Chapter 8: Hindrance;Hysteria

The realm of the gods differed barely from the human world. The sole difference being its inhabitants. Instead of continents, there are pantheons. Gods and goddesses are able to mingle with each other. So it was not difficult for other deities to visit another's realm.

At this moment, a beautiful goddess entered the temple of another. She had long flowing hair and a fair complexion. Her oriental attire accented her curves. Behind her, a glowing insignia hovered. If a human were to lay eyes on her, they would immediately feel the warmth of the sun. Her mere presence would urge one to bow and kneel.

“How distasteful,” she said as she gazed at the pillars. Her voice sounded motherly yet cold at the same time. There were various chains wrapped around the pillars. They all led to the center where a maiden lay on a stone platform. Her beauty was on par with the goddesses. Her red dress contrasted her white hair. Her eyes were covered by a blindfold, yet she had no difficulty in seeing.

Her ankles and wrists were bound by chains. She was free to move about the temple but she could never leave it. She already noticed the presence of the goddess and bowed her head.

“Greetings,” she spoke. Her voice was soothing but melancholic. “What business does the esteemed Goddess of the Sun have with this humble one?”

“Oracle,” the goddess greeted in kind. “The future has changed.”

“Indeed it has.” As her title suggests, the oracle had the ability to peer into the future. She was not a deity yet her ability was on par with them, perhaps even greater.

“I have not come to confirm my suspicions. I want answers.” The goddess will admit that her ability to see the future was less powerful than the oracle. But there were still some things she could not understand.

“What is it that you wish to know?”

A few earth days ago, the destruction of humanity was assured. In a mere ten years, give or take, a wave of calamity will drive them to extinction. Humans would have adapted a global issue, such as the trials, into a part of their livelihood. Those in power would get drunk and corrupted. The righteous would be a minority.

A noble goal would turn into a profession. The breaker system will be exploited. The strong would become stronger. The rich would become richer. The weak and the poor would stand no chance.

Humanity would become complacent. They would not be prepared for the impending doom. No human would survive. Not even a single one. This was all certain until recently. What frustrated the goddess was that she couldn't glimpse that future again. A future of extinction. If it were a delay of another decade or even a century, it would have been fine. Time is not an issue for the gods.

“Why did the future change?” The goddess asked.

“Humanity has been given a savior.”

“Given?” The goddess focused on that word. If a savior had been born, then it would be easy. All they had to do was to have them eliminated. Being given a savior meant that another being had taken action.

“Who was it?”

“I… cannot see them. I do not wish to.”

“Explain yourself,” the sun goddess demanded.

“Forgive me. Please understand that I do not wish to lose my life.” The oracle lowered her head. “All my attempts have failed. There is a veil of darkness that I am unable to see past.”

That was a lie. The goddess sensed that as well. What she didn't know was that it was more than that. She can at least tell that the oracle was lying for her own sake.

During the oracle's last attempt, she tried her utmost to peer into the identity of the culprit. She assumed it was a traitorous god. She was starting to see their form. Then she saw their eyes. Those cold eyes stared into her soul. At that moment, she immediately cut off the connection. She felt suffocated. Any longer and she felt she would have been swallowed whole.

“I understand. I will take my leave.” The goddess turned around and left the temple.

The oracle kept her head lowered until the goddess left. She did not want to incur the wrath of the gods. But that paled in comparison to the fear she felt at the time.

“The gods are the least of my worries.” She fiddled with the chains that kept her bound to the temple and sighed. For some strange reason, she felt like taking a peek at that darkness once more.

---

The assessment finished during the previous day. Most of the candidates have headed back to their homes. They were breakers that took the assessment to get a starting rank. It is likely that they already have experience in the field. Or that they already have acquaintances to handle their training. Some guilds and associations offer these things as a way to recruit breakers.

For example, they can handle a newly awakened breaker's accommodation. This included meals and travel to an assessment center. After that, they will provide basic training and equipment. There are many small guilds and associations. The bigger guilds and associations have access to assessment centers. So the smaller ones would send out their recruits and newbies to get assessed.

The remaining candidates were enough to form two teams. They were accompanied by veteran breakers that would guide them. They would be entering a level one archway. Low ranked breakers can handle enemies with ease. The veterans would be making sure that the newbies wouldn't be too complacent and careless.

The first team included Zeke Arnold and Caitlin Aoife. Non-combat specialists were not exempt from raids. Given that, they are required to have a decent combat ability. Active supporters such as healers and scouts are essential in raids as well.

Zeke held the vanguard along with one other close combat breaker. Caitlin held the rear with a mage, a scout, and two other long range breakers. Watching over them was a team led by the Rising Rookie Star Sera Mckenna and Staff Officer Sven Sigurd.

The other team included Q and Arian Rhonwen, who had geared up with scouting gear. Strangely enough, despite being a summoner, Q took on a vanguard role with two other breakers. They had a mage, a healer, and long range breaker alongside Arian at the rear. Monitoring them was a team led by Zacharias Sterling and Estelle Arden. The commander of Sera's squad and a senior staff officer made for a daunting pair.

“Are you sure about this?” Zacharias asked Estelle. He was the one leading the team during the rift incident. It was the incident where Q was rescued and subsequently awakened.

“I'm sure that Sven wouldn't have any issues,” Estelle answered.

“I wasn't talking about that.” He looked at the team of newbies preparing for the raid. “Assigning me to watch Subject Q's team alongside you sounds a bit too much.”

“I believe this much is necessary.”

Zacharias closed his eyes for a moment and heaved a sigh. “I understand.”

He trusted Estelle. He didn't trust the ones leading the association completely but she was a different case. She was competent and qualified enough for a higher position. But, she voluntarily refused promotions because of her own ideals. Even then, he had a feeling ever since that rift incident. Avis Walker—Subject Q would be turning the world on its head.

---

As the field orientation began, the newbies were introduced to actual combat. The archway they entered had a thin forest near a mountainside. Meanwhile, deeper into the forest, there was a small group of people setting up a spell circle. They placed a gourd in the middle as the major catalyst.

“This is all I need to do, right?” One of the figures asked. He poured his magical energy onto the spell circle, initiating the summoning ritual.

They were one of the staff members from the association. Because he was a summoner as well, he wasn't able to go into the field much. There weren't many recruiters looking for summoners, after all. Their rituals take so long to complete and they need to do it every single time. Not to mention, most summons eat away at the summoner's energy constantly.

Because of this, he was lured by the promise of better equipment and recruitment. All he had to do was sell some information and perform a single summoning ritual.

“Of course. We have the catalysts here, after all,” the man watching over them responded.

“Catalysts? Where are the other ones?” The staff member looked around and got up. He finished pouring his energy reserves onto the spell circle. Just then, a thin blade pierce the summoner from behind. “What are you—?!”

Their blood poured onto the gourd. The gourd started to absorb the blood. The summoner could do nothing but scream in agony as he was drained to a husk.

“You wanted to be useful. Wish granted,” the man said as he nodded to his companions. They dispersed as the gourd absorbed the energy it needed. The gourd and the desiccated corpse slowly melted into the ground.