novelraw Chapter 69: Three Tasks
Chapter 69: Three Tasks
Inside Seraphina’s training room.
Cael stood opposite Seraphina and watched her as she casually stretched her arms.
The training room was vast and enclosed, its walls reinforced with layered inscriptions that faintly glowed under the surface.
The floor beneath them was smooth, yet marked with countless faint scars, evidence of intense training.
"Show me what you got."
Cael took a deep breath and took out his sword.
He had already long decided what skills to use.
After all, people only have three to six skills. Even six was too much of a stretch.
But unlike others, Cael already had over a hundred skills.
And he needed to be very careful when dealing with Seraphina. After all, Seraphina’s Wrong Eye skill could see through lies.
Not to mention, being too unique was also dangerous since it invites unnecessary troubles.
Of course, he would not hide forever and certainly would not hold back when others mess with him.
Once Cael reached [Mythril], with his vast collection of ridiculous skills, he might even match [Origin] level combat prowess.
Then he could no longer be controlled by the council.
Cael and Seraphina had already made a deal. She would not inform the council about him for three years.
So, Cael’s goal was to reach [Mythril] within three years. But that was an impossible goal.
By his estimation, he might need five to six years.
He shook his head, throwing away those unnecessary thoughts.
Without any hesitation, he charged at Seraphina.
The moment he moved, the air within the room shifted slightly.
Wind gathered faintly around his body, not violently, but enough to sharpen his movements and steady his stance as he closed the distance.
...
30 minutes later.
Cael was lying on the ground, taking deep breaths.
He was thoroughly exhausted.
The training room bore new marks now. Fine cracks spread across sections of the floor, and faint residual mana still lingered in the air, slowly dissipating.
Seraphina approached him with light steps and asked,
"Element: Wind, Unique element: Moonlight"
"Death Reaper’s Requiem, Calm Mind, Mark Tracker, and Mana Sovereignty"
Seraphina muttered Cael’s skills and asked,
"Why didn’t you use Mana Sovereignty against me?"
Cael shook his head and said,
"It is an unmastered skill."
Seraphina nodded,
"I see, then tell me what this skill can do?"
Then Cael started explaining how Mana Sovereignty worked to Seraphina.
As Seraphina listened, she commented,
"That is a very powerful skill, but unfortunately, it won’t work against wraiths since they use miasma."
Cael slowly stood up and said,
"Well, nullification? Yes. But can they escape hundreds of mana sword constructs raining on them?"
Seraphina nodded and lightly hit his head,
"But that is too far for you. You can’t even use that skill yet. You need to reach [Gold] before you start using it."
Cael sighed,
"I know."
’I need to find a way to speed up my progression.’
Then suddenly, Seraphina dropped a massive bombshell on Cael.
"I have decided what to give you as your punishment."
Cael immediately felt a bad feeling as he looked at Seraphina.
She ignored his questioning gaze and said,
"The competition for the special class has been cancelled."
Cael’s eyes widened, and he immediately asked,
"Why?"
Seraphina shrugged her shoulders and said,
"Orders from above. That said, instead of the special class competition, there will be a competition for youngsters under twenty."
Cael did not ask her for the reason. He already had some guesses.
In the novel, it was mentioned that the council did not hide losses and wars from the civilians.
Instead, they used them to fuel humanity’s motivation and divert attention toward talented juniors.
Then Seraphina said,
"This is where your punishment comes in... of course, you can think of this as training as well."
Cael’s instincts told him this was not good.
"W-what is it?"
Seraphina grinned and said,
"During the interrogation of that wraith, I learned there was a vampire base on one of the academy’s islands."
"I want you to annihilate it within the next five months. Originally, the special class competition was meant to be a battle royale on that island."
"And these vampires planned to strike talented students during that event."
Cael immediately shook his head,
"No way, you want me to annihilate an entire vampire base? That’s suicide. And besides, how did or why did the wraith know about a vampire base?"
Seraphina chuckled,
"It was none of your business, and besides, you are underestimating me too much, you know."
"Then let me tell you..."
"When I arrived at District Neva, I sensed three unusual mana presences."
"One was a girl who was also a resonant. Honestly, that was surprising. But I found something even more absurd. Do you know what it was?"
"It was the faces of the other two unusual presences."
"One was using Black Lightning, and the other used Frostflames. They seemed to be hiding their faces."
"Of course, how could I not see through their disguises."
The room fell silent.
The faint hum of the training room seemed louder now, echoing slightly in the stillness. Even the air felt heavier, as if reacting to the shift in tone.
Seraphina looked directly into Cael’s eyes and said,
"Do you have something else to share, Caelir Vayne?"
Cael did not answer immediately.
For a brief moment, the silence stretched between them.
There was no hostility in Seraphina’s gaze, yet it carried a weight that made lying feel meaningless.
Cael exhaled slowly.
"I don’t think I could hide it from you."
Seraphina did not react to his words, but her eyes sharpened ever so slightly.
"So, it was you."
Cael did not deny it.
He had already expected this outcome the moment she mentioned those presences.
"The Black Lightning and Frostflame... they are my clones."
There was no hesitation in his voice now.
Seraphina watched Cael as she spoke,
"Clones?"
Cael nodded.
Seraphina tapped her finger lightly on her arm, her expression unchanged.
"Interesting, so by default you can use black lightning and Frostflame as well, aren’t you?"
Cael nodded yet again without saying anything.
He knew he needed to be extremely careful, or else more skills would leak out of him.
Seraphina asked with a playful tone,
"How many clones?"
For some reason, Seraphina felt there was more to Cael’s clone skill.
Cael paused for a fraction of a second.
"Five."
Seraphina’s gaze lingered on him.
"Only Five?"
Cael met her eyes.
"Yes, and I can also summon 10 more dummy clones, but they can’t think for themselves, unlike those five."
That answer seemed to satisfy her.
"In other words, those five clones can think like any normal person."
Cael nodded.
The tension in the room eased slightly, though it did not disappear completely.
Seraphina turned and walked a few steps away.
"Good."
She stopped and added,
"Don’t worry, if I wanted to report you, I might have done so by now."
Cael let out a quiet breath.
’Fair enough.’
Seraphina turned back toward him. Her tone remained calm, but it carried a subtle edge.
"But don’t misunderstand. You are not special. There might be even more freaks out there in the world, just like that girl who achieved the State of Resonant."
"So always be cautious."
"And don’t tell me, did you really think I was sending you to that island alone?"
Cael did not respond.
Deep down, he knew the answer.
There is no way Seraphina will send him on such a dangerous mission.
Seraphina turned away again.
"For the next five months, your focus is simple."
She raised a finger.
"Find that girl and bring her to me."
Another finger.
"And annihilate that vampire base."
Then she raised her third finger.
"Try to reach [Gold]."
Cael’s lips twitched as he said,
"You say it like it’s easy."
Seraphina replied without hesitation,
"It is."
Cael let out a dry laugh and added,
"For you, maybe."
Seraphina ignored that comment. Instead, she calmly said,
"The competition is coming."
"You think other competitors won’t prepare while you are wasting time?"
Cael remained silent.
Seraphina continued,
"You need people who can keep up with you."
"And more importantly... people who won’t die easily."
The room fell silent again. Cael understood what she meant.
This was no longer about competition; it was about his future.
Cael sighed and reluctantly agreed.
"Fine, I will do it."
Seraphina looked at the Cael, who was making a face like he had sacrificed something valuable.
"And besides, with your SS-Rank skill: Death Reaper’s Requiem, you can easily kill those vampires."
Cael did not deny her words, after all, within the death reaper’s field, he can forcefully suppress the mana being rank.
Although it did not work against Wraith since they use miasma, he was certain it would work against vampires, since vampires were also mana beings.
As long as there was no [Diamond] rank vampire or higher, Cael’s chances of success are one hundred percent.
His gaze lowered slightly.
The image of the dark green-haired girl appeared in his mind.
"State of Resonant..."
A faint forced smile formed on his lips.
"I guess we are meeting again."
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[A/N: Finally prepared 15 Chapters additional Chapters. For the next five days, I will upload 3 Chapters a day.]