5/3/2019

  8:24 PM

  The anticipation of the hotspot in Louisiana fueled Julius’ curiosity as time dragged on. Tonight, he was at the point where he couldn’t wait any longer. After last week’s call, the budget was cut in half because a few companies backed out.

  The Xian’s Family sale made up for the rest of the planned budget. The high demand went beyond expectations, breaking past even. Many local industries were diversifying into different sectors. It got the attention of a few companies in Dallas and Houston. Because of this sale, the manufacturing sector was at an all-time high, leading to a total sale of $480 million in two days.

  Julius and Lian stood outside watching the rebuilt C-5 Galaxy drive out of the hangar. The gigantic plane headed to the tarmac and parked. Its rear cargo ramp opened, and many mages entered not empty-handed. After about two hundred, the ramp closed, and the tower gave a green light. An operator directed the plane to the runway.

  Here it goes. Julius was ready to see the engines roar.

  The rebuilt C-5 Galaxy, now called Shu-0, switched on its four colossal engines. Heat and blue flames blasted out of the engines’ nozzle. Like a fighter jet, it took off on the runway at high speed. Another operator was present at the tarmac with a speed camera, recording the entire takeoff.

  “Four hundred-eighty miles at takeoff,” the operator said.

  The plane ascended through the clouds, disappearing in seconds.

  “Well, that was a success. Are we ready to go?” Lian asked.

  Julius nodded. “Time to. Oh, there she is.”

  A black SUV arrived, and the left rear door opened. Skylar exited the vehicle. It has been a week since he last saw her in the hospital, while Lian has been checking up with her ever since.

  Her prior military experience back in Australia and a magic curiosity prompted her not to miss the opportunity. She made it just in time amid her recovery from her first rigorous magic training. Her right facial scar from a wound and traces of graying hair because of qi exposure.

  Skylar grabbed her cargo backpack from the car seat and put it on. Closing the door, the SUV drove away, and she walked to the two. “Are we about to leave?”

  “Let’s go!” Lian exclaimed.

  A tactical jet suddenly appeared and hovered over the tarmac. Julius saw the exhaust adjusting as it was going for the vertical landing.

  King Valtoris teleported with Ling Wu. “We made it in time.”

  “I, too, haven’t seen you two in a while. How are things keeping up?”

  “Things are in order. Ling is ready. I hope you didn’t slack off.”

  Julius smiled. “No, I got two days this past week to get refreshed, so I’m good to go.”

  King Valtoris turned to Lian. “And what about you? How are you doing?”

  “Sales are going great. The school is ready to start again soon, so taking in new students is going to be a challenge…And I’m watching Julius for now on.”

  “Congratulations,” he said.

  What does he mean by that? Julius wondered as the tactical jet opened its rear ramp. He and Skylar entered first.

  In addition to the two pilot seats, it has ten seats for travelers. Five seats on the left and the other five on the right side. Julius sat the first one on the left side. Skylar sat across. Lian and King Valtoris sat with Julius while Ling Wu took the seat next to Skylar.

  The pilot glared to the rear. “Is everyone here?”

  “Yes, let’s move,” Julius responded.

  The rear ramp closed, and the engines roared.

  Everyone put their seatbelts on, and Julius looked around as the jet performed a vertical takeoff. Most of the jet’s interior was barebones. Metal frame and no adjustments. However, it was sturdy, and the flooring was smooth and absorbent.

  After a few minutes, the pilot announced that the rest of the flight to Louisiana would be half an hour. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight type thing.

  Julius took off his seatbelt and got up. He opened the covers, giving a dual side view of the night sky. He viewed the shiny stars above.

  “I heard you didn’t just train Ling Wu. You got someone else coming along?”

  “There’s this guy named Youling Mao,” King Valtoris said as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

  “Is that really his name?”

  King Valtoris shook his head. “No, it’s just a nickname. Come on, you know this guy.”

  Julius looked away from the window and headed back to his seat. “I do? What does he look like?”

  “He’s close with Ling Wu. They’re neighbors in Chandler. He often has a cowboy hat, whatever it's called…Uh, a black fedora, and he wears black jeans and has a smoky voice.”

  “Oh…Him. Wow. How did Lang get into this mess?”

  Ling Wu placed her phone on her lap. “He lost his eastern farm business not too long ago.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I see…It’s been a couple of years since I last spoke to him. That hurts a lot because he had helped many restaurants in the south. He was their main supplier.”

  Lian then mentioned, “No wonder the food tastes so good.”

  Skylar, who has no idea who these people mentioned are, began asking questions. “Is this how busy I’m going to be?”

  King Valtoris looked at her. “I have never seen you before. Are you new?”

  Ling Wu was also about to ask who she was.

  “I’m Skylar…Daughter of Julius’ friend.”

  “Nice to meet you, Skylar. What brings you here?”

  Skylar took off her sunglasses, revealing the full extent of her right facial scars and damaged eyes. The latter Julius wasn’t aware of.

  “I survived a building collapse near downtown. Lian and Juliust rescued me from the rubble. Since then, I got out of the hospital early and trained to catch things up in one day.”

  “One day?” King Valtoris, in an excited mood, crossed his arms. Julius felt his qi spike up. “That takes some persistence. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever learn that day?”

  Skylar pointed to her eyes. “This…I never wore sunglasses until now.”

  Julius then looked at Lian. “Pushing too hard?”

  Lian denied it. “We got into a little accident.”

  “An accident?”

  “Let’s just say things went unexpectedly in a good way. You’ll see what I mean.”

  A glance at Skylar and Lian, Julius grew curious about what she could be hiding. He didn’t want to read their minds. Lian caught on to his thought and telepathically told him it was better to see it for himself.

  Skylar took her stainless steel water bottle from the backpack. She opened the lid, and cold vapor flowed out of the bottle. Even though Julius, Lian, and King Valtoris sat across from her, they felt the cold sensation reach their feet.

  Julius never seen that kind of water that was drinkable. The coldest drink was the Shi Grapes wine, and that made him cough a few times. Seeing her drinking it without fail was a little baffling.

  Minutes had passed by, and everyone just sat and chatted. But Julius was standing near the cockpit. He finished a call with Terrance, who stayed behind. Afterward, Julius checked his stats.

  ===

  [Class: A]

  [Overall Number: 40,101]

  [Skill Count: 77]

  [Path: King Julius Level 2]

  [Magic Multipliers: 0.5x]

  [Qi: Rank 2]

  [Money: 1.5]

  [**Path Leveling New Features Reveal After The Next Hotspot’s Completion**]

  ===

  What could these features possibly be? Julius wondered. The last line appeared every time he opened the Maldoro’s System, which was fueling his ambition and curiosity. It had to be something significant to go this far, and this was only the second hotspot.

  With the minimap opened, Julius turned to the cockpit and asked the pilot. “Are we like a few minutes away?”

  “Yes, sir. It’s in Acadiana.”

  “I hope the map is accurate, and the spot is not close to Lafayette. The radius is fucking huge.”

  “Let’s hope not. I’m taking you to the coast. That should be in the radius.” The pilot steered the aircraft to the right.

  Julius watched through the windshield. The jet descended through the high clouds. The weather predicted that the entire Acadiana region would be raining in about an hour. And it will last until seven in the morning.

  The pilot pushed the throttle up to maximum and exerted his qi, boosting the aircraft. The speedometer went up to 1400 mph as it continued to descend. “I’ll get you on the ground as quickly as I can.”

  “I appreciate it, but be careful. You don’t have to do this,” Julius said while gripping the wall.

  “No, sir. The sooner the better.”

  King Valtoris got up from his seat and strolled to the cockpit. “Are we here already?” He asked.

  “In half a minute.”

  Julius headed to the rear. All the lights in the aircraft were flicked on. The sounds of metal gear clanked. He watched the ramp open as the winds sped in. King Valtoris joined him, watching the ground getting closer.

  “I’m heading out,” he said.

  “Me too, then.”

  Lian, Ling Wu, and Skylar unbuckled their seatbelts and gathered behind the two.

  Julius leaped from the ramp and launched, boosting out of the plane. With one swift turn, he looked back at the aircraft. King Valtoris launched out with no extra jump. He glided in the air towards him like rolling on the ice.

  Lian flash teleported, and Ling Wu gripped Skylar’s arm. The two jumped out, landing hard on the ground.

  Julius dropped down a few hundred feet, thumbling to the swampy ground. Water rippled across a mile. The area smelled funny at first. Then it got worse, causing him to look down. He stood at an ankle-level of water. Lifting his leg, his boot was soaked.

  He raised his internal qi past overdrive, putting his body temperature at 100 degrees.

  King Valtoris snapped his fingers, brightening the area.

  Lian hovered over the land. “Is this spot still in the range?”

  Julius nodded. “Yes, it is. We’re going to take a look around.” He looked at the minimap. “Great…We are at the Atchafalaya Basin.”

  “Gosh, it smelled so bad,” Ling Wu ranted.

  “That’s not the worst part. It’s the alligators.”

  “Crap.”

  “If we can hover as we look around, that would be for the best,” Julius suggested. He then hovered a couple of meters into the air. This is going to be annoying.

  A fifty-mile hotspot radius was ridiculous. It had been fifteen minutes of scouting and hunting. Lian, of course, was flying by Julius’ side.

  Annoyed, Julius asked her about something. “Is it possible to perform that move you did at the field, but on a larger scale?”

  “Have I taught you that yet?”

  “No, but I can raise the pressure.”

  Lian pulled her flight brakes, followed by Julius, and the two stopped and hovered high in the air.

  “Then that’ll do,” Lian said, summoning black flames on her right hand.

  Rumble.

  Thunder erupted as the rain poured.

  Julius began performing the move. An orb of dark qi appeared on his back. He then channeled his overdrive of qi towards the orb, doubling in size. Lightning bolts in black and yellow blasted out of the orb. He was like a cloud, and the bolts struck the ground, triggering a wildfire.

  Black and yellow flames were born and spread across the wetlands.

  [Skill Count: 77] +1

  However, now with an extra step. Julius turned the black flames on his right hand into a golden energy sphere with a black energy core. He then raised his hand straight up and let the sphere grow.

  Here it goes. Once it turned into a colossal, he threw it right down.

  The wetlands sent their farewells as the energy sphere clashed on impact, igniting a devastating explosion.