~ Training Facility, in a spare storage room ~
Vasil found himself in a strange room, populated by men in white lab coats.
The room itself was decorated by many strange-looking devices, Vasil had no idea what they did, and hopefully he would never get to finding out. Any kind of intricate detail that the room could've had, had been mostly snuffed out by complicated machinery beyond Vasil's understanding.
As he continued observing the room, another man entered. He was dressed in an elegant and formal attire, more formal than the others. He carried a dignified air to him, allowing nobody to underestimate him.
His robes fluttered slightly, although there was no wind. Vasil swore he saw faint symbols moving across it, almost like a slithering snake.
Huh. That's something you don't see every day.
The same man approached him, and Vasil felt tense.
After all, his situation was quite.. peculiar. It was something never seen before. Nobody had a chance of awakening that high, no matter how pure blooded they were born. The highest anyone had seen was an awakening chance of 90%. Nothing higher.
The robes on the man fluttered once again as he approached Vasil, this time more violently.
The man extended his hand and the almost invisible symbols on his robe became visible and glowed.
At first, it was a gentle glow, then slightly more erratic, more explosive.. as if trying to interact with reality and change it.
The symbols that radiated pale light slowly began to slither around the robe, eventually escaping its confines,.
The floating symbols gathered at a single point, their light becoming brighter by the second. The symbols then began to form into the vague figure of a chair.. the symbols grew brighter just for a second before dimming down completely, revealing a now physical chair at the place of the fluttering symbols.
If one observed closely enough, the sight of nearly invisible symbols traversing empty space, hurrying to get back to the once lively robe. The symbols deftly flowed neatly into the robe, finding their home once again.
This entire exchange took no more than half a second, there were a lot of intricate details Vasil had missed observing the weird nature of the mystical robe.
While Vasil was lost in thought, the man spoke.
"..I have heard of your situation. Don't worry, I am here to simply help you through the process and make it easier for you. Since you're not like the normal students here, many of our sponsors and.. other prying eyes have already learned of your unique disposition, and they are willing to walk more than a mile to have a good look at you."
"I am here to simply calm your worries. For now, you are bound by the academy. Well, as long as you are just a nestling, that is."
Vasil only nodded. He knew what was going on, after all his... family were part of the "sponsors" this facility had. He knew the entire process.
This talk seemed to bore him, however, he didn't let it show on his face.
"However, before we continue, we would like to examine your body further. I believe you should be able to faintly see.. colors floating around, yes? After all, the higher the chances of awakening, the more you're able to see what an awakened person sees."
Vasil calmly listened to the man and nodded as he spoke, he then proceeded to look around him. He saw different floating motes, ranging from a myriad of colors, although they were a bit transparent. They looked very vivid, giving off a cunning illusion. If Vasil didn't know better, he would have thought that they might as well have been solid.
When he observed them approaching other physical items, they showed no resistance, simply allowing the motes to phase through them, as if apart of another plane of existence.
Vasil gave the man a quick and informative response.
"Yes, I can see them. They look very vivid. Although, they are slightly see-through."
The man nodded, then spoke.
"Alright. Please refrain from touching them. If you assume any physical contact with them while unawakened, there may be severe backlash, along with the chance of crippling you heavily, causing you to awaken prematurely, wielding a defective power."
Vasil shuddered slightly, even though he knew the consequences of touching one, the string of curiosity was always there, tugging at his mind to grasp one. The feeling wasn't massive or controlling, but it was always there.
Almost as if the motes themselves were drawing him in, a meticulous and manipulative attempt at destroying his body.
Vasil looked over to the man, who was preparing a few tools to examine his body. He noticed a syringe and a strange liquid next to it.
He felt slightly irritated, was he really going to let them do this to his own body? Who permitted them to test on his body? He certainly didn't.
But what could he do against these people? He had a feeling each of them were tremendously strong, and he hadn't even been able to grasp his own ability yet.
He simply couldn't defy them. They would find a way to get what they want done one way or the other.
The man spoke once again, this time trying to start a more casual and relaxed conversation.
"I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Ulnar. Just Ulnar. You don't have to introduce yourself though, I already know your name."
"Say, Vasil.. What do you aim to achieve in our academy? You must have a few goals here, other than well, obviously cultivating your abilities."
..To put it simply, I want you dead.
"I wish to participate in Dungeon Dives and assist in the long-term commitment of expanding our influence across other nations.. and planets."
Ulnar nodded, allowing a slight smile to show on his face.
"Good, I'm happy to hear that. I hope you accomplish a lot of things here."
A group of people entered the room after that, and they almost all swarmed Vasil.
Ulnar left the room, allowing them to do their machinations.
A woman with strange eyes and a plus symbol on her armband approached him with a syringe, the way she spoke did not sound too much like a human. It was a voice that would send shivers to even the most stoic of men.
"May you please stick out your hand, we will be taking a few samples of your blood. Don't worry, it won't hurt too much."
Vasil responded in a reserved manner, nobody could blame his behavior, though.
"..Sure."
As the needle drew closer, Vasil thought he shouldn't trouble the "nurses" any longer, and instead, he just let them take over completely. It looked like he was going to have to gulp this one down.
***
Where.. am I?
Vasil found himself floating in an unfamiliar void, its edges neverending and extending for miles upon miles, he didn't believe there was an end to this void.
After Vasil sobered up, he quickly analyzed his surroundings.He slowly discovered that for all he knew, he was only merely a pair of eyes that had somehow found their way into a boundless void. The void itself was no darkness, but a void of real nothingness. Truly no matter existed here.
It was.. strangely comforting here. He didn't need to care about anything or anyone.
The sweet and intoxicating nothingness of the void filled him with a warm sensation, which clung to the only semblance of life in this domain.
His soul.
He thought thoughts, but he also didn't. He felt like he was moving, but was he really?
Whatever it was, he didn't care. It was nice here, he would rather stay in the embrace of nothingness.
However, all good things must come to an end. The void slowly faded and mountains made their way into the scene, primitive buildings rose and people faded into the picture.
Vasil almost thought that he was lucid dreaming, but he knew that there was more to it.
His now sobered-up mind was quick to react, searching his memories for an answer. Without much surprise, he sighed.. or at least he thought he did.
He was in a simulation.
Have they really put me here to find out the deepest secrets of my mind as well? Have they no shame?
As the scene changed rapidly, the weather began to change as well. From ominous clouds to dangerous thunderstorms to strong blizzards.. then the scene settled to a nice view, the sky was without a single cloud and the sun shined uncontested.
Soon, his body materialized into the scene. It started from his head, then down to his torso.
The process of his body forming was painfully slow, most likely because of the complex organs, especially his brain. Humans had quite intricate designs.
As his body fully formed, he looked around in his human body, his eyesight once again limited by human limits.
It was a depressing thing, to say the least. Vasil believed in freedom, but he believed that freedom could only be achieved once he was relieved of his mortal body. Surpassing all mortal capabilities.
He sighed, as a hologram appeared next to him. He proceeded to read it without much thought.
[Welcome to Renaha Village. To exit the simulation, you must solve the issue of the village.]
Another pop-up appeared, below the first one.
[You must find the problem yourself. How you do is all up to you. Use all the tricks in your possession.]
Well. Time to figure out what the fuck is going on here.
If Vasil was slightly irritated before, he was truly angered now. Not only had they made him go through all that unnecessary testing, they've also snuck him into a damn simulation?
These ones will die first.
Vasil cracked his neck, and then began to walk towards the village. To the outside world, it was unknown whether his intentions were good or evil.
What kind of terror he would unleash?