Chapter Two: New World. Far from home.
[Prerequisite has been met.]
[Initialising System…]
[1% 2% 3%... 6%... 8%... 10%]
[System's awakening stuck at 10% due to insufficient energy. Master is adviced to head to areas with abundant natural essence.]
[Due to initialisation being only at 10%, system functions are limited. Master can only view his profile, accept missions and receive rewards.]
[Profile:
Name: Valen
Rank: -
Location: Unknown
Status: Commoner
Potential: F]
[Beginner's bonus available, do you wish to view]
[Yes / No]
…
Valen felt an intense bout of dizziness, causing him to clutch his head with one hand. After a while, he found that he was lying on the ground and could finally glance around him.
He saw the old book lying a small distance away and above it was an incredibly eye-catching floating blue screen.
'A projection?' This was Valen's first thought as he struggled to get up, walking over to pick the ancient book off the ground.
The "Apocalypse of the Crimson Forces" was glowing blue, but Valen didn't have the time to contemplate on the reason behind this as the question caught his attention.
Hesitantly raising his pale hands and tapped on the "Yes".
…
[Beginner's bonus unlocked: {Basic Punching Stances}]
…
Before he could react, the book in his hands opened on its own to a blank page devoid of letters.
Valen was staring incomprehensively at the empty page when, all of a sudden, characters began to appear on the page. In no time, the entire page was filled with the drawing of a dark silhouette posed in various styles and angles while throwing out punches.
Valen immediately realised that this was the "Basic Punching Stances" talked about. He didn't have the time to practice punches as the imperative thing right now was to find out his current location.
Valen close the book and carefully surveyed his surroundings, finding that he was in a dark alley filled with cobwebs. Some stray cats could be seen chasing after rats while voices filled with laughter and happiness resounded from afar.
Valen scowled deeply. He didn't know where this was. He couldn't remember there being such a place in Greensail City.
'Could it be…'
Suddenly, he remembered that strange vortex that sucked his entire school up and his heart couldn't help but skip a bit.
Quickly opening the book, he asked in a loud voice: "Hey, could you please tell me my current location on Blue Star? Where am I? Aren't you some technological device? Open a map, now!"
Towards the end of his speech, Valen inadvertently began shouting. The more he thought of the incidents from back then, the more nervous he became.
However, the book seemed to have "died" for no matter how high his pitch rose, it simply refused to respond with no screen popping up like before.
'If I remember correctly, the first page of this book seem to describe the incident that happened at school. Is there a connection, somehow?'
Gritting his teeth, Valen glanced at the first page of the book and the familiar words came to sight.
It read:
"I still remember that day. It all started with the flash of an incredibly bright white light for the tale of desolation to begin. My friends died. My family died. Everyone I knew died and I was left alone in a foreign world."
"I still remember the song. A song sang with the rain as the backdrop. A dance made with unstable legs. A silent sigh of despair at the cruelty of the world. A heart that bears the burden of a thousand words left unsaid."
Suddenly, the book began to glow and that blue screen popped up once more:
…
[Congratulations! You have grasp the technique: {Heart of Gloom}]
[Description: Staring at the starry sky with untold regrets lingering in a heart far from home.]
[Uses: Allows the user to attain a state of heart free from worries, but burdened with loneliness. In this state, the user's strength doubles and all techniques become transparent, allowing the user to comprehend them faster.]
[Mastery level: Initial
Level Progression: 2%]
…
Immediately Valen finished reading this, his previously anxious heart calmed down and a wave of overwhelming sadness washed over him.
He thought of his sister all alone back home. He thought of his late parents. He thought of the troubles he had passed through all these years just to survive. He thought of graduation which was tomorrow.
All these thoughts flashed past his mind and soon vanished without a trace, leaving behind an incomparable gloom. Valen glanced at the previously dark alley, which didn't seem so dark anymore. He could vaguely make out white dots in the air.
Boom!
The moment Valen saw those dots, his brain seemed to go into overdrive and the mysterious state he was in vanished immediately. Coughing out a mouthful of blood, Valen was sent reeling backwards as two trail of blood flowed down his nose.
'W-what just happened?'
Valen snapped out of his daze and immediately closed the book in his hands. He wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth and nose with his sleeves and took down his bag from his back.
Without hesitation, he tossed the book into it and zipped it closed, hanging the bag once more like he was avoiding a plague. He didn't care about the origins of the book anymore as it had almost killed him just now.
Valen knew if that mysterious state hadn't vanished at that instant, he would have been a corpse by now and the mere thought of this chilled him to the bones.
If it wasn't for the fact that he feared something bad happening to him once more, he would've thrown that ancient book far away. He immediately picked up pace and dashed out the alley.
What welcomed him was a well-decorated, vibrant street. Pedestrians smiled and chatted happily as they walked. City guards paraded the area as they clutched their spears. On both sides were stores lined up with different accessories and a few particular stores caught his attention.
"Grade 1 Low-Grade Defensive Armour for sale!"
"Grade 1 Low-Grade Weapon for sale! Special ability available! Limited Stock, come quick to get yours!!!"
"Gadgets for sale! Get Grav-boots to reduce your weight and move like the wind! Buy Amplifier Watches to multiply your striking force without damaging your body! Come and get more gadgets! Your improved lifestyle is our priority!"
Numerous people gathered around the gadget shop with wonder etched all over their faces.
Everything here screamed of ancientry and this, for reasons obvious, sent chills down Valen's spines.
"This isn't Blue Star," he subconsciously muttered in a dazed voice.
That vortex had taken him from Blue Star - his true home - to this unknown place. For a while, he felt at a loss as to what to do with the words of {Heart of Gloom} echoing in his mind endlessly.
With a casual sweep, he could see everyone casting him weird glances - probably because of his modern-style dressing.
Valen didn't know when he started to move. He just followed a majority of the crowd as they seemed to be heading to an important place.
Those tall buildings and bill boards from Blue Star weren't here any longer. The cars and traffic jams commonly seen were nowhere in sight anymore.
All around him were strangers and even more stranger things. For some reason, the warmth of his bag left him feeling calm. Perhaps it was because it was the only significant thing brought with him to this world - aside from the old book.
He didn't know how long he walked and how many streets he turned before he found himself standing at a huge, fully parked public square. Ahead was a large building with the words: "Energised Chamber" carved upon it.
Numerous people seemed excited about this and quickly queued up before the building, forming an exceedingly long line. Without thinking, he also went ahead to queue up.
He began thinking of different ways to question the person ahead of him when suddenly, he felt a jolt in his bag as it began to vibrate. Valen ignored it as he knew it was probably the old book acting up.
Soon though, he could no longer remain indifferent as the bag was literally bouncing at this point. Feeling frustrated, he opened the bag and took out the book.
Just as he was about to angrily punch it, a screen appeared on the cover. Unlike before, it didn't pop up before him but appeared on the cover instead. It was probably to not attract attention.
Valen didn't have time to marvel at its intelligence, but instead read the texts on the screen.
***
[10%... 10.3%... 10.7%... 11%... 11.3% 11.7%... 12%]
[System's awakening stuck at 12% due to insufficient energy. Master is advised to head to areas with abundant natural essence.]
[Due to initialisation being only at 12%, system functions are limited. No new function added.]
[New Mission Gained.]
[Mission: Pseudo-Awakening
Details: Bring the interface's awakening up to 15%
Rewards: {Pseudo-Awakening of system} and {SSS-ranked Extreme Swordsmanship Manual}]
***
Valen frowned slightly. This old book and its rewards… were they even real? Even so, Valen didn't care too much. Accepting or declining didn't change anything.
Just as he tucked the book below his armpit and was about to tap the young man before him, a surprised yell caught his attention.
"Vale!!!" Tracing the source of the voice, Valen sighted a brown-skinned youth with a long nose standing a short distance away.
He wore black jeans and a white top, covered by a black jacket. He was Marcel, the class captain of Year 13B.
Valen's eyes immediately brightened. Seeing a friend in an unfamiliar land was akin to finding a pond of clear water in the desert after being thirsty for a whole day.
Marcel walked over and stood behind Valen in the queue, he lowered his head and whispered: "Are you also here for the Body Potential Test?"
"Body Potential Test? What's that?" Valen frowned. He had only come here by following the crowd so he didn't know much.
Taking a step forward, Marcel continued in a serious tone: "By now, you should know that this isn't Blue Star, right? Well, in this world, there are people who possess the strength to fight thousands and challenge millions. These people are called Combatants and they are capable of such feats because they can wield Trophic, a powerful energy that can increase the strength of one's body astronomically.
"However, to attain such strength, one has to have an equally promising potential. That's because if your body isn't powerful enough to accumulate Trophic until you attain Warriorship, you'll implode. This is why having a high body potential is needed to step into the path of a Combatant."
Valen nodded as he somewhat understood Marcel's words. He couldn't help but ask: "How did you gather all this information in such a short amount of time?"
"Networking, dear friend. I just asked around." Marcel shrugged. Then, clenching his fists excitedly, he continued:
"Today and the next six days are the Great Meet, days in which numerous academies come to accept students in this city. If you can get accepted by them, your future would be exceedingly bright as you would have many more resources."
For now, Valen wasn't interested in academies, instead he asked in a low tone: "Marcel, what are the ranks of Combatants? Do you know who is the strongest?"
Valen asked this question with the intention of knowing if he could ever return to Blue Star… to his sister.
Marcel stared at Valen with an array of complex emotions. "The strongest?"
He paused for a bit, then sighed:
"Integrating Trophic into the body allows you to begin the path of a Combatant and there are nine steps in this rank. With each step, the gap of power widens. Once you reach the ninth level where you become one with Trophic, you can then break through to a legendary rank known as 'Warrior'.
"Throughout the nearby academies and surrounding kingdoms, it is said that there's never been news of anyone attaining the Warrior Rank!"
As Valen heard Ariel's explanation, his heart was filled with wonder. He couldn't help but get a little excited: "If we could one day become Warriors, the strongest in the human race, would we be able to travel back to Blue Star?"
Marcel smiled bitterly, shaking his head:
"In every step of Body Integration, there are also sub-divisions. Let me tell you, Valen, without being a genius who possesses a Rare or Epic body, we would never be able to attain Warriorship in our lifetime!"