Prelude [2]

The next morning, Damien and Katherine were summoned by their respective teachers for a meeting. With the Nexus Event rapidly approaching, it was time for them to make preparations and leave.

The event's location would change every time, and this year it was being held in the human domain. Due to this, they only had to leave now. Most people from the various other domains in the world had already started making their way towards the venue.

As they arrived in front of the disciplinary building where they were summoned, they saw 3 other students waiting, 2 girls and a boy. The 5 of them waited in silence for a few minutes before the doors to the building opened.

Out of those doors came their teachers. "Good. The 5 of you have been officially titled as supreme geniuses from our academy, and will be representing us in the event." Said Malcolm, who was at the forefront of the group.

The other 4 quickly bowed to him while Damien simply nodded his head.

Malcolm and Damien shared a more casual relationship than most teachers and students since both of them liked to banter and make fun of each other, so Malcolm didn't mind the seemingly disrespectful behavior.

"Alright, I'll do all the explaining on the road, for now, let's leave."

Malcolm let out a shrill whistle. Instantly, 2 flying beasts arrived in the sky above the group. One looked awfully similar to a gryphon while the other was more reptilian, seemingly a subspecies of wyverns.

However, when the group was about to mount the beasts, both beasts entered a slightly panicked state. Their bodies shivered as their heads lowered to the ground. Everyone was flabbergasted until they witnessed a large shadow cover the sky above them.

The shadow started changing shape, and in its place stood a wolf the size of a 2 story building with beautiful black wings. Looking down at the other beasts in contempt, the wolf let out a prideful howl.

"Awooooooo!"

This caused the two beasts to shrink back even further, unable to even move properly due to their fear.

Seeing this scene, the group became weary and took battle stances, well, all but two of them. Damien and Katherine simply smiled at each other before Damien walked forward.

"Alright alright, you've made your grand entrance so you can stop now. Can't you see that you're scaring the others?"

The wolf looked at Damien and snorted, but still came down obediently. Reaching the ground, it shrunk down to the size of a normal human and rushed towards Damien.

Damien greeted it with a hug. This wolf was obviously Zara, who had gone through large transformations since Damien had last seen her. Besides her size, the aura she gave off was much more overbearing, and her eyes now held a hint of silver.

Damien smiled as he felt Zara's excited emotions. "Yeah I missed you too, but we have all the time in the world to catch up. For now, let's just get moving alright?"

Looking at the rest of the group that was staring at him, Damien raised his brow. "What? Are we leaving or are you just going to keep staring at me?"

They soon snapped out of their dazes. Out of these people, the only other person who knew of Zara's existence besides him and Katherine was Malcolm.

Even if he hadn't seen her when they first met, how could he miss the wolf in Damien's shadow while he was observing him? If he did, wouldn't he be disqualified from being a 4th class?

"Well, I guess Damien has his own ride, so the rest of us have more space."

There were no more disruptions as the group got mounted the other two beasts and took flight. Katherine had unceremoniously climbed atop Zara though, and Zara didn't have problems with this.

She and Katherine were very close to the point of being called friends, and so Katherine became the only person other than Damien that Zara would allow on her back.

Damien rolled his eyes at this but said nothing, instead opting to ask Malcolm for information. "Hey old man, tell us about the Nexus Event now that we're already on the way."

The other 3 students were baffled by the fact that Damien called the headmaster so casually, but before any of them could make a fool of themselves, Malcolm responded.

"Calm down brat, I'm getting to it. The Nexus Event changes its structure every year but has a base concept that remains consistent. The first event will always be a comprehension test to weed out those who don't even qualify to be considered above average."

Malcolm smiled seeing the surprised look on the students' faces before continuing.

"However, don't be fooled by this. There will still be thousands of people who pass this phase. After that, it's a point-based event. There will be 3 rounds that weed out the competitors until only the top 12 remain. After that is the main event which is a normal single-elimination tournament."

Damien felt his anticipation grow after hearing this explanation. Normal tournament arcs always bored him, as fighting 1v1 over and over again can become monotonous. Events like this were more to his preference.

"I'm sure you all know the prizes for the top 3, but there are also various smaller prizes for those who place in the top 10, along with the entry to the secret realm that's granted to the top 50. The other important aspect is the connections you should make.

Malcolm became slightly more serious as he spoke.

"As future powerhouses of our world, it's important that you make strong ties to those in your generation. Regardless of race or opinions, you should attempt to remain friendly. Naturally, I won't force you to like everyone, but keep my advice in mind. We can't have a repeat of what happened 1000 years ago."

Malcolm's words turned the atmosphere solemn. Damien also remembered something he had once deemed as a flag but forgotten due to his training.

"Old man, can you tell me more about the Great War? In my defense, you made me skip my classes so I didn't learn anything."

Malcolm rolled his eyes. This kid was truly too ignorant, but it was his job as a teacher to fix that, so he carefully explained.

"The Great War that took place 1000 years ago was an unprecedented tragedy for our world. Many nations and powerhouses alike fell. Even a demigod ended up dying due to this war. His name was Kurt Galloway, and he was the one who created the training grounds in our academy."

Damien's eyes widened. Kurt was the reason he was still alive today, as, without the subspace in the dungeon, he would've long fallen victim to the wyvern of the 40th floor. The fact that he had reached demigod level was a shock in itself, but for him to die in that battle was even more shocking.

"That war is the reason all races in this world love in relative harmony. Due to the racism and segregation at the time, it became much easier for enemies to pick them off one by one. As for who that enemy is? It was a race called Nox."

Even those who had knowledge of the war had their interests piqued. The Nox were always mentioned as the perpetrators, but nothing else about them was made known.

Malcolm nodded. "Since you are all on the path to becoming important figures in the future, it isn't hard for me to tell you. The Nox are a race from a distant star somewhere in the universe, and their power far exceeds our own."

Malcolm sighed as he continued.

"We still don't know their purpose for invasion or even their home planet since we have been forced into a defensive position. When the Nox invaded 1000 years ago, it started the Great War. They had 3 demigod level beings among them while we only had 1, and their 4th classes were uncountable."

Due to the many deaths they sustained during the invasion, there were few 4th class beings alive today. This was all Malcolm said before he changed the topic.

"You will learn more as you gain power and rise in rank. For now, this is enough. Focus on what's ahead of you rather than things that will not matter until the far future."

A heavy silence descended after this, as everyone was in their own in thoughts. Damien was still thinking about the Nox.

'Otherworldly invaders, huh. As I thought this is probably a flag. The Earth is also nearby, so it isn't certain that it won't be targeted. Although I don't care much about the world itself, there are still things I care about there. I need to return quickly after I gain enough power.'

Damien shook off his depressing thoughts. As Malcolm said, these were all things that would only matter in the future. For now, Damien just wanted to have fun in the Nexus Event, obtain 1st place and get the Elixir, and then explore the secret realm.

'That's right. Everything else comes later. Who knows, by the time I have to deal with an invasion, I might even be powerful enough to wipe the floor with them.'

As he cheered himself up, a smile returned to his face. Besides his own internal pep talk, he also had 2 others who sensed his emotional state. Zara was mentally communicating her cheers, while Katherine was gently holding his hand.

Damien's smile became gentle. 'Damn, it's kinda nice to have people around me who care, huh.'

The week passed by in a flash as the group arrived at a massive arena-like structure.

It was time for the Nexus Event to commence.