Markus spent the night meditating, focusing on the spatial laws surrounding the scripture.
[New Ability: Void Severance]
[New Ability: Space Barrier]
[New Ability: Space Domain]
He opened his eyes as a smile spread on his face.
(I should be able to solo dive into tier 4 portals with my current mastery over the spatial elements.)
[Come to my office when you're ready – Elena Quartz]
Markus cleaned himself up and headed towards Headmistress Elena's office.
"I've prepared some tea for you, young Markus," Elena served Markus the finest green tea harvested from Japan.
"Thank you, headmistress," Markus made himself comfortable on the vintage leather couch set.
"That student, Varus, who died recently, that was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Those elders could be fooled, but I could tell the Vane's probably had something to do with it," Elena said.
"Yeah, that idiot, along with 3 other tier-3 assassins, tried to ambush me in the dungeon's passageway. They were painfully weak," Markus shrugged, sipping on the refreshing sencha green tea.
The tea, with its vibrant green color, had a refreshing grassy aroma and a balanced flavor profile.
Markus tossed the assassin's storage rings onto the coffee table.
"It seems like Sylas has gotten tired of living," Elena mumbled, "How would you like to deal with it?"
"Let them come, as long as a tier 6 doesn't make a move on me, I should be able to deal with it," Markus sneered.
"Oh, and headmistress, I would like to join the weapons class for the 2nd year students," Markus requested, "There isn't anything for me in the first year's curriculum."
"Alright, I'll give you permissions to join all of the second-year students' classes," Elena agreed, "Don't bully them too much."
Elena laughed aloud, amused by Markus's anxiousness.
"Thank you, headmistress. I was embarrassed when everyone pulled out their weapons during the missions, where I stood there with my hands empty."
"HAHAHAHAHA, to imagine someone from the Blackwells could face embarrassment," Elena burst into laughter, "Your grandpa would raze this academy to the ground if he found out."
"Do you have anything else for me, boy?" Elena asked.
"Yeah, beast taming, or egg hatching, do you have any books or teachers who can help in this matter?" Markus asked.
"We do not practice beast taming in the North American continent," Elena pondered, "We might have some records in the forbidden section regarding that."
"I'll give you an hour's extra time in the forbidden section."
[Time Remaining 1:47:10]
Markus's student badge updated.
Markus concluded his meeting with Elena and went to crash Rosanne's elemental manipulation class.
"Look who we have here, the superstar himself!!" Saylor proclaimed as Markus stepped into the lecture hall nonchalantly.
Markus squeezed himself between Rosanne and Jennifer.
"Hey guys, how are things going?" Markus asked.
"Brother Markus, see this!!" Rosanne conjured an orb of light and condensed it into a bead of pure light energy.
Markus nodded in approval, "Not bad indeed."
"Don't let me distract you guys, I'm just here to bide my time. We'll chat more over lunch," Markus closed his eyes and took a short nap during class.
**
"Brother Markus, what have you been doing in the past few days?" Rosanne asked, mouth full of pasta, curious about Markus's absence in class.
"Nothing much, I've been to the library and doing missions for the academy," Markus replied, "Don't eat with your mouth full, it's unladylike."
"What missions?"
"I started with a portal maintenance under the academy grounds, then I went on an external portal exploration mission," Markus said.
"How difficult are those missions?" Jessica curiously piped in.
"Both missions are tier-2."
"The first mission, I faced a level 29 mutant thunderous bull, which caused the portal instability."
"The second mission, however, was an anomaly; it was a portal in the outer regions of the forbidden forest."
"I joined a group of 4 other students and faced level 28-30 wolves, a dozen scorpions at level 30, and a dungeon boss at peak tier 3, a level 39 twin-headed ogre."
Markus narrated his experiences.
"You're already fighting tier-3 beasts? What's your level now?!" Mika exclaimed.
"I'm already level 32," Markus bragged, nose pointing towards the ceiling.
"Brother Markus, you have to carry us through our first mission next week!" Rosanne demanded.
"Alright, alright, just add my name to your party when you guys decide on a mission," Markus agreed, worried about Rosanne's carefree attitude.
**
At the combat weapons class for second-year students.
"Markus! What are you doing here?" Candy spotted Markus entering the combat halls.
"I've gotten permission to join classes for second years," Markus scratched his head, seemingly nervous as the second-year students stared at his entrance.
"Go over to the weapons rack and pick out a set of weapons that suit you," Professor Candle said.
Markus walked past an assortment of cold weapons displayed on the walls of the combat hall.
[Fate's Eye]
Markus felt a pull towards a set of swords, a pair of twin double-edged swords.
He held them in his palms, almost as natural as a swordsman in the medieval era.
"Since we have a new student today, I'll demonstrate once again the harmony of elements with weapons," Candle said.
She drew her bow, as a fire arrow materialized between its grip and its string.
Boom, the string released as a flaming arrow stuck a combat dummy at the end of the hall.
"This is the application of elemental manipulation with weapon harmony," Candle explained.
Markus nodded as he drew his sword from its sheath.
(I'll use a single sword for now, I feel like I'm supposed to wield both swords after I master space and time.)
Markus closed his eyes, focusing on the space elements around him.
He drew his finger over the edge of the sword, coating it with spatial laws.
By coating the blade in spatial laws, Markus isn't just cutting with steel; he's cutting with a "dimensionally sharp" edge that ignores traditional armor.
This turns a standard training sword into a God-tier weapon.
Markus swung his left hand, and an arc containing spatial laws flew towards the combat dummy, severing it waist down.
"Plop"
Fire is easy to visualize, but Space is invisible.
To the other students, Markus's sword didn't "hit" the dummy; the dummy simply split because the space it occupied was severed.
This is a much more terrifying display of power than a flaming arrow.
"Clap, Clap, Clap"
"You're a monster, student Markus, just one demonstration and you're capable of applying the elements to your weapon," Candle clapped, as she replaced the training dummy.
"20 CP for Markus, for his exceptional display."
[Contribution Points: 620]
(100 – first mission, 500 – second mission, 20 – class reward)