Standing up and stretching out my listlessness, I looked at myself in the mirror. With each day that passed, I resembled my original self more and more. Although the colour of my hair and eyes were still Caelum's, this body's facial and bodily structure was shifting.
My spirit was influencing this body to a great degree. Slowly but surely, Caelum Phricius would cease to exist.
I shook my head at such thoughts and put on my hood. Perhaps in the distant future, I would introduce myself as Ambrosya Black instead.
Gone would be the fourth-rate villain who could do nothing in his life.
"Huaaaaam~"
I yawned, feeling a bit groggy. I haven't slept for the past month and only meditated to replace it. My body had more or less adapted, but my mind had yet to do so. It was taxing to keep myself focused for several hours straight, but I could do it nonetheless.
Classes on Wednesdays all fell in the afternoon so I had the morning off. There was a place that I wanted to visit, and so, after eating breakfast alone, I leisurely made my way there.
I walked under the magic canopy, letting the morning sunlight shine on my cloak. Students and wizards were walking the same stone sidewalk I was on, and I enjoyed staring into their souls. With Mana Vision, I saw a lot of details about each passerby.
There were some with evident sicknesses as depicted by their mana, many were healthy, some had disabilities, and some had some kind of uniqueness buried within them that I don't remember writing about.
There was a small detail within their mana that bugged me, telling me it was unique. And I trusted my instincts. A lot. It's what I used when I indulged in writing. I always followed my creative instincts, and those creative instincts were currently screaming.
I had noticed something I had never noticed before.
"Interesting..." I muttered to myself. I felt that, if these seeds could survive all that I had set for the world to experience, they could enter a new era and thrive with newfound powers and talents.
The world would be so interesting once that day arrives.
I continued walking until I arrived at the central area of Aethercaller. A giant tower of white rose into the sky, seemingly scraping the clouds. Around it, snaking like the snakes of the Greek God Hermes's caduceus were two beanstalks of vibrant green.
I only needed to add a kingdom in the sky and immigrate some Giants, and then I would have quite the interpretation of a child's tale.
This building was home to Liefanissus' heavenly territory. It was where the god of nature himself was secretly based. And it was a place that no one could enter.
It was basically a symbolic obelisk instead of a functioning tower. No human, not even Eve herself could tamper with such a structure. It simply existed, unaffected by all that surrounded it, exuding an aura of nature that fed the wildlife and plantlife of Aethercaller.
This 'holy artefact' as the humans worshipped it to be, was the main reason why Aethercaller's patron god was Liefanissus.
I could see priests and priestesses clothed in flowing green robes performing a ceremony as a show of their faith. A small building complex crafted out of beautiful elven architecture spread out around the tower. It served as a hub for many of Liefanissus' faithful.
Silently, I entered the complex, with my peripheral vision in full use.
I was being followed. I had been aware of their presence for some time now. Just one glance at their general location was enough for me to catch the scent of their bodies.
Thus, it was time to disappear before their very eyes.
As soon as I stepped upon the ivory-white path, I broke into a sprint and turned into a blur of movement. I ran past startled priestesses and angry priests. They didn't seem to like the fact that someone was running around on their god's sacred grounds.
"He's running! Follow him!" I heard a yell ring out from behind me.
I grinned. If this were any other time, I would fight them for the sake of gaining experience, but I wanted to visit a certain place first. I had no time for their games.
As such, with quick feet and the guidance of Mana Vision, I weaved through the thin crowds and followed a certain pathway. Windows, vendors of religious trinkets, and simple food stalls flew past me as I ran.
I moved from the outskirts of the complex to right at the foot of the white obelisk tower in but a few minutes.
When I arrived, I stared up at the sky, where the top of the tower shone in a beautiful yellow-gold light. I then turned around and waited.
Only a few seconds passed before I caught sight of a few mana signatures. They all hovered around Rank F.
They were probably first-years... Or really bad second-year students.
They surrounded me with a few malicious looks on their faces as they arrived one by one. And, while I wondered whose influence was used to amass a small gang such as this, one of the students spoke.
"Caelum Phricius,"
It was a girl, about as tall as I was, with wavy black hair that reached her thighs. She had blue eyes, signifying her mixed blood. She also carried herself well—it was evident that she had probably gone through a few etiquette classes herself.
She opened her soft lips, "You have insulted the nobles of Aelthrie. Apologise or we will dish out appropriate punishment."
I simply gave her a look, but I did not speak.
I simply ignored those threatening words as I turned my back on her, fluttering my cloak in the process. Under her insulted gaze, I then muttered under my breath.
"Oh key to life, you are the essence of nature, its origin, and its fuel. I seek refuge. I introduce myself to you. Remember my signature and heed my calls when I am within your grasp."
I then fell to my knees and bowed like the Japanese, elegant and reserved.
"Accept me within your embrace whenever possible."