Before Everlearn's widened eyes, he witnessed the seat beneath him suddenly sink in, and before he knew it, he was staring at the clouds eye to eye as he rapidly plummeted downward.

"Holy," he cursed out loud, soaring through the air at breakneck speed.

They had been thrown out of the jet.

He turned around and found the second-years also floating around him.

But the sight of them made his eyebrows twitch.

While he was flailing uncontrollably through the air, his arms swinging wildly and his face growing paler the closer the ground came.

They were all standing upright in the sky, arms crossed and perfectly calm, while also giving him that "you good?" look.

"Uh… apologies."

Everlearn said, forcing himself to steady his stance, crossing his arms, and wearing the same unimpressed expression.

His quick imitation couldn't help but make them grin.

But the ground was getting closer now, closer and closer.

Until it was just 15 meters away.

In that moment, they all reacted.

Tapping their wrists, the soles of their shoes rippled, and then,

VROOOOOOM!

Powerful energy waves burst out from them, launching each of them a few meters upward and canceling the downward momentum.

They landed gracefully on their feet.

Their combat suits weren't for show.

Even down to the shoes, everything was designed for function.

They had been given a quick briefing about it back in the jet, but placed in such a situation, unless one was quick-witted, they'd probably never think to use the shoe-jets to cancel the fall.

That was why each of the 2nd years had their gaze on Everlearn, silently nodding in satisfaction to see him landing crouched unharmed.

He had done the same thing as they had, showing that though he was obviously the weakest, he at least had quick thinking.

Everlearn switched off the nozzles and rose back to his feet.

He turned to look at the rest, but noticed them staring behind him, their necks tilted up and eyes wide with surprise.

He slowly turned around… and froze.

Before him stood an ancient door, towering at least ten meters high.

Its surface was pitch black, the darkest black imaginable.

It was so dark that it seemed to cast shadows upon the world around it, and yet, glowing across its surface were intricate blue lines, illuminating faintly and casting light on each of their faces.

"This…"

It was grand… and perfect.

Like something crafted by hands beyond mortal.

"This is… Alien architecture."

It was Everlearn's first time standing before something not made by human hands, and his first glimpse of the possibility that humanity was not alone in the universe.

The moment of awe was broken as the world around them rippled with waves of light, and a group of people suddenly appeared in the space nearby.

About a dozen of them gathered around several tents.

It was the NCEG group, and it seemed they had cloaked themselves with an invisible dome until now.

"X-Guard is finally here. Early as ever," one of the men said, walking toward them.

"Don't waste their time," a voice ordered from the side.

It belonged to an older man with gray hair.

"Begin implantation of the cameras and send them in," he commanded.

Moments later, three females from the group stepped forward, holding syringes filled with drifting nano-particles.

"This is the camera," one of them explained.

"It will enter your bloodstream and naturally attach to your eyes."

"Don't worry, it won't affect your vision and will dissolve naturally after a week."

Everlearn didn't resist.

They had already been briefed about this possibility by Sir Lycanthrope.

He stretched out his arm, and the syringe was gently inserted into his wrist before the liquid was passed into his veins and straight through his bloodstream.

The second that happened, the panel blinked:

║Invasion of Foreign Element Detected.║

║Does Host Wish to Block the Foreign Element?║

Everlearn replied:

'Temporarily allow access. Be prepared to cut it off on order.'

║Access Temporarily Granted.║

║Access Denial Feature Online.║

He nodded in satisfaction.

For a brief moment, a strange sensation passed through his eyes, then faded.

Turning to the side, he noticed the NCEG personnel standing beside ultra-large monitoring devices, mainly large screen TVs and projections

One of the operators behind all that raised a thumb in their direction, likely signaling that the visuals were being received.

"That will be all, X-Guards."

"With the implantation complete, we'll be able to send audio messages occasionally, but for now, move around and explore as much as possible,"

The old man instructed, leading them toward the gate.

As they reached it, he turned to the white-haired young man, the tallest amongst them.

"You must be the one called Emiris. It's an honor to meet someone from the mighty Emrisial family," he said respectfully. "Mind giving us a hand?"

Without hesitation, the white-haired young man stepped forward and pressed his palm against the gate.

The moment he did, the blue lights flared brilliantly, and a strong gust of wind erupted, flapping against their faces, and sending hair whipping around.

GRRRRUUUUUUUUM!

The heavy sound of the door opening echoed through the space, and soon, the massive doors parted, revealing a swirling, pitch-black vortex beyond.

Emiris turned back, extending his hand to one of the second-years.

She grasped it, and the others followed, joining hands one by one until the last person, Everlearn, completed the circle.

"We wish you all success," the old man said as his final words.

And then, they jumped together into the vortex.

_____

The sensation was similar to teleportation, except it lasted far longer.

All he felt was creeping silence and cold darkness for what felt like an eternity before the world suddenly returned.

When Everlearn opened his eyes and took in the sights before him… his heart nearly stopped.

"Just… where is this!?"

_______

A/N:

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