60 Traveling to Nema

Faykes did the first move.

"As the dragon rises from the sea, breath out water and roar out flames. Let everything be cleansed! [Anzu's Breath]!"

Immediately, the area where Xander and Faykes were changed, with a silhouette of a lion-like eagle appearing before Faykes. The lion-like eagle was standing straight, and looked at Xander, before it opened its mouth and unleashed it breath, containing pressurized burning water, as well as a stream of fire that seemed to destroy and distort everything.

Xander merely gazed at it before raising a pointed finger, and upon contact with the breath, it collapsed into ashes. His eyes were now purely silver and purely black, eliciting a hint of terror to Faykes and everyone in the room who caught a glimpse of it.

Xander then smiled, before releasing his spell, [Apocalypse Down].

"Let Light and Darkness reverse. Let the order collapse. Let everything return to Chaos."

Upon uttering those words, the entire room turned pitch black; not only were the students surprised and scared but so was Ms. Amelia. She had recognized the fluctuation of the spell and knew that it was a Legendary-level magic array.

The whole building was affected, and even those in the outside could see just a dark dome surround the entire building. Even the weird old man was roused from his nap, and looking at the situation, he muttered,

"Huh, a spell that reverses light and darkness, disordering the rules of the universe in the area. Quite fancy. Wonder who made the spell?" He wanted to find out, but he was too lazy to leave his post. He also saw that the darkness was shrinking back, making it smaller and smaller, receding from outside of the building to where Xander and Faykes were fighting.

Everyone had their sight returned, and saw the dark dome surrounding the area where Xander and Faykes were in. Ms. Amelia noticed one thing, however: the elemental particles in the area of the building were stripped away; not a single elemental particle remained. Although there were some particles slowly entering the building, they were rapidly absorbed by the dark dome.

Xander, who was calmly inside the dark dome, simply told Faykes to leave the area. Faykes nodded because he recognized the destructive power in the spell.

Xander then whispered, yet his voice was heard by everyone in the room, "Let it go asunder."

Immediately, the dark dome began cracking, shattering into pieces but rather than releasing the power, it began to wreak havoc in the space inside. Of course, Xander was safe, as the spell was fully under his control. The dark dome completely collapsed, and everyone saw an empty, glaring kind of darkness different from earlier, with Xander standing right in the middle of it. It looked like a painting for the students, and the moment the whole thing collapsed, Xander suddenly stepped out of the space, revealing his 3-D structure once again.

Everyone visibly saw the dark, scarlet red streaks and dark lines converging in that empty darkness, as well as the irresistible pulling force it was emanating. Several of the students almost fell to it, starting to move towards it, but Ms. Amelia immediately knocked them out and created a barrier around the students. Some of the students who stared too much were also changing a bit, part by part, which was noticed by Xander.

To Amelia's surprise, the barrier was rapidly disintegrating as well, being absorbed, or more aptly, corrupted. After a few more seconds, the pull disappeared, and the weird, dark mass rapidly congealed, creating a seed-like structure, which Xander immediately held and "placed" in his bag.

He then cast a wide-range time reversal for the students and items around in the first floor, returning their state to 1 minute before the situation, removing the corruption in their bodies and in the physical matter. The students woke up, unsure of what had happened to them, as they only remembered staring at the darkness. By this time, Xander's eyes were back to normal already.

Ms. Amelia came close to Xander, before slapping him in the face, hard. Xander was surprised. The 6 students were surprised. Everyone was surprised.

"What is wrong with you, Mr. Cloverfield? Casting a large-scale magic array, at the level of a Legendary magician, inside the campus? Do you think life is nothing to you? Do you know what might have happened if the spell backfired to you? Worse, do you know what would happen if you lose control of the spell? It would kill everyone in the building!" Ms. Amelia shouted at Xander. The other students were bewildered. Xander can cast Legendary rank spells as a Master magician?

"I am sorry for that outburst, Mr. Cloverfield, but I felt it must be said. Life isn't just a simple game. That was why I allowed you to demonstrate to the class to teach them how to protect themselves. Please expect that your parents will be hearing from the school concerning your actions of endangering the students, as well as the other parents of the students." Ms. Amelia said, and her words did allow the students to ponder about the situation.

Xander, after listening to Ms. Amelia, frowned. He wasn't frowning at her outburst or her words, but because he felt like there was something wrong with him. He immediately asked the System to do a complete body analysis as well as a recording of his brain processes for the past 2 minutes.

After a split second, the results were out and saw the current emissions of hormones and neurotransmitters in his body were very high in the past 2 minutes as if it has been artificially boosted.

"System, was there any signs of intrusions in my life essence doll? As well as my body itself?" He asked, since supposedly, no spells should work against his life essence doll.

"Scanning…negative. No intrusions or artificial addition of hormones and neurotransmitters have been detected."

"Can you scan the high levels and interpret them in medical terms?"

"Scanning…

You have experienced joy and thrill in the first 1 minute in human terms. For the next 30 seconds, you experienced an emotion quite different from humans; this might be due to you activating [Divine Eyes]. For the remaining 30 seconds that you endured the slap from Ms. Wineheart, it ranged from surprise, anger, guilt, and disappointment to oneself. However, these emotions were immediately filtered out by your increased comprehension of the Emotion series."

Xander was enlightened, before changing his look into a remorseful one, and said to Ms. Amelia in reply,

"Ms. Wineheart, I am sorry. I was too overconfident with my control ability that I almost forgot the safety of my classmates and the people in the building. However, in my defense, the man guarding the library on the third floor is at least a Divine magician. He could easily stop the spell if he wanted to. That was my second layer of guarantee as to why I used a magic array. However, if there would be another next time, I promise to consult with you and allow you to get the necessary forms and permits," his voice remorseful and full of guilt, while also stating why he did his actions.

He then turned to his classmates, and did a 90-degree bow, before saying,

"Classmates, I am sorry for exposing you to harm. I let my rationality and thoughts win over the idea of your safety in this demonstration. I had strongly believed that with my healing abilities and resurrection skills, as well as the protection from the man in the library, you all would be safe.

However, I hope this also helps you in the future, to recognize the kinds of spells and people that you must avoid fighting or getting into bad terms. Although our world is a civilized one, if you plan to explore the starry skies in the future, you must be prepared to meet different cultures, different societies, and different types of enemies. The stronger you become, the more powerful your enemies become as well. You either choose to be a frog in a well or soar up and explore the jungle."

At this point, he was barely holding a sob, it was fake of course, but he did so for the students to realize he was doing it for their benefit, and also they would sympathize with him, starting with the girls, then the boys.

And, well, it worked. The students began rushing at Xander, in attempts to console him and even said, "we're alive, aren't we? And we also learned a lot from you!"

Xander used his teary-eyed look and voice, asking, "really?"

The sadness and self-disappointment in his voice broke the girls' and boys' hearts. They hurriedly nodded, causing Xander to smile, even though it looked a bit sad.

"Ok. Next time, I won't do it no more without permission from Ms. Wineheart and the other professors." Xander said, bowing his body 90 degrees once again.

Ms. Amelia then steered the class once again to practice. After the demonstration, Xander moved from group to group, giving hints and ideas on how to resolve their problems in elemental control, while also giving some examples and ideas.

Ms. Amelia, on the other hand, had prepared the reports to be sent to the main server of the university, to be discussed by the other professors and the dean. At the same time, all the involved students' parents were notified of the situation.

The class proceeded normally and ended with a good note. He headed to one of the secluded areas of the campus and teleported to his villa. Once he reached his villa, he received a video call from both his parents, which he answered, albeit reluctantly.

Majes and Faria's holograms appeared, projected into the screen. It was Faria who spoke to Xander first.

"Honey, are you ok? The school sent out a notice to all the parents in your class. I've seen the recording, but I wanted to hear from you directly: what exactly happened?"

Xander sighed, and then recounted everything. He finished it, saying,

"…I don't really know why Ms. Amelia overreacted. I could easily resurrect them perfectly anyways if anything went awry."

"…" Faria was momentarily silent, unsure of what to do. It was Majes that began to talk.

"…Xander, son, it's because of the idea of valuing life is ingrained to us, as a civilized society. Although you can resurrect them easily, it doesn't mean their value is degraded."

"…But we only give it value. In truth, we don't have any value. We are just assembled pieces of matter that managed to gain sentience that allowed us to gain power. And for what? For a repetitive cycle of the continuous attempt of breaking the limit and seeing what the world, the universe, and beyond have to offer."

"…" It was Majes' turn to be silent. Faria coughed a bit, before starting the conversation once again.

"Sweetie, life doesn't have value, but we give it value. For example, what is the favorite thing you do every day?"

"Hmm…Eating. Learning. Sleeping. Training." Xander thought for a while before responding.

"See? Your actions already attempt to give meaning and value to your life. We humans set goals to follow in life. You already have set yours, and you should continue following the things that make you happy, the ones that make you feel alive."

"…I get it now, mom. Thanks! I now realize my mistake. I should have paid an equivalent value for their lives if they die, right? As reparation." Xander said, his face serious. He was thinking of paying them with rare metals and plant materials.

Majes and Faria's faces froze for a bit before Faria smiled and responded,

"Er, honey, no. For lives that could be avoided from being lost, they shouldn't be lost in the first place." She then looked at Majes, hoping for him to back her up. Majes nodded seriously, before saying,

"That's right, son. If I and your mom died, what would you do? And you realized that you cannot resurrect us, wouldn't you get mad? That's what Ms. Amelia was saying. Life is precious."

Xander remained silent. He just couldn't tell them that the universe basically has a backup copy of each and every sentient being, can he? And that he could just get an old version of the two from the past to the future, skipping the event from happening all over again. Another way was to kill himself and return to several days and months before their deaths, changing the outcome.

"I-I understand mom, dad. Ok ma, pa, I gotta go and eat dinner. Oh, right, I sent a gift to both of you, check it in your rooms once you go back. The instructions on how to use it are also there." Xander waved goodbye to the two, before ending the call.

He then recreated the food he had in Arder and ate for like an hour. Half-way through his meal, his smartwatch buzzed again, both his parents were calling once again.

Xander sighed, and accepted the call after ensuring the encryption of the call isn't compromised nor are there any recording mechanisms.

"Since you called again, I assume this is about the gifts I left? They're easy to use already, you just need to-"

"XANDER M. CLOVERFIELD. YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF. WHA- HOW DID YOU EVEN HAVE THIS ITEM?" Faria and Majes' surprised and at the same time angry and worried voices resounded the dining room.

Xander sighed, before telling them the prepared story.

"I got it from a friend of mine. I don't know if I can tell you his name. He began talking to me around 4, 4.5 years ago, if I'm not mistaken. Before he left, he gave me these three items, saying that it was a parting gift. I used one of them, but I didn't like the design so it's just in my room, as a design."

"The remaining two, I gave it to you both. One's a ring, and another's a necklace. So that fits dad and mom's design, so I was like, why not?"

"Er, son, is the name of your friend have the last name of 'Simpson'?" Faria asked, a bit calmer between the two.

Xander 'acted' that he was surprised, and said,

"How did you know? It was fun talking to uncle Simpson. He had a lot of knowledge about stuff. I didn't like that he made fun of your project though, dad. He said it was doomed to failure," with him acting indignant in front of his dad and mom. Both his parents were silent for a bit, looking briefly at one another.

After a while, his dad, rather than get mad, was more excited, causing Xander to 'act' confused at his dad's reaction.

"Eh? What did your uncle Simpson tell you about the project? Did he elaborate on why it would fail?"

"Huh? Oh, I think he mentioned that you were using the wrong alloys, as well as the runic writing you are using will allow only sub-luminal traveling speed. It will still travel slower than a Demigod moving in space, making it non-ideal."

"Eh? That's all? What did he say about the math, was it all-"

"Ehem. Ok, honey, we were just confused and scared for a second that you were placing yourself in a dangerous situation to obtain those items. Don't worry, mom and dad will keep it a secret, right, HONEY?"

"Eh? Ah! Yes, yes, my wife is always right, hehe. Stay safe son!"

"Ok, will do. By the way mom, dad, I need to travel to Nema this Friday, I'll probably be back on Monday. I need to submit a school mission to a partner institute of the university. Is that ok? Also, just remember, those items can save you once from disaster after a full recharge." Xander said seriously, before ending the call, not giving them a chance to reject his proposition to travel to Nema. He didn't add the part that it would allow enough time for me to travel to their position and do a rescue mission.

Xander sighed and finished his food.

Having guards and maids to serve me really made a difference. Anyways, after I return from Nema, they can probably return as well by that time.

He had already booked 1 round-trip ticket from Eta to Nema, for tomorrow until Monday morning next week. Hopefully, he could gain a lot from this trip.

___________________________________

Eta government headquarters. Underground chamber meeting.

Several key officials and military personnel were present.

"Good evening to everyone. We are here to talk about X-001 and his current level of importance to the country. I will show you a clip from earlier today, to show you the importance of this meeting."

"General Farm, with all due respect, if this is about X-001 or Xander Cloverfield, haven't we placed him into the 3rd level of surveillance and protection we can offer for someone at his ability? Are you saying we should invest more resources towards this person?" A young man in his 30s asked the general, with obvious discontent plastered in his face. General Farm, on the other hand, merely took a deep breath, calming himself down before speaking to the person that just spoke up.

"Mr. Azazuma, please watch the video, and you will realize what I am trying to say." He said it politely, before playing the hologram video.

After a few minutes, everyone was silent.

"General Farm… is it really true? A Master magician able to cast such a powerful legendary rank magic array, on his own?" A respectable-looking man asked the general, his voice cracking and quivering for a bit, unknown if it is out of excitement or fear.

General Farm nodded, responding,

"That's right Dr. Kovac, we only have verbal confirmation that X-001 is currently a Master magician. We are unsure how many exactly had he integrated, and has only revealed 1 Master rank spell so far."

"I plan to request all of you to raise his level of surveillance and protection to 1st rank, the same level as C-034 and A-023. I placed this meeting as urgent for today because earlier today, the target had booked a round-trip ticket going to Nema.

"We cannot cancel the booked ticket nor block him from going to Nema because he currently has a legitimate reason to do so, which was to submit a school mission to one of the partner universities of Grand Hyatt University, Camasutra University. The person in question is Professor Ameritus Lindhart."

"Another reason we cannot block it is the influence of the Cloverfield and Morningstar clans. He has the backing of the two clans, making it nearly impossible to forcefully make him go to military school or even stay within the borders." Upon saying this, the general eyed one of the present representatives from the Cloverfield clan, who was Veirhardt Cloverfield. He merely smiled lightly, as he and the rest of the elders had been informed by Majes earlier about Xander's plan to go to Nema.

They already planned to send an escort to accompany and protect him on the journey as well as in Nema itself.

"No need to worry, General. Although our clan is widespread, the branch in Eta is loyal to Eta, as long as it is still in line with what the clan wants." Veirhardt smiled calmly as if this wasn't really much of a bother.

"Concerning the Morningstar clan, well, they're stationed in Nerzon, which means they don't need to step into the situation, as long as we, the Cloverfields, can still handle it." He continued, sipping his tea afterward.

General Farm nodded in response.

"Currently, the guards and maids around the target have already reached Legendary class, but they are already unsuitable for the mission of surveillance and protection. I plan to send 6 new people once X-001 returns from Nema, with 4 of them having a cultivation of Mythic and 2 of them being Demigods. All in agreement?" General Farm asked the committee, who didn't say anything to counter the situation.

Seeing no one disagreeing as even Mr. Azazuma remained quiet, he nodded to everyone and did a military salute to all of them, saying, "The meeting has been concluded. Thank you." Before fading out. The rest also sent their farewells and left the conference room.

Veirhardt was in the branch headquarters in Eta, where he assigned 3 senior members of the clan to follow Xander and ensure his protection. These members were all at Demigod-2 rank and knew their responsibilities very well. They all nodded and left, heading towards Delta province.

_____________________________

Xander was preparing to sleep when he heard the doorbell ring in the front gate of the villa. He opened his eyes and saw from his room the presence of 3 Demigods appearing in front of his house, confusing him for a moment, before calling his dad.

After a few minutes of talking, he headed downstairs and opened the villa door, appearing in the demigods' sight.

He opened the gate remotely, before saying to them, "my seniors in Cloverfield, right? How are you? Please, come in." Xander smiled at them warmly, his face radiating with warmth and welcoming vibes, surprising the trio. They had heard rumors that this descendant of theirs was very rational and cold. Even the initial profile established by the clan agreed to this rumor. They hadn't expected him to be very… warm and welcoming.

They calmly entered the villa, unaware they entered a lion's den.