Seed of Titan

In the cellar of Valiant Ventures' headquarters, Drai and his party was engaged in a fight with several seniors.

Muzie, the short-spoken girl, was confronting both Jian and Natalia. Her relatively small stature didn't seem to hinder her fighting prowess, as she nimbly evaded Jian's sword slashes and managed to avoid being enclosed by Natalia while simultaneously countering with her own knife attacks.

From a medium distance away, Enda was drifting around the group while occasionally launching multiple projectiles toward Mango Seekers' members. Drai was focusing on shielding Flo and Auri at the back while the rest had to dodge or parry them on their own under Christo's instruction.

At the far end of the room stood Aldea who mainly acted as a support for Enda's group. She could be periodically seen waving her small wand, invigorating Enda and Muzie whenever one of them looked to be running out of steam, although most of the time she was just standing idly.

"Another salvo incoming!" Christo suddenly shouted shortly before Enda released another batch of projectiles, which were promptly deflected by Jian. However, this attack successfully created an opening for Muzie who stabbed Jian's left side, making him grimace.

"F**k! Do something about Enda!" Jian bellowed frustratingly. Although the weapons used in this training were dull, they were still quite painful.

"I'm trying!" Auri shouted as she launched a thin yellow ray which was deftly evaded by Enda with a mere twist of his head. Christo had actually instructed Auri to deal with Enda early on, but nothing Auri did was effective. The various rays Auri had been hurling were either dodged or blocked.

Drai had thought of confronting Enda, but he felt that the guy was too quick for him to catch normally. Rock Smash wasn't a viable option either due to the enclosed space and how Enda seemed to always position himself along a parallel line to the trio that were engaging in the center, making it more difficult for Drai to send his rocks without implicating his friends.

"Drai, I'll cover the casters. Rush the healer," Christo quickly instructed as he took out a wide piece of cloth from his satchel, perhaps a shield item of some sort. Drai nodded before immediately sprinting toward Aldea at the distance.

Drai ran past Muzie who was too preoccupied with Jian and Natalia to be able to obstruct him. However, Enda quickly responded by sending a hail of projectiles toward Drai.

To Enda's surprise, Drai merely tanked the salvo without any apparent effect on his route nor speed. Thinking fast, Enda proceeded to run toward Drai and pounce on him. Yet, Drai ignored Enda who was now hanging on his back, focusing on Aldea who was only a short distance away.

'This guy's like a bull!' Enda thought as he pummeled Drai's shoulders in vain. He then changed his approach and tried locking Drai's neck only to find that it was like trying to squeeze a tree trunk.

'I give up,' Enda thought as they approached Aldea's standing figure rapidly.

Seeing Drai who was seconds away from smashing into her and Enda's helpless face, Aldea smiled and quickly raised her hands.

"I surrender," she said amusedly. Drai skidded into a stop right before the collision while Enda jumped off from his back and whistled loudly, announcing the end of the spar.

The trio who were clashing also stopped when they heard the whistle. They looked at Drai, Enda, and Aldea who were walking toward them and realized Drai's charge must've been successful.

"Good job," Enda said after everyone had regrouped. "Although having Drai in your party is like a cheat, especially in a training setting," he added while looking sadly at the numerous small weapons scattered at the floor. He wondered if Drai would still be able to tank his attacks had he used his usual weapons instead.

"Overall, Christo's instructions were spot on, although some of them didn't lead to satisfying results due to the level of your abilities," he added, which made most of the party members smile ruefully.

"I think they're at a suitable level for their first venture though," Aldea commented.

"Agree," Muzie added.

Hearing this, Drai and his friends couldn't help but look at each other expectantly.

"Likely so. Well, I'll talk to Halo about this later," Enda said as he turned toward Drai's group. "You guys should prepare yourselves in case your first venture is approved by the higher-ups."

The group nodded and was finally dismissed after their bruises were healed by Aldea's spells. Soon, Drai and his friends were already sitting at a table in a nearby cafeteria. This post-training gathering was initially suggested by Auri who felt a lack of bonding time for their party, which was welcomed by the rest of the group.

"First venture, eh?" Jian said, unable to hide his anticipating smile.

"Hopefully the first of many," Christo remarked before taking a sip of his tea.

"Are we really ready? We didn't even manage to beat the seniors fairly," Natalia doubtfully said as she glanced at Drai.

Auri sighed as she said, "Yeah… Now I also realize why many mages chose to be researchers or do office jobs. Mana management is a nightmare. And when everything I cast is ineffective, it also makes me feel like shit."

"Try being useless while also getting your ribs stabbed," Jian remarked as he was reminded of his earlier fight.

Seeing his despondent friends, Christo quickly encouraged them. "Guys, don't undermine yourselves. You realize there's a level and experience difference between us and the seniors despite our numerical advantage, right? It doesn't mean you guys aren't capable."

"Yeah, but still… It doesn't feel good," Auri weakly said.

"Well, that's a bitter pill we have to swallow for now," Christo said shruggingly.

"Speaking of levels, when will we even level up? I can't wait for more skills to open up," Jian inquired.

Putting down her cup of tea, Flo finally spoke up. "From what I've heard from my classmates, most people usually level up around the end of the semester. There seem to be a few exceptions that had managed that during the first quarter of the year, but there are more that lagged behind and only leveled up in the second semester."

"Damn, that long? This System sucks…" Jian said as he slumped on his chair. He then glanced at Drai before muttering, "Cheater…"

Drai didn't pay attention to Jian's words but was reminded instead of the conversation he had with Ravi when he first visited his abode regarding people's frustration with the System and their power stagnation. Drai thought that the notion was being solidified right before his eyes, as even at level one, Jian had already lamented the rate of his development.

"How about you train like Drai before complaining?" Natalia said to Jian smirkingly.

"No thanks. I'm not a masochist," Jian quickly refused the suggestion. Drai's peculiar training methods were now already well-known among the first-year students and Jian wasn't enticed to try them even a bit. For him, training consisted of accumulating qi and practicing martial arts, not beating himself black and blue.

"But I'm not a masochist either," Drai remarked. Unbeknownst to him, none of his friends actually one-hundred percent believed his statement.

"By the way, what's the deal with your spells, Auri? I know they didn't do shit earlier, but what's with their distracting colors?" Jian asked curiously.

"That's my main spell, Color Ray. It has different characteristics depending on the color I choose," Auri replied, ignoring Jian's rude remark as she had been quite accustomed to it.

"Is it red for flame, blue for water, and so on?" Drai chimed in.

"Not quite," Auri said. "Red is merely the strongest attack while yellow is the fastest one. Blue has a repelling characteristic unlike the other rays, and green inflicts minor debuffs but is the slowest. For now, those are the only available colors. I don't know if I'll ever be able to imbue elemental effects to my spells though."

"That's pretty neat," Natalia commented. "I wish I could change my scale color to adjust my stats just like your rays."

"I bet you're still preoccupied with not being able to land a clean hit on Muzie earlier," Jian teased.

"You're not wrong, Jian. But if I recall correctly, someone else was also slashing at empty air all evening," Natalia retorted. Surprisingly, Jian didn't reply and turned quiet instead. Upon picturing the earlier bout against Muzie, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Come on, guys. Cheer up!" Christo said as he patted on the shoulder. "After all, adventuring isn't all about fighting. Besides, we're more likely to fight against beasts rather than humans. And I suspect most of them aren't as nimble as Muzie. For now, just focus on your studies and training. I'll make sure your hard work doesn't go to waste when it's time to show our results. At worst, Drai can just carry our party."

Hearing this, the others couldn't help but laugh as they nodded in agreement while Drai scratched his head awkwardly. Drai had only recently been made aware of his overwhelming prowess among his contemporaries and he still wasn't accustomed to the verbal acknowledgements from others. He didn't let these stuff get into his head though as he still maintained his usual demeanor and outlandish training regime regardless of what people think of him.

The group then continued to chat about various things for a while before finally returning to their respective dorms with their party's tentative first venture preoccupying their minds.

***

"How's the observation progress, sir?" a female figure whispered as she pretended to browse some books in the corner of one of the academy's libraries.

A man was standing nearby, pretending to read a book from the shelf. "I'm 90% sure Vainly Probe is being resumed. It fits well with Manic Friend's peculiar actions too regarding the anomaly," he replied quietly.

"The anomaly, huh… He's quite a freak, for sure," the woman snarkily remarked, seemingly reminded of something unpleasant.

"Tsk. Don't blame him for your incompetence, Eve. You were supposed to accomplish your assignment regardless of the circumstances," the man reprimanded, to which Eve merely nodded in silence, accepting the reprimand.

"Anyway, once the matter has been verified, the operation will probably be moved forward," the man continued. "The higher-ups have been paying close attention to this blasphemous Vainly Probe for years, and it's nigh time we put a final closure to all the matters here so we can finally allocate our resources elsewhere. Admittedly, I'm already quite fed up with this place—this country even."

"It is indeed a filthy nation full of heretics, sir," Eve concurred with a nod.

A moment of silence followed. The man's eyes glanced at the students who were currently in the library; some were studying at the nearby desks while others were browsing the rows of bookshelves.

"It's merely because they haven't been enlightened yet," the man eventually said. "Even I was a heretic before joining the Order."

"But they're even worse than the heretics back home. The level of improperness and leisure…" Eve said with eyes filled with contempt.

"You seem to fit comfortably well with the bunch though."

Hearing this, Eve's face reddened. Looking down in shame, she quietly said, "I had to tailor myself according to our intel. This is what they told me to be so I could blend in impeccably."

The man shook his head before continuing. "Just stay put at your post for now and make do with whatever opportunities you have left without compromising your cover. For the most part, your tasks are only auxiliary as the groundwork has been laid long before you were posted here. Now we're just waiting for the right timing and green light from above."

Eve nodded as she too understood her minor role in the whole scheme. However, her face soon turned slightly anxious before asking, "What about Adam, sir?"

Hearing this question, the man raised an eyebrow. "What about him?"

Sensing the change in the man's demeanor, Eve hurriedly said, "I'm just worried he might've had similar difficulties with his assignment."

The man stared at the young woman in silence, seemingly contemplating something. After a short while, he finally said, "He's doing fine. His current task is relatively easier than the one you've failed. He's merely an observer."

Hearing the reply, Eve looked relieved. She then glanced at the older man, wondering if she had been too brazen with her question.

The man didn't seem to heed the woman's gaze as he looked at his comm before saying, "Time's up. Next report is as per usual unless I inform you otherwise. Remember, no more mistakes."

Eve nodded as she finally took a book out of a shelf. Meanwhile, the man returned the book he was previously holding and proceeded to leave the library. As he was passing by Eve, he handed her a small package and whispered, "For the Reckoning."

"For the Reckoning," Eve replied as she put away the item with an unbridled look of excitement before heading to one of the nearby desks with a book in hand.

***