“Welcome to the proving grounds,” Algor declared, “Isn’t it a beauty?” The sight in front of us was a dull-looking tower that was tilted at a certain angle. There were no other people around besides the guards that were standing by the entrance of the tower and us.

“Are you joking?” Ish replied with a straight face.

“Kids these days don’t know how to appreciate dungeons,” He grumbled.

“That leaning tower is a dungeon...?” I asked quizically. Dungeons usually have demons crawling around the place, but this one looked too peaceful to be one.

“Yes, I own this one in particular,” He answered casually. Dungeons appeared all over the world with the appearance of the Hooded One. They were a common sight ranging in appearances, but one characteristic they all had in common was they were the spawning ground for demons.

“You’ own’ this one?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“I was the one to subjugate the dungeon boss, therefore the rights to this dungeon automatically fall to me,” He responded while placing his hand on my shoulders, “Do you know why they call this dungeon the ‘Proving Grounds’?”

“It’s because this is where people test their abilities to see if they are capable of being Venerers,” I answered briefly. Venerers were people who were capable of hunting and tracking down demons. For such a famous place to be lacking people outside wanting to test their abilities, there must be something going on here.

“Correct, you must also be wondering why there are a lot fewer people than usual,” He spoke, looking at me in the eye. Did this guy also have the ability to read minds?

“If you’re wondering if I could read minds, No, I don’t have that kind of ability,” I froze in place and smiled awkwardly. He sighed before continuing, “It’s because of the Ascension Ceremony taking place inside the dungeon right now, that is why it is currently closed to the public. I bet you didn’t read today’s newspaper, huh?”

“Guilty as charged,” I spoke awkwardly. I noticed the other three staring at me weirdly, “What?” I asked.

“Anyway, let’s enter shall we?” Algor gestured us to follow him as he walked towards the leaning tower.

“Halt, entry is forbidden due to the ongoing Ascension Ceremony. Identify yourselves!” One of the guards shouted, blocking the entrance to the tower.

“No need to be so uptight, Geralt,” Algor sighed.

“S-Sir Algor?” Geralt stammered. He quickly backed away from the entrance and placed his left hand on his chest to signify a salute, “Who are the other four people behind you, sir” He asked politely, his eyes staring blankly at the air.

“Ah, these four are newly awoken heroes,” Algor introduced.

“Four new heroes..then that must mean...” Geralt bit his lips before continuing, “I welcome you to the ‘Hunting Grounds’ new generation of heroes,” He bowed quickly and straightened his posture. His eyes remained blankly staring at the air. Is he purposefully avoiding looking at us?

“Thank you for your hard work, Geralt,” Algor patted Geralt’s shoulder before opening the entrance to the tower. Geralt nodded his head and continued to remain vigilant.

Algor entered, and we followed suit.

Vwooooshhh...

A gust of wind greeted us as we entered the tower. The gentle rustling of the leaves tickled our ears. Our breaths were taken away from us as the scenery inside the cave felt like we had entered another world.

“Woah...” Ish gaped, her eyes wandering from here and there, “This can’t be real. Someone pinch me,” She lifted her right arm and offered it towards Clair.

“Ouch!” Ish exclaimed.

“I’m s-sorry!” Clair stammered as she pinched Ish’s arm.

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“This...is...all...real...” Ish murmured to herself. Reality must be giving her a shock right now. I chuckled.

“Sir Algor,” I called.

He glanced over his shoulder and asked, “What is it, Finch?”

“Is there a reason why the guard, Geralt, couldn’t even look at us even once?” I asked with suspicion.

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. He’s blind.” Algor answered briefly, “Even though he can’t see he has the knack to use thin threads of mana to sense his surroundings. He’s a talented Venerer, If I say so myself,”

I nodded my head slowly. That’s probably the reason why he couldn’t recognize Sir Algor a while ago.

“Now that we’re here. It’s time I teach you kids the importance of gems,” Algor spoke, revealing his belt once more.

He took out the red cross-shaped gem and showed it to us, “This is a weapon gem. These gems are always cross-shaped, so you can’t mistake them for any other type of gem. To activate it, you simply channel mana into the gem,” Algor began to channel mana into the gem, and it began to glow a bright crimson color.

A few seconds later, the book which we saw disappear earlier materialized in his hands, “You see here,” Algor pointed at his belt, “The Gem is still glowing that means it’s still active, and to deactivate it, you simply stop channeling mana into the gem,” As he finished those words the gem lost its glow and the book disappeared.

“Next up are triangle-shaped gems. These gems are defensive-type gems that can either transform into a shield or a piece of armor. If you’re lucky enough, you can get a gem that can materialize both,” unlike the previous demonstration, he didn’t try to channel any mana into the gem. Instead, he took the red triangle-shaped gem and handed it to me.

“Finch, try channeling mana into that gem,” Algor instructed.

“How do I channel mana?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Focus on the beating of your heart,” Algor grasped his chest, “Try to feel each beat as if each thump of your heart empowers your entire being,”

I closed my eyes and focused.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

There was a faint sensation of warmth in each beat. I further focused on that feeling. It felt like something was inside my heart, yet its presence was almost invisible to me. What was that?

I opened my eyes and noticed that the gem I held was glowing a faint crimson color before slowly dying down.

“Finch, what you sensed in your heart was your mana core,” Algor spoke while scratching the back of his head, “I’m honestly amazed that you managed to make the gem partially activate. It took me weeks before I managed to activate a red gem, and I was even considered a prodigy with that speed! I guess that’s a hero class for you.” A hint of envy was present in his tone.

“Why couldn’t I fully activate it?” I asked, staring at the gem atop my palm.

“Getting greedy, eh?” Algor sighed in disbelief before continuing, “Because of its power class. Red is the highest class out of the rainbow type gems, with violet being the lowest class.”

“Can you tell us more about the power classes?” Nathaniel asked.

Algor raised his hand and lifted 3 fingers, “There are three rankings for gems. Crystal-types, Metallic-Types, and lastly Rainbow-types. The rainbow-type gems are the weakest of the three, while the Crystal-types are the strongest and rarest. There are multiple subclasses per ranking, but you kids will be able to discover that by yourselves in the future,” Algor finished.

“I see. It looks like we need to work ourselves up from the bottom to start activating higher tier gems, is that correct?” Nathaniel deduced.

“That’s correct,” Algor confirmed Nathaniel’s deduction.

“Do Venerers have a limit on how many gems they can activate?” Clair asked.

“That’s a good question, Clair, but no, Venerers don’t have a limit on how many they can activate,” Algor answered, “But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a limit on what tier they can activate.”

“May I ask what’s the limit of your activation?” Ish asked nonchalantly. We stared at her dumbfoundedly due to her straightforward question, “What?” Ish shrugged.

“Ehem, not to boast, but my activation limit is at the metallic-type. I can activate Gold gems, but those type of gems are rare to find that is why I mostly have red ones on me.” Algor declared proudly.

Gold. I didn’t know how high that ranked in the Metallic-type gems, but I knew for sure Algor wasn’t an ordinary venerer, “What about the belt you’re wearing?” I asked.

“Ah, I thought you kids would never ask about it!” He exclaimed in relief, “The belt im wearing is called a Medium. These are also dropped by demons when killed, albeit much more rarer than gems. They vary on what type of accessory they are and how many slots they can fit. The slots also vary in shape, so you cannot fit all of your favorite gems onto one medium.”

“Do you kids have anymore questions to ask, before we head onto combat training?” Algor asked.

“Is there a limit to how fast we can activate our gems?” Clair questioned.

“Beautiful question, Clair. No, you do not have a limit. The activation speed of gems depend on how proficient you are in channeling your mana into the gem.” Algor answered before pointing at his belt, “The fastest I can activate my gems is eight seconds, while Geralt, the guard outside, could near instantaneously activate his. Activation speed gives you a glimpse of the skill of a Venerer in handling mana.”

VWOOOOOOOOOOSHH!

Suddenly, a maelstrom of magical energy swirled around a singular location, and a small blob of light was created at its center.

〘You sense an evil presence〙

I cautiously looked to my right and saw the blob of light slowly growing from the size of a peanut to the size of a ball. Is that what I think it is?

“W-what is that?!” Clair yelled in panic, hiding behind Nathaniel.

“Kids, It looks like it’s time for combat practice...” Algor spoke in a low tone. His gems began to glow slowly.