By the edge of the lake, Toshi and Verdehile collapsed onto the soft grass, completely exhausted. Verdehile was in worse shape; having drained her mana reserves to freeze the ground, she was pale and shivering.
Hearing Clei's approach, Toshi forced himself to stand. He bowed deeply, his armor clanking. "Thank you. If you hadn't intervened, we would be dead." He gestured to the girl. "I'm Toshi, and this is Verdehile. We're second-year students at the Ignis Academy in Anatolia."
In the Human Realm, the path of a mage or knight was grueling. Out of the general population, only one in ten could even sense mana, and a mere one in a hundred could harness it to reach the F-rank Novice tier.
From there, the difficulty increased exponentially. For most academies, first-year students focused purely on theory. Second-years, like Toshi and Verdehile, began small practical field trips. But the third year was the true dividing line. Those who could reach the D-rank Expert tier were allowed to stay as apprentices for another three years to attempt the C-rank breakthrough. Those who failed graduated early, joining the army or taking up mundane jobs. To be an E-rank Adept in their second year meant these two were already considered geniuses.
Clei kept his distance, his hand resting inside his pouch. His fingers brushed against a small, incomplete mana core he had kept for emergencies. Channeling a tiny thread of his aura, he stealthily drew upon its raw energy. Though too impure for permanent cultivation breakthroughs, the core could still be siphoned in emergencies to temporarily patch a depleted reserve. It was barely a drop in the ocean, but it kept him wary and ready.
"You're a long way from the city," Clei said.
Toshi lowered his eyes guiltily. "We were supposed to be on a supervised field trip. But we snuck out. We spotted a Rank 1 Wood-element rabbit. Its mana core is highly sought after for medicinal alchemy, and we thought we could sell it for extra pocket money."
In the world of Falstne, Aetherborn possessed mana cores. Lower-ranked beasts, from Rank 1 to Rank 3, had small or incomplete cores. While inefficient for direct cultivation, they were incredibly valuable as supplements for medicine, food, and alchemy.
However, Rank 4 Alpha beasts and above possessed complete, crystallized mana cores. Those were equivalent to a C-rank Master's power and could be directly absorbed by humans to forcefully boost their cultivation.
"We chased the rabbit too far," Verdehile chimed in, her voice weak. "It ran into the Ironclad Mammoth's territory and was caught by a Rank 2 young mammoth. We tried to fight the young one to steal the kill. We injured it, but we accidentally woke its mother."
"And the mother brought her Rank 3 Steel-Quill guards," Toshi finished with a bitter sigh. "We're idiots."
"We owe you our lives," Toshi said, looking up earnestly. His gaze swept over the masked boy, a mix of awe and confusion swirling in his eyes. It was hard to believe that the terrifying display of magic he had just witnessed came from the person standing before him. Clei had a small, lean frame, his black clothes worn and tattered, making him look more like a lost teenager than a seasoned powerhouse. Yet, the suffocating heat radiating from his small body was undeniable. "May we know our benefactor's name?"
Clei opened his mouth to answer.
Danger!
His instincts screamed. Though his mana reserves were nearly depleted, his physical reflexes were still sharp. He threw himself to the left.
BOOM!
A massive fireball scorched the earth exactly where he had been standing, showering him in hot dirt. Clei rolled to his feet, his amber eyes locking onto the attacker.
It was a beautiful woman, around thirty years old, with cascading black hair and elegant, dark-red mage robes. She floated a few inches above the ground, and without her even trying, swirling ribbons of crimson fire danced around her arms. She was clearly a C-rank Master Fire Mage.
Clei felt a surge of immense regret. Why did I even help them? Humans... I don't belong in their world.
The woman didn't speak. Her eyes cold and murderous, she raised her hand. Another fireball, even larger and hotter than the first, hurled toward Clei.
At this point, Clei was utterly exhausted. He tried to urge the tiny bit of mana he had just absorbed from the core to form a mana shield, but against the overwhelming pressure of a C-rank attack, his magic fizzled out instantly. His legs felt like lead. He couldn't dodge.
Suddenly, a blur of golden aura intercepted him.
Toshi had dropped his shield and thrown his body over Clei. He channeled every last drop of his knight's aura into his back just as the fireball struck. The explosion blasted them both several meters away, sending them crashing into the dirt.
The searing pain was blinding, but Toshi still managed to cough out, "Teacher Teresa... it's a misunderstanding."
Fortunately, Aether-Knights were far from frail, and Teresa hadn't used her full strength; otherwise, the boy would have been turned to ash.
Verdehile, having recovered just enough to run over, screamed, "Teacher, stop! He's our savior! He saved us from the mammoth!"
The woman, Teresa, froze. The flames around her arms sputtered and died. She looked at her battered students, then at the masked boy groaning on the ground. Embarrassment flushed her cheeks. She had seen her students ragged and bleeding, with an unfamiliar, sinister-looking stranger dressed in black standing over them, and had struck without a second thought.
Clei sat up, utterly stunned. He tried to digest his feelings. One moment, he felt utterly betrayed by humanity's hostility, and the next, a boy he had just met had protected him with his own life. The whiplash left him dizzy.
Humans are complicated, he thought, looking at the three of them in confusion. He knew that if Toshi hadn't blocked that attack, a direct hit from a C-rank mage would have severely injured him.
Toshi was writhing in pain, but he gritted his teeth, using his golden aura to cauterize and stabilize his burns. Verdehile quickly finished explaining the events with the mammoth.
"This is Teacher Teresa," Toshi wheezed, forcing a respectful nod. "An outstanding C-rank Master Fire Mage at our academy."
Teresa walked over and bowed deeply, her pride completely swallowed by guilt. "I am deeply sorry. I thought my students were being ambushed. I acted too rashly."
Clei, still baffled by the series of events, could only nod his head. He just wanted to leave.
Teresa rummaged through her leather satchel and pulled out a glowing, crimson crystal. It was a Rank 3 Fire mana core, radiating intense heat. "Please, take this as compensation for my mistake."
Clei hesitated. It was a valuable item, but his mind was racing. Was this an act of genuine remorse, or was the woman scheming something? Humans were unpredictable. Still, he eventually accepted it.
As his fingers closed around the warm crystal, his breath hitched. A Rank 3 Fire mana core. This wasn't something to be consumed casually to replenish mana. It was a massive reservoir of pure energy—a lifeline to be used only in the most dire, life-threatening situations. He carefully slipped it into the deepest, most secure pocket of his pouch, resolving to save it for when he truly needed it.
"Wait!" Toshi called out as Clei turned to leave. "Can we know who you are? Why would a stranger like you save us?"
Clei paused. "I'm just a traveler, and I happen to be passing by." He kept his voice flat. "My name is Clei. I have to go."
"Wait, Clei!" Teresa called out softly. "If you ever come to Anatolia, find us at the Ignis Academy. My students and I will make sure you are taken care of."
Clei nodded, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. For a decade, he had believed that humanity was nothing but cruelty and fear. Yet today, a stranger had bled for him, and another had offered genuine, albeit clumsy, remorse. The rigid walls he had built around his heart were cracking. He was still terrified of the outside world, but the suffocating loneliness of the Great Forest suddenly felt heavier than his fear. He didn't want to hide in the shadows forever.
As he was about to turn away, his father's letter echoed in his mind, the words burning clearly in his thoughts. Go to Lydia, or to Anatolia in the east. Step into the world.
Maybe this was the opportunity he needed. He stopped and looked back. "Then... can you tell me how to apply and join your academy?"
—
Meanwhile, at the lake, the water began to ripple.
The massive, serpentine head of the Mist-Scale Wyrm broke the surface. Its slit pupils stared at the group of humans who had entered its lair. It had been watching them the entire time. If the boy's life had been truly in danger from the C-rank mage, the Wyrm would have stepped in and slaughtered the woman.
After all, beneath the mask and the fire mana, the Wyrm recognized the lingering, ancient scent of the man who had once tamed it deep in the forest.
It was that man's son.