It took us four weeks to complete the Group Combat Class. The remaining seven marks were far easier to earn. That didn’t mean there was no danger, but compared to rushing into an Unblemished Zone, fighting members of another race, and escaping the wrath of the Unblemished beasts, it had been a walk in the park.

The last four weeks passed quickly. Daniel and the others continued to participate in their other classes as before, while I stayed behind training. Scott’s suggestion had kept my schedule free, giving me all the time I needed to train and study. And that was exactly what I did.

The others were not necessarily fans of my actions, but I pushed myself a little harder to fill two more 2-Star Ether Gates. I nearly collapsed from second-stage ether toxicity once; however, I considered that a low price for the power I had acquired in the last four weeks.

After our encounter with the Calderas and the Unblemished beasts, I did not feel nearly as strong as the others made me out to be. Even if training my body to the verge of collapse was not necessarily the answer, it was exactly what I needed to make myself feel better.

Plus, it was necessary to keep Nox at bay. The Ferronox Mantis was not yet at the Peak of the Awakened Rank, but it was only a matter of weeks before his advancement to the Evolved Rank would begin. And while Nox was far more docile these days, he was bound to act up again once he advanced. I had to prepare myself for that day, which was all the more reason to push my body and mind to the limit and beyond.

That was where my breakthrough with the Blastor Refinery technique came into play. After weeks of practice, my World was not only large enough to use the fifth level of the Blastor Refinery, but my control of soul energy and ether was delicate enough to perform the technique. It’d been a week, and I was more than satisfied with the results. My World expanded smoothly, creating far more space than either Aureus or Nox needed at the Awakened Rank.

Binding a third Soulkin sounded like a good idea, but I quickly discarded that thought. Nox’s growth would accelerate once more when he reached the Evolved Rank, and even Aureus would occupy more space once he too advanced.

“Did you know Merlin fought the Caldera Champions?” a cadet asked his friend in a hushed voice as they walked past me.

“Duh. Who hasn’t heard about that? Instructor Sern went to watch the Katraks with his class.” The other cadet marveled, but she sighed, disheartened, after a moment. “I should have joined his seminars earlier. What’s the use of Camp Coins if I don’t use them?!”

“Didn’t you purchase that enchanted dress?” The first cadet turned to her, smiling mischievously. “I think that dress was well worth the coins, babe. You looked so sexy. Like a succubus incarnate.”

Somehow, I had no idea why, those words improved her mood. She linked arms with the cadet and pressed her voluptuous chest against him.

“Sexy, you say? A succubus?” She giggled, leaning closer to whisper something into the cadet’s ear. His face turned red, and the odd pair disappeared around the corner.

“What–No, I don’t want to know.” I shuddered and took it upon myself to leave the building as soon as possible.

Discarding thoughts of what those two were going to do, I thought back to the thing they mentioned earlier.

Merlin fought the Caldera Champions.

Our report from four weeks ago caused ripples. We were generously rewarded for the report and the recordings from our body cameras of the Caldera, but that was beside the point. A dozen instructors and Blessed I’d never seen before left the Grand Camp to search the Giant Forest. There was no news for a week until reports of a delegation from the Calderas trickled through the official channels.

News spread like wildfire, and we soon learned that hundreds of Calderas lived in the Elemental Spires.

Nobody was killed in their encounters, though there had been several ‘friendly’ spars. That was all the reports released through official channels stated. As to how much was concealed, I had no idea. It shouldn’t matter to me either. Relations with other races were way beyond my pay grade as a mere cadet. But…I wanted to know more. Learn more about them.

This text was taken from NovelBin. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Language Class!

Yes, I know. That’s why I joined the Outsider Language Class. I thanked Aureus for reminding me of the class, which I’d paid 3,000 coins to attend.

The Outsider Language Class was exactly that. It was a class that taught the tongues of the Outsiders mankind had met in the last few centuries. It was an expensive class, but it would fill up a portion of the mandatory classes I’d skipped, as long as I attained basic mastery of one of the ten tongues we were taught.

I know already!

As frustrating as it was, Aureus could already understand the Caldera’s tongue. He might not be able to speak it, but he understood every word. It only took him one week too. What a pain in the butt, right?

But as frustrating as it was to have an overly intelligent Soulkin, it was also useful. Thanks to the Earthheart’s mind empowerment, I could already understand a good portion of the Caldera’s tongue as well. It only took me one week to catch up with the cadets who had joined the class at the start of the month, and I was half-certain I could complete the rest of the class in a few more weeks. All thanks to Aureus, of course.

Anyway, my growth was noted. So was the speed with which our group completed the Group Combat class. It was just like Scott had said: Instructor Kalifer wanted to meet us.

***

I met up with the others in front of Instructor Kalifer’s office. They were engaged in a light chat, looking closer than they’d ever been. I loved that. Really, I did. The dynamics in our group were exactly what I needed.

Even Fabienne, who stayed mostly to herself, had grown close to the rest of the group. She was no longer attached to Sophie’s hip and worried less about hiding her scars. By now, she was part of my family, whether she wanted to be or not.

As for Sophie–

My stomach lurched, my heart skipped a beat. Sophie was not family, but she was not a friend either. She was… well, Sophie.

“Took you long enough, Adam.” Daniel snickered, coiling an arm around my shoulder.

“I was listening to some gossip. They were talking about your uncle and the Caldera.” I smiled back at him. “Their gossip derailed into ridiculous flirting at some point, so I left.”

I let out an awkward laugh as the others turned to me. “Instructor Kalifer is waiting for us.”

Scott was the first to move. He walked ahead of me and swung the instructor’s doors open. Her office was plain, with the only striking feature being a large panorama window that revealed the beauty of the Blooming Expanse in the distance. Her desk was flooded with dozens of monitors, and several larger ones had replaced what appeared to be wooden shelves. She was not alone.

“Nathaniel?” I blurted out as we stepped inside.

“Good day to you too, Adam.” The old man from the Beastarium smiled brightly at me. “I’ve been waiting for you.” He barely glanced at Instructor Kalifer, who nodded subtly.

“Care to join me for a little surprise?” he asked, though it sounded more like an order.

“Can that wait for a–” I was here to meet the instructor with my team. Leaving them behind like that didn’t sit right with me. However, Instructor Kalifer interrupted me before I could finish my question.

“Go with the Commander. Your team can inform you later,” she said, gesturing to the old man. “You have more pressing matters to attend to.”

More pressing matters?

Nathaniel pulled me outside the instructor’s office and the scenery shifted. The floor was replaced by a large room I’d never seen before, but I knew that smell.

“We’re in the Beastarium? No, that’s a Beast shop?” I tried to keep my nerves in check, which turned out a lot harder than expected.

“You are compatible with spatial distortions as well,” Nathaniel noted, rubbing his chin in intrigue. “Did you receive spatial training? Training with all the elements?”

The old man’s eyes lit up even brighter when I shook my head. I had to quickly speak up before he could ask more questions.

“Where are we? And what exactly do you want from me?”

“Oh, right. I forgot to tell you.” Nathaniel let out a hollow laugh. “The Beast Pagoda gave me permission to show you our little secret. It took them a while to get their act together, but your encounter with the Caldera seems to have convinced them.” Our eyes met. “Did you know that the Caldera have taken a liking to you? You can’t imagine how surprised I was when I heard about that!”

What? How?

I didn’t understand a thing.

He chuckled to himself, uncaring of my confusion. “Anyway, while your friends will be taught by the Grand Camp’s Grandmaster Beaster, and those other old fogies, I will show you something far more impressive.” He winked at me. “I will show you something far more valuable than Instructor Kalifer can offer!”

Albeit still confused, my ears perked up and my heartbeat accelerated.

“That’s why we’re in the Beast Temple.” He tapped the tiled floor lightly. “Beneath the Beast Temple actually.”