Only three days remained until the Nexus event would start. After the library session, where Magnus had told Atticus about the superior races and their power, Atticus hadn't shown himself to the outside world again for a long period.
Magnus had done exactly what he said he would do, drilling every single detail into Atticus for two days straight without any break or rest.
It wasn't only about telling him the weaknesses of the superior races; he also had to teach him much more. Their training moved into the advanced training room, where Atticus had to participate in numerous mock battles.
This was the first time Atticus had ever been to this particular advanced training room. He was accustomed to the common training room for the Ravenstein family and had never seen the need to ask for any other. But Magnus had taken him to his personal advanced training room. The training room of a paragon.
Just stepping into the room, Atticus could feel how much more advanced and powerful it was. Even at full power, he couldn't crack these walls.
But the highlight of the training room was not just its strength and durability. Ever since Atticus had started using the common advanced training room, he had never seen options as varied as what he found in this new one.
Even battling with the data on the other tier one families had been impossible before, but in this new training room, Atticus had access to something even more impossible— data on the other races, including the superior races.
This changed everything.
Magnus immediately got to work, choosing data from one of the superior races. Of course, it wasn't perfect, and many of the abilities of the superior races couldn't be completely replicated, but it was still something. The mock battles began, and Atticus fought again and again.
It went without saying that it was hard. The weaknesses were apparent, but exploiting them was an entirely different matter. It required split second timing to achieve the desired result. And not only that, he had to risk his life for some. Of course with Magnus present and the training room feature, Atticus was more than safe here. However during actual battle, it would be different.
Two days went by quickly, and life in Sector 3— and the human domain in general— continued without any major events. The Obsidian Order hadn't reappeared since the war, and everything was slowly returning to normal.
The Stellaris family maintained their silence, closing off all their doors. This left the tier two families of Sector 5 with a lot of free reign over the sector, though they knew better than to overstep their bounds.
Despite this peacful atmosphere, there was a sense of anticipation and at the same time dread in the air. Every single citizen and tiered of the human domain were excited.
After training nonstop for two days, Magnus finally let Atticus rest, but only when he was certain he had trained Atticus enough.
"We'll stop here for now. You need to go rest, but replay everything you learned here in your head, even as you sleep. Never forget."
Atticus tiredly nodded his head. He could see Magnus's mouth moving, but nothing was registering.
He just kept nodding.
Seeing this, Magnus smiled faintly. "Alright. You can leave."
That, Atticus heard loud and clear. Minutes later, he reached his room and buried his head in his pillow.
Hours passed, and Atticus woke up with a loud stretch and yawn.
Turning to his side, he was suddenly startled to see Arya standing beside his bed with an expressionless face.
"What the hell…"
"You're finally awake, Master!"
Atticus turned to his right and saw Yotad standing there with a happy look on his face. But that wasn't all. Atticus sighed, "You too?"
Turning in front of him, he saw Dario standing there, bowing.
"Young master."
Atticus slumped back against the bed with a deep exhale. He couldn't deal with this right now.
"It's tomorrow. Are you ready?"
Atticus's eyes snapped open. He didn't wanted to think about it and was hoping to enjoy his day. But Arya had hit home.
He turned toward Arya, and she met his gaze without looking away, her expression unchanged. The mood in the room suddenly shifted, becoming heavy.
Atticus chuckled, "If only I could have one more year."
He joked, but no one was laughing. Yotad and Dario couldn't help but stare at Arya, puzzled by her behavior. Since they'd met her, she had always been respectful to Atticus, but this was the first time she was being this… intense.
"You should not participate."
Atticus narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Arya. It was unusual for her to say things like this.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, regaining her senses, and bowed. "I apologize for my rudeness, young master."
Atticus smiled. "It's fine. I understand how you feel. I need some time alone now. Could you all excuse me?"
Despite wanting to protest, Yotad, along with Dario and Arya, bowed before leaving the room.
"Damn…"
Atticus slumped back on the bed once more, taking deep breaths. 'It's tomorrow…'
This was all that occupied his mind. Considering what he had heard from Ae'ark, it was clear that Magnus, along with the other Paragons, was unaware of the death sentence the Nexus event represented.
He could tell Magnus everything, but he knew Magnus would immediately pull him out and not allow him to participate.
Despite how crazy it sounded, Atticus inwardly wanted the deadly game to proceed. It was a chance to end everything once and for all.
'Something or someone is influencing our emotions.'
Back when he had first met Ae'ark, Atticus had felt an insane amount of hatred for him. It was unusual and unnatural, almost as if his main purpose was to kill him.
'Since then, I can still feel something pulling me toward them.'
It felt as if he should drop everything and hunt them down. Atticus was certain the other Apexes felt this as well. This feeling was why he also agreed with the idea of one massive battle royale to settle things.
'I wonder what the theme will be.'
It could range from 1v1 to a battle royale. He wasn't entirely sure, and Magnus had explained that it would be revealed at the event.
Getting out of bed, Atticus freshened up and headed out of his room, only to encounter two utterly unexpected figures.
One was Magnus, and the more surprising figure was Oberon Enigmalnk.
Arya, Dario, and Yotad were already kneeling in respect, and Atticus bowed respectfully. "Paragon Oberon."
Oberon smiled. "It's always a pleasure, child. You've certainly been busy."
Atticus felt Oberon probing his body, observing him closely. It felt as if Oberon could see everything, and Atticus couldn't hide anything from him. Considering Magnus was there, Atticus made no attempt to resist.
After a moment, Oberon turned toward Magnus, shaking his head. "I can't sense anything. It seems nothing was done to him, or my senses aren't sharp enough."
Magnus nodded. He wanted to be absolutely certain before the competition.
"Now, for your end of the bargain."
Magnus stared at Oberon for a moment before turning to Atticus. "He requested an audience with you. Are you okay with that?"
Atticus looked at Oberon, narrowing his eyes. 'Why would he want to see me?' he pondered.
"As long as I'm safe."
Oberon smiled. "I mean no harm, child, and it shouldn't take long, considering how quickly you learn."
Eventually, Atticus agreed, and Magnus left the two of them alone in one of the estate's advanced training rooms.
"Fascinating, very fascinating," Oberon observed Atticus closely. "Your rank shows you're at the Master rank, but your mana feels… special. You're stronger, incredibly so. How is this possible?"
Atticus said nothing, allowing Oberon to ponder.
"May I see your mana?"
Atticus stretched out his palm, forming a ball of mana.
"Amazing…"
Oberon observed the ball closely for nearly a minute before pulling back and suddenly producing an engraver and slate from his space storage.
"Here, engrave a rune. Any grade."
Atticus hesitated but took the engraver. As he focused, a crimson glow appeared on its tip, prompting Oberon to watch closely.
Atticus engraved the word shield on the slate, which glowed a bright crimson. Oberon took it, tapped it, and it broke into motes of light.
"Hmm. It's stronger than any grade-one rune. Interesting. It looks like not only is your mana special, but your will is as well."
Oberon stared at Atticus for a while, making him feel uncomfortable.
'What's his deal?' Oberon had been acting strangely since they were left alone. Atticus couldn't understand what he wanted.
Oberon suddenly smiled. "I heard about your fusion with your domain and the exhaustion afterward. Clearly, it requires a lot of energy. Have you tried engraving a grade-three rune yet?"
Atticus's eyes widened. Oberon was right. Why hadn't he thought of that before?
His will was already high enough; engraving grade-three runes should be possible now! Almost anything was possible with runes involved.
"Your expression answers my question. Now, listen carefully to what I'm about to teach you. It will be crucial."