In the forest behind the academy the students came on the eighth day to attend the meditation lecture
The goal of [Qi Breathing] is still under execution with ten days remaining
"Do you see that green color?, what is that?"
"Yes I see it, is it toxic gas?"
"My skill warns me of danger but I don't sense it here it must be safe"
"You have a danger warning skill can you tell me about it"
"Me too"
"I also will pay"
"I can trade it for a movement technique what do you think"
The students of the meditation lecture gathered and found that their place was filled with green gas no one approached as it was a strange scene but they soon felt it
Danger
"There's something someone alert the instructors"
"Come on let's go quickly"
"Stop there's no need for panic" said Instructor Mark as he arrived quickly and calmed them
There was danger brewing there but they didn't have to wait long
Three young men appeared one had dark golden hair and bright honey eyes with a radiant and enthusiastic face the second had shining golden hair and ruby red eyes with a neutral expression and the last had pitch black hair and eyes like fresh blood calm as a lake
"You three have surpassed human limits even if just by a few levels it seems I'll need to accelerate the Class curriculum this year"
His words were like a bomb to the students behind him whispers gasps silence despair disappointment anticipation and hope quickly spread
"They actually surpassed it I'm still struggling with my sleep schedule" one student said to his friend
"Damn favoritism of course they have better skills than us"
"Shhh it's forbidden to transfer skills between different classifications"
"Maybe they have a cousin who hasn't even broken through classification G and gave them those skills"
"That might actually be true"
In the background there was a quiet girl compared to the rest of the students she had extremely beautiful violet eyes even her hair was dark purple with lighter strands
Unfortunately the blue uniform ruined the scene a bit along with the black collar
Darlick emerged from the Qi gathering filled with strength and health his body overflowing and almost bursting
The same with Leo and Ray which made the matter somewhat irritating
'Did they reach my same point I have [Qi Control] and [Basic Cultivation Technique] how did they strengthen their bodies the right way just by breathing Qi or is [Deep Meditation] evolving faster'
He was walking and thinking until it happened
[The Constellation of The Stray King is watching you]
"Huh" he stopped and turned around
His reaction attracted attention but he didn't care
'What is this it's the system's voice but it's an unprecedented message what is this' he didn't have a sword and wasn't armed but he stood ready for anything coming
'Hallucinations from demons is all of this unreal'
He looked around as if the scene slowed and froze he was overwhelmed with terror and also with the distant violet eyes
But the matter soon ended and things returned to normal Leo and Ray looked at him and asked what happened
"Give me a moment I'll be right back" he rushed directly toward the girl but didn't find her
'Where is she she was just here a moment ago damn it'
"Darlick are you okay it seems the breakthrough affected you you should rest" Instructor Mark placed his hand on his shoulder and calmed him
"Yes Instructor, the three of us will sleep as soon as we arrive"
Leo and Ray didn't ask what happened Darlick had previously entered a strange state due to brushing against the unknown
Humans are a race from classification H contact with G or F classifications could destroy them with a single misstep
Magic and cultivation classes are known for their madness, combat class are also known for their love of killing or body explosions due to overload
The three returned to the hut and slept immediately their bodies were indeed filled with strength and their minds remained active for a longer time but they had surpassed their limits
They woke up 10 hours later at 8 PM
'I had a strange dream' Darlick spent his time lying down browsing his skills in hopes of finding inspiration
And he found it
'Hmm merging [Metabolism] [Health] and [Endurance] with [Qi Breathing]'
[You have acquired Qi Construction]
'Hmm it's a skill that allows me to build small organs in my body and link them directly to Qi dangerous if misused and somewhat useless since I can't grow a new limb or anything like that'
Darlick reached [Health] and [Endurance] stats of 11 the human peak is 10 which is ten times stronger than an average adult human
Funny that just 8 days ago he had almost no power to mention
Before the academy he lived under a bridge outside the city near the demon zone there were some supplies here and there he was discovered by an elite by chance and since he had demonic blood he was considered a good talent
Those with demonic blood tend to become a little stronger and a bit more ambitious also someone with demonic blood living on the edge of human lands is definitely a noteworthy talent
He never had real friends before those he dealt with were drug dealers gangs and other homeless children
So he was very excited to make acquaintances and friends for the first time
Humanity has one city left that hasn't fallen the rest of humanity either went extinct or was enslaved it's said there are living districts in the west but it's not confirmed
Though it's called a city it's a massive mega city to simplify procedures surveillance and defense
Built in a hexagonal design each wall has its own defense assault and scouting teams
Leo's father is the leader of one of the scouting teams
Only about 60 million humans remain and a large portion of them live below the poverty line
Humanity is dying
It's unclear how the Nightmares benefit from Earth and humans they are a race from classification F why do they need humans their planet already uses mana so what benefit do they gain from Earth which was mana less until a few years ago
What would they gain from a planet clearly inferior to them
It's unclear but what is clear is that the fate of humanity lies in the hands of the Nightmares if they attack in unison and seriously humanity would be wiped out in mere hours or less
'I can't absorb more Qi my body is overflowing with it'
'Can I build a small organ to store Qi inside like a mana core so even when I consume lots of Qi I won't run out quickly but how'
He sat up on his bed and looked at Ray relaxing on the opposite bed in the room
"Ray tell me about your father's class" Ray was surprised by his boldness but didn't mind
Leo also paid attention to the conversation
"My father's class is simply [Spatial Mage] it grants him control over mana and some amazing space related skills" he said proudly pointing his finger in the air
"Does it give him a mana core too?"
"Yes of course"
"How does the mana core work by the way?" he asked with eager eyes though he was secretly afraid they'd steal his emerging idea
They were nearly catching up anyway not to mention Leo's overwhelming superiority in swordsmanship
"It treats mana like blood and forms a heart for it like a circulatory system it distributes mana properly in the body and also acts as a mana storage some advancement keys for certain classes are filling the mana core" he explained while gesturing in the air
"So why did your father stop progressing?" he quickly changed the topic after getting his answer
Ray looked at the ceiling with sadness and answered
"Mage class rely on study and research in magic to progress the most important mage skill is [Magical Analysis] it's the key to study research and performance,
There was a major project aiming to merge cultivation and magic categories so they tried merging [Magical Analysis] with various cultivation techniques but it was a disastrous failure that cost many elites their lives including my father, cultivators study the Dao which is very similar to magic but relies not on analysis and research but on meditation and understanding there was a Space Dao cultivator among them and my father hoped to acquire the Space Dao but as I said the experiment failed" he sighed
Leo also felt the need to participate so he did
"I don't know much about my father he's always on scouting missions but I don't blame him all his missions are crucial for humanity even if he wasn't around in my childhood I admire and respect him and don't blame him, anyway I don't even know his class or his squad's role but I think it's related to knighthood he loves his sword more than me I guess and never parts from it, I haven't seen him fight much but his style mainly relies on dueling" Leo's expression wasn't sad rather very neutral
"I don't have much to say I was born in the hunting zone of the Kaimur demon family I don't know what happened to my mother and father my earliest memories are of being part of another group of children somehow surviving then I split from them and made my own hunting zone" the two were shocked by this sudden drama
"What do you mean by hunting zone?" Ray asked
"Areas outside the human city still have some resources my hunting zone includes some streets with abandoned shops and such" he described with clear eyes
"So what happens if someone attacks your hunting zone?" Leo asked
"I track them down find their area and report them to one of the gangs they'll handle it" he said casually
But silence spread
"Do they die?" Ray asked naively
"I don't know maybe something worse"
And so the conversation ended there's nothing they can really do the situation outside the city is totally unstable and full of demons and death
Their training today was in the field and they wouldn't return without making significant progress Darlick apologized and said he'd stay in the room a bit longer while they went ahead
They didn't ask why assuming he was in a bad mood from remembering his past
He sat on his bed after a while of their departure and began gambling
He had failed last time when acquiring [Qi Control] which turned out to not change his situation much and he'd soon fall behind again but today he would succeed
He activated [Basic Cultivation Technique] and began circulating Qi in his body his body was overflowing with Qi so it was a bit risky then he deactivated it and activated [Qi Control]
Trying to control while feeling dizzy was hard almost impossible without guidance
'The mana core forms below the stomach but if I mess with that area I might ruin my future class' so he decided to conduct his experiment on his spine
Along his spine he picked a spot and began forming some flesh using [Qi Construction] the goal was a mass with high Qi storage potential
He did it slowly draining his vitality but he felt he was on the right track
Slowly but steadily the small core was formed but it was too small to help
'Mana cores aren't entirely organic they exist in a quantum overlap between energy and matter I have a plan'
Mana is a miraculous energy as are skills [Qi Construction] guarantees he can build whatever he wants as long as the conditions are met and he believed he needed mana to realize his idea
He couldn't control mana but there was a way
One of the water purification methods he used since childhood was putting clean and polluted water with a filter between them then pressing the polluted water toward the clean the density would pass to the clean water leaving the pollutants behind
The clean water is the desired mana for the core the polluted is the Qi since it carries traces of mana the filter is the organic part of the core
He did it and pressed the Qi using [Qi Control] onto the core it was a dangerous process especially on his spine but he would do it to not fall behind
Time passed and the core grew in energy and matter until it reached its limit he stopped the process and collapsed to rest a bit