Chương 79: Convergence

The knock came just as Rowan slipped the single-use spell card into an inner pocket. There was still plenty of time on the terminal. More than three hours remained before registration closed at the Seventh Abyssal Hive's military transit point. Rowan opened the door. Rad stood outside. In his hand was a flat metal case about the width of a palm. There was no brand on it. Nor did its surface bear the identity lock or property code commonly found on modern equipment.

Only several old scratches that had long since been worn smooth.

"You're here early." Rowan stepped aside to let him in.

"Aren't you leaving today?" Rad entered the room. Then casually closed the door behind him. His gaze remained on Rowan for a moment.

"What's going on with your mana?"

"I advanced." Rad froze. The light in his cybernetic eye flared brightly.

"When?"

"Last night."

"..." Rad looked at the military registration page on the terminal. Then turned back to Rowan.

"You reached Dual-Phase last night, and you're going to take the military exam today?"

"The Etching Fluid was standard-grade, and I had a Mana Primordium prepared."

"Was I asking about the materials?" The corner of Rowan's mouth lifted.

"So, when are you planning to catch up and keep me company?"

"Go to hell. Once I reach Dual-Phase, want to spar?" Rad grinned and swung his arm. He placed the metal case on the table. The clasps sprang open. A layer of faded black cloth lined the interior. Resting quietly inside was a blue-black metal ward clasp. It was about half the size of a palm. Its overall shape resembled an inverted triangle. The edges were asymmetrical, as though they had been worn down over many years. Three dark crystals of different sizes were embedded in its surface. One at the top.

One at the lower left. And one at the lower right. A ring of tiny writing surrounded each crystal. Many parts had already become illegible. What remained didn't resemble the armament-pattern structures commonly seen on modern Terra. Rowan reached out and picked up the clasp. It was heavier than it looked.

"Three-Luminary Life-Warding Clasp." Rad pointed toward the three crystals.

"No idea whether that's its original name. It's just what the person who gave it to me called it."

"An ancient spell artifact?"

"Probably."

"Probably?" Rad leaned against the table.

"The person who gave it to me said it was." Rowan raised his head.

"Who?"

"Someone I know."

"Don't worry about where it came from." Rad said:"We don't have time for you to start playing detective." Rowan examined the clasp again. Rad clearly didn't want to explain any further.

"How do I use it?"

"Fasten it to yourself first." There was no modern quick-release interface on the back of the clasp. Only two strangely shaped metal hooks. Rowan took off his jacket. Then secured it to the inner lining over his chest. The blue-black metal pressed tightly against him. The three crystals still showed no response.

"Inject mana," Rad said. Rowan separated a thread of Mental Power and slowly probed into the clasp's core along with the mana he injected. There was some resistance at first. But as his Mental Power gradually washed through the core, the rejection quickly disappeared. A faint connection settled into Rowan's consciousness. The ancient armament patterns across the clasp lit up one after another. Dark-gold light rapidly flowed through the tiny writing. The three crystals lit up as well.

The uppermost crystal glowed first. An extremely faint arc of light appeared in front of Rowan's head and neck. Then another appeared over the center of his chest. The final shield formed around his waist and abdomen. The three light shields remained visible for only a moment. They quickly turned transparent again. But they hadn't truly disappeared. Rowan could faintly sense them. They remained connected to the clasp. Like three hidden plates hovering close to his body.

"Head, chest, waist and abdomen." Rad pointed to each location in turn.

"It only protects those areas."

"What about everywhere else?"

"You dodge." Rad picked up a metal screw used for securing equipment. Rowan had only just looked toward him— When Rad flicked it from between his fingers. The screw flew straight toward Rowan's throat. Dark-gold light abruptly flared. An arcing shield instantly appeared in front of his neck. Clink— The metal screw was deflected. It struck the wall beside him. Then fell to the floor. The shield trembled once. And faded back into invisibility. Rowan looked at Rad.

"You could have warned me first."

"What would that have tested?" Rad walked over and picked up the screw.

"It intercepts attacks automatically."

"As long as they land near one of those three areas."

"How strong an attack can it stop?"

"No idea."

"How many times can it be used?" Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"No idea." Rowan looked at him again. Rad spread his hands.

"I only just got it. I haven't even run a full test."

"No one knows how much power remains inside."

"You wanted to keep your magitech implant load low, right? Ancient equipment has a simpler signature. It's perfect."

"Ordinary attacks probably won't consume much."

"But if something genuinely powerful hits it, the whole thing might fail after blocking once."

"Or maybe only one crystal will go dark." Rad tapped the clasp with one finger.

"So don't use it to test your limits."

"If you can dodge, dodge."

"Only let it block something when you genuinely can't get away." Rowan didn't answer immediately. An ancient defensive spell artifact. Even if its functions were incomplete— It still wasn't something an ordinary student could casually obtain.

"How much?" Rad closed the metal case and pushed it aside.

"Come back alive first."

"Once you pass the exam, buy me a good meal."

"Just admire your brother's connections." Rad raised his eyebrows. Rowan watched him show off without asking further. He simply committed the favor to memory. He put his jacket back on. The clasp disappeared beneath his clothing. From the outside, only a slight bulge could be seen over his chest. A considerable amount of time had already passed on the terminal. Attuning and testing the artifact had taken nearly half an hour longer than Rowan had expected.

The time that had originally been extremely generous— Had been reduced to an ordinary margin. Rowan picked up the blade leaning against the wall.

"Let's go."

"I'll take you there," Rad said.... The public transit line heading toward the Industrial Transport Zone was quieter than usual. The closer they came to the edge of the Seventh Abyssal Hive— The fewer ordinary passengers remained. More mages began appearing inside the carriage. The military access pass on Rowan's terminal had replaced the normal route display and occupied one corner of his vision.

[Sector 4 Southeastern Wall Segment Joint Examination Zone] [Seventh Abyssal Hive Transit Point] [Registration closes in: 01: 41: 26] There was still enough time. Rad sat beside him. Watching a livestream of a beautiful elf teaching magic. One glance was enough for Rowan to tell that Rad wasn't learning a thing. After the vehicle entered the Industrial Transport Zone— The two stepped off at the public platform. A massive wall blocked most of the distant view.

Dark-red defensive array patterns stretched across its surface in both directions. Industrial transport vehicles continuously passed through dedicated lanes. The air carried a mixture of metallic dust and the smell of combustion-crystal engines. The military exam transit point had been established beside a military checkpoint. The road leading to it had been temporarily cordoned off. Ordinary civilians could only accompany candidates as far as the security line. Rowan and Rad walked quickly.

But by the time they arrived— There were already very few people waiting outside. A military officer was removing one of the nearby temporary barricades. Rad stopped. Going any farther required military access authorization.

"This is far enough," Rowan said. Rad glanced toward the checkpoint in the distance.

"Don't be stingy about using that clasp."

"I'm more protective of my life."

"Good." Rad reached out and slapped Rowan on the shoulder. A little harder than necessary.

"Message me when you come back."

"Don't worry. I'll contact you when it's time for me to buy dinner." Rad opened his mouth. Then finally cursed.

"Get lost." Rowan turned and entered the security cordon. The temporary barricade quickly closed behind him again. He didn't look back.... Very few candidates from the Seventh Abyssal Hive were participating in the joint military exam. There were no other candidates left in the temporary inspection zone. A soldier finished verifying Rowan's identity. His gaze paused on the time.

"The last one from the Seventh Abyssal Hive."

"Go to Inspection Station No. 2." Rowan entered the semi-enclosed area beside him. A ring of gray-white array patterns had been embedded in the floor. Several detection crystals without outer casings floated overhead. The soldier responsible for the inspection raised his head.

"Put all auxiliary systems into sleep mode."

"That includes AR, external computation, and any implanted support core." Rowan shut down his AR. The familiar prompts disappeared from his vision one by one. Time. Route. Personnel identification. Environmental markers. Finally, even the military access pass shrank into a dim strip of basic identity data. The Aether Core inside his arm entered deep dormancy shortly afterward. The faint responsiveness that had always been present disappeared completely. It remained embedded inside his arm.

But it was as though it had suddenly become a lifeless piece of metal. The inspection zone remained quiet for several seconds. The gray-white array patterns beneath Rowan lit up. Light scanned upward across his body. It paused slightly when it reached his left arm. Then continued upward. The ancient clasp beneath his clothes also released a trace of dark-gold light. Its three crystals didn't deploy their shields. They merely responded briefly to the detection array. The detection crystals overhead vibrated faintly.

Then quickly became still again. The soldier looked at the results.

"Mana noise is within standard limits." He took out a thin gray wafer. Then pressed it against the inside of Rowan's left wrist. The wafer rapidly dissolved after touching his skin. It became a faint gray pattern. A cold sensation spread upward along Rowan's arm. A new power completely locked down the Aether Core that had already entered dormancy. Rowan attempted to make contact with it. There was no response. The remaining basic AR information in his vision disappeared as well.

Even the time was no longer displayed.

"Do not attempt to remove the Silence Seal before the examination ends," the soldier said.

"Forced removal will result in immediate disqualification." Rowan nodded. A second wave of light scanned across his chest. The soldier suddenly paused.

"Your records list you as Tier 1 Single-Phase."

"I advanced yesterday." The soldier raised his head and looked at Rowan.

"Right before the examination?"

"Yeah." The detection crystals swept across his chest again. The responses from two basic Source Runes were quickly confirmed.

"Your Source Crystal Core is stable." The soldier put away the terminal.

"Passed."

"The transport vehicle is in Passage No. 3."

"You have twelve minutes." Rowan picked up his blade. Then quickly left the inspection zone.... A gray-black military transport vehicle was parked outside Passage No. 3. The vehicle was old. Its surface bore numerous signs of rewelding and replaced armor. Its broad wheels were coated in corrosion-resistant material. The chassis stood considerably higher than that of ordinary city vehicles. The combustion-crystal engine had already started. A low vibration traveled through the ground. The door was still open.

Rowan climbed inside. There was only one other candidate in the compartment. Julian sat beside the window. An equipment case was secured beside his feet. A black combat suit fitted closely against his body. Very little equipment had been attached to the outside. Only a few seams occasionally flashed with faint mana patterns. His eyes were closed. His breathing was extremely steady. But he didn't appear to be asleep. The mana around Julian was changing according to a fixed rhythm. Gathering. Dispersing.

Then gathering again. The fluctuations were extremely slight. They didn't form any real spell. It was more like he was repeatedly rehearsing one section of a construction process inside his consciousness. When Rowan boarded— Julian opened his eyes. Their gazes met briefly. Julian's eyes passed over Rowan's chest. Then paused on the gray seal around his left wrist. He said nothing. Rowan didn't speak either. He sat on the opposite side of the compartment. Then placed his blade somewhere he could reach immediately.

Julian closed his eyes again. The faint rhythm of mana around him reappeared. The vehicle door closed behind Rowan. A soldier accompanying the transport sat at the front. He confirmed the number of passengers.

"Two candidates."

"All personnel from the Seventh Abyssal Hive are present." The transport vehicle began moving.... The vehicle did not immediately travel beyond the wall. It first entered the Industrial Transport Zone at the edge of the Seventh Abyssal Hive. Several heavy transport routes converged ahead. Ore haulers, array-maintenance vehicles, and military armored vehicles were diverted into different areas. The vehicle carrying Rowan entered a massive elevator platform. A steel gate slowly closed behind it.

Several dull impacts sounded from around the platform. Locking mechanisms secured the vehicle. Then— The entire platform began descending. A faint sense of weightlessness came from beneath Rowan's feet. The internal structures of the wall constantly passed outside the narrow window. One level. Then another. Maintenance platforms. Energy-transfer conduits. Dark-red defensive arrays. And large-scale armament-pattern nodes embedded deep within the wall. Rowan had traveled this route before.

But this time— There were no AR annotations in his vision. No altitude readings. No route guidance. Everything inside the wall seemed even more enormous. And much more unfamiliar. Julian never opened his eyes. The faint mana fluctuations around him continued. The elevator platform descended for a long time. Until a distinct jolt ran through the vehicle. The mechanical locks released it. The gate ahead opened. The accompanying soldier took out two syringes.

"Neutralizer." Julian opened his eyes. He accepted one of the syringes. His movements were extremely practiced. Rowan took the other. The needle entered his arm. Cold medicine flowed into his veins. A familiar sluggish sensation rapidly spread through his mana circuits. The tendency of the mana inside him to leak outward was gradually suppressed. Several airlocks opened in succession. Dim light entered the compartment from ahead. The military transport drove out through the base of the wall.

And entered Sector 5.... There were no city roads beyond the wall. Only transport routes repeatedly cleared and reinforced by the military. The surface remained rough. Whenever the vehicle passed through a damaged section— The entire compartment shook noticeably. The land outside was a mixture of gray-black and dark red. Warped vegetation grew from gaps in the ruins. Some branches resembled bones. The leaves of others were covered in tiny openings that continuously opened and closed.

Farther away— A small carapaced aberrant beast was dragging some kind of rotting remains. At the sound of the convoy— It raised its head. Several asymmetrical eyes turned toward the vehicles simultaneously. An alert array on the armed vehicle at the front flashed once. The aberrant beast quickly released the carcass. Then disappeared behind a collapsed building. The transport from the Seventh Abyssal Hive wasn't traveling alone. Several other military vehicles moved ahead and behind it. Some carried supplies.

Some transported armed personnel. Two others were covered in thick concealing tarps. There was no way to see what they carried. The convoy continued along the military route. The mana rhythm around Julian was interrupted several times. Whenever the vehicle shook particularly violently— He adjusted himself. Then continued maintaining the original rhythm. Rowan didn't keep watching him. He sank his attention inward. The first mana pool remained stable.

The mana inside the second mana pool had not yet been completely replenished. But the crystal face formed by his phase advancement showed no abnormalities. The model of Great Sun Heavy Bolt also remained clearly preserved in his memory. Without access to AR or the Aether Core— Many records he had previously been able to retrieve at any time were gone. Rowan could rely only on himself. His fingers touched the clasp beneath his clothes. The three crystals showed no response.

Only an extremely faint connection reached him. As though they were waiting for something. The vehicle continued forward. About an hour later. New convoys began appearing along the road ahead. The first arrived from another wasteland route. An unfamiliar Abyssal Hive number had been printed along the sides of the vehicles. Several transport vehicles merged onto the main military route. Through the narrow window— Rowan saw four young people sitting inside one of them. They wore identical uniforms.

One of them was also observing the vehicle from the Seventh Abyssal Hive. The two sides briefly met each other's gazes through the windows. Then the dust thrown up by the vehicles behind them blocked the view. Farther ahead— More and more convoys merged onto the main road. Some Abyssal Hives had sent only one vehicle. Others occupied three or four transports. Different identification numbers gradually mixed together. All of them traveled along the same road toward the depths of Sector 5.

The candidates who had originally been scattered across the Wall of Sighs— Were slowly converging here. Julian finally stopped the exercise he had maintained for so long. He opened his eyes. Then looked toward the increasingly enormous convoy outside. There was still little expression on his face. But he didn't close his eyes again. On the horizon ahead— A massive shadow gradually emerged from behind the gray fog. At first— Rowan thought it was a military fortress located deep within Sector 5.

Only after the convoy continued approaching— Did the open space beneath the shadow become clear. Several enormous dark-red array rings slowly rotated around its hull. A massive armored structure hung above the wasteland. Several temporary loading lanes had been established beneath it. Military engineers were replacing a section of mana-inert outer armor. Higher above, the protective array patterns covering the fortress continued flashing steadily within the gray fog.

Military vehicles bearing the numbers of different Abyssal Hives entered the security perimeter one after another. A flying fortress. Everyone was converging on it. The convoy from the Seventh Abyssal Hive passed through the final military checkpoint. Its speed gradually decreased. The surrounding area was already filled with parked transport vehicles. Soldiers were directing groups of young mages out of their vehicles. More convoys continued arriving through the gray fog in the distance.

The transport vehicle finally stopped. The last trace of mana fluctuation around Julian completely dispersed. The door opened. Wind carrying the corrosive smell of Sector 5 immediately poured into the compartment. Julian stood. He picked up the equipment case beside his feet. Then stepped out first. He still hadn't spoken to Rowan. Rowan slung his blade across his back. Then followed him out of the compartment. The enormous hull of the flying fortress blocked most of the sky above them.

Candidates from different Abyssal Hives were everywhere. Dozens. More than a hundred. And new vehicles were still arriving. Only two people had come from the Seventh Abyssal Hive. Here— They were merely a tiny stream merging into the crowd.