"Poof..."
In the unlit and darkness-filled place, Erenic Kofter heaved a long sigh.
"...What a mad man."
Clang!
"Huff, Huff..."
Opposite to him, Levester Bostorne — Belite — continued his usual routine.
"The food here doesn't even constitute to the amount of strain you are putting on your body? How are you not dead yet?" Eren asked in bewilderment, staring into the darkness.
"Willpower, Kofter. Sheer will-power." Belite replied, finishing his push-ups and now swinging the chains nonstop. "We have to improve in order to escape!"
Clang, Clang clang!
"...Crazy bastard." Eren cursed, feeling as if he was now in a third-rate motivation centre hearing all the sounds that resounded.
But instead of motivating him, all it did was annoying him.
"What benefit do you think you will get from training your body? A single Fire Ball and congratulations, you are a roasted meat."
Belite paused for a moment and stared into the darkness.
He suddenly chuckled. "Better than sitting in a place like you and rusting."
"It's not like I haven't tried..." Eren grumbled.
It had been eighteen nights since they had been detained here — if they had guessed their dinners right — and throughout this cycle, all Belite did was train.
After failing to escape from the prison even after two nights of persistent attempts, the high-class citizen opposite of him, as if gone crazy, started to do various exercises.
Eren had first said how meaningless and wastefull it was, but since he was bored, he had tried it.
But oh boy, coupled with the dinner and breakfast they got here — which consisted of low protein Berk-va-Dou and Eggs — Eren thought he would die from exhaustion the next day.
"But this guy..." He has been continuing this from 16 nights!
Even though it was merely an hour or two, compared to the food portion they'd get, even that was too extreme.
Eren, being a noble, had obviously gotten sword training classes along with practical mana and body strengthening classes.
But he wasn't deprived of food at that time!
Heck, even the gatekeeper of their cell was creeped out by Belite and reported his actions to his boss!
"Huff..."
'Now, why am I getting agitated?'
Was it perhaps jealously? That he was easily overpowered by someone his own age?
No...
He shut his eyes tightly as he meditated, stretching his body once in a while to not "rust".
...
'Hundred and seven...'
Lying down in exhaustion, Belite gasped for air.
But strangely, he wasn't over yet.
He knew in his heart, that this was far from his limits.
'And by heart... I literally mean it.'
Indeed, ever since had obtained the so-called Essential Heart, he hadn't tested it's limits.
Heck, he didn't even know how it could be used.
The intricacies of the Essential Heart were further explained in his Magical Studies classes, which he just attended the first class of.
But he knew one thing,
'Essential Hearts couldn't be utilised at 9th Circle! It's too damn early to tap into the powers of the Essential Heart.'
Yet he was easily able to do so...
Was this because of his so-called friend? Perhaps.
Recalling the first class of his Magical Studies, he closed his eyes.
"Essential Hearts. Since all they attract are disasters, or particularly, your true fate, what are their uses? Are they just placed to make sure that you are chained and to make you feel like you are in a simulation? No, not at all. In fact, the first concept we are about to study — Boon and Bane: Essential Heart, is exactly about that."
Belite remembered flipped through the pages of the 17-pages long chapter and eventually feeling that the book was too overwhelming for him.
In fact, the reason he went to the library was to find a short summary of first chapter, but... He was entangled in all that bull...
Anyway, based on what his professor taught him, the active usage and 'Boon' of the essential heart started at the 7th Circle.
As for his, tiny and weak 9th Circle self... There was absolutely no way he could utilise it.
Yet...
Well, nevermind, was his life ever normal?
Sighing, he got up when the creaking sound of the mettalic door sounded.
"Kids. Sup."
A thin yet bandaged man appeared along with bright light that blinded Belite and Eren.
But Belite didn't care about it as he merely pounced at the frail bandaged man before eventually getting hit on the head.
"Stop with these shenanigans." The frail man looked at the Belite sprawled over the floor, huffing and sighed. "Even if you kill me, there are many others outside who could kill you in an instant."
"Damned old man. Why don't you say that after removing those bandages?"
The frail man, their gatekeeper — Ovil, merely sighed as he placed the two food plates he brought along on the floor before closing the door.
"Report to me if you feel any of those... mental issues. And be a good boy and share your food!"
"Hey, c'mon now. That selfish bastard doesn't share!" Eren cursed out loud, influenced by Belite's manarisms.
'He curses even more frequently than me now...' Belite thought silently before pushing the plate to Eren's direction.
Sreech.
As the plate slid while scratching against the rough floor, Belite ate his breakfast.
Berk-Va-Dou — made from the Berk of the V-Dou trees seen in the Sacred Line — and eggs.
Belite sighed and stuffed the naturally made yet tasteless Berk-Va-Dou into his mouth before he ate the egg and drank the water in rapid succession.
Was it time yet? When were they going to break out from this looming and boring darkness... Belite's head was filled with such thoughts as he sat in a meditating posture, his palms cupped near his abdomen.
"The first basic spells that almost everyone can learn regardless of their affinity are basically healing spells. . (Although the effect may wary and it might be increasingly difficult for those with lessee magic. But fret not.)"
Exhaling, he recalled the paragraphs of the first chapter.
"Before Advanced Magic was discovered and implemented in the Year 68, the seventh law of attraction stated that: "All Magic Particles, begin and end at the 'origin'."
Crisp~
Green sparks danced around his palms, illuminating his shadows in pale green as Eren shut his eyes in pain.
The sparks, merely small embers before, started to form the faint outline of a small figure.
Almost!
The figure had human-shaped legs and...
Crpst!
Belite opened his eyes in pain, the green light formed in-between his palms gradually receeding before it reflected his charred palms.
A scoff was heard not too long later.
"You think you can use magic just like that? Even deviants find it hard to use healing magic although it's the first spell everyone learns."
"Let's see... I'm trying atleast, to learn a spell," Belite remarked. "While you idle by."
Eren frowned. "It's close to impossible to do so without a proper "Anchor". If you had something like a mana wand or something, it was within the plausible range. But making yourself as the Anchor... It's not only harmful, but close to impossible as well."
Belite frowned as well.
He knew the plausiblity of his idea was close to impossible.
Anchors mostly served as a point of attractiong which would draw the mana particles in the atmosphere and "Anchor" it.
The signifance of an Anchor has been stressed over and over in the twenty-two laws of attraction that he had skimmed over.
"But the law also states that the anchor could possibly be anything sturdy and capable enough to withstand the mana particles, doesn't it?" Belite chuckled, whistling.
"Magicians produce a fireball within a Servy Do'r or a black crystal itself without any prior expertise, don't they?"
"I have never seen such a thing!"
'You will probably never do.' Belite mused inwardly as the gate to their so-called prison cell opened once again.
Claang.
"It's time for break. Breakfasts are done?" Their gatekeeper, the middle-aged man who was too friendly for his own good — Ovil, asked.
"Yes, ofcourse!" Belite saw that Kofter had stuffed the rest of the food in his mouth clumsily before replying with closed eyes, somewhat enthusiastic.
Seeing that Belite didn't object, Ovil went over to the centre of their cell and removed the locks on the end of their chains, holding the chains just like a dog-owner.
"Let's get a walk."
Black War Kvenz-Es I Square, Madilan.
In a remote Colloseum of this large province, countless people rotated and maintained the broken Colloseum, occassionally fixing the breaking walls and painting them while collected food at the enclosed entrance.
This was the Iron-clad Colloseum, which the only Emperor of the Glorious Era had built. Now in ruins in the very province that worshipped the Emperor.
Belite sighed, moving the food package on a trolley before he handed it to an "employee" and headed back to collect the toothpaste and other essentials package that was arriving.
Even though most of the prisoners in the ruined Colloseum were Seekers and mages, there were also many people who were caught up in the cross-fire yet not killed due to the Everlasting Alliance's demands.
"'None shall be killed"' They said, but child labour is also allowed, say they." Belite grumbled, seeing the various students of his age and lower busily running around the Colloseum in order to maintain it.
It wasn't such a huge problem though, as the students and personnel in the Royal Magic Academy amounted in thousands — including those who could use magic.
Although they were currently restricted now.
Belite collected the package trolley as he mused. 'I used to think how the whole of the academy coould be contained in a single place. But here we are, in this God-forsaken province's God-forsaken Colloseum!'
God knew how the Lower Street District united together and had gained enough power to topple even the best academy in the world!
Seeing the people clad in business outfit with dark skin run around the Colloseum while ordering the members of the Academy, Belite couldn't help but remember the Southerners.
Weren't they too similar? Or were these people actually from the South... Is that how the Lower Street District gained power? From the Three Southern Wings?
"Package 0-87! Toothbrushes, toothpastes and lanterns!" Shouting at the top of his lungs, Belite pushed the trolley at the "sale's person" like looking man as the man caught it firmly.
The man merely looked at Belite's receeding figure, not grumbling about how the package was already open with a few lanterns missing.
...
Volume 1 — Twilight [End]
Author: Next volume is gonna take a while! Had to end this one early too, but next one's gonna be great.