Outside the Perfect Noodle Shop, around the back in the alleyway, Skyler, the worker, was taking a break sitting on the staircase. He looked at his wrinkly hands.
"Man, they put me on dishwashing duty. I thought things couldn't get worse, but it just seems to be getting worse." Skyler started to rub the top of his head, once again wondering how he had gotten into this situation.
Having been forced to work and make noodles, he didn't realize how much he was enjoying it now that he was on dishwashing duty, and the only reason he had been put there was for causing a mess in the restaurant.
Skyler didn't think it was his fault, since the last visitors that had arrived seemingly wanted to cause trouble in the first place, but this was his punishment given to him by Boss Rane.
"Last time, though, my Qi control was better than it's ever been." Skyler condensed the Qi into his fist. "And it wasn't just a coincidence. Making those noodles using my Qi, I thought it was useless. I only did it because Zon asked me, but ever since, I've gotten better."
"Maybe making noodles was the secret to his strength all along. Or maybe, I'm just going crazy working in this noodle shop."
Either way, there was one thing that Skyler had to admit, and that was that Zon was incredibly strong. Quite possibly one of the strongest warriors in existence.
'And I thought I could go up against the Dark Magus when I can't even beat someone who works in a noodle shop. I need to get stronger.' Skyler made a fist and pumped it in the air, but as he dragged it down, he could see something.
A person in the alleyway, looking panicked. They had some blood on their clothes, but it didn't look like they had any wounds on them. They were rushing forward but stumbling.
"Hey, take it easy," Skyler said. "What's happened? Is something going on?"
Skyler rushed to the man fairly quickly as he looked like a normal citizen, and when he got up close, he seemed to be right—the man was no Pagna warrior.
"It's horrible," the man said. "The students, some of them managed to rush out of the gate. They were barely able to move, covered in blood and wounds. They had practically crawled out, begging and asking for help."
"One of the gardeners that work just outside of the gate went to check, and they said all they could see, all they could see…" Soon after, the man threw up before he could finish his sentence, right there on the floor.
Images had entered his mind, of the child he saw, the child that had died in front of him, covered in wounds.
"So many of the students have been hurt. They asked us to get help, to help save the others," the man eventually finished.
Skyler couldn't quite believe it. The academy, of all places, had been attacked.
"How did that even happen? How could someone attack the academy without going through the main city? There's only one entrance, and to hurt so many students, what about the teachers, what about those inside? Isn't the Dark Magus meant to be there as well?"
The man shook his head.
"We couldn't get much, but the sight that some of them saw—it's almost as if a whole army had managed to cause a rampage on the inside."
Although it was just the work of one man, Skyler took it seriously. He could feel something strange in the air. He could even hear there was a rumble among the people, most likely from the news that had been passed around.
'If there's one person that will be strong enough to stop this, then I know who,' Skyler thought.
"I'll get someone to get some help, and if they don't help, I'll go there myself," Skyler said.
When Skyler had gone back into the restaurant, he could sense the atmosphere was heavy. Next to no one was eating their food; there was a worried look on many faces as the general public were talking amongst each other.
"What do you think it is? Do you think it's the Light Faction making an attack?"
"It's hard to say, maybe it's some members of the Dark Faction that are rebelling, but why do this now after so long, and what about the Dark Magus? Where is he? Why isn't he sorting this out? He should be protecting the academy, right?"
With it being a restaurant and one of the most popular ones at that, the news had certainly traveled fast.
It was then that Skyler had decided to head over to Zon and could see that he was already talking to Rane.
"You should go," Rane said. "I don't know how, but you're clearly one of the strongest people I've ever met. You should use your skills and power to help people. Not just make noodles."
"I agree," Skyler said. "We should head to the academy together, and as quickly as possible."
Zon looked at Skyler and Rane. He had a bad feeling about what had happened and felt a large amount of guilt, believing that it was somewhat his fault for attacking the men that had invaded from before.
He also knew that right now the academy was practically defenseless, and that whoever was attacking, it could spill into the main city.
It was then that Zon felt something in his body, and the system screen appeared in front of him.
"It appears that the situation might be more dire than I thought. I am needed somewhere," Zon stated. "Skyler, grab as many warriors and physicians as you can and head to the academy, try to save as many people as possible."
"I promised someone that I would help when I was called, and I have been called, but I also promise I will try to be back as quickly as possible," Zon claimed.
Right now, Zon believed Raze was in the Demonic Faction. If that was the case, he would help Raze with what was needed and then come back, but an image had appeared in Zon's head. Of everyone in the noodle shop who he had worked with, all of them, no longer being alive when he returned.
"It wouldn't be the first time, but I am a man of duty," Zon said to himself. Right then and there, he started to draw a circle in the air with his finger, and he was soon on the move.
When the circle was complete, Zon stepped through and disappeared, leaving the rest of the workers behind.
"What are you doing? You heard him, go and gather and get some help!" Rane shouted at Skyler.
Zon was annoyed, extremely annoyed, and was holding back his anger. That someone had dared to attack the academy while trouble was being stirred up somewhere else. Which was why when he appeared right by Raze's side, the last place he expected to be was in the academy itself.
Stepping through, Zon looked at the person ahead, and the dead bodies that were on the ground.
"Is this the person, the one who's caused all this trouble?" Zon asked, as energy was already flowing through his body.