CHAPTER 2

Outside of Stellar Base City

Damien came out in the forest . This forest covers the maximum area in the continent and spread over 50,000 square kilometers in area . This was known as 'Starlit Forest' .

This forest is home to maximum of the monsters starting from the weakest mutated monsters to strongest Super Monsters . The Cosmic Monsters are different . They are spread across the world as they were being tracked by the defense division of each base cities . The Stellar City is in the most dangerous place . Its one side is covered by the 'Starlit Forest' and the other side is covered by 'Blood Sea' .

Damien wasn't scared or anything while entering the forest alone . He was wearing a basic C2 grade armor and sword which are both provided by the Academy . It doesn't allow even nobles to have their own battle suit which makes it completely fair against others .

He entered the forest as he started going deeper and deeper . Suddenly , a pack of mutated monsters ran and came towards him . The average level of these mutated beasts were atmost level 4 while the leader was a peak level 6 of Aetherborn realm .

Damien took out his blade and closed his eyes . He calmed down his mind and looked for the traces of monsters .

Suddenly , he opened his eyes and in a flash all the monsters at level 4 were cut down . There were another batch of level 4 monsters as he rushed towards them again . The monsters this time were a bit hard to deal with as Damien cut them one by one . His speed and efficiency was top notch but it still lacked a little .

He finished the life cycle of almost 20 mutated monsters and turned towards the level 6 one . He was already trembling but its eyes were full of confidence and anger . It rushed towards Damien . He jumped up in the air as he rotated his body and a wave of Aether flashed on his blade . The level 6 didn't gain much time to turn back as its back was injured and Damien was far away .

He turned his eyes which were more bloodshot than before towards Damien and rushed towards him . Damien started coming towards the level 6 monster as if his confidence was at the peak . His blade covered with Aether once again as he slashed his sword .

An amethyst coloured energy released from Damien's body and infused into his blade as it cut through the defenses of the level 6 monster . With this the pack of monsters were dead . Light suddenly flashed in front of him .

[Do you want to use 6 Evolution points to ascend to level 4 ?]

[Yes !]

A huge amount of Aether energy entered his body . It wasn't like this when he ascended to level 3 . He knew the reason though . The level 3 of Aetherborn realm forms the energy channels in one's body while level 4 infuses that energy into the muscles and increase the strength . Damien also felt that . His muscles being torn apart and rebuilt once again . The new muscles had Aether energy in their core and the strength drawn is much greater .

[Remaining Evolution Points : 27] 

 [Do you want to use 8 Evolution Points to ascend to level 5 ?]

[Yes !]

Damien's conciousness exploded and collected . The Aether entering his body started to fuse with his skeleton and strengthen his bones . The bones in his body shattered and new bones built replacing the former bones . This skeleton was very strong as Aether was infused in them . The bones transformed inside his body . He felt that even if a building falls on him , his bones won't break easily .

[Damien Celestia]

[Race : Human]

[Level : Aetherborn Realm (Level : 5)]

[Bloodline : Celestial Bloodline]

[Evolution Points : 19]

Damien felt that he had become stronger . His strength , speed , defense had all been increased to a higher level than he was just an hour ago . He doesn't know for sure but two consecutive breakthroughs has made his body a little dizzy . He realized that the energy in his body still hasn't calmed down after the breakthrough .

'I hunted more than enough beasts . Let's head back'

'According to my estimation , mutated beasts who are one level above me provides 1 evolution points each'

'That time I was a level 3 and thus the level 5 beasts gave my 2 point , the level 4 ones gave 1 points whereas the level 6 gave me 3 points'

'This time the harvest is good'

'I will cultivate after taking a rest'

Damien returned to his room as he closed the door and slept .

At the same time

Ordinary Academy Dorms

"Is the plan ready ?" asked Lime as he looked towards one of his men who was a level 3

"Yes , boss"

"Good . This time don't let that bitch interfere . We are gonna kill Damien and prove to everyone that the commoners are nothing less than nobles"

"But , boss . Are you sure we won't get in trouble ? That kid is still a descendant of Celestia Family"

"Who cares ? We also have the support of Celestia Family"

"What ?"

"This task was suggested by Cassian Celestia . He is the candidate for next Patriarch of the family"

"So , its Lord Cassian ? Then , its okay . We will end that weaklings life even before he realizes what happened"

"Good now go . The mission is tomorrow"

"Yes , boss"

Next Day 

A night of rest had finally settled down the Aether in his body . His body became more stronger after the energy calmed down inside his body . His cultivation speed is super fast . He reached level 5 of Aetherborn realm in just a day . If he can cultivate well than he should reach level 9 in just about a week . He can't even imagine what his level would be in a month or two .

He knows that his sister is cultivation diligently . She is one of the students trying to break through into the Aetherforged realm before the Academy's end . The students who completed attending the Academy can be recruited into any one of the Three Major Organizations namely the defense division , the rescue division and the research division .

> The defense division is responsible for defense of the Base cities . They eliminate monsters to keep the city safe and keep check on the position of the cosmic monsters . Each base city has a branch but the one in the Stellar City is the headquaters .

> The rescue division is responsible for evacuation of citizens in time of danger and also defend the city from inside it . They don't go out like the defense division members but still they earn a large sum of money at the end of the month .

> The research division is responsible for the research of the monster corpses and to make combat suits and weapons for the Evolvers . Their speciality lies in the research they do and the products they make . The combat suits of all the Evolvers from the most basic to the most advanced were made by the research center .

Most students go to the Defense Division each year but the number who go to the Rescue Division is great too . The Research Center however recieves the least number of students each year but that doesn't travel them . After all , they are responsible for research where quality matters more than quantity .

Damien's goal has changed . He first thought that he needs to reach atleast level 9 of the Aetherborn realm within two months but he can try reaching the Aetherforged realm too .

Damien walked inside the forest once more unknowing that two people had been following him or so they thought . Damien was aware of their presence the moment he stepped out of the dorms . His senses received a huge boost after he ascended to level 5 .

He decided to ignore the other party as they were just level 3 and level 4 respectively . They can't even break through his defense let alone kill him . He knew they were sent by whom . They were Lime's subordinates .

He went to the forest alone as his speed increased . This surprised the other party . They didn't know why but Damien today felt more stronger than yesterday . It can't be that he has ascended to level 3 right ?

The other party following him were confused but they didn't pay attention . Even if he reached level 3 , so what ? They have a level 4 among them . They quietly followed Damien as he ran without looking back . His senses could accurately provide him with the location of the others as he focused on his task .

He ran and ran and killed multiple mutated beasts along the way . They were all level 5 or level 6 but there weren't any on level 7 . This was normal . The beasts who are level 7 or above are no longer normal beasts . They mostly lived in the middle parts of the outer region of the forest or near the lakes and rivers . Damien's strength wasn't that high that he can easily enter the middle part of the outer region .

The Starlit Forest is divided into 4 parts :

> The Outer region

> The Middle region

> The Inner region

> The Core region

Each area was around a thousand kilometers wide in length and breadth . The monsters in the outer region are mostly in the Aetherborn realm with few ascended to Aetherforged realm . The middle part had monsters in the Aetherforged realm with few ascended into the Aetherheart realm . The inner part had monsters in the Aetherheart realm with few ascended into the Aetherlord realm . The core part had monsters in the Aetherlord realm and few in Aetherking realm . 

These regions are furthur divided into outer part , middle part and inner part respectively.

Damien eliminated most of the beasts and gathered evolution points . Each kill below his level gave him 0.5 evolution point . After about three hours of continuous killing did Damien felt tired as he sat down to rest .

[Evolution points : 83]

'This was enough for me to ascend to level 9 of the Aetherborn realm'

'Hmm ? I guess I will use some to ascend to level 8 and then use the rest of the points to master some sword skills'

'The traits which I received should also help me in mastering the magic and sword'

'Father is known to be a magic swordsman who reached Sword Grandmaster level at the age of 39'

'This is gonna be interesting'

'Although he is a cultivator at the peak of Aetherlord realm but I will surpass him someday'

Damien heard the sound of leaves rustling . He knew what was gonna happen but he didn't move . Its no use moving . The opponents were too weak to challenge him . If he wanted he could use his points to increase his level right now but he didn't . He wanted to test his strength as he is now .

Soon , 3 people landed on the ground from the nearest tree . Damien was a little surprised which he didn't show on his face . He sensed only two people but why are there three . Was he a reinforcement ?

"Yo , rats . Wanna have some meat ?" said Damien as he forwarded a piece of meat towards them

"You are too confident , aren't you ?" said one person whose face is covered in a black cloth . His aura said that he is a level 4 cultivator .

"Nah , its just you rats aren't worth my attention"

Suddenly , the earth shook as the third person whom Damien didn't sense till now vanished . Damien's expression didn't change . He could tell the other person was a level 5 like himself but Damien could easily kill a level 6 cultivator , level 5 aren't his match .

The man appeared on his left as he launched a punch . Damien raised his left hand and blocked the force of the punch . The air pressure released extinguished the fire and threw away a pack of dust in the air . Damien's right hand still held a piece of meat which he was enjoying . This scene made everyone frown . Damien who was a mere level 2 blocked the attack of a level 5 ? It was beyond their comprehension .

"Don't think too much . Your brain will explode" said Damien looking towards the other two

They didn't wait for a moment before attacking Damien . Damien stood up from his place as he stabbed the stick which held the meat on the ground and took out his blade . In the blink of an eye , Damien's sword differentiated the head and the body of the cultivator at level 3 . He attacked once again towards the level 4 and chopped off one of his arm . He sat on the ground and screamed at the top of his lungs .

The one who was level 5 was shocked as he couldn't move . They thought that defeating Damien and killing him would be a piece of cake . He didn't even needed to do anything but now the situation has reversed . Damien killing one of them and seriously injured the other as he was the only one left unscathed .

Damien came towards him with high speed as he tried to dodge but couldn't . His body was just one step away from the sword as he jumped up and narrowly escaped it . That moment , the enlightment came to him .

"Y…You reached level 5 ?"

"Took you long enough" said Damien as his blade pierced the other party's throat . He choked as blood gushed out from the place . His shocked eyes look at Damien who was looking at him with cold eyes . It was at that moment that he realised that going against Damien was the biggest mistake in his life . The last thought came to the man's head as his body turned numb .

Damien released the sword as he fell down dead . The one who Damien had his hand chopped off looked at the two dead bodies , his hand wasn't giving him any pain . His feeling of pain was much inferior to his feeling of fear as he looked towards Damien .

Damien slowly came and sat infront of him in a squat posture . The person slowly looked towards Damien as the other party stared at him with cold and murderous eyes .

"Will you tell me who gave you the order to kill me ?"

"L…Lime"

"Nope . You're lying . The real person behind him who ordered"

"L...Lord Cassian ?"

"Ah ? Cassian . I guess its time to pay him a visit too . Anyways , thank you for the information . You can go now"

The man turned around and was leaving . He reached atleast 10 meters away from Damien when a loud sound and a pain made him check his body . He was surprised to find that his chest had a hole in it from which blood gushed out . The man felt strange . He doesn't remember when he had a hole here but at that moment he fell on the ground .

Blood covered the entire area as his eyes turned lifeless and void .

He was dead .