The morning mist had not fully lifted. The walk from the old tower to the main dining hall took seven or eight minutes. Edwin walked alongside Cecil.
His copper‑shell beetle clung to the back of his collar, its two antennae twitching faintly as if sampling scent molecules in the air. Perched on Cecil’s shoulder, Gwendolyn hovered between sleep and wakefulness. Her tail hung down, swaying, and would flinch back whenever it brushed against Cecil’s collarbone.
"How long did you practise that frost last night?" Edwin asked suddenly.
"I didn’t count. Quite a while."
"I heard noises coming from your room. It sounded like something was freezing over." Edwin paused. "Rust is extremely sensitive to temperature shifts. Overnight, your room was several degrees colder than the corridor."
Cecil fell silent for a beat. "...Did I disturb you?"
"No. Just curious." Edwin turned to glance at him. There was a maturity in his gaze that seemed far beyond his years. "That frost of yours — did Gwendolyn teach you?"
"Yes."
"Can Spirit‑Beasts teach their masters skills directly?"
Before Cecil could reply, Gwendolyn’s muffled voice drifted over from his shoulder. "They can. Most Spirit‑Beasts simply do not know many skills themselves, which is why you humans think it is impossible."
Edwin was taken aback, caught off‑guard by the unexpected answer. "...Do you know others?"
"I do. But I cannot unleash them until my seal is broken." Gwendolyn rolled over to shift her position, still keeping her eyes shut. "Your beetle — Rust, isn’t it? Its jaw structure is built to bite through metal. It has received no training though, so it only bites for amusement. If you actually want it to be useful, get sheets of iron of varying hardness for it to gnaw every day. In a month, it will snap an ordinary bolt in thirty seconds."
Edwin’s footsteps faltered. "How do you know its jaw anatomy?"
"Dragons know the bone structure of all beasts. Most of your human textbook classifications were copied from ours." Gwendolyn tapped Cecil’s shoulder lightly with her tail. "It is common knowledge."
Edwin opened his mouth yet said nothing. He glanced down at Rust on his collar. Something new flickered in his eyes, something Cecil had never seen before — as if a key had just been pressed into his hands. He did not yet know which door it unlocked, but the key was already his.
They walked on in silence for a few steps before Cecil spoke. "You said Rust is sensitive to temperature. What is its sensing range?"
"Roughly ten paces. It can detect any temperature change greater than two degrees," Edwin answered. "It can only sense it, though. It cannot pinpoint the source."
"That will be enough," Cecil said. "Next time we go through the portal, use it as a sentry. Jackals run hotter than their surroundings. If Rust can warn us ahead of time, we will no longer be forced to fight on the defensive."
Edwin thought it over and nodded slowly. "...We can try that."
They reached the dining hall.
Griffin Holt’s dining hall stood east of the main building, a standalone long stone structure with double‑height ceilings. Six rows of long tables stretched from the entrance all the way to the back wall. Breakfast was in full swing. The hall was more than half‑full, thick with steam and the aroma of food. Clattering cutlery and murmuring conversation hummed through the air. Group‑A students in grey‑blue uniforms occupied the brightest central seats, while Group‑B pupils scattered in small groups by the windows and against the walls.
Cecil scanned the room and quickly spotted Freddy and the others at the far end of a window‑side table. Freddy waved toward the entrance. His weasel Turner crouched beside a bowl of oatmeal in his lap, tiny paws hooked over the rim, trying to sneak a bite. Lydia sat opposite him, Ivy coiled around her wrist, her tail‑tip tapping rhythmically against the tabletop. Oliver sat furthest in against the wall, Robin perched on his shoulder preening its feathers.
Cecil and Edwin walked over and sat down. Gwendolyn hopped off his shoulder onto the tabletop, eyeing everyone’s plates with an expression that plainly read show me what you are all eating.
"How did you sleep?" Freddy asked.
"Fine." Cecil picked up a loaf of bread and tore off a piece. "You?"
"I stayed up half the night poring over that notebook." Freddy lowered his voice, his eyes bright. "It holds far more than we expected. It belonged to a Group‑B student thirty years ago. He graduated and reportedly joined the Northern Knight Order. The journal is full of observations on portals and trial grounds, plus tactics for dealing with specific Spirit‑Beasts."
"Much of it useful?" Oliver asked.
"Loads, but the ink has faded badly. Some passages have to be held up to light to read." Freddy soaked his bread in porridge. "I will carefully copy it out after class today and circulate the important excerpts among us."
Lydia lifted Ivy from her wrist and set her on the table. The vine‑snake slithered slowly toward Cecil and halted beside his hand, flicking out her tongue. At one glance from Gwendolyn, Ivy froze and coiled herself back.
"She is scared of you," Lydia said.
"As she ought to be," Gwendolyn replied without the slightest hesitation.
Cecil ignored the subtle tension between the two Spirit‑Beasts. He bit into his bread, his mind racing. Edwin’s question still lingered in his thoughts: can Spirit‑Beasts teach their masters skills? Frost Resonance. Frost‑Armor Convergence. Ice Shard Projection. Skill packages. Allocate‑able attribute points.
On his system panel last night, Ice Shard Projection had read: Requires Battle Power: 100. He currently possessed 52. Forty‑eight more points remained. It sounded trivial, yet defeating six jackals had only earned him those fifty‑two. What if their next foes proved deadlier? How long would it take to gather what he needed?
He set down his bread and pretended to gaze out the window. Behind closed eyes, he called up the silver‑text interface deep within his consciousness. It hovered there silently, a quiet window accessible whenever he focused his mind.
[Battle Power: 52]
[Available Attribute Points: 1]
[Frost Resonance · Beginner‑Tier: Acquired]
[Frost‑Armor Convergence: Locked (Requires Frost Resonance advancement to Intermediate‑Tier)]
[Ice‑Shard Projection: Locked (Requires Battle Power: 100)]
He stared at the words Locked for several seconds before returning to the main menu. Only Gwendolyn’s name was displayed. But the system had told him — the Unlimited Mythic‑Beast Awakening System. Unlimited meant more than one. What would happen if he found a second sealed mythic beast somewhere in the future?
He had no answer, yet he stored the question away.
Gwendolyn’s voice sounded beside his ear, pulling him out of his reverie. "You are zoning out."
Cecil opened his eyes. "I am not. Just thinking."
"About what?"