The evening was getting darker. The shadows were turning a nasty purple color as our military convoy drove away from the city lights. We were now driving through the Death Valley pass, which's a really narrow and dangerous road. The cliffs, on both sides were so high that they seemed to touch the sky. This place was called No Man's Land, where the rules that people follow do not apply anymore and the rules of the monster start. The Death Valley pass was a place and No Man's Land was even worse.
The silence inside the transport truck was really heavy. It was only broken by the rumble of the engine. Soo-yun sat across from me. Her hands were tightly gripping the hilt of her sword. Her knuckles were white, with tension.
Ryan was usually a talker but now he was quiet. He was pressed into the corner of the truck staring out the glass window with wide and scared eyes. The transport truck was not a place to be right now. Soo-yun and her sword were a part of this uncomfortable feeling.
"Stay sharp everyone!" Colonel Vikrams voice came over the radio. "We are going into the Red Zone now. You can really smell the Mana here. The smell of Mana is very strong.. Where you find Mana you will find things that want to hurt us like predators that live off the Mana.
The Colonel had just stopped talking when a scary sound went through the canyon. It was, like a loud crack.
A big rock, as big, as a small car crashed into the front truck. This truck swerved hard towards the edge of the ravine.. Colonel Vikram jumped out really fast using his strong Mana aura to hold the truck and stop the truck from falling down into the ravine. Colonel Vikram and his Mana aura were able to keep the truck safe. The Mana aura of Colonel Vikram was very powerful.
The Colonel yelled "AMBUSH! EVERYONE OUT! NOW!". This really got the students moving. They were so scared. The Colonels loud voice made them get up and do something. The Colonels words were like a wake up call, for the students.
As we got out of the trucks the cliff, above us just exploded. Hundreds of Blade-Wing Gargoyles came down on us like a storm of rocks. These Blade-Wing Gargoyles were not very strong. There were so many of them and their wings were so sharp they could cut through really tough steel. The Blade-Wing Gargoyles just kept coming. It was scary.
"Form a perimeter! Back to back!" Soo-yun shouted, drawing her blade. She was really scared. The training she had was helping her to stay calm and do what she needed to do. Soo-yun was trying to keep her cool and remember everything she learned in her training because Soo-yun knew that was the way she was going to get through this situation.
The situation went bad fast. These Gargoyles were not, like the targets they practiced with at the Academy. A group of four Gargoyles attacked Ryans squad. Ryan yelled "Save me get these Gargoyles off me". He dropped his sword and fell back. One of the Gargoyles swiped at Ryan with its claws and cut his shoulder making him bleed a lot.
"Ryan!" Soo-yun. She went to help Ryan but then some more monsters got in her way. There were three of them. Another Gargoyle came from, behind Soo-yun it was going for her neck.
I saw that Colonel Vikram was really busy fighting off the beasts at the front. I had to do something to help Colonel Vikram. I could not let anyone know what I can really do. So I put a bit of my Mana into my fingertips and I used a special trick: Spectral Air Bullets. I was being very careful, with my Mana because I did not want to give away my secret. Colonel Vikram was still dealing with the beasts and I wanted to help Colonel Vikram without making it obvious that I was using my Mana to make Spectral Air Bullets.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Three silent ripples of compressed air hit the eyes of the Gargoyles that were surrounding Soo-yun. The Gargoyles folded mid-air. Crashed into the dirt. Soo-yun. Looked around to see who had saved her. She was looking for the person who had made the shot that saved her. The Colonel was too far away to have done it. Soo-yun kept looking trying to find out who had actually made the shot that had saved Soo-yun.
I pulled out my Academy sword, the one they gave me when I started. I moved quietly and quickly. I did not do any moves I just stayed hidden behind the trucks and hit the monsters where it would hurt them the most. It probably looked like I was just lucky to people who do not know how to fight. I was actually being very careful and precise, with my Academy sword.
11:00 PM: Sector 7 - Army Headquarters
The convoy was fighting for an hour and then it finally got inside the gates of Sector 7. This place was not a camp it was a strong place made of concrete and iron. The walls around it were very tall. Had big guns on top which showed that this was the last safe place before everything got really bad. The walls of Sector 7 were like a warning that you were, at the edge of where people lived.
The Sergeant, who had a lot of scars said to us "Welcome to a bad place kids, from the Academy."
We walked to the Barracks. They told us that these are our rooms. We have to share with one person. The place where we eat is in Block B. We only have ten minutes to eat. The day at 0400 hours we have to go on our first patrol, at the Barracks. We will be going on patrol from the Barracks.
I was put in a room, with Ryan. Ryan fell onto his bed holding his shoulder and crying softly. Ryan said "I want to go... This is not what they told us Ryan was supposed to do."
I ignored him. Looked out the little window with bars on it. It was really dark outside. I saw thousands of red eyes shining back, at me. My System said to me:
[ Location: Army Frontier - Sector 7 ]
[ Status: Check-in Successful! ]
[ Reward Unlocked: 'Legendary Weapon Chest' (Pending) ]
To open the chest you have to use the Mana Healing Stone and get all of its power. The Mana Healing Stone is really important here. You need to take in everything the Mana Healing Stone has to offer. This is the way to open the chest so make sure you fully absorb the Mana Healing Stone.
I took the glowing stone out of my pocket. The stone felt really powerful. I sat quietly with my eyes closed. I could feel the energy of the glowing blue stone in my hands. Ryan was not moving he was. Sleeping or hurt really badly. I started to take in the energy of the glowing stone.
My body got hot all of a sudden. I mean my internal temperature just went up fast. The Mana in my body started moving quickly it was, like a big wave of water. My true Level, which is 29 started going up quickly too. The number 29 is my Level. It is going up fast now.
[ Level Up! ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ Current Level: 31 ]
As I walked into Level 30 I heard a voice, in my head. It was a low voice that seemed to vibrate. The voice of Level 30 was saying something to me.
You did it. You have unlocked the stage of the Spectral Blade. This stage is called the Void Walker.
Then someone knocked really hard on my door. They shouted "Jin-woo come out here. Colonel Vikram wants to see you in his office now Jin-woo must go to Colonel Vikrams office immediately."
The Sergeant's voice was stern. Did the Colonel suspect me? Or was there a suicide mission waiting for me in the dead of night?