Multiple interdimensional portals appeared on the ground. But unbeknownst to everyone, Magnus also activated a certain skill under their noses.
Since they were misdirected by the sheer amount of interdimensional portals spawning, they didn't notice the other skill that immediately shut down their skill usage.
Had they noticed such an instant change in the atmosphere, they'd have been able to avoid being affected by the skill. Specifically, Magnus activated some sort of power dampener that intervened with everyone's energy.
With this, they'd automatically be teleported through the portal without much of a struggle.
And that's exactly what transpired. Even the Managers were dumbfounded by Magnus's exquisite control over his skill activation. Moreover, he activated two skills more than a hundred times in a snap. It was ridiculous as it is near-impossible to achieve.
Quite frankly, Magnus had been doing this surprise for hundreds of years now. Hence the reason why he was streamlined at it. There were no mistakes in his skill activation since his proficiency over it had reached master level.
"Well, I guess that's over with. We'd have to wait for three days before their return. I'm sure they're in good hands." Dumble Dore stretched his hands before he surreptitiously rubbed his chin.
"Yeah, we've witnessed this happen in the past and nothing risky happened back then. And it's Magnus we're talking about here. They're in good hands." Hermione Ranger uttered. Then again, she didn't speak her monologue to reassure someone else, she was doing so to rid herself of anxiousness.
Raise.
Just when Magnus turned around, giving himself a pat on the back for a job well done, he noticed a single presence in the open field. 'That's weird, I didn't notice a single Manager amongst the crowd. Am I imagining things?'
With slight confusion in his mind, he turned around, realizing that he overlooked something, somehow or the other.
"I'm sorry? What do I need to do?" Satoshi asked, raising his hands in confusion. He had no idea what just happened since it was too instantaneous. Adding to that, he wasn't teleported just like everyone else.
"Oi oi oi~ are you kidding me right now?" Magnus's brows twitched as he descended from his elevated position. Touching down, he approached Satoshi with keen interest. "What's your name, young kid? Which Manager are you under?"
From afar, Magnus already emanated insane pressure. But now that he lackadaisically approached, Satoshi felt like choking up due to the overwhelming pressure seeping from his body.
"What's your name?" Magnus repeated.
"Midoriyama Satoshi, I'm Bucky Barnes's Disciple." Satoshi responded, anxiously thinking that if he were to delay his response a few more seconds, he might end up in a ditch somewhere.
Magnus's eyes widened as his demeanor lightened. He wasn't expecting the exemplary Disciple to be under Bucky Barnes— not because he underestimated Bucky Barnes's capabilities as a Manager, but because he was expecting the other Managers to have stronger Disciples than him.
"That explains things... you're his newest Disciple, right? So you're the renowned Midoriyama Satoshi, the beast master." Magnus hinted as a light smile appeared on his face. He then raised his hand, brushing it in the air before he swiveled.
"I will wait for you to pass the test with flying colors, Satoshi. And while you're at it, I hope you'd consider transferring under my wing instead of Bucky Barnes. My reputation precedes me, as you may as well know, and I can transform you into a powerful universe-level Disciple."
Since Satoshi felt his neck constricting due to the immense pressure, he wasn't able to utter a single word of response. Even he had no idea why he was the only one who didn't go through the interdimensional portal underneath his feet.
Either the power dampener skill of Magnus didn't work on him... or his interdimensional portal was faulty. But Satoshi doubted such was the case since everyone else was teleported instantly.
This time, Magnus manifested another dimensional portal. "Please jump in, I don't know what it is but your skill's blocking my forced teleportation. Is it your superpower or something else? In any case, this is interesting."
To Satoshi's relief, Magnus had already taken a couple of steps away from him, giving him his much-needed breather before he jumped inside the new portal. He had no idea what to expect on the other side, but then again, everyone else had already been transferred so they were probably experiencing what he should expect.
Without further ado, Satoshi stepped inside the portal, looking forward to the first test of the day (which would actually last for three days).
...
On the other side of the portal, the Disciples were met with a certain trial that is a common trope when it comes to training arcs in a lot of animated series. It was so forecasted that the situation was the last thought in everyone's mind.
Some of the Disciples started laughing under their breath, while some were met with worry and concern since they were just transported into a foreign world with nothing but two other Disciples to depend on.
And yes, all of the Disciples were transported by threes, automatically creating a team that was foreseen to spend the next three days together.
They were transported into a lush forest with a somewhat eerie vibe. Strange cries from wild animals could be heard emanating from all directions of the forest, giving everyone the shivers but they maintained their composure nonetheless.
Well, most of them did except for one group.
"Wait, we're supposed to have three people on our team, right? Right?!" A woman in her early twenties pointed out. She didn't exude a certain level of fear, but she was concerned about their third teammate since he or she probably didn't survive the travel through the portal.
"There was probably a mix-up. I'm sure that Disciple is alive... or maybe we have to regroup with that person. But how?" The guy bit his nails in frustration. He couldn't care less about their third member... but he knew that the third person is relevant so they could pass the test.
"Then what do we do?'
"For now, we'd have to wait. Who knows, maybe his teleportation just got delayed. Besides, we need to observe the surroundings first before we started walking around." The man pointed out, settling on one of the huge boulders nearby.
Initially, he wanted to suggest setting up camp where they spawned. However, the others might not agree so he decided to wait on their third member before they decided what to do.
Either way, they already choked on the first part of the test. They knew that the third person on their team was not at fault because something probably happened midway. Then again, they couldn't help but think that he was impeding their progress.
"I'm Lucy Hexius Von Arabella, you can call me Lucy." The woman introduced herself out of nowhere, formally bowing down with the grace of royalty.
It was clear that she belonged to a royal family in a certain dimension due to her generic name of having 'von' in the middle of her name— or so that's what the man thought to himself.
"Pardon my late introductions. I'm Bruce Willow, it's nice to meet you, Lucy Hexius Von Arabella." He repeated. It was certainly a strange name but he didn't pry her too much about it.
"Just Lucy, you don't have to call me by my full name." She hmph'ed as she crossed her arms. Unbeknownst to Bruce, Lucy was actually pretty self-conscious about her name. Even she deemed her name as unique as it is strange.
"Lucy it is. What's your superpower?" Bruce asked.
"Uhm, do we have to reveal that now? Shouldn't we like... wait for our third member... I-I mean, so that we don't have to repeat ourselves, you know." Lucy laughed, flicking her snow-white hair as her ashen eyes glistened in the darkest light.
"I mean... if that works best for the three of us, sure. Why do you think our third member's late though?" Bruce scratched his head as he jumped to a couple of conclusions. "Do you think he... he like cut himself in half while he teleported through the interdimensional portal?"
"What? No! Don't say something so ominous!" Lucy scolded him, tightening her crossed arms.
Ti'ring~!
Before Bruce could retort, a huge screen flashed in the sky, marking a countdown of some sort. It was something that one would see in an MMORPG before the start of an event. It certainly wasn't the first time everyone saw something like it so no one panicked.
The countdown had a minute left and it continued to go down as seconds passed. Right when everyone started questioning what the countdown was for, a deafening voice boomed and it was heard by everyone.
It was an ominous voice and it matched the overall atmosphere of the entire forest as well as the countdown that so suddenly appeared in the sky.
"A horde of Dark Beasts are spawning soon, please prepare yourselves, little soldiers." It announced.
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