He didn’t show it though, and remained aloof, as he responded back. “The race was nothing special compared to your stunning performance at collecting over 189 stones, that must be some sort of record.” Letting loose some flattery Loki tried to think of a way out of the current situation.
Nike began to grin, she could tell that Loki was simply trying to flatter her so she would leave him alone. She was really curious as to why he would hide his face, and make such an absurd claim as his name. But more seriously she could also feel some danger from Loki. Danger she hadn’t felt from anyone else besides the professors. She wanted to activate Profound Vision to see his name, and threat level but it was too obvious when her eyes slit like a cat’s and began to glow red. So, for now, she would be fine learning his name from the Naming Stone, and looking for him at their new dorms later down the line.
Profound Vision- Passively improves the user's ability to detect danger from others. When activated the user's eyes will become dragon-like, and begin to glow red. The user will be able to see the names of anything directly within their vision with the breath of life. It will also show the user a rough estimation of the capabilities of the target with different colors representing their specialty, and the hues level of danger. (Current Cost 20% of the user's mana/s.) Arete Tier-Mythic
Loki was getting frantic, he only had a few minutes left to get out of sight, and use Ygg’s Pen, but this annoying girl wouldn’t let him be, she just examined him trying to discover his secrets directly from her gaze alone. Having lost his patience he simply went with the most natural escape he could think off. “Sorry but I have got to take a massive shit, would you mind letting me go?”
Yggdrasil's Pen- Being the inheritor of the system the user is able to adjust small things that are part of the system. False status screen production being the first unlocked action the pen allows the user to perform, leaving others with inspecting capabilities unable to see the real screen. Defense systems that use the system for identification can also be manipulated by adding, and removing names from the allowed list. System based contracts are also able to be manipulated as long as they are small changes that don’t divert too much from the contracts end goal. The user is also able to make their own contracts. Further abilities will naturally come as the user grows into his role as Inheritor. (Cost 30% of the casters mana. This price is locked until a relevant evolution. Arete Tier-Unique
Nike’s face visible tighten in disgust hearing him say something so vulgar without a care in the world, the same was true for others around him. Did he have no shame she thought? Nike was smart enough to realize Loki had only said this to get away from her, but it was quite effective since she couldn’t stop someone who so blatantly revealed that they had to go relieve themselves. Loki smile underneath his scarf wide enough for even Nike to notice, which actually made her a little angry. This punk had no shame and was willing to say such a disgusting thing to her just to get away.
Moving out the way Nike let the shameful bastard leave. Finally able to escape Nike’s clutches Loki went up to a medic he saw attending to some injured students and asked where he could find the restrooms. The medic though surprised directed him towards some permanent latrines they had built outside the city wall. Quickly rushing forward and leaving many believe he really had to go, Loki made it to a restroom and locked himself in. He sighed and sat down. Things were getting more hectic than he expected. Not only had he made an enemy out of a powerful witch in his age group he also might have annoyed one of the strongest students in his age group as well. Not to mention the fiery hot jealous stares he had gotten from dozens of other students as he talked to Nike.
Loki decided to just cleanse his mind, and make sure there was no one else around. Not detecting anyone else Loki Twirled his fingers, and whispered “Yggdrasils Pen.” A bright green glowing pen appeared between his fingertips. Calling it a pen wouldn't be very accurate considering it looked more like a thin twig, but it was named after a pen, so that's what Loki called it. He then opened his status screen, and quickly made a fake screen, and layered it over his real status screen. Ygg's pen glowed brightly as he made adjustments. Now no matter what someone used unless he willed it all they would see, or learn from him was the fake screen he had made.
Feeling like he had dodged a bullet, Loki left the latrines and made his way back towards the victory area. Those that saw him could instantly tell from his more relaxed manner that whatever he had been holding had been released, and he was now lightened. Even Nike began to believe that he actually had left to relieve himself. This made her feel guilty and embarrassed for actually holding back someone long enough that they become desperate enough to say it to her directly. Her face lightly became tinged red, as she looked away. They would all find out his real name soon enough which was all she really was interested in at the moment.
A few more minutes passed by before Ludo returned to his podium, and called for silence. “Now that everyone has been treated let's begin the Naming Stone ceremony. Everyone line up, top 10s are allowed to go first if they wish.” His stare focused down at Loki who just stood there, aloof not paying the glaring professor any mind. Annoyed the professor called him out. “Why don’t you go first LESTER.” Some worry filled Ludo’s voice as he asked Loki. This was the first time such an event like this had occurred. He had actually hoped the young man would back out and tell them his real name so he wouldn't embarrass himself too badly when the Naming Stone spoke his real name.
His face visible sadden though when Loki refused and, chose to say something else instead. “It’s fine, don’t you like the tension after it builds Professor Ludo.” As Loki used the expression that Ludo himself had used earlier, Ludo couldn’t help but sigh realizing that Loki was the type of individual that could only learn from failure.
“Yes... being able to handle tension is what makes a man!” Ludo said passionately.
A lot of the other students couldn’t wait to see Loki make himself look like a fool, jealous of both how he won the race and gotten to talk to the beautiful Nike. Nyx on the other, felt her migraine grow stronger as she wondered if this really was the same person that had taken her down, and if so wouldn't that make her the bigger idiot for being tricked?
The top 10’s went first, leading Loki to learn their names. He even discovered that the girl who had attacked him was named Nyx Techne. She was like him hiding her face, but even she couldn't escape from the Naming stone.
Eventually, hundreds more had their names announced, and as the numbers dwindle more and more people let their gazes fall on the silent Loki, who appeared like he didn’t have a care in the world. Then came the time when there was no one else, and everyone was staring at Loki. Even knowing that he was in the clear Loki couldn’t help but start to lightly sweat feeling all the gazes on him.
Ludo came over and patted him on the shoulder, and gave Loki a few more words. “After all this look for me, I’d love to give some pointers to someone such as yourself regardless of what others might say of it.” Loki simply nodded impressed with the quality of the teachers so far at Onyx Academy.
He made his way over to the enormous stone, and stop 20cm away from it. 2000 plus eyes were focused on him as he stretched his arm forward and lightly placed his hand on the Naming Stone. The stone began to read the name of his status screen, but paused for a second feeling something wrong, but simply ignored the feeling, read outloud what it found. WELCOME TO ONYX ACADEMY LESTER THE JESTER.
The monotone voice of the Naming Stone felt like the loudest thing any of the listeners had ever heard. Silence reigned supreme as hundreds of individuals remained dazed and still, unable to process what was going on. Loki just stood there silent barely holding himself together as his chest heaved up, and down in mute laughter. Eventually, the majority, all at the same time simply yelled.“WWWWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!”
The day was August 23, 2225, The Infamous Lester the Jester AKA Loki Irminsul has just joined Onyx Academy. No one knew, but things would never be the same from this moment onwards. The fun he promised this day would be experienced by thousands in the coming years. The Jester was ready to play.
Name:
Loki Irminsul
Current Condition
Arete:
Morph/
Inheritor of Yggdrasil
Cultivation Method:
Shifting Seasons
Spells
Martial Arts
Affinities
Titles
Bonded Item
Skills:
Ragnarok
Level:0
Current Health:92%
Gewixlen Forms:
Null, Blurr
Rejuvenating Spring
Minor teleport D
Viper Strike-C+
Fire Rank D-
Inheritor of Yggdrasil
Absorb Weapon
Species: Human
Current Stamina:67%
Adaptable
Raging Summer
Minor Fireball C+
Haste-A+
Lightning Rank B+
Prankster
Blood Feast
(Locked)
Sex: Male
Current Mana:89%
Yggdrasil's Blessing
Descending Autumn
Static
A-
Shadow Blend-B+
Darkness Rank D+
Mind Feast
(Locked)
Cultivation: Mortal Realm LvL 7
Current Regen /m:
Hp/0.15 Sp/0.088 Mp/0.165
Yggdrasil's Pen
Absolute Winter
Shadow Decoy
C-
Unarmed Combat
C+
Chaos Rank B-
ShapeShift
(Locked)
Buffs/Debuffs: None
Creature Morph: Wolf, Owl, Snake
Space Rank D
State of Mind: Normal
Detail Morph
Base Stats
STR: 110
AGI: 260
END: 88
LCK:Hidden
WIL: 94
WIS: 88
VIT: 150
INT: 165
PER: 143