"Surprise!" Exzhen said with a grin, lounging comfortably in Ardiel's study chair.
Ardiel stared at him, wide-eyed. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't worry about him," Exzhen said quickly, cutting off Ardiel's immediate concern. "I've cast a barrier around him so he won't be disturbed."
"Seriously, you've been missing for ages and now you just show up out of the blue?" Ardiel pouted. He remembered Exzhen promising to stay in touch after returning from the Spirit Realm, but a month had passed with no word from his Soul Bond.
"I figured you could use my help," Exzhen said, resting his arms on the table and propping his chin on his hand.
"Well, I do need help. But first, where have you been?"
"I've been in some dangerous places. Last week was particularly troublesome," Exzhen said with a sigh of frustration.
"Last week? Was the Beast Tide connected to that?" Ardiel asked, connecting the dots. He recalled the unusual intensity of the Beast Tide and the danger his caravan faced on the way to the academy.
"Yes, it was related, but that was more of a side effect," Exzhen explained.
Ardiel had learned enough from Exzhen to understand that things rarely happened by chance. The Beast Tide couldn't have been a mere coincidence; it must have been triggered by something.
"The small rifts between dimensions have started opening faster, which is why the mana saturation in your world is increasing so quickly after being delayed for 29 years," Exzhen said, his tone grave. The situation was more serious than Ardiel had realized.
"Higher saturation of mana also brings good news right?"
From what he could understand, the greater the saturation of mana, the faster their cultivation will be, which means it'll take him a shorter time to climb up the rankings. His current goal right now was to get stronger as fast as possible.
"It's good, yes, but it also means your world is being rewired to host more parasites," Exzhen explained. "The increase in mana saturation isn't coming from the World Tree but from other dimensions merging with yours."
Exzhen was well aware of the implications of these changes on Pandora. As the one responsible for protecting this realm, he was the most troubled out of all, and perhaps the only one who's being extremely stressed right now.
"That old man made such a weak barrier that it only lasted about 30 years," Exzhen sneered, referring to his predecessor. The delay in the changes that should have happened three decades ago was now starting to catch up.
"30 years?" Ardiel muttered, trying to remember what he'd heard growing up in Dragonheart. "Oh, right—'The Lost Epoch.' I wasn't born yet, but I heard it was one of the darkest times in the Empire."
He remembered Simon's voice, steady and grave, as he spoke of it during their training sessions. The Lost Epoch had been a time of chaos, when countless upper rankers vanished without a trace or were found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Whispers of conspiracy had always swirled around those disappearances. Many believed it was the work of Gilgamesh, the Emperor of Sumer, an enemy empire in the extreme west. The theory was that he sought to purge Eldenfren's powerhouses. But when the disappearances stopped, no one truly know if Sumer had been behind it. After all, they hadn't capitalized on Eldenfren's weakness by waging a war.
The Dragonheart family had been hit hardest. They had lost four of their strongest rankers, including Eleonore's sons. And then there was Frederick, the former patriarch, and his wife—gone without a trace. Their disappearance had shocked the empire even more than the Emperor's disappearance. The family, once thought invincible, had seemed on the brink of ruin.
"Yeah, that was it," Exzhen murmured, his voice heavy with unspoken worries. "And it could happen again soon. The widening rifts... they're not just bad news."
This was the first time Ardiel had seen Exzhen being gravely serious. He now realized that while the Dragon may seem like a joker at times, he was truly indeed one of the Herrschers of Pandora.
"Anyway, moving back, I heard you're about to engrave your first magic spell, have you thought of one?"
"Ha, even Elder Alentor couldn't find low ranked spells for Gravity Magic, you think this academy would be anything different?"
"Well, that makes sense, my attribute is one of the most complex ones, no wonder Humans couldn't grasp it."
"So are you helping me?"
"Sure"
Exzhen raised his index finger and a small white wisp of fire appeared on top of it.
"What's that?"
"Something I learned from the Kingdom in the south. They call this a soul fire; it contains a part of my knowledge, this one here is a Rank 1 Spell I know." With a flick of his fingers, the wisp shot forward, sinking into Ardiel's forehead.
"WAH!" Ardiel yelped, instinctively stumbling back in surprise and felt a sting in his head as the knowledge surged into his mind uncontrollably.
"How was it?" Exzhen asked with sparkling eyes, "It's my first time using this," he said, consumed in his innate curiosity about magic.
"YOU—Why would you do something you've never tried before?!"
"Nah, I'm a Dragon, I stand at the peak of magic, magic is something I naturally excel even when it's my first time doing it,"
Ardiel sighed, closing his eyes as he tried to absorb the new knowledge that had flooded his mind. It felt strange, like recalling a long-forgotten memory from the deepest parts of his brain. A low ranked magic spell slowly structured itself on his mind, the formula flowed like a sequence of numbers and it appeared to be far more complex than a normal magic spell of the same rank.
"Gravity Well?" He muttered as soon as he fully digested the new information.
He learned that this spell could create a small, localized gravitational field that draws in loose objects or slightly hinders the movement of enemies within a short radius, or in his case, around him.
"The area you can affect varies in diameter. It's a transcendent type of spell, meaning it may be Rank 1, but once you master it, it can exert power rivaling a Rank 2 spell," Exzhen explained with a hint of pride. "Try it," he said, motioning for Ardiel to cast the spell.
Ardiel took a deep breath, spinning his lone mana ring. Instinctively guided, he cast Gravity Well, as if driven by a subconscious feeling that directed him towards the right way of doing it.
"All the spells in Gravity Magic follow the same principle, so once you've mastered the low-ranked spells, it'll be easier to learn higher-ranked ones."
Ardiel recalled the sensation of using Light Spell. With Light Spell, he manipulated gravity's influence on his body, neutralizing it to some extent. Gravity Well, however, influenced his surroundings, not his body.
If he'd started from scratch, he would have had to learn how to control gravity outside his body, it would be many times harder. But thanks to the soul fire, he could bypass that step and use the spell with ease.
"For now, you can control about 5% of its power," Exzhen said, rummaging through Ardiel's things on the table, his curiosity getting the better of him. "But knowing you, you'll improve fast. I'm a diligent dragon, so naturally, you'll be diligent too."
"You have some capable adults in your little playground." He said, drifting away from the topic.
"Oh, you must be referring to my aunt, the dean, and instructor Monika," Ardiel said, thinking of the people he'd met during his first week at the academy, especially Helena, his father's younger sister.
"So how's school?" Exzhen asked playfully.
"Good. I'm learning a lot, but it's boring most of the time," Ardiel admitted. He'd expected the classes to be more fun. Maybe it was because he'd matured faster than his peers—perhaps a side effect of the Dragon Mark. His intense desire to get stronger wasn't something a boy his age would usually have.
"Yeah, going to school must be busy, I've had a similar experience," Exzhen recalled the times he was being taught by his predecessor.
"If you ever have free time, just call me, and I'll take you to the Spirit Realm. I'll teach you myself."
"How do I contact you?"
"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you last time," Exzhen chuckled sheepishly.
"I really want to punch you right now!" Ardiel snapped, launching himself at Exzhen, who dodged his little punches while laughing.
The two continued to bicker before Exzhen left before Kristan woke up. He didn't forget this time to teach Ardiel the way they could communicate with each other.
"I'll lend you a hand this time, I'll clear the Beast Tide that's starting to condense further west," Exzhen's voice echoed in his mind once again.
"Thanks, make sure to visit often," he replied through telepathy, he could do it after using the Dragon Mark as the medium.
Ardiel didn't wait for Kristan before heading to the Cafeteria alone. He planned to go to one of the training facilities after dinner to practice both Light Step and Gravity Well
He didn't want to waste anymore time, especially right now, after Exzhen had shared to him part of what was happening. He decided to take things more seriously. His Light Step had improved to 45% after the Beast Tide incident. Though it still fell short of 50%, he was confident he'd reach 100% before the Annual Tournament in December. Gravity Well was a new challenge, but with the foundation Exzhen had provided, he was determined to train diligently.
He pushed himself until exhaustion, that's the fastest way for him to make significant progress. He had juggled between his classes and his own training sessions. The staff at the training room was already familiar with him, he would enter the facility at 7PM sharp, and leave just before the curfew.
He had repeated this torturous cycle for nearly a month. He spent less time with Kristan and Reno as he dedicated himself to strict training, barely noticing the passage of time. Despite his intense focus, he made it a point to touch base with Exzhen, finding solace in their occasional exchanges.
"Hmm, you look taller," Reno said, glancing sideways at Ardiel.
They strolled through the bustling cafeteria, where the chatter of students and the clatter of trays filled the air. Reno's eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and amusement. He remembered when Ardiel had barely reached his shoulder. Now, Ardiel had grown a few inches and was almost level with his mouth.
"Probably the training," Ardiel reasoned. He also realized it a few days ago, thinking his training must have helped his body grow faster.
"Have you joined an organization already?"
"An organization?" Ardiel frowned, this being the first he'd heard of it.
"Didn't Kristan mention anything?"
"No? We barely see each other these days. He's either out of the dorm or asleep. What's with these organizations?"
"It's Selection Week," Reno explained as they moved forward in the line. "You can choose an organization to join."
"Will I even have time for that?"
"I'm not sure, but I can think of one you might want to join—the Recon Corps. They let you participate in their operations instead of doing the Sparring Exercises class."
"They're letting first-years do that?"
"Yeah, I heard they made that change after the Beast Tide last time," Reno said.
"Are you joining?" Ardiel asked, curious.
"I'm in. It's a rare chance to get practical experience as a first-year."
"Then I'm in too," Ardiel smirked at the thought of joining actual recon missions. It was a perfect way to test his progress.
"Great! Make sure to register tomorrow," Reno said, a note of urgency in his voice. "I heard they're closing reservations soon because so many students are interested. Make sure to go before your class."
Reno could guess what Ardiel had been feeling lately. He too felt a bit restless, perhaps because the Beast Tide had changed something in them, sparking a craving for intense situations despite knowing the danger.
"One poutine, Miss Clara!" Ardiel said joyfully as he reached the poutine tray.