Chapter 4: A Twig is sharper than a Dagger
The Whispering Woods.
Exam Area: Sector 7.
The second phase of the Pre-Board Assessment was a survival test. The students were dropped into the Whispering Woods—a dense, mana-rich forest crawling with Rank 1 and 2 Spirit Beasts. Their goal: Collect five Beast Cores and reach the exit before sunset.
"Remember," Instructor Zhang shouted at the entrance, "The Academy has placed safety wards, but accidents happen! Do not engage Rank 3 Beasts! If you see a Red Signal flare, run!"
Valdorian stood at the back of the group, adjusting his backpack.
"Did you pack the potions?" Liya asked, checking his gear like a worried mother.
"Potions, bandages, and three ham sandwiches," Valdorian listed, patting his bag. "Priorities, Liya."
"Can I have a sandwich?" Fatty Wang panted, already sweating just from standing in line. "I stress-eat."
"Let's move," Liya commanded, her icy gaze sweeping the forest. "Stay close to me. I'll clear the path. Valdorian, you carry the cores. Wang... try not to trip."
They entered the treeline.
The forest was beautiful but deadly. Vines slithered like snakes, and the shadows seemed to cling to the students.
For the first hour, it was a walk in the park. Literally. Liya was a powerhouse. Any Spirit Wolf or Razor Boar that jumped out was instantly turned into an ice sculpture before it could growl.
"Core number four," Valdorian said, picking up a blue crystal from a frozen snake. He tossed it in the air and caught it. "Too easy. Liya, you're making the exam boring."
"Boring is safe," Liya said, her eyes scanning the canopy. "Something is wrong. The forest is too quiet. The birds have stopped singing."
Valdorian stopped chewing his sandwich. He looked around.
His conscious mind saw trees.
His subconscious—the slumbering Sovereign—saw intent.
'Killing intent,' the inner voice whispered. 'Six o'clock. Twelve o'clock. Overhead.'
"Mist!" Wang squealed, pointing at the ground.
A thick, purple fog began to rise rapidly from the forest floor. It wasn't natural. It smelled of sulfur and mana-suppression herbs.
"It's a Trap Array!" Liya shouted. "Formation! Back to back!"
But the fog was faster. It swirled violently, separating them.
"Valdorian!" Liya's voice sounded muffled and distant instantly.
"Liya!" Valdorian called out, but he didn't sound panicked. He sounded... annoyed.
He stood alone in a pocket of purple fog. Visibility was zero. The sound of Wang's whimpering and Liya's ice spells faded away, blocked by a silence barrier.
"Separation tactic," Valdorian muttered, finishing his sandwich. "Classic. A bit cliché, though."
Swish.
A silent blade cut through the fog, aiming for his throat.
Valdorian didn't duck. He simply took a half-step back. The dagger sliced the air where his jugular had been a millisecond ago.
A figure emerged from the mist.
He was dressed in a suit of tight, black leather that absorbed light—Elven Shadow-Weave armor. His face was covered by a mask, revealing only eyes that burned with professional cruelty.
"Reflexes of a beast," the Assassin hissed, his voice distorted. "But you have no mana to shield your skin."
"You're not a student," Valdorian observed, dusting crumbs off his shirt. "Elven assassin? No, your stance is too heavy. Human mercenary trained in Elven arts?"
The Assassin's eyes narrowed. "You talk too much for a corpse. The Council sends its regards, Void-Born."
The Assassin vanished.
[Shadow Step].
He reappeared behind Valdorian, thrusting two poisoned daggers into Valdorian's kidneys.
Clang.
The daggers stopped.
They didn't hit skin. They hit... a stick.
Valdorian had picked up a fallen tree branch, about the length of a short sword, and held it behind his back casually. The daggers were dug into the wood.
"You..." The Assassin gasped. blocking a strike from behind without looking? With a twig?
"This wood is Oak," Valdorian said, turning around slowly. "Sturdy stuff."
"Die!" The Assassin abandoned stealth. He unleashed his aura—Core Formation Realm (Mid-Stage). A suffocating pressure descended. He launched a flurry of strikes, his daggers glowing with green poison mana. faster than the eye could follow.
Valdorian didn't retreat. He advanced.
He used the stick like a conductor's baton.
Parry. Deflect. Tap. Swipe.
Every strike the Assassin made was met by the wooden stick. Valdorian wasn't using strength; he was using geometry. He hit the flat of the daggers, the assassin's wrists, the weak points in the stance.
"Impossible!" The Assassin roared, sweating. "You have no mana! How can you track my speed?!"
"You're not fast," Valdorian said, his eyes beginning to darken. The innocent student facade was cracking. "You're just rushing."
Valdorian grew bored. The sandwich was gone, and this guy was ruining his nap time.
[Seal Leak: 0.2%]
[Concept: "The Sword is an Extension of the Will."]
"Let me show you," Valdorian whispered. The atmosphere in the fog changed. The air grew heavy, as if gravity had increased tenfold.
He held the ordinary wooden stick up.
"A sword does not need metal to cut. It only needs the concept of cutting."
The Assassin froze. His instincts screamed DEATH. The boy in front of him was no longer a boy. He looked like a giant looking down from the stars. The wooden stick in his hand seemed to turn pitch black for a split second.
Valdorian swung the stick.
It was a slow, lazy horizontal slash.
The Assassin raised his Grade-3 Daggers to block, channeling all his mana into a shield. "Break!!"
Slash.
The stick passed through the daggers.
It passed through the Assassin's mana shield.
It passed through the Assassin's neck.
There was no sound of impact.
Valdorian dropped the stick. It disintegrated into dust the moment it hit the ground—it couldn't handle the "Void Intent" he had forced into it.
The Assassin stood there, eyes wide. "You... you..."
His daggers fell, cut cleanly in half.
Then, a thin red line appeared on his neck.
"Monster..." the Assassin gurgled.
He collapsed. Dead instantly.
Valdorian stood over the body. He felt a throbbing headache as the Seal clamped down hard on his mind again.
[Warning: Seal Integrity Compromised.]
[Corrective Action: Memory Suppression.]
Valdorian blinked, shaking his head. The dark, starry look in his eyes vanished. He looked at the dead body and the cut daggers.
"Whoa," Valdorian muttered, looking confused. "Did he... did he have a heart attack? And why are his knives broken?"
He honestly didn't remember the slash. The System had edited the last ten seconds from his conscious memory to protect his brain from exploding.
"Valdorian!"
The fog began to lift. Liya burst through the bushes, her hair messy, looking frantic. Fatty Wang was tumbling behind her.
"Val!" Liya rushed to him, grabbing his shoulders. "Are you hurt? The mist... I couldn't find you!"
She looked down and saw the body. She froze.
"An assassin?" Liya whispered, crouching down. She inspected the clean cut on the neck and the severed daggers. Her eyes widened in horror. "This cut... it sliced through mana-reinforced steel. Who did this?"
Valdorian scratched his head. "I don't know. The fog was thick. I heard a woosh, and then this guy just fell over. Maybe a passing High-Ranker saved me?"
Liya stood up slowly. She looked at Valdorian. He looked innocent, holding a half-eaten bag of chips he had just pulled out.
But she looked at the ground. Near Valdorian's feet, there was a pile of sawdust—the remains of the stick.
'A passing expert?' Liya thought. 'Or is the expert standing right in front of me?'
She didn't press him. She grabbed his hand, tighter than before.
"We're leaving," Liya said, her voice shaking with suppressed rage. "Someone tried to kill you inside the Academy exam. This is war."
"Can we eat lunch first?" Fatty Wang asked from a bush.
"NO!" Liya and Valdorian shouted in unison.
Meanwhile, in the Elven Domain.
The Shadow Council.
In a dark chamber lit by green flames, five hooded figures sat around a scrying pool.
The image in the pool showed the dead assassin in the forest.
"Agent 4 is dead," a rasping voice said.
"How? Did the girl kill him?"
"No," another voice replied, rewinding the magical recording. The image was blurry due to the fog, but they saw the stick. They saw the flash of black energy.
"The target... he used a branch to sever a Soul-Link Dagger."
Silence filled the room.
"The prophecy," the Head Elder whispered, fear creeping into his tone. "The Dark Star born in the Mana Mine. It wasn't a rumor. King Aelion is hiding a monster."
"We cannot let him awaken. If he returns to the Elven Continent, our rule is over."
"Send the Nightwalkers," the Elder commanded. "And contact the Human Nobles who hate him. We will turn his academy into his grave."
Back at the Academy.
Valdorian returned to his dorm room after the exam. He was exhausted. Not physically, but his soul felt heavy.
He flopped onto his bed.
"Why is life so complicated?" he groaned. "I just want to sleep."
Hummmm.
The vibration came from under the bed again. Louder this time.
Valdorian reached down and pulled out the black sword, Nihility.
The rust was falling off rapidly now. About 10% of the blade was exposed—a pure, abyssal black metal that seemed to suck the heat out of the room.
And for the first time, a word appeared on the blade, glowing in faint purple light.
HUNGER.
Valdorian stared at it. "Hunger? You want food? I have chips."
The sword didn't vibrate. It radiated a feeling of disdain. It didn't want chips. It wanted energy. It wanted the souls of the enemies he had just fought.
Valdorian sighed. "Great. I have a stalker girlfriend, a murderous noble rival, assassins chasing me, and now a pet sword that demands sacrifices."
He patted the blade. "Go to sleep. We'll find you something to eat later."
He shoved the sword back under the bed.
As he closed his eyes, he didn't notice the shadows in the corner of his room twisting and bowing to him, acknowledging their King.
[Current Status:]
[Identity: Valdorian Cygnus Null]
[Rank: Mortal (Suppressed)]
[True Rank: Boundless Sovereign (Sealed)]
[Next Memory Unlock: 0.5% Leak Required.]
[Condition for Leak: A life-or-death battle with a
Rank 3 Being.]
Valdorian fell asleep instantly, dreaming of a throne made of stars, and a wine that tasted like liquid time.