Void remained silent in the system pet space as Kyle walked toward Orion''s house, which was unusual, because the dragon usually had something snarky to say.


    The rows of dormitory houses were all identical, each one-story tall, with uniform brickwork, sloped roofs, and neat little frontwns.


    Kyle soon reached Orion''s house. He nced at the number "6" that confirmed it was his before pressing the doorbell.


    Immediately the doorbell rang, Kyle heard quick footsteps approaching before the door was flunged open.


    Orion stood there, his hair slightly disheveled, with an eager expression on his face as though he''d been waiting by the door all morning.


    "Took you long enough," Orion said, waving Kyle inside.


    Kyle smirked and walked in, observing theyout. It was simr to his own dorm houserge and expansive sitting room with plush couches and a neat table.


    The whole ce had a sterile cleanliness to it, like Orion didn''t spend much time here.


    They walked through the sitting room toward arge open room, simr to the one Kyle had converted to his training center.


    Kyle had expected to see some kind of grand forge orb setup like the one in Frulia—a ce where Orion would be crafting intricate tools or researching.


    But as they stepped inside, Kyle was greeted with… nothing. The room was practically barren, save for a few scattered books and runic papers.


    Kyle blinked, a little surprised. "Wait, this is yourb? You haven''t set up anything yet?"


    Orion chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.


    "Yeah, well, you need credits to get all the top-tier stuff. And unfortunately, I haven''t exactly had the funds to build out the whole workshop yet. But thanks to you…"


    He winked with a mischievous smile before adding, "I''m not in the dark anymore."


    Kyle raised an eyebrow, catching on. "So I''m your light bringer now, huh?"


    Orion smirked. "Call it what you want, but thanks to thatst credit transfer you sent, I''ve got ns in motion."


    Kyle groaned but didn''t dwell on it that much. He remembered something he had observed and decided to bring it up.


    "I saw some runic papers all over the floor... You do runes?"


    "Yeah... I''ve been dabbling into that recently. Any problem?"


    "No... No, I''m just surprised. How good are you exactly?" Kyle asked with a slight, nervous chuckle.


    It damaged his confidence to realize that Orion could inscribe runes. Worst of all... He learnt it all by himself.


    "I might not be as good as you just yet... But I''m getting there."


    Kyle sighed in relief when he heard Orion''s im, inwardly steeling himself to work harder and not let Orion catch up to him.


    ''I can''t let him be a master in everything.''


    [Snap out of it. You''re acting like a child] Void''s voice echoed in Kyle''s mind carrying hints ofughter.


    He forgot that Void could read his thoughts when in the pet space, as they were connected through a mind link.


    Kyle wanted to retort to Void'' s remark but kept his calm. ''Remember you promised to be good; so keep quiet.''


    Void clicked [Yeah right]


    "What—"


    Alright, enough with the small talk," Orion said, unexpectedly interrupting Kyle''s building banter with Orion.


    "Let''s talk business. Let me have the katana?"


    Kyle nodded, reaching into his bag and carefully pulling out the Frozen w.


    The moment his hand wrapped around the hilt, he could feel the familiar cool sensation radiating from the de.


    He ced the katana gently on the table between them.


    "Frozen w," Kyle said quietly, eyeing the de. "It''s got an ice enchantment called ''Ice sh.''


    Every time it hits something, it forms frost and ice at the point of impact. The closer attuned you are with the water element, the stronger the effect."


    [You idiot! You''ve said too much! How are you going to exin that one? System mechanics aren''tmon knowledge!]


    Kyle froze for a second. He hadn''t meant to say that much. He hadn''t meant to say that much. Panic shed through his mind, as he desperately began thinking of ways to backtrack.


    "Uh... I just guessed so, since ice is a branch of water magic. Maybe a water elemental mage should no better."


    Orion gave him a suspicious look, clearly not buying the excuse.


    "So you''re saying proficiency with the element enhances the enchantment?"


    Kyle forced augh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Something like that. Honestly, I''m not sure about that; I''m just considering."


    [Sure, that''ll throw him off] Void muttered sarcastically.


    Orion narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced, but he didn''t bother pushing the subject.


    "You''ve been dabbling in forge mastering, haven''t you? How could you figure that weave."


    Kyle let out a nervous chuckle. "Lucky guess, I think."


    Orion gave him a long look before finally leaning back in his chair.


    "Alright, alright. No need to get defensive. Let''s talk about what I''m going to do with this beauty."


    Orion picked up the katana and gave it a few experimental swings in the air.


    The de made a satisfying whooshing sound, and Kyle couldn''t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. This was his sword, after all.


    "Hey, don''t get toofortable with that," Kyle said, his tone yful but with a hint of seriousness.


    Orionughed, spinning the de in his hand before carefully setting it back down on the table.


    "Rx. I''m not gonna keep it. But I need time to study the enchantment properly. The longer I have it, the better I can understand its mechanics and improve it for you."


    "When do you think you''ll give it back?" Kyle asked with hints of desperation.


    Orion waved his hand dismissively. "Before you need it, I promise."


    Kyle pondered that for a moment. When would he really need it? He couldn''t use it in the arena because sharp weapons were banned. He couldn''t use it in ss either.


    Suddenly, the realization hit him—Frozen w, like the Veil of Silence, was a weapon meant for the world outside the academy. Its true power couldn''t be unleashed here.


    "This world really wants me to leave the academy," Kyle muttered to himself, thinking about all of his boons.


    Orion snapped him out of his thoughts.


    "The longer I''m with the katana, the better I can enhance it. Trust me on this."


    "Fine. But don''t get too attached to it... And most importantly don''t damage it."


    Orion chuckled before moving on to the next topic. "Now, about those credits…"


    Kyle groaned internally, knowing exactly what wasing next.


    "Yeah, yeah, the deal. How much do I owe you again?"


    Orion leaned back, grinning. "Don''t act like you forgot. It''s 5,000 credits, every Wednesday."


    Kyle grumbled under his breath, swiping open hism to transfer the credits.


    "More like an allowance," he muttered as he punched in the transfer details.


    Orion smirked as the credits hit his ount. "Hey, I''m just providing a service. You want top-tier gear, don''t you?"


    Kyle opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get a word out, Orion stood up and motioned toward the door.


    "Alright, we''re done here. I''ve got a lot of work to do; so... see yourself out."


    Kyle blinked in surprise. "What? You''re kicking me out already?"


    Orion shot him a sly grin. "Time is money, and I''ve got a lot of work to do thanks to you."


    Kyle stood up, muttering, "See the bro I made rich," under his breath as he headed for the door.


    Void, who had been disturbingly quiet for most of the conversation, suddenly chimed in with a softugh.


    [You really did make him rich. Look at him now—kicking you out like you''re some beggar.]


    Kyle rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Void."


    [Hey, just pointing out the obvious.]


    Kyle stepped out of Orion''s house, the door shutting firmly behind him. He stood outside Orion''s house for a moment, staring at the closed door.


    He didn''t bother to dwell more on his send off, rather,mitting his mind on what to do next.


    ''The best option would be to cultivate,'' Kyle mused. ''There''ll be no sses this week, so I''ll have to use this time wisely and grow stronger by any means possible.''


    Kyle was about to turn around and head back to his house when he heard Void''s voice chime in.


    [You have thousands of credits and you''re nning on cultivating?]


    ''Ah... I totally forgot that skill,'' Kyleughed nervously, simultaneously pulling out hism to confirm his remaining credits.


    [Credits: 18,005].


    He still had a decent amount left after thest transfer to Orion.


    "Nice idea... Let''s head to the mall!"


    Void remained quiet, to avoid saying anything that will annoy Kyle. This was his opportunity to eat more mana cores, and he just had to stay good.


    After a short walk, Kyle arrived at the academy''s bustling mall; the ce was packed with students as usual, mostly the first years as this was a free day for them.


    Kyle scanned the area, searching for a shop that sold mana cores. There were always multiple mana core stores, some belonged to the academy staff while others belonged to students.


    Kyle located a store that had arge amount of cores avable, including cores of other tiers aside from tier-1.


    As he stepped into the store, he momentarily admired all the cores that were neatly packed in various ss cases.


    ''Imagine having ess to all these cores...'' Kyle couldn''t help but dream.


    Void who had been oddly quiet during the walk to the mall cut him off, sounding very serious.


    [Then let''s steal them. I''ve grown very much stronger... We should be able to pull it off if we execute it properly]


    ''You...'' Kyle wanted to remark on Void''s n when out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar face.


    Standing by the counter and speaking with the salesman, was none other than Lora.