Stepping out of the library, Elias felt the weight of the Codex settle on his heart, not physically, but with a sense of urgency. Revelation. The concept burned in his mind, a beacon beckoning him towards self-discovery.

He yearned to unlock the secrets buried within his soul, to understand the enigmatic ability, if he had any, that coursed through him. But have it or not, this was the very first thing he had to do. He had a feeling that much would become clear if he underwent Revelation.

The book had outlined two methods: the meditative chamber and the Elixer of Certainty. The chamber, while requiring focus and discipline, seemed less risky. But where would he find such a chamber within the Academy? It was unlikely the library held one, and accessing restricted areas like the training grounds or anywhere else required supervision from an instructor. He knew this from the headmaster's speech in the opening ceremony.

'At least there was a benefit in listening to that boring speech.'

He found speeches boring, not that uncommon right?

The Elixer, on the other hand, offered a faster route. Yet, the potential dangers and its elusive nature made it an unappealing option. Moreover, he wasn't even sure where to get it from.

Elias sighed. Perhaps a visit to Anya, a conversation with her vast knowledge, could offer some guidance. But first, he needed to navigate the mundane reality of dorm life.

Pushing open the unfamiliar door of Room B-02, Elias entered a small, but comfortable living space. Two beds, a shared desk with two chairs, a closet, and an attached bathroom – it wasn't luxurious, but it was functional. His gaze fell on the empty bed across from him. He'd yet to meet his roommate, and a sliver of apprehension fluttered in his stomach.

Suddenly, a voice startled him. "Hey, you must be the new guy!" A figure sprang out of the chair, a wide grin plastered across his face. He was a bit taller than Elias, with a mop of unruly brown hair and a friendly glint in his eyes.

"Uh… yeah," Elias stammered, caught off guard.

'How did I not notice him?'

"I'm Elias. You must be…"

"Kieran!" the boy interrupted, extending a hand for a handshake. "Nice to finally meet you, mate! They told me they were sticking a new freshman with me, but I had no idea it'd be someone so… mysterious."

Elias chuckled, the tension easing. "Mysterious? How so? Wait, You're a Senior!"

Kieran winked. "You've been cooped up in the library for hours, dude. What secrets are you hiding in there? And yeah, don't mind me being a senior, I'm your roommate."

Elias felt a flicker of unease. He couldn't exactly reveal his newfound obsession with bloodlines and Revelation in front of a complete stranger. "Just… catching up on some reading," he mumbled.

Kieran didn't seem to press the issue. "Fair enough. So, Elias, where hail you from?"

Relief washed over Elias. "A small town in the northeast sector," he replied. "Nothing much to speak of, really."

Kieran's smile widened. "Small towns have their charm. But hey, city life has its perks too! Once you settle in, I can show you around. There's a decent ramen joint near the south gate, and…"

They spent the next hour chatting, a comfortable camaraderie forming between them. Kieran, as it turned out, was from a small clan in the southwest of the Federation. His bloodline, a rare one called Morph, granted him the ability to mimic the appearance of others. However, as he was a freshman, his control was limited, allowing him to only vaguely alter his features.

"Still, pretty cool, right?" Kieran grinned, his face morphing slightly into an exaggerated version of Elias's own.

Elias laughed. "Definitely cool. I can't even imagine being able to change my appearance." He hesitated, then decided to test the waters. "So, Kieran, you seem to know a lot about the Academy. Do you happen to know where I could find… a special meditation chamber?"

Kieran tilted his head, a thoughtful frown replacing his usual grin.

"Meditation chamber? Don't think I've heard of anything like that specifically. But if you mean the chambers for Revelation, then you can find them in front of the administrative building. They must be packed right now though, as they will be open to the public for the next three months. Try after that."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Wait, we can use them?"

Kieran blinked twice.

"Yeah, pretty much any time you want. But all of them should be full now, as the ones doing it for the first time usually take a lot. That is why it is open to the public for three months instead of one."

Elias felt a pang of disappointment. He couldn't wait three months. But at least he now had a clue where to look for.

Just then a knock sounded on their door.

"Hey, have you guys seen Reid?" It was a tall, athletic, and dark guy, he asked " I was supposed to meet him for lunch but I can't find him anywhere."

"Nope," Keiran said " Haven't seen him, don't know him."

Elias recognized the boy from the opening ceremony. It was Aster, who had shown his some kind of water manipulation ability in front of everyone.

Elias spoke with a bit of curiosity "I don't know him either. Just got here actually. Name's Elias by the way."

He did his best to give a friendly smile to which the boy responded by offering a handshake.

" My name's Aster. Just Aster, of no clan, and I'm here to join the Federal Navy exploration unit someday. I'm a Conjuror related to water. Nice, isn't it? You don't know how excited I was when I got this! I --- uh I've got to look for Reid, so we'll talk later. But nice to meet you and my room is B-32 just in front of yours so let's talk again sometime!"

With those words, the boy- Aster ran off.

'Well, that was fast. And I made another friend. Not bad.'

Elias got up and said

" I gotta go too. I need to speak with Adrian. Will be back by evening, I think."

Keiran shrugged " Aww... and here I thought I would give you a tour of the campus. Everbright has a lot of things to offer. Anyways, see you later."

"Yeah, see you later, and I'll take up your offer of the tour if it will be available in the evening."

Elias walked out and closed the door.

He found B-09 wasn't far at all, just as Keiran said. It was the third room to the right of the staircase near to his room. On the way, he saw many people going in and about all the rooms.

'Woah, that's a lot of stuff. Everbright provides the blankets and matrices for free so I thought everyone would use them. Guess I was wrong.'

He took a breath and knocked on the door of B-09.

'Oh wait, I don't think I need to knock.'

From what he had heard, dormmates usually don't knock on their friends' room doors. They just walk in.

"Just a sec! Who is---"

Adrian stopped speaking as he saw him enter. Elias gave a wave in greeting.

" Yo."

Adrian's mouth twitched

"Why did you knock when you were going to enter anyway?" he said gesturing towards a chair " And you're back from the library? That was pretty quick. I was sure you'd sightsee the whole day."

Elias shrugged. He sat down on the chair, which was, for some reason, very different in a better way from his own.

Elias wanted to ask Adrian about a few things. But before that, he really had to ask him something since he entered his room.

"Why the hell do you have a single room? With an extra balcony as well! That's so unfair, and so cool!"

Adrian smiled

"Jealous commoner? It's a privilege of a great clan. But you're lucky to be welcome here whenever you want."

"Thanks," Elias said "But I wasn't here for this, I wanna know where I can get meditation chambers to use. The Revelation ones. As soon as possible."

Adrian's expression turned strange.

'Shit. Was I not supposed to say it? Did I ask something weird?'

"... Meditation chambers, huh? You know what, I actually know where you can get one to use. Right now. I can take you there if you're willing to go. But you should eat something first. Have you eaten at the cafeteria?"

"Really! Then let's go right now. If you're not busy I mean. We can go later if you need time for it. I heard that most of the Everbright chamber slots are booked for the public already. It's just... you know, I need to use it quickly because... well, because of something."

"I'm free. We can go right now. But have you eaten? Should we go to the cafeteria first?"

Elias couldn't believe it was this easy. He felt like jumping in excitement.

'Love you Adrian!'

"Nope, I'll eat later. Let's go to the chamber first. It's something urgent."

Elias stood up excitedly. He expected Adrian to follow up too and say something like ' You're really lucky you know me commoner' but Adrian just sat on his bed and kept staring at him. Finally, Adrian sighed

"Yeah, as expected. You haven't undergone your Revelation, have you, Elias? You're not asking to use the chamber for accessing your soul or bloodline but to actually go through Revelation, and finally open up your soul realm. Is that why you went to the library today? But that's weird, for someone who got admitted to the Evernight."

Elias froze.

'How? Where? What did I say wrong? Think Elias think.'

Ignoring his rapidly speeding heartbeat, Elias replied

"W-What are you talking about? I just need to use it because of... of my bloodline. I need to confirm something about it, that's all."

Adrian just looked at him and smiled " Don't worry, It's actually interesting that you managed to come here without even Revelation. I will still take you to the chamber, no problem. You don't need to lie about it."

"N-no but..."

"But eat something first. Revelation actually takes up a lot of energy and time. It is dangerous to focus on your soul empty stomach because... well, I don't know why. But people even die in extreme cases. And the sense of time when peering into your own soul is twisted. That is why supervision by a qualified person is the law when it comes to Revelation. Seeing that you didn't even stop to think about eating something when it should have been hammered down in you made me confirm my suspicions."

Adrian stood up smirking

"Come on, let's go. We'll eat something first. The meal's on you."

Elias gulped 'The codex didn't say anything about it, but it did say that supervision is necessary during Revelation.'

The question was whether he should trust Adrian or not.

Elias took a deep breath and followed

"Alright."

'Don't have a choice, do I? I take back half my gratitude, Adrian.'