Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Damn! Look at the ground from this point, Eren! It's so cool. We should just keep on flying today if you ask me."

Jake was very excited about his first flying experience. As were lots of other students. Only a few students stayed at the centre. Most of them were gathered at the circular edge of the platform, observing the grounds and scenes getting distant as soon as they passed over them.

There was no risk of anyone falling off of the edge. The platform had generated a dome-shaped transparent energy shield that would keep the students safeguarded. It had also prevented the students from experiencing overwhelming wind pressure, resulting in a calm atmosphere inside the energy dome despite the breakneck speed.

Eren was with Jake standing near the edge of the platform. He was looking below the platform like everyone else. But one could tell he wasn't interested in what was happening to the ever-changing scenery.

A lot of the students weren't aware of the blood-bound ID stone's functions. But Eren was. This was one of the biggest investments the academy had made for its students without them realizing it.

The students will be briefed about their new and improved ID stones' functions after reaching the academy grounds. But that didn't mean they couldn't use some of them at this point.

The Butcher calmed his mind and made a connection with the ID stone located in the palm using his mana sense. He called out to something in his head and saw the spectral screen in front of him that only he could see.

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Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified)

Organization: Lionhearts Adventurers' Academy

Academic Details- Class 1/C.

Unranked Student (First-year ranking war status: pending)

Base Stats:

HP- 3.5/3.5

MP- 4.7/ 4.7

STR- 2.1

AGI- 1.7

INT- 2.4

BTP~ 14

BTP Visibility- Shown to All

Ranking Technique- Two-star, rankless Edinburgh's Standard Technique (Unusable)

F-Rank Spells- Null

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HP stands for Health points a ranker has. It indicates their overall health status.

MP means Mana Points. It quantifies the mana storage within the ranker's core.

The physical prowess of a ranker is denoted by STR while their agility in movements and attack deployment is quantified with AGI.

INT stands for intelligence. It quantifies the mental power a ranker can exert to think, cast spells, and more.

BTP or Base Total Point is calculated after summing up all the base stat values. It is often represented in a whole number after rounding off the summation. It gives an approximate understanding of the ranker's overall prowess.

Since BTP adds all the base body stat values a ranker has, it is the one that is taken into account the most when two opponents in the same rank are duelling.

BTP will allow for an easy understanding of characters' power levels with respect to each other using a single numeric value. Knowing about your opponent's BTP can give you a hint of their prowess. Therefore, it is the most sought-after information on the academy grounds.

Of course, BTP alone isn't an absolute indicator of a ranker's superiority. A ranker having higher BTP might not win against a ranker that has lower BTP than them. Many other factors will also play an important role in the battle. Like the number and type of spells available, their compatibility with the respective rankers, and their class.

A battle can turn either way if it takes place between two opponents having almost the same BTP as well as same number and type of spells.

But the derived stat can be used as a go-to tool to predict the outcome when the difference is high enough. Generally, if the ranker overwhelms their opponent with their BTP, they'll be able to register a win even if they belong to a non-combat class.

Eren was genuinely surprised looking at his BTP in this timeline. It was four units more than his previous timeline when he had first entered the F-Rank back then.

But in this life, Eren had received a boost of four units right from the get-go. That too when he had just joined the academy and broken through using a traditional technique. He could only concur that it was due to the gem that he had eaten and was now a part of him.

The two-star, rankless Edinburgh technique was the traditional technique Eren had used to break through into the F-Rank. It was widely circulated for the rankless populous. It was stable and straightforward. And simple enough so that it could be understood and used by everyone.

The technique had become unusable for Eren since he had already stepped into F-Rank. He needed a F-Rank technique now to resume his ranking journey.

The BTP visibility was a way for students to know about each other's BTP. It was currently set at 'shown to all' by default.

The default visibility meant it could be seen by any verified student and teacher of the academy in the near vicinity who knows how to use this function using their respective mana sense. Eren quickly changed the visibility to private.

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The Butcher couldn't help flashing a cunning smile after looking at his stats. He was way ahead of his past self in the current timeline. This time he was going to tread on the right path.

Jack saw Eren giving a weird grin to the scenery down below. He thought the guy had finally started to enjoy his first flying experience.

"I don't know what you are afraid of, trying to take pleasure in this flight so secretly. But I'm glad that you can smile after experiencing this thing. Otherwise, I would have thought you are not normal."

Eren didn't try to correct him. He suddenly had a thought.

Maybe Eren could use the identifier function of the ID stone in conjunction with his mana sense to collect information. He thought of using it on Jake since he was nearby. The latter was still not used to the function, so he wouldn't know how to keep his BTP visibility private.

Eren used the identify function to find out Jake's BTP. He also started using the function on other people and found out other notable students' BTP by covertly roaming all over the platform.

Eren Idril- 14

Jake Sullivan- 10

Ivor Osan- 17

Veronica Garcia- 13

Jason Storm- XX

Jason had acted smartly and already set his BTP visibility to private. Veronica either didn't know or didn't care enough to keep her BTP status hidden.

Ivor Osan knew so many things. He clearly must have known about the ID stone's functions. Despite that, he still kept his BTP status open to all. Maybe he wanted some students and teachers to see how superior he was to the majority of the lot found in LA.

There were a few exceptional students as well who had greater BTPs than Ivor at that time. Eren had recorded and remembered their visible BTPs. It was always good to collect data on his potential enemies and allies.

Jason saw Eren roaming nearby his group. He wanted to talk to him. But before he could approach the guy, Eren had disappeared from that spot.

Jason smiled mirthlessly at Eren's sneakiness. He wanted to talk to him using Matt's and Dom's subjects as excuses. But the latter didn't give him the chance.

Soon, the flying platform breached an energy shield that wasn't visible from the outside. The energy shield lit up green and allowed entry to the platform.

The flying platform soon landed on a space surrounded by tamed wildlife and vegetation. One could see various buildings and structures located in the distance.

The students dragged themselves off the platform reluctantly. Some delayed their exit for as long as they could. But it was clear the platform wasn't going to move until all of the students got down.

Rufus Rodriguez and his panel went away with the flying platform. Only a few professors and academy staff remained with the students.

"Oh! Old Lin, you came back early. Weren't you taking a leave of absence from the academy? Whatever happened to that?"

A buxom lady could be seen coming towards the gathered crowd riding on a big and muscular colt. She looked like an Amazon warrior with light abs over her flat tummy, complete with thunder legs, and heavy jugs that bounced aplenty as she was riding her stead uncaringly.

The lady had jet black hair, olive skin, and light brown eyes. She had an hourglass shape, albeit on a heavier side. With a height of around 5.7ft, she didn't look too tall. But still tall enough to assert her presence prominently.

"Good day, lady Marla. Yeah. Something came up and I decided to postpone my previous plans. Anyway, I have a new panel now. And came with these greenhorns. Is there anyone that catches your eye?"

Marla could tell Lin was changing the subject. But she didn't try to pry. She focused her attention on the first-year students and quickly found a talent within them.

Marla could see the guy had progressed much further in his ranking journey than most of his peers. He also exuded an aura of maturity and seriousness.

No….

It wasn't Eren!

Author's Note: The spectral screen has finally appeared in VEH. It took 60 full-fledged chapters to make an entry, and I am not sure if it is a good or bad thing.

I'll admit. It took me a while to unveil the screen than planned initially. I was aiming for this concept to appear after 30+ chapters. But I also never wanted to rush establishing a storyline. So the release of 60 chapters became a necessity.

One thing I CAN tell you though. It didn't pop out of the thin air. The inclusion of the spectral screen, showing rankers' body stats has always been my intention. That's why I kept focusing on ID stones and their multiple uses. That's the reason I had mentioned previously that VEH will integrate a few concepts of cultivation with RPG elements.

The BTP or Base Total Point is a derived stat. It allows for an easy understanding of characters' power levels while avoiding info-dumps. I'm planning to keep its values as round figures, but let me know what you think.

VEH is still not a system novel even with the rankers' stats getting mentioned in it.

The spectral system is different from system screen even when if it has visual similarities. It is generated by an ID stone and not something only Eren is blessed with.

The spectral screen will also have some fundamental differences than system screen. First, there will be no concept like an XP after each kill. Second, there's no system-managed store for Eren to buy from and sell things to. And third, no system manager is hiding in the shadows.

Lastly, VEH's ranking system has been finalized. It's simple and avoids a cluster of concepts. I'm planning to upload it in the auxiliary volume after releasing 20ish more chapters. But let me know if you want it to be revealed completely anytime soon or get unveiled step-by-step as the plotline progresses further.