Chapter 7: Picking A Fight.
After some dos and don'ts and some more blah, blah, blah, the debriefing soon came to an end.
"Oh, lest I forget. Your ranks come with more privileges this time. Ranks 1 to 20 get a 10% discount, 21-36 get a 5% discount and 37-45 get a 2% discount when purchasing a gene symbiote." He smiled to the students, successfully the fires of rivalry in their hearts.
Ah! Igniting the flames of chaos. Such a noble effort. I think I should be given an award! He thought narcissistically.
"Good luck to you all. You're going to need it. More than you've ever expected." The man said mysteriously as he prepared to leave the hall.
"Wait! You said that there are..." Zayn tried to ask another question but was duly interrupted by the man.
"My work is done here. You want more information, you earn it. Don't bother me with questions." The man's silhouette gradually disappeared from their vision.
"Seems like you annoyed Mr Ted. Were you doing that on purpose?" Kai smiled.
"Nah. Just curious." Zayn yawned.
"Uh-huh." Kai clearly didn't believe what he was saying.
"Seems like these guys are pretty heated. One of them is going to challenge you soon." Zayn remarked.
"You're one to talk. My rank is 5. Yours is 10. I'm pretty sure you'll have more of a challenge than I. Are you ready to get your ass kicked?" Kai laughed.
"Well. We'll just have to see about that." Zayn smiled.
"The debriefing is over. Let's go." Lynn stood up from his seat, with the other two following closely behind him.
As the trio, walked out of the hall, a loud voice was heard.
"Stop!"
The three didn't bother too much about it and just kept on walking. They didn't think anyone would have the guts to challenge them, no matter what they said amongst themselves.
"I said stop you bastard!" This time, they clearly felt that the voice was talking to them and were surprised. Right now? They haven't even left the hall and a fool had brought himself to their doorstep? No matter. An example would be made out of him soon.
The three of them turned to look at a blue haired boy with green eyes that glimmered like emeralds. He was quite handsome, and the arrogant look on his face gave him an aura of wildness. Three boys followed behind him, each with an emerald coloured armband with a lion imprint on their left arms.
Zayn asked lazily. "Are you speaking to one of us, by any chance?"
"Of course I was speaking to you, you idiot! How dare you make me raise my voice?" The boy arrogantly spoke.
The three of them looked at each other and laughed, making the blue haired boy even angrier.
"Look kid, I know that the division ranks have been reset, and looking at you, I can guess that you were in another division last year and you probably don't know anything about us, yet you stupidly came to challenge us. I'm really after your best interest here. Do yourself a favor and walk away. We promise not to get back at you." Kai said with a fake compassionate smile, making Zayn hold in a laugh. This guy...so hypocritical!
"How dare you call me stupid! I challenge you to a fight!"
"Me?" Kai asked with a grin.
"Not you bastard. Him." The boy pointed at Zayn.
"Hold up. What? You're challenging him?" Kai asked with fake shock as he looked at Zayn with a grin.
"He is the lowest in rank among the three of you, and my guy here says that he's not even at the Beta level. So I think my chances are pretty high." The boy said, pointing at a slightly shorter guy behind him as some of the students looked at Zayn in curiousity and slight shock.
After humans discovered the significance of genetic evolution and overcoming the limits of their human genes, they made many discoveries. One of which was, by training and increasing the upper limit of their genetic energy, they could theoretically, grow infinitely stronger and stronger. This energy was quantified in Strauss, named after the first EsGen.
The known energy levels were divided into Delta, Gamma, Beta, Alpha and Omega with each level having a sublevel of 11; 0 to XI. Zayn was currently at Gamma level XI, a step away from the Beta level. This was a relatively strong power level among the Sixth-Years. The weakest in the room was at the Gamma level V.
Normally, most Espers could not sense the energy signatures of other Espers, especially if they didn't not release their genetic energy whenever they used their powers, but Espers with energy sensing abilities could detect and measure the energy from other Espers, making them a rare resource. It was hard to think that one with such ability would willingly be a lackey for another.
Zayn didn't not bother with them and directly declined. He would not waste his time on weaklings anyway.
"Not interested." Zayn took a few steps forward, away from the boy.
"Ha! I knew you were a coward! They call you the leader of Team Black, instead all I see is a weakling hiding behind the backs of his friends!" The boy shouted. Pretty much everyone's eyes turned towards Zayn, gauging his reaction.
'Trying to bait me? Dream on!' Zayn continued walking away.
"You see that? A scared little puppy, running away from a fight! Anyone could have what you have if they had a powerful set of lackeys like you do! Ha!" The boy taunted.
"Why you little..." Kai's eyebrows twitched violently. How dare this little bastard call him a lackey?!
Lynn's cold eye became even colder.
Just as Kai was about to make a move on the guy, a hand patted his shoulder heavily. Kai was shocked to discover that he couldn't even move a muscle! How? He turned to look at Zayn who held his shoulder with a cold look on his face. Wasn't he supposed to be the stronger one?
Zayn walked towards the boy, his feet making heavy steps on the floor. Some of the students looked at the blue haired boy with pity.
Sigh, another one...is going to made into a lesson. Out of everyone in the room, this guy provoked that monster. Well, it's none of our business anyway. We'd better get ready for the show.
Zayn stood before the boy, "You've gotten my attention. You're going to regret it."
"Uh-oh." Kai groaned. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. Zayn finally got serious. Everytime this happened, bad things happened.
"Cut the crap. I'mma kick your ass soon enough." The boy glanced at Zayn with a crazy look.
"What's your name?" Zayn asked a question that totally threw the boy off guard.
"Huh? You wanna know my name? It's Ronaldo Rodriguez. Remember it, dog." The boy's was very condescending.
"Hmm. Nice name. They might need to carve it out on your tombstone." Zayn remarked casually, sending chills down some of the students' spines.
How can he talk about killing so casually? And does he really dare to kill a student? Here, in the school?
"Huh? Kill me? A weakling like you? Enough talk. Let's settle it out in the Arena, where I take your rank and put you in your place!" The boy laughed menacingly.
"This guy...he really doesn't know what is good for him, does he?" Kai remarked with stretching his shoulder.
Lynn shook his head.
"Alright then. Fine with me." Zayn casually waved his hand.
In the school, there was a large stadium like arena where students came to spar and settle their conflicts through battle. Injuries were allowed, as long as someone did not murder another. Either intentionally or not, killing a fellow student came with a severe punishment, ranging from expulsion and incarceration to death. So most of the students didn't take Zayn's words seriously. But they still viewed him as a huge threat.
In a field about the size of a football pitch, two figures could be seen facing each other. Zayn had changed into a pure black windbreaker and a metal mask that covered his nose and mouth. His dark cold eyes gleamed.
Ronaldo had changed into a gold colored battle outfit and held a huge spear in his right hand. Coupled with a large metal helmet connected with a bright red tassel, he looked like a Divine general, drawing people's eyes towards his figure.
The news of their fight had attracted the attention of the while school. Some of the students pushed each other, trying to get a seat in the arena.
Two seniors fighting! And one of them was the famed "Asura" of Team Black! Who wouldn't want to watch it?
Whether it was by fate or by chance, the junior female from before sat beside Lynn and Kai as they watched their friend fight against a fellow student after such a long time...
[Ethereal Seed Assimilation...]
«Progress level: 2%»
Chapter 8: Murderous Impulse State"He's really cool isn't he?" Stars shone in the girl's eyes as she looked at Zayn's appearance."I see you're a fan. You wanna know something?" Kai looked at the girl.I am clearly the more handsome one, but why do all the girls fall for him? He thought with a tinge of jealousy.This is payback. I'mma steal this girl from you. Yeah. Kai smiled."What? What?" The girl eagerly approached Kai, but soon blushed red in embarrassment. What was wrong with her today? I need to calm my head down. She thought."I was the one that designed the outfit. The mask was all him though." Kai said mysteriously."Really? So cool! Wait! You're Kai? And he's Lynn? OMG! I can't believe I'm sitting beside you guys!" The girl smiled."Nah. Don't worry about it. We're very cool people." Kai said with a laugh."But why is that guy challenging Zayn if Zayn is that strong?" She asked curiously."You wanna know? But don't tell anyone ok? It's a very mysterious super secret!" Kai
Chapter 9: Beatdown"But why are you telling me this?" Lea asked Kai timidly."Don't worry about it. Pretty much everyone in our class knows, or... those that have been with Zayn at least." Kai smiled.'They don't know everything though. Think of it as doing you a favor.' Kai thought wryly."Oh. Ok then." She said somewhat disappointedly.The students were in an uproar. They looked at the bright spear which floated in the air and landed on Ronaldo's hand in shock. "Oh my God! Did he just release his genetic energy and imbue it into his weapon? Yeah, he may be a Beta, but isn't that like...too soon? What Energy Training Technique does he practice anyway?""I dunno. But that move was freaking cool! The machine had no time to react before the spear just busted its head up!"Similar discussions could be heard amongst the students as they excitedly discussed the fight."But I think he made that other guy very angry." A voice said as everyone turned to look at Zayn, who was clad in a black
Chapter 10: Dark Angel 'What? Where...am...I?' 'I think...I was fighting against that guy...and then...' 'All of a sudden, I couldn't feel anything.' 'Am I dead? It...does seem like it.' 'Then?...what is that light I see?' 'Is that...what they call the afterlife?' 'Heaven?' 'Who...what...am...I? Ahh!' I could feel my eyes open, a slight pain stinging them from the effects of the bright light that shone in front of me. Was that the sun? I didn't know. When my eyes fully opened, I could see a man, or was it a boy? Standing, right in front of me, with a windbreaker draped over his shoulder, and his hair tied into a bun. He had a frighteningly evil look on his face that scared me to the bone. My neck hurt from the way he choked me with his hands. I tried to struggle, but I felt so weak I couldn't do anything. All of a sudden, I could remember... It was him! It was he that put me in this state! How dare he do this to me! I'll kill him! I'll fucking kill him! I tried to
Chapter 11: Obelisk "Hold up! Are you serious?" Kai inquired with surprise on his face. Zayn nodded. After all, this was no joke. Electrode was a powerful human who had the ability to control lightning. It was said that after he trained his ability to the level above V, he broke through the limits of the Omega level and gained another ability; one that enabled him to possess nearly infinite energy. In the war against the Crimson Star Dynasty, he was badly injured. He disappeared and was never seen since. It was baffling that Zayn had gotten the location of his heart. "Where did you even get this information? And is this even a heart?" Kai looked at the image with awe. The crystal in the image shone resplendently as the sparks of lightning revolved around it like planets around a star. "Yep. It's a heart. After Electrode's death, the ambient energies in his body were drawn to his heart, crystallizing it. For years, it has continuously been absorbing energy from the Earth, and this t
Chapter 12: Ruin The eagle sharply landed a few meters away from the obelisk. Walking towards a gate like passage, the three young men gradually stood before a stone slab with some vague writings on it. "Can you read this? Try and see if you can memorize it." Zayn looked at the writings strangely. I seem to recognize a bit of this language. He reasoned. After about 1 minute, Zayn handed a piece of paper to Kai, who fiercely scribbled on it. The paper was soon covered in the exact same writings engraved on the tablet. Scanning the writings and cross referencing them with his database, Zayn quickly made quick work of it. "You still use paper? So old fashioned." Kai smirked. Zayn paid him no heed and directly spoke, "Got it. I remember where I'd seen this before! Let's move." "But what about those guys? They already went in! Aren't we looking for the same thing?" Lynn pried. "Even if we are, they're probably going the wrong way." Zayn assured. Taking out a triangular stone
Chapter 13: Electrode's Heart! After navigating through the dark passage and narrowly avoiding some insidious traps placed by God-knows-who, the three boys soon found themselves in a large room with a statue of a man holding a huge axe in his right hand, and a bright glowing octahedral crystal in his left. "Electrode's heart! This is going to be a piece of cake—" Before his happiness could get to the three boys, they soon found out that they were not the only ones in the room. "Oh shit. Really? Is this some kind of sick plot or something?" Zayn moaned. There they were, the seven figures they met earlier, standing in a corner of the room. Well, one of them was trying to reach for the shiny golden axe about twenty meters above their heads. Leaping up to grab ahold of the axe, a lean man with short spiky black hair with traces of white streaks on it swiped the axe off the statue. "I don't know why you were so cautious. This was easy." Handing the axe over to the purple clad man, t
Chapter 14: Kai's Rage, Zayn's Decision A dark aura covered every part of the man's body as a wicked smirk appeared on his face. Two barbed horns jutted out of his forehead as his ears grew as long and pointy as an elf's. His eyes took on a dark shade of red; and from his back grew two enormous bat wings. His whole body turned a pale shade of white, with black markings spread all over it. His fingers gradually elongated into claws as did his legs. From his rear, a wicked looking nine feet long tail could be seen. With a dark smirk on his face, he looked absolutely menacing. "What's wrong? Have you lost your confidence?" He demanded evilly. Vrrr! The sound of air vibrating could be heard as the monstrous looking demon like creature disappeared from their vision. Swish! The three boys quickly ducked, hurriedly avoiding the sharp muscular tail that whipped fiercely at them. The tail swiped forward like a weapon of death, narrowly missing the boys' heads. Zayn grabbed his head w
Chapter 15: History "Wha— where am I? What is this place?" Zayn looked around the dark space with confusion. The place was totally devoid of light, with an endless darkness that seemed to devour everything. Fumbling around in the dark place, Zayn found that he could no longer access his ability, nor even use an ounce of genetic energy. He felt that this was all a dream to him, like he was in this place; and yet he was not. Like some sort of... "Astral Projection. That's what's on your mind right?" An old voice stated. "Well, if you did think that, you would be right. You see...I have brought your consciousness into my inner world. My world of dreams." An old man, with a head full of white hair tied up in an elegant ponytail; and a face covered in wrinkles slowly appeared in front of Zayn. He looked scrawny, and seemed to be at least in his eighties. His black robe snugly and comfortably fit his body like a glove. His eyes were hidden behind all the wrinkles, but he gave off a fee