A few days had passed since Kaelan and Lira’s close call with Varus and Celene, but the memory lingered. Their encounter had only intensified Kaelan's curiosity and made him even more determined to understand the secrets hidden within the ship. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that their time was running out someone else could stumble upon their discovery at any moment.

As he walked through the village on a cloudy morning, Kaelan noticed how ordinary life felt compared to the mystery of the ship. Eldoria’s villagers were busy with their daily tasks, tending to livestock, repairing tools, or preparing for the seasonal harvest. The sight was comforting yet stifling, a reminder of how most in Eldoria seemed content with simple lives, far removed from the grandiose tales Kaelan yearned to experience.

“Hey, Kaelan!” Lira’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. She bounded over, her wolf-like agility and energy on full display. “I have news!”

“Good or bad?” Kaelan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Depends,” Lira replied with a mischievous grin. “Varus and Celene are still around, staying at the inn. But I overheard them talking they plan to explore the forest soon, looking for the ‘strange mana pulse’ they sensed.”

Kaelan’s stomach tightened. “So, they’re coming back.”

“Exactly,” Lira said, her tone serious. “Which means we don’t have much time. We need to get back to the ship and figure out what we can before they find it.”

Kaelan nodded, already feeling the familiar rush of determination. “Let’s go. We’ll need every spare moment if we’re going to learn anything useful.”

They slipped away from the village, weaving through familiar paths until the dense forest enveloped them. Their senses sharpened as they moved deeper into the woods, alert for any signs of other travelers. Finally, they arrived at the hidden entrance of the ship and pushed aside the foliage that concealed it. Once inside, they were surrounded by the dim, eerie glow of the ancient core.

Lira moved to the shelves, picking up an old, faded book. “Look at this one,” she said, holding it out to Kaelan. “It talks about mana channels and the center of the universe. If we could understand this, maybe we’d know why mana is so limited here.”

Kaelan took the book, flipping through pages filled with diagrams of swirling energy patterns and intricate networks of what looked like rivers of mana flowing through the universe. The center of the universe glowed brightly, marked as a place of unimaginable power and abundance.

“It says that closer to the center, mana is so pure and plentiful that even ordinary people can become powerful,” Kaelan murmured, tracing the lines with his finger. “But here, on the edges… we’re limited.”

Lira leaned over his shoulder, studying the illustrations. “Maybe that’s why mythical species like dragons, phoenixes, and titans only exist closer to the center. They need that level of mana to thrive.”

“Yeah,” Kaelan replied, his voice tinged with wonder. “We’re just too far from it all.”

They continued exploring, each discovery adding to their understanding of the universe. In the back of his mind, Kaelan’s thoughts drifted to the legendary adventurers who had found power hidden in ruins, often awakening powerful bloodlines or abilities. He knew that some ruins held remnants of ancient beings’ mana, allowing anyone lucky enough to claim it to gain new powers in an instant. But these stories also came with warnings; many who sought such power never returned.

“Maybe…” Kaelan began, his voice hesitant. “Maybe this ship is like those ruins. What if we can unlock something here that could change everything?”

Lira’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “You mean, like a bloodline? Or maybe even abilities? Just think this could be our chance to reach the sky in one step!”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

They continued to search, diving deeper into the ship’s mysterious interior. Kaelan found a section of the ship they hadn’t yet explored, marked with a strange symbol a single, ornate key enclosed within a circle. The door was half-open, revealing a chamber that seemed untouched by time. Inside were various relics strange crystals, metal contraptions, and more books.

As Kaelan picked up one of the crystals, a sudden jolt of energy shot through him. He gasped, feeling as though the mana within him was responding to the crystal’s presence, resonating with a faint but powerful hum. It was almost like a whisper, beckoning him to understand something hidden.

“Kaelan!” Lira’s voice broke through his trance. “Look at this!”

She held up a large tome, the cover engraved with symbols that glowed faintly. Inside were descriptions of various types of mana manipulation, along with exercises for drawing and channeling mana. There were techniques for even those with limited mana, ways to enhance one’s agility or strength briefly by concentrating their energy.

“If we practice this,” Lira said, her eyes gleaming, “we could actually start to use mana, even if we’re on a low-mana planet.”

Kaelan’s heart raced as he read the pages. This was exactly the kind of knowledge he’d dreamed of finding. Not only would it give them a chance to grow stronger, but it would also let them take their first steps toward becoming true adventurers.

Before they could continue, however, a faint noise echoed from outside the ship a voice, rough and impatient. Kaelan’s blood turned cold as he recognized it.

“Varus,” he whispered, exchanging a fearful look with Lira.

They quickly extinguished their torches, plunging the chamber into near darkness. They huddled close, listening to the faint sounds of footsteps drawing nearer. Through a small gap, Kaelan could see Varus’s silhouette approaching, his stance tense and alert.

“We have to get out of here,” Kaelan mouthed to Lira.

She nodded, her expression set with determination. They crept back to the entrance, staying as quiet as possible. Just as they were about to slip out, Kaelan heard Varus mutter to himself.

“This place… it’s filled with mana. Celene was right,” he said, his tone filled with anticipation. “If we could unlock its secrets, imagine the power we’d gain.”

Kaelan clenched his fists. Varus and Celene were only here for power, not understanding. To them, the ship was just another artifact to exploit, a source of mana they could use to gain strength. He couldn’t let them take that away.

With a final, silent signal, he and Lira slipped out of the ship and back into the forest. They didn’t stop running until they were far enough away to be certain they hadn’t been seen. Only then did they collapse against a tree, catching their breath.

“Did you hear him?” Kaelan asked, anger simmering beneath his exhaustion. “They want to use the ship’s mana for themselves.”

Lira’s eyes narrowed. “We can’t let that happen. This place… it’s our only hope of finding a path beyond this village.”

Kaelan nodded, his mind racing. “Then we need to get stronger, fast. If we want to protect the ship, we have to learn everything we can, before Varus and Celene take it away from us.”

They spent the next few days delving into the exercises they’d found in the tome, practicing in secret at the edge of the village. The techniques were difficult to master, especially with the limited mana they could access. But they persisted, each small success fueling their determination.

For Kaelan, the exercises were a revelation. For the first time, he could feel mana flow through him an elusive, almost invisible current that he had to coax and control. At first, he could barely manage a flicker of energy, but as he practiced, he learned to sustain it, using the mana to strengthen his body or sharpen his senses.

Lira, too, was making progress. Her Wolf Kin instincts seemed to make the process easier, and she soon mastered an agility technique that let her move with blinding speed for brief moments. She was ecstatic, her pride glowing in her eyes whenever she darted around Kaelan, laughing at his attempts to keep up.

“Think we’re ready to take on Varus and Celene now?” she teased, though her tone was only half-joking.

“Not yet,” Kaelan replied with a grin. “But soon.”

As they trained, he felt something awaken within him a quiet, steady strength he hadn’t known he possessed. It wasn’t power or raw ability, but a will to keep pushing forward, to fight for what mattered. He realized that Lira was right; it wasn’t stats that made heroes but something deeper. A desire to be more, to reach beyond what was given.

And as the days turned to weeks, he felt his resolve harden. He would protect the ship, not just for himself or Lira, but for the dream they shared a dream of venturing beyond Eldoria, of discovering the worlds they’d read about in forgotten tomes, and of carving their own legends.

One morning, as the sun rose over Eldoria, Kaelan looked out toward the distant mountains, the uncharted lands that lay beyond. He didn’t know what awaited them, but he knew one thing for certain:

Their journey had only just begun.