The First Weeks — Tempering
The first weeks at the academy were harsh, but not impossible.
Professor Ozox’s mana training was precise and mentally exhausting, demanding endless concentration.
As for Carpet’s classes, they were a true physical hell.
Even so, the trio — along with Rosalyn — always remembered Alito’s training back in the Fifth Continent.
In the Fifth Continent, Alito stood like a human mountain amidst the gigantic craters created by his fists.
He would shout at Dastan while the boy gasped on the ground:
> “Get up, boy! Death only waits for the weak! If you die here, you’ll never reach your goal!”
They trained until they coughed blood, until their bodies collapsed, then rose again through sheer iron will.
Those days taught them that pain was not the end of the road… but its gateway.
All those hardships refined their personalities, sharpened their determination, and made them far stronger than before.
As for Dastan, he spent long hours after classes in a quiet corner of the academy, focusing all his dark aura to strengthen the small dragon Cloud had gifted him.
He sat on his knees, closed his eyes, and whispered to the darkness until the dragon formed beside him, growing little by little each day.
Lucian focused on the Blink Technique and merging it with the fundamentals of swordsmanship.
He stood for hours in the training hall, trying to make light a part of his sword movements rather than just a separate weapon.
Meanwhile, Jenika was by far the busiest of them all.
Between potion-making, chemistry, medicine, and archery training, she barely had a moment to rest.
She entered the library in the morning and left at night, yet barely had enough time to read any books.
Still, thanks to her extraordinary memory, she carefully selected what to study during her free time.
But the most beautiful thing was the development of her relationship with Ravina.
The two slowly filled the emotional emptiness each had suffered throughout their lives.
By the third day, Jenika fell asleep in her mother’s lap for the first time, wearing a childish smile that had not appeared on her face for years.
The first week passed like a fleeting moment.
Week Two — Growing Used to Hell
The routine became daily: Carpet tortured them physically in the morning, while Ozox tortured them mentally in the afternoon.
They became used to it — in fact, they gradually started mastering it.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Jenika and Dastan began to quietly but noticeably deepen.
One evening after dinner, Jenika stood in front of Dastan with obvious shyness, nervously playing with the ends of her hair as she spoke softly:
> “Dastan… tomorrow after class, do… do you want to go out with me?”
Dastan looked at her with slight surprise before calmly nodding.
> “Of course. Do you need help carrying groceries?”
Jenika’s face immediately turned red.
She looked at him with embarrassment and disbelief.
> “Groceries? No… I mean… go out together. Walk around a little, talk… like… a date.”
A brief silence followed.
Dastan’s eyes widened slightly as he finally understood — something extremely rare for him.
> “Ah… I see. Yes… I’d really like that.”
Jenika smiled brightly despite her overwhelming embarrassment.
> “Really? You don’t mind?”
> “I don’t mind at all, Jeni.”
At first, Dastan genuinely thought Jenika wanted help with training, since the idea of being someone’s teacher still felt strange to him.
Week Three — News of the Vacation
On Tuesday of the third week, Professor Ozox entered the theory classroom with his usual calm steps.
The atmosphere inside the room was heavy with exhaustion after weeks of brutal training. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Everyone sat in their places — some wiping sweat from their brows, others silently catching their breath after Carpet’s merciless morning session.
Ozox stood behind the desk, calmly glanced at the students, then gave a faint smile before speaking:
> “Today, there will be no long theory lesson.”
Whispers immediately spread through the classroom.
Ozox calmly raised a hand to silence them before continuing in his deep, clear voice:
> “Tomorrow, Wednesday, your official vacation begins. It will last until next Tuesday. After that, on Wednesday, you’ll have a comprehensive theory exam, and on Thursday, a practical exam under Professor Carpet. Then… you’ll receive a full two-week break.”
Silence filled the room for a moment, as if the students could not process his words.
Then the entire classroom exploded with excitement.
> “A two-week break?!”
“Finally!”
“Oh my god… I think I’m going to sleep for three straight days!”
Ozox smiled faintly as he watched their reactions, then raised his hand again to calm them.
> “After the vacation ends, only six weeks will remain. Two of those are breaks. Which means you have roughly one full month left… if we ignore the exams. As for the final exams, they will be entirely practical… and difficult.”
This time, his gaze became serious.
> “Use this vacation wisely. It is not merely rest… it is an opportunity to strengthen what you’ve learned. Some of you need to improve your bodies. Others need to deepen their understanding of mana. And some of you… simply need sleep.”
A few students laughed, while Jenika smiled so widely she could barely hide it.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she imagined spending entire days inside the massive library.
Ozox continued calmly:
> “I wish you all good luck… and enjoy your vacation. You need it more than you realize.”
The moment he finished speaking, the students erupted with joy once again.
Some shouted, others laughed, and everyone enthusiastically discussed their plans for the break.
As for Jenika, she grinned to herself and whispered:
> “Finally… the whole library is mine.”
After class and lunch, the four gathered together to decide how they would spend the vacation.
Rosalyn spoke calmly:
> “I’ll study and organize the piles of paperwork I’ve fallen behind on. Being the Student Council President isn’t easy.”
Dastan replied in his usual quiet voice:
> “I’ll stay in the training hall. I want to improve my physical endurance… and develop the dragon further.”
Lucian nodded.
> “I was the worst in theory classes… I’m going to start studying from the beginning.”
Jenika smiled brightly and declared enthusiastically:
> “As for me… I shall become the library’s slave!”
After Lunch — Lucian & Dastan
After lunch, the four quietly left the dining hall.
The sun leaned toward the horizon, casting warm orange rays across the academy’s stone pathways.
As planned, Lucian and Dastan headed toward training, while Jenika rushed toward the library with childish excitement, and Rosalyn returned to her office to organize her endless paperwork.
Lucian and Dastan walked side by side through the long corridor leading to the training grounds.
The silence between them was comfortable — the same kind they had shared since their orphanage days.
They arrived first at the grand training hall.
The massive floor was covered with thick compressed sand, while the walls were scarred with countless marks left behind by swords and old battles.
Lucian entered first.
He removed his outer coat and gripped his sword in his right hand. The source of this chapter is g.com.
He closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them.
At that moment, particles of light quietly gathered around him like tiny stars dancing through the air.
He began moving.
At first, his movements were slow as he practiced the “Flow” technique Ozox had taught him.
The sword moved with his body as though it were part of him rather than a separate weapon.
Then suddenly—
He vanished.
An instant later, he appeared behind a large wooden target and struck it with a swift slash.
The target split cleanly in half.
But Lucian frowned.
Blink still consumed too much mana, and merging it perfectly with swordsmanship remained incomplete.
> “Still too slow…” he whispered to himself before repeating the process again… and again… and again.
From afar, Dastan silently watched him.
Then he moved toward the opposite side of the hall, where the heavy weights and reinforced targets stood.
Removing his shirt, he revealed a tightly built body covered in old scars left behind by Alito’s training.
He gripped a heavy sword with both hands and closed his eyes.
Slowly, his dark aura flowed outward like thick black smoke wrapping around his arms and spear.
> “Rise…” he whispered.
From within his shadow, the small dragon gifted by Cloud emerged.
It was still tiny, but it was gradually growing stronger.
Dastan let out a long breath before striking the heavy targets with overwhelming force.
Every blow carried dense darkness within it, shattering the targets into fragments.
He trained in complete silence.
Sweat dripped onto the ground while his muscles screamed from exhaustion.
Yet he never stopped.
He remembered Alito’s words:
> “Strength does not come from rest… it comes from continuing when you want to surrender.”
After an hour, the two paused briefly to rest.
Lucian sat on the ground, breathing heavily, while Dastan wiped the sweat from his body with a towel.
Lucian smiled tiredly.
> “I still feel slow… Blink consumes too much mana when I combine it with swordsmanship.”
Dastan looked at him calmly.
> “You’re improving. I saw you today… you’re faster than last week. As for me… the dragon is still small. I need to strengthen it more.”
He fell silent for a moment before quietly adding:
> “I want to be able to protect all of you… if something happens.”
Lucian stared at him for a long moment, then smiled faintly.
> “We protect each other… just like we always have.”
The two returned to training once more.
The session continued until the sun completely disappeared and dim lights illuminated the hall.
They were utterly exhausted, but both could clearly feel the improvement in their strength and focus.
When they finally left the hall, darkness had already fallen, and stars glittered above the academy sky.
They walked side by side through the quiet corridor in silence.
But that silence carried a bond between them stronger than it had been only weeks ago.