Mission

"A kid?" The man in the helm of the three people said.

He is an old man, with a monocle. He has facial hair that is silver in color, and he has an arrogant air around him. On his right is a girl, about twenty-three of age, and on left, is a man who has a great sword hung on his back.

Vin then looked at the people before him. They were basically outnumbered. If a fight broke out, it is a given that his two companions, who are out of mana, die before his eyes.

"I've got enough trauma for today." Vin sighed to himself.

In a blink of an eye, his two companions vanished, not a trace of them was seen. No mana fluctuations, no signatures, and even the mana balls Yano procured, disappeared. Just a boy alone, in face of seven monsters.

"Sharp kid." When the man said that, four more figures were sent out of a shadow. They were all wearing hoods and masks, so their facial features are unknown. They all held daggers on their hands, and their eyes are filled with bloodlust, like true assassins.

"Is your vocabulary that poor that you have to say kid twice?" Vin purred. He then grinned and looked at the man.

"A kid will be a kid. Vocabulary does not matter. Do not worry, after this day, you would not even hear a word from me." The man smirked.

"That sounds fun!" Vin laughed off. He then pulled the two daggers he have. One of them is white, and the other is black. He then positioned himself as if he is about to launch himself towards the enemies.

The man then snapped his fingers and the four assassins jumped in synch. They came from four directions, and all of them are working with each other.

One of the assassins aimed for Vin's head. He then dodged it to the side, but a slash was coming down from that angle. He then spun himself to avoid the slash and parried the other blade, but another assassin thrusted his dagger towards the back of Vin. Vin then gripped his other hand and hacked it down towards the blade.

The attacks did not stop there. The other one then slid in the ground and vanished, but the vanishing this time is not like how Yano and Zeke. The other three vanished too, and the four who dealt with Yano and Zeke earlier joined the fray.

A whip came rushing over, and Vin did not even have time to react. A large gash was seen on his chest, and a blood trickled down from it. While he was being sent away, a huge bear suddenly leapt up and went to the place he was sent.

Vin was still on the air, but his eyes are all over the place. He then cramped his fist, and then he gathered mana in it. He punched the air and his direction changed.

[Mana Propulsion Skill Unlocked]

[Store mana in a certain point, and release it to have a boost in speed. Can be used to change directions and come to an abrupt stop.]

[You have unlocked a Junction.]

[Routes have been opened.]

[Core Node Activated.]

When the series of notifications sounded, a muffled sound was heard. After that sound...

-Is carnage.

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"I am here again?" Vin said.

"That was too soon. But anyways, you are here." Avalon also said.

"Wait, am I in danger?" Vin asked.

"Relax. You are far from it." Avalon then said.

"You unlocked the Core Node. This is the place where all the other nodes connect to each other. Nice going. Good grief, I thought I will wait for more days. Anyways, after you come out, do not go fighting others. Or something bad might happen. Got it?" Avalon continued his monologue.

"Got it."

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"I will give you five minutes to surrender. Or else, I will dispose of you all." The boy, who just went calm, began to pour out large chunks of mana. His gray hair started to stand up, and his eyes were like two pearls, no pupils could be seen nor irises.

Ten people, all kneeling before him. Some were still coughing, and others are unconscious. Their bodies are almost tattered and bruised.

"Kid, I must admit that you are strong." The old man with a monocle then started to walk towards him. He was clapping his hands in synch to his steps.

"I hope you can entertain me more." With a strong clap, almost a hundred magical circles opened. A moment later, the circles became gates, and chariots and giants came out of the gates.

"Lunatic." "Vin" said.

He then grabbed his two daggers and they became swords. One is as dark as the night, and the other, is as bright as a star. He poured his mana on to the swords and they glowed until they reached saturation.

*Snap*

The sound was heard, and "Vin" launched himself towards them.

He grabbed his sword, swung it in a full counterclockwise, and a giant's head came rolling down.

A cannon was fired but he jumped up, flipped and threw his sword towards the chariot that fired.

He then connected a mana string to the blade, and when it managed to land a hit on the chariot, he pulled himself and pulled the string.

He then spun around, and then a whole arc of an army was lost.

He grabbed his other sword, the connected another mana string to it.

He then used the string to control the swords and waved them to fend of the attacks and attack at the same time.

"Woah. That was a shocker. Such a shame that you will die today. Having you in my team would be a good thing, but I do not believe that you are the only genius in this time." The man said.

"No need to worry, I will turn you all to powder today." Vin then smirked.

He pulled the two strings and then he pulled back his hands upward and then he slashed it down.

The swords created a semicircle arc and then it coiled down and cleared a portion of the attacking people. Blood rained down and limbs got amputated.

Vin then pulled the strings and the swords came to his hand. The swords then turned into daggers, and then he threw it out again.

The two daggers hit two chariots, so he pulled himself and launched towards the army.

He pulled one blade, adjusted its the size of the string, and then he stabbed all the enemies in his way.

Some of them was stabbed on the throat, some are on the chest. The gore did not stop there.

The arduous battle is just one sided, but Vin still managed to have some more injuries. His clothes were tattered, and his body is sore from all the fights.

But hope is still in his hands.

The five minute countdown he made is closing in. He then withdrew a bit and then he stood far from the raging army.

"Hey old man. Sorry but you won't get me today." He then jumped away, and a magic circle appeared above the rampage.

"Kid, you won't escape from me." The man flew as fast as he could, but then he saw Vin stop.

"Too late." Balls of light and darkness then rained down. It bombarded all the things below it. The man then clicked his tongue as he dodged every single one.

Frustration can be seen on his face, but he cannot do anything for his pride is trampled over today. A teenager just made him lose face.

"Remember this kid, if I ever got to see you again, I will smash that onto the floor til everyone can't even recognize you. Believe me, I will do it." The man roared furiously.

"Til next time, old man." And he vanished without trace.

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"That was epic." Vin the. Reverted to his old self.

"I owe you one." He said and he tapped his chest, it is where the soul they captured lies.

"I just borrowed your body. It is not that hard controlling it." What the soul said was true.

When it detected that Vin was in danger, it acted on its own and took over his body.

"Master, we are here." A soft voice came, and Vin looked at the gate of the academy.

When they vanished earlier, Vin teleported them near the gates, and so they had been waiting here since then.

Vin walked over and patted both of their shoulders. He then smiled to them and walked towards the academy.

"It is really intriguing how you managed to escape from a Calf Rank, while you yourself is far away from that level." Yano laughed while they were walking.

"Calf Rank? What's that?" Vin inquired.

"Those are just ranks made to differentiate them. Do not worry, Sir, we are Calf Ranks too. We can stand toe to toe against him. We are just exhausted and our mana is depleted." Zeke explained.

"How can I be a Calf Rank?" Vin asked again.

The two looked at each other and laughed. They then shook their heads and then looked at him.

"To be a Calf Rank, you need to have a tenth manifestation. In short, they are what you call Supremes in this world." Zeke then told him.  

Vin then stopped. He looked at the two and his eyes were filled with questions. It was then Yano walked up to him and fondled his head.

"Yes, Sir. We are at the same level as your father." After saying that, the atmosphere grew solemn.

Tears began to pour down Vin's face and he bit his lower lip hard. Sobbing noises was then heard as the clouds grouped up and a lightning stroke. The thunder boomed and rain fell down, in sync with the tears he was shedding.

"I remember the time when I used to cry like you. It is like crying would not solve the problem, but yeah, it is more important to let it out." Yano then made him sit on a ledge. He and Zeke then sat on his two sides.

"Crying is for the week, and while crying, you always realize that you can not do or change anything. But it does not matter how you cried. What matters is what you do after you cry." Zeke also pitched in.

In that moment, the tapping of the rain, the sobs and water gushing from the gutters are the only sounds that could be heard.

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"Good morning guys." A weak but authoritative voice was heard inside the room.

When the voice was heard, all eighteen people looked towards him and they all smiled. Their eyes were filled with respect towards the person standing on the door.

"Welcome back, Captain." Two people hugged him and the others also ran towards him.

"Wait wait wait. You are heavy, Ven." And then the three fell down.

When they managed to sit down, tears also welled up. The two did not even tried to hide their tears.

"Sorry, I can't save them." Vin muttered.

"We can't." Riku also sat beside the trio, and everyone else followed.

"I'm sorry." Zaine was the last one who sat. She put her head on Vin's shoulder and said.

Vin shook his head and smiled at her. He then caressed his two siblings and looked outside the window.

"We were powerless." He stopped for a moment and then breathed out.

"Let us etch this loss to our minds. Let us not forget the pain and the frustrations." He said.

"At least at that point, you won over us. We defeated that tyrant almost a decade ago, but we do not have that mindset like yours." Jay walked in together with the other three.

"Brother!" Theo stood up and greeted his brother. They then looked at each other before Zeke and Yano got in.

All of them stood up as soon as the two stopped walking. The atmosphere became light and they all smiled at each other.

Vin then walked towards towards the front, and looked at everyone. His eyes were a bit wet, seeing the people in front of him still stood by his side.

"Seriously, you guys, you are all family to me." He sighed and shook his head.

"I do not want to lose anybody again." He stated.

"Let us be the better versions of ourselves." He voiced with authority. All of them then smiled and their hopes are rekindled.

"To do that, you all need to train." Yano jumped in.

He then produced a mana hologram and a certain badge is on it.

"This is the Glorious Annual Tournament. It happens at the Central every year." Yano then said.

"Central?" Titus asked. "As far as I know, there are no such place as Central in this planet." He joked.

"Of course. It is not on this planet." He then tapped the mana screen and it made a big map. A map of many systems and celestial bodies.

"This is the Central." He pointed towards the biggest system on the middle of the map.

"To be able to achieve your goals, you have to win the tournament. And Calf Ranks are among the participants." Yano smiled.

"Training sessions starts now." Zeke then grinned.