49 The Furnace Opens

Howard , wiping the sweat from his head, looked down at the container he'd spent the last twenty minutes trying to open.

Finally arriving in front of Barabin and Reslan for the final stages of his training, he finally got an idea, sending his Ki into the canister before the lid shot open.

'It-it opens from Ki? How would someone like Indell get this?' Howard stopped by the bus on the outskirts of the West Branch and gently placed the lid on the floor. Seeing Reslan waiting patiently in the distance, he opened the door to the bus, walking to the back with eyes full of anticipation.

Something about the canister seemed to be leaking a mysterious force, causing him to eagerly await to expose the secret hidden inside. Flipping it over in his hand, Howard imagined a small object would fall in his hand, however, instead, a strange noise seemed to appear, flickering on and off with his every shake.

'Nothing inside? I waited weeks for nothing?" Howard shook it one more time, finally sending his Ki into it to see if it had any effect. To his surprise, a voice started to appear, as the world seemed to blur around him.

Seeing a window appear in front of his eyes coming from out of the jar, Howard felt the space shift as an entire room appeared in front of him, spreading across the bus walls and changing its entire interior. It looked like a museum's showcase center. All around him, he could see dozens of strange, polished antiques in glass frames with a few cages on tables scattered about. Turning to his right, Howard tried to walk into the room only to find himself smashing against the wall of the bus.

"Ow, I get it. It only seems to be real." Howard sent his Ki into the container one more time, causing the room to reappear. "How do I get anything, though, if I can't actually physically enter the room?"

"Heh, so nice to see you," A voice appeared from behind Howard, seeming like he existed both behind him in the bus yet in a strange, different space. "You must be one of my descendants," The voice echoed through the room, causing Howard to turn in shock before a wall once again smashed him back to reality. Moving to the center of the bus, Howard this time made sure he could turn before the space reappeared.

Turning to look towards the voice, a large shadow appeared at the edge of the room, emitting from an endless space of darkness that seemed to extend past the lit room. With no walls behind the antiques or glass, the room seemed like an unexplored oasis. However, the shadow seemed unbelievably close, like it was about to swallow him whole as the voice continued,

"I-I'm just a remnant of Ki that got stored in this space. It-it got activated when you entered into the Ki Jar. The Workalin made this for me years ago before I died. It's called a Ki Remnant. With the Ki Technology they possess, I was able to shrink a room to keep all my valuable possessions." The voice started to fade, making a sound similar to a television's white noise. "However, if this jar opened, it means you have my blood. I never figured this voice would activate, however, if you have it, it means you're either very lucky or someone's trying to destroy the world hahahaha."

A strange glimmering silhouette appeared in front of Howard, causing him to step back and fall onto the ground. A large man standing over two meters tall with green, glimmering eyes tapped against a glass case and caused it to break. "I-I made this space for you, descendant." The man turned towards Howard, patting him on the floor. "In hope that one of us will be the demon king. One of us from the oldest lineage of the Horned,"

"Are? Are you able to hear me?" Howard said, crawling back in shock at the large figure dwarfing him in both width and length. "You-you look like me?"

"It be a waste of time to respond," The man glibly answered, pointing to a small scythe floating in the air. "It be a waste if you didn't learn from my failures. In each of these objects, there is a challenge waiting in the darkness, meant to challenge you to greatness. There is also my countless defeats, stored in the handle for you to absorb."

"You-you had the same ability as me? To learn from others?" Howard said, crawling further and further towards the back of the bus, while at the same time moving through the strange space. It almost looked like two realities had been mixed together, with the bus being slightly more opaque than the strange antique room in front of him. "How is that possible?"

"Well, it really shouldn't be, but Ki can turn dreams into reality," The man laughed, "Anyways, my time is up. When you're ready, pick up the scythe and complete the challenge. When you achieve victory, a world of knowledge will enter inside of you, causing your power to soar to new heights!"

The man laughed, fading away in front of Howard before he rapidly closed the canister. Turning around, he saw Reslan leaning to look into the bus. At four meters tall, a shadow distorted the interior of the bus, causing Howard's heart to rush faster and faster.

"Did-did you see?"

"Did I see you hiding?" Reslan said, nodding his head. "I did, so you better get out here. Barabin is getting impatient. He's going to crush you to bits more than he normally would if you don't hurry."

"Sorry!" Howard ran with the canister in his grap out to the bus. "I'm ready! I-I just had to open what Indell gave me."

"Was it a good surprise?" Reslan crossed his arms, yawning as he rose upwards. "I-I haven't gotten a present in a while. When you return from the Furace, bring me something I can give to Annibell. It's been a hundred years since I truly surprised her."

"Heh, of course," Howard jumped out the bus, seeing Barabin floating in the air. "I-I'd be happy to. However, why aren't you more honest with her? "Maybe if you told her how you feel."

"Hoh, honesty works sometimes, other times, it doesn't," Reslan flexed his arms, tapping Howard on the back. "Now, remember, your body is still much weaker than your Ki Transformation. Let's fix that, shall we?"

###

Barabin floated in a stone throne above Howard, holding out his hands as a gigantic force crushed Howard into the ground.

Looking at his body laying powerlessly against the floor, Barabin turned to Reslan, smiling while a skull floated in the air.

"Howard, what are you waiting for?" Barabin said, slowly increasing the pressure. "Make it float. Come on." Barabin had activated Ki Supression on Howard's body to such a degree that even the ground had started to swallow him in cracks from the pressure. "In the most dire of situations, you still have to be able to use your abilities! Transform that skull into a ball of flames!"

"It-it's hard!" Howard held out his hands, feeling the Ki crackling in the air. A second later, a large explosion shot out of his hand, bursting into the wall and causing the metal to warm and melt.

Seeing this, Reslan laughed, petting Barabin on the back as Howard's head tilted to the side. Passing out into the darkness, Howard's mind trailed into his dreams. At the same time, the two guardians laughed, looking at each other with understanding and fright.

"If-if he did that, I'd have to quit, hahaha!" Reslan looked in disbelief at the young boy trembling on the floor. "Activating Ki Transformation under Suppression is nearly impossible unless you've been trained for years! Ha, even a genius like him can't steal everything from the air!"

"His body, though, is lagging behind," Barabin picked up Howard and gently placed him on a bean bag placed out to the side. "When we get to the Ki Reservoir, let's hope it's like Indell said. Otherwise, Howard here might end up destroying himself."

"You mean because he's getting too far ahead of his own body?" Reslan shook his head, "I-I wanted him to keep training to impress Annibell. I didn't think he'd actually get to the C rank."

Reslan had made a mistake, in many ways, when teaching Howard about Ki Transformation to such a high level. Just like when he passed out after completing the 100 skull challenge, the burden now of activating Ki Transformation at such a high level put him to sleep.

Indeed, compared to the Ki Suppression from Barabin, the damage from using a skill too high a level could be just as damaging. Howard, literally the opposite of everyone in the entire Furnace, had the ability to completely transcend his level at the cost of his body.

However, for this reason, Barabin had also made this training to a level he'd never imagine he'd force on a student. Seeing Howard still surviving under the suppression of someone in the peak of the B Rank, he felt somewhat proud, hearing Howard's muscles strengthening as he layed peacefully to the side.

"Anyways, did you notice," Barabin pointed at the jar resting next to Howard. "He has some strange object with him from Indell. My great-grandson. I fear my grandson might be as wicked as I was back in the day! Ha, should we confiscate it and make sure it's not a trap?"

"Nope, anything that descends from you only likes one thing," Reslan tucked Howard under the blankets and turned to Annibell as five girls walked by her side. "Anyways, the Furnace is about to open. Shall we bring the brat and go watch?"