Ethan was standing on empty space; a transparent bubble surrounded his body.
He looked towards the old man and asked, "What is this bubble?"
"Your body can't survive in space unless you reach tier 4, so I used my power to coat your body with a layer of protection," said the old man.
"So how are we going to travel from here?" asked Ethan.
"Even with my power, it would take at least two years to reach our destination if we fly by ourselves, and if I add luggage like you, it would be even more."
"But I can't wait that long," Ethan said.
The old man calmly replied, "I know. That's why we are going to use this."
Saying that, the old man waved his hand, and instantly a huge spaceship appeared in the silent space without making any sound.
Ethan was awestruck by the scene; the door to the spaceship opened, and the old man took Ethan inside it.
The inside of the spaceship looked straight out of a science fiction movie; the only difference is instead of an electrical circuit, it was controlled by magical runes, and mana stones were used as fuel.
There were multiple rooms and training areas inside the spaceship; there were also places for dining and playing.
It looked like a cruise; the only difference is it sailed through space instead of sea.
"Choose a room of your liking and settle down; we will talk later." Saying that, the old man walked away.
Ethan went to a room and opened the door. The room looked very spacious with a huge bed with soft cushions on top.
The eye-catching part was the window at the left; it showed the marvels of outer space.
He took a nice hot shower in the bathroom and said, "I just realized how long it has been since I had a nice shower like this."
After that, he went out and followed the smell of food to reach the dining area.
The old man was sitting there and eating his toast of bread without a care in the world; he took a seat opposite to him without disturbing him. He waited for the old man to speak first.
"I know you have a lot of questions, so ask me whatever you want. I will try to answer what I can."
"But before that, eat," said the old man.
Ethan started eating; the foods were different from what he was eating back in the orphanage.
They were absolutely delicious, and Ethan was a food lover back on earth, but ever since he transmigrated, he has only been eating low-level foods.
It's not that Sister Mary's cooking was bad; on the contrary, it was the best, but ingredients were the problem.
Even great cooks can't make tasty foods with low-grade ingredients. So when he is offered a buffet like this, he doesn't stand on ceremony; he eats everything like he is starving to death.
After the eating was over, the old man said, "Now ask your question."
"The invitation to the academy only came after I got awakened, but you were present there even before that, and from what you said, you have been watching me for a very long time. Why is that?"
Ethan asked, "This is something that has been bugging me for quite a while."
The old man looked at Ethan and said, "I was indebted to someone, and now I'm paying them by watching over you."
"I never got near you because it would get you some unwanted attention."
"Plus, I didn't know how your awakening was going to go, so I waited till it was over, and only now I revealed myself."
"I know what you wanted to ask next, but remember, even walls have ears. I can only say that you were not abandoned."
Ethan's body became rigid.
"They had no other choice. It was either your life or sending you away, so they chose the second option."
It took few seconds for Ethan to process what he just heard.
"Let me just ask you one thing: are they still alive?" The man looked at Ethan and said, "Yes, and waiting for you."
"How long do you think it would take me to reach them?" he asked eagerly.
"Years or maybe decades; don't think about it right now; you are too weak to do anything. Just become stronger, and one day you may be able to see them."
"Fine, I won't ask you about them anymore."
Ethan really wanted to know more, but as the old man said, he knows that he is too weak right now; plus, knowledge is also a weight; if you carry more than you can, then you will break.
"Back in the orphanage I tried to tell Sister Mary about the academy, but something stopped me from doing so. What is that?" asked Ethan.
"The reason for this is that the system prevented people from the lower world from having this kind of knowledge."
"May I ask why?"
"The system does not want to disturb the peace of the lower world."
"What is this academy about?" he asked.
"Sharing knowledge about the academy with outside people is forbidden, so I can't tell you about that, but I can tell you that youngsters all around the universe who have awakened with great abilities and have very high potential are the only ones who would be called to the test."
"So everyone who comes will be the greatest talent of that said generation. And for your kind knowledge, this generation is called the golden generation."
"What's the difference?" asked Ethan.
"It means everyone who would compete with you will be a once-in-a-lifetime genius of their respective race or clan."
"And in the state you are right now, you would not even pass the first round," the old man said casually.
But Ethan's mind was in an uproar. "Wait, aren't all of them newly awakened just like me?"
"Yes, they are, but do you think all of them come from a lower-level planet like you?"
"Most of the people come from the top elite worlds; there are also some from the origin world. Almost all the top clans, families, and organizations are sending their heirs as well."
Ethan's face turned from shock to despair. Seeing this, the old man said, "And that's why I'm going to train you for the next eight months while we are on this journey.'"
Hearing this, Ethan's face finally showed a smile.
"Thank you," he said.
"Don't be too fast; my training will not be that easy. You may even give up in the middle."
"Don't worry, I will not."
Seeing the determination on Ethan's face, the old man smiled and said, "Go and take rest for today; from tomorrow onwards, you will see real hell."
After eating, Ethan went to his room and thought about everything that happened and also about his talk with the old man.
He than slowly went to sleep.
The next day Ethan woke up and felt very refreshed, because last night was the best sleep he had ever had after transmigrating.
He turned towards the mirror and saw his figure and was shocked.
"Holy Mother of Christ."
The reason he is so shocked is because he does not look the same as before; his height increased to 5.8 feet, and his body became a little muscular.
Not like a GigaChad but like that of a warrior, with well-defined muscles that looked like they were carved from precious jade by an experienced artisan, with soft, pale skin covering his muscles.
His face also looked a little bright.
Overall, he looked like he could charm any woman with his look alone, and it's not just his look alone that's changed.
He could feel the power coursing through his body. He instantly opened his status panel and took a look.
⟦ STATUS ⟧
Evolution Tier: Tier 1
Level: 5
Attributes
Strength: 30
Stamina: 30
Agility: 30
Physique: 30
Luck: 2
Charm: 7.5
Unallotted points: 13
He saw that all of his attributes were increased by ten points. He hurried out of the room and came to the dining area, where he saw the old man once again eating his toast.
He asked the old man, "What did you do to me last night?"
The old man chuckled a little and said, "I don't have that kind of fetish. I'm a straight person, you know. Don't ruin my image by saying stupid things like that."
Ethan was a little perplexed and replied, "I didn't mean it that way."
The old man laughed a little and said, "Yesterday you ate at least a ton of spiritual medicines and fruits."
"So it is only obvious that your body absorbed all of them. And since it is your first time eating foods like this, it's only natural that your body grows in strength."
"But don't expect this to happen continuously. As you consume more and more foods like this, the effects will also reduce."
Hearing what the old man said, Ethan understood everything. He sat down and ate his breakfast.
After that, the old man asked Ethan, "Are you ready for your training?"
Ethan nodded at him. Just before they got up, Ethan looked at the old man and asked, "Wait, I never got to know your name. "What is your name?
The old man looked at him and said, "I thought you would never ask. Well, my name is... Lavor, Spencer Lavor."
Hearing it, Ethan thought, "Why does he say it like Bond, James Bond? Is he a fan of the movie?"
But without giving time for Ethan to think more, Spencer stood up and started walking in a certain direction. Ethan followed him quietly.
He brought Ethan to a training room and gave him a set of collars and bracelets.
They look completely black with some runes drawn on them. They are not fancy in any way. There were 10 sets of bracelets. S
Starting from the neck, two for the shoulders, two for the wrists, one for his hip, two for his thighs, and two for his legs.
Once he wore them, Spencer took out a remote and clicked it. Instantly, Ethan felt like a mountain was put on top of him. He fell face down to the ground because of the weight he is experiencing.
"Fuck."