Alister slid on the leather gloves, taking in a deep breath, filling his lungs, exhaling calmly.
"Alright, let's do this."
As his words left his lips, he stretched out his right hand and the magic circle beneath him shon intensely causing people around to step back as they shielded their eyes.
"What in the world is happening?"
"The circle... it's never reacted like that before!"
"Is that... What kind of monster is he summoning?"
The air was suddenly filled with raw magic power, gusts of wind began whipping into a frenzy as the circle reached its peak. Glowing tendrils of mana arced outwards, sending loose objects flying and stinging exposed skin.
While all this happened, a crack began to appear in the air above the circle. A rift-like portal emerged, revealing a vague glimpse of a cosmic expanse on the other side. Suddenly, a massive black creature with piercing red eyes appeared, gazing through the rift at the gathered humans. The eye was easily bigger than the tiny space ripped open.
Mummers started filling the air as many speculated what that was.
"is that a demon!?"
"The eye is massive!"
"It has to be some sort of boss monster!"
"Someone get the other union officials!"
The possibilities of what could own the eye filled the air, the sight of its sheer size sending a chill down the spine of everyone present.
Meanwhile, in a well-lit corner of the equipment store within the union building, Yanzi carefully examined a well crafted, midnight-blue chest plate.
Its surface shimmered with a faint magical aura, and high tire runes could be seen across its curvature.
"This one," she said, holding it up for Kai's inspection, "would complement my mobility style perfectly."
Kai, a tall, broad-shouldered, brown haired young man with an easy smile, leaned in closer, his warm green eyes sparkling with affection.
"Excellent choice. The dark metal complements your purple eyes quite well, enhancing your overall beauty."
He wasn't just charming; Kai was the second son of House Li, one of the seven major families that governed mega city I. His A-rank talent for spatial manipulation set him apart, a genius in his own right.
Unaware of the chaos Alister was unleashing elsewhere, they continued their equipment shopping spree.
"What about these gloves?"
Yanzi asked, her voice filled with excitement as she held up a pair of fingerless leather gloves with glowing blue runes.
"They seem to have some minor mana channeling properties."
Kai chuckled, taking one from her grasp and examining the intricate stitching.
"Indeed they do. Perfect for maximizing your talent usage efficiency. Though."
He teased with a playful look in his eyes, "perhaps your lighting manipulation talent is already powerful enough to paralyze anyone who gets too close, leaving them stuck in a trance as they gazed upon you."
Yanzi playfully swatted at his arm, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Always the charmer," she smiled. "But it never hurts to be prepared, right? Especially with the test raid coming up."
Both of them were members of the Red Phoenix guild. Unlike all the other guilds, the Red Phoenix guild put new recruits through highly ranked test raids, corresponding to their talent rank, under the watch of a supervisor to assess their capabilities.
Depending on their performance, they would either become official members or be kicked out immediately, regardless of their talent rank. So, they needed to get prepared.
Their laughter echoed through the store. Satisfied with the chest plate and gloves, Yanzi looked around the shelves once more.
"Hmm, maybe a pair of reinforced boots would be good too. You know, for all the stomping I'll be doing in the dungeon, we don't know tye type or terrain yet so better to come prepared."
Kai raised an eyebrow playfully. "Stomping? Sounds a bit barbaric, wouldn't you say?"
Yanzi stuck out her tongue at him, a playful look in her purple eyes.
"Just wait until you see me in action, then you will see how amazing I am."
After securing the reinforced boots, they browsed through a selection of enchanted pouches and gemstone amulets, finally settling on a pouch capable of holding extra mana potions and a beautiful amethyst amulet.
With their shopping bags filled with equipment, Yanzi stretched with a satisfied sigh. "Well, I think we're good to go!"
"Agreed," Kai replied, slinging his own bag over his shoulder. "Let's head out before this place gets any more crowded."
As they exited the equipment store, sounds of a commotion caught their ears. A crowd of people had gathered around the area of the union building, their voices raised as voices of confusion and excitement filled the air. A strange gust of wind, heavy with raw magical energy, ruffled their hair and sent a shiver down their spine.
"What in the world is going on?" Kai frowned, his brow furrowing in concern.
Yanzi shrugged, a look of curiosity in her eyes.
"Beats me, but it looks interesting. Maybe we should check it out?"
Kai hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, let's see what all the fuss is about. Just be careful, alright?"
Following the surge of energy and the growing din, they pushed through the crowd, finally arriving at the source of the commotion.
Before them, a massive pulsing summoning circle glowed intensly, the air crackling with raw magic.
Kai nudged a nearby student, his voice barely audible over the voices of the crowd.
"Excuse me, but what's happening here?"
The student, a wide-eyed boy with a shock of blonde hair, pointed towards the pulsating circle.
"Some genius from one of the academies is trying to summon something! I don't know what, but it looks scary!"
Yanzi's brow furrowed in confusion. "Summoning? This is a summoning!?" .
The wide-eyed student nodded frantically.
"Yeah! Some genius from the academies! They say he's a real prodigy, but this looks way out of his league!"
He pointed a finger towards the center of the swirling magic circle. "See? That's him over there!"
As Yanzi's turned her gaze towards where he pointed, here eyes widned in shock.
"Wait… isn't that…"