Author`s note:

Dear Readers,

I hope you all had a great day.

First of all, I wish to thank you for reading my novel. I believe that there is no better gratification for any writer than having regular readers.

I wish to point that this is my first ever attempt in writing a novel, a project which I am taking very seriously and dedicating a lot of my free time to ensure that the chapters are of the highest quality.

With that said, I am not perfect and I am bound to make mistakes. Some of my mistakes are being corrected along the way, mostly of grammatical nature. As I gather further experience, I am sure the frequency of these types errors will considerably drop. I believe that my largest current obstacle is that I am not a native English speaker, hence my English vocabulary is fairly limited.

At this stage, what I would like, is feedback about what you like about my novel, and more important, what you hate the most about it. Only by knowing my defects will I be able to improve my writing. I am not pretending a full review; just a few words in the comments below would be enough for me to get an idea where I might be screwing up.

Please keep in mind that I am writing this out of passion. I already have a well-paid job, so I am presently not interested in any moneys or donations. I just feel that I have a great story in mind, one that I wish to share with others.

One last thing, I would like to personally thank all those who are currently supporting me. Even a simple thanks means a lot for me and it encourages me to forge ahead with the story.

Thanks and regards,

Penguin

Notes (a little spoilerish if you haven’t read until chapter 25):

1) I am aware that the story is currently jumping from one place to another. This is bound to continue for 4-5 more chapters, then the story will remain focused in one location for several chapters.

2) The story was mostly focused on the main character with secondary characters come and go along the way. Expect the other main characters/semi-permanent characters to be introduced in the coming chapters. In general, when I describe a character in detail, he/she will play an important part in the future, whilst if I barely mention them, then you can safely say that they will not be appearing again. Marcus is the only exception, since I left his image to your imagination.

3) Because of the massive info dumping involved with such a large world setting, I was forced to limit it and spread it over a large amount of chapters, whilst at the same time keeping the chapters as interesting as possible. Regarding the combat system, it may feel a little complicated but that`s intentional, and I have great future plans for it.

4) One style that you will notice from me, is that I like to put twists or make my readers believe that something will happen, just for something entirely different ends up to occur. This will be a very common style of my writing. However, I will promise you that my story will not be a troll (like the current Bleach manga) and every twist that will happen will have a logical explanation to back it up.

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Chapter 26 - Fancy a Ride?

Planetary portals are a very efficient and convenient means of transportation. Not only they allow humans to travel long distances in just a matter of seconds; these portals can also be considered one of the safest ways of travelling. The only downside is that in order to use them, one would have to pay a high fee, which was not always affordable.

Kane was expecting his teleportation to be similar to his previous experiences, but much to his surprise, he noticed that he was yet to be teleported to Moon Gazayo II. Instead, he found himself inside a large dimensional room, in the form of a cuboid.

“Where am I?” Kane anxiously thought whilst he explored his surroundings. He quickly figured that he was alone and there was nothing to be found in this dimensional room. “Why is this teleportation taking so long?” He paused thinking for a while, then uttered, “Maybe Moon Gazayo II is a faraway moon, that`s the most plausible reason I can currently think of…”

Whilst he was focused on his thoughts, suddenly a shadow of a human being appeared behind one of the semi-transparent dimensional walls of the room. The human quickly took out a bow, and fired an arrow straight towards Kane`s heart. The deadly arrow easily pierced through the dimensional wall, taking the unaware Kane totally by surprise. The shocked Kane instantly tried to dodge this devious attack.

Luckily, thanks to his now improved reflexes, he was swift enough and avoided the arrow, as it collided with the opposite wall and remained stuck on it. Kane then prepared himself to guard against the next attack, whilst he silently stared towards the shadowy human. However, the shadow gradually faded away, until it completely vanished.

Kane still traumatised, screamed to himself, “The hell?! Who was that and why did he sudden attack me?!”

His mind was filled with fear, whilst his body shuddered at this near death experience, “That person was definitely trying to kill me!”

Kane then turned his puzzled gaze towards the arrow to examine it. From the distance, he saw that the arrow was shiny silver with a gold coloured tail, whilst an image of a lizard was inscribed on it. The eyes of the lizard shone bright; they were actually two very small green crystals.

Kane speedily moved towards the arrow to retrieve it, but before he could do so, he was interrupted by a powerful bang.

BOOM~~~~~

The dimensional room collided with another dimensional wall. Kane was thrown out hovering into the air, until he fell on a smooth ground that was covered by large decorative tiles. Kane was now situated inside a large circular hall.

“Ouch! That was one hell of a blow…” Kane whined to himself. He struggled to wake up, then immediately searched the floor to try and find the arrow, but to no success, much to his annoyance.

“Welcome to Moon Gazayo II young man. What business has brought you here?” A masculine voice asked.

Kane turned around and noticed a young man standing next to a portal. Kane quickly deduced that this man was the portal keeper guarding the other side of the teleportation portal.

“I wish to visit the Royal Academy Sir,” Kane politely replied.

The young man analysed Kane then asked, “From which clan do you hail?”

“My name is Kane Barker. I am an adoptive fighter of the Zafisi clan, located on planet Magenta,” Kane confirmed. This wasn’t something he thought up on the spot, he was specifically instructed by Marcus to respond like this whenever asked these types of questions.

The young man smiled, “ah… that must be one of the minor branches of the Major Zafisi clan,” then continued into his heart, “and an abandoned one too…”

These words had confused Kane; he never expected that there were other Zafisi clans scattered around in this galaxy!

“Kane, leave through the first door on your left, which will take you directly outside in the plaza. There you can hire a transport to take you to the Royal Academy. I suggest you hurry up though, since the Royal Academy is on the other side of this moon.”

“Remember, this moon is the central administrative centre of the Eastern Galactic Sector. Any breach of the laws will be harshly punished. Always keep that in mind!”

The portal keeper then sat down, whilst Kane nodded and left towards the plaza. He felt a sense of urgency and hurried his pace, and after few minutes of walking, he finally saw the external light shining through the end of the tunnel. When he exited the tunnel, he paralysed himself, because the view in front of him, was no different than paradise.

Kane`s reaction was similar to a man who lived underground for all his life, then coming out and sighting a woman for the very first time. His dry mouth was half open, his eyes wide in adoration, as he felt the refreshing winds blowing over his face.

One fifth of the visible blueish sky was occupied by a large gas giant, which was mostly blue but had horizontal whitish stripes too. The colour transition from one stripe to another wasn’t immediate, but it changed gradually. The gas giant was surrounded by two wide rings, a blue one and a silver one. A yellowish star brightened the skies, whilst several terrestrial moons could be observed. It was impossible for Kane to tell if these moons orbited the gas giant or Moon Gazayo II.

However, what captivated Kane the most, was the impressive architecture of the various human constructions. There wasn’t any building that wasn’t artistically build. Even the stone roads were greatly build; they seemed to be urging and inviting passers-by to go and walk on them. Several long towers could be seen scattered around, and unlike Planet Magenta, wooden constructions were nowhere to be found.

Kane slowly walked towards the plaza, trying to sneak past the large mass of people that was currently gathered in there. He inwardly sighed, “This place is too chaotic with all these people running randomly around. Life on this planet appears too hectic and stressful!”

After a long effort, he finally emerged on the other side of the plaza, “Pheww… going past all of these people was really a nuisance!” He laughed out alone. “But what a wonderful planet… err no, this is actually a moon!”

“And to think that this will be my residence for the coming two years…”

He searched around and he promptly noticed a set of carriages. His eyes flashed, and immediately ran towards one of the carriages, until he arrived before one of the drivers.

“Mister! I am looking for someone to transport me to the Royal Academy. Are you by any chance available?”

The carriage driver turned his concerned gaze towards Kane and asked, “Are you a new student or just visiting a friend?”

Kane promptly answered, “I am a new student. Why?”

The driver let out a sigh, “Bad timing my friend; it is already too late now. This year the registrations are closing earlier than usual, on the 26th of August. No matter how fast a carriage is, you will not be able to make it!”

Kane was stunned when he heard this, and his mind was already feeling dizzy.

“Hey! Hey! There is still hope!” The driver shouted. “If you have the money, you can go ask those guys over there to help you out!”

Kane quickly got back to his senses, as he turned around to look at the direction the driver pointed to.

“They can help me?” The now mentally recovered Kane asked. The driver nodded in agreement.

“Thanks a lot for the assistance!” Kane said whilst he ran towards the indicated area. He kept running until he arrived in front of a notice. Kane looked weirdly at the notice, “Jet booster?! Wonder what it…?”

“Hey imp, what do you want?!” A bulky man with an irritated expression shouted towards Kane.

Kane replied, “I am looking for someone who can take me to the Royal Academy in the shortest time possible. One of the carriage drivers said you…”

The man suddenly yelled aloud, interrupting Kane, “Hey Laydon, you lucky ass! There is someone who like you have to go to the Royal Academy!”

On the ground, there was a young man resting, with a piece of straw in his mouth. He had short red hair, green eyes and the face of a troublemaker. He had three long earrings on his left ear, and around his neck there where three brownish goggles; one on his forehead and two others resting on his chest.

When he heard his companion shouting, he grinned and uttered, “Oh a fellow student?” He rapidly stood up and quickly tidied his casual looking cloths from the dust. On his shirt there was written the word ‘speed’.

“Hey you! A ride from here to the Royal Academy will cost you 1,000 Piras!” Laydon shouted.

Kane slowly approached Laydon, “I have the money… here, take them! Please, take me to Royal Academy, I am very late!”

Laydon smiled reassuring, “Relax! I’ll promise you that you will be arriving at the Royal Academy today!” He then started running and instructed, “Follow me to my jet booster!”

“Hey! Why are you running so fast?!” Kane said whilst he too started running, “Wait for me!”

Laydon then stopped before a large white mechanical construction, with Kane catching up with him shortly after, almost out of breath. The mechanical construction was very large, around 4 metres in length and 1 metre in width. It had two wheels on the back and one wheel on the front, whilst it was powered by a very large green crystal. On each bottom side of the mechanical construction there were three horizontal cylinders.

“This is my new jet booster!” Laydon proudly announced, as he slowly caressed it like it was his child.

Kane remained staring at the jet booster and Laydon. He was impressed by the shape of it, especially its wheels. This was his first time ever that he saw something this mechanical.

Laydon then sat down and invited, “Come, have a seat.”

Kane promptly obeyed and rode on the jet booster.

“You have three belts to put on, two of them are below; wear them around your feet. You have another one just behind your seat, turn it around you. Then hold on tight with me and never let me go!” Laydon explained.

Kane obeyed, even though he found the instructions confusing.

“Are you new to these parts? What`s your name?” Laydon asked whilst he waited.

“My name is Kane. This is my first day on this moon,” Kane replied, then continued, “I think I am done with these belts…”

“Ok!” Laydon excitedly said as he placed both of his hands on the crystal, activating the jet booster. Then he controlled some levers and grabbed the steering wheel. The jet booster then accelerated rapidly in reverse.

“Whooaaa! Unbelievable! This is incredibly fast!” Kane screamed in surprise.

“Brace yourself Kane, the fun is just about to start! Here, take these goggles and wear them!” Laydon instructed again.

When he noticed that Kane was ready, Laydon changed the positions levers, and ran the throttle full speed ahead. Six green jets of energy emerged from the cylinders, propelling the jet booster onwards with tremendous speed.

Kane then noticed two sets of wings slowly emerging on each side, for a total of four wings. The dumbfounded Kane questioned, “This thing can fly?!!”

“No Kane… only can birds fly! Saying that my baby can fly is an offence, because it can do better than that!” Laydon yelled whilst the jet booster lifted off from the ground.

“Ahahah! Fantastic! Fantastic! Wuhuuu!” Laydon cried in enjoyment. He then placed his right elbow on the jet booster and said, “You know Kane, for me, this thing is more thrilling than women! First of all, it never complains to me! And it doesn’t cost me that much money either!”

Kane found Laydon`s reasoning weird, but he wasn’t in position to reply back due to his motion sickness, “Ughh…”

“Haha! You are probably asking to yourself, how can my jet booster be as exciting as women?! Well, let me show you how!”

Laydon then increased the speed to maximum and performed numerous manoeuvres and aerobatic stunts. Then he descended the jet booster full speed downwards, until it hoovered just above the waters of a large lake. During all this, Laydon laughed like a crazed person, like he was experiencing the best day of his life.

On the other hand, Kane`s face was now completely yellow, and he was on the verge of throwing out.

“Did you like it Kane?” Laydon passionately asked.

“Uh oh…” Kane uttered as he tried to control his stomach.

“Hey? Are you alright?” Laydon curiously probed. However, he seemed to have forgotten about Kane when he noticed something behind him, “Haha! Hey Zaza! Buddy, how have you been?!”

Kane struggled to turn his head around, and then he noticed three other jet boosters approaching. One of them was driven by a bulky man, followed closely by a bald man and a violet haired woman.

“Holy cow! Who would have thought I would be meeting my old pal Laydon here!” Zaza screamed in delight.

“Haha Zaza! Your body just keeps becoming larger every time I see you! What exactly are you eating haha!” Laydon joked.

“HoHo, your sense of humour hasn’t changed one bit Laydon!” Zaza said before asking, “So… where were you heading with such a rush?”

“Would you believe me? I am going to attend the Royal Academy! I should be able to qualify now that I have broken through the 2nd rank!” Laydon pompously responded.

Zaza laughed out in surprise, “Want to hear something funny? Even I and my friends will be attending the Royal Academy starting from this year! Hoho!”

“Wow! That`s freaking amazing man!” Laydon shouted with his mouth open in surprise.

“Hmm, is that a new jet booster?” Zaza finally realised that the jet booster Laydon was using wasn’t his usual one.

“Yeh! A masterpiece right?” Laydon boasted out.

“The looks are great, but looks alone aren’t enough Laydon!” Zaza replied mockingly.

Laydon grinned, “Wanna bet?”

Zaza put up a wicked smiled, “5 bottles of happy shots!”

“Hey! I have a passenger with me… I am at a big disadvantage! Make it at least 8 bottles, and it`s a deal!” Laydon proposed.

In the meantime, Kane thought worriedly, “I don’t like where this is going…”

“Fine! You bummer! 8 bottles it is!” Zaza shouted whilst informing to his companions, “Whoever of us four arrives last at the academy will have to pay for 24 bottles of happy shots, eight for each of us!”

The four of them then smirked in anticipation, as they switched their jet boosters to maximum power, signalling the beginning of the race.