Sebastian dismissed the mirror. It dissolved into a fine mist that cooled the air.
He walked over to the fallen "genius." He crouched down. His mask staring impassively at the groaning, ruined mess of a student.
"Lesson one," Sebastian whispered. Loud enough for the terrified crowd to hear. "Fire burns. Don't play with it if you can't handle the heat."
He stood up. Walked away. His black robes billowing in the wind. The crowd parted for him like the Red Sea. Their eyes filled with a mixture of terror and awe. Valerie watched him go. A shiver running down her spine. She realized then that Sebastian wasn't acting. Wasn't pretending to be a monster to scare them.
He was simply showing them what he was.
Night fell over Arcanum. Bathing the white city in the soft, silver glow of the game's artificial moon. The streets were empty. Save for the occasional patrol of clockwork golems.
Sebastian stood before the heavy iron doors of the Forbidden Library.
This was why he was here. The duel with Drake was a distraction. A way to establish dominance. Secure his cover. This though... this was the harvest.
The Library was a fortress of knowledge. Guarded by Level 50 Elite constructs. Wards that could vaporize an intruder instantly. Sebastian had the key though. He held up his Auditor's badge. The runes on the door flared blue. Verifying his access level.
Click-thoom.
The doors groaned open.
The smell of old parchment. Dust. Concentrated mana washed over him. The library was vast. A cathedral of books with shelves that stretched up into the darkness. Spiraling like the DNA of a god. Floating orbs of light drifted lazily through the air. Illuminating titles that would make a normal player drool.
[The Art of Destruction]
[Theory of Soul Binding]
[Advanced Spatial Mechanics]
Sebastian didn't waste time reading. Didn't need to.
"System," he whispered. "Scan mode."
He walked to the nearest shelf. Labeled Chronomancy. This was a restricted school of magic. Banned in most kingdoms due to its instability. He ran his hand along the spines of the books. He didn't pull them out. Just touched them.
[Detected Skill Book: Time Dilution.]
[Learn?]
"Yes."
[Ding! Skill Learned: Time Dilution (Tier 1).]
He kept walking. His fingers trailing over leather and dragon-hide bindings.
[Ding! Skill Learned: Haste.]
[Ding! Skill Learned: Slow.]
[Ding! Skill Learned: Stasis.]
He reached the end of the row. He opened his interface.
[Skill Tree: Chronomancy unlocked.]
[Available SP: ∞]
"Evolution," Sebastian commanded.
He dumped points into the tree. The basic spells merged. Twisted. Evolved. The text on his retina blurred. Scrolling faster than the human eye could follow. Time Dilution became Temporal Shift. Stasis became Time Stop.
[Ding! Evolution Complete.]
[New Skill: Chrono-Stasis (Forbidden Tier).]
[Effect: Halts the flow of time in a 10-meter radius for 1 second. During this second, the user can move freely. To the outside world, the user moves instantaneously.]
"One second," Sebastian murmured. Testing the concept in his mind. "In a fight between gods, one second is an eternity."
He moved to the next section. Necromancy.
This was the dark stuff. The books here were bound in skin that felt greasy to the touch. Some of them whispered when he got close. He touched a black tome that seemed to be bleeding shadows.
[Detected Skill Book: Soul Harvest.]
[Learn?]
"Yes."
He poured points into it. The skill evolved. Shedding its limitations.
[New Skill: Soul Reaping (Divine Tier).]
[Effect: Allows the user to rip the soul directly from a target below 20% HP. The soul is consumed to restore 100% Mana and Health instantly. Can be stored in the Grimoire of Souls.]
He felt a chill run through his real-world body. A phantom sensation of cold fingers touching his heart. This was dangerous magic. It stained the user's Karma. Sebastian's Karma was already pitch black though. He didn't care about morality. He cared about efficiency.
He moved to Aeromancy and Spatial Theory. He needed mobility. Needed to be untouchable.
[New Skill: Heavenly Steps (Tier 5).]
[Effect: A fusion of Flight and Teleportation. The user steps on the fabric of space itself. Movement is instant, leaving behind a spatial afterimage that explodes on contact.]
He spent hours in the library. A ghost consuming the wisdom of centuries. He stripped the shelves bare of their secrets. He learned Alchemy recipes lost to time. Learned Engineering blueprints for siege golems. Learned the anatomy of dragons. The weaknesses of demons.
His head began to throb. The sheer volume of information being uploaded to his brain was staggering. His neural link was straining.
"Enough," Sebastian gasped. Leaning against a bookshelf to steady himself. "Any more and I'll stroke out."
He turned to leave. As he walked toward the exit though, he stopped.
His [Eye of the Void God], which was always passively active, pulsed. A red warning reticle appeared in his vision. Highlighting the floor beneath his feet.
There was something below.
Not a basement. Deeper.
He knelt. Placing his hand on the cold stone floor. He sent a pulse of mana downwards. Using [Mana Sight] to map the subterranean structure.
The mana bounced back. Distorted. It wasn't rock down there. It was... flesh? No. Not flesh. It was a dense, writhing mass of corrupted energy that felt familiar. It felt like the hunger he'd sensed in the Wailing Woods. Amplified a thousand times though.
It smelled of rot. It smelled of the Void.
"The Academy is built on a leyline," Sebastian whispered. His eyes narrowing behind the mask. "But something is drinking from it."
He stood up. The Tournament wasn't just a competition. It was a dinner bell. Whatever was down there was waiting to be fed.
The Headmaster's office was located at the apex of the central spire. A room of glass and gold. Offering a panoramic view of the entire capital. The atmosphere inside was anything but majestic though.
Headmaster Eldric, a Level 90 Sage with a beard like spun silver, looked tired. He sat behind his desk. Rubbing his temples.