Birth of the Chaos

A man in a white cassock, fully covered down to the bottom, was slowly approaching the students.

"Due to the urgency of the situation, we had to summon you without prior notice," he said.

Ethan listened calmly as the man spoke.

"So, are you saying that the unnatural weather was caused by you people?" Eric interrupted.

"Unfortunately, yes. In order to summon a large number of people, expanding the mana through weather manipulation was our only choic–"

Before he could finish, Ethan, his eyeballs, wide and bloodshot, grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him into the air. "So you were the reason my brother fell from the cliff! Answer me!"

All the soldiers immediately raised their swords against Ethan. "Release the Priestess at once, or we will be forced to take action!"

In response to the threat, all the students stood in defense of Ethan, positioning themselves beside him.

The teacher shouted, "Ethan, release him at once!"

But Ethan, blinded by his emotions, ignored his teacher's voice and didn't loosen his grip for even a moment.

The Priestess's face was turning red, slowly losing his consciousness, as saliva leaked from the side of his mouth. 

"Ethan what do you mean by Alex fell" With hair as blue as the ocean's depth, eyes shone like jewels and with snow like flawless skin, such one could take for an angel. Soon her serene face hardened in a fierce scowl, her gaze narrowing in intense displeasure. 

It was Cheryl.

Ethan, hearing her voice, immediately released the Priestess.

When Alex and Joshua both fell, Ethan left the place immediately despite the strong winds. He needed to bring help as quickly as possible.

The rain poured heavily as Ethan ran through the muddy hills, falling multiple times. But he never stopped, not even once.

Drenched all over, with a desperate cry, Ethan ran to the camp. His face was covered in mud from falling repeatedly.

He frantically tried to explain the dire situation, and everyone was attempting to contact the rescue team, but to everyone's avail, there was no signal. Alex's crush arrived late to the scene, but by then, Ethan had already left with the teacher and a few other students to search for Alex.

He had also requested the other students not to tell her anything, knowing Alex wouldn't have wanted him to share it either.

After searching for an entire day, they found nothing. Without climbing gear, they couldn't go any deeper either.

By the time they were packing to return to the nearest town, a huge thunderstorm hit their camp, and now they were here.

The teacher calmly explained the situation, while tears streamed down Ethan's face. Cheryl just stood there motionless, unable to process the shock.

She remembered the good times they spent together, always seeing him smiling and relaxed. It felt empty knowing he was gone.

Even the King bowed his head in shame after hearing their story.

After finally recovering from the suffocation, the Priestess stood up with the help of two apprentices.

"Actually, during our summoning, we were interrupted by some demonic powers. Originally, it was supposed to be just rain, but if your description is correct, then that demonic energy must have been the cause of it all," she explained.

"So you're saying the demons were involved in this?" the King asked, his voice filled with anger as he mentioned the name.

"Yes, I believe that seems to be the case," she replied.

Ethan clenched his fist in anger, veins popping from his arms. "Demons, you say... Is it the same ones you summoned us here for?"

"Yes, that seems to be the case," the King nodded.

"Very well." Ethan moved closer to the King and stood tall.

"Demons, or even immortal beings, whatever you are, I'll make sure to crush you all for taking the only life precious to me."

The students watched Ethan, noticing how he acted exactly like his brother whenever unexpected events happened to Alex.

They all felt upset, recalling their memories with Alex.

"It's already been a rough introduction. Why don't we have something to eat first?" The King tried to lighten the mood by leading them to the dining table.

Over a hundred maids arrived with a large number of dishes. The dining table was massive, stretching 100 meters long and 20 meters wide. All of the heroes sat comfortably, with Cheryl sitting beside Ethan and the teacher at the opposite end.

Almost like a hierarchy, the Teacher and Ethan sat in the first row, one on the right and one on the left. Cheryl and Trex, a tall delinquent-looking guy with short hair, sat on the second left.

Skye, a green-haired eccentric guy, sat on the third right, while Riley, a red-haired, strict-looking girl, sat on the third left.

Eric, the nerdy guy with a book and glasses, sat on the right, and Nero, a yellow-haired, short, insecure guy, sat on the left.

"Shouldn't Raiden be higher than me?" Nero whispered quietly to Riley, who was sitting near him.

"What are you saying, you idiot? Raiden clearly doesn't care. In fact, if he wanted, he could have been number one."

"But still"

"If you have an issue why don't you go and ask him yourself" Nero shuts up.

"Still, for him to not care about it, perhaps the sudden disappearance of Alexander must be the cause," a green-haired nerdy guy behind Nero on the fifth left interrupted.

Meanwhile, Raiden, a tall and handsome red-haired guy, was sitting in the last row, 15th from the left.

************

"I see," Alex said calmly, eating as the maid continued to bring more food.

"All this time, you lied about there being 100 stages I had to go through in this dungeon, right?"

The man nodded.

"And you said your name was Kairo Vesperus, and you were the son of the Snake King, right?" Alex pointed his fork at him while eating.

"Precisely."

"I see."

Kairo looked at Alex with disbelief. Meeting the son of the Snake King would normally send shivers down anyone's spine. For someone so weak, he certainly doesn't care.

All this time, I've been sending a strong, intimidating aura to break his will, but he never wavered for even a single moment. The last time I met him, his spirit seemed weak, but now it feels different.

Meanwhile, Alex could still feel the unbearable pain from the burning sensation. The pain was so intense that even the intimidating aura felt soft in comparison to the mental and physical pain he had endured earlier.

"So is this the truth you wanted to tell me? Because I don't really care about such minor things."

"Actually..." Kairo crossed his fingers together, leaning his head on the middle of his hands, his gaze now much more serious.

...

Alex's eyes were filled with disbelief and shock.

"You must be lying. There's no way that's true." With a slightly hesitant voice, Alex's mind was now in shambles.

"This was top-secret information I somehow managed to get from our spy."

"Is this news trustworthy?"

"Our spies are well-trained. I'll leave the judgment up to you."

"Anyways, I'll have to go somewhere else. What are your plans?"

"Well, it's not like I can stay here. If what you said is true, I have to get moving immediately. Do you have a map, by the way?"

"I do, but will you really be okay moving right now? You can train your body here, you know."

"I know, but if your details are true, I have no other choice."

"But I just lied to you earlier. How can you be so sure?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I have my own ways of confirming things. What you said makes perfect sense."

"Very well then. Ella, go and drop him to the surface."

One of the maids stepped forward and bowed. "Understood."

Alex followed the maid toward the cave, the same place where he had fought earlier. The craters caused by the explosion were still fresh.

Alex stared at the place with no expression. The feeling of unbearable torture was so intense that, looking back now, it didn't even trigger any PTSD.

All the skeletons were guarding the cave in an organized manner. They really were just an act put up by that bastard.

Upon reaching the entrance, Alex took a deep breath. The maid transformed into a huge snake and quickly slithered up to the top. She wasn't as fast as the guard, so Alex had to hold his breath for a full 7 minutes. But this time, it seemed bearable, or maybe not? Alex found himself drowning in water again.

Now, Alex stood tall, looking at the dead forest with a whole different perspective.

.....

Earlier just before meeting Kairo in the healing celestial water, Alex saw a message from the system. 

[You have leveled up]

[Rewards are being distributed!]

[You have gained 200+ Vitality]

[You have gained 7 stat points]

_____________

[Player : Alex]

[Level : 3 (8/2,000)]

[Vitality : (291/800)]

[Mana : 2.1]

Stats :

[Strength : 37.1]

[Stamina : 36.2] 

[Agility : 49.9]

Skills : 

[Sage Vision : Level 3]

[Poison Resistance: Level 2]

[Quick Dash : Level 2]

[Fire Magic : Level 0]

[Martial Arts : Level 0]

[Swordsmanship : Level 0]

_____________

What made Alex's eyes widened was the last message.

[You have gained a new skill]

[Demonic Energy]

...

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