BXBX NOVEL Chapter 49: OWET
[Alert! 『Education』 leveled up to 5!]
[Alert! 『Education』 ...]
[Alert! 『Education』 leveled up to 10!]
[Skills: 『Decode』, 『Focus』, and 『Symbol Knowledge』 reached Lv.10/100!]
[Sub-Class: Scribe (10/100)]
***
Ever seen someone speedrun their way into a PhD? Well, Cedric almost certainly did, in three days too!
That was absurd, but in a world filled with Superhumans, this feat wouldn't be considered an exaggeration. Many have done similar things before, others even escalated it to a whole new level, so Cedric wasn't all that proud of what he had achieved.
Still, he worked for it. His absurd learning speed felt like cheating, but nobody would hear him complaining.
Seriously, even Cedric found this a bit absurd. There was a time when all he needed was to glance at the first few pages of the book and his mind would already go through extensive lengths and theories, which mostly ended up proven as he finished the book he was reading.
He only needed minutes to consume all the knowledge available in a book, and once he had read enough about a certain subject, he would take online exams to prove his knowledge and he passed them with flying colors.
Now, Cedric's mind was filled with all sorts of mundane knowledge about science, mathematics, engineering, and medicine that he could review whenever the need for it arose.
On top of that, Cedric was also learning more about Demon Lore, as well as subjects that would help him increase his Sub-Class level.
Cedric did all of this without compromising his combat training too. This meant that he was extremely productive every day.
Thanks to his studies, he managed to gauge the plausibility of his plan to refine Demon Souls.
As it turns out, he wasn't the first one to entertain the idea. There had been people who had tried it in the past, yes, even before the Article he had seen online was posted. Sadly, none of them succeeded.
Cedric wasn't going to give up though. Although others before him failed in their attempts, it doesn't necessarily mean that he too would fail. It was fortunate that their experiments were documented neatly and there were copies online. His System Authority was high enough to access them and it would certainly help with his own research.
From the clues he received, including the documentation of those who failed before him, the idea of purifying Demon Souls was plausible. Still, this will be a work in progress but Cedric had time.
Between training his combat prowess and pouring hours into his studies and research, Cedric made sure to squeeze in some time for rest and relaxation as well.
By now, his aversion towards crowded spaces was slowly diminishing. The constant exposure to society and civilization was improving his mental state slowly. Dr. Vega said that he's doing really good, and that if this continues, it wouldn't be long until he's fully cleared from the institute.
***
Currently, Cedric is resting in his hotel room. The construction of his home was still underway so he could only stay here for now, not that he's mad about it though, the only complaint he had was that the room service was expensive.
Anyway...Cedric was absent-mindedly shifting through channels online, feeling quite bored since nothing was interesting so far. Just as he was about to shift to the gaming section, a news flash suddenly startled him...and also the others who were tuning in to the entertainment channel.
***
"Just in! Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your host; Chris Fugerson, giving you exclusive news right out of the oven! I hope everybody's having a peaceful evening so far! Let me start by apologizing to everybody who was rendered surprised by my sudden appearance, BUT! A piece of surprising news has been relayed to us and we absolutely cannot wait to share it with everybody!"
"According to a trusted source, the Outer World Expedition Team (OWET) just returned from their mission!"
*Insert Pic here!*
"That's them, everybody! Please don't fret, according to our source, the team was intact and uninjured when they encountered them. They're only exhausted from their mission since they've literally just returned."
"Our sources approached them with the intent of knowing how their mission went. And although the whole team was exhausted, they were eager to report that their mission had been a success so far!"
"For your information, the OWET is formed by the government with the sole purpose of exploring the outside world and checking for any recent developments. They also go on missions that might allow the Federation to reclaim lost lands to expand our home and secure resources to advance our civilization."
"This team had been dispatched last year, and their mission; according to what we have gathered so far at least, was to scout nearby places for any possible developments. Now, we aren't exactly sure of the mission's contents because neither the team nor the Federation were allowed to disclose it, BUT!
With the team returning with a positive response, then we can be assured that, whatever they did out there, must've been productive!"
"Because of the NDA, we could only speculate for now. Did they discover a resource lode? Maybe we find traces of ancient civilizations that could help us improve our technology. Maybe, they found an untouched continent that we can use to expand our home and influence!"
"Either way, these will all be just speculations until the Federation releases an official statement. Even so, I, for one, am extremely excited about this. Best believe that I will be waiting in anticipation for what will come next!"
"And that would be it for today's Flash News! Once again, I am your Host; Chris Fugerson, giving you exclusive news right out of the oven! Want to keep up with the latest news from yours truly? Then please consider subscribing to our channel and follow us on our social media platforms, turn those notifications on, and you will receive alerts as soon as we have news for you!
Thank you for tuning in, and I will see you next time! Bye~"
***
"...huh!" Cedric blinked after listening to that.
He was initially surprised about the sudden mention of the Outer World, thankfully he was more than knowledgeable now that he managed to recover fast and focus on the news.
Right, the 'Outer World'. That's what modern people call that place now. Some old timers would refer to it as the 'Old World' or the 'Forgotten Continents'. Neither term was wrong so to say, it's just preference.
The Cataclysm did more damage to the world than what humans initially expected. Even though centuries have passed since it happened, its effects can still be felt through modern times.
Back then, Humans were incredibly weak. As a result, they could only retreat and cower under the might of demons. The majority of Humans back then left their homes, leaving behind all traces of tradition, knowledge, and memories for the sake of survival.
By the time Acala came to their aid, the Humans were already down to a fraction of their numbers and were cornered.
Thanks to the emergence of Superhumans, Humanity was able to somewhat recover and carve a piece of the world to call home. Since then, they have done their best to bolster their defenses, recover their numbers, and raise strong warriors to keep existing.
Humanity did manage to recover at least, but it's never been the same since then. As society changed to accommodate the existence of Superhumans, the homes they left behind were pushed to the back burner. They just couldn't spare enough manpower to reclaim them.
And even if they could, the expeditions would be extremely dangerous since the rest of the world had been infested by wretched demons who had already spread their corruption everywhere.
It wasn't until the last decade that the Federation decided to launch the OWET initiative - composed of groups of talented individuals whose task is to explore and discover ways for humanity to reclaim their old home.
According to what Cedric knew so far, the expedition missions didn't always succeed. In fact, 8 times out of 10, the teams would fail to do their missions; oftentimes returning defeat and with missing members, or never returning at all.
This further stresses the sheer dangers of the Outer World. And this was also the reason why there haven't been a lot of people who volunteered to join this cause.
Cedric rewounded the clip and focused on the image of the expedition team. Upon closer inspection, the reporter was mostly right on his assumptions, the team was intact for the most part. They didn't lose any members, which is already a miracle on its own, and returned with a mission accomplished.
That said, they look dead inside. Cedric was still now an expert in Psychology, but he could plainly tell that the expedition team had been through some tough shit. They looked battered and beaten, quite possibly traumatized too.
"I hope that whatever their mission is, was worth the trouble and trauma it caused them. Shit, they look even worse than the worst people I encountered at the RMC!"
Cedric shook his head and proceeded to switch his viewing to the gaming channel...