When Nerya arrived at her father Vaelmon's house, she was greeted at the door by her mother, Elowen. Elowen embraced her daughter with the longing of many years;
"Come sit down, my beautiful girl," said Elowen, her voice cheerful at Nerya's arrival.
"Our home is so quiet without you..."When Vaelmon entered with heavy footsteps, Nerya stood up. Vaelmon:
"Welcome home, my daughter."
"Father! I'm glad to be here."Vaelmon immediately noticed the pallor on his daughter's face and the anxiety in her eyes.
"Nerya, are you all right? Is everything okay?"
Nerya took a deep breath and sat down in the chair.
"Dad... There's something important I need to tell you."
"Calm down first," said Vaelmon, settling across from his daughter. "Tell me, what's troubling you so much?"
"Last week in the village, I saw those wolves I told you about before—the ones with runes carved into their necks. Luckily, there weren't many of them; I stripped them of their binding runes and set them free."
Her mother, Elowen, was horrified by what she heard. "My daughter! Are you all right? Didn't anything happen to you? Nerya took her mother's hand to calm her down.
"I'm fine, Mom, don't worry. I didn't mention this to Kael; he's undergoing rigorous training with Zephyros, and I didn't want to distract or scare him with things like this."
Vaelmon ran his hand through his beard thoughtfully.
"Hmm... Both the village and the kingdom... Whoever released these creatures must be accompanied by a very powerful control mage."
Nerya flinched at the word "kingdom." "You mean the kingdom, Dad? Don't tell me these creatures have infiltrated all the way to the capital!"
"As much as I hate to say it, yes," Vaelmon replied seriously. "The person controlling the creature has infiltrated all the way to the capital. The other day, while Kael and I were talking..."
Nerya's eyes widened. "You mean Kael and I! Did they come here, Dad? Did Kael and Zephyros really come here? I... had no idea!"
Vaelmon smiled slightly.
"Oh, didn't you know? When were you planning to bring our grandchild to see us, then? If it weren't for your brother Zephyros, we probably wouldn't have gotten to see Kael at all."
"Dad, I was just... Vaelmon:
"Anyway, I'm glad you're okay, daughter. Don't put yourself in danger like that again." Nerya replied sheepishly,
"I understand, Dad."
Nerya: "So what happened next? Were a lot of people injured?"
"An Echidmer appeared in the kingdom. Zephyros was telling the story of how Kael killed that creature with such pride—you should've seen it... Ha ha ha! The Krowel blood is already starting to show."
Nerya was horrified by what she heard.
"Oh, that Zephyros! I didn't send Kael to him so he could unleash him on the creatures! He's still just a child!"
Vaelmon's expression grew serious.
"I understand you still see him as a little boy, but your son is 14 years old and has already reached the 4th Ring. Kael is a much tougher kid than you think. In fact, according to Zephyros, the King is going to award him a medal of honor."
Nerya was shocked by her father's words.
"Father! Just when we were trying to keep Kael out of the spotlight, where did this come from now?"
"Don't be angry with us, Nerya; even I cannot defy the King's order. But rest assured; as your father and the chief wizard of this kingdom, I promise you, I won't let anyone lay a finger on Kael. Even if his identity is revealed, no one would dare stand against me."
Vaelmon fell silent for a moment and looked into Nerya's eyes.
"By the way... Have you heard anything from your husband, Abaddon?"
Nerya's shoulders slumped, and her gaze dropped to the ground.
"Unfortunately, no, Father. I haven't heard a single word from him since he was sent to the border of the Demon Realm. The last I heard was that a demon had attacked Kael and Zephyros. When Zephyros came to me wrapped in bandages, he said that demon was Abaddon's man. But father, there's a huge misunderstanding here. Abaddon would never send someone to attack his own son."
Vaelmon nodded in agreement.
"If I know Abaddon at all, I know how devoted he is to his son. There's something fishy going on here."
Nerya sighed and muttered: Kael...
Valmon:
"Kael must be taking the entrance exams at the academy right now."
Valmon laughed sarcastically. "I hope he doesn't tear the place apart! Ha ha!"
"Dad!"
"All right, all right, Kael's a smart kid, so don't worry. Besides, you don't need to go back to the village anymore. You don't have to hide Kael from us—from now on, you'll stay with us."
Meanwhile, Kael was waiting in the Magic Measurement Area with the other students. The attendant was asking everyone to place their hand on the "crystal sphere" to determine their potential and which ring they belonged to.
"Teon, 1st Ring!"
"Demi, 2nd Ring!"
"Dren, 1st Ring!"
When it was the arrogant Thalendir's turn, the young elf straightened his shoulders, pushed through the crowd, and walked toward the sphere.
"Get out of the way, losers! I'll show you what a real mage looks like."
When Thalendir placed his hand on the orb, the sharp green light of wind magic blazed powerfully from within it.
"Thalendir Aethel, 3rd Ring!"
A murmur rose among the students. "Wow, is that really the 3rd Ring?" "That's exactly what you'd expect from the Aethel family—those guys are practically born geniuses." "Look at that glow!"Thalendir turned around with a mocking expression and stopped right as he passed by Kael.
"Don't be too upset," he said dismissively. "A start of one or two rings isn't so bad for a human."
Ignoring Thalendir, Kael calmly walked toward the sphere. This disregard drove Thalendir into a rage.
"You! How dare you ignore me?"
Just then, Lyra made eye contact with Thalendir. Lyra scoffed, "Pfff," puckered her lips, rolled her eyes, and looked away. Thalendir turned bright red with anger.
"You two!!
The attendant intervened: "Next! Place your hand on the crystal sphere and channel your essence."
Kael didn't have many fond memories of crystal orbs; he remembered how they had cracked before. Taking a deep breath, he silently prayed:
"Please let the sealing ring work,"
The moment Kael placed his hand on the sphere, a red light—far brighter than Thalendir's green glow—flooded the entire area. The intensity of the light forced some students to squint.The attendant was stunned:
"K-Kael... 4th RING!"
Silence fell over the testing area in an instant, followed by whispers."What? The 4th Ring? How could it be the 4th Ring?" "Who is he? A noble? I've never heard his name before."
"He even surpassed Thalendir—unbelievable!"
Thalendir's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. In shock, he stared at that glowing red light.
"This... This is impossible! How can a human have a higher ring than me? There's definitely a mistake in the sphere! This thing is broken!"
Thalendir's shouts drew the attention of the entire square. The other students began to eye the elf with judgmental glances.
"Look at him, the 'Arrogant Elf.'"
Thalendir snapped at the attendant:
"I object! The sphere must be broken!"
Lyra stepped forward angrily.
"If the sphere is broken, doesn't that mean it also incorrectly stated that you're in the 3rd Ring? Or does it only break when someone else passes you?"
Thalendir stammered. "What! I didn't imply anything like that!"The attendant interrupted:
"Mr. Thalendir, these orbs are personally inspected by the school principal, Ms. Felan. Are you claiming that Ms. Felan made a mistake?"
"No—no, I was just saying there was a mistake..."
The attendant didn't wait for Thalendir to finish speaking and continued calling the other students. When Kael returned to Lyra's side, the young girl was still stunned.
"Kael... You never cease to amaze me. You're the second person in the first-year class to reach the 4th Ring this year."
Kael paused. "Second? Who's the other one?"
"Ah, Revia Cave. She's the youngest daughter of the Cave family."
Kael: "She must be pretty strong, right?"Lyra said excitedly,
"Of course she is!" "The Cave family is known as the bearers of ice magic. They say the girl named Revia is just as cold as ice, just like her magic."
Kael asked curiously,
"She hasn't even placed her hand on the orb yet—how do you know?"
"Oh, Kael! Do noble gossip really never reach your ears? The Cave family held a grand feast in the kingdom when their daughter reached the 4th Circle. They wanted everyone to know how powerful their bloodline is."
Kael nodded in acknowledgment. Meanwhile, on the other side, Thalendir stood seething with anger, glaring at Kael and Lyra as they talked. It seemed Kael had already made himself a dangerous and ambitious enemy on the very first day of school.