Markus emerged from the cave, the weight of the Tier 7 carcass in his inventory feeling heavier than any mountain.
He looked at his hands, then at the sky where the Falcon had vanished. He wasn't a Blackwell. He wasn't even human.
Trying to process the nuclear bomb of information that was given to him by the tier 8 demigod beast.
He saw the rest of the group huddling around the tree he marked, backs against the tree, facing outwards, worried about Tier 3 bees and Stich-weed
"Let's head back to town. I've got to make a report to Colonel Vance; our scouting perimeter ends here."
"Let's move," Markus said, his voice sounding deeper, older. "The forest isn't the enemy. It's the warning."
Markus used his fate's eyes to scan his surroundings before moving out, looking for the optimal pathway to head back to town as safely and quickly as possible.
Alistair spotted the Valarian Academy students emerging from the forest foliage, "Open the gates, guns at the ready!"
Soldiers along the town walls had their rifles aimed at the forest where scouting teams were returning from, preventing any beasts from surprise attacks.
"Colonel, we need to talk, now," Markus said, "Ladies, go take a break, rest up, get some food."
"Yes, team leader!" Donna said, heading towards the mess hall in the military encampment.
Alistair led Markus towards his temporary office by the town gates, "What's the rush, Markus? What did you guys discover?"
"What do you know about tier 8 beasts? And what about the demigod category?" Markus questioned.
Alistair furrowed his brows, going into deep thought.
This level of information should not have been made available to this 10-year-old academy student yet.
This knowledge is usually restricted to awakeners at tier 6 or higher.
Such information, if made to the public, would destabilize current society.
If Markus asked this question, he must've gotten it from a source outside the academy; it was unlikely that Sloane or Isolde would have given it to him.
"That information is restricted to commander level, usually only made available to tier 6 and above awakeners. How did you come across this information?" Alistair sat forward in his office chair, fingers tapping the table.
"Within the forest, we encountered an unusual situation," Markus explained, "An old man was living in a cave, where Grandpa Sloane found me, his casual glance suppressed our team."
"He invited me in for a chat and introduced himself as a tier 8 demigod beast. His human form was from an ability that allowed him to polymorph," Markus added.
Alistair's visual expression changed from confusion into shock.
"I'm sure you are aware, we did not leave alive due to chance; it let us walk away."
"Our Valerian Emperor has been our deterrence as a tier 8 awakener; the demigod rank is usually reserved for rank 9 and above beings."
"However, a rank 8 being can achieve demigod status if they reach 100% of elemental law mastery," Alistair said.
"Granduncle Alistair, whatever I reveal next has to be off the record," Markus spoke with quiet intensity.
"Sure," Alistair agreed, turning off all electronic recording devices in the office.
"The beasts are about to attack soon, I'm not sure how many, and how strong, that tier 8 demigod warned me of the premonition."
"He said there were elder beasts within the core region of the Forbidden Forest. I assume there are several other tier 8's and even tier 9 beasts."
"I personally suspect some beasts have taken human form and infiltrated human society to scout for potential dangers."
"Within the core of the forbidden forest, there's a black portal; the mana it emits naturally empowers the beasts meditating around it."
"That's why we've been sighting several higher-tiered beasts within the outer perimeter in the past years," Markus disclosed.
"Alright, I'll have to discuss this with Sloane and Isolde. We need to come up with a plan to protect our families when the beasts emerge from the depths of the forest in the future," Sloane thought aloud.
"We should prepare for a potential attack on Oakhaven in the next 23 hours," Markus added.
"I agree, let's hope there's nothing above tier 7," Alistair concurred, "It'll be difficult to protect you kids whilst fighting at my full strength."
Markus and the girls shared a temporary bunk alongside the other academy students after having their dinner at the mess hall.
The students eventually fell asleep after spending several hours talking about school life and different types of classes.
The students from Boston and Penn State were third-year students; they were shocked to find out that the Royal Academy actually allowed first-year students to participate in this mission.
What was even more shocking was that Markus, a first-year student, was already as strong as these third-year seniors in their schools.
They had a misconception that students from the best academy in the west were all monsters, but in actuality, Markus was the only outlier.
"OOOOOOOOOOO, OOOOOOOO"
An alarm sounded throughout the town; civilians rushed towards the underground bunkers nearby.
The bunk full of students donned their academy uniform and left with their combat weapons ready.
[Time 0537H]
The town's alert system detected a large wave of abnormal mana signatures headed towards Oakhaven.
The on-site commanders were bellowing commands out to soldiers gathering at the gates.
"FRONT LINE TANKS BY THE GATES!"
"RANGED DEALERS BY THE TOWN WALLS!"
"SUPPORTS AND HEALERS MAINTAIN A SAFE DISTANCE BEHIND THE TANKS!"
The students got into position. Mika, Donna, and Jessica ascended the town walls, ready to send their elemental ranged attacks down onto the approaching horde.
Markus, a melee dealer, stood behind the front-line tanks, getting ready to intercept the oncoming beasts.
Rosanne stood within a safe distance, 70 meters behind Markus, ready to heal him at a moment's notice.
Alistair stood firm atop the observation tower and looked down nervously at Rosanne.
His granddaughter, whom he pampered like a princess, was now on the frontlines, ready to support her comrade in arms.
"Formation 6!"
A tier 6 frontline commander shouted, and the disciplined soldiers moved into position.
A V-shaped formation assembled along the city's parameters.
Markus unsheathed his trusty Black Steel Blade, coating it with dense spatial laws.
Ready to cast his medium-range Vorpal Strike sword skill at a moment's notice.
"Fire!" Alistair commanded.
As the beasts emerged from the tree line, ranged dealers atop the town walls rained elemental spells upon them.
[Ice Lance]
..
[Wind Blade]
..
[Lightning Strike]
..
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
The girls atop the town walls received level-up notifications, gaining considerable experience points, landing spells after spells onto the oncoming beasts.
Markus stood steady in a battle stance, slashing out in between the gaps of the front-line soldiers.
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Level Up]
..
[Spatial Slash]
..
[Spatial Slash]
..
The battle of attrition began, and ranged combatants on the walls swapped out with reserve members, allowing them a reprieve from mana exhaustion.
The girls took out mana potions from within their storage rings and emptied them, going back into combat after their minds regained stability.
[Lightning Wind Blade]
..
[Ice Lance]
..
[Level Up]
..
[Healing Light]
Rosanne started contributing to the battle, sending her healing abilities to front-line soldiers tanking damage from feral beasts.
[Blinding Light]
[Light Beam]
The battlefield was a symphony of elements; explosions cratered the surrounding ground.
"TIER 6 BEASTS!!! MEN FALL BACK!"
The on-site commander noticed several beasts emitting dangerous auras approaching, making a judgment call to prevent needless fatalities.
Markus retreated further back with Rosanne, as tier 5 and above soldiers stayed on the battlefield.
Alistair leapt down from the observation post, releasing his Ice domain.
[Ice Domain]
"Ready the plasma cannons, fire when ready! Danger close!"
Alistair engaged the tier 6 beasts alongside his trusted commanders.
[Spatial Domain]
Markus enveloped Rosanne and himself within his domain.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM"
Plasma cannons struck true, striking targets frozen by Base Commander Vance.
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Vorpal Strike]
..
[Light Beam]
Markus and Rosanne sent attacks towards the beasts, contributing as much as they could.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM"
The plasma cannons powered down, cooling from their consecutive shots.
The silence that followed the plasma cannon fire was deafening.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
Markus and Rosanne levelled up four times just by contributing to a tier 6 beast kill.
[Frost Avatar]
Alistair stopped holding back, releasing his full strength, clearing out the remaining horde before him.
A frozen wonderland stood before the town walls.
Sub-zero temperatures froze all flora and fauna in plain sight.
The forest treeline, once a vibrant, predatory green, was now a jagged landscape of blue ice and shattered beast remains.
Alistair stood at the center, his Frost Avatar slowly dissolving into mist, his breath hitching in the frigid air.
Markus lowered his Black Steel Blade; the spatial cracks on the metal were glowing with a faint, starlight hue.