Over Fifteen Years Ago. Planet: Roden [One Hour Before Destruction.] Erin had done something today. Something daring, something dangerous. She had stolen an elementary-level fire core from some dangerous people. They had wanted to rob her, she could see it in their eyes. And they did manage to steal a few Silver coins, and a few of her other belongings. And she had given them the taste of their own medicine. The problem was the fire core she had stolen from them was far-far more valuable than what they had stolen from her. It was a conduit for fire law that allowed mages like her to create and control fire to an extent. Erin scurried throughout her room, rummaging through her belongings. There wasn’t much, they weren’t exactly well off. She and her two-year-old brother—almost three—lived in a small wooden hut with a thatched roof. First, she pocketed the most precious of her possessions. An advanced-level wind core—her parents had left with her before going on a hunting mission.
“What do I do now?” Erin asked. She did not know what to do. She did not have anything left to live for. Besides, she was going to die, anyway. The extinction beam was coming for them. The black vortex in the sky was growing ever denser, ever larger. “There is nothing we can do. We can only wait for our inevitable death,” Rina said. “And since we are going to die, anyway. I might as well tell you my real name. Rina is the name of someone, a person I once could not save with all my power. My name is Victoria Hughes.” “You see, the name Hughes carries great weight in the world beyond. I cannot risk for them to learn my name. But as you can see, we are going to die. So it does not matter. We now have less than a minute.” “It was nice knowing you, Victoria.” “Was it?” The vampire woman said. “It was because of me that you did not even get to spend the last of your moment with your brother.” “Yes. However, at least I can die knowing that my brother is alive somewhere in the world beyo
How can someone collect so many cores? Granted, it was all collected by a massive organisation from what she could tell. Still, there were so many of them. Were there so many beasts in the world in the first place? And even if there were, why weren’t they extinct yet? She had seen many beasts in the forest back home. And if these organisations had killed so many of the beasts, why were there still so many alive? It did not make sense to Erin. “With this, we will create our own army,” Solarus said. “And we won’t even have a problem with supplies.” “You may be right, Solarus—but even with all this, we won’t have any ascenders in our ranks. At least, not many of them. You, of all people, should know how difficult it is to ascend.” “Yes, but there are still some unorthodox methods to ascend. So we will have a few ascenders given time.” “But not even ten percentage of people will survive such methods. How many will die?” “I will not force them, Victoria. You don’t have to be afraid. Ho
It has been two weeks since I arrived in this world, this universe. The universe itself is called the nexus by my master, and by the local people, apparently. I am not surprised by the name. This universe exists at the very centre of all creation. It was the first world, or rather universe, that came to life—among all the universes that exist now and will exist in the future. I have been living in hiding in this world. In a separate dimension. This world has many powerful beings, apparently, more powerful than I. It was something I had not expected.In my home world, I was the strongest in existence. No one could even come close to my power aside from my master, who is far stronger. However, I am the weakest in this world, the weakest among the ascenders, at least. I do not know the true meaning of ascenders. However, I will figure it out soon enough. I have already sent the man my master tasked to come along with me to explore the world outside and gather as much information as he cou
[Part 2: The Trainee]***Edwin sighed dejectedly.It had almost been half an hour since they left the Aether tribe’s camp. And the two women, Chris and Rina, who were walking right behind him—did not stop bickering. And bicker they did, about the stupidest of things. If this kept on, Edwin thought he would literally bleed from his ears. Who cares if you had one pimple or ten on your face? The pimples and freckles did not stop you from going about your life to enjoy it. People like his father did.‘Stupid women,’ Edwin thought, letting out another sigh that was more of a groan than anything else.Right now, the two women were discussing who had trimmed their nails better to make them look more regal and immaculate. Edwin almost vomited. They had only three days to prepare, and the women were talking about nails.Really, nails!Not Too long after Rina separated from the group explaining that she had to sell her core exchanging business before leaving for the Aether tribe, much to Edwin
Edwin’s sword rose and fell, decapitating a monster that looked like a cross between a lion and an eagle. The beast had a massive beak instead of a muzzle, and wings protruded from its back. Near him, Jimmy slumped into a tree trunk, painting. Chris was already defiling the monster to harvest the Beast Core. This was their thirteenth kill of the day. Even with all the preparation the three of them had done, it surprised Edwin how many monsters the three of them killed in a single day. If someone had told him that they could kill so many monsters in a single day, he would have laughed at the silly joke. “That went better than I expected,” Chris said. Edwin nodded in agreement. Chris sat next to Jimmy after harvesting the core. ‘Now, we have enough blood cores to help him advance.’ Edwin didn’t know if Jimmy advancing by a single realm could help him, but it was the only option they had. He knew learning to fight for a couple of months won’t be enough for Jimmy if he truly wanted t
The Blood Core before Londen shattered to dust, and he knew his prowess had increased once more, even if by a small margin. "Now that you have learned to listen to the Rhythms of Fate at will. You will need to get accustomed to Fate Shadows," Riot said. "Fate shadows?" Linden said. "You have never listened to fate in the presence of others, have you?" Lindon looked at Tim, who was standing at one of the corners of the room, still as a statue. "He doesn't count," Riot said. "That man never moves, so it doesn't help." "So what should I do then?" "You should go out and explore." Linden gave Riot a reproachful glance. The shameless spirit coughed twice before speaking again. "What I mean is you should go out to places filled with people and listen to the Rhythm of Fate. Then you will understand what the Fate Shadows are. You must get used to them before you go up against real opponents." "My progress would be much better if you did not talk such rot every time." Riot sniffed lou
The woman Tim came back with was someone at the peak of the Epic Realm and was also a vampire, preparing to advance to the Body Transition Realm. She walked into the room and bowed to Linden. "Someone at Elementary Realm challenging someone at the Epic Realm rarely happens. I hope I did not insult you with my action." Linden said. "It is not an insult, young master, but an honour to have an opportunity to duel with you. There are things you can learn, even from someone below your advancement level." "That is good to hear." Linden raised his sword. "Shall we begin then?" "Are there any rules?" She asked. He thought about it for a while and nodded. "No vital techniques." A vital technique enforced the body. And Blood Law was best at it. The woman already was two realms above his advancement. If she also used a vital technique, he would not stand a chance even with the help of Fate Shadows. Besides, he had yet to learn any Vital Cultivation Techniques. His Drogen had just unlocked a