Will woke up the next day feeling very disoriented.

Looking around, he tried to find his bearings when the scenes from the previous day flooded into his mind like a raging tide. His mind instantly went on full alert as he studied his surroundings warily.

Everything around him was foreign. The room he was in was foreign. The clothes he wore were foreign.

Quickly identifying the room’s door, he rushed out to find himself in a narrow but short corridor. It was plain and bland, nothing like the lavish wide corridors of the palace back home. However, the light decorations here and there gave the short corridor a homey and cozy feeling.

Will didn’t have time to appreciate the décor, though. With three large strides he reached a staircase, and with one giant leap, he was on the ground floor. Upon landing, just before he was about to commence his search for his travel companions, he froze.

Over the past few days, he had witnessed all manner of violence and gore. Men tore at each other like animals on the ground below while supernaturals shook the heavens in the sky above. At his young age, he could be said to have experienced quite a bit. None of that experience, however, could have prepared for the bizarre scene that un folded in front of him.

There, a boy who looked to be about the same age as him sat across a smiling Lena while he rambled like a parrot.

“So, you guys have been fighting bad guys for the past few weeks, huh? You guys must be very strong!”

It was Sam’s voice.

“Wait… That can’t be right.” Sam said, shooting Lena a suspicious glance. “You don’t look very strong lil’ sis Lena. Big sis Rose though… that’s another story. She managed to kill those guys that chased me yesterday so easily.”

Sam continued to ramble nonstop in between mouthfuls of his breakfast. Lena’s smile never faltered despite the food laden spittle that came out of the boy’s mouth occasionally.

“But that guy in black is indeed quite terrifying.” Sam spoke once more after swallowing. “To think he could defeat big sis in a single strike!”

Sam shivered when he recalled that palm attack that destroyed Rose’s earthen spikes. That man was quite disgustingly strong. He wondered what his mother did to make him peacefully go away.

With a sigh, he shook his head. In any case, he was too weak. Gulping down the rest of his breakfast, he belched loudly before standing up from his seat. It was time for swordsmanship training.

On the way out though, he run into Will.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he looked the young prince up and down. They were about the same height, with similar builds. The only other notable differences between them was aside from Will having short red hair and Sam long black hair, the former had a refined aura while the latter had a roguish intrigue about him.

“Tsk tsk, not bad. You must be lil’ sis Lena's young master,” Sam said clucking his tongue. He then turned to Lena who was still eating at the table. “You know, you guys should join me in training. Although you’re not abysmally weak, this young master of yours is truly quite pitiful.”

With another shake of his head, Sam disappeared out the door.

Will was dumbstruck. He still didn’t understand what was going on. Why was he being insulted all of a sudden? And who was that annoying brat?

He looked at Lena in search of answers.

The girl just smiled ruefully. She was also quite vexed. When she had first seen the boy at the table, she had introduced herself and tried to talk to him to get some information about where she was. After all, despite his golden-brown skin and above average looks, his lack of pointed ears made her at least ninety percent sure that he was no elf.

The boy had been nervous at the start, stuttering and stumbling over his words. But after Lena broke the ice, the guy wouldn’t stop yakking. He just kept rambling on and on about this and that Emperor. And he finally got tired of that, he just kept calling her weak. She couldn’t get a single word in edgewise.

But she was still a guest – or at least she hoped she was a guest – in someone else’s home. So, she observed the rules of propriety and maintained her kindly smile.

Will took a few steps forward and was just about to sit down on the table across Lena when a light chuckle entered their ears.

“Forgive my son,” the voice said. Its melodious and velvety tenor bellied the amusement in its undertone. “He has read too many history books of the emperors of old. He idolizes them.”

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

Lena and Will turned at the same time to notice Neva entering the room accompanied by Rose.

Rose had changed out of her tattered attendant’s uniform and now wore an earthy green tabard with a black undershirt. For her bottom wear, she donned black tight-fitting trousers and boots. The outfit gave her a certain nature type aura and elegance not unlike what one would experience when encountering an elf in the forest for the first time.

Sitting herself at the table, Neva focused her gaze onto Will. “Mage Rose tells me you aspire to follow in your father’s path of body Forging.”

Will was startled at first but then nodded enthusiastically.

He was caught off guard when he noticed that Neva’s lips did not move when she talked. He had heard that practitioners of mana condensation and above could use voice transmission. What puzzled him, however, was that there didn’t seem to be any need to do so at the moment. After all, they were just talking casually and exchanging pleasantries.

Unable to come up with a reason, Will just chalked it up to the eccentricities of experts.

“My son should be training with his father outside. Maybe you can teach my boy a thing or two about the geniuses of the outside world.”

Will hesitated and looked at Rose who had seated herself next to Lena. He got up to leave after she nodded in approval.

He was a noble after all and could pick up on certain social cues. However, he was too hungry. So rather than waste food, he picked up the bowl of food in front of him before leaving the room.

Neva didn’t seem to mind as she still had a smile on her face. Then she turned her attention to Lena.

The young girl fidgeted nervously under Neva’s gaze. She had half a mind to also run out and train.

“Mage Rose tells me that you recently suffered an injury of the soul.” Neva said via voice transmission.

Lena nodded slightly.

She tried circulating the mana in her body but a stinging pain in her head caused her to stop. Aside from the pain being unbearable, her mana flow was erratic and often flowed in reverse, damaging her meridians. If she tried to force it, her vision would waver and she would feel something on the brink of shattering in her head, chest and below her naval.

Neva scrutinized the young girl’s pained face and gave her a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to worry. I can be considered an expert of the soul. I too, suffered a crippling soul injury once… I couldn’t fully heal it and it is why I am unable to speak.”

Lena nodded in understanding. No wonder she kept transmitting her voice.

Rose on the other hand was trying to guess at what type of expert could injure someone on Neva’s level to such an extent. Probably only an Arch mage specialized in soul techniques.

Having previously interacted with Neva before coming to the table, she knew that the woman was not the average Great mage. With this new information, Rose even suspected, she used to be at the level of an almighty Arch mage before her soul injury.

“In any case, you’re still young.” Neva continued, snapping her two guests out of their thoughts. “As your soul cultivation is still too low, its injuries can be easily remedied.

“Before that though, allow me to present you two choices. The first one is I can personally heal you and give you an inheritance that will not only help you increase your open meridians but also provide you with ancient guidance to properly tread the warlock’s path. In exchange, you will become my in-name apprentice for now and my personal apprentice a short time in the future.

“The second option is I can heal your injuries now to sow some good karma between us and in return, you will look out for my son when he travels with your party after you leave this place.”

Lena opened her mouth and closed it again. She was still reeling from Neva’s first few words. An inheritance that can allow her to open more meridians despite already being in the mana condensation stage?

She did not dare imagine it.

Only Lena knew that she had opened only fourteen of the perfect fifteen meridians in the body. The loss of that one meridian final meridian was something that pained her greatly. She had been so close.

She had endured years of suppressing her body from taking in mana from the world in order to strengthen her foundation. However, her efforts were thwarted when they were attacked by bandits on the journey to Elven territory. Unable to suppress herself under pressure, she broke through to the mana condensation stage.

It was a lamentable experience.

Yet now she was told she could still open more meridians? To say she was excited would be an understatement.

However, she hesitated to agree as the inheritance came with heavy strings attached.

Lena knew the woman in front of her was at the very least a powerful Great mage. Being apprenticed to a Great Mage would indeed be a great boon for her. However, her pride made her hesitate.

She knew her talent. If twelve open meridians made one a heaven defying prodigy on this continent of Rising Phoenix then what about fifteen open meridians? Even at just fourteen meridians open, her only equal would be the Crown Prince, William, if he managed to open his fifteenth meridian.

If the woman in front of her was an Arch Mage, then she would whole heartedly accept. She didn’t know of the realm above Arch Mage. Maybe it was the fabled Emperor realm? In any case that realm was too mystical and she had never heard of any expert of that level being alive.

An Arch Mage on the other hand was more realistic and she had already met one. He was the head of the Magus Tower of the Aurum Kingdom and she had planned to seek his guidance once she broke through to mana condensation had it not been for the war.

Neva looked at the girl silently seemingly knowing what she was thinking. She shook her head with a wry smile. It seems she had fallen to so low that even a child disdained to be her apprentice.

“Why don’t you take your time to think about it.” Neva suggested. “A strong master is not necessarily the best master. You have a few days before your escort arrives so take your time to peruse the library and read some of the books here during your stay. You can give me an answer before you leave.”

Lena nodded a bit forcefully. She was feeling quite awkward at having been seen through but also relieved at having been given more time to think over her decision.

“Mhm, alright. For now, follow me to my workshop. Let’s treat your injury first or your stay here will truly have been a waste.” Without waiting for a response, Neva stood up and walked away.

Rose followed suit. Lena was a step slower but also followed.