Abyssal Awakening

"That little huh? Well that\'s fine. It\'s a teacher\'s job to explain in the first place. You see, Silverwind Valley Academy is different to the other Academies you may be familiar with. In this school, your lessons and what you can learn is determined by how strong you are. If you are capable, you can seize more opportunities.

"Whether that be visiting the Inverted World or otherwise. There are four grades of Students. You have the Special Class, composed of those that have passed the Special Exam and are given free rein on what they want to do. Naturally, you still have to show proof that you\'re doing research.

"Next you have the Advanced Students. They have a schedule and get specialized training from the teachers. They have quite the degree of freedom as well. This rank is limited to 100 people no matter what. If you want this role you have to either fight for it or defend it from being taken from you." Xinbei chuckled.

"Next are the Normal Students. They get some training and schedules and enjoy the facility provided by the Academy. Overall, they\'re treated like the high ranking students in other academies.

"And last but not least are the Basic Students. As the name suggests, they get the most basic training and schedules with a limited number of teachers watching over them. What they can do is limited which is why they\'re urged to try as hard as they can to become a Normal Student."

Hearing this, Alice understood that the Basic Students are probably those who don\'t show enough results or improvement.

"Once you enrol, you\'ll be given a choice of several topics that you can take. Since you two are going for the Combat Department, you\'ll be given a choice of different fighting styles and techniques. It\'s anything from Tracking all the way up to martial techniques to help you utilise your Sigils better."

"But that\'s once you enrol. The enrolment process is usually a mix of theory exams and practical. However, with the Special Exams, you\'ll be taking tasks focused on what kind of specialisation you\'re going for.

If you\'re a blacksmith going for the Special Exam, it\'ll be blacksmithing tasks under certain restrictions and so on." Xinbei explained as he rummaged through some of the documents placed next to his sofa.

After a short while, he sat back down and scratched his hair in annoyance.

"I forgot where I put the report. Oh well. But I do have a general idea of what you\'re supposed to do for the Combat Department test. You\'ll be competing with a few people for the role since there are Advanced Students aiming for the role of Special Students. I believe you should be heading into the Inverted World and hunting down a list of beasts that the Department will provide to you." He shrugged.

\'I thought he said he had everything meticulously placed…\' Alice thought to herself as she stared at him with a deadpan expression.

But that wasn\'t what she was interested in right now.

"I heard a lot being talked about regarding the Inverted World. But I still don\'t know what it is exactly. Luke hasn\'t explained it to us." Alice asked as Xinbei thought for a moment before leaning back.

"Honestly we still don\'t know much about the Inverted World. But let me start from the basics." He narrowed his eyes as his aura changed.

Both Alice and Ria understood that he was now serious and no longer was the same lazy department head that they had seen till now.

"First of all, why do you think Hunter levels are split into three realms? The first realm from one to three stars are those who are slightly stronger than normal humans but with additional abilities. The second realm where the destruction they can cause means they\'re observed by the government as to not cause mass destruction.

And finally, the realm of Lords." Xinbei asked as both Alice and Ria thought about it for a moment before replying.

"Isn\'t it just a scale of power based on Resonance? Three Sigils is the requirement to gain a Sigil hence it\'s split into three sections." Alice suggested while Ria had another thought.

"Is it because of how the body changes once they get the four or seventh Sigil?"

"Exactly." Xinbei smiled towards Ria.

"As young Ria has said, the stages of power are split due to the changes it causes in the body. Think of it like this." Xinbei stood up and walked to his kitchen before coming back with a cup and a bottle of water.

"This cup is your human body. This water is the powers of the Abyss granted by the Abyss itself."

Pouring the water into the cup until it\'s full, he pushed it in front of the two.

"From Sigils one to three, nothing really changes with your body except for the boost in power granted by the Sigils. For the sake of simplicity, we\'re going to ignore the effects of Abyss Blood for now since that\'s a whole different topic that I\'m not qualified to explain." Xinbei chuckled as he flicked his finger and ink started to wrap around the cup.

"Once you get your forth Sigil, your entire body is reforged to accept more power. The human body is limited in its durability no matter how much you train it. There is always a soft limit and a hard limit. Breaking the hard limit will break you.

"Which is why the fourth Sigil will reforge your body and change it to accommodate more power. Think of it as a rebirth of sorts."

Tapping his fingers once more, the ink solidified and he poured more water into the cup.

"After your forth Sigil, you can say that your body is now fully prepared to accept more power from the Abyss. The fifth and sixth Sigil enhances your body and power to the point you can no longer get any stronger no matter how much A.B you drink. Your body will never bridge the gap between being the host of six Sigils and becoming a Lord."

Snapping his finger, the water started to overflow but the cup didn\'t change.

"To become a Lord, the methods have been debated quite a bit as it\'s not just a simple case of getting the seventh Sigil. However, succeeding in the attempt to become a Lord will connect you to the Abyss on a deeper level."

Tendrils of ink shot out from every corner of the room as it formed a web of sorts that converged around the cup and transforming into a basin that accepted more water.

"The most popular theory right now is that the Abyss itself becomes an extension of the container known as an Abyss Lord. Now, what do you think would happen when an Abyss Lord that\'s linked to the Abyss on such a deep level perishes?" Xinbei asked as he clenched his fist.

At that moment, the room itself seemed to fracture with the cup in the centre breaking into countless pieces.

"No ideas?" Xinbei asked again seeing that both girls were silent.

"Not really." Ria sighed as she had a guess but wasn\'t sure if it was what Xinbei wanted to hear.

Meanwhile, Alice was silent as all she could think of was what she felt from the Abyss when she first laid eyes on the orb between the mountains.

Mourning.

\'*Sigh…* Lulu was more fun to talk to. But setting that aside, when an Abyss Lord that\'s linked to the Abyss at this level perishes or rather, begins to die, the world itself will fracture from the sudden collapse. Much like what happens to a container underwater, the realm implodes around the Lord and in this case, with the death being sealed and halted, a strange phenomenon occurred.

"Many of our teachers call it a pathway while some call it something else entirely. But the official name for this phenomenon is the Inverted World. A world where we can dive in and discover more of the Abyss\'s secrets. Due to the connection between the Abyss Lord and the Abyss, this hole that was formed from their death is intricately linked to the Abyss.

Meaning…" Xinbei smiled as he reached his hand into one of the tendrils of ink that represented the Abyss.

"Through this Inverted World, we can communicate directly with the Abyss on a level that\'s only open for Abyss Lords despite not having gone through the second rebirth. The Inverted World is simply another manifestation of the Abyss. A purer version if you could call it that. Meaning the influence is stronger and so are the beasts.

"However, the Department Head of Theory has been researching a rather curious topic for a while now. She discovered that some of the manifestations created by the Abyss seem to trace back to history. It\'s only happened a few times but it proved enough for her to latch onto it as a research topic.

Most believe the Inverted World is simply a pathway to further our connection with the realm that grants us power. But the Department Head of Theory believes it\'s a doorway to a giant library of knowledge and we are simply \'reading\' the books within and gaining experience as a result." Xinbei concluded as he given the two much to think about on their way back.

"The exam wouldn\'t be happening for a while so take this time to prepare. I\'ll send someone over to let you know when it\'s time since I need to put your recommendations forward."

Nodding their heads, Alice and Ria thanked Xinbei for his explanation before leaving his home.

Stepping out of the house, Alice glanced towards the Inverted World and placed her hand on her chest.

The crown that Allura\'s master left her and Cayla who was dormant.

Both seem to hold important ties to the Abyss and she couldn\'t help but wonder if Cayla would be stirred awake by the Inverted World or not.