I pulled up my status screen, eyes scanning the notifications.
[Skill Acquired]
[Spatial Shield - Level 1]
[Spatial Shield – A defensive skill that compresses space, creating a barrier that distorts and neutralizes incoming force.]
[Skill Level Up!]
[Essence Engine Level 3 → Level 4]
I smiled when I saw the description of the new skill. A defensive skill. Finally.
I raised my right hand and activated it, curious to test it for real.
The Essence flowing through my body responded instantly, rushing out of my palm. The space just in front of it shimmered like heat waves on a summer road. I felt something click—a connection between my Essence and the world around me.
I clenched my fingers and pushed more Essence forward. The shimmering space compressed and folded on itself. I felt pressure in my head, a mild strain from manipulating space, but it wasn't too much. I could handle it. So I tried another compression. The space thickened a little more, pushing back with a quiet resistance.
That was as far as I could take it . I exhaled slowly and dispersed the Essence, letting the space return to normal.
"That went better than I thought," I muttered, shaking my hand once.
Honestly, I hadn't expected to gain much out of all the time spent inside that training zone but getting a defensive skill like this? That felt like a win.
Deciding I was done here, I turned around and began sprinting toward the edge of the zone. My steps felt lighter than before. A lot had changed in just a short time.
I crossed the boundary and finally stopped running. I glanced around and saw a crumbled wall nearby. I walked over and sat down, pulling out a food pack from my storage.
As I ate, I thought about everything I'd gained since coming here.
I upgraded my talent.
I reached level 43.
Unlocked the skill Essence Engine.
Advanced my passive ability to its next stage.
Refined my control over Essence and even shaped it more precisely during combat.
And now, a new skill, Spatial Shield, to defend myself.
I leaned back, chewing slowly, letting the wind hit my face. My mind drifted to what came next: the Ferans Mission.
I felt ready.
Level 43.
Strong enough to take on someone at level 55 without hesitation and if I really pushed it, I might even survive against a 60.
But no matter how confident I was, the mission still came with risk.
I finished eating and pulled out my communicator. First, I tried calling Steve. No answer. Then North. Same result.
It was the second day in a row I hadn't heard from either of them.
A strange unease settled in my chest as I stood and jumped down from the wall. I looked around, wondering where Arkas was. He should've been here by now.
"Let's go."
The voice came from behind me, calm but sharp. I spun around—and froze.
It was Arkas.
But he wasn't the same as before.
His clothes were torn. His right sleeve was missing, and his arm was cut up, blood dripping from open wounds. His face was bruised, and his eyes, his eyes were darker than usual, filled with rage.
"Commander, what happened?" I asked, stunned.
He didn't answer. He just stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.
The world around me blurred. I heard crackling—lightning—and felt the familiar pull of flight. We were moving fast. Too fast for me to ask anything more.
Then we stopped.
We were back at the checkpoint, the one I'd entered from days ago. But Arkas didn't slow down. He marched straight toward the teleportation chamber.
Soldiers saluted him as we passed, but he didn't respond. Not a nod. Not a word.
I glanced at their faces some looked angry, others hollow and shaken.
Something was wrong. Deeply wrong.
My gut twisted.
We entered the teleportation room and stepped onto the circle. He activated it without pause.
The world went dark for a second and then we arrived inside the PCB mission hall.
But he didn't stop there. Arkas activated the next teleport immediately.
This time, the darkness lasted longer.
When my vision cleared again, we were somewhere unfamiliar.
A wide, open platform. Nothing but sky and a few soldiers shouting orders. Some were running. Some looked hurt. Everyone moved like time was running out.
Arkas didn't say a word. He touched my shoulder again, and we lifted off the ground, flying high.
As we soared, I looked down, trying to understand where we were.
And then I saw it.
Far off in the distance—Mount Freeza.
The tallest peak in the entire Empire.
I couldn't mistake it. No one could.
And that meant only one thing.
"I'm in the Eastern Continent," I whispered.
But what caught my attention wasn't the mountain.
It was what I saw beneath us.
My eyes widened.
Carnage.
The ground was littered with bodies.
Blood stained the earth.
Young soldiers… in Elite Unit uniforms… like mine.
People my age.
Dead.
Slaughtered.
Arkas finally spoke.
"This was Elite Unit 77. They were attacked last night by a group of Abominations, led by a Grandmaster-ranked Phantom."
I stood in silence, listening. A Phantom of that rank... on a world like Vaythos, that was catastrophic. Grandmasters weren't just powerful, they were calculated, nearly unstoppable if not handled right.
Arkas continued.
"Someone from the inside helped them gain entry. Only nine students survived. Everyone else was killed."
He went quiet after that, letting the words sink in.
I looked down at the bodies again. Some were missing their heads. Others were torn apart so badly I couldn't even tell what they looked like.
My fists clenched at my sides. A cold thought crossed my mind, if it had been my unit instead, I could've been one of those bodies.
They hadn't even been part of the Elite Unit for two full months. And now, nearly all of them were gone.
Arkas spoke again, his voice quieter this time.
"We still don't know the reason behind the attack. But they came prepared. The entire area was sealed off. No signals got through. It was the unit commander who broke the seal, sacrificing himself just to get a message out. That's how we managed to locate them and engage the Phantom."
I turned my head and looked at him.
"Did you catch them?"
Arkas met my eyes.
"We killed the Abominations. But the Phantom escaped."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Was it really that strong?"
He shook his head.
"No. But it came prepared. It knew what it was doing. It slipped away before we could close in. But it's still in our world. Somewhere."
My jaw tightened as I asked through clenched teeth,
"Who was the traitor?"
Arkas stayed silent for a few seconds before finally answering.
"We don't know yet. The Empire is on high alert. This is the third Elite Unit we've lost to an attack like this. The last time something similar happened was almost eight years ago… so the public is furious. There's a lot of pressure right now."
He turned to face me then, his expression grave.
"Billion, I believe the Holts were involved.
But we don't have any proof yet, so there's not much we can do, at least not directly. Still….the sudden strike on this unit, along with several other suspicious activities, all seem connected to the captured Ferans. Your mission is becoming more and more critical. I hope you understand that."
I nodded slowly, taking it all in.
He added, "Anyway, I brought you here because your grandmother is the one leading the investigation. You can go see her. We'll be leaving shortly."