[Chapter 60] Convenient

I shake my head and look at Dreag. "Teacher, I understand that you created this test, but who were these people?" I have a confused look on my face.

He almost immediately replies, making me think he suspected this question. "They are a group of human adventurers we hired to attack this caravan. They were already criminals so we thought that this would be a worthy test for you. I will not train just anyone after all."

I nod, understanding. I look over at the unconscious man on the ground, his face has a massive scar across the front, from his forehead to his chin. "So what do you plan on doing with them now?"

"We plan on executing them, these criminals mainly committed rape and mass killings of supply carts. The guards were about to do something before we took over, but this group had no idea. So it was easy to hire them when we said we just needed some adventurers for a test."

'Another reminder of how cruel humans can be.' But then a question bubbles in my mind. "But why did you want me to avoid killing them if you are going to execute them anyway? Not that I can kill them, but it limited my combat style."

Dreag raises an eyebrow before saying, "To show that you can control yourself, I need to be sure you won't go on a killing spree. And where did you learn to use the scythe anyway?"

'Hmm, I could just tell him it was something I felt comfortable using, but that doesn't seem like a very good lie.' I think as I inwardly smirk. "I don't really know…I was just cleaving grass one day in our backyard and it felt so natural. So I thought I would try to train with it like a weapon."

Dreag squints slightly before shaking his head, "Alright but you must have been practicing for quite a while to become that good with it, not even a divine beast can learn in an instant." I laugh while scratching the back of my head. And he throws one more question which shocks me even more.

"And I was told by Aurora that you were training to be a body mage, so why are you using a mana weapon?" I pause while thinking of a good excuse, not having expected this question.

'I hope this is good enough.' "The scythe just happens to appear as a weapon mage's weapon, it works as a good bluff though."

Dreag nods, "Indeed. So let's get going, the criminals are being captured as we speak. You truly didn't think we would travel without guards, did you?" He says as I gaze over. I see a second cart approach behind ours, It's all black with the crest on the side, with black suited knights cuffing the criminals and carrying them into the cart, it's a miracle that they all could fit in it.

I shake my head before walking with Dreag towards the cart, but I see something sticking out of the disturbed dirt that catches my eye. It looks like a red curved handle, similar to a cabinet. Other than that, it is hard to make out so I grab it and pull a little, but it shockingly doesn't budge. I yell at my teacher, "Wait a second!" As I grab it with both of my hands and pull with all my strength.

He stares at me, but then sees that I am trying to pull something out and stops moving, seemingly intrigued. I pull with all my strength, my muscles bulging, when suddenly, the ground begins to tremble. I continue to pull, and Dreag's eyes go wide as he feels the small tremors. But the item still refuses to give way.

'Whatever the hell this is, it's stuck real good!' I pause for a moment as I imagine my mana running through me, spreading out through my bones, my muscles, my skin, every inch of my body. Suddenly, large black wisps flow off of my body as the ground trembles even more. 'What the hell is this?! Why is it not budging!' I think as I activate my second form, my horns grow, scales cover my body, and my eyes become even sharper.

All of a sudden, Dreag starts running towards me, sensing something was going to happen. All of a sudden, the ground shifts and out appears a large box as tall as me and behind it is a three inch thick cable. I see the cable and continue to pull, as the cable is pulled, it suddenly snaps and disappears into the crater that once held the box. 'What the hell?'

I stare at the box with shock as I see large scratches, dents, and small pieces of rust on it. But what shocks me the most are two words on the box, Project Firestorm, in English!

I step closer to it and see a cracked screen with a flickering power button in the top left corner. 'Got nothing to lose.' I think as I press the button. All of a sudden, the screen glows with life and a variety of options appear on it. The options are, videos, integrity, and open.

'Screw opening this thing, I don't even know what's in it yet.' I think as I click on videos. All of a sudden, I see an old man looking at me with tired eyes, seemingly no soul left in them. He has thin hair on his head and a slim face, covered in wrinkles. Some dark spots rest near his temple and his head shakes with age. He opens his mouth and speaks in an old, sad voice, seemingly even older than he is.

"If you are seeing this video, one of three things has happened. A, this plan succeeded and our star was fixed. B, I am dead and you are carrying on my legacy. Or C, we failed and different life forms are seeing this."

"So to tell you what happened, it is the year 5038, we have destroyed our planet with the constant pollution, war, and overpopulation. Since these problems arose in 4568, we have been trying to handle the problem with overwhelming results. Our once massive, sprawling population is now less than half of the population of 2020, leading to 3 billion in numbers."

"But bigger problems have arisen, we started noticing fluctuations in our sun's activity in 4706 and began to study it. The results were catastrophic to us, our sun is about to enter a super nova state and create a black hole, destroying our existence as we know it." I suddenly hear a voice beside my ear.

"What is he saying?" I jump, seeing my teacher beside me. 'He was so quiet!' I must of been too focused on the video. I quickly recompose myself and begin to listen again.

"We have no way of escaping in time of the black hole so the remnants of the governments have pulled together the last of our resources to try and solve this issue. Hence, we created Project Firestorm."

"Project Firestorm was designed to try and prevent our sun from collapsing using the best techniques and plans available. Project Firestorm is a last ditch effort to humanity's survival. However, this was a side effect of one of our projects, it's a parasite that changes the physiology of the person whom it enters."

"We have noticed that the parasite will change the host's physiology to that of what would be four different forms, we have called them by their mythological names. Vampires, Werewolves, Hybrids, and Mermaids. As assumed, vampires need human blood to survive and are weak to the sun, werewolves have the ability to shape shift at will but have a weakness to silver, and mermaids would grow a tail with gills on their undersides. Hybrids, we have concluded, are a unique moment when two forms are trying to happen at once or an underlying gene mutating the transformation even further. This ends up resulting in unique scenarios such as a vampire who can transform into a werewolf, or a mermaid who needs to consume blood, but hybrids are by no means weak. They actually are even stronger than their conterparts gaining usually all of their advantages with few disadvantages."

"Within this container holds the most powerful one we have ever created, we have used the last of our resources for this one. It is one of ou..." He trails off as his eyes suddenly go wide and his face contorts to one of horror.

I suddenly see the building he was working in have the door pulled off and alarms begin to wail as the box begins to move, entering what looks to be a void, and that is where the recording stops.

I stand there dumbfounded at what I just witnessed, millions of thoughts running through my mind. I suddenly hear Dreag, "Judging by your expression, you know what he said, what happened?" He asks in a stern voice, showing he is not budging.

I snap out of it and put my hand on the box, 'Inspect,' not even acknowledging his question. And suddenly, I see a text box pop up and I about puke blood as I read the information.