C23 Mirror?

Allen's inner world can reflect not only the position of his followers and the point where the prayers came from but also the vague view of his surroundings. 

However, it was not that wide. At most, it was comparable to the range where he can collect divine energy. (If you have questions regarding this, just comment on it.) 

The reflection in his inner world came from the divine energy that he collects. 

The more divine energy, the clearer the reflection will become.

Allen was flabbergasted by what he saw. There is a hollow point in the reflection. He cannot feel anything within, which only implies one thing. 

For some reason, divine energy cannot exist in that place as if it was being obliterated.

The more Allen looked at the hollow point, the more curious he became. 

He wanted to go there himself but he fears that his divine energy would also be obliterated. If that happens, he would be weakened, or worse, he would enter another divine slumber.

Although Allen was curious, there was nothing he could do but to wait for the response of the higher-ups of the humans.

...

Meanwhile, the General of Base 355 announced that all camps that were in the jurisdiction of Base 355 will participate in obliterating the beast tide. 

They will be accompanied by the experts that reside in the base. Moreover, there will be a competition between trainees of the camps. 

All of the trainees will be given a point for their kill but they are required to submit a video as they kill a beast. 

The top ten trainees will be awarded a storage tool, and the top three will be allowed to pick treasures from the treasury of the base.

The news of the general's announcement spread quickly. Although the experts did not want to go, they did not have a choice. 

They will be banned from the base if they defy it. On the other hand, they also did not want the base to be ruined because of the beast tide. 

The base has been their home and it protects them from the threat of the beasts.

At dinner, the trainees in camp 03-355 received the warning of the beast tide and a notice that allowed them to skip classes for the competition.

Many were delighted but most objected, especially that they will be having a meditation class tomorrow. 

The meditation class is where they hear tips about spiritual energy and the inner world.

On the next day, all of the trainees were pumped up but no one skipped the class for the competition. 

They did not want to skip their meditation class, which could be considered the most important of all their classes.

"How is your meditation, did you find inner peace?" Captain Jaya asked.

"Instructor, I have a question. Does the inner world correspond to our ability?" A trainee asked instructor Jaya.

"Yes, those with fire-related ability will have a fiery inner world, while those that had ice-related ability had an icy inner world," instructor Jaya answered with a smile plastered on her face. 

She was glad that some of her students had already entered their inner world.

All of the trainees were enlightened by Instructor Jaya's answer. But unbeknownst to them, Allen was an exception. 

His inner world is the reflection of the divine energy that he was collecting. But Allen did not think much of it. 

After all, he knew that he was divine.

Their class went on, and instructor Jaya's lesson is all about how to increase the amount of spiritual energy.

"There is only one way to increase your spiritual energy, that is through comprehension, and the best way to do it is when you enter your inner world."

"Of course, you can also do it even when you are not inside but that is very hard unless you have a treasure that could help you."

Allen listened intently. Although what he uses is not spiritual energy, their inner worlds are somewhat the same. 

The only difference is their inner bodies. Allen's inner body was still vague but it was in the process of becoming more and more human-like. 

Its form was being developed bit by bit by the influx of divine energy towards his inner world.

Allen wondered what would happen if his inner body was fully formed. Will his inner body also make spiritual energy? Or divine energy? 

If it was the latter, then it would be fantastic as he no longer needs to rely on his followers.

The class went on and they were only dismissed for lunch.

Allen checked the mission through his watch and found out that the missions in the mission hall were put on hold except for the janitorial works. 

The Mission Hall will focus on receiving the beast that was submitted for the competition.

Allen did not mind, he went to the cafeteria for lunch and ordered food. Then, he sat on an empty table.

The food, for him, is not for nutrition but is for enjoyment. He had a stable source of divine energy, so he did not need food.

As he finished eating half of the food that he had ordered, he noticed Annika entering the cafeteria.

But, Annika did not notice him and went straight to the queue for food.

The cafeteria was too narrow for all of the trainees. They had to queue for a while before they could order food.

After a while, Allen had already eaten all his food. But he was still alone at his table. No one dares sit with him. They were all intimidated by his presence. 

They knew him as the trainee that eradicated the whole colony of phantom bats.

When Annika was done ordering food, she looked for a vacant table but most of the tables were full except Allen's. 

She did not hesitate and headed straight to Allen. For some reason, she felt close to him.

"Hey, can I sit here?" Annika asked.

"Sure."

Allen did not mind her sitting. He was alone here, anyway.

Annika looked at his empty plate and asked, "are you done eating?"

She noticed that the crowd seemed to be intimidated by Allen and did not dare sit with him.

"Yes," Allen replied with a plain voice.

Annika stayed quiet and began eating her food.

"Allen!"

Just as Annika began eating, Allen heard Jimmy's loud yell, which attracted the attention of the other trainees.

"Hey, man, wanna team up with us?"

Jimmy and Durwin were planning to enter the competition. Although they knew that their strength is not at the top, they wanted to take advantage of it to skip the classes. 

Teaming up with Allen won't guarantee that they will enter the top ten but it will guarantee their safety, which is the reason they asked Allen to team up with them.

But, Allen has plans for himself. He knows that they'll only drag him and will become their bodyguard, which he doesn't like.

"I will be teaming up with her," Allen said as she pointed towards Annika.

Jimmy and Durwin were startled. They did not notice Annika. 

They smiled apologetically.

"Um...sorry I did not know you're with a gal," Jimmy apologized while he was scratching his head and quickly left.

"I don't think I will be of any help in the beast tide," Annika said.

She knew her strength and she did not want to be a burden. Although she was thinking about teaming up with Allen, she had changed her mind. The beast tide was a different story. It was too dangerous.

Allen nodded but he said nothing. He was also against the idea of teaming up but since he had said that he will team up with her, he fulfilled his words.

Since ancient times, the words of the divine are always absolute. Once they say it they will do it.