I Can Copy And Evolve Talents - Chapter 1176: The Pioneers of A New Era
Chapter 1176: The Pioneers of A New Era
Annette, Arlem and his brother Jakim, Zeek, and several other notable individuals from South Drywall gathered. Nahia wasn’t present—Thalen had taken her to see her master’s body.
The rest embarked on an excursion after Raven began with: “It’s difficult to explain. Better to just show you.”
And so, Annette and her group ventured into craters that looked carved by titanic falls, carefully scaling downward to avoid slipping and tumbling inside.
They traversed jagged landscapes—a forest razed to the ground where tree stumps still stood, though they required keen attention to spot. Details they’d have easily missed without their guide Raven explaining in a weighted voice what devastation a single human, not even her age, had wrought upon this landscape.
Annette stopped Raven mid-conversation.
“Wait… what do you mean he trapped Ul here?”
Raven gazed down at the triangular markings on the ground. She and Thalen had drawn them, planning to transform this into a tourist site to drag down the Origin’s reputation someday.
She was mildly surprised by how swiftly Thalen’s mind had conceived this, as though he’d been waiting for the opportunity. She nodded.
“Yes. Like I said, with Ul possessing Terence, we couldn’t touch her. But Northern trapped her in a space prism. I don’t know much about it, except that it was an ability Ul herself once used on him.”
Annette paused, scratching her cheek and chuckling in disbelief.
“So… what you’re telling me is… Ul has been deceiving us all along. Fine—I was never religious about her. But a supposed progenitor of our world, and Northern had the power to trap her in a space box?”
Raven nodded.
“We also have to consider she was in Terence’s body and—”
“Stop, stop, stop. Baby girl, stop… you’re trying so hard to make this believable that you have no idea what you’re doing.”
Raven paused, slightly stunned.
“Uh?”
Annette shook her head emphatically to ensure Raven understood.
“You don’t get it, do you? Ul surpasses whatever fundamental and conventional sense of power we know. None of us have ever known a Zenith to exist in this world. I don’t think it’s ever happened since… ever!”
She gestured broadly, her tone demanding attention.
“So Ul presumably is the perfect representation of that. And then what… Northern traps her—Ul—in a space box she developed with her own ability. He took it, perfected it, and imprisoned her with it. He alone fought a Tyrant, battled the Chaos Prince who escaped, and defeated his strongest servant who decimated that entire desert we saw?!”
Raven nodded with a smile.
“You’ve been paying attention.”
Annette’s head froze mid-motion, smoke practically rising from it. She stared at Raven, blinking.
“What? What’s funny?”
Raven’s smile faded quickly.
“Nothing. But your expression right now is priceless.”
Annette threw her head back, stared at the pale sky, and heaved a sigh.
Raven offered with a gentle smile.
“Do you want to see the plains he turned to icelands?”
Annette’s mouth fell open, shock frozen on her face.
These were easier to accept because she could see the evidence. Craters she wouldn’t have imagined were formed by human-sized beings fighting. Destroying a dense forest until nothing remained but flat land? What could have incinerated it? What magnitude of firepower? The more she pondered it, the heavier her head felt.
Arlem stared in disbelief, questioning whether they were talking about the same person he knew. He didn’t know Northern closely but had seen him several times, and honestly, all of this was believable.
His only regret was not paying closer attention to befriending him back in the Dark Continent. His brother, though, looked lost, refusing to believe any of it.
“And… which of this was your handiwork? What did you do?”
Raven gave a pointed look.
“Trying to stay alive amidst all of it. Look at this—you don’t want to be caught in the crossfire. Staying alive takes monumental effort, more than you’d need to defeat a monster three times stronger. And really, I’d wager on that over having to navigate alternating landscapes!”
Annette studied her for a moment and scoffed.
“You must have been terrified.”
Raven wasn’t one to display emotions this vividly. She never had been. Yet here she was, horrified and explaining everything with enthusiasm, as if excited simultaneously.
Excited that Northern is strong… stronger than she ever expected.
’She looks relieved too.’
Annette looked down and exhaled wearily.
Noting her expression, Raven asked with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
She hesitated, as if battling herself.
“The Headmaster is dead… we saw him on our way here.” She scoffed. “He was like a monolith… with splendor. He seemed to have died a hero. I’m at least happy about that. It’s what he always wanted.”
Raven looked down slightly. Everyone fell silent, the atmosphere dampening.
Then Annette exhaled forcefully.
“Ahhh! But we saved our world! Northern saved our continent! And though it’s just the beginning, I see hope now. So much hope.”
“And with it shall come new developments, threats, and variables we cannot predict.”
Her face grew stern as she turned to see Thalen and Illitis approaching.
Annette nodded in agreement.
“You’re right, Lord Thalen… the world is bound to change… and that change will undoubtedly gravitate toward Northern.”
She scratched her head, muttering.
“Damnit. Just yesterday, I had a gutsy fifteen-year-old boy wanting to take the examination evaluation test. Now he’s deciding the flow of an entire continent.”
Thalen laughed shortly, then looked evenly at everyone.
“If it’s alright with you all, I’d like us to discuss the details of the way forward.”
Annette observed him mildly.
At that moment, Bairan and Revant approached as well, with Revant jerking his arm away from Bairan’s grip—it seemed the Sword King had dragged him here against his wishes. Though he didn’t seem particularly angry about it.
Annette didn’t need introductions to know who they were, and those who did didn’t dare ask. Their presence alone was suffocating to stand beneath.
Bairan looked at them with a disarming smile.
“I summoned Lord Thalen here to meet my master’s friends and to help us.”
Annette watched the Sword King intently. So did Raven and the others.
“My Master has expressed the desire to create a nation of his own. We’re here today because we are the mechanisms that will bring that desire to life.”
