ã€ŠIrrationalityã€‹


 Prologue

    Life is not a game.

    Nor is it something to enjoy.

    No.

    What it was is a challenge.

    A challenge to us, to see who can live longer.

    That was the conclusion I came to at the age of 15. It had been a long day and even longer night, working the night shift at the local 24/7 supermarket.

    I had just finished my shift and was preparing to go home. Me and my friend, Jay had been joking as we crossed the street.

    I remember there were a couple other people beside us, it was the start of a day for normal people after all. Contrary to your expectations, we had not been crushed by a car. The people behind us however were not so lucky.

    After the incident, we had found out that it was a typical case of drunk driving, only more¡­wrong. The driver had apparently tried to kill himself by drinking too much, only to get drunk and forget about killing himself.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Then he had gotten into a car and for no apparent reason, began running over people. Including the couple who were walking behind us.

    Honestly, it was quite a sight. A blood smeared car running over the people right behind me. I had even managed to get a glimpse of it, from the corner of my eye. Blood, bones and entrails flying everywhere, a maniacal cackling resounding from the open car window and the wind shield wipers¡­ clearing the bits and blood on the windscreen.

    All in all, a pretty dramatic scene. Especially when the driver promptly drove into the supermarket I worked at, before getting his brain impaled by a toothbrush through his eyes.

    In the end, we had to be escorted to the police station and had our statements taken. We were released after a couple of hours, I out of curiosity asked the police officer about how many had died. The answer was fifty-six, including the killer.

    As expected, I was shocked. Fifty-six deaths was no small number, especially since I only had one life. I contemplated about this number all the way until I was home.

    As I was sitting on the bed, wondering if there was someone who would be laughing at the deaths that just occurred, it hit me.

    Death. Death would laugh at those who just died. It would rejoice, for more have succumbed to him.

    Life was a challenge to stay alive, to see how long one could run from death.

    So, what should one do to stay away from death?

    One must live.

 Chapter 1-The beginning

    There are three things I taught my son.

    Firstly, in order to live, you must think.

    Thinking is a strange thing. It reassures you that you are alive. Kids nowadays can connect with each other through the internet, this may be a good thing for them but personally, I feel that it is bad. Why? Although the kids are exposed to more new ideas, their sense of self gets washed away as a result.

    Everything they see on the internet influences them and changes them but the internet shows the exact same thing to all the children! This causes them to all slowly accept the opinions on the internet as their own and lose their own sense of individuality.

    The internet doesn¡¯t do that you say? It does is what I say.

    What forms our personality? Is it predetermined from birth? No. It is the situations around them, the environment that shapes a person¡¯s personality. What happens when all the children develop in an environment which is 70% the same? Mindless drones are born.

    Seeing the look of understanding on my son¡¯s face, I was satisfied, knowing that my child who i owed much had accepted my teachings.

    At that time, I still didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know thatI would become the last to join the demon lords in the ring of 72 demon lords.

    I also didnt know that my son would eventually become the greatest obstacle for Emperor Tian Tu.

    I didn¡¯t know anything.

    I still don¡¯t regret anything though.

    <hr>

    Edward Suncrest Pov

    It was the year 2017, and it was the year where I turned thirty-five.

    It was also the year where everything changed.

    6am in the morning. Most people would be waking up at this ungodly hour to go to their day jobs. Not me though, my work is different from others. I¡¯m a private detective¡¯s assistant, not that I was particularly good at investigating. To put it bluntly, I was hired muscle.

    That¡¯s why I continued sleeping, since sleep was important.

    Well I tried to sleep at the very least, it wasn¡¯t easy to fall asleep when your body moves while not under your control.

    Slowly, like a zombie, my body positioned itself such that I was sitting upright.

    Suddenly with a ridiculously cheerful Ding! A couple of words appeared in the air in front of my face.

    [System initializing¡­]

    [System online]

    [Welcome, Edward Suncrest. Earth has been recently accepted by the System, and thus you too have been accepted by the system.]

    The words spoke of some ¡®System¡¯, and talked about me being accepted by it.

    [The System was created by the joined efforts of the Rank 1 Demon Lord Baal, The High God, Emperor Tian Tu, The Netherworld king and High Devil Abaddon. It is an impartial system which simply keeps track of the user¡¯s abilities.]

    Demon lord? High God? Netherworld? The System was spewing words that were straight out of a fantasy web novel.

    [Essentially, the system does not help you to gain strength, it simply highlights some paths you may take to get stronger, while recording down your abilities and displays it in numerical form. An example will be given to you right now.]

    With that, a large screen appeared in front of me.

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Vitality: 12

    Strength: 13

    Mana: 10

    Mind Power: 16 (17)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 1

    Are those¡­ stats? The one you see in games? Oh, I see, this is one of those situations huh. The world will descend into chaos as everyone scrambles to get stronger? This kind of situation actually happened during my lifetime!

    [The numbers in front of you represent the abilities of your current body. A skill may have been awakened in you based on your capabilities prior to the system coming into contact with you. Not every person can gain a skill. Please touch the skill, it will give you a basic explanation of your skill.]

    Immediately, the restraining force on Edward¡¯s body was released, allowing him to move freely. Quickly he cracked his neck, and touched the words representing his only skill.

    With another cheerful Ding! Sound, another box popped up in front of him.

    [Skill: Unwavering Will Lvl 1. Due to your will to not be influenced by others and determination to live longer, Unwavering Will was awakened. Unwavering Will causes your Mind power stat to undergo a multiplier of 1.1x. This number will rise as skill level rises. Additional effects would be revealed as skill level rises.]

    Hmm, seems like a passive ability.

    So, what now? Will monsters start popping out of nowhere? Will ancient cultivator civilizations start appearing out of nowhere? Will we be put in a desperate situation where most of humanity is wiped out? After that, a hero will rise and challenge the undefeatable demon king? Or was it demon lord, as stated by the system? Then what would the Gods do? Grant blessings maybe?

    On another note, why are my attack and defence stats labelled not applicable?

    As I let my head fantasise, another pop up appeared.

    [Earth had previously been inspected, only to be judged unable to accept the System¡¯s influence yet. Unfortunately, some of the inspectors didn¡¯t return to their home world, choosing instead to remain on earth.]

    [This resulted in them creating civilizations of powerful beings. After this was discovered, the situation was explained to the civilizations. They requested to be sealed in time, causing them to not age. Now that earth has been accepted, they will now be unsealed]Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Hold up. Ancient civilizations? That was unexpected and also totally unnecessary. I thought it would have been better to eliminate them? Oh well it doesn¡¯t concern me anyway-

    ¡®RUUMMBBLLLEEE¡¯

    It was then that I realized that it did in fact concern me.

    Through my windows, I could see an enormous beam of light shot up right in the middle of the ocean, which instantly made the seas seem insignificant. Strangely, the beam of seven coloured light didn¡¯t appear to be evaporate the water around it.

    Soon, an island of similar proportions to the seven coloured beam rose out of the water. Tsunami¡¯s were created from its rising.

    The only thing I could think of was ¡®that¡¯s going to kill off most of the people living near the coast.

    Yet again, the cheerful Ding! Resounded, and multiple notifications popped up in front of me.

    [Island city, Atlantis has risen]

    [Giants of the forest have risen]

    [City of knights Camelot has come out of concealment]

    [Citadel of Golden Immortals has been re-established]

    [The Order of Wizards have come into being]

    [Ancient Dragons are awakening]

    [Northern Coven of witches¡­]

    [The Corpse association¡­]

    [Vampires¡­]

    [¡­]

    Seeing that Atlantis alone (at least I assumed what was in front of me was Atlantis) had caused such a huge commotion, I decided to browse the internet for videos of the others and I was not disappointed.

    Watching a video of the one I was most interested in, the Continent of golden immortals, I was yet again given another shock.

    An enormous continent hovered in the sky above Beijing, glorious golden splendour radiating from it. On the continent itself, numerous forests, cities and lakes existed. Moreover, numerous people dressed in ancient Chinese Daoist robes flew about, seeming to be inspecting the integrity of the chains linking the floating continent to the ground.

    Scrolling down, other videos showed numerous giants clawing their way out of the earth, an ancient city of knights and even more. A camera that zoomed in extremely closely showed several figures sitting around a round table in the castle of Camelot. The internet was abuzz with discussion about whether they were Arthur and his knights.

    There were wizard towers that rose up high into the skies, looking as if they could support the world. Numerous people in varying robes bustled around them, chanting in ancient languages.

    Glorious, beautiful and mysterious scenes like these played out across the world.

    In one video, a newscaster said that the earth was suddenly bigger than before and that new areas were appearing on it. Another newscaster from another channel countered and said that the land that appeared on earth likely didn¡¯t appear magically out of nowhere, they were there originally. We just couldn¡¯t detect them. All in all, it was total mayhem.

    As I looked at the resurgence of humanity¡¯s ancient heritages, the only though that came to my mind was ¡®fantasy lovers everywhere must be rejoicing¡¯.

    It was then that the System interrupted my reverie with another notification.

    [All the people on earth have been given a one-month newcomer protection period. All beings cannot be attacked at all for the next month or until they manage to sense and control the surrounding natural energy/mana/spiritual qi/origin force.]

    [All beings are born with different affinities for different kinds of energy. Some can use mana while others can wield spiritual qi. Generally, Knights, wizards and witches use mana. Beings like Dragons, Giants and phoenixes use natural energy. Cultivators and martial artists use spiritual qi]

    Hmm so humans can use spiritual qi and mana, while beasts use natural energy. Then who were the ones that used origin force?

    Seeing that the System didn¡¯t speak about origin force, that path to power likely didn¡¯t exist on earth, or at least not yet.

    The System began speaking once more, saying something which made me tilt my head in confusion.

    [Warp gate opened. Travel between earth and other worlds allowed for only Rank three beings and above.]

    Other worlds. This phrase resounded throughout my head, making me absent minded.

    The fact that there were other worlds didn¡¯t surprise me. The universe was full of infinite possibilities and another world with sentient beings wsnt very surprising in the grand scheme of things. What surprised me was that it was possible for us to travel to these other worlds, albeit only Rank three people can, whatever that means.

    The System interrupted me yet again with another flurry of pop ups.

    [Originally, the beginner period would have lasted until earth develops a fully functioning civilization which can use the power of energy, however since there are numerous civilizations like that already, the protection period has been shortened. On the other hand, these existing civilizations are obliged to protect you, so long as you can give them some form of benefit.]

    [It is recommended that you join a place where you can begin your journey on the path to power]

    [You can call out your status screen by saying ¡®Status¡¯ and you can gain more information by checking out the help guidebook in your status]

    [The Gods wish you the best of luck.]

    With that, the System announcements stopped. It was good timing too, since I was starting to get very irritated by the constant string of cheerful Ding!¡¯s.

    Sighing, I went down to the kitchen to brew myself some coffee. Coffee has always helped me think more clearly, and on a morning like this? Coffee was even more important.

    The aroma of coffee beans swirled around in the kitchen as I made my coffee. Pouring it into my favourite mug, I plopped my ass down on the couch and took a long deep sip.

    It burned my tongue but it was still worth it. Coffee was coffee after all.

    Sitting there, I sighed and began contemplating.

    Right now, the first question I had to resolve was whether I would try to join one of these organizations.

    Which honestly pretty easy to answer. After all, hadn¡¯t I tld myself all those years ago? Rather than using the cowardly path of hiding in order to preserve my pitiful life, I would bravely face all challenges head on.

    Now having decided to join an organization, I faced the second question.

    Which organization to join?

    Well three main paths were in front of me. Knight, wizard or witch. There were likely other paths to power that involved mana but they weren¡¯t mentioned too in detail by the system, so I can assume the three major paths were these.

    Now Witch is definitely out, since if you trust the legends, witches were female.

    So, the question remains, Wizard or Knight?

    Since I had the skill: Unwavering will, my Mindpower would be a good point to develop. Add that to the fact that the guidebook stated that an average well trained adult¡¯s status would be all 10, it seems that my mindpower was monstrously high for a beginner. If I went over to the wizards I would be well received, right?

    Thinking of this, I decided to reference the web novels I had read before.

    If the main character of a novel had my status had my starting point, he would probably say something like. ¡°Hmph since I have good qualities to be a wizard, I should be a wizard. But then, some mysterious ring would appear in front of them with the soul of some high rank wizard. Then it would tell him that it would give him all he needed to be a wizard, causing the main character to become a knight and a wizard as well.

    Afterwards, he will go through numerous tribulations which may or may not include the high rank wizard soul sacrificing itself to save the main character! And then, the main character would become awe inspiringly overpowered!

    Then, he would build a harem, annoy people, kill those arrogant young masters and finally stand at the top of the universe, being so powerful all because he cultivated both body and mana!

    Thinking of this, I spat on the floor.

    ¡®As if I could be like that! I only want to live!¡¯

    I didn¡¯t need to be some ridiculously op main character, in the first place, I don¡¯t even have enough plot armour to withstand the power of the main character tribulations!

    Thus, I decided to be a simple Wizard.

    Having decided upon my course of action, I began packing my bags, carrying only the essentials, which consisted of several sets of strong clothes, a bag of coffee beans, a high-quality water sack used by those crossing the desert, my toothbrush, brass knuckles, and a revolver.

    I gave my boss a resignation letter, and bought a plane ticket to Iowa, which was where one of many wizard towers had popped up. The reason I chose this one was simple.

    They had already set up a recruitment stand, to allow people to join them. They said something about people of this generation having more magical talent. This added on to the fact that their Wizard tower and manpower was among the highest spotted in the wizard towers that popped up, made my choice easy.

    Now the only question was whether they would accept me. Well if they didn¡¯t, I could go to one of the more medium sized towers I guess.

    Looking at my cosy apartment, I smiled and bade it farewell. It had housed me for the larger part of my life, and it was finally time for me to move on. Making a last minute choice, I took my coffee machine (which was quite compact) and stuffed it in my duffel bag. It would definitely come in handy.

    I hailed a cab to the airport and got onto my flight.

    It wasn¡¯t really a fitting rise for me, a future demon lord.

    This was the start of my rise, made by a mere split-second decision.

    But it was sure as hell the best decision of my life.

 Chapter 2-Father and Son

    Edward Suncrest Pov

    In the state of Iowa, there were six towers that rose up higher than any skyscraper. All six of them were wizard towers.

    That didn¡¯t mean that there were no other organizations there. In the west of Iowa, an enormous graveyard had appeared, filled with zombies, ghouls and all kinds of undead. On the border in the north, there also appeared to be a small knights castle, teeming with knight.

    Meanwhile, I who was receiving all this information was headed towards the largest wizard tower there. A this point in time, I was slightly regretting my decision to leave home, although my feet were resolutely marching towards my destination.

    Soon, I reached the base of the Wizards tower, where thousands milled around. Approaching one of the servant looking people, I asked them how I could register and join this wizard tower.

    Receiving no reply, I continued bothering them until one of them opened their mouths, only to show that he had no tongue. Having been given yet another shock (been happening a lot recently) I stood there, looking like a statue.

    Having seen my predicament, one of the bystanders told me about the registration. Apparently, the Knights, Wizards and even the Undead(?) were hosting joint registration at the city plaza, since it was big enough and was a place where many congregated.

    Having arrived here for no reason, I hailed another taxi and yet again went on another journey. Soon, I arrived at said plaza and got off the taxi. After paying my fares, I went into the plaza and had to squeeze through what appeared to be more than ten thousand people.

    Taking a look around, I realized that the plaza was split into three major factions. First were the people dressed in robes, standing in the centre of the plaza, showing that they had the most power here.

    Standing to the side, there were people dressed in shiny silver knights armour. They were glaring angrily and showing great hostility to the people in the third and final faction.

    Unsurprisingly, the last faction quite literally consisted of rotting corpses. They gave off a rank odour as they stood there, unmoving.

    I wasn¡¯t particularly interested in the interests of the other two factions, but when I saw that the Wizards appeared to wield the most amount of authority here, I breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, appearances don¡¯t count for everything, but at least it was slightly reliable.

    Looking around, I found the line for the registration to be a wizard and waited for my turn.

    While I was waiting, I realized that most of the people here were either young children of the age of 15 to 16 or people like me who were around their 30¡¯s. There were barely any elderly and teens were the majority of those who were here.

    Soon, there was only one person left before I was tested.

    He looked to be about 17 years of age, a lanky looking teen. Should I also mention the fact that he looked like a snotty rich kid? The kind that people wanted to beat up? Anyways, since it was almost my turn, I observed his actions carefully.

    The wizard in charge of him led him in front of a pedestal, on which a fragment of a crystal lay. The Wizard then told him something which led the teen to start a conversation with him, the contents of which I was not privy to. Seeming to have reached a conclusion, the teen placed his hands on the crystal, which began to glow a light shade of green.

    Seeming unsatisfied, the Wizard shook his head, and said several words to the teen, presumably the teen¡¯s talent or something was unsatisfactory. Seeming angry, the teen tried touching the orb again, causing it to give a light green glow again, only this time it was several times weaker.

    Seeming to be angry, the teen shouted. ¡°What kind of shitty thing is this! I¡¯m definitely capable of being a Wizard, do you know who I am?¡±

    Ahh the do you know who I am card. Seems like my initial judgement was right, he was a snotty rich brat. No wait, since it¡¯s a fantasy world now maybe I should call him arrogant young master? But he doesn¡¯t exactly qualify, does he?

    Useless thoughts flitted through my head, interrupted only when I heard a huge crash. Ahh the kids done it now. He had used his arm to pick up and smash the judging crystal (or whatever the heck it was called) and was now stomping angrily on its remains.

    ¡°Fuck this piece of shit! You definitely messed with it, bring me another one!¡± he demanded.

    Sighing slightly to myself, I wondered why this kind of idiot even existed. You could see these kind of people occasionally on the tv and the internet but you wouldn¡¯t actually believe it until you see it happening right in front of you.

    This idiot had smashed an obviously important thing, that belonged to WIZARDS. WIZARDS I tell you. If even half the legends were true, then this guy had gone and fucked himself. Even if the System prevented attacks, there were many other things that could be done other than just attacks.

    And just like I expected, the Wizard with an expression of extreme anger, took out several materials and began chanting in a language unknown to me. Seeming to have sensed the danger, the teenager warily stepped back.

    ¡°What are you fucking doing? You better not attack me; the system and my father won¡¯t allow it!¡±

    Looking at him, the Wizard finished his incantation and pointed his finger at the teenager.

    Immediately a purple green cloud appeared around the teen, enveloping him completely. Eventually it dissipated, revealing the results, and boy was it disturbing.

    Limbs bent backwards and on all fours, the head had a set of mandibles and one eye. Not a single human feature remained, and apparently, not a single shred of personality remained either, since it started chewing on its hands. A couple of servants came over and hung¡­ It on a stake, likely as a warning to other candidates.

    Soon, another crystal fragment was procured, and the wizard with a gloomy face came to me.

    ¡°My name is Hakha, tell the system to show me your mana and mindpower stats. Don¡¯t worry, it will only show those two stats, nothing else will be revealed.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Following his instructions, I told the system to sow him my mana and mind power stats. A notification screen appeared between us both, showing the stats I requested for.

    Looking over my stats, Hakha murmured. ¡°Hmm mana is average but mind power is extraordinarily high for a beginner, plus¡­¡±

    Looking over at me, he asked. ¡°You, beginner! Does your skill have a multiplicative or additive effect?¡±

    ¡°It has a multiplicative effect of 1.1¡±

    Hearing this, Hakha¡¯s eyes showed a trace of excitement.

    ¡°Beginner what is your name?¡±

    ¡°Edward, Edward Suncrest.¡±

    ¡°Good. Edward Suncrest, do you wish to join the Five elements tower?¡±

    Presumably, that was the name of that organization.

    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Was my calm reply.

    Finally looking excited, he asked me to test my affinity by touching the crystal.

    Complying with his instructions, I touched the crystal, upon which it shone with a bright red light.

    [Edward Suncrest has touched a portion of a Mana crystal, Mana increases by 5]

    Woah, big benefits for just touching a broken crystal!

    Stepping forward, Hakha couldn¡¯t conceal his excitement this time.

    ¡°Hahah intermediate talent for fire, aright that¡¯s even better!¡± Gesturing for me to follow, he walked into a tent, with several dozen small rooms. Bringing me to one of the larger rooms, he told me that I had to wait here until his shift was over, before he could bring me and the other candidates to the Wizard tower.

    After telling me that I could ask the servants for food and refreshments, he returned to the outside and continued his job.

    Sitting there calmly, I considered why he was so happy.

    Perhaps it was because I my skill was a really good one, and the fact that I had intermediate talent for fire (I¡¯m assuming that that meant I was good at using fire) was like icing on the cake.

    Maybe he felt that having found me would cover up the loss of that crystal fragment?

    If that was the case, I really had to thank that teenager. In the end, you were of use after all!

    As I was contemplating, one of the servants, a pretty girl with rosy dimpled cheeks politely asked if I would like some food. Accepting her offer, I ended up eating some fried chicken.

    So the tastes of ancient humanity didn¡¯t differ too far from the modern generation huh.

    Thanking the servant, I ate my fill before taking a short nap. As my consciousness faded away, I inadvertently thought about my only son, Ezekiel.

    That little bugger would probably be in a similar situation as mine right now. I know, since I was the one who raised him.

    Soon, I fell asleep, dreaming of my glorious future.

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Rookie Wizard

    Vitality: 12

    Strength: 13

    Mana: 15

    Mind Power: 16 (17)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 1

    <hr>

    Ezekiel Suncrest Pov

    My father is a ¡®Real person¡¯. A Real person amongst many fakes. That¡¯s why I respect him so much, he wasn¡¯t one of those people who would wear a mask of lies and step into society. No, he stays true to himself regardless of anything.

    Why did I think like this? Well, when I was 10 years old, my father sat me down on the sofa and looked at me with a serious face. I saw that look on his face, and I immediately knew where this was going. As expected, the words that came out of his mouth next were ¡°Son, let me teach you your second lesson.¡±

    ¡°In life, you can only believe in yourself. Look at all your friends, do you trust them? If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t trust them. Everyone in this world has two faces, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Even you, do you not act differently around different people? This goes for your friends as well, they have different masks on, different treatment even for different people. Then, do you know whether the face your friends show you is the real one?¡±

    ¡°That is why, you should only trust yourself. God knows what those other people have under their fa?ade of friendliness. Your friend Jim, maybe beneath that happy expression, he actually wants to kill you. Teacher Jessica? Maybe she¡¯s a child molester. You never know! This world is full of hazardous things, death lurks around every corner, and in order to stay clear of them, never believe in others! Only then, would you be able to live longer, be able to survive longer.¡±

    Just like with the first lesson, I was shocked. My entire worldview had been flipped upside down yet again. After accepting my father¡¯s teachings, I began taking notice of the things happening around me more clearly. And he was right! Everyone has multiple faces, multiple facades! Only they knew which one was the real them, who knows what their actual motives are! After realizing this, I became wary of everything, which allowed me to survive my school life.

    It turns out that Jim I fact had an abusive father, and in the end when he died of alcohol overdose, Jim began taking his father¡¯s role in abusing his sister. Last, I heard of him, he was in jail for killing two men.

    As for teacher Jessica, I never really found out whether she was a paedophile, but one time when I was outside her office, I heard some sexy moans leak out from behind the door. That¡¯s why I concluded that my father was probably right about her as well.

    I considered myself lucky that I had Edward as my father. Even if he had killed my biological parents, I feel no grudge against him. Why? Well he took responsibility for it of course. In my parent¡¯s stead, he had raised me into what I am now, probably better than what my biological parents could have as well.

    Which brings me to the whole point of this monologue.

    If other people can put on facades and plot against me, then naturally I could do the same, and kill them as well.

    Which was why I was currently standing in the middle of a group of corpses, looking at what was before me.

    When the System had started up, I was just as surprised as anyone else. However, I calmed down faster than anyone else in my hiking group, due to my special upbringing.

    It was when the System began talking about ancient heritages being reopened that It occurred. A cave opened up right in front of my group of ¡®friends¡¯. Deciding to explore the cave, we found out that this cave was the inheritance of one of those Inspectors who had come to inspect earth.

    Eventually, we realized that only one of us could receive this legacy. It took only a few words of dissatisfaction before the whole group collapsed from infighting. (They were arguing not fighting)

    Looking at the imbeciles in front of me, I sighed. They were truly idiots. To think that I would have become one of them were I to not have been fostered by Edward¡­ I really couldn¡¯t imagine a bleak future like that.

    Taking a look at my status, I had confirmed it once more. Then I used my skill, [Will of the commander]. I thoroughly dominated the wills of the pathetic group of weaklings there and completely crushedand absorbed it. It was an interesting sensation to say the least, the closest thing I could compare it to be was a battle of wills. Naturally, I won and they, even as a group lost.

    Fortunately, this counted as an act of consuming rather than attacking, so I wasn¡¯t prevented by the System. It ws a good thing the System had multiple loopholes, i would have to thoroughly exploit this while it lasts...

    Stepping over their bodies, I grabbed one of their corpses before throwing it at the shining sphere. Unsurprisingly, it immediately exploded and turned into bloody water. Nodding at my ingenuity, I once again threw another corpse at it. This time, whatever forcefield was surrounding it finally broke, allowing me access to the inheritance.

    Reaching out, I grabbed the crystal, whereupon a huge influx of information was transferred over to me. Slowly, I sorted through the information and understood it. It was then that I broke out in a rare smile.

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has crushed and consumed the wills of 15 mortals]

    [Mind power has increased by 4]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has gained inheritance of The Blood Immortal.]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Blood cultivator

    Cultivation technique: Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll

    Vitality: 13

    Strength: 13

    Blood qi: 16

    Mind Power: 18

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Will of the commander Lvl 1, Blood servant creation Lvl 1, Blood manipulation Lvl 1

    Looking at my status screen, I laughed. It wasn¡¯t one of those false laugh you can hear anywhere. This was a laugh coming from the depths of my soul, rushing out of my mouth and reverberating in the cave.

    Truly, it was the perfect complement to my original skills. This must be destiny! Looking forward to my splendid future, I thought about Edward. He must be excelling as well somewhere in the pursuit of [Survival].

    Smiling, I began cultivating with the surrounding corpses blood. I too wished for [Survival], and after that perhaps¡­ [Immortality].

 Chapter 3-Harder than expected

    Edward Suncrest Pov

    The sky was clear, with no clouds in sight. Birds were chirping, trees were rustling and I was flying in the sky on a magic carpet. That¡¯s right, you heard me, a bloody flying carpet. Honestly, I don¡¯t know what I was expecting, maybe a broomstick, maybe a teleportation formation.

    But I got none of those. What I got was a flying carpet like the one in Aladdin, and a couple of birds smacking my face. Have I mentioned the fact that I was flying several stories high in the sky?

    Because I was flying with nothing to secure my safety, on a magic carpet.

    Fortunately, Hakha seemed to have noticed my distress and cast some sort of shield over me. I felt threads of energy chain me onto the magic carpet and the wind stopped spitting birds into me. Feeling relieved, I hastily thanked Hakha who said that it was no problem.

    Did I also mention the fact that I was being given special treatment? I asked Hakha about it and he said that I had the qualifications to be trained at the main tower. Prodding him for more information, I eventually learned much about the situation I was in.

    It turns out that all six Wizard towers in Iowa were related to each other. The main tower was called the tower of five elements while the other five towers represented each one of the five elements which are Fire, water, earth, metal and wood. So basically, it was the Chinese five elements chart.

    Apparently, only talented people could study at the main tower and I was one of them. Hakha also told me that I would be given a choice later at the main tower, on whether to be a common disciple at the main tower or be a genius disciple at one of the minor towers.

    He told me that the right choice would be to join the main tower, since the treatment between minor tower disciples and major tower disciples was like the difference between heaven and earth. Noticing my surprised expression, Hakha proceeded to explain the internal situation of the tower to me.

    Honestly, I was just surprised that he, a wizard would use a Chinese cultivator web novel term like ¡®difference between heaven and earth¡¯. Wasn¡¯t he breaking character like this?

    As Hakha explained about things related to Wizards, I began to absorb the essential information to form a full picture of how Wizards work.

    Wizards are people who absorb the mana in the surroundings to increase the quality and quantity of their mana pool. Meanwhile, how Wizards display their power is through the use of these things called ¡®Soul Arks¡¯. Wizards would use their mana to nourish their Soul Arks and their Soul Arks allow them to use their mana to create magical phenomena.

    For example, a curse type Soul Ark would allow the Wizard to use curse magic to attack others, provided they had enough man to use it. Soul Arks also had ranks which corresponded to the ranks of wizards. Rank 1 Wizards can use Rank 1 Soul Arks, Rank 2 Wizards can use Rank 2 soul Arks, so on and so forth.

    There were many kinds of soul Arks and they are first split into the One-use and permanent categories. Generally, one-use Soul Arks provided more output as compared to the permanent ones in the same rank as them.

    So, a one-use fire ball Soul Ark would provide a stronger blast, heat and radius to the permanent fire ball Soul Ark. It was pretty interesting learning about this stuff, well according to Hakha, I would be learning much more about it in the tower, though he didn¡¯t give any specifics.

    Soon, the huge tower I was at previously appeared in the distance, getting closer and closer with every passing second. In fact, it took only 15 minutes for us to reach the base of the tower. Getting off of the magic carpet, Hakha appeared to swallow the carpet and gestured for me to follow him.

    Slightly worried about what I had been sitting on for the past 2 hours, I followed behind Hakha, who entered the tower and walked right through the closed doors. Staring slightly, I murmured to myself, ¡°What is this, Platform Nine and three quarte*s?¡± before copying him and walking into the door.

    I will say, right here right now that walking through that door was one of the weirdest experiences in my life. It was also the only time in my life I had phased right through a door. Hell, even after I ascended and became a demon lord, I have NEVER seen any organization use doors like that, not even once.

    I had tried to go back to find the door again, and I could never even locate it. All the people in the five elements tower had no idea what I was talking about. At this point, I was beginning to think that that door was some sort of legendary item.

    Anyway, after walking through the door and feel every particle of my body being analysed, I felt violated. Definitely one of the most disgusting feelings I¡¯ve had ever.

    Looking around to distract myself, I was stunned, for what I saw left me absolutely mesmerized.

    Several plants the size of a young tree hung down from the ceiling, the bulbs on their end providing lighting for the hall. Many Wizards were walking around in groups, hurrying to their destinations. Numerous doors were in the tower, some accessible on foot, while others were floating in the air.

    Seeing the Wizards disappear as they entered the doors, I remembered what Hakha had told me about them. The main tower was actually designed with just three floors. The top two floors were restricted to everyone except for great wizards and the headmaster. The main floor simply had a mission office and numerous doors in it.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    The doors led to certain areas in the second floor that rookie Wizards were allowed in. In these areas, they would be taught about the essentials of being a Wizard.

    Generally, Rank 1 and Rank 2 Wizards are called rookie Wizards. They would be taught at the tower for two years, before the tower stops helping them. Then, if they could become a Rank 3 official Wizard by themselves, they would become one of the towers official Wizards.

    Snapping out of my trance, I followed Hakha who entered the mission office. After speaking a few words with the guy behind the counter, Hakha appeared to have received approval, causing him to be ecstatic. Bringing me to one of the doors, he knocked on it respectfully before entering.

    The room was quite dusty, with purple gas of some kind spiralling in the air above us. The room itself appeared to be made up of cobblestone, though not a single piece of moss could be seen growing through it.

    There was a wooden desk at what looked to be a laboratory, and there was an old man with greying hair standing in front of it. Hakha didn¡¯t try to get his attention and instead, he respectfully stood there, not saying a single word.

    By the time the old Wizard turned around, my legs had already gone numb from standing there for too long.

    Slowly, he turned his body around. Contrary to my expectations, he didn¡¯t have a long bushy beard that trailed to the floor. Rather, he had a handlebar moustache, which looked slightly amusing on an old man.

    ¡°Teacher! I have found a talented rookie Wizard who qualifies to join the main tower!¡± said Hakha.

    ¡°Oh? Come here, let me take a look at you.¡± The old man said in a gravelly voice.

    Stepping forward, I introduced myself. ¡°Greetings, Great Wizard, I am Edward Suncrest.¡±

    Reaching out, his shrivelled arm grabbed hold of my hands, where I felt something slither into my body. Soon, that sensation reached my other hand, whereupon a small snake came out from the palm of my left hand, leaving behind a small hole.

    [Edward Suncrest¡¯s attribute were tested by the Elmer snake, rough estimation of your stats have been transferred to Rank 3 Wizard Hidler]

    Passing me a vial containing a green liquid, he gestured for me to drink it before concentrating on the rough estimation of my stats. Drinking the green liquid, I felt a refreshing sensation inside my body, causing my wounds to heal and fatigue to be erased.

    [Edward Suncrest has taken Potion of Vitality, injuries have been healed, host is invigorated]

    [If the host intakes more of this potion, there will be a small increment in vitality]

    Surprised at the results of the potion, I became more interested in the potion after reading the System messages.

    As I was thinking about how I would go about procuring these potions, the elderly Wizard smiled and said some words of praise.

    ¡°Good, this is definitely good enough to be a student in the first class, Hakha, as a reward your Mana potion allowance per month will be increased to 45 per month. As for you, young man would you like to step onto the path of Wizards in the Five elements tower?¡±

    Taking the cue, I stepped forward and solemnly declared.

    ¡°Yes, I wish to begin my path here in the Five elements tower!¡±

    ¡°Good! Hakha take him to the dormitories and let him rest. Tomorrow, the first lesson will begin, to enter your classroom, simply chant this spell and open your rooms door.¡±

    Saying such, Hidler passed me a piece of paper with some words written on it before turning back to his experiments.

    Having been approved, Hakha brought me to my room, which happened to be beside his own. Entering the room beside mine, Hakha told me to look for him if I required help.

    Having been left in an empty corridor, I simply decided to enter my room and wait for the next day.

    Turning the intricately designed doorknob, I entered the room. As expected, it was completely made out of cobblestone, although it appeared to have been tampered with, making it much tougher. There was surprisingly little dust in the small room. There was a single bed in the far right corner, with a wooden desk beside it. Opposite to the bed, there was a door leading to another room, presumably to the toilet.

    The room was lit by a miniature version of the bulbous plant I had saw in the main hall before. Other than these, the room was completely empty. Sitting on the bed, I put down his duffel bag and began meditating. Previously, Hakha had advised me to spend some time meditating so that I could sense mana faster. He had told me that with my talent, it should only take me one or two days to do so.

    Thus, I am now sitting in a cross-legged yoga pose, trying to clear my mind and sense the mana surrounding me.

    Soon, day turned into night and I was still on the bed, meditating. At some point in time, I had slipped into a trance of sorts, unable to feel what happened in my surroundings.

    Meanwhile, I was having a fantastic experience. My consciousness had exited my body and was now roaming around the room, and although I couldn¡¯t see, I could sort of ¡®sense¡¯ the surroundings. If I really had to describe it, then it would be like a sixth sense.

    With this sixth sense, I could sense, no, feel mana in the surroundings. It was a wondrous ephemeral energy that seemed to react to my presence, flowing around me, avoiding my consciousness.

    It was then that a thought occurred to me.

    ¡®Wait didn¡¯t Hakha say that Wizards increase their mana pool by absorbing mana like this?¡¯

    Thus, I began trying to absorb the surrounding mana. However, it was extremely difficult. The flow of mana was set, and to alter it would take a lot of strength. Gritting my (metaphorical) teeth, I desperately began trying to suck in the surrounding mana.

    After several failures, I finally managed to draw a tiny current of mana into my body.

    Feeling the mana enter my body, I was incomparably satisfied. However, immediately after that, a wave of exhaustion hit me, causing me to wake up from my trance.

    Waking up, I rubbed my face and began reading the System messages that had popped up while I was meditating.

    [Edward Suncrest has successfully entered state of meditation, is now able to sense the surrounding mana]

    [Edward Suncrest absorbed some of the surrounding mana, mana increased by 0.23]

    [Due to having Insufficient Mind power, Edward Suncrest was unable to continue meditating]

    Having figured out the cause of my exhaustion, I was honestly a little scared. With my 17 points of Mind power, I was only able to meditate long enough to increase my mana by 0.23, not even a full point! No wonder the requirements towards Wizards was so strict!

    Thinking to myself, I corrected some of my thoughts. There definitely is another way to increase my mana pool, maybe those Mana potions from before? No, it couldn¡¯t just be that, maybe wizards have longer lifespans, allowing to use the accumulations of time to increase their abilities? Perhaps it was like that.

    Looks like I would have to work harder to become a Wizard, maybe I should try to join Hakha''s clique?

    In any case, this meant that my path looked to be much tougher than I expected. As I continued thinking about these things, another wave of exhaustion swept over me. Checking my watch and seeing that it was already night time, I took a quick bath and went to sleep to help my exhausted mind recover.

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Vitality: 12

    Strength: 13

    Mana: 15.23

    Mind Power: 16 (17)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 1

 Chapter 4-First Soul Ark

    Ezekiel Suncrest Pov

    The stench of blood was thick in the cave. Opening my eyes, I spat out several gulps of black blood.

    ¡°Truly, the Longevity blood condensing scroll is tyrannical, it even managed to purify blood from several humans into less than a drop of Longevity blood. And this isn¡¯t the purest kind of Longevity blood the technique can create¡­¡±

    Slightly speechless at the thought of how many people I had to kill, I shook my head in dismay. I was still in the cave where I had received the inheritance of the blood immortal guy, since it wasn¡¯t like I could deal with the repercussions of killing several people. Even if I can¡¯t be killed for this one month, if the police somehow manage to discover that I killed them, they could still capture me and wait until they can kill me.

    After all, I was still a Rank 1 cultivator, at this stage, I had barely started cultivating. All it would take to kill me is a stray bullet. Thus, the best decision was to stay in the cave until I could ward of bullets like nothing. Well that was only part of the reason. The other reason was that the inheritance wasn¡¯t over, since there are more caves other than the one I was currently in.

    Why did I know this? Well when I consumed the inheritance crystal, I had gained 10% of the authority of this immortal cave. This had allowed me to know that there were 10 inheritance crystals in total, with the one I swallowed being the start of the inheritance. Now I had 10% control, what I had to do next was to increase my cultivation and receive the rest of my inheritance.

    That¡¯s right, MY inheritance. If anyone comes here accidently, I would kill them to prevent word from spreading out. Imagine the consequences if it were to be known that I was hogging the inheritance of a Rank 7 Blood immortal, numerous powerful cultivators would undoubtedly come from all over to kill me and take away the inheritance.

    Thus, I was in a rather bad situation. The only way out of this was to get stronger! Standing up, I brushed the dust off of me and walked towards a particular wall in the cave. Making some hand signs, I used my blood qi, causing the wall in front of me to ripple like water and eventually fade away.

    The stench of blood was even stronger in this cave, which wasn¡¯t surprising considering the fact that there was quite literally a lake of blood in it. Breathing in slowly, I manipulated some of the blood around me to form a solid step in the lake. Currently my abilities weren¡¯t that good yet, but I was confident that with practice, I would eventually be able to control this entire lake. Forming another step in front of me, I stepped onto it and the step behind me collapsed, returning to the lake once more.

    Soon, I reached the middle of the lake where there was a small island. Standing on the small island, I smiled. The island had only 1 tree on it and that tree was blood red. That tree is a tree that the Blood Immortal had previously picked up during his travels. He had not given it a name, instead he merely described it as a tree that caused numerous calamities. He also said that the tree used blood as nourishment, causing the air surrounding it to be constantly filled with blood qi, which is why I decided to cultivate underneath it. Cultivating here would likely be more beneficial to me, plus I intended to eventually subordinate the tree, which would be easier if I understood it.

    Sitting underneath the tree, I began revolving the Longevity Blood condensing scroll. The Longevity Blood condensing scroll could produce two kinds of blood, heart blood and longevity blood.

    Longevity blood would allow me to live longer. Blood qi could also be derived from it, which is what I would use to power my magical techniques. Heart Blood was a more condensed version of Longevity blood, and was the basis of my cultivation. Thus, it was much more important. If I lost my heart blood, I wouldn¡¯t just lose my cultivation, I would die permanently, unable to be resurrected. According to the technique, even my soul wouldn¡¯t be able to return to the cycle of reincarnation once I lost all of my heart blood.

    The way blood cultivation worked was that blood of numerous beings would be absorbed and purified. Then, the life force and qi in the blood will be condensed into a drop of Longevity blood. This was why while a normal cultivator might have spiritual qi in their cultivation base, blood cultivators have a sea of blood. This was also why the path of a blood cultivator was always filled with slaughter.

    I unfortunately was very far away from having a sea of blood. I had a mere drop of Longevity blood and even that was incomplete.

    Taking a deep breath and clearing my mind of all unnecessary thoughts, I began absorbing the surrounding blood qi. Instantly, I could feel the first drop of Longevity blood begin seething in excitement, slowly but surely increasing in size.

    Soon, the Drop of blood began to glow with a radiant red light, showing that it was almost complete. With a loud bang audible to only me, the drop of blood finally formed, radiating an aura of power. Almost instantly, I could feel my longevity and cultivation base increasing.

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has gained 0.12 vitality, 0.5 Strength and 1 point in blood qi]

    Stretching, I continued cultivating. I intended to cultivate here until I reached rank 2 and by then, I would go make some blood slaves. After all, even though I was a cultivator, my firepower was incredibly low.

    Silence descended as I continued cultivating, with only the occasional slosh of blood breaking it.

    [Ezekiel Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Blood cultivator

    Cultivation technique: Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll

    Vitality: 13.12

    Strength: 13.5

    Blood qi: 17

    Mind Power: 18.

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Will of the commander Lvl 1, Blood servant creation Lvl 1, Blood manipulation Lvl 1

    <hr>

    Edward Suncrest Pov

    ¡°¡­ and that¡¯s why you will be allowed to only pick one Soul Ark later from the Tower¡¯s inventory. Remember! It¡¯s important to thoroughly consider which Soul Ark to pick. In your two years of education, the tower will give you a total of 3 Soul Arks for free.¡±

    ¡°Between the different categories of offense, defence, recovery and auxiliary Soul Arks, you can only choose three. For your first Soul Ark, it¡¯s advisable to choose one you can dominate easily like a water ball Soul Ark, since you can only use it once you control 10% of it.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    The middle-aged Wizard with a bald spot droned on and on like a teacher. I was seriously getting bored here, I mean really? When they said lessons, I thought it would be something like transfiguration, or something exciting. What I didn¡¯t expect was to sit behind a desk and listen to a teacher drone on about the fundamentals of a Wizard. It felt like I was back in high school again. Definitely not a good feeling.

    Don¡¯t get me wrong though, the things that he was talking about are definitely important, and I was definitely memorising the content. Its just¡­ I didn¡¯t expect to be in an actual lesson really. This was a Wizard tower for crying out loud! Weren¡¯t we supposed to learn stuff like how to create explosions?

    ¡°¡­that is why, you will now follow me to choose your first Soul Ark.¡±

    The screech of 19 wooden chairs sliding across a rough stone floor interrupted my train of thoughts. Did I mention that I was in a class with twenty students? Fortunately, I wasn¡¯t sitting at the back-left corner of the class, since a boy with flaming red hair was already sitting there.

    One look and you could already tell that he was going to be a future Main Character. Hell, his hair didn¡¯t look like it was dyed, in fact, it looked pretty natural, further cementing his position as Main Character.

    Following along and standing up, I was almost tripped by a scrawny girl who had accidently gotten in my way. Fortunately for me, I didn¡¯t fall down.

    On the other hand, the girl wasn¡¯t so lucky and fell down with a loud thump. Looking up at me, she immediately cowered and apologized.

    Seeing that she was cowering and apologizing, I was once again reminded of the fact that I looked pretty damn scary to others. Somewhere along the line, I had decided to shave bald and remain that way. I also had a scar extending from my right cheek down to my collarbone, which I had received when fighting some gangsters. According to my son, my eyes looked like they were glaring at someone 24/7. Combine that with my muscular frame that I was rather proud of, I guess you could call me a rather intimidating man.

    Although I personally felt that I looked pretty funny in my Wizards robe.

    Suddenly, I felt something push me away from the girl. Stumbling a little, I saw Mr. Main Character glaring at me, telling me not to bully the weak.

    Honestly looking at it from a third person point of view, it was a pretty humorous situation. But I was the one getting shouted at and I wasn¡¯t amused. Stretching out my hand, I grabbed Mr. Main Character¡¯s collar and lifted him up to eye level. Clearing my throat, I spoke. ¡°Look here Mr. Main Character, did It look like I pushed her over? All I did was walk and she knocked into me. She fell down because of her own clumsiness and apologized because of her own mistake, no need to push and yell at me and make me the villain here.¡±

    Dropping Mr. Main Character, I walked over to the girl and apologized to her before running to catch up with the rest of the class. Wizards didn¡¯t exactly have a habit of waiting for others, so if I¡¯m late, I would likely lose my chance to select a Soul Ark.

    As I left, i heard Mr.Main Character shouting something about his name. I couldn''t hear it though.

    Soon, I caught up with the others, who were standing outside the Tower¡¯s inventory room. I had barely made it along with Mr. Main Character and The girl who fell over. Shooting us an uninterested glance, the middle aged Wizard opened the door and walked inside.

    The class of 20 walked into the inventory and were given a surprise. Given the state of the rest of the tower, I assumed that we would be looking at stuff in stone boxes or something. I was wrong though. The entire room was lit up and there were glass compartments along the walls, with some tags beside it describing the items.

    All in all, it looked like something out of a modern persons imagination. And it was pretty damn cool.

    Turning to face us, the Wizard cautioned us.

    ¡°The rank 1 Soul Arks have green coloured tags. DO NOT and I repeat, DO NOT take more than one Soul Ark. Otherwise,the Tower will kill you. Now go, select your Soul Ark. When you find the one you want, use the bag we gave you on the first day to contain it.¡±

    Then, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

    Instantly, I began reading through all the green coloured tags, trying to find the one that was most suitable for me. Why was I rushing? Well in an inventory, things are always limited, aren¡¯t they? That¡¯s why I wanted to quickly take one before the good ones an out.

    Looking at the closest tag, I began reading through the information given. Strangely, when I started reading it, the system made a notification with the exact same words on the tag, allowing more than one person to read the tag at a time.

    The first looked like a bundle of green strings

    [Earth Manipulation Soul Ark. Grants user ability to control all things related to the earth element, although effects depend on users Mind Power. Low effects from 15 Mind power to 30, 31 to 70 grants average effects, 71 and above gives great effects. Not recommended for beginners.]

    Hmm, rejected since it doesn¡¯t match my element.

    Next, I looked at a ball that was bright red and radiated heat.

    [Fireball Soul Ark. With the appropriate formations, a ball of flames will be released, dealing high damage to the surroundings. Easy to use.]

    I would go back to this one if there wasn¡¯t anything better.

    Next up, three lumps of transparent crystals connected to each other.

    [Tri-water shield. Forms three shields of water, damage is shared between all three shields. It is hard to control the movements of the three shields with lesser than 25 Mind Power.]

    Again, not a good choice.

    [Metal body Soul Ark. When activated, forms a defensive layer of metal on the skin of the user. Highly recommended for beginners.]

    [Sand crawler Soul Ark. Raises recovery abilities of a Rank 1 user to 10x its normal amount. Recommended for beginners.]

    [One coloured butterfly Soul Ark. Allows user to temporarily fly. Not recommended for beginners.]

    [Broken Sword Soul Ark. Grants the user superior ability in wielding swords, no matter of what kind.]

    There weren¡¯t any particular ones that caught my eye. Moving on, I went to a section where the tags were an obvious shade deeper in colour.

    I expected them to be higher in quality and I wasn¡¯t wrong.

    [Five element Soul Ark. Grants user ability to manipulate all five elements, although extremely high Mana (70) and Mind power (90) is necessary in order to barely use it. Beginners should stay away.]

    And stay away I did. I didn¡¯t even have enough stats to barely use it, not to mention that I would have to engage in a battle of wills with it. All things in the world had souls, including Soul Arks. Soul Arks could be created naturally or through human hands, but the one thing they all have in common is that in order to use their power, you would have to crush its will or get its acceptance. However to gain their acceptance was nigh impossible, causing Wizards to prefer using the method of destroying their wills and replacing it with their own.

    Looking at the next case, I finally found what I had been looking for this entire time. A Ball of burning flames, similar to the Fireball Soul Ark hovered in mid-air, however, this ball seemed more tame then the Fireball Soul Ark.

    [Fire Manipulation Soul Ark. Grants user ability to control all things related to the fire element, although effects depend on users Mind Power. Low effects from 15 Mind power to 35, 36 to 75 grants average effects, 76 and above gives great effects. Not recommended for beginners.]

    Quickly opening the glass case, I used the special bag given to us and quickly covered the Fire Manipulation Soul Ark. From how tame it acted, I expected it to be easy, but that thing bucked around like it was a wild bull.

    Somehow, I managed to get it under control and exited the inventory room. When I walked out, the middle-aged Wizard was waiting there for me. It seemed like I was one of the last people who came out, since he just stretched his hand out to me impatiently, like he wanted to get it over with.

    Taking out the Fire Manipulation Soul Ark, I handed it to him. Seeming a little surprised, he told me to quickly begin. Stretching out my hands, I sent my will into it, as well as sending my mana to envelop it, causing the Soul Ark¡¯s soul to fight back.

    Grunting a little, the middle-aged Wizard sent out a wave of mana, causing the Soul Ark¡¯s will to temporarily cease resistance. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, I received it into my mana pool and began quickly replacing its will with my own.

    ¡°This is a one-time opportunity, where I help you refine a Soul Ark, so cherish it. Once you have over 50 Mind power, and you can receive your second Soul Ark, you will have to do this yourself.

    I had only managed to gain control over 60% of it before it awakened and began fighting back once more. Eventually, we reached a stalemate at 50%, whereupon both of us stopped the fight.

    That was how I received my first ever Soul Ark on my path as a Wizard.

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Vitality: 12

    Strength: 13

    Mana: 15.23

    Mind Power: 16 (17)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 1

    Soul Arks: Fire Manipulation Soul Ark (50%)

 Chapter 5- Mana tonics and Flames

    Edward Suncrest Pov

    [After a prolonged period of meditation, your Mana has increased by 0.63 and Mind Power has increased by 0.99]

    [After increasing the size of your Mana pool to 30 points, the Fire Manipulation Soul Ark will be completely suppressed]

    Waking up from my daily meditation session, I checked my stats before letting out a despondent sigh. Honestly, my progress was SLOW with a capital s.

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Vitality: 12.1

    Strength: 13.1

    Mana: 17.3

    Mind Power: 16.99 (18)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 1

    Soul Arks: Fire Manipulation Soul Ark (51%)

    Honestly, I was already extremely lucky. From what I heard from the other wizards, they had made much less progress than me, at about 0.35 increase in Mana every meditation session. Even worse, at this speed, including the fact that it becomes more difficult to increase your mana as you continue on, it would take them an entire year to barley reach the peak of a Rank 1 Wizard.

    Of course, I had it much better than them, with my (now) 18 points in Mind Power. The person with lowest stats in class was a fat 20ish man, with 4 points in mana and 9 points in Mind Power. Well, at least that was what he said. I¡¯d be damned if I actually believed any of the words that slither out from between those greasy lips.

    All in all, I was in a pretty good position, although I still didn¡¯t like it. I was progressing far too slow for my liking.

    All of that was going to change today though.

    Recently, I had successfully entered Hakha¡¯s clique, gaining myself a source of information. He had informed me that today, the Wizard in charge of us would be giving us our monthly allowances of 5 Mana tonics. Yup, Mana tonics, not Mana crystals. It turns out that there were four things that could increase a Wizards Mana pool. In terms of effectiveness, they were ranked from Mana tonic, Mana potion, Mana Crystal and finally the rarest kind of one-use Soul Ark, the Energy Soul Ark.

    As a first-year student, I could receive 5 Mana tonics every month. We would also be rewarded with certain amounts of Mana tonics if we accomplished certain achievements, like getting first place in the half year test.

    Standing up, I washed up and put on my Wizard robes. Standing in front of the mirror, I once again affirmed that robes do not fit me. Maybe if I had more time I the future I could make some suits? Thinking about inconsequential things, I made my way to an oak green door before opening it and stepping inside.

    Absentmindedly, I walked over to my seat and plopped down onto it.

    Looking around the class, I once again classified the students according to danger. The fifth most dangerous person here was the biker gang guy. His name is Jonas, and he made me look like a dwarf. He had tattoos all over his beefy arms and a really bad attitude to go along with it, which really made me wonder why he didn¡¯t opt to become a knight. He hadn¡¯t mentioned which Soul Ark he had chosen, although for some reason, I suspected that it was likely the Metal body Soul Ark.

    Ranked fourth on my watch list was Mr. Main Character. As expected, his personality was similar to your generic selfish, ignorant and annoying 2d Japanese main character. Despite all the flaws in his personality, the guy had somehow managed to control the Five element Soul Ark I had seen previously. Yup you heard right. That cheaty bastard somehow managed to gain the approval of the Five element Soul Ark, and although he still can¡¯t properly use it, it can still help him absorb the surrounding Mana faster, allowing him to have a speed higher than me. Fortunately, that advantage should only last until he breaks 50 Mind Power, since by then his absorption speed should be the same as the Soul Ark itself.

    Third on the list is the girl who bumped into me, Elizabeth. It isn¡¯t exactly rare to have a manipulative bitch near you but this one was even harder to deal with than normal. Maybe it¡¯s due to the fact that she was truly very good at hiding her true intentions.

    She had likely noticed that Mr. Main Character was a typical lucky Japanese style main character, thus when she saw that he was in the class with only me and her, she had jumped at the chance. She had set up the situation so that I had become a ¡®Bad person¡¯ and she had become ¡®The victim¡¯. Then, the hero would swoop in with utmost grace and valour! Not.

    Fortunately, I had ruined her setup by directly communicating with Mr. Main Character. If this misunderstanding had continued, I would likely have become an eternal enemy of his, causing me to die within the first 10 chapters.

    Moreover, I knew that this was very clearly a scheme of hers. When she had bumped into me, she had pushed against my body ever so slightly with her arms in order to help herself fall down. If she really fell down after knocking into me, then she would have just fallen backwards, without being able to do anything. Plus, her performance of cowering may seem realistic to Mr. Main Character but honestly it couldn¡¯t be more fake to me. Who the hell cowers while looking directly at the ¡®Bad person¡¯ anyway? Wouldn¡¯t they look away from the ¡®Bad person¡¯?

    Anyways, next on the list was a thin and lanky teenager who introduced himself by the name of John Smith. Evidently, it was a fake name, although he didn¡¯t seem particularly bothered that we didn¡¯t believe him. This one is dangerous because of his Soul Ark. This guy had chosen a special Soul Ark called the Alpha Soul Ark. This Soul Ark allow him to create numerous clones, which used in numerous situations could be disadvantageous to me.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    And finally, number one on the list of dangerous entities, Amber rose, a female who chose to wear a grey suit instead of the given Wizards robe. There was absolutely no reason for me to suspect her¡­ but my instincts flare up whenever I¡¯m around her. Call it the danger sense of a man who had worked in dangerous places for over 9 years. She was definitely a well-trained person, as shown by the way she walked. Normally when people walk, they would lumber about with heavy steps, however, this woman¡­ when she walked, I couldn¡¯t hear anything. Not even the sound of her shoes hitting the floor.

    Anyways, this didn¡¯t mean that my other classmates are sheep, but judging from their performance, I could essentially confirm that they were people without anything special. This mean that they would definitely just become mobs to be killed off later.

    Abruptly, a familiar voice rang out in my head. ¡°Exit the room, and turn left three times. I am waiting for you at the practice field.

    Seeing how one of the future mobs jerked their heads back randomly, I was assured that I wasn¡¯t the only one who had received that telepathic message from the middle-aged Wizard.

    Standing up, I followed the instructions and found myself standing in the middle of a large rectangular field, except that the field was boxed in on all sides and there was no visible source of light.

    Spotting the middle-aged Wizard, I jogged over to him, greeting him as I reached him. Soon, the entire class was here and the teacher began the lesson.

    ¡°If you have been listening to me the past few days, then by now you will know that the fundamentals of spellcasting is exerting your will through the use of Soul Arks to influence the surroundings, using your will to for example create a blade of wind. Your will is closely related to your imagination, which is why us Wizards use chants.

    ¡°Using chants that we create by ourselves, we continually link an image of the desired effect of a spell to our chant, allowing us to cast spells more stably. Today, you will be testing out some of your self-created spells in this field. Feel free to make use of the targets at the side. There will be a reward of 2 Mana tonics to the person who manages to cast a spell first 1 for the second and none for the rest.¡±

    After saying this, the middle-aged Wizard dully looked at us and simply disappeared from view.

    Ignoring the magical phenomenon, the class began to prepare for their practice session.

    Honestly, after being exposed to several days¡¯ worth of all things magic, our sense of normalcy had already been overwritten.

    As expected, Mr. Main Character was the first to step out and actually try to cast a spell. ¡°Fireball!¡± he called out. Unsurprisingly, he failed his first try to cast a fireball. Looking at my own hands, I decided to begin with a smaller flame.

    Sitting down in a corner, I held my hand in a fist in front of me, except for my index finger, which was pointed towards the ceiling. Or was it a roof? I had no way to find out. Silently, in my mind, I pictured a small steady flame, like the kind that would come out of a small lighter.

    Quietly, I muttered the first thing that came to my mind.

    ¡°Flame on!¡±

    And nothing happened.

    Unfazed, I tried again, this time with a different chant. I definitely didn¡¯t want to turn into a human torch after all.

    ¡°Fire!¡±

    This time round, I produced slightly better results, causing a few sparks to fly. Unfortunately, the sparks didn¡¯t come out of my finger but exited from my nostril instead¡­

    Panicking slightly, I patted the sparks out of existence before trying again. Just like this, I spent an entire hour, with varying results. Occasionally some sparks would fly out of a random position, and one time, I managed to set a woman¡¯s cardigan on fire (no idea why she was wearing a cardigan over her robes).

    It had to be noted that all of us were like this, albeit with slightly differing results. Just as I was beginning to think that no one would be able to cast a spell by today, I suddenly heard a deep roar and what sounded like the manliest roar I had ever heard. Then, the middle-aged Wizard appeared and looked around, before walking towards a metal sculpture.

    Wait.

    Metal sculpture?

    Looking at it more carefully, I realized that the metal sculpture was in fact Jonas. Upon realizing this, all of my confusion was resolved. Jonas must have chosen the Metal Body Soul Ark as his Soul Ark and must have accidently triggered it. Whether he did it because he was stupid or lucky I do not know.

    Tapping on the metal sculpture, the middle-aged Wizard tapped Jonas, causing him to revert back to his normal state. Panting slightly, Jonas gave the middle-aged Wizard a foolish grin before shouting.

    ¡°I got that reward, right? Whatever it was? I was the first, right?¡±

    Nodding his head in appreciation, the middle-aged Wizard spoke words of praise.

    ¡°Indeed, although unexpected, you are the first one to have successfully used your Soul Ark to cast a spell. Although your Soul Ark is easier to use than the others, it cannot be denied that you were first. Thus, you will be rewarded with 2 Mana tonics. The method to use them will be told to you after the class ends, for now, continue to practice using your Metal Body Soul Ark.¡±

    Taking two glass tubes similar to the one I saw before out from his sleeves, he placed them in Jonas¡¯s hands before disappearing again.

    Anyways, it seemed like Jonas had managed to successfully cast a spell first due to the natue of his Soul Ark. Body changing Soul Arks were easier to manipulate huh¡­ easier¡­

    Easier.

    I was onto something here.

    I assumed that making the flame smaller would allow me to cast the spell simpler¡­ but was I wrong?

    Easier.

    Simpler.

    I Imagined a lighter when I tried casting spells. But even lighter cant straight out produce flames. One would click it, using the friction to cause sparks. These sparks would then set the gas on fire, making a flame.

    So why don¡¯t I copy that process?

    First, create sparks. But I can¡¯t do that without friction. So-

    I raised my hands and I snapped my fingers. The friction between my fingers were definitely not enough to create sparks. But when it is infused with mana? Then, it was a different story.

    Immediately, numerous sparks burst out from my fingers, making my hand look like a firework. Now, gas. I didn¡¯t have that. But I did have mana.

    Sending a stream of mana through my hands, I directly injected the mana into the sparks in my hand.

    Immediately, a column of fire stretched out from my hand, its intense heat causing my hair to singe slightly. The column of fire continued, scorching the ground in its path, until it reached the opposite wall, whereupon it started spreading. Realizing this, I hastily decreased the mana I was sending into my hand, all the way until it became a small fireball floating in my hands.

    [Edward Suncrest has created a spell, Spiral of flame]

    [Edward Suncrest has created a spell, Fireball]

    Looking at the System Notifications, I realized that I had profited immensely. Spiral of flame was probably the gigantic column of flames that I used just now, while Fireball was the spell I was using right now.

    ¡°Not bad for a beginner. Your reward is 1 Mana Tonic as promised. Continue practicing, and work on your Mana manipulation, in the future these two spells will be really good for you.¡±

    Startled, I looked up, realizing that the middle-aged Wizard had already appeared in front of me. Grabbing the Mana tonic, i was going to ask more about my mana manipulation when he disappeared into mid-air, leaving me hanging.

    Slightly disgruntled, I looked at the Mana tonic in my hand, which cheered me up immensely. If what Hakha had said was true, then I was in for a good time tonight.

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Vitality: 12

    Strength: 13

    Mana: 17.3

    Mind Power: 16.99 (18)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 1

    Spells: Spiral of flame, Fireball

    Soul Arks: Fire Manipulation Soul Ark (51%)

 Chapter 6-The plan

    Edward Suncrest Pov

    Silvery white waves rolled about in a concentric pattern, and floating in the centre of it all, was a small ball of fire. Streams of silvery white liquid constantly infused itself into the sea, causing it to slowly expand in size. The silvery sea seemed to be constantly seething around the small ball of fire, as if the ball of fire didn¡¯t like its existence, although there wasn¡¯t much it could do about it.

    As you may have guessed, the silvery white sea was my mana pool, and the fireball floating in it was the Fire Manipulation Soul Ark. I was currently trying to desperately increase my mana pool and refine the Soul Ark right now. Was I stretching my abilities too far? Not really.

    After the lesson ended and I had received my monthly Mana tonics, I had rushed back to begin my meditation session. Popping open the test tube, I remembered Hakha¡¯s instructions and swallowed it down quickly in one gulp. Then, I had felt a numbing sensation spread throughout my body, and my mana pool changed colours from white to silvery white, followed by this System notification.

    [You have taken a Mana tonic, vitality and strength temporarily rises by 5, mana temporarily increases by 16.7, mind power temporarily increases by 15.1. Effects will last for 2 hours]

    [Warning! This cannot be ingested more than once a week, otherwise all your stats will rapidly drop, leading to death, in severe cases, your body will explode, and your soul will dissipate]

    Suddenly, all my senses were elevated. I felt like I could run around the world and still have energy to spare! But knowing that this would only last for 2 hours, I sat down and began meditating.

    Soon I began absorbing the surrounding mana at about twice the speed I was originally absorbing it at. But¡­ I still had energy to spare. I was already absorbing the maximum amount of mana possible for me currently, and yet I had Mind power to spare, probably because of my special skill¡­ 1.1 was actually a lot when you thought about it.

    Deciding not to waste my time, I began refining my Soul Ark as well. My will wormed its way into the Soul Ark, waking it from its slumber

    And that was how the current situation occurred. It was saddening that the Mana tonic couldn¡¯t be used more than once a week, but the effects of 1 was already fantastic, so I wasn¡¯t complaining.

    1 hour later.

    The silvery radiance from my mana pool had already disappeared for the most part. I had also mostly exhausted myself, thus I regretfully exited my meditation, and opened my eyes, causing me to be greeted by a plethora of messages.

    [After undergoing a potion boosted meditation session, Edward Suncrest¡¯s Mana has increased by 1.22 points. Mind power has increased by 0.9 points due to your multitasking]

    [The abundant mana in your Mana pool has nourished your body, Vitality increased by 0.5, strength increased by 0.5]

    [Due to constant use, Unwavering Will Lvl 1 has become Unwavering Will Lvl 2, effects have changed]

    [Unwavering Will Lvl 2: causes the hosts Mind power stat to undergo a multiplier of 1.2, more effects will be unlocked as skill level increases]

    [Host has dominated more of the Fire Manipulation Soul Ark, domination rate at 60%]

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Vitality: 12.5

    Strength: 13.5

    Mana: 18.52

    Mind Power: 17.89 (21)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 2

    Spells: Spiral of flame, Fireball

    Soul Arks: Fire Manipulation Soul Ark (60%)

    Slowly scrolling through the System messages, I noticed a particular statement which caught my eye.

    [The abundant mana in your Mana pool has nourished your body, Vitality increased by 0.5, strength increased by 0.5]

    So, does that mean that as my mana increases, my physical stats will automatically follow? I immediately used the Systems question function.

    [Negative, this only occurred because the Mana tonic raised Edward Suncrest¡¯s abilities temporarily, causing Edward Suncrest to be able to absorb much more than normal, however since Edward Suncrest couldn¡¯t contain all that he absorbed, some of it slipped out of his body. The little bits that slipped out were absorbed slightly by his body, causing a slight increase in physical stats]

    So, if I take the Mana tonic and meditate, my physical stats will increase?

    [Negative, it depends on whether Edward Suncrest can absorb the excess mana. Moreover, if this is done too often (more than once a week), his body will burst from having absorbed too much mana]

    Then how do I solve the problem?

    [Become a knight]

    Is this what they call foreshadowing? Looks like I would have to look into knight techniques in the future¡­ although I would only do it if I was safe of course. Increasing my stats is always a good thing, but I can¡¯t exactly enjoy it from the afterlife, can I? Or can I? The System did mention something about a Netherworld when it first started didn¡¯t it?

    On the other hand, there were likely other ways to do this. The System itself likely kept quiet about these methods. Sure, [The System is an impartial System which records and points out some paths for you to improve] was good, but there was a loophole wasn¡¯t there? A giant loophole which was popularly used by liars. The System can point out paths for you to take, but it doesn¡¯t have to point out the best path, does it? Nor does it have to point out other paths, causing you to think that only one action was possible. Thus, you take that path, which is beset with dangers. A rather cliched situation, wasn¡¯t it?The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    As I was musing about the possibilities of becoming a ghost and the reliability of the System, I suddenly felt a wave of nausea overcome me. Rushing over to the toilet, which was a hole in the floor leading to go knows where, I retched loudly, causing silver coloured vomit to spray out of my mouth. Hakha had reminded me about this previously, he had told me that my body wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb all of the tonic.

    Actually, a Mana tonic was used by rank 2 Wizards to temporarily boost their abilities while fighting. It was made for rank 2 Wizards to consume, and even though the ones I received was lower than even the lowest rank of Mana tonics, it was still slightly too powerful for me, causing me to be unable to fully ingest it.

    Which was why silver vomit was gushing out of my mouth, a never-ending torrent that seemed to have no end. Where did all this liquid even come from? I sure as hell didn¡¯t know.

    After what felt like hours but was only five minutes, I finally stopped vomiting, barely managed to drag my exhausted self over to the bed before falling fast asleep, dreaming of all things wrong.

    <hr>

    Ezekiel Suncrest Pov

    Blood.

    Blood was all that I could see.

    It wasn¡¯t that surprising, given that I was literally cultivating in a lake of blood. The water level (Blood level?) of the lake had risen somewhat over the past four or five days, causing my body to be partially submerged in blood.

    Standing up, I once again created blood steps, only this time I could create and manipulate 3 steps at a time, so I could step forward and move the step behind me to my front to continue my path.

    Exiting the cave, I returned to the main cave where the first inheritance was. Stepping onto dry ground, I forced the blood on me off and used the resulting sludge to make a small sword, conveniently cleaning myself. As I played around with the blood sword, I began reading through the countless System notifications that have been popping up ever since I woke up.

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has meditated under the Blood tree, blood qi increased by 0.1]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has meditated under the Blood tree, blood qi increased by 0.1]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has meditated under the Blood tree, blood qi increased by 0.1]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has meditated under the Blood tree, blood qi increased by 0.1]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has meditated under the Blood tree, blood qi increased by 0.1]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has meditated under the Blood tree, blood qi increased by 0.1]

    ¡­

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has finished a long session of cultivation, vitality increased by 6.2, strength increased by 7, blood qi increased by 8.4, mind power increased by 5] (0.1 blood qi bonuses not included)

    [Due to constant practice, Blood manipulation Lvl 1 has become Blood manipulation Lvl 2]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Blood cultivator

    Cultivation technique: Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll

    Vitality: 19.32

    Strength: 20.5

    Blood qi: 29

    Mind Power: 23

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Will of the commander Lvl 1, Blood servant creation Lvl 1, Blood manipulation Lvl 2

    After that meditation session, I had managed to condense 3 and a half drops of Longevity blood. However, I was very far away from completing the first level of the Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll. The Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll consisted of nine levels, corresponding with the nine ranks of cultivation. The first level required me to purify and condense 9 drops of Heart blood. Of course, I could also condense Longevity blood, just that I need to single out 9 drops from them to condense into heart blood.

    That was of course only the first stage of the Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll. The scroll had stated that the path of cultivation was infinite, and at this point, I was pretty convinced of the legitimacy of that statement.

    Stopping myself from daydreaming, I concentrated on my current task. What is my current task you ask? Well that was to get my Blood manipulation to a high enough level. When the one-month protection period was over, I intended to go farm some exp for my skills, preferably improving my special skill, Will of the commander. More than that, I wanted to create some blood slaves too, preferably from humans.

    I would start by killing one or two¡­ then when I had around 50 blood slaves which would take about 2 weeks, I would start killing more and more. It would be a race against time, whether I could gather enough blood slaves before they could kill me. If I won, then I would be able to kill a small-scale city, and start improving the quality of my Blood slaves instead of their quantity. Then, I would escape back to the cave and lie low for a while.

    The cave was rather special, since its owner was previously a rank 7 Blood Immortal. I could control it and use its reserve energy to hide, ensuring only rank 7 and above beings could detect me.

    But the basis of my plans was my personal strength! If I was too weak then I would be killed even before my army was created, and that was certainly something I didn¡¯t want to see! Thus, I was practicing my Blood manipulation in the hopes of getting stronger.

    Putting my full concentration to the task at hand, I compressed the blood more and more, until eventually, it turned into a blob of blood, about the size of two fists. Then, I began moulding it into the shape of a small knife. A knife was a good weapon, considering the fact that I couldn¡¯t always use Will of the commander to kill people. I too would get exhausted from too many mental battles after all.

    Moreover, I had learned how to use a knife to kill people before. There were only two main moves my father had taught me, and that was to stab and slash. Grabbing onto the hilt of the newly formed knife, I began practicing those nostalgic moves again.

    Keep my legs open in a steady stance.

    Step, stab.

    Step, slash.

    Stab, slash.

    Repeat and repeat.

    Keep the knife edge sharp when I stab, use it to stab.

    Then, when it entered my opponents body¡­

    Infect his blood and turn him into a slave!

    Tirelessly, I hacked at the air, practicing my skills.

    When I was tired, I would use my blood qi to replenish my energy and continue. Soon I was adept enough to create some blood shields around me, regularly rotating them around me while I fought my imaginary enemies.

    Stab, slash.

    Stab, slash and stab again.

    Several hours later, I had 5 shields the size of a small table hovering around me. My knife was still as sharp as ever and it was perhaps my millionth time stabbing the air. With a Ding! sound effect which interrupted me, a System notification popped up in front of me.

    [Ezekiel Suncrest has dug deep into his roots and remembered the basics of using a knife! Ezekiel Suncrest has learnt Beginner Knife skill Lvl 1]

    [Due to unceasing practice, Blood manipulation has levelled up to Lvl 3, control over blood is greatly strengthened]

    [Ezekiel Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Blood cultivator

    Cultivation technique: Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll

    Vitality: 19.32

    Strength: 20.5

    Blood qi: 29

    Mind Power: 23

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Will of the commander Lvl 1, Blood servant creation Lvl 1, Blood manipulation Lvl 3, Beginner Knife skill Lvl 1

    Hmm? Blood manipulation levelled up? I had previously spent several days cultivating to raise a level, but a few hours of practicing had led to another level up?

    Unable to explain this phenomenon, I decided to ask the System.

    [Answer: Since Ezekiel was more active in manipulating blood when practicing, than cultivating, Blood Manipulation was levelled up more easily.]

    So more active huh¡­ sure I guess that was likely the reason¡­ but I wouldn¡¯t trust the System one hundred percent. Just think, an omnipotent System, capable of recording all of your strength¡­ at first thought, seems like a good way to improve yourself, right? Since it¡¯s a neutral System, there¡¯s no problem, right?

    Bullshit. First of all, regardless of the level of civilization, corruption will always exist, no matter how slight. Second, there was no way those powerful figures who set up the System would do it with no ulterior motives. Where there is information, there will be people who exploit it. But I wanted to be ready against that situation in the future, where an opponent knew all of my skills.

    Either that, or I would try to separate from the System as quickly as possible in the future. Like my father had said, the only person you could one hundred percent trust was yourself.

    Sitting down on the floor, I took a short break. Although I could use blood qi to replenish my energy, it couldn¡¯t erase the fatigue that had accumulated throughout the practice. Cycling the Longevity Blood Condensing Scroll, I quickly recovered back into my peak condition, then I began practicing again.

    24 days. I had 24 days to prepare. I look forward to when I have an army to fight for me.

 Chapter 7-The problem and the reruitment

    Edward Suncrest Pov

    The Five Elements Tower consisted of 15 Wizard families. 1 five element family, 2 four element families, 3 three element families, 4 two element families and five single element families. The more elements a family had, the more powerful it was. Well you probably would have guessed that already.

    Well why was I talking about this? Bear with me, I¡¯m getting to it.

    Anyways, as I was saying, the more elements a family had, the more powerful it was. This means that the Five Elements Tower was essentially run by the five and four element families. The other were just there I guess. Well maybe the three element families are the basic workforce that followed the orders of the higher ranked families.

    To put it unflatteringly would be to say that they were servants.

    Why did this matter? Well every Wizard who entered the Five Elements Tower would eventually have to join one of these families.

    Except.

    We could only join the one element to three element families.

    If I were to give a reason for this, then it would likely be for safety concerns.

    No matter what organization it was, they would never allow outsiders to be part of their top brass. Were there to be too many, the original owners would become cast aside, removed from their organization, losing all power they originally had.

    This also essentially made it impossible for the outsiders to riot and overthrow the original top brass, ensuring they had a firm grip over the entire organization. Well call it the woes of someone who has no choice but to be a slave.

    Well anyway, we were tested and examined just now¡­ as I thought, only me and Amber rose managed to get into a three element family. I entered the divlisi family, pretty sure that that was Greek for refining, but refining what, I do not know.

    Now here¡¯s the problem. They put Main Character in a one element family.

    The worst one, the lowest one.

    Even though they clearly knew he had the Five Element Soul Ark.

    Yet there he was.

    An incomparably large mistake, even if I do say so myself.

    I had seen it happening too, the malice which passed through the examiner¡¯s eyes as he spouted what he assumed to be a death sentence to Main Character.

    Oh, how wrong he was.

    Even worse, there seemed to be an actual reason for his malice. Later, I had searched around and found out that, apparently one of the young masters of the Tower had been jealous that he managed to gain the approval of the Five Element Soul Ark and had decided to make life terrible for Main Character.

    It seems that you don¡¯t understand how bad one element families have it. Well, let me put it into perspective for you.

    The worst resources.

    The last to get their allowances/incomes.

    The least respected.

    The- well I suppose you get it by now.

    Unfortunately, the victim here was Main Character.

    What a big mistake they are making, and yet no one knows.

    Let me reiterate.

    What a big fucking joke.

    Did they not have heroes in their generation? Did they not have Geniuses, the highest of the high back in their time? Or was this the main character aura working its magic here? Did they not have bards, who sang of the outrageous feats of heroism of people?

    The four element family that that young master belonged to was done for.

    It was fucked. I gave it 11 months to live.

    And yet no one knew of the grave mistake that had been made.

    Well maybe Amber rose knows.

    That cruel smile on her lips when she saw what happened, as she stared at the examiner, as she glanced towards me¡­

    Undeniably the most dangerous one I have met yet.

    A true [Psycho]

    I just hoped that this didn¡¯t affect me in the future¡­

    Well internal monologue (Rant) aside, I had a good starting point. The divlisi family was a respected family amongst the Tower and were one of the best three element families to be accepted by. Even better, it seems as though buttering up to Hakha had amounted to something, since I was in the family that he was in.

    He probably pulled some strings to have me accepted.

    Looks like I¡¯ll have to prepare some ¡®gifts¡¯ for him later¡­

    Now, I was being escorted to the main hall of the divlisi family, to be officially introduced to the family. The future was bright, no need to think about the Towers impending doom, yes that¡¯s right, there¡¯s a lot of options out there, at most I¡¯ll just have to become a knight right¡­

    6 hours later

    Having given away 3 of my Mana potions I received upon joining the divlisi family to Hakha and promptly receiving them back, I was once again in my room.

    The conversation between us went somewhat like this.

    Me: Here¡¯s 3 Mana potions as a thank you ¡®gift¡¯

    Hakha: No need, they are useless to me anyway, since you understand my intentions, consider it an ¡®investment¡¯ in you.

    Me: Thanks!

    Hakha: In exchange, 2 weeks later, you must participate in the Hunting regiments recruitment trials.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Me: ¡­ok

    Afterwards, I had traded one of my three Mana potions for 15 Mana tonics, which once more affirmed their value in my mind.

    So now, here I was, sitting in my bedroom, doing some research on the fire element. I had purchased some books talking about the basics of the fire element and Wizards in general, which had some really fancy titles like ¡®A basic primer to the fire element¡¯, ¡®The basics of Wizards¡¯, ¡®The history of the Wizards of Earth¡¯ and ¡®Controlling mana: the do¡¯s and the don¡¯ts¡¯.

    What did I use to purchase them? My Mana tonics of course.

    Generally, Wizards use Mana crystals as a currency, but they also believed in equivalent exchange, thus meaning that as long as you had something of equal or better value, they would trade. Which was how I got a hold of these books, since the seller was a guy almost at the peak of rank 1.

    Turning the page, I continued memorizing the contents of ¡®The history of the Wizards of Earth¡¯. It was quite the entertaining book, that was for sure. It told of the history of the Wizards on earth.

    Apparently, the first Wizard who stayed behind on earth was a rank 7 Wizard, who was well versed in the power of light, and was a peaceful person. The second Wizard who stayed behind was also a rank 7 Wizard, however, he was a powerful and cruel person who wielded the power of darkness. They both regularly got into fights, due to their conflicting ideologies. The organizations they created, the Wizard¡¯s association and the Dark Wizard Tower similarly conflicted with each other often.

    Thus, the Wizards on Earth were split into two factions, called Light Wizards and Dark Wizards. The Five Elements Tower that I was a part of was one of the mid-level organizations in the Wizard¡¯s association. Meaning that I was a Light Wizard, who¡¯s upbringing would be weak. I couldn¡¯t accept that.

    Didn¡¯t I start my path as a Wizard to be strong? To think that I made a bad choice¡­ well it shouldn¡¯t matter as long as I constantly fought others. Since the Light Wizards and Dark Wizards still had conflicts against each other, it meant that there was definitely a regiment of Light Wizards that fought against Dark Wizards.

    Looking through the small booklet the divlisi family had provided me, I found what I was looking for.

    The Hunting Regiment, a special regiment of Light Wizards who fought against Dark Wizards. Recruitment was at the end of the month, with the minimum requirement of having 35 Mana and 35 Mind power.

    As long as I joined them and regularly fought, be it against monsters or Dark Wizards, I should be able to hone my fighting skills. Looking at the requirements and doing some mental maths, I figured that I should be able to make the deadline, provided that I didn¡¯t slack off on meditation.

    This also coincided with what Hakha wanted me to do, so it was killing two birds with one stone.

    A sudden beeping rang out in the room, causing me to notice the time. It was already 10pm, time for my daily meditation. Taking out another bottle of Mana tonic, I downed it in one gulp. It had already been a week since I last taken one, and my speed slowed so much that it was unbearable.

    Sitting on my floor, I began furiously meditating. Everything would begin when the one month, when the ban on killing would be lifted, and when I could join the

    2 weeks later, in a room that smelled of fragrant citrus, a large bald man sat cross-legged on the floor. Sweat was rolling down the side of his head, showing that he was rather uncomfortable right now.

    [Edward Suncrest¡¯s Mana has increased by 0.34, Mind power has increased by 0.12]

    [An 8 hour meditation session has honed Edward Suncrest¡¯s will, Unwavering Will Lvl 2 has become Unwavering Will Lvl 3, Mind power now undergoes multiplier of 1.3]

    [Edward Suncrest]

    Rank 1

    Gender: Male

    Vitality: 12.6

    Strength: 13.6

    Mana: 35.18

    Mind Power: 27 (35.1)

    Attack: N/A Defence: N/A

    Skills: Unwavering Will Lvl 3

    Spells: Spiral of flame, Fireball

    Soul Arks: Fire Manipulation Soul Ark (71%)

    Setting down the test tube filled with blue powder, I sighed in relief.

    That level up from Unwavering Will had been really timely. I had been struggling a lot with Mind power recently, especially after I crossed the 25 points threshold. If Mana was fuel, then Mind power was what guided it. To my horror, I had not paid attention to this, leading to a lack of increase in my Mind power. By the time I realised, only 3 days were left, not enough time for me to slowly increase it, leading to my purchase of a vial of Enchanted Drenore.

    Enchanted Drenore would help me drastically increase my Mind power in a short amount of time, although the side effects were disastrous. From my estimates, I would lose slightly less than half my vitality, and my strength would drop as well.

    I had intended to consume it after my final meditation, and looks like my choice was right. Unwavering Will had swooped in and picked me up like a damsel in distress! Although this didn¡¯t solve my problem in the long term. Placing the potion back in my potion chest, I stood up and cracked my knuckles. My muscles bulged through the Wizard robes, once again accentuating my burly frame.

    Although I was a Wizard, I still didn¡¯t stop exercising. At least one hour a day was the rule. I didn¡¯t want to be unable to engage in close ranged combat after all. Though this did garner me weird looks in the Tower, I didn¡¯t really mind.

    Dusting myself off, I opened a small chest below my bed. The chest contained several things, which was: My revolver, one Mana potion, a small stick which would act as my mana conductor, a pair of sunglasses and several books. Removing the fake bottom, I reached in and took out a small enchanted ring I had bought with one Mana potion. Removing the second fake bottom, I placed the tube of Enchanted Drenore back inside, before removing the third fake bottom to reveal a small pouch, which I took out and kept in my robe. One could never be too careful, a belief I lived my life by.

    Putting everything else back, I took the pouch, the ring the stick and my revolver.

    Sliding the ring onto my middle finger, I rubbed the simple engravings on it, thinking about its preciousness. I had traded one entire Mana potion for it, or in other words, 15 Mana tonics. It was a worthwhile investment, since its effects were amazing.

    [Ring of strength]

    [Increases strength temporarily by 10 points, vitality by 5, if used too often, may cause mutations]

    [Buffs only apply until strength and agility reaches 20]

    Well I mean the mutation thing was kind f a downer, but I intended to use this as an emergency weapon anyway, so theoretically, it shouldn¡¯t happen to me. Apart from the ring, the stick was also important, since it would be my main weapon.

    It was about the size of a police baton, and sturdier than one as well.

    [Sturdy Wand]

    [Increases Mana flow efficiency, casting speed increased by 2 seconds when wielding it]

    In a battle between Wizards, the winner was usually the one who casted their spells first, meaning casting speed would be an important factor in fights. More than that, I intended to use this as a stun baton whenever I can. After all, with my current Mana, I could only cast fireball 4 times and spiral of flame twice.

    I had to conserve my Mana whenever I could, since running out of it meant defeat, and defeats led to certain death.

    Walking out of my room, I proceeded towards the front desk. After showing the Wizard there my pouch, I was directed towards a seemingly simple door, except unlike the other doors hovering around it, it had a keyhole. Taking a key out of the pouch, I slotted it into the door, causing the space around me to distort, teleporting me to my destination.

    <hr>

    Mr. Main Character Pov

    The scent of the forest tickled my nose, the smell of damp earth and fallen leaves combining together to refresh my body. It was curious really, why these smells could sooth the soul the way they did.

    Walking around, I remembered my objective for coming here¡­ that¡¯s right, I was currently taking part in the Hunting regiments recruitment trials. I had to do well in this test in order to help the Lederman family, the one element family I was assigned to. If I managed to become a rookie of the Hunting regiment, my status would be greatly elevated, since the Hunting regiment was an extremely important part of the tower.

    This would definitely help me in my goal, to defeat that bastard. That bastard from a four element family who pushed me down to where I was right now. Not only did that bastard take away my Five Element Soul Ark, he even destroyed it when it wouldn¡¯t submit to him.

    I hate him.

    I HATE HIM

    But it was alright, for I would have my revenge. Rubbing the small pendant on my neck, I assured myself of that fact. The Lederman family was much more mysterious than it looked. After so long of being oppressed, they had hidden quite a lot of powerful resources, Wizards and Soul Arks in a bid to break free from their situation.

    Having understood my situation, they had decided to help me! Thinking about the faces of the Wizards, looking at me as if I was their hope, I once again promised myself to do y best for them. They had supported me when I was down, so I would definitely reciprocate their kindness!

    The pendant I was rubbing right now was one of the items they had given me.

    [Devouring Pendant]

    [One-use item, can help host completely absorb and consume something, and become its new owner]

    They also gave me a Soul Ark embryo.

    It was a Soul Ark embryo of a Five Element Soul Ark, since I had excellent talent in all five elements. This time, my objective was also to grow this Soul Ark and properly imprint it.

    Just you wait bastard! I will make you pay!