Professor Celest continued without missing a beat. “Yes. a liminal space. The empire found it in the southern corner of our great nation. Tucked away under strange masking formations. I was blessed to obtain a piece of rock that the formation was inscribed on. This was only possible because you all will have an interesting role in the coming developments of our world. Burt first, pass this around.” She handed the glowing rock to the student nearest to her, he looked it over shrugging before handing it to the next and the cycle continued until the rock reached Lee.

The rock felt strangely familiar to Lee. Almost like he’d seen something like it before, But that shouldn't be possible. ‘Unless…’

As the rock reached him his thoughts were immediately proven to be true. The aura that radiated off the chunk of rock felt very familiar. As it reached his hands his eyes widened and he could not stifle his gasp fully. ‘This has an aura like Eira’s!’ He shakily handed it to Elysia.

He didn't miss the fact her piercing gaze was growing quizzical. He forced himself to calm down. It's not like he could do anything about it now, he would have to wait and see what “role” they would play in something involving the progenitors.

“Do you know what that was,” Elysia said, drawing Lee’s attention to her. Her eyes were thin as she asked him. Lee schooled his features. “No clue, it was just so sharp you know? Almost cut me.” He tried to laugh it off but her continued stare told him she wasn't buying it. A silence followed as the rock passed through the room, and the eye contact stayed unbroken. “I don't believe you.” She said simply, immediately turning away from him and back to the teacher.”

Lee was speechless. This girl was truly strange, exasperated he sighed and turned back to Professor Celest. The rock had rotated back to her and she was starting to speak again.

“Now that we’ve all had a look, did anyone notice anything strange about the rock?” Lee almost reflexively rose his hand. Looking around it seems no one had noticed anything about the rock, it was pretty but the aura in it was relatively low. Unless one knew what a progenitor’s aura felt like they'd have a hard time noticing anything.

“The aura in the formation must have been set on a timer,” Elysia said to his side. Looking over at her he raised an eyebrow at her words. How could she have possibly gotten that from some rock?

“It's mithril. A highly aura-attuned metal. Incredibly rare nowadays but if it was in a formation old enough to elude the four nations then it must've been pre-founding. Meaning it would've been easier to find.” She continued.

Lee was still slightly skeptical, none of that could explain the timer thing she had claimed.

“I believe it was on a timer because it must've been designed to leak aura slowly. Mithril, even with being so aura attuned requires a massive amount of aura to be used in formations. And when the said aura is used it holds onto it. Tight.”

Lee was looked on sheepishly. They had all gone through the preparatory “Rocks and Realms” Course required of all first years. It seems the instruction went in one ear and out the other one. He would have to pay more attention moving forward.

There was a glint in Professor Celest’s eyes as she looked at Elysia. “Very good. An astute observation. Maybe your love for learning will rub off on your more… Unsavory peers” She said.

Lee couldn't help but feel like that last comment was aimed at him.

“Well, moving forward with the lesson. Your classmate was right. This stone was a part of a timed formation. The empire and by extension the rest of the world has found a liminal space right in our backyard.” She paused for effect.

“There were markings that came into view at the sight of the formation after it wore off. Strange markings, in a language unknown to even the empire's greatest scribes. Although the markings themselves were foreign, by some feat of aura it is automatically translated. The academy head has asked that I share what it said with you all.”

A scroll appeared in Professor Celest’s hand and she read through it.

“In a place that's limited and strange,

Only journeymen are free to range,

With skills honed through trials and tests,

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

They pass through portals to reach the nest.

Where magic flows and creatures roam,

And secrets are hidden in rocks and stones,

Journeymen traverse with ease,

This land of mystery and secrets to seize.”

Silence filled the room as the students tried to parse what this poem could mean. A strange look was on Lee’s face, as Professor Celeste read the poem only one thing could come to mind. ‘It's kind of lame…’ Such a thing couldn't even be considered a riddle. It hit everything too on the nail to be clever. Lee shook his head as he observed the serious and thinking looks on his peer's faces.

“You figured it out?” An increasingly familiar monotone voice spoke to his side. Lee turned his head to Elysia. “Of course, you?” He knew she had. But maybe he was phrasing it like that to save face from the formation question earlier. No one would ever know.

“Yes.” She replied simply, and turned back to face the teacher. ‘Not much of a conversationalist, huh?’ Lee thought to himself.

Professor Celest gathered their attention again. “As I'm sure many of you can tell, It is some kind of challenge ground that is only open to those of the journeyman level. And we have reason to believe it is left behind by an old, very powerful civilization. As no one alive, not even the grandmasters could channel the amount of aura into a formation required to hide this liminal space.”

Murmurs rang out as she said that. No one had ever put anything beyond the Grandmasters of the four nations. They were practically myth.

“Yes, you heard me right. The amount of raw aura and control required is honestly terrifying. But now, you may wonder how this ties into the conflicts at the border.” Lee sat up straighter in his chair at her words.

“It's simple really. The news got out of the liminal space before any citizens were made aware. Spies in the land move fast, to say the least. So Aged masters representing every nation were present as the discoveries took place. After the poem was understood amongst themselves a box became visible at their feet. In this box were slips of pure aura, as thin as paper. The markings shifted, telling the masters that the slips in the box were to be used for entry. Immediately negotiation took place.” Lee could already see where this was going. Four mighty men in one place, all in front of what could be an infinitely valuable resource? This couldn't end well

“The The Kingdom of Luminaria and The Republic of Radiance began talks with the empire's masters over the division of the strips. The Confederation of Auriga though attempted to strong-arm its way into more slips. But of course, our masters refused, using the fact that it was discovered on our land to back their claim. The confederations people left, but not before leaving thinly veiled threats.” The students listened with rapt attention

Professor Celeste’s eyes turned serious. “And not long after skirmishes between our nation's journeymen and Experts have cropped up on the borders. But eventually, it won't just be small skirmishes, It will be an all-out war.” She scraped her gaze across the class locking eyes with students as she passed. “And you will be expected to participate in the protection of our great land.”

She stayed like that for a few seconds. Letting the weight of the situation fully sink in.

“But in other news.” Her voice was uncharacteristically cheery, instantly breaking the solemn air her news had created. “Due to the finding of said slips, in three months, the school is hosting a year-wide tournament. Only 8 slips were recovered, so the top 3 from every year will be blessed with this opportunity. Isn't that just wonderful?” Lee’s wince was shared across the room. Where was the monotone voice we were all used to?

“Do not take this lightly. On top of whatever you may gain in the liminal space, the students ranked at the top in this competition receive 100 and 50 mid-grade aura stones res.” Gasps were heard at this statement.

Lee’s eyes went wide, The number of aura stones one could gain from placing high on the rankings could propel him straight through the first couple of levels of the Journeyman stage. If only it was as easy as it sounded. Lee knew that even if he was top ten in his class, he wouldn't even scrape the top 100 in the year. He slumped back into his seat at the thought.

Elysia looked over at him “What? Giving up already?” She asked. Lee looked at her almost blankly, he still hadn't been able to form an opinion on this strange girl. “I thought you were special after your win. But it seems I was wrong.”

Lee was indignant at her words. He had worked hard for his strength, tooth, and nail to just be slightly above average in the grand scheme of things. His mind flashed back to the looming threat facing his world, and his new power. He had to think more of himself, he had to be more if he wanted to save the world as the progenitors intended.

Lee looked at Elysia, his gaze burning “I'm going to win the whole thing, and get into that liminal space.” He said with an air of finality. Elysia cracked a smile. It quickly disappeared as Lee visually recoiled. Her face hadn't had much practice with that, apparently.

Their little interlude hadn't made them miss anything. Professor Celest had let the room breathe after dropping such a bomb on them with that last statement. “So remember to work hard. For the glory of the empire.” She said seriously, meeting everyone's eyes.

Lee tuned her out as she continued her lesson in an unrelated direction. He was too focused on this tournament. How was he going to win and get into that liminal space? He brought the last system notification into focus.

{Progress to BOON 2: 2%}

He had to find a way to get into more fights, so the percentage would finally tick up again. Ruminating on his situation he remembered his agreement to train with Ray after classes today. ‘Maybe we can spar. I wonder if sparring counts as a match with the system’ A familiar robotic voice went off in his head.

{Query processed: }

Challenging fights in a controlled setting count toward boon percentage.

Lee smiled at these words. He would have to work hard, there was no doubt in his mind about that. But maybe, just maybe he had a chance.

As the class eventually came to a close, students began to gather their things and head out. Lee glanced around, but it seems that Elysia had disappeared. He shrugged and headed out of the building.

Walking on the path he headed to the training area. He had forgotten to set a place for him and Ray to meet after classes but this seemed like the most logical place. He looked around at all the flashing lights and displays of aura use. This is what it was about, and this is what he was training to preserve.

He couldn't find Ray anywhere so he decided to warm up. Walking along the sandy ground he performed a series of strikes and kicks to loosen up. Lee felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. Looking up behind him, someone was standing on the ceiling, aura swirling at their feet.

“Fancy seeing you here. Now, do you mind telling me how you beat Hugo?” It was Elysia. And something about her billowing hair, and piercing eyes was unnerving.