Timeless Prominence

Rein, dressed in his black frontally knotted jacket that basically functioned as a shirt, a straw hat, and worn leather boots, found an empty spot at the back corner of the white stone and pearl marble hall.

He tipped his straw hat at a wooden-masked, fully hooded and robed petite female figure also waiting in the corner, before leaning with his back against the wall and placing his attention onto the yellow hooded figure of Overseer Jeahz that stood in front of a podium at the very front of this hall.

He had been led down a spiral staircase to this underground location. It was decorated in a similar fashion to the entrance hall that Rein had observed a few days earlier. There were two major differences-- this hall was pillarless, and there was a sort of combat arena in the middle. The area was now used as nothing but standing space for the Hall of Heroes’ newcomers.

A large gray wolf lazed on the ground next to the podium, its squinting eyes drifting across the sea of newcomers. Occasionally, it pointed its snout upwards for a sniff, testing the scent of every individual within the hall.

“... here because of your desire for a long life-- or perhaps fear of death. Or perhaps simply a desire for power. That remains yours and yours only to know. But often, it is on the boundary of death that one ascends. Like a phoenix from its ashes!”

“You all will be granted ample opportunity here… but remember this,” Overseer Jeahz glared at all the bobbing heads. “You must be exceptional compared to your peers. Then you will be rewarded. After all… you all have been provided an opportunity here-- one that the sects had chosen not to give any of you.”

“They deemed you too much of a risk. A lack of promising… traits. All of you will be given a short one month to prepare yourselves, either gaining knowledge through our deacons or whatever means you so choose. Then you will have to prove yourself through the numerous tasks available.”

“And if you are unable to make ends meet yourselves… then you can only blame the fallen gods. For even we, one of the mightiest factions amongst humankind, cannot conjure resources out of thin air for all of you to advance!”

“Remember this,” Overseer Jeahz sternly stated. “We, the Hall of Heroes, reward kills. Not survival. If, as a member, you sit back to preserve your life… you will remain a peon. If you bring back severed heads our enemies, especially demons and devils, even if you are but a newcomer, you will be given the status, ‘Riser’!”

Rein closed his eyelids as he rested his head against the back wall. One might even think that he was deep in thought, motivated by Overseer Jeahz’s dour speech.

In truth, Rein was truly attempting to take a short nap. These ceremonial speeches? Always overly long. Frankly, he had attended enough of them during his time as the scion of House Hehr.  Too many words, too little depth…

He found himself awakened by a wolf's growl and the rapid shuffling of feet.

“You all can choose to spar.”

Rein shook himself awake from his lull.

Overseer Jeahz smirked, his goatee widening along with his lips. “Allow me to give every single one here an example of how we, the Hall of Heroes, reward our shining gems. We do not have the resources to support all your endeavors in the advancer world. Thus, we focus on a select few surprising talents. Good soldiers will still be able to survive on even scraps.”

“And it is in combat where our true value lies. How can one be a hero to the people across realms unless they are able to stave back the hordes of demons and devils?”

“Two of you will enter the arena. Weapons allowed. The winner gets to stay, and,” he brought forth a power gem in his hand, “fully recover your strength by siphoning aurae from this crystal.”

“Anyone can challenge this winner, and after every single match, the winner will be able to restore his aurae.”

“The final winner will receive this.” A small corked cylindrical glass bottle filled with a clear liquid appeared out of nowhere, pinched between Overseer Jeah’s finger and thumb as he raised the item up for all to see. “This alchemical liquid will put you in a dream state, allowing you to gain revelations to assist in transforming your body. You may very well find yourself with the ability to fully employ the magical aurae skin after consumption. If you have a bit of talent that is. For those unaware, that itself is a sign that you have reached the magical shell advancer realm as well.”

The hall should have cheered, but most remained in a nervous silence, their gazes flitting across all of their potential opponents. There were at least a thousand here. Only one would be rewarded with this magical tincture.

A psychedelic that Rein could not consume if he wished to remain in the good graces of Master Yirn.

“Ah yes. I forgot to mention. Weapons allowed naturally mean that you can injure-- or even kill your opponents. Demon and Devils would not hesitate to kill any of you. Worry not. I will preside over this spar, and provided that you raise your hand in defeat, I will prevent you from receiving any further injuries.”

Rein was definitely fully awake by now after hearing of the rules of this contest. This is truly a place for desperate souls to find their chance in the advancer world…

As for Rein? He had no intention of participating. His goal was to investigate these so-called devils, and perhaps through them, peer into the inner workings of the ruling Dingien clan of the Minhr nation. He himself could easily consume beast cores to transform his body, something unique to himself thanks to the draconic bead.

And well… If he wanted to remain in the good graces of Master Yirn, he had no use for this psychedelic. That was supposedly one of the reasons why some of the previous disciples of Master Yirn had ‘left’.

Not to mention, those who over-rely on psychedelics to advance in the advancer world were generally weaker by an observable margin-- and more likely to eventually ‘turn’ into a devil. Like that corpse-man that, though supposedly an outer advancer, found himself unable to match Chenhr in aurae density. Granted, Chenhr had a unique origin ability, but still, Chenhr was only an inner advancer.

Thus, Rein leaned backward against the wall again. Not to continue napping, but to observe the competition about to occur in the center of this very hall. He wished to have an accurate impression of the strength level of those in the inner realm.

The fully masked and hooded petite figure a few feet away from Rein remained unmoving as well. She, too, appeared uninterested. Though, perhaps, she wanted to observe for now and enter the stage later? Rein could not help but wonder about the motivations of those around him.

“Volunteers?” Overseer Jeahz stroked his goatee with one hand, while brushing the gray wolf’s mane with the other.

“No volunteers?” A raised eyebrow.

It seemed that the allure of the salivating prize was unable to get most in the hall to put their body on the line. Killing your opponent was even allowed in the spar! Even though Overseer Jeahz hat stated that he would intervene when one admitted defeat, who was to know if one even had the time to raise their hand in defeat mid-battle?

Rein found Overseer Jeahz’s gaze turning to him, but he simply beamed back in response. He had promised to participate in dangerous missions against the demons and devils, but he had no desire to reveal himself in this sparring competition!

Finally, a man stood forth with a confident grin. He held a modified spear that had a metal tip that winded like a snake. No doubt, the shape was designed to widen and torment an enemy’s wounds.

On the tip of the spear were engravings that contained qualities of sharpness. Rein was unable to identify whether that sharpness was linked to certain elements-- different elements often had slightly different connections with sharpness, and could have different inscriptional effects.

Opposite the snake-tipped spear man stood a slimmer built man with a sword and shield. The shield itself had an inscription, but the sword did not. The two were clearly not a set. The shield had a bronze hue while the sword had a dark metallic surface. Neither man wore anything more protective than leather vests.

With a wave of Overseer Jeahz’s arm, the two began circling each other in the middle of the arena, a few arm’s length away from each other. The slimmer man hid behind his shield with the sword seemingly a bit of an afterthought. That was understandable. Afterall, the sword was not strengthened by an inscription.

The slimmer man was likely just looking for an opportunistic strike with his ‘mortal’ sword… That was Rein’s assessment.

The spearman stayed light on his toes, his feet constantly dancing back and forth as he gave a few experimental stabs with the snake spear. His slimmer opponent could not help but flinch at every single fake attack, shifting his shield excessively as a countermeasure.

The sword-and-shield wielder’s lack of composure was so evident that the spearman even turned and displayed his back for a heartbeat as if daring the man to stop hiding behind his shield and employ the pitiful inscription-less sword.

It was precisely this move that made the sword-and-shield user hesitate for a moment. Taking advantage of his lapse, the spearman lunged forward with a shout, simultaneously activating his spear’s inscription.

The slim man reacted quick enough, yet he could not predict the unknown. Perhaps without that momentary lapse, he would have reacted better to the ‘surprise’. The snake-spear’s inscriptional activation allowed the spear to extend in length and curve around the shield, completely avoiding the shield’s defense!

The spear tip stabbed right into the sword-and-shield man’s left chest. The spearman had held nothing back, absolutely vicious in his aim.

Blood poured out of the wound as the spearman pulled out his snake-spear. However, it appeared that his aim was slightly off, and had missed the heart. The sword-and-shield man, though now down on his knees, managed to raise his arm and croak his defeat in hopes of being saved by Overseer Jeah. His wound was serious, but the healing magics of the heavenly Hall of Heroes would be able to save his life.

Yet, the spearman was not so merciful. He sneered in contempt, “This is the Hall of Heroes. You are too weak to be here.” Fully certain that Overseer Jeahz would not impede him, he struck again with his spear to deliver a final blow, only to find himself ‘slapped’ into the air, flying ten feet backwards before skidding another ten feet on his back.

That slap came from none other than Overseer Jeah’s wrinkly old hand aurae projection.

“You may have some level of competency. But I fear you misunderstand the Hall of Heroes. We only care about killing the demons and devils that have dogged humanity since time immemorial, in addition to those that attempt to disrupt this aim.” He gestured at the shieldman. “He may have lost, but he still managed to survive your strike.”

Overseer Jeahz gazed sternly around the hall. “If any of you, even against a stronger foe, can barely survive long enough to pass on news of demons or devils to others. Or even survive an extra heartbeat against such beings. That would be worth it, for it would mean you have wasted an extra heartbeat of that demon or devil’s life!”

With a flick of his sleeve, he commanded a few aides to quickly take the shieldman away to be healed. Then he flung a power gem, a cloudy quartz crystal, at the spearman who was still somewhat winded from Overseer Jeahz’s earlier slap.

“And you. You have yet to win. After all, you still have many challenges in front of you, no?”

Up stepped another figure-- a balding man with a long stubble beard. The man was dressed in worn tunic and short breeches. To all those present, this balding man was likely to be skewed by the snake spear and cooked over burning coal.

Even more odd was his choice of weapon-- a bow. Not exactly useful in a close-ranged ‘sparring’ match. He also had no intention of using the bow, keeping it slung over his shoulder…

With no hesitation, the spearman lunged forward, activating the inscriptional skill that led to the spear curving in acceleration. In his mind, it was possible that his challenger had some tricks up his sleeves, and giving his opponent time would likely be a mistake.

Every observer blinked in disbelief as the balding man stood unmoving as the spear curved into his chest. Yet the snake spear did not pierce his body on contact. In reverse, the spearman howled in pain as blood burst from his arms, mainly from the primary arm he used to control the spear. It was his turn to collapse onto the ground.

Unlike his prior opponent, the spearman did not attempt to save himself, and the balding man picked up the snake spear that had been abandoned by its owner, and pointed the tip at the spearman’s neck, contemplating whether to end the man’s life.

That tense atmosphere was, however, quickly dispelled as the victorious challenger threw the snake spear to the side, sparing the spearman’s life.

He then hooked the fingers of his two hands together as a greeting to Overseer Jeahz, to declare his victory.

Overseer Jeahz’s narrowed eyes observed the balding man head-to-toe for a moment, before he once again turned his attention back to the mass. “Any more challengers?”

Silence ensued. Most were still processing what they had just seen, and none felt certain that they could defeat such an opponent. It was obvious that the combat result had something to do with the spearman striking against the balding man. But no one in the hall was prepared to put their own bodies on the line to test out their theories as to how the spearman was defeated.

“Xeeseir. I will summon you after this ceremony is over.” Overseer Jeahz was fully aware that the little contest was over. Only a reckless idiot would challenge this balding man’s show of strength. “You will be escorted to a protected area for the consumption of this psychedelic.”

Xeeseir gave a small nod and looked to find a place within the crowd again. Yet every single individual seemed to be repelled by his presence. His every footfall was accompanied by a ripple of human wave that cascaded backwards.

Within the eyes of these individuals contained a mix of emotions, consisting of jealousy, fear, uncertainty and more.

Xeeseir could only groan inwardly and march himself to the back of the hall. When Rein saw the figure approach, he found himself hesitating on voicing his suspicions. No-- it was not just a suspicion. Rein knew that this balding man must have an origin ability.  If he had a question to ask, it would be why this man had so easily revealed his origin skill. Those mad and deranged research organizations would have this man on their hit list!

As for the function of Xeeseir’s origin ability? It was one of the better known and recorded skills. The reason for this was that this origin skill, named ‘Reflect’, often appeared on those with rather… forthright natures. In Master Yirn’s library, the fate of this origin skill’s users was always death-- preferring to break rather than bend when facing a higher power or calamitous situation.

How did it function? The scholars analyzed that the origin skill retraced the pathway of an advancer art and it is through this pathway that the damage and power of an enemy’s advancer art would be ‘returned’ to its user. That was why that spear-man’s right arm sustained the full brunt of his own attack.

How would this origin skill develop in high advancer realms such as the telekinetic realm? There wasn’t much information regarding that-- the users of this origin skill mostly lost their lives below the telekinetic realm…

Rein observed this bald man approaching, a sense of pity rising in his heart. This balding man’s fate would likely be similar…

The petite masked form also at the back of the hall next to Rein had the same question. “So. You must already be one that is hunted.” Her voice was soft yet firm, like the sound of willow in the wind.

“Heh. It was completely unavoidable. My travel carriage was ambushed by bandits, and there were a number of harmless citizens on the journey. I had to act! Since I revealed myself, then so be it!” Xeeseir was a man of conviction. Rein detected not even a hint of regret in his tone of voice.

“And humans have always sought a deeper knowledge of the mystical arts, and you will be the price. You could have done more in your lifetime if you hid yourself and did good deeds without being detected.” The masked lady held nothing back. She clearly thought the man was a numbskull.

Yet, Xeeseir was resolute and shrugged off the comment.  “I can only live my life with no regrets.” He then gestured at Rein, the next closest person that clearly would have overheard the short conversation. “What say you? You don’t seem… repelled by my presence like those others.” 

Rein quickly realized he would need to take more care in terms of ‘acting normal’ in order to blend in with future crowds. He should have acted ‘scared off’ like those other members in the hall.

“I naturally agree with the masked lady.” Would he choose to take such action if he were in Xeeseir’s shoes? Not if it impeded his future opportunity to seek justice for his family! It would be idiotic.

Xeeseir could only shake his head, in disappointment that the two not repelled by his presence within this hall, differed in opinion from him.

“... lead you to multiple key locations within the Hall of Heroes vital to your future progress.” Overseer Jeahz’s voice reverberated through the hall as the crowd shuffled toward the exit.

“I’m Rein, by the way.” Rein had determined that it shouldn’t be much of a risk to associate himself with this reckless fellow. In fact, Xeeseir’s presence beside him would help him to avoid drawing attention.

For her critique of Xeeseir’s choice of action, the masked lady also offered her name as she climbed the steps to exit the hall. “Wilo.”

Xeeseir roared with laughter, making everyone around squirm due to how the sound echoed off the narrow space. “Hah! This is fate, I tell you. Rein, the guy who claimed that he would be rapidly taking on red diamond missions, is one of the new members that I came across first! My name is Xeeseir!”

Has news of that incident with the Larne Clan spread so far already? Rein felt increasingly uncomfortable with that possibility. Anyhow, he explained himself. “Well. You see, I come from the Golden Desert Town that was…”

“We will be brothers-in-arms then,” the balding man stated. “I, too, have a need to take on such challenging missions as well!”