9|Academy Life is A Hassle (Part One)
Knock, Knock
"Zen, Zen," Shen knocked at the door. "Bro, don't tell me you are still sleeping." He sighed. Zen opened his eyes abruptly and stood up from bed. "I'm coming!" He shuffled over to the door.
Creak …
"Just as I thought." Shen knitted an eyebrow. "The steam train leaves in less than thirty minutes. Hurry, or we will be left behind." He sat down on the bed.
"You know, you should really be grateful to have me as your best friend. I purposely came thirty minutes earlier because I knew you were sleeping." He couldn't help but praise himself. "I'm amazing, aren't I?" He swooned over his not so selfless act.
Zen pulled off his clothes. "Yes, yes, there's none mightier than the great Lord Shen," he said sarcastically.
He walked into the bathroom. Shen stood. "Huh?!" He slammed his fist onto the bathroom door. "At least say it as if you mean it…" he grunted.
"You ungrateful piece of shit." He lay furiously on the bed.
Shen and Zen had been best friends for seven months now. They met at the welcome party/orientation for new students. They hit it off immediately, their personalities clicking flawlessly. Zen was lazy and uninterested in almost everything, while Shen was a perv who was overly interested in everything. They basically balanced each other's personalities out.
They did everything together and even became seatmates. "Shen, wake up, I'm done," Zen tapped him roughly on the leg. "I wasn't sleeping," he stood. "Can't you be a bit gentle?" he groaned. "Whatever, let's get going." Zen opened the door.
HOOOONK! HOOOONK!
The train had started to move. "Zen, run faster!" Shen jumped up into the train and stretched forth his hand. "I'm trying!" Zen grabbed his hand. "Hoo! Thanks, man." He wiped the sweat off his face.
The previous night after the lab raid, the Dark Veil members didn't find any useful information, just that the fiends inside the capsules were dead. The few that were still kicking didn't put up much of a fight. Dark gave Velora the tracking signature. They haven't gotten back to him on the location of the runaway lab scientist.
"Zen," Shen tapped him on his shoulder.
They had just arrived at the academy gate. "Wooo, here we go again." He dropped from the train. The idle chatter of students filled the air.
"Did you guys see that huge purple light last night?"
"Yeah, I did."
"I heard that the Eight Pillars are going to investigate."
"Really?!"
"Well, some of them. They cannot all go just because of some mystery light."
"True, true, they are simply too powerful."
"Especially this set. Rumours have been going around that they have been in their seats for almost thirty years."
"That's the longest any of the Eight Pillars sets has lasted."
The Eight Pillars of the Tengoku Alliance are skilled individuals. They represent the eight classes and are also a symbol of authority and power. The Tengoku Alliance was formed two hundred and fifty years ago after the Death Parade occurred, which killed millions of citizens from each of the three nations that now make up the Alliance.
The Kingdom of Toran, known for their military strength and might, remained the stronghold of the human race for hundreds of years.
The Moshian Theocracy, which received the blessing of the Primordial God of Light, Solignum, is where the Grand Cathedral of the Holy Church of Solignum was built. It is also home to the divine race of Angels, known for purifying corruption.
And the Great Forest of Mitria, home of the elves and the Magic Tower. Some of the best sages were born there.
They might not have a large military or the blessing of a primordial god, but they are known as the race loved by mana.
Amongst all the other races, there is none who could control mana more efficiently or had a higher average mana reserve than the elves. Not to mention they also possess the living legendary artifact, the World Tree.
Zen and Shen headed to their classroom quickly. The infamous Professor Balista was supposed to lecture them about the Hunter ranks and Ascension pathways. Thankfully, when they got to the class, he had not arrived. They hurriedly sat on their seats. Just a few minutes later, Professor Balista stepped into the class.
"Good morning, students." He walked up to the front of the class. "Good morning, Professor," the entire class replied.
Gultaz Balista, a renowned necromancer, made a name for himself at the Aylone frontlines. He defeated numerous fiends with his adept spells; he commanded the undead with ease.
"Today we will be discussing the ranks of fiends, Hunter ranks, and Ascension pathways." His voice carried through the class.
"Fiends are divided into seven ranks. We classify them based on strength and the tier of spells that can be extracted from their cores. It has been established that the fiends in the lower floors of Aylone are stronger than the fiends in the middle and upper floors. As you might have guessed, higher tier spells can be extracted from them. The upper floor is divided into three layers: surface, middle surface, and end surface. At this floor, you will mostly encounter the lowest ranked fiends, which are cysts and imps."
"Also note that killing these fiends grants merits, which are crucial for Hunter rank ascension. The next floor is the middle zone. In the first two layers, canyon and Wegd, mildly stronger fiends called Navems are found. Do not fret, the real problem comes when you enter the Volrax. The corrupt mana density is higher here, and most hunters collapse upon entry. Navems and a few higher ranked fiends called Royal Guards dominate this area. The lower zone, which is the most dangerous of them all, contains four layers, each containing higher and upper ranked fiends."
"Do note that some of these fiends possess intellect. The first layer is called the Castle Wall; Royal Guards and a few Castle Lords are found here. The second layer is called Ven Battlefield; many high-ranking hunters have perished here. Next is the Aton Section, Lymps dominate this layer, and the last layer, the furthest anyone has travelled, contains monstrosities that only legendary masters can hope to slay—the Malice Groove. It contains Demon Kings and Devil Sovereigns." He took a deep breath.
Some memories that he would rather forget came flooding back. Memories of comrades that he lost along the way.