BXBX NOVEL Chapter 151: Departure
Name: Cedric Stormrider
Age: 21
Race: Human III
Classes: Luminous Sage (Main), Demon Slayer (2nd), Alchemist 50/100 (Sub)
Level: Tier 4 Lv.1
Titles: Son of Heaven, Master Smith (+4)...
System Authority: Lv.8
Companion Beast: Aurelion (Radiant Sunlion) T1 Lv.5
Aptitude:
Body: EX!
Energy: EX!
Spirit: EX!
Final rating: EX+
Skills:
Actives: Sword Intent Lv.99, Kickboxing (M), Iron Skin (M), Multi-Stab (M), Air-Hop (M), Lightspeed Lv.76, Dispel (M)
Passives: Elementary Sage Physique (U), Sage's Perception (U), Education Lv.120, Demon Lore (M), Slayer's Mark Lv.25, Sage Arts Lv.90, Marksmanship (M).
Sub-Class Skills: Focus (M), Decode (M), Symbol Mastery (M), Crafting (M), Metallurgy (M), Smith's Blessing (M), Repair (M), Essence Distillation Lv.50, Vitality Infusion Lv.50
[Mandatory Task:]
: Hell Dive - Survive the Endless Undead Horde for 6 hours twice.
: Rewards - 100% Demon Soul gain, Clearance Streak +1
: Punishment for Failure - Failure Streak +1.
: Record: Clear Streak - 16, Failure Streak - 0
**
[Race: Human III]
: Gained through qualitative evolution of the Human Bloodline.
: +30% Natural Charm, Increased Luck, Greatly Increased Life Expectancy, Greatly Increased Intelligence, System Authority Increased.
**
Cedric clenched his hands after immersing himself in the changes on his body.
Reaching Tier 4 brought a profound change in his entire being. What made him even more different was the existence of the marble-sized core silently revolving at the core of his heart.
Each time it revolves, it sends out wisps of pure Ki through his bloodstream, energizing him and making him stronger. He could tap into this hidden power with but a mere thought.
This was his Glazed Core, his other source of power besides from advancing his Superhuman Tier.
Cedric actually has to be careful now. He had this feeling that if he were to be careless, he might just destroy things at his dorm.
It had to be known that this place was built for a Superhuman to use, the training area was even more fortified because of this, but Cedric truly felt that if he were to summon all of his strength in one attack, he'd be damaging this property, and he didn't want to do that.
His race also evolved to [Human III], bringing forth an overall increase in the boons it gives him.
Due to the increase in his strength, his field of senses expanded too. From barely being able to cover the entire academy, he could now do so quite easily. The amount of detail he could perceive increased as well and its less burdensome to use.
It is rather scary how many things he could observe, and with the help of Multitask and his increased intelligence, the speed at which he processed information was mind-boggling too. He felt as if there was literally nothing that could escape his senses.
Realizing this just makes Cedric even more certain about his decision to hide his skills. If Demons were to learn of this, they would certainly do everything in their power to assassinate him.
And finally, the 『Lightspeed』 skill finally made some progress, now reaching Lv.76 after so long. This meant that, because of his breakthrough, his body became much stronger and could endure faster speeds.
He's getting closer and closer to having his explosive speed equal to the speed of light, and frankly, he can't wait for the day when he reaches that.
Aside from the changes within him, he also discovered that his Hell Dive Task changed too. An hour was added to the time requirement. He has to last for 6 hours twice in Purgatory, bringing it to a total of 12 hours.
He could only smile wryly at this. He's powerless to change Acala's opinion so he could only do his best.
Overall, Cedric experienced a massive boost in his strength. He also received heavier responsibilities but nothing too daunting for him at this point.
With his increase in strength. He felt more prepared for the upcoming patrol mission. He still had some additional preparations to do but in terms of strength and abilities, this is as good as it could get right now.
**
Through the next two weeks, the freshman students made their preparations for the mission. Some trained like hell, others prayed to all saints and gods to keep them safe.
They were given a two-day leave to inform their family about this. Most of them took it while others, including Cedric, remained. Cedric's family was dead so there's nothing for him to visit. He could've returned to his actual home at the Black Thread City but there's nothing for him there either.
Erica and Chrissy still haven't returned from their mission so he's utterly alone right now. He didn't feel like visiting bars or clubs either to have fun since it was just going to be a waste of time.
With no other options left, he could only stay and stave off the loneliness he felt. It's not that bad yet and he could still endure it. He just hopes that the girls return soon.
Just like that, days passed by quickly and the day of their departure arrived.
The freshman students were all gathered at the plaza, waiting for the rest of their batchmates to arrive before leaving.
Cedric was already here, packed and ready to go. Aside from a small backpack filled with a change of clothes and sealed rations, he bought nothing else. He even left his inventory mostly empty by placing them at a bank.
And just to prepare for the worst scenario, he signed a will. Yes, he did.
It says that if something were to ever happen to him during this excursion, all of the assets he had - wealth, status, treasures, etc, would all be transferred equally to Erica and Chrissy. If the girls are unavailable to claim this, they will all be donated to RMC and his chosen orphanage.
Of course, Cedric wasn't planning to die out there. It's just for the worst-case scenario. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared, that's all.
Cedric noticed that just like before, Orion was already here with them, he was just hiding his presence nearby, waiting until every student appeared or until the agreed time.
As soon as the last student arrived, Orion calmly broke his cover and appeared in front of them like a ghost.
He regarded the Freshmen with serious expression before saying: "I hope you already prepared well, because whether you're ready or not, we will be leaving now."
Orion then whistled and all of a sudden, a portal appeared behind him. From there, a flying bus emerged, honking merrily as it approached the nervous students.
"Get in, all of you." Orion commanded.
The freshmen scrambled to get it to the bus. As if their seating location would change anything. Cedric didn't even bother competing with them. He waited until the majority of his batchmates got in before getting in himself.
He already knew that the first three rows of seats closest to the driver were empty because he had seen it with his senses even before he got in. Shrugging to himself, he chose to sit in the 2nd row to the right, next to the window.
As soon as everybody was in, Orion signaled the driver to move along. And the bus began to fly.
"The Starlight Royal Academy is close to the Eastern Walls..." Orion announced to get their attention. "...that's where we're headed today."
"Your mission is simple. Once we got there and you've settled in, you'd be divided into groups of five. The team you get is final so be professional and work together."
"Each team will be assigned a Team Leader coming from the Military Camp. They'd be supervising your mission and will teach you how to do it properly. Take note that they are not your babysitters. Once there, you are expected to respect and follow their law, and should you violate any of their rules, even the Headmaster wouldn't be able to save you from their punishment."
Orion's words caused the already nervous students to feel more dread creeping up their spine.
"If I were you, I'd treat this seriously. If you think that I was just scaring you when I said that you might die here, then you're done for. Remember that you signed something pertaining to that. Those are official documents for a reason. We wouldn't go that far for a mere prank."
The students gulped nervously. Nobody really doubted his words...openly, that is. For some students, some of part of them wished that this was indeed just a prank and that the Instructor was just testing their resolve. However, from what Orion said and how serious he looked just now, it seems that it truly isn't a joke or a prank. They might really be in danger here."
A bout of silence permeated the bus. The students were starting to feel nervous, especially those who were looking out the window because they could see that the skies were turning darker and darker even though it was supposed to be morning right now.
[Alert! You are approaching the border of Human Territory. Please be advised that your signal with the Acala System will start to become weaker the further you go in. System Functions might stop working after a certain distance.]
[If you didn't mean to arrive at this location, please turn around and leave. The area behind the walls is filled with dangers that not even the System could accurately calculate.]
Cedric wasn't the only one who received this notice.