Chapter 45: The Hunt Begins!
Flashback:
Just before Alden left the deep sea and channeled mana into his legs to prepare his technique, a voice echoed inside his mind.
{Hello? Can you hear me?}
Alden stopped in his tracks as he heard the familiar yet unfamiliar voice.
’Wait! Who are you? Why are you speaking inside my brain? Are you a different version of the system?’
{System? I am not sure what you are talking about, but I am the real Alden. You are talking to me...}
Alden’s face went blank. He could not comprehend those words. He thought the original Alden had died and he had transmigrated into a dead body. It seemed the story was more complex than he had actually thought.
’Sigh... How did you wake up all of a sudden? I didn’t think you would even be alive.’
{Well... Even I don’t know what happened. It seems I had died that night... someone must have mixed something in my food or orchestrated a plan to kill me. Maybe my dear brother, or maybe someone else...}
{I just woke up somehow. I don’t remember anything else. The last thing I recall is going into my dorm room. Whatever happened after that, I don’t know.}
{Hey, by the way, where are we actually? Why is such a massive amount of waves dropping from the sky? Are we inside some 4D theatre?}
As he remembered his situation and the problem he was facing, Alden didn’t wait. He closed his eyes and channeled mana into his legs.
The technique surfaced in his mind: the folding of space, the space jump, the quick step. He comprehended everything without wasting time and stepped forward.
[Astral-Step!]
Suddenly, the space where his body stood bent. He jumped inside the folded space, teleporting directly to a distance away—not out of the ocean, but a short distance into the deep water outside the broken barrier.
He felt the constant pressure of the surrounding water. He didn’t wait and channeled more mana into his legs, using the same technique again.
[Astral-Step!] [Astral-Step!] [Astral-Step!]
He continued to channel mana, diving through the heavy water, until he finally reached near the surface. His mana was almost exhausted.
He pushed every ounce of his remaining mana into his legs to use the technique one last time. His figure disappeared again and appeared out of the water in the sky.
Gravity began to pull his body down. As if not wanting to see him alone, like a possessive girl, his body started falling toward the sea again.
’Shit! What should I do now? I am going to drown once again!’
{Hey, look at the place on your right. There is a floating piece of wood. You could use that to prevent yourself from falling.}
As his gaze turned toward the wood, Alden immediately changed his direction, flapping his hands like a bird to reach that spot. With his luck giving him support, he actually managed to dive near the wood. After taking support from it, he finally survived drowning out in the sea.
’Sigh... Finally, I got some fresh air. It was suffocating to stay inside the sea. I don’t want to experience that again. I would prefer jumping into a volcano rather than drowning inside the sea.’
{Liar... You would not choose either one of them.}
’Tch! Who told you to speak? Just keep your mouth shut!’
{...}
’Damn, you are really quite good at listening, at least.’
{...}
Ignoring the silence, Alden tried to absorb atmospheric mana into his lungs to charge his exhausted core once again. After half an hour passed, he channeled his mana once again. Using the wood for support, he space-jumped again and again toward the island.
Since there was no external pressure like water suppressing his movement, the distance narrowed quicker than he anticipated. After reaching the island, with wet clothes, he decided to go straight inside the city without wasting time.
...
Current Moment:
Dawn fell on Wynthalor. The sun rose behind the mountains, clearing the shadows of night from Elderia and illuminating the world.
Birds chirped everywhere. Humans and beast-kin started swarming around the morning streets, busy with their daily lives. Not everyone was as free as the boy in the hotel room with black hair and a handsome face. He still lay asleep, sitting on a chair and leaning his head over the desk. Several notes were scattered around him, along with a few pens and complex diagrams drawn on papers, indicating his late-night study session. He lay there asleep, unaware of the world around him.
As the sun rose higher, a ray of light reflected from the window and fell directly on his face. The warmth made him stir from his sleep.
His eyes fluttered open, looking out toward the empty room with sleepy, tired eyes. He remained in a daze for a few seconds before he realized where he was.
"Damn, it seems I fell asleep while studying the Space element through the night. I wasted quite a bit of my time which I could have used for cultivating mana. Sigh... I should get stricter with my daily routine. I can’t stay weak forever."
Alden stood up, stretched his body, looked out the window, and checked the time.
"Sigh... It seems only 10 minutes are left until the practical examination starts. I should get ready or my team might have been screaming my name there."
He slumped his shoulders and walked toward the washroom to get ready with unhurried steps, without even an ounce of worry about being late.
After getting ready with speed of light, which still took him 5 minutes after admiring his handsome look in front of the mirror, he walked out of the dormitory. He stepped down to the first floor with the help of the lift and walked out of the hotel toward the designated place where the examination would be conducted.
As his gaze turned toward the forest hidden behind the tall mountains, his body started to disappear from the space. Only empty air was left behind, along with the faint residues of mana.
Just as Alden disappeared into thin air, a cloaked figure walked toward the place near the hotel, staring at the building. His pitch-black eyes stared through the dark cloak, his face was obscured by the hood.
"Hmph... It seems this is the place where I could find ’that’ person. The one who stole ’that’ thing from us... I have to take it from him before it gets too late. It seems even the Awakener association may have gotten an idea of my presence. Before it could convert into a hurdle, I should handle it swiftly."
He looked toward the forest hidden behind the mountain. The mountains were covered by thick canopies. He suddenly felt several presences hidden around him.
"Sigh... These insects never learn... Well, it doesn’t matter much right now."
He flicked his hand once.
Several dark spikes appeared on the ground, walls, and other surfaces, striking the enemies hidden behind them. He killed them instantly without letting them have enough time to scream.
As their bodies fell in different places, spilling blood around, the Bishop didn’t wait. With a swift motion, he disappeared from the place, leaving a trail of dark mana behind him.