A loud thudding sound echoed through the hallways as the group of four walked closer to Reed.
"That sounds painful." Dryan commented on the sounds. "Wonder what's got him so worked up..."
The other three did not respond to him as they gained sight of an open door. They walked closer and the noise increased as they caught sight of the man they were called by.
Reed was striking a sandbag, which was barely moving. His face was stern, his brows slightly furrowed as he rained down punch after punch on the bag, pushing it only a few millimeters every time.
'What's it made of?' Was the common thought of the watchers as they watched the spectacle.
A few moments passed as Reed continued his attacks and they watched, until Lyn noticed something.
'Something's wrong.' She thought as she observed his face. 'That's his deep-thought face, but...' Another punch landed with a loud slam. 'Those attacks don't seem like he's calculating something.'
She had seen him train before, and had seen what he did while he thinking about something. This was not normal.
Suddenly, Reed picked up speed, throwing his punches faster and faster, until he hit a speed where his arms would be nothing more than blurry streaks to a normal person's eyes.
Then as suddenly as he accelerated, he slowed down, then stopped.
Breathing deeply, he took off the gloves on his hands and tossed them to the side.
He stood there for a few moments, rubbing his hands slowly, methodically.
"Is everything alright?"
At this point, even the other three had realized that something was off, and Tonathan was the first to voice their collective concern.
"I'm getting desperate," Reed spoke calmly. "I have been trying to find a way to communicate with my family, and nothing seems to come of it, and I am running out of ideas. I will have to try riskier things next. If those don't work, then I will try ideas with guaranteed side-effects, and if that doesn't work..."
Reed trailed off, knowing that his audience had understood what he was talking about.
"If you have any ideas, write them down and give them to the Record. Now, on to the reason you are here. Report your progress in training, Dryan, go first, go clock-wise."
Reed pulled out a book titled 'DRYAN' and prepared to write.
"Hm." Dryan hummed, thinking about what he had accomplished. "Well... I have managed to make a concentrated stream of flame, but I can't hold it for more than a second before it destabilizes."
Reed made a note, and Dryan paused his words.
"Continue." "Right, I managed to consistently take away Tonna's balance by using those earth techniques you showed me, as long as wasn't further than thirty meters, the closer the better." "Um-hm." Another note. "About ice and water, I haven't been able to use any of the techniques consistently..." A nod.
"Buuut..." An eyebrow was raised as Reed waited for Dryan to announce the reason behind his pride.
"I have managed to complete all of the wind magic techniques you asked me to try." Dryan announced with a proud voice and an expression that was basically begging for praise.
"All of them?" Bell's voice murmured to the side, and Dryan could see that Tonathan was impressed out of the corner of his eye.
"Hm." Reed hummed in acknowledgment and surprise. "That's actually quite a feat, well done." He said, and Dryan's face split into an even bigger grin than the one it had a moment ago.
'Perhaps he has a greater affinity with wind? Or maybe he was just interested in it? Both are possible, maybe just talent or pure luck due to a random thought? Testing required.'
Reed wrote down a few sentences in the book.
"Take this, as a small reward for your success."
Reed held out a small bottle.
"Thank you!" Dryan took it quickly, and held it up to examine it. "What is it?" He asked.
"It is called, [Potion of healthiness]. It basically keeps your body as healthy as it possibly can be as long as the potion effects last, which in this case, would be a week."
"Eh?" Dryan was a little disappointed, he had expected much more.
"It means that you eat unhealthy food to your heart's content and not be affected by it." Reed clarified.
"Oooh!!." Dryan's eyes lit up in understanding and excitement. "Thanks, boss!." He thanked Reed and stepped back, still examining the potion in his hands.
"Alright, your turn." Reed turned to the next person, the book in his changing, this one had "TONATHAN" written on its cover.
...
Reed was in the middle of a giant room.
It was thirty meters tall, fifty meters wide, and sixty meters meters long. A total of twelve pillars supported the roof.
Reed was sitting on a chair in front of a desk, on the desk was a rectangular object the size of a small table.
Hundreds of thick wires were spread around, one end attached to the sides and back of the object, and the other edge was attached to thick black discs, all of which had a glowing blue sphere embedded in them.
The discs were also connected to more discs on the other side, which were in turn, connected to more discs.
Reed sat in silence amidst thousands of spheres, thinking about about something.
He let out a deep breath.
'Here we go.'
He brought out a small, exquisitely carved, life-sized replica of an eye.
Its sclera was adorned with hundreds of small gems and the colors of its iris were constantly changing.
Reed applied force and crushed the small item between his fingers. As he opened his fingers, a wave of energy erupted from between them and spread out.
He reached out to the object and imbued a little bit of mana into it.
It opened up, revealing a keyboard, a screen, and a large, old-style lever.
He grabbed the lever, and after letting out another deep breath, pulled down.
In the same instant, light erupted from the wires as an absolutely ridiculous amount of energy started to flow through them.
And a moment later, all of the players in the game received a message from their system.
[A player is broadcasting, receive message?]