274 Caves

DAILY OBJECTIVES:

-Run at least 10 Kilometers with the mana block feature activated.

-Engage in intensive training, focusing on each of your powers for at least 5 hours a day.

Reward: 200 Academy Points upon completion.

WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:

-Slay 100 intermediate- rank beasts / 50 intermediate rank beasts / 30 intermediate+ beasts.

-Attend your assigned classes at least 5 times a week. (Click to learn more)

Reward: 1000 Academy Points upon completion.

MONTHLY OBJECTIVES:

-Successfully complete the daily and weekly objectives without missing a day.

Reward: 5000 Academy Points upon completion.

...

'I should use this chance to complete it,' Although Atticus didn't really have any need for the academy points he would get after completing his daily or even monthly individual objectives as they were really little compared with how much he had.

But even then, he still thought it best to complete every single one of them. He had no idea if there was some kind of hidden reward or anything in that sense.

"First the 10KM run," Atticus muttered as he quickly navigated to the mana block feature and instantly activated it.

His form simultaneously landed on the earth, completely soundlessly without the slightest ripple.

With a swift motion, Atticus stepped forward with his right leg. His body leaned forward, coiling the tension in his legs to unprecedented levels, levels that could potentially shatter the legs of even the strongest beings from Earth.

In a moment of explosive speed, Atticus shot forward.

The ground beneath him instantly imploded as his figure tore through the atmosphere.

Moving at such a crazy pace, Atticus got to the entrance of the forest in just under 10 seconds!

One could see how fast Atticus was, crossing a distance of more than 2.5 KM in such a short duration.

And this wasn't even his fastest speed! He wasn't even using mana!

Getting to the entrance of the forest, Atticus lowered his speed to acceptable levels as he entered the forest.

He instantly spotted the tall and imposing trees sprawled across the forest.

Atticus moved stealthily through the forest making sure not to bring any attention to himself.

And as soon as he reached the 10KM mark, he swiftly turned off the mana block feature, instantly regaining back his mana.

As he was moving, he muttered under his breath, "Ethereal cloak,"

Activating his art, a mana cloak enveloped him as his figure started becoming ethereal, his form vanishing in the next second.

His speed not stopping for even a second.

Atticus simultaneously focused on his sense of feel, instantly releasing mana pulses from his mana core to see the mana imprints of the beast.

He started moving north while following the imprints.

On the way, Atticus also made short work of some of the beasts he met to complete the other individual objectives of slaying beasts.

Each of the beasts met their end instantly upon Atticus sighting them, none of them even realizing when, who, or how they met their end.

Only everything suddenly turning dark.

After moving towards the northern side of the forest for a while, Atticus eventually got to the small clearing he had found the last time.

The numbers of imprints on the floor were still staggering, with it looking as though it had even increased.

Turning his gaze forward, Atticus spotted the cliff wall illusion in front of him. 'I wonder why they still even bother,' he thought.

Deciding not to think too much about it, Atticus deactivated his ethereal cloak art and started approaching the wall.

His right hand stretched, it phased through the illusion landing on top of the mana barrier.

Atticus closed his eyes, his mind entering a state of absolute focus.

Because he had copied the signature of the mana barrier before, despite the changes its nature had gone through, Atticus was still able to mimic the signature of the mana in the mana barrier in far less time than before.

After 10 minutes of intense focus, a stark contrast to the previous 30, a cloak of mana enveloped the entirety of Atticus's form.

And without wasting a single moment, he took one large step forward, his form phasing through the cliff wall as though it wasn't there.

Atticus found himself inside the familiar pitch dark space, with thick amounts of mana covering every inch of the caves.

Atticus wasted no time and got straight to business. He activated the ethereal cloak art once again, his form blending into the surroundings.

Although his ethereal cloak art had failed him the last time he was here, which resulted in him getting spotted by the shadow seraphon, Atticus still decided to use this art.

He had no idea what was waiting for him in that space. The academy could have even changed the beast that was there.

He didn't know what to expect, so he decided to proceed cautiously.

He started making his way through the cave at a moderate speed, periodically releasing mana pulses from his core to guide him through the cave.

And after moving for a few minutes, he finally got to the entrance of the expansive space he had been in before, where he had fought the beast.

But his steps couldn't help but pause immediately he got to the entrance of the space.

'How did it get so big?' He wondered.

Atticus could clearly recall the layout of the cave from the last time he was here. He was very sure the entrance to the expansive space was way smaller than what he was currently seeing.

'Did it try to get out?' He pondered.

Atticus had left the beast completely injured and enraged to the core.

That day, Atticus had found it incredibly odd that the beast hadn't showed up when they were fighting in camp.

But now, it was evident that the beast had attempted to get out, yet, for some reason, it hadn't succeeded.

Atticus had no doubt that the cave's size wasn't the limiting factor. The beast, being a master-rank creature, could effortlessly demolish the entire cave, regardless of any injuries it might have sustained.

So there was only one logical reason it hadn't attacked the camp personally: the academy had intervened.

Why? Atticus had no idea.

'I hope they haven't changed the beast, though. The Shadow Seraphon would be the best for training.'

Deciding to stop dwelling on these thoughts, Atticus decided to check to see if the beast was still there.

With his ethereal cloak art activated and a pulse of mana ready to be unleashed at any moment, Atticus took a step forward, entering the pitch-black space.