Michael let out a quiet sigh as he stood directly in front of the principal’s office. He stared at the door for a moment before raising his hand and giving three firm knocks.
"Come in."
Hearing the principal’s voice, Michael turned the handle, pushed the door open, and calmly walked inside.
Michael shut the door behind him and turned looked at the principal, who calmly took a few sips of his tea. As Michael watched him, several thoughts began to run through his mind.
Despite his appearance and his unfortunate lack of hair, there was an undeniable presence surrounding the principal. It wasn’t something Michael could explain, but he could feel it, a calm pressure with the potential to be highly explosive if his emotions got the better of him.
’So this is the principal of the Evolvers academy up close huh.’
"Sit sit."
Michael walked over and took a seat in the visitor’s chair, settling in as he kept his eyes on the principal.
After a brief silence, he leaned back slightly and spoke.
"Is there any troublesome reason was I suddenly summoned to your office?"
"Hm?" The principal raised a brow as he paused halfway with his cup a few inches away from his mouth. "You’ve got quite a mouth on you, but that is not why I called you here."
"Then why did you call me here?"
The principal put his cup down, then said. "Let’s not beat around the bush, you know why you’re here."
Michael sighed, then rested his arms on his legs. "Naga huh."
"So you know of it’s name, then there is without doubt certainty that you were the one who defeated the boss of the first level of the Abyss, and set a new all time record."
"Is there a reason you’re telling me all this sir?"
The principal let out a soft sigh, then interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on it. "To cut it short, I agree with the princess, you came here to get strong didn’t you? In that case, you should transfer to Class A."
"What?" Micheal’s eyes narrowed. "How do you know about that? Were you eavesdropping on us?"
"Eavesdropping? No, I wouldn’t put it like that. But if you wanted to have a private conversation, you shouldn’t have chosen the most public and heavily secured place with high quality surveillance."
"I see..." It didn’t occur to him that anyone would be watching the hallway security cameras at such hours.
"When Mr Jin first recommended I offer you a spot in the Evolver’s academy, I would have refused, but given the request came from an Evolver of Mr Jin’s caliber, naturally I became curious, but now I see why. And I’m now determined to see the extent to how stronger you can grow. So will you transfer to Class A?"
Micheal leaned back into his seat and crossed his arms. "I told Princess Rias I would consider it, but even with the exclusive access Class A had to offer, I’m not so sure."
"And why is that?"
"Class A."
Class A wasn’t just an ordinary class. It was a class reserved exclusively for Evolvers with the highest potential, those considered capable of reaching the very peak of evolution.
Unfortunately, across the four continents, only a select few possessed that level of potential. And, more often than not, they came from the royal families of each kingdom.
And Michael wasn’t particularly fond of royals, not one bit.
After all, it was the prince of the Midgard kingdom, his own fucking step brother who tried to kill him and killed his best friend. As far as he was concerned, they were his targets to kill.
So the thought of being surrounded by royalty wasn’t exactly something he looked forward to.
The principal watched him, then put his head down for a few seconds, then he said. "I see, it looks like it’ll take a lot more to convince you, then I have no choice."
The principal slowly rose from his seat and walked toward the window. Once he reached it, he clasped his hands behind his back and quietly stared out at the academy grounds below with Michael’s eyes following him the entire way.
"Michael Dreyar, what do you know about the 12 Order?"
"The 12 Order?" He raised a brow, the memories of this body wasn’t that clear, given his trauma and loss from his previous world was all he remembered mostly, but no matter where he went, that name always popped up.
The 12 Order.
"Not much, I’ve heard of it, but I never really paid attention."
"The 12 Order is an elite unit of Evolvers." He said, his voice calm but subtle. "Composed of the strongest Evolvers from all around the four continents."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Every child who has activated an Origin, every student who has enrolled in this academy, has had only one goal, to become one of the elites who will rid mankind of the Abyss and its influence."
His expression hardened slightly.
"That was, and still is, the purpose of the Order. It was created with a single task, to clear every level of the Abyss and, ultimately, eliminate its presence from the human world entirely."
"And you’re telling me this why?"
The principal slowly turned away from the window and began walking back toward his desk. His eyes on Michael, never leaving him for even a moment.
The calmness that had surrounded him moments ago was gone. His expression had hardened, his face turning cold and stern as he approached.
"Unlike the other classes, Class A only has a maximum slot of 12 members, do you know why?"
"Obviously not, sir."
"Class A was created solely for the purpose of creating powerful Evolvers that will become candidates of leading the 12 Order as the captains of each Order, however, it’s not everyone who is able to achieve that aim." Read the latest chapters at novelping . com.
"With all due respect sir, I have no interest in becoming the future captain of any Order."
"Obviously not, who’d allow a sloppy brat like you to become a captain? Do you know why not all 12 can become captains?"
A vein bulged in Michael’s head as he could barely tolerate these questions he obviously doesn’t have the answers to. "No." He replied with a suppressed annoyance.
"It’s because there’s a requirement in becoming a captain, and out of all 12 students, only 3 in 12 per year is able to achieve it. That is my offer to you."
Michael’s annoyance quickly faded, completely overridden by curiosity. His interest had been piqued, and now he couldn’t help but wonder what the principal was getting at. "And what is that requirement?"
"The requirement every Evolver that wishes to become a captain of the 12 Order must have, an ability that only members of Class A are privileged to learn about and train their bodies to their absolute limits."
The room fell silent for a few seconds before the principal spoke with a clear voice.
"Soul Manifestation."
"Soul Manifestation?" Michael blinked. "What’s that?" He shifted in his seat, seemingly intrigued.
"The Soul Manifestation, also called the Final Nature Art. It is the final form of any Evolvers Origin, difficult for even the strongest Evolvers to obtain. Despite the legacy I have built, even I haven’t obtained this unique ability."
’The Final Nature Art... With an ability like that, it won’t be long before I finally get to kill him...’ The Soul Manifestation sounded like an overwhelming ability to Michael, perhaps a little too overwhelming. A grin appeared on his face almost immediately, as if it were an instinctive response.
The principal smiled almost immediately, he could clearly see Micheal’s interest. "But of course, there is no certainty that you’d be able to achieve it, Class A just serves as a catalyst, it will all depends on you."
"Fine." Michael finally gave in to the principal’s request. He pushed himself up from his seat, turned around, and walked toward the door.
"You got me, I’ll join Class A." He said.
"Now hold on just a minute." The principal’s voice stopped Michael in his tracks. He paused, then slowly turned his head to look back at him. "Hm?"
"I told you to join Class A, but just agreeing isn’t exactly how it works."
"Huh?" He removed his hand from the door knob.
"You see, we have a tradition here in the Evolver’s Academy, in order to move up to higher classes, you need to complete a series of tasks."
"What the hell?" He raised his brows in confusion, in the first place he never wanted to move up, but now that he finally agreed to their request he has to complete a series of tasks before he can move up?
"It’s not that simple, by standards clearing the first level already proves your qualifications, but then no one would believe a ruffian like you, and the princes and princesses of Class A will never accept you. So to change their mind, you will have to complete a specific task."
"What kind of task?"
The principal sat back down in his seat and rested his hands firmly on the table.
"In the following week, the members of Class A, along with a select few students, will be going on an expedition. Originally, the first level of the Abyss was meant to test the capabilities of Class A and the potential of Class B. But because you cleared the first level in just thirty minutes, we never got the chance to properly test that potential. So, we’ll be organizing an expedition specifically for these two classes."
He paused, then looked up at Michael.
"Michael Dreyar, in the following week, you will partake in the expedition into the second level of the Abyss."
"The second level of the Abyss?" Michael blinked, unsure if he heard him correctly. "What do you mean the second level of the Abyss?"
"You defeated the boss of the first level, easily I’d say given the timeframe, so it shouldn’t be so much of a problem for you. But regardless, Mr Jin will be the one leading the expedition, so you couldn’t be in a more safer hands."
"Mr Jin huh." Micheal crossed his arms.
If Mr. Jin was truly taking part in the expedition into the second level of the Abyss, then this was the perfect opportunity to see just how strong everyone claimed he really was.
"Alright, I’ll go."
"Good, you may take your leave."
As Michael left the office and closed the door behind him, Principal Lucien stared at it for a moment, then his expression darkened almost immediately.
He put both elbows on the table and rested his chin on his fingers, and his eyes narrowed as he continued staring at the door.
"Michael Dreyar... If you’re truly what I think you are..."
He stood up from his seat and walked toward the window once more with his hands clasped behind his back. Then he gazed down at the students as they slowly made their way back to their dorms.
"Then I must eliminate you, no matter what."
..
Michael made his way back to his dorm with his hands buried in his pockets, but his mind drifted as he spaced out for a while, thinking about everything the principal had just told him.
He agreed to join Class A for two reasons, first and obviously, to obtain the Soul Manifestation skill, and secondly...
’Princess Rias and her family has connections with the rest of the royal families, as it stands she is the vital element in achieving my goal. The best way to not raise suspicion to those bastards that I am not alive, is to hide in plain sight.’
A grin spread across his lips. ’That’s right, it doesn’t matter if you’re not of the Midgard family, you are still of royal blood Princess Rias, you are of only one use to me now.’
He looked at his palms. "That said, the second level of the Abyss huh?"
The scary thing about the Abyss was, the more levels you cleared, the difficulty of the next one increased tenfold.
When he first fought the Abyssal Jackals, he could tear them apart with a single strike. But the moment he came face-to-face with the Serpent Warriors, a single strike was no longer enough. He needed pinpoint accuracy, a precision strike aimed at their vital points in order to eliminate them.
And as for Naga, if it weren’t for his First Genesis ability, that battle could have been the end of him and the rest of his teammates.
"Now that I think about it, the only way I can actually grow my abilities is through the abyss... So even if the principal didn’t offer me a shot by clearing the second level... I would have gone in eventually. But now that it’s come to this, I have to pay more attention to the system. Status."
[Name: Michael Dreyar]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 13]
[Experience: 19]
[Dexterity: 30]
[Stamina: 30]
[Agility: 30]
[Strength: 30]
[Intelligence: 25]
[Nature Energy: 2130/3000]
[Origin: The First Origin]
[Rank: SSS]
[Talent Ability:
• 1st Genesis (Level 1)
- The Beginning can also become the End.]
[Extracted Origin:
• Celestial Spark (Conceptual Limits Overwritten)
• Nature Energy Consumption - 500]
[Item: Naga’s Fangs
• Type: Double Daggers
• Grade: SSS
• Attack Damage: +350
• Unique Trait — Venomous Fangs: The daggers retain Naga’s deadly venom. Any target pierced by them will have their nervous system gradually disabled temporarily, impairing their ability to control their body.]
[Trial points: Undecided.]
"Trial points Undecided?"
Throughout the history of the first level of the Abyss, the Serpent King Naga had only been slain three times, each by a different Evolver. The last time it happened was nearly ten years ago.
Yet Michael had slain Naga in just thirty minutes, leaving the reward allocation system with a malfunction. Even after several hours had passed since Naga’s defeat, the trial point reward for killing him still hadn’t been allocated to Michael.
"I got a new skill for defeating Naga too, Celestial Spark? That sounds like something that can summon the sun, well, only one way to find out."
[Ding! Your rewards have been finalized!]
Michael blinked as a notification flashed in front of him. "My rewards have been finalized? Oh, that’s right, I never did get the reward for slaying Naga."
[Ding! You have received 100 trial points!]
[You have received +10 boost in Stamina, Agility and Strength.]
[You have received a rare item.]
[Do you want to open the mystery item?]
"Yes."
[Ding! You have obtained an item!]
[Type: Key
• Grade: Unknown
• Description: Key of Liberation]
"Key of Liberation?" Michael blinked.
Despite the new skills, abilities, and weapons he had gained, Michael still felt unsatisfied. His physical attributes were lacking, and the amount of nature energy required to use his abilities was demanding, very, very demanding.
To make up for those shortcomings, he had to get stronger.
No matter what.