The whole stadium was quiet at the shock from such a quick battle. They had figured that the gap between themselves and the top of their year would be great, but none had thought the gap was great enough to achieve a seckill.
Kain didn't mind the reactions of the crowd, and looked at the other stages to see some of his competitors' performances.
However, looking around Kain realized that the shocked silence of the crowd wasn't due to him—at least not entirely. Not only had Kain defeated his opponent before the crowd could even fully grasp what was going on, but Serena, Soren, and Kairos had also all defeated their opponents within seconds. In fact, the order in which they'd defeated their opponents almost perfectly matched their rankings.
Serena, the quickest, couldn't have taken 3 seconds, while the relatively 'slow' Kairos had taken closer to 9 seconds.
Not long after, the rank 4 Ranya's opponent also admitted defeat.
Kain and the other winners returned to their seats directly having not expended much strength, while those they'd defeated went to get healed.
The gap between those in and outside of the top 5 was definitely apparent as the other 3 stages, while definitely one-sided battles, were still ongoing.
'I don't think the difference in strength between us and them was that great during the entrance test. Can the slight difference in resources and spiritual power in the top 5 dormitory really cause such a gap in 3 months? It's also possible that the gap is due to the beast-tide. Being in the most dangerous area forced the 5 of us to constantly push ourselves and grow.'
Although not as jaw-droppingly quick as the battles in the first 5 stages, the remaining 3 battles all finished within 2 minutes. The surrounding students applauded those still on stage for their performance, but all of them, especially Dwayne, sported unhappy expressions.
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All of them had entered the re-ranking with the goal of finally entering the top 5. After all, they were the closest ones to being able to dethrone the current top 5. However, the gap in their time for finishing off their opponents was large enough to make them wonder if all of their hard work over the past few months was futile.
However, nobody could spare any attention to comfort them as the next round of matches began—including Bridge.
Before Kain could even become anxious on behalf of his brother, he saw that his first opponent was Aria. Despite having a pretty useful gift she truly is no threat. In fact, she may even lose her position as third from the bottom and directly sink to last place after this re-ranking.
This was especially so since unlike all of the other students with at least one orange-grade contract by now, the only contract Aria's revealed so far is still red-grade. Bridge hadn't even needed to use Lady to defeat her, and chose to battle using the red-grade Princess.
Taking Kain's advice, Bridge was trying to conceal as much of his strength as possible.
The day dragged on as students were continuously called for round after round of matches. Among the other battles, surprisingly there was an instance of another kill within seconds. A dark-horse in group 7 ranked 15, named Lucas Montgomery, was surprisingly able to defeat rank 20 who was not too far beneath him in less than 13 seconds.
Moreover, similar to the strange methods used by the top 5, it was similarly difficult to determine his combat method.
'He looks more threatening than the actual seed of group 7, there will probably be an upset within that group.'
Kain finished his second match of the day against the student at rank 42 even more quickly than the first one.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for him, the other times the top 8 students were called upon did not overlap in timing so he was able to observe their performances—as short as they may be.
However, this also meant that they were given the opportunity to also observe him.
Finishing his own second battle and witnessing the remaining battles of students he thought may give him some trouble, he left right after checking out the performances of the rest of his friends.
Bridge was able to win against Elara at rank 37. Meaning that Bridge had currently one both of his fights.
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Thankfully, as Kain predicted, none of his other friends seemed in danger of finishing outside of the top 3 of their respective groups except for Elias in last place.
Of his two battles today, the first was against the seed of his group, Kairos, and Elias had directly abstained. The second was against the 26th ranked student who he once again lost against. However, he put up a surprisingly good fight. Despite the huge difference in rank, this was actually the longest matchup of the day, extending for longer than 30 minutes.
Proving that Elias' current ranking is definitely not an accurate reflection of his current strength.
In fact, the fight may have dragged on for longer if at the 30-minute mark Elias did not attempt to use his gift.
Before anyone knew what was happening, a naked Elias appeared next to the female rank 26.
After a squeal in shock and a sharp exclamation of 'pervert!', she then proceeded to punch him in the face as hard as possible. It was an instant knockout. In a sense it was a seckill in a different sense…
That's right. Elias was not eliminated due to the fight between spiritual creatures, but rather due to he himself being knocked out by his opponent's fist.
Strangely in a beast-taming battle, the outcome was decided by the strength of the fists of the tamers…
Sigh
Kain couldn't help but expel a deep breath as Elias made his way back to the stands with a tissue paper stuck in his nostrils, presumably to stop the bleeding.
Elias was the last match of the day he was interested in, so he immediately returned to the dorm to rest and also formulate a strategy for the next day.
Thankfully, with the Training Arena's Skill Optimizer Bea was able to still train while Kain was doing the re-ranking with Eve and the Vespirae, so her time wasn't wasted.
Since the Vespirae weren't tired due to the quick battles, Kain also sent them to practice battling against some of the spiritual creatures Kain knew were contracted by the remaining opponents in his group in the Training Arena's Battlefield.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!Unsurprisingly, Kain finished at the top of his group and will enter Phase 2 to compete for ranks 1-8.
All of his battles ended almost as quickly as the first one. The longest battle was against the rank 10 student, but still did not surpass 1 minute.
Similarly, Serena, Soren, Ranya, and Kairos also ran through their opponents with incredible speed. Therefore, Kain was unable to obtain any more practical information on their contracts' skills.
Among the other seeds, ranks 6 and 8 also advanced at the top of their groups, but there was one surprise within group 7. The rank 15 Lucas advanced at the top of group 7. Therefore the original seed of that group will at best be able to compete for rank 9 in Phase 2.
Addison and Aiden easily advanced in second place of groups 4 and 5, respectively.
Finn and Leonara competed intensely for the second place in their respective groups. After a long battle Leonara, who was originally ranked 2 places below Finn, managed to prevail and will also compete in the second group in Phase 2. However, Finn who is currently rank 16, may not have his final ranking adjusted greatly if he can finish at the top of the third-placed group.
Within the same group as Finn is Bridge, who narrowly lost out to his opponent at rank 14 in the battle for second place due to an error in choice made by Lady. However, it's been less than a month since she evolved and upgraded. Bridge also doesn't have a System with a Training Arena that can help with rapidly improving skill and battle proficiency.
At the next re-ranking, as long as he keeps up the hard work, Kain predicts that Bridge may be able to finish within the top 2 of his group.
Finally, Elias, likely due to the limitations of the frontal combat ability of his contracts, finished last in his group.
Professor Flint posted the final placements of each student within their respective groups, and the rankings they'd be eligible to compete for in Phase 2. Kain, of course only paid attention to the names of those he knew, which pretty much just consisted of. Those that were in the top 20 since the beginning of the school-year and his friends. The final groupings were as follows:
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——————————–
Phase 2: Ranking Stage
Ranks 1-8: First place from each group.
Participants (current rank in brackets): Serena (1), Kain (2), Soren (3), Ranya (4), Kairos (5), Dwayne (6), Lucas (15), Hailey (8).
Ranks 9-16: Second place from each group competes.
Participants: Camille (9), Mike (10), Liam (11), Addison (12), Aiden (13), Leonara (18), Michael (7), Rai (14)
Ranks 17-24: Third place from each group competes.
Participants: Finn (16), Bridge (39) and Ranks 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25
Ranks 25-32: Fourth place from each group competes.
Participants: Elara (37), Ranks 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31,
Ranks 33-40: Fifth place from each group competes.
Participants: Riley (35), Ranks 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, 47
Ranks 41-48: Sixth place from each group competes.
Participants: Elias (48), Aria (46), Ranks 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45
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———————-
Likely because the students are now closer to one another in strength and effortless quick-decision matches won't occur as frequently, the remaining battles in Phase 2 only occur at a pace of one per day—which explains why they were given two full weeks off from classes during this period.
Kain's first opponent of the day was Hailey at rank 8.
Thankfully, due to her higher ranking quite a bit of information about her had been spread around. Although, the accuracy of the information still needs to be confirmed.
From what Kain had heard, her affinity was related to metal-attribute spiritual creatures and she had a gift that can also add a strong metal defense to a designated target. As a result, of the already strong metal defense of her contracts getting stronger due to her gift, it was difficult to do any damage to them.
Kain had already used the Training Arena's Battlefield to practice fighting against Hailey's two known orange-grade contracts: an Ironhorn Juggernaut, which resembles an extremely large rhino, and a Mercury Sentinel Beetle, which appears like a large beetle made of blue shining, fluid metal.
Of course, he couldn't also simulate the effects of Hailey's gift on them; however, even without the addition of her gift Kain discovered that it took multiple strikes by the Vespirae in the exact same spot to penetrate their defence. And during a high-intensity fast-paced battle achieving that would be difficult.
Therefore, this would be the first battle in which Bea will be revealed. Similar to the Mindweaver Spider from which she got some of her abilities, her mental attribute threads also ignore most defensive methods.
Of the 8 stages set up in the Stadium, 2 were removed to leave only 6 stages that were slightly larger. The first battles for each group were then called to the stage.
The first matchup in Group 1 was between Serena and Lucas.
Surprisingly, the opening match of Group 2 was between the siblings Addison and Aiden.
Therefore, Kain focused the majority of his attention on stages 1 and 2, since the remaining stages didn't include matches with anyone he was particularly close with.
'Hopefully this dark-horse can hold out long enough for me to get some more information about Serena's strength.'
In all field assessments, the beast-tide, and even during the re-ranking so far, she had only revealed one contract—the elemental spirit with 4 attributes. According to the System's Battlefield when Kain simulated battle against it, it is called an Elemental Guardian.
After much practice, Kain was able to defeat it without significant losses to himself. But he knew that Serena's Elemental Guardian was on a completely different level compared to the simulated one, likely because it was benefitting from her gift in some way.
Hopefully, Lucas or some of the others would be strong enough to get her to reveal at least one more contract, or even the identity of her gift.
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Lucas was bound to a spiritual creature that resembled a snake, but it could also be a wyrm due to the two curved horns coming out of its head, although its scales and face were definitely more snake-like. The spiritual creature had black scales that shimmer with violet undertones. Its two black horns flashed and crackled with electricity, and its eyes glowed an eerie, electric blue.
So far Lucas, like Serena and Soren, was the only one within the top 8 to only reveal one contract. Surprisingly, facing Serena he still chose to only release one contract.
'Is it overconfidence, is his other contract too low level to make a difference, or is it some other reason…'
The arena was charged with tension and the whole arena seemed to collectively hold its breath at the first battle between two top students of their year. Finally, they will get to see what a battle between those at the peak of strength in their age-group looked like.
Lucas and Serena's contracts stood facing each other. Serena's Elemental Guardian was starting off in its sturdy earth golem form.
The second the match was signalled to start, Lucas' contract surged forward, unleashing a volley of black lightning that shot through the air like a twisted spear.
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The golem summoned a sturdy shield composed of the earth element, however the unusually coloured lightning seemed to penetrate the shield easily. The golem was forced to raise its massive arms just in time to absorb the brunt of the attack.
However, the black lightning didn't lose much of its momentum going through the shield and shattered the rocky exterior of the golem's arms, sending debris flying. The destructive nature of Lucas's lightning was evident, as it tore through the extremely sturdy earth element like paper.
Observing the black lightning, Kain eventually concluded that it was far more dangerous than ordinary lightning and seems to have a strong destruction or decay property added to it.
Not content with remaining on the defensive, Serena's contract transformed into a blazing, phoenix-like entity. Waves of molten lava cascaded from its wings as it soared toward Lucas. The heat radiated through the arena, forcing Lucas to shield his face.
However, this form definitely had a much weaker defense and didn't dare to face the black lightning head-on. But it had much greater agility and focused on dodging the snake's attacks. For a moment the battle was at a standstill as they exchanged long-distance attacks.
The entire battle had now exceeded 20 seconds, far surpassing the length of time anyone else had lasted against Serena. However, Kain could sense that while Lucas was extremely focused on the battle, Serena wasn't yet taking things seriously.
The elemental Guardian transformed again into an ethereal wind fairy, as Lucas' contract eadied another bolt of black lightning, Serena commanded her wind fairy to create a barrier of swirling air. The winds picked up the debris previously created and sent it spiraling toward Lucas and his contract, momentarily obscuring their view.
A gust of wind far stronger than one would expect to be produced by an orange-grade spiritual creature then redirected the oncoming lightning. The wind shield shifted, causing Lucas' contracts own attack to instead spiral toward his vulnerable body. And, due to having his vision obstructed, he wouldn't even be able to dodge.
Serena chose the more efficient method of taking care of the contractor before the spiritual creature.
'So ruthless…that lightning may very well kill him.' Likely having the same thoughts as him, Kain could see Professor Flint shifting closer to the stage preparing to jump in. However, once he did so the match would be declared over and Serena would be granted the win.
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However, fortunately it seems as though Lucas received a signal from his contract and managed to dodge in time. The lightning instead struck the ground right next to him causing a massive crater of damage to form on the stage.
Serena's contract at some point had shifted back into the earth golem form and slammed its fists into the ground, sending shockwaves toward Lucas, who struggled to regain his footing amidst the chaos.
Lucas' unsteady body then fell from the stage with barely any injuries. The battle was over in a surprisingly anti-climactic manner.
Despite the seemingly ruthless tactic half-way through the battle, she had been surprisingly gentle in how she chose finish things.
'Did she anticipate that he'd dodge the lightning? Or did she truly not care that he'd be seriously injured? But if she didn't care why choose to end things as she did? She could have just bombarded him and his contract to exhaustion or serious injury. After all, he'd personally witnessed her seemingly limitless supply of spiritual power.
The battle was over within 30 seconds, but it was riveting nonetheless.
With it over, Kain turned to focus on Addison and Aiden's battle as some professors with earth-attribute contracts were responsible for repairing the stage. It'd probably take a few minutes to perfectly repair, so he had a little more time before he'd have to go down and prepare to fight Hailey.
Addison and Aiden were currently evenly matched. Addison and Aiden's fire and wind sprites respectively were extremely familiar with one another and perfectly restrained each other.
Aiden's second contract was an orange-grade Tempest Pterix that he'd gotten in his first mission with Kain. He must have spent a ton of resources and effort to get a spiritual creature that hatched less than three months ago up to orange-grade.
Bridge's Princess was slightly older and yet had just barely managed to break through before the re-ranking.
As for Addison, this was the first time that Kain was seeing her second contract. It was a fire-type butterfly spiritual creature, with wings that flickered and danced like living flames. Each wing was a colourful gradient of deep crimson at the base, that transition to bright orange and finally to a golden yellow at the edges, resembling a fiery sunset. It was as beautiful as it was deadly.
Unfortunately, their battle still wasn't complete by the time Kain was called up to the now repaired stage. It was time for his first match of Phase 2.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!The eyes of those in the arena once again moved from stage 2 to stage 1, as the battle between the next two contestants of the top 8 made their way onto the stage.
Included among those watching was a pair of ice-blue eyes watching the stage critically, or more specifically one figure on the stage.
Noticing the attentive gaze, Soren's green eyes looked as though they wanted to skewer Kain alive.
Without any exchange of words, the moment the fight was scheduled to start, Kain released a dense mist to cover the stage. He had no plans to let his future opponents easily obtain any information on his spiritual contract.
He had already summoned Bea before the battle began, but of course nobody else realized the fact. Instead, it looked as though Kain was planning to fight Hailey's two contracts, known for their formidable defence, alone with a spear.
Barely visible threads of mental energy emanated from Bea, weaving through the mist like silken strands. Unfortunately, although not as obvious as the Mindweaver Spider's mental threads, Bea's threads were not completely invisible. Therefore, some of her stealth abilities were exchanged for increased mobility.
The thick mist helped to conceal the threads making their way towards the large figures of the Ironhorn Juggernaut and Mercury Sentinel Beetle.
However, likely sensing the impending threat, The Juggernaut, a colossal rhino with a gleaming metallic hide, stomped its feet, creating tremors in the ground to halt whatever threat its animal instinct could sense was approaching, however it was useless.
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Hailey and the Mercury Sentinel did not sense anything like their ally, but the figures of both contracts began to glow with a metallic sheen as Hailey's gift was applied to them. But it was just another useless action.
The threads, nearly invisible in the dense fog, connected with the Juggernaut's mind, bypassing its formidable defenses. For a brief moment, the beast's movements became sluggish, confusion evident in its eyes. However, the confused haze quickly faded after only struggling for a few seconds. And the mental threads retracted back into the fog without Hailey being able to see anything.
An added benefit of a split being transmitted using the threads as a vehicle was that Bea did not have to maintain contact with the target like the Mindweaver spider did, and once the thread was retracted and the split integrated into the mind, it'd be almost impossible to detect anything.
Kain could get Bea to control both contracts, but he wanted to experiment a little more with Bea's new abilities. Plus, he could conceal his ability to control more than one target at once for a little longer. After all, even if majority of the audience couldn't see anything, there's no guarantee that Hailey won't say anything.
Not to mention there were items and spiritual skills that may be allowing some watching to see his every move.
Hailey, sensing something was amiss, commanded her Juggernaut, who had the best senses and could more accurately find a target in the fog, to charge at Kain's last known position. She expected its massive horn to barrel directly at Kain However, its charge faltered as Bea's split tightened its control over its mind, a subtle puppeteering that left Hailey momentarily unsure about what was going on.
"Come on!" Hailey shouted, hoping to overcome whatever was disrupting its concentration.
It appeared to work as the Juggernaut's eyes seemed to clear and it began to charge again, but to her dismay it charged straight for her Mercurial Sentinel Beetle. Bea's split had taken full control, and it now had no ability to resist. The Juggernaut, the beetle in its perception was called Kain—the target that its master told it to attack.
"Snap out of it!" She screamed, hoping to stop her contract as it barreled towards the beetle.
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With no other choice, Hailey quickly summoned the full might of her gift. She removed the defense from the charging Juggernaut, and instead applied as much as she could to the beetle.
Kain could have easily stopped the battle by seizing control of the beetle as well, but he was suddenly overcome by curiosity. Who would win this contest between two of the metal-attribute spiritual creatures with some of the hardest defense at this level?
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As the Juggernaut closed the distance, the Mercury Sentinel's body shimmered with enhanced metallic energy. Kain watched with an almost morbid curiosity. Will the Juggernaut become like a flattened car driving into a brick wall after the beetle's defense increased? Or will the innate defense of the Juggernaut be enough to overpower the reinforced Mercury Sentinel.
The ground shook as the Juggernaut lowered its horn and charged forward, while the Mercury Sentinel lowered its body to brace for impact.
BOOM!
The collision of the two sounded more like an explosion, and the force was strong enough to momentarily clear the mist enough for the audience to see what was occurring. The arena erupted in gasps as spectators witnessed the shocking scene of infighting occurring. That was until Kain increased the density of the mist once again.
'Sorry. No peaking.'
The Juggernaut collided with the Mercury Sentinel, sending shards of metal and splinters flying in every direction.
To Kain's surprise, the Juggernaut managed to push the beetle backward far enough that it left the arena, but not without consequence. The rhinocerous horn at the front of the juggernaut had been damaged so badly it had been broken almost completely off.
The fight was over. While the formidable defense of Hailey's gift was proven with the Mercury Sentinel only receiving superficial injuries, it had been pushed off the stage and could not rejoin the fight. Meanwhile, her only remaining contract on the stage was no longer under her control.
Clenching her hands in unwillingness, she declared that she gave up the battle. Kain dispersed the mist as the overseeing professor announced his victory.
Kain could see the curious eyes of those in the audience as they tried to figure out exactly what happened.
Having seen the end of the battle, an intense blue glow faded from Serena's eyes as she stopped the use of a spiritual skill and got up to leave.
"The ability of his contract is different…maybe it wasn't him at the auction…" She mumbled under her breath.
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After his own battle, Kain stayed to watch the remaining ones.
Among the matches to decide the rankings of the top 8, Soren unsurprisingly defeated Dwayne. While the close match between Ranya and Kairos ended in Kairos' victory.
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However, Kairos' contracts are definitely an unfavourable matchup for Ranya.
The evenly matched and familiar with one another Addison and Aiden, were undoubtedly the longest battle of the day. However, it ended in Aiden's narrow victory over his sister, meaning that there would be a reversal in the order of their current rankings.
Leonara's matchup against the rank 9 Camille was unfavorable and ended in defeat.
However, both Finn and Bridge were successful in their respective first matches.
Finally, Elias also caught a break and managed to defeat his first ever opponent—Aria.
After a night of rest and some time in the Training Arena's battlefield to practice against prospective opponents, Kain was ready for the next day's battle. His opponent today was Kairos.
Kairos was also an opponent Kain had been particularly wary of, particularly before Bea evolved. Kain had never faced anything similar to a cursed construct before in his life. Would the "brain eating" effects of a brain-eating amoeba be effective against a book?
However, after Bea's evolution, Bea no longer kills in the same manner as before, she kills by erasing all of a spiritual creatures "mindshards" –an embodiment of their memories, emotions, knowledge, and more. Essentially she erases their sense of self—their consciousness.
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Since even cursed constructs are living creatures with a consciousness, then Bea should be effective against both of Kairos's contracts.
And the simulations Kain ran in the Battlefield also supports this point. However, from the simulations, Kain could tell that it takes several times as long to achieve full control over them than most other spiritual creatures.
Therefore, Kain had adjusted his strategy for this battle in preparation for a drawn out fight.
Today, Kain was arranged to be in the last match in group 1.
In the three matches before him, Serena defeated the current rank 6 Dwayne, Ranya defeated the current rank 8 Hailey, and Soren narrowly defeated the dark-horse Lucas.
Meanwhile, Addison, Aiden, Finn, Bridge, and Elias all defeated their respective opponents in earlier matches and were sitting together to cheer on Kain who was currently on stage.
While both of Kairos' contracts, the cursed doll and magic book, were already released, Kain was again starting alone on the stage equipped with an enchanted armor and spear.
However, everyone knew that this was just to conceal as much of his information as possible and that he'd release his contracts soon enough. In fact, Bea was already on the stage invisible to the naked eye.
At the signal to start, Kain began his familiar operation of covering the field in mist. Not that Kairos particularly cared. Neither of his contracts had eyes in the traditional sense, so neither sensed their opponents relying on sight.
Of course, Kain already knew this based on the simulation in the Battlefield, where one time the cursed book had even managed to strike his body directly through the mist.
Therefore, at the same time Kain produced the mist, he also released all 18 of his Vespirae guards. Kain had discovered during the simulations that having as many creatures present as possible was the most effective strategy for confusing the opponent. Especially since the cursed doll was extremely powerful in 1 to 1 combat, but had no area of effect skills.
While the cursed book was much more balanced, most of its skills also favoured attacks directed at a single target, defense and control.
At the same time the Vespirae guards were moving around rapidly to distract and confuse their senses, Bea's threads were creeping towards both of Kairos' contracts.
When the threads were almost upon them, both of the sensitive spiritual creatures sensed that something was amiss and tried to move from the area. However, Bea could produce hundreds of threads, each capped with a split, and it was impossible to dodge all of them.
The moment even one of the threads made contact and a split was added, the threads were retracted.
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Bea's split got to work with trying to exert control over its new host, and even Kain began to use the spiritual skill to boost Bea's all-round stats that he'd traded from the System. He'd been learning it during his free time since the beast-tide and his current proficiency with the skill allowed him to boost Bea by 30%, as long as he sacrificed 100% of his spiritual power.
Finally, the Bea was able to make some headway in controlling both of the cursed constructs. Within all of the time it took to see some effects, the cursed book had mounted a defence around itself, Kairos and the doll. Meanwhile, the doll was taking the time to launch targeted attacks one by one against the Vespirae in the mist.
So far, one of the guards had actually died, and another two were seriously injured.
However, with Bea beginning to exert more control, there was finally a gap in the cursed book's defence. Kain directed all of the Vespirae flying around as a distraction to launch attacks at the three the second that the shield went down.
Unfortunately, that brief moment of weakness in the shield only allowed for three stingers to penetrate the shield. Of which only 2 actually hit their target—the doll.
However, that was enough to knock it out of commission. Now Kairos was only left with the book.
But this confirmed one thing for Kain. In all that time that the book was maintaining the shield, it had not launched any attacks whatsoever. Meaning that the book must be opened to the page in order to use the skill. It was limited to using only one skill at a time.
However, since it was no longer limited to the one page for the shield, it turned to a new page that Kain was unfamiliar with.
A glowing black circle of sigils appeared on the ground beneath the book, from which three large shadowy entities crawled out.
'Well he didn't do that during the beast tide…is it a new skill or was he holding back even during the most tense moments.'
Each of the figures moved as fast as the Vespirae, and one that didn't start moving quickly enough had a massive torso punched through its abdomen by the shadow. A nearby wasp to the one just murdered sent a fierce attack in the shadow's direction, but it went straight through it to strike the ground. It appeared to be able to control whether it was a solid entitity or not.
Now Kain only had 14 guards left, 2 dead and 2 injured. Two of the remaining shadows continued to chase after the Vespirae darting around, while one of them went searching the mist for something—Kain? Whatever was, to this moment, impacting its mind? Or maybe both?
All the while, Kain was channeling his spiritual power into Bea to continue wearing down its mind. They were now in a battle of attrition.
However, finally Bea broke the balance. The book began to fall gently to the floor. Its pages slowly fluttered closed and then all three shadows faded into nothingness.
He had won.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!After three more days of battle, Kain managed to defeat Ranya, Dwayne, and Lucas. So far, Kairos was the most challenging opponent he'd had to deal with both in terms of resistance to Bea, and the number of Vespirae killed.
Lucas' contract had very little resistance to Bea, but had still managed to take down two more Vespirae. Now Kain was down to only 12 guards when he still needed to fight against his two toughest opponents—Soren and Serena.
However, with his current winning streak, Kain had practically confirmed a placement within the top 3.
So far the current tally of wins and losses was as follows:
Serena: 5 wins, still to fight against Ranya today and Kain tomorrow
Kain: 5 wins, still to fight against Soren today and Serena tomorrow
Soren: 4 wins, 1 loss (to Serena), still to fight against Kain today and Lucas tomorrow
Kairos: 4 wins, 2 losses (lost to Kain and Soren), still to fight against Dwayne tomorrow
Ranya: 2 wins, 3 losses (lost to Kain, Kairos, and Soren), still to fight against Serena today and Hailey tomorrow
Lucas: 2 wins, 4 losses, still to fight against Soren tomorrow
Dwayne: 1 win, 5 losses, still to fight against Kairos
Hailey: 0 wins, 6 losses, still to fight against Ranya tomorrow Find adventures at freewebnovel
The arena buzzed with anticipation as the crowd settled in for what was the highest ranked match of the day, between their year's second and third places.
This match could unofficially be considered a semifinals of sort, since it would likely determine the new second and third place position between them.
Kain stood at the edge of the stage, feeling the familiar adrenaline course through him. Across from him, Soren Lysander, glared daggers in his direction.
'And I thought we bonded a little during the beast-tide. What's crawled up his butt?' Kain thought in irritation, unaware that a certain object of Soren's affections had left right after watching Kain's first match a few days ago and not stayed to watch Soren's.
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The refereeing professor signalled the start of the battle. Kain wasted no time in unleashing his signature mist, enveloping the arena in a thick cloak that the audience could not see through.
He had seen the power of Soren's dragon in the previous matches, and he wasn't about to underestimate the potential threat they posed.
Soren, however, appeared unfazed by the swirling haze, his determination burning brighter than ever.
Soren's familiar initial contract, a wind-attribute dragon, spread its wings wide and let out a deafening roar that seemed to shake the very foundation of the arena. The crowd erupted in cheers, despite not being able to see much.
'Is all this showmanship really necessary? He must be really fired up.'
The wind-attribute dragon took to the air, clearing away much of the mist with a flap of its wings. Soren's gaze flickered momentarily to where Kain last seen through the mist, and the distaste in his gaze deepened.
As the dragon circled overhead, Kain decided to shift tactics. He knew Soren relied heavily on the aerial advantages of his dragon, and that was where he could gain an edge.
Bea extended mental threads toward the wind dragon, seeking to connect. Just as Bea initiated contact, Soren sensed the impending threat.
"Watch out!" the dragon unleashed a powerful gust of wind. It was useless for destroying the threads, however it did clear away a substantial part of the mist and allowed Soren, his contract, and many of those seated in the stands to witness the faint mental-attribute strands.
Moreover the wind seemed to contain sharp blades that instantly decimated 2 Vespirae and cut off the wings of another that went crashing to the ground.
The remaining 9 Vespirae attacked the dragon flying above to try and limit its movements, and increase the likelihood of one of Bea's strands making contact. Thankfully, Bea was able to make contact, and all of its defensive measures proved useless.
However, Kain didn't leave it at that. He directed Bea to also send some threads in Soren's direction. After all, when at war it was always best to directly capture the enemy king.
Unfortunately, an amulet on his wrist lit up at the approach of the threads, and actually provided an obstruction to their advancement.
'Tsk…annoying legacies…'
Although Soren himself was safe, he could sense that something was wrong with his contract as it began to sway unsteadily side to side in the air.
In a desperate move, Soren called upon his second dragon for the first time in the competition—a lightning-attribute dragon.
'I guess that confirms that Soren's affinity is most likely for spiritual creatures with a storm dragon bloodline…'
Soren directed his second contract to keep the Vespirae circling his contract above at bay. Just remaining mere feet from it caused another Vespirae guard to freeze as though electrocuted, and then drop heavily to the ground with a loud crash. Now there were only 8 guards.
Meanwhile, Soren used a spiritual skill to help the wind dragon resist Bea's infiltration.
Kain sensed the shift and knew he had to act fast. He commanded Bea to intensify her control of the first dragon, while trying to wrap the threads around the newly arrived dragons. To support her, he once again activated his spiritual skill.
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Finally, despite the continuous movements, a thread made contact with the lightning dragon, and unlike the cursed constructs, it didn't take nearly as long for Bea to trigger some effects. Especially, now that Soren was having to divide his attention and spiritual power evenly between both contracts.
Soren's face contorted with rage and disbelief as he felt his control over them both slipping away. Both dragons began to thrash about as they fought against the threads with all their might. But Bea's relentless assault began to take its toll. Soren's dragons, though powerful, could not withstand the weight of the mindshard manipulation.
Both dragons landed roughly on the ground of the arena while nodding in and out of consciousness. The Vespirae also were relentlessly leaving deep injuries on the now fallen dragons.
However, Soren was never a helpless beat-tamer dependent upon his contracts for protection. With top quality equipment, he made his way towards one of the Vespirae at a speed only slightly inferior to the guards themselves.
Kain could tell through the clothing, that Soren's limbs now had an unusual appearance. He had likely used his gift to transform them and grant this physical boost.
Kain directed the Vespirae to avoid a direct confrontation with Soren and instead attack from a distance. Unfortunately, Bea's threads were unable to affect Soren due to the many amulets and enchanted equipment he wore.
Instead, Kain decided to try getting Soren to ingest a split, similar to the method he used prior to Bea's evolution. Losing the water attribute, she could no longer blend seamlessly into the mist, and so Soren will be able to detect that there was now something added to the surrounding mist.
However, as a microorganism, the floating water droplets were still large enough to carry Bea and some of her splits.
The ease with which she infected the fog was greatly reduced, but once a decently size portion of the mist had her splits in each droplet, Kain directed the fog towards Soren.
The mist was able to penetrate whatever barrier had been able to keep the mental-attribute threads at bay. However, Soren was able to sense that there was something in the mist and managed to avoid the infected sections of fog.
In turn, Kain directed the mist and also instructed Bea to add more splits, until he was able to form a ring of infected mist to trap Soren.
Finally, a split managed to make contact with Soren's body. However, for the first time since Kain first met the Vespirae, there was something fighting hard against Bea's control. Kain could see one gem stone on an ancient looking necklace Soren was wearing was lighting up crazily.
'Why do these legacies have so much damn equipment…?' Kain had never even heard mention of microorganisms from another person since transmigrating to this world, he was shocked that Soren, unlike Aric Nightsbane, had equipment to successfully combat infection.
Once again supporting Kain's hunch that microorganisms aren't completely unknown in this world, the knowledge of their presence may have just been lost with time—or perhaps it was hidden from the general populace. fгeewebnovёl.com
Kain knew that Soren's target was him, so he made a great effort to continuously keep a distance from him through the fog.
Finally, he received some good news from Bea. Both dragons had been successfully controlled. He had them both stand up and then encircle their contractor along with the remaining Vespirae. Of course, if Soren tried to attack, he'd have his own contracts meet him and take the beating.
Kain could sense that Soren tried to retract his contracts back to his star space, but Kain told Bea to help them resist the pull.
Likely sensing Kain's intentions to try and force he and his contracts to harm one another, with an extremely unwilling expression, Soren declared his defeat.
Kain felt a surge of triumph as he retracted the mist along with his contracts, leaving only a glaring Soren on the field that looked like he wanted to eat him alive.
He couldn't shake the feeling that this battle had only further deepened the rift between him and Soren.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!Serena easily won her battle against Ranya, meaning that despite their still being a day before the final matches, the first and second place of their year was pretty much confirmed to be between Serena and Kain.
The majority of the students were betting on Serena's final victory. After all, she still hadn't even needed to reveal another contract and all of her battles had ended in less than a minute so far. Fighting against her same-aged peers just appeared so effortless for her.
On the actual day of Kain's match against Serena, perhaps because this was the deciding battle for the champion of their year, their match was arranged to be the final battle of the day. Meaning that all the other rankings had been pretty much decided. They even removed all the stages for each group to form one larger central stage for the two of them.
However, considering both Kain and Serena had used the strategy of pushing their opponents off the stage, it was unknown who a larger battleground benefitted…Probably the viewers since Kain wouldn't be able to make a mist as thick that covered a stage several times the previous size.
Aside from Kain and Serena who would fight to confirm first and second place, the other rankings had been pretty much determined:
Confirmed Ranks 1-8:
Rank 3: Soren, Rank 4: Kairos, Rank 5: Ranya, Rank 6: Lucas, Rank 7: Dwayne, Rank 8: Hailey
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Aiden and Addison finished at ranks 10 and 12, respectively. Leonara finished at rank 16. Finn finished at rank 17, and Bridge rank 20. Elias finished second in the bottom group at rank 42.
Aside from Bridge, there were no significant changes in the rankings aside from Bridge, who is now in the top 20 and will be moving into a single room.
Additionally, due to their being subtle differences in the size and spiritual power of each top 5 room, despite only being a one rank difference, Ranya and Kairos will need to switch rooms so that Kairos can get the benefits deserving of his rank 4 placement.
Thankfully with the existence of space rings and special skills, moving from one home to another is not nearly as a time consuming or difficult process as it was back on Earth.
With their own ranks already determined, all of the other students, regardless of if they were pleased with their new placement, were now much more relaxed. Kain could sense that their much more leisurely attitude has caused them to regard Kain and Serena's battle with an almost festive air.
Kain could even swear that he heard someone calling out bets, how much money was supposedly in the pot, and the payout odds of either Kain and Serena winning. Serena being the crowd favourite was definitely reflected in the odds called out. Kain could make a killing is he bet on himself and won! Unfortunately, it was too late to get involved.
Serena and Kain stood facing each other on the stage. Serena stood confidently next to her Elemental Guardian already in the form of the wind spirit. Kain, his expression impassive, tightened his grip on his spear. Despite not being able to make a dense mist that can cover the now enlarged stage, the presence of even a thin mist will help with concealing Bea's thin, difficult to see, mental threads.
At the signal to start, Kain released the mist and his remaining 8 Vespirae. However, his practiced movements proved fruitless when the wind spirit let out a massive gust to disperse all of the fog. Kain cursed under his breath; he knew better than to engage in a battle of attrition with Serena to try and produce more mist.
Her contract would never tire while dispersing the mist, so he quickly stopped wasting his spiritual power.
The crowd buzzed with anticipation. This was the peak battle, and thanks to Serena they'd get to see every moment clearly.
Kain wasn't too fazed by not being able to use the mist, already anticipating that she wouldn't give him that level of leisure. But it was worth a shot.
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He knew that this fight would require every ounce of strategy he had developed in the simulations. While Serena's Elemental Guardian could be aggressive and relentless, Kain had learned to exploit weaknesses. He decided to bide his time, watching for the right moment to make his move.
Serena's contract sent sharp blades of wind towards him and all of the Vespirae.
He reacted swiftly, using his spear to deflect the projectiles that while sharp were not too heavy, while his Vespirae zipped around him, creating chaos in the air.
However, the wind blades cut through the air with alarming speed, and while he managed to deflect most of them, a few grazed his arm, drawing blood.
Kain took a deep breath and Bea released a series of mental threads, aiming to fragment Serena's focus. The threads weaved barely noticeable through the air, trying to connect with the wind spirit.
However, Serena noticed the threads and quickly had her contract shift forms, transforming into a fiery phoenix that soared into the air out of the range of the Vespirae and the threads. Kain channeled more spiritual power into Bea to support her extending hundreds of threads over such a great distance.
Those in the audience couldn't help but shudder at the scene. Some knowledge about Kain's abilities had already spread despite his best efforts, so they knew that if even one of those hundreds of delicate looking threads briefly made contact, Kain's unknown contract will use it to control the target.
Therefore, seeing hundreds of such threads, that couldn't be blocked by ordinary means, making their way towards the Elemental Guardian in the sky, they couldn't help but break out into a cold sweat on Serena's behalf. Especially, since the vast majority of them had bet on her.
The phoenix, now far above, unleashed a wave of flames that cascaded down toward Kain and the Vespirae. The fire ignited the air, and Kain felt the intense heat wash over him.
He commanded the Vespirae to create a barrier using their subtle control over the wind element, but considering that they didn't have a specific skill to achieve this effect, whatever shield they made wasn't too strong. It briefly blocked the attack, but the flames were relentless, forcing him to distance himself from blaze.
Due to their seemingly endless supply of spiritual power, Serena's Elemental Guardian was a lot more aggressive in its attacks than the one simulated in the Battlefield.
Likely, distracted by concern for Kain's well-being, Bea's advancing threads momentarily halted their advancement. Read the latest on M-VL-em|p,yr
Seeing this opportunity, the Elemental Guardian dodged to stationary threads and began to fly away—straight towards Kain.
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As the phoenix lunged at him, Kain quickly redirected his Vespirae to create a swirling vortex of wind similar to what they'd produce when ejecting their stingers, hoping to disrupt the trajectory of the fiery assault. Likely due to the familiar movement of the wind, their creation of a vortex was more seamless than the shield.
The phoenix opened its beak, unleashing a torrent of fire that rained down like a meteor shower.
Kain narrowed his eyes, feeling the heat wash over him as he leaped to the side. The flames scorched the ground where he had just stood, and the force of the attack sent some of the Vespirae tumbling through the air. But he had anticipated this moment. Read new stories on freewebnovel
'Now Bea!' He directed. The hundreds of threads already produced dispersed and Kain used his spear again to produce a mist that caught the microscopic splits that were previously suspended at the end of each thread. Instead of waiting for the already elongated threads to change direction and come back, it was better to just disperse them.
Using the mist that he could instantaneously produce and suddenly had hundreds of splits dropped into it. He quickly moved the infected mist to surround the area only around the phoenix.
The heat coming off of the phoenix increased as it sensed that something was wrong with the approaching fog.
The hot temperature of the phoenix caused much of the water droplets in the mist to turn into steam and destroy the splits, however, during the time when its vision was obstructed by dense steam, Kain and Bea concentrated their combined spiritual power into creating a thread that approached the phoenix through the steam before it could react.
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Thankfully, within the protection of the mental attribute threads, the heat from the flames were ineffective at preventing the advancement of the split inside of it. Additionally, thanks to the properties of the Mindweaver's Spider threads, only a brief graze of the wing was enough to inject the split. Bea no longer needed to be ingested to exert a role as long as the threads were used.
He could sense the struggle within the elemental spirit, the tug-of-war between its consciousness and Bea's control. However, he could also sense the endless supply of spiritual power being channeled to it to fight the infection coming from Serena.
Kain directed the remaining Vespirae to swarm around and attack the phoenix, creating a distraction for Bea's easier control. The combination of Kain's mental threads and the Vespirae's relentless attacks began to turn the tide.
Kain channeled much of his remaining spiritual power into boosting Bea. The Elemental Guardian's thrashed wildly and sent out uncontrolled bursts of heat while struggling against Bea's control.
"Almost there…" Kain muttered to himself, sweat beading on his brow as he maintained the connection while dodging the phoenix's attacks.
The crowd was now on the edge of their seats. Would their be an upset? Will there be a new rank 1?
Kain's heart raced, each moment drawing him closer to victory or defeat. He needed to land a decisive blow. To corner the elemental and ensure that Bea's control solidified.
With this battle, he could prove not only to Serena but to everyone watching that he was the rightful rank 1.
However, just when Kain was getting ready for the final push to exert full control, there was suddenly a new presence in the arena. It was a spiritual creature that Kain had never seen before, but he instantly knew its origins with a sinking feeling.
At the same time that Kain noticed the new addition, so did the audience, which broke out into hushed whispers.
For the first time in the re-ranking, Serena had summoned a second spiritual creature.
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Moreover, unlike the other members of their year, it was yellow-grade.
Kain couldn't help but wonder why she had never revealed such a powerful trump card at any point. Not even when there were civilians in danger during the beast-tide. Despite looking extremely cold, Kain could tell from the lack of injuries in her previous opponents that her character was not bad.
However, upon examining the new addition, Kain could tell from the lack of any green-tinge to its spiritual power that it was likely in the very early stages of yellow-grade and had probably only broken through within the past 2 months. Most likely, due to the suddenness of the beast-tide, Serena's yellow-grade contract was actually in the process of breaking through for those days.
Therefore she was greatly limited to what spiritual creatures she could call upon. However, as she'd likely been atleast a 3-star beast-tamer for quite a while, Kain found it hard to believe that she didn't have a third contract. Why limit yourself to only using one? Was something wrong with the third? Or did it have some kind of unusual circumstance.
Serena's second contract was a majestic spiritual creature that appeared like a sylph composed of stars. With a translucent form that shimmered like starlight, she appeared as a tall, graceful figure made of cosmo energy.
Her wings resembled a serene night sky filled with constellations. And she had a serene, almost wise expression that seemed to reflect the universe's vastness, giving her an air of both beauty and authority.
Kain could sense that this contract had one of the most mysterious and rare attributes of the empire. It also happens to be the most worshipped and respected attribute of the empire—the star-attribute. freeweɓnvel.com
Kain had never even seen a spiritual creature with this attribute before, nor was he familiar with what a star attribute skill would look like.
Unfortunately, Kain wasn't given much time to examine the rare creature. Not long after being released, the sylph raised her delicate arms and a cascade of stars began to descend appearing like the most beautiful glowing rain.
As the stars approached Kain and his contracts, they transformed into shimmering, golden particles. Kain felt the warmth of the stars wrapping around him, a protective cocoon infused with otherworldly strength. He knew logically that this couldn't be good, but he couldn't bring himself to resist the comfort they provided. However, soon Kain had no more thoughts.
The crowd gasped as Kain and his contracts were gradually made into golden statues flickering with light, their forms frozen in time with serene expressions. The statues glimmered and shimmered, reflecting the sky above which was suddenly covered in stars despite it being daytime still, a breathtaking display that captivated everyone watching.
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One moment Kain was in the middle of a battle, the next he was lying in an infirmary room with his last blurry memory being of falling stars.
'Sigh…Looks like I will be second place for 3 more months. But mark my words, after the next re-ranking I will definitely be number 1.'
After all, it was understandable to lose against a strong contract higher in level. Not to mention that she may have more yellow-grade contracts. She had a head start due to awakening an affinity early. However, Kain had total confidence that once he caught up, he wouldn't be at all inferior to her.
After a brief check-up by a professor to make sure there were no lingering side-effects from being frozen like that, Kain made his way back to the dorms. The battles today were intense, so the closing speeches by the professors will be held tomorrow to give the students a chance to rest and recuperate.
Additionally, tomorrow is when they'd be given their first access to the Enchanted Spring. Up to one day of rest to restore their condition after a series of stimulating battles, has been shown over the years to slightly increase the chances of getting a gift.
Which is precisely why this opportunity is provided after the first re-ranking of each year, which usually has the most intense battles as the students returning from the summer break had spent much of their time improving their abilities drastically. If there are any drastic changes in rank, it is unlikely to occur after the first re-ranking of the year. Read today on freewebnovel
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The next morning Kain and the other first-years, as well as the upperclassmen who'd completed their own re-rankings in other arenas, were brought through a dense patch of trees to a clearing with rows of seats arranged in circles that got progressively higher up to see a over the heads of those in front.
The step-like seats were composed of a pale white stone, and covered in Ivy with moss-covered benches that increased the students' comfort.
The sun streaming through the leaves of the tall trees was focused on the low stage at the center of the clearing.
It was as though this gathering area had been composed by nature itself and was incredibly calming to the entering students.
All of the students were dressed in a fully black uniform that stood out against the white steps. The uniform of unknown material had been given to everyone after the re-ranking yesterday, and they'd been instructed to wear it today.
The Dean of the Beast-taming Department made his way to the stage while they all applauded. This was actually the first time Kain was getting to see any of the college's Deans, much less the even higher-up Chancellor.
After applauding, the gathered crowd settled into a respectful silence, eager to hear his words.
"Greetings students and faculty. I am Dean Evermore of the Beast-Taming Department." He began, his voice steady and commanding. "Today marks not only the conclusion of this year's first re-ranking but also the culmination of each of your hard work and determination."
"I will keep this brief, as I am sure each of you are eager to enter the Enchanted Spring— a sacred place that has nurtured countless talents before you. This Spring offers a unique opportunity for those without a gift to awaken their true potential, while also granting those of you with gifts the chance to strengthen and refine your abilities.
"The order in which you will enter the spring reflects your hard-earned placements, beginning with the top 5 of each year. May the top 5 determined yesterday for each year please make their way to the stage. "
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Kain went to the stage along with the 19 other students who were crowned as being within the top 5 of their year. Looking around, Kain could see that similar to the first years, there were no new additions to the top 5 in the upper years either. Kain was glad, since he'd gotten to bond with many of them during the beast-tide and didn't want anyone to them to have to leave.
"Congratulations once again to each of you. You may enter the spring, and I wish you the best of luck!"
With a sweeping gestured he directed them to leave the stage and go down a path carved out of the dense trees to the left of the stage.
Kain followed the upperclassmen off of the stage. Surprisingly though, only three of the second-years, Jin and two girls Kain wasn't as familiar with, and Oliver among the third-years, continued forward. All of the fourth years, and many of the third and second years returned to their seats. Kain went next to the still-walking senior he was the most familiar with to ask about it—Oliver.
However, before Kain could even open his mouth to ask, Oliver likely already anticipated his question and spoke up pre-emptively.
"The spring is only effective for awakening a gift, and strengthening it one time. After your gift has experienced being strengthened once, it won't continue to work."
"So not only do they all have a gift, they've also all successfully strengthened it? I thought the success rate wasn't so high for either?" Kain asked in confusion. Was obtaining benefits form the spring guaranteed?
Oliver shook his head, "The success rate isn't so high. Once those outside of the top 5 enter, more and more students will still not have received both opportunities from the spring. The reason why the success rate seems so high among us is because many of them already had gifts upon entering the school, and so they managed to strengthen it during the first or second time entering the pool.
"Additionally, those with a higher ranking will receive more of the pool's benefits. The potency of the spring for those ranked 6 to 20, may than 75% of what you'd have access to, and as you keep going down the rankings, the less effective the spring will continually go down."
Kain nodded in understanding, and continued following the leading upperclassmen to make sure that he was going in the right direction until they reached what appeared to be the opening of a cave.
As they got closer to the mouth of the cave, Kain could feel a density of spiritual power that pressed on his body and made it feel as though the gravity in the area had doubled. However, despite the immensely uncomfortable feeling, Kain still didn't have his anticipation dampened.
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With each step forward, the spiritual power grew heavier and wrapped around him like a heavy cloak, intensifying with every inch they drew nearer.
Kain clenched his fists hard enough to draw blood to prevent himself from showing any strain. He could see Ranya begin to walk unsteadily and start panting, but the upperclassmen didn't seem to feel anything. Similarly, Soren and Serena also seemed to be having no issues.
"If you didn't already learn to do so in lectures or at home, this may be challenging for you, but you can try having your spiritual power circulate throughout your entire body to provide an all-round increase to your constitution." Oliver instructed.
However, Kain was never the most talented at manipulating spiritual power and couldn't achieve the effect Oliver mentioned just based off of a brief description. He could only continue to endure. Thankfully, although the pressure was uncomfortable, it wasn't painful. And in fact, the sensation was pretty exhilarating raising his anticipation for the spring even higher.
Inside the cave, the walls sparkled with mineral deposits that shimmered like stars caught in stone, casting reflections that danced across the smooth, wet floor.
The deeper they travelled, the more vibrant the colors became—emerald greens and sapphire blues mixed with soft purples, creating an otherworldly picture.
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As they entered the main chamber, the Enchanted Spring lay before them, a crystalline pool surrounded by luminescent stones that seemed to vibrate to a certain rhythm with the movements of the water in the spring. It was as though the entire chamber was alive and breathing.
Kain stepped forward, drawn to the edge of the pool. The weight he felt began to transform into something lighter, almost buoyant, as he approached the water. The very air felt electric, charged with possibilities, and for a moment, he allowed himself to dream of what might come next.
However, after the disappointment of his affinity ceremony, he no longer allowed his imagination to run wild with hopes and dreams of an ideal gift. He would take what he could get. Although a teeny tiny part of him couldn't help but think of some of his favourite superheroes back on Earth with some longing…
"No need to disrobe, the uniform provided to you will not only help you regulate your body temperature, but it will also efficiently allow the properties in the water of the to make contact with your body. Otherwise, to maximize the full effects of the spring you'd need to get naked." Oliver said.
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As the only third-year present, he had easily taken on a leadership role, unlike his usual playful self.
However, Kain could tell that Oliver was also unusually tense. Despite the great help his presence was for Kain and the other first-years, to Oliver being the only top 5 student in the third-year who hadn't yet strengthened his gift, if he'd even awakened a gift to begin with, was nothing to be proud about.
"How do you know if you've awakened your gift or successfully strengthened it?" Ranya asked out of curiosity. Was there a specific moment when they knew they had achieved their goal?
"It's much easier to tell if you've successfully strengthened your gift. Most people with a gift are already in tune with their gift, and can easily notice subtle changes to it even without using their gift." Oliver said.
"However, knowing when you've awakened a gift and figuring out what the gift is exactly is more challenging. It's like you suddenly have an additional limb or tail on your body that you can't see. You can feel that something is different…something is there that wasn't before. But if you suddenly had a small tail growing out of you, would you be able to move it freely?
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In fact, it may even take you a while to figure out exactly what is different about you. That's why there are some rare cases of people awakening a gift, and feeling the presence of a gift, but not successfully being able to use it until years later. Although such cases are definitely rare."
'Please don't be me…' Kain really didn't think he had any luck with these sorts of things. It took him a long time to even figure out what his affinity was, much less the more confusing gift.
'Wait… System! If I awaken a gift, would you be able to help me identify and use it?'
*Identify, yes. Use, no.* Kain only received a cold reply in return. However, he wasn't disheartened. At least unlike some who'd be searching blindly, the System could help him figure out exactly what it is.
As Kain dipped his fingers into the pool, a shock of warmth surged through him, a huge contrast to the coolness of the surrounding cave.
He quickly sank the rest of his body into the water following the upperclassmen who'd already done so without hesitation. After all, they needed to suck up as much of the energy in the pool as they could before more people came.
The moment his body made contact, he felt a rush of energy pulse through him. The spring felt alive as it flowed into him. It coursed through his veins, igniting every nerve ending, a delightful tingling sensation that spread from his skin to his core.
The moment they fully immersed themselves, a collective gasp among the first-years echoed in the chamber, a sound filled with astonishment and exhilaration.
The world around him blurred as the spring enveloped him completely and he sank fully beneath the water. However, despite being submerged, he had no trouble breathing.
Kain felt weightless, as if he were floating in a void, the confines of the cave fading away. The colors swirled around him, vibrant and alive, each hue pulsing in sync with his heartbeat. He could feel the energy of the spring merging with his own spiritual power, amplifying it in a way he had never experienced before.
Visions danced before his eyes—scenes from both his past and current life. Moments with his parents, hanging out with friends, touching moments at the orphanage, snippets of his past battles, moments of growth, and flashes of potential futures. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Time lost meaning as he remained suspended in that moment, enveloped by the spring's energy. Kain understood that the awakening of a gift was more similar to that of spiritual creatures evolving. Each student was being reshaped, their destinies rewritten, and when they re-surfaced from the depths of the spring, they would have a new power within them.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!After closing his eyes for what felt like only a brief moment, Kain was roused from the dreamy feeling he was experiencing.
With each breath, his mind grew clearer and clearer until he could sense the subtle changes within him—a latent power just waiting to be harnessed. However, he could tell that his gift was not one that he'd readily be able to use anytime soon.
As he stepped out of the pool and back onto the stone floor of the cave, he was shocked by the dense mass of floating bodies beneath the pool. It seemed as though he was in the spring for much longer than he'd thought considering he recognized many students much further down the rankings within the pool.
He didn't want to hog the properties of the spring, especially when so many others were relying on this chance as an opportunity to drastically increase their power. It was vital for everyone to have an opportunity to awaken their gifts, whatever they may be. He turned away from the spring, heading for the cave's exit.
As he stepped outside, the bright light of the sun momentarily blinded him. The area outside of the cave was alive with the happiness of the students who had just emerged from the spring. He squinted, taking in the scene: laughter, shouts of joy, and the occasional gasp of surprise floated through the air, mingling with the sweet scent of blooming flowers and fresh earth.
At the entrance, Kain noticed a group of professors standing vigilantly, likely to prevent any accidents from students unable to control their new gifts. Their expressions were a mix of concern and anticipation. Kain recognized Oliver among them, the unfamiliar serious and tense expression from before entering the pool now a lot more loose.
Presumably whatever goal he'd entered the spring with had been achieved.
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Nearby, another student, a second year just outside of the top 5, was causing mischief by uncontrollably summoning flames, igniting nearby foliage and causing a commotion. Laughter erupted from the crowd as a couple of students dodged the fire, their expressions a mixture of shock and amusement.
"Be careful!" one professor shouted, waving a hand to extinguish the flickering flames before they spread.
"Are we supposed to stay here?" Kain asked Oliver, gesturing toward the exit. Stay connected with freewebnovel
"Depends…did you awaken a gift or strengthen your current one? Once everyone's out, the professors will conduct a brief session to help those who have awakened or strengthened their gifts," Oliver explained. "It's crucial that we help them learn to control it before letting them run wild."
Kain nodded in understanding and then went to an isolated area of the clearing to investigate the gift he'd awakened. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he was not one of the students who could have an instant sense of how to use his gift like the second-year pyromaniac who was still occasionally setting fire to random objects.
Kain opened the System and went to his profile looking for any changes. Finally, he found the new addition of a 'gift' section within his profile amongst all of his other stats.
"Traveller's Souvenir"
'Seriously System?! That's all the help you'll give me? That name tells me absolutely nothing!'
Kain tried to figure out what exactly the name could possibly mean, and possibly explore his body along those lines, but the name was just too abstract.
Just as Kain was about to lose himself in frustration, he spotted Bridge emerging from the cave. His brother looked a bit excited but mostly confused.
"Bridge!" Kain called out, rushing toward him.
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Bridge turned, a mixture of emotions playing across his face. "Hey, Kain! Did you—"
"Did you awaken a gift?" Kain interrupted, his heart pounding with anticipation.
Bridge shook his head vigorously, then hesitated before nodding slowly. "I think I might have, but I'm not sure. I felt… different when I was in there. But now that I'm out, I can't really pinpoint what it is. I left because the spring didn't feel like it was working on me anymore."
Kain furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
"I just… can sense something, but it's like it's hiding from me," Bridge replied, glancing back toward the cave as if expecting an answer to emerge from it. "I can't activate it like either of those guys. So that must mean I failed, right?" Bridge pointed at the guy who was still occasionally setting fire to things, and another first-year who exited the spring not long before Bridge.
His eyes kept suspiciously changing color and he's been sneakily passing glances over the chest area of a female third-year student for a while now.
As if on cue, another fire erupted in a corner of the clearing, and the fed up third-year student suddenly yanked the suspicious first-year with colour-changing eyes away with an exasperated expression. Soon the sound of loud, painful screams echoed back to them, causing Kain to wince.
'I guess nobody explained to him that not all gifts are able to be identified and used right away…'
"If you feel that something is different, that's a good sign. You probably have a gift, but just haven't met the conditions to activate it. Don't worry and take your time exploring it." Kain tried his best to comfort him despite also being frustrated by his own situation.
However, unlike Bridge, who had no leads to go off of or even a way to conclusively determine that he had a gift, Kain at least had a name for and confirmation that he had a gift.
"That's nice to know, but I wish I could figure out what this 'gift' is. It feels frustrating!" Bridge exclaimed, running a hand through his hair.
As more students continued to filter out of the cave, Kain and Bridge were greeted by their friends and acquaintances with varying expressions. While many students had awakened or strengthened a gift. The vast majority were still left with feelings of disappointment at not having a gift.
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