Final Day

Inside the Vacuum Palace

It is so clean that no traces can be seen. Twenty-four people divided into six rows and four columns are in front of an almost eighteen year old boy with a gray hair.

Their sights were all locked at him, and they are respectful towards him. They know that they won't be as good as now if they did not undergo training.

The training they did was rigorous, and every cell of them now is filled with power. It is a bit exaggerated, but it is true.

Power is not free in this world.

It is gained.

Some people will try to buy it, or say flowery words to catch attention.

And they use power without respect.

Power must not be misused. It is for the welfare of all people.

And they know of it. They know that power is not something they can use just to have fun.

"This is the final test. You have to use your cores to produce a energy inside this sphere." Vin declared.

It is a bit impossible, but they know it is a part of their training, so they did not refute it.

This is challenging, yet very fun to do. Creating something from nothing.

From those words, everyone then sat down and tried to produce energy and use it.

The idea of Vacuum Palace is to thin out the energies, and erase its existence to be made into a spherical form that traps other energies in it.

In short, the inside of the sphere of Vacuum Palace is without a hint of mana, nor aether nor hex. It is a surrounding without magic at all.

The energies are like poles of a magnet. The Vacuum Palace has a way of draining the energy to be used and make it stay. It is a self sufficient power that it can sustain itself as long as no energy inside is detected.

Why?

The outer covering of the sphere is energy. It repulses the energies that are from outside.

Energies have the tails, or the excess energy they have. They release it, but it does not have properties of magic because the magic is already used by ejecting them out.

By doing so, it means that the energies are facing outwards.

Energies tend to fill up spaces. If there is a space without energy, they will fill it so it creates harmony.

So they are going head first towards the barrier, which in turn, the barrier turns them away because same poles repulses.

If by any chance, an energy is made inside, the tails of the energy strands will be attracted to it, making the whole barrier fall down, filling up the space with energy.

It is the only way to weaken the barrier and put it down, because outside force is not gonna make it. It is a prison to be exact, and can be used to also protect.

Vin walked away from the people who were trying to take down the barrier. He is not the one who erected it, but he knows how intricate this barrier is.

"System, may I copy this ability?" Vin asked.

[No.]

System answered.

"Huh? Why no?" Vin asked with a chuckle. He put his hand on the barrier and said...

                   ----"Copy."

Nothing happened.

He did it again, now with his other hand.

"Copy."

Still no result.

He tried with both hands, but no.

"Do I have to produce mana?" He asked.

[No, Copy Magic does not need mana or any energy.]

"Then why?" Asked Vin.

"Vin, System is incomplete. She is not as perfect as she seems. Maybe if you get the other part of her, you may know the answer to your question." Avalon said inside of him.

"So that's the case." Vin sighed and decided to go sit down.

"By the way System, what is the difference between Disintegrate and Breakdown?" He curiously asked.

[System: Breakdown is a part like Disintegrate.]

"What do you mean?" He said.

[Disintegrate erases a part of your choice.]

[Breakdown splits the skill, talent, or ability into its different strata and make it simpler ones.]

[These are parts of a Supreme Skill.]

[Supreme Skill: Dystopia.]

Dystopia: A Supreme Skill that is from nine Skill. It is to make the opponent weaker and can even result in loss of law.

"Then Integrate and Synthesize are?"

[Part of Utopia.]

Utopia: A Supreme Skill that is from nine Skills. It is to make allies stronger and have Abilities and Skills.

[You have three parts of Utopia and two parts of Dystopia.]

"Three?" Vin was confused.

[Gift. Integrate. Synthesize.]

"So Avalon gave me an important one, huh."

Then he realized.

'I have so many things to collect.'

First, the Parchments.

The pieces of paper to complete the map of the plane inside him. It is also to build more towers and up his prowess.

Second, the God Armaments.

Ivory and Ebony are one of these. There are also others that can be of use to him, so he must collect it.

Third, the Crests.

The first Crest he had upgraded the weapons and can be of any form of sword. Dagger, katana, longsword, short sword, knives and even great swords.

Fourth, the names written on the crests after coming with the swords.

It must do something for it has come with magic.

Fifth, the parts of System.

It can be said that the parts of System is the priority. Having the System is like having a big lead.

Sixth, the Supreme Skills, Abilities and Talents.

It will come handy at times. And it will be a good collection.

Then it dawned on him.

"System, are there people who tries to seek the things I am seeking?" Vin asked with seriousness.

[Yes.]

"So you mean that I will have to fight for it?" Vin inquired again.

[Yes.]

"Do you have any way to let me see where the other parts are?"

[Yes.]

"How?"

[Clear the Labyrinth.]

"That is the only way?"

[No.]

"Then what are the other ways?"

[Unfeasible. The way you are now cannot do anything on that scale.]

"So this is the only way for me."

[Yes.]

He was speechless at that time.

He knows that he can't do things like scanning the whole universe to find the other things he needed.

He expected there are more choices to choose from even in his current condition. He did not expect it to be this harsh.

"So I will be fighting people as strong as Saeri."

Sighing, he walked towards the middle of the people who were trying to produce mana on their own. He sat down with them as he pondered over things.

Little did he knew that the barrier started to crack.

----------------------------------------

"Merdain, I feel some energy signatures, but it is very faint." A silkworm said as he dragged his massive body.

"I felt it too, but only for a moment." His companion is a woman with butterfly wings on her back.

"Keep looking." Merdain said.

"Yes, Maam." The worm said as it looked around.

Merdain was a little bit upset.

The first floor is her territory. Saeri is one of her comrades that she fought with and cherished.

Now, hearing that Saeri is gone, and they had to activate the Quantum Phase, she has no time to exact revenge to the perpetrator of the whole scenario.

"Ugh, this sucks." She said as she continued to sift out the whole place.

The labyrinth has three phases: Disaster, Calamity and Quantum.

Disaster Phase is the phase where a threat to the labyrinth can be managed by one floor. It can be said that it is a front war that the labyrinth won't have to send all of its forces.

Calamity Phase is when the threat is bigger than expected. It means that half or even third of the forces must be sent.

Quantum Phase is when the whole labyrinth must act. It may be a result of an imbalance to the labyrinth or the labyrinth is in great risk.

Right now, all the Guardians are on the first floor, and they all felt the leak in the crack of the Vacuum Palace.

The energies that cracked were energies that Vin managed to move when he tried to copy the sphere.

Right now, all of the Guardians were moving quietly and with haste. They want to know the might of the Successor.

Little by little, upon sensing the energy, they arrived at the same place.

Nothing was left there.

It is only a deserted place and all they can see is grass.

They saw each other and they arrived at a conclusion.

"I guess they are masters of Concealing Magic."

"Then there is no other choice." Merdain, the Butterfly of Poison, attacked the place, and there they saw, a patch of place that remained unscathed.

It was a rather small dome, and the grasses inside were non-existent.

It is hidden by the beautiful and tall grasses earlier, and remained unnoticed until Merdain destroyed the grasses.

"Everyone attack!" She shouted.

Everyone did not make any hesitation. They pulled their mighty and destructive attacks, and the impact it did is massive.

But, it was all futile. After the attacks they did, the barrier only became more active. The stronger the attack, the stronger it got.

Chad, the Lion of Light noticed it, so he picked up his sword and stroke it down, only to be futilely sent back.

"This is?" Licht, the Wyvern of Darkness, also tried her claws on it, but was also sent back.

"They are underground." Said Or, the Orca of Sound as he traced the vibration released when Licht attacked the barrier.

BOOM!

Lobo, the Werewolf of Lightning attacked the ground, and found out that there is a hollow ground under one meter thick land.

Their target then became apparent, the ground.

Bruno, the Rhinoceros of Earth smashed the ground, and all of them turned to dust, except the ones that was inside the barrier.

The patch of land fell down though.

The land that fell down came rushing down, but it was too far away from Vin and others.

Due to his heightened senses, Vin did not care if the patch of land was too far.

He ran, got some ropes, and tied it to the dead trees nearby.

He did not used Stride, but because of their training, he can do much as that.

After he did that, he now saw that there are gigantic shadows outside the sphere. At last, he is now confronted by the enemy.

By size alone, it can be said the Saeri is the smallest of them all, just a few feet though.

[Caution: Guardian found. Eliminate in haste.]

At the same time, a notification popped up from the faces of the Guardians.

{Caution: Successor found. Eliminate.}

Sneering, everyone looked at the pret inside the dome. He looked like a harmless boy, but they knew that he has power to take down Saeri.

Vin smirked. He knew that even if they destroy the sphere right now, they will be feasted upon by the beasts.

But right now, making Von and the others stop will be a hassle. And maybe they discovered a way, and stopping them now will erase their progress.

"Guess I have to do it on my own." Vin said as he tried to produce energy on his own.

The core inside him whirred, and spun.  It was like an old gear, oil being poured on it. It started to move and the energies were all produced by him.

"Avalon, please recast another Vacuum Palace to protect Ven and the others." Vin said.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that." Avalon said inside.

"Wha- Why?" Vin was startled.

Avalon flicked flicked his finger, and after that, Vin felt a stinging pain in his forehead.

"Vacuum Palace drives away energies, and there are no energies inside this to be driven out. Secondly, even if I manage to cast it, the first sphere will be destroyed, for the outward forces of the second one will react to the tails of the first one." Avalon discussed.

"What a pain." Vin said.

[System: Possible Solution Found.]

"WHAT?!" Avalon and Vin asked in chorus.