C4 First Exercise

Clara remained mute and unconcerned about them. Jennifer hurled a double dagger at Carly's head at the same moment, and Carly quickly deflected it with a gauntlet to block the double dagger strike.

"That's fantastic, Jennifer; she can precisely throw the dagger. That dagger would have pierced my head one second too late," Carly whispered in her head, Jennifer's twin dagger buried into the hill wall.

"A healer like you shouldn't be on the front lines; it could endanger your team!" said Clara, her gaze fixed on Carly.

"Don't underestimate me, foolish girl. I'm not your typical healer," Jennifer said before employing the buff agility technique.

A blue aura surrounded Jennifer's body, and her movements were quick. Jennifer pulled her dagger off the hill wall and dashed towards Carly, slashing her with the knife.

TRANK!

Carly just used her gauntlet to parry every slash and Jennifer's dagger thrusts.

"I need to create distance, spear mode!" Carly somersaulted three times backwards to avoid Jennifer, and the gauntlet turned into a double-bladed spear on either end.

Carly charged forward, stabbing her spear at Jennifer, who could only duck and not attack, putting Jennifer on the defensive.

TRANK!

Clara's sword deflected Carly's spear thrust.

"Get out of my way, stupid girl!" You're simply bothering me!" Jennifer shouted sarcastically.

"You idiotic girl! You'd be dead by the master's spear if you weren't thanking me," Clara snarled.

[The system gave you Super Glasses]

Benedict's bag's yellow ball sparkled brilliantly, then floated up and transformed into blue VR goggles. Benedict's goggles were quickly fastened and sealed in place.

[RING, RING, RING!]

[Congratulations on synchronisation with Super Glasses]

[Name: Benedict Muller] [18 years old] [Level Aetherians: ?][System level: Beginner (0/10,000)] [Knowledge: Earth power level 1: Earth]

[You can level up by killing enemies and completing assignments.]

[System level: newbie, warrior, champion, gladiator, premier knight, emperor, god of war, unidentified material]

[Super Glasses are not removable]

[Congratulations on finishing the task and raising your level.]

"My head is buzzing again; what gives? Why do my spectacles keep falling off my face? I can't take these glasses off," Benedict thought.

That youngster possesses latent skills; the ball above is in motion.

"Sir must be pleased," Carly said with a sneaky grin.

As in, "Crossbow mode!"

The once-innocuous stone was transformed into a lethal crossbow. Carly's body materialised in a flash, and she fired an arrow from her crossbow towards Benedict from a distance of ten metres.

When Benedict realised Jacob was aiming at him, he shoved him away. A picture of someone harnessing Earth energy appeared in Benedict's glasses.

The man said, "Earth wall!"

When Benedict pounded the ground with his fists, a 5-foot-tall, 8-foot-long earthen wall emerged. The arrow was about to hit Benedict, but the earthen barrier stopped it.

Jennifer said cynically, "It's great that rubbish boy can unleash rare powers," while giving him a patronising glance and a snide grin.

It's weird, even if he's only a level-one player. But he has such power at his disposal, and the football became cybernetic eyewear. Could it be that he's trying to downplay his influence? Clara scratched her chin thoughtfully.

Finally, the girl said, "But there is no way the screening machine can know everything; even if there are Aetherians who can hide their levels, it will be read on the machine."

To exhaustion, the speaker huffs and puffs: "Huff, huff, huff, huff, how tired!" saying this for the first time, Benedict's breath was raspy.

Let's call an end to this greeting ritual. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. You're finally here. Carly addressed the group she would be guiding.

Clara had her katana drawn, Jennifer had her double dagger at her waist, and Benedict had taken off his spectacles, forming a tidy line of four.

"Hi! Hello, my name is Carly Monet." Carly smiled and introduced herself.

"I'm Carly, I'm 32 years old, my favourite thing is nothing, and my objective is to teach people to be Prime Soldier Agents like me.

"Please do what I did and introduce yourselves," She said. "Let's begin with you, Mr. Yellow Hair!"

"Hello, everyone; I'm Jacob Marseille." Jacob's mouth curled into a smile as he said, "Eighteen years old, trying to be the strongest Aetherians.

"This is good; it suits me. You've officially reached my own point!" Carly identified Jennifer as the target of her arrow.

Jennifer smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Jennifer, and I'm 18 years old. My favourite thing to do is to make potions, and I aspire to be the best alchemist in the world.

"Great! Aiming high might be a winning hand as the team's last line of defence. Put that behind you; you're a beauty now." Carly aimed her finger towards Clara.

"Let me introduce myself: Clara Michelle Gomez is my name. I'm 18," Clara replied sharply. "I don't have any goals, but I want to beat someone." She then cast a wry gaze at Benedict.

"Okay, no sweat." Carly gestured to Benedict, "Now you're a cool person.

Excuse me, master! Hi, I'm Benedict Muller. Benedict grunted with exasperation, "I'm 18 years old.

Carly shouted, "Yes, yes, yes, go already!"

"The thing I love about power is that I aspire to be Markopoulos," Benedict adds with a piercing gaze.

Benedict, your ambitions are too lofty; Markopoulos is a powerful collective. Becoming Markopoulos requires you to conquer the greatest opponents. Jennifer laughed sarcastically and warned, "Be careful; you might daydream."

However, that's okay. It's quite okay for people to have different aspirations. Carly pleads, "Just make them happen."

Benedict bowed and responded, "Yes, master, I ask for your guidance!"

We, too, are masters, and we want your direction. Clara, Jennifer, and Jacob bowed together.

Okay, this is where we'll kick off practice for tomorrow. Don't be late; everyone, please scatter. "Oh my gosh!" Carly gasped.

All four of them echoed, "Ready, master!" before returning to their quarters.

Mr. Mikkel must be proud of how large and muscular Benedict has gotten, but this collaboration is so shattered, Carly thought to herself.

***

The next day at dawn, they were all together on the practice pitch, "Well, the goal of today's workout is to build physical strength and endurance," Carly stated.

"We will run from here to the top of the hill, past the lake, the barren desert, and the mud field, then back up the hill."

Jennifer scoffed, "Oh, that's easy!" because she was accustomed to martial arts instruction at her family's dojo.

Oh, that's simple enough. Fasten this timepiece on your right wrist and activate it. It's a gravity wristwatch, and I've calibrated it to your weight. At level 1, the gravity is eight times that of Earth; at level 3, six times; at level 4, five times; and at level 5, three times. If you're late, you'll miss lunch and be told to "disperse!" Upon Carly's instruction.

They all fastened their watches on their right wrists and activated the mechanisms.

CLICK!

Unlike Benedict, who must run at eight times the Earth's gravity, Jacob, Jennifer, and Clara are no strangers to rigorous training as part of their own tribes.

Carly stated, "I want to see your cooperation in solving this exercise," as she faded from view.

The three of them (Jennifer, Clara, and Jacob) had been racing through the sand dunes. The remainder of the group was equally busy today with training in their own specialities. A single stride for Benedict took 30 seconds as he struggled against gravity eight times.

[RING! You managed to train with Carly. You will receive 1000 XP and 100 EUR in exchange for your time and effort.]

[The system automatically accepts any tasks that pop up. Well Done! You've Finished the Mission!]

"Mission?" Benedict's thoughts curved the wandering eyes.