After eating dinner with his family, Ivan returned to his room. He didn't go to sleep right away but instead sat in a meditative position with both palms resting on his knees.
His consciousness entered his mana core as he observed the changes that had happened after training for the past few days.
His mana core had changed significantly compared to the first day; its size was now comparable to a small swimming pool, and the small light ball was now as large as a watermelon.
Aside from that, a tiny ball of light had finally formed inside the small light ball. The glow of this tiny ball of light wasn't very bright but with time and effort from Ivan, it would become as bright as the watermelon-sized light ball.
Above his mana core, the sword and shield that his parents had prepared for him drifted silently.
Ivan felt satisfied with the progress that he had made. Now that he had formed a tiny ball of light, he was officially at the second stage of the level one warrior rank.
As he progressed through the sub-stages, the tiny ball of light would become brighter and eventually form a second. The appearance of the second tiny ball of light meant one had entered the second level of the warrior rank.
Clearing his thoughts, Ivan's consciousness left the space of his mana core. His eyes were still closed and he didn't get up from that position as he began to feel the mana in the air.
Mana was constantly in the air, just that one couldn't see them with the naked eye. The concentration of mana in the real world wasn't as heavy as when one was inside a mana chamber, causing them to be invisible.
After a few seconds, Ivan finally got control over the mana around him and began to absorb them before controlling them into his mana core.
The flow of mana was so painfully slow that Ivan stopped after just one hour of absorbing mana. It was difficult for one to appreciate drinking water from a straw after experiencing what a spring felt like!
"The speed in the outside world is a hundred times slower than in the mana chamber, this is exhausting!" Ivan sighed. He stretched his legs and fell on his bed, his gaze landing on the ceiling of his room.
While in this position, Ivan recalled what they had talked about during dinner. Since he was leaving for the academy tomorrow, his brother and mother had given him a lot of encouraging words.
He was told not to listen to what others said about his Paladin class and to focus on working hard. Others would definitely shut up as long as he made progress.
His mother had also reminded him not to push himself too hard and always remember to rest as much as possible.
"Having a well-rested mind also helps in improving one's strength!"
Was what Elena had said. While those words sounded like words of concern from a mother to her son, Ivan knew that his mother was being serious.
After all, Elena was a level five warrior! She was weaker than Christopher but stronger than Ethan!
The only reason why she wasn't as feared as the other two was that she didn't have strong offensive abilities like them. Unlike the father and son duo who possessed fire and lightning magic respectively, Elena was a healer and wasn't very suitable for combat.
Ivan couldn't help but chuckle as he recalled those words but his expression suddenly turned calm the next moment.
"The academy huh, I'll start from there." He muttered to himself. The Skrivaloks were still going to invade Earth in a few years and he had to make sure humanity was ready before then, he didn't have time to care about what others thought of his class!
While thinking of how he was going to go about his plans, Ivan slowly drifted off to sleep.
….
Very early in the morning of the next day.
The carriage that was going to take Ivan to the Red Star Royal Academy was already waiting outside the Castellan mansion, Ethan and Elena were waiting beside the carriage.
After some time, Ivan emerged from the mansion and approached them. He was currently in the uniform of the Red Star Royal Academy, a black ceremonial attire with a short white cape hanging over his shoulders and white gloves covering his hands.
Adding to his already handsome face, Ivan had a strong air of nobility around him as he walked toward the carriage with calm steps.
Reaching the carriage, Ethan and Elena looked at him with gentle gazes.
Ethan didn't say anything and just nodded at his little brother before entering the carriage first, he was going to accompany Ivan to the academy before coming back.
As for Elena, she hugged Ivan for a while before letting him board the carriage.
With both of them already inside the carriage, the two huge horse-looking beasts in front began to move and pull the carriage along. Elena stood there until the carriage left the mansion and was finally out of sight.
After leaving the area of the Castellan family residence, the speed at which the carriage moved increased as the two beasts in front started to run at full speed.
The carriage crossed hundreds of meters in just a few seconds and was almost like a blur.
Despite such speed, Ivan and Ethan who were silently riding the carriage were unaffected. This carriage wasn't like ordinary carriages, it had several formations placed around its body; this was why the carriage was unaffected even when it crossed rough paths.
A few hours later, the carriage began to slow down. The brothers who had been riding in silence through the journey looked at each other, no one said it but they knew they were getting closer to the academy.
A few minutes later, the carriage came to a stop. They had arrived at their destination!
The door of the carriage opened and both brothers stepped out.
Coming out, Ivan saw that several other carriages were packed outside the academy and more were still coming. Tens of students were saying goodbye to their families before moving toward the academy entrance.
Immediately Ivan and Ethan stepped out of their carriage, several pairs of eyes landed on them. It couldn't be helped, the young masters of the Castellan family were just too handsome not to be noticed.
But the two were indifferent to these stares as they were already used to them. Ethan looked at the surrounding carriages before shifting his gaze to Ivan.
He had said all that he needed to say during dinner last night so he wasn't going to give another speech.
He placed a hand on Ivan's shoulder and said.
"I'll be heading back now, head to the registration office first once you go in to get your student token and other things you'll need to stay in the academy." After saying this, he turned and entered the carriage.
Ivan nodded and didn't leave immediately, he wanted to watch the carriage leave first.
Before the carriage could start moving, Ethan opened the window and looked at Ivan.
"If anyone causes you trouble, don't hesitate to let me know." He said seriously.
Ivan smiled and nodded, not saying anything in response.