"Warped space, Alex. Warped space. The arc in front of you is the entrance to a royal-ranking warped space," Ketovan said.
"Warped space… so this is how their entrances look," Alexander wondered aloud, eyeing the shimmering arc.
"I asked some friends to accompany us. I think they will be a great help. Remember Reina Darath from the orc invasion?" Ketovan asked.
"The girl who dragged you away from me? Yes," Alex replied.
"She has a mentor—an important one. He is a noble ranker. Along with him, we have another noble joining us," Ketovan said, checking his communication device.
Just as Alexander began to grow bored, two objects streaked into the church from out of nowhere. One was a black, beam-like structure that looked oddly like an elevator, and the other was a yellow car bristling with blasters. The car nearly slammed into Ketovan before the driver brought it to a screeching halt.
As the car stopped, a door opened on the dark beam structure, and a man in a deep blue suit with a clean shave stepped out. He shook hands with Ketovan before dismissing his ride.
"This is Franklin Garhan, the aristocrat I mentioned. You can call him Lord Garhan," Ketovan said, introducing the man to Alex.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Sobreviviente," Lord Garhan said, shaking Alexander's hand.
Two figures stepped out of the yellow car. One was a massive man, nearly nine feet tall, wearing only a sleeveless shirt and joggers with a katana strapped to his waist. The other was the adventurer society lady Alexander had met previously—the one who had been driving. While the giant man moved to shake Ketovan's hand, Reina walked straight toward Alexander.
"Reina Darath, nice to meet you, Mr. Sobreviviente. I guess this isn't our first meeting," Reina said, shaking his hand.
"Alexander Sobreviviente, same here, Miss Darath," Alexander replied.
"This is Hakon Klein," Ketovan said, gesturing toward the giant.
"It's nice to meet you, Alexander. Ketovan speaks very highly of you." Hakon's hand was larger than both of Alexander's combined. At five-foot-five, Alexander felt like a child standing next to him.
"Same here, Lord Klein," Alexander said.
"Please, 'Hakon' will do," the giant responded.
"Nice to meet you, Hakon," Alexander corrected.
"So, are introductions over? We have a warped space to enter."
"Not yet," Hakon interrupted. "You wanted me to train Alexander, right? I need to know more about him."
Alexander looked confused. He just wanted Ketovan to explain the basics; he was already being trained by Emperor in his soul realm every day.
"Core of Hegemony. Normal rank 4. He has a sword that can eat anything if he wills it," Ketovan explained.
"Anything?" Reina asked, her interest piqued.
"Anything. For example, it once ate a skill," Ketovan said.
"A skill?!" Hakon, Reina, and Franklin asked in unison.
"Yes," Ketovan confirmed.
"Then why do you need me to train him?" Hakon asked, crossing his arms. "He can just tell the sword to eat the hurdles in front of him. If it can consume a skill associated with the soul, can't it eat a divine-rank beast like it's a snack?"
"It only happens when he goes into a trance and lets his aura beast take control," Ketovan explained.
Reina's eyes widened. "Don't tell me... he's still a normal ranker. His aura beast shouldn't even have consciousness unless it is a concep—" She stopped herself, breathless.
"Yes. He has one of those as his aura beast," Ketovan said.
"I would prefer if we left this conversation here," Alexander said, speaking for the first time since his secrets were being handed out like pamphlets.
"Right," Ketovan agreed. "We are here to practice being a team for the upcoming orc annihilation mission and to train Alexander."
"He's right," Renald whispered to Alexander, eyeing Franklin. "The Duke will try to recruit him if he finds out about this. We better be careful."
"I won't leak this information," Franklin interjected, catching the tension. "I am here as Franklin Garhan, the returning adventurer. I quit my job at the castle."
"Just be careful while talking to him," Renald whispered again to Alexander.
"We are getting late. Bishop, open the seal," Ketovan commanded.
Renald pulled out a glass orb and threw it at the arc. The sphere liquified, coating the entrance in a swirling, viscous membrane.
"After you, Alex," Ketovan said.
"What? We just jump in?" Alexander asked, unsure if he should trust the process.
"Yes," Hakon said, shoving Alexander through the arc.
Alexander felt his body pass through something thicker than solid matter. As he broke through to the other side, he gasped—he was falling from the sky, hundreds of kilometers above the ground. The wind roared, tearing at his eardrums, and for the first time since he had reincarnated, he felt true, primal fear.
"Alexander!" Ketovan shouted from above. He was falling too, but he looked completely unphased, even enjoying the experience.
Hakon and Franklin were behind them, descending with such raw power that the air seemed to shy away from their personal space. Reina, however, was in the same panicked state as Alexander. As Ketovan caught up, he activated his "Blue Protection Domain," wrapping a sphere of translucent mana around himself, Alexander, and a flailing Reina to slow their descent.
"Can't you give a heads-up, Ketovan?!" she screamed, furious.
The noble rankers blew past them, not bothering to slow down. They plummeted at speeds dozens of times faster than Ketovan's mana sphere. As Alexander looked down, he watched them impact the earth. He had never seen a bomb go off, but the mushroom clouds that erupted from the impact sites made him wonder if this was what an atomic blast looked like.
Dust rose for tens of kilometers, creating craters nearly ten kilometers wide, separated by thirty kilometers of scorched earth. Two small specs emerged from each crater and waited in the middle for the blue sphere to arrive. Ketovan lowered them gently, landing without making a sound.
Alexander scanned the noble rankers, expecting their clothes to be shredded, but there wasn't a single scratch on them. Franklin had summoned his light-darkness armor, while Hakon remained in his simple sleeveless shirt and joggers, looking entirely unbothered.
Alexander looked around, frowning. "Where is Renald?"
***