The following morning, the group checked out of the hotel and made their way back to the capital.
At the academy, Rosanne broke out into cold sweat, nervous and anxious about her first reporting on the external portal exploration task.
Even with Elder Ke Xin's calm demeanor, she couldn't stop her feet from shaking.
Markus spent his time with Nagini in his dorm room, exploring the changes within him after the purple portal experience.
----------------------------------------------------------
[Nagini]
[Age: 1]
[Element: Space]
[Level: 10]
[Health: 50,000]
[Mana: ∞]
[Strength: 150]
[Agility: 150]
[Constitution: 150]
[Intelligence: 150]
[Law of Space: 100%]
Active Skills:
Spatial Domain
Spatial Barrier
Spatial Constriction
Passive skills:
Spatial Inventory
Spatial Perception
----------------------------------------------------------
Nagini gained a 50% increase in all attributes and reached level 10.
Furthermore, its status panel has been updated with passive and active abilities.
Spots of gold patterns appeared on the pitch-black scales of Nagini, resembling stars in the cosmos.
[We're departing for the southern border this weekend, come back with Rosanne for a meal before we leave] NOVUS
**
The family of four spent the Friday together, eating, laughing and talking about their adventures in the tier 2 Naga dungeon.
"Markus, we're going to be stationed by the border of the Solarian Empire for weeks if not months," Isolde said, embracing Markus.
"It's probably going to be fairly safe and boring; the Solarians would not dare escalate any conflicts with tier 7's as deterrence."
"But we will miss you both very dearly," Isolde combed through Markus's hair with her fingers, tears threatening to fall.
"Don't worry, Grandma, we will send you constant updates every week, and I'll send you lots of pictures of food when I explore different cities," Markus said.
"There are several potions I have for you in the basement. Information about them is all with NOVUS, don't be afraid to use them, your safety is our utmost priority."
Isolde spent the night sleeping in Markus's bedroom with him like when he was younger.
**
Markus and Rosanne sent them off at the Royal Central Underground Metro, after having a sumptuous steak lunch the following day.
Now, Markus steeled himself to grow stronger to ease Isolde's concerns and worries.
Back at school, Markus went straight to the mission hall, browsing for suitable combat missions to hone his skills.
There's an itch in his mind, clawing at him. After the initial lessons in weapons combat, he has not learnt any new sword skills.
Markus felt like this growth had stagnated.
Although his mastery of spatial laws had improved, he felt like the balance between weapon proficiency and spatial proficiency had drifted further apart.
"The prodigy returns," Saylor sneered as he spotted Markus in the mission hall.
[Fate Eyes]
Markus felt something off with Saylor, a black infestation growing in his heart and mind.
It felt like Saylor was losing his humanity to the corruption of his soul.
His entire body was clouded in pitch-black darkness.
Markus ignored Saylor's comments; there was no point in humoring that venomous snake.
[Tier 2 - Harvest Honey-drop]
Location: Academy Grounds
Objective: Harvest Honey-drop from Winter Bees within the portal region. The student has to be Tier 2 combat proficient.
Reward: Up to 80 CP, dependent on the quality of harvest.
[Tier 3 Portal Maintenance]
Location: Academy Grounds
Objective: Clear a level 36 dungeon portal to stabilise its energy output.
Beasts: Wyrm Tunnelers, Earthen Golems, Double Core Behemoth (BOSS)
Reward: 160 CP
[Tier 3 Escort Quest]
Location: Queens City
Objective: Escort and protect a group of students from the Vermont Academy for a tier 2 Portal Mission
Requirements: 1 Students with tier 3 or above combat abilities
Reward: 200 CP
[Tier 3 Portal Exploration]
Location: Hampshire Heights
Objective: Explore a newly formed portal, determine if it's suitable for relocation into the academy grounds.
Reward: 300 CP
[Tier 3 Harvest Golden-thread Vine]
Location: Saratoga Lake
Objective: Collect 10 strands of Golden-thread Vine
Reward: Up to 450 CP, dependent on the quality of harvest.
[Tier 3 Beast extermination]
Location: Forbidden Forest
Objective: Assist the Military to cull the beasts within the outskirts of the Forbidden forest.
Requirements: Tier 3 Combat abilities
Departure: 2 days
Reward: 500-1000 Cp (Bonus could be awarded for exemplary performance by the discretion of Commander in charge)
[Would you like to join for a tier 3 beast extermination mission in the forbidden forest?]
Markus sent the message to Donna, Mika, Rosanne, and Jessica.
[Rosanne: YES!]
[Mika: Sure]
[Donna: Okay!]
[Jessica: Definitely!!]
Markus signed up for the mission as a group, splitting the rewards amongst the five of them.
[Team Leader: Markus Blackwell]
[Team Member Added: Mika Ross]
[Team Member Added: Jessica Johnson]
[Team Member Added: Donna Michealson]
[Team Member Added: Rosanne Vance]
[Time to Departure: 52 hours]
[Markus, I would like to have a word with you – Headmistress Elena]
Markus sighed; every meeting with the Headmistress always stressed him out.
**
"How has the academy been for you, Markus?" Elena asked, "There is something that may concern you, that Vane boy you beat at the combat trials, he has been recklessly portal diving, growing at a dangerous pace."
"You may want to watch your back. He might be coming for you, after Sylas failed to do so," Elena added, sipping on an espresso.
"Yeah, I noticed, he's around level 22-23, within the early tier 2 range," Markus nodded, "Something is off about him, his aura is chaotic, his emotions unstable."
"The mid-terms are coming soon," Elena threw up a digital screen on a blackboard, "The interschool friendly is about to begin, there are two sections to this competition."
"The first is a team event, protect the castle. Teams of five will first protect their castle for 15 minutes, and if their king is defeated, a point goes to the challenger, then the teams swap roles."
"The second would be individual combat. Due to a large number of students, we would host 10 stages of battle royale, each stage would hold 100 students, and the last 10 standing would proceed into 1v1 combat."
"The rules are fairly simple: no killing, no permanent harm. You can knock your opponent out or push them out of the stage."
"I would like to make a simple request to you, if possible, eliminate Saylor early; he could cause a lot of trouble not only with other academies, but with powerful families behind other students as well," Elena politely requested.
"That's not a problem, I just need to meet him in combat early before he causes trouble with other students," Markus agreed.
"I'm already at tier 3, and I'd like to start pushing towards tier 4. Could you increase my permissions at the mission hall?" Markus inquired.
"Sure, your student badge will gain access to higher tiers when you reach the appropriate levels," Elena nodded.
Markus promptly left Headmistress Elena's office and went back to his dorm room to meditate on the prayer cushion.
As Markus sat on his prayer cushion, the silence of the dorm room was broken only by the soft hiss of Nagini as she explored her new 'Spatial Inventory.
He closed his eyes, the 3D grid of the Academy grounds blooming in his mind.
He could feel Saylor's jagged, chaotic mana a few floors down—a dark smudge on a clean map.
'Reckless,' Markus whispered. He didn't just need to get stronger; he needed to be more precise.
The Forbidden Forest wouldn't just be a hunt; it would be the final test before the eyes of the entire Empire turned toward him.