Chapter 1: System Emergence

Benedict Muller felt his heart pounding. Today was the day that would decide his fate. Today was Benedict's first day at The Veil military academy in Galdorien School's Babylon sector. He had to take a test to determine his level of power in The Veil, a dimension of another realm that transformed the world into one filled with power.

The Veil has seven levels: Essence, Vitality, Meridian, Nodes, Pranic, Vortex, and Divine. The higher a person's level, the greater their potential and abilities. There are only nine people in the world who have reached the Divine level, and they are called Markopoulos, the nine revered ones. They are the supreme rulers of the world, who divide the world into seven sectors or kingdoms.

Benedict lives in the Babylon sector, which includes the European region. This sector was known for being peaceful and harmonious despite having many Aetherians, people who possessed powers from The Veil. The Aetherians in this sector are mostly at levels five and six, namely Pranic and Vortex.

Benedict was not an Aetherian. The man did not even know whether he had the power of The Veil or not. Benedict knew for a fact that his parents died in an accident when he was six years old. His father was Mikkel Muller, a German-Irish descendant, and his mother was Jameela Hathor, an Egyptian of mixed Asian descent.

Benedict inherited sorrel hair from his father and dark brown eyes from his mother. Benedict had a handsome face and an athletic body, but that didn't help him in life. Benedict was always considered as trash by the people around him.

But today, Benedict hopes to change his life. He hopes to find his power in The Veil and become an Aetherian. Benedict hopes to have a better future.

Benedict now stood among thousands of other students gathered in the courtyard of the military academy. They were all high school graduates from all over Dublin, the city where Benedict lived. They all had to take a one-year conscription test to determine their level in The Veil. It is an absolute rule imposed by the Markopoulos government.

The first test is a levelling test by entering a special box machine to determine the level of The Veil. Students must hold the handle inside the machine with both hands and let their energy flow into it. The machine would light up with colours according to the student's level.

Benedict felt nervous and panicked when the test supervisor, Fred, first called his name.

"Benedict Muller! Please come forward!" Fred shouted loudly.

"G-good sir!" replied Benedict in a trembling voice.

Benedict walked with unsteady steps towards the machine in front of him. Benedict looked anxiously at the colourful rays coming out of the machine.

The white colour meant level one or Essence, the lowest level in The Veil. People at this level can only feel a little energy from The Veil but cannot use it.

The yellow colour means level two or Vitality, which is a slightly higher level than level one. People at this level can use the energy from The Veil to increase their health and stamina.

Green colour means level three or Meridian, a fairly high level in The Veil. People at this level can open and activate their body's meridians, the energy channels. They can flow energy from The Veil throughout their body, increasing their strength and speed.

The blue colour stands for level four or Nodes, which is a very high level within The Veil. People at this level can open and activate their nodes, which are energy points within their meridians. They can concentrate energy from The Veil into specific nodes and release special powers according to those nodes.

The colour purple stands for level five or Pranic, an extraordinary level within The Veil. People at this level can activate their pranic, the energy centres within their nodes. They can transform energy from The Veil into other forms according to their pranic, such as fire, water, wind, earth, etc.

The red colour means level six or Vortex, which is an amazing level in The Veil. People at this level can open and activate their vortexes, which are vortices of energy within their pranic. They can manipulate space and time according to their vortex, such as teleportation, acceleration, deceleration, etc.

The colour black means level seven or Divine, which is the highest level in The Veil. People at this level can unlock and activate their divine, the core energy within their vortex. They can create and destroy anything according to their divine, such as life, death, light, darkness, etc.

Benedict wished the bar would light up in any colour other than white. Benedict did not want to be an Essence, a trash with no power. Benedict wanted to be a powerful and respected Aetherian.

Benedict entered and stepped, holding inside, and closed his eyes. The man felt a strange vibration in his bag. Benedict did not know that the vibration came from a grey dice he had found in a trash bin a few days ago.

Benedict didn't realise that there was a ringing sound inside his head. Benedict thought it was just a stress-induced hallucination. Benedict didn't know that it was the sound of Horus, a superior system inside the dice he was carrying.

Horus is a system created by Professor Bernard, the scientist who opened the dimensional gate of The Veil. Horus can grant power to its users by transferring power from The Veil.

[New user detected. The system will give you power. The system will transfer power in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.]

[10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%]

[The initial synchronisation process was successful. My name is Horus, the superior system that will make you the strongest human. The first power you get is Earth. You can create earth from your body and can also manipulate the surrounding land. Each power can evolve to the next stage, and to evolve, you can collect experience points by training or using powers. Every time you use a power, it does not reduce your stamina. But as you practice more and more your stamina increases, and the effect of the power becomes much stronger."]

Benedict didn't listen to the voice message. Benedict was only focused on the level test he was undergoing. Benedict hoped to get a high level and become a respected Aetherian. But suddenly, the machine beeped loudly and sent out an emergency alarm.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

In addition to detecting levels, this machine could also detect a person's status, from name, age, date of birth and address, simply by placing the palm of the right hand on the scanner provided inside the machine box.

Everyone was shocked after hearing the machine's announcement. It is the second time in human history that an unknown level has been detected. The first time there was a malfunction was in 3004 when Mjief King tried it.

"Benedict, we will assume you passed level one because this machine is broken. But next time, we will test your level again, so prepare yourself. The next level test, you must be at least level five to qualify you to leave Galdorien School!" shouted another exam proctor.

"Ah, relief! I finally passed. Otherwise, my life would have been over. Only by becoming an Aetherian can I earn a lot of money!" thought Benedict with a beaming face.

However, the other participants mocked Benedict because he was only level one. Level one is the lowest in The Veil. People at this level can only feel a little energy from The Veil but can't use it.

Level one is a trash level that has no power whatsoever. Level one was rare in the Babylon sector. A young Aetherian in the Babylon sector was at most level three if a young genius was level five.