Ace stepped out of the medical room and shut the door behind him. Based on Levi’s words, all awakeners who had been under the guidance of the recruiters since arriving in the First Sanctuary were to gather in the courtyard in thirty minutes for their final debriefing.
Without wasting another moment, he left the building and stepped into the courtyard of the first’s base.
A loud gong rang out across the building, and the deep sound echoed through the walls, spreading into every corner and making the air feel heavy.
And there it was.
The fortified base of the 1st Soul-Squad guarded by a heavy, 50 foot tall, thick reinforced gate that kept out all unwanted beasts.
The courtyard of the fortified base of the 1st Soul-Squad buzzed with life, by a rough count, there were more than fifty Awakeners, all who were led here by various Soul Hunters that were stationed at the spawn points.
There were more than this, more than five hundred Awakeners to be exact, but just like Ace, many were unfortunate to spawn in places that weren’t safe, and they were all devoured by the beasts of the 1st sanctuary.
"Damn... Now that I’m actually here I’m a bit nervous, is the aura around here always like this?" One of the boys in the crowd said, feeling a bit tense.
"It’s probably coming from those guys."
They stared ahead, their eyes fixed on the ten individuals standing at the front. Even from their clothing alone, it was clear — these people were on a completely different level from the rest of the Soul Awakeners present in the courtyard.
The gong sounded again, and the courtyard fell silent as a man, with two other men at his side, descended from the steps that rose high to the entrance of the base
"Hm." The man glanced around slowly at all the awakeners present, then sighed in disappointment.
"Your numbers are less than what I expected, well, I guess it couldn’t be helped. Now then..."
The man cleared his throat.
"My name is Alaric Stones, the two besides me are my associates, and I’m the vice captain of the 1st Soul-Squad. I’m sure many of you have long awaited this day, but before we can proceed. I’ll have to inform you on the truth behind the sanctuary."
"As you’ve been informed by the people who brought you here, powers and skills are gained from the Soul-Core you obtain. That Soul-Core is obtained by completing the first trial of the sanctuary." He paused, then continued.
"We humans, we all possess a soul, however with that soul comes the energy to keep it alive. Some call it aura, some spiritual energy or chakra, but its true name is Soul-Energy."
Murmurs flew across the courtyard, they were all puzzled by his words, especially since they weren’t informed about something like this back on earth.
"Soul-Energy?"
"That’s right." His loud voice silenced the crowd.
"Soul-Energy is what sustains our souls, providing enough energy to replenish it as long as we are alive. Naturally, evolution points are the fundamental requirements for forming a Soul-Shard, think of a Soul-Shard as part of the Soul-Core. Once all shards have been assembled in the soul, it births the Soul-Core, creating the phenomenon we come to know as Soul-Hunters. Right now, some of you are all just awakeners, siphoning off the power of the little Soul-Shard in you."
’The Little Soul-Shard?’ Ace thought. Now that he mentioned it, in his status panel under the Soul-Core section, it never specified the type of Soul-Core he obtained.
It was still in the crafting process, in the very least, only a portion of his Soul-Core was crafted he obtained the God-Tier Adaptation System.
"Your objectives are simple, in order to ascend to the second trial of the sanctuary, you need enough evolution points to form a Soul-Shard before you can even think about obtaining the Soul Fragment. Hence, your objective in the first trial is to become a Soul-Hunter. That means killing beasts and farming enough evolution points to create your Soul-Core. The purpose of the 1st Soul-Squad is to make that objective possible, hence, we have cleared out a specific region of the sanctuary of all Upper grade beasts. Good luck."
The briefing was swift and conclusive.
’I see, so that’s the purpose of the Soul-Squads, it’s not just to guard humanity. Like those bastards from before said, most of humanity that entered into the sanctuary never got the chance to evolve to Soul-Hunters, so the Soul-Squads exist to increase those odds.’
Ace looked around, trying to familiarize himself with his new surroundings, when a girl approached him.
"Hey, you seem to be new to the sanctuary as well, would you like to join us and form a team?" She asked with an expectant gaze.
"A team?" He glanced at them for a second, forming a team was the most ideal and surefire way to survive in the sanctuary, but also one of the easiest ways to die.
Just like how Leon abandoned him to the Abyssal Demon, and left him to die.
But that didn’t seem to be the case with her, at least for now.
One thing was obvious since he was transported here, power is the only necessity, it was the same reason that convinced Leon and his team to try and recruit him.
So the results would undoubtedly be the same for these three once they discovered he was talentless, but that was before he obtained a Soul-Shard.
"Alright I’ll consider it, but can you give me a moment?"
"Yes of course! Take the time you need!" She replied nervously. Anyone could see the rush of anxiety in her chest, unlike Ace, she knew what she was being transported into.
Ace turned around and exhaled sharply. ’Now that I know what I’m getting into, I need to evaluate my options. I received a Soul-Shard gaining the system, although it was merely just plain luck, so I should have at least an ability in my arsenal. Status.’
He pulled up his Status Panel, then selected the class Ability slot.
[Class Ability -
• Passive Skill — Timeless (1%)
-Skill description: There can’t be an end without a beginning.]
’Huh? Timeless.’ His class ability gave only a short and vague description.
[There can’t be an end without a beginning.]
’There can’t be an end without a beginning? What kind of description is that?’