CHAPTER 214: TRANSCENDENT NYRA

As Adrian walked into the heart of New Haven, his journey was a reminder of the sheer scale of the changes sweeping across his kingdom.

The city was in a constant state of becoming. Everywhere he looked, Magi-Tech construction vehicles were at work.

The whole Kingdom of Zarion was developing quickly under his new decrees, but New Haven was experiencing a different, more explosive kind of change. It was the Capital of the Grand Alliance, the crucible where the future of their world was being forged.

His plan was for it to serve as a home for all the key workers and, most importantly, the Academy.

This Academy was the cornerstone of his vision, teaching a curriculum that followed the same educational system he remembered from Earth.

It was a fusion of two worlds: a rigorous syllabus of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, integrated with magical arts.

The entire process was dramatically accelerated, as Adrian had discovered that those with magic affinities naturally possessed an improved intelligence and a far greater capacity for learning, allowing a sixteen-year education to be condensed into six.

There was still much work to be done; the grand campus was still under construction, its gleaming spires and great halls rising from the earth daily.

For now, only the most exceptional students selected from the first Sovereign’s Gauntlet had begun their studies in the completed sections.

Adrian passed by groups of these young, hopeful students as he made his way towards the campus’s most prominent structure: the Magic Tower.

It was a sleek, crystalline project he had worked on personally, a pillar of research and cultivation that rose high above the surrounding buildings.

It was divided into dozens of floors, with each floor containing a powerful mana-gathering array.

These arrays worked with magic crystals to draw in ambient mana from the atmosphere at a rate slightly higher than normal; enough to significantly boost cultivation speed, but not so much as to risk damaging a cultivator’s Dantian.

The lower floors were a paid service, constantly occupied by the city’s aspiring mages and knights. The highest floor, however, was exclusive, reserved only for his Vassals.

As he reached the top floor, the immense, raw power in the air was evident. He found the room’s antechamber occupied by three of his most trusted companions: Master Von, Karl, and his sister, Serena.

They weren’t speaking. They all stood before a large window, staring with hypnotic, awestruck expressions at the scene within the training chamber.

Inside the vast, featureless white room, Princess Nyra was floating serenely in the air, the very picture of grace and absolute power.

She was the calm eye in the center of a beautiful, terrifying hurricane of pure elemental magic. Glowing, intensely colored lights radiated from her, each a perfectly controlled manifestation of a different element.

A miniature, stable star of pure, golden fire pulsed gently above her head, giving off light but no heat. A sphere of swirling, crystalline water orbited her waist like a moon, with tiny ice crystals forming and melting on its surface.

Chunks of raw earth floated around her in a slow dance, arranging themselves into complex, shifting geometric patterns. A gentle, visible vortex of wind contained the entire display, its currents ensuring the opposing elements never clashed.

And finally, arcs of silent, brilliant lightning leaped between the floating stones.

It was a display of power so profound, so fundamentally different from a simple spell, that Adrian didn’t know what was happening, but he was enthralled by the sight.

He had caught the students’ chatter about Nyra’s breakthrough causing a massive wave of light, and that made him wonder what truly happened when one made the leap from the 9-Star rank to the realm of the Transcendent. It was a threshold he himself was approaching, yet knew so little about.

Master Von was the first one to identify his presence among them, his sharp senses finally pulling him from his hypnotic stare. He turned to Adrian, a look of surprise on his face. "Lad. It feels like it’s been an eternity since I last saw you."

Adrian didn’t argue that it had barely been a month since their last meeting. He simply nodded and asked directly, "What’s happening here?"

Von caressed his chin, his gaze returning to the floating princess. "Haven’t you heard of the Soul Resonance? Becoming a Transcendent is far more than a simple increase in strength. It’s a leap in mortality itself. A true Transcendent is not only healthier, but their life span is extended by centuries, unlike that of normal cultivators (Mages and Knights)."

He then explained that the process was a deep, instinctual communion with the very essence of one’s power. For Mages, they had to recognize and be recognized by the elements they wielded, to attune their souls to the fundamental frequencies of the world.

"For Nyra’s case," Von continued, his voice filled with awe, "it’s different. She has five affinities, a recipe for a chaotic, self-destructive breakthrough. Yet, she is handling them all with a grace and ease I have never witnessed. From the looks of it, she’ll be done in no time. Incredible."

Adrian looked at Nyra’s serene expression with intrigue. She was breathtaking, not just in her beauty, but in the sheer scale of the power she now commanded so effortlessly. He then turned back to Von. "What’s the process for a Knight?"

The Instructor shook his head. "I’m as clueless as you are on the specifics. The only other Transcendent Knight in the world is the Dwarven Lord, and I don’t think you’ll be able to reach him for a chat anytime soon. It’s best we wait and see what happens when you get there yourself."

"That’s not a problem," Adrian said casually. "Lord Damien and the rest of the Dwarven delegation are all here in New Haven. I’ll probably just ask him the next time we meet."

Von had a shocked look on his face, his mouth opening to ask a dozen questions at once. But Adrian spoke before he could voice his surprise. "How close are you to Transcending?"

The question seemed to deflate Von slightly. A wry smile touched his face. "It’s a slow process, lad. I’m no special Elf with a blessed bloodline. Even with my strengthened Dantian, I’ll be lucky if it takes me a year of dedicated cultivation."

Adrian clicked his tongue. A year felt like a very long time to him, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He would just have to attempt his own breakthrough after he was done with his current projects.

He walked over to Serena and Karl, who were still completely captivated by Nyra’s magnificent display.

"6-Star and 7-Star," he said, his voice pulling them from their trance. "I’m impressed."

Karl spun around, folding his arms across his chest, his newly upgraded spear held firmly in one hand.

"Bro! It’s been like forever since we last met! Did you really expect me to still be stuck at the 6th-Star?"

His arrogant statement immediately earned him a sharp kick from Serena. She quickly masked her act with a kind smile as Karl yelped in pain. "Can you please stop bragging for once?"

Having developed more familiarity with Serena over the past month, Karl was no longer as sheepish as when they first met.

He acted shamelessly, puffing his shoulder up despite the kick in his leg. "Hey! I’ll stop bragging when you’re stronger than me. And for the record, you’ll be needing a lot more than that kick to slow me down now!"

Serena simply rolled her eyes at him. Karl’s bravado immediately deflated, and he nudged her playfully. "I’m just joking, I’m just joking."

Adrian only watched them in silence, a small, rare smile forming on his own face. "Don’t forget you’re not yet stronger than me, Karl. So don’t be so shameless as to bully Rena."

Karl didn’t back down. He grinned without a care in the world. "I told you to give me time! Time is all I need to catch up!"

Adrian yawned dramatically. "Alright. You’ll get all the time you need. But before then, both of you, come closer. I’d like to share something with you."

Curious, they both approached him. Adrian placed a hand on each of their heads, one after the other.

[Knowledge Catalog deployed.]

[Transferring Data... Transfer Complete!]

By the time he was done, Karl, who was experiencing the direct knowledge transfer for the first time, held his head in his hands, his eyes wide.

"Whoa! What was that? It’s like a whole library just got shoved in my brain!"

Serena also looked surprised as she struggled to process the sudden, immense flood of strange information in her head.

Adrian clarified for them. "What I sent you is basic, foundational knowledge: mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, you name it. You must have heard about what the new Academies are teaching. Don’t think you’ll be exempted just because you’re close to me."

Karl still had a wry, confused smile on his lips. "Okay... but what are we supposed to do with this stuff? I don’t get it."

Adrian shook his head at his friend’s simple-mindedness. "You are meant to learn it. I don’t need to explain why. You will better understand the workings of the world, and even your own techniques, when you do. So, I’ll be giving—"

"Adrian!"

Adrian was still speaking when he heard his name some distance away. He turned to see Master Von gesturing urgently from the observation window, his eyes wide and fixed on Nyra.

"Come over here! It’s happening!"