Chapter 138: 138
The brilliant blue flash of the sector exit portal settled down, and Ayla materialized back onto the silver transit pad of the central pavilion. The cool, clean air of the Ascendant Academy instantly replaced the damp, oily scent of the Sunken Sector Grid. She floated calmly in the center of the platform, her translucent blue body looking incredibly smooth and perfectly glossy after swallowing the golden master core of the Regional Overseer.
A loud, clear system announcement automatically boomed across the entire transit area, its mechanical frequency vibrating through the high marble pillars.
[ System Notice: First-Year Vanguard Leader Ayla has successfully completed the Zone 4 Sunken Sector Grid mission. ]
[ Total Execution Time: Eleven minutes and forty-two seconds. ]
[ Solo Parameters Verified. Performance Evaluation: SSS Rank. ]
[ Final Leaderboard Points Allocated. Master Database Updated. ]
The moment the loud announcement finished echoing, a very heavy, suffocating silence blanketed the surrounding plaza. Dozens of second-year and third-year senior students who were currently preparing their own mission supplies on the adjacent transit pads instantly stopped what they were doing. They stood perfectly frozen in place, their eyes wide with a deep, unadulterated shock as they stared at the tiny blue slime rolling off the teleportation pad.
"Eleven minutes?" a second-year senior with a heavy broadsword stammered, his voice cracking slightly with emotion as he looked at his interface screen. "The Zone 4 mechanical sector takes a standard five-man vanguard squad at least twelve hours to carefully clear. She went in completely alone and wiped out the entire layout before the morning orientation crowd even finished dispersing!"
"Look at her core energy density," another older student whispered, his hands tightening into tight fists as a visible wave of panic rippled through his companions. "Her gold aura is not flickering at all. It feels completely stable, vast, and heavy. How can a freshman slime achieve that level of internal core saturation within forty-eight hours of entering the academy parameters?"
Ayla ignored their frantic murmurs entirely, treating the older students like invisible pieces of dirt as she rolled calmly across the white marble floorboards. She did not look proud about her SSS-rank performance, and she did not look excited about breaking another academy speed record. To her, clearing the mechanical drones had been just as satisfying as wiping out the freshman alliance the day before, which meant it was entirely boring.
"Nexus, the rewards from these standard academy assignments are far too small," Ayla communicated through the mind link, her multi-layered mental voice carrying a heavy tone of supreme boredom. "The golden master core from that robot was large, but the mana inside was completely artificial. It does not taste as rich or deep as the real cosmic entities in the primitive wasteland world."
"Well, that is because the academy simulation maps use synthesized elemental data to protect the students’ soul containers, little monster!" Nexus’s voice giggled loudly inside her head, a small digital interface window flashing her current progress charts over Ayla’s right holographic lens. "But do not be too disappointed. By securing another perfect SSS-rank solo completion, you have officially bypassed the low-tier freshman block requirements. Look at the administrative progression logs."
Ayla blinked her golden eyes, and a large, glowing purple notification window instantly expanded in front of her face, displaying her updated academic status.
[ Academic Progression Update: Vanguard Leader Advancement ]
[ Due to your consecutive record-shattering achievements, you have been officially promoted out of the First-Year Primary Sector Block. ]
[ Advanced Status Granted: Middle-Tier Elite Ranker. ]
[ Access Parameters Unlocked: The Floating Sky Fortress Sector — Tier 2. ]
[ Next Core Target Required: Fifty Gold-ranked Aerial Matrix Crystals. ]
Ayla’s golden-ringed pupils expanded slightly as she read through the updated progression logs. A small, pleasant ripple traveled through her blue fluid mass as she realized she was moving closer to the higher-tier boundary zones where the real cosmic targets were located.
"The Floating Sky Fortress Sector," Ayla murmured inside her mind. "Are the targets inside that tier going to be more satisfying to eat?"
"The Tier 2 fortress maps are heavily occupied by the elite student factions of the second-year bracket," Nexus explained, her digital tone dropping into a highly amused, conspiratorial whisper. "That is the exact territory where the Iron Shield Faction and the Roaring Dragon Faction harvest their high-grade cultivation allocations. By stepping into that sector tomorrow, you are literally rolling straight into their private dining room to steal their food."
"If they try to block my path, I will just cut their arms off like the other senior," Ayla responded simply, her five pitch-black claws extending from her front mass for a brief millisecond with a sharp metallic click.
She did not care about their private dining rooms, their student factions, or their collective political authority. In her mind, everything inside this academy was just a temporary stepping stone meant to fuel her continuous biological evolution toward the absolute pinnacle of the world laws.
As Ayla continued her slow, lazy rolling motion toward the exit corridor of the transit pavilion, a towering figure suddenly stepped out from behind a massive crystalline pillar, blocking her path completely.
The person who had blocked her way was none other than Instructor Argenta, her dark green-haired homeroom teacher. She stood perfectly upright in her crisp, midnight-black military uniform, her long hair resting smoothly against her shoulders. Her silver, pupil-less eyes carried a cold, unreadable expression as she looked down at the small blue slime floating on the marble floorboards.
"Instructor Argenta," Ayla communicated, her mental voice flat and direct. "Are you here to deliver another bone fragment?"
Argenta let out a very brief, dry chuckle, clearly entertained by the small slime’s absolute lack of hesitation or fear. She adjusted her garmont cap, her sharp voice echoing clearly in the quiet corridor.
"I do not have any more primordial bones for you today, little monster," Argenta said smoothly, leaning her back against the marble pillar. "But I did come here to deliver an official warning from the Grand Dean’s office. Your eleven-minute solo completion of the Sunken Sector Grid has officially triggered an emergency meeting among the second-year vanguard captains."
Ayla bobbled her round body indifferently. "They write too many words on the screens. They are very pathetic."
"They are pathetic compared to your growth speed, yes," Argenta agreed, her silver eyes narrowing slightly as she scanned Ayla’s maximized Peak Gold core density. "But the Roaring Dragon Faction is led by a peak second-year genius named Draco, who possesses a high-tier ancient dragon bloodline framework. He has already secured a temporary administrative pass to enter the Tier 2 Floating Sky Fortress Sector at the exact same time as you tomorrow morning."
Ayla tilted her mass upward, a slight spark of genuine interest rising in her golden pupils. "Does Draco have a real core inside his body, or is it fake like the robots?"
"He carries a genuine, mutated Dragon Core that is backed by the biological essence of the infinite races," Argenta explained, her expression turning serious as she looked at the slime. "He is much stronger than Tyrok, and his faction members will attempt to lock down all fifty Aerial Matrix Crystals the moment the map parameters open tomorrow. They want to completely starve your progression line to protect their senior dignity."
"They cannot starve me," Ayla stated flatly, her multi-layered mental voice vibrating with a quiet, terrifying confidence. "I will just eat the crystals and his dragon core together if he stays in my way."
"I expected nothing less from my Class One vanguard leader," Argenta replied, a very faint, amused smile curling her pale lips as she stepped aside to clear the path. "Go back to your residential suite and rest well tonight, Ayla. Tomorrow morning, the entire academy will be watching to see if your pitch-black claws can slice through an ancient dragon’s scales."
Ayla did not say another word. She rolled right past her homeroom teacher, her translucent blue body bouncing softly with every lazy step as she exited the grand pavilion and headed straight toward the residential blocks.
The thousands of freshmen who were sitting in the common hallways frantically scrambled backward the moment they saw her approach, clearing a massive path for her without a single drop of hesitation. Ayla treated them like invisible pieces of trash, rolling smoothly into her reinforced private suite and letting the heavy silver doors slide shut behind her mass with a soft, pressurized click.
The quietness inside her room returned instantly. Ayla floated toward the center of the plush training rug, letting her round blue body expand completely as she relaxed her internal muscles. Her Apocalypse Gold Metal Core began to throb with a deep, majestic rhythm, smoothly processing the remaining traces of the golden machine core she had swallowed in the Sunken Grid.
"Nexus, let’s look at the achievement tokens while we wait for tomorrow," Ayla whispered inside her mind, her golden eyes glowing in the dim light of the suite. "We still have several hours before the academy sector opens."
"Oh, you want to plan your next real cosmic hunt?" Nexus’s voice giggled happily, instantly expanding a large, glowing purple achievement panel across her vision. "The Map Cleanser token operates on a monthly cooldown parameter, but because you successfully conquered the entire volcanic valley of the Desolate Abyss yesterday, the mainframe has already begun calculating your future unlock coordinates. The next primitive world is going to be a Tier 3 Frozen Sea world filled with ancient, unmanaged aquatic leviathans."
Ayla’s golden-ringed pupils expanded to their absolute maximum width as she read the descriptions of the frozen primitive world. A wild, uncontrollable wave of primal hunger and manic joy instantly bubbled up from her golden core, causing her blue jelly surface to ripple violently with a terrifying velocity.
An unmanaged frozen sea world. Ancient aquatic leviathans. Real, unrefined cosmic cores.
That was the exact environment where her monstrous appetite could truly run wild without any safety restrictions or annoying professors monitoring her movements through crystalline screens. The main academy sectors were acceptable for a quick morning snack, but her true home was out in the wild, untamed corners of the outer universe where the food was massive and raw.
"We will clear the sky fortress and defeat the dragon student tomorrow morning," Ayla whispered into the quiet suite, her five pitch-black claws slowly extending back out with a sharp, synchronized metallic click. "And then, we will go catch a real fish for lunch."
"That is the spirit, little monster!" Nexus laughed hysterically, waving the interface screens away into fine digital dust. "Let’s get some rest now. The dragon faction has no idea what kind of prehistoric predator is heading their way tomorrow morning."
Ayla let out a slow, compliant ripple, gradually calming her wild aura pressure down. She contracted her blue fluid mass into a tight, perfect ball of jelly, resting comfortably on the soft training rug as the brilliant golden light inside her core slowly faded into a quiet, peaceful hum. The first mission day of the Ascendant Academy was officially completed. She had thoroughly dominated the low-tier block, upgraded her academic status, and laid the perfect golden foundation for her upcoming clash against the elite senior factions of the infinite races.
Comments