To leave any floor within the Honing Fortress, a circular mark at its centre on the floor, with charged groves in it that responded to a variety of signals, needed to be occupied and activated. Replicus, Allora and Pherdanta stood on it, and Pherdanta uttered, "Third floor."
In a brilliant flash that temporarily transmuted their bodies, the trio was transported to the third floor, where they materialised in their original forms over a circular marking similar to the one on the floor they had just left.
As soon as they appeared, Replicus gave Pherdanta an order.
"Bring Kenno to me."
"As you wish," Pherdanta said before she zipped away.
A vast corridor with the same shiny, dark marble extended forth, along with several wide paths leading to different places around this floor. Numerous faces could be seen in the corridor as Replicus and Allora passed.
Replicus had grown his operation by recruiting a variety of decently talented combatants, and at the moment, in total, they all numbered around 114 – 47 Masters and 67 Advancers.
Most of them were outfitted with golden armour, and if one recalled, this was the same armour that Yuyui had retrieved after killing a Grand Priest in Genhuis, and securing his Mythical Grade storage pouch within which stacks of legendary armour were packed.
Said storage pouch was now the headquarters of Replicus' group; the entire space in which the Honing Fortress was placed, but since the pouch had a variety of functions, such as being able create different entrances and exits to its inner space which was habitable by living things, Replicus had decided to abuse that function in order to establish some degree of professionalism and security.
It wouldn't do to be seen packing 114 people inside a small pouch.
The experts gave deep bows as Replicus passed before they went about their business.
Said business, had to do with why this mansion was called the Honing Fortress. Most of the day for these souls, was spent honing skills that Replicus demanded them to be familiar with. For instance, mana manipulation.
The third and fourth floors were used for different sets of exercises, and as Replicus and Allora passed by an adjacent corridor, they saw a dozen cube-like rooms with glassy doorways.
Pure bursts of mana flitted around experts who were sitting the rooms in their own comfortable position, making great attempts at sensing mana. The rooms were a mechanism to assist in Class Branching into Energy Forming. Skullius had seen similar spaces in the Harem's Guild Residence way back, in Inhone City. Tulnas had explained how they worked.
Unlike Energy Formers Class Branching into more physicals styles of combat, Form Users and Arma Users required spaces where energies were concentrated so that they could try to understand them better.
It was very expensive to erect such spaces, but for Replicus, it hadn't been a problem. He had created these himself. The current him not only understood mana to a terrifying degree, he also understood Null Life Essence, and its different forms extremely well now.
After passing by several corridors with several experts trying to perceive energies, the duo reached an isolated room at the very end of the floor. It looked like the ones at the Guilds Association in Genhuis City used for examining prospective mercenaries.
It was massive, with a reinforced floor and wall, and no other opening but the luxurious door.
Allora beamed.
"J never imagined I'd be here one day," she said as she felt for the dark floor, and took a strange whiff at the air, as if it was any different from that she had been smelling throughout the corridor.
Replicus remained silent for a while.
"How do you feel about your life now, compared to before?" he asked.
Allora was a bit surprised by the inquiry, but she answered almost immediately.
"I'm glad you forced us under your wing back then. Being a common bandit wasn't really to my liking. Realising my full potential on the other hand, has been a blast. I'm truly living," the tall woman said brightly.
"I hope you feel that way till the end."
"As a bandit, I was always prepared to die. As a weak Shaman, I couldn't do much even then, and had to accept that I could be killed quite easily if not for the others. I'm still prepared to die. As long as it's a good death."
Allora grinned. She swiped her wavy jet black hair away from her brown eyes as she spoke with solid confidence.
Replicus didn't give a remark her declaration.
At that moment, Pherdanta walked in with a man adorned in a Granted Armament.
It was the familiar face of Kenno, the bandit leader who Skullius had fought against back when he went to defend Evic, a city in the Isise. He had been the leader of the bandit group which had now been brought under Replicus.
Kenno had been the first to become an Unlimited, and be granted an Armament, so in a way, he was a senior to the others, but not exactly the strongest among them.
"You called, boss?" Kenno asked after giving a modest bow and a light yawn.
"Yes," said Replicus. "I need you to put our very own Allora to the test. She has acquired a Hidden Class."
Kenno turned to Allora who gave him a broad smile. He sighed exhaustedly.
"Congratulations..." he said weakly, and she laughed.
It was customary for a new prospective Unlimited to be tested by her soon-to-be peers, and Replicus had chosen Kenno to do it because, well... according to his knowledge of the individual traits of his elite squad, Kenno was the most qualified.
His Hidden Class abilities were... the most tame.
"I think it would be better if you battled without your Granted Armament, Kenno," Replicus expressed to Kenno.
Kenno looked at his blue, white and silver armour. That was fair. His armour in particular gave him advantages that were better used when fighting with enemies rather than friends.
With a thought, the armour unfurled from his body like the petals of a flower in bloom, and Kenno stepped out, leaving the hunk of several measures of special material standing.
His slightly bulky body pressed against his casual shirt and pants as he flexed his muscles and gestured for Allora to follow him to the very centre of the room.
Soon, the two were standing six meters from each other in their stances. Replicus and Pherdanta stood close to the door, watching closely.
Allora paid keen attention to the slightest shifts in Kenno's muscles. He had been a very capable Form User before awakening a Hidden Class, and when one awakened to that, their former abilities were not lost.
Traces of weak mana showed in Allora's eyes around Kenno. The moment any of the twisting energies swelled, was when Kenno would attack.
However...
Allora's advanced mana manipulation hadn't helped in the least. She had barely taken a half a breath when Kenno's body covered her view. In a panic, her instincts lead her to duck down, spread her arms try to tackle Kenno and lunge against him.
"Would you look at that?" Allora heard Kenno's voice flit by her ear as she dove to embrace him. Somehow, Kenno had already moved past her while she was busy chasing his after image.
She felt her neck get trapped within Kenno's arm and a moment later, she had slammed into the floor harshly.
Allora didn't wait for the pain to subside.
She sucked in a deep breath, blasted her knuckles heavily against the ground to push herself up, and in the next second, she stood firm and scanned around her till she found Kenno.
ραΠdαsΝοvεl ƈοm The man's mighty forearm whacked against the side of Allora's neck, and she felt as if she had been smitten by disorienting thunder. She staggered, only to be struck by a fist in the gut, which sent her speeding to the other end of the room.
Allora pounded against the wall which remained unharmed despite the atrocious force.
"You're trying a bit too hard to master Form Using in such a limited amount of time. Is that what your new Class can do?" Kenno asked.
Allora rose and sat against the wall.
"Not really," she said with a heavy breath. Kenno's hits were rather casual, but they were effective. After every hit he landed, he could have dealt a killing blow if this was a real fight.
Allora admired that. Her past as a Shaman could never entice her this much. In fact, her personality slowly changed as she attempted to branch into Form Using.
Her eyes sparkled as she analysed Kenno's movement, and then she rose.
"Let's try this again," she said, but didn't move away from the wall.
Kenno immediately understood why.
'Hmm. She's trying to make sure I can't speed past her and attack from behind again. Decent strategy,' he thought. Never did he ever imagine that one of the Shamans from his former band would be showing some potential in hand to hand combat.
'I can still beat you just as easily though.'
Kenno dashed towards Allora in a straight course.
He arrived before her so quickly that she hadn't been able to guard or prepare adequately by the time his attack came.
...!
Kenno dug an upper cut into her gut and the force of it travelled through the walls. Allora groaned loudly in pain. Pinned by Kenno's fist, she found it hard to move. It was as though a great nail bore through her, and into the wall.
Was this natural?
Her strategy was working against her.
But...
Replicus' sockets flared.
'There it is...' he thought.
...!!!
A torrent of mana suddenly gushed from Allora's body without warning.
It brightened the room, and devoured her figure along with Kenno's.
'What in the world...?' Kenno's eyes bulged.
He felt Allora's mana spew at him like water from the floodgates of a large dam, and strangely... shockingly... appallingly...
It did not stop.
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