Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Nine: Vanquished Dreams

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Vanquished Dreams

Valen’s pupils shrank as he read up to this point. He couldn’t suppress the pounding of his heart.

A mine containing cores of elemental energy. Didn’t he lack quite a few cores himself? If he could get his hands on them...

’No, that’s not the point. The point here is that humans from Greenfield now know of elemental energy. Could the rise of humanity Grandpa had spoken of be related to this?’

Valen shook his head and stopped making guesses. He decided to finish the message first before coming to any conclusion.

---

"I don’t know what it contains, but it seems to be something they called Cores containing Elemental Energy of sorts. I also got info that suggested this to be the reason for your departure date being pushed forward.

Special Power Suits have also been crafted using the cores as power sources, and they possess frightening might.

There’s also another thing I wish to inform you about. Grandpa... is gone. He departed for the abyss, saying we should take care of ourselves. I tried stopping him, and he left while I wasn’t paying attention.

Sigh, I only hope he’s OK. I’ve never seen the abyss, but I know it’s dangerous. Well, enough talking. I’ll be going now. Take care of yourself."

---

Valen remained silent for a while before letting out a soft sigh and replying to Aaliyah’s message, telling her to also take care.

Having always wanted to enter the abyss to search for the cause of his father’s death, Valen hadn’t minded the mockery of others. He went to the White River Energised Chamber month after month, always hoping to trigger his evolution.

He did all this because he loved his father so much, but he never considered how Grandpa Hamza had been feeling all this while.

The Dragon Slayer had been his son, and as a father, how could he not be pained? Yet he had endured all of it, probably waiting for Valen’s evolution before setting out.

Now that he had evolved, his grandfather saw no need to wait any longer and headed directly into the abyss to search for his son’s murderer.

Aaliyah might not have seen the abyss because she had always entered the Astral Veil from outer space, but Valen had just witnessed its despair-inducing expanse.

He knew his grandfather was strong, but exactly how strong... he had no idea. Whether he could survive within the abyss was another matter entirely.

Valen could only pray for his grandfather’s wellbeing.

He turned his attention to the other details in the message, and his expression slowly turned solemn.

Special Power Suits?

Could it be one of the other hidden legions helping the people of Greenfield Planet?

Alex had said there wasn’t only one legion in existence. Back then, there had been a world-ending crisis, and numerous Power Suits had been crafted with Elemental Cores as their power source.

From his memories, Valen knew that only the Sages and those they taught knew how to create such things. So if the people of Greenfield Planet could do the same, then it was probably the work of outside forces.

He didn’t doubt Greenfield’s technological advancement, but it would’ve taken much longer if they wanted to create even one such Power Suit.

It also seemed that they had sharpened their weapons and readied their soldiers, preparing for war against the occupants of the Astral Veil.

Valen also realised why the Power Suit of the Commander who gave them a blood-boiling speech at Greenfield felt familiar.

’His Power Suit probably had the Wind Core, right?’

Just as this thought settled in, a commotion broke out beside an emerald door crafted from glistening platinum. It also served as an elevator, and Valen had used it to come to this floor.

The door slid open as people from the Outlands walked out. Wherever they passed, everyone distanced themselves as though they were a plague.

The handsome white-haired young man in the lead paid no attention to the behaviour of others. He walked to the side and silently waited, while his entourage surrounded him, pointing their guns at anyone who showed signs of approaching.

Valen’s lips twitched, but he didn’t say anything. He merely waited on the side, minding his own business. However the upper echelons chose to deal with this... he didn’t care.

While everyone murmured and discussed, Valen’s sharp senses picked up some clues from their conversations. Yet he remained confused.

Why would the government exile so many Evolvers when they could instead be sent to the front lines to defend their planet?

Something didn’t add up.

He tried searching for information about the Outlands, but all he found was superficial information that didn’t go into many details.

’Something’s definitely very wrong.’

The massive pillar at the centre of the hall trembled and lit up, showing the image of a broad-shouldered man. Behind him stood numerous other people, all staring forward.

Valen recognised him immediately.

Frederick, the President of the Starlight Federation.

The man who had brought the Starlight Federation to its current status as the World’s Strongest Country.

"Good day, everyone. I believe you all know who I am. I’m President Frederick of the Starlight Federation."

His calm voice resonated throughout the now-silent building.

He glanced around as though he could see everyone before continuing:

"I know you’ve all been curious as to why you were invited to the Astral Veil this early. You haven’t joined an academy and received the training and guidance needed to survive the Astral Veil, you haven’t learned to pilot an air shuttle, and you haven’t even gotten accustomed to your newfound powers, yet you’re being asked to show up."

Frederick’s words echoed the sentiments of all the new Evolvers present, their heads subconsciously nodding before they even realised what they were doing.

Letting out a small chuckle, Frederick added in a lighthearted manner:

"I’ve got good news for everyone. As we all know, if we want to defeat the invaders of our lands, our only hope lies in science. Sharp swords can cut down beasts, but you have to approach them first. Explosive arrows can bombard monsters to death, but that requires straining the arm and shoulder muscles.

But with cannons, powered motorcycles, and guns crafted from unique chemical compounds, we can safely defend our cities and leisurely raid beast havens for opportunities and riches."

President Frederick paused with a faint smile on his face.

Most Evolvers chuckled or revealed wide grins when they heard the word riches.

And this was exactly the reaction President Frederick was aiming for.

Taking two steps backward and snapping his fingers, he returned his attention to the screen and said:

"We’ve recently made a breakthrough in our crafts.

Everyone who dreamed of attaining superpowers can now discover that it isn’t a dream anymore, but something that can be achieved.

Anyone who dreamt of flying freely through the clouds and destroying hilltops with a wave of their hand, I’m here to inform you today that... none of it is a dream any longer."