"I'm not gay." Aiden said.
Malakai blinked twice then nodded his head in contempt as the three of them stood up and returned to their dorms.
…
"What happened to me yesterday?" Dan pondered as he recalled his encounter with the assassins from the party. Stephan thrust the dagger into his heart region, and energy from the dagger flowed from his heart to every part of his body, altering the appearance of his energy core. His energy core became more turgid and dark and let out a faint glow. "My energy core was not glowing before." Dan became even more disturbed; "What the hell did that mysterious dagger do to me?" Dan hit his desk and memories of the conversation he had with Stephan before he daggered him started coming back.
"...That Useless energy of yours is going to kill you anyway"
"...the bosses want you dead"
"... Now die!!!"
"He was so excited to kill me," Dan thought, "was it because of the bosses or he was just a maniac"
"...the bosses want you dead"
"Why do the bosses want me dead?" Dan questioned himself. "Who are the bosses?" Dan was lost in his thoughts as he clenched his fist and swore to find out who sent elite assassins to kill him.
Dan was perturbed by the mysterious dagger and how he was able to emit acid from his body after being daggered and unconscious for 10 seconds. He opened his laptop and searched for all kinds of mysterious daggers until he came across the one used by Stephan.
Item: Venomblade
type: Mysterious daggers
grade: Low level
Description: The Venomblade is formed by ancient alchemical rituals and imbued with the essence of deadly serpents. The Low-grade level Venomblades are capable of killing a warrior who just broke through to the intermediate warrior level.
Dan was shocked upon reading the details of the mysterious dagger that was used on him. He was still unable to find any information explaining why his body secreted acids capable of corroding Intermediate warriors. However, his energy core continued to experience a great surge of powerful energies throughout the day.
"As an Alchemical soldier, you're a god. You're capable of creating anything, even as far as taming powerful beasts with your potions" Instructor Paris said as he stood before the group of 23 Alchemy freshmen. He had a monstrous look and scars all over his body. He wore a dark shade, giving him the appearance of one of those terrifying Instructors. The elite students remained very silent, as they dared not provoke this mysterious man.
"Alchemists are one of the invisible warriors in the universe, because of the boundless powers and fit they could attain. Your major power as an Alchemist is your potions, for you to make potent potions, you need to train your Mental Capacity and improve your energy cores. Every elite student develops a special ability at different stages of their cultivation. Most of these special abilities will be unlocked during times of crisis or when you're in the wilderness for your first three months of hellish training. Some mystical items can trigger your special ability, but such items are very rare, and the university will only reward you with one after completing a very dangerous mission or contributing greatly to the university."
"Could it be that, that acid secretion was my special ability?" Dan murmured to himself.
"There are times when your potions may fail you, so the need to train your martial skills comes into play. For this semester, you will not be taught how to make potions. You will have to depend solely on your martial skills during your training in the wilderness. Luck may shine on you if you're able to unlock a special ability. The death rate in this first mission exceeds 60%."
Everyone gasped as Instructor Paris said that.
"Some of you will turn into beasts, some will die, and some will go insane." Instructor Paris continued instilling fear in them. All 23 Alchemists were silent as they listened intently to what instructor Paris was saying.
"Today we will focus on your martial skills, as that will be primary power against the beast, in this your first mission." Instructor Paris adjusted his glasses "In the coming days, you will be sparring with other elite students to test your martial skills. The student who emerged as #1 will be given a gift by the VC"
As for the rest of you venturing into the wilderness, the school will give you a smartwatch, which establishes a connection with you and the base and provides support in case of danger. Always remember to press the red button to call for help, the moment you tap on the red button a signal is sent to the base to show that you're in danger with your exact location. So I must say, that is an important tool you should never forget to use in life-threatening situations.
At the Symphonists' training ground, Instructor Eldora explained all the basics the freshmen needed to know as beginner-level Symphonists. They all stood there and listened with rapt attention.
"As beginner-level Symphonists, there are certain skills you need to master," Instructor Eldora said calmly as she placed her hands on her heart "It is already in you." Instructor Eldora remained quiet for a while as she observed the determined eyes of every student standing before her.
"Did any of you hear something in your consciousness?"
"Yes!" They all replied, "Telepathy."
Many of them were shocked to see that they all said the same word in unison.
"How is that possible?" Some students whispered
Instructor Eldora chuckled, "That was my consciousness communicating with yours, It is called Telepathy."
Symphonists are not just known for the beautiful melodies they produce that transcend time and cause havoc when harnessed with power energies, but also for the skills they inherited from the Goddess of Symphony - The Mermaids. Which were half humans, and half fish.
Mermaids were powerful Symphonists capable of easily reaching the Teleportation stage compared to human Symphonists. Mermaids were born with an in-depth understanding of harmonious combinations of mystical elements, making them able to become one with the universe faster than humans.
While the controllers carried the tornado mark on their left arm, The Symphonists had the wave symbol, signifying their origin and distinctiveness from the controllers.
The controllers and Symphonists rarely engaged in close combat, so the instructors assigned to this group did not focus much on Martial skills.
At the Healers' camp, the scent of the White Lotus flower gave off a relaxing feeling as every student learned how to trigger their white lotus flower from within and emit healing energies in the surrounding area to heal every team member on the battlefield.
Instructor Balablu explained to them that the range at which their white lotus flower can reach depends on their energy core. The white lotus flower can function as a Healer plant and an attack plant at the same time. While the white Lotus flower could heal its master and master's comrades, it could also drain the energy of the enemies making them die due to lack of energy.
"As a Healer, the only way you stand a chance on the battlefield is by increasing your domain. Meaning you need to train and increase your energy core levels." Instructor Balablu said with a straight face.
"How can we increase our energy core level, since we are no longer in the Talisman Tower" Aiden asked innocently.
Instructor Balablu's gaze landed on Aiden causing a cold shiver to run down Aiden's spine. "You must be the boy Instructor Feng told me about."
"I'm sorry sir," He quickly said.
"Don't be sorry, it's actually a good question." Instructor Balablu continued. "When you were at the Talisman Tower, you depended on the Talisman Tree to grow your energy cores, But here in the Healer's Fortress our students go to the Healing Streams which are more effective than the Talisman Tree created by a Genetic Guardian." Instructor Balablu paused as his eyes showed a little pride. "The Talisman Tree taps into the energy of dead warriors buried in the Talisman Tower and emanates it, allowing you to absorb it through deep concentration. Though it is good, it is a far cry from our Healing Streams."
Healers, Controllers, Alchemists, Genetic Guardians, and Symphonists can all grow their energy cores using the Healing Streams. However, the streams work faster for the Healers. When a Healer goes to the Healing Stream, he triggers his white lotus flower and it absorbs the energy of the stream making the flower grow and become wider. The amount of energy a student can absorb into his energy core depends on their concentration level. Hence all elite students worked to improve their concentration levels and absorb higher amounts of energy to improve their energy cores and become powerful warriors.
Many regarded the white lotus flower as a useless mutant plant, believing it could only drain and replenish. Thus, the Healers who could trigger these mutants were seen as the weakest among the elite students.
The five departments in the elite faculty were involved in a series of training that week. Helping the students to master their awakened skills, grow their energy cores, and prepare for the upcoming Duels.
After a week of intensive departmental training sessions, the Battle Lab released the matches containing the opponents that each student will get to spar with at every stage of the Duels.
Stage 1
Malakai Bukai - Jehoshaphat Newland
Saint Aiden - Mendeleev Mosley
Jack Daniel - Mike Lawrence
Jezebel Delilah - Franklin Mbanwusi
…
A long list of the battle stakes was displayed on the large screen outside the battle lab. On the day the list was released, all the freshmen quickly checked who they would be facing off with, in the first stage.
"Fuck! I can't believe they spared me with that lunatic"
"No!!!"
Many students expressed their uneasiness upon seeing their Duel partners for the first stage. The Duels that caught the majority of the elite faculty's attention were those of Malakai and Jezebel. The two Ultra Elite students. The elites discussed amongst themselves how unlucky those who would be battling the Ultra Elite students in the first stage were.
As Dan, Malakai, and Aiden stood there, looking at their Duel
opponents, a group of young elite students walked towards them and offered handshakes.
"Hey, I'm Mike Lawrence…"