Asdras and his group made their way to the training hall in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The recent events weighed heavily on their minds, filling them with worries and questions.
'What is that place?' Asdras pondered, the memory of the system's eerie sensation crawling towards his eye lingering in his mind.
The sensation was alien to him, nearly causing him to miss the end of the lecture. When the system activated within him, he glimpsed fragments of memories that left him baffled.
'It looked like a city… but floating?' Asdras shook his head, trying to make sense of the fleeting vision.
The image was ephemeral, barely lasting two seconds, yet it was seared into Asdras's mind with remarkable clarity. He saw a city suspended in the sky, its foundations obscured by swirling, misty clouds that gave it an ethereal appearance.
The colossal structures that supported the city seemed to defy gravity, their bases disappearing into the dense fog below. Each building was an architectural marvel, constructed from materials that shimmered with an otherworldly glow.
Towering spires pierced the heavens, their tips adorned with glistening crystals that refracted the light into a spectrum of colors, creating a halo around the city.
He remembered the portal in vivid detail. It stood as a gateway to this floating metropolis, crafted from an unknown material that seemed to pulsate with life.
The metal was a rich, golden hue, but it was interlaced with veins of electric blue that flickered and danced like lightning trapped within the frame.
In the center, the words "Explorer City" were emblazoned in bold, archaic script, their edges glowing softly as if infused with magic.
'If I have a memory of it, then it's certain I was there, right?' Asdras sighed. 'But… a floating city? This is more confusing than my past.'
Asdras scratched his left cheek hard, the friction grounding him in reality. 'First, my awakening. Then my surname and that crow. And what about that message and the empire? Second told me it was named Corvus, not Explorer, and it was an empire, not a city.'
"Are you all right?" Merida asked softly, her gaze fixed on his tense expression.
Asdras felt a jolt of surprise ripple through him at Merida's question. He quickly nodded to regain his poise. "Yes, I am. Thanks for asking, Merida."
Merida gave him a long look, as if trying to decipher his reply. She shrugged and took the opportunity to ask, "What was it like for you? I mean, the system thing."
Her question sparked like an ember in dry wood, drawing the whole group out of their thoughts and redirecting their gaze to Asdras.
"I." Asdras paused. "I don't know. It was confusing. I looked at you, Stig, and saw letters being written in the air — like, how?"
Stig didn't reply. Worries filled his mind like a waterfall. Unable to find the words to describe his view, he simply shook his head.
"It is the information about things," Joah interjected, surprising everyone. He rarely interacted with the group, and when he spoke, they halted in their tracks.
Joah sighed, lowering his head as if regretting his decision to speak up.
"Sorry, Joah," Lisandra interjected, breaking the pause. "You speak so rarely that it caught us off guard."
"What do you mean by it?" Finn leaned in, a sly grin tugging at his lips. "So, you mean the system can just, what, extract information about anything? Like reading a book without actually opening it?"
"I just thought it." Joah paused, massaging his inner palms as if searching for the right words. "I mean, something within me told me it was about the information about things. It made sense since Teacher Zafir told us that a system is like a structure of information."
"I see." Finn nodded. "It makes sense if we think of it that way. I mean, just think about it. The teacher told us that the system is like the entity Ars and is somehow connected to our power and energy. So we can assume that it knows about the things around us."
"It might recognize objects containing Ars energy," Lisandra suggested thoughtfully. "When I first used it, I saw you, Finn, since you were directly ahead of me. The text read, 'Common Human.' After that, I looked at the ceiling because my head was throbbing, but there were just red lines crisscrossing it."
"Could it be?" Asdras paused, sorting his words. "Could it be that it gives us information about the core of a being and its race? Because 'common' reminds me of the classification of cores. And Finn is a human, so I guess it makes sense."
"That's it! Asdras, you're a genius!" Finn clashed his closed fist into his open palm with a sharp smack, his eyes widening in realization. "Think about it, guys. The teacher told us that the system is important for us to survive within the Eruption and in the world after it."
"Following this line of thought, if the system can provide us with basic information about the threat of a creature, it surely can help us prepare better to fight or escape," Finn concluded.
"Wait, there's more," Merida cut in, shaking her head. "I saw something different from the rest of you. My focus was on the teacher. Unlike you, I didn't see text on him, but his mallet had 'rare space equipment' written on it."
"That's good then; we can spot goods to help us." Finn smiled. "Now we're talking! Imagine never getting stuck with junk. Always picking the best stuff. We're going to be unstoppable."
"Fine, but what's 'space' supposed to mean here?" Merida asked, a puzzled look crossing her face.
"What do you mean by what does it mean?" Finn asked her. "Space is space, Merida. Just like the space between you and me. Or the space between my fingers."
"Not that, idiot," Merida replied with a hopeless smile. "I know what space is, but I want to know what the word means there. Think about it. It doesn't make sense for a mallet to have the word 'space' to describe it if the meaning was just that."
"Maybe it means the element of space," Lisandra suggested uncertainly. "I don't know much about it, but I read it once in a book in the library. It was written that the element of space is so complex that to this day we know little about it."
"It also mentioned that the element of space is typically used to create artifacts that contain a space within them, like a pocket," Lisandra continued. "That's all I recall. It was a brief passage, but it stood out to me for its uniqueness."
Finn waved his hand dismissively, his tone light but firm. "Enough guessing. Let's put our shiny new system to the test and see what it can really do. To the training hall!"
Within the Groundway corridor, they reached a wall painted in pristine white with bold red stripes, creating a stark contrast that caught the eye. In bold, authoritative letters, "Training Hall" was written across the surface.
There were two ways to enter the hall. One could press their hand against a runic symbol inscribed with intricate, glowing patterns that pulsed softly with a cerulean light, sending them to the general hall.
Alternatively, if part of a group, they could insert a specially crafted key given by the librarian, an artifact of polished obsidian inlaid with silver runes.
One by one, they inserted their keys, and a swirling mist enveloped each of them, its cool, ethereal touch sending shivers down their spines before transporting them directly to their group's hall.
Their designated hall was spacious and projected to comfortably accommodate a group of six. The floor was crafted from tempered wood, its surface imbued with a subtle shimmer that hinted at its magical reinforcement.
This wood was resilient against sharp objects and heavy weights, yet soft enough to cushion impacts, ensuring that even a harsh fall wouldn't result in serious injury.
At the far right of the hall stood a weapon rack, a veritable arsenal displaying an array of training weapons, each meticulously maintained.
Next to it were various tools designed to enhance their physical conditioning: ropes hanging from the ceiling for climbing exercises, lifelike dummy dolls for combat practice, targets for honing long-range attacks, and an assortment of barbells and weights for strength training.
On the opposite side, to the left, lay the items provided by the academy daily. These included carefully selected supplements and herbs renowned for their healing properties, able to mend surface wounds swiftly.
The herbs were stored in ornate glass jars, while the supplements were kept in neatly arranged boxes, each labeled with their effect.
In the center of the hall, arranged in a neat circle, were six backpacks — the same ones Teacher Zafir had shown them.
Each backpack was made of durable, weather-resistant material with intricate designs stitched into the fabric, depicting runic symbols of a key.
"Check this out! Our gear. Time to see what we're packing." Finn's face lit up with enthusiasm as he opened a backpack. He gave it a quick look inside before deciding to lay out each item for them to inspect in detail.
One by one, he carefully arranged the items in a row, the total count coming to seventeen. The items ranged from small, utilitarian tools to more enigmatic objects whose purposes were not immediately clear.
"There are a lot of items," Merida observed, her voice tinged with curiosity as she scanned the array.
"Truly?" Lisandra responded, shaking her head. "I don't think so. We have no idea how long we'll be there, and to me, it seems insufficient."
"Well," Asdras pondered aloud, his eyes narrowing as he examined the gear. "It seems we have the essentials here."
"Except for sleeping materials," Finn pointed out, holding up a small, compact bundle that looked like it could be a blanket but was too thin to provide any real comfort. "It seems we have tools for general use and one-time materials to help us in case of emergencies. I guess they're telling us that for food and other things, we need to rely on ourselves."
"So? How is going to be the first?" Asdras asked.
"First, for what?" Merida asked.
"Let me," Finn interjected, grinning. "I'll go first. Let's see what these babies can do with a bit of a system thing."
Finn didn't wait for them to voice their thoughts. He calmed himself, closing his eyes, and replicated the instructions he had learned. This time, the process was faster, and he no longer needed to visualize the dark room or the intricate symbols.
He felt his eyes moving on their own. It was as if the serpentine veins around his irises were reshaping themselves. It didn't feel gross or creepy; rather, it felt as if his eyes were numb.
When he opened them, he saw the world tinged in shades of red. He didn't waste any time, directing his gaze at the items on the floor. Out of the seventeen objects, he noticed three were invisible, creating a gap in the row.
He focused on the rope. Words began to shape themselves in the void, reading "Elastic Rope." He was about to move on to the next item when more words materialized, ending with "Elastic Rope - Can be extended to ten meters."
Next, he turned his attention to the mask. This time, he concentrated longer, reading "Water Mask - Enables the user to breathe underwater for 30 minutes before needing to be emptied."
Suddenly, a sharp headache made him close his eyes and press his hands to his temples. It felt as if his temples were being hit by a sticky, pulsating pain. He took a deep breath before looking at his group.
"It seems that the longer you look at things, the more information you can extract," Finn said, scratching the area around his eyes. "The price of knowledge, huh? I just need to toughen up these eyes of mine. But hey, at least we know it works."