For the following week Maric trained with Seraph, Artemis & Ishmael. From Seraph he learned battle intelligence, sword-play & even other styles of weaponry such as stave-arts. The world of Mages & Mage-Knights was truly vast, Maric realized that he truly knew nothing outside of what his father had taught him and what he had taken the initiative to teach himself. From Artemis.. Well, she mainly focused on ambushing him after telling him a random meeting place in the Amaranthe Pines. But Maric understood her meaning behind this, She simply wanted to sharpen him the only way she knew how and that was through actual high intensity duels. Eventually after the third day Maric actually managed to retreat using a mobility spell "Yin-Flame Magic: Auspicious Transport" that allowed him to warp away in a stream of purple flame. It exhausted his minute reserves after one use but nonetheless it nearly took him a quarter mile away from Artemis. Lastly in the evening he would meet with Ishmael to learn about the advancement of Magic & Magic Technology.
"A perfect example of Magic Technology would be Bio-Solutions & Runes. Bio-Solutions are alchemical mixtures that are crafted with the intent of introducing pure magical energy into a biological being. This magical energy serves a unique purpose such as grafting Rune Patterns, Infusing Bloodlines & even the Halcyon Healing Bays utilize Bio-Solution to train and help the body absorb whatever you combine with the solution. Of course this has its limits.."
Ishmael continued on about these fascinating matters and as much as Maric wanted to focus eventually he drifted off. Ishmael turned back from the board after creating an example of a Rune only to see Maric asleep. She would normally reprimand him but Ishmael had grown fond of the boy with the time they spent together. She doted on him like her personal apprentice and always considered his well-being, Maric truly felt at home these last few days. In fact he was currently the happiest he had been in awhile.
When night crept across the manor Ishmael had left Maric at his desk to sleep. It was sort of a punishment considering he would be sore from sleeping on his face and secondly she knew the boy would be embarrassed. As she crept out while lightly laughing she closed the door behind her. As silence pervaded the space it seemed to get darker, Darkness began to expand and warp as if the room was breathing. Soon dark mist began to connect to Maric's sleeping body as it then flowed with a blue hue. The Sumeru Void & Elemental Sutra!
«Hehe.. Imagine that. The stronger he gets.. We become closer & closer to being whole.»
A figure made of the shadows stood up from the residual darkness behind Maric with no clear features but a sinister smile.
The next morning Maric woke up in a mini puddle of his own drool, He had fallen asleep on his desk and Lady Ishmael actually left him here until the morning!
"Ack! I knew I shouldn't have slacked off while she was lecturing me.. huh?"
Maric scratched his head before noticing something. It seemed like his connection to the Dark element had grown even stronger. It was day time but he felt as if he could shroud the entire room in darkness. He reached out and casted Yin Flame Array.
Whoosh!
Three majestic orbs of dark blue flames began to hover around Maric. The temperature in the room immediately dropped but it felt as if things were slowly melting at the same time! Maric quickly recalled the spell as the magical particles dispersed into the atmosphere.
"Woah.. My Yin Fire was clearly different there. It took on a completely different appearance and aura, But why?"
Maric was puzzled as he thought to himself but was quickly interrupted by one of the maids peeking into the classroom before she spoke.
"Young Master! You must prepare for the hunt! The three noble knights await your arrival at the outer gates, please make haste."
The maid spoke quickly before she turned to leave and soon Maric followed suit. After preparing a new set of clothes he slipped into a Elven Leather Cuirass his father had left in his armoire last time he was on Earth. It fit snugly and had a beautiful copper sheen to it, over his white robes he looked very stylish but with a trained edge to him. After inspecting himself he made his way to the outer gate where the three knights awaited him.
"Ah! I see you've finally risen, sleepy prince! And yes, before you ask, Yes that is your new moniker hahahah!"
Immediately Artemis spoke while pointing directly at Maric. The other two knights chuckled and said in unison
"Hail, Sleepy-Prince!"
Maric felt his face go red before Seraph placed his hand upon his head and gave him a reassuring smile. The group began to walk into the Amaranthe Pines after a short briefing of what they were expecting. It seems that an alpha Black Star Wolf has gone berserk after failing to evolve and now it's underlings have gone feral as well. Hence the wolf that Maric encountered with Ludas & Ludo.
"A Black Star Wolf? What's that?" Maric asked
Ishmael quickly explained.
"A Black Star Wolf is a magical beast born with the Space affinity, sometimes Alphas also gain the Darkness affinity and they are known to be one of the Top 3 most dangerous creatures in Amaranthe Pines if they manage to evolve.."
Maric was shocked. A space affinity? And a darkness affinity? Wasn't this supposed to be a simple beast? This time around he managed to keep a poker face, Although he was young he was more than aware that these knights had been avoiding questioning his courage.
After a couple hours of traveling Ishmael quickly stopped the party.
"Dark Vortex has detected 3 anomalies.. they seem to be the pack members of the Alpha. Artemis, quickly take care of them!"