More than a month had passed since Leo had his breakthrough with magic. Mava had told him that she wasn’t able to help him with his ice magic. The cause was that it is very rare, and she didn’t have any experience with it. Leo accepted his fate and kept practicing more and more. Even during his few hours of free time, he would spend on figuring out how to work with this unique type of magic. A week ago, Leo had also acquired his second fang, which made him feel a noteworthy growth in both mana and his neva.

It was already late in the evening. Leo was sitting at his desk, noting down everything he had learned about the frozen arts. It had become a habit of his after learning about ice magic:

Day eight: Today Mava told me that it was quite abnormal for me to already be able to conduit my mana through small objects. Turns out that this is normally only possible when one has reached the third circle. I didn’t really care about this information, but I remembered a lesson from Grace. She had once explained how people like me with a dragon’s fang as a battle style were only useful later on. She had said that I would have to imbue my elemental mana when I reached the third circle. I linked both of them and have started practicing. Today wasn’t really a big success, but I did gain something. When I grabbed my sword and started to do the same as in the lessons, I noticed that it was way harder to put mana in only the blade of the sword; otherwise, I’d freeze my hands.

Day thirteen: Training was intense today. The burning pain in my muscles still hasn’t fully ebbed away. I am progressing quite slowly with my project, but that isn’t a bad thing. If I rushed it, who knows what could go wrong. Jonathan had always said that it was better to prevent something than to have to fix it. I gathered a lot of info about the military today. I’m too afraid to ask the other soldiers about how the system works as I expect them to laugh at me and treat me like I’m dumb. The system works like this: You have the outer ring, the inner ring, the platoons, and the royal guard. Ordered chronologically. I’m in the lowest group, the outer ring. Everyone here is supposedly weak, this wasn’t very motivating as I think they’re still stronger than me.

Day nineteen: A letter arrived from Averon today, and it told me to prepare all my luggage within ten days as I would be moving in with the other platoon members. Mava won’t be coming with me because she doesn’t feel like she is helping me as much as she wished. Convincing her had zero effect, so I just moved on. The platoon’s base is very close to Grace’s house, so she proposed that I stay with her. I had to decline this because I wanted to get to know my future allies better. Luckily, Grace understood where I was going at and didn’t bother with questioning me any further.

Day twenty-four: Today I have reached the first step toward my goal. I was finally able to fill only the blade with frozen mana. The focus that was needed for this was impressive, after only doing it for six seconds without swinging the sword in any way, I already had a nosebleed. It will take me a lot of training before I can actually use this in battle.

A knock on the door was the cause of disturbing Leo’s focus. Leo, who had been trying to create a formula for using neva and mana at the same time without wasting as much as the currently known one. This proved to be quite a challenge, but Leo strongly believed that he was onto something. The door opened, and Averon walked inside. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Yes, sir,” Leo responded, knowing how to address his superiors. Averon grabbed the large backpack and walked out of the hut, with Leo following closely.

“You have very little luggage, Leo. What are you taking with you?” Averon asked as they made their way through the dark forest.

Leo met his superior’s gaze and replied, his voice cutting through the dense silence of the forest, “Well, I don’t have a lot of things I can call my own, sir. I took my two swords with me, a book, some paper, and a pen with ink.”

“Very well,” Averon responded, nearly invisible in the darkness. “It’s a good thing; soldiers shouldn’t attach themselves to objects or people.”

They continued walking in silence and eventually reached the gate of the inner city. Carriages, some pulled by horses and others by drakes, large lizards walking on two legs, filled the area. Drakes were far more expensive than horses due to their strength. The guards on watch welcomed Lieutenant Averon, allowing him and Leo to pass.

Leo had never ventured into the inner circle before. Even the bank he had visited previously was just outside the inner circle. Here, only nobility and very wealthy merchants resided.

“Let’s keep up our pace,” Averon advised. As they walked forward, Leo’s eyes wandered, and amazement began to fill his mind. The streets were impeccably clean, without a single beggar in sight. All the houses in this area were massive, showcasing grandeur and opulence.

When they arrived at a pristine white mansion, one of the larger homes in the vicinity, Averon halted. The mansion stood as a symbol of wealth and grandeur, its exterior adorned with intricate carvings and sprawling gardens. Vines covered in vibrant flowers crept along the walls, adding a touch of natural beauty to the imposing structure. Tall, arched windows lined the front of the house, their glass panes reflecting the warm, soft glow of the inner lights.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Averon declared, his voice echoing with a sense of authority. “All the trainees and trainers of our platoon are inside.” The entrance was framed by ornate pillars, and a set of double doors, expertly crafted with intricate patterns, beckoned them forward.

As Averon handed over the bag to Leo and prepared to depart, the young trainee couldn’t help but take in the imposing yet enchanting aura of the mansion. Its beauty was a stark contrast to the simplicity of the military huts, and Leo felt a sense of wonder as he pondered who he would meet inside.

Leo approached the massive wooden door and gently pushed it open. Surprisingly, it wasn’t locked, and he silently closed the door behind him. The young trainee found himself standing in a vast, opulent lobby that boasted all the extravagances one might expect from an opulent mansion.

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Above him, a gigantic crystal chandelier dangled from the ceiling, casting a luxurious and glittering illumination throughout the space. Opposite the door, two grand staircases led to the second level, their exquisite balustrades curling gracefully. Three wide hallways beckoned to him: one nestled between the dual staircases, and the other two extending to his right and left, likely leading to different wings of the mansion.

Before Leo could explore any further, a butler descended the grand staircase from the second floor. His eyes fixed on Leo, and he approached with swift yet graceful steps, stopping before the young trainee and executing a courteous bow.

“You must be the young master Leo, am I correct?” the butler inquired in a refined tone. “It’s a great honor to meet you. I am Edward, and I am responsible for the comfort and well-being of our trainees. If you ever encounter any issues, be they trivial or significant, please don’t hesitate to inform me. You must be quite weary, young lord. Averon has instructed me to escort you to your room. He mentioned it’s on the second floor and comes with a small training area.”

Edward ascended the stairs once more, and Leo followed. The second floor hallway was adorned with twenty doors, each with its distinct purpose: twelve for bedrooms, one for a library, four for living rooms, and three storage rooms. Edward retrieved a key from his pocket and unlocked the final door.

“Your accommodations for the night,” Edward said with a kind smile. “I shall take my leave now. Tomorrow morning, a maid will wake you. When that happens, please proceed to the dining table, located in the left wing, as promptly as you can.”

Leo nodded in acknowledgment and entered his room. As he shut the door behind him, he was greeted by the gentle radiance emanating from an open hearth. He looked around in wonderment. What the butler had referred to as a “bedroom” felt more like a small house. The room was divided into five distinct areas: a central space with a comfortable couch and the inviting glow of the hearth, a spacious bathroom, a well-equipped training area complete with a training dummy and weapon rack, and the cozy bedroom itself.

Exhausted from the day’s events, Leo cast his bag into a corner, too fatigued to unpack it, and settled into the plush bed for some much-needed rest.

Leo found himself standing in a tranquil garden. Moonlight bathed the surroundings in a soft, silvery glow, and the scent of blooming night flowers wafted through the air.

In the center of the garden, a pedestal stood, holding the golden pendant that shimmered with an ethereal light. Leo knew that this was a dream, but he was still concerned that his dear pendant wasn’t around his neck as usual. He grabbed the pendant and hung it around his neck again. The pendant’s glow intensified, and within its radiant heart, a deep voice spoke, “Leo, we finally meet. I have been waiting for a while with patience.”

Leo looked around, searching for the source of the voice. “Who are you?” he asked, a mixture of curiosity and wonder in his tone.

“I am called Valerius,” the voice replied, its timbre filled with wisdom and reassurance. “I am bound to this pendant, and I can’t tell you what I am yet as it would place great danger upon you, but I can tell you that I’m called a monster. You don’t have to be scared; I can’t hurt you even if I wanted to. We don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll tell you this: there are people who possess an art called beast taming. It’s very rare and is only obtainable through your genes. Your mother and father were both very powerful beast tamers, maybe the strongest of their time.

They tamed me a year before you were born and locked my soul up in this pendant. They did this so that when you got stronger, you could revive my body, and I can help you. We already have formed a pact, which makes me bound to you until one of us dies. Everything was great until that happened.

Your parents were both murdered when you were around half a year old. You got taken into the family of your mother as she was a very powerful lady coming from nobility. The family thought of you as a thorn in the eye, so they tried to make you unable to ever awaken your beast taming art by placing a disgusting curse upon you.

I have been lessening the curse since the beginning, but it’s too hard of a task for me, so what I want you to do is go to the elves and let them remove it.

At the moment, you’re way too weak, as it will be a very hard task to get there and convince them.”

Leo, who had just received an overwhelming amount of information in a short span of time, didn’t know what to say. The beautiful environment started to crumble, and Valerius said, “I see our time is up. I don’t know when the next time will be that I can reach out to you, but it will probably be within a year if we’re lucky. Best of luck to you, Leo.”

Leo was roused from sleep by a simple beat of knocks. Opening his eyes, he glanced around, feeling disoriented, but it soon dawned on him that he had moved to his new quarters. The first rays of morning light filtered through the window. Leo couldn’t remember the desk against the wall, and the room was more luxurious than what he was accustomed to.

He got up, opened a nearby closet, and found a selection of clothes, ranging from casual to elegant. Opting for a casual outfit, he changed into the well-fitting attire. As he opened the bedroom door, a maid awaited him in the main room.

“Good morning, young master. Can I help you with anything?” she asked, staring at him with wide eyes.

“No, thank you,” Leo replied, turning away and heading for the dining area. Along the way, he overheard some conversations among the maids: “Is he the new trainee? I heard Averon himself recruited him. What’s so special about him? I bet he’s weaker than young master Max.”

Ignoring the chatter, Leo proceeded to the double doors leading to the dining room, which were wide open. To his surprise, he found that there were more people than he expected, not just trainees and trainers from platoon four.

He spotted Eleonor waiting in line for her breakfast and decided to join her at the table, where Max, Borco, and Marco were already eating. Borco noticed Leo’s presence and exclaimed, “Leo, is that you? Wow, you’re already here?”

Leo nodded and took a seat. The others at the table turned their attention to him.

“I thought this mansion was only for platoon four. Why are there so many people here?” Leo inquired.

Eleonor chuckled and explained, “Well, you’re wrong. This is the training facility. Think of it as a private school where all the platoon trainees gather. The primary goal is to showcase strength and influence. Every new soldier under eighteen can come here after proving themselves, and you’ll get a personal coach until you reach a decent skill level.”

A brief silence followed, but Max soon stood up and said, “Come with me, Leo. We’ll get some food for you.”

Leo stood up, and they both left the table. The line for food was quite long. “How old are you?” Max asked.

Leo replied that he was twelve. Max reassured him, “Good, you have plenty of time to improve. If you were older, it could be a problem. Let me apologize beforehand for my sister; she’s quite…active and doesn’t really know her boundaries.”

Leo nodded and replied, “Well, let’s all get along. There’s no need for us to have conflicts, right?”

Max laughed and nodded in agreement. They finally reached the front of the line, received Leo’s meal, and returned to the table.

“Is there a battle art for archery?” Leo asked.

Max explained, “Yes, there is, but I don’t have it. I use my mana for my combat style. It’s quite complicated but very effective.”

Leo’s curiosity was piqued, but he didn’t get a chance to delve deeper into it as a boy of Max’s age approached them. He stopped right in front of Leo. “Oh, does our ‘prodigy’ have a new trainee? The archer has now chosen a weak beggar! Ridiculous!” The entire room fell silent.

Max spoke up, “Don’t you have better things to do, Ovi? Like shedding that title of yours, what was it again? Eternal second place?”

Leo couldn’t help but smile upon hearing Ovi’s nickname. Ovi, unfazed, locked eyes with Leo. “You’re going down within half a year, boy. I don’t like you.”

Leo, no stranger to threats from his time on the streets, simply responded, “OK.” Ovi turned and left.

Just then, Edward entered the room. “Leo!” he shouted, “Come with me!”