Outworld: Awakening

Absorbed in his thoughts while ascending the stairs leading to the tavern's main hall, Adam placed his hands on the wall's of the partially illuminated passage. Vicar's words and the imminent summon from Varidan Academy weighed heavily on his mind.

Absent minded, he pushed opened the door leading to the tavern. At that same moment, however, a familiar nauseating smell filled his nose. Instinctively, Adam raised his head, only to see five mutilated corpses laying on the floor.

'What the hell happened here?'

From where he stood, Adam could see blood and other indiscernible fluids seeping from the manged corpses, forming a crimson pool darkened by the poor illumination in the tavern. Broken tables and chairs littered the tavern, while sword marks scratching the walls. And, six black cloaked figures wielding daggers towered over the corpses.

Upon Adam's return to the tavern, they all turned their gazes towards Adam's direction.

'Aren't they Erik Gilmore's men? Why are they looking at me like that?'

Adam's brows creased as he saw the bloodl.u.s.t in the eyes of the cloaked assailants.

[Title: Manipulator activated!]

Saying nothing, Adam walked in light steps towards the cloaked figures.

"What are you glaring at him for?! Clean up and take those roaches away!"

Adam paused in his steps as he heard Igor's voice. Turning his head to the side, he could see Igor staring at him through the tavern's window. He donned an apologetic smile as their gaze met, while mouthing of the words, "Please, don't misunderstand."

At that same moment, Adam heard a loud thump. Subconsciously, he turned his head towards the the cloaked figures.

'That fast?'

Adam couldn't find a trace of the cloaked figures or the mutilated corpses. The crimson pool, the wreckage from the battle and the scratches left behind had all disappeared. He could hardly hide his surprise.

"I'm sorry, Adam. Those guys got a bit too excited. I hope we didn't disturb you?" Igor said.

"Not at all. What happened here?" Adam asked.

'Those corpses should belong to the carriage driver and his companions, right?' Adam mused.

Throughout his discussion with Vicar and Adelaide, he didn't sense any signs of a battle, and the previous macabre scene left him a little stunned.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about. It's just some ambitious rats who didn't know any better. Oh. A letter came for you a few minutes ago," Igor said while donning a whimsical smile. He dipped his hands into his inner pocket, before retrieving a black-gold envelope.

"Here," Igor said as he presented the envelope to Adam.

Meanwhile, Adam had a skeptical look in his eyes as he saw the envelope. He hesitated for a moment, however; he received the letter from Igor. Wasting no time, he opened it, and read the letter hidden within.

Standing at a fair distance away, Igor could see the shifting emotions on Adam's face. It made him curious about the contents of the letter. In fact, it surprised him when a young lady came to the tavern earlier. She had specifically requested the letter be given to Adam. Unable to overcome his curiosity, he had dispatched some of his men to tail the young lady. He had to know her connection to Adam, especially if she had any special meaning to him.

"Did the sender say anything else?" Adam suddenly asked.

He wore a slight frown as he rumpled the letter.

"Yes. She said something about tomorrow being the deadline. She said you would understand. Is there a problem?" Igor asked.

He wasn't expecting that kind of reaction from Adam.

However, Adam said nothing. Instead, he lowered his head while closing his eyes. His actions only made Igor even more curious about the contents of the letter.

'I thought Vicar said it would take a day or two for them to invite me?' Adam mused.

Varidan Academy had invited him for a mission debriefing, which was more or less an interrogation given to students who completed missions on a questionable circ.u.mstance. He had hoped that the invite would arrive at least two days later, because it would give him adequate time to prepare for the interrogation. Since Varidan had their eyes on him, he couldn't abscond or flout the invite.

'Damn it. Why does something unexpected always have to happened to me?'

Absorbed in his thoughts, Adam placed the rumpled letter into his pocket, before walking towards a hidden door which led to his quarters in the tavern. Igor, on the other hand, had an indiscernible gleam in his eyes as he stared at Adam.

A few seconds after Adam left, a cloaked figure appeared in the room, standing behind Igor.

"What did you find out, Henry?" Igor asked.

"Mission abandoned, sir. The target was a Varidan associate. They would have eliminated us if we had continued," Henry whispered.

'They?' Igor mused as his brows creased.

"What do you mean 'they'?" Igor asked.

"Sir, over twenty unidentified threats are observing the headquarters… And, I believe they're more of them. Sir, this a level A threat scenario," Henry said.

Igor's jaw dropped as he subconsciously looked through the tavern's window.

"Level A? Who is their target? And, what is the origin of the threat?"

Since the establishment of the guild, he had never received such a report.

"Sir, we believe they are from Varidan Academy. Their target should be Priority D-102," Henry said.

'What the hell did that brat do? No wonder he had such a listless look in his eyes earlier… this is bad. I don't have the manpower to contend with Varidan yet…'

Absorbed in his thoughts, Igor paced around the tavern. A minute later, his eyes lit up.

"Halt anything that would draw Varidan's ire. Bury the paper trail leading to the elixirs. Tell the others not to visit the ranch from now on. Do you understand?"

"No problem, sir. What do you want us to do? Should I disband the network?" Henry asked.

"No. But, halt surveillance on all targets for now. By the way, when do you depart for Vihir?"

"Next week, sir. I have prepared Everything for the negotiations with Giles Prophete. If you—"

"Leave tomorrow. There is also something I want you to check out in Vihir. I heard a fascinating rumor, I want you to confirm it for me. There's an Awakened who's said to have prophetic abilities in Mahirian. If the rumor is true, you know what to do. Gilmore will give you the details. You can leave now."

Saying nothing, Henry disappeared from the room.

'Why would Varidan send so many people to spy on the kid? What did they find out about him? Or, are we their main target? Could they have found out about the elixirs? No… that shouldn't be possible… right?' Igor mused.

Just then, a familiar voice called out to him, "Henry has told me about the current situation. Should we activate the substitutes?"

Igor turned his head to towards Bricteva who donned a baggy robe. He slowly shook his head, as he said, "It's too risky. They might be here for the kid. Let's not do anything rash."

"But, why would they said such high profile spies for him? Did they find out something we couldn't?"

"I don't know. I'm just as confused as you are. The halo chamber confirmed his rank, he is just a mere rank E Awakened," Igor said.

"But, why would Varidan Academy take an interest in a mere rank E Awakened? Could he have a device to hide his true abilities? I don't believe Master and Varidan Academy would take an interest in a mere rank E Awakened," Bricteva retorted.

"I don't know. These past few months have been strange. If only we could listen to their discussion earlier. I don't think it's a coincidence the events in Targarth coincided with the day master requested for you. Something is definitely going on, but she is keeping us in the dark," Igor said.

"Not for long though. In four months, the spell master would take control of the halo chamber. Then, we can listen to his conversations with master. By then, the elixirs should be ready. Don't worry, we'll soon be free…" Bricteva said.

She donned a slight smile as she saw the shady grin on Igor's lips.

"Let's go to the halo chamber. There's something important I heard… it's on the Scavengers," Igor said.

His countenance had turned serious again. With a nod, Bricteva walked towards the back door, with Igor following behind.

* * *

The next day.

Adam stared at his reflection in a well-illuminated room which had mirrors for walls. He sat on an opaque glass chair with a similar table in front of him. A yellow crystal ball the size of a melon lay on the table, it was the source of the room's illumination.

Adam's fingers drummed on the surface of the table while his eyes darted from one direction to the other. With Manipulator deactivated, he reverted to his normal appearance. And, he wore his Varidan uniform.

'It's been six hours already… how long will this go on?' Adam mused.

He had arrived at the year one registration hall at dawn, as specified in the letter. However, after being escorted to his current location by an instructor, he had seen no one since.

'Does this kind of treatment actually break anyone down?' Adam mused.

Naturally, Adam knew Varidan officials had purposely left him in the room. However, he was certain several instructors were meticulously observing him from behind the glass.

He yawned while rising to his feet, with his gaze shifting between his reflections. After what he had endured at Vicar's hands, he didn't think much of Varidan's techniques. Even if they asked him to remain the entire week, he wouldn't break.

"Hello? Will someone answer me? When do we start the debriefing?" Adam asked.

However, silence greeted his words. It wasn't unexpected. That was already his tenth time of asking.

Stretching his legs for a few minutes, Adam returned to his seat. Bored out of his mind, he lay his head on the table while closing his eyes.

'If they are not going to say anything, I might as well sleep… I don't have time for games…'

The same moment Adam closed his eyes, the crystal ball emitted a blue glow. A split second later, an androgynous voice echoed in the room, saying, "Student 009, do you know the reason we summoned you?"

'Finally!'

"Yes, isn't this a debriefing?" Adam said.

He slowly opened his eyes while yawning, but didn't bother to lift his head.

'Why aren't they saying anything? Or, am I overdoing it?'

Just as this thought filled Adam's mind, the voice echoed again, "Student 009, in line with Varidan's rules, this debriefing is being held to validate the authenticity of your mission's success. Do you understand?"

'It's just as Vicar said. They are suspicious on our I completed those missions. I guess it's time I started.'

Adam's face turned serious as he maintained an upright sitting position.

"What do you mean? I didn't break any rules. Why would—"

"We are to determine if you broke any rules, not you. We will hold this debriefing according to Varidan rules. Be advised, if you tell a lie, you will be punished accordingly."

'How will they know if I am lying? Is it mirrors? or the blue orb? Or, is that the ability of an Awakened?'

Adam donned a frown as the mysterious voice interrupted him. However, he said nothing.

"Is your name Adam?"

"Yes," Adam said without pause.

"Are you an Awakened?"

"Yes," Adam said.

"Are you forty years old?"

"Of course not!" Adam retorted.

"Are you a weapon manipulator?"

"Is there any point in asking this? You know I can manipulate weapons," Adam said.

'Oh. They are definitely trying to find a baseline to know when I am lying and telling the truth.'

However, Adam didn't know how they knew whether he told the truth or not. Although he was tempted to lie, he knew the punishment that awaited him if he did.

"Did you complete the mission in Gido without help?"

"Yes," Adam said.

"How did you eliminate the clan when you're obviously weaker?"

"I don't have to answer that. Answering that will put myself at risk and it would reveal details of my ability. According to Varidan's rules, I can refuse to answer any question relating to my ability," Adam said.

Silence followed.

Apart from the Elders in Varidan Towers, it was a taboo for instructors and deans to ask students about their Blessings, unless the student willingly divulge the information.

"Did you kill the baccarra queen by yourself?"

"Of what use is asking that question? My mission said I was to obtain the heart of a killed—"

"Student 009, answer the question! From now on, answer in simple terms. Yes or no."

Cold sweat covered Adam's back as he heard the new voice. Although he had only heard it once he couldn't forget its owner.

'Why would a dean be here? I thought I could bullshit my way through this… What do I do now?'

Earlier, he had carefully worded his answers. Depending on the perspective, one could always give a correct answer despite being wrong. However, with Dean Hensley limiting him to a single word, Adam knew they had backed him into a tight corner.

"Did you kill the baccarra queen by yourself? I won't repeat the question. Failure to answer would attract an appropriate punishment."

'Damn it. Is there a way out of this?'

"Yes, I killed—"

Before Adam finished his statement, the crystal orb shook slightly. A dim red taint appeared on its surface, however, only Adam could see it.

[Title: Devourer activated]

In a split second, Adam felt a sharp pain course through his body which made him bury his face on the table. Shaking the orb further. At that same moment, five portals opened in the room. Seven masked instructors wearing red robes dashed towards Adam from the portals.

[Title: Devourer deactivated]

Two pinned him to the ground, while Hensley emerged from another portal. She walked towards the orb, before carefully observing its surface. A few seconds later, her brows furrowed as she motioned for the masked instructors to bring Adam closer.

"What did you do?" Hensley asked.

Adam's eyes quivered as he stared into her fierce eyes. He opened his mouth, however, he said nothing. His lowered his head while his body shook.

"The rest of you leave. I will handle the rest of the interro… debriefing."

Saying nothing, the instructors left through the opened portals. Leaving Adam and Hensley alone.

"If you don't answer me, you will be in a world of trouble. What did you—"

"I didn't do anything…" Adam said.

With fear etched on his face, he raised his head to meet Hensley's gaze. However, she focused on the crystal.

A moment later, she faced Adam again, as she said, "Did you kill the baccarra queen by yourself?"

"Yes. I did," Adam said without hesitation.

Hensley's gaze once again shifted towards the crystal. Again, nothing happened.

'What's happening? I could sense the orb's vibration earlier, wasn't it about to turn red a few seconds ago?' Hensley mused.

With different thoughts in her mind, she raised her head. The moment she locked gazes with Adam, he brows creased further.

'What's with that look? Something is not right here?' Hensley thought.

She didn't know why, but she could sense Adam laughing at her through his eyes. However, no matter how much she looked, he only resembled a student scared out of his mind.

"Did you witness the descent of the grand dungeon?" Hensley asked.

"No, I didn't," Adam retorted.

For the third time, Hensley focused on the orb. Like before nothing happened, only this time, she could see Adam staring at the orb too. Although he looked scared, she could also sense a relaxed aura around him.

"Your roommate, Hendrix Moon said his group encountered another Varidan student within the Valar Pits. Are you that student?"

"No. I haven't seen Hendrix in a while," Adam said.

"Only six students took missions in the Valar Pits, if it wasn't you, then who?" Hensley asked.

"Dean, anybody can wear the uniform of our Academy. They might have seen another Varidan student, but it definitely wasn't me. I reckon that Hendrix would have named me if he saw me. Dean, you also know that the academy allows students to take missions from their guilds, maybe they saw a student on an independent mission."

Unlike before, Adam donned a calm expression as he explained his point of view. Like before, Hensley stared at the orb.

With no reaction from the item, it meant Adam told the truth.

'This was a waste of time. This brat obviously got lucky… according to what his roommate said, the men from Raventhorn also came for the baccarras. He probably grabbed the heart after they had completed their task… yes, that should be it.'

"Final question, are you an enemy of Varidan? Or, do you work for an enemy of Varidan?" Hensley asked.

"No. I would never do that. I love—"

"That's enough," Hensley interjected.

She clapped twice, and a portal opened.

"You can leave now. You're free to continue undertaking missions for Varidan. You have successful passed the debriefing," Hensley said.

She didn't bother to even stare at Adam.

Saying nothing, Adam rose to his feet while heading towards the portal. A few seconds later, he disappeared from the room.

'Those elders will give me an earful when I make the reports. What was I expecting from a rank E Awakened? Should I call off the surveillance?' Hensley thought as she stared at the orb.

It had transformed from its blue hue to brilliant yellow.

'No. I might as well satisfy my conscience. It just three months. Thankfully, I didn't make a request for a longer period.'

Taking one last look at the orb, Hensley disappeared from the room via a portal.

Ten minutes after Hensley's departure, another portal opened in the room. With a masked instructor wearing a red robe emerging.

He walked towards the yellow orb, only stopping when he was an arm's length away.

"What kind of monster did Vicar let into Varidan? I didn't even have to do anything… but how did he stop the truthseeker? Or, was he telling the truth from the beginning?" The masked instructor muttered.

'No. If he would tell the truth, Vicar wouldn't have told me to intervene… Hahaha… this is great. I should send word as soon as possible.'

Just then, a portal opened beneath the instructor and he disappeared from the room.