Chapter 19: The Return (Part II)
Earth's Surface, Stonebrook City, Awakening Base
The Awakening Base in Stonebrook City had been a flurry of activity in recent days.
Since the third day of the Awakening trials, students had begun sporadically returning from the Arcane Realm.
Some students were fortunate, coming back in the same condition they'd entered—whole and unscathed. Others, however, returned battered and bruised, requiring the base staff to act as emergency medics to tend to their wounds.
Inside the command room of the Awakening Center, a spacious hall was filled with dozens of people.
Among them were base personnel, officers of the Federation's Stonebrook Garrison, and professors from the nearby university accompanied by their assistants.
At the front of the room, a massive screen displayed a detailed layout of the entire Awakening Center.
The command room's advanced monitoring system tracked every chamber. If any space detected the ripples of a returning spatial rift, the system would immediately alert them to the student's arrival.
"It seems we won't be getting any stable portals in Stonebrook this time," remarked a tall and muscular officer seated near the screen.
This was Captain Riker, the commanding officer of the local garrison force.
"Fixed portals aren't necessarily a blessing, Captain Riker," replied Mayor Harrington, a man clad in a fine suit. He had been stationed at the base to oversee the trials.
"You're not wrong," Riker said with a rueful chuckle.
Currently, Captain Riker commanded an entire company of Federation soldiers stationed at the Awakening Base. This force of over 300 men was formidable; every soldier was at the Apprentice rank, a baseline level of supernatural ability, while squad leaders and above had reached Iron-tier.
As for Captain Riker himself, his strength was at the Silver-tier, marking him as a powerful combatant among awakened individuals.
On Earth, stable spatial portals to the Arcane Realm were both a blessing and a curse.
The Awakening process typically teleported students to random locations within the Arcane Realm. Some were fortunate enough to land in safe areas, while others materialized in deadly environments—or worse, within the territory of hostile Arcane creatures or races.
Occasionally, a student's return could stabilize a portal into a permanent gateway between the two worlds. While such a portal could yield incredible opportunities, it was equally likely to bring catastrophic risks.
For example, some Arcane civilizations had the means to reverse-traverse these portals, launching invasions into Earth itself. With rituals of blood and slaughter, they could fuel their dark gods and amplify their own powers.
In the 300 years since Earth first connected to the Arcane Realm, such incursions had happened countless times.
The early decades were especially brutal, as humanity's reliance on conventional technology proved futile against the supernatural might of Arcane invaders.
Desperate, humanity turned to nuclear weapons, obliterating entire areas around unstable portals to stave off the threat. While effective, the collateral damage was immense, resulting in mutual devastation.
However, human ingenuity eventually prevailed. The invention of alchemical mana serums revolutionized the battlefield.
These serums granted ordinary soldiers Apprentice-tier abilities, albeit at a cost: their potential for further growth was permanently stunted.
Most of these soldiers were individuals who either failed their Awakening or chose not to attempt it. By consuming the serum, they gained supernatural resilience, enabling them to serve as defenders in Earth's Arcane bases.
This method, while limiting, dramatically bolstered humanity's strength. Even Apprentice-tier individuals were far superior to ordinary humans.
Combined with the rise of Iron-tier and Silver-tier combatants among military officers, humanity slowly turned the tide against Arcane invaders. Earth's armies began expanding their presence into the Arcane Realm itself, establishing fortified bases that doubled as sanctuaries and resource hubs.
The benefits of these Arcane bases were immense.
Earth's mana concentration was pitifully low, making training arduous and inefficient. In contrast, the Arcane Realm offered an environment rich in mana, ideal for cultivating power.
Moreover, Arcane bases served as staging grounds for expeditions, enabling hunters to acquire valuable magical materials. Some bases even established plantations for cultivating rare herbs and resources unique to the Arcane Realm.
The Role of Awakening Students
This was why Awakening students played such a critical role.
If a student inadvertently stabilized a safe portal upon their return, it could greatly benefit humanity. Conversely, if the portal connected to hostile territories, the stationed garrison would have to intervene immediately, holding the line against the first wave of enemies.
In the worst-case scenario, if the enemy forces were too overwhelming, the portal would have to be destroyed—no matter the cost.
As the radiant light of a spatial rift faded, a young man appeared in the once-empty Awakening Chamber.
Leon Grant had returned.
Surveying the room, he felt a rush of relief and elation, barely able to contain his emotions. The chamber, sterile and metallic, was both alien and comfortingly familiar.
Footsteps echoed outside the thick steel door, drawing Leon's attention. Through a small observation slit, he caught sight of two pairs of eyes watching him.
"Chamber 1078 reporting: student has returned safely. No injuries detected. No fixed portal observed," a soldier's voice crackled through a comm device.
"Understood. Proceed to decontamination and evaluation," came the response.
"Yes, sir."
Leon listened to the exchange, recognizing it as part of the standard protocol.
Returning students were subjected to rigorous checks. The Arcane Realm was unpredictable, and some students could unknowingly carry traces of its dangers—or worse, not return as themselves.
With a metallic groan, the heavy door swung open. Warm sunlight streamed into the dim chamber, bathing Leon in its light.
"Step forward," one of the soldiers instructed.
Leon complied, stepping out of the chamber and into the familiar air of Earth.
Expanded Insight: Post-Return Protocols
Leon was escorted to the decontamination room, where an array of scanning devices awaited him.
The purpose of these tests was twofold,To ensure that no parasitic Arcane entities had hitched a ride back with him. And to confirm that the returning individual was indeed the original and not some doppelgänger.
Once cleared, Leon would undergo a mandatory debriefing session, where he would share every detail of his time in the Arcane Realm.
For now, Leon simply breathed deeply, savoring the comforting familiarity of home.
"Welcome back, student," one of the officers said as they led him to the next stage.
Leon's journey in the Arcane Realm might be over, but his role in the larger battle between Earth and the Arcane forces had only just begun.