The World's Greatest Egoist

Luca’s eyes sharpened.

’I see the rumour reached her... does that mean Caed already told someone?’

He hadn’t spoken with the burly young boy in a while, though, it was mostly because of their different schedules.

’I’ll probably see him when I go to the Gym tonight.’

He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Rumours are called rumours for a reason, no? You need evidence... and that would be invading personal information."

Vareen studied his face as he slowly walked forward.

She followed after him thoughtfully.

"Well, I believe it."

Silence lingered between the two as they walked down the pavement.

"That’s your choice... but it hasn’t been proven to be the truth yet, has it?"

She slowly turned towards him.

"It would be the logical explanation for your strength... two Archetypes mean double the powers, from what I hear.

It would also explain your duel with Tisane."

Luca halted mid-motion.

His head whipped in her direction.

"You’re a Caster, right?"

Vareen nodded with a sheepish smile.

"I take the effort to get all the latest news going on in the Institution.

At least to the best of my abilities."

’So like an information Brooker... I got the feeling when we first conversed, but this is...

This is too much.’

He continued with a sigh.

"Hm... It’s not impossible, but Dual Users are usually not entirely whole.

Besides, the Institution would have sent for me personally to get a re-scan on my Interface, and perhaps go further."

"True."

"Now that you know that, I hope you won’t bring this question up again. I already have much on my plate."

"I understand." Vareen nodded once.

’He neither rebuked the rumour nor confirmed it. Is he aware that he’s just driving the notion, or is he faking it?’

Vareen was indeed an information broker or something of the sort.

She was the daughter of one of the largest merchant bodies in the Industrial State, Vulcan.

Information was one of the few things they were good at collecting, and Vareen just happened to have a knack for it.

Knowledge in a way, is power in itself.

And information was just one of its many subsidiaries.

"Then how would you explain your duel with Tisane? She’s an extremely strong opponent.

3rd Stage of the Explorer Rank too.

She’s in the top twenty for a reason."

Luca shrugged.

"And I’m ranked 50. There’s no big deal to it.

I was skilled... or just as skilled as she was."

She scoffed. "You realise how absurd that sounds, right? Tisane Valestryn comes from a family of natural-born egoists.

Powerful individuals. Capable of levelling Districts... crushing mountains.

They have a name for themselves.

Fighting her alone, and surviving, is already a win by my books."

Luca stared at her for a second, his thoughts churning as he dug his hands into his pocket.

"That is a limited scope of thinking."

"Wha–" She muttered in surprise. "Limited?!"

"Just because of one’s upbringing... Am I supposed to expect her to win? Bullshit."

He turned his head away.

"If you’re capable, then you’re capable.

There is no reason why you should let anyone trample or beat you if you’re more than fit to face it."

By then, they had already inched closer to the Silver Wing and many of Luca’s fellow Knight Apprentices could be seen heading in the same direction.

"Isn’t that naive? They already have the background. Of course, we should expect them to beat us! They were trained solely for it."

Luca glanced to the sky, a slow, deliberate expression of thinking etched on his face.

He nodded. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"You’re right."

Vareen smiled and turned away.

"Yup!"

On reaching the gate, Vareen finally came to a halt.

"I’m guessing you’re going to your next class?"

"Obviously."

A wry smile formed on her face.

"I’ll be going to mine then."

She turned to walk away.

"Try not to get into any more fights.

Everyone will consider it as luck when the news spreads... but not everyone will be welcomed by the idea."

Luca watched her exit through the streets in the direction he could only assume to be the Blue Wing.

He replayed her last message in his head.

’Not everyone will welcome the idea, huh.’

He turned and headed straight for the Building.

’Fuck them.’

*

*

*

The last class of the day was Abyssal Studies and Topography.

A deep insight into the world they would be venturing as Egoists and what people liked to refer to as their natural Habitat.

The Instructor who lectured the Cadets was a middle-aged, bulky-built man of a tank.

His crimson vest and bullet cap fitted him so well as a veteran soldier and the scar that ran along his left face told stories of his history in battle.

With deep vermillion hair and one good, crimson eye, it was evident to whom this man belonged.

"The Abyss isn’t just a zone... It’s a vast world where Egoists like us strive.

There are dangers, yes, but the treasures are a thousand times more."

He cackled mid-lecture.

The holographic image of a black planetary body hovered in the middle of the class.

It rotated mid-axis, showcasing vast cavitations in the planet’s anatomy.

"What is this diagram?" His voice boomed in the class.

"The Elderion Planet."

The Cadets chorused.

"Yes, the planet that serves as the bridge.

Researchers say that this planet also serves as an anchor. You see those cavities? Those are the shames of the past when scientists tried destroying it."

His voice grew dim.

"The punishment was a deep transformation of the Earth.

Gravity is obscure in places in our world.

The sea lost its general atmospheric pressure... and became uninhabitable.

But as always, we humans strived and adapted."

The image changed once more as he tapped the button.

Now it reflected concentric white beams exiting the Planets.

Hundreds– no, thousands of them which penetrated Earth.

A wave of murmurs arose and even Luca had to sit up.

The Instructor laughed.

"Are you scared?" He began. "These are the Elderion Beams... the portals used by the Null Creatures to descend to our World."

He took a brief pause and glanced around the class.

"Beams serve as seismic transmitters within the Abyss.

They appear at random spots. Locations which are usually characterised by high numbers of Null Creatures.

And the level of transmission they release is directly linked to the Tier of the Beam.

That Tier is what determines the rank of the Creatures which come out from these portals."

He sighed.

"They say the Abyss has as many Beams as Earth and many interdimensional relations have proven to have just as many as well.

The reasoning for its appearance is still unknown.

In fact... the Abyss has been a concept that nobody has ever been able to crack.

It is simply something we adapt to... until we find a way to close the bridge without further destroying our planet."

Then he folded his arms.

"I don’t need to be a bearer of bad news, but you will be going there soon. Today marks your first out of three days... and the possibility of the day drawing nearer is extremely high."

The Theatre rose in protest.

"Brought forward?!"

"Are they crazy?! We could die?!"

"What does he mean by ’brought forward?’ Are we going to venture tomorrow?"

"Sir, please false announcements are not something my family will smile upon."

Luca simply watched. Amused.

’Does it matter... It means, I’ll get the opportunity to get there quickly.

But why the sudden change?’

They had already shortened the time by three days, but now this?

If it was going to be twenty-four hours then the Cadets– all of them, would need to begin their preparations in earnest.

The Instructor groaned viciously.

"This is the reason why we should push it! This world has made you all weak!

The world is dying! The Abyss is encroaching on our resources... and what, you would rather stay behind your mother’s bosoms?"

His jaw clamped.

"For how long will you continue to suck your mother’s tits?"

’Damn.’ Luca choked his laughter hard, gaining some glares around him.

But how could he have stopped that?

’Well, it’s interesting that he cares this much for our strength... the Abyss will be a wake-up call.’

"Well, news will eventually reach you all... then we shall see how you respond to it."

He tapped the button on the remote and the image changed once more.

What appeared were iron fortresses.

Large buildings under the blanket of snow.

The image brought questions to many who looked at it, but a few others already knew them.

"Race Camps."

The Instructor said with a grin.

"My next few lectures will be on the Abyssal Races and our camps.

It will do you good to pay close attention, especially since you will be out there soon."

The lecture continued without further prompts while the Cadets paid full attention to their Instructor.

It was a constant slide of variables within the Abyss. It’s nature which allowed the sustainability of any race and even provided Interracial Language Deciphering.

The deeper he went into the mechanics, the further Luca leaned in.

He absorbed everything he heard like a sponge.

Not just because this was new information to him, but because he was genuinely excited about it.

Even in his Trance, he had felt it.

A subtle... lingering surge of adrenaline at the mere thought of venturing into the Abyss.

’I can’t wait to get stronger.’

He smirked at himself as the class went on.

Time ticked slowly, and soon, classes were over and so was the first day for the Knight Apprentices.

Luca was heading to the gate when he stopped, eyes widened and a bit of a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I didn’t see you in class... I thought you went home."

Taren walked into the gate with the most dangerous glare Luca had ever seen.

But more than that, he looked like he had lost at least twenty pounds.

The young chubby boy... was no longer chubby.

Taren bit his lower lip and tightened his fists as Ego slowly surged out of his body.

"Lucamir, you bastard."

Luca raised a brow.

"YOU SET ME UP!"