Chapter 40: Towards the Wall

October 12-

Levi stood in front of his house, taking a deep breath as he held a large box on his back while holding a card in his hand.

[Martial Apprentice: Levi Quincy

Birth Date: 2010/4/10

Outer Ring Clearance: Accepted]

This was the card required to enter the Outer Ring. He got this yesterday, and today was the day he was going to enter that place.

He was a bit excited and nervous at the same time. After all, it was a big thing for him.

More importantly, his battle instincts were going haywire. He wanted a fight. He wanted several battles.

But before doing any of that, he opened his system, just for one last look before he left.

[Host: Levi Quincy

Age: 16

Realm: Martial Apprentice Rank

Tempered Bones: 1 (Bronze)

Blood Energy: 9.9

Spiritual Energy: 8.5

Intent: Battle Intent Seed

Spiritual Power: Flame

Spear Dao: First Realm- Middle Stage

Technique: Ancient Dragon Elephant Technique (Beginner), Red Sun Refinement Technique (Entry), Golden Bone Forging Technique (Entry)

Martial Arts: Five Beasts Form (Perfection), Star Crushing Spear Art (Minor Mastery), Willow Steps (Minor Mastery)

Martial Technique: Spear Technique First Realm (Minor Mastery)

Skill: Fighting Flame Body (One Star)

EP: 45

Inventory: First Grade Spear]

If someone were to ask Levi what his biggest improvement was this month, he would’ve given a direct answer.

Spiritual Energy!

Levi improved everywhere, but it was here that his improvement felt real.

Normally, his spiritual energy was supposed to increase by one point for every two points of blood energy level.

That wasn’t due to blood energy itself, but it was related.

The improvement in his blood energy was due to techniques, and the techniques were improving due to enlightenment.

Enlightenment increased his spiritual energy.

So when he previously improved his spiritual energy, it was thanks to reaching perfection with his technique.

But this time, it wasn’t that.

The same thing couldn’t be misused multiple times. That was the law of improvement.

Levi couldn’t rely on enlightenment every time, but every once in a while, the immense improvement in his technique or art would improve his spiritual energy.

That improvement would remain dormant until his blood energy was enough to support it.

The balance between blood energy and spiritual energy was crucial. In fact, if spiritual energy was lower, it didn’t matter.

But if spiritual energy was higher, then the person would slowly go mad. The headaches and long-term brain injuries would be normal.

The worst situation was losing themselves like the Old Humans.

That’s why every time he improved his blood energy level, the dormant spiritual energy would awaken.

This time, it was a bit different.

He practiced the Red Sun Refinement Technique. This allowed him to consume the spiritual energy in his mind to evolve his soul.

That slowly tempered his soul, and after each recovery, his spiritual energy would increase drastically.

Of course, this time, he also used many enlightenment opportunities. So, around 1.5 came from enlightenment, and 1 came from soul tempering.

That one alone was enough to give him a new ability.

Spiritual Power!

It was a unique ability of spiritual energy. There were multiple abilities innate to spiritual energy.

But they were called Spiritual Abilities instead of Spiritual Power.

Spiritual Power was the manifestation of the technique practiced to refine the spiritual energy.

In the case of his parents, it would be Primal Force.

In his case, it was Red Sun.

But considering he had only practiced it to the Entry Realm, he only gained the flame attribute.

This was a huge achievement for a Martial Apprentice like him.

Because he could attach this spiritual power to his blood energy, giving it the attribute of fire.

He could literally spit out flames, turn his normal spear into a burning spear, and even shoot fireballs out of his palm.

Of course, that would instantly deplete his blood energy.

But the most important improvement was using it to increase his strength.

He called it Fighting Flame Body. It was not a martial art or a technique but something born as a skill.

Thus, a new section was added to the status panel.

He believed that with these tools in his arsenal, there was nothing that could stop him from hunting those beasts.

"Alright! It’s time to leave. I’ve already said goodbye to my parents. It’s time to leave."

To say Levi was nervous would be an understatement. He had never left the city in his life.

That place was outside the city, and he was going with three of his friends, with no guardians.

This was probably the most stressful part of his life.

The starting point!

He took another deep breath before leaving through the front gate. He arrived at the bus station and took a bus to the Northern Gate.

There were different routes for different buses. He rode the bus that circled the city on the Ring Road.

The Ring Road was a special road that circled the entire city, but it didn’t leave the boundaries of the city.

It was nearly two hours of ride from the nearest station to his house.

Two hours later;

Levi got out of the bus in front of a large green gate. This gate was known as the Northern Gate.

There was a red dragon drawn on the pillars supporting the gate.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward. Sonya, Mary, and Mike were already waiting for him in front of the gate.

Mike was even waving at him.

Levi clapped his hands with Mike as he reached the front of the gate.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Not much, only ten minutes!"

Mike replied and continued.

"Sonya arrived first."

"I only got here thirty minutes earlier. I am quite excited."

Sonya had a sweet blush on her face as she replied.

"Then, let’s enter!"

Levi took the group behind the gate. He looked around. There were a lot of buildings, but most of them weren’t for citizens.

These buildings were houses for military personnel.

Many of the military personnel could bring their families to these houses. It was a bit scary, considering the main wall was only ten minutes away.

But for most military personnel, if they could keep the monsters/alien invasion outside the wall, their families wouldn’t be disturbed.

If they couldn’t, then there was no place in the city that was safe.

So, they saw a lot of people in this area.

"Mike, do you know how long martial artists work in the military?"

Levi turned towards Mike and curiously asked.

"Hmm! Anywhere between ten and twenty years. Although Martial Artists have a lot of lifespan, that is enough time for a new generation to grow."

Mike answered and continued.

"Being a part of the military might be hard and risky, but it is often very rewarding. A normal soldier can earn around one million dollars per year."

"Their ranks are based on Martial Artist Rank. So, a Martial Artist can easily earn a million dollars a year, but it is very risky."

"The monsters can attack at any moment. The alien invasion can be even scarier."

"Wow! That’s a lot."

Levi was stunned. His eyes widened for a long time.

This was almost double- no, triple the amount his parents earn every year.

"Well, they are the first defense against the monsters and aliens. If you can’t give them that, how can they be motivated to stay in the military?"

"After all, if you are gonna risk your life, why not just hunt with the guild members or join the Dimensional War?"

Mike answered.

Mary suddenly closed the gap and whispered.

"The military is the power of the Federation. Unlike the guilds and individual strength, the military leaders are in complete control of this force."

"Even the Guild doesn’t have complete control over their members."

Hearing that, both Sonya and Levi understood why they paid so much. So, it was simply the government’s way of gathering military might.

Considering the power of the Guilds, it made a lot of sense.

After all, if the Guilds were given too much power, the federation would lose most of its power.

For example, their city had five public Grandmasters.

Mayor, Education Minister, Branch Guild Leaders, and Troy Family Head.

Among them, the Mayor and Education Minister were basically on the same side, while the Branch Guild Leaders were on one side.

Only the Troy Family Head was in an awkward position.

He was lucky to reach the Grandmaster Rank, but besides reputation, it had brought him a lot of trouble.

Of course, it also brought in a lot of resources for his family.

While they were talking, they reached the tall walls of the city. They were nearly ten meters tall and two meters thick.

After registering with the Military Guard using their card, they were allowed to leave the wall using a special door.

As soon as they left the walls, they were hit with a horrible feeling.

’What’s going on? What is this feeling?’

Levi’s eyes almost looked bloodshot as he tried to repel the feeling. The others were in the same situation, except for Mary, who immediately shouted.

"Quick, use your blood energy!"