September 20, 3108
The days have settled into a routine with the sheer amount of theory taught to us in lessons on Aether Control and History. In these courses, we learned the fundamentals of how aether mechanisms function, the contributions of those who made groundbreaking discoveries in the development of martial arts and combat methods, as well as the most memorable figures in the wars of the nations.
Everything always starts because of greed.
Wars have always been sparked by the pursuit of resources. This pattern persisted on Avelion, where the three races—Humans, Elves, and Therianthropes—each claimed their own continent, rich in unique resources:
The Human continent is abundant in minerals, with its prized resource being mithril, a metal highly conductive to aether.
The Elven continent, though the smallest in size, is home to lush vegetation and the most aether-conductive wood known, Yggdrasil.
The Therianthrope continent, the largest of all, teems with diverse species prized for their meat, bones, skin and organs which have various effects and are even used for equipment. Many of its territories remain unexplored
The courses have brought noticeable progress. During duels with Nero and Liam, I've begun to reach a stable tempo where my attacks can materialize elemental effects. However, my attempts to adapt to a new fighting style have left me unable to secure a victory.
Archery courses are where I face the most difficulty. While I've made observable progress in using techniques and elemental manipulation separately, combining the two remains a persistent failure. I've tried altering my tempo to charge arrows with aether using various methods, but the results I seek continue to elude me.
The courses on Breathing Techniques have become more of an excuse for my time with Lia after class. My feelings for her only deepen with each passing day. Even when we're apart, thoughts of her surface unbidden, accompanied by the constant anticipation of the next time we'll meet.
Scout lessons, on the other hand, are complete chaos. Between completing missions on time and the hunt for points, the competition is fierce. Liam and I hold the top spots in both areas, with him securing first place by completing a mission in 30 minutes and 47 seconds—very close to the record. I followed in second place with a time of 31 minutes and 20 seconds. Despite our results, no one poses a real threat to me because only Liam (and possibly Luna) knows that Kail Vaylith is me because no one announced me publicly.
Luna's situation, however, is deteriorating. Each day, her reputation continues to decline due to her poor performance. She has yet to break into the top 10, and her frequent appearances in the hunter groups signal that she either fails to accumulate points or consistently loses them.
Astrel only worsened her reputation, one day during a theoretical lesson. When Luna approached him to discuss something, he struck her with such force that she fell to the ground. He then shouted and insulted her in front of the entire ManaArmis group.Only after he finished without giving her a glance back, he walked away, leaving her where she had fallen. None of his followers even acknowledged the incident. Luna, however, picked herself up and continued following them without a word.
After that incident, the number of whispers behind Luna's back multiplied considerably. Despite this, no one dared to say anything to her or Astrel directly, as both hailed from major clans where the disappearance of a person could be easily arranged without leaving a trace.
The members of Nero's group also chose not to intervene. To them, Luna remained their enemy, and they saw no reason to take sides in her plight. As for me, this situation had no connection to me, and I chose not to get involved either.
Returning to the present, I found myself once again in the forest zone. Today, however, was a special day—I had managed to accumulate 50 points. It was also the final day of the week I was supposed to keep them, and all I needed to do now was wait out the remaining time to secure my release.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. I had identified a safe area where I planned to stay hidden until the test ended. Theoretically, nothing extraordinary should have happened. Even though many of the participants had significantly improved their tracking and hiding skills during the course of the test, none had reached the level I was at now.
But everything changed when I spotted a group in the distance. There were about 20 people—10 walking in a row on the ground while the other 10 moved through the trees. They were heading straight in my direction, and at the center of their formation was someone I immediately recognized: Tim, fully armored and ready for confrontation.
I had no choice but to run. Staying in my position would have left me with almost no chance of escape once they reached me.
Without hesitation, I activated my armor and prepared to flee. At first, I didn't anticipate much difficulty—after all, they were still a considerable distance away, and with my speed, I felt confident I could evade them.
But as soon as I left my hiding spot, only five people broke away from the group to chase after me. The rest maintained their pace, continuing in the same direction. Those five, however, were fast—faster than I expected. At that moment, the distance between us began to shrink.
I realized I needed time to reach my peak performance with both my breathing and movement techniques. While these techniques did provide a significant boost to my speed, they required a gradual buildup. My pursuers, on the other hand, had Ignis constitutions. This meant they could achieve maximum performance the moment they activated their techniques, though their efficiency would eventually taper off after prolonged use.
With each passing meter, the gap between us narrowed. The aether within me began to circulate faster, and my speed increased incrementally. My movement technique started to form its own territory, allowing me to maneuver more fluidly and cover greater distances. Despite these advantages, it still wasn't enough—the distance between us continued to shrink.
By the time the gap between us was reduced to just 50 meters, separated by no more than three trees, my pursuers escalated their tactics. They began hurling projectiles at me—knives, bolts, stones, anything they could throw—to disrupt my path and force me to alter my course.
This tactic worked, even though the projectiles from my general direction didn't entirely hinder my movement. The need to weave slightly to avoid them disrupted my tempo, but I had already reached my peak speed. Slowly, the distance between us began to widen again—only for me to notice, in the distance ahead of me, another group of people heading toward me.
It became clear—they had divided into two main groups, intending to corner me in a pincer maneuver. Yet, I decided not to change direction. Instead, I charged directly at the group ahead of me.
This second group consisted of five individuals as well, and their speed was equally impressive. As soon as they realized I was running straight toward them, they closed ranks and drew out nets, preparing to trap me.
With every passing second, their silhouettes grew larger, more defined. Unlike the group behind me, this one didn't consist entirely of Ignis constitution users. It makes a mix, including Umbra and Ventus users. Recognizing my strategy, they began to slow down. At about 60 meters away, they came to a full stop, readying themselves to rush me when the moment was right.
"Just surrender! You've got no chance of escape!" one of them shouted.
I ignored the demand, keeping my pace. The distance between us shrank rapidly—50 meters, 40 meters, 30 meters, 20 meters. At just 10 meters away, they threw their nets simultaneously, forming a wall meant to completely block my path and seal my fate.
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4 ☆)
Second Stage: Illusionary Redirection
Suddenly, two silhouettes split off from me, each veering in opposite directions—one to the right and one to the left. They moved slower than my original speed, but that was intentional. I abruptly changed my trajectory, blending with one of the illusions.
"Split into two groups!" one of them commanded.
Two pursuers lunged toward the illusion on the right, while three went after the one on the left. As the two on the right closed in, the silhouette dissolved into the wind, vanishing completely.
This left the group on the left—the one with three people—now chasing me. Among them, two had Ignis armor activated, their fiery boosts propelling them closer to me. The third wore Ventus armor, which allowed him to maintain steady speed but kept him slightly behind the others.
I wasn't bothered. By now, my breathing technique had fully stabilized, and I was approaching my maximum speed. It was only a matter of seconds before I reached peak performance, ensuring no one could keep up with me.
One of the Ignis users suddenly hurled a chain scythe in my direction.
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4 ☆)
First Stage: Territory Formation
I sidestepped the weapon with ease, my movement technique letting me flow seamlessly through the air.
The second Ignis user followed up by throwing a knife aimed at my back.
I dodged again, the blade whizzing harmlessly past me.
Little by little, the distance between me and my pursuers began to increase. However, I noticed something unexpected—the boy with the Ventus armor, who had been trailing behind earlier, suddenly overtook the others and was now the closest to me. Even though the gap between us was growing steadily, he showed no signs of slowing down.
In his hands, he wielded two daggers, similar to Liam's. For a moment, he disappeared from my sight, and when he reappeared, he was in the corner of my vision—on the right, mid-air, with both daggers raised above his head, ready to strike.
I had seconds—no, milliseconds—to react. The territory wasn't fully formed yet. If I abruptly shifted my body position, inertia would send me tumbling to the ground. If I tried to block or deflect the attack, I'd risk losing points.
Time seemed to slow, and in that fleeting moment, my body moved on its own. The daggers, which should have slashed past my right side, were now just millimeters from me. Then, with a sharp motion, they plunged harmlessly into the ground behind me.
The territory finally formed, and my speed surged. The distance between me and my pursuers began to grow once more.
Did I slip?
The realization struck me. The ground I had stepped on was damp, likely from the morning dew. My center of gravity, usually steady, had shifted ever so slightly due to the unexpected attack. I began to fall, but the territory, now active, helped me regain balance in an instant, allowing me to continue running without losing momentum.
A vibration from my watch signaled the end of the lesson. Breathing heavily, I made my way back to the initial meeting area. I waited until the others had left, remaining behind with Liam. Once the area was clear, we headed to the warehouse where Mr. Michael usually stationed himself.
Liam had also accumulated 50 points, but he still needed two more days to complete the full week. As we entered the warehouse, we saw the teacher seated at his desk, surrounded by stacks of documents.
"Mr. Michael, I've completed one week," I said as I approached his desk.
The teacher nodded without looking up. "Yes, I know. From the first test, you're released with the maximum grade. In the hunt for points, you can no longer participate, and the remaining lesson time must be spent in dop-classes," he explained.
"Can I finish faster?" Liam asked, clearly eager to get through the week.
"You have two more days. Close them first, then do what you want but don't forget the missions," Mr. Michael replied curtly, his tone sharper than before.
"You're extremely boring, you know that?" Liam quipped with a smirk.
At this, a vein on the teacher's forehead visibly began to pulse.
"Get out of here!" he barked, his patience clearly at its limit.