ã€ŠMartial Roadã€‹


 Book 1 - Chapter 1 - Prologue

    Book 1 - Keith

    Chapter 1 - Prologue ( The Test )

    In a great castle, located in the middle of a gigantic city, a young boy was restlessly sleeping. He was tossing and turning inside his bed, constantly mumbling. Outside his room, every so often, the sound of great thunder crashing through the sky could be heard. The rain was slamming against his window; it was such a heavy storm that it was almost impossible to see anything while outside. After a few hours of struggling against the storm, the glass window of the boy¡¯s room ¨Cwhich only nobility possesses ¨Cfinally ceased its struggles. Giving way to the tyrannical storm outside, the glass shattered inwards through the interior of the room. The child was startled awake, screaming alongside the sound of thunder and shattering glass.

    The first thing the boy checked immediately after screaming and waking up was the bed located opposite of his. He was used to the reassuring smile of his older brother facing him when something was off, but instead, all that faced him was an empty bed. He was confused for a split second why his brother wasn¡¯t in his bed in the middle of the night, but just when he remembered, the door to his room was slammed open.

    ¡°Keith, what happened?!¡±

    Choking back his tears because of the fresh memories that were brought up again at the sight of the empty bed, the boy ¨CKeith, was unable to respond properly. ¡°T-The window,¡± he stammered, pointing at the window.

    ¡°Oh, it shattered,¡± the older man grumbled. ¡°This won¡¯t do, there¡¯s glass all over the floor. Fortunately, none of it hit you. Come,¡± he said, waving his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of here, you should be able to rest in one of the many guest rooms.¡±

    Keith turned to look at the only person whom he could truly trust. He was considered tall, standing at nearly 2 meters high. He had broad shoulders, and his renowned great sword was hanging at his waist. This ex-knight was called Dillim. His name shook the continents years ago, when he was in his prime. He was the most famous knight at the time, mostly known for his strength, while his unwavering loyalty came close second. He was the king¡¯s most precious knight at the time.

    Dillim walked towards Keith, and stretched out his hand. ¡°Come.¡± Dillim was a man of few words, his ever-serious face was a perfect match for that behavior. Keith raised his arm, and quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. ¡°Have you been crying? I told you many times already, Keith. Men don¡¯t cry.¡±

    ¡°B-But¡­ no one has found brother yet,¡± Keith mumbled. Keith would turn ten in a few days, but in these ten years, he had always relied upon his older brother. Every time Keith would ask someone where his brother disappeared to, they would just smirk. Remembering their behavior, and how long he looked for his brother on his own without results, he couldn¡¯t help but to grow furious. ¡°They weren¡¯t even looking for him! Even my other brothers didn¡¯t care!¡± He yelled.

    For a split moment, a sad look could be seen flashing through Dillim¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s useless Keith. He has already gone away to a far place.¡± He knew that Keith wouldn¡¯t yet fully understand what happened to the brother he was so close to. ¡°It¡¯s better if you forget him, you will meet him again eventually.¡± Dillim had to swallow down his upcoming grief. Even though the past years had hardened him, he still couldn¡¯t bear to fully tell Keith the truth.

    ¡°Really? Like, really, really? You aren¡¯t lying, are you? I will really see him again, right?¡± Like most kids, Keith¡¯s mood was very vulnerable to fast changes. Instead of his sad appearance after waking up, he was starting to brim with a little bit of enthusiasm again. He wasn¡¯t sleepy at all after waking up because of the shock, so he continued speaking as fast as a hawk would go down to catch his prey. ¡°Hah, I know where he went! He¡¯s probably secretly going on a journey, trying to improve his skills!¡± Keith was back to his usual appearance, brimming with vigor. ¡°Humph!¡± he hummed, ¡°I knew brother was afraid of my talent! He¡¯s scared that I will easily surpass him when I continue learning the sword.¡± Keith was filling in the gaps of the story Dillim provided him, letting his imagination run wild.

    ¡°Get up, this mess of a room isn¡¯t fitting for a prince to sleep in.¡±

    Keith eyed the left hand Dillim was still holding up. He had heard from his older brother that the mighty Dillim had once fought singlehandedly against a dragon to protect his father, but he lost his right hand in the process. His brother had gone on about how he was quickly kicked out from the highest Royal Knight division. Dillim had been the strongest knight without doubt, but with the loss of his dominant hand, that quickly changed. But because of his previous splendor, he was eventually assigned to protect Keith.

    Keith stood up from his bed and smiled at Dillim. ¡°Okay,¡± he beamed, giving Dillim a wide grin. He then proceeded to grab his hand and they walked out of the room.

    ***

    In the morning after the storm, Keith was sleeping quite deeply. The previous night¡¯s conversation with his sworn protector, Dillim, had already given him a peace of mind.

    ¡°Wake up, ¡®bad luck thirteen¡¯, you have to dress up appropriately and clean yourself before you stand in front of the King. You can¡¯t let us brothers lose face.¡± A voice came through the door of the guest room, waking up Keith. Shortly after, his 7th brother came barging in. ¡°Even though your talent will probably be at rock bottom, you will still look like a prince at least. I hope they¡¯ll send you away, then I won¡¯t have to fac¨C¡± firing insult after insult at Keith, his 7th brother suddenly quit talking mid-sentence. He had felt an ominous presence behind him, immediately shutting him up.

    ¡°W-What do you want?¡± He looked behind him and saw Dillim standing there. He didn¡¯t say anything, but his presence was enough to shut up the 7th Prince. ¡°Hah,¡± he sneered, ¡°It¡¯s not like you can do anything to me,¡± the 7th Prince said, walking back the way he came. He avoided Dillim and ran out of the room, leaving a few mocking words on his way. ¡°J-Just get him ready, he won¡¯t be able to do it properly by himself anyway!¡±

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you ever say anything in return Keith? You know you have to stand up for yourself. Don¡¯t let your brothers walk all over you,¡± Dillim said, reprimanding Keith. Dillim¡¯s expression hadn¡¯t changed the moment he came in, observing everything with his eternal poker face.

    ¡°B-But Dillim¡­ they¡¯re my brothers. I don¡¯t get why they would say those things to me. We all have the same father. Why do they keep calling me ¡®bad luck thirteen¡¯?¡± Keith just eyed the sheets of his bed. He had struggled with the same thing a lot of times through his nine years. He was the 13th Prince, but because of the church¡¯s influence, most of his brothers would call him ¡®bad luck thirteen¡¯.

    ¡°It¡¯s because your brothers are fools,¡± Dillim said. He was the only one who Keith had ever heard badmouth his brothers. All the other people in the castle would only flatter them. The only one they stayed away from was Keith. This was because he was unlucky to be born as 13th. He was still too young to understand why and how the church had influenced people to hate this number. The only thing he did understand was that people didn¡¯t like him. He understood deep inside, that it wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t like his character, but because of the number stuck upon him. He was a little bitter, because he couldn¡¯t understand why the people around him wouldn¡¯t give him a simple chance. But nevertheless, he had never shown any of his somber thoughts on his face. He was always considered an explosion of enthusiasm, but because of the superstition, people only regarded this as odd.

    ¡°The only brothers who weren¡¯t, have all gone away on a journey,¡± Dillim continued. Keith¡¯s favorite older brother ¨Cthe one he couldn¡¯t find ¨Cwas also included with them. He had never believed the superstition regarding the number, and always supported Keith. Dillim knew all too well, but Keith was far too young to understand that the brothers ¡®who had gone away on a journey¡¯ had all been victims in the struggle for the throne. It was because of this that Dillim lost the previous prince he was sworn to protect. That¡¯s why he was assigned to Keith later. ¡°Get out of bed. You will have your audience in a few hours. You must pay your respects to the King.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dillim.¡± Seeing Dillim¡¯s ominous face, he quickly jumped out of bed and dressed up. He picked up a simple robe which a servant had already readied for him. He had once heard from his brother that Dillim didn¡¯t used to be like this. Keith was told that Dillim was always vigorous and positive, always finding the best solutions to problems. But deep in his heart, Keith had always been a little afraid of Dillim, so he had never dared to ask him if that was true and why he had changed.

    Keith left the guest room he had been sleeping in, and quickly walked through the big corridors. There were a lot of decorations on the walls, from famous swords and shields, to the most magnificent dragon bones. The castle was located in the royal capital of Lirix. Although Lirix was one of the smallest countries of the continent, their military power was equal to the biggest country. This also had to do with the fierce struggle for the crown. Every generation was the same, all the princes would engage in a blood bath, with the most fierce and vigorous prince ascending to the throne.

    Keith reached the room he was looking for, and walked in after knocking a few times. A few servants were waiting for him there, with a lot of clothes behind them. Keith could feel the warmth coming from a bath filled with hot water behind another door within the room too. ¡°Ah, the Little Prince has finally arrived,¡± a servant said. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡±

    What followed was that the servants started to try out different clothes on Keith. They were the ones responsible for the garments of the people who would have an audience with the king. After washing Keith, they quickly dried him up and selected the most fitting attire they could find on him.

    ¡°You look very dashing, Prince,¡± an older maid said, smiling cheekily. Keith didn¡¯t know what to say, and simply mouthed a silent ¡®thank you¡¯, while starting to blush. The maid knew Keith was vulnerable to these kind of compliments, so she liked to tease him. A majority of the people would not like to interact with him because of the number that he could never escape, but some of the servants liked to talk to the boy. This was because he was so different from most of the other princes.

    After they had finished washing and dressing him up, they waited for him to finish eating. A servant had come in a while ago with a simple plate of food. Keith consumed his food with vigor, anticipating his audience with the king. After he finished his food, the head servant entered his room. ¡°It¡¯s time¡±, he announced. ¡°Dillim, Little Prince, please follow me to the King.¡±

    Keith was urged by the head servant to follow him, and they left the room. Keith was very nervous, he was constantly fidgeting and had his head lowered. He had only met the king a few times, and most of them was in the presence of his brothers. He couldn¡¯t remember ever speaking with the king in a one on one situation.

    They finally reached a colossal door, which would normally remain in an opened state, but it was closed today. Every time there would be a ceremony or special occasion, the door would be closed. This way, the people who would enter the room lying behind it, could make a grand entrance.

    The head servant¡¯s hand lighted up, and he waved his hand at the door. The big door shook a little, but then it proceeded to slowly open. Keith felt a light tap on his shoulder, and was urged by the Head servant to enter. He stumbled a little bit, but after Dillim placed his left hand on his shoulder for a moment, he found the courage to walk steadily.

    Keith entered the Royal Throne Room, and steadily walked on. There were a lot of familiar faces to his sides, while there were a lot of unknown faces too. Most of the nobles had come to the Palace for this special occasion. All of the royal family was present too. He could see all of his brothers standing to the far-off side of the king. They all seemed to be smirking at something, silently joking with each other.

    After he had shortened the distance between him and the king by half, Dillim suddenly halted his approach, and knelt down. Keith knew he was supposed to walk on until he would only be separated from the king by a few meters. He closed the distance, and took a split moment to observe the king.

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    He appeared to be radiating an aura of total domination. As if he would destroy everything in his path. He looked to be in his younger thirties, but he was already nearing fifty. He had clear blue eyes and was calmly sitting on his throne. He was wearing a beautiful crown and cape, but there was one thing that was even more noticeable. It was his infamous weapon, the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Sword¡¯. It was a family heirloom that was passed down from generation upon generation, and no one knew of the exact origins of the sword. But when wielded by the Dominus bloodline ¨Cthe royal blood line, it would be able to unleash a wrathful aura along with incomparable sword energy. Of course Keith had heard about this magnificent weapon, but observing it in person was still different. It sent shivers down his spine.

    When Keith came to, he quickly fell down on one knee. ¡°The Thirteenth Prince, Keith Dominus, pays respects to the almighty King! Long Live the King, Long Live the King!¡± He quickly chanted. He had waited for a split second before kneeling down, but he had heard of servants being cut down for less. Luckily, he had only been enchanted for a split second, which people very easily linked to his rumored lack of intelligence. They all thought that because of the number thirteen he was doomed to fail at everything and that he probably had been born with a low amount of wit.

    ¡°Hmm, so Little Thirteen will almost turn ten,¡± the king boomed. His voice almost felt like it was empowered magically, that¡¯s how deep it sounded. The sounds pierced everyone present, and some people¡¯s faces even turned ashen for a moment. ¡°I hope you will make a fine candidate for the throne, Little Thirteen. It¡¯s finally time for your test. Prepare yourself.¡±

    All the princes of the Dominus bloodline have to partake in an ancient test. It had been passed down from generation to generation. This way the potential successors could be filtered from the garbage. The king would heavily invest in talented sons, while completely neglecting the other sons.

    A servant hastened to Keith¡¯s location. He was carrying a sword with both his hands, and urged Keith to take it. This was the Sword of the Tested. It would be able to ensure that the one being tested would be able to awaken his full potential for a split second when in danger.

    The servant handed over the sword to Keith, and sped away. Keith tested the weight of the sword in his hand, it was too heavy to swing multiple times, but it was still quite bearable to simply lift it up. Keith knew what was to come. He was about to be tested by his father.

    It was a cruel test; the current king would use the Emperor¡¯s Sword to strike at the prince being tested. If they managed to awaken their potential because of the Sword of the Tested; by dodging, parrying, or blocking the strike completely, then they would be regarded as heavenly princes. Those princes would be looked up to everywhere they went within the capital. The king would also fully invest in these princes. All to ensure that his military will stay the most powerful.

    Everything in this kingdom was ruled by strength. Unfairness didn¡¯t exist, it was simply strength that mattered.

    Keith was ready.

    He had waited a long time for this test to come. He had always appeared joyful on the outside, but deep inside he had always yearned for recognition from his father, his brothers, and everyone else. This test was the ideal way to show everyone what he was made off. That he was more than a simple number thirteen.

    Keith took a stance, feeling how he transferred his center of weight on his feet. He took the sword in both hands, and readied it above his head.

    ¡°Come,¡± Keith said, his eyes shining.

    The king just grinned and then he simply swung his sword. There was no special technique, no magical incantations, and no mysterious symbols. It was simply a single sword strike from more than 10 meters away.

    The Emperor¡¯s Sword shined in the king¡¯s hand for a split second when he slowly swung it. It looked like even the air was forced to avoid the sword, and everything was forced to give way to this tyrannical object. Right before the sword lit up, a prince nodded at an old man in the audience. The old man only looked gloomy, but he still nodded back. The old man¡¯s hand lit up for a split second, transferring some mana to a certain spell. He then waited for the moment the sword would light up, and already aimed his spell at Keith.

    A crushing energy had manifested itself the moment the king swung the sword. It looked like a beam of light in the form of a straight line. It was directly flying at Keith, parting the air in its way. Keith knew that it would be incomparably difficult to completely block or avoid the energy. There have only been an extremely small number of heavenly princes in every generation. But if a prince was able to block most of the force, and then endure the rest with his body, he would still be considered a top tier prince. These princes all had high potential.

    Keith knew that he had to at least fully block the energy, or a big part of it. If he would only be able to deflect a small part, then he would be considered someone with low potential. This is something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

    Seeing the sword energy nearing him, he yelled with all his might. Then he struck down with his sword, his idea to clash with the energy. But never would he have thought that suddenly his whole body would stiffen. He wasn¡¯t able to move at all, and the sword energy passed below his arms ¨Cwhich were still raised high. The sword energy directly struck his chest, making him spit out blood, and dropping the sword he was just wielding.

    He flew backwards a few meters, dropping heavily to the ground.

    ¡°Garbage!¡± The king yelled. There had been a high amount of low potential princes who would only be able to block a small part of the sword energy. But there had almost never been a prince who wouldn¡¯t block anything at all, and would simply be struck down.

    Dillim rushed towards Keith in an instant, and as soon as Keith hit the ground, Dillim had already reached him. ¡°Quick! A mage, heal him!¡± Keith was already convulsing and more blood was spit out by him. If no one would resolve his current situation, then he would die within a few minutes.

    The same old man who interacted with one of the princes in the crowd, left his place and gracefully walked towards Keith. When he was about to reach him, Dillim menacingly looked at him and inquired with his gaze.

    ¡°No worries, no worries,¡± the old man chuckled calmly. ¡°I am a certified mage, if you don¡¯t let me handle him, then he will die without any doubt.¡±

    Dillim quickly made way for the old man and slightly bowed. The old man put his palms on Keith¡¯s chest, and silently started chanting. After he finished his chants, his hands lit up in a split second. Shortly after, the light was transferred from his hands to Keith¡¯s body. The old man watched the gaping wound on Keith¡¯s chest heal, while he softly whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Prince, this is the least I can do. He forced my hand, you see.¡± He mumbled it so softly that no one had heard it. They all thought it was part of his chant.

    Seeing how Keith¡¯s wound was healing at a fast rate, a court mage who stood behind the king exclaimed suddenly, ¡°What fast speed! He¡¯s absorbing the energy and turning it into life energy at an extremely fast rate! Even though that mage has transferred energy to him, it can¡¯t suddenly be converted that fast! But he¡¯s quite quick!¡± The court wizard stepped forward and spoke directly to the King. ¡°Sire, he has no combat potential at all, but I think he might be able to become a wizard! Please let him be my disciple!¡±

    Normally, the wizard wouldn¡¯t have even bothered to look at Keith. Most wizards thought that they stood the closest to God, that¡¯s why they were all heavy believers. But looking at the potential Keith might have, he forgot all about the number thirteen he was branded with.

    The king turned towards the court mage and viciously looked at him. ¡°What are you saying? Mage? Discipline? You, filthy mage, do you want me to lose face?!¡± He yelled heavily, then he continued, ¡°Do you think that the Dominus bloodline will shelter a mage? HA! Dream on!¡±

    The court mage realized the mistake he had made. He had been extremely cunning and clever to make it to his position. The Dominus bloodline had never sheltered a single mage, and to even rise in ranks as a mage at the side of the king was extremely difficult. But now that he proposed to make a prince a mage, he knew that he had said something that might have caused unrepairable damage.

    The King¡¯s sword flashed, and right at the moment the court wizard was about to drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness, the sword reappeared. The only thing dropping to the floor was the lifeless body of the mage.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± the king snorted, ¡°A true emperor¡¯s weapon is the sword! There have been no mages in the past who have ever accomplished something as great as someone of the knights from my bloodline. Do you really think our blood line will drop so low to pick up something like magic?¡±

    Magic was heavily looked down upon in the country Lirix. They had some uses for magic, but real warfare was made by the soldiers, who all wielded melee weapons. All the people in the country that picked up magic were generally looked down upon. Not necessarily because of its might, but because of its principles. There were other countries where magic was the main weapon, who were just as strong as Lirix, but the points of view differed completely. The king had no doubt that the minor inconvenience the court mage¡¯s death would cause him, was worth striking him down for suggesting that an heir would become a mage.

    Dillim was already holding Keith, frowning heavily. He thought that now that the prince miserably failed his test, he would surely be abandoned. Maybe the king would even kill Keith, because he might feel like he would lose face if it became known that one of his princes is utmost garbage.

    That moment, someone suddenly spoke up. ¡°Father, we might as well follow his suggestion.¡± When the king heard that, he started to heavily frown upon his son. ¡°Wait, let me explain,¡± one of the princes said, before quietly continuing, ¡°We should send him to a foreign country to study magic. That way we¡¯ll be able to have a country owe us a favor because we¡¯re letting them hold a prince hostage. But we can simply abandon him, because he¡¯s garbage anyway. Then we¡¯ll finally get rid of that bad omen, the number thirteen might bring us bad luck at any moment.¡±

    The one who spoke, was the 2nd prince. He was a heavenly prince; having completely blocked his father¡¯s strike when he was nine years old. He was also the most promising and charming prince, thus his arrogant father actually considered most of his opinions. When he realized his son was almost as cunning and vicious as he was, he started to favor him even more.

    ¡°Alright, you heard him,¡± the king said, waving to the ministers standing behind him. ¡°Take care of this matter. You¡¯re all dismissed. I¡¯m leaving first, for I have things to attend to,¡± he said to the crowd. ¡°Also, someone take care of that mess over there, I don¡¯t want his blood to dirty the throne room¡¯s floor.¡± The king¡¯s voice thundered through the room, while he stood up and left through a door in the back. His personal quarters were located there.

    Dillim scowled at everything that had transpired, but he was still content. He knew that Keith would be used as a bargaining chip, and abandoned when deemed unnecessary. He was able to hear the 2nd Prince talk through his superior hearing. But if Keith would be sent away, then it would be possible for him to escape the fight for succession of the throne, and this way, he could escape the same fate as his less fortunate brothers. It was strictly forbidden for the princes to commit fratricide, but sometimes they still managed to find a way that didn¡¯t implicate themselves.

    Keith had a serene look on his face, even after receiving that dreadful blow. He had received a sufficient amount of energy and his wounds had already healed. The energy felt like a bliss and he was peacefully sleeping.

    Little did he know; that this was the event that set him upon his Martial Road, shaking the whole world with his path.

    ****

    I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.

    Some things may still seem strange, but I will explain them in more detail in due time. If you have any constructive critiscm, I would love to read it.

    -Tensaiz

 Book 1 - Chapter 2 - Mage

    Keith awoke suddenly. He took a second to feel if anything was wrong, because he remembered that he had been painfully hit. But surprisingly, he felt rather full of energy.

    Taking in his surroundings, he saw Dillim standing in a corner of the room. He had his eyes closed, and was leaning against the wall with his legs crossed.

    It took Keith a few seconds to realize why he was where he was, but then he remembered what had transpired the day before. He didn¡¯t try to force down his tears this time, and as a result, soon his face was covered in tears. He knew that every prince was always judged by the test they took when they are 9 years old. It would more or less decide how happy they could spend their years at the castle.

    hat¡¯s why Keith had been looking forward to his own test. He was fairly confident in himself, and thought that he would at least be able to block a big portion of the strike. That way he could finally show everyone that they were wrong. That he wasn¡¯t a simple omen of bad luck.

    Never would he have thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything at all. He suddenly tensed before he could move, resulting in him getting hit by his father¡¯s complete blow.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡±

    Dillim¡¯s rough voice could be heard from the corner of the room. ¡°Don¡¯t cry Keith, you can¡¯t change what happened,¡± Dillim said, walking towards Keith.

    Dillim had always been pretty tough towards Keith. He bluntly said what he thought, as if he didn¡¯t consider Keith¡¯s age at all. Keith had been afraid of Dillim because he always looked so grim, but at least he knew that Dillim would be honest. Most of the time he would only be insulted.

    Keith was still in a stupor. Even after hearing Dillim¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t stop crying at all. He was young, but he was still fairly intelligent. He knew how his brothers with less talent were treated. He also knew that he performed less than them in his own test. This would mean, that combined with how he was treated before, that people would only treat him even worse.

    The only opportunity he had to change everyone¡¯s opinion had been wasted. Keith knew he couldn¡¯t do anything about it, or change what happened. But he still couldn¡¯t easily accept what happened. Why would one simple test determine how he would be treated for the rest of his life? Wasn¡¯t that simply too cruel?

    Keith looked at Dillim with his eyes full of tears. ¡°W-What should I do?¡± He asked. It had never crossed his mind before that he would perform so badly. He knew that he would have to change something, or he would have to face the same scorn for the rest of his life.

    Dillim looked Keith in the eyes, and answered seriously; ¡°We should leave,¡± he said, pausing slightly before continuing. ¡°There is nothing you can change or achieve here.¡±

    Within Keith¡¯s eyes a flash of surprise could be seen. Leaving? He had never thought of that. It had never crossed his mind that a prince would be able to avoid the castle completely.

    ¡°Leave? But where to? It¡¯s not like we can simply go, right?¡± Keith stammered.

    While talking, Dillim¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all. ¡°If you truly want to live happily, then you will need the power to protect that happiness,¡± he said. ¡°If you don¡¯t have the strength to protect what you cherish, then you will simply live in vain. People will simply be able to barge into your life and take everything.¡± Dillim¡¯s left hand was balled in fist after he finished speaking. It was slightly shaking, showing how deeply he felt about his own words.

    Keith didn¡¯t completely understand what Dillim was talking about, but he had seldom seen Dillim speak with so much emotion. That¡¯s why he took Dillim¡¯s words to heart, he knew that Dillim was speaking about something very important to him. Keith had always seen strength as a method to convince others of how he was worthy of their appreciation, but hearing Dillim speak, he knew that personal strength was even more important than that.

    ¡°Yes Dillim, I will work hard,¡± Keith said. It could be seen that Keith was very serious about his own words. He had never been one to live an easy life. Having been scorned from the moment he was born, he already had a tough character at his young age. He could¡¯ve easily been always gloomy, but Keith was very stubborn. He would show them that he was better than they thought, and he knew he would be able to. He just didn¡¯t know how he would accomplish it yet.

    ¡°But how should I obtain strength? I don¡¯t think I can train in the sword. After yesterday, father probably won¡¯t even assign me a teacher¡­¡± Thinking back about yesterday, Keith¡¯s eyes had started to tear up again.

    ¡°Boy, did you already forget what I said about leaving?¡± Dillim answered. ¡°From yesterday, it can be seen that you don¡¯t have the necessary talent for the sword, but you just might have what it takes to become a mage.¡±

    ¡°A wizard? But they¡¯re all dishonorable!¡± Keith couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. Mages had always been looked down upon in the Lirix kingdom. So logically, Keith also had some bad thoughts about them. He was strongly influenced by the ideas of the people closest to him. It was common knowledge in the Lirix kingdom that becoming a swordsman was the proper path to pick.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Dillim snorted, ¡°Foolish boy! Never underestimate a mage!¡± He loudly said. ¡°Have you ever fought one yourself? Have you ever seen what kind of carnage they can bring?¡± Dillim normally would only get slightly agitated by some comments, but this time he almost turned furious. He brimmed with anger, and intimidated Keith by leaning very close to him. ¡°People tend to fear what they don¡¯t understand. Therefore, they look down on things so that they can feel comfortable about themselves. There is nothing dishonorable about being a mage!¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    He had never liked the discrimination against wizards in the Lirix kingdom. When he traveled to other countries, he had fought against wizards before, barely escaping with his life. He knew that one day, the common discrimination towards wizards would strike the Lirix kingdom in the back.

    ¡°Wizards can reach the very pinnacle of strength, just like swordsmen!¡±

    Keith was paying attention by now, he knew that he had said the wrong thing when he saw Dillim almost erupt with anger. ¡°Can they really get just as strong as swordsmen? But I have never seen any mage like that!¡± The only mages Keith was familiar with, were some of his father¡¯s advisors. But he had seen how his father had simply cut one down when he said something he shouldn¡¯t have.

    Dillim frowned, he saw that he had Keith¡¯s attention now, but he still had to deal with his misconceptions. ¡°That¡¯s because none of them were fully trained. They probably studied by themselves, using basic books they found. Only the other kingdoms house mages who can reach the pinnacle of power!¡± Dillim was glad that Keith was finally listening to him, so he used the most common trick in the book to convince young boys. He started telling grand stories of what mages had accomplished, and what the mages he had met were capable of.

    ¡°One time, I met a mage who almost ended me. He was as fast as the wind itself, traveling so fast that it was impossible for the naked eye to perceive. When I couldn¡¯t reach him, he would send violent blades of wind in my direction. They were as sharp and heavy as my own sword blows at that time! If I didn¡¯t exploit my partly magic resistant armor, I would¡¯ve surely fallen that day,¡± Dillim exclaimed. Then he started telling even more grand stories about some legendary wizards.

    Keith¡¯s eyes had started to shine long ago. Like most young boys, he was one to admire power too. He had never heard such grand stories about wizards and their exploits. These stories weren¡¯t common at all in the Lirix kingdom. Only because Dillim had travelled to faraway places, was he able to hear about them.

    Slowly but surely Keith¡¯s misconceptions were replaced with a burning desire for the same power the mages in Dillim¡¯s stories had. Keith himself had also realized that his talent for the sword was probably below average. Even though it was hard to admit, he unconsciously knew that he failed the test that assesses his talent for the sword miserably. This made it even more so that he started yearning for magic. If he didn¡¯t have talent for the sword, he would just become the most powerful mage! He would still be able to shake the world with his magical powers, and show everyone that he wasn¡¯t garbage. Even if it might seem dishonorable in the kingdom of Lirix, they wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything if he acquired great powers.

    ¡°I still have some connections from my time of travels,¡± Dillim stated, ¡°I¡¯ll escort you to another kingdom, so you can attend the magic school there.¡± Dillim knew that Keith was stubborn and that he didn¡¯t have a weak heart. But he still couldn¡¯t manage to tell him the full truth about the King¡¯s plan. That¡¯s why he lied, and made Keith think that it was Dillim¡¯s idea to leave for the magic academy.

    ¡°R-Really? Is it really possible for me to acquire such power there, Dillim?¡± Keith asked with enthusiasm. ¡°But can we simply leave like that? Will father be okay with it?¡±

    Keith was only concerned about his father¡¯s opinion. His mother had passed away when he was born, and furthermore, the sole brothers he was close too had all gone away on journeys. He didn¡¯t know that they passed away in the fight for succession, so he even had a slim hope that his big brother had also left for a magic academy. Maybe he would even be able to meet him there. Thinking that, he only became more eager to go.

    ¡°Yes, it has all been taken care of,¡± Dillim said. His eyes had narrowed to small slits, while he was smiling contently at the eager appearance of Keith. ¡°As for if you can gain a power rivalling those legendary figures, it will depend upon yourself.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Keith chuckled, ¡°I already know how grand I¡¯ll become. I¡¯ll make everyone appreciate my power one day! Then they won¡¯t care about the sign of bad luck, or being a mage, they¡¯ll be forced to recognize me!¡±

    ¡°Slow down, Keith. If you already get ahead of yourself now, then you will never be able to reach those heights.¡± Keith felt like Dillim poured a cold bucket over his head.

    Keith sulked for a short moment, but immediately regained his usual vigor. ¡°When can we go Dillim? I¡¯m really looking forward to the academy!¡± Keith asked.

    ¡°We can leave next week, so it¡¯s better if you start packing the clothes you need. I will arrange for the rest.¡±

    Dillim had already acquired a small sum of money from the ministers who would supervise this affair. The king would lose face if it turned out one of the princes wouldn¡¯t have any money to travel with. Even though the identity of the prince would be hidden inside the country he would be sent to, the country¡¯s officials would still be aware of him.

    It would take around 3 days for one of the Lirix¡¯s top knights to reach the kingdom they wanted to bargain with. That¡¯s why they would only have the answer in 7 days. The ministers were fairly sure that the kingdom known for its magic wouldn¡¯t oppose the idea. They would offer a trade; a few books about the kingdom¡¯s special magic, would be traded for the prince¡¯s enrollment.

    The kingdom Keith would be sent to, is called: Erelath.

    There had always been a tense relationship between Erelath and Lirix. In the past few centuries, neither had gone to war with each other, but that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t prepare. The Lirix kingdom wanted to trade Keith as a hostage, so they would be able to acquire those books.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t to start training wizards. This was to create exact counter measures against their magic, securing their own tactics against them. The prince would be held hostage in their kingdom in return. Of course, no one really called it that. It was under the cover of simple enrollment. The ministers of the Lirix kingdom weren¡¯t crazy; they believed that the Erelath kingdom would try to sway Keith to their side. That way they could use Keith when he returned later, as their own soldier.

    But what the ministers of the Lirix kingdom believed, was that no one would think that the king would simply be able to abandon one of his princes. For the Lirix kingdom, it felt like getting free magic books. They didn¡¯t care about Keith at all. Keith didn¡¯t know any of this, he simply believed that Dillim had instigated everything to help him gain power.

    The ignorant and innocent Keith rushed out of the guest room he had been sleeping in to pack his stuff. Even if it was 7 days early, he was already brimming with enthusiasm.

 Book 1 - Chapter 3 - Departure

    5 days later, the knight who had set out to Erelath, returned to the Lirix kingdom just when the sun was about to go down. He came with the news that the trade was approved!

    Normally, if regular people would want to journey to Erelath and return, it would take 14 days. Even for a few of the best knights of the Lirix kingdom, it would still take 6 days. But this knight managed to return after only 5 days. The knight tried extra hard so that he would be recognized by the king. The best knights of the Lirix kingdom fell under the category of ¡®grand sword masters¡¯. There were extremely few grand sword masters on the whole continent. The small country of Lirix had the highest amount together with the largest other kingdom. There were only around 20 grand sword masters in Lirix. This may not seem like a small amount, but Lirix had a population of twenty million people! The reason Lirix had as much as 20 ¨Cthe same amount as the largest kingdom, was because of their mentality.

    A majority of the population of Lirix lived by the sword, they all admired strength. There were almost no mages, and they were all looked down upon. They were disgusted by the idea of fighting battles from long ranges with magical powers. In other countries, there were names for mages with the same amount of power as grand sword masters, but they still chose to live by the sword. Most of the grand sword masters were part of the Lirix kingdom¡¯s military and were extremely loyal. But there were also a few grand sword masters who were adventurers. They travelled from country to country, in the hope of finding new challenges and adventures. The population of Lirix had a mentality that laid heavy emphasis on personal strength. If you weren¡¯t strong enough, then you had no right to complain.

    There is a level above grand sword masters, but this has only been reached by extremely few people. Most of them relied upon a special weapon, like the king of the Lirix kingdom. He was one of the strongest people on the continent, this is also the reason that the small kingdom of Lirix had always been able to support itself. No country wanted to risk war with Lirix, because a single figure would be able to change the whole outcome of the battle. No country wanted to risk losing their top fighters, only because someone from the enemy was wielding an unstoppable weapon.

    The knight who had been sent to request the trade was also a grand sword master. This indicated how important Lirix deemed the trade.

    Was it because of Keith? Of course not!

    The Lirix kingdom wanted to show off its own power by sending a grand sword master on a trivial mission like this. That was the message the Lirix kingdom tried to get across.

    The knight had returned with a few books in his hands, and he was now waiting for an audience with the king.

    ¡°Enter.¡± The king¡¯s voice thundered throughout the throne room, right through the small door. The knight didn¡¯t dare delay, so he immediately entered. He hurriedly walked towards the king, and deeply bowed. ¡°I have returned as fast as I could, my king,¡± the knight said.

    Most grand sword masters were extremely arrogant. But a majority would still act humble in front of the king of Lirix. When swordsmen were on the same level, a superior weapon would make all the difference. He knew that the king would be able to use his Emperor¡¯s Sword to cut him down, so he didn¡¯t dare act arrogant.

    ¡°Good,¡± the king said, his voice deeply penetrating the knight¡¯s soul. ¡°I hope that you have successfully closed the deal. If we manage to get our hands on their tactics, we will be able to eventually risk war against Erelath.¡±

    ¡°My king, the trade has been completed with great success!¡± the knight couldn¡¯t help but stick out his chest. He had returned faster than most, and he had accomplished his task near perfection. ¡°I have returned with 3 volumes. The complete series has 5 books, but Erelath didn¡¯t trust us completely, that¡¯s why they will send the other 2 books when Keith has safely arrived at their territory.¡±

    The Erelath kingdom had trusted Lirix with 3 of their volumes. Now it was Lirix¡¯s turn to trust Erelath that they would send over the remaining 2 volumes when Keith had arrived.

    ¡°Just as I thought. They even gave you 3 volumes. I thought that they would only give you 2, and then send the last 3 over later,¡± the king voiced his thoughts. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to trust us so much. That is good, they probably fear us, so they¡¯re using this opportunity to show off. It¡¯s like they¡¯re saying those volumes don¡¯t matter to them at all.¡± The king was getting furious at the thought of a country full of pathetic mages showing off. He had his throne¡¯s armrest in such a strong grip, that it was starting to shatter.

    ¡°All right, it doesn¡¯t matter. Send Little Thirteen over to them as soon possible,¡± the king said to the ministers behind him. ¡°Also, good work, you returned very quickly. You will be rewarded with an item from the treasury,¡± the king said, turning to the knight. ¡°Go, you¡¯re dismissed.¡±

    The knight hurriedly gave the volumes to one of the ministers standing behind the king. Then he made his way from the throne room.

    ***

    Keith was merrily walking down the corridor. He had kept himself low profile the previous 5 days. He knew that everyone he saw would just harass him. They would poke fun at him, to make them feel better about themselves. This could be seen as cruel, because adults would harass a 9-year-old kid in a passive aggressive way, but for Keith this was a reality. Such was the cruel world of the king¡¯s princes with low talent.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    But nevertheless, Keith looked like he wasn¡¯t bothered by anything at all when he was walking. The last few days the servants hadn¡¯t brought any food to him for some reason, so he had to sneak into the kitchen and get it himself.

    He had been successful this time, and eaten his full. He was happily walking from the kitchen to the training room. He had almost never come outside the previous days, only when he went out to get his food. He had been listening to stories from Dillim about mages every day. Therefore, he had been in even higher spirits than normal. Just imagining himself as a powerful wizard with the whole world at his feet gave him Goosebumps.

    When Keith neared the throne room, which he had to pass on the way to the training room, he unconsciously fastened his pace. When he saw that the big door to the throne room was closed, he heaved a sigh of relief. Otherwise the king could¡¯ve seen him walking, and he may have called out to Keith. Something he wanted to prevent at this moment with all his might.

    When he walked past the big wooden doors, he saw a knight walk out of the throne room from one of the smaller doors, next to the big wooden doors.

    ¡®Oh, it¡¯s Grand Sword Master Reddin,¡¯ Keith thought at this sight. He was afraid of being harassed, so Keith kept walking with his head downwards.

    Reddin saw Keith walk towards himself and snorted, ¡°Hmph.¡± He waved his hand casually outwards, and a huge gust of wind manifested itself.

    Keith was blown a few steps backwards and fell on his butt. ¡°You dare to pass right in front of me, without even paying your respects?¡± Reddin asked. ¡°You might be a prince, but you¡¯re garbage to me, you talentless Thirteen. Get out of my sight before you cause any bad luck.¡±

    Keith was very frustrated inside, but he had gotten used to it long ago. He wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything, so he hurriedly stood up and ran away. When he passed him, Reddin just snorted without doing something. He was a grand sword master, so he wouldn¡¯t lower himself to do anything more.

    Keith ran on, eventually reached the training hall without encountering too many people. Dillim would regularly be at the training hall. Even though he wouldn¡¯t train at all, he would just quietly observe while standing in a corner. Keith always wondered why Dillim would waste his time like that, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn¡¯t figure it out. He also wondered how strong Dillim was after losing his right hand, because he obviously had no way of finding it out.

    The training hall was very big. It was big enough to house around 100 soldiers to train at any time, along with some princes and their personal teachers. All the heavenly princes would receive a grand sword master, while the talented princes would receive a sword master as a teacher. Sword masters were evaluated as one rank below grand sword masters.

    Keith saw Dillim stand in his usual corner and rushed towards him. There were several other soldiers who were training or idling about. They were probably there to catch a glimpse of some of the heavenly princes who would occasionally come and train in the training hall. The heavenly princes were all celebrities, and in this generation of princes there were three. Surprisingly two of them had the same mother, so she was also the most cherished wife the king had.

    ¡°Hey Dillim, we will depart tomorrow, right? I packed all my stuff and I¡¯m ready!¡± Keith exclaimed happily.

    Dillim still looked as stoic as always, but he still replied kindly, ¡°Yeah, tomorrow or the day after. It depends on my mood.¡±

    Keith didn¡¯t know anything about the agreement behind the scenes, so Dillim could only lie. He had to wait until the ministers would contact him, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. But Dillim made it look like he could decide to go whenever he wanted.

    ¡°All right, go to bed Young Prince. We will have to travel for quite some days. Maybe we¡¯ll go tomorrow, maybe the day after,¡± Dillim said, ¡°But it¡¯s better if you¡¯re prepared by going to bed early.¡±

    Keith sulked a little at the news of a possible delay, but he still rushed off towards his room. The window had been fixed in the meantime, so he didn¡¯t sleep in one of the guest rooms any longer.

    Dillim watched Keith run away towards his room with a spring in his step. His eyes narrowed kindly, seeing how full of energy the prince was, even with all he had to endure.

    Shortly after Keith had left, an important looking figure entered the training room. He was Paroux, the right hand of the minister concerning external affairs. Even though his status wasn¡¯t very high, he was still dressed up like a grandiose person.

    Dillim had a feeling that Paroux was looking for him, but instead of walking towards him, he stayed where he was. He took some silent joy in the appearance of Paroux trying to avoid the soldiers training on the sands of the training hall. Paroux knew that Dillim was somewhere in the hall, but he took some time spotting him.

    Most of the soldiers didn¡¯t like him, because he acted so arrogantly even without any real status. That¡¯s why they kept on bumping against him, saying it was unintentional.

    Eventually Paroux spotted Dillim and came over. ¡°The trade has succeeded! You shall depart tomorrow morning with the 13<sup>th</sup> Prince,¡± Paroux said while handing over a small pouch. ¡°There are some Orichalcum coins there, as well as gold and silver coins. You have to provide for the prince and keep him safe,¡± Paroux lectured. ¡°If the Prince is to die in their Kingdom, then we will lose our bargaining chip and a potential insider with information. If other countries get to know of this deal, they may want to kill the Prince to damage Lirix.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary to say so much,¡± Dillim cut Paroux short. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of him, we¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning,¡± Dillim said, already walking away.

    ***

    Very early in the next morning, the storm had finally stopped. It had been going on continuously for five days, but today, it finally stopped. The sunlight was shining through the clouds that still had hints of grey remaining.

    Outside of the Royal Palace, two people could be seen standing. They were of course Dillim and Keith. Keith was extremely excited, while Dillim had his usual indifferent demeanor.

    Right at that moment, the clouds gave way to the sun, allowing some of the sunrays to pierce the clouds, exactly illuminating Keith and the path in front of him. Almost as if to indicate the start of a new part of his life.

 Book 1 - Chapter 4 - Fury

    ¡°Heh,¡± Keith happily chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to finally go on an adventure!¡±

    Like most young boys, Keith had always wanted to adventure as well. But because of his circumstances, he had never even thought about actually leaving. Only some of the older other princes had departed. They had all gone on journeys with their respective teachers, to gain knowledge, power and show the king what they were capable of. None of the princes had been able to simply leave the Royal Capital on their own. In the fight for the throne, fratricide was strictly forbidden, so some of the princes chose to gain accomplishments to show the king that they were the strongest. But even if it was strictly forbidden to kill their own brothers, some of the princes still found ways to kill off the other contenders for the throne, without implicating themselves.

    ¡°Calm down, Keith,¡± Dillim said. ¡°The journey won¡¯t be that exciting. In Lirix they respect the powerful, so if someone sees me, they will simply avoid us.¡±

    Keith¡¯s eyes started to shine for a split moment. ¡°How will they know that you¡¯re powerful, Dillim? It¡¯s not like everyone knows you, right?¡±

    ¡°When you reach a high level of power, people will start to carry themselves in different ways,¡± Dillim explained. ¡°The people who may pose a threat to us will automatically see my aura. The more world energy someone has accumulated, the more it shows.¡±

    ¡°What about the people who can¡¯t sense that? Maybe some bandits will come to rob us!¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Dillim snorted. ¡°If there are any people who can¡¯t see through my aura and still dare to attack me¡­ well, then they can only blame their own luck.¡±

    Dillim had always been a confident man. He might have had troubles killing people before, but nowadays he wouldn¡¯t bat an eyelid to deal with a bandit or two.

    Just when Dillim and Keith were about to set off, a shrill piercing voice could be heard. Keith stopped walking and turned around, checking who was stopping them.

    ¡°Oooooi,¡± the 7<sup>th</sup> Prince could be seen running from the palace to catch up with Dillim and Keith. Behind him, a man with an imposing aura could be seen. He was leisurely walking, but somehow, he was walking with the same speed as the 7<sup>th</sup> Prince, who was running.

    ¡°¡®Bad luck thirteen¡¯, you aren¡¯t leaving like that, are you? You haven¡¯t even said goodbye to us brothers.¡± The 7<sup>th</sup> Prince had come to a stop before Dillim and Keith. He was wearing royal clothes, especially made for high class nobles, while he had a sword hanging at his waist. He had short red hair, spiking upwards.

    Keith could only mumble a bit in response. He never really knew how he should deal with his 7<sup>th </sup>brother. He was the one who harassed Keith the most. Aside from the eldest three Princes, this 7<sup>th</sup> Prince was the most vicious among them.

    ¡°Can it really be that you have been banished from Lirix?!¡± The 7<sup>th</sup> Prince¡¯s surprised voice could be heard, mocking Keith. ¡°I don¡¯t think a prince has ever been banished before, your talent must be exceptionally bad! It¡¯s a miracle you didn¡¯t die from taking father¡¯s blow head on!¡±

    Keith could tolerate a few insults, but the more he was insulted by his brother, the angrier he became. Eventually he couldn¡¯t help speaking up against his brother. ¡°Tenlo, shut up! I haven¡¯t been banished!¡± Keith countered. ¡°I¡¯m simply leaving with Dillim to start learning magic, mark my words, I will surpass you with great magic eventually!¡±

    ¡°Magic?¡± Tenlo ¨Cthe 7<sup>th</sup> Prince, had a surprised look on his face. Then he started laughing extremely loud. He had never thought Keith would drop so low to become a filthy mage.

    Keith had heard a lot of stories from Dillim, but let¡¯s not forget, most people only knew of the common stories that were told in Lirix.

    Keith could only grimace at the display of Tenlo. After Tenlo finally finished laughing, he had to regain his breath before speaking up: ¡°Who told you that a mage is anything great? That Dillim maybe? Hah, he can¡¯t even compare to my master.¡±

    Tenlo was referring to the man who stood behind him. He was a grand sword master, who was assigned to teach Tenlo the sword. Tenlo had a grand sword master teach him, because he was one of the 3 heavenly princes from this generation. As said before, they are extremely rare within each generation of the Dominus bloodline. This is also one of the reasons why Tenlo could be so arrogant while doing everything he wants.

    Keith was speechless, he could only turn to Dillim.

    Dillim had been observing the whole confrontation without saying anything, but seeing how Tenlo had been harassing Keith, he was starting to get a little angry as well. Now that Tenlo had even aimed his insults at himself, he couldn¡¯t remain silent any longer.

    ¡°Airon, you should keep your student under control,¡± Dillim said, aiming his remark at the old man standing behind Tenlo. ¡°Otherwise I¡¯ll be forced to teach him a lesson myself.¡±

    Airon ¨CTenlo¡¯s teacher, remained silent while fiercely glaring at Dillim. He was pretty old, having the appearance of a 70 years old. But somehow, he still had youthful features with a smooth skin. He had long white hair that was freely flowing down his back.

    The tension was slowly building, and it was almost like Airon and Dillim could explode into motion at any moment, trying to cut each other down. Keith had taken a few steps back and stood behind Dillim. He was afraid that Airon might snap at him too. He had already tasted a bit of another grand sword master¡¯s aura from Reddin; he didn¡¯t want to experience that again.

    The one who suddenly broke the tension was Tenlo. He laughed before saying: ¡°Hah, look at you hiding behind Dillim. You¡¯re nothing worth yourself, you can only rely upon Dillim.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Tenlo snorted once, before turning his back towards Keith and Dillim. ¡°I can¡¯t waste much more time here, let¡¯s go back Airon.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, my Prince.¡±

    After Tenlo had taken a few steps, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He then, out of nowhere, turned around and looked at Keith. In his eyes, a vicious glint could be seen.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re going to leave the Lirix kingdom, but please don¡¯t try to die, alright? You can¡¯t let us princes from the Dominus bloodline lose face,¡± Tenlo said. ¡°The 4<sup>th</sup> and 9<sup>th</sup> prince have already died too; we brothers should cherish each other.¡±

    Keith thought another insult would head his way, but after hearing what Tenlo said, he completely stopped moving. It was like he suddenly realized something, and he slowly moved his head to Dillim. He stood in front of Keith, and you could see that his body was slightly shaking. Dillim¡¯s eyes had become a little red, while he himself was emitting a fierce aura.

    Tenlo had intentionally mentioned the 4<sup>th</sup> and the 9<sup>th</sup> Princes¡¯ deaths, because they were respectively the most important people to Dillim and Keith. The 4<sup>th</sup> Prince had died while Dillim was his sworn protector, which had left a deep scar in Dillim.

    The 9<sup>th</sup> Prince was Keith¡¯s favorite older brother. The one Keith always looked up to, and the one who had always been accompanying him. Keith had thought his brother had gone away on a journey, because Dillim tried to protect him from the horrible truth.

    ¡°What do you mean with that?¡± Keith quietly asked Tenlo.

    ¡°It means exactly what I said. You seriously didn¡¯t know our 9<sup>th</sup> brother had died?¡± Tenlo said. ¡°Ah!¡± it looked like he had a sudden realization before speaking up: ¡°So that¡¯s why you kept on ¡®searching¡¯ for him inside the castle! It was so hilarious to see you look for a dead person, asking if people wanted to help you look for him!¡± Saying that, Tenlo burst into laughter.

    Keith¡¯s head had slumped downwards. His body was visibly shaking and you could hear him gnashing his teeth. Dillim didn¡¯t like to be reminded about the 4<sup>th</sup> Prince he was supposed to protect, but the remark didn¡¯t hit him as hard as Keith who just received the news of his brother¡¯s death.

    ¡°It¡¯s such a shame, the 9<sup>th</sup> Prince was also a heavenly prince¡­¡±

    Hearing this last sentence, Keith couldn¡¯t restrain himself any longer. He moved his head upwards again, looking Tenlo in the eyes. Keith¡¯s eyes were clouded with a layer of red, almost as if a few veins in his eyes had burst. Keith moved his body, and began sprinting towards Tenlo.

    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!¡± Keith screamed with all his might, running straight at Tenlo.

    Tenlo simply grinned and moved his hand to his sword. He would be ready the moment Keith came into his fighting distance. He would simply cut Keith down, and that would be the end of him. Tenlo thought that if a heavenly prince were to kill another prince with the lowest amount of talent, that he would have done the king a favor instead. He had kept Keith alive to harass him, but seeing how he was about to leave, he thought it would be better to get rid of him. Even if fratricide was forbidden, if it was a case of self-protection, it should be tolerated by the king.

    Right before Keith managed to close the distance completely, Dillim suddenly appeared behind him, hitting him on the backside of his neck. Keith was surprised for a moment, but then his body completely lost its tension. He had lost consciousness. Dillim caught Keith¡¯s body, and positioned him between his side and his left arm.

    ¡°Tch,¡± Tenlo clicked his tongue. He would be able to kill Keith under a guise of self-defense, but seeing how Dillim had responded, he would have to drop this idea.

    ¡°You two should both leave,¡± Dillim silently said. ¡°Unless you want me to stop holding myself back.¡±

    Dillim spoke silently, but that made the words he said all the more terrifying. Normally, people would start to yell out of anger, but the people who would speak silently while boiling inside with fury, were instinctively regarded as the most dangerous.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return, my prince,¡± Airon said to Tenlo.

    After hearing this, Tenlo just waved his hand and they both walked back the way they came from. Tenlo had a scowl on his face during this, because he hadn¡¯t been able to complete his goal. But he knew, even with his master, he might not be able to do anything to Keith. Everyone knew that Dillim had been the number one knight once, but no one knew how strong Dillim was after losing his right hand. Most assumed that his strength had considerably weakened because the good relationship between Dillim and the king had deteriorated soon after. Dillim had also left the highest Royal Knight Division, leaving people to assume that he had considerably dropped in power. But no one knew exactly how strong he still was, which made Tenlo hesitant to retaliate.

    Dillim watched their return with a hidden anger in his eyes. He had seen a lot of cruelty in this world, but the struggle for the throne of the Dominus bloodline had to be one of the cruelest things. Every prince would use each opportunity to kill another prince they did not like.

    Dillim had once asked the king why the Dominus bloodline would use such a system. The king had simply laughed, but then he turned serious and answered him. ¡°You¡¯re asking me why we only invest heavily in princes with a high amount of talent? Why we keep harassing the princes with less amount of talent? Why we scorn everyone without sufficient power or talent?¡± The king simply repeated Dillim¡¯s questions first, as if to taste them. Then he gave his answer. ¡°That¡¯s because they will feel rejected. They will want to acquire that what they do not have. They will work harder than anyone else to gain power and to take revenge. This is the kind of prince that will become the strongest if he is let alone the longest.¡± The king said, pausing a moment before continuing: ¡°As for whether they will reach a level of someone with a high amount of talent¡­ well, that depends on their own luck. We don¡¯t have to do anything to the princes with a high amount of talent, because they want to fortify their own positions anyway. They instinctively know that should they slack off their whole lives, they will be easily surpassed by the other princes.¡±

    Dillim pondered the answer of the king, and then he looked at the unconscious Keith. He was now peacefully sleeping, but Dillim wondered how he would be when he woke up. Dillim tried to shield Keith from the news that his most important family member had died, but it turned out to be useless. Dillim regretted that he couldn¡¯t prepare Keith for this news in any different way. Keith had always been so enthusiastic and good natured, even when others would keep treating him with scorn. But Dillim knew all too well, it is easier to hate, than to forgive. He hoped Keith wouldn¡¯t be changed too much by this news.

    He shook his head resignedly, and carried the unconscious Keith with him. He marched to their next destination; the teleport gate of Lirix. It would take 12 days of walking without any rest to cross the whole kingdom of Lirix, and then they would have to cross a big part of Erelath to reach the academy.

    Dillim wanted to avoid this, and use the Royal Teleport Gate of Lirix. Most countries would have an ancient gate that allowed people to appear at other gates of the same kind. These gates had been around as long as anyone could remember. It would be possible to cross the heavily guarded teleportation gate if you were with a group of less than 5 people. You would also have to pay the country a huge sum to be allowed to use the gate. It was impossible to use the gates with an army, because if too many people would try to cross it at once, the gate would temporarily fluctuate, killing everyone using it to travel. This was one of the reasons the teleport gates had heavy restrictions on their usage.

    Dillim had already prepared the necessary money, and he knew he would be able to shorten the travel time by a lot if they were to use the gate.

    He wanted to leave Lirix with Keith as soon as possible.

 Book 1 - Chapter 5 - Change

    A few hours later, Dillim was still marching on. He was still carrying an unconscious Keith, but he had moved him over his shoulder. This way it was easier for him to carry him.

    Dillim had set his eyes upon the town of Renewa. The teleport gate he wanted to use with Keith was located in the middle of this town. After the uses of the teleport gates were discovered, towns had been constructed with them as their center. Much like how most other towns were built around churches.

    Dillim wanted to acquire a few items for on the road, he was already carrying a backpack with some necessary items like a tent, but he still wanted some other items. He didn¡¯t bring his full metal armor, so he was dressed in a simple leather armor. He had everything necessary for himself; his goal was to buy some items for Keith when they got there. He wanted to buy Keith another weapon and some armor. Keith had only been wearing nobility¡¯s clothes. Those would attract too much attention on the road, and they wouldn¡¯t serve any other purpose than to show off wealth. Furthermore, Dillim thought it would be a good idea to have Keith continue practicing with a weapon. Even though Keith¡¯s talent had been deemed as the lowest possible, Dillim still thought it a good idea to have him temper his body by swinging a sword. He thought Keith would also be able to easier deal with the loss of his big brother.

    Dillim kept marching with Keith upon his shoulder and they slowly but surely left the proximity of the Royal Capital. The Royal Capital of Lirix was simply called the ¡®Royal Capital¡¯. People had always done this as long as the city had existed.

    After walking for a while, the surroundings were slowly changing from a city with a lot of big houses stacked next to each other, to a landscape where occasional castles would pop up. Everything in the surroundings of the Royal Capital was extremely wealthy; the poor weren¡¯t tolerated.

    After leaving the Royal Capital completely, a big landscape that stretched out to the horizon came into view. There was a huge field, simply containing grass and a few trees here and there, but no houses or people could be seen. They would have to traverse this plane of grass, until they could reach Renewa. The Royal Capital was located relatively close to the teleport gate.

    Keith suddenly stirred from upon Dillim¡¯s shoulders, indicating that he had woken up. Dillim felt that Keith had moved and gently dropped him to the ground. He still wasn¡¯t sure how Keith would process the news, so he could only silently look at Keith.

    Keith said nothing, and simply stared at his feet for a few seconds. Then he broke the silence by speaking up: ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°They left,¡± Dillim answered with a grim face. ¡°Then I took you and proceeded to march on. We will reach the town Renewa after a day of walking.¡± Dillim answered a little awkwardly, and after his explanation, he simply ignored Keith and marched forward. He didn¡¯t know how to comfort Keith in any way, so he simply gave him some space, walking on in silence.

    Keith noticed Dillim wouldn¡¯t say anything else, so he simply followed in his footsteps. His usual demeanor was nowhere to be seen. He was walking, but the usual spring couldn¡¯t be seen in his step. He was looking at the ground while following Dillim, seemingly pondering over some matter.

    Dillim didn¡¯t realize how much impact the death of his brother had on Keith. Keith wasn¡¯t even 10 years old yet, so it can only be imagined in how much grief he would feel.

    They marched on in silence for quite some time, until Dillim couldn¡¯t hold it any longer. He suddenly stopped walking, resulting in Keith bumping into him.

    ¡°You¡­ what are you going to do?¡±

    After bumping into Dillim, Keith looked up and listened to Dillim¡¯s question. After hearing his question, all the grief from Keith¡¯s face momentarily disappeared, making way for an expression full of anger. But the anger dissipated as soon as it came, leaving only an indifferent look in its place. Keith suddenly smiled, and casually answered Dillim, ¡°I¡¯ll kill them all,¡± Keith said. Then the smile vanished from his face, and he kept walking. It was a vague question, but somehow, Keith understood what Dillim asked.

    Seeing Keith pass him, Dillim could see the grief-stricken face of Keith again, almost breaking his heart.

    He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about Keith, because his own skills were lacking. He could clearly see the twisted smile that appeared on Keith¡¯s nine-year-old face. He knew that he couldn¡¯t let Keith face this too long, or he would grow up to become a twisted person.

    Dillim knew he had to get Keith a new weapon as soon as possible, then Dillim would discipline him to the core. Dillim knew how to temper and train people, so he would use that to have Keith vent his emotions instead. Otherwise he feared that Keith would continue to stack them up, twisting his personality in the process.

    Keith had always endured his previous years filled with cruel treatment, but he never let it show on his face. He was always happy and enthusiastic, if this were to suddenly change, it would be a real shame, Dillim thought. He thought that the loss Keith faced would be almost impossible to bear for a nine-year-old.

    Seeing the small back of Keith walking in front of him, Dillim couldn¡¯t help but to grit his teeth and walk towards Keith. Having reached him, Dillim grabbed Keith¡¯s middle with his left hand, and placed him between his arm and his side again.

    Then he proceeded to run towards Renewa. Keith couldn¡¯t believe his eyes while he was being carried. The surroundings were changing so fast that he couldn¡¯t even register the objects they passed. He had clearly seen how Airon, the 7<sup>th</sup> Prince¡¯s teacher, was able to walk leisurely while moving as fast as someone who was running, but he never expected Dillim to be able to do that as well. He was momentarily distracted from his thoughts, and simply paid attention to the fast-changing scenery.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Dillim wanted to rush to Renewa as fast as possible, he couldn¡¯t bear waiting a day to reach the city. He wanted to distract Keith as fast as possible by training him, but he wanted to first get Keith a sword.

    ¡®This speed, it¡¯s on the grand sword master level!¡¯ Keith thought, seeing how fast the scenery was changing.

    Because of the enormous momentum, there was no room for any sort of conversation during the journey. Keith thought that moving at such a fast speed would surely result in an enormous pressure, but somehow, there wasn¡¯t any at all. The huge wind pressure and air resistance were simply moving out of Dillim¡¯s way. It awoke a feeling that was hard to explain within Keith. He only knew he yearned for power even more.

    After what felt like a long time, Dillim suddenly stopped moving at such a high velocity. Keith could see the surroundings again, and to his shock, it had only been a few hours since Dillim carried him, but he could already see the outskirts of a village. ¡®Didn¡¯t he say it would take a day¡¯s walk to reach the town?!¡¯ Keith thought. It hadn¡¯t occurred to him that this might be a different village altogether, but surprisingly, it was actually Renewa.

    ¡°Alright, quickly follow me,¡± Dillim said, putting Keith upon the ground again. Then Dillim continued walking with a fast pace towards the city, expecting Keith to follow him obediently.

    The outskirts of the town were filled with people. There was a variety of homes, with cottages that housed poor people and luxurious looking houses for nobility freely mixed together. There were a lot of inns, and various armed people could be seen walking around. They looked like they possessed a lot of strength, while they all vigilantly walked towards their own destinations.

    Keith felt like they were the so-called adventurers he had heard a lot about.

    ¡°Hey, Dillim, will we visit the adventurer¡¯s guild too?¡± Keith asked Dillim, who was walking ahead of him.

    ¡°No. We¡¯re short on time, so we¡¯ll get some items, and then we¡¯ll be on our way.¡±

    Hearing this reply, Keith who had just recovered his mood a little turned gloomy again.

    They continued onwards, and slowly left the outskirts of the village. It was getting more densely populated, and wild and loud noises could be heard from everywhere. There were soldiers who could be seen frequently patrolling, while at others places, some adventurers were freely brawling outside inns. It was a mixture of grand streets, with a lot of darker alleys.

    Keith¡¯s eyes almost popped out of his head; he had never seen a sight like this. His mood gradually recovered again after looking at all the different sights. The only thing Keith was familiar with was the Royal Capital, which only had grand monuments and streets. The only people who frequented there were nobility, knights, or merchants. Keith had never seen such a rowdy mixture of people before. A lot of laughter and fighting sounds could be heard, creating an extremely lively atmosphere.

    Keith was blindly following Dillim, completely drowning in his surroundings, but then he noticed Dillim had come to a halt. Keith looked at what was in front of them, and he could see a grand store. There were a lot of people going in and out, but the most noticeable thing was the big piece of metal hanging in front of the shop. It displayed 2 swords crossing with a single shield in front of them.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get you a new weapon here,¡± Dillim¡¯s said with a gruff voice. ¡°Enter.¡±

    Keith didn¡¯t dare delay, and hurriedly entered the shop along with some others. He could see a lot of weapons neatly lined up. There was a huge variety of weapons; swords, daggers, spears, maces, great swords, and many more unfamiliar weapons. Keith ran towards the weapons, and started inspecting all of them. Like most kids, his interest was captured by all the killing tools that were shown off.

    While Keith was enamored with all the weapons on display, Dillim walked towards a weapon rack to the side and took out a sword. It was a simple iron sword, looking very sturdy and simple. Then Dillim proceeded to get a wooden sword from another stack at the back of the shop.

    A short while later, Keith noticed that Dillim was already standing outside again, waiting for him. He listlessly exited the shop and walked towards Dillim. He still wasn¡¯t in a mood to talk, but seeing that Dillim was walking empty handed, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. ¡°Where did the items go? Did you forget to buy anything Dillim?¡±

    Dillim, upon seeing Keith¡¯s surprised look, couldn¡¯t help but to smile. Then he lifted his left hand, seemingly showing off the ring located on his ring finger.

    Seeing that ring, Keith simply couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. ¡°A storage ring!¡± He exclaimed loudly. Those rings were only worn by the top of nobility, and even among them, they were extremely rare. Keith knew the king possessed one, and his second brother, but he didn¡¯t know of any others. He had seen Dillim wear that ring of course, but he never thought it would turn out to be a storage ring.

    Storage rings were spatial tools that could store items in a different dimension. Simply through willing it, the wearer could store items, or make them appear. Living things couldn¡¯t be stored, but all dead or inorganic objects could.

    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, come, follow me,¡± Dillim said, turning his back on Keith and walking away.

    Keith followed him, and they kept walking for a while. When they entered the city, the trajectory of the sun had been at its peak, so in a few hours the sun would go down. After walking for a while, they reached a location within the city that was very peaceful. There was a simple grass field, with a huge fountain at its center.

    Dillim signed for Keith to follow him to enter. They proceeded to walk towards the middle of the field. Dillim looked at Keith¡¯s gloomy appearance, and couldn¡¯t help but to grimace. He took out the wooden sword from his ring, and threw it towards Keith. He would instruct Keith in the sword, talent or no talent. He wouldn¡¯t allow the one he would have to protect to be twisted by the fury and grief inside his heart. He would temper Keith¡¯s body slowly, along with his mind. Even though Keith wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb world energy yet, he would at least be able to strengthen his body a little.

    Keith saw the wooden object travelling through the air, and he hurriedly caught it.

    ¡°Think back to how it felt when you heard your Older Brother died.¡± Dillim¡¯s voice pierced the silent surroundings. ¡°Think about your brothers, and everyone else who scorned you. Feel your hate for them, feel the grief for the loved ones you lost,¡± Dillim said seriously. ¡°Feel everything, and put it all in the sword in your hand. Don¡¯t let the feelings consume you, let them explode forth!¡±

    Dillim knew they were harsh words to use on a kid not even ten years old, but Dillim also knew they were necessary.

    Dillim saw Keith¡¯s face turn from gloomy to serious. Then Dillim took out another wooden sword from his ring, he slowly adjusted his stance, and readied himself towards Keith.

    Right then and there, Dillim smiled for the first time in a long time. Immediately after, his voice could be heard.

    ¡°Come!¡±

 Book 1 - Chapter 6 - Change (II)

    Seeing Dillim ready his stance, Keith¡¯s eyes had turned a little red already. Dillim¡¯s words had made him recall the feelings he was just trying to figure out. Dillim had correctly seen that if nothing would change, Keith would continue to lead a life with a depressed attitude. Now he just wondered how Keith would change by pouring those feelings inside something.

    Keith rushed towards Dillim, gripping his wooden sword tightly with 2 hands. He was rushing at Dillim in a direct line, holding his sword to his side. Dillim saw Keith coming, and simply lowered the tip of his own wooden sword. He would be ready for everything Keith would throw at him.

    Keith sharply stopped his advance, and blindly swung his sword towards Dillim from below. He used all his power, and exerted more force than he ever had, his deep emotions serving as a catalyst.

    Dillim slightly grinned and stepped to the side, casually dodging Keith¡¯s strike by a very slight margin. Keith¡¯s momentum carried his sword upwards, but seeing how he had almost hit Dillim, he couldn¡¯t help but become even more excited. Keith used the momentum of his previous strike, to rotate his body completely and make another chop at Dillim from above this time.

    Dillim¡¯s eyes momentarily flashed with surprise, he didn¡¯t expect Keith would be able to keep his momentum going, not wasting the force of the previous attack. This time, Dillim didn¡¯t step aside. He raised the tip of his own wooden sword for the first time, and neatly intersected the incoming blow from Keith. The swords collided with each other for a split moment, and the result was that path of Keith¡¯s sword has slightly altered. Keith¡¯s sword didn¡¯t manage to hit anything again. Keith didn¡¯t expect that their clash of swords wouldn¡¯t result in any force at all, but would only result in him being slightly parried. Not expecting this outcome, Keith stumbled after his sword and fell towards the ground.

    ¡°Come at me again,¡± Dillim said. Surprisingly, a slight tone of excitement could be heard in his voice. He was pretty content, he noticed that Keith had used all of his might in every strike he used, and he even managed to use the momentum of his first strike to smoothly follow up with another blow. Keith only failed controlling his body after Dillim had slightly parried him, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal.

    Keith had received lessons in the sword before, just like all royal princes. When they were six years old, they would be assigned instructors to teach them various things. They would receive lessons in the sword and when their potential was discovered because of the royal test, they would be assigned a new instructor according to their potential.

    Dillim knew that Keith had trained a little already over the years, but he didn¡¯t expect him to have a basic grasp of correctly using momentum already.

    Keith quickly stood up and ran at Dillim again. This time the exact same thing happened, Dillim would dodge once, and then he would slightly alter the path of Keith¡¯s sword. It took Keith three tries, with different strikes, but eventually he managed to predict Dillim¡¯s parry. He used this against him, and instead of striking a second time, he stabbed!

    Dillim just smiled, and parried the stab as if he had seen in coming miles ago. Surprisingly, after Keith¡¯s sword collided with Dillim¡¯s, and after it changed its trajectory once again, he managed to remain standing, and make a horizontal slash. Dillim was happy, this was the first time Keith remained standing after being parried, and he was even able to incorporate it into another strike. Of course, this made almost no difference at all, because Dillim simply stepped back, dodging the blow. They started from scratch again: Keith charging at Dillim.

    They continued their exchanges for a while, until the sun had already set. Keith was utterly exhausted; he had poured all of his feelings in every blow, and had been forced to keep attacking him. Every attack he had used on Dillim was only slightly dodged or parried, making it seem like Keith could actually almost hit Dillim every time. But seeing how none of his blows connected, he could only get more frustrated, expending more energy.

    Keith was sitting on the grass field, catching his breath while he was tightly clutching the wooden sword in his hand. He wasn¡¯t thinking about anything at all, he was simply recovering from his exhaustion. He was a little frustrated that he had come so close to hitting Dillim, but hadn¡¯t even hit him once.

    ¡°When you hold a sword, you shouldn¡¯t rest until your enemy is dead.¡± Dillim¡¯s voice shocked Keith out of his trance. Dillim had chosen this opportunity to teach Keith his first lesson under Dillim, and to have him sort out his feelings. He knew that this moment would be a moment Keith was vulnerable because of his exhaustion. When someone had completely exhausted himself, they would be extra susceptible to new teachings. ¡°Every time you hold a sword, you should change. Every man holding a weapon, should become a demon,¡± He said, looking at Keith with a serious expression. ¡°From now on, every time you pick up a sword, become a demon. Pour all your feelings and regrets in every strike you make. But only use your body for this, your mind must be calm, you must be able to rationalize while fighting. Weapons are tools for killing, hence, the attitude of the wielder should also reflect this.¡±

    Keith didn¡¯t fully understand what Dillim was talking about. ¡®Become a demon?¡¯ It was something he couldn¡¯t fully grasp, but he intuitively felt what Dillim meant a little. Even without understanding everything completely, Keith was able to see the importance and seriousness in Dillim¡¯s eyes. That¡¯s why he also pretended to fully understand and he simply nodded, ¡°Uhn!¡±

    Seeing Keith¡¯s serious reaction, Dillim couldn¡¯t help but to slightly grin. Then he continued; ¡°That also means you won¡¯t have to face your feelings always. What has happened, has happened. You can¡¯t change it, feeling sad won¡¯t change anything,¡± Dillim¡¯s blunt words resounded through Keith¡¯s head. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t feel sad, or frustrated. When you do, pick up a sword and start swinging it. Release everything inside, every time you feel it coming up!¡± Then Dillim dropped down through his knees, as to face Keith with the same height. If you approach children and tower above them, they would be easily intimidated. But if you were to bend through your knees, and look at them from the same height, reaching them with words would be a lot easier.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t mean that you must cast every feeling aside. If you want to take revenge for your big brother, then that¡¯s fine. But never let it affect every action you make!¡± He seriously said. ¡°You should remember it, but never let those feelings affect the other parts of your life. If you want revenge, you can take it sometime, but never make it your final goal in life!¡±

    The words thundered through Keith¡¯s mind. Admittedly, he had thought about harming his 7<sup>th</sup> brother, and even some others, quite a lot of times. Normally he hadn¡¯t been bothered by it, but hearing his Big Brother had died, he simply didn¡¯t care anymore.

    ¡°What do you think your brother would think? Do you think he wants you to throw your life away?!¡± Dillim aimed at Keith¡¯s weak spot. ¡°If you ever think that everything is too hard, then continue to live for your brother! He wouldn¡¯t want you to be sad, or only think about revenge!¡±

    Keith was shocked, he had never seen it like that. ¡®Live my life for Big Brother.¡¯ Keith slowly considered the words, almost repeating them in a trance. Dillim had silently stood up and took a few steps back, giving Keith some room.

    Keith pondered the words for quite some time. Normally those words would¡¯ve been way too complicated for normal children to understand. But Keith had a mentality that was superior to the average children of that age. He had been forced to endure scorn and hate for a big time of his life, while he had managed to try to constantly stay happy. This had already shown that Keith had a stubborn and strong will.

    After some time, Keith looked at Dillim, and surprisingly, he smiled from the bottom of his heart. Somehow, Dillim could feel sincere gratitude coming from Keith. He then knew Keith managed to solve some of his feelings. Even if Keith didn¡¯t manage to understand everything he taught him, he would simply repeat it a lot of times until he would. At least Keith would be able to slowly figure himself out now, instead of becoming full of hate. Dillim saw that the seed he had tried to plant had managed to sprout a little. He would only need to slowly nurture it, and watch it grow.

    Keith stood up and walked towards Dillim. He handed him the wooden sword, and enjoyed watching the swords disappear into Dillim¡¯s ring. Then they headed back to the more populated parts of the city to spend the night.

    On the way towards an inn Dillim knew, Keith spoke up; ¡°Hey, Dillim. How is it possible to move so fast? Or to shoot those white things from your sword like father did?¡± Keith had been curious about this for a while, but he had never actually asked it. He had, of course, been occupied with different things.

    Dillim paused for a slight moment, considering the question. Then he continued walking and answered, ¡°That is quite difficult to answer. I can tell you that it has to do with world energy,¡± he said. ¡°It is the opposite of the destructive energy called mana. That is the type of energy mages use, while all warriors use world energy,¡± he thoroughly explained. He looked at Keith¡¯s face to look for any hint of confusion. As he saw none, he continued with his explanation: ¡°Mages uses mana, which is a very destructive kind of energy. It can¡¯t be used to aid the body, and can only be stored in the mana core. World energy is the complete opposite, it is very gentle and is used to strengthen the body. That¡¯s why every warrior absorbs world energy, and lets it circulate throughout his body. When this reaches a certain level, they will be able to shoot world energy from their swords, or use it to move extremely fast. The reason that mages are generally more feared and discriminated than warriors, is exactly because they use the arcane destructive energy called mana. But eventually, the same level of power can be reached with both paths.¡±

    Keith took a moment to process all this, he then looked at Dillim intelligently and asked him, ¡°If world energy and mana are both very strong energies, why aren¡¯t there any swordsmen that also use mana?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Dillim immediately answered. But then he reconsidered his answer, and added a little: ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s just that it wouldn¡¯t make sense. Everyone can do it until a certain level of power. If you cross that line, you will destroy your own body,¡± he said. ¡°It has to do with mana and world energy fluctuations that will not combine. Even more so, they will not only combine, but also cause severe reactions. But those fluctuations only happen after reaching a certain level.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Keith answered dejectedly. He thought he would be the first to use the two types of energy and combine them, but hearing Dillim¡¯s answer, he naturally didn¡¯t doubt it at all.

    They reached the inn shortly after their conversation, and Keith was already enjoying the lively atmosphere. The sun had gone down, so everyone was loudly laughing and drinking. There were a few inns next to each other, but Dillim had chosen one without hesitation.

    They entered the inn, and Dillim ordered a room and some dinner. Keith enjoyed the food very much, even though he had eaten lots of better food in the Royal Capital, he hadn¡¯t tasted anything quite as delicious as the meat in front of him after he had undergone his test.

    After eating, they left behind the plates and went to their room. They shared one room between the two of them.

    After lying in his bed, Keith wanted to know one more thing from Dillim. ¡°Dillim, when can I start using mana or world energy?¡± He was still yearning for power, especially so after trying to hit Dillim today. He couldn¡¯t touch him at all, resulting in him realizing how weak he was even more.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get so anxious Keith, you¡¯re only nine years old. Do you know why most people enroll in academies when they turn ten? Or why the Dominus princes¡¯ test is held before they turn ten?¡± Dillim asked.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Seeing how Keith remained silent, Dillim chuckled and answered him, ¡°It¡¯s because children younger than twelve can¡¯t absorb any energy yet. When you became six years old, your body automatically started to create a mana core and energy veins. They will only be completely formed when you are twelve years old. Before that age, you can¡¯t absorb any energy at all, but you can strengthen their foundation. That stage is called the ¡®cultivator¡¯ stage. It lasts 2 years, from ten years old to twelve years old and it¡¯s exactly the same for mages and warriors,¡± he explained. ¡°When you become ten years old, your energy veins and mana core are not completely developed yet, but they should have grown enough to have them strengthened through various means. If someone were to do that already between the age of six and ten, then only detrimental effects would be left behind, because the energy veins and mana core would still be too weak to endure the strengthening methods.¡±

    He then heard Keith ready another question for him, but before Keith could speak he spoke up. ¡°The Royal Test is also held right before the heirs turn ten, because someone¡¯s potential can be measured the most accurately in this period. That is because the higher the potential, the bigger the mana core and energy veins will have grown in the period from six to ten years and the more energy they will have absorbed. Even though it isn¡¯t possible to consciously absorb energies until you become twelve, the mana core and energy veins still automatically absorb energy from the surroundings to grow. The energy absorbed can already be measured under dire circumstances, hence the nature of the test.¡± Dillim said. He then sternly looked at Keith and continued: ¡°You will learn about the rest later, quickly go to sleep now. You will turn ten in two months, we¡¯ll have arrived in Erelath before then.¡±

    Keith swallowed what he was about to ask, and turned around inside his bed. He couldn¡¯t help but grow excited when he thought about completely forming his mana core and energy veins.

 Book 1 - Chapter 7 - Journey

    ¡°Wake up.¡±

    Dillim¡¯s voice resounded through the room¡¯s interior. Keith opened his eyes, and managed to slowly sit up. He took in his surroundings, and saw a little bit of light coming through the window. The interior of the room was still a little shady, and Keith couldn¡¯t hear any loud sounds from outside.

    Keith had sat up and rubbed his eyes, ¡°Isn¡¯t it still too early? Just let me sleep a little longer,¡± saying that while looking at how dark it was outside, he lied down again, and rolled over. Keith was used to a life of nobility, even though the people around him weren¡¯t nice to him, he was still able to enjoy some privileges. He had received some classes, but they were all in the afternoon, allowing him to sleep in every day.

    ¡°Early your face! Get up kid!¡± Dillim said threateningly.

    Hearing that Dillim was quite serious, Keith got up reluctantly and scrambled his clothes together. Dillim had somehow prepared another set of clothes next to his luxurious attire. He was slowly dressing himself, and clumsily finished. His mind was still affected by his drowsiness, but he didn¡¯t want to face the consequences of remaining in bed. He left the room and walked downstairs to enter the interior of the inn. Dillim had left the room before him, and was waiting downstairs at a table. In front of him, a large portion of food could be seen. Dillim motioned for him to sit down in front of him, so Keith didn¡¯t hesitate and sat down.

    ¡°You should eat a lot of food. If you want to get a strong body, you first need to eat!¡± Dillim tried to say. Dillim always thought that one should lead by example, so that was exactly what he did. He was stuffing his mouth full with food while telling Keith should also eat. Dillim was eating fast, but somehow it didn¡¯t seem like he was stuffing food down his throat without any form of manners.

    Keith, looking at Dillim¡¯s face full of food, could only silently shake his head and take some food for himself. They then ate in silence for a short while. Well, not exactly silence, because Dillim¡¯s sounds of smacking pierced the silence from time to time, leaving no room for any amount of conversation.

    After finishing their food, Dillim paid the innkeeper, and gathered all their stuff inside his ring. They left the inn when the sun was still slowly rising, creating a twilight atmosphere within the town. They walked out of the town, and stopped in front of what seemed like a big road block. There weren¡¯t any houses around here, only a few roads leading to the road block, and a few roads leading back to the city. Dillim had Keith follow him off the road, and they moved towards a more desolate field of grass.

    Dillim waved his hand, and the familiar wooden sword appeared again. ¡°The road block you just saw is passable, but it¡¯s heavily guarded,¡± Dillim said, while throwing the wooden sword his way. ¡°It leads towards the teleport gate we will use later, but people are only allowed to use it when the sun is already up.¡± Dillim looked at how Keith managed to catch the sword, and then he continued talking: ¡°The reason I arrived here so early is to give you some instructions in the sword again. You will train every day from now on.¡±

    Keith had been sleepily following the whole way, but now that he held his sword again, his demeanor changed. He started to get serious again. Even though his body was still sluggish from the sleep, his mind was already clearing up a little. This had to do with the heavy feelings he associated to the sword he was holding up, along with his strong mind.

    ¡°Alright, yesterday we only played around. Today I will teach you a part of the basics,¡± Dillim said, but seeing how Keith was looking at him after mentioning the basics, he couldn¡¯t help but to add: ¡°If you never master any basics, you will never be able to fully create techniques. Everything depends on what you learn now,¡± he said. Then he suddenly thought of something, and spoke up once more while moving towards Keith. ¡°Do you think a mage can manage to create a fire storm without first learning how to make a small flame?¡±

    Keith¡¯s eyes flashed with understanding. This made some sense, and Keith couldn¡¯t deny the logic within Dillim¡¯s words. He turned serious again, and waited for Dillim¡¯s instructions.

    Dillim proceeded to teach him the ways of the sword, while working Keith¡¯s body to the limit. He knew what a ten-year-old could handle, so he didn¡¯t push Keith too far. After all, yesterday had been special. He wanted Keith to learn the ways of the sword thoroughly. Even though he might not use it at all and instead become a mage, if he had learned the ways of the sword before, it might help him face other swordsmen in the future. After all, martial arts could only be understood after thoroughly training them.

    This continued for quite some time, Dillim slowly explained some basic stances and chops. He didn¡¯t go over a lot of details, and only wanted Keith to remember the very basics. That would make it easier to teach him more advanced techniques when he would be older. It seemed that the previous instructor that taught Keith, had only imparted some random techniques on him, instead of properly teaching the basics.

    After a while, the sun had risen quite a lot, and it was around noon. The location Dillim and Keith had chosen was not very far from the roads, which had started to get really busy by this time. Keith felt a little awkward because of the people staring at them from the road, but he managed to ignore it. At least gazes filled with surprise were better than gazes filled with disgust.

    Dillim motioned for Keith to stop, and he let Keith take his time to recover a little. They then moved towards the road block they had avoided before. There was quite a line before the barricaded road, because there was only a single gap people could pass through. There were a lot of guards who were looking around vigilantly. It was quite an important location for Lirix, so it was no wonder it was heavily guarded. The blockade was constructed in a circular way; making it impossible to avoid coming through the entrance. The blockage existed out of relatively small walls, but it was impossible to look over them.

    Keith moved towards the end of the line, but Dillim simply nudged Keith, and told him to follow. Dillim then proceeded to skip the people waiting before the entrance of the barricaded road.

    Keith heard some people say things like; ¡®What are they doing¡­¡¯ and ¡®Hah, people who skip the line and are caught are heavily punished.¡¯ Making him look at Dillim, but seeing how Dillim wasn¡¯t fazed by anything, he quietly followed him.

    They eventually reached the entrance, where people were thoroughly checked before they were allowed to enter. A guard who wasn¡¯t occupied with anything at that time, saw them walk next to the line, and frowned. ¡°Halt! What are the two of you doing? No one may simply walk to the front.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Seeing the frown on the guard¡¯s face, Dillim had started to frown too. ¡°Hmph,¡± he snorted. He then reached into the pocket of his leather armor.

    The color of the guard¡¯s face changed color; it had started to turn red. ¡°What?!¡± He loudly exclaimed for everyone to hear. ¡°You dare to try and bribe me?¡± The guard had placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. He took his work extremely serious, while he was just as loyal. He wanted to make an example out of Dillim for everyone to see.

    ¡°Who¡¯s bribing who?!¡± Dillim had started to get mad too, and he quickly grabbed an item from out of his pocket. The guard, who had almost drawn his sword, had the color of his face change again. This time it didn¡¯t turn a deeper shade of red, it turned ashen. ¡°T¨C That¡¯s¡­¡± The guard was lost for words. He then dropped to his knees and loudly said; ¡°Please, forgive me this time, I didn¡¯t know!¡±

    ¡°Tch.¡± Dillim just clicked his tongue and walked past him. He walked past the line with Keith and reached the entrance. Everyone present had seen what happened, and they were all extremely shocked. Even the guards who were supposed to protect the entrance and check everyone stupidly moved aside. What Dillim had taken out of his pocket was an emblem belonging to the king¡¯s grand sword masters. Even though Dillim might not be regarded as one at the moment, he still had his badge from his old days of glory. All the grand sword masters enjoyed many privileges, especially the ones who were loyal to the king. This made sense, because Lirix¡¯s mentality was based upon personal power. The knights¡¯ reactions were within expectations; no one would or could stop a grand sword master from killing some random soldiers.

    They passed the entrance without any other disturbances after Dillim casually threw a small pouch at a guard. They could see a big object in the distance after passing the walls. It looked like a great monument, and it was like a very big arc made from some black type of stone. Every now and then, the monument ¨Cwhich looked like the teleport gate, would emit some sort of explosive might. Every time this happened, slightly transparent, light blue strands of air could be seen coming from the gate. Keith squinted his eyes, and eventually reached the conclusion that this was mana.

    While they were walking towards the teleport gate, more soldiers could be seen moving around. There were also some people who were walking towards the barricade from the gate. It was at this time that Keith asked Dillim a question: ¡°Dillim, why didn¡¯t you store the badge inside your storage ring?¡± It was a trivial question, but Keith thought that if he would own a storage ring, he would simply always store everything in it.

    ¡°How much do you think that ring is worth?¡± Dillim said indifferently. ¡°If I would¡¯ve used the ring, everyone would¡¯ve had their hair turn white from shock. I didn¡¯t want to cause a commotion, so I simply stored it inside my pocket.¡±

    ¡®Didn¡¯t you already cause a commotion by taking out that grand sword master emblem...?¡¯ Keith wanted to ask this, but seeing the grim look on Dillim¡¯s face, he didn¡¯t dare. Keith had been silent for most of the time, he looked like he was still shouldering some heavy emotions. Dillim was quite delighted that Keith had finally spoken up, but he kept it well hidden from his face.

    When they finally neared the gate, it lit up, and a group of people who had just stood there disappeared. There were a lot of soldiers around the gate, but they all kept their distance. They eyed Dillim with caution nonetheless. At that moment, an old man who had been standing next to the gate walked over. ¡°Gentlemen, where are you lords headed?¡± He asked respectfully. He had long white hair and he was wearing a scholar¡¯s attire. But the most noticeable thing was his long, white beard.

    Normally everyone who would be able to use the teleport gate, was extremely rich, or they were greatly valued by high officials. It was no wonder that this old man acted respectfully.

    ¡°We are headed for Erelath. When can we depart?¡±

    The old man saw that Dillim had a bad temper, so he quickly responded while smiling, ¡°Soon, soon. Some other people have just left, so you can¡¯t depart immediately, but it won¡¯t take a long time before the gate can be used again.¡±

    The old man repeated the destination to himself once again, and moved towards the gate. The gate had some slight mana fluctuations after having been used, which could be seen by the translucent blue wisps of air that were emitted upwards. Dillim and Keith finally stood in front of what was called the teleport gate, and Keith couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. The whole interior of the gate looked to be one huge vortex. The gate was only around a meter deep, but its width and height reached at least tens of meters. There were swirling strands of white and blue energy rotating randomly within the gate.

    ¡°Look closely Keith, the strands with a blue color are all made from raw, impure mana. The only time mages make use of raw mana is when they store it inside their mana core. But before they can do that, they first have to convert it to a type of elemental mana,¡± Dillim explained. ¡°If they were to directly try to make the raw mana enter their core, it would simply fail. Then the raw mana would be let loose inside the body, destroying everything in its process. I told you that raw mana is a very destructive kind of energy, right?¡±

    Keith just nodded. He was still flabbergasted by the huge gate full of mana in front of him. ¡°Then what is that white kind of energy?¡±

    ¡°That is something you¡¯ll only be able to see on very rare occasions. That is exactly the purest form of raw mana.¡± Dillim also looked within the vortex, trying to discern something from it. ¡°Only when a huge amount of power is needed will one be able to see white mana. If mages were to use the strongest spell, then only dark blue mana will be created alongside their element,¡± he explained. He then repositioned a small piece of his collar, before continuing, ¡°That dark blue mana is even more impure than the blue mana you see in there. That¡¯s how much power this gate can use.¡±

    ¡°Who made this gate then?¡± Keith curiously asked. He couldn¡¯t even imagine how strong one would have to be to construct a gate like that.

    ¡°No one knows. Most countries have also tried to study the gates, but with no results. Their goal was to use the enormous destructive power the gates house, but they all failed.¡±

    After a little while, the fluctuations of the gate had become less frequent. Before there was a lot of light blue mana going up, but now it didn¡¯t leave the gate.

    The old man must¡¯ve noticed the same thing, because his hand lit up with a bright white light. He then pointed his hand in the direction of the gate, and unleashed the power that had gathered in front of his hand. A wave of magic power burst forth, hitting the gate. The gate immediately changed upon receiving that energy, the huge vortex within the gate suddenly increased its speed. Alongside that, the white and blue mana within the gate had started to change. Instead of the translucent mana, a thick, white sort of fog was forming inside the entrance of the gate, where the vortex had been moments before.

    At that time, the old man¡¯s voice could be heard. ¡°The element of the gate located in Nizlon is light! I have successfully activated the gate¡¯s mechanisms, so you can now head for Erelath!¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Dillim said. ¡°So that is a ¡®gate mage¡¯.¡±

    Keith didn¡¯t know what a gate mage was, but he knew it had something to do with the activation of the gate.

    ¡°All gate mages are so foolish; don¡¯t they desire power?¡± Dillim asked to no one in particular.

    ¡°What do you mean, Dillim?¡± Keith asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, let¡¯s go to Nizlon first.¡± Dillim answered. ¡°Go.¡±

    They neared the entrance of the gate, which had been glowing with a huge amount of white, bright, energy. Then Keith, with a careful push from Dillim, stepped through. Dillim followed him after. Keith felt that there was an enormous amount of power around him. It felt like the space was tearing apart, and in a split moment, all the white energy was replaced with complete darkness. It felt like Keith¡¯s world had stopped, he couldn¡¯t see nor hear, but it felt like everything around him was so destructive, that were he to move a little bit, he would immediately be crushed.

    This only lasted a short moment too, and after a split second, the world came to life again. Keith¡¯s vision had returned. He had to blink a few times because of the contrasting sights, but when he regained his vision he could see a huge forest stretching outwards.

    ¡°We made it,¡± Dillim¡¯s gruff voice entered Keith¡¯s ears, indicating that he had regained his hearing too.

 Book 1 - Chapter 8 - Journey (II)

    Keith looked around, and the scene that greeted his eyes was very peaceful. There was another barricade, but it was located quite far from the gate. There were lots of trees around them, with a lot of bushes. It felt like they had arrived inside a forest. There were multiple roads here as well, 2 were going towards the gates, but they both headed towards an opposite direction. There were a lot less people than at the gate of Renewa, and only two people stood nearby the gate.

    ¡°Would the 2 of you please report your names?¡± One of the two spoke up. He sounded very bored, as if he had been repeating that question for quite some time. He looked to be around 40 years old. He was wearing a long, blue robe, and even though he had sounded bored, he was smiling amiably.

    ¡°We¡¯re Dillim and Keith from Lirix,¡± Dillim answered. Keith was surprised by Dillim¡¯s answer. He had heard multiple times that he should hide his identity for now. Dillim had said that maybe the 7<sup>th</sup> prince would send an assassin for him. When Keith asked Dillim if he was afraid, he only snorted and said it would be a bother to dirty himself.

    The man who asked for their identities suddenly stood straight. A shine had appeared in his eyes and he sighed with relief. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s actually Lirix¡¯s 13<sup>th</sup> Prince. I have been waiting for the two of you for a whole day already, but I actually only expected the two of you to arrive tomorrow. Welcome to Nizlon!¡±

    ¡°I figured they wouldn¡¯t risk letting us go to the academy on our own,¡± Dillim said towards the man who had just spoken up. ¡°How long will it take to reach the academy?¡± If Keith and he were to suddenly disappear within Erelath, it might give Lirix a justified reason for the initiation of a war, Dillim thought. Other countries might even aid Lirix if they heard Erelath made a prince disappear.

    ¡°Ah,¡± the man exclaimed. He then seemed to calculate a little in his head, and spoke up: ¡°If we use regular walking speed¡­ it should be around 10 days.¡± He chuckled when he said that after thinking for a while. He must have used some methods to travel faster than normal, resulting in him having to calculate the time for a regular speed, Keith thought.

    ¡°Come, I shall lead the way,¡± the man said, waving his hand towards Keith while he started moving towards the road. They took a few steps and the man suddenly laughed and spoke up again: ¡°Ah, how rude of me!¡± He said, while turning around. ¡°Please allow me to introduce myself first, I am called Rinza Litmar.¡± He lightly introduced himself with a slight smile. ¡°I am a mana master of the National Magic Academy, and coincidently, also the one who takes care of all the internal affairs of the academy.¡± He used grand words right after each other, and it seemed like he thought it must¡¯ve sounded great. But when he saw the indifferent look on Dillim¡¯s face, and a hint of confusion in Keith¡¯s eyes, he just sighed and continued walking. While he was walking, Keith thought he could hear something that sounded like a monologue: ¡®Hmph,¡¯ he heard the man snort. ¡®I even came all the way here myself and handed all those tasks to my subordinates.¡¯

    ¡°Dillim, what rank is a mana master?¡± Keith asked Dillim after hearing Rinza call himself as one.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Dillim said, turning towards Keith. ¡°It¡¯s one rank below a grand spell caster, which is on the same rank as a grand sword master. That means a mana master is on the same rank as a sword master.¡± That was the explanation Dillim provided Keith. ¡°There¡¯s an average of around 15 grand spell casters or grand sword masters per country. But regularly, in a country with around 100 million people, there are a few hundred mana masters or sword masters.¡±

    Keith turned silent again, and together with Dillim, they followed the self-proclaimed mana master, Rinza. If one were to look carefully, they would be able to spot a hint of determination within Keith¡¯s eyes. ¡®I¡¯ll definitely, definitely reach the grand spell caster-level!¡¯ His eyes seemed to say. But alongside that deep rooted determination, a bit of inexplicable anger had manifested itself too, it was just hidden completely.

    They continued walking alongside the road, and passed the road stop with relative ease after the guards saw Rinza. They kept traveling, and somehow the scenery got even nicer. The trees that were located around the teleport gate of Nizlon were all smaller than the enormous trees that had started to appear here. Keith had never seen anything like it, so he was constantly immersed in his surroundings. The road had started to get a little rougher too; making it harder for Keith to keep up. They had been walking for around three hours, until Keith kept falling behind.

    Rinza decided to take a small break, so they stopped walking. He then briefly looked around, and after seeing something in particular, he looked content. Then he said to Keith: ¡°Alright kid, pay close attention. This is what a wind focused mana master can do!¡±

    He made Dillim and Keith stand to the side, and then he raised his hand. The next moment, it felt like Rinza channeled some internal energy, which suddenly appeared at his hand. The surroundings around his hand lit up, and a powerful white energy was forming. It wasn¡¯t the same as the white magic the gate mage, or the man who had healed Keith, had used. That type of elemental energy had been a very thick and dense, bright, white light. But the scene in front of Keith differed from that. The elemental energy around Rinza¡¯s hand consisted out of a vortex of short gusts of thin, white energy. If the other energy could be compared to a peaceful lake of water, then this was a violent storm of wind.

    A split second later, the gusts of white energy ¨Cwhich had been flowing around Rinza¡¯s hand, suddenly condensed together in front of him. The next moment, a huge blade of what looked to be wind shot out towards a huge tree. The wind connected to the tree, and seemingly without any effort, passed right through. Keith couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. It had only been a split second from when the man had raised his hand, but an instant later, he saw an extremely big amount of energy pass right through the tree. For a short while everything was silent, except for the noises of the wind blade cutting through everything in its path. The wind blade disappeared from sight, along with the huge amount of noise it had produced. Keith was even more surprised by now, because he thought nothing had actually happened after the wind blade was shot ¨Cit had simply moved through everything. But then, every object the wind blade had met, slowly started moving. Everything that was located under wind blade didn¡¯t move, but everything above was already falling down. A lot of branches and wood had snapped, the upper side of the trees were falling while the lower parts remained standing. A scene of huge destruction filled Keith¡¯s eyes. Thundering sounds of trees falling could be heard. He didn¡¯t want to think about what would happen if it had hit a human.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°There we go,¡± Rinza said while moving his hand a second time.

    Some more elemental energy, what seemed to be wind energy, manifested itself around his hand again. It had all disappeared after he shot the wind blade, but now it appeared again. This time, there weren¡¯t as many gusts of energy swirling around his hand. The space wasn¡¯t distorted as much as the previous time as well. Rinza waved his hand, and the elemental energy disappeared from his hand, reappearing at one of the trees he had cut down. He moved his hand and a part of a tree started to slowly float, then it suddenly started to drift towards them. Rinza dropped the trunk in front of them with a loud ¡®bang¡¯ sound. He then simply sat down on the trunk with a self-content smile.

    ¡°Look!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Now we have a place to sit at least, that¡¯ll make resting a lot more comfortable!¡± Dillim just shook his head. He had seemingly seen through Rinza¡¯s act to show off. He could¡¯ve achieved the same thing without all that effort, so clearly the only reason to use a spell like that was to show off.

    Keith also sat down, but he was still looking at the path the wind blade had traversed. Everything in its path had been cut down, so only a bunch of half-left trees remained standing in that direction.

    Then they waited for a while, and let Keith recover his breath. During this time, Keith¡¯s complexion improved a little bit again, but he still seemed a little silent. Rinza was a little awkward, and after showing off he simply remained quiet too. That, alongside Dillim being Dillim, resulted in a quiet, awkward atmosphere. After sometime, Keith broke the silence, without having sensed the awkward mood that had lingered before. ¡°I just remembered, but Dillim, you said something about gate mages being foolish, right?¡± Keith thought back to all the times he had encountered magic after being shocked by the wind blade¡¯s might. He had then recalled what Dillim said, but he had never actually received an answer.

    Rinza¡¯s eyes shined for a split second when he heard Keith say this, but he remained quiet nonetheless. He too, shifted his attention towards Dillim and awaited his answer together with Keith.

    ¡°Ah yes,¡± Dillim began. ¡°I first have to talk a little about the teleport gate¡¯s usage to fully explain it though. It seems every teleport gate has its own element. If a mage infuses the teleport gate with a certain element, then the gate will teleport everyone to a gate with the corresponding element,¡± Dillim explained. He then checked if Keith had any signs of confusion, but it seemed like Keith understood. He nodded, and continued: ¡°Good. That means that if you want to be able to use the gate efficiently, you need someone who can infuse the gate with different elements right?¡± He asked Keith. But without waiting for an answer he continued. ¡°Otherwise you would have to use one mage, for every possible location, because every gate has a different element. But here¡¯s the thing, every gate mage can use all the elements the gate can use. But somehow, when mages are able to use multiple elements, they won¡¯t be able to fully use them. The more elements a mage can use, the less power he can exhibit. So even if someone is able to control 5 elements, he¡¯ll only be able to use one fifth of his full power for every element. You¡¯ll generally see some people who use 2 elements, but more than that, and they won¡¯t be able to ever master advanced spells, because they won¡¯t have enough of elemental powers for that element.¡± Finishing his long explanation, he turned to look at Rinza. He probably hoped to have Rinza explain it in more detail.

    Rinza saw how Dillim¡¯s fierce gaze was directed at him, and he couldn¡¯t help but to slightly swallow. He then quickly chuckled and started to talk, ¡°A¨C Ah, Yes. You know quite a lot for a warrior, I must say. Is any of you familiar with what a mana core looks like? You can compare it to a balloon. People aren¡¯t able to absorb raw mana, so they have to first convert raw mana to a specific elemental energy of their choice, and then they can fill their mana core with that energy.¡± He looked at Dillim and Keith, and seeing how they remained quiet, continued his explanation. ¡°People are only able to use the mana they have accumulated inside their mana core, but the mana core¡¯s volume is limited. So, if one fills their mana core with only fire elemental energy, then they will be able to use the full contents of the mana core. This results in people being able to use advanced spells, because of the high amount of elemental mana they have accumulated,¡± Rinza explained. ¡°The mana core will even slowly change its color to the type of elemental energy gathered.¡± He saw a strange look upon Dillim¡¯s and Keith¡¯s face, and he realized he had wandered quite far from the original subject. ¡°Ahum,¡± he awkwardly coughed and continued: ¡°If people were to fill their mana core with all kinds of different elements, then the mana core would be completely filled with a variety of elemental energies. But the amount of elemental energy of every individual element would be very low, because every element is occupying its own space. That is why those mages will only be able to use extremely low amounts of power. It¡¯s simply because the amount of elemental mana they have accumulated for every element is too low.¡±

    Keith¡¯s eyes flickered with understanding, and Dillim simply nodded. Rinza happily chuckled after seeing this; he had gotten an opportunity to show off his wisdom.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve rested long enough,¡± Dillim said, standing up. He then looked at Rinza, ¡°Which direction are we going in now?¡±

    ¡°Ah, we can take the main road, but it¡¯ll be slightly longer. I propose we take a shortcut through the forest,¡± Rinza answered. ¡°Even though there are quite a lot of magical beasts, they generally avoid people.¡± He then threw a look at Dillim, and seeing his bulging muscles, he couldn¡¯t help but to add: ¡°And if we come across a few beasts, they should pose no threat to us.¡±

    ¡°Magical beasts? Do they absorb mana?¡± Keith asked, to no one in particular.

    ¡°Haha,¡± Rinza laughed, ¡°That¡¯s quite an intriguing concept actually. You know about mana¡¯s destructive power, right? If it enters the human body, without entering the mana core, it will simply destroy everything,¡± he explained. ¡°The same counts for magical beasts, if mana were to enter their bodies, they would explode. That¡¯s why they also absorb World energy instead of mana. They don¡¯t have things like a mana core, so they couldn¡¯t even store it if they wanted to.¡± He then thought of something, and spoke up again. ¡°There are actually some magical beasts that use mana. But they are extremely rare, and they¡¯re also extremely powerful.¡±

    ¡°What kind of magical beasts?¡±

    Dillim started to grimace; he knew what kind of answer Rinza would provide Keith with. It also had him remember some rather unpleasant memories.

    Like dragons, or hydras.¡± Rinza said. It was as if he could taste the destructive power they could bring forth, just by saying those words.

 Book 1 - Chapter 9 - Journey (III)

    ¡®Dragons¡­¡¯ Keith envisioned just what kind of an enormous power they would possess. He had heard that Dillim had actually fought one, but he had also heard that that wasn¡¯t a ¡®true¡¯ dragon. It had been a wyrm, instead of a true dragon, a wyvern. The difference between the two is that wyrms don¡¯t possess any wings, while wyverns do.

    Keith¡¯s party continued walking through the forest. This wasn¡¯t yet the forest Rinza had talked about ¨Cthe one with the magical beasts. This was the forest that was located around Nizlon, the city with the teleport gate in the Erelath kingdom.

    Rinza had explained that they would first have to exit this forest, then they could either choose the regular road, or they could choose to take a shortcut. This shortcut would directly lead them through another forest, which would be a lot larger than the one they were currently walking through. That forest is called ¡®Erelath¡¯s Woods¡¯. It was a huge forest that actually occupied quite a lot of land from Erelath, hence, the forest was named after the country it resided in.

    The road they could otherwise choose to take, had been especially constructed to avoid this forest; regular people wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with the magical beasts in the forest after all.

    They continued walking until they reached the edge of the forest around Nizlon, the sun had started to go down, and they only had a few hours left until nightfall.

    ¡°Let¡¯s set up our camp here.¡± Dillim¡¯s gruff voice stopped Keith¡¯s and Rinza¡¯s continuous marching. Dillim proceeded to unpack the tents and other items he had brought in his backpack, while Rinza was sent away to get some wood. Rinza didn¡¯t want to use his wind blade spell to get the wood this time; they were located too close to the edge of the forest.

    After Rinza had walked away, Keith, who had been sitting on the ground, directed his focus towards Dillim. ¡°Why did you bring that backpack with all those items? Couldn¡¯t you have simply stored everything inside your ring?¡±

    ¡°Of course I could. But did you already forget what I said? I can¡¯t randomly use it in the presence of others, not even in Rinza¡¯s,¡± he replied.

    Keith thought that he might be a bit too cautious, but he didn¡¯t doubt Dillim¡¯s decision. After his experiences, he was led to believe that Dillim¡¯s cautiousness may not necessarily be a bad thing.

    After a while, Dillim had set up the basics of the camp; he had put up 2 tents, and he had readied some rations he had brought. Now Dillim and Keith just awaited Rinza¡¯s return.

    After a long time, they finally heard a familiar voice.

    ¡°Look what I brought!¡±

    Dillim and Keith both looked up from where they were sitting, it had taken Rinza longer than they had expected, so they were planning to press him for an explanation immediately. But when they saw him, both their brows furrowed in surprise.

    He was walking towards them with a grand smile, looking extremely content with himself. Behind him, a few pieces of logs were floating, but the most surprising thing was that there was also a dead fox alongside the logs.

    ¡°Heh,¡± he started to chuckle when he saw their surprised faces. ¡°So now you finally understand how clever I am. I actually knew that you forgot to bring food, so I went out of my way to get us some dinner!¡± He walked over to the camp while loudly exclaiming that.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Dillim silently stared at him for a short while, seemingly trying to kill him with his indifferent gaze. Just when Rinza was about to explode from awkwardness, he saw the rations that Dillim had unpacked lying at Dillim¡¯s feet. He then realized that he had gone out of his way to gather food, while it was completely unnecessary. Now he understood why Dillim had been looking at him like that, he had delayed their meal time.

    ¡°Ahum,¡± Rinza coughed awkwardly, while he dropped the logs in the middle of their camp. In the meantime, he had also dropped the dead fox by the rest of the rations. He sat down, and casually waved his right hand, which had started to light up.

    Some small, fiery, red light had gathered around his hand when he waved it, but it disappeared after he completed the motion. The next moment, the logs ¨Cwhich had been dropped in the middle of the camp, immediately lit up. The small pile of logs was slowly burning, creating a warm, cozy campfire. The campfire was lighting up their surroundings, and the flickering lights created a peaceful atmosphere.

    ¡°How come you can control fire elemental energy too? Do you specialize in two elements as well?¡± Keith couldn¡¯t help but exclaim his surprise.

    ¡°Hah,¡± Rinza scoffed, hearing Keith¡¯s question. ¡°A mage focused in fire? Thank the heavens I¡¯m not. Those mages specialized in the fire element are generally all hot-headed trouble makers!¡±

    ¡°How come you can use fire energy then?¡±

    ¡°Well, I have allocated a very small part of my mana core to all the other elements aside from wind,¡± Rinza explained. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough elemental mana to use their big spells, but I can use every element for some random chores.¡± He paused, and continued speaking after looking at the campfire, ¡°It¡¯s useful to have a tiny bit of mana from every element in your mana core, that way you can easily create a campfire or something!¡±

    They continued talking and eating throughout the time it took the sun to fully go down. Although it was more like an interrogation; Keith was asking Rinza a lot of questions about magic. Dillim had only experienced some fights with mages, but he didn¡¯t know the exact details concerning a lot of mage things. That¡¯s why Keith fully used the opportunity to learn more; even though he wasn¡¯t very enthusiastic, he would still actively speak up to learn something new. The rest of the time he would remain quiet, not seemingly sad, but also not cheerful.

    After some time of listening to the conversation, Dillim rolled his eyes at another question from Keith, and couldn¡¯t help but to shut both Rinza and Keith up. ¡°Keith, it¡¯s late. Go to sleep.¡±

    He had been anxious to let it continue, because it had started to feel like an infinite loop. Keith would ask about something, and then Rinza would explain. But because Rinza seemingly liked to show off his wisdom, he would stray from the subject. Which in turn, resulted in a lot more questions from Keith.

    Keith still didn¡¯t dare to defy Dillim without a very good reason, so he just silently entered his own tent and prepared to sleep.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Dillim looked at Keith¡¯s disappearing figure, and after seeing him enter the tent, he directed his attention towards Rinza. ¡°Seeing how you¡¯re the one who picked us up, you must also be aware of the issues surrounding Keith, right?¡± Dillim said, getting down to business.

    Rinza had been joyfully explaining everything Keith was curious about, but hearing Dillim¡¯s question, he turned serious. ¡°Yes.¡± He started. ¡°I know about the agreement. When we have reached the National Magic Academy I will take care of the other volumes reaching Lirix.¡±

    Dillim had only brought up this issue after Keith had entered his tent, because Keith was still ignorant of the schemes. He still thought that it was Dillim who had instigated his departure towards Erelath. Dillim was quite happy that Keith hadn¡¯t questioned why someone would be waiting for them after they had entered the teleport gate, nor why he knew Keith¡¯s name. Keith didn¡¯t think anything was off, so Dillim didn¡¯t have to explain any unpleasant things.

    Dillim had also started about the novels, not because he still had any feelings of loyalty remaining towards the king, but because he didn¡¯t want to be bothered. He knew that if the volumes wouldn¡¯t arrive in the king¡¯s hands, then they might send people after Keith. Even though they didn¡¯t care about Keith, they still wouldn¡¯t allow one of the princes to remain in the hands of a potential enemy.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Rinza hummed after contemplating something. ¡°I guess it would be wiser to keep his identity a secret for now. You never know who might get a hold of this information, and if it falls into the wrong hands, some people might try to strike at him,¡± Rinza speculated. ¡°They might weaken Lirix by killing one of its princes, and in the worst case, it would result in a war. That would result in the weakening of Lirix and Erelath, which the other countries might be aiming for.¡± Rinza looked at Dillim, to see if he agreed, but Dillim only shrugged in response.

    Seeing Dillim¡¯s reaction, Rinza rolled his eyes and spoke up again: ¡°On another note, I can understand why Lirix chose Erelath for this transfer.¡± A peculiar light had appeared within Rinza¡¯s eyes. He moved his gaze towards Keith''s tent, and continued: ¡°There are only a few countries that aren¡¯t influenced by the Church at all, among them are Lirix and Erelath. I heard he¡¯s the 13<sup>th</sup> prince, right?¡± Rinza inquired. But seeing how Dillim remained silent, he could only shrug and continue, ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that he was left alive. Were it any other country, they would have immediately killed or destroyed a number thirteen. Be it items or humans. Don¡¯t tell me Lirix wants to bring a calamity upon Erelath,¡± he said, his gaze turning even more serious.

    Dillim, who had remained silent, spoke up at this: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing has happened to him, so nothing special will probably happen.¡± He paused for a while, and then continued: ¡°Even though the Church is against the mutations, and thus destroys everything numbered thirteen, it still isn¡¯t clear whether every number thirteen mutates. Keith hasn¡¯t showed any signs of abnormality at all.¡±

    ¡°Most of the humans who are born as the 13<sup>th</sup> child immediately die upon their birth. Only certain items that are created as the 13<sup>th</sup> object by their creator, have some slight abnormal aspects, but I haven¡¯t heard of a human surviving and showing peculiarities after growing up,¡± Rinza said, before continuing, ¡°But I doubt the king of Lirix is unaware of these things. Are you telling me that nothing happened at all? Did the Lirix¡¯s king really simply tolerate a number thirteen? That¡¯s the same as directly opposing the Church¡¯s orders,¡± he inquired.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Dillim snorted upon hearing this. ¡°Of course the king knows. He simply didn¡¯t care about the Church. ¡®Who are they, to tell me what I should do?!¡¯ were his exact words upon Keith¡¯s birth. He figured that if a 13<sup>th</sup> child would really mutate, and it would grow powerful, then it would only be in his favor,¡± Dillim said. ¡°But he didn¡¯t expect, that the only peculiar thing that would happen that day, was that Keith¡¯s mother would die giving birth to him.¡±

    Hearing this, Rinza raised his eyebrows, urging Dillim to continue.

    ¡°But it turned out to be a completely natural death¡­ resulting in no other doubts about Keith,¡± Dillim said. He didn¡¯t say anything about how Keith was held partly responsible for the death of his mother. Nor did he say anything about how a little of the Church¡¯s influence had still made Keith an easy target to harass for most of the inhabitants of the castle.

    After looking at Dillim for some time, Rinza smiled and spoke up: ¡°Alright, thanks for telling me,¡± Rinza said amiably.

    This might seem like a weird conversation, but it was quite necessary. Dillim also knew that Rinza would eventually inquire about it. If the Church got hold of the news that Erelath was actually sheltering someone who was directly related to the number thirteen, it might cause huge friction between the Church and Erelath.

    If Dillim wouldn¡¯t have said anything about Keith¡¯s situation, it might cause the people who would know about Keith to exclude him, or make his time at the academy horrible, out of cautiousness. But he told Rinza that the number thirteen hadn¡¯t affected Keith at all, which was more or less the truth, which caused Rinza¡¯s initial worries to fade. He didn''t doubt that he could keep Keith''s identity hidden, as long as nothing weird was going on around him.

    Having said everything they both had to say, Rinza made his way towards his own tent ¨Cwhich he had set up before, and disappeared.

    Dillim remained sitting for a while, staring into the still ongoing campfire, contemplating what had transpired. He wondered how Keith would fare at the National Magic Academy, but he had high expectations. He believed that Keith would be able to recover there, and even gain some power. They hadn¡¯t assessed his talent for magic yet, but he had high hopes for him. He never doubted that the Church was wrong about the number thirteen. Dillim knew that they were only simple myths, which helped the Church to show off their power.

    After he looked at Keith¡¯s tent for a while, he put out the fire, and headed for his own tent. They would leave the forest around Nizlon by tomorrow morning, and head for Erelath¡¯s Woods. When Dillim entered his tent, a faint smile could be seen upon his face.

 Book 1 - Chapter 10 - Erelaths Woods

    The next morning, before the sun came up, the same thing happened as the day before. Dillim woke up Keith, and they trained and sparred for a while. After a little bit of time had passed, during their spar, Rinza¡¯s sleepy head appeared from outside his tent. He asked them if they could lower their volume a little, but Dillim¡¯s fierce gaze was all the motivation he needed to return to his bed.

    Only when the sun had already risen, and it was almost noon, did Rinza appear from his tent again. His face still had traces of drowsiness, and when he saw that the loud noises from Dillim and Keith had finally stopped, he immediately wanted to return to his bed to sleep a little longer. But Dillim forcefully dragged him out of his tent when Keith had recovered his breath. They then swiftly packed up, and moved out again.

    They left the forest around Nizlon, and encountered a road. This turned out to be the main road of Erelath. If they would follow this path, they would eventually get close to the National Magic Academy, but it would take too long. They figured they were strong enough to directly cross through the outer edges of Erelath¡¯s Woods, and take a short cut that way.

    Even though they would eventually enter Erelath¡¯s Woods, they still had to follow the main road for a while. There were quite some people who used the road as well, especially traders and carriages of nobles. Keith once again curiously observed his surroundings.

    The reason that there were quite some nobles on this part of the road, was of course, because of the teleport gate. Some traders could use it with their products to efficiently get them to other countries. The only problem was that they couldn¡¯t bring a whole carriage, only a few backpacks, but even that would result in a hefty price. As for the nobles, if they had business in other countries, they would simply use the teleport gate to arrive there sooner. It was also a form of showing off one¡¯s wealth and importance by using the teleport gate instead of travelling.

    Keith¡¯s party followed the main road for two days, until they left it at Rinza¡¯s remark. They had slept in their tents just a little bit away from the main road the previous days, without relatively fearing anything. The main road around Nizlon was frequented by nobles, which would normally be a perfect place for a bandit attack. But the nobles were aware of this as well, which is why there were a lot of mercenaries hired for protection. The mercenaries were pretty smart; they had stationed a huge network of them in Nizlon. This way, if nobles quickly wanted to hire a mercenary party, it would be done immediately. Most regular bandits wouldn¡¯t want to risk their own lives fighting against a mercenary, especially not for only a chance at minor profit.

    Keith left the road along with Dillim and Rinza when it started to make a weird turn. They had been walking in a straight line the previous days, but out of nowhere, the road suddenly started to go towards the left. Rinza urged them to continue forward, saying that the road was simply avoiding ¡®Erelath¡¯s Woods¡¯. The town of Nizlon was located at the edge of Erelath, so they still had to travel for about a week until they would reach their destination. Erelath¡¯s Woods occupied a huge part of the right side of Erelath, but it only slightly extended towards the middle of the country. The main road had taken them to more or less the middle of the country, so they would only have to cross a small part of the outer edges of Erelath¡¯s Woods.

    Thus, they continued forward, advancing towards the academy in a straight line.

    After they marched on for a few hours, the surroundings gradually started to change. It got more quiet, and the atmosphere had gotten somewhat mystical; the nature around them was gradually growing wilder and bigger. After this continued for a while, the party suddenly stopped dead in its tracks.

    Keith¡¯s eyes widened, showing his amazement at the sight in front of him. They had come to a stop, because in front of their eyes a magnificent forest stretched out. They had seen the trees from a distance of course, but only when they stood in front of the forest did they really understand how immense those trees were. When standing at the edge of the forest, the first trees that could be seen were already enormous. One could only imagine how tall the oldest trees at the center of the forest would be.

    Rinza just grinned and directly entered the forest, seemingly not fazed at all. Dillim and Keith recovered quite fast, and followed him inside.

    They moved throughout the forest, and everywhere around them life could be seen. These were the tallest trees Keith had ever seen, but not only had the trees left a huge impression, all the different kinds of nature too. There were lots of flowers and bushes, which were all taller than the norm. Every so often, they would see an animal walking around, or one who would curiously observe them.

    They kept moving, while Dillim would sometimes glance in a certain direction, which would be followed with the sounds of a magical beast scurrying away. Even in the outer edges of the forest there were magical beasts. They preyed on other animals, but also on everything weaker than them. When they spot humans, they would try to attack them, but seeing Dillim¡¯s fighting spirit, their instincts to flee would immediately kick in.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    After they kept walking for a few hours, they set up a camp again. This time Dillim went out to do the hunting; there were enough wild animals in the forest anyway. After Dillim moved out, Keith and Rinza were left alone for a while.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Keith said, looking in Rinza¡¯s direction. Rinza was seated across from him; he had used some spells to create some benches again. The spell he used this time wasn¡¯t as destructive as the previous one. ¡°Why are there only magical beasts in forests?¡± Keith asked.

    Rinza straightened his posture a little, assuming his ¡®lecture¡¯ posture. ¡°That¡¯s a question that¡¯s well debated actually. But to get to the root of it, I first have to talk a little about world energy,¡± he said, checking if Keith was closely paying attention. ¡°As of now, the most intellectual people think that world energy is formed by living things. Magical beasts need world energy to survive and strengthen themselves, but somehow, they all appear in enormous forests. We think that this is closely related, so the current hypothesis is that enormous forests have huge amounts of life, which all produce world energy. Because of the huge amount of dense world energy, animals start to more easily absorb it, and eventually turn into magical beasts. Or magical beasts are simply born there,¡± Rinza said. He looked at Keith with an inquiring gaze, but it looked like Keith somewhat understood. Seeing Keith¡¯s reaction, Rinza thought he could make it a little more difficult. ¡°But that¡¯s exactly what¡¯s weird. Everyone needs world energy, and everyone absorbs it automatically. Of course, it can be cultivated too, which is how warriors train. But don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird that all life needs world energy, but all life produces world energy too. That¡¯s why the theory isn¡¯t widely accepted yet.¡±

    Keith thought for a while, he then came to a simple conclusion. ¡°That means¡­ in short, you don¡¯t know?¡±

    Rinza smiled for a split second, he didn¡¯t think that Keith would actually be pretty sharp. He had dropped a huge amount of information on him, but he actually managed to get to the core of the answer. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that we don¡¯t know exactly¡­ it¡¯s just that we¡¯re still figuring it out,¡± Rinza said, smiling at Keith.

    Having received that answer, Keith sank back into silence. He had slowly become a little colder than how he used to be. The only things that would visibly change his bearing, was when he held a sword, or when he was curious about something.

    They sat in silence for a while, until Dillim returned with a figure under his arm. ¡°Look,¡± he said, throwing the corpse of the animal in the middle of the camp.

    ¡°Is that¡­ a wolf?¡±

    Keith¡¯s surprised voice rang out; that wasn¡¯t a simple wolf, for some reason it had 2 tails!

    ¡°Ah,¡± Rinza voiced his amazement, ¡°That¡¯s actually a Two-Tailed Wolf! That should be a second-tier magical beast. Normally the Two-Tailed Wolves are under the protection of their parents¡­ what a catch!¡±

    Dillim, who saw Rinza¡¯s amazed appearance chuckled: ¡°Yeah, it should be a nice meal.¡±

    Rinza looked from the corpse of the Two-Tailed Wolf towards Dillim. ¡°Tell me, how did you manage to get rid of its parents?¡±

    Dillim remained silent, and just questioningly stared at Rinza.

    ¡°Huh? It was alone? Damn, I hope they don¡¯t find us then.¡±

    Keith had no clue what they were talking about, so he finally interjected: ¡°What are you talking about Rinza¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Rinza didn¡¯t realize he was mumbling something not understandable, so he started to explain: ¡°Well, Two-Tailed Wolves are special magical beasts that can evolve after they¡¯ve absorbed a certain amount of world energy. This Two-Tailed Wolf is only second tier, but when it evolves it become a Three-Tailed Wolf, which is a 4<sup>th</sup> tier magical beast!¡± He exclaimed, before continuing: ¡°Most of the time the parents are Three-Tailed Wolves, and they closely guard their children until they evolve too. But seeing how they weren¡¯t around, this wolf was probably abandoned.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Keith voiced, before asking a question again. ¡°Then what do you mean with tiers?¡±

    ¡°Well, as I said before, the first tier is the cultivator stage, which lasts from everyone¡¯s 6<sup>th</sup> year, until they are twelve years old. And the last stage is the grand sword master or grand spell caster stage. That is the 6<sup>th</sup> stage. To efficiently categorize people by their strengths, they are all part of a certain stage, corresponding to how strong there are. There are six stages in total for us humans, while magical beasts have tiers. A 4<sup>th</sup> tier magical beast, is as strong as a human who has reached the 5<sup>th</sup> stage! That means that those Three-Tailed Wolves are as strong as a mana master, like me!¡± He said, while he muttered after saying that: ¡®Well, almost as strong as me, hmph.¡¯

    They then made a campfire again, and started resting. They slowly ate the Two-Tailed Wolf, which actually tasted extremely good. Rinza had some spices and salt on him, which improved the quality of every meal by leaps and bounds. In general, because of the continuous nourishment from world energy, magical beasts tasted extremely good.

    After some time, the sun started to go down, and they made their preparations to sleep. They didn¡¯t have anyone stand guard the days before, but while in the forest, they would. Dillim proposed to stand guard first, but just when the other two prepared to sleep, something happened.

    ¡°Awoooooo.¡± Suddenly, a lot of sounds could be heard. There were multiple instances of wolves howling, all coming from different directions. They had seemingly surrounded them already, and it seemed like there weren¡¯t only 2 parents.

    ¡°Damn,¡± Rinza shouted, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have underestimated their sense of smell!¡±

 Book 1 - Chapter 11 - Midnight Ambush

    The sun had already gone down, and the only light that could be seen was the campfire. The moon had raised too, but only faint beams of light could be seen through the thick branches of the trees covering the sky.

    Dillim made a savage grin and drew his great sword in a fluent motion. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Rinza. You¡¯ll be fine,¡± he said towards the panicking mage. ¡°Just cover me a little.¡±

    Dillim then pushed Keith towards the middle of their camp, slightly in front of the camp fire. He said that Keith should remain behind him, and after saying that, he turned his back towards them.

    That next moment, multiple lights could be seen. They were all formed in pairs of bright shining lights, flickering at Keith¡¯s party from the cover of trees. The wind blew vigorously, slowly fading away with the echo of the wolves¡¯ howls in the distance.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Dillim chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had some exercise. Pay attention Keith!¡±

    The pairs of lights around them had started to multiply, and they all had a savage look. When Keith had stopped looking at the fire, his eyes got a little more used to the darkness. When this happened, he finally saw what those lights were; they were eyes! There were at least 15 pairs of eyes all around them. The wolves had swiftly encircled their prey, leaving them no way to escape.

    ¡°Damn wolves! Why do they always have to travel in packs,¡± Rinza¡¯s frantic voice rang out. He knew what he was up against, multiple Three-Tailed Wolves! That means multiple magical beasts of the 4<sup>th</sup> tier. They would be able to rival his own level of power, but they were only with a party of three, while he estimated that all those wolves were of the 4<sup>th</sup> tier! ¡°I don¡¯t get why that Two-Tailed Wolf cub would travel so close to the edges of the forest, he forced their whole pack to come out from the center of the forest, damn.¡±

    The flickering lights of the wolves¡¯ eyes were slowly drawing closer, until one wolf suddenly sprang forward. He jumped out of the cover the shadows from the trees had provided, and stepped into the light of the campfire. It still remained at a safe distance, but now the wolf could be clearly seen. It had a scar on its face, which ran from its jaw to above its left eye. The Three-Tailed Wolf was emitting a fierce and savage aura, obviously filled with killing intent. It seemed like this wolf was the leader of the incoming pack; it had clearly taken the lead as the head attacker. It was slowly pacing up and down, snarling at Keith¡¯s party. It was seemingly looking for an opening, and was ready to bare and use its fangs the moment that opportunity would show itself.

    Keith was shocked by the image of the wolf; he hadn¡¯t imagined that it would pressure him so much. He had even subconsciously taken a step back, increasing the distance between him and the wolf. The next scene shocked Keith even more, a huge gust of wind had actually manifested itself in a split second next to him, and was immediately shot out towards the wolf.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Rinza had directed the spell as soon as he had gotten the opportunity. He knew that he would be able to fight against a wolf and come out on top, not because of his power, but because of the superior intelligence humans had. That¡¯s why he knew he would be in trouble as soon as he would have to fight multiple wolves. He had chosen to get rid of the wolf in front of him as soon as possible.

    The wolf¡¯s eyes flickered dangerously, then it immediately side stepped. It had reacted way faster than Rinza thought. ¡®Damn! He must¡¯ve anticipated it!¡¯

    But one shouldn¡¯t underestimate the speed of spells wind mages would be able to cast. Every spell that was cast with elemental wind energy would have a superior speed to magic from other elements.

    The wolf had managed to dodge it, but the wind blade Rinza shot out still managed to scrape its side. A shallow wound had appeared on its skin, showing traces of blood. The wolf yelped a little bit, but then it immediately snarled, a sinister glint appearing in its eyes.

    A split second after Rinza had cast the spell, a dark, grey blur appeared behind him. It was rushing at full speed at Rinza the moment he had thrown his spell, leaving him with almost no time to react. ¡®Shit! Those are standard tactics of wolf packs!¡¯

    Every mage would have his ways to deal with close combat, because they were very weak in that range. Most of the time they would use various means to remain at a distance, using the huge destructive power of mana to wipe out their foes from a safe distance. But this wolf didn¡¯t give Rinza any time to react to his attack at all; the other wolf that had shown itself was only bait! It had shown itself to distract everyone, so that its allies could attack Keith¡¯s party from behind.

    Rinza reacted pretty quickly, he raised one hand to cover his face out of a reflex, but he managed to start gathering mana with his other. The wolf used its enormous momentum it had gathered, and jumped straight for Rinza¡¯s throat. Rinza had managed to start gathering mana, but the only problem was that he would at least suffer the attack of the wolf before he would be able to retaliate.

    Just when the wolf¡¯s fangs neared Rinza¡¯s throat, a desperate look appeared in his eyes. He knew that Dillim was strong, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to help him from where he was standing. And the only other person remaining was Keith, but what would he be able to do without even having grown his mana core or energy veins? Warriors would be able to take a hit or two from a 4<sup>th</sup> tier magical beast, but mages had fragile bodies in general! Rinza had already started to despair, but nonetheless he clenched his teeth, and tried to finish his spell even faster

    The next thing Rinza felt was the head of the wolf colliding with his body, pushing him back a few steps. But surprisingly, the wolf¡¯s teeth hadn¡¯t bitten him at all. Only the top of its head had hit Rinza, and because of the huge momentum the head carried, he was pushed back. He still had his arm raised, so naturally, he wasn¡¯t able to see what had happened.

    When Rinza finished converting the elemental mana into a spell, he steadied himself after stumbling a little, readying himself to kill the wolf. But the scene that greeted him showed that it wasn¡¯t necessary anymore.

    After the wolf had hit him, it had already dropped to the ground. Even more, what had hit him, was exactly only the head of the wolf! The rest of the wolf¡¯s body had already been separated from its head, and was lying a little further away. Rinza didn¡¯t understand what happened, and was still confused, but he was, after all, still a battle-hardened veteran. He immediately used the already completed spell in his hand, and threw it at the nearest pair of glittering eyes that was hiding in the shadows of the tall trees.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    This time, he must¡¯ve had more luck, because the sound that rang out were dying shrieks this time. Clearly, the wolves hadn¡¯t anticipated that the ambush would fail so suddenly, resulting in a destructive wind blade being thrown their way.

    When Rinza recovered from the shock of almost having been dealt a critical blow, he noticed something; Dillim¡¯s sword had changed from its original position, it was raised into the sky by now. But the most noticeable thing, was that the sword had been stained with blood! The fire lit up the reflection on the great sword, but clearly, some parts were covered with a red liquid. It was slowly dripping down from the sword, falling towards the ground.

    Dillim only smiled savagely, while Keith couldn¡¯t even process what happened. Dillim hadn¡¯t moved from his original position at all!

    The wolf that had taken the roll of a distraction, had clearly anticipated that the weak looking guy would immediately die to their ambush. They were, after all, Three-Tailed Wolves! After seeing its pack member die, the fierce looking wolf got even more cautious. The higher tiered magical beasts were all fairly intelligent, just like the Three-Tailed Wolves. This could already be seen by the tactics they had employed; the fiercest looking wolf would first attract the attention, while all the other wolves would instill fear in their enemies by howling from out of the shadows. Then, when the enemies were focused on the first wolf that had shown itself, the quickest wolf would immediately strike out from the shadows, and kill the weakest looking threat in the hostile group. If this would succeed, all the other wolves would rush in and tear the others apart, while the enemies would still be in a stupor from the sudden ambush.

    But seeing how the quickest member of their pack had died so fast, they were all hesitant to attack. The pack leader suddenly howled, and as if that was a sign, all the other wolves started to slowly come out of the shadows. They were all snarling and growling, trying to instill fear in Keith¡¯s party by showing their fangs.

    Seeing this, Dillim just slowly lowered his great sword. He then casually rammed it into the ground with his left hand, and leaned against his sword. He then indifferently looked at Keith, and used this opportunity to question him: ¡°Tell me, Keith, what is more important, defense or offence?¡±

    The wolves saw Dillim ram his sword into the ground, and they all lowered their center of gravity a little, clearly, they had gotten even more cautious. They were slowly stalking Keith¡¯s party, and were closing in with their encirclement. There were around ten wolves who were all slowly pacing up and down, but none of them was in attack range yet. They were still a good 10 to 15 meters away, showing how fast their quickest pack member had been, because he managed to cross that distance in an instant.

    Keith heard Dillim¡¯s question, but because of all the fearsome wolves around him, he had to do his best to even respond. Only because of his trust in Dillim could he still remain a little fearless. He thought a short while, while carefully glancing at the wolves nearby, and answered: ¡°It must be offense! If you only defend you will never be able to defeat your opponent, while he can still defeat you!¡±

    Dillim had his back towards Keith and Rinza, while Keith stood behind Dillim. Rinza faced the other way, taking care of Dillim¡¯s and Keith¡¯s backs. Rinza, who also managed to hear Keith¡¯s answer while he focused on the wolves, smiled. He had actually come up with the same answer.

    The wolves had slowly but surely crept closer, and the encirclement was already complete. The wolves were all standing next to each other now, and even the slightly wounded pack leader was surrounded by his pack members by now.

    ¡°I shall show you both the answer,¡± Dillim said, slowly moving a little bit in front of his sword. He moved so that the sword was actually firmly planted into the ground behind him, but it was still within an arm¡¯s reach.

    The wolves who saw this, all jumped back a little. They didn¡¯t understand how the first wolf had died, but they all knew it was closely related to this warrior in front of them. They had taken him as a minor threat at first, seeing how he missed one hand, but they realized soon enough that they were sorely mistaken.

    At that moment, the pack leader howled, indicating that the wolves should attack.

    They would attack in waves; each wolf would attack individually, and immediately retreat. This way openings would eventually be created, while every wolf who attacked didn¡¯t wouldn¡¯t suffer any injuries. The wolves that didn¡¯t attack, would creep nearby, waiting for an opening so that they could plant their fangs in their foes.

    Right at the moment the first wolf jumped, Dillim reached behind him with his left hand, and firmly grasped his sword. Only when the wolf was so close that even the different teeth within the wolf¡¯s mouth could be differentiated, did he slowly move his sword.

    Another wolf, who saw how close the first wolf had already gotten without Dillim managing to retaliate, rushed in too. The wolves were pretty sure by now that Dillim wouldn¡¯t manage to defend himself in time, he had, after all, only moved his sword slightly by the time his throat was almost reached.

    But, at the moment his sword moved, everything around Keith¡¯s party was blown back. It was as if Dillim¡¯s slow moving sword had initiated a gust of wind that would push out in all directions. It wasn¡¯t like magic at all, no elemental essence could be seen or felt, this was pure and savage killing intent!

    The wolf who had almost reached Dillim, had its attack forcefully interrupted, and was blown backwards along with its allies. All that pressure was generated before Dillim had even completed his swing! Dillim had created enough room for himself to complete his motion, his blade moved, and when it finally reached in front of him, it started to glow. He didn¡¯t increase the speed of its swing, but as his sword continued moving, the glow, which looked like condensed energy, started to grow brighter. He then completed his swing, and while all the wolves had recovered from their forced retreat, a huge blast of energy headed towards the front of Dillim. It carried an explosive might, and tore apart everything that stood in its path. ¡°The answer is neither!¡± He yelled while the energy manifested, ¡°Both should be trained with equal amounts of importance, only then can you become a perfect warrior!¡±

    The wolves had been prepared for anything the moment Dillim¡¯s sword had started to light up. So even as the mass of energy was heading their way, most of the wolves standing in its path managed to dodge it by jumping towards the side. As for the few that didn¡¯t make it, they were torn apart and blown backwards, their blood and organs covering painting the surroundings red.

    Rinza had actually turned around the moment Dillim emitted that fierce pressure. He stood with his mouth open while watching, ¡®T¨C This¡­ what kind of a method has he used to cultivate?!¡¯

    Rinza wasn¡¯t actually in a stupor because of the presumed stage Dillim had reached, but because of the power and pressure he could emit. Generally, when a warrior¡¯s rank would increase, they would become stronger and faster. But clearly, Dillim hadn¡¯t moved fast at all, nor had he used overwhelmingly strength for that blow, but it still manifested that huge amount of pressure and energy! Only special ways of cultivating world energy would bring out this result, Rinza speculated.

    Seeing how strong that blast of energy was, alongside the remains of their less fortunate pack members, the wolves retreated a few meters. They hurriedly assessed the situation again, but seeing how Dillim had casually pushed them all back, while even killing a few of them, they became fearful. The leader howled, and the wolves started to slowly back off.

    Dillim rammed his sword into the ground again, and watched the wolves retreat. Taking revenge for one cub, wouldn¡¯t be worth fighting Dillim, so they had quickly made the decision to retreat.

    Seeing their glowing eyes disappear back into the shadows, the only sounds that remained that night were the fading snarls of the retreating wolves and the last ephemeral howls of the dying wolves, along with the crackling sounds of the campfire.

 Book 1 - Chapter 12 - Arrival

    After the wolves retreated, the rest of the night passed rather peacefully. Seeing Dillim show such a big amount of power for the first time, Keith was rather excited. He had become even more heated up for his own training. Rinza had almost been severely injured by a Three-Tailed Wolf, but he wasn¡¯t really impacted. He was, after all, still someone who had a lot of experience.

    After that encounter, they kept one person on guard and changed that responsibility between Dillim and Rinza after set intervals. They weren¡¯t so scared that they wanted to guard the camp at the same time.

    Dillim woke up early in the morning. A lot of birds could be heard, filling the surroundings with their music. The sun was shining through the tall trees, and the sky had fewer clouds than the day before. He walked towards Rinza''s tent first, to prevent what had occurred the previous days. He kicked at the tent a few times, until a tired looking face emerged from the inside. Rinza leaned on all four of his limbs so he wouldn¡¯t hit his head against the tent, resulting in him looking up at Dillim from an awkward position.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Dillim growled, ¡°Go pack everything, then I¡¯ll wake up Keith to train. That way we can depart immediately after we¡¯re done.¡± After saying that, he turned around and started walking towards Keith¡¯s tent.

    ¡°Good morning to you too¡­¡± Rinza said to himself as he watched Dillim walk away.

    After waking up Keith, Dillim had him practice the basics for a while, and afterwards they sparred some more. He was growing more surprised as more sessions passed. Dillim had seen Keith¡¯s test with his own eyes, so he saw how miserably Keith had failed. Normally, the test would be perfect to see through the level of talent a prince would possess, but after his sessions with Keith, he slowly started to doubt its credibility.

    He had seen a lot of different fighters, and he knew how important it was to start training early. But because of this, he didn¡¯t expect that Keith was rapidly becoming more familiar with the sword. It wasn¡¯t at the level where Keith was using the wooden sword like it was an extension of his own body, but if someone could do that at his age, he would definitely be a monster. But at the same time, Keith wasn¡¯t like most of the other children Dillim had seen wielding the sword. A lot of children would continue to use the sword as a foreign object and simply use it with very tense movements. Somewhat like how someone would chop wood with an axe, a way of wielding a weapon that isn¡¯t actually optimal for using the sword. Swords require an arc in their movements, to make optimal slashes, while axes require a straight impact on the target. Great-swords are, of course, a different case.

    Keith was actually already applying somewhat correct cutting motions; he had slight curves in his slashes. In addition to that, he was also figuring out how to use the momentum of his body to empower and quicken his attacks. Dillim could see that Keith didn¡¯t understand what he was truly doing, but that made it all the more special. That would mean Keith was actually doing it simply because it felt better. Dillim had taught a heavenly prince once, and he could say that Keith¡¯s talent was probably only slightly below theirs.

    Dillim¡¯s way of teaching was actually a little old school; he would first focus on basic techniques for a long time, every lesson. The techniques he wanted Keith to master would need to be repeated millions of times; only that way would he be able to start creating his own techniques with a good foundation. Then afterwards repeating the basics over and over again, he would spar with Keith. This way he wanted to make Keith familiar with seeing attacks. He would also emit slight hints of killing intent, making Keith slowly familiar with how real battles would feel later on.

    There were two common routes to take when training people in martial arts. One is to slowly attack people and have them figure out what kind of blocks and attacks feel natural for themselves. When they have figured out how to deal with slow attacks and blocks in their own intuitive manner, the speed can slowly be increased. With minimal guidance, people can start to develop their own natural fighting style. But in general, this only works for very talented people. If someone less talented were to use this method, it would take him an extremely long time to intuitively find optimal ways of attack and defense that feel natural to him.

    Another path, is to lay a correct foundation for people by exactly portraying how moves should be executed. These moves are simple to the core and can be learned by anyone with enough practice. This is the route Dillim chose for Keith. After seeing the result of the Royal Test, Dillim thought that he should simply show Keith exact blocks and attacks. After a while, when the foundation has been laid using simple motions that are in accordance with natural ways of using the human body, they can be developed further. This way the simple moves that have been ingrained into his body, can slowly be enhanced to fit his own style.

    After their sparring session, Dillim and Keith walked back to the camp to see it all packed up. They then followed Rinza, marching on in the same direction as they had been going before their encounter with the wolves. They continued walking for a day or two, and eventually they reached the edge of the forest. They didn¡¯t encounter any other strong Magical Beasts, resulting in a smooth time in the forest. Keith had continued his training, and because of the magical mood within the forest, Dillim figured it would be a good idea to increase the amount of training to twice a day, with one day of rest in between.

    ¡°Ah look!¡± Rinza exclaimed when they almost reached the edge of the forest. ¡°The trees are getting smaller again. Soon we¡¯ll have to travel across a grass plain for a little while, and then we¡¯ll be able to spot the main road again.¡± He raised his eyes to look at the tree tops, seemingly thinking for a while. Then he nodded to no one in particular and spoke up again: ¡°It should only be around one week on foot from here; we¡¯re almost at the academy!¡±

    Hearing this, a peculiar light flashed through Keith¡¯s eyes. He would finally be able to live normally. He¡¯d be able to focus on becoming stronger, until he would be able to get revenge. If he was stronger, then he wouldn¡¯t have had to live through such awful things.

    ¡°Good, the sooner we get there, the better,¡± Dillim answered. He wanted to fulfill his promise with the king of Lirix as soon as possible. If the king would receive the other volumes he would probably pay less attention to Keith and Dillim. Only after a few years would he see if Keith had managed to learn anything new, and if not, he would discard him as a simple pawn. As for whether the volumes are real? That wasn¡¯t a problem. Lirix and Erelath had fought before, Lirix knew some of their tactics, and so if the volumes would describe random tactics, they would know. Even if Erelath would change its ways of war, it wasn¡¯t so easily done. This gave Lirix a slight advantage over Erelath.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    They continued walking and finally encountered the main road again. There were just as many people as when they left it, loads of merchants with wagons and adventurers walking around. Some people were even selling things on the road, yelling loudly to gather costumers.

    All three of them were equally familiar with the sight. They all had exceptional backgrounds for that matter. Rinza suddenly chuckled, ¡°Hehe, even after going through all that, the journey has come along rather smoothly.¡± He said, smiling at Dillim before continuing: ¡°There¡¯s only a small distance between the main road here, and the academy.¡± Dillim simply continued walking without paying much attention to Rinza. Keith on the other hand didn¡¯t show anything on his face, but Dillim could see that he was subconsciously starting to walk a little faster.

    After they joined the main road and started walking alongside all the merchants and adventurers, Dillim asked Keith a question, ¡°Hey Keith,¡± he started, ¡°How many types of warriors do you know?¡±

    Keith thought a little and then gave his answer, ¡°Well, I know about swordsmen and mages,¡± he said, thinking some more before continuing, ¡°I know there are a lot of different mages depending on their elements,¡± he said, looking at Rinza. ¡°I also know that there are multiple types of swordsmen, some use two blades, while others use blades of different sizes.¡±

    Dillim made a stiff smile and responded to Keith, ¡°Well, that¡¯s already a satisfying answer. There are of course not only swordsmen, but also spearmen and other weapon users.¡± Dillim took this time to explain some of the core knowledge a warrior should possess. He has been observing Keith for many years now and understood that Keith would probably understand most of what he was trying to impart on him, especially now that he had started wielding the sword more seriously.

    ¡°But this is something very important. A spearman will obviously not fight like a swordsman, because a spear has all kinds of different techniques altogether. But the same goes for swordsmen, some use a saber, while others use swords,¡± he said, pausing for a while, checking if Keith understood what he was saying. Keith didn¡¯t display any confusion and simply nodded at Dillim, indicating that he could continue. Dillim continued explaining: ¡°Why this is important, is because people who use a saber don¡¯t use the same techniques someone with a sword would use.¡± He said, letting his words sink in for a short moment. ¡°Sabers only have one edge that is used to cut through everything in its way. People who use them have slower movements, but their attacks are more powerful and destructive.¡± Dillim said, pointing at a mercenary who was guarding a nearby cart. The mercenary had a youthful face and was wielding a saber on his back. ¡°Also, never wear your weapon on your back if you plan to use it. It¡¯s only efficient to wear it on your back if you plan to travel a long distance without being attacked.¡±

    At this point, Rinza couldn¡¯t help but question Dillim, ¡°Why would you say that? I have seen many warriors wear their weapons on their back and they were all very fast with drawing them.¡± He looked at Dillim with a face that already seemed to say that he was right.

    Dillim didn¡¯t answer Rinza himself, but instead asked Keith, ¡°Do you know the answer to his question Keith?¡± He thought for a while, before speaking up with a slight smile, ¡°I don¡¯t really know, I just know that wielding a sword on your back looks cooler than wielding it on your hip!¡±

    Rinza liked to make jokes himself and was vulnerable to laughing when he heard something funny, so he laughed out loud. Dillim just shook his head, barely suppressing his own smile. He then spoke up to clarify what he meant. ¡°Real warriors should be able to attack and defend at any moment. You can immediately defend and attack when your sword is located on your hip, it¡¯s also easier to resheath the weapon that way.¡±

    Keith was silent for a while and then just nodded. It was pretty simple to understand after Dillim¡¯s explanation. ¡°I still think it looks cooler,¡± Keith couldn¡¯t help but say.

    Dillim scowled as response and spoke up again, ¡°Do you want to look cool, or do you want to be a good warrior? If you can¡¯t defend yourself, looking cool won¡¯t help you,¡± he said, making sure that Keith heard him. He then continued, ¡°But I¡¯m straying from the subject, just like that mage,¡± he said, throwing a look over at Rinza. Rinza just pretended to ignore it and kept walking next to them. ¡°What you are being trained in, is the way of the sword. It¡¯s very different from the saber, or every other weapon.¡± Dillim took out a wooden sword he had been carrying and threw it over to Keith.

    Keith hastily caught it and questioningly looked at Dillim. ¡°Inspect it and feel its weight, it has two edges and can be used in uncountable ways. The sword has always been an elegant and graceful weapon. Not because nobles wear it, or because they look cool,¡± he grinned at Keith. ¡°It¡¯s because of their weight and length that they can be used to pierce and slash. There are innumerable methods of chaining different moves together. They can be used to defend and attack at the same time. It all depends on what style suits you what kind of opponent you are facing. Sometimes you have to be fierce and deadly, sometimes you have to be serene and patient.¡±

    Dillim looked at Keith and saw a satisfactory sight. He could see that he had motivated Keith a little bit more. It¡¯s always important for warriors to love and understand the type of weapon they are using. This way they can develop a better affinity for the weapon.

    ¡°It sounds like you understand those kinds of swords quite well. You even make it seem like those types of swords are the best weapons, but you use a great sword yourself?¡± Rinza looked at the great sword hanging at Dillim¡¯s waist.

    Dillim seemed to zone out for a moment after hearing that question, but the noise of some mercenaries quarrelling broke him out of his stupor. He then grimly replied like nothing happened, ¡°Yeah, I once used the sword as well, but eventually I started using the great sword for some personal reasons,¡± he said, turning back to his usual self. ¡°But what you said about swords being the best weapons isn¡¯t true. There is no ¡®best¡¯ weapon. It all depends on the practitioner and their skill.¡±

    After saying that, he remained silent and increased his pace a little, seemingly still affected by the earlier question. Keith also remained silent, pondering over everything Dillim had said. Even though Rinza was always playful, he read the mood and didn¡¯t try to break the silence either. In this manner, they continued to traverse the main road.

    Eventually, Rinza started to suddenly chuckle and he walked up to Keith, nudging him. Keith had been looking at the ground but when Rinza nudged him he blankly stared at him. Seeing Keith¡¯s look, Rinza¡¯s smile grew wider and he spoke up: ¡°Well, if you¡¯re set on the path to become a great mage, the place where you will be learning all of this will be right over there.¡± Without saying anything further he pointed at the horizon, where the main road split up with one path continuing onwards while another branch forked to the right side. Halfway that path two big pillars could be seen reaching up to skies. They had a variety of magical symbols inscribed on them and they looked like they were the tools of a god. They were emitting all kinds of elemental energy at a random interval, resulting in a grandiose sight. Further along the horizon, at the end of the path with the two pillars, multiple enormous buildings could be seen. They were almost as big as the castle Keith had lived in his whole life.

    Dillim and Rinza both looked at Keith¡¯s reaction and couldn¡¯t refrain from smiling. Keith looked at the pillars, flabbergasted for a while. Every time a new burst of elements came from them, he would start walking a bit faster.

    He had his sight set upon the academy and pillars the whole way. When he finally reached them, he couldn¡¯t help but feel all kinds of emotions; expectant, determined, afraid and motivated. Just when the group walked past the pillars, they suddenly let out a big burst of red light, painting the surroundings red. Keith looked up at the same time and it was almost like a fire was flashing through his eyes. He looked ahead and mumbled, ¡°We¡¯re finally here.¡±

 Book 1 - Chapter 13 - Aethruni

    The red light faded as the group of three passed the two pillars. For a moment, it seemed like the surroundings connected with the red light, creating one red world. Even though the elemental energy emitted from the pillars was rapidly fading, the ground still maintained the red colour.

    Keith looked at the ground and marveled at the sight. ¡°The ground has bathed in the elemental energies of the pillars for such a long time that their affinity towards elemental energy has completely changed for some reason. That¡¯s why it takes longer for the ground to return back to its normal colour,¡± Rinza remarked, looking at the observant Keith.

    Keith nodded his head intelligently and then asked, ¡°What is ¡®affinity¡¯, Rinza?¡±

    Rinza blinked once and then smiled awkwardly, ¡°Ehh, well, never mind.¡± He then simply continued walking alongside Dillim, making Keith follow them after he watched the red colour disappear from the ground. Rinza subconsciously used some relatively difficult words because he forgot about Keith¡¯s age for a moment. Keith¡¯s way of conducting himself had made Rinza think that he was dealing with an older kid, instead of just a nine-year-old child.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Rinza started. ¡°Up ahead is the academy. You two chose the right timing to arrive, because after five nights, the year will officially start.¡±

    The buildings that were pretty distant at first were starting to become closer and closer. Keith was able to see the silhouettes of multiple people by now.

    Dillim looked at Rinza and spoke up after being silent for some time, ¡°If the year will start after five days, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?¡±

    ¡°Well, you two are always free to explore the academy. There is also the city nearby that is frequented by the students, ¡®Limana¡¯. It¡¯s not a very long walk from here and can be reached after only a few hours of travelling.¡± Rinza pointed in the direction where the main road continued. ¡°Almost all the students live in the dorms, so normally when they need to buy special items they go to Limana.¡± He then suddenly remembered something and added: ¡°You also won¡¯t have to wait the full five days. The entrance test is actually the day after tomorrow.¡± He then looked at Keith and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I hope you didn¡¯t expect us to simply let you in. If you want to join the academy as a mage, you have to take the same tests that everyone else is taking.¡±

    Hearing the word ¡®test¡¯, Keith couldn¡¯t prevent his face from contorting for a moment. He actually didn¡¯t expect to be facing another test so soon again. Even though he started to become nervous, it wasn¡¯t on the same scale as he felt when he faced his test at home. For some reason, Keith had more confidence in facing this upcoming test than the one he faced before. It might be because he subconsciously placed all his hopes on becoming a mage, this made it easier for him to cope with the results of the heavenly prince test.

    Rinza saw Keith¡¯s face change for the worse and a frown appeared on his forehead. ¡®Hm,¡¯ he thought, ¡®Did he really expect to simply walk in and practice magic with the absolute elite?¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Keith, even though the entrance tests are very harsh, you will still be able to stay and learn at the academy. This academy is known as the absolute best academy in Erelath, which is why we can¡¯t simply allow you to attend.¡± After saying that, a consoling smile appeared on Rinza¡¯s face. It looked like Keith wasn¡¯t confident in passing the tests after all, looking at the face he made when he heard the word test. This put Rinza in an awkward position too. ¡°Even if you fail the tests, you will still be able to become a teacher¡¯s assistant or a member of the staff here. That way you can still learn about magic, so don¡¯t worry!¡±

    Hearing this, a scowl appeared on Keith¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t expect he would have to go through a test, but it should still pose no problem for him. He had heard from Dillim that even their own court mage had confirmed a part of Keith¡¯s talent for becoming a mage. But now it seemed like Rinza was already expecting Keith to fail! He didn¡¯t even go through the test and Rinza never saw Keith have any interaction with magic, what made him think that Keith would fail like this?!

    Dillim witnessed the interaction between Rinza and Keith and also spoke up. ¡°Keith won¡¯t fail. Our court mage has also approved of him.¡± Dillim stared at Rinza until the latter nodded his head, showing that he believed Dillim. ¡°Will the tests be the same as most other academies? Or is your academy special?¡±

    Rinza smiled wryly and responded aptly, ¡°Well, we use the two core methods that every country uses in this academy. Our testing facilities are on a higher level though; this way we can confirm the talent of the students with more accuracy. I can¡¯t really tell you more for now, it¡¯s best if the students enter the testing areas without any prior knowledge.¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Dillim snorted, but didn¡¯t follow up with anything else. He thought Rinza was a good guy, but it started to seem like Rinza was on the na?ve side. How could it be possible that none of the other students received any information about the tests. It couldn¡¯t be that this was a well-hidden secret that people are unable to talk about.

    Hearing Dillim snort, Rinza¡¯s smile became a little ugly. He understood that there must¡¯ve been some miscommunication that resulted in Dillim thinking that he was keeping some sort of information from them. The truth was that students who don¡¯t know what to expect really perform better at the entrance tests. ¡®Forget it, he won¡¯t believe me anyway.¡¯ Rinza thought, looking at Dillim¡¯s indifferent face. ¡°At least our academy has the philosophy that a written test is not necessary. That means that even without a lot of knowledge, as long as your talent is alright, you can study here.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Both Dillim and Keith pretended like they didn¡¯t hear him and kept on walking. ¡®Since when did their teamwork become so good?!¡¯ Rinza shook his head silently and followed after them.

    At this point in time, the gate of the academy had already appeared. Noises of students wearing academy uniforms could be seen and heard. There were also multiple children strolling around. Remarkably most of them were wearing fine gowns, indicating they were nobility. Three enormous buildings could be seen, there was quite a bit of distance between them, indicating they all had a different purpose.

    Rinza sped up a little and walked ahead of Rinza and Dillim. He then stood in front of the gate and spread out his arms, saying: ¡°Well, now that we have finally arrived, let me officially welcome the two of you to ¡®Aethruni¡¯! I hope the two of you will have a wonderful time here and experience all of the joys our country can bring you!¡± He then stood there awkwardly for a second with his arms spread out, resulting in Keith and Dillim showing a small smile.

    Rinza proceeded to wave his arm and urge them to hurry up. ¡°Ahum,¡± Rinza coughed, breaking his own awkward posture. ¡°Let me show the two of you around. That way you will know where to find everything and everyone.¡± He proceeded to walk towards the right, making sure Dillim and Keith were following him.

    Keith watched his eyes out as he looked at the three buildings. They were positioned in a triangle formation, with a big plaza in front of them. Keith could even hear the sounds of magic and the occasional yells or chants that would accompany them. Those sounds came from the biggest building that was located right in front of the gate. They were now walking towards one of the two smaller buildings on the right.

    Every so often, an older student would pass the group of three and stop. They would then proceed to make a curt bow, ¡°This student offers his greetings to the vice-principal!¡± Rinza would make a small nod without stopping, not really paying attention to the students around him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were the vice-principal,¡± Dillim grunted.

    ¡°Well, I just manage most of the internal affairs of the academy,¡± Rinza noted, before continuing, ¡°but people always love to categorize. They probably thought ¡®vice-principal¡¯ sounded better than ¡®internal-affairs manager¡¯.¡±

    After walking for a while, they reached an entrance of one of the big buildings. It had multiple floors and there were multiple great carvings on the walls. Keith looked up and almost strained his neck to see the top of the building. When he looked forward again, he saw two big doors that were already opened, showing the interior of the first floor. ¡°Alright, this building is where you will be staying the upcoming years. These are the male students¡¯ lodgings,¡± Rinza said, entering the building. When he stood inside, he pointed around himself and said: ¡°This is the room where students normally gather. The first floor is used for meals. There are multiple big rooms, I think the students have made their own rules concerning who sits in what room, but you¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± He then continued walking to the stairs and said: ¡°The other big building you saw towards the left is where the female students reside. It¡¯s alright to spend some time there, or have them spend some here.¡± He then suddenly burst out into laughter while saying, ¡°Just don¡¯t get caught!¡± Dillim shook his head, while Keith had absolutely no idea what Rinza was talking about.

    ¡°Alright, follow me to the top floor. Most of the royalty or top talented figures stay there.¡± Rinza chuckled and continued while he kept climbing up the stairs, ¡°Considering your background, it¡¯s only fitting that you get a room there too.¡±

    ¡°How many people stay in one room?¡± Keith asked. He wasn¡¯t interested in befriending other children at the moment, but he was still curious if he would get a roommate.

    ¡°Well, regular rooms have around eight people on average, but the top floor only has two people in each room.¡±

    After climbing up the stairs for a while, the ascending finally stopped. Keith could see a very long hallway stretching out with rooms on each side. There were about ten rooms on each side. Compared to the previous floors they passed, this floor was a bit quieter. On the previous floors, there would always be one or two students entering or exiting their rooms, but this floor looked deserted.

    ¡°Alright, the last room is yours, I think someone else is using it too, but I¡¯m not sure.¡± Rinza then looked towards Dillim. ¡°I will show you your own quarters. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for you to stay inside the students¡¯ lodges. Keith, you can enter your room on your own, it¡¯s the last one at the right side of the hallway.¡± Seeing Keith walk away, he added one more thing: ¡°Also, if you want to look for me or Dillim, you can find us in the big building behind the building in front of the academy gate. The big building you could see when we entered the academy is used for lessons and the building behind that one is the staff building. Dillim will reside there from now on too.¡± He then frowned for a second and added, ¡°Wait, you are staying here, right Dillim?¡± Now that he thought about it, he hadn¡¯t considered if Dillim would leave again after dropping Keith.

    When Dillim showed his power by defeating those wolfs, Rinza understood that he probably wasn¡¯t a match for Dillim himself. It wouldn¡¯t surprise him to see Dillim simply drop off Keith here and then move back to Lirix and help the king with some matters there. It couldn¡¯t be that Dillim didn¡¯t have a high position considering the power he possesses.

    ¡°No, I will be staying here and take care of Keith where necessary,¡± Dillim grunted towards Rinza. His tone then softened a little as he called out towards Keith: ¡°Alright, I will be leaving for now. You can explore this building right now. Tomorrow I¡¯ll call for you and we¡¯ll explore the proximity together.¡± He then walked past Rinza and started descending the stairs. Rinza soon followed him down, leaving Keith alone in the hallway.

    Keith was at a loss of what to do, but soon he recovered himself and walked towards his room. He didn¡¯t knock but simply entered after looking at the number ¡®266¡¯ carved into the door. When he entered, he could see a big interior, with multiple sections. There was a bath section, a sleeping section with two beds and a big living section. There was a table and a couch with a few chairs in front of him, making a cozy sight. What surprised Keith was that there was already someone in the room.

    A young boy with a fair face and blonde hair was sitting on one of the two beds. His hair almost reached his shoulders, but it didn¡¯t look unkempt at all. He was sitting cross-legged with his hands cupped and resting on his stomach. He had his eyes closed and was seemingly meditating.

    Keith didn¡¯t feel like socializing these days, but his manners still took over, making him walk up and introduce himself. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Keith. I¡¯ll be staying in this room now too. Nice to meet you.¡±

    The blonde-haired boy slowly opened his eyes when he heard Keith had started talking. When he heard the name Keith the look in his eyes changed for a split second. He then smiled grandly while he remained seated and introduced himself too. ¡°Nice to meet you Keith, my name is Vaeryl. I think we¡¯ll become good friends!¡±

 Book 1 - Chapter 14 - Sparring

    Seeing Vaeryl¡¯s big smile, Keith¡¯s first impression of him was pretty good. ¡°What were you doing?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I was just meditating. The entrance test will arrive in two days, so I was just preparing already.¡± When Vaeryl started talking about the entrance test, his face grew more serious and his previous big smile disappeared. ¡°I have to perform well and make my family proud,¡± Vaeryl said, clenching his right fist.

    Keith was intrigued by the relation between meditation and the entrance test, so he couldn¡¯t help but inquire: ¡°How will meditation help you later?¡±

    Vaeryl was silent for a moment and nodded, seemingly coming to an answer. He hadn¡¯t seen Keith smile since the moment he entered, but he was still happy to make conversation with him. ¡°Well, mages depend on mental power to control spells. Even warriors need mental power so they can strike at the right opportunities. I was trying to think of nothing, training my mind that way.¡±

    Keith raised his eyebrows and asked ¡°Just think of nothing? That shouldn¡¯t be that hard, right?¡±

    Hearing this, Vaeryl couldn¡¯t hide the surprise from his face. He observed Keith up and down again and asked: ¡°Well, you¡¯ll be surprised¡­ but does that mean you have never meditated before?¡±

    Keith thought a little before answering: ¡°Well, our official training back at home starts when we are ten years old. Before that¡­ well, we only learn about common stuff.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ well, mental training is the only part of the entrance test you can at least train by yourself. The other part, the amount of affinity you have for elements, can¡¯t be trained at all.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Keith asked. He still didn¡¯t know what affinity meant, but he bluffed it anyway. ¡°Do you know what our entrance test will be?¡±

    Vaeryl was shocked once again. ¡°Wait you don¡¯t know? You weren¡¯t told what the entrance tests will be?¡±

    Seeing the surprise on Vaeryl¡¯s face for the second time, Keith started to grow a little irritated. ¡°Well, the vice-principal only told me it has two parts, but he said it¡¯s better to enter the tests without knowing what they¡¯ll be.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Vaeryl nodded, seemingly enlightened about Keith¡¯s situation. ¡°Well, some people think you are better off when you don¡¯t know what¡¯s coming. That way you will be more nervous, sometimes resulting in people performing better.¡± He then shook his head and continued: ¡°But the opposite is also true. While some people perform better if they¡¯re nervous, others will perform worse. At least if you know what¡¯s coming you can prepare for it.¡± He then chuckled and questioningly looked at Keith. ¡°Well, do you want to know how the tests will be held?¡±

    Keith thought for a moment, before nodding.

    Seeing Keith accept his proposal, Vaeryl smiled and started explaining. ¡°Well, you know about the two core tests, right? One part is a mental control test. The other part is determining the amount of affinity you have towards elements.¡± Vaeryl saw the partly confused face of Keith and calmly continued: ¡°The mental control test will consist out of students manipulating a spell. Even though you can¡¯t cast it, you can still manipulate a spell the professor gives you. But that¡¯s only because of their special light element magic.¡± Seeing Keith nod, he explained about the other part, ¡°and even though we don¡¯t have a full-grown mana core yet, our bodies still have a preference towards certain elements. They can observe what elements are attracted and how strong the attraction is.¡± He saw that Keith understood most of what he said, so he concluded his explanation and jumped up from his bed. Vaeryl clearly had a special background. He possessed a lot of knowledge for his age.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Vaeryl said as he walked towards the door. ¡°You must¡¯ve just arrived at the academy, right? Do you want to explore a bit? I know my way around already, so how about I show you around?¡±

    Keith promptly declined and pointed at the wooden sword at his waist. ¡°I¡¯m not really interested. I¡¯m planning to go outside and practice my swordsmanship a little.¡± Keith had started to become a little anxious because of all knowledge that Vaeryl possessed and he didn¡¯t. He was about to follow Dillim¡¯s advice and just calm his mind by using a sword. Then he wouldn¡¯t feel nervous for the upcoming entry test.

    ¡°Oh yeah! I was wondering what you were wearing that sword for, but it seems you actually know how to use it? How about we spar for a bit?¡±

    Keith stopped in front of the door and looked back at Vaeryl. ¡°You can also use a sword?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah. Everyone in our family gets trained from young age. That way we can excel at everything and choose whether we want to become a warrior or a mage. I eventually chose to become a mage, but I¡¯m not going to completely stop training the sword. It just feels good to be physically active you know?¡±

    He then grabbed a wooden sword that was lying under his bed and walked towards Keith. Afterwards they both went down the stairs and walked towards a nearby field behind the building they just exited. Vaeryl looked around before remarking, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not exactly the training field, but at least it¡¯s something. This way we won¡¯t attract too much attention and we don¡¯t have to walk very far.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Vaeryl then gracefully drew the wooden sword he had fastened to his hip. ¡°Alright,¡± he smiled confidently. ¡°I¡¯m ready, show me what you got!¡±

    Keith carefully observed Vaeryl¡¯s stance. Vaeryl was holding his sword loosely with the tip aimed down. He had about a shoulder width of distance between both his feet and his knees were slightly bent. It seemed like he really received formal sword training before.

    Keith drew his own sword. Even though he just started training seriously recently, he should still be able to match someone his own age.

    While Keith simply drew his sword, Vaeryl started to grow serious. He was extremely confident in himself, but he didn¡¯t expect that it was possible for the air of a ten-year-old to change after Keith drew his sword. There seemed to be a big difference between the Keith who he had been talking to moments before and the Keith who just drew his practice sword. Even though Keith had been serious looking most of the time, the moment he drew his sword his gaze increased in intensity.

    ¡®It seems he actually knows how to use it a little¡­¡¯ Vaeryl thought. He then started smiling again, saying, ¡°Alright, come at me!¡±

    Keith then made a few steps towards Vaeryl, before suddenly striking out at his arm. He was planning to use a simple combination Dillim had taught him. Seeing the incoming blow, Vaeryl¡¯s face changed. He immediately jumped back, completely out of range. Keith saw Vaeryl hurriedly jumping backwards and strangely looked at him. He thought Vaeryl would definitely parry his blow, just like Dillim had always done. Afterwards he would be able to continue with multiple blows and beat Vaeryl, but instead he didn¡¯t parry but jumped way out of range.

    Vaeryl chuckled awkwardly after he saw Keith look strangely at him. He then rushed forward to quickly defeat Keith. He thought Keith would come up with some miraculous attack, making him overly defensive. But after he saw the simple attack Keith made, he understood that he severely overestimated Keith. He would rather just end it quickly now.

    He swung his sword sideways at Keith, not intending to injure him. When Keith saw the sword being swung towards his side, he simply raised both his hands to his side and aimed the tip of his sword downwards, receiving the blow. He then immediately twisted both his wrists, making the sword form an arc towards Vaeryl¡¯s head. Vaeryl already had his sword sideways and was able to quickly reposition his arms to block the incoming blow. He then stepped back, out of Keith¡¯s range. It actually turned out that Keith wasn¡¯t as simple as he had expected. Right at the moment he wanted to test Keith again, someone could be heard yelling: ¡°Look! Everyone look! The Second Prince is sparring with someone!¡±

    Vaeryl stopped his attack and looked towards the source of the sound. He then smiled wryly and focused on Keith again only to see the tip of a wooden sword coming his way. He didn¡¯t expect that Keith would make use of the opportunity to attack him without a second thought. Vaeryl was able to hurriedly duck, narrowingly avoiding Keith¡¯s sword. They then continued to make several exchanges, neither having an advantage nor disadvantage.

    Slowly more people started to gather and observe the sparring. ¡°What? Someone actually dares to spar with the prince?¡± Someone who just started watching asked no one in particular.

    ¡°Ha,¡± another bystander started, ¡°Not only does he dare contend, they are even each other¡¯s match!¡±

    After the fight continued for a while, another commotion broke out among the students who were observing the fight. ¡°Oh, the princess is here too!¡± A young girl who couldn¡¯t be much older than the two boys fighting was also watching the fight. ¡°So he was here,¡± some students heard the young princess mumble. She had long black hair and was quite pretty for a young girl her age.

    When Keith¡¯s sword crossed a few more times with Vaeryl¡¯s, something happened. Vaeryl seemed to have noticed someone from the corner of his eye, making him look distracted for a second. Keith immediately tried to use this opportunity and win. Vaeryl seemed to be in dire straits for a moment, but he managed to step back and turn his body, making his back face Keith. After Keith missed his first attack, he still kept his momentum going and attacked Vaeryl¡¯s back, but right before he could connect, Vaeryl had already turned around. Keith could feel Vaeryl¡¯s wooden sword rest on his throat while his sword arrived at Vaeryl¡¯s stomach a split second later. ¡°Damn, I lost,¡± Keith said while putting his sword away. After he and Vaeryl stepped back, he heard Vaeryl sigh and mumble something that resembled, ¡®We still made commotion after all¡¯.

    He then actually looked around and saw a group of people staring at the two of them. His eyes grew wide for a second while he processed what was going on. He hadn¡¯t realized at all that they became the source of attention for so many people.

    Keith then suddenly felt an arm around his shoulders and when he looked at what was happening he could see Vaeryl smiling happily towards the crowd. ¡°Yeah, yeah, no need to speculate, this is my good friend, Keith! We were just comparing our skills for a moment.¡± Vaeryl had seen a lot of people in the crowd starting to gossip, so he cleared everything up in one go.

    At that moment, the girl who caused a commotion before walked up towards Vaeryl saying: ¡°Hey, hey! Why are you playing around here with him? You promised to play with me!¡±

    Seeing the sulking face of his sister, Vaeryl just relocated his hand from Keith¡¯s shoulder to her head and patted her. ¡°Alright, we still have some time remaining. I also want to introduce you to someone, this here is Keith!¡±

    The girl had a strange look on her face for a split second before beaming towards Keith. ¡°Uhn! Nice to meet you!¡± She then looked back at her brother saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡±

    Keith stood there awkwardly for a moment until he saw Vaeryl poke his sister¡¯s forehead while saying, ¡°Silly! You haven¡¯t even told him your name!¡± She sulked while rubbing her forehead, but still looked towards Keith again, retrying her previous introduction. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Niyla!¡±

    Keith awkwardly stood there for a second, until Vaeryl asked him to join him and his sister to explore the academy. He didn¡¯t really feel like joining the two of them, but after continuous urging of Vaeryl he still gave way. When they walked away, the group of bystanders parted for them, giving them the space to walk towards the academy.

    In this manner, two more days passed. Keith explored the academy with Dillim once, but most of the time he spent together with Vaeryl and Niyla. He got to know them a little better and he kept practicing the sword together with Vaeryl. Niyla seemed like a nice girl, but she would easily throw a tantrum if her brother would do something that didn¡¯t go her way. Keith thought it was funny, because she would behave like a very good girl when other people aside from her brother were present.

    Finally, on the morning of the third day, Keith was woken up by Vaeryl¡¯s voice, ¡°Good morning, Keith!¡± When he slowly opened his eyes, he could see Vaeryl already standing in front of him. ¡°Today is the day of the entrance test, are you ready?¡±

 Book 1 - Chapter 15 - Entrance Test

    Keith rubbed his eyes before slowly responding, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ready.¡± He then proceeded to get out of bed and dress himself. Today would be the day that he would prove himself. Even though the heavenly prince test hadn¡¯t worked out at all, his confidence wasn¡¯t totally crushed. He would turn ten in five days, meaning he would be able to strengthen his mana core and energy veins by then. Only then could he slowly train and fulfil his desires. This test will be completed without fail! He wouldn¡¯t let himself become a simple teacher¡¯s assistant, he wanted to learn grand magic!

    Keith quickly stood up and followed Vaeryl downstairs. This time he left his wooden sword in his room ¨Che wouldn¡¯t need it for what was coming. When they descended the stairs, they could already hear a lot of sounds coming from outside the building. It seemed that all students would be tested. Keith also heard from Vaeryl that the students who would be rejected wouldn¡¯t even be able to become a teacher¡¯s assistant. Their only choice was to return home or try and join another academy.

    This was a source for nervousness among all the new students. Even though Aethruni was the most well-known academy in Erelath and even had the backing of the royal family, it didn¡¯t have the most students. The reason was that the entrance test was really tough. Keith heard that you had to have at least average to high affinity for a particular element to be allowed to study here. The amount of mental control would be a less deciding factor because that can always still be trained. But if a young child would have an extraordinary mental power, then it was almost guaranteed that they would also have good mental power when they grew up.

    Keith and Vaeryl joined the tide of new students that was moving towards the academy building. It seemed the test would be held within one of the biggest rooms. Only this way could all the new students be tested. The occasional adult could also be seen. Family was allowed to witness the entrance test, as long as a student didn¡¯t bring more than two people.

    When Keith and Vaeryl were almost at the entrance of the academy, Niyla joined them, humming a strange tune. In front of the big doors of the academy, a teacher was guiding the students to the right location. He seemed to be in his thirties and had a scar on his cheek, but for some reason, the scar didn¡¯t make him look scary at all, probably because of the smile he constantly had on his face. ¡°Hey! No pushing!¡± The teacher kept saying, trying to maintain order among everyone. When the group of three walked past him they were also directed to the location the tests would be held.

    When they finally reached the room they were pointed to, Keith couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. There were a lot of adults already present and they had all taken up a position at the sides of the room. It was a big room that could probably fit a thousand people if everyone would squeeze together. Right now, there was around a quarter occupied and people still kept walking in. The students kept gathering in front of the adults, but no one walked towards the center. This was because the center was clearly reserved for the test.

    Vaeryl nudged Keith and pointed towards the middle of the room. There was a structure made from glass right in the middle. It was possible to completely see through it from all sides. No one dared to come close for some reason, maybe because of the occasional bursts of elemental energy with all kinds of colors that could be seen within. It looked completely isolated from the room it was located in, with only a glass door that showed that it could actually be entered. ¡°That¡¯s where the elemental affinity test will be held!¡± Vaeryl said. ¡°If one of those elemental energies starts to gather around you, then that means you have an affinity towards that element! Other elements will be automatically pushed away for some reason.¡±

    People kept entering the room, from old students to family. Most of them pointed at the glass structure and whispered to each other. As more people entered, the conversations also grew louder and louder. Finally, when around 250 new students were gathered around the structure, an old man walked towards the middle. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± he boomed loudly. ¡°The first part of the entry test will now officially begin! I will be the head judge for today! My name is Julian Winzo and I¡¯m a grand spell caster!¡±

    Multiple people who heard what Julian said couldn¡¯t suppress letting out a gasp. A grand spell caster was still someone with an exalted status. There were only twenty within a relatively strong country, making the academy even more special. Everyone present had to admit, the staff of Aethruni knew how to make a show. Instead of efficiently managing the 250 new students by splitting them up and having two groups being tested at the same time, they chose to test each student one by one. This way they could show each student¡¯s talent clearly. Not only that, they also used a grand spell caster as a judge! Even mana masters were well respected people within the whole country, let alone a grand spell caster!

    ¡°We will begin with the first part of the entrance test: the affinity test! The mental power test will be held after every student is tested. This is because students that don¡¯t have at least an average to high affinity in one particular element may leave without having to enter the second test! They won¡¯t be allowed anyway,¡± Julian explained indifferently.

    He then walked up to the structure and stood before the door, saying: ¡°I will now explain how I will judge all the new students together with the other judges. As I said before, we will be judging everyone¡¯s elemental affinity. This room is specifically designed to contain pure elemental energies. Even though none of the new students have formed their mana cores, their bodies will still have affinities towards certain elements! That¡¯s because they use their body to gather the mana, their mana core will just contain the energy after it¡¯s converted.¡± Julian then opened the door and walked into the room.

    The moment he walked in a huge change appeared within the structure. A huge vortex of red elemental energy appeared and swirled around Julian. None of the other elements could be seen within, emphasizing the huge amount of seemingly fire energy even more. Julian¡¯s voice could then be heard through the whole room. ¡°As long as you have an affinity towards a certain element, it will automatically gather around your body and will repel the other elemental forces in the process. The higher the affinity, the more energy that gathers and the more the other elements will disappear from view.¡± He then laughed and pointed around him, saying: ¡°As you can all see, I¡¯m a pure fire mage, which has resulted in all the fire essence gathering around me. But don¡¯t worry, the other elemental energies are still present, they just can¡¯t be seen by you all.¡±

    He then exited the structure and closed the door. The structure¡¯s interior re-stabilized itself, showing the occasional bursts of different elemental energies again. At the same time that Julian exited the structure, three other teachers stepped forward. They all stood on one side of the structure, seemingly waiting for someone to step forward.

    ¡°Alright, enough explaining! Who will step up first?!¡± Julian glanced at all the new students. Seeing no one step forward after a few seconds, Julian was almost about to point at a random student when someone walked up.

    ¡°So it¡¯s him.¡± Keith heard Vaeryl mumble something, but he didn¡¯t pay it a lot of attention.

    The boy that had walked forward had short black hair and a look of arrogance on his face. Even though he was around ten years old, his bearing was completely in sync with his arrogance. When he walked halfway to the middle of the room, he suddenly turned towards Keith. ¡°Watch closely Niyla, this is how talented I am!¡± Turns out he wasn¡¯t looking at Keith, but at Niyla.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Niyla just clicked her tongue and looked away, while Vaeryl maintained an indifferent look on his normally smiling face.

    Julian didn¡¯t like how that boy was stealing the show without his permission, so he glared at him. ¡°Hurry up boy, you¡¯re not the only one preparing to fail today!¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± the boy snorted in response and then continued walking. When he finally reached the structure, he opened the door and walked in without hesitating. The moment he entered, changes started to appear within the structure. Three different colors of elemental energy started to gather around the boy, completely suppressing the other types of energy. Seeing multiple colors around him, the boy started to laugh grandly.

    After a few seconds, only those three colors could be seen surrounding the boy; shallow gusts of thin white energy, a little liquid blue energy that swirled around him, and some small solid yellow blocks of energy. All the energy that swirled around him was barely visible. When the boy noticed that no one around him had shocked faces, he stopped laughing and observed his own body again. Noticing that most of the energy around him was barely visible, his face grew extremely ugly.

    ¡°Low affinity for water, earth and wind! Conclusion: REJECTED!¡± Julian yelled. He then looked at the people standing behind each wall of the structure.

    ¡°No objections!¡± The other judges said at the same time. At that moment, the sound of elegant laughter rang through the room. It turned out to be Vaeryl who was laughing with an extremely happy expression. He turned towards his sister and said, ¡°I never understood what karma was, but I think I do now.¡± Niyla just smiled at her brother while remaining silent.

    After that commotion, a few more students walked up, most of them receiving a grade of low affinity for one or two elements. They could only blame their fate and either exit the building, or walk to the sides and observe the other students being tested. Occasionally, someone with an average to high affinity for one or two elements popped up. What had only happened a few times was someone receiving a high-grade affinity. Someone even got an exceptional affinity for the fire element, making Julian look extremely pleased. But the most remarkable thing that had happened was how a little girl managed to get a high-grade affinity for two elements and average affinity for another. Most people couldn¡¯t believe their eyes, but it turned out the little girl was royalty from another country, making it a little more acceptable. In general, people who had parents with high-grade affinities also had a higher chance of being born with better affinity towards elemental mana. This made it so that royalty was extremely picky with whom they married.

    After a while, Vaeryl finally walked up. ¡°Alright, Keith, Niyla, I¡¯m going!¡± He smiled confidently and walked towards the structure. When he walked past Julian, the grand spell caster, he nodded and Julian even nodded back with a solemn face.

    ¡°The Second Prince is going up, he¡¯s going!¡± People could immediately be heard and the silence that had persisted for a while was completely broken.

    When Vaeryl entered the structure, everyone was shocked for a second time. A huge amount of golden light had gathered around his body, making him look like a golden statue. The energy was almost the same color as his hair, making it look extremely enchanting. Occasional hues of brown energy could also be seen, floating as solid blocks around the golden energy. Vaeryl simply smiled without showing the emotions everyone else had shown when they were being tested.

    Julian gaped at the sight for a second, before loudly announcing: ¡°Exceptional light affinity! Average to high earth affinity! PASSED ¨C deity-grade!¡±

    The previous times people had passed, mostly mortal-grade evaluations had been given. Except for the girl earlier who had also received a deity-grade evaluation. This only meant that they would be privileged students, receiving more resources and personal lessons from stronger people. This way the most talented students could be developed faster.

    When Vaeryl walked back towards Keith and Niyla, the little princess couldn¡¯t help but jump up and down with excitement. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re too awesome! But I¡¯m awesome too, watch me!¡± She then skipped towards the structure, smiling at Julian along the way.

    When she entered the structure, blue light immediately started to gather around her. It started to become like a liquid and slowly swirled around her. This kept going for a while, until everything around Niyla was covered by the liquid blue energy, completely painting the surroundings blue.

    ¡°Exceptional water affinity! PASSED ¨C deity-grade!¡± It seemed that exceptional affinity for one element would be enough to receive a deity-grade.

    Niyla happily ran back towards her brother and Keith, looking smug all the way. ¡°Hehe,¡± she smiled, ¡°I won¡¯t lose to big brother!¡±

    Vaeryl just smiled and patted her head. Afterwards he pushed Keith towards the structure. ¡°What are you nervous for, affinity can¡¯t be changed. You either have it or you don¡¯t, just go!¡± Another student was just about to participate, but when he saw Keith stumble towards the structure, he moved back to his initial position.

    Keith recovered his posture and then walked towards the structure with determination. ¡®I can do it!¡¯ he encouraged himself. He walked with nothing but the structure in his eyes, even ignoring Julian, who didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    When he finally neared the door, he opened it and entered. Keith felt a little giddy when he entered and he could see all the colors disappear. He walked towards the center of the glass structure, but still no colors appeared. He only made colors disappear instead of making them appear! After a while, a tiny bit of red colored energy appeared here and there, but no one really payed attention to it.

    The audience couldn¡¯t believe his bad luck; he must have the lowest affinity for every element! He had such a special affinity that he doesn¡¯t even attract elemental energy but rejects it!

    Julian gaped at the sight for a second, but then he frowned. He knew about every element and there were only three flaws within this test. This might even be the case at the moment.

    Keith looked around him and he could hear the crowd starting to snicker. He balled his fist and bit on his lip. ¡®Not again! Absolutely not again! This can¡¯t be it, this can¡¯t be it!¡¯ He stood there looking defeated at the ground. But suddenly Julian¡¯s voice shocked him out of his stupor.

    ¡°Elemental affinity still undecided! Walk out of the structure and come over here!¡±

    ¡®There¡¯s still a chance?!¡¯ Keith immediately walked out of the structure and stood in front of Julian.

    ¡°Alright, as you all know, there are eight elements, but this test only works for five of them! As you all could see, every element was repelled, meaning that he probably has some affinity towards one of the other three!¡± He then beckoned the judge, who stood at the left side of the structure, to come over. ¡°Alright, second judge, please test him for ice affinity!¡±

    The judge simply nodded and walked in front of Keith. He then said: ¡°Sorry, this might sting a bit!¡± Before Keith could even process what the judge had said, he already felt an ice-cold hand on his shoulder. When he looked at the hand, he could see a solid energy that looked like a mix of blue and white spreading on his shoulder. With the cold palm on his body, he started to notice that the area around the hand was slowly starting to turn colder and colder. When the judge saw that Keith was grimacing with pain, he quickly retracted his hand, saying: ¡°No ice affinity!¡± He then moved back to his initial position at the left side of the structure.

    Keith almost started to tear up again, he only had two more chances; two last elements that would determine his future. He was so muddle headed that he even forgot which elements were left. He had first been shocked with all the disappearing colors. Then when he had been given hope it was all frozen over and discarded by that judge. He eventually managed to regain his clear head, his determination winning from the other emotions he was feeling.

    Without being called over, the judge at the back side of the structure already walked over. He didn¡¯t voice any formalities as he directly grabbed Keith¡¯s shoulder.

    At that moment, bursts and flashes of blue and white energy could be seen. They immediately entered Keith¡¯s body from where the judge¡¯s hand was located. At first, all the energy was absorbed, but after a short moment, the energy started to appear all around Keith. Most of his limbs starting emitting flashing colors of blue and white. His whole body was starting to emit lightning! It didn¡¯t feel bad like the previous experience at all. His whole body was being nourished, especially his shoulder that still felt a bit cold was completely being recovered. Keith looked at his hands and then at his body. He was starting to see more lightning everywhere he looked. He finally smiled a true heartfelt smile for the first time after a long time. Keith couldn¡¯t contain his excitement any longer. It almost felt like the lightning was becoming a part of him and he was becoming a part of the lightning! He finally threw his head in the air and roared!

 Book 1 - Chapter 16 - Entrance Test (II)

    The judge who had injected his lightning elemental energy into Keith couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as he exclaimed: ¡°Exceptional lightning affinity! Average fire affinity! PASSED ¨C Deity gra ¨C!¡±

    But Julian had already raised his hand with a wry smile, interrupting the lightning judge. ¡°Don¡¯t be so quick with your judgement just yet. We might as well test him for the slim chance that he also has an affinity for the last element.¡± The lightning judge frowned, but finally said nothing and walked back to his position behind the structure.

    When Julian started talking about the last element, the remaining judge also walked up. Keith was still smiling, even when the lightning had already started to fade away from around his body. He kept looking at flashes of energy, amazed by their beauty. Because of the situation he was in, the color of the lightning ¨Ca mix between blue and white, had never seemed so beautiful before. When he suddenly heard another pair of footsteps in front of him, he started paying attention to his surroundings again. The judge who had stepped in front of him was actually one of the youngest teachers present. He had a beard that covered most of his face, but a small smile could still be seen.

    ¡°Alright lad,¡± the judge said, raising his hand. While the hand was approaching him, dark, black energy was starting to surround it. ¡°You might feel a little nauseous after this, so please try to hold on without vomiting on Julian. He doesn¡¯t really like it when students do that.¡± The judge said, seemingly trying to break the tension.

    Julian raised his eyebrows and stepped back a little. At that moment, the judge¡¯s hand reached Keith, injecting the darkness element into him. Instead of being directly absorbed, just like what happened with the lightning energy, the dark, black energy slowly spread across his whole body, almost obscuring Keith. He slowly took a moment to observe himself and figure out how he felt. Instead of the powerful, grandiose feeling the lightning gave him, he felt something much more subtle. Somehow, he started to feel at ease, like he had some connection with the energy on and around his body.

    When he looked at the judge, he could see the small smile increasing. ¡°Not bad, average to high affinity!¡± The judged started to walk away when he saw the amount of dark energy around Keith was starting to fade.

    ¡°Exceptional lightning affinity! Average to high darkness affinity! Average fire affinity! PASSED ¨C deity-grade!¡± Julian then motioned that Keith could return to the other students again. Keith¡¯s smile still didn¡¯t fade as he balled his fist and started to walk back.

    When he was halfway back to Vaeryl and Niyla, an angry voice could be heard. ¡°This is unfair!¡± A parent yelled from the back. He was holding a depressed daughter that was judged as someone who had average affinity towards two elements. She was still crying and was clinging to the man who had just spoken up. ¡°How come he can be tested for the extra three elements while the others can¡¯t?! My daughter probably has a high affinity towards one of them, maybe even exceptional affinity! You can¡¯t simply test the people you want to test and skip the people you want to skip. Don¡¯t you care about Aethruni¡¯s face at a¨C?!¡±

    ¡°Quiet!¡± Julian interrupted him. He had started to frown and when the parent was about to continue ranting he interrupted him. ¡°You want to talk about face to me?! Hmph,¡± he snorted. ¡°Your daughter wouldn¡¯t have been allowed anyway! Especially if she inherited your stupidity!¡± After making an ad hominem, he menacingly glared around him. ¡°Do you all think that testing the other three elements is easy? The other judges have to inject pure magical essence into them, does that sound easy or fun to you all?! It¡¯s simply impossible to test everyone for every element. Why do you think we used the structure anyway?! We could¡¯ve simply called over a mage of each element type and have them conduct the testing by your logic! Also!¡± He yelled before continuing: ¡°We only allow people with average to high affinity, or something better than that. If someone really has an average to high affinity towards one of the three other elements, it would immediately show within the structure because other elements would already be repelled. This is the first time today that all of the elements were repelled within the structure, that¡¯s why we resorted to test the other elements! But if a student doesn¡¯t have any affinity towards them, they may be severely injured!¡± He then looked at all the students who had already been tested and were standing at the side lines. ¡°Is there any one of you who wants to try? Don¡¯t blame me if you fail again!¡±

    Most of the students awkwardly hid behind each other or stepped back because of Julian¡¯s intense gaze. When he heard the parent speak up, Keith stopped walking, but after Julian¡¯s fierce retort, he hurriedly walked towards Vaeryl and Niyla. ¡°So you were actually genius,¡± Vaeryl said with a slight smile on his face. ¡°Even though your knowledge is on a different level compared to me, your talent isn¡¯t any worse! Even your swordsmanship rivals mine!¡± He then clapped Keith¡¯s shoulder happily saying; ¡°Truly worthy of being my friend!¡±

    Keith just smiled in response, laying his eyes upon the structure again. Even though he pretended to look calm, preparing to observe the upcoming participants, his head was full of wild thoughts.

    Keith¡¯s mental state had started to calm down after the emotional roller coaster he had been through the past weeks, but with the sudden announcement of the entrance test when he arrived at the academy, he had become a little anxious again. Now, finally being able to show to everyone here that he wasn¡¯t someone worthless after all, his confidence was boosted by enormous leaps. Even though he knew almost no one here, and he had nothing to prove to them at all, he didn¡¯t care one bit.

    While he looked around, he found Dillim¡¯s gaze by change. For the first time since Keith could remember, he saw Dillim smile a heartfelt smile. It truly seemed like Dillim wished Keith the very best. Looking at Dillim smiling like this, Keith¡¯s excited heart couldn¡¯t help but to be filled with extra warm feelings. His determination grew as he balled both his fists, ¡®I¡¯ll do well in the next examination too, starting out on my path to becoming a powerful mage!¡¯ This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    In the span of a few hours, all of the new students had entered the structure and left with either good or bad news. Only around a fourth of the students received a passing grade, showing how tough the examinations were. Almost all of the new students were nobles or children with special backgrounds. It showed just how mighty Aethruni ¨Cand the force behind it was. If a common academy tried to reject all sorts of important people, that academy wouldn¡¯t last very long.

    There were a few special cases where other students would receive a deity-grade. The most shocking event of the first entrance test was how a young, rather plump boy had exceptional affinity for both ice and water. When the judges saw he had exceptional affinity for water in the structure, they didn¡¯t think about testing him for the other elements, but the boy kept insisting he wanted to be tested for ice too. Eventually Julian made the call to test him, seeing how it wouldn¡¯t hurt to do the deity-graded boy a favor. Turned out that the boy actually possessed exceptional affinity for two elements, making everyone present stare with their mouths open.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Julian said as he finished grading the last new student. ¡°Everyone who failed this exam, don¡¯t even think about participating in the upcoming one! You¡¯re all out!¡± He then nodded to someone who stood among the adults in the back. ¡°Maoll, it¡¯s your turn, please come up.¡±

    The person Julian called over was an old man who had a beard reaching his knees. He looked to be around 80 years old and had a hunched back. Julian looked around him and then pointed at Maoll, ¡°He will be the head judge for the next test! I have done enough for today, new students who have passed, I¡¯ll see you around!¡± He boomed, before storming away.

    The old man that was left standing in the middle of the room, slowly rubbed the back of his head, an amiable smile on his face. ¡°Ehehe,¡± he chuckled before continuing, ¡°Sorry for that, the second part will now officially start. My name is Maoll Linkar. I¡¯m a light element grand spell caster.¡± Just when he was about to continue talking he was interrupted by different conversations coming from all sides.

    ¡°Another grand spell caster, another!¡±

    ¡°Damn, just how grand is Aethruni to be able to use grand spell casters as judges!¡±

    ¡°I had never seen a grand spell caster before, but today I have seen two!¡±

    ¡°Quiet down all of you,¡± Maoll chuckled. ¡°If your children perform well enough, it won¡¯t be too late for them to reach my level,¡± he said towards the adults whispering to each other.

    At this moment, Keith nudged Vaeryl to calmly ask what all the commotion was about. Vaeryl strangely looked at Keith for a second, before thinking of something. It then looked like he repeated something he had often been told himself: ¡°Well, the average amount of grand spell casters or grand sword master in a strong country lies around 15 and that¡¯s when we¡¯re talking about a population of around thirty million! For two of them to appear here already feels special for most of them!¡±

    Keith didn¡¯t really understand how big those numbers were, but he grasped the essence of what Vaeryl was saying. He nodded, focusing on Maoll again.

    ¡°This test will test a very important aspect all mages should have; mental control. Some of you might wonder why we have two tests, instead of only the elemental affinity test. The first reason is because this way students with a mortal-grade might be promoted to deity-grade!¡± Maoll said, letting his words sink in for a few moments. ¡°Furthermore, it¡¯s good to understand on what level most of the children that will enter the academy are.¡± He then waved his hand, making a dense gold energy appear on his hand. ¡°This is a special spell that light mages can cast. It¡¯s a very weak manifested form of light elemental energy that can be given over to others. A part from the elemental healing spells is exactly what I¡¯m holding in my hand! Healing spells from the light magic branch, consist out of the healing part and the support part. The support part causes the body of a patient to involuntarily absorb it, while the healing part will repair the damage that was done to him.¡± Maoll waved his hand around some more, showing everyone the dense bundle of light he was holding. ¡°This is a modified spell that will prevent people from absorbing the energy, but it¡¯s still very good natured and can be manipulated by everyone when they hold it. This way even students without a grown mana core can manipulate spells!¡±

    A few of the adults and students whispered among themselves when Maoll explained what the second test would include.

    ¡°The exact test will be for students to showcase their mental powers by manipulating the spell I give them. The more mental power someone has, the easier it¡¯ll be for them to manipulate it. Every student has two tries! Second entrance exam, begin!¡±

    The students were a little bit hesitant to come forward. This was no surprise because no one had a clear idea of how they would perform when they stepped up. A majority of the students had never held a spell before, especially because none of them could even cast or conjure a spell yet. This was probably also the reason that two attempts were allowed, otherwise, the new students with high mental power might fail too, simply because they didn¡¯t understand how to use their mental power to control the spell.

    After a few dozen seconds, someone finally walked up. When Keith looked at him, he remembered that this plump boy was the one with exceptional affinities for both ice and water. The boy walked forward with an arrogant smile on his face, seemingly already confident in getting a good result this test.

    Maoll still had his initial spell in his hands and beckoned for the plump kid to raise his hands. He then dropped the spell he was holding into the hands of the kid. He simply stepped back afterwards.

    The plump kid¡¯s face grew serious the moment the spell hit his hands, but he still looked fairly confident. He then slowly started to move his hands in opposite directions, creating a bridge of golden light that connected his hands. Seeing this, the judge¡¯s face lit up with pleasant surprise. The plump boy kept going and going, until sweat started to appear on his forehead. When he had his hands so far apart that the golden energy had started to become as thick as a finger and as long as an arm, the spell dissolved. The plump boy looked disappointed for a moment, but recovered himself and regained his arrogant look.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± Maoll said, before repeating himself once more; ¡°Not bad at all! High level of mental control!¡±

    After the plump kid walked back to his previous spot, Vaeryl started to grin evilly, pushing Keith in the direction of the judge. Keith was still focused on what had transpired before, thinking about how he would try to reform the light essence.

    When Maoll saw Keith stumbling towards him, he raised an eyebrow, saying: ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re next?¡±

 Book 1 - Chapter 17 - Entrance Test (III)

    Keith threw a look behind him and glared at Vaeryl. He just looked back and waved with a big smile, even saying, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t make the judge wait!¡±

    It wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to really annoy the judge, so he turned around with a solemn face. ¡®Whether I¡¯m up second or last, it doesn¡¯t matter!¡¯ he encouraged himself. He walked up to the judge and stopped in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    The judge smiled in response and lowered his hands upon Keith¡¯s. He had casted another spell when Keith was walking towards him, which was why he was able to provide Keith with one the moment he stopped in front of him.

    The moment the spell was given over to Keith, a frown appeared on his face. Somehow it felt like a part of his perception extended from within to surround the spell. He slowly but surely started to feel connected to the bundle of dense white light in his hands.

    It felt strange¡­ unfamiliar.

    He had never experienced something like this, making him a little confused at first. When he slowly started to move his hands in opposite directions, a frown appeared on his face. It seemed that not only the spell was being manipulated, but also his perception that was adhered to it. The more he stretched out the energy, the more a part of his mental energy was being expanded outside his body. After stretching the spell for a little, Keith¡¯s mind started to ache. It felt like he existed on two different fronts, a small part of him in his hands, being held by the bigger part of himself. He started sweating after moving his hands some more and finally couldn¡¯t hold anymore. He dropped the spell, effectively severing the connection he had with it.

    The judge¡¯s face didn¡¯t change at all, only whispering to Keith: ¡°Low amount of mental control, do you want another try?¡±

    Keith looked at the ground and saw the light magic disappear right through. On hearing what the judge said, his face changed. ¡®That was one try already?!¡¯ He looked up and saw the judge smile amiably. He let his eyes wander for a second, taking in his surroundings. Most people had been looking expectantly at Keith, especially after his performance in the first test, but now most of these people already lost interest; Keith¡¯s first try spelled out nothing extraordinary. He saw Vaeryl and Niyla watching him with very expectant faces. Niyla even had her fists balled, it almost seemed like she was being tested herself. When Keith turned his head to look back at the judge, he somehow met Dillim¡¯s gaze. Dillim was looking at him with a frown. He then pointed at his hip and closed his eyes, breaking the eye contact they had. Keith kept staring at him, confusion visible on his face.

    ¡°Cough, cough,¡± the judge lightly coughed, regaining Keith¡¯s attention. ¡°Do you want a second a try, or do you want to be graded by your previous attempt?¡±

    Keith said nothing as he raised his hands once more. A determined look could be seen on his face, he thought he understood what Dillim meant by pointing at his sword. Everyone kept saying this test was about mental control, which makes sense. Maybe instead of moving his body and have his mind accompany the movement, he should try to move the spell with his mind.

    Dillim taught Keith that there are two different ways of movement. The first is to first think about what you will do and then have your body follow the movements. The second way is to simply let your body move without thinking.

    When Keith received the spell for the second time, he closed his eyes, focusing himself. The next thing he did, was pretend the spell in his hands was a sword. When he felt his mind join with the spell again, he started figuring out the path he wanted to move, instead of immediately moving his hands.

    A frown appeared on the judge¡¯s face. The first time Keith made contact with his spell, nothing extraordinary happened, but now that the child in front of him was holding the bundle of energy for the second time, he somehow changed. It almost felt like the bearing of the child had changed, bringing with him a hateful and determined aura.

    Keith didn¡¯t know how he was being perceived by the judge and he didn¡¯t care. He had figured out what kind of movement he would make; one he had repeated a lot of times the previous days already. He then ¡®willed¡¯ the energy first, only having his hands accompany the spell.

    The audience started to pay attention again, at first it looked like Keith would just fail again, but somehow the second time something felt different. They then gaped when they saw Keith make a slashing motion with his hands, creating an arc of beautiful light magic. Because of the spell¡¯s properties, everywhere it traveled a transparent path of light would appear before slowly fading away.

    Keith felt his hands being guided by his spell, which was being guided by his mind. When he completed his motion, a clean, sharp horizontal cut from left to right, he planned on continuing his motions. He raised the spell above his head, simply letting his hands move along. He then ¡®cut¡¯ down! This time it felt a little different; the moment he completed the second movement his mind started to lose the detailed control he had over the spell. The sudden change in control resulted in him relaxing his connection because of surprise. The spell fell to the ground, extending the path Keith had drawn from his head down towards the ground.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± The judge pondered. ¡°Not too bad a recovery, a quick learner it seems. Average to high mental control!¡±

    Keith dejectedly looked at the ground and returned to his place next to Vaeryl and Niyla. He had a sad look on his face as he walked back, but when he saw Vaeryl¡¯s face he asked; ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    Vaeryl looked very surprised, he had his eyebrows raised the whole time as Keith walked to him. Hearing Keith question him, he replied; ¡°Because I¡¯m surprised! You said you never meditated, right?!¡± He then shook his head and clapped Keith¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°You¡¯re still fit to be my friend! I don¡¯t know how you managed to do that, but nice movements! Most people who have never trained their minds simply drop the spells the moment they receive it. I thought you were decently talented the first time already, but when you changed your bearing the second time it seems I was mistaken!¡± Vaeryl had a big smile on his face, just like Niyla.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty cool, but I¡¯m definitely more talented!¡± Niyla exclaimed to Keith when she saw her brother compliment him.

    ¡®Changed my bearing?¡¯ Keith didn¡¯t understand what Vaeryl was talking about, but he just smiled and his mood got a little bit better. He didn¡¯t know that after he was taught by Dillim to do so, he had been venting all his emotions when he was holding a sword. Even though he had slowly changed a little, every time he held a sword, his mind would immediately link it to his darker emotions. Keith didn¡¯t really know about this, he only changed subconsciously when he held a sword, his judgement wasn¡¯t clouded at all.

    After Keith underwent his test, other students started walking up too. You could clearly see who had trained their mental energy before and who hadn¡¯t. Some students immediately dropped the spell twice in a row, while others performed quite well. It seemed like a lot of the students who didn¡¯t have a good affinity still managed to get a high grade on their mental control. This made sense, because everyone could practice and increase their mental control. It only needed talent at higher levels, where mental control would become increasingly important.

    After a lot of students went up, Vaeryl decided that he should go up too. He walked up with a smile and a confident look. When he reached out one hand to the judge, the judge nodded at him and then handed his spell over.

    Vaeryl then did something that no one had done up till that point. He threw the energy into the air with his right hand, making it float above his head. While it was floating there his surroundings slowly lit up because of the spell. It then started to slowly float down, almost reaching Vaeryl¡¯s head. The moment the spell made contact with his head, it slowly started to expand. The dense gold energy started to split up in lots of small parts that were all starting to cover Vaeryl. When a majority of his body was covered up with the spell, he looked like a golden statue. After remaining in this state for a second, the whole spell started to dissolve, leaving a profusely sweating, but smiling, Vaeryl to stand in its place.

    ¡°Brother is too cool!¡± Niyla could be heard exclaiming while everyone had gotten quiet.

    ¡°Exceptional mental control!¡± Maoll exclaimed with wide eyes.

    When Vaeryl walked back, he saw Keith staring at him with wide eyes. ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    ¡°If you had been forced to train your mental energy too, then you would¡¯ve been able to do the same thing I did. I¡¯m more impressed by you to be able to perform so well without ever training your mind!¡± Vaeryl replied humbly.

    After Vaeryl went up, some other students went up, including Niyla. She managed to get a high to exceptional mental control grade, making her happily bounce towards Keith and Vaeryl.

    The disparity between students who trained their mental control and who didn¡¯t, only kept becoming more noticeable. Most of the students had either a low amount of mental control, or a high amount of mental control. The students with average mental control were in the minority. Furthermore, there were more students with an exceptional mental control than there were students with an exceptional elemental affinity.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Maoll said, gathering the attention of everyone when the last student had been graded. ¡°Everyone¡¯s names and grade have been noted. The mortal and deity-grades will only become important after they have formed their mana core. The day after tomorrow, the year will officially start. Congratulations to all the students have passed! I will see you all in front of this building on the first day!¡± He then started walking away, leaving everyone without looking back.

    ¡°Well, that went as expected!¡± Vaeryl said as Niyla, Dillim and Keith walked outside the building. Dillim had been introduced to them on the same day that Keith met them. He didn¡¯t really mind and mostly just kept his indifferent face on.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Niyla asked Dillim when they finally managed to escape the sea of people trying to exit the building. ¡°How strong are you?¡± She asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

    Dillim just looked at her without showing anything on his face. ¡°Strong enough to stop him from coming in harm¡¯s way.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re stronger than my brother?¡±

    Vaeryl and Keith laughed as a response; they saw Dillim make a wry smile, unable to respond to her simple question. They both understood just how big the gap between them and Dillim was. Vaeryl hadn¡¯t seen Dillim show his might, but after he asked Keith he understood just how strong Dillim was.

    When they stood outside again, everyone returned to their respective dorms, it had been a long day for them.

    Two more days quickly passed. Keith and Vaeryl sparred some more and when Dillim walked in on a session, he actually guided both. They also explored the surroundings a little together, having Niyla join them too. In this manner, the two days quickly passed.

    Morning.

    Keith woke up with vigor, even though he hadn¡¯t slept long, he was brimming with energy and determination.

    ¡®Today the school year will finally start!¡¯

 Book 1 - Chapter 18 - Introduction

    After Keith woke up, he and Vaeryl prepared themselves and exited the male students¡¯ dorm. Keith didn¡¯t really know what to expect at school, but Vaeryl said that the first two years would be pretty boring. It was impossible to start casting magic without having formed your mana core completely, just like it was impossible to start absorbing world energy without having formed your energy veins. Every human would grow their mana core and energy veins between six and twelve years old, so the only thing that could be done at academies during this period, was to learn about ways to smoothen the process and reinforce the core and veins the moment they were grown enough to start being nourished.

    Vaeryl and Keith reached the front door alongside approximately another 100 students. All of them had participated in the entrance test and groups were already starting to form. Most of the students that had enrolled came from an uncommon background, it was the best national academy for a reason. A lot of the students already knew each other; most had already seen each other once or twice on special events. Except for the royalty or nobles from other countries, everyone had a vague impression of one another.

    The whole area was pretty crowded by now, bustling conversations sounding all over. Even though most of the space in front of the academy building had been crowded by new students, there was one part left vacant.

    In the middle, right in front of the entrance, stood an old fellow. He had his hands cupped behind his back and released the aura of someone with authority. He had a gentle but firm look in his eyes, as he observed the new students that would be joining his academy. When he noticed that most of the students had arrived and the tides that consisted out of student groups arriving at the plaza had halted, he whispered: ¡°EVERYONE,¡± without actually raising his voice.

    All the students immediately raised their heads and looked around, before they saw everyone looking in the same direction ¨Can old man standing before the gate. His voice didn¡¯t seem to come from his mouth, it was almost like the wind carried it to everyone¡¯s ears, making it sound extremely loud. When the old man saw he had everyone¡¯s attention, he showed a pleased look. He then spoke up normally, using the sound waves his vocal cords produced, instead of the waves from the wind.

    ¡°Listen up everyone, I¡¯m Ruthar, your principal! You generally won¡¯t see me a lot, but I will supervise the most important affairs of this academy. A lot of you won¡¯t make it to the mana master level and probably none of you will become a grand spell caster!¡± The principal let his words sink in for a moment, before continuing. ¡°A few of you might make it through, but there is only one way! That is to fight for your own destiny, your own path! Even those at the bottom can make it, but they¡¯re just less likely to! You will spend your years here and will contribute to the academy, just like we will contribute to your lives! One has to have the determination to persevere from a young age! You should all start cultivating this already by experiencing hardships and overcoming them!¡±

    The principal rumbled on for a while, talking about how important the mind was, how love was unreliable and some other philosophical matters. He didn¡¯t realize that almost all of the students had given up on understanding what he was talking about after his second sentence.

    When the principal was still somewhere halfway a sentence, Rinza, who took Dillim and Keith to the academy, showed up from among the students and walked towards him. When the principal kept talking even though Rinza had approached him, Rinza started whispering something in the principal¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Shut up! They¡¯re old enough to start learning about important matters of the world, they all understand me well enough, just look at their enlightened faces!¡± The principal boomed in response, before continuing his speech. Rinza just shook his head with a wry smile and stepped back.

    ¡°You should all follow Rinza¡¯s instructions, he will tell you all how you will be assigned. Study well and become the person you all wish to be!¡± The principal finished, before he started floating.

    Most of the students who hadn¡¯t been paying attention, suddenly had their full focus on the principal. He was starting to float higher and higher, before he laughed and flew away.

    ¡°I want to become a wind mage and fly!¡± Students could be heard saying all around the campus.

    ¡®Damn him for making such a ruckus¡­¡¯ Rinza mumbled resignedly as he stepped forward. ¡°Students, please pay attention now!¡± He said, trying to focus their attention on himself. After a while, the children started to calm down, which enabled Rinza to finally start talking about organizational matters.

    ¡°There are 96 of you all who have passed this year, which means you will be split among 8 groups! The grade you received at the entrance test doesn¡¯t matter for now, that will only be of importance when you are actually able to start casting magic. Please go inside for now and let yourself be assigned to a group. It¡¯s possible to stay together with your friends or acquaintances, just tell the staff inside,¡± Rinza explained calmly with an amiable smile. ¡°Today is a day of introduction, if you have been assigned to your group, you will follow that group¡¯s teacher and become acquainted with them. Starting tomorrow the classes will start. You will have classes together with your group at noon, then afterwards you can attend to specific classes for your elements.¡±

    Some of the children had started to show looks of confusion on their faces, why would they attend specific classes if they couldn¡¯t even cast magic yet?

    Rinza paused for a moment to check if it was clear what he said. When he saw that confusion remained on some of the students¡¯ faces, he tried to make everything clear. ¡°The class with your assigned group at noon is your regular mandatory class! This will give you your homework and teach you the most essential things,¡± Rinza saw most of this had been understood, so he continued with his explanation, ¡°But because everyone has different elements, there are individual classes for each element in the afternoon. You can attend them by yourself if you want, they are not mandatory. Even though none of you is able to cast magic yet, you will still be taught about general concepts and techniques regarding that element. For example, in the wind class you might be able to learn how strong you must be to be able to fly. The instructors of those classes will also give you tips on how to strengthen and nourish your still growing mana core.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    When the students heard the word ¡®fly¡¯, a shine immediately appeared in most of their eyes. Some children looked motivated, while others looked a bit sad that they didn¡¯t have a good affinity for wind. What person didn¡¯t dream about flying once in their life? This was almost a natural instinct that every person had since they had first seen birds soar through the sky. If someone had the chance to fly, who wouldn¡¯t take it?

    It was actually possible for people who didn¡¯t have an affinity towards wind to still try and fill their mana core with wind elemental energy. But it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea.

    The only thing that was tested in the first entrance test, was people¡¯s affinity towards particular elements, making it easier for them to choose their direction. But what that affinity shows, is how easy it is for people to convert the mana they sense around them into that particular elemental energy. Someone with exceptional wind affinity will be able to convert the mana around him to wind elemental energy with half the effort but twice the results.

    What wasn¡¯t tested though, was the talent the students had to sense the mana around them. The more mana someone can sense around him, the faster he can convert the mana to an element of his choice. Someone¡¯s talent to sense and convert mana, isn¡¯t testable when the mana core hasn¡¯t been formed yet.

    So even if someone had godlike mana perception, if he didn¡¯t have any affinity towards wind at all, it would be very hard for him to become a successful wind mage. He would be able to sense the mana that he would want to convert into elemental wind energy to fill his mana core with, but the conversion would be very slow. This way it would take way longer for the mage to become as strong as he would¡¯ve become by picking another element to convert.

    Seeing different emotions on all the children¡¯s faces, Rinza tried to lift the mood and have everyone join their groups without feeling too bad. ¡°Don¡¯t worry everyone, even though you might not be able to fly this lifetime, every element has its own perks. If you have a good affinity towards water, you might be able to swim without feeling the need to breathe! This will allow you to visit the depths of the ocean, exploring new lands!¡±

    After hearing this, new discussions broke loose, with every student defending and praising their own elements. Rinza still managed to guide the students inside, where they were quickly split up by eight teachers. Most of the teachers were still quite young, around 35 years old, but they were all mana masters surprisingly. This just showed how good Aethruni was as an academy. The strongest that mages could be classified as were grand spell casters, but only one rank below this were the mana masters.

    After the group was split up, the teachers led their smaller groups away to different rooms located around the building.

    Inside the classroom.

    Twelve students, including Vaeryl, Niyla, and Keith were sitting next to each other in a circle. The teacher that had been assigned to their group was also part of that circle. He had short red hair and red eyebrows. His hair, combined with the scar on his cheek, made for a strange sight. This was actually the teacher who guided the students inside when they took their entrance test. Most of the time he had a casual grin on his face, looking free of worries. Almost all of the mages at the academy were wearing fancy robes, but this teacher actually wore adventurer¡¯s clothing.

    ¡°Hiya everyone,¡± The red-haired teacher began as everyone had taken place. ¡°I will teach you about magic and other stuff concerning your future for the next two years. After that I might teach you some more if you¡¯re lucky.¡± He joked, keeping the same smile.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea for all of us to casually introduce ourselves. We will be stuck together for two years and first impressions are important, so you can all have a moment to think about what you want to say!¡±

    Everyone in the circle was about to think of how they would introduce themselves when the red-haired teacher already spoke up again, ¡°I¡¯ll start first, that way you might be able to think of something.¡± He was actually one of the only ones who treated the children for the actual age they were. Most of the children were a little anxious to introduce themselves in front of a group, but compared to the other stuff they had already gone through, like the entrance test, it was relatively less exciting.

    ¡°Alright, nice to meet you all, I¡¯m Red!¡± Some of the children laughed when they heard him say that, it just made a funny sight to see someone with red hair all over his face to call himself ¡®Red¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m a main fire elemental mana master, but I know a bit about every element. Don¡¯t hesitate to ask me about anything, I¡¯m here to teach you all, while you¡¯re all here to learn. My goals in life are to discover new fire spells, but after the academy has groomed me, I decided to do something back, so I will teach here for a while,¡± Red casually explained. ¡°Eventually, if I¡¯m able to purify my whole mana core and become a grand spell caster, I might be able to learn all the fire spells there are. My final dream is to catch them all!¡± When Red said this, his eyes had a different splendor to them, determination but also happiness. He generally exuded the aura of a wild but gentle person.

    Most of the kids were encouraged to speak about their own goals when they heard Red talk. People with passions easily ignited the fire of passion inside others. The child sitting next to the teacher started to introduce himself.

    ¡°Hello everyone,¡± Vaeryl said while casually leaning backwards. ¡°Most of you know me by now and I¡¯ve seen a few of you around too. My name is Vaeryl Proditor, I¡¯m called the Second Prince more than I¡¯m called Vaeryl though, so I don¡¯t really mind what you call me,¡± Vaeryl shrugged. ¡°I will be aiming to become Erelath¡¯s king, but I¡¯m told that I need power first, so that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I hope that all of you will support me when I become a king in the future!¡±

    As a response to Vaeryl, most kids greeted him while smiling. Some of them knew Vaeryl from their family who participated in the politics of Erelath. They all knew him as someone who was especially good towards his friends and who would never throw a tantrum.

    Next up was Niyla, she introduced herself with much vigor, saying she wanted to live freely and become the most powerful mage to ever live. She didn¡¯t forget to state her intention to support her brother while he ascended the throne either.

    When it was Keith¡¯s turn, he only said a few words: ¡°Hello everyone,¡± he started. ¡°My name is Keith¡­ What I wish for is to gain so much power that no one can deny it anymore!¡± His first sentence was filled with determination and spite. But then the look in his eyes softened and the tension in his face slowly loosened. ¡°I just wish to find the limit of what magic can achieve, to see what kind of view one can see standing at the top!¡±

    When he started talking, most of the children looked a bit weirdly at him. But when they thought about his relationship with the Second Prince, they still tried to smile a little. Finally hearing him talk about reaching the highest level, their smiles became sincere. They could definitely relate to his last sentence, making them forget what he had said before.

    Among the other students who introduced themselves, there was no one special, except for the girl who had gotten exceptional fire affinity at the entrance test. She introduced herself as the family of Julian ¨C the fire element grand spell caster who judged the elemental affinity entrance test. She said she wanted to become just as strong as him so that she could protect her little sister.

    When everyone finished with the introductions, Red stood up. ¡°Hey everyone, I have to leave now, feel free to chat a bit more. Tomorrow the lessons will officially start! Everyone please come to this classroom around noon, see you then!¡± He said when he walked away.

 Book 1 - Chapter 19 - First lessons

    Keith was about to leave with Niyla, but Vaeryl stopped them. ¡°Come on you two, don¡¯t leave already.¡± He smilingly pointed at the group that was starting to gather around him. ¡°Why don¡¯t we all get to know each other better?¡±

    Some of the students were already leaving and the others did nothing to stop them. They would see each other enough times the coming two years; they would have enough time to socialize later. A few of the children in the class gathered around Vaeryl, trying to become friends with him and get to know each other. It wasn¡¯t common for them to interact with a prince, making them feel special for a moment.

    After the others left, a few children were still in the classroom. Gathered around Vaeryl; including Keith and Niyla, were two young boys who looked almost identical, a guy with short, brown hair and a girl with a red dress. They chattered a little about where they all came from and what they wanted to achieve at the academy. Keith had been silent for some time, but eventually joined the conversation too. ¡°What elemental classes will you be joining tomorrow?¡± He still didn¡¯t feel like talking too much, but his curiosity won over. He thought it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to get a little acquainted with his classmates. The twin brothers looked at Keith and voiced at the same time:

    ¡°Water¡­¡±

    ¡°Fire!¡±

    The twin brother who silently said water looked to be a bit shy, while his twin brother was the complete opposite.

    Vaeryl looked at them for a moment and then asked the whole group, ¡°How do you think they will manage people with multiple affinities? Although it might be a lot smarter to focus more on one particular element, these classes should help form an idea of what element to choose. But what if the elemental classes are at the same time?¡±

    The girl with the red dress, who turned out to be the granddaughter of Julian ¨Cthe fire elemental grand spell caster judge, was able to answer his question. ¡°Well, some of the elemental classes are at the same time, while some of them are a bit earlier or later. It depends on when the teachers have free time during the day. Some days you might be lucky, while other days you might be unlucky,¡± she explained with a smile.

    Niyla, on hearing this, exclaimed, ¡°Wow, you must know a lot about the academy! Do you want to become friends?¡±

    The girl with the red dress laughed and nodded. They continued chatting for a while until they split up and went back to their respective dorms.

    Vaeryl and Keith walked, enjoying how the sun rays were falling on their faces. ¡°Hey,¡± Keith said, ¡°It¡¯s such a nice day, how about we go for another spar?¡±

    ¡°Again? We¡¯re mages you know, we should be casting spells and stuff, not use swords!¡± Vaeryl jokingly laughed.

    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t we? We can¡¯t even cast spells for another two years, we might as well get good at something else for now.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ alright. Heh, you¡¯re just a sore loser, the score is still 5 to 3 in my favor!¡±

    ¡°Not for long!¡± Keith said with a determined smile.

    They proceeded to spar, with Keith narrowingly defeating Vaeryl this time, bringing the score back to 5 ¨C 4. They then strolled around for a bit, before going to bed.

    On the morning of the next day, Keith woke up with vigor. He and Vaeryl went back to the classroom where they had received their lesson the previous day. ¡°Hey everyone, calmly sit down please,¡± Red said when all 12 of them were present. This time they didn¡¯t sit in a circle, but rather sat in a common order. Two people sat next to each other behind a table, while all the tables were orientated towards the front of the classroom. There were about two rows that each had three tables next to each other.

    ¡°Our first, but also one of the most important subjects, will be handled now, so please pay attention everyone! We will talk a little about meditation, which can help your mental control greatly. First off, I want to ask you all, what kinds of meditation are there?¡± Red voiced.

    A few kids, including Vaeryl and Niyla raised up their hands. ¡°Oh, not bad, alright, you there in the back.¡± Red pointed at a kid with short brown hair, who stayed to talk the previous day too.

    ¡°Well, I know about internal meditation!¡±

    ¡°Very good, there¡¯s internal meditation, but there¡¯s also external meditation. Although both are actually always internal, we still differentiate them with these names. Can anyone explain the difference?" Red kept trying to pull all the children in, this way they would remember everything better.

    Vaeryl still had his hand raised and got a turn. ¡°Internal meditation is about clearing your own mind by thinking of nothing, while external meditation is about clearing your mind by focusing on your surroundings.¡±

    Red nodded and then took over, ¡°Very good. These two are the only types of meditation that are used by mages. They¡¯re both used to reach different goals. Internal meditation helps with casting and controlling spells, while external meditation will help with focusing and sensing mana around you.¡± He looked around for a bit and seeing that everyone understood what he was saying, he continued.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°There are several methods for each type and they are very important to train. Internal training, is to think of nothing. This is very hard, because the mind is always busy, but only when you can completely empty yourself, can you control your mind. The first method to achieve this, is to simply let all your thoughts go without paying attention to them. Even if you suddenly think of something, just let the thought go and think of nothing. This can take a very long time to get used to, but eventually you will all reap the benefits,¡± Red took a breath, before continuing with a solemn look. ¡°Another method you can try, is to imagine a black hole that sucks in every thought that comes to you. Just keep imagining that all your thoughts are being drawn in and you will slowly feel that your mind is clearing up. When you try this, you will notice how many stray thoughts will hinder you. We practice this meditation to gain control over the mind, so that we don¡¯t have to deal with random thoughts when we have to solely focus on casting spells!¡±

    ¡°How about external meditation?¡± A kid asked after hearing Red explain about internal meditation.

    ¡°I was just going to talk about that, don¡¯t worry! External meditation is all about sitting somewhere and slowly trying to sense everything around you. Try to feel the heat of the sun, the liveliness of the animals around you, try to hear everything that is being said and done around you. External meditation is all about letting yourself become part of your surroundings. Eventually when you have formed your mana core, you might be able to start sensing the mana around you better, making it easier to convert it to elemental energy.¡±

    Red continued explaining and tried to clear up some more misconceptions about meditation that the students had. After some time had passed, he finalized the lesson.

    ¡°Alright, your homework will be to meditate for one hour every day, starting from now! Your elemental classes will start after around an hour. Tomorrow we will speak a little about mana, class dismissed!¡±

    The students slowly exited the building. They had already all been briefed about where and what time their elemental classes would start.

    Keith split up with Vaeryl and Niyla, each moving to where their respective elements would be taught. Keith was pretty unfortunate, because today all three of his element classes were at the same time. He had to choose between lightning, darkness and fire classes, so he picked the one that he would probably be focusing mainly on. He walked towards his lightning elemental class, expecting to see a very small group.

    Ice and lightning were the rarest elements, while light and darkness elements were also uncommon. During the class, Red also explained that the elemental classes will be available for both the first and second year students. The academy didn¡¯t have enough high-level mages that were willing to teach 10- and 11-year-old children, so they had to share classes. This resulted in the classes sometimes being a bit too difficult for the 10-year-olds, and sometimes being too easy for the 11-year-olds.

    When Keith arrived at the designated classroom, there were around four children already sitting in the front of the classroom. Keith seemed to be the last to arrive, because the teacher stood up the moment he arrived. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± she begun. ¡°My name is Elena and I¡¯ll be teaching you about lightning magic!¡± She seemed to be in her late twenties and was wearing blue adventurer¡¯s clothing, instead of the regular mage¡¯s robe. ¡°I have always learned better by being shown, instead of being told, so everyone, stand up!¡± She then smiled and walked out of the classroom, guiding all the students with her.

    They walked towards one of the many practice fields behind the main building, where they sat down. Elena walked a little bit further away, having a safe distance between her students and herself. ¡°We will discuss about the properties of the element during the whole year, so for now, let me just show you all!¡±

    The moment she said that, the surroundings started to change a little. Keith felt that a huge power was starting to gather in the direction of Elena. Slowly some very small flashes of lightning appeared around Elena¡¯s body. The flashes started to appear more frequent and each time a new flash would appear, the lightning would be a little bigger than the previous one. Her hair was slowly starting to float along with the intensity of the lightning that was increasing. After a while, it was almost like her whole body was constantly surrounded by lightning, making her seem like an ancient god.

    ¡°You are all very lucky and also unlucky to have gotten a lightning element affinity,¡± Elena said. When she looked back at the students, still being surrounded by lightning, her eyes seemed to have changed too. They had become a little bluer, with more depth to them. ¡°The lightning element is actually known for having the fastest speed and the biggest destructive power! You can be faster than wind mages and more destructive than fire mages! There are only two disadvantages, we quickly run out of elemental power and it¡¯s very hard to convert mana to lightning elemental energy!¡±

    She then smiled and the next moment, all students ¨Ceven the second-year students, gaped in awe. Elena had more or less jumped into the sky, where she hovered for a moment, but it happened so fast that it was almost like she teleported. She then twisted her body and struck out her hand towards the ground. The next moment, the intensity of lightning around her lessened dramatically, but the ground was no more. The patch of grass she hit, immediately burned away, showing the ground beneath it. The lightning had already impacted on the ground and discharged like the roots of a tree through the ground.

    When Elena fell down from the sky, she discharged lightning some more to lessen the impact of her fall, but the discharge wasn¡¯t as big as the previous one. ¡°Hey, everyone, come over,¡± she waved towards the students. When they all arrived at the strike zone of Elena¡¯s lightning, they couldn¡¯t help but marvel. ¡°Lightning isn¡¯t only the best element, it¡¯s also the most beautiful! Not only are the attack flashes gorgeous, even the impact zones turn into beautiful things.¡±

    It turned out that all of the sand beneath the grass had turned into glass, creating a marvelous sight. ¡°Lightning mages are generally the most feared among mages, except for mages who meet their own counters. They will try to dodge and run until you don¡¯t have any elemental energy left, but it¡¯s our job as lightning mages to defeat them before that!¡±

    She then had the five students sit down around the patch of land she hit, cleverly motivating them while she started speaking about some of the more complicated parts to controlling lightning.

 Book 1 - Chapter 20 - First lessons (II)

    ¡°You might¡¯ve already seen it by now, but if a lightning mage wants to use lightning, they always have to spend a lot of elemental energy,¡± Elena explained.

    Keith raised his hand, trying to get Elena¡¯s attention. ¡°Do you have a question young man?¡± Elena smilingly asked.

    ¡°It takes a long time to convert the mana around you to your elemental energy, right? But if it¡¯s all used up after a few moves, do you have to gather everything from scratch?¡±

    Elena nodded and started explaining, ¡°Well, this doesn¡¯t really have anything to do with the lightning element in particular, but it¡¯s more a general mana core issue. What happens when we convert the mana around us into elemental energy, is that our core slowly gets purified by that element. The more our core is filled by the elemental energy, the more it¡¯s purified. The initial gathering is very tough for each element, but after it¡¯s gathered and that part has been purified, it¡¯s a lot easier to fill again. So even if you spend all your elemental energy after a fight and you have to gather everything again, the speed of gathering can¡¯t be compared to the first time of gathering and purifying. So only if you want to gather more than you have ever possessed in your mana core, will you start having troubles again.¡± She looked around herself and saw that all the students understood, including Keith. ¡°Furthermore, the more your mana core is purified, the faster your conversion becomes, but the more elemental energy you need to gather to purify the mana core even more.¡±

    ¡°What happens when your whole mana core is purified with elements?¡± One of the students asked.

    ¡°Good question!¡± Elena¡¯s eyes started to shine when she answered. ¡°That¡¯s actually one of the things every mage wants to accomplish. The moment your mana core is completely purified; you will be deemed as a grand spell caster! The difference between someone with a mana core that¡¯s almost purified and a mana core that has been purified isn¡¯t actually that great. It¡¯s just an indication that you have reached the highest level there is.¡±

    She kept explaining some other things like what lightning was capable off and how one would best be able to use it. After she concluded her explanation she dismissed the class and walked back to the staff building.

    Keith left the area and went to look for Dillim after he picked up his wooden sword. Dillim had been spending a lot of time in the city and the forest surrounding the academy instead of accompanying Keith. Dillim deemed that the academy was safe enough for him to start handling some of his personal business. Keith had no idea what Dillim had been doing, but he also didn¡¯t mind it a lot. Dillim still taught Keith once every two days in the ways of the sword. He would also teach Vaeryl if he was accompanying Keith by chance.

    Dillim could be seen resting behind the staff building, he was sitting in a lotus position beneath a big tree. His two-handed sword was split into the ground in front of him; it had around a quarter stuck inside the ground. Keith took his time to observe Dillim when he walked up to him. Dillim¡¯s face had a neutral and calm look, which was pretty irregular. He had been growing a small beard and his hair had started to get longer, but it was visible that ever since he left Lirix ¨CKeith¡¯s country, that he had been less stressed. His grim and indifferent face had slowly started to become a little lively again, but it was only a little. Keith didn¡¯t know what happened to Dillim before he had become Keith¡¯s protector, but he hoped that he would eventually become the person his older brother had described him as.

    Dillim opened his eyes. ¡°Keith, you¡¯re here.¡± He jumped up and stretched his upper body a little, creating some popping noises. Dillim was using his left arm to stretch his right arm backwards to his left. When he switched to his other arm, his eyes showed a flash of surprise. He then stepped to the side to dodge a charging Keith.

    Keith had taken the opportunity when Dillim was stretching and not paying attention, to charge and strike with his wooden sword. ¡°Hehe,¡± Dillim chuckled. ¡°Nice try, but instead of first readying your sword, it will become more fluent if you strike out when you draw your sword in one movement! Even though you¡¯re using a wooden sword now, later on it will become very useful.¡±

    They continued training for a while, where Dillim made Keith practice his ¡®draw attack¡¯ multiple times. It started going smoother and smoother and Dillim was pleased with the fundamentals that Keith was developing. If he continued to practice in this manner, he would become a good swordsman, even without cultivating world energy. Even if he would never use a sword after becoming a mage, he would still have tremendously benefitted from the training. He would be able to understand enemy swordsmen and create strategies to deal with them, he would also still be able to become a swordsman if becoming a mage didn¡¯t work out.

    When they finished, Keith was all sweaty and went back to take a bath. When he finished, Keith and Vaeryl spoke a little about what they had witnessed in their elemental classes. Afterwards they both went to bed.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    The next day, at the mandatory class.

    Red came in slightly late, drawing the attention of all the students who were present already. ¡°Sorry everyone, I had some trouble on the way here, so I¡¯m slightly late,¡± he apologized while entering the classroom. When he reached his own table and chair, he sat down contently and started the class. ¡°Today we will discuss mana and world energy. The two things are the most important to mages and warriors. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t know where the energies come from yet, but it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± While explaining, he leaned back a little, balancing the chair on its back legs. ¡°What does matter, is what properties both the energies have, does anyone know the difference?¡±

    Keith raised his hand. He wasn¡¯t really shy, especially when he was certain of his answer. ¡°Mana is a very destructive energy that¡¯s harmful to the body, while world energy is a very gentle energy that¡¯s good for the body,¡± he calmly said while looking at Red. ¡°Mages convert the mana to their elemental energy of choice, while warriors absorb world energy with their energy veins.¡±

    ¡°Very good!¡± Red complimented, before continuing, ¡°Mana is indeed very destructive! That¡¯s why none of the mages are able to absorb it directly, we first convert the mana around us to our elemental energies and then we absorb it. Mana may absolutely not touch our body, or we¡¯ll be harmed severely. That¡¯s why the conversion actually starts outside our body until the energy is within our mana core. For some reason, after mana has been converted to a particular element, it doesn¡¯t really harm our body any longer. There are even stories about ancient mages who reached such a high level, that they could transform their own body to their element! For most of us it¡¯s just good to know that when you cast spells and they hit your own body, nothing bad will come from it. At the same time as you purify the mana, your body will start developing a resistance towards that element, which means it will be harder to get harmed by that element!¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we have both mana and world energy?¡± A student asked to no one in particular.

    Red stayed silent as a response, invitingly looking at the other students to answer the question. Keith searched through his memory a little, before speaking up again. ¡°I¡¯m not totally sure, but I heard that the more elemental energy or world energy you have, the more it starts to fluctuate. Elemental energy and world energy can¡¯t merge together so after a while the energies start to hit each other, which is bad for your body.¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Red smiled happily. ¡°You must¡¯ve already been taught a little about the most important things. Keith, right? Very good.¡± He complimented Keith again and then looked back at the student who asked the previous question. ¡°Mana, which is actually something that everyone can convert, cannot coexist with world energy. Neither can elemental energy, which comes from mana, coexist with world energy. It¡¯s possible for someone to have both energies as long as they do not come into contact with each other. But your mana core randomly starts to fluctuate with elemental energy when you get stronger. It will shoot the elemental energy through your whole body and if it would come into contact with world energy, even a little bit, it would cause a severe reaction. The same goes for world energy, after a while, some small bits of energy will leak from your energy veins. If the energy would hit your mana core, you might be lucky to keep your life.¡± Red¡¯s smile disappeared as he said this, seriously looking at each of the students. He made sure that they would all remember this lesson.

    Some of the students weren¡¯t fully convinced, so they discussed mana and world energy some more, clearing up all misconceptions. A few students secretly wanted to cultivate both, but after this class, they had let go of all those thoughts.

    The class was finished for today, so everyone left their seats and went to their elemental classes. Even though the elemental classes weren¡¯t mandatory, almost all of the first years still went. Everyone wanted to learn about their elements. Only the second-year students, who had learned most of the things already, rather played around with friends or meditated instead of attending the elemental classes.

    Keith chose to attend the lightning class again today. He figured he would go to all the lightning classes if he was forced to choose.

    In this manner, time started to pass. He would attend all of his elemental classes and started learning more and more about magic. He kept up his daily sword training, either by himself, with Vaeryl or together with Dillim. After a while, he started to consistently beat Vaeryl while sparring. Vaeryl didn¡¯t really focus on the sword and was more occupied with mental training. Keith worked hard for both his mental training and his sword training.

    The more he learned, the more he was able to figure out his future path. He wanted to mainly focus on the lightning element, while he would also convert some of the mana to darkness. He was planning to not really spend a lot of time on cultivating the fire element.

    Talent and affinity were very important for mages. Even though there were no bottlenecks for the purification of the mana core, it would still progressively slow down. The higher your affinity towards an element, the faster you would reach a high level of power. Keith wasn¡¯t planning to cultivate for decades, he wanted to take revenge, instead of waiting for his family to die of old age.

    The more he trained, the more defined his body started to become. His determination slowly started to increase while his enthusiasm and expectations towards becoming a mage only started to grow.

    Almost all of the students started to get more and more anxious about finally finishing the forming of their mana core and energy veins. They were learning about what they could do and what they might achieve later on, but no one was able to do anything yet. They were forced to watch other people do the things that they wanted to do as well.

    In this manner, two years went by.

 Book 1 - Chapter 21 - 2 years

    A young boy could be seen wielding a sword. He was standing on a deserted grass field. There were a few trees surrounding it, making it feel like a deserted patch of land in the middle of a forest. The wind was calmly blowing, almost like it was whispering something to its surroundings. The boy was graciously striking, blocking and parrying while moving, making the grass move along with him. The sun hadn¡¯t come up yet, so there was no light to reflect off the sweat that had slowly started to form on his brow. He was holding a steel sword, which was actually a little too heavy and big for his stature, but somehow, he didn¡¯t seem to have a lot of trouble with it. During his training session, he was slowly building up his pace. The slashes he was making were slowly increasing in strength and speed. He continued his training for quite some time, constantly trying to improve the flow between his moves.

    Two years ago, he would often stumble or have pauses between his strikes, but if someone would see him at this moment, no one would think they were dealing with an inexperienced swordsman. His strikes sometimes still had small flaws to them, they were either too quick or a little off aim, but when looked at a whole, it was definitely on a high level.

    The boy turned half a circle and started a combination of strikes, all his slashes fluently connected to each other. He kept up his pace, not stopping, only advancing. Finally, when he finished his final slash, he paused. He held his sword at the same place where his last strike just ended, exactly in front of his eyes. He slowly started to recover his breathing while he closed his eyes.

    He calmly inspected his own body, feeling how the weight of the sword was affecting his arm and how his arm was influencing the rest of his body. When he was satisfied with what he felt, he opened his eyes and spun around. While spinning, he twirled his sword and put it back in his sheath located on his hip.

    The sun had come up by now, fully bathing his body and face in light. If someone were to watch from the sidelines, they would be able to see a kid around 12 or 13 years old, wearing leather clothes. They would see a kid with an indifferent face that was covered by parts of the black hair that reached his shoulders. He had a handsome face that was above average and although it wasn¡¯t too exaggerated, a lot of girls might fall for the cold look he had.

    This boy was exactly Keith Dominus.

    Compared to two years ago, his features had changed a little. His childlike neutral expression had lessened and the proportions of his body were slowly starting to resemble an adult. He had begun to develop the right muscles at the right places for his swordsmanship, making him look like an athletic young boy. This was a sharp contrast from most of the other children who walked around at the academy.

    Some of his friends had repeatedly asked him why he kept training with the sword, instead of spending the time meditating or learning about magic. At first, he actually didn¡¯t know himself, he just said that Dillim wanted him to keep training the sword. But as the days passed and his training progressed, the more he realized it was because of another reason that he kept picking up the sword. Furthermore, it was an extremely simple reason.

    It was because he enjoyed it!

    Keith didn¡¯t have a lot of things that he enjoyed, for now there were only a few; one was to study magic and another thing was to wield a sword. He didn¡¯t really enjoy meditating, even though he was able to quickly enter a state where he thought of nothing. This was only possible because he didn''t use a common method any more. The first few times he tried the common method, it went okay, but after he kept training his mind, he started having troubles. The more he started to calm down his mind to enter a meditative state, the more he would think of home and his brother. He was still able to train, it just didn¡¯t feel pleasant at all.

    Once, he exited his meditation while feeling a little odd. When he touched his face, he suddenly noticed that tears were actually streaming down his face. He decided that this shouldn''t continue any longer, so he went to Dillim and asked him if he had a solution.

    Dillim had worn a sad smile, while understanding could be seen in his eyes. From his expression, it felt like he had almost experienced the same thing. He sat Keith down and told him that although there was a way, it would not make meditation more enjoyable, but it would produce the necessary results. He had told Keith to meditate, not by calmly letting his thoughts flow away, but through sheer suppression!

    Every time he would start his meditation, he would have to think of all the things that troubled him. He would then need to try and visualize this idea. When he had done that, he would have to completely accept the image and only when he had done this, was it possible for the image to flow away, making him enter a state of meditation. Instead of slowly having the thoughts come after each other, he would have to accumulate all the things that bothered him at once and then discard them.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Keith had only recently started to develop his abstract way of thinking enough, so it was only then that he could really employ this method. At first, it sort of worked sometimes, but he still used the previous method, until he was able to make this method work.

    Due to his past, it was hard for him to meditate, but because it was necessary, he saw through it nonetheless. Because of this, Keith started enjoying the things he liked even more. He knew he wouldn¡¯t accumulate world energy and his swordplay wouldn¡¯t really be of use later, but he still diligently trained.

    Keith looked at the horizon and saw the sun shining through the trees up ahead. He figured it was time to head back to the academy, so he wiped his forehead and left the outer edge of the forest.

    Today he had another class, making him need to stop his training early. It was the beginning of his third schoolyear, which meant that he only had to attend two mandatory classes each week. There was a mandatory class only two times every week, in this class they would simply discuss some general problems that every student was encountering.

    At the same time, the non-compulsory elemental classes were still held every day. Instead of just talking about the element, the teachers and students would actively start to train the element this time. All the students would turn twelve this year, or had already turned twelve. This meant that they would be fully able to start storing their elemental energy and start casting spells.

    When Keith thought about tomorrow, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. Tomorrow was the day he would turn twelve. By then he would fully be able to set his first step upon his road to power. Right now, he was still no different from any kid that could be found on the continent. He maybe had a slightly better understanding of the sword, but that¡¯s it. Everyone would form their mana cores and energy veins by twelve, there was no distinction between people. But tomorrow he would start converting mana. He couldn¡¯t wait to experience what it would feel like to hold the power of magic within his own hands.

    Even though Dillim had often mentioned that he shouldn¡¯t make his life goal to get revenge, Keith hadn¡¯t fully accepted this advice yet. The only thing that he really knew at this moment, was that he needed power. No matter what choices he would make later, he needed power to back them up. Only then could he complete his goals, whatever they may be. He often thought about what had transpired and no matter how hard he trained, the burning fury that was still smoldering inside him couldn¡¯t be extinguished. For some reason, even though he didn¡¯t completely understand it, he knew that he had to exterminate this anger inside him before he could truly be happy.

    When Keith reached the male student dorms, he coincidently found Vaeryl sitting before the building. ¡°Hey, Keith!¡± Vaeryl said as he ran up to him with a smile. ¡°Yesterday I didn¡¯t have the time to show you this, but I really have to show you!¡±

    ¡°Calm down first.¡±

    ¡°Heh, let¡¯s see how calm you¡¯ll be after you see this,¡± Vaeryl cheekily said as he stood right in front of Keith.

    Keith kept having a small smile when he saw Vaeryl running to him. They had deepened their friendship over the past two years, both sharing their experiences in swordplay as well as in meditation and magic. Keith had already understood Vaeryl was a show off, but it was seldom that he was so enthusiastic that we would sacrifice sleep to show him something.

    ¡°Heh, watch this!¡± Vaeryl closed his eyes and a solemn look replaced his previous expression. He then raised both his hands in front of him. After a few seconds, a faint golden light was starting to surround his hands. The intensity of the transparent energy was slowly starting to increase, until it reached a very dim glow. When it reached this level, the amount of light had stopped increasing. The only thing that kept increasing was the paleness of Vaeryl¡¯s face. Eventually he lowered both his hands, dropping the spell he had been holding a second ago.

    ¡°Wow, what spell was that?¡± Keith asked after he observed Vaeryl¡¯s pale face for a moment. He didn¡¯t really care about a very simple spell, but seeing how Vaeryl had manifested his first magical achievement, he couldn¡¯t help but be happy for him.

    ¡°Hah,¡± Vaeryl proudly said while he tried to recover his posture. ¡°This is not a spell, it¡¯s pure light elemental energy! It¡¯s the first light elemental energy I¡¯ve gathered, look at how grand it looks!¡±

    ¡°Well, it looked grand, but you dropped it on the ground,¡± Keith said with a joking smile. ¡°You just spent all your elemental energy to make it look grand on the ground. I can only commend your graceful self!¡± Keith repeated a sentence he had heard Rinza once use when he mocked someone. He thought it was fitting to use as a joke at this moment.

    ¡°Pfft,¡± Vaeryl sighed, ¡°You jerk!¡± He then shook his head and suddenly charged at Keith.

    ¡°At least I can cast spells, you haven¡¯t even turned twelve yet!¡± Vaeryl yelled as he tried to grab Keith¡¯s hips. Keith had just finished his training and was still a little groggy, but he managed to extend his arms in front of him, preventing Vaeryl from advancing by pushing against his shoulders. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Keith said in an attempt to stop Vaeryl. ¡°I¡¯ll turn twelve tomorrow! We¡¯ll see how my lightning compares to your light element by then, alright?¡±

    Vaeryl laughed and stopped his attempt to tackle Keith. He then took a few steps back and called out, ¡°You should wash up fast, class is starting soon!¡± He then ran away in the direction of the main school building.

    Keith shook his head while he looked at the running Vaeryl. He had tried to take advantage of his worn-out state after training. After Keith started to beat Vaeryl with the sword, Vaeryl kept trying to find ways to defeat Keith in other things. They had slowly created a friendly competitive mentality. Everything that could be competed in, they would compete in.

    Keith walked back to his room and washed up. He left his sword and then walked to the main school building to attend class along with the other students. When he walked through the halls to his classroom, he already knew that it would be very hard for him to concentrate today. The only thing that he would be able to think about, was the moment that he would fill his mana core. He balled his fist and his eyes shone with determination when he thought of tomorrow.

 Book 1 - Chapter 22 - Conversion

    He was still on time as he sat down next to Niyla; Red hadn¡¯t arrived yet. His classmates had stayed the same over the past two years, making him look at familiar faces. He looked to his right and saw Niyla¡¯s smiling face. She was starting to grow into a beautiful girl. Even though a lot of childish traits were still visible, it gave her a cute look. They wished each other a good morning and waited for Red to enter. For some reason, Red started most of his classes late.

    Keith started talking to a few of his classmates around him. Over the past 2 years, he had come to know them a lot better. He might have been focused on different things, but he was still a young child after all. Seeing that Red still hadn¡¯t arrived, he had left his seat and sat with a few others around Vaeryl.

    ¡°Wow, Vaeryl did you already manage to convert mana?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, why are you asking him, I have also converted mana.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait until we¡¯re also twelve years old! Only 2 more weeks!¡±

    They chatted a little until a flustered Red entered the classroom. His forehead was glistening with sweat, but it seemed like he had his breathing under control. ¡°Ah,¡± he said as he noticed all the children in the classroom. ¡°You¡¯re all here, good! Please go back to your seats so we can start.¡±

    Everyone went back to their seats and the lesson commenced. ¡°Alright, so these classes don¡¯t really have a specific program¡­ do any of you have questions you want answered?¡± Red said as he sat down in his own seat.

    "Well, my brother and I will turn twelve after 2 weeks, but we were wondering about chants¡­¡± Merin said. At the front of the classroom, the two twin brothers sat next to each other. The younger brother was quite shy, but the older brother, Merin, was social enough for both. They both had opposite affinities, water and fire respectively, almost representing their personalities.

    Red smiled and inquired: ¡°What¡¯s vague about chants? They help with focusing the mind when casting spells.¡±

    ¡°But some people cast spells without chanting! If you can cast spells without chanting, why would you still use them?¡±

    ¡°Good point,¡± Red said. ¡°Can anyone else answer that maybe?¡±

    The girl who had become good friends with Niyla raised up her hand. She was wearing red clothes again, just like most days. She had the habit of answering all the questions Red would ask. Keith wasn¡¯t sure if she just liked to show off, or if she was trying to maintain her family¡¯s honor. She was the granddaughter of the Grand Spell Caster Julian after all.

    ¡°Chanting is only an additional tool that helps you focus your mental energy on casting spells. If your control is high enough, you don¡¯t need to chant. But, even though most of the time chanting makes the process of casting spells quicker, it may also alert the enemy of what spell you¡¯re going to use.¡±

    Red smiled and looked back at Merin. ¡°That¡¯s true. Another thing is that chanting at first may help you to control the spell without chanting later.¡±

    They continued talking a little more, until all questions were answered. The class ended early, leaving everyone some time before they went off to their elemental classes.

    Their progression within the school system, didn¡¯t depend on the amount of years they stayed at school. Everyone who had reached twelve years of age was called a novice mage. They would be judged and graded on their proficiency with casting elementary spells. Most children would master the elementary spells of their respective elements somewhere between 12 and 17 years of age. Every time a student would increase his mastery, he would be promoted to a higher class.

    At the end of each year, a test was held for all the students. The novice mage stage held three ranks, beginner, intermediate and mastery. Each rank had multiple groups and teachers. All the new students who had just turned twelve would be split among the beginner groups.

    When students could show that they were able to control their elemental energy nimbly, they would be promoted to the intermediate rank. Then, when they would finally be able to almost cast elementary spells, they would be promoted to the mastery rank. Within this rank, they would finalize their control over the elementary spells. When they finally mastered their spells, they would be promoted to a new stage, Apprentice mage.

    Keith walked to his lightning elemental class. He had gotten a lot of knowledge regarding the lightning and darkness elements over the past two years. He had already formed some ideas of how he would try to combine the two of them. His goal for today was to acquire the method to convert mana to lightning elemental energy. He had gotten to know how he could convert darkness elemental energy, but he didn¡¯t know if the same method applied for different elements.

    Because his class ended early, he immediately went to the elemental class. He hoped he could find Elena, the teacher of the beginner lightning classes, before the class started. When he reached the designated classroom, he saw her standing there while staring out of the window. No one was still present, so they were the only ones there.

    ¡°Teacher?¡±

    Elena didn¡¯t seem to respond.

    ¡°Teacher!¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± she turned around, seemingly broken out of a trance. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Keith, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She thought that something must¡¯ve happened for him to arrive so early.

    ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll finish forming my mana core, so I was wondering if you would tell me about the conversion method.¡±

    ¡°Have I never talked about that before? Hmm, that¡¯s not good.¡± She frowned for a moment, before shaking her head and continuing. ¡°Most of the time students come to me when they are ready to convert anyway, so it doesn¡¯t really matter. Sit down, I¡¯ll tell you how to do it. In the future, if you want to convert other elements it has the same principle.¡±

    ¡®Oh,¡¯ Keith thought. ¡®This is a waste of time.¡¯ He already knew how it worked for the darkness element, so it seemed the lightning element would be converted in the same way. He knew it would be extremely rude to simply walk away now, so he still sat down and started listening attentively to Elena.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t formed your core completely yet, but it should still be possible to experience how conversion will work. Alright, close your eyes.¡±

    Keith closed his eyes and darkness descended around him. He heard his own breathing along with Elena¡¯s. He questioningly tilted his head, waiting for more instructions.

    ¡°Now try to sense the mana around you, clear your head like you¡¯re used to and sense your surroundings.¡±

    This was still normal for Keith. All of the students were able to sense the mana around them by now. Keith¡¯s meditation practice had also borne fruit as he quickly entered his meditative state. Soon, he started becoming aware of all the little things around him. He sensed the heat of the sun shining through the window, the birds singing outside, the rustling of Elena¡¯s clothes. A few moments later, he started noticing even more. He became aware of a strange but powerful energy around him. Keith knew this was mana. The energy was a transparent purple and swirled around in faint amounts. He could also sense another kind of energy, but it was much denser outside the room, so he was unable to fully inspect it.

    After a while, Elena spoke up again. She had given Keith enough time to sense the mana. ¡°Alright, now try to slowly focus on the mana around you. Only sense the mana and look at how it moves, how it behaves.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Keith did as he was told without breaking out of his trance. He stopped paying attention to everything, except for the mana around him. He focused on the faint wisps of purple mana in his surroundings, making him sense its energy even more. Even though there wasn¡¯t a lot of mana inside the classroom, there was enough to make Keith feel the enormous power that it contained. ¡®How grand it must be to control all this mana,¡¯ Keith thought to himself as a small smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°When you have a clear feeling for the mana around you, try to hold on to it. Then visualize the element you want to convert. I always visualize a storm with big amounts of lightning. The more you start to visualize the lightning, the more you will be able to sense that element inside the mana.¡±

    Keith thought about the lightning that had left the deepest impact on him. It had to be a spell Elena once casted, making him remember how that lightning had looked and how he had felt. When he started visualizing how the lightning had created a booming thunder and had then struck its target, he started noticing some changes. From inside the mana he had been paying attention to, little bits of lightning elemental energy could be felt.

    ¡°When you notice the right element inside the mana around you, you can forcefully try to drag it out with your mind. Your mana core will help you attract the elemental energy. When you do this, you have to direct the elemental energy to your mana core without lingering, because elemental energy is still very harmful for your body!¡±

    Keith then slowly came back to himself. Sweat had started to appear on his forehead, because he was technically doing three things at once. He had sensed the mana, visualized lightning and had to listen to Elena¡¯s instructions at the same time. He wouldn¡¯t be able to convert the mana anyway, so he simply left his state of meditation after sensing the elemental energy.

    He wiped away his sweat and looked at Elena. ¡°Thanks!¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Elena smiled back.

    Right at that moment, other children started walking in. The class had become somewhat larger than the previous year because there were multiple children stuck at the beginner rank from previous years. When everyone had entered the classroom, Elena led them outside and started lecturing on the elementary lightning spells.

    After the class ended, Keith walked back to his dorms to pick up his sword. He was so impatient to start converting that he knew he wouldn¡¯t get a lot of sleep that night. He might as well just move his body until midnight arrived. He would then be able to try and convert some lightning and darkness energy immediately before going to bed.

    He then moved towards the edge of the forest, and picked an open field of grass that would allow him enough movement. He did some footwork and swordplay drills and continued practicing in this manner. A few hours later, the sun¡¯s light was slowly being replaced by the moon¡¯s light.

    Keith finished his movements and looked up to the sky. He smiled as he was amazed by the countless stars. One of the reasons he liked to train in the forest was because there was no light from the torches at all. This way he could enjoy the stars and moon even more. ¡®It should be time,¡¯ Keith thought to himself.

    He grabbed his sword in reverse and threw it into the ground. He then sat himself down right in the center of the field and closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t feel too cold and his body was in a good condition. He let go of his frustrations, anger, nervousness and excitement, completely emptying his mind. He then started to sense the surroundings around him; the trees and their branches, the wind that was moving the grass around him, the leaves on the branches that were moving along with the rhythm of the light gusts of wind. The more he connected to the nature around him, the more the mana around him became visible to him. The amount of mana inside the forest was already a lot more compared to the small faint wisps he sensed inside the classroom.

    He locked on to the mana he could sense and started visualizing magnificent lightning. He could start to imagine the flashes of blue and white energy crashing into the ground. Enormous claps of thunder were being produced, almost blowing away everything in their wake. The more he visualized the lightning, the more he could start to sense the lightning element inside the mana around him.

    When the lightning element within the mana started to become clearer, he stopped his visualization to try and extract the elemental energy. He willed the elemental energy to leave the mana and move towards himself. This took a lot more effort than expected, but after a while, a small sucking force was created from his chest. It seemed that inside his chest, something resembling a black orb was present.

    Small strands of lightning elemental energy started to leave the bigger threads of mana around him, effectively moving towards his chest. The rate of movement was fairly slow, but there was movement nonetheless.

    After a while, strands of lightning elemental energy could be seen swirling around Keith. The other threads of lightning, that were further away, had stopped moving towards him and no other energy was moving towards him. It seemed that this was his limit for now.

    Keith could barely contain a grin from appearing on his face due to his excitement. ¡®Here goes nothing!¡¯ He then willed all the elemental energy around him to enter his chest and follow with the pulling force from his mana core. The elemental energy followed along with the force and bore through his chest. When it reached the black orb inside his chest, the elemental energy stopped. The orb started to make miniscule vibrations, somehow interacting with the elemental energy.

    The elemental energy then circled around the mana core, until the black orb¡¯s gravitational force suddenly disappeared. When the elemental energy wasn¡¯t restricted by the pulling force anymore, it scattered through Keith¡¯s body.

    Keith¡¯s face turned pale and his eyes started to grow wide. ¡®What just happened?!¡¯ He could feel that the elemental energy was spreading throughout his body. Different threads of elemental energy were rampaging on their way to wherever they were going. Keith bit on his lips to withstand the huge pain he was feeling. A trickle of blood even appeared where he bit too hard. He balled his fists and clenched his eyes together, until finally the pain and the energy slowly started to disappear. All the different strands were constantly entering different cells within his muscles and organs around his body, until they had all found a place and there was no left over moving elemental energy.

    Keith couldn¡¯t hold himself any longer and spit out a mouthful of blood. His eyes had turned blood shot somewhere along the process. He was still dazed as he looked at the ground in front of himself, where a small crimson mess had appeared. ¡®What was that, where did the energy go?!¡¯

    Normally, the elemental energy would immediately enter the mana core of the practitioner, but somehow, something had gone terribly wrong.

    Keith was feeling far from good, but he was too anxious to check where the energy had gone, instead focusing on his health. He didn¡¯t want to be a crippled mage, that would leave him nothing else to gain power. He crawled to his sword and grabbed its handle, supporting himself with the sword as he stood up. When he was completely standing, he took a deep breath and tried to calm his aching mind.

    He then closed his bloodshot eyes again and tried to inspect his body. He had to know if anything was different and if the elemental energy somehow might¡¯ve still been absorbed by his mana core. He tried to sense everything about his body. It seemed like his mana core was still completely empty, but his body felt slightly different. It felt like a lot of his muscles were uncontrollably spasming. Although it was only slightly noticeable, it felt very weird. It also felt like he had more energy than normal, as if it could explode forth anytime.

    He finished his inspection and opened his eyes. They shone with a very bright determination. Keith knew how people would normally summon the elemental energy from their mana core after they stored it. He was about to attempt the same thing.

    Keith suspected that the elemental energy had been stored within other parts of his body. He didn¡¯t know why, but he also didn¡¯t really care at that moment. He simply had to know if he could summon forth the energy. If he could, then he might be able to continue on his road to a grand spell caster.

    But if all his energy had disappeared... he didn¡¯t want to think about it.

    He lifted his right arm in front of him and stared at it. He then started to focus on his body again while closing his eyes. Normally people would sense the elemental energy within their core and then will it outside their body in the form of a spell. This was what Vaeryl had done this morning, although he hadn¡¯t willed the elemental energy in a certain form, but kept it in its pure state. Keith was about to do the same thing.

    He sank deep into his own mind and body, carefully scanning the condition of his whole body. He then visualized a big explosion of lightning coming from his whole body that gathered around his arm.

    He felt a huge amount of energy suddenly leaving his body, making him drop to one knee. When he opened his eyes, he finally let out a huge sigh. He eyed the small snakes of lightning that appeared and disappeared around his right arm and finally something resembling a wry smile appeared on his face. The lightning flickered everywhere along his arm, appearing and disappearing at random places, casting a faint glow on him and his surroundings.

    He didn¡¯t know if he should feel happy for not losing the chance at becoming a mage, or if he should feel very angry for having to suffer so much to accomplish the same as everyone else.

    The lightning elemental energy slowly disappeared from his arm, making Keith slowly lie down before he closed his eyes. He was too tired after everything that happened, making him sink into a deep slumber.

    While he was asleep, small strands of mana gathered around him. They would swirl around him before different, smaller strands of their energy parted and moved towards Keith¡¯s body.

    As they entered his body, Keith¡¯s face regained a bit of its color. A peaceful look replaced his previous expression while he was deeply sleeping. Somehow, he didn''t seem harmed by what was happening at all.

 Book 1 - Chapter 23 - Advice

    The sun had risen already, making the world a brighter place. The sun rays illuminated Aethruni, including the forest surrounding it.

    A young boy was sleeping peacefully at the edges of the forest. He awoke suddenly, taking in his surroundings. Keith was still a bit groggy and he wasn¡¯t sure where he was. It was a pretty unfamiliar experience to wake up in a forest instead of your bed. Keith stood up and shook his head. He saw that the sun had risen quite high already and it was almost time for his elemental lessons.

    When he thought about his elemental lessons, a jolt passed through his body, suddenly shaking him awake immediately. He remembered what had happened that night and a wry smile appeared on his face. He had no idea why or how it had happened, but he was still glad that he could at least accumulate magic. The first thing he had to do was to find someone who could check on his condition and might know what was going on. The person that came to his mind first was Dillim. He had always been there for him and Keith normally consulted him with all his problems. But he soon rejected that notion, Dillim wasn¡¯t that familiar with the ways of magic.

    He then thought of Elena, she had helped him with all his lightning classes and clearly knew a lot as a mana master. It might also be that what had happened was something unique for his lightning element, but he doubted that. Either way, it felt right to visit Elena first. If that didn¡¯t yield any results, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to visit Lloyd, the teacher of the darkness element.

    Keith walked towards his sword that was still stuck in the ground and pulled it out. He then proceeded to move towards the academy. Even though his face didn¡¯t display a lot, his pace seemed to be faster than normal, showing his anxiety.

    A few of the students that were walking around threw Keith a quick look. Most of them simply frowned and walked on, while some others even stared. Keith had slept on the ground the whole night, so his backside was stained with dirt. He didn¡¯t really notice it because of his anxiety to figure out his situation. But even if he had, he wouldn¡¯t have cared.

    He quickened his pace as he reached the classroom. As he quickly opened the door, he stood still for a moment. An empty room had appeared in front of him. In his haste, he forgot that Elena almost always took her students outside. He walked outside and went looking for the sight of Elena, or irregular sounds of thunder.

    It wasn¡¯t that hard for him to notice Elena and her students. The sound of thunder wasn¡¯t that hard to miss and the occasional bursts of lightning could be seen from pretty far away. Keith made his way over and joined the rest of the students while Elena was explaining something.

    When Elena noticed that Keith joined the class slightly late, she just nodded and didn¡¯t really mind it. The other students were also already used to people joining the class late. Elena never really bothered enforcing people to come early or on time. It was their own responsibility to learn.

    Keith kept to the back of the group of students and waited for the class to end. He was slightly anxious and was figuring out how to word everything when he would confront Elena, it was quite the situation to explain after all. It helped that he managed to cast the lightning magic the day before, that took away a part of his anxiety.

    When Elena ended her class like usual ¨Cwith a boom, the students slowly scattered. Keith kept standing at the same spot, which Elena keenly noticed, resulting in neither of them leaving like usual. When most of the children had left, Elena approached the different from usual Keith and crouched down to one knee.

    ¡°Is there something you want to tell me, Keith?¡± Elena amiably smiled towards Keith.

    Keith hesitated for a second, which could be seen on his face. Elena didn¡¯t seem to mind and kept smiling, waiting for Keith to speak up. Seeing her smile, Keith managed to steel his mind and opened up: ¡°Well¡­¡± he started, ¡°As you know, tonight I finished forming my mana core, but I ran into some troubles when converting elemental energy¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s nothing to worry about! A lot of students encounter problems during their first elemental conversion!¡± Elena was slightly relieved after hearing Keith speak up. She figured that Keith was probably embarrassed to come to her with his problems. When she saw Keith hesitate like that, she thought a more serious problem was at hand, but it seemed to be a minor issue. ¡°So, what happened? I¡¯ve heard a lot of things and I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ll be able to help, you¡¯ve come to the right person!¡± Elena said with a smile.

    Keith felt slightly better seeing Elena¡¯s confident attitude. He relaxed a little and started to think how he would convey what happened that night. He figured that the best way to explain everything was just to relay everything as it happened and then show her the results.

    Elena listened attentively with a thoughtful expression on her face when Keith told her of his actions. When he reached the end of what happened he took a few steps back and raised his arm. ¡°But even after all that, I¡¯m still able to somehow store elemental energy. Look, I can still call it forth from my body,¡± Keith explained.

    He then closed his eyes and tried to visualize a storm of lightning bursting from his body to his right arm. The next instant, he felt a huge amount of energy leaving him, instantly paling his face. When he opened his eyes, the scene that greeted him was quite satisfying. More lightning than the previous time had appeared around his arm, bathing the surroundings in a blueish hue. Keith barely resisted dropping to his knees, and managed to maintain the energy around his arm.

    ¡°Well, this looks just like normal, except that the energy seems to be a bit more than the usual first time elemental conversion,¡± Elena remarked. She then continued; ¡°It also seems like you visualize something too grand when releasing your elemental energy. Looking at your buckling knees, it looks like you expended almost all of your elemental energy?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Keith nodded ¨Cseemingly too tired to answer. He released his mental control over the elemental energy surrounding his arm and instantly, the crackling sounds of lightning disappeared together with snakes of lightning scattering- into the surroundings.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Elena nodded to herself. ¡°This still seems normal, so the root of the problem should be in how you store your elemental energy.¡±

    Keith simply nodded in response, waiting for Elena to continue. ¡°We can keep talking all day, but it might be faster to just show me how you store your elemental energy. The stronger you get, the more sensitive you become towards mana, especially your own elemental energy. If you allow me to place my hand on your back, I¡¯ll be able to sense some things about how you manage your elemental energy,¡± Elena explained. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you came to me, because I¡¯ll be able to sense how you manage your lightning energy the best in the academy!¡±

    ¡°Should I just start converting mana like normal then?¡± Keith inquired.

    Elena looked at Keith curiously. ¡°Well, if you slept long enough and you think your mental energy is enough at the moment, we can start immediately.¡±

    Every time mana is converted to elemental energy and then guided to the mana core, a huge amount of concentration is required. This is also the reason why mages don¡¯t just sit around all day converting mana. If someone¡¯s concentration were to slip, huge accidents could occur. Not only would the profits of that conversion period be lost, it might also lead to hidden injuries if a small amount of mana were to be directly stored inside the mana core.

    The more one has filled their mana core, the more important a high level of concentration becomes. It gets harder and harder to saturate the mana core because more elemental energy is needed at higher levels. This means longer conversion periods are necessary to be able to see the results after one sitting. This is why mages would pay careful attention to their mental energy before starting with the conversion of their respective elements.

    Keith nodded in response at Elena¡¯s remark. He only felt a bit tired because of his previous elemental energy release. Luckily, this didn¡¯t impact his mind at all, and seeing how he lost elemental energy, gathering it back might actually make him feel more energized.

    He promptly sat down with his back towards Elena, and closed his eyes. He waited until he felt Elena put her hand on his back and then started with his conversion.

    He took a little time to slowly adjust his breathing and sink into a calm state. He then started paying more attention towards his surroundings, sensing the breeze around him, the movements of the grass he was sitting on, and the warmth of Elena¡¯s hand on his back. The more he focused on his surroundings, the clearer the mana around him became. This time, instead of gentle, subtle movements of mana, it was a bit more chaotic. Probably because of all the spells that were being casted on and around the training grounds.

    When Keith thought he had a good grasp on the movements of the mana around him, it was time for him to start his visualizations. He started thinking about the destructive force of lightning, using Elena¡¯s example spells as a reference together with big storms he had seen. Slowly but surely, the lightning elemental energy became visible inside the huge waves of mana. When he thought that it was enough, he tried to focus on a few parts of the lightning elemental energy and started to guide it towards his chest.

    Keith had unconsciously started to grit his teeth in preparation of what was coming next. He didn¡¯t forget the pain he felt the previous time, but because of his firm determination to become stronger he went through with it.

    When the elemental energy came close to his body, it started swirling around him. Keith kept repeating the process, until he wasn¡¯t able to move any more lightning elemental energy around him. He stopped trying to pull more elemental energy towards him and focused on the energy swirling around him. The amount of energy gathered near him seemed to be around the same amount as his previous attempt that night.

    Instead of the excitement from that night, a grim look appeared on Keith¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t want to feel that pain again, but he knew he had to go through with it. Somewhere deep down he hoped that the previous try was just because of bad luck and this time everything would go fine.

    Having these thoughts, Keith clenched his fists and willed the elemental energy around him to enter his chest, making it move along the paths created by the suction force from his mana core. The process went smoothly, and the energy penetrated through his chest towards the black orb located inside his body.

    The moment of truth had arrived, but contrasting to Keith¡¯s hopes, nothing had changed from the previous attempt. The mana core started to make small vibrations again, slightly changing the elemental energy that was circling around it. After a small moment, the gravitational force disappeared and the elemental energy wasn¡¯t restricted any longer. It scattered through Keith¡¯s body, making him feel the same excruciating pain as he felt that night.

    ¡°NO! Cast it out right now!¡±

    Keith could vaguely hear a woman shouting, but his mind was too much occupied with the pain to actually process the words that he heard. If he could see Elena¡¯s face, he would have noticed that her expression was full of shock and anxiety.

    Keith resisted the urge to throw up the blood that had formed in his throat, while he grabbed his arms to prevent them from making weird movements created by the spasms.

    He took a few minutes to calm down and felt the same mix of emotions as last time. He felt filled with more energy than before he started the conversion, but because of the pain and all the spasms, he couldn¡¯t enjoy the feeling of becoming stronger.

    When Elena saw that Keith had calmed down a little, and that the spasms had become a lot less, she thought it was a good moment to speak up: ¡°You¡­ do you know how dangerous that was?¡± she asked, barely containing the shock and anxiety from entering her voice. ¡°I was sure that you would be crippled when the elemental energy scattered through your body¡­¡± A frown appeared on her face, but her expression was mainly full of worry. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright? I¡¯ve never heard of a case where someone can just shrug off having elemental energy rampaging through their body. Thank goodness that wasn¡¯t pure mana, but the milder elemental energy. But even then, lightning elemental energy is the most destructive of the elemental energies. Normally, when elemental energy comes into contact with something else than the mana core, it destroys all the blood vessels, the veins, muscles and tendons. I have no idea how you only seem mildly damaged.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know either,¡± Keith managed to say. ¡°For some reason, I can¡¯t get the elemental energy to enter my mana core. It only vibrates a little and then stops pulling on the elemental energy.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Elena had a face full of confusion. In all her years, she had never encountered something like that before. Not only did the mana core of Keith act strangely, but he also managed to survive having the elemental energy scattered through his body with only minor damages. ¡°I think we should ask the principal or vice-principal for advice.¡±

    Keith¡¯s expression slowly grew full of dejection. When he had been able to release the elemental energy that night, he was full of hope that he¡¯d be able to continue along this path, but now even his most trusted teacher didn¡¯t know what to do. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to bear so much pain every time he wanted to convert mana. Even though he had strong will for a twelve-year-old, this surpassed his limit.

    He could only place his hopes on the principal.

 Book 1 - Chapter 24 - Mutation

    ¡°So it isn¡¯t something that¡¯s related to the lightning elemental energy?¡± Keith asked dejectedly. He then gritted his teeth and said, ¡°How about I try to convert some of the mana to the darkness element and see what happens?¡±

    Elena seemed to think for a moment before replying, ¡°Well¡­ it might be, but I highly doubt it. I think it¡¯s too dangerous to risk the conversion of another element. If it turns out that this time your body can¡¯t handle the elemental energy, your body might be damaged very badly,¡± she said while looking sternly at Keith. She wanted to make sure he wouldn¡¯t attempt anything stupid when she wasn¡¯t near him. Elena was sure to not underestimate the stupidity of some of the actions kids could make.

    Keith stayed silent and got up from the ground. He then looked at Elena, seemingly indicating he was ready to visit the vice principal. There weren¡¯t any mandatory classes today and one of the last things on his mind was to calmly go to his darkness element class.

    Elena saw Keith stand up and nodded, she then started to lead the way. Elena knew where Rinza normally was at this time, and he was their best bet to learn more about Keith¡¯s problems. She wasn¡¯t sure yet when Ruthar, the principal, would return from his business.

    They left the field that the lightning elemental classes were held on and walked towards the building located behind the main building. This was the building that held all of the staff from Aethruni. Not only the assistants, but also the teachers and escorts were staying in this building.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Rinza only a mana master? Wouldn¡¯t a grand spell caster know more about my condition?¡±

    ¡°Well, Rinza might only be a mana master,¡± Elena started. ¡°But he¡¯s one of the smartest and most capable people in this school,¡± she explained. ¡°The only reason he isn¡¯t a grand spell caster yet is because he¡¯s still young, and because he spends his time on managing most of the affairs of the school. His capabilities to sense mana might be a bit inferior to a grand spell caster, but his knowledge should absolutely not be inferior to a grand spell caster.¡±

    Keith wanted to reply with the question if they were talking about the same person, but before he could do so, they had reached the staff dorms. He marveled slightly at the sight of the building in front of him again. Even though he was used to a lot of grandeur because of his upbringing, the architecture used in Erelath still had some unique properties, making it impossible to simply ignore it. The building in front of him was built in the same manner as the students¡¯ lodgings.

    Normally, Keith had only seen the building from up front, but he actually never entered in these two years spent at the academy. This was not because of any rules forbidding students from entering, but simply because the chance to go in never arrived. Normally when he would look for Dillim to go to the nearby town Limana, or to spar a little, they would simply meet in front of the gate or on the field they regularly sparred on.

    Coincidently, the moment Elena led Keith to the entrance, Dillim was just walking out. He slightly nodded towards Elena when he passed her, but then his eyes widened when he saw Keith. ¡°Keith, what happened?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know yet Dillim, we¡¯re looking for Rinza to see if he understands his condition.¡±

    Dillim looked at Elena, who answered in Keith¡¯s stead and frowned. Dillim and Elena were slightly familiar with each other because Dillim would sometimes wait for the elemental classes to end so that he could take Keith for another training session. In this way, it would be impossible for Keith¡¯s teachers to not recognize Dillim.

    Dillim then looked towards Keith again and what greeted him was a bit of an unfamiliar sight. Over the past two years, Keith had started to show his emotions less often in the same manner as he did before. But at the same time, he was progressing with his training, giving him a vitalized, but slightly cold look.

    What he saw now, was a Keith who had a grim and pale look. Almost as if he had contracted a sudden illness with no known cure.

    ¡°You won¡¯t mind me following you two, right?¡± Dillim questioned neither one in particular.

    When Elena heard Dillim¡¯s question, she stopped for a second and turned towards Dillim. ¡°As Keith¡¯s guardian, you¡¯re more than welcome to join us. You might even be able to help coming up with a solution,¡± Elena said while nodding in his direction. She then continued walking, expecting the two to follow her.

    Keith felt slightly relieved hearing Elena¡¯s answer. He had gotten very used to the familiar presence of Dillim and even though he wasn¡¯t his first choice to find answers regarding his condition, having him with him was still able to help him calm down. He wouldn¡¯t underestimate the experiences Dillim had in the course of his life, he might very well know a solution to the problem he was facing.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    When they entered the building, Keith could see that it was arranged in the same manner as the male and female dorms. The first floor was used for socializing and eating. The floors above were used as lodgings for all the different personnel of Aethruni.

    Elena obviously knew her way around and crossed the interior. Because of the time, quite a few people could be overheard talking about magic, everyday life, or the quality of the food. They sat around at different tables; some sitting on couches while some were sitting on chairs. It made for quite the cozy scene. Unfortunately, none of the three had the time to soak in the joyous mood around them, making them ignore the smells of the food, and the sounds of conversations.

    They found staircases located at the backside of the interior, and took the ones on the left. Keith and Dillim followed Elena until they reached the second highest floor. Immediately after leaving the staircase, a set of doors could be seen. The doors had a small wooden board placed on them around eye height. There were a few words carved in it: ¡®Rinza Litmar ¨C Vice President ¨C Internal affairs¡¯.

    Elena didn¡¯t hesitate to knock, and soon afterwards a voice could be heard from inside: ¡°Enter.¡±

    She opened the door and entered first, expecting Keith and Dillim to follow behind her.

    ¡°Well, what do we have here. What brings you here, Elena?¡± Rinza asked. He then saw Keith and Dillim enter behind her making his eyebrows jump in surprise. ¡°And it seems you brought more company. What can I do for you gentlemen?¡±

    Keith and Dillim¡¯s faces stayed serious, seemingly not impressed by the title Rinza used to address them, making Rinza frown a little. He figured that Elena simply guided Dillim and Keith to him, leaving her out of his address towards the group.

    When Keith walked inside he took a good measure of the room. It was a very big room, almost thrice as big as the room he was staying in together with Vaeryl. It looked quite tidy, something he didn¡¯t expect from Rinza who loved to joke. Rinza was sitting behind his desk on the left side of the room; it seemed he was busy reading some documents. They laid scattered around on the desk in front of him, while a pen and some ink were located in front of Rinza on the middle of the desk.

    The rest of the room held other interesting items. A few maps were placed on the walls behind Rinza. At the right side of the room a hearth was located together with some chairs. The hearth contained some wood that was burning, but Keith had no idea how where the smoke was going, because the hearth was lacking any form of a chimney. Right opposite from Keith, a few tables were lined up with each other, having a multitude of different potions on them. Some were emitting smoke, while others seemed to produce a very fragrant smell. Next to the potions a variety of tools and instruments could be seen. Next to that, on the far end of the tables, a mixture of different alchemy ingredients was showcased. Various leaves, stalks, feathers and even an eye rested on the table.

    Rinza chuckled, and spoke up: ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± He said, interrupting Keith out of his trance.

    Elena looked towards Keith, indicating him to speak up. She figured that Keith would be able to explain the experiences he had the best. He might¡¯ve accidently left some things out when he talked to her, so she wasn¡¯t sure if she could convey the whole story only from what she heard from him.

    Keith looked at Rinza and told him exactly what he told Elena. While listening to his story, Rinza had started to frown again. He had never heard of such a situation occurring. When Keith started talking about his mana core, Rinza made eye contact with Dillim and saw that he was just as confused as he was.

    Keith finished his story, and the only sounds that could be heard for a second were some of the potions that were slightly simmering.

    Dillim had remained silent the whole time, not even asking what was going on when he saw the pale Keith at the entrance. Only now had he heard the full story, making him furrow his brows and look at Rinza, waiting to hear his thoughts.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Rinza let out. He seemed to be thinking deeply while he dropped his pen on the table and placed his hand on his chin. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about conditions like these happening independently from each other. But never have I heard about a combination of these things¡­¡± Rinza said as his voice trailed off.

    He sunk deep in thought for a second, until speaking up again: ¡°I heard about someone¡¯s mana core not having any pull towards elemental mana¡­ he was doomed to live a magicless life,¡± he continued, sighing when he reached the last few words. ¡°I have also heard about someone¡¯s magic core rejecting any form of elemental mana, scattering it through the body.¡± Rinza¡¯s face then became serious and he faced Keith directly. ¡°But this child died immediately when the elemental mana scattered through his body. No normal body can survive the assault of having elemental mana coursing through it.¡±

    But Rinza shook his head and raised his hand with one finger pointing upwards. ¡°But these are different cases! There are two things that are of much importance in what happened to you Keith. First of is that you said your mana core interacted with the elemental energy.¡± He then smiled while his eyes narrowed, raising a second finger as he continued speaking, ¡°But the second and most important thing is¡­ you¡¯re still alive.¡± He paused for a second, spreading his arms and concluding; ¡°To me, it seems your mana core is mutated,¡± he said, pausing theatrically before continuing, ¡°but we can¡¯t for sure until Ruthar and I have seen you actually convert mana and survive the ordeal.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ what do we do now?¡± Keith asked.

    ¡°Well, our safest bet is to wait for Ruthar to return, then he and I can both supervise your conversion once to see what¡¯s exactly happening,¡± Rinza said, before smiling at Keith and continuing, ¡°don¡¯t worry, not yet all hope is lost! You might be able to continue being a mage, we just have to tread carefully!¡±