The group then walked while on the path towards the rendezvous point. Sable didn't want any of the students running. He himself, truthfully, just wanted everything to be a chill day—especially after basically losing half of the students the day before. The students were walking, and just like last time, no beasts came after them.
This was because of Leo and his mute evolved ability. They walked slowly. No one said a thing.
"So Riven, you gonna look at your rewards from the system?" Harkel asked using the telepathic link skill.
"Oh yeah," Riven replied back like he forgot.
Riven then mentally claimed the reward.
[System: Quest complete. Here are your following rewards]
[10 levels have been acquired]
Everyone—well, I mean—we felt stronger. But Riven? He then slapped his head and noticed something: the 2× XP was gone, meaning they could have gotten 20 levels instead of just 10.
"Aww dude, how did you forget something so important?" Harkel questioned.
"Oh, sorry that I was tired after fighting for my life," Riven replied back.
He then saw everyone's level and stats, and the acquired attributes go up as well. Riven never used it in the battle—he was going to use it as a last-ditch effort, but thanks to Joey, that time never came. He then split up the 140 attribute points evenly throughout the group, with their stats skyrocketing.
⸻
Riven Harlow – Level 36
• Strength: 53
• Speed: 53
• Durability: 66
• HP: 100/100
• Energy: 100/100
Jordan Harlow – Level 34
• Strength: 45
• Speed: 52
• Durability: 49
• HP: 100/100
• Energy: 100/100
Leo Ashvale – Level 32
• Strength: 58
• Speed: 46
• Durability: 52
• HP: 100/100
• Energy: 100/100
Harkel Voss – Level 32
• Strength: 51
• Speed: 54
• Durability: 47
• HP: 100/100
• Energy: 100/100
Tessa Ashvale – Level 31
• Strength: 44
• Speed: 55
• Durability: 45
• HP: 100/100
• Energy: 100/100
Wren Fallow – Level 32
• Strength: 48
• Speed: 59
• Durability: 48
• HP: 100/100
• Energy: 100/100
Joey Cross – Level 31
• Strength: 49
• Speed: 53
• Durability: 47
• HP: 100/100
• Energy: 100/100
⸻
The group stopped in their tracks after feeling a great increase in power.
"Hey Riven, maybe don't give us such a great increase all at once," Leo commented.
Everybody agreed with him, feeling a great change in their bodies.
"Are you guys all right?" Kira asked.
"Yeah, just feeling sick in the stomach," Wren replied.
"Oh, OK," was all Kira could say before the group started walking again.
"That was something," Tessa commented.
"Yeah, something I don't want to go through again," Jordan said.
Riven looked at everyone's stats, surprised at how much they had improved. He already knew he didn't have to worry about Joey anymore—especially after awakening and getting that Light affinity, which was powerful. So he knew Joey, plus his Light affinity—whatever it was—and his awakening form, Joey was probably the strongest out of the seven.
So he looked at the rest of the rewards:
[System: 60,000 system points granted]
Everyone soon choked on air after seeing the number. Riven knew he used up most of his system points in the battle with the wolves, but he got all of it—and more—back, without even having to sell the rest of his weapons.
"Are you sure you guys are good?" Kira asked, looking at the group.
They all responded by giving the girl a thumbs-up. Then she walked back to her group.
"60,000 is crazy," Harkel thought.
"We can get a lot of armor and weapons now, but if I'm looking at this right, there's a big jump in price from level five and down to level six and up," Wren said, looking at the shop tab.
Everyone could agree. Level 4 weapons cost them 2,000. Level 5 cost them 4,000. But level 6 cost 10,000, which is a big jump in prices—but also means that the level 6 gear is way more powerful than level five and below.
"So what else?" Harkel asked, trying to see more rewards from the big guy.
[System: You have acquired the reward known as the Awakening Reward. This is not like a system reward. A system reward evolves a tab, while a system awakening awakens the system to the first level.]
When they all read that, they remembered something: Gravity wasn't Riven's forced awakened ability—instead, it was the system itself, meaning it could awaken.
A grey envelope then appeared. Riven mentally clicked on it to open it.
[System: The system has awoken. Here are the following things that you have acquired or have access to:]
[System: Skill tree has been unlocked. You can now purchase new moves that relate to your evolution by using attribute points.]
"Damn it," Riven thought. "I shouldn't have used the attribute points so quickly," he said to himself.
"Don't beat yourself up, man. We all would've done the same thing in your position," Harkel said, cheering up his friend.
This worked, and Riven looked up high and told himself:
"I won't be so rash again."
[System: Shop tab upgrade. You now have access to more potions, and some of your potions have evolved to help out more in the future.]
Everyone looked through the potions in the shop tab. They saw more potions that weren't there before.
"2× System Points," Joey said.
"2× Awakening Potions," Leo said.
"2× Speed and Strength," Wren said.
They looked through the new potions but stopped, as they still had a few more rewards.
[System: Lock-On Skill has been upgraded. You can now see your enemies' and allies' HP bar and stamina bar without inviting them into the party.]
Compared to the other rewards, this one seemed more lackluster—but it could still be helpful in the future.
[System: Portal tab has been unlocked. This tab allows the user to create a portal to any location they desire, but the user must know the world they are traveling to, must have been there before, and must be able to craft the portal itself.]
They were shocked by this new tab. Only three portals were shown: Earth, Sigil Gate, and Aurex. This also told them Sigil Gate was, in fact, not on Earth.
"This can be very good," Joey said to everybody with the telepathic link skill. "We could sell way more weapons on Earth than we can in Sigil Gate City," he continued.
"Joey's right. We can make way more units. But first, we gotta learn how to craft it through, and it seems like the materials aren't easy to get," Jordan commented.
Everyone put that in the back of their minds, knowing they were going to come back to it after this outing. Then they saw their last reward:
[System: New copy skill unlocked – 'Mutation Copy.' You are able to copy them and, taking certain beasts or people, take their form for your own. You can select which party members you want to have the mutation. Something to note: when a party member gets the mutation, that mutation cannot be removed from the party member. It is stuck with them. You can turn it off and on, but depending on how the mutation reacts, it can be forcibly turned on by you. The party member users could also acquire more than one mutation. By the way, how they will mix with one another is unknown by the system.]
"Wait… doesn't this mean—?" Riven thought as he went through the system. There, in his skill tab by his Copy evolution, was the Copy Mutation. When he clicked on it mentally, he saw clips of Ashley, Xander, and Milo. All were shown, but instead of individual names being shown up top, instead they all said "Werewolf."
"So this does mean we can turn into werewolves just like them," Riven thought.
"But the real question is, should we?" Wren asked.
"No. Not right now, at least," Riven replied back.
"What? Why?" Harkel asked in a heartbroken tone.
"One: who knows what will happen if I clicked it right now? Maybe we'll turn into werewolves just like them—and the students and teachers here wouldn't waste any time trying to attack us, especially after what happened literally yesterday. And two: when I first encountered Ashley, she told me that after a certain point, she couldn't turn off the werewolf transformation. Meaning, most likely, if we do use it and we use it too much, we'll be stuck in that transformed state. Do you want to risk that?" Riven asked Harkel, who shook his head no.
"But no one can deny that if we do, we'll most likely grow even stronger," Tessa said, putting in her two cents. And everyone agreed with her statement. Ashley and the other two werewolves were all human at some point—humans who couldn't evolve. But in their werewolf state, they were able to combat and even easily defeat evolvers who are above the first awakening.
Which also made them think even more.
"How did the Broken Veil even make them like that? And are they still doing that? And can they make people stronger than that?" Riven questioned.
But all his questions soon stopped as Mr. Sable then signaled everyone to go into the bushes. When Riven looked, he could see bull-like beasts walking around. There were four in number.
"Now, everyone," Sable started to whisper, "let the hunt begin."
⸻
Meanwhile…
With the last remaining person of Team C, Kelvin was running. Ever since Kael walked through that portal, he never stopped running—not even when his body told him to. He then ran into a group of one teacher and six students.
"Ox?" Kelvin asked.
"Kelvin!" Ox shouted.
"Where have you been? And where is your team?" Ox questioned.
Kelvin then stayed silent for a little, remembering Kael's words. Then he looked Ox in the eyes.
"My team was wiped out in a fierce battle."
The rest of the students and teachers were all behind bushes, peeking through. They spotted three huge bull-like beasts near what looked like a pond.
"Good. This is a two-for-one. We found food and water. Now, here's the plan: we'll lure one of the beasts away and kill them off one by one—silently," Sable whispered to his group.
"Why don't we just kill them? I mean, sure, this is a good strategy, but can we try to be quicker?" Harkel thought, and several other students started thinking the same thing.
"It's because—" Wren began, since she could hear Harkel's question through the telepathic link skill. "He's actually trying to teach us. I mean, think about it—did you really learn anything from the academy except how to fight with a sword?" Wren finished, answering the boy's question.
"Plus, we might need this later in life," Riven said, backing Wren up.
"Fine, fine," Harkel said. He didn't like it, but he started to listen to Sable's orders.
"Jordan, think you can do something with your ink?" Mr. Sable asked, and Jordan nodded.
The boy then created a beast out of ink—it looked like an almost perfect replica of one of the bulls. The only difference was that it was inky and darker than the original. The inky bull walked out of the bushes, catching the attention of one of the real beasts. The inky creature started moving strangely.
"Wait… is it flirting?" Wren questioned.
Harkel started laughing in his head.
"Dude, calm down. It isn't that funny," Leo said, glancing at Harkel.
"Yeah, it is—when you think about the fact that the beast is Jordan," Harkel replied, still laughing in his head. Everyone turned to look at Jordan—
—who was lying flat on the ground.
That told everyone what they needed to know: Jordan was the one controlling the beast.
During the three weeks before the outing, Jordan had gotten used to controlling his ink creatures at will. But he still wasn't used to speaking through the creature's mouth—it was like having a brand-new jawbone.
All of the bonded party members started laughing internally, doing their best not to burst out laughing out loud.
"Jeez, Jordan, didn't know you had it in you," Wren commented, still laughing in her mind.
"Oh, shut up," Jordan replied.
The beast began moving in a new, oddly alluring way.
"Ohhh, work it, Jordan! That beast wants you!" Tessa joked.
"F you guys… I need better friends," Jordan groaned in his head.
One of the bull-like beasts began following the inky bull. The inky creature led it deeper into the woods. When it reached a certain point, Jordan saw a signal—and the ink creature collapsed to the ground. A man stepped out in front of the real beast and silently slashed its throat, killing it.
"Oooooh, talk about a catfish," Riven said.
Jordan woke up from the ground and flipped off everyone who was laughing.
"Okay, so it seems like the other beast is most likely a female, so Jordan's inky bull won't work," Sable noted.
"Wow, Jordan—you were about to make that guy cheat," Wren said with a smirk. Jordan responded by stepping on her shoe.
"OW! Ow ow ow!" Wren cried in her thoughts, grabbing her foot.
"Now, what should we do to kill the next beast?" Sable asked, like a teacher in front of a class.
"Just kill it," Harkel said bluntly.
"Yes, but is that the smartest move? I mean, madness—we don't know how strong this beast is, or how durable. Or smart. We could be walking into a trap and wouldn't even know it," Sable explained, trying to teach them. But Harkel raised his hand.
"Yes, Harkel?" Sable said, already a bit annoyed.
"But we do know how strong they are. We know how durable they are—and how smart. I mean, we could kill all three and be done with it," Harkel argued.
"Yes, bu—" Sable tried to respond, but Harkel had already taken off toward the beasts in his awakened form, slashing them down with his sword.
"Harkel!!!" Sable yelled as everyone jumped from the bushes. "That wasn't the point! It was supposed to be a lesson—a skill for later in life!" he continued to yell.
"Are you serious?" Harkel said slowly. "Most of us are dead. Most of us are starving. Do you really think we have time for some dumb lesson?" Harkel stared Sable in the eye. "And you're not the one who should be yelling here. You guys are the reason we're here in the first place. We've been stuck out here for two days. I don't want to be here anymore. I'm done laying on trees and branches—I want to lie on my fucking bed."
"I am your teacher, okay? You have to listen to me," Sable demanded.
"He has a point, Mr. Sable," Riven stepped in. "This isn't the time for lessons. Some of us are hungry. Most of us are starving. We need to eat." Riven nodded at Leo, who lifted his greatsword and started skinning the beasts, prepping them to be cooked.
"That doesn't change the fact that I am in charge. I am the teacher, which means you listen and do not question me," Sable snapped, clearly annoyed.
"Make me," Riven said, stepping into Sable's face.
"What?" Sable blinked.
"You heard me. Make me. Force me to listen. This place isn't about who's oldest or who's in charge—it's about surviving. And if what I heard about the other teams is true, then most of us are dead. Students and teachers alike. Do you really think we care anymore?"
"I… I apologize. You're right. I don't know what happened. I lost myself for a second. You are right—it's not the time for a lesson. But what I was trying to do was make you all real students, not just kids worrying about surviving another day. And you're right. None of you should've come here in the first place," Sable said, finishing the last sentence with regret in his eyes.
Harkel stepped over to the pond and began drinking the water. All of the students followed, scooping water into their hands and drinking it again and again. Some even stuck their heads directly in the water—two days of thirst poured out of them, and no one was holding back.
Joey then walked up to the pond and drank. When he did, he stepped back and stared at the water.
"Hm," was all Joey said. He put his hand into the water—and a flash of yellow light glowed from his palm. Everyone drinking saw it and backed up.
"Umm… Joey, what are you—" But before Riven could finish, the light shot out from Joey's hand, and a beast was lifted from the water. It appeared to be a type of kraken.
Joey killed it with a single blow.
The golden-haired boy pulled the kraken from the water and handed it to Leo to cook—then went back to drinking like nothing happened. Slowly, the others returned to the water to drink as well.
None of them would admit it, but they were scared of Joey now—and his new power.
"What is that?" Sable thought. "The boy's a dual evolver, yes… but I've never seen an evolution like that. Not even among natural evolvers. And that power—healing and attack strength? Actually, calling it 'strong' is an understatement. So what is it? And how do I explain that someone dual-evolved into something entirely new when they did it?"
After a while, the food was done. Everyone hesitated—scared to take the first bite, unsure if it had been cooked properly. One bite of raw beast meat could kill them.
Tessa had faith in her brother and his cooking, so she was the first to take a bite. Even though the meat was plain, it was food. She kept eating, and everyone else followed.
"This shit is flavorless, but it's been so long… I don't even care anymore."
That was the thought running through everyone's head as they ate the bull meat and kraken.
After eating, they began heading toward the rendezvous point. Riven saved the rest of the food in his system inventory. He didn't know if it would stay fresh, but it would be something for those who had nothing later.
"Okay," Sable called out. "Since we're all filled up and properly refreshed, we'll be running to the rendezvous point this time. If you're tired, ask a teacher or myself to carry you—we will. But know this: after a certain point, we won't carry anyone anymore. And trust me… we'll know if you're faking. So don't try anything. Next stop—rendezvous point."
⸻
At the Academy
"Sir, there are still no signs of the students or teachers coming out of the portal," a person in a white uniform said.
"OK, keep me updated," Damien said. He then got a notification on his watch, and disappeared into the air.
"Yes, sir. Darius," Damien said slowly as he teleported into a room with the other deans, the vice principal, and the principal.
"Yes, Damien. We need to go into the portal that the first years went through. Now, I'm not going to lie—I do feel like some, maybe most, of them died. But not all of them were wiped out. You're the man for this job. I want you to go there, teleport to the closest people, and get them out of there. In and out," Darius said, locking eyes with Damien.
"Yes, sir," Damien said as he teleported once again—this time into the first-year assembly hall. He walked through the portal.