12 The Welcoming Ceremony [ 2 of 2 ]

"Goodness, what is taking these fools so long, don't they know that we are here? The gate should have been opened for us before we even got here, what gives?"

A 2 star disciple spoke out amongst the silent crowd of top disciples.

"Now now, don't let your emotions get the better of you. You should know that by taming your emotions you are closer to taming your heart which will help strengthen your foundation for the future."

"Ah, Elder Muge, you are right, I should have known better! Thank you for your lesson, I already feel my foundation strengthening!" The disciple immediately got on his knees and kowtowed to Elder Muge, who was the first elder, only second to the headmaster.

"Come, stand up, there is no reason to be doing that here." Elder Muge immediately knelt down to help the disciple up.

The disciple felt so touched that tears were about to rain from his eyes. However the touching moment didn't last long, as a gust of wind blew, bringing with it a slight pressure. This was a pressure that only someone on the cusp of entering the first stratum could emit.

"The gate hasn't opened yet?" An aged voice spoke out from the back of the crowd of top disciples. Elder Muge looked over and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Ah, if it isn't Headmaster Ghazan! That beast causing a disturbance must have been nothing much I suppose?" Elder Muge stood up, completely forgetting about the disciple he was about to help.

"That beast was merely 2 star pinnacle, given that I am 3 stars with 80 percent elemental purity, it didn't stand a chance even with it's innate physical advantages." Donning the Headmaster robe, Headmaster Ghazan slowly made his way to the gate beside Elder Muge with his hands behind his back. All the disciples made way and each paid their respects. Headmaster Ghazan looked up at the gate in peculiarity, just as curious as the rest of the crowd as to why it hadn't opened yet. However right when he was about to speak up, he heard a bunch of screams coming from behind the gate.

"Huh?" Elder Muge looked over to the headmaster in confusion. What's happening in the square?

Even given the headmaster's prowess, he didn't have the means to see what was happening behind the gate. He could only shake his head in discontent. Suddenly the gate began to open

"Quick, open the gate, we need help!"

"What's happening to Elder Jao!?"

"Ahhh!"

…

As the gate opened, Headmaster Ghazan, Elder Muge and a majority of the top disciples saw a silhouette floating a few feet above ground.

The headmasters eyes widened in shock at the scene. He quickly looked at Elder Muge for confirmation.

"Is that Elder Jao!?" Without waiting for a response he ran towards the gate. Elder Muge following closely behind.

…

Elder Jao's eyes were bloodshot, nearly bulging out of its sockets, however he was unable to move or do anything. He felt an absolute force wrapped around his neck, strangling him. His feet were swinging loosely above the ground, trying any means possible to escape from this predicament. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye he saw that the headmaster had shown up.

"Elder Jao! What is the meaning of this!? What's going on!" Headmaster Ghazan flung his robe, using his elemental energy to try and dispel whatever it was that was keeping Elder Jao afloat. However contrary to his expectations, his energy was prevented by some mysterious force from even nearing Elder Jao.

"How could this be!?" Headmaster Ghazan was horrified. He was the headmaster, the strongest force residing in Coalfell. He was the closest one to entering the sought after Stratum realm. He had an elemental purity of 80%, higher than anyone else. How could his power be driven away so easily!?

Suddenly the force on Elder Jao's neck severely tightened, threatening to end his life. He immediately began to panic, with headmaster and Elder Muge being his last hope. Tears streamed down his face as the pleading look in his eyes reached it's acme. Headmaster Ghazan and Elder Muge looked at the hanging Elder Jao in hesitation. Elder Muge knew there was nothing that could be done, even if they combined their powers to try and save him, it wouldn't work.

Suddenly the silence which filled the square was broken with a sharp snap. Elder Jao dropped to the floor, as though the force keeping him up simply let him go. The crowd jumped back in fright at the sheer clarity of the sound. Elder Jao lied on the floor with his neck at a perfect 90 degree angle, dead.

The invisible arm of mist retracted back into Enzo, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. Lilaya quickly helped him up. She assumed the sight of what just happened was too much for the young boy to handle, so she decided she would bring him to her guest room after this was all cleared up.

…

"What just happened?"

Everyone in the crowd was in a state of complete disbelief. It wasn't long until rampant discussion broke out.

Headmaster Ghazan looked at Elder Jao's corpse in stupefaction and fear. What could have been the cause of his death? Was there a Stratum realm expert hiding in Coalfell? If that was truly the case than this place was no longer safe. Elder Muge walked up to Headmaster Ghazan and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"We should group up with the other two elders and discuss this matter. With Elder Jao gone, this puts our school at a huge disadvantage. If the other schools find out about this, who knows what trouble will ensue…"

Hearing Elder Muge's words, Headmaster Ghazan sighed deeply.

"Are they still at that newborn desolate zone? On our way to the welcoming ceremony there were signs of a new desolate zone being born and Kase insisted that the importance of investigating it was greater than this ceremony. Considering the dangers, I instructed both Elder Delir and Elder Gulab go with Kase and Kaawa as guardians."

Elder Muge nodded and remarked,

"Kase is the most talented disciple I have ever seen in recent years. Not only is his intuition remarkable, but his comprehension is incredible as well. He is 22 years old and already possesses strength comparable to us. Kaawa isn't too far behind as well, but his comprehension ability isn't as great as Kase's making it harder for him to understand how to guide and purify elemental energy efficiently."

"Indeed, let's wrap up this ceremony, with what has happened, there's no point in dragging it on any longer."

Looking towards the crowd, Elder Muge guided his elemental energy into his larynx and projected his voice loudly so that everyone could hear.

"The welcoming ceremony has come to an end, you all may return."

Contrary to expectation, the crowd didn't seem too bothered with seeking answers of what just happened. The level of ability exceeded even the headmasters capability, there was clearly no reason for them to get involved with matters of that level. The exhausted disciples all returned back to their respected areas and started to begin their routines.

…

Lilaya had already carried Enzo back to her guest room. Since they lived right next to each other, it was fairly convenient. Enzo was currently unconscious, lying on the guest bed while Lilaya sat in the middle of the room with a manual in hand, 'The Basics of Core Consciousness'.

Although she was the caretaker for village 1, she hadn't had a lot of luck in her training.

Although caretakers were supposed to possess some strength, that couldn't be said for villages 1 and 3, since for one, there wasn't a big need to have a caretaker for village 1 since the chief resided there, and two, village 3 was merely filled with orphans.

Village 2 however was were a majority of people with strength gathered. It wouldn't be too far off to say that Coalfell itself was dependent on village 2.

Although Lilaya hadn't had a lot of luck in her training, she still had a strong desire to improve and become strong. Despite how she acted on the surface, she knew all too well that in this world, strength determined everything. Had Headmaster Ghazan reached his position as the leader of this school by fooling around and possessing a weak level of training? It was his ability; his strength that got him his position.

If she wished to make a name for herself, sure her pretty looks might win her a decent position, but that would merely be a nominal position. If she wanted to achieve anything, she had to first become strong.

Positioned in the center of her room, she put all her focus into rereading 'The Basics of Core Consciousness'

After awhile, she closed the manual. Setting it on the ground in front of her, she shut her eyes and a look of concentration washed over her face. Following the vague teachings of the book, she once again began the search for her core.

…

Far east, in the deep recesses of village 3 could be seen a blood colored afro. The afro was moving at a fast pace, as though it were eager to acquire something. If one were in close proximity of the afro, they would hear strange murmurs coming from below it. It was Chung.

"Rhinestone….I need the rhinestone. Strength...stronger, I must get stronger…"

His eyes were bloodshot and he was fidgeting with his hands as he paced towards the barren wilderness which lay outside of Village 3.

"Cave...cave...got to find the cave…!" A huge smile would appear on his face from time to time as he spewed gibberish. He had gone insane. Suddenly in a secluded area, a medium sized cave could be seen; it's inside pitch black.

The moment the cave came into Chung's line of sight, he immediately fell to his knees and began worshipping it.

"My love I won't harm you, you are my everything...I won't ever give up…" A flurry of nonsense flew out of Chung's mouth as he started crying towards the cave. Suddenly, he began digging into the ground with all his might.

"Haha, hahaha, AHAHAHA!!!" Hysterical laughter surged as Chung dug deeply and with passion.

The hole grew ever larger at a speedy pace, before it was big enough for a person to fit into. Without any hesitation, Chung flung himself into the hole and covered himself skillfully as if he had done this before.

As he covered himself, the grounds surface soon became flat and perfectly aligned.

Time then began to pass as all movement ceased.

It wasn't long before footsteps could be heard. The sound of dirt being smooshed growing louder, before stopping abruptly. A light sigh could barely be heard followed shortly after.

"I've checked Village 2 and 3, my instincts tell me he wouldn't be in Village 1, this is the last place I can check, I thought for sure I would find him around here." It was Millard, the trusted aide of Elder Jao who possesses an unblemished record in terms of accomplishing his master's goals. His eyes darted around as his head turned to make sure there wasn't room for any oversight.

"I'll check inside. At the very least I'll know if he had been here yet if the Rhinestone hasn't been taken. As long as I'm cautious, no one will know it was me." The footsteps grew softer as Millard headed inside the cave.