Leo continued pushing through the spatial barrier. She felt a chill blowing in from the other end of the portal, and when she finally saw what was on the other side she gasped.
This was a massive expanse of barren land, but it seemed to be contained within a spherical space.
Looking around, Leo saw that the barren land was encased in thick rock, almost as if she was in the heart of a mountain.
She saw various dead trees and craters, but nothing else.
With her Superior Sight, she perused the space again.
This time, she saw much more.
Her eyesight warped, showing her a view of where she was in the world.
Leo felt a sharp, brief pain in her head. This was due to the stress her mind was under. After it powered through, she was able to properly digest what she was seeing.
She had passed through the barrier and essentially teleported to the center of the planet. She was either inside the core, or where the core was supposed to be.
When her vision returned to normal, something else caught her eye. She hadn't been able to see it before, but with her Superior Sight she could now see a tiny purple crystal on the floor.
She walked over to it, but suddenly stopped when she was a few feet away.
As she kept looking at it, she was able to see that it was actually much bigger.
Her sight pierced the ground, allowing her to see the outline of a massive object that was buried. The tip of that object was what she was seeing.
"Master of Secrets successful. Hidden Treasure discovered. Would you like to inspect?"
Leo immediately nodded.
"Processing."
She then saw a series of blinking lights and letters. The system was using her eyes to perform the inspection.
"This is a Sorcerer's Seal. Such items are formed when powerful sealing magic is used, and can remain for millions upon millions of years."
"It appears that something was sealed here just over three hundred thousand years ago. Whatever it was has long perished."
Leo silently processed the information. From what she could grasp due to her skills, this was a very fortunate find. She would not let such an opportunity go to waste.
Without further hesitation, she bent over and placed her hand on the exposed crystal. Immediately, it emitted a soft glow.
That glow also travelled up her arm and to the rest of her body.
"Let's see what this 'Superior Sight' can really do."
Leo closed her eyes for a few moments, her eyeballs glowing from under the skin.
When she opened them, her eyes had once more transformed into pure white pearls.
In her vision, a veil was removed and powerful surges of energy rushed about in every direction.
She was actually travelling, with her eyes, to that place and time all those years ago.
She remained motionless for quite some time before she closed her eyes again. When they reopened, they were back to their normal scarlet color.
"This is even better than I hoped."
Leo discovered that this seal was used to imprison a dying dragon by a powerful sorcerer.
The seal itself was a last resort, but since the dragon was a special type of dragon, nothing else could have killed it.
In order to seal the dragon, the sorcerer had to pour all of his magic and life essence.
Needless to say, sealing the dragon killed him.
Once the dragon was sealed the crystal would slowly rob it of its magic and life force as well, until it eventually died.
What Leo was thankful for was that she could still use Greater Understanding even if she was watching from another point in time.
She was able to grasp that the dragon embodied cosmic energies beyond that of any natural force.
In other words, there was a chance that she could harvest some of the highest quality natural energy.
She wasted no time.
"System, how can I harvest this crystal?
"Answer: A Digestion skill of Level Nine unlocks the Unique Skill 'Devour.' User's current prowess is Level Two."
"Can I use points to advance?"
"No. Skill is still within the bounds of human limitations."
"Damnit!" Leo pounded the ground with her tiny fist. Still, if she couldn't harvest it now, she would ensure no one else could.
"Can I store it then?"
"Yes. The system allows for infinite storage space. However, user requires the Storage perk. Would you like to purchase this perk?"
"Yes!"
"Perk acquired."
With a triumphant laugh and smile, Leo said, "Store the Sorcerer's Seal!"
Quite suddenly, the piece of crystal she was holding onto vanished. The ground at her feet immediately started coming loose and she hurried to run away.
The earth caved in where she was standing, gaining a sigh of relief from the young girl.
"Alright!"
Leo then went back to the portal, an idea popping into existence the moment she saw it again.
"Inspect this portal."
"Processing... This is a marvel of spatial magic, created around the same time that the seal was made. Due to the skill, Superior Sight, there is a chance that the user can acquire knowledge of spatial magic from this portal."
As soon as Leo heard the words "superior sight" she activated the skill. She was already peering into the secrets of the portal before the system finished speaking.
"Perk Unlocked, Spatial Manipulation. Because user's magical prowess is too low, use of perk will require point expenditure."
Leo's sinister smile crept up on her face once more. She had accidentally made some astounding gains.
Seeing the information on Spatial Manipulation, she quickly read it and then put it into action.
"5000 points required. Continue?"
"Yes."
With that, she teleported away from the core of the earth.
As soon as she left, someone appeared.
"It's finally my time! After five hundred years of hard work I, Uchitoha Sasunaru, have accomplished the impossible! Sorcerer's Seal, prepare to be mi--"
"Eh?"
A loosely dressed woman with tanned skin, appealing curves and astonishing muscles had appeared.
The thin leather straps barely hid her 'personal items' but she didn't seem to care. What was bothering her was the fact that the crystal was gone.
"Where is it!? It was here the last time I checked... Oh no..."
She fell to her knees, tears forming but not falling.
"Gah! The Empress is gonna kill me!" She casually punched the ground, causing a crater to appear.
If you looked closely, you would see that this crater she just made was hugely similar to all the other craters in this place.
Dejected, she could only leave.
"Back to the Empress, then. I'm in for it now."
She then vanished.
Back on the surface, Leo had arrived at the front of the castle that was her new school.
When she looked around, she saw that children were still walking through the field. Not much time had passed.
"Welcome, young miss."
A spectacled man in a fancy suit put out his hand for her to take.
He was standing on the lowered drawbridge awaiting the students.
Leo took his hand and he shook it ever so gently.
"You must be the one Attela told me about. Miss Eslon?"
Leo nodded.
"I noticed you aren't carrying the necessary items with you. You'll need them as we'll be taking a lot of notes today."
By his demeanor, Leo could guess that he intended to make her walk all the way back to the palace.
Of course, she would not do this. She immediately employed her mind control, finding the man to be an easy target.
"Follow me, milady, and I shall take you to the teacher's lounge."
She smiled and said nothing.
The castle was marvellously decorated, but Leo noticed that it was not as over-the-top as she expected. This made her rethink a few things. Perhaps the difference was not the quality of the environment but the quality of the instruction.
It was exactly so.
After reading through the mind of the male teacher, she understood quite a few details about the school.
One such detail was that the semester had just begun. Every seven years the school would take in a new batch of students. They would be the only students in the school until time was up, then they would either graduate or leave in shame.
During the seven years, students would go through different processes. The first was the simple aptitude testing stage. Simple classes were conducted at the end of which were a number of exams.
After that, you would acquire a grade which would enable you to choose the field you wanted to pursue.
The only compulsory field was magic. All students were required to at least have a passing grade in magic.
The other fields of study made up the six divisions of the Academy.
The first year of aptitude testing was carried out by the scholars and learned men. Compared to the other teachers, they were far weaker, but often had a higher status.
After all, most nobles were not skilled in many of the arts. They would rely on others, often commoners, who had a naturally high aptitude for things like magic and swordplay.
Leo learned that the teachers responsible for the other divisions, beside magic, were all foreigners.
The Kingdom's established alliance allowed for expansive trade, whether it be renewable and nonrenewable resources or human resources and the like.
This greatly benefitted each of the allied nations, and allowed for greater prosperity within them.
Leo soon ascended a winding staircase before entering a wide corridor. At the end of the corridor was an even larger room.
The spectacled man had brought her to the teacher's lounge.
The other teachers were not present, as they would only be needed during the second year.
So, Leo easily mind controlled the weaker teachers. With their combined knowledge, all Leo needed was time and she would become the most informed student in the academy.
"Miss Eslon, perhaps you would be interested in knowing that the Dowager Queen will be appearing at the end of the first year."
Leo nodded.
"I already know."
Of course she would know. She had already perused their minds and taken all the useful information.
One such piece of information was that the academy itself housed various portals leading to extensions of it.
When Leo found this out, she immediately wanted to investigate.
"Warning! Action ill-advised. Warning! Action ill-advised."
As Leo thought of doing that, she was warned by the system.
"What? What are you talking about?"
Leo would not easily give up on uncovering the secrets of the academy.
"Spatial Manipulation Requirement for portal use: Mastery."
Her eyes widened when she heard that.
"What will happen if I try to enter the portal any other way?"
"User will perish in an instant."
Leo gasped softly.
"What if I use Superior Sight to see where the portal leads then spend points to teleport there?"
"This action will undoubtedly make you visible across dimensions."
"I don't care."
Immediately upon saying this, the system activated her sight for her, then allowed her to see the location of one portal.
She spent a few hundred points and teleported to that place in the academy.
Once she was there, the system took over. Her eyes once more assumed the shape of pearls, her vision now swimming in a vortex of spacetime.
"Portal properties inspected, Time Manipulation unlocked."
"Go further. Tell me where it leads."
Leo ignored the notification for now. She was most interested in what was on the other end.
"Answer: Portal leads to a man-made layer of dimensional reality, frozen in time and cut off from everyone else."
Leo nodded.
"Alert! Peering into dimensional reality. Chance of exposure to outside forces: 100%. Do you wish to continue?"
This time, Leo hesitated. This would make it possible for people with similar abilities to sense her presence.
Was that a good thing?
Before she could answer the question, she nodded.
"Continue."