Chapter 46: Entering Cyberspace

Every year, a mass of young Rank-1 Spirit Masters traveled to Arcane Heart University for recruitment. At this moment, the landing pads in the hoverbus station near the Recruitment Hall were jam-packed. Upon arrival, Ain’s hoverbus circled the gray cloudy skies slowly, awaiting a green light from the hoverbus station. This allowed ample time for Ain and Hugo to appreciate the university’s magnificence.

Ancient palace-like buildings, enhanced by a contemporary touch, were scattered sporadically throughout the beautiful landscape. Broad white-stone paths connected the structures, drowning the world in a mystical ambiance. In the distance, a towering castle shrouded in a rainbow mist harmonized with nature, overshadowing the flourishing mountains nearby. In the vast skies floated enormous islands at varying heights, supporting numerous buildings and facilities. A serpentine sky river, reaching the heavenly highs and the earthly lows, meandered between some of the islands, forming a bejeweled necklace for the world. Spirit masters were an abundant sight all across. Some flew through the air while others used fluxboards, rovers, and even airships to move around.

Ain, alongside Hugo and the rest of the passengers, admired the breathtaking scenery with awe. The windows were closed yet a pleasant aroma still wafted into their noses. Arcane Heart University’s geography was special. The immense aether concentrations here were far beyond anything Ain had experienced. Well, besides that hidden realm of white sand.

Amidst everyone’s wonderment, the hoverbus finally landed, allowing the passengers to disembark. Upon exiting the hoverbus station, Ain encountered a large crowd of teenagers heading towards a nearby building. Hugo couldn’t help but exclaim, “So many Rank-1 Spirit Masters! There must be thousands!”

Ain was similarly surprised at the sight. He’d never seen so many young spirit masters before! They were all teenagers like him who’d awakened in the past two years. “Most participants don’t pass…” He muttered, recalling some statistics from Cyberspace. These words naturally reached Hugo with his proximity. He solemnly responded, “That means thousands of them will fail today…”

Ain nodded seriously. His two aethercores granted him an advantage. This was the root of his confidence. However, seeing the horde of participants, he became a little anxious. He’d only awakened less than two months ago. His arsenal was limited to only Nox and two spells. Was it really enough? As his restless mind provoked endless thoughts, the two reached the Recruitment Hall. They waited in line while listening to the surrounding conversation. Soon, they arrived at the entrance, now standing before a young man, one of the assistants here. From the faint aether fluctuations, he was definitely a spirit master. He said to Hugo, “Show me your identification and place your hand here.”

Having already observed the procedures, Hugo freely complied. After displaying his identity, he verified his rank with the detector while asking curiously, “Are you a student here?”

The assistant didn’t mind the inquiry. He answered, “Yup. I accepted a mission to assist during the recruitment. Jobs like these are usually handed out to students. You’ll find out more if you pass.”

“I see, thank you. By the way, I have an enrollment token here.” Hugo thanked the student assistant while presenting the metal enrollment token. The student assistant revealed some surprise. The few participants nearby also glanced at Hugo peculiarly. A few of them clearly didn’t know about the enrollment tokens. The student assistant confirmed the token’s authenticity before saying, “I’ll add it to your profile.” Pointing back at the entrance with his thumb, he added, “After entering, take a left and go straight. Someone else will help you there.”

“Got it.” Hugo nodded, pocketing the enrollment token. Ain swiftly completed the procedure as well.

Inside the Recruitment Hall, three passages led to three different directions from the wide entryway. The mass of teenagers headed straight towards the auditorium. Their paths diverged so Hugo patted Ain’s shoulder and said, “Good luck. I’m sure I’ll see you at the comprehensive test.”

Ain smiled faintly and nodded. After Hugo left, Ain walked straight ahead into the spacious auditorium. Under the bright lights, thousands of half-open metal pods, with comfortable seats, were placed in semicircular rows. Several pods were already occupied by the participants who entered earlier. Ain briefly marveled at the technological wonders before entering one of the pods. He used Scan.

[Name: Cyberspace Simulation Interface]

[Aspect: Aspectless]

[Rank: Rank-1]

[Grade: Excellent]

[Aspect Traces: Metal 6.9%, Water 6.4%, Fire 6.4%, …]

[Description: A mechanical artifact capable of allowing Rank-1 Spirit Masters access to Cyberspace’s virtual world without a spirit sense.]

“It’s indeed an artifact,” Ain confirmed internally. Understanding the description, he pondered. “Spirit sense… Sage mentioned that it unlocks at Rank-2. Looks like Rank-2 is necessary to access the real Cyberspace without the Cyberspace Simulation Interface.”

After inspecting the pod, he patiently waited for the test to begin. An hour later, the tall auditorium doors finally closed. All the participants were already seated, displaying either composure, nervousness, or eagerness. The student assistants stood at the sides as a middle-aged man, with short brown hair, stepped onto the wide stage with a powerful gait. With a robust body adorned in battle robes, he gazed at the participants. The noisy auditorium became eerily silent. A few seconds later, the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and an invisible, authoritative force abruptly swept through the entire auditorium!

All the participants were startled. Loud gasps and exclamations suddenly erupted. Ain’s body subconsciously tensed as well. “What was that?” he mumbled cautiously. An untouchable force seemed to have phased right through him. Glancing around, some of the participants didn’t seem surprised at all.

“Looks like there’s no troublemakers this time,” the middle-aged man thought. As the auditorium erupted into a clamor, he said with a reverberating voice, “Silence!”

The auditorium was instantly silenced. He continued, “I’m your proctor for this recruitment. You can call me Mr. Brighton.”

“The recruitment process consists of two tests, both conducted through Cyberspace. You must pass both tests to be admitted into Arcane Heart University. Our university only accepts the best. In the first test, you need to display your most outstanding characteristics as a spirit master.”

“Your score will be immediately revealed inside Cyberspace upon finishing the first test. Whether or not you passed, remain seated inside your pods until the test’s duration has ended…”

Ain listened with rapt attention. Mr. Brighton continued his explanation with details regarding the proceedings. To finish, he said, “Now, use your identification to enter Cyberspace. Once inside, you’ll be prompted to select your test.”

At this moment, the lights in the auditorium gradually dimmed. Concurrently, the aether density inside started to increase. With shuffling sounds, the students reclined their seats and closed their pods. Ain followed suit. He lay there silently after inputting his information. He could vaguely sense some peculiar changes in the aether but couldn’t discern anything concrete. Amidst his nervous musing, darkness took over as his consciousness slowly receded.

Next, his eyes opened abruptly.

“Where am I?” he found himself standing in a world of darkness. Looking down, he didn’t see the ground, only the same darkness. In the absence of light, his own body was strangely visible. A disconnection with reality suddenly overcame him. “Am I in Cyberspace already?” he realized. Before he could think further, a series of golden words scattered the darkness. “Test selection…”

Ain discovered all the specialized tests listed. “Combat, Intelligence, Spirit Cultivator, Alchemist, Artificer, and Machinist…” From the six categories, three were the major craftsman professions. Spirit cultivators weren’t considered a craftsman profession. After just a brief glance, he chose the Intelligence Test without hesitation. He’d already decided beforehand. Above the golden words was a timer. The test would begin in two minutes.

While waiting, Ain inspected himself. “I can’t summon Nox. Moreover, my second aethercore isn’t present,” he immediately discovered. He added, “But my aether hasn’t been affected. The quantity and quality are still the same.”

Aside from a decreased aether recovery rate, the second aethercore’s temporary absence didn’t really weaken him. However, it did raise his vigilance. Cyberspace seemed to have scanned him to create this virtual body. From his judgment, Cyberspace should’ve discovered everything, except for his second aethercore, time aspect, and… Wisdom Root. He couldn’t sense the existence of the first two. As for Wisdom Root, however, the situation was a bit peculiar. “My intuition is telling me that my innate talent is Deep Insight. But I can still sense, and even use, Wisdom Root…”

Spirit masters intuitively knew their innate talent. That’s how Ain learned of Deep Insight when he first awakened. After the mutation, Wisdom Root was always his intuition. Right now, it’d become Deep Insight due to Cyberspace. However, in the deeper recesses of his consciousness, he found it to be Wisdom Root. This feeling was as if… Wisdom Root had snuck into Cyberspace undetected while the virtual world only discovered Deep Insight, his old innate talent. Wisdom Root’s illusory existence was also confirmed by his still powerful cognition, and from the quest he’d just received.

[Quest: Supreme Intelligence]

[Description: Obtain first place in the Intelligence Test.]

[Reward: Heavenly Whispers x10]

“First place… is it really possible?” Ain’s eyes brightened. The tasks in the normal quests had always been achievable. Even the most difficult quest so far, hunting the Infernal Tiger, wasn’t beyond his abilities. Even without Hugo, he could’ve summoned Stalker for assistance. This quest greatly bolstered his confidence. If the possibility of first place existed then just passing shouldn’t be difficult!

With Ain’s rising determination, the timer quickly reached zero.