Chapter 22: Tell Me Everything

"Welcome back, Jay."

Jordan watched as the pod opened then Klint and Ella helped him out of it.

"Ahh," he groaned with a low voice, shaking his head left to right.

"Don't bother yourself. Migraine and body paralysis are normal side effects of using this machine. You'll be fine in a few hours."

Jordan began to feel all dizzy and as hard as he tried not to fall for the luring ecstasy of sleep, he eventually found himself submitting to it.

"Take him to a ward and make sure he's fine. Put a guard by his door and no one is to go in. I'm going to stay here and repair the damages the kid's mind did to the Teleporter." The senior professor instructed, eyes stern on Klint and Ella.

"Yes, sir."

They lifted Jordan onto a stretcher and carried him out of the room. Seeing as how the General was so strict about the experiment being a secret, the professors had to do everything themselves in the lab. No one, not even guards was allowed into the lab.

"L.I.A.M analyze the damage in the Mind Teleporter…"

It didn't take long for Professor Nickolas to fix the Mind Teleporter. He met up with Jordan at his ward and patiently waited for him to wake up.

"Where am I?" Jordan asked, sitting upright on the bed.

"Relax, you're safe. How are you feeling?" Nick asked, sitting on a chair a few meters from Jordan's bed.

"Perfect, but I'd prefer if you just skip the small talk and get to telling me what the hell I got myself into when I signed that bloody contract," Jordan pulled the sheets away from him and saw he was still naked. "And where am I clothes?"

Jordan turned to the window and balled his left hand into a fist when he noticed the golden rays of the setting sun. He had skipped another day at school.

"Lectures are over so you won't be needing that uniform. You've been asleep for over three hours now, not to mention how long you spent in the Haber Realm. There's a set of clothes in the bathroom. Wash up, change into them then we'll talk." Nick said, before getting back to the book he was reading.

Jordan got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up. Jordan was covered in a stench of sweat triggered by his near-death experiences in the Haber Realm. As the door shut behind him, Nick's phone rang and with haste, he answered.

"Tell me you have good news? I'm on my way to a very important meeting and the last thing I need to hear right now is…"

"He did it, General," Nick breathed out, "The kid was able to make his print on the Tower's door."

There was a pause for a few seconds.

"Great. I'll be back soon. Keep up the good work," the General finally replied before terminating the call. It wasn't very obvious but there was a hint of happiness in his voice.

After some minutes, Jordan walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a casual green top and a pair of khaki trousers, and reached just below his knee. His white hair was neatly done.

"Sit. We have a lot to talk about," Nick gestured, pointing to the chair opposite him.

Jordan sat and placed his hand on the wooden table in front of him. There was a bottle of wine on the table and beside it were a wineglass and a bottle of water. Not that Jordan was interested in either.

"I'm sure you have many questions," Nick started, reaching for the bottle of wine with one hand and the glass with another.

Jordan stole a glance at the clock in the room. It was a few minutes till 6:10 PM. He had less than an hour till dinner time. He had to make the most out of it with the professor. He didn't want the other kids to get suspicious of him.

"Yes professor, like why did you send me there without telling me anything about the horrors in it? I could've died in there," Jordan asked, raising a brow with a calm voice.

"Jay, If you had been told the price you had to pay, the pain you'll have to endure, and the other consequences of venturing into the Haber Realm would you have signed that contract?"

"Of course, I would," Jordan answered sharply. "You haven't answered my question."

"Good, I just wanted to be sure. I'm certain that with what you experienced in the Haber Realm, you know that someone is running the show from the other side of the curtain," Nick linked eyes with Jordan. "Seeing as you survived the impossible, I think you've earned the right to know all there is about the Haber Realm.

"About 25 years ago, a scientist was conducting an experiment with a very powerful and dangerous magical artifact. In the course of his Experiment, he ran mad. On the table where he shot himself in the head was a Grimoire that had the word 'Haber' written on the cover. On analyzing the Grimoire, it was discovered that it wasn't made out of any known element on Earth. That Grimoire contained a lot of power spells and whatnot, but the most important asset it possessed were instructions about how a Muggle could obtain a magical power the likes of which SSS Rank Mages can never dream to possess. We call it the Haber Process."

Jordan sat back and listened keenly to every word that came out of the professor's mouth.

"For some time, the Grimoire got into the wrong hands and the spell capable of teleporting a person into the Haber Realm leaked to the rest of the world. Muggles all over the world were deceived that if they could complete the Haber process, they would be rewarded with great power. Of course, millions tried but none survived.

"After a battle in the continent of Kanis 15 years ago, Rivian soldiers recovered the Grimoire. It was still whole because apparently, it's indestructible. We've conducted a series of attempts to get the Grand Power spoken off in it, but no one survived. As I told you, we have a theory that there is someone or something in charge of the Haber Realm. If I had told you what to expect in the Haber Realm you would've seen something else. Instead of an open field, you could've woken up at the bottom of an ocean. I had to keep the basic knowledge of the Realm hidden from you when you entered for the first time, but since you've already marked the door, I can tell you everything we know about the Haber Realm," Nick concluded, taking a sip out of his wine.

"What happened to the magical artifact and what's its connection to the Haber Realm?"

"No one knows where it is and as far as we can tell, there isn't a connection between it and the Grimiore."

"What was the artifact?"

"Why are you so interested in it?" Nick snickered, putting down the wineglass. "Did something happen in the Haber Realm you haven't told me?"

The voice of Jill and pictures of the man that had helped Jordan out of the void and into the gate flashed through Jordan's mind but he waved it off. He didn't trust the professor enough to tell him about them.

"I told you everything I saw when I was in there. You clearly don't want to talk about the artifact so I best be going," Jordan stood, putting his hands in his pocket. He walked towards the door and just as he was about to open it, Nick heaved a sigh.

"Fine, I'll tell you about the artifact now come sit down," Nick turned to Jordan. He could've just had the guards outside force Jordan back into his chair but he wanted to create a bond with Jordan based on a mutual understanding. "There are things you need to know before your next session tomorrow."

Without hesitation, Jordan got back to the table and sat down.

"All I know about the artifact is that it's some kind of giant gem. It was called the uh… The Origin Crystal or something like that. The scientist was experimenting with it, hoping to find a way to access its immense Magical Energy. Ever since he died, no one has set eyes on it," Nick explained to the satisfaction of Jordan.

"Alright, what about the Grimoire? I want to see it. Just so I know you haven't been feeding me lies since the moment I sat on this chair. Where is it," Jordan arched a brow with a conniving smirk.

"You'll get full access to it when you've proven your usefulness to the General. Only he has the authority to show it to you. Moving on to other important matters; did you open the tower doors?"

"Yeah, I did."

"What's inside?"

Jordan studied the professor for a few minutes before making his reply. Something wasn't right with that question.

"Shouldn't you already know that?"

Nick heaved a sigh and poured himself another drink, "The instructions in the Grimiore were all about getting the Muggle to touch the tower's doors. We have no idea what's inside the Tower or anything else that concerns it. What did you see inside?"

"If I tell you, you won't believe me," Jordan answered, tapping his fingers on the table.

"The world stopped making sense a hundred years ago. I doubt there's anything you're going to say that'll surprise me," Nick assured.

"Do you know what Orcs are?"

The brightness in Nick's mood diminished in an instant.

"You mean the beasts?"

"Yeah. I saw a lot of them on the ground floor of the Tower. They were all dead though but…"

Nick tuned out Jordan's voice, lost in thought. He had a friend who was a game developer. He helps beta test his Virtual Reality Game sometimes. Among the numerous and extremely dangerous monsters that the players had to kill in order to raise their EXP were the Orcs. How did they get into the Tower?

"It's a game!" Nick called out in actualization. "It's a fucking game."

"W-what?" Jordan stuttered.

"Jordan, what if the entire tower is a game? We've already established the fact that someone oversees the Haber Realm. What if the tower was structured like a game for that person's entertainment? Think of it. The Grimoire says the Tower's supposed to be a challenge Humanity has never seen before. What's more challenging than a Survival Game?"

Jordan thought about it and found little sense in the professor's words. It wasn't certain, but it's a possibility. One he didn't exactly feel psyched about.

"If I win, I become a powerful Mage, but if I lose…"

"You die."

A/N: Character Illustrations for Aurora and Sofia are out.