It was already getting late into the night, and Arthur felt exhausted, but he couldn't sleep just yet. He still needed to cultivate for the day, and considering the situation, he needed power more than ever before.

Arthur didn't have the benefit of aether crystals like the guards. That was why he couldn't progress past the third circle for the past two years. Aether crystals were regulated, and only select merchants could sell them within the empire.

The merchants were also required to log all sales as an extra layer of security against any would-be troublemakers raising their own army of mages. The problem for Arthur wasn't so much his secrecy as it was a problem of funds.

He had been saving up his allowance in response to the threat of being disinherited, which meant he had to go without the luxury of aether crystals. He had always intended to start using them after gaining some degree of autonomy in the future.

Arthur wasn't too worried about falling behind on his cultivation, though. Most people didn't start cultivating until they were fourteen or fifteen, so he was still ahead of the curve.

After grabbing his research journal, Arthur left the study and began to walk the moonlit halls of Revan Manor. He returned to his room before throwing his journal onto the bed and changing into something more comfortable.

Once changed, Arthur sat down and took up the lotus position on the floor at the edge of his bed. Sitting in the lotus position wasn't necessary. One could cultivate lying down or standing if they wanted to, but Arthur felt like the lotus position was fitting, as if he were some mystical martial artist.

As Arthur's eyes closed, his mind's eye opened. A vast, never-ending expanse opened up before him. He didn't have a form in this place, only existing as a type of nothingness no different from the rest of the expanse.

Situated around his consciousness were six gigantic rings of white light incrementally increasing in diameter. They rotated slowly with him at their center as if he were inside some gyroscopic prison.

Arthur could see a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view around him at all times. The sudden change in his vision always disoriented him, and it took him a moment to adjust. Finally, after he felt comfortable, he looked into himself.

At the center of his consciousness, a small light-blue star gently swirled about in cosmic brilliance. The star was his mana core, and the rings surrounding it were what mages used to measure their strength: circles.

The first time Arthur entered the cultivation state, nine rings of light surrounded him, but now there were six. The reason for that is, that as a mage's mana core grew, it would become larger and larger until it could no longer be contained by the ring of light closest to it. Once the mana core made contact with that ring, it would shatter.

Mages were ranked by the number of circles they had shattered. Thus, since Arthur's mana core had grown large enough to have shattered three rings of light, he was considered a third circle mage.

Looking back out to the rings, Arthur felt a bit disheartened. The bottleneck that occurred after reaching third circle felt insurmountable without aether crystals. After two years, he had only managed to grow his mana core thirty percent of the way toward the fourth ring.

Shaking off his sense of hopelessness, he looked out to the void beyond the rings. A sparse golden luminescent fog occupied the expanse that flowed like a quiet river of clouds. In some places, the aether was turbulent, seeming to act with purpose as it flowed in a specific direction before disappearing in an explosion of strange arcane symbols.

The turbulent aether was undoubtedly the other cultivators within the mansion, but Arthur wasn't worried about being caught. The expanse was disorienting, and no mage could see another's rings, making it nearly impossible to locate someone based on the flow of aether.

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Once Arthur gained his bearing, he located a fairly dense stream of aether nearby before willing it to come toward him in much the same way as he practiced telekinesis. After a moment, a portion of the streaming aether broke off from the main flow that Arthur had focused his mind on and began traveling toward him.

When the stream entered the circumference of Arthur's ninth ring, it appeared to unfurl violently, as if a boulder were standing within a river's path. Aetherin characters made of golden light shot out from the stream at the moment of impact, as if they had hit a barrier.

This was the source of the Aetherin language. The first mages on Nithe took it upon themselves to study the strange arcane symbols, and over time, the language developed into what it is today.

Once the golden light passed the ring, it began to lose its color and take on a blueish hue as the stream reformed and continued on its path. The moment the blue stream made contact with Arthur's mana core, a supreme clarity washed over his consciousness.

It was a rather euphoric sensation. Arthur was no stranger to drugs and alcohol from his teenage years on Earth, but nothing compared to the sensation of cultivating mana.

He was astounded that the term 'mana addict' didn't exist in Nithe. It was that powerful of a sensation. However, unlike recreational drugs and alcohol, mana actually benefitted those who cultivated it beyond simply giving them power, and the sense of supreme clarity he felt was no coincidence.

Mana cleared one's mind and made it easier to retain knowledge the more mana one had. The height of which were ninth circles who were said to have a type of photographic memory that they could call upon whenever they needed.

After Arthur cultivated for the first time, he found that recalling memories of his past was far easier than it had been prior. He even began remembering things he had forgotten entirely from his time on Earth. Of course, it was no photographic memory, but it amazed him nonetheless.

Arthur continued cultivating for a while before cutting himself off and opening his eyes. It was easy to lose track of time while cultivating, as nothing within the expanse could be used to track time. Added to the fact that cultivating creates such a euphoric sensation, sometimes it wasn't easy to know when to leave.

By the time he had awoken, it was already late. Arthur quickly brushed his teeth before grabbing his research journal and placing it under his pillow. Sleep found him quickly despite the chaos of the day.

The next day, Arthur completed his morning routine, grabbed his research journal, and headed for the study. A new guard stood beside the study door, but Arthur didn't know him, so he paid the guard no mind as he entered.

"You're here." Levin announced as Arthur entered the study.

"Wha—Oh!" Arthur responded in surprise.

Due to yesterday's events, he had completely forgotten about Levin's tutoring, but perhaps this was also an opportunity of its own.

"Mr. Levin, what circle have you reached again?" Arthur asked.

"I'm a fifth circle." Levin replied as he pointed towards his dark green robe before going off into an explanation about it. "This robe is called a Primark's robe. Mages wear them to display their achievements in cultivation..."

Levin's explanation was painfully detailed, but Arthur let him speak as it gave him time to think.

"Mr. Levin, you signed a contract to tutor me for a certain period of time, no?" Arthur asked after Levin finished his explanation.

"That's correct. I'll stay here for two years to tutor you."

"I assume you've been paid in full already, correct?" Arthur asked innocently.

"That's... correct." Levin replied as he shot a questioning gaze toward him. "What's all this about?"

"What if I had to, say, go to another city? Would you also come?"

"I suppose the contract didn't specify where your tutoring occurred..." Levin answered as he looked to be searching his memories for the wording of the contract he had signed. "Why? Do you intend to move somewhere else?"

"I've been called to war." Arthur said, feigning melancholy.

He thought it'd be best to be upfront with Levin, but he'd still try to garner the man's sympathy as he needed all the help he could get.

"You're but a child." Levin scoffed. "How could you be sent to war?"

"I was told that as the eldest son of house Revan, I m-must bear the responsibility of leading our levies against the empire's enemies." Arthur said in a shaky voice before explaining the events in the capital and the subsequent surprise attack from Agelia.

"Still... To send a child to war..." Levin muttered before a renewed vigor filled his expression. "I'll talk to your father. I may not have much authority, but I am still a junior lecturer at the Imperial College. Surely, house Revan can send someone else to lead their levies."

"No! Father entrusted this to me! I must go! I'm just sad I won't be able to learn more from you... I'm sure Senna will be sad to say goodbye too." Arthur interjected.

"What do you mean?" Levin asked abruptly with suspicious curiosity.