The academy beamed with a continuous flow of people. They were in different age groups, unlike normal academies out in the mundane planets.
Noah even saw someone older than Uncle Chen. Age was a mortal thing for runners since their life span increased with each tier.
They followed the influx of people to a large hall lit by dim yellow light. It was a circular podium with a huge diamond shining above their heads.
They walked to the space allowed for new runners, he constantly looking around in awe.
This was the first time he saw such a huge crowd of runners. Probably more than ten thousand.
Each single person here has talents above millions in the world. They carried pride and arrogance about it.
Most of them were in a facade of calm demeanor, hiding their arrogance, acting all mighty, but Noah could feel a tinge of nervousness from them.
He shook his head, sitting on his reserved seat with Luna. Some sights fell on them two but quickly moved away as more and more people arrived.
Boring, he glanced towards the seats of old runners of Zenith, different from the atmosphere in the newbie side, they all were almost casual, smiling and chatting.
He didn't see the arrogance of the stronger in them, more of the kindness of comradeship. Unlike what he saw on his planet.
This was eye-opening for him, and he also wondered the reason for it.
"Future…" Luna muttered near his ear, almost as if reading his mind.
"What?"
"Everyone selected into Zenith has their advantages that made them different from those not qualified.
No one knows what the future unfolds for them. Some may fall first place in the path, some may in the middle, and some may reach the end.
No one can predict the future. And that uncertainty is the reason for what we're seeing opposite…" she followed her gaze to the senior members of Zenith.
"Uncertainty of 'what if.'
What if the person sitting next to me becomes someone powerful I should look up to?
What if the person I offended becomes someone too powerful that may dread me?
What if the person smiled at me today and I avoided them in arrogance becomes someone I wanted help from?
That 'what if' made them like it. Unlike new runners like us, their 'perception' will surely be high, right?"
Noah nodded his head. Now looking at them again, what he saw wasn't like before. But a group of smart people intentionally weaving threads in the hopes of one day those threads could be used for manipulation.
He shivered, seeing a lady smiling at another lady. Now even that simple smile felt like a soul contract to him.
"But, sometimes that 'what if' will vary a little…" Luna smiled, looking at his conflicted expression.
"When something we called compassion came in between. Humans are social creatures, ah… *staring down at her palm* Noah…
We are inherently programmed to form social bonds. So in the ocean of facade, there will be a small island that we can truly call companions…
Someone even put their life on the line for us…"
"Luna, are you perhaps awakened some talents related to philosophy?" Noah wondered aloud, giving her a slight pat to which she awkwardly recoiled.
A smile appeared on her face as her light brown eyes narrowed, "You can say so. I like to read the past."
"The past is always interesting," Noah leaned on his chair, "but useless to know anyway, I look forward to the future."
His eyes burned with confidence.
"At least we can control it, right?" He said, turning to her.
"Yes…" Luna looked away from him to the group of people descending on the platform in the middle of the podium.
Her eyes became distant with a sigh escaping from her lips.
'Can control be a synonym of change? If I can change, then can I also control?'
Everyone in the venue watched the people descending towards the platform. They simply walked in the air as if invisible steps supported them.
"Tier 25 and above..." a newbie murmured in awe.
There were five major transformations for a normal runner until they reached Tier 50.
Tier 1: Awakening - This transformation shed one's mortal identity.
Tier 3: Base - A base formed in one's spirit during this transformation, and a runner's development was based on this foundation.
Tier 9: Strength
Tier 16: Prototype
Tier 25: Domain
And finally,
Tier 49: Path
Noah only knew that from Tier 25, a runner could fly with their domain. He clenched his fists in anticipation.
Flying...
His gaze swept to the leading man with trepidation. He had silver hair, just like Kaia. Clad in silver armor, his aura was so powerful that the sounds of the venue seemed to evaporate.
Adam Zenith, the Lord of Zenith.
Behind him were two men and a woman. One of the men was James Wander, whom Noah recognized.
The other man was quite old, with a white beard and a friendly smile.
If his guess was correct, this old man was the principal of the academy, a Tier 25
Ascendant.
The woman, however...
She wore a mask, her hair concealed beneath a black hood. The darkness emanating from her screamed her identity.
The Night Guardian, one of the Four Guardians, a Tier 50 Ascendant like Lord Zenith.
No one had ever seen her true appearance, and those who had never lived to tell the tale.
It was rumored that she revealed her face to her victims before killing them. Noah had read about many mysterious deaths linked to her presence.
She was marked as "don't mess with" in his mind. Suddenly, he felt a gaze upon him.
Raising his head, his eyes locked with a pair of scrutinizing eyes behind the mask.
To the horror of every newbie, the masked guardian turned towards them, then...
"Did she just wave at us?" a horrified cry sounded.
"Not to me."
"I'm sure your fucking green hat attracted her."
"No way!"
Panic erupted around him. But everything seemed to slow down in his eyes.
Something stirred within him, the instinct of an apex predator that had just been challenged.
That feeling quickly faded, but his heart still pounded with panic.
"U-um, what happened to you?" Luna tugged his sleeve, her eyes flashing silver as she glanced towards the platform.
"Nothing..." Noah shook his head, watching Lord Zenith begin to speak.