A few days had passed swiftly and by now, every person in the school knew of Kaido. The number of stars he could generate and Elements he possessed were posted on multiple hallways within both the Mage and Knight buildings. This also extended beyond the Academy to not only the entire Nirvana Kingdom, but most of the Myriad Continent as well. Within just another week, the entire world would soon know of him and his talents.
There was a clear reason as to why everyone was shocked. This was because Kaido was a never before seen genius. Most had hopes he could go beyond the 12th Star, and show them how to get there. Though, there was some negative feedback against such a claim, usually from the religious side. They claim going beyond 12th Star was the realm of the Gods and doing so would be sacrilege.
Back in The Empire, Jaxith sat in his office with a proud smile on his face. His body shook uncontrollable from excitement as he read the report in his hands. Suddenly, he jumped up and screamed loudly.
"My son is the best!" His voice traveled to every part of the mansion and beyond, startling the monsters in the woods.
Just as he was about to do a little dance, the door swung open. Looking over, Jaxith saw Caris walk in with a mountain of paperwork in his hands. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, Caris completely emotionless and Jaxith surprised. The beast of a man had sweat drip down his brow.
"You can't… surely not right? During my celebration and such a joyous time?" He was hopeful that maybe, this sadistic butler would let him off for at least an afternoon.
Caris simply chuckled and dropped the papers onto his desk, rattling it greatly. He produced a pen from seemingly nowhere and handed it to the dumbfounded Jaxith.
"Sign here please~!"
Meanwhile, the man of the hour had his head held high as he strut through the hallways. Seeing him, both new and older students couldn't help but take a glance at him as they went about their day. Although interested in his talents and boundless future, they had their own goals to accomplish and couldn't stand around gossiping to one another. Their time here was precious after all.
As he walked, Kaido went over the boons he had gained over this period of time.
'I'm getting very close to forming the Soul Palace, it shouldn't be long now. The problem is more than likely my Rank rather than my own Mastery. That'll clear itself up when I advance to the 2nd Star.'
According to his desire, the surrounding space around him fluctuated slightly. On his next step, he suddenly vanished and appeared two meters forwards. He grinned at the surprise of the students around him and kept walking normally. His first teleportation was a rousing success. He had high hopes for this ability in the future.
'After 2nd Star, I'll focus on Fire and Ice for a month before moving on. My attainments in Space and Soul are plenty for now. Using them in combat shouldn't be hard. When I advance to the next Rank, I'll head to The Forest for training.'
Suddenly, Kaido paused in place upon seeing a familiar face. He thought hard and eventually remembered her name. Hilda, the noble girl he had met previously. A sadistic grin appeared on his face before it disappeared in an instant. In his mind, a dastardly plan was already concocted surrounding her and another.
Hilda, who was talking with friends, managed to see someone approach them out of the corner of her eye. Just as she was about to tell them off, as commoners didn't know their place and tried hitting on them, the words in her throat refused to come out. Seeing her in a daze, her friends followed her gaze. Their eyes brightened up watching the handsome black haired man approach them, a small charming smile on his face. A light blush appeared on each one of them as they tried their best to look prim and proper.
"Hello ladies. It's a pleasure to meet you." Kaido took each of their outstretched hands and brought them up to his lips.
"Good day Lord Kaido. I'm-" Each one gave their greetings along with their names and families they were from. Unfortunately for them, Kaido didn't even give enough effort to remember them. They weren't special enough.
"Forgive me ladies, but may I have a word with Hilda here? Alone?" The ladies waved their hands and spoke up hurriedly.
"Not at all Lord Kaido!"
"Of course you may. Until next time, Duke Kaido." The one speaking bowed slightly as the others followed. She was a bit different and seemed like the leader of them all.
Kaido gave a small smile which increased ever so slightly upon witnessing the looks they gave Hilda. Venomous mixed with cunning, similar to that of a snake. Yet their faces were joyful as they promised Hilda they would see her later.
Once alone, the slightly nervous Hilda spoke up. Though, based on the expression she had, she didn't miss the looks her 'friends' gave her.
"What can I do for you, Lord Kaido?" The man himself waved his hand.
"No need for that stuffy Lord or Duke title. Just call me Kaido." His charming smile and permission to call him simply by his name made Hilda smirk. Though, she couldn't hide the tiny blush on her face. She absent-mindedly used one of her fingers to twirl her long blond hair.
"Now, I have a little favor to ask of you." He leaned closer to her ear and whispered his idea softly. Hilda widened her eyes and covered her mouth, but then broke out into a giggle.
"I understand and I'll do it. Happily at that. They deserve such treatment for being such inferior things. Well, maybe if you-" She trailed off, her face gaining a little grin.
"Do me a favor as well?" Kaido, amused, lifted an eyebrow and motioned for her to continue. But when getting to the actual topic, she faltered. Not exactly knowing how to choose her words.
"I'll... say it later on. But you can count on me. I'll get it done flawlessly." She said with pride and excitement. Doing this kind of thing was always up her alley. It was her right to do so after all.
"Thank you very much, Hilda. I'll see you later then?" The noble girl smiled and nodded her head.
"Of course. Until next time, Kaido." With a flirtatious wink that made her blush a bit, she turned around and left, hips swaying with every step.
But when her back turned, her face suddenly turned savage as she grinned crazily.
'How about that you sack of shit?! Huh father?!' In a good mood, she hummed a little song and even skipped a bit.
"I think I can guess what the favor might be." Kaido muttered, licking his lips. Such a thing was common for nobles like Hilda after all.
"Oh don't worry, your family will be the least of your worries..." He chuckled darkly to himself and moved on, a horrible plan brewing in his mind.
A few minutes of walking later and he finally arrived at his destination, the Library. His objective for coming here was quite obvious. Research on various subjects and of Elements themselves. Sure, he was taking the classes. However, Kaido would only take one or two of the Introductory courses before heading off on his own. He found it exhilarating and interesting to explore the mysteries of magic himself. To carve out his own path instead of relying on the teachings of others.
Entering inside, he witnessed as the room seemed to enlarge dramatically. Now though, he was much more in tune with Space and could faintly see the complexity of what was happening. This would be useful for his own ideas with not only the Soul Palace, but for creating his own separate space for his experiments.
The room was beyond big and seemed to contain a near infinite amount of books. Walking around, Kaido's eyes brightened a bit seeing books of all subjects flying around or simply floating in place. It was… magical. There were even some bookcases that hovered in mid-air, a transparent staircase leading up to them. Off to the side were a vast row of computers currently in use. Usually, they were for commoners as nobles had one in their own dorms.
"The person who created this truly knows a thing or two about style." Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You think so young man?" Surprised, Kaido turned to his right where he saw an average looking middle-aged man with some grey hairs leaning on a bookcase, a slight smile on his face.
The man was only 6ft on the dot, with black hair mixed in with some grey, showing he was getting on in years. He wasn't wearing a robe at all. Instead, the clothing seemed more in line for what a Knight would wear. His eyes were a normal and plain brown, but it was as if they had seen everything. Kaido even had the impression this man was seeing straight through him.
'I didn't even sense his presence.' He wasn't worried or afraid, just curious about who this mystery man was.
Gazing deeper into him, he noticed he had an extremely low amount of mana within him. Based off his own, he reckoned this man must only be around 3rd Rank. However, he didn't believe this first a second.
'A way to conceal your Rank? If it could fool my eyes, then it's uses are great. Wait-' Taking a much closer look, he noticed something wrong.
A dark energy was surrounding his soul. It wasn't necessarily corroding it, but it most certainly kept the soul from healing. The 'thing' seemed almost alive as it slowly moved around his soul, consuming a piece of it. Though, the piece it ate was practically nothing. At such a rate, it would take two hundred years at the minimum for any substantial damage.
"Have you looked long enough? It's not kind to do so without permission." Kaido was surprised and stopped his probing.
The only people who were able to sense when he checked them with his eyes were the Demi-Gods in their family. However, this man wasn't a Demi-God, that much he was sure of. There was a massive difference between them and everyone else. A sort of ethereal and higher presence, almost as if above everyone else.
By the tone of his voice though, it was clear the random man didn't mind. Kaido bowed slightly and apologized.
"Forgive me for my impudent actions. You are…?" The man stopped leaning on the bookcase and approached him.
"Oh, just a random man looking around is all. I'm no one important. But Mana Sensitivity Eyes huh? Impressive." The 'unimportant' man hummed and thought to himself.
'Is there nothing this child lacks? Mana Sensitivity Eyes, unlimited Elements at his disposal and by the looks of it-' He narrowed his eyes and saw the space around Kaido fluctuate just barely.
'-has great goddamn talent in them. Not to mention 187 stars per day? Geez. I'm really looking forwards to the first Test to see his combat potential!' Suddenly, Kaido broke him out of his thoughts.
"Excuse me sir, but how did you do that? Conceal your mana?" There was a burning desire for the knowledge in his eyes, surprising the man. Still, he cleared his throat and began explaining.
"It's a little complex and requires a near complete control over the mana within your body. With Knights it's a different process, but I won't go into that for obvious reasons. Now-" Kaido listened with full attention, not even missing a single detail.
In truth, he admitted it was a tad difficult. The whole process was, in a simpler form, basically concealing one's mana within their body. To take a weaker layer of mana and place it over top of the current one.
'The one who made this is a genius.' Kaido had nothing but high praise for the person who created this method.
When the man finished, he watched the peerless genius in front of him curiously. Truthfully, he didn't expect Kaido to learn it too quickly. He himself had spent nearly ten long years mastering this technique after learning it from his dear friend. Thinking of her, he shook his head regretfully and sighed.
'What are you doing Yurila? Are you that unconvinced of your reality?' Suddenly, his eyes widened.
To his complete shock, he noticed the clear aura of a 1st Star coming off Kaido, almost completely vanish into thin air. It was as if he was a normal person.
'Impossible! Not even the greatest talents could do this! Even Yurila took a six months to develop this technique! This boy…' His eyes heated up, creeping Kaido out.
"I'll stick it to those old bastards in The Gathering!" The man mumbled to himself, already imaging how to con his friends out of their precious treasures. A dark chuckle came from him as he thought about scamming a certain fishy bastard.
"Uh, sir?" Kaido asked cautiously, breaking the man out of his gambling delusions. He coughed lightly before speaking.
"Yes, well… not bad. Could have been better I guess. I'll leave you alone as I'm sure you have things to do. Until next time." With a nonchalant attitude, the man left with his hands behind his back.
"What a… strange man." Kaido said to himself before walking away.
The skill he had been taught would be invaluable. He even had plans to use it as inspiration in creating a true stealth technique.
'Darkness would be the best in terms of pure stealth. But using Space in conjunction with that, along with this new method, should yield fantastic results.'
As for whoever that person was? They were definitely of high status within the Academy. He just didn't know how high.