Zane was quite familiar with the Dark Web. He first came into contact with it during college, and upon his release, when he was at his lowest, the temptation to make quick money almost ruined him. However, the fear of returning to prison stopped him from ever utilizing its services — until today.
Navigating the Dark Web is not simple because it has layers. At its shallow level, it only involved misdemeanor crimes, and in its deepest layer, a person will encounter things like drug, gun, and even human trafficking. Zane headed to the deepest layer and used all $3,000 to place an order, even paying for expedited delivery.
The following night, before heading to the graveyard, Zane walked to a dumpster in North Manhattan to retrieve a bag. He used his extraordinary senses and his hacking abilities to evade 99% of the cameras on his route. Although he wore a hood, Zane still wanted to be extra careful. At his destination, he opened the large bag, revealing enough guns and ammunition to arm a small gang, along with a few other materials and tools.
"They are well-maintained. Not bad," Zane thought. The tools and materials were secondhand, and on the Dark Web, there is a risk of receiving a defective product. Luckily, because of his work with the Lion Pride, he knew a few reliable second-hand small arm dealers. Zane then placed the silencer in the 9 MM before casting the Mana Shield over the Century Body dummy.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Zane approached the semi-transparent wall and saw three crushed bullets stuck on the surface: there wasn't even a scratch on the magic shield. "This thing is not only hard, but it seems capable of absorbing or nullifying all the kinetic energy from the bullet."
The result further reassured Zane of his future safety in the modern world. And for a moment, he was tempted to test how many bullets it would take to break this shield, but he couldn't waste them. Although he could technically order more, there was still the issue of money. There was work for hackers on the Dark Web, and it was quite lucrative, but it takes time to finish, and he was currently missing nothing but time.
The day of the shift rapidly approached, and Zane continued his daily training, even skipping work after raising enough money for the rent and sending it to Mr. Whitaker. By the 31st, both his spells reached the sub-5-second mark, with the Magic Bullet requiring, on average, 4.38 seconds. If not for the incantations, Zane was confident he could cast them even faster.
Monday, August 1st, 2016:
Zane sat on his bed, wearing track pants, a black t-shirt, a black hoodie, and his run-down black Air Force 1. He held a massive blue duffel bag on his lap, waiting for something. His eyes were glued to his phone, to be precise, on the clock. At midnight, he waited with bated breath, but nothing happened. For a moment, he thought maybe the shift would happen in the morning or the middle of the night like last time, until he suddenly sensed a slight vibration from his left hand.
[Trainee, your next shift will commence in 10 minutes. Please, head to a secure area before the teleportation is initiated. —- Dimension Tower.] The message collapsed, turning into a five-minute countdown.
"Well, they at least gave a warning this time around," Zane thought. Everything he needed for the shift was already settled. Zane had even spent the past few days reading books and watching survival videos on YouTube in case he had to live outdoors, just like the first shift.
"Should I give mama one last call?" Zane thought as he played with his amulet, his thumb caressing the Bese Saka symbol. It's bound to be dangerous, so maybe talking to her in case something happened was a good choice. However, he soon decided against it after mulling it over for a while. With his mother's intuition, she'll detect something is wrong if he calls her now. And once she has her suspicions, it's only a matter of time before she figures out she's one of the trainers. More importantly, Zane has already recorded a message for the people he loves in case he dies on this shift.
The declining numbers on the countdown were quite nerve-racking, so Zane hopped online to distract himself. News of the upcoming shift had already spread far and wide in just a few seconds of its announcement. Thousands of posts from trainees and others just commenting were already everywhere. Some were panicked, some bragged about their future conquest, and others said tearful goodbyes to their loved ones. However, given how public and fast these things were posted, Zane questioned the authenticity of the people involved. Regardless of the truth, his mind had properly calmed down.
When the countdown reached 5 seconds, Zane kissed his protective amulet and prayed: "May the ancestral spirits protect and guide me." A silver light enveloped him, and when Zane opened his eyes again, everything suddenly felt too bright. The sun glared at him, forcing him to adapt to the sudden change from darkness to light. A scent of clean air and nature assaulted his nostrils, making Zane wary.
"Once again, a forest," he thought as he observed his surroundings. "The mana concentration in this place seemed absurdly high." Even without meditation, he could feel the high concentration of mana particles in this environment. Zane could imagine how effective meditation — either kind —would be in this place. Sadly, now was not the time.
The apprentice mage retrieved a drone from his bag. Among the things he bought from the Dark Web were the materials and tools to assemble a drone. Information and air superiority are two of the fundamentals of modern warfare, so after being reminded of the dark web by the Lion Pride, Zane instantly changed his strategy for the second shift.
The drone spent the next ten minutes mapping the surrounding area. In the northeast, there is a cave that could serve as a base. After using the drone's thermal imaging to determine that no one was inside, Zane labeled it as the temporary base. In the southwest, a downstream river existed more than a mile from the current location. Besides guns and ammunition, Zane brought enough food and water to last a week. Regardless, he still wanted to secure a safe drinking spot.
"Hmm? What's this?" Zane thought. About 50 meters west, he saw an unknown creature. They were humanoid, but with a dog's head, human fingers, and canine feet. They seemed to be hunting in a group of 10 or so individuals, armed with leather armor, swords, bows, and wooden shields.
"A new race? I wonder what title I'll receive for killing them," Zane immediately thought. His director, Keldithas, who seemed cold and arrogant, has strongly praised the Soul Crest. Adding all the benefits of the two titles he has, Zane believed the best path to his survival is to acquire as many titles as possible.
"However? What's the best way to deal with this party? Traps? No, I've only brought enough to protect myself at night," Zane calculated. "Hmm? Why are they sniffing the air? There is no way they could smell me from so far, right?" As soon as he asked himself that question, he remembered reading that a dog can smell things from miles away, depending on the odor.
"I have less than ten seconds before their arrival," Zane swiftly analyzed as he watched that pack of dog-humans rush toward him. "Which means, there may not be enough time to cast two spells." He acted swiftly, dropping the bag and the drone remote on the floor and drawing a gun. His left hand moved elegantly like a master weaver as he engraved the magic circle for the Mana Shield in the air.
The tip of his gun made a small hole through the semi-transparent shield in front of him, waiting for the enemy to arrive. Like a patient, mature hunter, he waited until they were less than 20 meters away before emptying the clip into this group; these poor dog-creatures did not even understand what was happening before their bodies were filled with lead.
"Magic has great potential, but in the lower tiers, modern warfare still reigns supreme," Zane concluded as he glanced at the ten bodies on the floor, each riddled with bullet holes. Not everyone had died, but most did, and the survivors were clutching their wounds. Without hesitation, Zane cast the Magic Bullet, ending the survivors with another round of bullets.
Sadly, the joy he expected did not come as he glanced at the mark on his left hand: he received no titles. "That doesn't make sense. Last time, I only killed five goblins to receive a title." He pondered what was different, and the only logical conclusion was: he was now an Apprentice.
"The title descriptions emphasized the fact that I was a regular person with no powers or training. But now, I'm considered someone with powers, and thus, the requirements for titles have been raised?" Zane analyzed. With all the information available, that's currently the most likely explanation.