Return to Civilization I

Peter snapped out of his meditation feeling his mana core brimming to the max. His 1 year training period in solitude was now coming to an end and he had grown by leaps and bounds.

His cultivation was now at the 6th stage of the Novice Rank - only one stage away till he could plant his first mana absorbing rune into his body. This was a plan he had been working on for several months now and his preparations were going well.

He had completely mastered the first few techniques of The Abyssal Tyrant's Inscription methods and had even mastered the first two forms of the new 5 Star martial art that Noah had learned. It was safe to say even though Peter was at the 6th stage, his power easily matched those of the Proficient Rank if his shadow army was also taken into account.

The Army of Undead had reached several thousand by the end of his training period as Peter had managed to clear the first Enchanted Zone, turning every life form into a relentless servant of his. He hadn't come across any Tier 6's apart from Gollum but the number of Tier 5's he controlled had sharply risen to around 400.

It was amazing how all the Beasts above Tier 5 could tear Peter apart if he didn't have his shadow army, only with the sheer help of his army was it possible for him to hunt down such powerful beasts so easily.

Both brothers also decided to relinquish the weaker Tier 1's as they were technically fodder compared to high tiers and Cultivators with Cultivation ranks higher than the proficient rank. This dwindled the shadow army's numbers but it didn't matter as new and more powerful Soldiers joined the ranks of the army every day.

Noah on the other hand had mastered the first 3 forms of the 'Style of the Soul Reaper' Martial Art. The first form was a movement technique known as the flash step, allowing one to practically teleport short distances. The second and 3rd form were a series of deadly moves that when used correctly could overpower a lot of people just with a sword skill.

"Okay, Ella. I'll visit you from time to time and check up on the Heritage Ground once in a while. I'll be leaving now." Peter spoke to the AI that had grown to become a friend almost.

She had been the one helping the blind boy learn inscriptions and helping in deciphering a lot of things. Without her help, he wouldn't have progressed as much as he did and Peter was ever thankful for that.

"Okay, master. Take care." Ella replied, bowing.

Peter gave a slight nod before teleporting to the magic circle he had drawn in the First Enchanted Zone, where his school professor had taken him a year ago.

Peter's 12th birthday had passed and the school term had already started, he was worried they wouldn't let him join back but he figured that wouldn't be the case once they gave him the annual baseline assessment. He was confident that this time around he was going to smash these tests with ease.

Peter leaped from tree to tree heading towards the human camp. He needed to access that portal to get back to the city.

"Hands up. Identify yourself."

Several mana-powered guns pointed at him from afar. The soldiers that were on standby around the portal all looked his way aiming their weapons at him. After the incident that happened last year, this Enchanted Zone was classed as Threat Level: Low.

The different threat levels were:

Low (Tier 1 to Tier 3 Beasts usually)

Moderate (Tier 1 to Tier 5 Beasts)

Dangerous (Tier 3 to Tier 6 Beasts)

Critical (Signs of Mythical Beasts)

Calamity ( Mythical & Legendary Beasts)

"My name is Peter Magtris, I'm a student of Apex Academy. I became lost in the zone and only managed to get back." Peter raised his hands.

"Friday, scan the name Peter Magtris and scan his features. Is that him?" A man approached Peter while holding a pistol in one hand and scanning his body with a device in the other hand.

A beep resounded before Friday's autonomous voice played out: "Yes sir. The facial features match those of the missing student, Peter Magtris. There is a 92% match."

The man looked at his tablet matching the picture of an 11-year-old boy with the boy in front of him. The only difference the man could see was that his hair was longer now and his face seemed more mature, otherwise both were the same person.

"Everyone, lower your weapons. Young man follow me. We need to run further tests and then inform the school about you." The sergeant at the front with the tablet by his side spoke walking onwards.

Peter followed behind the man under the gazes of all the soldiers there.

They all eyed the peculiar bandage around his eyes. Peter was now much taller than before and his hair was just below his ears; this made him look much older than his actual age of 12 years old. Not only that, the aura he gave off was menacing.

He hadn't noticed it but every person there could feel the smell of death reeking from him and it wasn't just a literal smell. It was the same aura one felt when facing a battle-hardened veteran war soldier. All the people there couldn't help but be on high alert looking at the peculiar young boy.

'God, What did this boy go through? It feels like I'm looking at a war veteran.' The Sergeant thought, looking back at the peculiar blind boy.

The man took Peter inside and asked him a lot of questions about what he was doing the past year and how he survived. Peter knew he was going to be questioned so he had prepared a fake story beforehand, that he had been transported to another zone which was even a lower threat than this one. He had luckily survived for one year using the food in his bracelet and only by chance had made it back to this zone.

The Sergeant seemed to believe his story and carried on with a health check-up, which Peter had passed with flying colors.

It didn't take long for the Headmaster to arrive with his assistant at the Enchanted Zone.

"Welcome Headmaster." The Sergeant introduced.

"This is the boy?" The old headmaster spoke with a surprised voice, looking at Peter with eyes filled with thought.

The Headmaster was a 208 year old man in the 4th Stage of the Lord Rank - almost a magus. He had a long white beard and a matching long ponytail hairstyle. A wooden staff stood by his side and a navy coloured robe covered his body. Even though he was 208 years old, he looked like he was in his 60's. The other

"I greet you, Headmaster." Peter bowed and showed respect to the old man.

"Peter Magtris. So you're the kid my brother was talking about. I see the darkness shrouding you in light. Very peculiar… Very Peculiar indeed. It's good you're alive, otherwise my brother would have killed me. Let's get going, I'm sure your parents and family are going to be delighted to hear the news." The Headmaster spoke wisely, stroking his long beard.

'Who's this brother that knows about you?' Noah asked, whispering, feeling like this powerful old man could somehow hear him.

'I'm not sure. We didn't even show our abilities that much. I guess we'll find out a bit later. Hopefully, it's nothing too bad; we don't have enough strength to oppose those powerhouses yet.' Peter replied.

The Headmaster could also sense the aura of death around Peter but couldn't tell why he felt such a powerful presence from such a weak cultivator like Peter, he was only in the 6th stage of the Novice Rank after all.

"I shall inform your parents straight away. When we get back to school, we'll do another check up on you before you can go home." The female assistant spoke, pushing up her spectacles.

Peter nodded in understanding.

"Sergeant, we'll be taking our leave." The Headmaster said, clicking his fingers, causing a portal to open up to the school grounds.

"Take care, esteemed senior." The Sergeant bowed.

Peter followed The Headmaster and his assistant through the portal into the school grounds. As he walked on he could sense dozens of students looking at him from afar.

"Who's that? A new transfer student?"

"He's kinda hot. Don't you think he's in our year?"

"He looks kind of familiar. Where have I seen him before?"

"What's that bandage for? He looks stupid."

Peter managed to pick up on some of the gossip as he walked past the dozens of students till he reached the Headmaster's office.

This is where he was interrogated on what actually happened and all the details of his journey. They followed the same procedure as the Sergeant, asking him similar questions and following the same health check-up.

After an hour or so, everything had finally ended and he was allowed to go.

'So I have to attend the Baseline Assessment again in 2 days. Shouldn't be bad. It's better if I hold back and try to get an average score; I'm confident I could get exceptional scores at full power but that wouldn't benefit me as much. It wouldn't be good to stand out so much especially when we have no power to retaliate against those powerhouse nobles yet.' Peter thought, meditating inside the back of a taxi.

'I agree. I also think it's time we start a side hustle that will both make us richer and increase our power.' Noah agreed, suggesting a new plan.