Crack!!!
The ground around Dane started cracking as he kept taking on the pressure around him. Kai had stopped already as he had gained enough, but Dane was still going on.
'He is being stubborn,' Kai thought as he leaned cross-handed on the wall.
He looked at Asher, who was far from them, and he was ready to cover Asher with his mana if the pressure inside this place became too much for him.
Even though Kai could have gained a little more, he knew what his job was, and he decided to look over Dane and Asher.
Dane was fully engrossed in making the most of this place, and Kai knew how much Dane wanted to increase his strength quickly.
Till now, both of them had relied on Kai's bloodline ability to help them complete missions that were far too difficult for them. And Dane always wanted to cross over the First Boundary that every Hunter dreamed of.
S Rank was something that every Hunter dreamed of achieving in their lifetime. It was called the First Boundary because it was a Rank where their whole body, including their mind, thoughts, senses, the way of perceiving things, and most importantly, the way they could connect with mana would change.
The First Boundary was where they would open their eyes to a new world, which was what Dane and Kai aimed for. It was not simply a dream for them; it was a necessity, as they knew that only their strength would help them in the future.
But what made crossing over from A Rank to S Rank was simply the shackles that held the Mana Heart. The mana rings that had formed multiple times till their journey to A Rank had now become the shackles that bound their mana heart, stopping it from becoming denser and stronger.
The process of stepping into the realm of S Rank was different. Instead of making more mana rings, you needed to merge all the mana rings into one single strip that would wrap itself around the mana heart.
This change allowed a Hunter to massively increase their mana pool as the restriction of the mana rings that held the mana heart and the density of mana inside it were gone.
Normally, to do this process, one needs to not only make their mana heart strong enough to handle that mana without the mana rings but enough strength to merge all the mana rings.
That's why reaching S Rank at a younger age was even more impressive, as they have passed the hurdle of tempering their mana heart and merging the rings.
That was why Dane was going so far to make sure he got the most out of this place, but there were cracks on the ground that were emerging due to his mana that was spreading outside his body.
Kai was ready to interrupt Dane if we went too far, as leaving any evidence here was clearly not their motive at all.
Knowing the value of this place just by sensing the mana, Kai was sure that the people involved in this place would be able to sense any sort of irregularities here.
'It should be time we should leave soon,' Kai thought, as he knew that they needed to leave this place fast.
He remembered that Asher had told them he would need to be present inside World Academy around this time.
Even Dane and Kai knew about the Trials Ground as it was the thing that made World Academy an incredibly precious place.
A day went by as Kai kept his eyes on Dane and Asher, but he was getting worried about the time they were spending here.
But to relieve him of his worries, Dane opened his eyes as he let out all the mana around him, and he looked at Kai with a tired look in his eyes.
"You were quite reckless with it," Kai commented.
"Haha, it was nothing," Dane said as he lay down on his back and regulated his breathing.
Seeing the look on Dane's face, Kai smiled as he knew that he had achieved what he wanted, and now only Asher was left.
The aura around Asher was getting dimmer, and his mana was gradually increasing. It made Kai think that Asher was using this opportunity to reach B Rank.
Seeing that, Kai was shaken, but he kept those thoughts to himself as he looked at Dane and remembered what Dane had said about Asher when they first met him.
'I guess anyone would get scared seeing this monstrous talent,' Kai thought.
He was watching the record of the fastest rank-up being broken before his own eyes.
Even the famous Ivar Greville reached B Rank in his Second Year of World Academy, but Asher was even faster.
But Kai didn't know that Asher wasn't trying to hit B Rank but increasing mana limits at C Rank.
Dane kept resting, waiting for Asher to complete his training, and after 13 hours, Asher finally opened his eyes.
"How much time is left?" Asher asked as he took a deep breath.
"One Day, and there is a chance that someone has already entered this place," Kai replied.
"Time to leave," Asher said as he stood up.
His entire body underneath the thin armor was red, and his face was pale. Straining his mana heart also affected the blood flow around his body.
Kai waved his hand, removing the mana pressure around Asher as both went near him.
"Maybe you should rest for a few hours," Kai suggested.
"No need," Asher said as he took out a potion and drank it.
"I will use the spell twice; after that, use the necklace to go back to Soran as per the plan," Asher said, and Kai and Dane nodded.
Asher, as he touched Dane and Kai's back, his face became paler.
Suddenly, Dane and Kai felt a shift of space around their body, causing that same dizzy feeling.
They saw the sky, but suddenly, the feeling of shifting of space happened again as they were outside in Mountainous Forest.
Thud!
Kai caught Asher, who was falling as he looked behind them, and they could see the massive tower, which meant they had successfully escaped.
Dane took out the necklace as he imagined the location of the mansion where Tom was waiting for them.
Kai took care of Asher, who was unconscious, but in his head, he couldn't believe that Asher used that kind of spell twice after coming out of a mana zone.
Dane activated the communication device and alerted Tom about their escape.
"I guess our trip is over," Dane said as he activated the artifact.
***
At Soran,
Tom was keeping tabs on the activities in the World Association Headquarters, but he didn't have any concrete information because of the increased security.
"They are late," Tom said as his legs kept shaking.
The communication was cut off for a long time, and Tom had no way of knowing what was happening inside that place.
All he could do was wait patiently, but there was one more thing to worry about, and it was the summons that was being sent on Asher's ID bracelet.
"Boss needs to go back there soon," Tom said, looking at the ground, not knowing what to do.
If Asher didn't respond to these summons, there was a chance that the Academy might decide to check his Dorm Floor for security reasons.
Although it was a breach of privacy, under such conditions, the Academy was fully capable of taking these steps.
BEEP!
Tom immediately looked at the screen as he saw the signal from Dane.
"They are back!!" Tom said as he felt his worries flowing out of him.
The mental pressure was released as Tom took a deep breath and immediately activated the sequence in his system.
At the same time, in the basement of this Mansion, three people appeared as Kai held Asher while Dane looked around him.
"Get the potions and healing artifacts," Kai said as Dane immediately went out.
Kai took Asher to one of the medical facilities that was present inside this Mansion. Although it was nothing too grand, it allowed for emergency operations.
After a few minutes, Dane returned with the potions and artifacts and placed them on the table as Tom came inside the room and saw Asher.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" Tom worriedly asked.
"Nothing, Boss is just out of mana," Dane replied.
Kai took some of the healing artifacts and activated them while putting the bracelets on Asher's hands.
"How long would it take for Boss to wake up?" Tom asked.
"I don't know," Kai replied.
"That needs to go back to the World Academy as soon as possible," Tom said out loud.
"There have been 3 Summon Notifications for him from the Faculty Council," Tom added.
"If Boss doesn't return till tomorrow, they might find out that he is not inside the training room," Tom said.
"Let's wait and see," Dane replied.
