Chapter 218: Domain expansion

Words : 2143 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

# Domain Expansion - Oracle's Haven The antiseptic smell of the arena's medical wing filled Noah's nostrils as he sat beside Lila's bed. The room was sterile—white walls, white sheets, white privacy curtains—a blank canvas interrupted only by the soft blue glow of medical monitors tracking Lila's vitals. Her eyes fluttered open, confusion momentarily clouding her features before recognition settled in. "Noah?" Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. "Hey," Noah leaned forward in his chair. "Take it easy. You've been out for almost two hours." Lila attempted to sit up, wincing slightly. "What happened?" "You collapsed. The healers said you experienced some kind of trauma, but physically you're fine." Noah handed her a glass of water from the bedside table. "You scared the hell out of me." Lila sipped the water gratefully, her hands trembling slightly. "I'm sorry for putting you through all this. You should be at the arena, enjoying the matches." "Stop," Noah said firmly. "I wanted to make sure you were okay." Lila placed the glass back on the table, her eyes meeting his. There was something vulnerable in her gaze that Noah hadn't seen before—a crack in her usually impenetrable facade. "I appreciate it," she said softly. "More than you know." Noah let a moment pass before asking, "What happened back there, Lila? One minute we were talking, the next you were on the ground." Lila sighed, her eyes darting around the room as if searching for hidden observers. She seemed to debate with herself, fingers fidgeting with the edge of her blanket. "It's a mental block," she finally admitted, voice low. "Placed inside of me—" The door swung open with a soft hydraulic hiss, cutting off whatever revelation she was about to share. Two figures stepped into the room—a man and woman, both impeccably dressed in tailored suits that probably cost more than most cadets' monthly stipends. The Rowes. Noah recognized them immediately from the school gala a month ago. Both had chestnut brown hair styled in conservative cuts that matched their rigid postures. Neither resembled Lila physically, but their cold, calculating eyes mirrored the same intensity she often displayed. What struck Noah most was their reaction—or lack thereof. There was no rush to their daughter's bedside, no concern etched into their features. Instead, their attention fixed on Noah with undisguised disdain, as if he were some diseased animal that had wandered into their sterile environment. "Mr. Eclipse," Mr. Rowe acknowledged with a curt nod. His voice was clipped, precision-engineered to convey authority without warmth. He probably got Noah's name from the arena. "Sir," Noah replied, rising from his chair. The tension in the room thickened into something almost tangible. Mrs. Rowe didn't bother with pleasantries. Her eyes, glacial blue unlike Lila's vibrant ones, scanned Noah from head to toe. "I wasn't aware my daughter had... visitors." The way she said "visitors" made it sound like "vermin." Noah glanced at Lila, whose expression had transformed completely. The vulnerability had vanished, replaced by a practiced neutral mask. Her eyes, however, told a different story—a silent plea that Noah couldn't quite decipher. "I was just leaving," Noah said, gathering his jacket from the back of the chair. "Glad you're feeling better, Lila." He walked to the door, feeling the weight of the Rowes' stares burning into his back. As he reached for the handle, he heard Mrs. Rowe's voice, deliberately loud enough for him to hear. "What did you do this time, Liliana?" Noah didn't wait for the answer. He closed the door behind him and exhaled slowly, the hallway's relative normalcy providing a welcome respite from the psychological warfare inside. --- The walk back to the dormitories gave Noah time to process the bizarre encounter. Kelvin had mentioned that the Rowes were respected by the military brass—invited to the tournament alongside other dignitaries like Sophie's father, the Defense Minister. That placed them in rarefied company, among the people who made decisions that shaped the fate of thousands. But the cold reception they'd given their own daughter after a medical emergency? That was something else entirely. Noah was so lost in thought that he almost collided with Kelvin in the dormitory lobby. "Whoa, watch it!" Kelvin sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the impact. He was holding a tablet, its screen filled with lines of code. "Where've you been? Lucas has been looking everywhere for you." "Medical wing," Noah replied, guiding Kelvin toward their shared room. "Lila collapsed after our training session." Kelvin's eyebrows shot up. "Collapsed? Is she okay?" "Physically, yes." Noah waited until they were inside their room with the door closed before continuing. "But something weird happened, Kelvin. She was about to tell me something important, then suddenly grabbed her head in pain, said she was being 'shut down,' and passed out." Kelvin placed his tablet on his desk, his expression shifting from casual interest to intense focus. "Shut down? Those were her exact words?" Noah nodded. "Then her parents showed up. The Rowes." "You met the ice queen and king themselves?" Kelvin whistled. "What were they like?" "Cold. Distant. They looked at me like I was contaminating their air." Noah sank onto his bed. "They asked Lila 'what did you do this time?' Not 'are you okay' or 'we were worried'—'what did you do.'" Kelvin's fingers danced across his tablet. "I've been digging into the Rowes since you mentioned your suspicions about Lila. So far, nothing beyond generic information—marriage date, property holdings, corporate affiliations. Nothing suspicious enough to warrant the level of security around their data." He turned the tablet toward Noah. On the screen was an image of the same couple he'd just encountered, standing stiffly beside a younger girl with dark hair who unmistakably resembled Lila. "That's not Lila," Noah observed, pointing to the girl's dark hair. "But it is," Kelvin countered. "This photo's from about five years ago, according to the timestamp. Either she dyed her hair, or..." "Or what?" Kelvin shrugged. "Or something else is going on." Noah sighed, leaning back against the wall. His mind was a tangled web of questions without answers. Lila's mysterious collapse. The "mental block" she'd mentioned. Her parents' cold demeanor. The dark-haired girl in the photo. And her knowledge of chi techniques she shouldn't possess, given that she didn't attend Master Anng's classes. "She mentioned wanting to tell me a secret before she collapsed," Noah said. "I'll have to wait until she's discharged to ask her again." "Just be careful, man," Kelvin warned. "Something about this whole situation feels off." Noah nodded absently, his thoughts turning to another pressing matter. With everything that had happened, he'd almost forgotten about his reward from the tournament match. "Actually," he said, straightening up, "I need to check something." Kelvin immediately perked up. "System stuff?" Noah smiled despite himself. Kelvin was amongst the few people who knew about his mysterious system—a secret Noah had shared only shared not long ago as he didn't want to lie to his friend anymore. Even then, Kelvin couldn't see the interface; he only knew it existed because Noah had told him. "Yeah," Noah confirmed. "I got a reward from that match with Elias." "Oh man," Kelvin said, setting aside his tablet and spinning his chair to face Noah fully. "What'd you get this time? Please tell me it's something awesome." Noah closed his eyes, focusing inward. "Status," he commanded silently. The translucent blue interface materialized in his mind's eye: [Name: Noah Eclipse] [Level: 20] [Class: Void Oracle] [Health Points: 570/600] [Void Energy: 950/950] [Experience: 9,500/10,000] [Talents:] Void Summoning [SSS RANK] Perfect Echo [Sealed] Self-Regeneration [B RANK] [Enhanced Skills:] Void Blink (Level 6) – Shorter cooldown, longer range (Cooldown: 4 seconds) Null Strike (Level 3) – (-100) Void Absorption (Level 3) – Can now absorb a wider array of energies including electricity. Entropy Touch (Level 3) – Stronger decay effect. [Attributes:] Strength: 59 +[2] Agility: 65 + [+3] Vitality: 54 Intelligence: 73 Wisdom: 68 Noah stared at the display, noting the changes. "I'm seeing my status," he narrated for Kelvin's benefit. "My attributes increased—gained 2 points in Strength and 3 in Agility from the match. And my XP went from 8,500 to 9,500. I'm almost ready to level up." Kelvin bounced in his chair like an excited child. "That's awesome! One more good match and you'll hit level 21. Any new skills?" "No new skills yet, but..." Noah's eyes focused on the last notification at the bottom of the interface. "I still have the mystery box to open." Kelvin's eyes widened. "The last one gave you that sick Eclipse Blade! What are you waiting for? Open it!" Noah smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. For all his technological genius and cynical hacker persona, Kelvin approached Noah's system with the wonder of a kid discovering magic for the first time. "Alright, alright," Noah chuckled. At the bottom of the interface was a simple prompt: [Do you want to open mystery box?] Yes or No Noah selected "Yes." Immediately, reality seemed to bend. The air in the center of their dorm room shimmered and distorted, coalescing into a physical manifestation of void energy. A black box materialized, hovering a foot above the floor, its surface rippling like liquid darkness. Kelvin leapt to his feet. "Holy shit! I can see it!" The box wasn't large—about the size of a shoe box—but its presence dominated the room. It pulsed with power, sending waves of gravitational distortion that made the nearby desk lamp flicker. As they watched, the box unlocked itself, its lid creaking open on invisible hinges. Instead of revealing a physical object, a torrent of energy erupted upward, spiraling toward the ceiling before dissipating into nothingness. [Congratulations! You have opened the Mystery Box.] [You have obtained: Domain Expansion – Oracle's Haven] [Your Domain has evolved!] New Features Unlocked: Domain Travel: You can now transport living beings into your Domain at will. Willing participants experience seamless relocation, while unwilling targets require a power check. Domain Link: Establish a connection with selected individuals, allowing instant teleportation to their side with the command "Domain Exchange." Distance is no longer a limit. Void Authority: Your control over the Domain deepens. Structures and landscapes can now be shaped with greater efficiency, and Void Coins are expended at a reduced rate for creations tied to living beings. Noah's breath caught in his throat as the implications hit him. "No way," he whispered. "What?" Kelvin demanded, waving his hand through the dissipating void energy. "What did you get? Don't leave me hanging!" "My Domain," Noah said, his voice filled with wonder. "It's evolved. Domain Expansion—Oracle's Haven." Kelvin's eyes bulged. "Your pocket dimension thing? The one you told me about but couldn't show me because you couldn't bring people in?" "Yeah," Noah nodded, excitement building with each word. "But now I can. The upgrade gives me Domain Travel—I can bring living beings into my Domain at will. Willing participants go seamlessly, unwilling ones need a power check." "Holy shit!" Kelvin practically vibrated with excitement. "You're telling me you can just... what? Snap your fingers and transport people to your own personal pocket dimension?" "Essentially, yes," Noah confirmed, scanning through the rest of the notification. "There's more. Domain Link lets me establish connections with specific people. Once linked, I can teleport instantly to their side, regardless of distance, by using a command called 'Domain Exchange.'" Kelvin began pacing, his mind clearly racing. "The tactical applications are insane! You could link with the whole team—instant extraction from danger zones, surprise flanking maneuvers, emergency repositioning during combat—" "And Void Authority," Noah continued, "gives me deeper control over the Domain itself. I can shape structures and landscapes more efficiently, and it costs fewer Void Coins for creations tied to living beings." Kelvin stopped pacing abruptly. "Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You can now create your own reality, bring people into it, shape it however you want, and teleport anywhere?" Noah nodded slowly, still processing it himself. "That's not just an upgrade," Kelvin declared. "That's a whole new tier of power. This isn't just pocket dimension stuff anymore—it's closer to reality manipulation!" "I think you're right," Noah agreed. "But I need to test it, see how it actually works in practice." Kelvin's face lit up with the most hopeful expression Noah had ever seen. "Test it? You mean...?" Noah stood up, a grin spreading across his face. "Want to see my Domain?"

Chapter 218: Domain expansion

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