Suta POV

The next few days cycled through more quickly than usual.

Suta continued carrying out his usual day-to-day activities. During the nights, he spent time reading through the few books he borrowed from Granny Baba's collection, while during the daytime, he carried out his chores and spent much more time beside Granny Baba, who enjoyed keeping him by her side as he oversaw her potion making.

But what stirred a wave of excitement for the boy was hearing her reminiscing about her past.

Rather unsurprisingly, Granny held countless exciting tales about her days as an Arcanist, filled with an abundance of near-death experiences and a somewhat rebellious streak of infamy that had followed her during her active years.

Suta became enthralled hearing about her stories, from being on the run after the celestial court placed a bounty on her head, to her being just young enough to have witnessed the great war against the demon king.

With all the subtle anecdotes revealed about Arcane, Suta was growing quite eager to learn more about Granny Baba's glittering past.

During his visits to her abode, however, Suta started encountering a host of unknown faces over the following five days. The first visitor he came across was a portly man with a dapper mustache and flushed, rosy cheeks. He was dressed in old-fashioned, elegant clothes reminiscent of English Victorian-era attire. The fellow's overcoat was half-unbuttoned, as his rotund belly was too large for the garment.

He wore high white socks with shoes adorned with tiny bells on them.

Granny Baba was brewing this gentleman a potion to cure motion sickness. It transpired that the nobleman was to embark on a lengthy sea voyage the following month. As a trusted friend of the king of the Eastern Empire, he had been tasked with escorting an important cargo shipment to the North.

Because of this, Suta learned that this world had four Empires. They each held a portion of the four divided countries: North (Aquatic), East (Earth), South (Fire), and West (Storm), which consisted of countless cities and strongholds within them.

He also heard Granny mentioning a fifth region, but she didn't enjoy talking much about it. Suta realized she could only be referring to the Central Domain, where that Golden City of Dawn dwelled.

However, she did say that place would be considered the biggest and the most dangerous.

The second visitor was a woman with short-cropped dark hair, dressed in what he considered a hunter's attire.

Interested in acquiring a mild poison resistance potion.

The third and fourth visitors both inquired about high-frequency energy-replenishing potions. Granny Baba charged them a lot more sails for these two.

The entire brewing process dragged on interminably. Each step seemed to take an eternity as Suta meticulously followed the sometimes hard-to-read instructions lazily scribbled against Granny Baba's notes.

But with every bubbling cauldron and waft of herb-laden steam, his confidence was growing.

Before long, he had mastered concocting a relatively straightforward potion to aid plant growth.

To the wizened Granny, such basic brews were mere child's play of course. But for Suta, it was an incredible achievement and tangible proof that he was beginning to unravel the mysteries of the Arcane Arts. The elation he felt could not be overstated. In such a short time, he had already taken his first fledgling steps along a path traveled by few.

The very thought filled his heart with soaring pride and renewed determination to continue his magical studies.

By the 6th day, Suta had seen more strangers arriving in one week than he had done in over 100 days of him living here.

Curiously enough Granny Baba always made him observe her brewing, she supplied him with a pocket-sized old notebook and a quill that was infused with a strange energy since Suta didn't require ink to write any notes down.

That night he buried all his attention into trying to understand the brewing process of these potions.

In just six short days, the wizened old woman had concocted over three dozen potions of mind-boggling variety.

To Suta's amazement, the most complex concoctions required meticulous formulas, arcane equations detailing the precise positive or negative energies needed for success. The temperature was the pivotal variable, a little over or under the required errant degrees would spell arrant ruin.

Some potions demanded a surplus of negative energy to harmonize with their volatile materials. Others, especially the most potent brews, required an overflow of positive energies. Even the ingredients themselves possessed either positive or negative spiritual traits influencing the process.

Just ten days prior, such conceptual nuances would have been utterly inscrutable to Suta. But after immersing himself in Granny's ancient notes, and burying his mind in concepts like energy particles, the scribblings before him began to make sense.

His innate talent for comprehending and storing vast depths of knowledge proved invaluable.

As Granny Baba piled weathered book after book into his lap, their insights unlocked and committed to his prodigious memory like seeds taking root. With each cracked spine, a new world unveiled itself to the studious young apprentice.

'If only this stuff was available in the real world, then I couldn't imagine a scenario where I was ever bored or disillusioned.'

He reflected a lot on his old world these days, a lot more concerning his past.

Suta had been blessed - or perhaps cursed - with a mind that outpaced those around him. Born incredibly brighter than his peers, anything he devoted his keen focus to soon lost its luster as boredom inevitably set in.

Even pursuits meant to challenge mind and body, like the various sports he sampled, paled into mundane monotony before long. Mastery came too swiftly, the thrill of discovery fading like the morning mist.

It was this insatiable need for novelty, this inability to commit to any path for long, that led to so many problems with his sister Ringo. As he studied his past ways through a newfound lens of maturity, guilt washed over him. How had he not seen the hurt his behavior inflicted?

'I can't change the past...but I can shape what tomorrow looks like.' The thought blossomed within him, carrying a fierce determination.

'And with the power of the Arcane Arts, anything feels possible. Once I find my family, perhaps this opens a whole new world where we can do amazing things.'

A solemn smirk creased his face as he pondered it. So much had changed already - there would be no going back to how life used to be.

'Enough dwelling on it for now,' he chided himself. 'Let me get some rest and focus on the journey ahead.'

With a weary sigh, Suta set aside the swirling vortex of his thoughts. The morning would come soon enough, bringing with it fresh challenges to apply his brilliance toward. For tonight, he simply had to endure the stifling silence.

The seventh day arrived.

Suta finished tossing the last scraps to Snowy, the majestic hippogriff eagerly snapping them from the air with his wicked beak. The snow-white feathered creature had only recently started showing less bashfulness around him.

Where once Suta could only toss slabs of meat from afar, these days Snowy warily approached to pinch the offerings from his outstretched hands. On one rare afternoon, he had even managed to briefly pat the creature's downy neck before it shivered away, trotting back to a safe distance.

It was a promising sign that Suta was slowly earning the noble beast's trust.

Later that same day, Granny Baba was waiting outside her cottage when Suta returned, supported by her gnarled cane. Seeing the wizened old woman's frail figure sent a pang through him. So often, her overbearing demeanor and gruff speech made one forget her advanced age.

As he approached along the golden dirt path from the jade hill, an odd sense of weariness weighed on him. 'She's never greeted me outside before. I wonder if something's happened?'

Baba welcomed him with a warm, wrinkled smile creasing her almond face. "You're early, Little Su. I hope you didn't stay up all night anticipating our lesson today - fufufu."

"Er...something like that," Suta admitted with an awkward head scratch, unable to deny his eagerness to discover which one of the Ancient languages he would learn.

The truth was, Suta had indeed stayed up most of the night, his mind whirling as he attempted to organize the vast new revelations imparted to him. Differentiating particles into elemental states, separating fusion elements into their singular forms. The sheer density of knowledge caused a dull ache behind his eyes.

Despite his undeniable captivation with the Arcane Arts, this subject matter was proving to be the most mentally strenuous Suta had ever encountered. At times, it felt like an extreme blend of extensive mathematics, hard science, and abstract philosophy, molding into one long complex truth.

As if sensing his inner turmoil, Granny Baba threw back her head, raspy cackles erupting from her maw. The sound was equal parts mirthful and unsettling, like the chittering of some exotic, untamed beast.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"Do my lessons taunt you so, Little Su?" She fixed him with a sidelong look, eyes glittering with impish glee. "Fret not - the path to understanding was never meant to be easy. The higher we climb, the thinner the air!"

Her wild cackles resumed, Suta could only watch dumbfounded, an uncomfortable sweat prickling his brow.

"Good-good it's not bad to be passionate about things. Come on we have a great deal of things to get through today. Follow me now."

Suta was a little confused - where else could they be headed if not into her cottage? But he knew better than to question the eccentric woman's ways. Lately, he had been trying to be more conscious of his actions around the sharp-tongued Granny Baba.

It was clear she had taken notice of his changing behavior and maturity. And something told Suta that using "puberty" as an excuse would not fly with the canny elder. Not anymore.

Rather than lead them inside, Baba meandered carefully along the shaded pastures skirting her property. They walked all the way around the cottage, passing the chicken coops and sheep stables, until their path pointed toward one of the few places Suta seldom tread, a large storehouse nearly as tall as Baba's cottage itself.

Unlike the main building, however, it lacked any windows, its weathered slats completely opaque.

On the rare occasions he saw Toto heading in this direction, the burly farmhand always carried great stacks of hay and feed, suggesting it served as a barn of sorts. Yet Baba moved with surprising spryness, arriving at the storehouse doors in no time before glancing expectantly at her idle pupil.

Suta eyed the closed entrance strangely, quickly gauging what the old woman's look implied. The tall wooden doors were secured by a heavy wooden beam slotted across their front, barring entry. Using both hands, he strained to lift the locking bar free, a task that embarrassingly took five full minutes of grunting effort to complete.

All the while, Baba perched patiently on a nearby fence, hands folded into her billowing sleeves as she observed with twinkling amusement. Finally, Suta dragged his sweat-soaked self before her, breath coming in ragged pants.

"Ah, finally done, Little Su?" Granny Baba cackled, shaking her head in mock sympathy.

"I almost felt pity watching you struggle there. But come now, we're nearly at our destination."

With a spryness seldom seen in one of such advanced years, the wizened old woman hopped nimbly down from her perch. She brushed off her voluminous robes and retrieved her gnarled cane before proceeding through the newly opened entrance, robes fluttering along the gentle breeze.

Suta eagerly trailed behind her, his eyes wide with a curious glint as they stepped into the cavernous and slightly crowded storehouse. As expected, it was crammed full of countless hay bales, stacked by the strongarm Toto.

But seeing the sheer number still shocked him as he counted over a hundred giant mounds reaching clear to the rafters in some cases, each one easily taller than Suta himself.

The musty aroma of dried grass hung thick in the air as Baba deftly wove between the towering stacks. Suta could scarcely fathom how Toto managed such Herculean feats of farm work. Surely filling up this behemoth storage by hand would take a dozen men a month's labor!

'My goodness, this must've taken him at least several months to almost fill this place, phew! Toto is quite something, isn't he?

On the other hand, Baba seemed utterly unfazed, her cane tapping a beat only she could hear as she led them deeper into the pungent maze.

There was a tall wooden ladder attached to the two adjacent walls. He followed where they led towards, and noticed an extra floor right above them.

Granny Baba walked through the middle, a slender clear path had purposely been made through the heaps of heavy hay scattered around them.

He wanted to ask the old woman why they kept this much hay stored but the atmosphere told him perhaps this wasn't the best time.

At last, they reached the far end of the dim storehouse where Baba came to an abrupt halt before an unassuming wooden wall. Suta stopped obediently at her side, unsure what her sharp gaze fixated on.

From somewhere within her billowing robes, the old woman withdrew a peculiar item - a slightly cloudy yellow stone, partially encrusted with dull gray scales resembling an eggshell. Though Suta's first impression dismissed it as such, his mind rapidly realized this was no ordinary object.

Baba cradled the strange artifact with surprising reverence. Then, extending a wizened hand, she placed it flush against the wall panel before them...

"Arcane is not only based on things you can see. Most of the magic surrounding us exists in mysteries, hidden from the naked eye. Look closely, if I remove the veil shielding the naked eye…Arcane comes to life."

Cradling the strange scaled stone, Granny Baba extended her withered hand and began tracing a wide circle against the blank wooden wall. As her gnarled fingers inscribed the pattern, a low crackling filled the musty air.

Suta watched, transfixed, as a shimmering golden light gradually seeped into existence along the circular path she wove.

Once the gleaming ring had fully formed, eight silvery spheres winked into being, drifting lazily within its confines. The flickering orbs arrayed themselves in intricate, dazzling symbols, unlike anything Suta had ever witnessed.

"The 8 principles of Arcane. Watch these things closely Little Su, this would be your first encounter with an Arcane doorway. Only the most precise and well-structured incantations can cast one of these."

Suta stood dumbfounded but also filled with a sense of marvel as he watched the 8 lights swirling before his very eyes. He blinked several times just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

'Arcane! So this is...pure magic heh-heh...a-amazing'

Unknowingly a wide smile had been birthed across his face.

"G-Granny?" he sputtered at last. "How...how powerful are you, gulp to wield such abilities?"

The wizened old woman fixed him with an inscrutable look,

"How strong? Well, that's a little evasive but to help you piece together how things work in the Arcane world I would be considered a Rank 5 Arcanist . There are 6 somewhat achievable ranks, but 7 recorded in history."

*The Fledging Course : Acolyte Novice >Acolyte Apprentice > Acolyte Senior > Acolyte Scholar > First Rank Novice*

"Every student of the Arcane starts off at an ungraded rank before they are guided upon the road of the fledging course until they reach the very well-respected 1st Rank . And something you should bear in mind, with Arcane it's not the higher rank wins. But the mastery and combination of incantations and magic.

If I told you about the many geniuses I have witnessed dying at a young age, we'd be here all day Little Su"

Suta thought that made a lot of sense, it reflected his thoughts when he measured the people he had met thus far.

'That arrogant kid Estran was an S rank, but that old man still feels like the most dangerous fellow I've met so far in this world.'

"To put it into a clearer perspective. The gulf between the 1st and the 3rd Rank is possibly as wide as it is for the Adventurers from Grade D to Grade A.

Oh and if you're wondering I am classed as an A Rank Adventurer. See what I mean about Arcanists and Adventurer ranks."

Suta's brows noticeably lifted once he heard that,

'Interesting! So a Rank 3 Arcanist is considered as strong as a Grade A Adventurer. That falls in line with what I've already been told about the differences between Arcanists and Adventurers.

Being an Arcanist is the better choice going forward if I want to obtain enough power to complete that fishbowl head tasks.'

He thought about what Granny said about her being at the 5th Rank, which placed her at the apex of the Arcanists in terms of power ranking.

Which also meant that...

'I'm yet to see her true power.'

A cold shiver briefly ran through his body whilst he pondered that truth.

'Rank 5 sounds like a dream for me right now heh! I need to remember that since I don't recall seeing any mention of Arcanist ranks in any of the books.

I wonder how long it would take me to achieve that, probably isn't remotely realistic. Perhaps in the future, I'll know more.

Suta thought deeply about this, thinking about the future he felt determination steadily growing in his heart.

His gaze moved towards the 8 lights again, and the golden ring began to rotate, and with it, the movement of the eight lights increased rapidly. Even more bizarrely, Suta could hear the firm wooden wall beginning to react.

Deep indentations started to appear one after the other like piano keys being pressed down.

He observed the formation of a deep crevice etching into the previously smooth wooden wall, followed by a detailed tracing of the outline of a door against it. The golden circle expanded and covered the entire shape of the door. Those eight dazzling symbols quickly vanished into fragments of light. It was as though a veil of illusion had been lifted.

Suta found himself staring at the entrance of a dark doorway with descending dark stone steps trailing into unknown darkness.

There wasn't enough time to admire the magic that had just taken place; Old Baba began to walk through the doorway, proceeding to descend the steps with her cane firmly held in her right hand.

Suta followed the steadily walking old woman, he had many questions sitting on the edge of his thoughts. His silence was perhaps a mixture of caution and subtle excitement concerning the unknown.

"You're probably wondering why now Little Su?" He heard Granny's crude raspy voice arriving

Suta indeed was asking himself that, but he wanted to maintain his reserved demeanor. Not trying to make himself look overly interested which might give away the sudden change in his personality.

A rasping chuckle echoed from ahead. "Well, I'm sure you'll find out eventually what my intentions for you are...fufufufu"

In response he could only swallow harshly, hoping for dear life she wasn't going to kill him or turn him into something unsightly.

'It would be on-brand for her, either way, ' he admitted wryly to himself

Still, the pair proceeded ever deeper into the castle underbelly, the shadows seeming to constrict around them like a closing fist. Suta could only follow with a mounting concoction of unease and morbid curiosity, trusting, or perhaps he was hoping there were larger lessons awaiting him within these eldritch depths.