Rewards

Kael entered his room. He had tried his possible best to escape the gazes of the people around him but some people had spotted him anyways. The reason he couldn't hide like usual was due to the four rewards he received.

When he was finally in his room, he sat in his bed as he finally had the free time he needed to digest his rewards.

The first reward was a little surprising to him. It was a custom set of advanced grade armor crafted from the planet's rare Gravitanium. This armour provided unparalleled protection for an armor set of its grade but also enhanced the stability of Axionis traits.

Then came the second reward, five veils of Dune Wyrm essence. A rare extract harvested from the heart of a Dune Wyrm. This substance was very rare because it was extremely hard to make. It boosts energy based abilities and allows for the proper refinement of Axionis traits.

Kael finally realized the trend when he received his third 'reward', the shrouded scepter. It was a symbolic staff with the Murion family's insignia and a bunch of ancient runes inscribed upon it. It represented rank and authority and was usually given to leaders of large groups but he realized why it was handed to him soon enough.

The scepter enhanced mental activities and capabilities allowing tactical focus and applying an enhancement to his battlefield prowess.

The Duskwatch Bastion leaders were trying to use his eagerness and impatient to their advantage. They were planning on using him to reduce their monster problems. Kael realized soon enough that he would never actually fight any powerful creatures because the council members would rather waste his time and energy on weak creatures until he had to leave.

They were never going to show him anything wonderful. He realized on this day that the council members were greedy. Everything he received so face were either hand me down armor that belonged to the captain or an energy and concentration boost. In their eyes, he was their asset. A pawn they could use to clear out nests of weak but troublesome monsters while they prepared their forces to deal with more powerful creatures to reap the rewards.

Then came the actual reward. The fourth reward was a contract that showed that he would receive 10% of all future revenue generated by his actions.

Kael was pissed but there was nothing he could do. The outpost belonged to his sister so he couldn't bulldoze it to the ground. Thinking about the way he was being treated by the council members, Kael decided to contact his sister. He was not going to let this slide.

After three attempts he gave up. Something was definitely wrong. No one had contacted him, there was no information from the main base or his family members and the outpost was growing brazen enough to try and take advantage of him.

The facade he had held up till now suddenly dropped. He knew something was wrong and more likely than not the council knew what was going on. He quickly got off his bed to warn his people not to take the opportunity provided by the Duskwatch Bastion when he realized something. There was no one on board the ship other than Oris and Dren.

Kael quickly informed his bodyguards about his worries. They decided to go outside the ship and were hit with even more surprises as all 1000 shrouded hearts members split up into groups of a hundred members each as their small expedition ships transported them in groups of thirty in ten different directions.

The whole town had suddenly been flipped over as everyone was moving quickly with a few of their belongings, almost like a mass evacuation.

Seeing this, Kael knew deep within his being that he was right. He looked to Oris and Dren who were equally as surprised and puzzled as him.

"It seems you were right boss, there's something fishy going on." Oris spoke as Dren nodded to his friend's words.

"Oris, Dren, I have a very important quest for you two. I want the both of you to pick a ship each, infiltrate it and find out what's going on from their end. I don't know how far away you'll be from Nullborne Manifestation's influence, therefore." Kael stopped speaking as he placed his hand on both his bodyguards' shoulders.

A faint blue energy stream escaped both hands and seeped straight into the chests of Oris and Dren as Kael transferred a third off all his accumulated Nullborne Matter each.

Axionis traits had a unique constitution from the other two categories. Axionis users couldn't create energy reserves that replenished over time, instead, they had to meditate routinely in order to build up a highly individualized energy known as axion particles.

Axion particles took on the form and properties of whatever energy source your Axionis trait required to work, which in Kael's case was Nullborne Matter. Once a portion of the energy was used, the user would need to meditate regularly and routinely to recharge their Axion particles. Axion particles couldn't build up naturally over time.

Kael however had a prerequisite for charging Nullborne Matter. This prerequisite was sleeping. It might seem simple but it was a tedious process as he couldn't just close his eyes and build it up. He needed to be truly asleep which meant lying down and closing his eyes didn't work and a light nap would only grant a miniscule amount of it.

He already didn't have as much due to the repeated testing and training his mother put him through which meant if he didn't find the root cause of his worries quickly and he was backed into a corner, whether he won or lost, he would incurre great losses.

Oris and Dren nodded their heads as they both shifted. Their combat suits changed color and texture to fit that of a normal shrouded hearts member as Oris pulled a hoodie over his head and Dren covered his lower face with a mask. They blended seemlessly into the crowd and soon were transported to wherever they were going to be sent to. Kael was now on his own.