James and Ivan took the elevator and began to go down after closing its door. They reached the lobby but the elevator did not stop as Ivan had expected; it continued to descend underground!
They kept going for a minute more under the ground before the elevator finally stopped and the door opened, revealing a long stone corridor. Two people in black uniforms stood at the entrance of the corridor and bowed to James immediately after they spotted him.
" We greet the Tower master!" They both said in unison while bowing their heads.
James waved one of his hands in response before walking through, Ivan walked right behind him under the curious gaze of the two people in uniform.
The corridor was like an ancient tunnel made of bricks with a few torches hanging on its sides to lighten the path; the discovery of such a place in the Tower had surprised Ivan greatly. He still remembered how tall the building of the tower was from outside, it almost pierced the clouds! Since their arrival, he had only been to so few floors and even this underground; what other secrets could those many floors hold?
They walked for about five minutes before finally exiting the corridor and came to an empty chamber with nothing but surging Nexus energy, the place looked like a typical cave that one could find anywhere with untempered walls and flat ground. To the side of this chamber was a stairway that led further down.
James explained that this was the first level of the Nexus chamber where the fifth position on the ranking could train, he also said that it has the worst quality compared to the other four chambers.
Ivan found this statement difficult to believe, he could very well feel the surging Nexus inside this chamber; it was so strong that he could faintly feel it brushing against his skin! He believed that he would be able to progress very quickly if he trained here.
At least an additional 0.03% to his normal speed outside!
It was only after they visited the other four chambers did Ivan understood why James had said that the first chamber had the worst quality!
In the fourth chamber, the Nexus there was so abundant that Ivan could clearly feel it in his skin. In the third chamber, the Nexus was so thick that Ivan felt that he could taste it if he tried hard enough. In the second chamber, he felt he would be able to grab the Nexus energy; of course, this was only a feeling of how much he felt the presence of the energy and for a fact that he could faintly see it mixed with the oxygen in the chamber.
The last chamber and the one meant for first place was what had given Ivan the greatest shock. This chamber looked even more ancient than the previous four, the walls of this chamber were a mixture of red and brown which spoke of their age, and in the center of the chamber was a small pond filled with pristine sparkling water that filled the chamber with a soothing scent.
The Nexus energy in this chamber was so thick that Ivan could see them, literally! They formed small red clouds and drifted about in the air while releasing red wisps constantly.
Ivan could not even dare to imagine how much progress he could make if he trained her for only one day!
"This…" Ivan stuttered while still standing in the middle of the stairway. He was too shocked to speak as he struggled to control his expression.
" Hehe, I like that expression on your face. I heard it's very difficult to make you change your blank expression, I know this would work" James chuckled when he saw Ivan's expression, he was pleased with it.
Ivan quickly calmed himself upon hearing James' words and walked down the stairway, James revealed a small smirk when he saw the boy quickly adjust his demeanor.
"Let me not take much of your time, this is your chamber and you can come here to absorb Nexus energy whenever you want. Of course, that's as long as you can keep holding onto the first place on the ranking" James said and patted Ivan's shoulder lightly.
"The two people we met in the corridor just then will help you return to the lobby when you're done, you can come see me when you come out. Good luck kid" James added before leaving Ivan alone.
Now alone in the chamber, Ivan approached the pond and deeper his fingers into it. The water was cold and spread a cooling sensation into Ivan's hand.
"It's not dangerous," Ivan said to himself.
Taking off his tracksuit and gray T-shirt, Ivan was left with only his boxers.
Splash! Splash!
He slowly walked into the lake till it reached his waist, he took one last look at his surroundings before going down.
Blup!
Ivan sat with his legs crossed underwater, he closed his eyes and immediately began to absorb Nexus from around him.
He had exhausted all the Nexus in his Nexus chamber during his experiment earlier so he first had to refill the now empty Nexus chamber. This took only a few minutes which was way faster than usual!
After filling his Nexus chamber to the brim, Ivan started to refine the Nexus to increase his AP; he was once again startled by the result.
+0.01%
+0.01%
+0.01%
….
He would gain an additional 0.01 increase in AP every few seconds! This increase in speed shocked Ivan so greatly that he momentarily stopped defining Nexus to be sure that he wasn't dreaming.
'Such speed!' Ivan exclaimed in his mind before he resumed absorbing and refining.
With enough Nexus energy to circulate in his body, he did not have to worry about breathing for a few hours.
...
James had by now reached the corridor, he approached the elevator in calm steps but his face had an expectant smile on it.
"Even if his talent hasn't been figured out yet, his progress with an SS talent level should still be of great use to the tower in the future. Work hard kid, let's see how terrifying an SS-level talent is" James mumbled to himself as he entered the elevator and tapped on the ascend button.
…..
While Ivan was busy increasing his AP in the Nexus chamber of the tower, Ralph was buried in a pile of books in the library.
Five long rows of books created a miniature wall of books on the table with Ralph behind it sitting on a chair with another book in his hands which he read with a very serious expression.
The back of the book was a title which read: The fuse of both worlds.
In this book was information about the fusion of the dreamscape and the real world which happened once every ten years, the number of times and dates that such had happened were all written in this book and according to the date of the last fuse, the next one was just a few months away! To be more precise, it was expected to happen in the third or fourth month of the following year!
"Such a coincidence! That will be just a few months after we finish training!" Ralph could not help but exclaim at this discovery.
He had heard about the fusion of the dreamscape and real-world once when he was a kid but could not clearly remember what it was.
Now that he was reading this book, he realized that it was around that time that his mother got her injury which later led them to move to the outskirt. It was said in the book that when the fuse happened, all Nexulytes regardless of rank would be pulled into the dreamscape forcefully and unprepared. Their locations in the real world would be mirrored in the dreamscape and it was advised for every Nexulyte to be close to a tower branch during this period so they could team with other Nexulytes when required. There had also been cases of Nexulytes appearing a few distances from their supposed locations but the gap would not be too exaggerated, there had also been unlucky people who directly appeared in the midst of monsters and forbidden zones.
During this period, no Nexulyte would be able to return to the real world and the fusion usually lasted for days with the longest being a month!
If one were to be at a place that was far from a tower, one should try to locate one in the dreamscape as fast as possible because terrifying monsters and forbidden zones in the dreamscape are usually very active during those periods; encountering one would be a Nexulyte's unluckiest moment or a Nexulyte's most horrifying experience if they survived.
"Hmm, only three to four months after our training" Ralph mumbled as he fell into thoughts. He decided to inform Glen and Ivan about this so they could prepare more, he had also decided to train harder as he intended to challenge the top five on the ranking soon; he wanted to get his hand on one of the Nexus chambers.
Underground the Owen Tower, inside the Nexus chamber was a small pond with clear pristine sparkling water. The surface of the water was as clear as a mirror without a single ripple on its surface, a gentle wave of Nexus swayed above the pond and slowly fused into it.
Inside the pond, Ivan could be seen in a crossed-legged posture with both eyes closed as he refined the Nexus energy that was fussing with the pond. He had long lost track of time and didn't know how long he had spent inside the pond, the only thing that he knew was that he had made progress!
Ivan focused and made his profile appear in his mind.
NAME: Ivan Von Charles
Talent Group: Primal Talent type: Wisher Talent: Wish card
Talent lv: SS AP: 3.47% Rank: NULL
Upon seeing the information on his profile, Ivan was so stunned that he gasped; temporarily forgetting that he was under, and ended up swallowing a mouthful of water which ended up choking him.
He hurriedly got out of the pond while coughing hard, it took him a few seconds to calm himself and return his attention to the information displayed on his profile. Precisely, his AP.
AP: 3.47%
Ivan:(┛❍ᴥ❍)┛彡┻━┻
3.47? That was an additional 0.36% to what he had before! It was more than three times what he would usually get from training in his room for three nights!
A single night usually gave him a 0.11% increase in AP.
"How long have I been in this place? Don't tell me I've been here for a whole day!" Ivan questioned himself in utter disbelief. He suspected that he had gotten carried away and had wasted a whole day here. No, he couldn't call it wasted since he actually made the progress of three days in one!
"I have to go, the tower master must have waited all day for me!" Ivan screamed to put his clothes on and immediately dashed toward the stairway.
While leaving, Ivan ran into someone in the third chamber.
A petite figure sat cross-legged with both of her hands resting on her lap, her long hair tied up behind her back in a ponytail.
She opened her eyes and they locked with Ivan's eyes, a look of hostility immediately flashed through her eyes.
This person was Miko, one of the repeaters, and ranked third on the ranking. She was the same person who had challenged Ivan one the day the ranking was revealed.
Ivan halted his steps and locked Miko in a short staring competition.
"Hmph!"
Miko snorted disdainfully and turned her head away, she closed her eyes and continued to absorb the Nexus around her.
Ivan also did not stay long and continued climbing, he didn't encounter anyone else until he arrived in the corridor where he saw the two people who were watching the place.
"Ah, you finally came out. The Tower master asked you to come straight to him when you come out" one of the men in black uniform said immediately when they saw him.
"Is that so? How long has it been since I came here?" Ivan asked in a calm tone but he was worrying internally.
"It's been a bit over three hours" They replied in unison.
Ivan "..."
Really? Just three hours? Are you two joking with me?
Seeing that Ivan wasn't reacting the two men looked at each other, wondering if they had said something inappropriate.
"Uhh, is everything alright?" One of them asked while waving his hand in front of Ivan's face.
Ivan snapped out of his daze and let out a few awkward coughs.
"Sorry, I was distracted for a bit just now. How long did you say it had been since I was inside?" He asked again to confirm that he hadn't heard wrong the first time.
But the response was still the same, it had been three hours!
'So I got an increase of 0.36% in just three hours? Crazy!' Ivan exclaimed in his mind while walking into the elevator
Arriving at James' office, Ivan found James reading a book which he immediately put down when Ivan entered the office.
"Came out already? I thought you'd spend more time there, isn't the effect exciting for you?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.
" It's not that, the effect is actually…" Ivan tried to explain but stopped halfway, still finding it difficult to believe.
" No need for words, show me how much progress you made in three hours " James demanded and Ivan made his profile appear.
James stared at the 3.47% AP with a blank face, his mouth hanging open.
It took him a few seconds to recover, Ivan did not say anything about this since he had reacted the same way too.
" Sorry about that, how much AP did you have previously?"
They entered a brief question and answer session where James asked how many AP Ivan had before entering the Nexus chamber, how many AP he usually got from training by himself, and how many AP he got from training in the Nexus chamber.
He was once again left in shock after Ivan answered all of his questions.
'This is only the beginning of the second month in the tower and he's already so far ahead of others? Is an SS-level talent so terrifying?' James screams internally, instantly coming to the conclusion that it would not be a problem for Ivan to hold onto his first place on the ranking at all as long as he kept working hard; catching up to the repeaters and surpassing them was only a matter of time!
Without delaying any further, James proceeded with why he had asked Ivan to come to him, which was for talent training.
Other trainees with similar talents would be having their talent training together but Ivan had the tower master as his instructor, other trainees would be envious of him if they knew.
James grabbed the book that he was reading before Ivan walked into the office.
"I guessed that you haven't made any new discoveries about your talent so I will be going with what I've gathered. I have been looking through books with abilities similar to your talent…cards. While such talents are very rare, I've found records about some" James explained and began instructing Ivan according to the information he had gathered.
One was asking Ivan to try using his card as a throwing knife. According to James, there was once a Nexulyte whose talent was a flying card. He was able to use his cards like a set of throwing knives and the cards were able to cut through almost anything!
Sadly, this method did not work as the card immediately scattered into light particles after going a few distance from Ivan.
They moved to try another method that James had also discovered. This time, it was for Ivan to use the card as a summoning ticket. In the record that James had found, a certain Nexulyte was able to summon different objects and even beings with her summoning card.
Ivan tried it but nothing happened even after five minutes of changing the summoning phrase he used.
They tried another method but that one also failed, Ivan had to remind James that he was only able to summon three cards as that was his limit before running out of Nexus energy.
"Sigh! I guess we'll have to stop for now and continue tomorrow, I'll call Elora to come get you for your weapon training. Until you can use your talent like other Nexulytes, you'll need a way to defend yourself when necessary" James said with a helpless sigh.
While he contacted Elora, Ivan was Staring at the card in his hand as the dream he had played in his mind. He clearly remembered all that the man had said and the demonstrations he showed to Ivan.
Still staring at the card Ivan quietly muttered to himself while creating a scene in his mind.
"Envision it and make it a reality…Slash?"
Immediately after muttering the last word, the card in Ivan's hand trembled and glowed before shattering into specks of red, blue, and gold light which then transformed into a long beautiful sword that had a red blade, blue hilt, and golden crossguard!
Swoosh!!
The sword turned in the room for a split second and finding only one person aside from Ivan, it immediately slashed at James.
Ivan watched this with terrified eyes, his mouth opened wide as he planned to scream for James to look out but it was obvious that the sword would act faster than his warning.
But he seemed to have forgotten that James was the Tower master of the Owen Tower for a reason.
In the split second that it took for the sword to slash James, he turned around while at the same time, his left hand was being covered by the sleeve of a nano suit.
Clank!!
A loud sound rang out as James grabbed the sword with his robot-like arm.
"Watch out!" Ivan screamed out at the same time.
Everything had taken a fraction of one second, he didn't even see James move.
Ivan ???
Ignoring the stunned Ivan, James studied the sword in his grip with a surprised look on his face. The sword remained in his grip for only about twenty seconds before scattering into red and blue particles which drifted into the air.
He turned his gaze to Ivan after the sword disappeared while retracting the nano sleeve that was covering his arm.
Ivan immediately snapped back to his senses when he felt James stare.
"I…that wasn't intentional, I can explain" he quickly said, thinking that James was suspecting him of trying something stupid.
" I know it wasn't on purpose, I couldn't feel any killing intent from you or the sword which shouldn't have been the case if you were trying to harm me; that would have been impossible even if that was the case, at least for the current you. But…how did you do it?" James assured Ivan he was bothered about what just happened before asking what he was curious about.
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