Months passed within the [Epiphany Zone], and Jaden finally finished learning all of the magic spells.

[Congratulations! You have learned a 3-star magic spell: Frost Gale Prison.]

[Experience +50 (Spell Learned)]

[Host has levelled up!]

[Host has reached level 33!]

————[Profile]————

Host: Jaden Cross

Age: 19

Job: The Shutter Summoner [SSS]

Job Description: You can capture and summon anything using your camera and grimoire.

Rank: Expert [33] → Elite [50]

Enhanced Stats:

Strength: 33 (1↑)

Agility: 40 (1↑)

Intelligence: 38 (1↑)

Spirit: 38 (1↑)

Charisma: 33 (1↑)

Available Stats: 5

Affinity:

Elemental: Fire, water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Lightning, Darkness, Light.

Mark: Shadow, Soul, Death, Blood, Nullification, Barrier, Life, Nature, Solar, Lunar, Illusion, Gravity.

————[Profile]————

Jaden opened his eyes, read the messages with a calm expression and stepped out of the [Epiphany Zone].

He had expected to find himself within the white walls of the arcane library, but upon returning to the waking world, he found himself within a dark chamber.

He looked around in confusion and thought, 'Where am I?'

After not finding anything of worth within the chamber, he walked towards the iron door and pushed it, but it was locked.

He furrowed his brows and pushed it with all his strength. The iron door groaned before it came out of its hinges and fell.

Thud!

The sound of mental hitting the solid ground echoed throughout the area, and he stepped out of the dark chamber.

He checked both sides of the hallway but found no one.

"Yuka," he called out as he made his way towards the brighter side of the hallway that was lined with similar chambers.

As he walked, screams, sirens and tearing metal sounds reached his ears.

He frowned deeply, his steps quickened, and he muttered, "What is going on?"

He began to run towards the brighter side, and before long, he stood before a broken wall.

He stepped closer and looked out with bated breath.

The buildings caught in fire lay in ruins with heavy smoke rising from them, severed body parts of nightmare, star beast, and humans littered all over, and at the far end, four arcane knights fought a tall, dark-skinned, slender nightmare creature.

Mana moved to his eyes as he enhanced them to take a better look. His eyes widened right after because he knew all four of those arcane knights.

They were Selina, Jamie, Arden and Navin.

"I should ask them what's going on," he mumbled and shifted his eyes towards the nightmare creature whose body was full of ghastly wounds with dark red blood pouring out of them with no end.

He used Realm Scan on it and mumbled, "Expert..."

"Lightspeed..." he mumbled.

Crr... Crk... Krrk...

Golden lightning began to crackle around his body, and a thunderclap resounded as he disappeared.

The golden lighting traced his path as he flew towards the nightmare creature like a speeding bullet, and a few moments later, he struck it right at its spirit core.

The nightmare let out a horrifying scream before its gargantuan body fell to the ground.

"What the fuck was that?!" Jamie shouted with a stupefied look.

Selina and the others' eyes widened, but they didn't dismiss their spells; instead, they focused them on the large hole that had appeared in the now dead body of the nightmare.

Heavy smoke left the hole as lightning crackled around it, and a hand shot out.

All of them stood battle-ready and stared at the figure that was coming out of the hole with cautious eyes.

However, all of their cautiousness went up in smoke after Jaden's voice fell into their ears, "Blasted hell... that was too fast."

Selina's eyes widened, and she began to run towards the figure and shouted, "Jaden!"

The others also moved towards him, but before they could reach him, he shouted, "Stop right there, don't come near me."

She slowed her steps and her expression darkened as she asked, "W-What's wrong?"

A heavy sigh escaped him before he replied in an embarrassed tone, "Well... I kind of ripped my clothes..."

None of them was able to respond to his words; all they could do was stare at him with exasperated looks.

A few moments later, He walked out of the hole with an ice armour covering and saving him from gracing the world with his naked body.

Jamie raised an eyebrow and thought, 'How is he able to do that? Don't tell me he has already reached the master rank...'

Others also had the same question in their minds, but none of them spoke — except Arden.

He walked over to Jaden with gleaming eyes and circled him before asking in an awed tone, "Jaden... How did you reach Master rank so fast?"

Jaden furrowed his brows in confusion and replied, "I haven't."

A frown appeared on Arden's face, and he inquired further, "Then how are you forcing the ice elementals to create an armour around you?"

Jaden's eyes gleamed in understanding, and he explained, "I don't know... I am just able to."

He lied without blinking; he had no other choice.

He didn't want anyone to find out about things that could be taken away from him, and [All-severing Moonlight (Replica)] was one such thing.

Jamie and Arden looked at him with doubtful eyes but didn't pursue further.

Selina walked over to him with a worried expression and asked, "Where were you for the past two months?"

Jaden turned his head towards her and blinked in confusion before muttering, "What?"

"We haven't seen you for the past two months," Navin explained and leaned against his spear.

'Was I inside the [Epiphany Zone] for that long?' Jaden frowned in thought.

He didn't actually remember how many months had passed in there because all of his focus was on learning the magic spells.

Jaden turned towards him to ask about what was going on, but before he could do that, Navin said with a smile, "Let's go... I'll explain to you what's happening on the way back..."

Jaden nodded and glanced at Selina before he gestured and spoke, "Let's go."

The others turned around and began to walk, stones crumbling under their boots.

Jaden walked beside Navin, and he asked, "You remember the dreamgate that had appeared within the academy two months ago?"

"I do," Jaden replied with a faint nod.

"Turns out it was a Master ranked dreamgate, but the principal was able to deal with it with the help of the Fairy of Space..."

His expression darkened, "But that was just the beginning... the prophesied dreamgate began to appear before they should have... and the academy fell..."

Jaden's expression turned grave, and he asked, "What about the students?"

"The Fairy of Space teleported all of the students to a safe place..." Selina answered, she turned her head towards him and added, "but... You weren't there."

He nodded to her and asked, "What's happening now?"

"All of the ducal houses have sent support to contain the gates, but we have never had so many high-ranked gates appearing at once," Jamie replied nonchalantly; it was as if he was enjoying the current scenario.

Jaden didn't react to it. He already knew that Jamie had a few loose screws up there, after all.

"Why not just enter the gates?" He suggested.

There were two ways to close a dreamgate: you can either feed it enough souls by sending living beings into it, or you can wait for it to break and then kill the nightmares.

Seeing that it was proving hard for the forces of humanity to contain this absurd amount of gates... It made no sense not to use the first method.

"We already tried it..." Arden muttered in a low voice.

"Did something go wrong?"

Arden slowed his steps, turned his head to him and replied with a bitter look, "It didn't work... They have no limit."

His eyes widened.

"What?"

"It's just as he said... no matter how many people enter them, they don't close," Selina explained calmly, though her calm seemed to be from being with Jaden.

"This world is just going down to shit," Jamie remarked with an amused chuckle.

Arden shot a look at him and snapped, "Shut up! Mad Sword."

Jamie's face went pale, and he muttered with an irritated expression, "I told you not to fucking call me that!"

Jaden furrowed his brows upon seeing them banter even at such a serious time, and thought, 'Nothing can change these two.'

"So... the students are also taking part in containing the gates?" He asked.

Navin replied with a nod, "Yes... We have no other choice, but we are only allowed in comparatively safer locations."

Jaden turned his head, looked at the devastation-filled land and thought, 'This is one of the safer locations... how bad are the dangerous ones then?'

Navin guessed his thoughts and replied in a grave tone, "Very bad..."

Jaden looked at him with a deadpan look, but he didn't want to hear that his expressions were easy to read and simply looked away.

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