novelraw Chapter 108: Lysander Thorne's Past
Chapter 108: Lysander Thorne's Past
"Protect?" Genevieve couldn't help but blink in surprise.
"Yeah," Fly nodded. "It sounds a bit unbelievable, but the reason the government restricts the purchase of gravity devices is because there are inherent risks to using them. Inexperienced Beast Warriors don't know where their limits lie. They just stubbornly push themselves, desperately piling on the pressure, and there are countless cases of people ending up injured or dead."
"Didn't Mr. Carter just say so? He told us to train one by one at first, so that if anything went wrong, he could lend a hand immediately without spreading himself too thin."
"Therefore, when training in a Gravity Chamber, you usually need a powerful Beast Warrior to stand guard nearby, just in case any accidents happen."
"I'm guessing this phantom girl... might exist for this exact reason."
"But..."
Fly turned to look at Mr. Carter, "Aren't Beast Totems generally only able to appear alongside their Beast Warriors?"
"Why is this Beast Totem's phantom able to leave its Beast Warrior and appear here all on its own?"
"Well..." Mr. Carter looked the phantom girl up and down; he truly didn't sense any hostility from her. "Generally speaking, Beast Totems do appear alongside Beast Warriors."
"But..."
Mr. Carter hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"There are a small number of cases where this might happen. I've heard of a secret art that can strip a Beast Totem away from a Beast Warrior and, through a certain type of barrier, restrict it to a specific area to serve as a Guardian Totem."
"Judging by that, it's very likely that this girl was stripped away and left here to exist as a Guardian Totem."
"It's just... because the essence of a Beast Totem is connected to a Beast Warrior's Sea of Consciousness, the stripping process is extremely painful and highly risky. So, very few Beast Warriors would ever choose to do this."
As he spoke, Mr. Carter glanced at the phantom girl again.
"I just don't know who left her here."
Listening to Mr. Carter's explanation, Fly gained a new understanding of Beast Totems.
It could actually work like this?
Wouldn't this form some kind of industry? Or rather, a black market operation?
If stripping a Beast Totem was an extremely painful and high-risk process, couldn't powerful warriors simply avoid stripping their own, and instead hunt down other people's Beast Totems to strip? Then they could just leave them in their mansions, offices, or vehicles to act as Guardian Totems. Wouldn't that be perfect?
Fly shook his head; he just found the thought absolutely terrifying.
He thought for a moment, then turned to ask Mr. Carter, "Was this room also a Gravity Chamber in the past?"
Mr. Carter froze for a second, then nodded. "Yes, it has been from the very beginning."
"Oh, then that makes sense," Fly said. "I'm guessing this might be a Guardian Totem left behind by Lysander Thorne."
Old Man Ross mentioned earlier that Lysander used to come here often to train with his classmates.
Maybe, after he left the school, he specifically left behind a Guardian Totem to take charge of standing guard here.
"Tch." Genevieve let out a cold scoff, clearly disagreeing with Fly's theory. "Maybe he used his power and influence to force someone else to strip their Beast Totem and leave it here?"
Fly shook his head. "No, he wouldn't."
He had also considered that possibility, but quickly ruled it out.
Even Mr. Carter was struggling to fend off the chill from this Guardian Totem. If it wasn't Lysander's, then who else in Star City High possessed this kind of strength?
He certainly didn't believe that the school executives and Directors would do such a thing.
"It probably... isn't that either, right?" Unexpectedly, Mr. Carter still shook his head.
"I've crossed paths with Lysander too. During his high school days, his fame was explosive, everyone in Star City High knew who he was. I've seen his Beast Totems, and not a single one looked like this."
"Could it be a new Beast Totem Lysander absorbed after going to university?" Jett blurted out without thinking.
He remembered that when Lysander first started university, he still frequently ran back to Star City High.
This Guardian Totem might have been left behind during that time.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
But Mr. Carter shook his head again. "If it's a new Beast Totem Lysander absorbed after getting into university, then she feels a bit too weak."
"Weak!?" Jett practically shrieked.
Even though this phantom girl hadn't shown any hostility so far, the strength she displayed had nearly scared Jett half to death.
He had zero doubts that if the phantom girl wanted to, the few of them would have been turned into popsicles long ago.
And yet, Mr. Carter actually called this kind of level 'weak'?
"I certainly don't mean this Guardian Totem is weak, just relative to Lysander's strength during his university days."
"There's something you all don't know," Mr. Carter took a deep breath. "When Lysander came back from university, it wasn't to visit his alma mater like the public announcements claimed."
"Although Lysander was the major contributor to Star City High's resurgence, the way he consolidated the school's various clubs and acted like a dictator still sparked a lot of dissatisfaction. It was just that, under the pressure of his reputation and strength at the time, no one dared to speak up."
Fly thought to himself: So Lysander already held this much prestige back in high school.
Mr. Carter continued, "After he graduated, those who opposed him finally stepped forward, detailing the Student Council's crimes one by one. They demanded an end to the monopoly and the dismantling of the Student Council. Without Lysander at the helm, the Student Council was ultimately no match for the opposition. They steadily lost ground and were on the verge of total collapse."
"Right at that moment, some of the sharper members within the Student Council contacted Lysander. Upon hearing the situation, Lysander flew into a rage and stormed straight back."
"Something like that actually happened?" Fly, Jett, and Genevieve couldn't help but be shocked simultaneously. They never imagined there was a history like this between Lysander and Star City High.
"Yeah," Mr. Carter nodded and let out a sigh. "Seeing Lysander return, the people threatening to dismantle the Student Council instantly went dead silent and didn't dare make a move. Lysander tracked them down one by one according to a list and beat them to a pulp. Among them were teachers, students, and even... the Directors of Star City High at the time!"
"Teachers and Directors were actually involved in this?" Fly furrowed his brows slightly.
"Yes. Even though Lysander had already graduated, the Student Council he left behind still possessed massive assets and influence. Without the backing of teachers and Directors, how would ordinary students dare to form a collective opposition?"
"The result was that Lysander turned the tide of the entire battle single-handedly."
"One of the leading Directors was even beaten into critical condition, lying in a hospital bed for half a year. After returning, he resigned from the Board of Directors."
This incident remained fresh in Mr. Carter's memory.
The teachers at Star City High essentially all graduated from top-tier Martial University, so their personal strength was beyond doubt. The Directors were seasoned veterans who had spent years navigating the Martial Studies field. Yet, even so, they were completely unable to withstand Lysander's sheer might.
Even after that incident, the few teachers who spearheaded the opposition didn't dare return to Star City High to teach for a long time.
Ultimately, the Board of Directors had to step forward collectively to negotiate with Lysander. Both sides made concessions: Lysander paid some compensation to the injured, and the school agreed to never cause trouble for the Student Council again. That was how it settled.
As for the Guardian Totem before them, while its strength was quite good, it wasn't nearly enough to compare to Lysander's terrifying aura.
"Even a Director... resigned?" Jett's pupils quaked wildly.
"Didn't anyone call the cops?" Although Genevieve didn't know about this piece of history, with a situation this severe, where even the faculty staff were injured, did the school really not get the police involved?
They just let a guy like Lysander run wild?
"Well... I'm not too familiar with the exact details of what happened back then. I just know the general gist of it," Mr. Carter shook his head and said.
"But, since this Guardian Totem can't tell whether the people using the Gravity Chamber are from the Student Council or not, this actually works to our advantage."
"Who wants to give it a try first?"
Mr. Carter didn't continue on the topic of Lysander, after all, they were here to train.
It was better to seize the moment while no one else was around.
"I'll go first, Mr. Carter." Jett glanced at the phantom girl in the distance, took a deep breath, and decided to be the first to train.
Although the Guardian Totem hadn't shown any desire to attack so far, it would be bad if it suddenly struck while someone was training.
"Right."
"My strength and talent aren't as good as Fly and the others. I'm the one who should test the waters first for something like this."
"If an accident really does happen and I get hurt, with Fly and the rest still in fighting shape, it won't affect the upcoming Jade State League."
Saying this, Jett revealed his Beast Totem.
"Roar!"
Following a deafening roar, the phantom of a Spinosaurus also appeared behind Jett.
He kept a constant watch on the phantom girl's reactions, then followed Mr. Carter's instructions and walked toward the gravity device.
The Gravity Chamber was divided into a training zone and a rest zone. When the machine was activated, only the training zone would generate multiplied gravity. Fly and the others waited in the rest zone to see what would happen.
"I'm a bit nervous," Jett looked back and gave Fly an awkward smile.
"Just stay calm," Fly smiled back. "My good bro."
"Mm." Jett nodded, seeming to find courage in his heart. After setting the gravity multiplier to five times, he activated the gravity device.
In an instant, an invisible pressure suddenly crashed down on Jett. His breathing turned rapid, and every bone in his body felt as heavy as lead.
"Come on, Jett! Resist the gravity and execute your Skills just like you normally would! Train yourself!" Fly shouted from a distance.
Jett wasn't an ordinary person after all. After a brief adjustment, he gradually regained his mobility.
Seeing that everything was fine on Jett's end, Fly turned his head back, locking a vigilant gaze tightly onto the phantom girl.
Although he hadn't been studying Martial Studies for very long, he still had a basic understanding of Beast Totems.
At the very least, he could roughly gauge the strength of a Beast Totem.
But the phantom girl before him was stronger than any Beast Totem he had ever encountered.
She wasn't the slightest bit inferior, even compared to Victor's Jadefire Dove.
Yet, to hear Mr. Carter tell it, she fell far short of Lysander's.
This made Fly inevitably wonder: just how terrifying was Lysander's strength?
He had only just started university, yet he was able to defeat a Director of Star City High.
No... not just defeating him.
But directly beat a Director half to death.
During the practice sessions prior to the Freshman Invitational, Victor used his Jadefire Dove Totem to spar with Fly. Even though Victor hadn't gone all out, the sheer power of the Jadefire Dove Totem was firmly engraved in Fly's heart.
Fly could feel that the power of the Guardian Totem before him was no less than Victor's Jadefire Dove.
Which meant that Lysander's strength was very likely even higher than Vic's!
"Then just how massive is the gap between Lysander and me...?"
"Lysander Thorne."
Fly repeatedly muttered that name in his heart.