On Rydel's end, after the few good byes with the fellow recruits, he made sure he got onto a secure communication link and immediately got in contact with Cellica at the earliest instance.
The grass fields on the edge of the training facilities is especially empty during this time of the day, and it's big enough to allow for multiple secret conversations to go in at the same time and no one will hear a thing between one another.
'Progress report: I am in. Transport to the home base in a few days in the wild regions. Confirmed location in the Grey Wolf's territory.' Rydel spoke softly into his personal interface, and Cellica's profile pictures appears.
'Confirmed. Are you alright?'
'So far so good. What's the plan now?'
'You keep doing what you are doing, and Zel will contact you and schedule a rescue once the time is right.' Cellica explained, 'I detected someone approaching, end transmission. Be careful.'
'So...here you are.' The sound of Pun came through as he stepped through the dry crunchy grass towards Rydel, 'calling your boyfriend?'
'Don't give me that shit.' Rydel shut off the communications program and turned around, 'you heard I am leaving?'
'Yeah. Look, I don't know what really happened back in reaction chamber, but I understand why you want to take some time off.' Pun said as he sat down next to Rydel, 'but where ever you go, I think you will be great.'
'Oh wow. Thank you, Pun.' Rydel was surprised at the nice words being thrown towards him, 'I didn't think you are that kind of a person.'
'Only when a friend is gone. Too many goodbyes, and I hate it.' Pun reaches out with his fist, and Rydel met it with his own, 'also good job for not getting blown into a thousand pieces.'
The transport was ready for Rydel on the day of the departure, and he came left the way he came, with a purpose, some light luggage and a mild dizziness. He was never a big fan of travelling, but often enjoys the time spent at the destinations. Nothing he has done before would have prepared him for what's about to come, however, an academy built in the middle of the most chaotic ares in the galaxy for the sole purpose of being strong enough to use twenty of the mysterious reality-altering artifacts.
Rydel always held the belief that one would have to be worthy of bearing the power of the artifact when he or she passes the trial upon first contact, but it seems like Absolute Being wants to ensure the maximum possibility of success for this. They groom candidates, rather than develop the users. This is actually the polar opposites of what the bearers do.
Do they have a stash of artifacts they found without users? Rydel wondered as he mindlessly followed the instruction to board the transport towards the Edge station, the furthest transit station from the settled regions before entering the endless bounds of the wild regions. Or do they already have a couple under control, and simply wants to make sure the bearers are worthy enough to master its power fully?
Am I not worthy enough?
Somehow, Rydel still have this fear that he might not be worthy of bearing the power of the glove after all as he looked down onto his hand. The colored tracks on the soft silver materials pulsed once in orange as if it's trying to assure Rydel that he is okay, but the doubt lingers on nonetheless.
The ship wobbled slightly as it passes through the acceleration gates towards the first intermediate acceleration point, and Rydel dropped his things onto the ground before going into his capsule sized room for some much needed rest. He will arrive in about ten hours, and that's plenty of time for a nice nap.
He set the capsule's lighting system to wake him up when he is about two hours away and lied down onto the soft memory foam that made up most of the bed. His eyes didn't resist for too long before shutting, and he dived into sleep once again.
Twelve hours later, Rydel stood alone in the desolate arrival's hall for the Edge space transit station, and he is quite literally on the edge of the galaxy as many know it. The air feels colder, and the place feels empty, despite the busy travelers and traders coming in and out of the station. The settled regions and the Galactic government that runs it basically left the wild regions to their own devices should what ever that happens in there does not affect the rest of the galaxy. Seldomly, people would travel in and out of the region, and it's only a simple document away from being done.
The endless freedom and lack of establishments seemed to have a certain draw for some individuals, but Rydel sure as hell knew that he ain't one of them. He looked down at his Personal Interface, and a message is left unread since he boarded the transport. He opened it and sees a simply instruction:
Go to the Galaxy's Edge and someone would be picking you up.
'I am already on the edge, and on edge. What more do you want?' Rydel is rather annoyed at the simple cryptic message, but that's all he has to work with. He quickly downloaded a map of the medium sized transit statoin and looked for the Galaxy's Edge. It's a restaurant located right on the far end of the arrival's area and only a hundred meters away or so. Rydel can see a sign outside of it and some lights flashing, so at least it's still open.
As he walked closer, he realized that he might not be alone. The transit station is awefully empty, but somehow he has two other 'passengers' walking alongside him at the exact same speed. A not so subtle tailing, but he had to make sure.
Rydel stopped, left his luggage behind and stepped in front of it to tie his shoelace. Thankfully, the passengers on his sides continued walking ahead towards Galaxy's Edge. He haphazardly tied his laces and turned around to pick up the luggage behind him, using this opportunity to see if anyone is following him from behind. Nobody is that obvious at the first glace, but he saw a couple eyes that are locked on him. Nothing seemed to happen, however, so he just lets it be.
The actual Galaxy's Edge is a measly cafe that can barely call itself a restaurant anywhere else in the galaxy. It is quite surprising in a sense that it decided to go the old-school route of displaying food that will be served visually in racks before taking it straight out. The place is mostly empty with some people waiting or working on their own in each corners of the cafe. Someone in a full white uniform sits on the bar tables that faces outwards near the entrance stood up when her eyes caught Rydel's.
'Rold, I presume?' She asked tentatively and reached out with one hand, 'I am Joanna, the transport officer for the academy.'
With better lighting, it is revealed that she has a rare red long hair with a naughty curl at the end. Her face is pale yet smooth and the white light that illuminates the whole arrival hall gently bounces off her cheeks. She has large brown eyes and a tiny scar near her neck. Her hand have some tribal markings in the form of a tattoo all over it.
'You presume correct.' Rydel took her hand, shook it firmly and released it, 'you look rather lonely here, you sure you don't want your friends to join?'
'Oh.' Joanna acted slightly surprised, but it's not really shown in her tone, 'they are just for safety, in case anyone unwelcome follows our trail.'
'I thought the organization is legally registered?' Rydel questioned, 'or is that a lie.'
'It is truthful, believe it or not. Just that it's only legally registered in the settled regions, and as you may know, things work very differently out there.' Joanna replied. As she reached into her pocket for a tiny hologram projector, two glasses were raised from beneath the surface of the bar table they are sitting behind. Joanna's is filled with a fizzy drink that resembles a kind of a beer., 'do you want a drink?'
'Get me some Aquarian Shocker.' Rydel knocked on the side of the glass gently, and soon a transparent fluid fills an eighth of the glass.
'That's a bold choice.' Joanna commented.
'Nothing compared to what I am about to do here.' Rydel picked up the glass with his left hand, and drank it all in one go. The alcohol soon begins to burn his insides.
'That would be for you to decide.' Joanna replied, then she turned on the projector which brings up a hologram of a three dimensional star chart of the wild regions on the table. It's a detailed to an extent that Rydel have never seen before, and any other documents that he could find on the internet are no where near its level of content. The seven big factions of are all labelled in the two intersecting geometric planes and labelled in different colors, and she gently transfers the data into Rydel's personal interface.
'Seeing your potential and past experience, the academy office is going to give you as much information as you needed to get adjusted, and you should be able to speed through the basic training program and progress into the later stages. But first, let's start with a basic layout of the Wild regions, or wild space as some might call it.'
'I am ready.' Rydel knocked on the glass once again for a refill, and prepared himself.
'The whole region typically operates about two intersecting galactic planes as you are able to see somewhat clearly, and the Absolute Academy is based in the region of the Grey Wolf, the biggest of the factions in the center.' Joanna pointed her finger towards a point near the geometric center of the hologram, and a massive chunk of space labelled in grey began to flash, 'we have close relations with the Grey Wolf as a direct result, and we work together for our goals and benefits of each other. Working for the Grey Wolf is one of the more popular career pathways.'
'Wait, career pathways?' Rydel almost dropped the glass back onto the table, 'what do you mean?'
'What exactly do you think we do?' Joanna isn't sure what Rydel's reactions entail.
'I don't know, but certainly not expecting a stable career working in a corporate business setting, I would have worked for Dynasty Investments if I wanted to sell my soul.'
'It's not like that.' Joanna answered, 'we train you in personal development to a point where you can be as close as you can to a so-called perfect being, whatever that means. Then you can choose what you want to do with that power, whether you choose to pursue further poewr, or do something with it is entirely your choice. However, that's only our policy in the general training stages until therapy and physiology manipulation. Anything beyond that then we expect for you to stay with the organization or we will wipe your memory of us and all this.'
'That's more like it.' Rydel nodded, 'and that's what I am here to do.'
'Right, so we can skip the useless talks and get straight to the point. In order to get to the Absolute Academy, we will sneak you through the traffic lanes between faction spaces towards Grey Wolf's region.' She clicked on the symbol representing the route they are going to take and a zig-zaggy route is shown like an artery travelling towards the deepest tissue within the human body, 'The inter-faction space lanes are neutral territories so you should be completely safe. The journey will take a few days, but once you reach to the Space of the Grey Wolf everything should be fine. I will also send you a list of additional documents for you to look through and some training related matters. Once you have arrived, someone else will take you over.'
'And will you just be waiting here for the next recruit?' Rydel nodded as he quickly checks his version of the map before turning his small personal projector off.
'Yeah, we have quite a few lined up for today from all over. There are time for socilaizing, of course, but each individual are to be treated and trained differently, as I am sure you will understand.' Joanna explained, then she stood up and in an obvious way to get Rydel to leave as soon as he can. He looked at Joanna, completely oblivious to the message she is sending, finished his drink before leaving his seat, 'teamwork comes later.'
'I wish you prolonged success in the academy.' Joanna said with her outreached hand once again, 'The transport is parked in the outbound transit area 15, it will leave in an hour so you may hang around for a bit.'
'Sure.' Rydel completed all the necessary social gestures, 'I do hope I get what I came for here.'
'I am sure you won't be disappointed.' Joanna looked at him with a smile that hints towards something underneath, but Rydel didn't bother to think further of it.
In the next hour of time that he has, Rydel contemplated getting in touch with Cellica once again, but then he realized that the likelihood of him being monitored before getting on the transport vessel is ridiculously high, and this is an unnecessary risk. Instead, he boarded the transport and got himself a tiny room before starting to look through the documents and try to get a good idea of what the wild regions is like and what the Academy has in store for him.
To save Dolon, he has to progress to such a point that he could either meet her somehow, or at least get a sense of what exactly is happening to her.
He wants her back, so that's why he has to act like he wants the artifact badly. The only path in front of him is to get more powerful and being recognized by the people in the academy.
Rydel opened up the documents sent by Joanna and looked at them in order. There involves a more detailed map and description of Wild region politics, cultures, what to do and not to do in Grey Wolf's region, all the standard administrative stuff. And then there is the academy related documents when it comes to the assessment standards and progression. It is as Joanna states, but there is more details as to how things actually work from one level to another, and there is a vivid diagram showcasing roughly how powerful one has to become.
On the bottom level, the most basic level is the general training, where one is to develop general skills to a high level, like an elite soldier or spy. Rydel is currently hovering about this level. In order to move on, he just need to go through the normal training tasks and get judged by his trainers/teachers. Not very different to other elite institutions, and Rydel suspects this stage is to make sure everyone is on the same level before progressing, like the first year of university. It is likely that most abilities won't exactly be that close to the ultimate limit, but a high standards is set so that one isn't too far off before moving on.
The second level up is the superhuman level, where therapies, operations and drugs will be used to boost the abilities of one individual beyond the peak human limits. These are what biohacking has evolved to years later. The humans are still mostly biological, and not much of the genetic make up is altered and most of the bodily systems still operates normally, just at an overall higher average level. By the timeline and using the technologies available, it is suggested that one will spend from six months to a year in this level.
The second level from the top is the nanotechnology enhancement level, where miniature nanotechnology drones will be injected into one's body that will not only boost one's abilities further, but also saves them from most physical damages and increases the durability of oneself to beyond superhuman levels. This is when someone becomes truly special. This level of bodily modification have not been done outside of clinical settings or the homes of the very rich very often, but Absolute Academy seemed extremely confident in their ability to pump out super soldiers.
The final level is the artifact mastering, where the individual will either be encouraged to go out and find an artifact, or most likely go challenge someone from the higher echelon's of the organization for the possession of such artifacts. The challenger will then have to defeat and kill the previous owner to obtain the artifact, but doing so is incredibly challenging and only a handful of people have succeeded.
That's what the ultimate goal of the academy is, but it is also mentioned in the document that one is free to leave during any levels before the enhancements. It does not matter to Rydel. There is also mentions of the use of accelerated learning technology, but Rydel also had some experience using it when he sparred against Dolon for hours on ends without stopping.
God knows how long this will take... Rydel thought about his half finished research project write up, and hoped whatever things he put together in a rush during his preparatory training will suffice, and the previous work he had done would be enough for him. But screw the degrees, a line of code and a piece of paper really matters not much when you have a glove that literally folds up space upon itself.
He heard the sound of the hatches opening, and multiple footsteps entering the ship. He thought about going outside and greeting the other students, but didn't follow through. He would have plenty of chances to bond with the rest of them in the next few years, whatever things he thought he would learn from the superficial chats won't matter once things get down and dirty.
He lied on the rock hard bunk bed with a thin layer of insulation that also acts as the mattress. It contrasts unpleasantly to the softer Aquarian recovery beds, but this might have to be the norm for the next year or so. Best get used to this.
As the new cohort of the Absolute Academy prepared themselves for whatever that's about to come, on the Academy planet in the system that the Grey Wolf offered Absolute Being, someone is also preparing for their arrival.
It's Gold, but he looked different. His most distinguishable features on the battle field were his good looks, even for an Aquarian and his bread and butter outfit with his golden armor and six Aquarian blades. He was young and prideful, but consistently bested by beings beneath him.
First, by the Aquarian warrior named Lightning Rod in the War Game using simply four blades against his six. She embarrased him on the Galactic stage with millions watching live, and that directly cost him his professional contract at his previous club, not because of the loss and his poor performance but his deterioriating mental state after the loss. He was glad that the management made the decisions, however, as he took the time off to hone his skills and get better.
He enjoyed being cocky and arrogant, and proving his power when all other expects and wishes for him to fail, but Gold likes winning more. The shear magnitude of despair and powerlessness he felt and saw as he cut through his opponents gives him such a rush of excitement and joy that nothing else in the galaxy can possibly compare.
And then, there were the enhancement operations. He had known about the organization that was run to improve oneself, and that's why he decided to join the group. His excellent background already moved him past the very first two levels, and he rejected the nanotechnology therapy right away, as he wanted to see how a fully powered artifact user operates. And that's when he boarded Lady Lily's operation to both see how she is going to duplicate the artifacts and their powers as well as seeing how she actually fights. He didn't get a lot of that, as his 'inspection' was cut short by Rydel, another artifact user. He did not catch his name, however, and there was no footage of him either.
To Gold, Rydel is that annoying human Artifact user that tricked him, and uses modified weapons to get the best of him by warping away the club moment before he parries it and then making it reappear on his face. The smooth edge of his nose is no more, instead the deposited scar tissue of the operations now became what people first see when they meet him.
Lady Lily offered to remove it and rebuild his nose, but Gold refused. The pride is no more, as what Rydel did snatches away what little belief he had in himself after his first major defeat as being the strongest warrior around. He wasn't even the top three strongest warriors on the desolate little planet named B1. However, that was exactly what he needed.
Now, he came as a new Aquarian. One that's cautious of his shortcomings, aware of his strengths, and understands his ability.
Before, he was talented. Now, he is dangerous.
He stood tall, with his blades in all six of his hands, and entered a battle stance. It's time for his morning practice again, but this time, he planned to incorporate the use of his artifact in it.