The massive doors cracked open.

A bright flash hit Astra’s eyes.

When Astra opened his eyes, he saw a long street lined up with shops and stalls on both sides.

Everyone was shouting, trying to get more customers.

“Cloth armor here! Get your cloth armor here! Only ten coppers!”

“Chain mail here! Huge discount! Only 30 coppers!”

“Iron sword! 15 coppers!”

“Basic recovery potions here! 50 coppers!”

Astra was amazed at the things being sold. There were so many things that he had not seen before. Darcy had told him about these recovery potions. It was a magical liquid that would heal whatever wounds you had with just a sip.

“Come, we have to get you settled in. Don’t get lost.” Fausto walked through the crowd.

The people gave way for Fausto as he was still wearing his blood-stained robe.

Astra kept his eyes on Fausto. He did not want to get lost in the city. It would be extremely troublesome if he were to split off from Fausto.

As Astra and Fausto walked towards Ascelyn Academy, Astra could feel the mana in the air getting denser. He didn’t know that a different environment could affect the mana so much.

A large moat appeared. It was filled with clear blue water, unlike the dark green rivers near Astra’s village. The moat surrounded a castle that had hundred meter tall walls. A bridge laid across the moat, connecting the land to the castle.

Fausto led the way, and Astra followed behind.

As they reached the end of the bridge, a door appeared on the castle walls.

A soft, gentle voice echoed, “Welcome back, Fausto Clearwinds.”

“Thank you,” Fausto signaled for Astra to walk through the door.

Astra did as he was told.

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A flash of white appeared, and Astra felt the space around him being distorted.

As he opened his eyes, he was in a plaza with a fountain in the middle. He was surrounded by flowers and the thick scent of medicinal herbs.

Fausto walked straight ahead, “To the north is the school, where classes take place. To the east is the arena, for practicing and dueling. To the west is the grand library. To the south, where we are right now, are the gardens for herbs and medicine.”

Astra nodded as he followed behind him.

“We have a lot of time to spare. The entrance exam should be in a couple of days. I’ll take you to a guest building. With your abilities, you should be able to pass with no problem. You’ll be able to move to the student dorm then.” Fausto explained.

“Do you know what I’m going to be tested on?” Astra asked. He did not have much knowledge of spells or anything else for that matter.

“Nothing that you need to study for. Just your physical attributes and mana talents.”

Astra sighed in relief.

Astra arrived at a two story tall building made out of wood.

“There will be someone coming to take care of your needs. I need to make a report now. I’m looking forward to seeing you later.” Fausto grinned.

Astra opened the door to the guest building and walked inside. The wooden planks creaked, and dust flew around as he strolled inside.

This was a guest building? This academy sure was luxurious. It was much more spacious than his home in the village since it had two floors but everything was covered in dust. Astra decided to clean up a bit since he would be living here for a while.

Astra created a hundred pebble-sized rain drops and splashed it all over the floors, walls, and ceiling. The droplets absorbed the dust, and Astra gathered all the water into one big ball. Big wet clumps of dirt and dust appeared in the center. Astra tossed the ball out the window.

Astra swiped his finger across a wooden table. It was still wet. His mastery over water still needed work.

He threw his arms out and created gentle gusts of wind to dry off the water.

“There. All cleaned up.” Astra smiled at his achievement.

Knock. Knock.

Fausto did tell him that someone would be coming.

Astra opened the door.

Outside was a person who was around the same height as Astra. They were wearing a black cloak and a white mask that only had holes for eyes.

The cloaked person handed Astra a basket.

Astra took the basket and peered inside. The basket contained apples, oranges, bread, and some clothes.

 “Thanks,” said Astra.

The cloaked person nodded and walked away.

Astra laid the basket on the kitchen table and ate a couple of apples. After he was full, Astra went upstairs and sat on his bed to practice the basic technique he had learned from Fausto. His pendant gleamed of blue light.

At night, another knock was heard at the door. When Astra went to open the door, there was no one there except for a basket that laid on the ground. There were more food and more clothes.

Astra took the basket and ate his dinner. He went back to meditating. Astra realized that his mana pool still had plenty of mana left even after using the basic technique for extended periods of time.

Couldn’t Astra just exhaust his mana pool after he used the basic technique? That way he would gain mastery over mana control and at the same time, increase his mana pool.

Astra grinned at his insight. He dispelled most of the mana within him in an instant, exhausting his mana pool. He immediately fell dizzy and collapsed into a deep sleep.