An Upgrade

The Shale, which had appeared seemingly out if nowhere, had been dealt with by the adults, those who were far more powerful than the students. In the first place, it was their duty to protect the future of humanity's safety, by ensuring that no one was killed during the surprise attack. Once news had spread that the Shale had been dealt with, the students were then allowed to leave the safe room after it had been confirmed that there wasn't another Shale nearby. Although they couldn't be too sure, as their magic also allows them to cover their tracks and precense as well.

Everyone had been gathered in the Arena once again. The flames had been put out, and those with boulder class ability had quickly been put to work, repairing the damaged parts of the arena, making it almost appear good as new. The reason why everyone had been gathered here once again was to discuss what had just happened, and the actions they will all take moving forward from today's incident.

Clearing his throat, the man who had performed the role of the announcer during the competition was the one who was going to address the large crowd of people. He had also helped during the fight against the Shale, proving his strength in defeating the creature.

"Alright, as you all may be aware of, the being that had broken into the academy not too long ago is one of the Shales-the very creatures which you all are being trained to fight against in the future. Due to today's incident, a couple student lives had been lost. You may or may not know these students, but that isn't the most important information I wish to tell you.

"It appears that the situation is getting more and more dire. We believe that it may be best if you all remain at the academy yo continue your training. You see, this event, this isn't the first time that it has happened. We have received reports that Shale attacks have been ongoing in other cities as well, so we believe that the academy, although maybe not the safest, should be where you all should be.

"The people who have come here today, they will be too busy looking after themselves and their own people. You may not be given all the attention you need to grow stronger while in their care. However, the same couldn't be said if you all remain at the academy. Security will be increased. We will do our best to ensure that what happened today never repeats itself in the future."

And with that, the man turned his attention towards the VIP guests who had arrived today, thanking them for their involvement in dealing with the rogue Shale. If it wasn't for their involvement, them who knew how the situation might have ended up.

Once everything was said and done, the VIP guests had left the academy, heading back to their respective families, factions, and groups. Meanwhile, the students were allowed the rest of the day to do as they wished. Classes were meant to commence officially tomorrow.

While everyone couldn't stop talking about the things that had happened today, Kayden was more interested in this Upgrade the system had to offer. Of course, he had completed the quest by surviving the Shale attack. And now, he couldn't wait to see what this upgrade had to offer.

[Quest Completed]

[You have managed to survive despite being in critical danger]

[Reward Received: An Upgrade]

[You have unlocked a new Skill]

[Mark: Mark is a skill that allows you to place a target on a person. Depending on your feelings towards that person, the target can either be green, yellow, or red. The mark allows you to easily trace and hunt down your target, wherever they may be]

Reading the information about this new upgrade, Kayden couldn't begin to contain his excitement, mostly because this was the first ever gift ever given to him by the system. Although since he was always at the academy these days, he wasn't quite sure how useful this skill could be. Perhaps it might be useful to him during the simulation training, or even during the wilderness training course in the future.

'I can wait to try out this skill in the future,' Kayden thought to himself. The next day, everyone was doing their best to put aside what had happened the other day. In deed, ten students had been killed yesterday, reducing the population of first year students. Everyone was on edge through out the day, scared because they would've been the ones dead instead.

The day had passed by with everyone trying the best they could to move on, and now, it was time for the abilities class. Since the students in the mystery class division have been the ones using the simulation facility in the Arena, it was now time for those in the other divisions to make use of the simulation as well. Since three whole weeks had passed by, it was now time for those in the fire class division to have their shot at the simulation room.

For now, the other students, including those in the mystery class division, would be focusing heavily on other forms of training. Now that the three mystery class students were no longer training in the simulation, Lucas decided to use this opportunity to teach the three of them the technique known as Mana control. And, of course, Kayden was grasping the technique a lot better than Dan and Marcus.

As things at the academy seemed to be slowly returning to normal, no one was aware of certain things that were going on at the academy. For one, in the building which was specially designed for the second years, a group of second year students were gathered around a few other second year students. These were the students who had participated in the inter-student competition yesterday, and failed.

They were upset because these students had embarrassed them in front of the younger students. These students were Patricia Adams, Gary Hit, Andrew Cane, and lastly, Margaret Monica. Although the second year students had won majority of the fights yesterday, that still didn't mean that they would let these losses slide.

"You have brought shame upon us!" one of the second years shouted out in anger. His eyes were wide open in furry, and in his hands, his ability was charging up. The same could be seen from the others present, as they were ready to teach these four students a very important lesson-never loss against an inferior.

Meanwhile, the other students were busy with other preparations. No one knew what was really going on, but the truth is bound to come to light eventually.

The day had come to an end, and Kayden was ready to call it a night. He was still thinking about the new upgrade that he had been given, and couldn't wait to try it out. Moreover, there was that match between him and Paul.

The two hadn't officially agreed on a date, but they were both sure that it would take place sooner than later. As well, the students were being informed by the news department of the academy on the activities that have been going on outside of the academy regarding the Shales. Amongst the cities which were in danger of their power, were New Gen City, Manhanthan City, and even Black Saber city.

Upon realizing that his city was one of the places in danger of the Shales the next day, Kayden couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about his family at home. In the first place, they were in danger of kidnappers at every nook and corner, and now, they had to be wary of the Shales as well.

That day, although he was finding it difficult to concentrate, he knew that he had to, if he wished to have any chances of becoming strong enough to protect his family in the future. The same could be said for everyone else. A number of students at the academy were from those cities, and after finding out that their homes were under attack, they felt the urge to train harder than ever, further pushing their limits beyond expectations.

Kayden's Mana holding capacity had reached twenty-three thousand after mastering Mana control to a certain degree. In the first place, it is a technique that allows one to control and channel their Mana more efficiently. And with it, he was able to control the Mana flow all around his body, increasing the amount of Mana his body could contain in the process.

During the magical weapons class, Kayden was staring deeply at his Ring of teleportation, imagining all the ways it could be useful to him in combat. In the midst of his thoughts, a man wearing military attire had stepped into the large room, catching the attention of everyone present since his choice of clothing was far different from that work by the instructors.

Seeing this man appear all of a sudden and without prior notice, everyone began to feel on edge about what this was all about.

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