Training room, Dixen palace.
He stood steadily in front of the dummy and relaxed his body. He controlled his breath as he created his two edged spear. He held it and dozens of spirit daggers behind him.
"Begin" a voice said and the dummy came to life. The dummy created a greatsword and a huge shield. Jason inhaled and pointed his fingers.
"Imperial dagger formation, activate" the daggers behind him turned red and began to spin. It formed a whorl behind him and from the middle of the whorl, daggers began launching at the spirit shield.
At first, it looked like the daggers were flying and hitting randomly but upon looking closely, one would see that the daggers deflected by the shield would form an ark and hit back. A dagger could hit the shield five times before dissipating. Before long, the shield dissolved and the dummy looked up to see Jason lunging at him with the spear.
"Light of the Cosmos, Cosmic star!" He yelled and his eyes changed. They now looked like a mini universe with dozens of stars in them. His spear radiated with pure light energy as he pierced the head of the dummy. The dummy immediately turned into dust.
Jason landed on the ground, breathing heavily. His spear dissipated and sweat dripped from his forehead. The fight only went on for five minutes as Jason was able to force the dummy into a defensive position with his Imperial dagger formation and was able to sneak attack because he moved closer to the dummy as the daggers attacked. Once the shield dissolved, he immediately pounced on the dummy.
"How about that Teacher?" Jason asked in a hoarse but excited voice. He was talking to the man who stood and watched in the corner of the training room. The man wore a blue suit with a golden crown on his head. His muscles buldged from the cloth he was wearing and he had a serious expression on his face. It was the Grand Knight of the Cerna, Pinelias. Like Yagamana, he was forced to be a teacher for Jason.
"That was a good fight but it will be useless against those who specialise in sneak attack, impenetrable defence and extremely fast movement arts" He commented indifferently.
"I had a shield on me the whole time so I'm protected from sneak attacks. I have an impeccable eye technique, Universe Eye, so I can see anyone regardless of their movement techniques. As for impenetrable defence, I have Hammer Techniques of the War god and Dynamic Boulder. I can win against anyone in Celestial Level" Jason said with a grin.
Pinelias looked at the boy as tears filled his eyes. The boy was simply overpowered. All the techniques he mentioned were all hard to practice and only the Queens could master them. He managed to do so in three months. Not only that, he was inside a time chamber. So he had raised his level from Peak stage Cosmos level to Peak stage Celestial Level in one month that equalled three months in the time chamber.
"Teacher, are you crying?" Jason asked as he grin changed into a concerned frown. Pinelias looked at him. His Universe Eye was indeed strong for him to see a Zenith King crying.
"No, I'm trying to produce snowflakes from my eyes" Pinelias replied as he sniffed. Jason grinned again as he heard that. Not long after, they heard laughter from behind them. They looked behind to see Josephine clutching her belly as she laughed out loud. Seriel was laughing right alongside her while Xunia and Astara were chuckling.
Pinelias turned read when he saw this and his his face. He brought out his face immediately and bowed to greet Xunia with Jason.
"Oh dear Pinelias, is this the first time you're seeing a heaven defying genius? I reached Zenith goddess a long time ago before coming back to this realm" Hearing Xunia, Pinelias almost passed out from shock.
There are 8 levels on the Zenith realm. The am from a Celestial to a Zenith core, which is the first realm is a large gap. To enter the Zenith realm one must have a mindset of superiority, intelligence and freedom. One must have the goal of striving to the top. If one is steadfast and dedicated, one will successfully build a Zenith core.
From there, to advance in level, one has to build a Zenith soul. To build that, you have to have the mindset of the most fortified soul. One must form their immortal soul and if one fails, the penalty is death. This is a painful and critical process.
The next is building a Zenith Body. A fortified body built on the foundation of your core, Soul and endurance of your former body. Once you enter Zenith realm, you don't have a physical body till you build your Zenith body.
Once you build your Zenith body, your core, Soul and body will combine and you'll enter the realm of Zenith Knight. You'll be able to form an armour from what is called a Zenith sense.
The next realm is Zenith King/Queen. The Zenith sense evolved into a quasi-domain. It can sense four whole countries. The armour and weapons formed are stronger. The next stage is Zenith Emperor/Empress. Their domain expands to the size of a continent. They can control anything weaker than them in that domain.
The next realm is Zenith God/Goddess. They have a full domain that is limited to three continents. The weapons and armour they make are all divine rank. The next and final realm is Zenith Supreme. Their Zenith sense is limitless and they are extremely powerful. The only Zenith supreme in the Feary realm now is Xunia.
The gap between each Zenith level is extraordinarily large. It would take ten Zenith cores to beat someone at Zenith soul and they might not necessarily defeat the person. That was the main reason Xunia was the most powerful in that world.
"Are you done with your training Jason?" Xunia asked with a calm voice.
"Yes. Are we going somewhere?"
"The Celestial Qualification Examination is in two days. We need to get you prepared for it. Go take a shower and come to the living room after"
"Okay" he shrugged and left. When he did, Xunia glared at Pinelias who froze on the spot.
"What did I do?"
"Be careful old man or else the Cerna would have an Ice Queen soon"
"But.."
"He better not get hurt badly out there. He's precious to us. He's not a normal kid and he is definitely higher than you in status. You better assist him"
"Yes my Queen" she ignored him and walked out. Pinelias almost cried out in injustice. A teacher was supposed to be strict to a student but he was prevented from doing so. He sighed and left to his own land.
After showering and changing clothes, Jason left for the living room. He walked like a young celestial and all the females that saw him along the way felt their heart being stolen. Almost all of them didn't recognise him and acted coyly. He just smiled at them and walked passed. He hurried when he saw some staring at him like hungry wolves.
"I believe the 2025 model is better. It fits perfectly and it's a better colour"
"It's too flashy, he'll get bored of it. Try the 3075 band model"
"Josephine, that is too plain. He's not like you"
"But he's from earth too. I know what simple boys like him like Lorema" the two women continued to bicker even when Jason entered the room.
"You know, I think we should just let him choose..."
"Shut it Savannah!" The two yelled at her and continued fighting. Jason coughed to get their attention.
"What of the 2015 model, that's goo...." Lorema's words halted in her mouth when she saw Jason.
"Who's that?" Ganine asked, shocked. The others, except for the ones that had seen him earlier, were shocked at his sudden transformation.
"Hold on a minute! Jason, is that you? What the hell?" Savannah screamed as she saw him. He blushed in embarrassment and sank into the couch. One couldn't blame them with their gaping mouths.
His hair had turned completely golden and his eyes had golden specs in them. The white shirt and trouser he was wearing brought it out further. He looked so handsome they had to look away.
"Holy light, you're a Celestial? Peak stage for that matter? Am I dreaming?" Acecila pointed out while blinking.
"Yeah..."
"You know what? I give up. I'm never trying to figure you out again" Lorema said while throwing upper hands.
Everyone suddenly shivered at that moment and turned to see their queen with a cold look. They had totally forgotten about her.
"Are you done?"
"We apologize your majesty" they all cried whilst bowing deeply.
"Good. Josephine, the packet" Josephine nodded and brought out a ring box from her formless void ring. She showed it to Xunia who nodded in satisfaction. She collected it and beckoned to Jason.
"Here, this is for you" she said, handing the black box over as he came closer.
"Thank you" he said with a smile and went back to his seat.
"Open it" Xunia commanded and he complied. When he did, he saw a golden ring. His eyes widened in surprise as he put it on right his middle finger. His shock soon turned into agony as he felt a burning pain on his finger. He cried out and tried to rip it off his finger.
"Stop, you'll continue hurting yourself like that. Leave it. It's trying to integrate with you!" Xunia cautioned and he reluctantly let go of his finger. A minute later, the pain subsided and his finger cooled off.
To his surprise, there was no mark left and he could pull off the ring and wear it without any pain.
"From now on, it's yours. It's a specially designed formless void ring just for you. It can contain up to a million things regardless of their size. My gift to you" Xunia said with a smile.
"Wow thanks. Was it supposed to hurt?"
"Yes. I wanted to warn you but you just put it right on"
"Oh. How do I work it then?"
"Zeze" She called and the AI responded from the ring.
"Yes your majesty?"
"Bring out item 207"
"Yes your majesty" and an item popped out of the ring in a flash. A bag of BBQ chips was seen on the floor. Lorema picked it up, opened it and started eating it. Everyone stared at her as she continued to chew noisily. She disappeared from her seat a second later while the armchair she sat on was slashed into tiny pieces. She appeared in another position far away, drenched in sweat.
"Your majesty..." She cried.
"Was it yours?"
"But it was on the floor"
"If I recall correctly, your ring is filled to the brim with snacks like this. If I'm not wrong, you have a separate ring for these snacks. Give him two back" Xunia said with a frosty expression. Lorema cried as she brought put two BBQ chips to him.
"How do I put it in?"
"Zeze is now connected to your mind now. Call out to it in your mind and ask for what you want. If you want to put something in, wave your hand with the ring over it after talking Zeze what to do. You can use it to remove a mountain or pluck a plant from it's root. Your choice" she replied with a shrug.
He beamed as he heard her answer. He immersed in his mind and found he could interact with the AI. He saw there were many things inside the ring and instructions on how to use them. He then experimented on putting the chips into the ring and it worked. He was mindblown by the inventor of the rings. Xunia had a rare tender look on her as she watched him.
He came out a bit later.
"Who invented these rings?"
"They actually date back centuries ago but are not as refined as now. The ancient ones are hard to use and they could only contain 25 objects and had size restrictions. They were also rare and few people had one.
Queen Xunia found a stone ore filled with formless stones that had long gone extinct. She made her research, found a way to refine them to form storage rings and tried to make them develop ring spirits. When that failed multiple times, she created a very powerful mind AI that is connected to her mind.
While she was very excited in her success, she delegated the task of naming it to Ganine. Wrong move as we ended up calling the most powerful AI that is one in a million, Zeze" Seriel said, clearly disappointed at the end.
The others snickered and Ganine glared at them.
"I was drunk and Xunia was pestering me for a name. I just told her the first thing that came to my mind"
"Zeze?" Seriel asked, snorting.
"Yes. You know, it's short for Azezel, my husband's name"
"Xunia, your brainchild is named after a brain dead escort's husband. Maybe we can change it to Jason instead or Jayjay" Seriel suggested.
"Absolutely not!" Jason protested and joined Ganine in glaring at Seriel.
"Shut up all of you! Seriously, can you all go a day without bickering? I feel like I'm talking care of little children" Xunia thundered, annoyed.
"Josephine and Ganine, take Jason to the academy tomorrow. Seriel and Savannah, you are both in charge of the ceremony and lodging. Lorema, Acecilia and Astara, you three are in charge of security. I will be taking care of the other officials arriving from the other realms" She commanded with one hand on her forehead.
"Yes ma'am" they chorused and she disappeared.
"So, she designed my ring?" Jason asked Josephine as soon as Xunia left.
"Yes. She learnt your favourite colour is gold so she decided to make one specially for you. It's a really hard process to make a special ring bit she did it for you and us. All our rings were designed by her according to our preferences.
Lorema's was designed to store her countless snacks, Styllaph's for her various weapons, Paerish's for her various specimens, Savannah's for her various collections, Astara's for her various herbs, Seriel's for her various minerals, mine is for my duties as your attendant and others too. She's a very good friend and leader which is why we devoted our lives to her" Josephine replied with a bit of nostalgia in her tone.
"Okay, go and take dinner. After that, we'll watch a movie and go to bed. Even Xunia is watching the movie. Who knows, you two might cuddle" she said, wiggling her eyebrows. Jason blushed and went to eat.
Two days later, a huge crowd of students were gathered at the entrance of Hell Forest. Jason recognised this place as the place that dragon dropped them off the last time. Every student was wearing their school robes including the Academy students. Every Academy student was regarded as a god among the other students, even the least talented one.
The only students not in school robes were ten students from the Academy. They were the top ten students in the Academy. The rankings just changed the day before and one student in the Academy's robes was seen clenching his fists. He was formerly the 10th but he had been pushed out and the 9th person was now 10th.
The first was surprisingly and unsurprisingly Jason. He beat up Luica who was formerly first. Luica was now second and the formerly fifth person was now third. The former third person was now fourth. The former fourth was now fifth. The former eighth was now sixth and the former 6th was now seventh. The Academy was more or less surprised by the change of rank.
The ten students were like ten gods descending from the heavens but the most outstanding was Jason. Girls felt their brains shutting down as soon as they laid eyes on him. The guys were no exception. He could be summed up in one word; out of this world.
The Royals from other continents and realms began to arrive. The council and their leader were last to arrive. The crowd bowed deeply when the council arrived with the exception of Jason. He as taught by the Queens to bow to no one but Xunia. He finally did the ceremonial bow and smiled when he saw her.
After the Royals settled down, the schools began greeting them. The Academy was last with Jason at the head if the entourage. He went straight to Xunia and kissed her hand.
"My Queen, you're looking more lovely than ever" he commented with his dazzling smile. He wasn't lying. She was indeed looking more beautiful. Her indigo coloured gown looked stunning on her and brought out her beautiful grey eyes. Her hair was braided behind her and she was wearing a silver crown. She laughed when he commented that.
"Thank you my love. I wish you and the Academy luck in the examinations"
"With you wishing us, we'll be able to do well" he replied and moved to the other Royals. They simply bowed as they saw him. Even Luica did not have that kind of authority.
The people that were secretly condemning him for not bowing to greet the Royals went pale. They went more pale when they heard his official title.
"Lord Jason of house Dixen, it's nice to finally meet you" Szessan, the king of Dragon greeted, bowing to him.
"King of Dragon, your reputation precedes you" Jason greeted back with a warm smile.
Jason's title was known to be an extinct one. Only one king in the history of the Aries Continent has been bestowed by that title and that was King Aries the first. The first king of the Weries. Now Jason had the title. It's power was only lesser than that of the Alpha Queen.
After Jason was done greeting the Royals, Savannah stepped up to the stage to announce the rules of the competition.
"This examination is very simple with simple rules. There are various animals and plants in the outer forest that are ranked from one star to five star.
Rule number one, never venture into the middle part or inner part of the forest. Even Zenith Kings cannot survive in the inner part.
Rule number two, the person with the highest number of rank five animals, plants and the highest number of tokens wins the competition.
Rule number three, no killing.
Rule number four, never lose your token. If you're in fatal danger, you will be enveloped in a transport array back here to be healed and will end your exam because your token will drop and someone else will pick it.
Rule number five, this exam only lasts for ten days so do your best to impress the people watching you. I wish you all goodluck. The examination starts now!" she shouted and a gong sounded.
A multitude of students rushed into Hell Forest and the legendary examination began.