"Follow me, children."
The district's Chief Cleanser - making a reappearance after no mention of him during the Tournament - was now leading Cane and the rest of the qualifiers down a tunnel, below the Cleanser Headquarters.
Now that the Tournament was over, Cane was quickly informed that everyone who'd been considered eligible to participate in the Tournament (and prior Monster Gauntlet) would be getting a reward, and the only difference each candidate's ranking during the Tournament made was the level of reward you could receive.
To Cane, it reminded him of those cheesy lines in adventureslop stories, something like "It's not about the journey, it's about the destination.", or "The treasures you find along the way are your real friends.".
Cane frowned for a moment.
Or was that the other way around??
Regardless, the idea was still there, probably.
Clanng!!
Cane was knocked out of his reverie as a gigantic steel door automatically swung open. Behind the door was another, and with a loud whirr, the new door rolled into a gap the wall, revealing another door behind.
Cane raised an eyebrow. Hmm?
Vvvmm...
This time, it lifted up like a sliding door, revealing a final, simple wooden door. The old Chief went up to the door with a row of keys. He first unlocked a latch, before unlatching a lock. Finally, the door's actual lock was left, to which the old Chief put away his keys and took out a lockpicking set instead.
Tak. Tick. Click.
Cane first looked to his right, then his left. From fact that no one had any changes to their faces other than their original solemnity, he realised no one else was finding the situation ridiculous...
Since everyone else's faces are the same, I guess I'll just pretend to be the same as well?
Click!
The door's lock was finally picked, and with a mysterious creak, a vault appeared in the centre of the room. The Chief Cleanser then grabbed the vault door with one hand and ripped it off the hinges, revealing a pile of crystals.
F*ck, finally these sequence of events are over.
...
zzz... z... z...
Snort!
"Ehh, looks like those kids are finally done with their little competitions." The Wanderer peered at the prodigies who'd just followed the Chief Cleanser into a hole in the ground. Seeing this, The Wanderer couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Damn, it really took a long time for that tournament arc to be over. But finally..." A grin appeared on his face. "Finally I can give my own special reward to everyone as well. Originally, these kids might've gotten their reward before being put into a exclusive training program."
But now...
Turning invisible, he quickly caught up with the group and walked along with them. He watched and waited as the several doors opened, he grinned at the complex vault system, he waited for both pov's to catch up to the same moment in time so that there were no reader difficulties.
Then, he finally saw what the vault was hiding. Those crystals...
The Wanderer raised one eyebrow. The culmination of a Master's power? He decided to wait for the old Chief Cleanser to drop an info dump instead of search for the answer himself.
After all, The Wanderer wasn't here to be a detective. No, he was here to be a... chauffeur of sorts.
"This... is the legacy of the City, and the highest reward I can give to the top qualifiers."
Ehh? Did that old guy just wink at my MC?
"Well, to be specific, this pile of crystals here is our district's legacy. What I mean is the concept of these crystals itself - that is our City's legacy." The Chief began to explain to the prodigies (and an uninvited guest) what they were looking at.
"Some of you may know that higher-ranked awakeners are able to stimulate a lower-ranked awakener into getting stronger, right? Well, this is the truth of it right here. One may consume a crystal to gain the EXP required to rank up. Only a Master ranked awakener can condense these crystals, and only once in their life. We expect each of you to make your contributions to our stock when you all reach the rank of Master."
The Wanderer frowned for a moment. He did know about forced awakenings, but since when had he known? He tried to rack his memory for a time when he learnt about them, only to end up blanking.
Strange, when did we ever find out about forced awakenings?
He looked up in thought, only to discover the words "chapter 4" etched into the stone roof of the tunnel. As he was about to look closer, the old Chief began talking once more.
"Now, some of you may be wondering why we don't use these crystals all the time, in order to boost the strength of everyone in our district? Or perhaps, why do some of The Echelons stay as unawakened individuals? Well, that's where the second thing about these crystals come in."
The old Chief paused, and smiled wryly.
"It really hurts. As in, forced awakenings are so painful that one will go unconscious within a few seconds of feeling it, only to wake up hours later and feel the pain gradually leave. Of course, after waking, you'll still hurt immensely, just not enough to get knocked out from."
Huh?
Meanwhile, Cane's pupils suddenly narrowed, and he thought back to that mysteriously cloaked figure. The one who he subconsciously tried to imitate, the one who started him on his path.
And then he thought of those glowing books that the man had shoved into his chest at the time.
F*ck, don't tell me that was a forced awakening? Or, a forced skill gain? It hurt so f*cking much as well!!!
Cane began having second thoughts about his so-called "reward". None of the other prodigies knew what it was like, but he definitely did! And Cane was NOT interested in feeling that kind of pain again.
But it was too late to say anything, for the Chief had come out from the room once more, holding many bouquets of flowers.
"All those who were eligible for the Monster Gauntlet will receive one Spirit Flower. All those who surpassed the 8th round will receive another. These can give you 10% of the EXP you need to rank up."
Like magic, the flowers flew into the air and each made its way into the arms of the participants. Meanwhile, the Chief entered into the room again, coming out with a sack. He reached in and took out a badge, looking like a solid circle of red light.
"These badges allow you to unleash an attack at the level of an Apprentice Master, once a week. Of course, this is contingent on the wearer to constantly supply power to it, so it's more like once a month. For all those who surpassed the 9th round will get one."
With a whoosh, a few of the badges flew out from the bag and went to their respective owners. Cane studied his badge for a moment, before shrugging and attaching it to his shirt.
"Finally... Cane, cough, here's your reward. One Awakening Crystal." The old Chief felt a bit guilty about the pain that Cane would soon experience, but what could he do?
Wait!
The Chief hurriedly looked up and cried out, "Don't eat it yet! You still have more rewards to receive!"
The crystal - halfway in Cane's mouth - was quickly spat out back onto his hand, to which Cane hastily wiped with his shirt. Oops.
Although the group was underground, the sounds of crickets chirping could somehow be heard.
The old Chief coughed a few times before continuing to distribute the rewards. Meanwhile, The Wanderer quickly put away the speaker he'd brought out.
"Defensive cloaks for all Tournament qualifiers. For those who won the first round, military gauntlets and boots. For those who won the second round, military chest and leg plates. And for the final winner..."
The Chief Cleanser turned his way toward Cane.
"You will be receiving the Mask of Truth. It's one of our best perception devices on the market. Whether it's Heat-Gradient Vision, Night Vision, Dynamic Vision, Microscopic Vision or others, it can do the job. Furthermore, the defensive capabilities of this mask isn't low!"
From within the his jacket, the old Chief took out a gray mask with spiral patterns at the forehead. With a flick of his hand, it spun toward Cane like a frisbee. Just as he was about to catch it, the mask seemed to adjust itself in the air - seamlessly attaching itself to his face.
The Wanderer - who'd been on the verge of falling asleep - quickly shook himself awake as he discovered the reward allocations were finally done.
Hehehe... is it time for me to give MY reward?
Watching the bunch of prodigies putting on their new equipment without preamble, the Chief Cleanser nodded. This new generation of Cleansers would definitely go far, especially with Cane at the forefront.
The Chief began to walk past the group, ready to leave the tunnel. As he made his way through the prodigies, his head suddenly fell off, leaving blood spurting out like a fountain.
WHAT THE F*CK??
Cane's pupils narrowed. First, he activated his Mask of Truth, using the mask's multiple vision modes to search for the enemy attacker. Second, he activated Hidden Strength and Divine Treasure Eyes.
But all he could see was the group of prodigies. They'd been bunched together too close for him to distinguish who the attacker could be!
Wait a second... do we have an extra person with us??
Cane had never been a good counter, so he'd previously brushed off the people count within the group. After all, an extra person in a group of almost 20 people was difficult to distinguish either way. But now that he noticed that extra, invisible person, there was no way for him to unsee it.
Cane urgently pointed in the direction of the invisible attacker.
"There, he-!"
Cane got cut short as his arm was grabbed by the attacker - a steel, vice-like grip that sent pain travelling up his bones. Then, the man's other hand grabbed Cane's Awakening Crystal.
And shoved it into his chest, thus starting Cane's forced awakening process.
"AAARGHHH!!!"
Cane instantly collapsed to the floor, curling like a shrimp and constantly spasming, twitching. The other prodigies all backed away at the sight, though Cane's friends came forward instead.
The Wanderer then knocked Cassidy and James out. Seeing this, Rake turned, picked up another prodigy, and threw him in the general direction of the attacker!
Fwap.
The thrown prodigy was knocked out too. Following that, Rake, Dalton and Susie were knocked out. Following that, the other prodigies were knocked out one by one. Even Nick - instead of being knocked out, The Wanderer first dispersed his mist until there was only 5% left. Then, he shoved the remaining mist into a jar.
Looking at the scene, The Wanderer frowned for a moment. No, I can't have some of these guys interfere with the next step of my plan. In stories, there are main characters, side characters, etc.
And there are also extras.
With the decision made, The Wanderer went around, killing the prodigies which hadn't been given names by the story yet. That is to say, only the Tournament qualifiers and Cane's friendgroup were left alive. With a snap of his fingers, the dead bodies disappeared into small portals.
The Wanderer then slowly revealed himself, reveling in the chaos he'd brought. He spread out his arms and began giggling.
"Here's your reward, hehehe."
Below the unconscious pile of prodigies, a larger portal began to form.
A portal... leading directly to within the Empty Districts.
Each person fell in, one by one.
The Wanderer grinned, turned invisible, and leapt in as well.
Fsshh...
The portal slowly closed behind, leaving no evidence of anyone's existence, except for the memories of those outside.