Battle Frenzy - Chapter 17
Battle Frenzy
Battle Frenzy
Author: Skeleton Wizard
© Webnovel
Chapter 1: Fate Trickster
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Desire was the force that drives progress, as well as what gives birth to destruction.
In 2206 CE, humanity is confronted with its most severe energy crisis, while the Earth’s climate has become exceedingly vile due to the excessive exploitation of the planet’s resources. The colony on the moon couldn’t support a hundred million immigrants, and thus, the Salvation Project began. Humanity decided to build an “artificial black hole” between the Earth and Moon in order to provide everlasting energy, while also improving the Earth’s environment. This project clearly had enormous dangers associated with it, but it was their only method for salvation.
2216 CE. The construction of the black hole was a success, but the aftermath was something humanity could never have predicted. The black hole caused a higher dimension to overlap with Earth, causing a spatial fold effect. This led to drastic changes on Earth, such as spatial cracks, unusual powers manifesting, and mutated organisms.
The Earth descended into chaos due to the ineffectiveness of conventional weapons in the face of these new monsters. Even the ultimate weapon of humanity, nuclear weapons, became useless. After a short three years, the Earth’s population had declined to only two hundred million, and human civilization was on the brink of annihilation. Thus, humanity entered its last stand.
However, during this moment of crisis, humanity’s avarice was matched by its powerful vitality which revealed itself. After many years of fighting against these monsters, humanity discovered what had caused the organisms of Earth to mutate. While other organisms had been transformed by this energy, many humans had also been transformed as well. In their final stand, humans continuously searched for ways to strengthen themselves. After much effort, they were able to create a completely new battle system. In honor of the countless sacrifices in order to create this system, it was titled the Heroic Soul System. Named as such because a hero’s soul would never be extinguished.
At the same time, the famous scientist, Glenn Grasso, discovered a way to use this unusual energy in a scientific manner. People called this energy “Grasso Energy”. Combined with technology, it was newly termed rune technology. After paying a steep cost, humanity was able to wield this new energy and overcome the danger of extinction.
After fighting for several centuries, humanity was finally able to stand firm and claim a position on Earth. With the combination of their technology and new battle system, they were able to establish cities on cities, rapidly expanding out once again. The new generation whose souls were ignited became the main defending power of these cities. They were called Heroic Soul Soldiers. In every single city, the heroic soul schools became the most important sector. These schools were the cradle from where soldiers were nurtured. After the old human society had been completely destroyed, two factions emerged from the ashes. One was the Imperial Alliance while the other was the Freedom Federation.
The Freedom Federation followed the social order of the olden days. Thus, it also followed the governing hierarchy of the past. The parliament was the highest order of authority, but the major families and financial groups were the true wielders of power. A majority of the technology and resources of the olden days were inherited by the federation. The Freedom Federation discriminated against mutants, strictly prohibiting mutants and ordinary people from intermarrying.
As for the Imperial Alliance, they had inherited much less of the resources of the olden days. During the dark ages, the discarded human communities fought with blood and fire and were able to rapidly expand by forming an alliance of nations with a strict social order. Humans, Neohumans, and other unusual races could be found in the alliance, all of them living for the pursuit of supreme power.
Originally, there were many great wars between the two factions over natural resources, but after encountering a great enemy, they were able to sign a peace agreement. Thus marked the new era of rapid development for humanity. A short hundred years later, the human population had grown back to a billion people. Undoubtedly, their intelligence and powerful reproduction ability allowed humans to regain their position as Earth’s most powerful ruler.
However, what was lost could never come back. There were five forbidden mutated regions that humans were unable to conquer. In addition to those five regions, the influence of the hyperdimension allowed humans to realize that they weren’t the sons of heaven.
New Era 516. The Kaiser Empire, one of the three great empires within the Imperial Alliance.
An emaciated child was born in the best hospital of the empire. This child had to go into intensive care and was on the verge of death.
“Shirley, don’t be sad. I believe that this child will definitely be able to be able to stand tall!” Wang Zhan Feng said in order to comfort his wife.
However, Shirley’s tears continued to flow just as before. This child was too pitiful. As soon as he was born, he’d been plagued with misfortunes. After narrowly escaping from a great calamity, who would have thought that his body would then be influenced. “This is the punishment from the gods. We should have been faster…”
Wang Zhan Feng gently shook his head. This matter had already been censored by both the Freedom Federation and the Imperial Alliance and had become a taboo topic. After all, this was the greatest catastrophe humanity had faced since the New Era began. Once again, it seems that before humans are destroyed, God will make humans go crazy. But in the end, who knows what is right and what is wrong?
Dr. Layton Garau was a super genius and was the greatest expert on science and rune technology of the century. He had accidentally obtained the “Fate Stone”, a hyperdimensional divine item. This sparked many crazy ideas that were supported by the Imperial Alliance, such as, “everyone can become a god”, “humanity will reclaim everything,” and “conquer the hyperdimension.” Humanity had coveted the powers of the hyperdimension for a long time and had even begun experiments in the unregulated Inca City.
This wasn’t the first time that humans had tried to spy into the realm of the gods, and it wasn’t their first failure either. It was just that this experiment’s failure had caused an earthquake with a magnitude of 13 to shake Inca City. The heavens fell and the earth was split asunder by this disaster that lasted the whole day. The city had also been struck by a tsunami that day, causing floods and many casualties. Furthermore, a hundred thousand people lost their homes. As for the Imperial Alliance, they abandoned Dr. Layton and used him as the scapegoat. The dead Dr. Layton had been transformed from a scientific genius into a scientific devil.
Wang Zhong was an orphan of that disaster.
Wang Zhan Feng embraced his wife. “This child is very strong. He was even trying to reassure us just moments ago. Ah…”
“My heart was about broken into pieces when I saw him smile while enduring so much pain.” Shirley couldn’t control the tears that streamed down her face.
“Perhaps death is a type of freedom in itself. If he’s able to make it through this, we’ll leave this place and go live a tranquil life. We won’t bother with any disturbances,” Wang Zhan Feng resolutely said. He had already achieved glory, as well as fallen to an all-time low. The only thing he had left was his family.
Inside of the hospital ward, a four or five-year-old child quietly lay there. It was silent aside from the sound of an apparatus dripping. A sedative had been used on him recently, allowing Wang Zhong to finally enter the land of dreams.
In reality, Wang Zhong didn’t really like sleeping. Although he would be in pain while he was awake, he at least wouldn’t be lonely. He liked the world that was full of vitality, rather than the darkness and loneliness of the world of dreams.
However, sleep wasn’t something he could prevent. As Wang Zhong’s breathing became more steady, his surroundings seemed to quiet down. Then the side of the apparatus flashed a bit and Wang Zhong’s eyelids twitched.
There was only darkness in the dreams for the sensible Wang Zhong. There was nothing he could do. However, today was different. The infinite darkness in his dreams suddenly turned red, giving Wang Zhong a pleasant surprise. The torment he experienced from his ailment had already rid him of any fear of death. Now the only thing he feared was to be alone. The color around him changed once again, from red to orange… then to yellow. Wang Zhong was extremely happy at this sight. His quiet world had finally gained some color. Others may disdain such a matter, but for Wang Zhong, this had brought him much joy.
His surroundings stopped at the color purple, as if it had been a blossoming rainbow. From the very core of these colors appeared a figure.
It was a… small, brightly colored clown!
The little clown seemed particularly happy. “Hi hi. Child, I am your envoy of fortune, the handsome Simba! The peerless Simba! The powerful Simba!” The little clown somersaulted three times in the air before landing in an exaggerated pose. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten to swing his onion-shaped hair around as he pulled out a beautiful rainbow.
“Simba? That sounds like a puppy’s name.” Wang Zhong couldn’t help but laugh. Most children would react in the same way should they see such a little clown, let alone Wang Zhong.
The little clown’s face suddenly spun down. “What puppy? I am the Fate Trickster, Simba. I play tricks on fate and there’s nothing I can’t do. Child, you have encountered something great!”
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Chapter 2: Senior is here!
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Simba revealed a fiendish expression, wanting to make Wang Zhong yield. Little Wang Zhong examined Simba with a smile. In fact, he even walked up to Simba and began touching him. For little Wang Zhong, this wasn’t a cute little clown, but a rare animal and the most adorable thing in this world of darkness.
Simba retreated two steps and rubbed his red nose. He had never expected to meet such a foolish child. ‘Ah, forget about it. A powerful Fate Trickster such as I shouldn’t bother with him.’
“Child, what is your name?”
“I’m Wang Zhong. Are you really called Simba? It’s a cute name!”
“No brat. You are to never use the word ‘cute’ to describe I, the great Fate Trickster! I am a powerful existence that has transcended fate!”
Clearly, Simba was very dissatisfied with the word ‘cute’.
“Then you can call me Wang Zhong, and I’ll call you Simba. Or I can even call you the Handsome Simba.” Wang Zhong’s eyes twinkled with cleverness and curiosity as he continued sizing up the little clown. Despite his attempts, however, at getting near the little clown, he found that no matter how much he walked, the distance between the two of them never changed. He really wanted to feel Simba’s nose again.
The Fate Trickster mulled over it for a moment. Then he discovered that it really was hard to trick this child.
“Fine then. Wang Zhong, you have finally received good fortune. Do you want to become a mighty hero? Or an unparalleled lord under the heavens? Or perhaps, you want to become a dictator over countless numbers of people?”
The Fate Trickster’s passionate voice matched his multicolored radiance, and his over-exaggerated body language made it sound as if he were a mighty hero that was worshipped by all. Yet, the wimpy kid in front of him still hadn’t been stirred into immediately crying with tears of joy, nor did he shout out his wishes to become a hero!
“I don’t want to.” Wang Zhong said this simple phrase after he finished enjoying the little clown’s exaggerated display. He stretched out his hand again in an attempt to pinch the little clown’s nose, as if to mock him.
…
The current scene was a bit awkward as the little clown stared at Wang Zhong with an unfathomable gaze. This child’s expression was like an insipid cloud floating upon gentle winds, which profoundly provoked the little clown. ‘Is this brat an idiot? Why would the Fate Stone pick him?’
“Why don’t you want to? You must be a fool not to!” Simba anxiously spoke. If Wang Zhong refused, then that would make his existence meaningless.
“If I don’t want to then I don’t want to!” Wang Zhong craftily said. “This is stupid. Are you trying to argue with a child?”
The little clown was dumbfounded, and could only blankly scratch his head. He seemed to have something to say… However… What the brat said was right! He wouldn’t argue!
Why did he need to argue with this brat!?
“That’s great then. You possess a rebellious spirit as I expected. Then let us agree that fate is a wooden club, so let us happily strike with it!” The little clown didn’t give Wang Zhong a single chance to refute him, and had spewed a bunch of nonsense, even coming to a conclusion in Wang Zhong’s stead.
The whole world was quiet, just like the day before.
After a long time, Wang Zhong seriously looked at the little clown and said, “Can you be my friend?”
“Brat, it’ll cost you a steep price if you want Simba to be your friend!” The little clown vigorously nodded his head as he spoke.
“I’m not afraid!” Wang Zhong resolutely answered.
“Then I’ll try it out!” Said the little clown as he continued to wonder why the Fate Stone had chosen him.
“It’s a deal then. Let’s shake on it to keep this promise for the next hundred years!” Wang Zhong extended out his hand to shake a deal with Simba. He felt that Simba’s hands were a bit strange; they felt like rubber.
The Fate Trickster didn’t notice the smile at the corner of Wang Zhong’s mouth. For an ill child who could face death at any moment, their greatest desire would be to have a single playmate, to say nothing of this fascinating little clown. The reason he had declined before was because he was afraid. He was afraid that after making a deal with this little clown, the little clown would disappear like the characters in those fairy tales his aunt Shirley tells him. There was no worse suffering than to be in a world of nothing but infinite darkness.
After a second, the little clown’s expression crumbled apart. Unexpectedly, Wang Zhong had… he had seized this chance to pinch his nose!
His incredibly noble, handsome, and most important nose!
Darkness soon overcame Wang Zhong’s gleeful smile. This was the most joyful moment he could remember as his new companion, Simba, flew back in retreat while shrieking.
It turned out that being alive was actually such a happy thing.
☀
526 NE. Tianjing City, one of the hundred major cities of the Freedom Federation.
The Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy was famous for its rune technology. Every new school year, it was bound to be bustling with noise and excitement.
“Student, students. Come over here and take a look at the soldier department’s top-notch society, the Immortal Rampart Society. We’re recruiting new students!”
“Don’t miss an opportunity to walk your own path! Successfully become a commander in the future. A genius’s camping ground, the Arbitration Society is recruiting! Hey! Check us out. This will be the first step you’ll take towards glory!”
“As long as you’re talented, then you’re welcome to join the Divine Eye Society, one of the ten great societies in the rune department! Stupid fellows, don’t bother and keep to the side. Come, come, come”
The entire school plaza was as lively as a food market. This was the season when everyone fought over the newly admitted students. This was the time for all the male seniors to put on their best clothes and style their hair in order to both attract new recruits and look for pretty female juniors. Furthermore, there was nothing else that motivated them more than recruitment.
“Hey, student. I’m the president of the Prodigy Society, one of the future five great societies. Joining us will be the wisest decision of your life. This place is only for those who stand out from the masses. Hey, darling junior sister, don’t leave. Let this senior brother finish speaking.” Student Ma Dong did his best to have an affable smile, yet those two junior sisters still ran away with lightning speed.
“Isn’t the Prodigy Society blacklisted? I can’t believe they still dare come and trick people.”
“That’s right. Hurry up and run away. Their president looks like a hooligan and my dad said that one must be careful of false flattery from black-hearted seniors. He was definitely talking about people like that!”
When he saw these two female students run with an expression as if they were guarding against a thief, student Ma Dong felt aggrieved. Wang Zhong simply laughed at the side. “You should just give up. The new student handbook is being sold everywhere and it possesses lots of detailed introductions about all of these academy societies.”
“Laugh! Go ahead and laugh then! You’re still the vice president, so you should feel a bit of responsibility, shouldn’t you!?”
Wang Zhong couldn’t stop smiling. Their society only had two members; the president, and the vice president. To be precise, their society was actually only registered as a student union, and hadn’t even been approved as a society yet. Thus, they were the typical case of a dark society.
“Hey, hey, Junior Sister. Come take a look at me… Don’t run, Junior Sister!” Ma Dong had worn his best outfit today. Even though he was dressed in a black rose flower suit, his flashiness was completely in shambles. Just as the junior sisters had said, he looked indecent, no matter how one looked at him.
Wang Zhong also helped recruit people by handing out flyers to anyone who passed by. However, they could only sneakily try to recruit people in a corner as they weren’t an official society. A society needed at least five people, but since none of the veterans acknowledged them, they could only try to recruit from the new students. To become a society was the dream of Ma Dong.
Both Wang Zhong and Ma Dong were in the second grade of Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy’s commander division. The two of them shared a dorm room, but in practice, Ma Dong lived off-campus. Ma Dong simply found the dorms to be too shabby for him. His dream was to establish an unrivaled society. There were many people like him, but one couldn’t just use a worldly gaze in order to evaluate him. Instead of looking at his talent or his soul power, one simply looked at his personality and traits.
Of course, even if his dreams were plump, reality had no meat for him. Recruiting new students was their only hope.
Despite the two of them exhausting their throats from shouting for half the day, no one bothered with them. Their throats were practically burning with rage as they crouched on the roadside, drinking large mouthfuls of water. “We can’t continue like this. We need to increase the scale of recruiting!”
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Chapter 3: Half a First Place
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Ma Dong’s eyes were filled with a fiery anger. Wang Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this. “If you have any more recruitment plans, then hurry and finish it. Don’t forget that today is my birthday. You’re coming over to my house for dinner tonight.”Ah, see how clever my brain is! That’s right, we’ll just split up the work. You go and recruit in the crowded areas and I’ll continue pulling people in from over here. I refuse to believe that I won’t be able to recruit at least a few people with my good looks!” Ma Dong stated.
Wang Zhong smiled and nodded. He wouldn’t be able to recruit anyone anyways.
After Wang Zhong left, Ma Dong immediately got up and looked around. Although he wanted to recruit pretty and delicate junior sisters, the survival of their society was still his top priority. If he was unable to gather five people, then the society would be forced to disband. They wouldn’t even be able to become a dark society.
Ma Dong’s eyes suddenly brightened and he charged towards a new student at lightning speed. After blocking this student’s way, Ma Dong took a good luck at him, his eyes narrowing. This guy was over 2.2 meters tall with a muscular build; he was definitely a student of the soldier department.
“Student, you must be new. Have you joined a society yet?”
The new student was stunned for a moment by having his path barred. However, he quickly recovered and revealed a smile as he nodded. “Hello senior. I am indeed a new student. My name is Barran Gestalt. I’m from Dunsquake City and haven’t joined a society yet.”
“Haha. That’s perfect then. You’re really lucky. It seems that my judgment of you was correct. You should enter my Prodigy Society. This society is a paradise for elites. Just look at one of our members, Wang Zhong. He’s ranked first on the theory exams for the commander department. You know about the commander department, right? It’s a paradise for experts!” Ma Dong opened up a report on Wang Zhong, giving Barran Gestalt a look. However, his left hand covered up a part of the report.
Ranked first!?
Barran Gestalt was stunned. All of the other seniors seemed to only care about the junior sisters and hadn’t paid him any attention at all. What kind of outstanding society could he enter?
“S-senior. Can I really join?” Barran Gestalt stuttered in shock.
“You can just call me President from now on! I’ll look after you!” Ma Dong said pretentiously.
“Yes, Sen… President. I’ll definitely do my best!” Barran nodded.
Ma Dong’s whole body brimmed with happiness. No wonder so many people wanted to be president. It actually felt so good. “Barran, this president shall give you your first mission. Return the table and the materials to the storehouse. I’ll send the address to your Skylink.”
“Ah. President, aren’t we going to continue recruiting?” Barran Gestalt inquisitively asked.
Ma Dong rolled his eyes. “What do you think our Prodigy Society is? We only recruit elites. The inner qualities of our recruits are the most important. It’s better to have nothing than to compromise!”
Barran Gestalt’s face turned red from excitement. Tianjing really was a major city. Even this Heroic Soul Academy senior’s moral character was better than those of smaller cities.
As he watched Barran pick up the table gently, Ma Dong couldn’t help but feel proud of his cleverness. The society wasn’t as lacking anymore. They now had three members.
Ma Dong disappeared like a wisp of smoke and quickly found Wang Zhong still distributing the leaflets. He stuffed the flyers back into the bag and said, “Let’s go, brother! I’ve already recruited someone. Today is your sixteenth birthday, a joyous occasion. We can continue tomorrow!”
Wang Zhong laughed and nodded. “Did you trick them by showing half my grades again?”
“What do you mean trick? I merely stated a fact… just half a fact,” Wang Dong said with a poker face.
Wang Zhong was a prodigy. In middle school, he was known as the “Team Battle Tactician,” attracting the attention of numerous schools. In addition to his excellent grades, he had already ignited his soul fire, allowing him to directly enter the commander department.
However, his following development would shock everyone. This so-called genius’ growth potential was only at level five. This was a level that was even lower than an average person. In other words, he was only good at theory. They had thought that he would flourish with an orthodox education, but the result… the results had blown everyone away. Even the academy had been forced to suffer in silence. Wang Zhong had become the joke of the commander department.
The commander department definitely represented elites, but in the entire academic year, Wang Zhong only had Ma Dong for a friend.
The Heroic Soul Academy was composed of four departments with different specialties: the commander department, abilities department, soldiers department, and the rune department.
The commander department was the cradle of officers. Every student there needed to learn theories , as well as have the talent to excel in combat. Naturally, the majority of students had profound backgrounds and came from Heroic Soul families.
The abilities department only recruited students with special abilities. After all, only a small percentage of people who had ignited their soul fire would possess a power. The department also researched the science behind these special abilities.
The soldier department recruited students with outstanding growth potential in their soul power.
As for the rune department, they recruited students who had already ignited their soul fire, but didn’t have any outstanding qualities. The rune department was also the largest department, and had the most subjects. Their studies went beyond just rune technology, and were more specialized in giving support. After all, in this era, every student who had ignited their soul fire was a precious resource. Even if they weren’t suited for battle, there were still many other things they could do.
Naturally, all of the rune department students had a heart that yearned for battle. If they were able to rank in the top ten of the comprehensive rankings, then they would have the opportunity to change their specialization. In theory, if a student’s scores were too low for their specialization, they would be forced to drop down to the rune department. It was just that this had never occurred in the last two hundred years.
Although Ma Dong was in the commander department, his dreams weren’t related to becoming a hero at all.
As soon as he opened the door, a fragrant aroma assaulted his nostrils, and Ma Dong quickly scuttled inside. “Uncle Wang, this is definitely your cooking! This sweet and sour pork smells so good!”
A graceful woman walked over and gave a humble laugh. “Little Dong, you’re here. Come over and sit down. Dinner will be ready in a moment.”
“Aunt Shirley, you’re so pretty. I would be so happy if my girlfriend was even half as pretty as you!” Ma Dong laughed.
“Your mouth really is sweet like honey.” Shirley smiled. Although she didn’t put on any makeup and wore simple clothes, it was unable to conceal her inner elegance.
Ma Dong wasn’t naive. The reality was that even after applying makeup, those so-called upper-class ladies were still unable to match Aunt Shirley’s beauty.
“This guy’s mouth can even make the dead come alive. I wonder who fell into his pit today.” Wang Zhong said. Even if he didn’t know what exactly had happened, he still knew that their new recruit had been duped by Ma Dong.
“Yeah, right. You’re just denying my charisma. As soon as those junior sisters get one look, they immediately begin to cry and throw themselves at me. Ahhh. Am I not simply an outstandingly honest person?” Ma Dong said as he unceremoniously took a piece of sweet and sour pork.
Shirley couldn’t help but laugh. Wherever Ma Dong was, the mood would always be lively. She gave Wang Zhong a look full of affection. Ten years ago, she and Wang Zhan Feng had thought that Wang Zhong would die, but Wang Zhong had miraculously recovered from his illness. This was the greatest gift God had given them.
Their dinner was joyous and harmonious. With a buffoon like Ma Dong, the entire night was full of cheering and laughter. Wang Zhan Feng had even made an exception for himself and drank some alcohol. Aunt Shirley had never hidden the fact that Wang Zhong was an orphan, and Wang Zhong wasn’t remorseful either. On the contrary, he found even more warmth within his home.
Without any last comforting words for the night, they saw Ma Dong off and Wang Zhong returned to his room. He gazed out his window and gave a sigh of sorrow within his heart. He had finally reached adulthood now. Entering the Heroic Soul Academy had always been his dream. He had also hoped to solve his issue, but it seemed that there was nothing to be done.
A year had gone by, and as he watched the new students trickle in, Wang Zhong felt pressured. After thinking it over for a moment, there was no reason to complain about his debility due to his illness. If he was lacking, then it meant that he wasn’t putting in enough effort. This year, he had to do his best. Filled with similar thoughts, Wang Zhong entered the land of dreams. It was still a world of darkness like before, but a rainbow streak cut through the darkness, and a smile appeared at the corner of Wang Zhong’s mouth.
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Chapter 4: Fate Roulette
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Fate Trickster Simba unexpectedly jumped out of the rainbow, flipping through the air before landing gracefully. His landing wasn’t that stable, however, and he fell onto his butt.
“Wang Zhong, why are you so late tonight!?” The little clown floated in the air as he spun in a circle, dancing and expressing his joy.
“Today is my birthday, as well as the day I step into adulthood. It’s fine if you don’t have a birthday gift for me, but I would never have thought you’d forgotten. Come here! You lost yesterday, so let me pinch your nose now. Don’t even think about going back on your promise!” Wang Zhong gave Simba a big smile as he waved him over. The only reason he was able to survive and persevere through these past ten years was because of Simba’s presence.
The Fate Trickster played fantastical games of every description with him. During the first five years, they had gone through countless eccentric drills, such as learning the language of beasts and the cultural heritage of the olden days. In the final five years, the Fate Trickster would transform into all sorts of monsters to play with Wang Zhong. He truly deserved the glorified name of ‘Shapeshifter.’ With abilities like his, he would naturally want to make some bets with Wang Zhong. With a character like Simba, Wang Zhong’s dreamland had never been lonely again.
Simba subconsciously retreated. “Cough cough. Brat, of course, the Fate Trickster won’t go back on his word. It’s just that we have more important things to talk about today.” Simba said this with a deadpan expression, but the more serious he looked, the more comical he appeared. As long as it wasn’t during a trial by fire, Simba would always act in an exceptionally amusing and playful manner.
“You’ve already used this excuse many times before. But,” Wang Zhong said with a smile, “since we can be considered brothers, I’ll listen to your so-called important matter once more.”
With a flip of Simba’s hand, a three dimensional image appeared depicting a qi sea filled with vitality. Floating in the air, the qi sea was soon enveloped by a jaw dropping brilliance, as if it were being sealed. Afterwards, only a faint amount of qi could be detected from it.
Wang Zhong twiddled his fingers while giving the clown’s nose a malicious gaze. “Why are you projecting my soul sea again? The consequences for ridiculing me are quite severe.”
“Cough cough. Do you really take me for that kind of person? Be a bit more serious. This marvelous Fate Trickster has an important matter to talk about today,” Simba said with a roll of his eyes.
Everyone who awakened would possess a soul sea. The soul sea was the origin of soul power, and was the key to accessing the power of the hyperdimension. Naturally, the soul sea was merely a name, and the average person’s soul sea was only the size of a puddle.
Wang Zhong was different, however, as his soul sea had actually grown to the size of a sea under the continuous nourishment of the Fate Stone. It was just that the Fate Stone wasn’t truly an existence of this world, and since it violated the laws of this world, the order of the world tried to destroy it. But the Fate Stone’s power exceeded imagination. When the power of order and the Fate Stone collided, it had caused the Inca tsunami. Right now, these two fantastical powers were in a state of equilibrium within Wang Zhong. The seal on this power was similar to that of withstanding the tide in a science fiction blockbuster movie.
The hexagram, with the power of the worldly laws, had shrouded the Fate Stone. By coincidence, however, Wang Zhong’s soul sea had also been affected, bringing about a disaster to it. It was fortunate that Wang Zhong was a living being. Under the influence of these two contradictory forces, his negligible strength was like a rock that had been cracked open, allowing the grass an opportunity to live. Similar to that rock, a crack had appeared on the seal, which gave Wang Zhong a chance at survival. It was just that the leaked soul power was pitifully little.
During these last few years, Wang Zhong and Simba had tried their best to solve this issue. If they weren’t able to resolve this issue, then there wasn’t even a need to mention Wang Zhong’s future; he would never be able to cast his heroic soul. Moreover, Simba would never be able to break free from the fetters of the Fate Stone and complete his wish of entering the real world.
“What have you thought of this time?” Wang Zhong had spent a whole year hiding in the library, desperately searching for some solution to this problem. In the end, he’d turned up empty-handed. He feared that with the level these powers were on, no one in the world would be able to solve it, much less the Heroic Soul Academy. Moreover, he dared not wantonly announce his condition for fear of his safety, as most people would jump at the chance to dissect him.
“How has your condition inside the fifth dimension been lately?” Simba asked.
Wang Zhong gave him a bitter smile. “You’re still saying you’re not ridiculing me? I’ve already suffered ninety-nine consecutive defeats. At its peak, my soul power can only reach level 20. It would be useless even if I improved my techniques in the face of my opponent’s defenses. I wouldn’t be able to break through it either way.”
As long as one ignited their soul fire, the average person would have soul power of at least level 50. As for geniuses, they would be able to reach level 100 and above.
“Hehe. Have you already forgotten about my hyper god device? If you use my Fate Roulette, then you can change your fate!” Extremely pleased with himself, the Fate Trickster stuck out his waist and his nose trembled.
“Are you saying the Fate Roulette has already absorbed enough soul essence!?” Wang Zhong asked in surprise.
Simba’s mouth widened into a grin. “Your opponents are becoming weaker and weaker. Their soul essence already has barely any effect. It doesn’t matter, however. The glorious Fate Trickster has the means. It’s time for Simba to reveal his true strength!”
After a moment of silence, Wang Zhong suddenly asked, “What price are you asking for?”
Simba smiled. “I am the magnificent Fate Trickster, what is such a small matter to me?” Simba’s eyes twinkled as he spoke.
“Haha. I got it. You’re afraid of me pinching your nose so you’re trying to trick me now. I already know you’re up to no good, just like Ma Dong. Forget about it. You don’t need to feel anxious. I’ve just become an adult, so there’s still plenty of time…” Suddenly, Wang Zhong discovered that his body was paralyzed.
Simba fished out a roulette from his pocket that was nearly as big as him. In a flash, the entire space was cast in light and shadows. “How could you possibly compare the magnificent Fate Trickster to that hooligan. I am the great Simba!”
One half of the Fate Roulette was darker than a black hole, while the other blazed with light. Connected to the axle was a comical clown pointer… It truly resembled Simba, yet the pointer was only charged up to a one third.
Simba had said before that once the clown pointer absorbed enough soul essence, the roulette could be spun once to alter fate. Unfortunately, it was clearly quite far off from its goal.
“Simba, stop messing around. We still have plenty of time!” Wang Zhong bellowed in rage, yet no sound was transmitted.
“Mwahaha. Wang Zhong, I’ll let you experience the grand power of the Fate Trickster soon. I, Simba, have made a judgment! If the pointer lands on the light side, your soul power’s level will double. If it lands on the dark side, your soul power will be reduced by half!” The little clown beamed with a glittering smile while his big red nose proudly trembled. He held the Fate Roulette with two rigid arms.
Despite how anxious Wang Zhong felt, he couldn’t budge a single inch. Having his soul power halved basically meant nothing to him; a dead pig doesn’t fear scalding water after all. But if it was doubled, then it would be a complete transformation for his combat prowess. Indeed, Wang Zhong had a very clear understanding in regards to the demon known as the seal on his soul sea. Just how grave would the costs be?
His reasoning was simple. In order to gain something, something of equivalent value must be paid.
Towards Wang Zhong, who had always struggled against the odds with all his strength, Simba could only hold up both of his hands to cover his grimacing face. “Simba is really happy. I was able to come to this world and become friends with you. This is my birthday gift to you. Fate is like a wooden club—let us cheerfully beat it together!”
The Fate Roulette’s clown pointer spun crazily in circles, almost as if it were about to explode. The entire world was bathed in a constant rotation of light and darkness. Gradually, the clown pointer slowed down. The dark area was clearly more attractive towards the pointer, however. Simba’s forehead dripped with sweat because the pointer’s energy wasn’t full, and it seemed that it would stop in the dark area. Suddenly, Simba stuck out his leg, stopping the pointer in the light area. The entire world began to tremble.
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Chapter 5: Your brother is here!
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Simba shot excitedly up into the air, his legs spread apart as he pointed his finger towards the sky. He loudly proclaimed, “LUCKY!”
However, in midair, that clown, which had been about Wang Zhong’s size, suddenly began to shrink rapidly. He continued shrinking until he was palm-sized, then descended at last. The Fate Roulette faded away and the space returned to pure darkness.
After Wang Zhong regained control of his body, he immediately rushed over and held the dying Simba in his hands. He spoke through clenched teeth, “You scoundrel. I didn’t want this kind of damned present! You better return to normal for me!”
The tiny Simba’s nose trembled as he forced out a few words. “Frie… nd. This is the last time I can help you…”
He reached out his tiny hand in a desperate attempt to touch Wang Zhong, but his arm powerlessly fell back down. “I’m so very tired now… I don’t feel well… Friend… We must separate… forever…”
Wang Zhong couldn’t bear it any longer. Tears began to stream down his face, dripping one by one. When he was just two years old, alone on the sickbed, enduring bone-scraping pain, he hadn’t cried. But now, his partner for the last ten years…
Wang Zhong clenched his teeth tightly. This was the first time he felt so angry at himself for his weakness and helplessness.
Ah… Was it an illusion? Simba seemed to be stealing glances at him.
…
It wasn’t an illusion. The tiny Simba smirked in Wang Zhong’s hands.
This… This guy had actually tricked him into crying!!!
“You…” Wang Zhong tearfully muttered.
Noticing that Wang Zhong had seen through his deceit, Simba promptly sat up. “Cough cough. Wang Zhong ah. No, no. It was just a joke. You can see I’m already so miserable. Hey hey. We can talk this out, alright? Don’t pinch my nose you brat!!!”
“AHHHHHH~”
☀
Ten o’clock in the morning. The day after.
Wang Zhong was startled awake. He usually woke up at six in the morning, but his sleep seemed especially deep last night. He’d never felt this way before.
‘Simba? What happened to Simba?’
Wang Zhong scratched his head. Simba had started that demonic roulette all by himself and aside from the effects it had caused on his soul sea, Simba had shrunk into a palm-sized version of himself. He’d paid a steep cost to forcefully spin the roulette and now lay dormant. If they tried it again, it would likely cost his life. Wang Zhong could only look after himself from now on.
The crack on the seal had widened a bit. Even though his soul power had only risen to 50 grassos, its significance was completely different for Wang Zhong!
…
‘What’s that smell?’
There was a strange odor inside the house, which nearly caused him to suffocate to death. His bed sheet was stained with some demonic coloring, as if it had been soaked in sludge. Wang Zhong quickly opened a window. This definitely wasn’t him wetting the bed!
He felt refreshed by the breeze flowing in. Although his soul power wasn’t too stable at the moment, Wang Zhong could still feel his body bursting with vitality.
Excitedly opening the door, he let in the fragrant aroma of food. His stomach immediately rumbled in response to the smell, and he soon discovered that the table was already lined with a sumptuous breakfast, as well as a note.
“Little Zhong, you’re a real man from this day onwards. Do what you wish to do. There is no path in this world that cannot be walked by man. I brought your Aunt Shirley to go on another honeymoon. You understand how she is. She is simply too demanding to woo, and lately, I don’t even think my cooking skills are able to satisfy her. A wife is the most important aspect of a man’s life after all. Fight on! Young man, you are definitely a capable person.”
Wang Zhong couldn’t help but reveal a smile. Uncle Wang’s attractiveness wasn’t enough, so he’d needed to use a few days to supplement it. It had truly been hard on the two of them these past few years. Wang Zhong had to also do his best. He quickly wrote a letter in reply to them.
After finishing breakfast, Wang Zhong made a mad dash back to school. He treated this as tempering himself. In any case, he didn’t have any classes today, but still needed to think of a way to recruit more members for their Prodigy Society. As he made his way back to the academy, Wang Zhong began to notice that his perception of the world had changed drastically. His footsteps were light and quick, his surroundings clear, and it almost seemed as if he could perceive breathing coming from the vegetation he passed.
Unfortunately, Wang Zhong hadn’t looked in the mirror, otherwise he would have seen that his previously weak and muddy-looking eyes had become as deep as an ocean.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Ma Dong with a robust young man doing their best to shout out their recruitment slogans. It seems that this was the pitiful child who’d been deceived by Ma Dong.
“Barran, your idol has arrived. This here is the vice president of our society, Wang Zhong,” Ma Dong said.
Barran immediately walked over and bowed. With that head of his, however, it created a truly threatening atmosphere. “Greetings senior. My name is Barran Gestalt, the newest member of the Prodigy Society. Please advise this junior.”
Wang Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He truly didn’t know who was supposed to advise who here. After seeing Barran’s stature, he feared that Barran should be considered an excellent student from the soldier department. Ma Dong winked at him from the side, as if to say, ‘Isn’t big bro here awesome?’
Despite the addition of Barran, they still weren’t able to pull the Prodigy Society out of it’s embarrassing state. In comparison to their simple and crude society, the other societies were like a hundred flowers in bloom. They had handsome senior brothers and beautiful senior sisters. They even had pretty recruitment presentations and rows upon rows of society achievements to show off. Only someone like Barran could be duped into joining a society like the Prodigy Society.
All of a sudden, all of the students bustled with noise and excitement as they all flocked towards the east. “It’s Senior Sister Natasha!”
“It really is Senior Sister Natasha! The two senior sisters from Black Rose, Natasha and Milami, have arrived!”
Wang Zhong and Ma Dong looked at each other in dismay, then helplessly shook their heads and forced out a smile. Natasha had been an influential figure from the very moment she had entered the academy, and was known as the genius of the commander department. Rumor has it that she was also the daughter of the academy’s president.
Black Rose was one of the four great societies. During her first year in the society, she had already taken up the position as its vice president. Since the previous president had graduated this year, Natasha had now taken over the role as the president of Black Rose. With Natasha now in charge, the Black Rose Society seemed even more grand and magnificent.
On the popularity rankings, there truly wasn’t any society capable of competing with the Black Rose Society.
“Pah! What’s so amazing about them? Inevitably, the day will come when our Prodigy Society becomes the fifth great society!” Student Ma Dong bravely said these sour words. It could be said that the only reason he had founded the Prodigy Society was due to him being rejected by the Black Rose Society time and time again.
“Hey, hey, members of the Prodigy Society. This lady here wants to join your society!” A melodious voice called out.
Wang Zhong’s trio turned their heads simultaneously, and was met with the sight of a pretty girl with short blonde hair. She wasn’t too tall, but she was unusually well proportioned. Her large, spirited eyes blinked a few times. Ma Dong mouth gaped open… ‘Why did she appear here?’
The girl walked over with a smile. As she walked over, Ma Dong opened his arms wide, but she just walked right past him. She instead walked over to Wang Zhong and gave him a big hug. “Big brother Wang Zhong, long time no see. Do you still remember Emily?
Wang Zhong awkwardly put his arm around her. “Who could forget someone as cute as you, Emily? I’m just wondering why you’re here?”
Ma Dong unhappily pulled on Emily’s collar from the side. “Little girl, understand clearly that I’m your elder cousin. We’re related by blood!”
Emily gave Ma Dong a blank look. “You’re dishonest, Ma Dong Dong. Uncle already told me all about you and how I shouldn’t learn from your example!”
As soon as she mentioned his father, Ma Dong became terrified. He suddenly thought of a question, “Ah, why are you here?”
“You’re so slow. Of course I’m a new student here at the Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy. I was specially recruited!” Emily straightened her posture, sticking her non-existent chest out, making her seem very adorable.
“Heavens! With your soul power growth rate of 9.2 and your flame ability, you had actually ended up here. St. Mongols City is much better than our city. Your decision will make St. Mongul’s academy president cry in the toilet.” Ma Dong laughed. This could be considered a helping hand from the heavens. Every single Heroic Soul Academy would fight with their all for a genius such as Emily.
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Chapter 6: Black Rose
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
“Barran, hurry up and give Student Emily a form to fill out. It’s just as I said in the past: our Prodigy Society is only made up of elites! With her growth rate of 9.2, she just barely meets the requirements needed to join us!” As Ma Dong began speaking in a pretentious manner, Barran Gestalt had a look of worship painted all over his face.
‘The president is truly too awesome!’ With a growth rate of only 7, Barran Gestalt couldn’t possibly compare with Emily. In general, a rating of 4 and lower was considered bad, 6 and 7 were considered average, 8 was considered excellent, while 9 and up were considered to be of genius caliber. Only those with a rating of 9 or higher would have their growth rate tested by the decimal point.
Ma Dong cared not one whit for Emily’s reasons for coming as he pressed her to immediately fill out the form. With the addition of Emily, it would be akin to transforming his Prodigy Society from a birdy shotgun to a cannon!
At this moment, a flock of people advanced on them. They were headed by Natasha and Milami.
Ma Dong clenched his butt. He would normally be excited to have an opportunity to meet these goddesses, but at this moment, he’d clearly seen their predatory gazes towards Emily.
“Excuse me, but might you be Student Emily? I am the Black Rose Society’s president, Natasha, and this is the vice president, Milami.” Natasha gave her a humble smile as she spoke neither too quickly, nor too slowly. Her long, light purple hair matched her graceful temperament, allowing her to immediately captivate everyone. She was exactly like a goddess. Ma Dong had already forgotten the words stuck in his throat as his gaze unwaveringly landed on the goddess’s chest. ‘These curves truly make people go crazy over them!’
“Student Emily, our Black Rose Society is the best society on campus. You’ll improve the most if you join us, as well as make many new friends. Do you really want to join the Prodigy Society, which doesn’t even have the Student Union’s approval and could get disbanded at any time?” Vice President Milami was a bit over 170 centimeters tall and wore a pair of black-framed glasses. Her whole being gave off the feeling of inflexibility and seriousness. As one of the people in charge at the Black Rose Society, she had been given the nickname of ‘Mother’.
“Ahem. Vice President Milami, you can’t say things like that. Our Prodigy Society is still exceptionally…” Ma Dong wasn’t the type of person to take an offense lying down, causing him to attempt to forcefully interrupt her. But then he remembered that Milami was an official of the Student Union. His little existence was completely at her mercy.
Emily listlessly looked at the two before waving her hand. “I’m not interested. I’m already joining the Prodigy Society.”
Milami’s expression wrinkled into a scowl. There wasn’t anyone in the academy who dared to speak to her like this. This little girl was truly a bit mad.
“Student Wang Zhong, your Battle Control Skill Theory and Rune Life Hypothesis are exceptionally unique. Do you have any interest in joining Black Rose?” Natasha suddenly asked, paying no mind to Emily’s refusal at all.
Ma Dong’s expression immediately darkened. ‘What did she just say?’
The surrounding students were also in an uproar. Everyone knew that the Black Rose Society’s treatment was good, and it had many beautiful women. It also had the highest requirements necessary for entry! Every single member of theirs was an influential figure within their department. Yet, she had actually invited trash like Wang Zhong?
“President, I oppose this! This guy is the shame of the commander department! Who knows how long it will be before he’s transferred to a different department? We definitely can’t accept him!” Milami ruthlessly opposed.
Whispered gossip began among those in the know and those who weren’t. Soon after, news of Wang Zhong’s situation spread to everyone. When some of them learned of his situation, a trace of pity appeared as they looked at him. His talents were so high, yet he suffered from an illness that caused his soul power to be chaotic and uncondensed. He was just like an ordinary person whose power could only make his muscles twitch. He truly was a tragic character.
Contrary to expectations, Wang Zhong simply responded with a smile of indifference. “Many thanks to President Natasha, but I still think that the Prodigy Society is the best fit for me.”
Off to the side, Milami gave a cold snort. ‘It’s a good thing he responded tactfully. If he had been more daring, then he would have been as good as dead.’
Natasha regretfully nodded. Despite her position as the society’s president, she couldn’t do much to oppose Milami.
“Alright then. Anyone who isn’t joining our society can leave now. This place isn’t a supermarket!” Emily was already beginning to shoo everyone off, beginning with Milami.
Milami shot Emily a quick glance. “You will definitely regret your choice today. President, let’s not waste any more time here.”
Once the goddesses left, the doors to the Prodigy Society cleared up once again. The few people that had originally been attracted by Emily’s entry into their society were not a problem, but such a disturbance would give the Prodigy Society a headache for days. Who didn’t know that Senior Sister Milami also had the nickname of Viper Spinster! Catching her attention would bring nothing but trouble. Even Natasha was a bit wary of her.
Emily was just barely able to enter their academy as a special recruit after having gone through a series of in-depth tests. Due to this, Ma Dong immediately packed up his stall in fear of others coming to try and seduce Emily away from them. Even if he used money to recruit people, it would be like collecting bits and pieces to make a whole. But with Emily’s strength, his Prodigy Society finally had hope.
☀
Wang Zhong was reading in the library as usual, but today he felt jittery. He felt as though his whole being was different. For most people, that amount of soul power would change little, but for Wang Zhong, it had completely transformed him.
He put away the book and headed towards the OP Training Building that was next door to the library.
OP System. Its meaning was to “transcend perfection”.
Igniting one’s soul power was only the first step. The most important thing was the ability to cast one’s Heroic soul. Once one’s heroic soul took a form, their soul power would experience an exponential increase and they would receive an explosive soul dominating skill. Furthermore, those who cast their heroic soul would definitely become one of the elites within the heroic soul academy. In the last few years, Tianjing’s standard hovered around eight or nine as there was little pressure on them. Due to this, many students lost their chance to become an elite and could only helplessly enter the ordinary army or take part in supply logistics work after graduation.
In order to form their heroic soul, every student would use every possible method to refine their soul power and technique. Once their heroic soul was condensed, there was only one method left to further improve — battle!
One couldn’t help but mention the scientist from the Freedom Federation, Charlton Copernicus, when it came to the OP system. Charlton Copernicus’s dream had been to become a genius superhero, but due to his ordinary combat talent, there wasn’t anyone who wanted to spar with him. Due to his inability to gain combat experience, he was ultimately unable to cast his heroic soul. For the sake of his dream, Charlton abandoned the martial way and integrated rune power into the virtual reality technology from olden times in order to create a battle simulator. The result was completely unexpected. The Fifth Dimension, commonly referred to as the Soul Space, was created. In modern times, it carried the OP System, created by Gullan Grasso, another great scientist that had changed the world.
OP was realized due to the Fifth Dimension. It’s entire maintenance system and energy system was organized by the super financial groups of the cities of the Freedom Federation. The system made it easy for students to cast their heroic souls and refine their battle techniques, bringing out the best achievements from their heroic souls.
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Chapter 7: Battling a Rookie
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Soul power was the key to entering the OP world, a paradise for heroic soul cultivators. The law of the Fifth Dimension meant that while it was equal to true combat experience in that world, one couldn’t truly die there. Of course, the sensations within the OP system were completely real, including the experience of death. These feelings were definitely not easy to endure.
In the days when the uncivilized great empires grew, the conservative federation began to decline. Thus, the empires coveted inherited natural resources of the federation. The advent of the OP System, however, restored the imbalance of power to an equilibrium.
Even now, the OP System was undoubtedly the number one thought on the minds of youngsters.
Wang Zhong had been using OP for over a year now, and had a gorgeous record. In one year, he had fought 99 matches in the OP System, which wasn’t unusual. However, 99 consecutive defeats was a completely different matter. The reason why he had struggled his hardest every single match was to cause his opponent to release as much of their battle skills as possible. This was so that the Fate Roulette could absorb as much soul essence as possible.
Wang Zhong gave himself the ID ‘All-Mouthy King1’ in OP. In fact, he used this name because it gave off a sense of hope. Since Simba would often talk about the path of kings, Wang Zhong came up with this ideal name, but… as a result, it had now become a giant farce, a joke that circulated within the school.
Wang Zhong poured his soul power into the rune array, thus entering the Fifth Dimension. The ID of All-Mouthy King appeared in the system.
“Ah! Brothers, quickly come and take a look. All-Mouthy King has arrived! Hurry up and kneel!”
“Fuck! Why didn’t you come yesterday Brother King? One day apart truly seems like three years!”
“Unfortunately, our accomplishments can’t even compare to Brother King’s.
“How could a loser be qualified to battle Brother King? You pack of dregs, immediately kneel.”
The OP System had a very convenient and fast communication platform. After battling for over a year, All-Mouthy King had already become a clown-like existence. Many newcomers to the OP System became confident after facing All-Mouthy King. People often said that having a good start was half the key to being successful. With this in mind, Wang Zhong had done many good deeds. For Wang Zhong, however, this had made him very miserable.
Wang Zhong was already accustomed to being ridiculed from all-sides and immediately entered a match with an opponent. In regards to selecting the extremely important weapon of a heroic soul soldier, he picked one at random—per the usual. To him, all weapons were the same. It was like this before, and it was still like this now.
“Brother King is still as indifferent as before!”
“Look, look. This is the so-called air of a king! I will keep fighting despite all setbacks. You pack of dregs would do good to learn from me!”
“How confident. There isn’t anyone in OP who could compare with your confidence!”
“I don’t know who could be worthy of being Brother King’s opponent, but today is the start of school. The rookies are truly blessed.”
In reality, all those watching Wang Zhong’s battle were of the lower ranks. Those ten or so people simply looked for some amusement from Wang Zhong. Those with a high level of talent would watch the battle between experts instead.
With accordance to the victory rate and the number of battles, the OP System divided participants into several divisions: cannon fodder, brave, elite, and sanctuary.
Wang Zhong quickly found an opponent, ‘Future Gun King’. Zero victories, cannon fodder division. His opponent was clearly new, which was unsurprising to Wang Zhong. With his stats, the only opponents he could face were those new to the OP System. If the creator of the OP System, Doctor Charlton, saw the tragic sight of his battle stats, he would most definitely weep.
His opponent chose the common rune pistol. It seemed he was a long ranged fighter. The OP System had all sorts of rune weapons. They were unrestricted, but there weren’t any additional effects to these weapons. When soldiers picked their weapon, they would pick the most suitable one for themselves.
As for Wang Zhong… his random selection left him empty-handed. Moreover, Wang Zhong was quite nervous. Even a dagger would have been better.
The battle setting was an ordinary arena, without any sort of cover at all. This was a map dedicated to skill.
The two soldiers entered standby mode. The ten or so spectators, who had been idle for so long that their asses were in pain, were suddenly full of spirit. When they were feeling down, they would always regain their confidence after watching All-Mouthy King’s clumsy battles. The mood suddenly changed when they saw Brother King full of confidence despite being empty-handed. He truly had the airs of an unrivaled tyrant under the heavens!
Future Gun King and All-Mouthy King both appeared on stage, the two of them selecting the system face. Future Gun King didn’t appear to be in a good mood. Perhaps he was dissatisfied with having Wang Zhong as his opponent. He didn’t greet Wang Zhong when he came on stage, and instead immediately rushed over with his gun.
Wang Zhong dodged without thought, but his opponent’s gun had been aimed at the pit of his stomach the whole time. The gun was both fast and fierce. If this had been the Wang Zhong of the past, his reaction would have been too slow. He clearly knew what to do, but his body wouldn’t have been able to keep up. Having such a helpless exchange would infuriate the toughest of people.
This time, however, Wang Zhong felt as though he was completely in sync with the environment and his body moved exactly as he wished. Unexpectedly, he had been able to magically dodge the attack.
His opponent was also stunned. Even if shooting at the center of a person’s body was the least lethal, it was the most difficult to avoid. Normally, a rune pistol relied on frequent burst shots to kill the opponent.
Without a trace of hesitation, he unleashed three shots at Wang Zhong. The shots were so fast, that it almost sounded like a single shot. Wang Zhong continuously dodged, evading each of the three shots by a hair’s breadth.
Wang Zhong’s heart surged with ecstasy. ‘Simba has really done it!’
With soul power at 50 Grasso, he was finally able to carry out all sorts of battle maneuvers without failure!
That familiar feeling returned. The freedom he felt in his dreamland had finally returned to his body. It felt as though his body was practically flying!
The spectators were actually laughing. God, if even Brother King could dodge this marksmanship, then what kind of crappy level was he at? Could this be the legend, ‘there isn’t a crappiest, only crappier!’
The ten or so spectators were in a gleeful mess. Although Future Gun King seemed to be enduring it, anyone with a discerning eye would be able to see that his eyes were full of fury.
Bang bang bang…
This time, he shot out three restrictive-type bullets. In ordinary circumstances, long ranged soldiers would do their best to keep their distance. This brother, however, had let his anger go to his head and was now attempting to close the distance in order to raise his accuracy. This definitely reflected his lack of self-confidence.
Wang Zhong didn’t dare move recklessly as the restrictive type shots exploded out and sped towards him. Rather than dodging recklessly, he moved sideways while twisting his body into an arc.
The three shots missed…
The spectating brothers once again burst into laughter. There was finally a brother who could be considered the All-Mouthy King’s equal. Maybe the two of them were actually blood-related brothers.
Future Gun King was evidently thoroughly infuriated. He actually threw his gun at Wang Zhong?
All of the spectators were bent over laughing. This had to be history’s most amusing battle. A sharpshooter had actually thrown away his gun!
Future Gun King charged towards Wang Zhong with large strides. At some point, the number of spectators had grown to over thirty members. They all had to pay a few credits in order to watch the battles of others, but now, they definitely felt that it was worth the admission fee. They were truly too happy.
Wang Zhong actually felt a completely different kind of murderous spirit. If it was said that his opponent’s marksmanship had no oppressive power, then that opponent’s charge now made him seem like a fierce tiger. Could it be that his true specialty was actually close combat?
Bang! Future Gun King suddenly exploded forwards with an explosive rumble. His entire person arrived in front of Wang Zhong in a flash, with a fist as oppressive as Mt. Tai booming towards him.
In a flash, everyone quieted down. The sound of his dash wasn’t ordinary at all. Maybe it was because they had been laughing excessively, but none of the spectators had been able to see their movements clearly.
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Chapter 8: Actor
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
In the next second, however, Future Gun King’s tyrannical fist stopped in mid-air. He had suddenly frozen in place. Then he fell over with wide eyes, as if he’d just seen a demon.
All-mouthy King, victory!
After three seconds, all of the spectators burst into laughter. “This guy is truly an actor!”
“That dash of his scared me just now, but it seems he’s just a paper tiger!”
“That performance was too good! What an Acting Emperor! He should have at least let Brother King punch him a few hundred times before toppling over, though.”
“Haha. With Brother King’s strength, I’d be worried if he could even throw a hundred punches before the match was finished.”
Not a single word escaped Wang Zhong’s mouth as he quietly logged out of the OP System. He leaned against the wall, silently staring at his hands. His previously weak and powerless hands were now brimming with power! With soul power at 50 Grasso, as long as he had enough combat skill and was able to attack their weak points, he would be able to break through his opponent’s defenses! This meant he could fight even stronger opponents now! He could then let the Fate Roulette absorb even better energy.
Inside of his Soul Sea, the little clown, Simba, was sleeping just as peacefully as before. It seemed he’d sensed Wang Zhong’s good mood, however, as the corner of his mouth moved to reveal the faintest trace of a smile.
A knowing smile appeared on Wang Zhong’s face. ‘Simba, thank you for your birthday present!’
At that moment, in one of the hundred major cities of the Freedom Federation, Copperfield City, exaggerated laughter filled the OP System training grounds of the city’s heroic soul academy.
A curly haired youngster was bent over laughing, doing his best to not topple onto the floor. He couldn’t stop his tears as he said, “I’m going to die. I’m going to die of laughter! Ahahaha! That has to be the best battle of the year. This powerful berserker, the super genius of Copperfield, Anlor, lost to a single punch. Mwahaha! You’ve blinded my titanium dog eyes1!”
At the side, an energetic-looking girl in skintight clothing smiled. ‘That battle was a bit amusing…’
A bare-chested youngster walked out of the OP room. He wasn’t particularly tall, but his entire body brimmed with explosive strength. This was precisely the Copperfield Academy’s soldier division idol. He was the vanguard of the Mad Beast Battle Squadron.
Seeing Anlor come out, the brother was still rolling on the ground with laughter. With one hand on his belly, and the other pointing at Anlor, he said, “You, you, what kind of no good are you up to? A berserker soul body can jump thousands of miles in a single leap, yet you went against reason and practiced marksmanship. Hahaha! Do you know who your opponent was? He’s known as the King of the King of Noobs! In all his ninety-nine losses, his only win is against the magnificent Mad Beast Vanguard! I’m dying! I’m dying of laughter! Hahaha!”
Faced with the ridicule of his teammate, the short-tempered Anlor actually remained silent. He wore an odd expression on his face, as if he were still pondering on something. Off to the side, the sexy Laura’s smile gradually vanished. “Anlor. Don’t mind it so much. It’s good that you wanted to expand the scope of your skills, but everyone has their own specialties.”
Arnold Teuton sat up from the floor. “Younger brother, if you were any good at long ranged combat, then I won’t have rice to eat anymore! Don’t be like this, all right?”
Anlor remained as silent as before. He turned on his Skylink, and instantly, an image of the just downloaded battle was projected.
A minute later, Laura and Arnold Teuton’s smiles were nowhere to be found. “Ah! Your tri shot was not too shabby. Your frequency and your shot lines were both accurate. At such a distance, that guy’s dodging ability can simply be called amazing!” As a top-class ranged soldier, Arnold Teuton was like a pig when it came to sniffing out problems. Someone with this much skill was definitely not a newbie.
The issue was the final strike. Even though he had thrown away his firearm, Anlor was still a powerful berserker. Who could possibly take him down with a single strike? This was basically impossible!
Laura and Arnold Teuton had smiles exploding with glee. They both thought Anlor had flown into a rage due to his humiliation and had been forcefully logged out.
With five times slower replay speed, however, they were able to see that Anlor’s quick and violent dash had completely sealed off all avenues of escape for his opponent. He had thrown out a fierce punch, one which many would find hard pressed to endure. Despite this, the All-mouthy King hadn’t retreated at that time, but rather, he had directly met Anlor head on! All-mouthy King had turned thirty degrees and done a reverse attack, launching an elbow directly into Anlor’s lower jaw. This had caused the power of Anlor’s punch and his elbow strike to layer upon one another, increasing the strike’s power to the point where it had even caused Anlor’s tyrannical body to faint. He had been completely unable to retaliate!
“He… only… used… fifty grassos… of soul power!” One word after another slowly made its way out of Anlor’s mouth.
His words were full of naked loathing. If one used such a low amount of soul power in a duel, then it was basically saying, ‘I can beat your effortlessly!’
The room was silent…
“Fuck! This bastard is just mocking you! Could someone be substituting for him?” Arnold Teuton loudly exclaimed. Although he had never interacted with All-mouthy King, he had still watched a video of one of his battles last month. Simply put, it was a noob becoming a dog! Because his videos were usually amusing, it would often get into the top rankings of one of the video listings in OP, the funny videos list!
Laura glared at Arnold Teuton. This was clearly an idiotic question. Anyone could register for multiple accounts, but they wouldn’t be able to let others use those accounts.
“I have to have a match up with him again!” Anlor solemnly stated. Regardless of who his opponent was, as the vanguard of the Mad Beast Battle Squadron, he definitely couldn’t lose in such a dubious way!
The barest hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Laura’s mouth. “Not bad. You’re a bit like a man after all. If you can beat him, then I’ll agree to go on a date with you.”
Anlor was taken aback, but his eyes soon began to shine. “Captain, will you really do so?”
“If I, Laura, say so, how can it not be so?”
Off to the side, Arnold Teuton immediately shot up and said in reproach, “Captain, that’s not fair! How come only he gets that kind of opportunity? I want a chance too!” Ever since the two started school, they had been chasing after Laura. Despite their best efforts, neither had succeeded. Yet.
Laura revealed a faint smile. “I’ll go out on a date with whoever wins. However, if you two lose, I’ll have you be my training partner for a month since I’ve just finished a new technique.”
At the thought of their captain’s dreadful scolding, the two of them immediately broke into a cold sweat. Despite this, they quickly calmed themselves as they were absolutely confident they could defeat All-mouthy King.
“I wish you two the best of luck.” Laura said before heading off to the gravity room, not forgetting to wave goodbye as she left. That sexy figure of hers simply burst with infinite allure.
After a second, Arnold Teuton and Anlor glanced at each other before they both ran to the OP room at lightning speed. They hastily added Brother King as a friend and requested a battle.
Unfortunately, Wang Zhong had already left.
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Chapter 9: Angelic Man
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Within OP, Wang Zhong closed his eyes and reflected upon that final strike just now. It seemed to him that everything had gone pretty well, but the reality was, he had made many mistakes in that battle. HIs evasive maneuvers had been too stiff, and his thoughts had also been too fragmented which made his heart rather restless.
There was also an issue with his final attack. The only reason he had to use his elbow to attack was because he hadn’t given himself enough room to unleash his full strength. His reaction had been slow by too much, about 0.2 seconds. Logically, with the gaps in his opponent’s attack that had been quite large, he should have taken advantage of them and yielded the best results. One couldn’t say for certain if doing so would have resulted in his opponent’s death rather than simply knocking him unconscious.
After that battle, Wang Zhong went to the gravity room and began training his body. His body had suffered from an illness in his childhood, which had engraved the importance of a strong body into Wang Zhong’s heart. Although his soul power had perplexed him these last few years, he had never fallen behind on physical training.
School had just started, so regardless of whether they were new students or upper year students, none of them held much concern in their heart. After all, everyone was still brimming with the aura of vacation.
There wasn’t a single soul in sight within the gravity room. In his first year, two-fold gravity had given Wang Zhong trouble, but now, he wasn’t even pressured under three-fold gravity. His soul power surged to the surface of his body and withstood the external pressure. In fact, Wang Zhong realized that although his maximum soul power output was low, his soul sea was so enormous that no one could possibly hope to contend with him in that regard.
After training under three-fold gravity for half an hour, Wang Zhong was drenched in sweat all over and his entire body felt refreshed. Every single cell in his body felt as though they were filled with some boundless energy. He truly felt completely different from his previously weak and powerless self. The difference was as big as the gap between the sky and the earth!
Wang Zhong checked the time before walking over to the four-fold gravity area. Wang Zhong’s body reacted a slight bit to the pressure. He continued on to the five-fold gravity region and only now did his body begin to feel heavy. He knew that this would be his upper limit for now. He opened the door and, unexpectedly, there was someone else in there.
There was someone in the five-fold gravity region doing pushups, their soul power steadily rising and falling.
The other person also hadn’t expected someone to come to the five-fold gravity area at that time. Standing up and inspecting Wang Zhong before exposing a glittering smile, the person said, “Hello senior.”
Although he was a man, Wang Zhong couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. This brother was handsome to the point of shocking him! The most important thing was that he wasn’t overbearing at all, but rather, he had the aura of an angel. This was definitely the state Ma Dong was chasing after.
“I hope I didn’t disturb you. I didn’t think anyone would be in here.” Wang Zhong smiled. This new student actually had such an astonishing body. He was most likely a special recruit.
“Of course you haven’t. My name is Grai Krisid. I’m from Ophel City. I’m a new student in the commander department. How may I address you, senior?” After sizing Wang Zhong up, Grai’s eyes were full of curiosity.
Wang Zhong was stunned for a moment. “My name is Wang Zhong. I’m also in the commander department. Ophel City is one of the top ten cities in the Freedom Federation, so how did you end up here?”
“I’m very interested in runes and Tianjing is the best in the field of rune technology. It seems I was ignorant and inexperienced; Tianjing Academy truly does have crouching tigers and hidden dragons,” Grai said as he looked at the person in front of him. This person’s strength was unfathomably deep. “Please take care of me, senior.”
Wang Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How could he possibly take care of this kind of genius? “I’ll stop disturbing your training then, I hope you’ll make many gains here at Tianjing Academy.”
Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy specialized in rune forging technology. In fact, they were the leaders in this field within the Freedom Federation. Quite a few geniuses came from other cities just to study this topic.
Wang Zhong shut the door. From beginning to end, Grai had maintained a slight smile, as if he were looking down on Tianjing. Suddenly, Grai’s smile froze. ‘… How could this be!?’
Inside of the five-fold gravity room, he had been using his soul power to protect his body, but that person just now…
☀
Wang Zhong had already returned to his dorm and taken a delightful cold bath. Ma Dong was absent from the dorm as usual. In the year since the two brothers had lived together, Ma Dong had only stayed in their dorm three or four times. After reading a book for a while, Wang Zhong went to bed and slept. He was soon sound asleep and soft snoring sounds occasionally broke the silence.
Early in the morning, Wang Zhong was woken up by the ringing of his skylink.
“Wang Zhong, Wang Zhong, where are you? Hurry up and come to the plaza. Damn it! Today is the day when fate decides the future of our Prodigy Society!” Ma Dong’s voice sounded loudly out from the skylink. He seemed brimming with the desire to do battle.
Emily was a powerful recruit that enabled the confident Ma Dong to get in over his head. He had taken up the position early in the morning. This was the final day for societies to recruit new members and the student union will evaluate the qualifications of each society once classes started. It was usually a normal yearly occurrence, but this time, that witch Milami had given them an ultimatum: gather enough members or disband!
They were only short one person now. For this final day, they had to recruit at least one more member no matter what.
By the time Wang Zhong arrived, the school plaza was already bustling with a vast crowd. After a whole day’s worth of shouting, they hadn’t been able to recruit any unattached new students. All of those students had goals of their own after all.
The problem was that the other societies in their surroundings were filled with people, yet the Prodigy Society was completely deserted.
Ma Dong gloomily sat on the side. Only Barran, that big lug, had the energy to continue shouting.
“What happened? You were full of energy just a moment ago, and now you’re all depressed.”
“Despicable, shameless, such a bully!” Ma Dong indignantly said. “That old witch Milami!”
Everyone knew that the Black Rose wanted Emily and that the Prodigy Society was bound to be dissolved. Anyone who joined the Prodigy Society at this time would be making an enemy out of the Black Rose Society.
Wang Zhong was distracted for a moment. “Where’s Emily?”
“She said she has a test. Wang Zhong, what do you think we should do? Should we go talk to Milami and let her dissolve our Prodigy Society?” Ma Dong asked.
Wang Zhong shook his head. “We’re only missing one person. I don’t believe we won’t be able to find even one person who’s willing.”
An hour later, Wang Zhong and Ma Dong once again realized the disparity between their society and the others. There really wasn’t a single person who was the least bit interested in them! “Wang Zhong, just let it be. After offending the Black Rose Society, our days won’t be good either. Besides, a real man doesn’t fight with women. Let’s just let them have their way.”
Wang Zhong shook his head and Ma Dong released a long sigh. This brother of his might seem easy going, but he was actually stubborn to death!
“Are you guys the Prodigy Society?” Right at that moment, two people appeared in front of the Prodigy Society’s booth.
Ma Dong quickly stood up, but he turned cold as soon as he saw the logo on their chest. The two of them were part of Saint Judgement, one of the academy’s four great societies. It was the strongest society in the soldier department.
“What business do you guys have? I’m the president, Ma Dong.”
The slightly taller one of the two exposed an arrogant smile. “I am Lu Zhan Tian of Saint Judgement. If you have Emily join our society, then we’ll help you make up the two people you’re short of.”
Ma Dong had already heard of Lu Zhang Tian’s name. He was the president of Saint Judgement. Unexpectedly, they were also looking to recruit Emily. Ma Dong was just trying to start his Prodigy Society. What the heck did he do to deserve this?
Ma Dong also had a devilish temper. He could compromise with beautiful girls, but he had no interest in men. “I’m sorry, but Emily has no interest in joining Saint Judgement.”
Lu Zhan Tian hadn’t expected Ma Dong to not know how to appreciate a favor. There were many people watching, so it wasn’t a good idea to flare up. Instead, he simply directed a burning glare at Ma Dong. “Are you sure?”
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Chapter 10: The Prodigy Society is Established!
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
“Definitely, rest assured. If worst comes to worst, the Prodigy Society will just disband.” Ma Dong shrugged his shoulders. Damn, these people really think this big bro can be threatened. At worst, I’ll just disband the society.
“Ma Dong, do you understand what it means to reject both Saint Judgement and Black Rose?” The person standing to Lu Zhan Tian’s side spoke out.
Ma Dong smiled. “Brothers! Have some emotional intelligence. I have already refused, yet you’re still using such childish methods to threaten me? Fellow students, did you hear it clearly? Saint Judgement is bullying people. What, do you guys still want to hit me?”
Immediately, Lu Zhan Tian’s expression blackened. He glared at the fool beside him and shouted, “We’re leaving!”
After everyone left, Ma Dong plopped his butt onto the ground. Ah, this foul mouth of his. That moment of bragging had quickly passed by, and now he had to figure out what to do in the future.
With things like this, no one else would be coming to join the Prodigy Society. The strong were respected within the heroic soul academy after all. The Prodigy Society was too small to even survive in the cracks. They were destined to disband sooner or later.
Despite their dire straits, Wang Zhong was still extremely supportive of Ma Dong. They were only short one person, so they might as well strive their hardest in the end. At worst, they would simply have to disband. With these thoughts in mind, Wang Zhong and Barran Gestalt continued their shouting with renewed energy. Unfortunately, the news of this recent event had quickly spread through the Skylink. Who would possibly want to join the Prodigy Society now?
In a flash, it was noon. The three of them were sitting on the curb, downing large mouthfuls of water. Only Barran Gestalt was still in high spirits. This brother was extremely pure and truly admired his two seniors for not submitting to force.
“Excuse me, is this the Prodigy Society? I would like to join!”
Right at that moment, a heavenly voice called out like an oasis to the trio’s desert.
Ma Dong stood with lightning speed. ‘Fuck!’ What entered his eyes was an exceptionally handsome smile. ‘Damn it, is this guy trying to suppress the president’s magnificence!?’ At that moment, however, he couldn’t care less about that.
Wang Zhong was stunned while the other person gave him a glittering smile in response. “Senior, we’ve met again. I want to join the Prodigy Society. Is that possible?”
Ma Dong gave the two of them a suspicious look. ‘This guy… he couldn’t possibly be a gigolo, could he?’
“Come here and let me see your entrance test form,” Ma Dong said. Procedures were procedures after all.
Grai Krisid nodded, opened up his Skylink, and transmitted his school report over to Ma Dong. The moment after, Ma Dong stood petrified. Next to him, Barran Gestalt’s jaw dropped low.
‘Is he the rumored guy?’
Among the new students, he was placed first in theory, had a soul power growth rate of 9.5, and was also first place in actual combat. Was this guy a monster?
The Grai Krisid from Ophel City?
“You really want to join the Prodigy Society?” Wang Zhong asked.
Ma Dong shoved Wang Zhong to the side and said with an ass-kissing smile, “Student Grai, welcome to the Prodigy Society! This is definitely the wisest decision you will ever make.”
“I feel the same way. Senior Wang Zhong, I hope you will guide me well,” Grai said with a smile.
Wang Zhong rubbed his nose. Regardless, the Prodigy Society’s crisis had been averted.
☀
“What did you say? Grai Krisid joined the Prodigy Society?” Milami angrily stood up. The two brightest students in the eyes of all societies had unexpectedly joined the Prodigy Society. What on earth was happening?
“Yes, senior sister. Just a while ago, Saint Judgement had caused a ruckus with them but that Ma Dong had been unyielding. Afterward, Grai Krisid joined them.” The girl spoke excitedly, her eyes full of stars. That Grai Krisid was truly too handsome. Way too handsome.
Milami repeatedly banged on her desk. There wasn’t anything she could do now. Grai and Emily were powerful recruits, so the Prodigy Society would no longer be an easy target. She just couldn’t comprehend it at all. Why would two high-level students join a society as crappy as the Prodigy Society?
☀
Noon.
In high spirits, President Ma Dong decided to invite everyone to a dinner party. After all, the Prodigy Society finally had enough people. Barran Gestalt looked at his president with eyes full of admiration. Of the three recruits, he was the weakest. He would definitely have to do his best to catch up; he couldn’t disappoint his president.
Thus, the Prodigy Society satisfied the minimum requirements to become a small battle squad. Emily would act as an assassin, using her nimbleness to explode in close quarters combat. Barran had just the right physique to act as their meat shield. As the president, Ma Dong would naturally be the core of their team. Wang Zhong had been a long ranged fighter since his first year; his body just hadn’t been able to keep up with the rhythm of battle. A long ranged fighter had been one of his better options. Only the genius Grai could be used to fill any lacking position.
Nobody objected to the positions Ma Dong decided. In fact, Grai’s smile grew even wider. So someone who can casually smile under the pressure of five-fold gravity is actually a long ranged marksman? Hehe.
Naturally, every single heroic soul soldier had their own secrets and habits and it was considered rude to pry into these matters. Grai simply thought that it would be very interesting to join the Prodigy Society and hadn’t found Wang Zhong strange at all. With Grai’s circumstances, he would definitely be able to join any society he wished, but that wouldn’t challenge him at all.
In the afternoon, Ma Dong excitedly went to the student union to go through the procedure of becoming an official society. To him, this was the day his life finally gained some meaning. While this was happening, all of the departments were holding their own meetings and course selection was beginning.
Course selection was extremely important since each department only had a small number of required courses, leaving the majority up to the student’s choice. Although the four departments had defining features, they each still shared courses in the first three years. Wang Zhong had taken many courses in his first year, which had naturally caused his grades to suffer a bit. He had even failed in his specialty, archery.
There were many courses to choose from as a long ranged soldier. There were cold weapons, the bow and arrow, and mechanical rune guns. In terms of might, rune firearms were naturally fiercer and faster. Normally, however, long ranged soldiers would start practicing with the bow and arrow. This way, they would be able to improve their control of soul power.
“Ah! Barran, with a physique like yours, you must diligently practice being a shield. You will be our unyielding barrier!”
Ma Dong was showing off his insight at this moment. With Barran Gestalts large and sturdy body, he was definitely well suited to being a tower shield soldier. Currently, all mainstream battle formations absolutely needed to have an excellent defensive expert.
Barran Gestalt earnestly took Ma Dong’s words to heart. Societies acted to bridge the gap between those of different ages and exchange knowledge. Senior students undoubtedly had more experience than their juniors. When the seniors guided their juniors, the juniors would definitely gain some understanding too.
For the next few days, Ma Dong was going to be swamped with work. Since they had enough people to become an official society now, he had to deal with issues such as finding a base of operations, manage a budget, and so on. Although he was the vice president, Wang Zhong simply acted as an all-rounded odd jobs worker as he followed Ma Dong everywhere.
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Chapter 11: Random Weapon
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
The student union had originally been looking for trouble, yet things had gone unexpectedly smooth for them. They only needed to find someplace to use as a base, pay some society deposits, and sign a contract. Like this, they became an official society.
Money was no issue for them, but finding a space for the society was a migraine-inducing matter that stressed out President Ma Dong.
After a busy day, Wang Zhong entered the OP training grounds. Last year he had been met with death after death as he was unable to match up against any of his opponents. He truly didn’t want to experience that again. Things were different now, however. The taste of victory was simply incomparable.
After accessing OP, Wang Zhong waited as he was matched up with an opponent. The match he had yesterday couldn’t be considered bad, but he had been a bit too nervous. He now accepted the outcome without thinking at all and hoped that he would be matched with a top-notch soldier today too.
Wang Zhong hadn’t noticed that those spectating his match had already exceeded one hundred people. This was a fairly large number of spectators for OP, especially considering the fact that they were still within the cannon fodder division. Naturally, most of the spectators had come here to be entertained.
“Looking forward to seeing who brother expert’s opponent is today. We brothers support you!”
“Why are there so many people today?”
“Yesterday our Brother King had unexpectedly won a match, causing the forums to explode with debate. Some fool had actually said his opponent yesterday was actually quite skilled and that defeating him had meant our All-mouthy King is actually an expert.”
“Expert? Fuck me, I need to go see. Who has such great eyesight? He definitely isn’t blind.”
Clearly, the battle with Future Gun King had sparked a heated debate among the rookies. A comment about this so-called expert would appear from time to time, but would immediately afterwards be flooded with comments that cursed him to death.
Map: Arena. Weapon mode: Random.
The entire space flared up for a moment, igniting all of the youngsters’ passion.
“Do you see that? That’s the air of a tyrant, an expert who can disregard the whole world!”
“They’re blinding my gold dog eyes! There is actually someone who dares to use a random weapon! Comrades, we must kneel and worship him at once!”
Immediately, everyone grew gleeful. For many people, it was the first time they watched All-mighty King’s battle. They understood the importance of a soldier’s weapon. If a long range soldier was given an axe, then all they could do was cut themselves. If an ability soldier was given a tower shield, then they could use it as a coffin board.
Wang Zhong’s opponent appeared.
Emily*Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy. Matches: 0. Cannon fodder division. Without a doubt, this was truly Emily. Moreover, she had an asterisk attached to her name, signifying that she was an elite with ultra high self-confidence!
All of the elites or well known experts from any of the academies would have their names presented in such a way: their real name along with their affiliated academy. This was something the academies required in order to boost their ego and spread the reputation of the academy. This kind of talented person definitely wouldn’t become a simple soldier in the future. Their accomplishments in the OP system would be one of the things considered after they graduated and entered the military. Thus, everyone took OP extremely seriously.
Although she appeared to be just another newbie, the strength of anyone who was a special recruit definitely couldn’t be looked down upon. Information on Emily quickly made its way around. She was from St. Mongul City, 14 years old, and her combat ability was proven to be extraordinary even when she was just in middle school. Although she wasn’t tall, she was still an expert at close quarters combat while also… God! She also had a flame ability!
Some of Brother King’s fans were already praying for him, all of them imagining the scene of his miserable defeat. Today they would have a taste of some wonderful barbeque.
Emily picked a pair of rune swords. Watching this match was Master Moor, the department head of Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy’s rune department. He was a master rune weapon forger and had brought much glory to Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy with his skill. Moreover, he was a member of the Freedom Federation’s Rune Association Council. He wanted to observe Emily’s battle and gather information on her in order to create a suitable weapon for her.
Emily was excited as well. Naturally, this wasn’t just because she was a special recruit; her family’s connections had also helped. Master Moor owed her father a favor, which presented itself as a rare opportunity to her. Regardless of who her opponent was, Emily would display her full strength today.
Wang Zhong’s weapon ended up being a dagger. His luck wasn’t too bad. If it had been a bow and arrow, he would have had a headache. When he noticed who his opponent was, Wang Zhong was startled. It was unexpectedly Emily.
The little girl who loved to eat ice cream back then had already changed into a valiant soldier now. At this moment, Emily was completely devoid of her usual naughty behaviour. It was instead replaced by a completely tranquil expression. She had a sharp gaze as she crossed her two rune swords behind her with an air of aggressiveness.
Battle begin!
Thud thud thud thud…
Emily nimbly advanced on Wang Zhong, swooping down upon him. With her short stature, she transformed into a cheetah with the circulation of her soul power. That’s right. As soon as the battle commenced, Emily began her assault. Whoosh… As she headed directly for Wang Zhong and suddenly leapt into the air, spinning wildly in an arc with a rune sword slicing towards Wang Zhong’s neck.
All of the spectators forget to breathe at that moment. When they first saw that she was a cute little loli, they were a bit dismissive of her. Yet now that they saw her frightening movements and fierce attack, everyone’s neck felt cold. They sent a silent prayer out towards Brother King once more. Such a savage loli was far from good.
Despite Emily’s sword being so accurate, when it passed by Wang Zhong’s neck, her eyes narrowed. She hadn’t felt any resistance at all!
Whoosh. Emily once again shot forwards with astonishing leaping strength and arrived at Wang Zhong’s rear. She slashed at him again with speed of a civet, but Wang Zhong took a step forward and evaded her attack! At the same time, Emily thrust her other rune sword out, stepping up to pursue him. Her arms and legs were in complete unison, allowing her to rapidly close the distance between them. Yet, her opponent’s evasions were extremely precise, unexpectedly causing her to miss by a hair’s width each time!
Bang…
Wang Zhong shot out a hand, colliding with Emily, forcing her to leap backwards in retreat. She stood there with her rune sword, watching All-mouthy King slowly turn around… She hadn’t heard that this guy was so hard to deal with!
Although she hadn’t used all of her strength yet, her opponent had been able to see through her attacks so effortlessly. This sparked a feeling of excitement within her that she’d rarely felt. This was the kind of opponent that would allow Master Moor to gain all the information he needed to create the most suitable weapon for her.
A petite person would usually avoid a head on battle, but Emily was the opposite. She preferred to clash with her opponent face to face. The dance of blades made her youthful body incomparably excited.
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Chapter 12: The Little Dreg’s Counterattack!
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Whoosh… Tatatata…
Emily attacked Wang Zhong as she speedily ran circles around him. If he had been an ordinary soldier, he would have already been struck silly as Emily’s movements held a type of illusion to them. It made it difficult for one to completely sense when she would stop or the direction she was moving towards. A sly smile crept into being at the corner of Wang Zhong’s lips. She had complete control of her attack frequency and center of gravity and could change both at any time. Any brainless fool who attacked her would immediately fall for her trap. This little girl’s growth was truly astonishing.
In his split second of absent-mindedness, however, Emily struck. At that moment she soared into the air, then quickly and viciously bent down and attacked. To the spectators, it seemed as if her movements completely violated the laws of inertia. In the blink of an eye, her attack struck.
The rune sword pierced over. Whoosh!
Yet, there was only air!?
Even Emily couldn’t believe it. Her certain sword strike had actually been completely evaded by her opponent. Almost subconsciously, she exploded backward in retreat.
Ever since she had awakened, her family had trained her to the point where she was absolutely confident in her strength and skill. In order to train her, her family had even invited students from St. Mongul Heroic Soul Academy to act as her sparring partner. This was also one of the reasons why she wasn’t willing to go to that academy. None of the upperclassmen there could even hope to match up to her strength.
The unhurried look in her eyes magnified…
She had been seen through?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Emily took out her second sword and crossed them. She couldn’t lose face in front of Master Moor.
Boom!
Her two rune swords suddenly ignited as Emily’s pretty eyes took on a fiery red color. The blazing flame immediately made the temperature rise up a notch.
Those who possessed ability were those who were favored by the gods. Emily’s flame wasn’t natural, rather, it was soul fire. This soul fire was extremely lethal against soul power and could even interfere with it. The situation reversed in a flash as the two swords combined with her flame ability. With an imposing aura, Emily’s weapons were already in a league of their own, above that of All-Mouthy King’s dagger.
Whoosh!
Emily began her assault. This time, she didn’t use any special techniques, but instead opted for a head-on attack. When she used this kind of strength, there were few among her peers who could be considered a worthy opponent.
Bang!
The dagger parried the sword, but in response, Emily’s eyes grew resolute, completely embodying the Assassin’s creed!
Her two flaming rune swords flared up for a moment, filling the entire sky with flame. It was almost as if the Grim Reaper’s sickle was curling its way around Wang Zhong. This was Emily’s strongest attack that no one had ever been able to withstand before.
Flaming Lotus Dance!
In a flash, the flaming rune swords exploded like a fiery blooming lotus flower!
The spectators were all petrified at the sight of this. Damn, this was something even a pig head would know about! This was the Assassin clan’s sure kill technique! In a brief moment, eighteen swords of flame exploded out, forming an infernal sword light. Apart from its harming ability, the flame also added a visual impact to the swords. Even if an expert could evade this rune sword attack, they would still be set aflame by the eighteen spinning sword lights that were condensed from flame. This was the power of an ability!
This was a certain death situation!
Nobody had ever dreamed that they would be able to see such a powerful attack in the cannon fodder division. Without a doubt, Emily, this cute little loli, was from the Assassin clan.
Right as everyone was sighing in lament of All-Mouthy King, the entire audience became deathly silent in a flash. Everyone had colorful expressions painted all over their faces at that moment. It was as if they had been riding an elevator when all of sudden, it went out of control and began free falling!
This was because, in the middle of the battlefield, All-Mouthy King had his dagger up against Emily’s neck!
Emily couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. There had never been anyone who could break through Flaming Lotus Dance like this before. Never!
All-Mouthy King wins!
Emily gritted her teeth and held back her tears. Ever since she had awakened her flame ability, no one had thought she was suited for close combat and they had all told her so. But she wanted to fight like this, and so, she convinced herself that she could become a great Assassin. She had done her best to let others know this through her accomplishments, yet with the current result, could it be that she had been wrong?
The unbeatable Flaming Lotus Dance had been broken through so easily…
Wang Zhong suddenly cracked a smile and withdrew his dagger. “You chose the wrong weapon. Try out dual daggers next time and maybe the outcome will be different.”
Emily was still dumbstruck, yet her opponent had already left.
Unwittingly, the number of spectators had already grown to over 200 people at some time. Everyone was speechless as they replayed the match in slow motion. The Flaming Lotus Dance was a top-tier assassin burst technique and, moreover, Emily’s execution of the technique had been superb and exceptionally quick. Yet, All-Mouthy King had been able to grasp the only flaw; her rune swords had been a bit too long for her. With just a small flaw, he had been able to exploit it completely. During the moment the lotus bloomed, the same moment when it was at its most beautiful, a flaw had appeared as well. Wang Zhong only had to throw his dagger at Emily and disrupt her in order to cause everything to come to a stop. In fact, the formidable power of the Flaming Lotus Dance hadn’t even been able to display itself.
The spectators were all silent as they watched the replay in disbelief. As they watched the slow-motion replay, they began to realize that it hadn’t been simple at all, but damn! How could this be? A thin soul power shield had formed over All-Mouthy King’s body and resisted the flaming assault. This kind of control and soul power output, damn, how many people could actually accomplish that!?
More unbelievable was his judgment and coordination. Throughout the entire Freedom Federation, who would dare to instruct an Assassin like so?
A few minutes later, all of the spectators exploded into heated discussion. Was this King’s counterattack!?
The OP forums exploded into discussions about All-Mouthy King. If the first time was a small scale debate, then this time it couldn’t be considered a rebuttal, but a counterattack!
“The little dreg’s counterattack?”
“Do you believe that the world has such a miracle?”
“Discussing All-Mouthy King’s kingly character!”
…
There were those who ridiculed him, those with expectations of him and those who were excited by him…
Naturally, the level of the battle had given rise to even more debate. Some felt that Emily was highly talented but had no fighting experience, so her style was too rigid. After all, a little loli wasn’t suited to be an assassin. Yet with so much ability, she insisted on walking the most dangerous path of an assassin.
It wasn’t until an analysis of the battle came out that the discussion reached a climax.
A famous special recruit in second year and the captain of the Mad Beast Battle Squadron from Copperfield Heroic Soul Academy, Explosive Bear Laura, had appeared. She had led the Mad Beast Battle Squadron to attain outstanding military achievements during her first year and possessed the Grassi Explosive Bear flaming beast ability. She was a bug-like existence that stood as a representative of the next generation. But above all else, she was a super sexy beauty!
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Chapter 13: Emily Wants to Stay the Night
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Laura watched the whole battle and honestly speaking, she hadn’t understood All-mouthy King’s situation until the very end. She’d never seen someone as monstrous as him before. In fact, she felt that it was simply too random. Had the universe exploded?
After this battle, however, she was certain. She was certain that All-mouthy King was terrifying.
Countless people had been baffled by the Flaming Lotus Dance before, and even though Emily’s weapon had been incompatible with her, her Flaming Lotus Dance had still been exceptionally formidable. This type of battle skill had extreme killing power even if its fire blades had been imperfectly created. Yet, from start to finish, he had used the minimum amount of soul power to defend himself—as if he was certain his opponent couldn’t strike him at all.
After analyzing a slow-motion replay of the battle, she marked out the trajectory of his evasive movements and frequent changes.
In the face of her analysis, the whole forum went silent! It was as though the shadow followed the pace of the body.
He’d been bursting with confidence and had dared to move the battle completely to his pace. In other words, Emily was unable to land a single attack on her opponent. All of her moves had been seen through.
This was the gap between those at the top and those they looked down upon!
Laura turned off her skylink, showing disinterest in the chatter behind her. She swept a glance behind her at Anlor and Arnold Teuton. “If you two still think you can easily beat him, then the dignity of our Mad Beast Battle Squadron is in danger.”
This guy is really interesting. No matter how I look at it, his techniques are good but his heart is too soft. He didn’t want to lay a hand on his opponent because she was a little girl. This is a huge flaw. After some time, I fear this will cost him his life.
Naturally, Laura didn’t give voice to these thoughts.
☀
At this time, in one of the teachers’ buildings for Tianjing Academy’s rune department.
Department Head Moor brewed a hot cup of tea for the dispirited Emily. “Little girl, why are you so depressed with just a single loss? Don’t be sad. You should be happy instead.”
“Uncle Moor, could it be that I’m not suited for the path of an assassin?”
Moor gave a gentle chuckle. “This is something you should ask for yourself. No one but you can decide your life for you. In any case, I agree with what your opponent said. For a personal set of weapons, rune swords are too long for you.”
Emily was stunned. “So it’s fine that I lost?”
“You foolish child. Uncle had just barely grasped your situation. A single battle is nowhere near enough to find out what I need. If you learned something from that battle, then that is something worth being happy about.”
“Thank you, uncle. I understand now!” After bowing, Emily quickly ran off and disappeared like a wisp of smoke.
Moor couldn’t help but shake his head. Youngsters these days are truly too energetic. One moment a gust of wind, the next a shower of rain. He had originally planned on taking Emily’s measurements and making her a pair of rune swords, but now it seemed to him that daggers would suit her more.
☀
After his battle with Emily concluded, Wang Zhong proceeded with his usual routine and began his physical training. The more he fought, the more he felt the importance of his body’s strength. Everyone valued soul power, but without a sufficiently strong body to bear its power, it was still a major flaw.
Emily has already grown up and unexpectedly grasped such a powerful battle skill. After tempering herself some more, she will surely become a heavenly expert.
Ever since he’d awakened, Wang Zhong’s appetite had grown quite large. After he finished buying his groceries, he returned to his dorm and discovered someone standing by his door.
“Emily, why are you here?” Wang Zhong curiously asked.
Emily was embracing a large bottle of alcohol as she said, “Big Brother Wang Zhong, come! Today, Emily is very happy. Let’s drink some alcohol to celebrate!”
Wang Zhong stared at Emily for a moment before taking the alcohol from her. “I’ll hold onto this for now. Children shouldn’t drink alcohol!”
This girl is truly rebellious! Naturally, Wang Zhong knew within his heart where the problem lay. With such exceptional talent, experiencing a defeat would surely leave her heart in a knot.
“Tch. You’re so old-fashioned. If you won’t drink with me, then I’ll go into the streets and find someone else to drink with me!”Emily wrinkled her little nose as she spoke.
She had cut to the chase as she’d grown hungry as well. Heroic soul soldiers used up a lot of energy and the stronger they were, the more energy they used. Thus, they were basically all big eaters.
Wang Zhong didn’t eat much. Contrary to what one might expect, Emily had eaten the greater amount between the two. She ate and drank while chatting up a storm, explaining to Wang Zhong everything that had happened to her today.
“Big Brother Wang Zhong, do you still remember the first time we met two years ago? That was when I was the most depressed. It was your words that helped me find confidence in myself until today!” said Emily.
“Ah, is that so?” Wang Zhong said as he rubbed his nose. He didn’t remember what he had said at all.
Fortunately, Emily didn’t mind this. Rather, she began to reminisce. At that time, everyone in her family had been planning her future for her but she had secretly run off to Tianjing. The day she met Wang Zhong was the happiest day of her life. It truly was. Only Wang Zhong had supported her decisions and he had even been the one to suggest the path of an assassin to her. Her innate talent made her good at this, and her stature made her far more nimble than others. Everyone had their own talents after all.
“I will definitely succeed!” Emily suddenly stood up and shouted into the air.
Wang Zhong jumped in fright. “You little devil, hurry up and sit down. This is a dormitory; you can’t make such a racket.”
“Heehee. Are you afraid others will find out you have a girl in your room?” Emily astutely said. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Wang Zhong said in embarrassment, “Children shouldn’t be concerned with adult matters!”
“Tch. You’re only a bit older than me, what kind of adult are you? You can be relieved though, I will help you look for a girlfriend. In any case, I can’t let you date just anybody.” Emily laughed.
“Emily, I agree with what Department Head Moor said. With your build, you’ll definitely be able to display your full strength if you switch to dual daggers. You might lose some dominance in your appearance and you might be at a disadvantage in close quarters combat, but an inch is still an inch of danger. With the addition of your nimbleness and close combat instincts, who knows what kind of surprising result there may be.” Wang Zhong promptly diverted the topic.
Emily went silent for a moment before her expression turned into one of astonishment. “Why does everyone think that I’m not suited to close quarters combat with my body?”
“Whether you are suitable or not is a feeling of the soul. You have a tendency towards being fierce and with this tendency of yours, you’re fearless and resolute in close quarters combat. In fact, you’re like a fish in water. It’s in this way that you are suitable for it. But your only problem is finding a suitable battle method. For example, I think your dagger should have a curve to it, this way it’ll cut through the air even better and let your strikes become even faster, just like a phantom,” said Wang Zhong. Right after his battle with Emily had concluded, he’d clearly noted the confidence this girl had when she engaged in close quarters combat. If she switched to using a pair of daggers instead and tried her Flaming Lotus Dance once more… The thought gave him goosebumps.
Emily sunk into deep thought and involuntarily brandished her hands. “It seems… the feeling isn’t too bad. I’ll go tell Uncle Moor tomorrow. I know you’re my caring big brother and you’re much more reliable than Ma Dong Dong. Let me hug you as a reward.”
Wang Zhong broke into a cold sweat. “Alright then. We’ve finished eating and have solved your problem. You should go back to your dorm now.”
“I don’t want to. I want to stay here. Ma Dong Dong doesn’t live here anyways,” said Emily.
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Chapter 14: A Correlative Study of the Behaviour of Students when Studying and the Side Benefit of Attracting the Opposite Sex—Aka, Studying and Picking up Chicks
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
“The male dormitory doesn’t allow us to have guests. Hurry up and go back, else I’ll call Ma Dong Dong to come and get you,” Wang Zhong said fiendishly. He had to be serious, otherwise this girl would just keep pushing him.
“Hmph. You can toss me then. Outside is dark; I’m scared that someone might rob me. What would I do then? I’ve even drank a lot,” Emily said, shivering slightly on the spot.
Wang Zhong rubbed his nose. “Girl, it’ll be fine as long as you’re not the one robbing others. Anyway, you can just use your soul power to rid yourself of the drunkenness!”
“Big brother Wang Zhong, let me tell you a story. A girl’s chair in the girl’s dormitory broke, so she went to find a boy to help her fix it.”
“And then?”
“That boy really did help her fix it, but then the girl became angry!” Emily craftily said.
“Why?” Wang Zhong suspiciously asked.
“Fool, the girl had broken the chair herself!” Emily finished and stomped off in a rage, but her face still wore a smile.
☀
Classes had officially begun, and all of the students had become like baboons in heat. To them, it was a completely new beginning.
Wang Zhong followed his usual routine and quickly finished his morning classes. Solitude made one adept at self-reflection. Due to the countless discussions with Simba, Wang Zhong had his own understanding of runes and the current battle system.
These strange and wonderful ideas of his were really complete nonsense, but some of them actually showed promise.
Later in the afternoon, he went to the library. Many students were quietly looking over rune designs as they needed to know how to operate and design them. Wang Zhong was also doing the same thing earnestly. Rune designs, especially weapon rune designs, gave him much inspiration.
In regards to the weapon designs and his understanding of them, Wang Zhong learned of how weapon and soul power worked together to spark such tremendous power due to their designs. Through this, it allowed him to gain an even better understanding of this particular offensive style. In order for him to grow even stronger, he ran through all kinds of possibilities.
Students in the commander department didn’t prioritize theory; instead, the actual experience was more valued. They would learn all sorts of battle techniques as they believed this was the optimal way to grow stronger. Wang Zhong, however, felt that although this method did lead to quick gains, they would end up with a shallow understanding of their techniques.
Wang Zhong was reading Dr. Madeleine’s article, The EQ of Hyperdimensional Beings, when he suddenly caught a fragrance. When Wang Zhong raised his head to look at who sat across from him, he was met with a refreshing smile. “Student Wang Zhong, do you mind if I bother you for a moment?”
Wang Zhong was stunned. It was actually Scarlet… “Hello, student Scarlet. Of course, it’s no problem.”
“I wanted to discuss something with you.” Whenever Scarlet appeared, all eyes would be on her.
Wang Zhong nodded; there wasn’t much he could do to help this influential person anyway.
“Wang Zhong, I read the essays you wrote earlier and found them very insightful, especially yours, The Connection between the Macro-Ego and Micro-Ego.” Scarlet appraised Wang Zhong, finding it unbelievable that this person’s achievements, in theory, surpassed even her own. Although she had always found combat difficult for her, she had always considered herself the best in theory until she entered this Heroic Soul Academy and faced her first defeat.
After reading his published papers and feeling absolutely crushed, Scarlet had spent her whole vacation trying to understand Wang Zhong. She had been flabbergasted by how audacious his theories were. Perhaps others would consider his theories nonsense, but Scarlet gained much insight from them.
“I just ponder things as I please,” Wang Zhong said.
“You believe that the power of runes is a type of living, magnetic force; this came from your own understanding, right?” Scarlet enquired. The power of runes was normally regarded as a magnetic field force that originated from the dark moon’s influence.
Wang Zhong had never expected someone to find his thoughts interesting. After all, it was only due to Simba’s influence that his mind had been free of the constraints of conventional thinking so that he was able to come up with a myriad of strange and wonderful ideas. Furthermore, Simba had presented him with many baffling viewpoints. For example, the theory of demons from the hyperdimension; how humanity had only dug up the lowest levels of their inner power; how fate controlled everything, and so on. Yet, once he entered the academy, everyone had considered his ideas to be crazy. In fact, even Ma Dong Dong had advised him to stop thinking about such nonsense all day long, otherwise, he would go crazy. This was the first time someone actually wanted to discuss his ideas with him!
This wasn’t a search for novelty either—it was genuine interest!
Today, Scarlet found Wang Zhong for nothing more than her own interests. When she came to borrow a book from the library, she’d chanced upon Wang Zhong and recalled the various papers he had written before. As such, she decided to go chat with him. Wang Zhong’s knowledge base had, however, exceeded her expectations by far! The two of them became like a couple of chatterboxes that couldn’t be stopped.
“Ah, you have such a deep understanding of the devil race as well. I also think that the Federation is being too conservative. A large reason why the Empire is so powerful is due to their relationships and intermarriage with the different races. This allowed them to give birth to even stronger bloodlines. WIth the powerful bodies and heroic souls of other tribes, their individual abilities are already par or near those of the Federation’s.” Scarlet said this with sorrow. She had learned many things on her own, so her viewpoint was much higher than other students. Insight wasn’t as easy to gain as strength, yet this was the first time she had encountered something like this. This unassuming guy in front of her actually had a viewpoint even broader than her’s!
Wang Zhong let out a humble chuckle. To him, the games between the Empire and the Federation were matters for adults to tend to. He had never published his ideas with regards to this topic. For example, he thought that the protracted negotiations between the Empire and Federation regarding the introduction of the OP System had involved too much inside interests and didn’t take into account the spirit of loyalty of the students.
“The devil race can be considered as the representatives of the strange races and have relations with the rich and powerful Kaiser Empire. The constitution of Shadow Devils produces powerful shadow warriors. After watching videos of their battles, I truly couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.”
“That’s right, it would be hard to win against them in a one-on-one duel, especially if a long-ranged soldier were to face them. It would simply turn into a massacre.”
“Actually, there’s still a way to win. As long as the long-ranged soldier can shoot a double-stacked array, then even a Shadow Devil wouldn’t be able to dodge it.”
Scarlet was shocked. She couldn’t help but grin. “There are very few people who could actually pull that off.”
Peng peng peng…
As the two of them were happily chatting away, they suddenly heard knocking at the door. Emily and Ma Dong stood in the doorway. Emily wore a face full of hostility while Ma Dong Dong gave him a sly wink.
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Chapter 15: The Question of “Size”
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
“President Scarlet, you don’t need to waste anymore effort; big brother Wang Zhong is never leaving the Prodigy Society!” Emily exclaimed without hesitation.
Scarlet smiled, and gave Wang Zhong a glance. “I definitely won’t give up easily, cute little junior sister!”
Emily wrinkled her nose and said, “Hmph, who’s little!”
Ma Dong Dong narrowed his eyes and covertly scanned the two women’s chests. Tsk tsk, it is a little small.
Dong!
Emily stomped on Ma Dong Dong’s instep, causing his face to instantly turn black. Like a bomb going off, just before an animalistic howl was about the fill the entirety of the library, Scarlet’s right hand pointed at Ma Dong Dong, throwing a silencing technique that directly swallowed Ma Dong Dong in one gulp.
The silencing technique was a high-end soul power ability specifically designed to counter ability users as it could interfere with their abilities; yet, it was now being used just to shut someone up. Ma Dong Dong could only feel his head buzzing, as though his body was about to fly away.
Emily and Scarlet glanced at one another; they seemed to have found something in common.
At that moment, he glanced at Wang Zhong with tears in his eyes. Just who had he provoked?.
“Wang Zhong, it was a pleasure talking with you today. I presume that we both benefited mutually. I hope that in the future we will have more opportunities to talk,” Scarlet said with a beautiful, soul-stirring smile.
Wang Zhong nodded his head and said, “I also benefited a lot.”
The second Scarlet walked away, Ma Dong Dong immediately lunged over and exclaimed, “Brother, you won big! Tell me, when did you get so close to Scarlet? Have you two done it already!?”
Wang Zhong quickly covered Ma Dong’s dirty mouth. This guy simply didn’t fear the world turning into chaos. If word of this spreads, then regardless of whether it was true or not, every day would bring hundreds of students out, searching for his blood.
“You’re overthinking it. She is only interested in my academic work. Say, as someone who treats the library like a graveyard, what are you doing here?” Wang Zhong asked. That was right. Ma Dong Dong considered this place a burial ground, so he wasn’t willing to waste any of his precious time here.
“Have you forgotten? You have a make-up class today!” Ma Dong replied.
Wang Zhong was surprised for a moment before cursing. Dammit, to think I actually forgot about it!
The three of them frantically rushed to the examination room. Having chosen the role of a long ranged combatant for the examination, Wang Zhong barely scraped a pass. He definitely had to pass this make-up examination, else his days as a second year will definitely be hard to live through.
Ever since the awakening of his soul powers, Wang Zhong had been immersed in understanding his newfound abilities, causing him to even forget about this important event.
The examination was still in progress when they arrived. To be honest, this was quite a shameful scene as all of the students present were those retained from the previous semester.
Ma Dong patted Wang Zhong’s shoulder encouragingly and said, “Brother, have faith in yourself, you’ve practiced the entire holiday so there will definitely be some results!”
“Big brother Wang Zhong is the best. Don’t be nervous!” Emily shouted out.
Wang Zhong smiled slightly. He and nervousness had nothing to do with each other. Taking out his skylink, he scanned through the details of his make-up exam.
The system had chosen a bow as his long ranged weapon for the examination. In the examination hall, the exam teacher was impatiently watching the clock. If it wasn’t because he knew there was still one more student, he would have long left.
“Hurry up, Wang Zhong, you’re the last one. There are five groups, and each group has ten arrows. As long as your average is 60 points, you pass,” the examination teacher explained. “Proceed over there to choose your weapon.”
The two important criteria for long-ranged battle ability was accuracy and damage. As a long-ranged combatant, accuracy was first, while having adequate soul power damage was second. Every shot had to be accurate, but also filled with adequate soul power, otherwise, there was no lethality.
Wang Zhong chose the rune bow; unlike other bows that were handcrafted by Department Head Moore, this one was mass-produced, thus there was bound to be some loss in soul power conversion.
☀
On the second floor of the exam venue stood two people, one old and one young engaging in merry banter.
The vigorous old man was the President of Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy and the representative of the Freedom Federation, Greene Steve. At his side stood a female in the Freedom Federation army uniform. With a crown of short hair and eyes sparkling with intelligence, she exuded an aura reminiscent of a hero, standing tall and valiant. On her forehead was an eye-catching scar. Normally, it would ruin a lady’s beautiful appearance, but on her, it exemplified her imposing aura.
“This is such a coincidental timing. Grace, please show some support for your junior brothers and sisters,” Greene said. Grace was one of the most exemplary students that had graduated from Tianjing Academy in recent years.
“Teacher Greene, I’ve heard that Tianjing Academy’s ranking has dropped quite a bit. This is so unlike you,” Grace slyly laughed.
“You brat, the first thing you do after coming back is to antagonize your teacher, is that the right behavior to have?” Greene started to feel a slight headache; after all these years, this troublemaker still hadn’t changed a single bit.
“This is my alma mater and I have strong feelings for it. I returned in the hopes of uncovering a few potential geniuses this time. The standard for the current exam is not low, however, and I feel that choosing from the first and second years would be better, with first years being best,” Grace said.
Greene nodded his head and said, “This is a god-sent opportunity for Tianjing Academy. I’ll leave the selection entirely up to you. What are your plans?”
“I believe that within the school, there is bound to be students with potential. Teacher, what do you think about holding a competition using my name?” Grace asked. Being a heroic soul academy, rune technology could only serve to as a decoration in comparison to combat ability.
“I was waiting for you to say that. Your influence on the younger generation surpasses mine by far, Haha.” Suddenly, both Greene and Grace glanced over towards the outside of the observation deck.
☀
“At the shooting range below, having chosen his bow, Wang Zhong gathered up his soul power as the teacher irritatingly said, “Are you done preparing yet—hurry up!”
He had little patience for those second and third years who still needed to take a make-up class.
Ignoring the complaints of the teacher, Wang Zhong wholeheartedly focused on the weapon in his hands. The target in front of him grew larger and larger… Whoosh.
Bang!
Bullseye. The make-up teacher nodded his head slightly, but then saw that the damage meter that only displayed 40. Is he trying to tickle it? Although the distance is a bit far, the damage is too low.
Generally, with long-distance attacks, the further the distance the greater the rate damage dissipated, with 20 metres enough to dissipate half of the power. Although Wang Zhong had miraculously caused only a bit of power to dissipate, the base power was still too little.
“Come on, use some strength! Have you not eaten yet? What can this tiny soul power do!” the make-up teacher cursed. Being accurate had no use.
Upstairs, Grace wryly smiled and said, “What an interesting kid. He exudes the aura of a veteran with bow techniques, but that soul power is too pathetic.”
Dean Greene sighed and hopelessly said, “That one is a mistake we made last year. He was the one who wrote the theory on tactics of control and was specially invited to join the commander department. Now, however, he has become a problem.”
Grace gawked and stared at him. Indeed, having a student from the commander department take makeup lessons was quite a disgrace.
“If he is unable to pass today’s make-up exam, I will transfer him to the rune department. Leaving him in the commander department would not be fruitful for his studies,” Greene said.
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Chapter 16: The Heavy Soldier from the North
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Ignoring the exam teacher’s ridicule, Wang Zhong’s gaze sharpened as he stared quietly at the target.
Cengcengeng.
In an instant, the remaining nine arrows explosively shot out together and toward the target 20 meters away
Honglonglong
With an explosive boom, the unprepared teacher was lifted off the ground and fell back. His face was full of shock. Only after some time did he slowly turn his head, mouth gaping open widely.
All that was left of the target board was a pile of scrap on the floor.
Sucking back his saliva, the teacher cursed. Dammit, wasn’t the target board capable of handling Grasso powered attacks?
That’s fucking 20 meters away!!!
Is this person here for make-up classes? Or is he here to tease me?
Suspicious. The teacher started examining Wang Zhong from head to toe. According to the skylink and student ID, it didn’t look like a replacement.
“Ahem. I think this target board has been overused and is in due need for a replacement; however, your performance today was not bad. All right, you’ve passed today’s make-up test,” the teacher said.
☀
Grace’s eyes sparkled intensely. “Nine consecutive arrows in a span of 1.5 seconds with nearly identical flight pathways. What’s more, it was extremely accurate; what strong fundamentals!”
Greene was quite surprised as he nodded his head. “How interesting. That isn’t an easy feat to accomplish. The main issue of low soul power, however, is still present. Are you planning on wasting your time on him?”
What Dean Greene said was indeed true; with so many students, there was bound to be talents present. The commander department, however, existed for a specific purpose; to train the people who could cast their heroic souls. If one could not cast their heroic soul, then it would forever amount to nothing.
Grace cast a pair of confident eyes on the grounds below. A radiant smile blossomed as she said, “Teacher, every single person should have a dream. What if the dream comes true?”
☀
With the end of the make-up class, Wang Zhong didn’t linger around and instead went to join Ma Dong and Emily for dinner before heading off alone for some personal training. Ever since he came to the heroic soul Academy, Wang Zhong had never once skipped training his fundamentals.
In the training room, one arrow after the other continuously shot out from Wang Zhong’s bow. The feeling of this continuous flow made every inch of Wang Zhong’s body feel rejuvenated. Only this could be called a fight. This was the life he wanted.
After training, Wang Zhong re-entered the OP System to search for his opponent for today. Since the lesson curriculum wasn’t packed at the moment, he may as well fight a match.
After his ID started flashing, the formerly quiet cannon fodder division grew noisy as people began discussing the double victory. Furthermore, one had been against a successor of the Assassin clan. The people who came from clans possessed bloodlines of ignited heroic souls and were leagues above the average combatant. Behind them stood the mighty power of their ancestors.
In the end, was All-Mouthy King just a cactus blooming in the night once, or had he gained some sort of enlightenment?
The moment Wang Zhong’s opponent appeared, the audience numbers quickly grew to over 300, showing just how many had set reminders on their Skylinks. Although there were a few strong combatants that had awe-inspiring fights, they were too far in-between for the common man. Moreover, All-Mouthy King had managed to stir something deep within their hearts.
A multitude of voices was heard as the audience discussed the fight, but there was a subtle change in the old tone.
“It looks like Brother King managed to break through. With his recent improvement in combat prowess, I feel that he can walk the path of an assassin.”
“If you can walk the path of an assassin with only two wins, then you’re thinking too much!”
“This fellow just had an accidental win. He’s a rookie; while the other is a clan member of the Assassin clan, it’s known that even her clan members were against her going down the path of an assassin. With such a small and petite body that’s unsuitable for assassination and the unfortunate luck that her trademark Flaming Lotus Dance was broken by him, this means that she isn’t suited for the way of the assassin. I bet that today, All-Mouthy King will end up back at square one!”
“Yeah, that’s right, just two measly wins and he thinks he could forget the past, what kind of bullshit is Brother King thinking. Today, this Boss came to watch him get trashed!”
The crowd gradually formed two factions and the majority still didn’t believe that All-Mouthy King, a joke in their eyes, would be able to emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon. Those who were voting for him only did so due to the recent two wins.
At this moment, Laura was silently observing the broadcast through her Skylink instead of entering the OP System. Her fame as the Explosive Bear Goddess brought her unnecessary trouble.
Anlor and Arnold Teuton were currently training the newest batch of squad members. Although All-Mouthy King’s recent performance was quite impressive in both tactics and perception, as veterans with over one hundred battles under their belt, it didn’t interest them much. Their battle squadron, Mad Beast Battle Squadron, recently had two of their seniors with strong combat ability graduate. As such, they had to start screening the new members and choose promising talents to be their replacement.
Screening wasn’t Laura’s job. She poured herself a cup of coffee as she watched the broadcast projection. After all the contradictions that All-Mouthy King displayed during his previous fights, she felt that she had to watch this fight.
After a short while, Wang Zhong’s opponent appeared: Juan Oleg*Stogel Heroic Soul Academy. One battle, one victory.
Stogel was the number one city in the north of the new continent, where the climate was cold. Stogel Heroic Soul Academy possesses fierce and tenacious heavy-armored soldiers with strong wills in plentiful numbers. The key point, however, was this person’s surname. Oleg was the surname of a formidable clan of the human race that could be traced back to the hundred years stand the humans had gone through. They had the ability to transmit the power of the heroic soul through their bloodline, just like the Assassin clan in St. Mongul. When anyone spoke of heavy-armor soldiers, the Oleg clan would definitely be mentioned.
This two-meter-tall, fierce-looking warrior was indeed a new generation member of the Oleg clan.
“Oh my god, this bastard is built like a wild beast! Look at his chest; it’s as thick as the girth of my body!”
“Stogel City is surrounded by the bitter cold. No doubt, Brother King is gonna suffer this time! ”
The first two wins by All-Mouthy King involved some luck, coupled with a few strategies and the element of surprise. With a heavy soldier as his opponent, however, a single mistake could result in being physically crushed with his bones shattering.
Laura wryly smiled. As potential opponents, every single bit of information about the various academies and their new students were known to her. With regards to this Oleg, although he didn’t have much of a combat record in the OP System, he still would have received all kinds of combat training from a young age. This was the same with almost every single successor of a martial clan. The moment he ignited his soul fire, everything he achieved would only require half the effort. This was why martial clans were able to take over the world.
Although the perception and strategies employed by All-Mouthy King weren’t bad, facing such a monster that had an extra strong defense with his attacks would be almost useless!
Facing such odds, even the staunchest supporters of All-Mouthy King had given up hope. Unfortunately, the bets had already been placed, so there was no other option but to watch and pray.
As usual, Wang Zhong chose a random weapon; the stronger the opponent, the better the gains in soul power.
“This guy is too arrogant. Instead of choosing a long-ranged weapon that would give a sliver of victory, he chose a random weapon.”
“Stop joking, that’s only if he knows how to use a long-ranged weapon. There is no easy way to counter someone from the Oleg clan. They have confidence in facing any occupation. ”
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Chapter 17: Tyrannical Heavy Soldier
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
“Damn, I’m talking about his attitude problem!”
Some of the watchers had come for fun while others had already jumped on the bandwagon and started ridiculing.
When the random weapon selection finished, the entire crowd was blown away. The spectators that numbered over three hundred felt like they’d been cheated.
“This simply makes it hard to watch. He actually managed to get no weapons!”
“Even God can’t bear to keep watching. He’s in way over his head. I feel like Brother King’s ass will explode.”
“I can already imagine the scene where Brother King gets pummeled and crushed.”
When the results of random weapon selection were revealed, Juan wrinkled his brows, puzzled. Weapons were akin to a lifeline. They represented the path of combat one strove toward. In the Oleg clan’s mindset, there were only two kinds of people who were omnipotent in all weaponry; either a god or a dead man.
It was also possible that the opponent had some sort of trump card. Juan also never chose a weapon. Before a member of the Oleg clan ignites their Heroic Soul, none were allowed to use any weapon; this was a form of combat training as only with strong self-confidence can he cast the strongest Heroic Soul.
Yet, no one would dare to underestimate the combat strength of the Oleg clan as the clan was most notable for their strong and resilient bodies. Even the nimblest of assassins would face a horrible death if they tried to engage the Oleg clan in close combat.
Both sides entered the arena. It seemed that neither side could take advantage of the terrain as the chosen arena was just a flat plain.
Some people, who were exceptionally obsessive, had a moment where they felt pumped; instead of choosing an arena map with varying terrain like a forest, where one could flank if a frontal assault failed, this guy chose to fight head on. This was tantamount to suicide!
The combatants on both sides prepared to battle.
Juan stared at his opponent’s eyes, seeing a lack of fear within. Instead, he received an eager stare filled with confidence and anticipation.
Anticipation?
Juan crossed his hands at his chest, performing the northern warrior salute. He was showing respect to his opponent.
Whispers could be heard throughout the crowd; was he worth it? Although it was etiquette, usually this salute was reserved for the worthiest of opponents.
As an absolute bookworm who loved to read up on the customs and traditions of various cities, Wang Zhong understood the meaning behind the salute.
Wang Zhong crossed his hands and returned the salute with a slight twist; his thumbs were pointed toward one another, signaling his desire for an all-out, honorable fight.
Upon seeing the salute, Juan was shocked; a fearsome glint emanated from his eyes. This was interesting. Although he felt Wang Zhong wasn’t strong, he appreciated that fearlessness. After that salute, proper respect had to be given.
Dong…
Right when the fight began, Juan rushed forward. Although it was stereotypical for a person of such stature to use brute force, this rush emitted a crushing pressure; very different from a mindless brute.
Facing this charge, Wang Zhong stood his ground. An attack was only lethal if it struck its target.
Wang Zhong dodged Juan’s explosive punch. Although a heavy soldier had powerful explosive strength, their agility was lacking in comparison to other classes.
As he dodged the oncoming punch, Wang Zhong countered with a blow at a person’s weak spot—the liver. The physical defense of the liver was lower.
Upon impact, Wang Zhong felt an incredible resistance on his fist. Immediately, another fist was thrown at his head. If this attack hit, then his neck would definitely snap.
He immediately pulled back, exploding backward.
Instead of chasing after him, Juan stopped. He stared suspiciously at Wang Zhong and thought that this opponent of his was… too weak!
With a soul power of around 50, his attack would barely count as an itch. Even if he didn’t try to defend, he could effortlessly block hundreds of those attacks.
Did I make a mistake?
Whoosh whoosh.
Two depressions appeared on Wang Zhong’s head and body. Although he’d dodged the two attacks, the pressure from each fist was sufficient enough to cause bodily harm.
The crowd went into an uproar. Although the Oleg clan was known for their first class heavy techniques, this guy was so ferocious and overbearing!
Defence was the core of a heavy soldier. If they could exert control over their attacks as well, then they’d become the most reliable fighter in the arena.
Juan solemnly said, “If this is your standard, then you do not deserve my respect.” Northerners tended to be direct, especially those from Stoleg. They couldn’t tolerate show-offs.
Wang Zhong chuckled slightly and stretched his body. Such an abnormal defense was akin to fighting a beast. This would be interesting.
Whoosh.
Wang Zhong moved forward with a frontal assault. Juan wrinkled his brow. Is this guy digging his own grave?
Against his assault, Juan didn’t take any action. No matter how fast or agile the opponent was, an opportunity would present itself when the attack reached him. Countering before that would give the opponent a window to attack.
The goal of striking first was to force the opponent take action. Ordinarily, one would subconsciously try to defend when faced with an assault. Only a skilled warrior who received training would be able to patiently wait for an opportune moment.
Everyone in the crowd felt a sense of helplessness. The opponents were in entirely different realms. Right now, Juan was undoubtedly one of the most influential people. This fight meant little to him.
Wang Zhong, as the challenger, did not have the option of retreating, and thus could only initiate the fight. Upon seeing Wang Zhong move, Juan exploded with a roar, sending a fist forward. With his level of defence, he could completely ignore Wang Zhong’s attacks and end his life.
Wang Zhong’s attack was actually a feint used to draw out Juan’s attack. Twisting his body sideways, he prepared to unleash another strike at his weak spot. Facing an opponent with a strong body and high soul power, the only way to hurt him was to strike at a weak point like the liver, or the back of his head.
At this moment, Wang Zhong felt impending danger.
Roar~ Bang!
A wild collision!
Whoosh.
Wang Zhong flew back like a crushed ragdoll.
Everyone stared in horror. Damn, was this a heavy? There was basically no room given to survive! It was unexpected that Juan would also use a feint tactic like Wang Zhong did earlier. While his opponent was still reacting, Juan suddenly charged forward with a sudden burst of power and collided with Wang Zhong.
The strength of the collision was estimated to be around 150 grassos of power.
There was no doubt that all the bones in All-mouthy King had been shattered from that move.
Juan stood still, pondering over the fight. Had it been a minute yet?
Just when everyone felt the fight was over, Wang Zhong crawled up. He was a bit shocked. The Oleg clan’s battle abilities truly aren’t just empty boasts.
Unscathed?
Discussions about what had just happened began to circulate the crowd. No one could have survived such a violent collision, but from the looks of it, All-mouthy King looked just fine and was undamaged.
Juan also noticed this. When the collision occurred, it seemed fatal, but Wang Zhong managed to use an opposing force to mitigate the damage. The reaction speed and skill required to escape such a situation was remarkable. This was akin to the combat sense of a first-rate assassin.
Juan realized that he couldn’t be complacent any longer. It was fortunate that his opponent wasn’t using any weapon. If he faced an assassin of such caliber, along with that agility and fearlessness, then the entire close combat fight would’ve become his worst nightmare.