Phina was greeted by the white void. She took a deep breathe as she looked around herself. She was searching for the Skill display. Yet...there was nothing. Instead, she felt an overwhelming Aura rush over her body as she fell to her knees.
'A Booster Skill!! I hit the jackpot!!'
If there was anything that Phina had learned after interacting with the multiple Skills available to her in the Exodia, it was that her compatibility with Booster-type Skills was the best. Her two Adult-rank Skills, Attack Mode and Defense Mode, were the biggest proof! Although she couldn't train those two in the white void, her speed was unmatched! Not to mention her Beginner-rank Skill, Piercing Sight, which was another Booster-type Skill! Since she had learned this Skill in the white void, she had stunned even Instructor Kaiden by her speed. Geniuses like Ian would take a solid half a day before learning a Beginner-rank Booster Skill in a place like the white void. Yet, Phina had taken less than 10 minutes!! Instructor Kaiden had actually started to theorize that Phina's Synchronicity Rate has reached the mythical 10%!!! If someone had told him that someone who wasn't a Law-ranker reached 9%, he'd have laughed at their face. To think that he would entertain such thoughts!
Any creature in existence can only have a Synchronicity Rate of 1% to 10% when born. Although Synchronicity Rates do not change throughout a creature's life, the creature can find a type or set of Laws that complement its Synchronicity Rate. For example, William Acuter had shown great potential in Emotional Laws. Some theorized his Synchronicity Rate to be somewhere around 7.62% to 8.02%!! Such a high Synchronicity Rate was so high that Vice Captain Virgile had told Phina that her training would only take two months, yet the Exodia's system said otherwise! The Vice Captain was stunned. 8%!! Even with an 8%, she still had to go through the normal Cadet training, rather than the specialized Cadet training.
The irony of the matter was, Phina was so entranced with her training that she didn't even notice that she was only supposed to be there for two months! She hadn't written to Jack in more than five months, so she had little to compare to in terms of time. While Jack could have gone through life altering experiences, or maybe even died, she was simply...training.
"N-Now...how do I start training?" Phina asked herself as noticed that the pressure was not decreasing in the slightest. Skills would usually be displayed one or two times before there was a pause for the Cadet to try the Skill out, yet Phina did not feel the Skill stop at all.
"Alright...I-I can do this." Phina slowly reached her hand to her dagger. She unsheathed it with her right hand as she activated Defense Mode, causing her body to become more durable. She could barely stand. In fact, she had already wasted 20 minutes trying to get up!
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"Good, it seems she's already given up on learning the Lord-rank Skill and has started training the Founder-rank Skills." General Walter nodded in satisfaction as she saw Phina's Completion Rate stuck at 0% for 20 minutes. Everyone was immediately shocked as the Completion Rate jumped from 0% to 10% in an instant!!
"What the hell?!" General Listerous looked to the screen in shock. She quickly regained her cool as she noticed all the Cadets staring.
"This is crazy! 10% in less than 20 minutes!!" General Wilfer's eyes shook as he stared at the screen.
Little did anyone know, the only reason Phina jumped to 10% was because of her Ender State!!
'To think Ender State could cancel Booster-type Skills.' Phina thought as she looked at the weapon in her hand coldly. 'I can sense World Energy, Life Energy, Killing Intent, some Laws, and that feeling I got from General Ram Walter.'
Phina quickly released a wave of Killing Intent. It had been quite difficult for her when she tried outside of the white void, yet being here along with her Ender State made it pretty easy to release it. Her Completion Rate quickly jumped from 10% to 30%.
The Generals outside the white void were looking on with shocked expressions. Most of them didn't care for their reputations as their jaws dropped.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" General Listerous turned Instructor Kaiden, demanding an answer. The rest of the Generals also looked to Kaiden.
"My apologies, Generals." Kaiden said, a little nervous, though he no reason to be nervous since, technically, these Generals had no authority to do anything to him. After all, he was not part of the Enforcers, he was an Instructor at the Exodia. "I have no way of finding out myself. Everything is handled by the Exodia's system."
They all turned around to the screen after they heard the answer. Only the Hero, master of the Exodia, could access the Exodia's system without restraint. Should they want to find out classified info like this, they would pay a price that would make even them feel a sting!
Phina waited for no one as she then added World Energy to her Killing Intent. She had always tried to add things she had with others. She tried using multiple Skills at once, or fuse her Adult-rank Skills with World Energy, yet none of it worked. For some reason, it now felt simpler...more natural.
Her Completion Rate once again jumped from 30% to 40% and from 40% to 45% after she added Life Energy. She also started searching for Laws that would complement this type of Skill.
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After about 18 hours, all the Generals sighed. Her Completion Rate had stopped at 45%. They had all cancelled their schedule for the day to witness the birth of a monster. General Wilfer had even called for his Vice Generals to return to the frontlines to cover for him, yet he still could not see a spectacle.
He sighed and turned to General Walter. He congratulated in a friendly tone, "Congratulations, Ram. It seems your Tortoise Army will gain another Vice General with time."
"Thanks...I guess it was a little unrealistic to expect her to learn the Skill." General Walter chuckled lightly as she said her farewells to General Wilfer. He quickly rushed back to the frontlines, after all, he was one of the main deterrents for the Beast armies. If they discovered that he was not present, they would take advantage of the situation and launch a full assault.
All the other Generals also said their farewells. They were all incredibly busy and had many things to do. General Walter sighed as she looked at the time. She had waited an extra two hours, some hope filling her heart, yet the Completion Rate hadn't moved a decimal place.
"General, you should head back." Vice Captain said to General Walter. Although there was a vast difference in status, Vice Captain was still the fourth ranked position in the Enforcers' Armies. "I will inform you of her final result."
"No. I want to see it with my own eyes. I did invest a ton after all." General Walter sighed.
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After two extra hours, with only two left Phina's cold and emotionless face revealed a smile. 'Found you.'
She quickly fused the Law of Pride into her mix. She was also altering the proportions of each component.
On the outside, only General Walter, Vice Captain Virgile, Instructor Kaiden, Ash, Ian and Heather were watching. They all slowly squinted their eyes.
"46%?" Ian looked at the screen. "I could've sworn it was 45%."
"It was..." Heather's eyes started to widen as she looked at the Completion Rate increasing with every second.
46.82%...49.02%...52.34%...56.20%...59.96%...63.22%...69%...71.01%...
Then the Completion Rate stabilized at 72.34%. Everyone watched with hope. They hoped for another boost until she reached 100%!
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"What am I missing?" Phina asked herself with a slight frown. "There's still something...something that the Generals all had."
Phina sadly did not know. She had no hope of finishing this Skill, after all, she needed an Aura. There were many different kinds of unseen forces. Killing Intent was the most basic, as even normal humans could exert it with enough rage. Sword Intent, Fear Intent, Art Intent, there were many. Yet the most powerful, after Battle Intent, was Aura. Aura was the presence someone exerted upon others. The cruel part of this exam was that only Apex-rankers could use Aura. It was quite literally impossible for her to advance, no matter how talented she was.
After an hour of trying, she quickly gave up. "I only have an hour left. At this rate, I will fail. I need to practice the other Skills."
Phina quickly started to execute Flashing Steps while in her Ender State. She had always avoided this state due to how it altered her emotions, yet after staying in it for close to 22 hours, she felt quite comfortable and at ease in this state. Her Completion Rate for Flashing Steps was stuck at 92.48%, yet it jumped to 99.32% in an instant. After another try, she had mastered Flashing Steps!!
"Ender State really is incredible." she sighed. Although she wanted to permanently stay in this state, it changed who she was. She then crushed the three crystals that General Walter had given her. It didn't take her long to realize that all three were Founder-rank Skills focusing on survival.
Founder-rank, Hidden Movements: Allows user to camouflage their Life Energy with World Energy, causing the user to seemingly disappear from the opponent's Life Energy sensing.
Founder-rank, Quick Gale: Allows the user to fuse with the Element of Wind, causing the user to reach incredible speeds.
Founder-rank, Death's Edge: Allows the user to store Life Energy externally, giving the user a chance to fully restore their Life Energy when near death, by absorbing the Life Energy that was stored before.
Phina learned Hidden Movements first, as it was the easiest. It took her 20 minutes to learn. She then moved on to Death's Edge, but after only reaching 80% after 25 minutes, she moved on to Quick Gale which she barely learned in time with only 2 minutes left. In the 2 minutes, she pushed her Completion Rate from 80% to 86.32%.
"I've done all I can." Phina sighed as she sheathed her dagger. Worry immediately flooded her face. She was currently scared, nervous, worried, and even excited as she thought about being sent to her punishment. At the very least, she had one Law-rank Skill, three Founder-rank Skills based on survival, and one Expert-rank Skill. She was as ready as she could ever be.
The system's cold voice sounded out.
"You have failed learning the Lord-rank Skill, Bow before the Lord. You will now be sent to an arena for punishment. You will not be allowed to leave until you have learned the Lord-rank Skill, Bow before the Lord. Creatures within the arena will hunt you down. Good luck."
Phina was kicked out of the white void and into a dense forest, where she heard the voices of people talking.