Corven made his way to the R&D Faction Manor, bypassing the dorms and workshops on the lower floors as he went down the familiar hallways on his way to the top floor, where he knew Marxes' dorm room was. Upon arriving, he knocked, hearing Marxes' voice. "Come in!"
Inside the technopath's dorm, the place was still littered with mechanical parts, books and half-finish machines Corven still couldn't recognize. In each of the bedrooms, there were machines and wires and half-opened books lining the mattress. The same scarab-like machines seemed to be a little more completed now then it was last time, but it still had a while to go before it was finished.
"You're here for the gear, I take it?" Marxes asked, dressed in what appeared to be an advanced tech-suit. It was made to look futuristic, greys with neon blue trimming; it fit Marxes as well as clothes and wasn't too bulky.
"Wha—?" Corven was shocked. "What is that?"
"This?" Marxes gestured to his suit. "Oh, it's the superarmour I told you about before. It has things like thermal scans, holographic scans, flamethrower and movement enhancement among others. I haven't managed to add a flight mechanism quite yet, but I know I'm at the precipice of a breakthrough for it."
"Huh. Cool," Corven muttered before shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm here for the gear."
Nodding, Marxes led the way. "Follow me."
Marxes led Corven to the only clean room in his penthouse dorm. Inside, everything was neat and tidy, a very visible contrast to the other rooms of his dorm. In one corner, a neatly made king bed, while in another, a walk-in closet dwelled.
Marxes led Corven before the closet. "Wait here," he said before entering.
Corven didn't have to wait for long. Soon, Marxes came back with a shoebox—an ordinary looking Nike™ shoebox that Corven felt underwhelmed looking at.
"Is this—?" Corven began.
"Just look inside," Marxes laughed as he handed Corven the shoebox.
Inside, Corven saw 3 things: A belt, a claw-fang necklace and a white unicorn horn. Using his Perceive ability, Corven saw their effects and to say he was impressed was an understatement.
The belt increased his combat speed, agility and stamina by a large whopping 45%, while also increasing his reflexes and defenses by 15%. The claw-fang necklace increased his stamina, reflexes and defenses by 30%, while also boosting his senses and awareness by 28%. The unicorn horn wasn't merely a horn, but a wand made from 3 unicorn horns that increases mana output, spells and incantation power by 80%.
"This is—" Corven began.
"Insane, right?" Marxes finished. "I dare say that I've outdone myself, right? Man, I am awesome. I was unsure if you used magic in combat, but if not, you can give the wand to your girlfriend."
"She's not my—" Corven began, Marxes raising an eyebrow. Sighing, Corven relented. "Nevermind."
"Yeah, and the claw-fang necklace was forged with four claws and four fangs of the wolf corpses you sold me. I have made like 6 of them, along with 6 of these belts, made from the hide and pelt of these same wolves and enchanted with blood of the unicorns you gave me. Excellent quality enhancer, unicorn blood was."
"I also managed to forge three of these," Marxes left to go into his closet before returning with a pair of wolven steel-tipped, furred boots. "I made them with some enchanted steel I had lying around. They boost speed and agility by 52% — 59% when using their synergetic effect with either the necklace or belt. Awesome, right? They're all Tier S rank equipment."
Corven was impressed. "Yeah, awesome."
Reaching out, Corven put all his new toys in his shadow space. "Thank you," was all he said.
"Don't mention it. This was the least I could do given what resources you gave me," Marxes said, exiting his suit with a command. "One more thing."
Reaching into his back pocket of his jeans, Marxes pulled out a ticket, handing it to a puzzled Corven, who read the strip of paper. "The 678th All-Factions Imperial Auction In Caelum: Premium Ticket?"
Corven looked at Marxes inquisitively.
"Only the most influential and wealthy houses from all across Mythos will be attending the auction," Marxes said. "I'm sure Celeste and Jabari already received their premium invites. It takes place in three days. I received an extra ticket, so here. I have no intentions of attending it."
"I appreciate this," Corven said. "Here, as a token of appreciation, since I know you're trying to break through to High–Legacy rank — These will help you break through to Mid–Demigod rank."
Handing Marxes two Cultivation Boasting Plum Fruits, Corven then asked Marxes a question: If he wanted to sell something at the auction, who did he need to talk to?
"Thank you for this treasure," Marxes smiled. "As for your question, they'll have last minute product entries upon arriving in the flying cities of Caelum. You'll be able to enter whatever you want then."
After giving Marxes a few more words and receiving some advice, Corven left the technopath's room, entering his own, before entering his Shadow Space.
[Inside Shadow Space]:
Inside Corven's shadow space, he noticed that he was breaking through already, thanks to the clones he had constantly cultivating.
Quickly stripping, Corven barely managed to rid himself of his clothes before he was overcome by a surge of pain—less intense than when he had first broken into Demigod rank in that dungeon with Celeste, but still sharp enough to make his body tense. A rank, black, impure liquid began to pour from every orifice, accompanied by a foul, stinking scent that radiated off him in heavy, suffocating waves as the impurities left his body.
By the time the process finished, and Corven had broken through, his aura had transformed. He had been at Low Demigod rank, but now, after his breakthrough, he was at Mid–Demigod rank, just like his cousins had been.
'I will need to get even stronger,' Corven thought to himself, clenching his fist in determination.
After showering in his castle's bath and getting dressed, Corven shadow-equipped his armor—his Greenfang Armor—before securing both Long Daggers at his waist and strapping his Tier C Katana across his back. With that loadout, he looked every bit like a ninja–assassin—deadly, precise, and undeniably impressive.
He took a moment to check himself out, then shifted his focus inward, toward his connection with the Shadow Space itself. Not much had changed, aside from a mid-sized expansion of the grounds within it.
His attention drifted to the Dungeon he'd stolen from the Lightningwind Mountain Lion's den. It still hadn't opened. Now, it floated just outside his Shadow Palace, hovering near the drawbridge that led to the castle's entrance.
'It's not ready to open quite yet,' Corven thought as he moved on.
Taking in the expanded Shadow Space, his gaze settled on the cocoons of his Shadowborne. At first glance, nothing seemed different. Their color had deepened into a richer violet-indigo, laced with a faint, pale-white touch, but otherwise, they remained just as they had when Corven first placed them here.
Assuming they weren't ready yet, Corven turned and left—failing to notice that one of them—the cocoon containing Thorneye Briar—had shifted ever so slightly…
[Meeting Room at Shadow Faction]:
This time around, the Meeting War Room at the top floor of the Shadow Faction Manor was filled with all Shadow Faction's 1st, 2nd and 3rd Year students when Corven entered.
His presence turned some heads as 1st Years made room for him, opening a path that led to the front of the first years' side of the Planning Table. Unlike last time, no one said anything to challenge him and Corven was constantly channeling shadow energy in his meridians to mask his recent breakthrough, so most think he was still at the low level of Demigod rank.
Upon arriving at the table, Corven noticed Jabari, Celeste and J.C was already there, with all 3 of them having broken through to higher levels. Celeste had broken through to Peak level of Demigod rank and Jabari had broken through to Low level of Demigod rank — Even J.C Kladion had broken through to Low Demigod.
The three were mid-conversation with the other lead students, deep in strategy, when Corven stepped in—but all of them paused, acknowledging his presence the moment they saw him.
"So that's your armor?" Durian Hades said, eyeing Corven as he took him in. "Impressive. However, now that you're here—you remember the plan, right? The announcements are about to sound, and the teleportation formations are about to activate, transporting us to the battlefield. Are you ready?"
"Yeah, I remember the plan—and I'm ready," Corven replied. As he spoke, he handed Celeste the Unicorn's Wand. She looked ready to protest, but Corven met her with an unrelenting look. "If you're facing sorcerer practitioners, you'll need it. Besides, I don't practice magic—you do. You'll need it."
After a brief hesitation, Celeste nodded and took the wand.
The others watching joined Jabari in making teasing sounds, but Corven tuned them out, ignoring them completely—even as a slight blush crept up his cheeks. Thankfully, that passed just as quickly.
The group of student warriors returned to discussing tactics, their voices overlapping in focused urgency—until an announcement echoed across all seven Manors and the Academy's castle.
"Attention, students and instructors," a feminine voice rang out. "Our war games will commence in five minutes. Please note that not all R&D students are attending this year's war game. Furthermore, for those who are—from all factions—a teleportation crystal has been given to your Third-Year heads to distribute in case of emergency. Be advised: while precautions have been taken, death is still possible.
"With that disclaimer out of the way—good luck to all. You will be transported to the forest, separated into sections for each faction.
"Winners will receive a hefty amount of both Student Points for individual efforts and House Points for group efforts.
"Please beware of the wild beasts that lurk within the forest. They are untamed and likely to attack the unprepared.
"That said, work hard—and have fun. May the best faction win. Good luck."
The sound of the announcement going off sounded, and Durian handed Corven a blue crystal, which he took. He noticed everyone else had theirs as well. "Thanks."
Three minutes of further talking later, a white formation appeared above the students, covering the entire room, and the next, they were transported to the forest beyond.
[Dark Forests]:
Appearing in the Dark Forest, the shadow faction students wasted no time, splitting up into their groups.
Celeste, Dylan and the siblings grouped up. Durian, J.C., and Corven did too. Jabari led the rest of the first years forward. The 2nd and 3rd years also got into soldier formation, creating 3 separate mini legions. One led by Jabari, consisting of all the first years; one by the third ranking 3rd year head student, consisting of the second years; and one by the second ranking 3rd year, consisting of all the third year students.
Two of the armies split off in two different directions. The 3rd years headed to the east while the 1st years headed west, leaving the 2nd years right there, able to reinforce either should they need to.
This was the best plan of action, and it wasn't like they wouldn't see action, either.
Not only do other factions invade the others' territories many of the time, but this was the Dark Forest. There were monsters all around. Lots of ways to gather combat experience.
Granted, the part of the forest they were in, there weren't any severely powerful monsters, but there were monsters, nonetheless, so, at least, the second years won't get bored.
[Celeste Luminaris]:
Celeste, Dylan, Oscar and Oxen and their mini squad of sorcerers dashed forward to where the Psychic Faction and Mystic Faction would meet. The parts of the forests were pre-split into territories each faction spawn in. The plan was to intercept the meeting of the Psychic and Mystic Factions students.
Celeste knew she had Jabari and the first years following her squad. They were to hold off the 1st and 2nd years of the Mystic and Psychic Factions—considering they were practitioners of magic, they weren't the strongest of physical fighters, so much so that 1st year cultivators can face off against 2nd year practitioners. So long as they had numbers and didn't allow the practitioners to cast too many spells, they should be able to hold the 2 factions down… at least, until Celeste handles Terra while Dylan and his brothers handles Aubrey.
"You nervous, girl?" asked Dylan as they ran.
"No. This isn't my first fight," Celeste said. "I can handle myself."
"Good," Dylan said. "Means we can focus on our fight without worry."
Celeste was about to say something when she saw them: A pillar of fire, heading their way.
"Lunar Shield," she muttered as moonlight coalesced into a luminous moonlight shield, blocking the fire torrent.
Before she could celebrate, a massive boulder came hurtling toward them.
Celeste reacted instantly.
With a thought, she flattened her luminous moonlight shield, then split it into three matching disks and launched them forward. The disks sliced through the incoming rock at blinding speed, shredding it into fragments in seconds.
She looked ahead. A squadron of witches and practitioners—mostly first- and third-years—stood in formation. But something was off.
This wasn't all of them.
'Go ahead of me, Jabar, Celeste soul-whispered to Jabari and his squad. Use the trees as cover. There are more—find them and engage.' She didn't wait for a reply. Turning slightly, she reached out again; this time to the trio of brothers. 'Dylan, go. Find Aubrey and her group. I'll handle this.'
With quick nods, the groups split apart. A few practitioners moved to intercept Dylan's team, but Celeste raised a reinforced wall of moonlight, blocking their path and shielding the others' escape.
Her gaze locked onto the redhead at the rear.
"You'll all fall," Celeste said coldly. "But Terra… I'll start with you."
'Lunar magic excels at defense—evasion, escape, she thought. If I want to end this, I'll need something more.' She steadied herself. 'Hemera's fire and light… and Master Madea's teachings.'
"Auge." Flames ignited in her palm, bright and alive, while her other hand shimmered with pure, radiant light. 'If I have to defeat her to prove my strength… then so be it.'
[Corven Umbrovante]:
Durian led Corven and J.C. further northwestward, where the Nature faction was supposed to meet members of Mystic and Psychic factions, for their alliance.
They were using the shadows as cover—both figuratively and literally.
As children of the underworld, shadows welcomed them with open arms. It shielded their movements from even the most prying of eyes, allowing them to move swiftly, soundlessly, and without detection.
As they leaped tree-to-tree like ninjas, they were vocally silent. However, being children of the Underworld, all three had the ability to 'soul whisper,' or speak directly into the souls of others. And right then, they were, indeed, having quite the conversation.
'Our targets are Matilda Lorens for me and the Lobane siblings, Dwayne and Tyler, for you two,' Durian Hades soul whispered to his companions. 'The Lobane siblings are fraternal twins, both are quite skilled alone, but, together, they can take on almost everyone a minor level above themselves, so be careful. Both are at the Peak level of Demigod rank, and both are skilled speedsters, each with two distinct elemental affinities — Dwayne has fire and water while Tyler has lightning and ice. They will be tricky to pin down, even for you, so do not hold back.
'If you encounter Eugene Vexx, do NOT engage. Fall back and regroup with me or the others. You aren't on his level, yet. Understood?'
'Understood,' J.C soul-whispered back.
'Affirmative,' Corven acknowledged.
'When you're finished with the twins, regroup with either me, Jabari or Celeste's group,' ordered Durian.
The trees gave way to a clearing and what they saw didn't just put a shoe in their plans — It made them have to rethink it altogether.
Before them, leading an attack on the remnants of the Mystic and Psychic Factions as well as all of the Nature Faction was none other than the Infernis faction from the South — And, to the North, the Heavenly Faction.
'Well, either Tartarus has gone cold or Mount Olympus is running short on gods—because I never thought I'd see those two factions standing side by side,' J.C. quipped.
Durian glanced his way, briefly before returning to the scene before them, while Corven just narrowed his eyes ahead of them.
Despite J.C's quip and Durian's earlier reassurances, it would seem that both the Infernis Faction and the Heavenly Faction has teamed up.
'By themselves, the Heavenly Faction and the Infernus Faction possess the topmost combat-oriented students in the Academy,' Durian thought, prickled in both shock and maybe a tad bit of horror. 'But together…'.
'They'd have this War Game in the bag,' J.C finished the thought.
'Fucking hells,' was all Corven thought to no one in particular.