Finally, the time was almost 12:00, Most of the academy masters had already gotten into the academy pod.
When Quinn entered the room, he noticed it straight away, because it was installed right next to his bed, Kyle and Judge were already inside the pod ... While Ecuador was standing beside his Academy pod.
"Jack I also have S_level talent rank, I was wondering if...I don't know... maybe you can introduce me to one of the B_level powerhouse... I don't care who it is... Immortal Sasha.. Princess Azura... Or Queen Aelle."
" HAHAHAHA"
Jack couldn't hold back, he smiled as he stared at Ecuador who was currently acting like a fanboy"
" So you have S_level talent rank"
Ecuador nodded.
"Yes"
"Why does your watch shows F_level talent rank."
" I rigged it .... F_ level talent rank .... will be less suspicious"
Jack smile broadened.
"You rigged an academy digital watch ... Why..?"
" Well.. just like you Jack the digital watch did not show my talent.
Jack shaked his head and walked towards his academy pod he has had enough, he opened the pod and got into it, when the pod door closed an odd feeling came over his body.
************************************
All his senses were heightened, his mind felt like it was slightly spinning. Then after a few seconds, it was over.
When he opened his eyes he was surrounded by townsfolk chatter and all sorts. Rows of buildings and shops, market stalls selling food and weapons. He had successfully made it to the Academy Citadel.
[ Congratulations on becoming a complete Master ]
[ You have arrived at an established Citadel ]
[ Do you wish to link your soul with the citadel ]
[ Yes ]. [ No ]
Jack chose yes cause that was the only reasonable action.
The shelter he had just arrived at was just as big as the Master Academy he had come from. It was a similar size to the Fallen Cities that human civilization used to have. The only difference was there were no tall Angel statue and the biggest building in this shelter was a Crone which was only three stories high.
The ground he stood on top of was hard and solid, a dry orange colour with little patches of green life.
It was the first time most of the masterss had arrived at the same place and even for Quinn, it was a significant difference compared to when he first arrived at the academy. There were more than ten thousand masters. The masters were talking about their added stats and.... of course I'm the strange one my system remained the same.
" I got number 09 for strength"
" Hey that's low I got 12 "
Stalls everywhere selling all kind of things, hot smoky meat with fresh fruit and veg.
"This looks even better than some places on earth!" Quinn said. "I wonder why I wasn't sent here for the Heavens trial?"
" Hey look it's Sasha Grey "
Jack turned his attention towards the woman with dark-brown hair neatly tied into a ponytail and thick brown glasses she is currently wearing a normal Tusac.
" Now that you are all here, listen you lad the academy digital watch has a vision interface and this interface has two MYRs.The 1st and the 2nd, each independent MYR is made with different tech, the first is made with Church tech, the MYR 1 allows you to know the name and the tier of the dark seal while MYR 2 is made with Witch tech, it shows you the amount of dark energy, dark seal below the nth mark are dormant while dark seal above the nth mark have awakened their talent."
"Switching to the Vision interface won't be hard cause you learnt that in JN classes, it will be a lot like accessing Anthril servers."
" Those that have accessed the vision interface kindly raise your hands"
There was no need for this as the academy tablet on her hands will show all the masters that have successfully accessed their interface.
" All the masters raised their hands except_
Jack was sweating seriously he did not understand why his interface won't come online.
" Jack are you okay... do you need my assistance? "
The masters turned their attention to a drenched Jack then to a young lady raising her hand up"
" What do you want Celine? "
" Miss Grey can I help him? "
Sasha Grey stared at Celine, that smile on her face, she could tell why the young lady volunteered.
" Okay.... that's if you know what to do."
Celine approached Jack, Jack held out his watch but she grabbed him by the neck and placed her forehead on his and after sometime she let go.
*Gasps*
Most masters were shocked, they where surprised by Celine's actions.
"W_ Wh-wh-wat did you do to me?"
" I helped you Jack "
Jack stared at his hands as his vision turned slight blue.
The academy digital watch whispered just like the Heaven system
[ Vision interface Online ]
Sasha stared at the academy tablet she did not know how but the young woman really did help activate the vision interface.... it looks like she kissed him.
" Now that you all have activated you vision interface, you have 12hours to scout the area buy a map and kill as many dark seals. On the map you will buy the area marked blue is where you should hunt, it is populated with basic-tier dark seal and if you see an Intermediate-tier dark seal you are advised to retreat, you are not to go to the red area... that's if you which to live. This test is about survival and the top three masters with the highest kills will receive an Intermediate-tier weapon... Fighting among masters won't be tolerated...The test is to be done individually...So grab your kit masters we are hunting.
*********************************************
Jack walked up to one of the stalls that sold all sorts of items that would help with capturing dark seals or even killing them, most of the stalls are filled with masters buying maps while the higher rank level masters with higher allowance are buying spells, tier Weapons can only be purchased with shards and are sold in the Master academy or a clan, so most weapons in the stalls are human weapons bound by spells which will only be useful against basic-tier dark seals with softer body build but a high quality spell will definitely give an advantage. Behind the counter he saw an old man with a digital monocle over one eye and he wasn't busy with one of the masters.
"I was wondering if you could provide me with a map with all the hunting areas?" Jack asked.
"Sure I can, that will be a total of a 1,500 credits though."
Are you sure you're not trying to rip me off."
The old man started laughing.
"Well, that will be 2,000 now because of your rudeness."
" But I'm only allowed 1,000 credit everyday"
"Oh..you a low level rank...I have a kid with a lower rank.. she died last year... you know what I will give you a map for free"
"you would.. but I'm_
"Hey that's okay lad "
The old man brought out a map from a digital alon and gave it to Jack.
Jack stared at the map and opened up the map which was on some type of digital paper. On it, the map indicated where they were and different areas around them which were colour coded. It went from green, blue and red. The closer the colour was too red, the more populated the area was with beasts.
******************************************
As the sun began to set, casting its golden glow upon the desolate city, Jack stepped into the eerie silence that pervaded the streets. The once bustling city, now abandoned and forgotten, lay in ruins, but the remnants of its grandeur still whispered through the wind.
"well looks like I'm the only one is this blue spot ..... I'm sure those masters will be kicking themselves cause they weren't the first to lay eyes on such beautiful abandoned city."
Jack's footsteps echoed softly as he wandered through the crumbling buildings, his steps guided by the ethereal light trickling through broken windows. The city's architecture, a stunning blend of ancient and modern design, showcased the craftsmanship of a bygone era, now melancholic in its decay.
As he rounded a corner, his keen eyes caught a flicker of movement in the shadows, igniting his curiosity. Jack approached cautiously, drawn towards the concealed anomaly like a moth to a flame. As he drew closer, his senses tingled with a palpable unease, a foreboding whisper in the air.
Emerging from the darkness, an abomination revealed itself, huge arms and marred flesh, it's head is of a lion and it has the neck of a serpent, most of it body is covered with brown fur, it looks humanoid but it stood on all four and it has a huge scorpion tail, it exuded an aura of darkness and malevolence, contrasting sharply against the city's fading beauty. Its eyes, glowing with an unnatural hue, stared intensely at Jack, as if to challenge his presence.....it was his old friend... but it did not look like a corporal shadow..it look like a creature....a brown creature with dark eyes.
[ Vision Interface online ]
MYR 1 [ Stealth Lion ]
[ King-tier Seal ]
MYR 2. [ Dormant ]
The Seal rushed towards Jack as a visible force field leaves it's body expanding in time until it crashed into Jack and sent him flying, the Seal chased after Jack with terrifying speed.
Jack crashed into a wall, he felt his ribs break, he forced himself off the ground only to see the approaching Seal a feet away, it's mouth opened revealing deadly long jagged fangs...
Death was imminent.... he flinched and shielded himself with both hands.
*THUDS*
Jack opened his eyes and he saw a wall made of pure shadow standing between him and the Seal.
[ Shadow mist activated ]
The shadow wall distorted, turned into dark mist and forcefully entered the mouth of the Seal.
* ROOOOAAAAR*
The Seal roared, it brought it's scorpion tail down on Jack's head but was forcefully thrown into one of the pillars of the abandoned city which shattered on impact.
The Seal tried to get up but it was slammed into the ground by an invisible force.
*BOOOM*
The impact shook the foundations of the abandoned city creating a thousand cracks and lot of earth fell through most of the cracks.
*CRACK*
Jack heard a loud crack as the Seal forced itself off the ground creating a huge crater and pushing away dispelled air which raised a lot of dust.
*COUGH*
Jack covered his eyes with his elbow as the dust went passed him threatening to knock him off his feets, when the dust cleared the Seal was on it's feet, standing like any regular human, his height has increased and it was now 6 feet tall.
It eyes was now crimson red and it was staring at a distorting shadow with pure hate after sometime a human figure emerged from the shadow. it was a female wearing Academy military uniform..... It was Celine.
The Seal shook its body with so much force that it turned into a blur and its body dispelled dark shadow mist.
[ Shadow mist deactivated ]
Celine deactivated the shadow mist cause it will be a waste to keep the skill functioning, the creature is already capable of getting rid of it.
" Stay away from my darling "
*BANG*
The Seal sprung forward leaving a huge crater behind and shattering a sound barrier, it covered the distance between it and Celine in a blink and clawed at Celine but Celine turned into a shadow and it's claw went through Celine, the Seal gracefully spun around and dung it's claws into the ground to change it's momentum, it skidded across the ground as it claws turned hot red.
[ Transformation activated ]
[ True form ]
The white in Celine's eyes slowly started to fill with black and her teeth started to grow in size.
Her body would jolt itself up and down as if something was trying to break free, her nails grew larger and her skin turned deathly pale and started to form around her body even tighter. The features of her bones started to show more and her hair was falling from her head.
Two huge curved horns burned out of her head, her body increased height until her clothes tore apart, standing at exactly 2 feet she stared at the Seal with deep bottomless eyes of ethereal darkness.
[ Transformation has been Completed ]
The Seal stared at opposition new look then at it's right hand that went through Celine, it was leaking black blood... it's blood.
Celine raised her hand and waved at the Seal and_
*BANG*
*ROOOOAAAAR*
The Seal roared, there was a large explosion it sounded a lot like anti-matter bomb explosion, it's right hand exploded with a loud bang, So much blood was flowing out of the Seal.
The Seal's shadow distorted and shadow chains came out and bound it, holding it in place, the Seal kept struggling and some of the chains broke.
Celine gracefully approached the struggling Seal, she turned into a shadow and phased into it.
The shadow chains returned to being incorporeal shadows, life immediately left the Seal's eyes.... it collapsed.
Jack stared at the Seal from behind a pillar, he had been watching the battle from a distance so he doesn't get hurt during the clash.
He waited for sometime in silence... he did not know how long but he still hasn't seen Celine....The Seal was dead he could tell...but_
Dark shadows flowed out the Seal and a human figure emerged... Standing on top the Carcass of the Seal was a naked young lady covered in black blood....She is holding a black huge heart.
"Oh darling.... darling we won "
Celine eyes rolled backwards, as she fell off the body of the Seal...
Jack ran towards Celine, he could not let her die after all that... she saved him.... he was going to take her back to Sasha Grey maybe a healer would_
Jack felt the changes in the atmosphere he bent down in time and avoided a yellow lighting. The lighting travelled for miles before disappearing.
" You know everything was going according to plan... you bought the map.....I got a high quality camouflage spell.....Until the devil showed up and ruined everything"
Jack turned to the source of the voice, a young man with a frizzle cut, brown eyes, chiseled jawline and a noble appearance.
"Jonathan "
" You hurt my woman Jack "
" I .... what you talking about, I did nothing to Iris "
" Was it the devil "
" Don't you dare call her that "
For some reason Jack felt angry when Jonathan called Celine a devil.
" You saw it .... The academy has to know about the devil .... Well that's after I kill you "
Yellow lighting weaved around Jonathan's hands, he swung both hand and a huge lighting bolt surged forward, it was to fast for Jack to react... he disintegrated.... he died.
Jack saw a vast expanse of nothingness, Sparkles of vibrant energy began to flicker and dance in the black void, as if whispering secrets of creation. From this a cosmic thread of light emerged crackling with potential and infinite possibilities. Swirls of stardust and ethereal pattern intertwined, painting magnificent hues of blues, whites across the canvas of time.
Myriad spun like universe wheels, each with its own unique star systems, galaxies, planets, worlds and Beings of various shapes....he saw.... The recreation of an existence.
After some time he was in front of Jonathan and very much alive, Jonathan was weaving the same yellow lighting, he remembered what happened, it was like he saw the future, he powered his legs with a huge sum of his essence and ran sideways before Jonathan swung his hands forward, he avoided a huge bolt of yellow lighting by a hair's breadth... that's only what he thought.... Jonathan saw him teleport.
The earth and everything In a straight line disintegrated, leaving a huge scorched crater.
" I see you got a lot of tricks up your sleeve Jack "
" How about you survive my favourite skill "
Jonathan eyes turned bright glowing yellow and _
" ...Huh..?"
Jack was running towards Jonathan, he saw visions of a million possibilities and he died in all of them, it was just a split second to Jack it felt like many hours, he felt like his brain would melt, his only chance of survival was stopping Jack from using that skill and the strain on his brain.
Jonathan was distracted by Jack's actions... not Jack being suicidal by running towards him.... but the speed with which Jack covered the significant distance between them.
Jack crashed into Jonathan the impact made them both roll, they struggled but Jonathan easily overpowered Jack getting on top of him, he smiled as lighting encased his hands.
*******************************************
Jack has lost count of how many times he had seen... The recreation of an existence.... and how many times he had died, he had done everything to stop Jonathan from killing him but he kept dying..if his guess was right everything he saw the recreation of an existence it meant he died and after that time seem to return to the moment before his death.
Enraged Jack directed essence to his hands and attacked Jonathan's left eye.... When his hand was close a blade weave out of nothing and went through Jonathan's eye .... the lighting encasing Jonathan's hand vanished and Jonathan's body collapsed on his body.
He heard the voice of Heaven_
[ You have slain Master Jonathan Northwit ]
[ You have received 5 points ]
He stared at his hands as a silver blade disintegrated and turned into tiny petals of white light. He just killed a man and he don't know how.
[ Endless Extraction activated ]
[ You have received C_level body constitution ]
[ Body constitution remains the same ]
[ You have received a C_level rank talent lighting (elemental) ]
[ You new talent is Upgrading...]
[ Upgrade Successful ]
[ You have gained B_level rank talent lighting (elemental) ]
[ You have gained new skill F_level( Imagine ) ]
Jack stared at the runes then at Jonathan he didn't feel guilty or anything.. he just felt like he did the right thing.
Jack stared at Jonathan's body he doesn't look dead, he looks like he is asleep and the stabbed eye look perfectly fine.
Jack stood up and darted his eyes he couldn't see Celine but he saw the dead Seal, " looks like we covered some distance"
He increased his pace as he walked for some reason he felt lighter, when he got close to the Seal he saw a naked young lady lying lifeless she looks deathly pale, he picked her up and checked for a heartbeat but there was nothing only a cold body in his hands.... As he held her lifeless body in his arms, his heart broke with every beat, he felt extreme guilt, he felt responsible for her death.. he _
He felt a slight shudder from Celine's body, Celine's eyes fluttered open, revealing a vibrant shade of crimson red. Confusion and bewilderment clouded Gabriel's face as he could not comprehend what was happening.
Celine fangs elongated and with inhuman speed she bit Jack's neck. Jack let out an unrestricted blissful sound
" Ah "
As Celine's mouth locked onto his skin, a wave of pleasure he had never felt before coursed through his body. However, as his blood flowed into her mouth his instincts kicked in and he moved his hands and cupped her left breast.
Celine stoped sucking his blood and stared at him with a flushed face.
" Do you desire me darling? "
***************************************
In the corner of the dimly-lit Office, a man sat over a stack of digital books, his hands turning each page with care. His spectacles perched precariously on the tip of his nose, he squinted as he read, completely absorbed in his task.
The room was filled with the musty scent of an old armor hanging on a platform and silver bindings, and the only sound was the occasional rustle of digital pages as the old man flipped through yet another volume.
His face was lined with years of Battle, and his sparse white hair was combed neatly. He wore a faded tweed suit with elbow patches, and countless old badges that had seen better days.
As he sat there, lost in thought, his expression suddenly changed. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips turned down in a frown as his eyes turned grey as someone picked up on the other side of the WHs server.
" Hmm.. Fulcan"
" I must assume you already know what happened"
" You sound a little surprised Fulcan.... Seals are just dark seals that accepted their existence."
" This is not that region... you know what I'm saying ...why make it hard for me?.."
" Hmm you talk to me like I'm just one of the masters at the academy... Of course someone brought a seal to the academy citadel..... have you informed the master parent of his death..? "
" Yes.. but what do I do now?.."
" Nothing... I will be at the academy after the Earth's conference.... A Reader will investigate.
As the sun began to set and the library filled with shadows, the old man reluctantly closed his interface and stood up, stretching his stiff joints. He carefully replaced the tome on the shelf and made his way out of the Office, his mind already racing with the possibilities of what he could discover next.