Daniel woke up from the bright rays of sunlight hitting his face. When he sat up, he found Alex already dressed and seated on the desk chair, his eyes fixed on Daniel. “Good morning, rise and shine,” Alex said. Go refresh yourself. We need to talk about what happened last night.”
“Good morning to you too, Alex,” Daniel replied with a groggy voice as he sat up on the side of his bed. Glancing at his nightstand he saw that the book and the egg were indeed there, confirming that he hadn't just dreamt of their unexpected appearance.
“I’ll take a quick shower to wake myself up, then I’ll explain to you what happened,” Daniel said to Alex as he stood up from his bed. Alex replied with a quick nod before he grabbed his iron sword and began cleaning it.
As the warm water washed away the remnants of sleep, Daniel's mind raced with thoughts of events that took place the day before. How did the items suddenly appear? What could this mean?
After his shower, feeling more awake, Daniel dressed quickly and joined Alex in the room. They sat down, and Daniel looked at his friend, his eyes filled with a mix of confusion and curiosity. “Alright, spill it. What is all this?” he asked, gesturing towards the book and the egg.
Daniel opened up to Alex about the dreams that had been haunting him for the past few months. He carefully detailed the events of the last two dreams and the deal he had made with Shadewood. As he spoke, concern filled Alex's eyes. “And that's when I woke up to your scream,” he concluded,
“That's quite something, Dan... So, what's our plan now?” Alex asked, his curiosity piqued as he stood up and walked over to the nightstand. “Any idea what species this egg might be from? It's massive, I've never seen anything like it, not even the Griffins back at my place laid eggs this size.” As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the giant egg, whose size was comparable to his upper body.
“Well, first, I'm going to visit Shadewood's office and see if he can shed some light on this book. After that, I'll head to the library, dive into books about monster eggs, and try to figure out what creature it belongs to until it's time for the awakening” Daniel after he replied he got up and grabbed his clothes from his closet that was next to his bed and proceeded to get dressed.
"Sure, while you meet with Shadewood, I'll head to the food hall and grab us some food that we can eat while we’re in the library," Alex said while putting the sword away that he left on the ground after the events of last night and grabbed his coat from the hanger next to the door. "I'll meet you at the library later. While I’m getting food I'll see if I can find Lucia, she might know more about monster eggs since her family handles them sometimes."
“Sounds like a plan,” Daniel agreed with a nod. “She does have more patience to delve into books than a sword-obsessed meathead like you” Daniel joked while dodging the friendly jab that was aimed at his stomach.
“Mate, you know I'm a star at reading right? Don't you see all these books on my desk?” Alex pointed to the empty and dust-covered desk on the other side of the room.
“Yeah, sure mate. Weren't your grades in Language Class in the bottom 5%? Today you can finally catch up on your reading”
After finalizing their plans for the day, Alex went ahead and left to grab some food and look for their blonde friend. Meanwhile, Daniel finished getting dressed before he grabbed his backpack and attempted to fit the oversized egg inside it. Luckily, it barely fit in the bag. When Daniel tried to put the book in the backpack, he felt a slight connection he hadn't experienced during the commotion the previous night. The connection felt oddly familiar, yet he couldn't quite place the sensation. Confused, he carefully placed the purple book in the backpack. before he left to visit the professor.
….
Daniel stood before the door of Professor Shadewood’s office, hesitating for a moment before mustering the courage to knock he could hear the professor’s voice, “Come in.”
As Daniel entered the office, the tantalizing aroma of sweet tea filled his senses. In front of him, he found Professor Shadewood seated comfortably on the couch in the centre of the room, while enjoying a cup of tea and reading a book “Ah, Daniel, I wasn’t expecting you today. Would you like a cup of tea?” Professor Shadewood offered while gesturing for Daniel to take a seat on the couch across from him.
Daniel accepted the offer with a nod of gratitude and sat down on the couch putting his backpack on the couch next to him. As the professor poured the tea, Daniel cleared his throat. “Uhm, Professor, there has been a new development.” Daniel took out the book and egg from his backpack and laid them down on the table that was in between them while explaining the events of the previous night.
When the professor took a glance at the items he abruptly stopped pouring the tea, his gaze fixated on the book. Daniel noticed that Shadewood started slightly shaking while staring at the book. “This just appeared on your bed?”
Daniel nodded and the professor got up from the couch and hastily walked over to the bookcase that was located behind the couch he previously sat on, and retrieved a small notebook hidden behind another book. As Daniel could hear the professor mutter under his breath, “This... This can't be.”
Before Daniel could ask what was wrong, Shadewood laid the open book down on the table in front of him. Glancing at the pages, Daniel saw that the symbol sketched on one of them was identical to some that were on the cover of the book that had appeared on his bed.
“This symbol, Daniel… I have seen it once before” Shadewood began, his face which normally carried a plane emotionless expression now carried a grim one. “It's the same one I once encountered during my adventuring days in a ruin located in the northern part of the Frostholm kingdom.”
“In that ruin,” Shadewood continued, his voice carrying a slight tremor, “My party and I were almost wiped out before we could even access the lower floors.” the professor started recalling the story of how his party two decades ago stumbled upon this ancient ruin located deep in a ravine between the deep frost mountains.
“In that expedition, we uncovered some of the most potent artefacts I have witnessed, ” Shadewood recounted. As he spoke, he went to the bookcase and fetched a few more volumes, laying them on the table. “But it wasn't just artefacts we discovered; we also found scrolls and books filled with long lost knowledge, concepts we had never even imagined. With the the knowledge I had gained from this exploration I managed to climb to the position I am today.” The professor concluded
Daniel felt a shiver run down his spine. “But why would it appear in my dreams, Professor? And what about this egg?” Daniel gestured towards the massive egg, his mind filled with questions.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Shadewood sighed, his gaze shifting between the book, the egg, and Daniel. “I can't say anything for certain. As for the egg... it's perplexing. I've never seen an egg like this. You must handle information about the book with utmost care and secrecy. If someone came to find out about your possible relation to that dungeon, they might even kill you over it. I have seen people get backstabbed for less.”
Just as they were about to delve further into their discussion, a knock echoed through the room.
“Quickly put the book away”, the professor whispered; at the instruction; Daniel grabbed the book and put it under a pillow that was next to him on the couch.
“WHO IS IT?” the professor screamed after Daniel had finished hiding the book
The door creaked open, revealing Shadewood's assistant, a young woman with glasses perched on her nose and her black hair neatly tied up in a bun. She was carrying a stack of papers in her hands. Daniel had often seen her during Shadewood’s lectures “Apologies for the interruption, Professor, just wanted to remind you that you have a meeting in 20 minutes. And I have the papers you have requested. I'll put them on your desk; I organized them as you have asked me to.” after receiving a quick nod from Shadewood she walked toward Shadewood's desk, placed the papers down, and swiftly made her way back to the door.
Shadewood nodded. “Thank you, Valery. Please make sure no one disturbs us for the next 15 minutes. I have some urgent matters to attend to,” he instructed just as she was about to close the door
Shadewood's assistant nodded in acknowledgement and left the room, closing the door behind her. Shadewood then turned his attention back to Daniel. “We'll continue for now. Don't worry about her peeping on our conversation; I have warded the room with runes which makes it impossible for people to spy on us. Unless you're tier 4 or above with a few specific classes, it is practically impossible. But you mentioned that you couldn't open the book in your dream; is that still the case?”
“yes last night before I went back to bed I tried opening it but nothing I tried worked” Daniel began recounting all the ways he tried to open it, but even Alex with his enormous strength couldn't open it with his hands “Hmm that's weird. Have you tried to inject your mana into it? the professor asked
Daniel shook his head. “I haven't; my innate mana is very limited. and I don't know how to move my mana on command yet.”
“Let’s try injecting your mana; I'll guide you; go sit in the lotus position, ” While pointing to the ground. As Daniel sat down in the position Shadewood walked to the windows and closed the blinds.
With the room now dimly lit, Shadewood began instructing Daniel. “ Hold the book in your hands and close your eyes. Take deep breaths and focus on the book. Feel the energy within you, your mana. Imagine it flowing from your core located above your stomach, through your arms, and into your hands.”
Daniel followed the professor’s instructions, attempting to connect with his mana. He concentrated, channelling the energy from within, and after a few moments, he felt a faint line of mana flowing from his stomach through his right arm and eventually into the book. The connection was like a whisper in his brain.
“That's it, Daniel. Now, gently direct more of your mana towards the book. Don't force it; let it merge naturally.” Shadewood's voice was calm but Daniel could detect a slight tone of excitement in it
Daniel focused harder, gradually guiding his mana in a controlled manner. At first, there was resistance, but with patience, the mana flow improved. As the mana got injected into the book the golden symbol on the cover started slightly glowing.
The professor held his breath at this sight fearing that any noise could drag Daniel out of his trance and ruin the progress. after a short while Daniel started panting and broke his concentration “It swallowed all my mana”
Shadewood placed a reassuring hand on Daniel's shoulder. “It's alright, Daniel. Attempting such a thing is not easy when you haven't awakened yet.”
Daniel, although frustrated, nodded appreciatively at Shadewood's encouragement. "But what are we supposed to do now?"
“All we can do now is wait until you have awakened and have sufficient mana to open the book. I tried injecting my mana earlier when you presented the book but it rejected my mana” the professor answered.
“Oh, have you decided what you'll do after your awakening? Are you going to continue studying at this academy, or will you consider an offer from a rival academy? Professors from all academies will attend the awakening ceremonies to find potential students.” While talking the professor walked over to the window and opened the curtains and then returned to sit back down on the couch.
“I-I-I don’t know yet since Baron Ironstone is sponsoring my studies for now, and I haven’t received word if he will remain to do so after my awakening,” Daniel stumbled. “If he stops sponsoring me I have to drop out and try to make a living in a city.” he continued.
“Hmm, that's a challenging situation, Daniel. I've read a bit about your circumstances through the student files” the professor said, locking eyes with Daniel. “The academy has a policy where senior professors like myself can sponsor a student's studies if they become their representative during the annual competition we host. It just so happens that I don’t have one yet.”
“I could offer you that position if you are interested,” he continued while sketching. “Regardless of whether you accept the position or not, I'll help you as much as I can regarding the book under the condition that you'll let me study any potential findings on your end.”
Daniel cleared his throat after taking a sip of his tea. His voice wavered slightly as he asked, “Uhm, about that, I know this is a big thing to ask for and normally rarely done but… could you please use a Mana Pledge to keep these things a secret and not share anything related without my consent? Since it could be as dangerous as you described, I'd rather be safe than sorry…”
The professor abruptly stopped taking a sip of his tea and looked up at Daniel with a perplexed expression that quickly reverted to the usual blank expression he was famous for. “Daniel, you must understand the gravity of a Mana Pledge,” he said with a serious tone. “it is not to be taken lightly and must be undertaken with utmost care. Both parties involved must be certain that there are no loopholes that could be exploited.”
“And depending on the nature of the agreement, the consequences could be dire,” he continued “From suffering a minor mana depletion curse for a few months to losing the capability to use mana or certain skill at all, for the remainder of said person’s life, some promises could even cause for death.”
Daniel nodded, his nervousness noticeable in his voice. “I understand, Professor. But I believe it's the only way I can feel secure about this situation. The knowledge we're dealing with seems ancient and potentially dangerous. I don't want any unforeseen consequences.”
The professor sighed, understanding Daniel's request. “Very well, Daniel. We will undertake a Mana Pledge.” The Student and professor spent the next few minutes deciding what the Mana Pledge should contain.
After a few minutes, they finally agreed. Professor Shadewood solemnly began, “I, Virgil Shadewood, pledge on my mana the following,” outlining his side of the commitment. Then, it was Daniel's turn to list his side of the pact. When Daniel finished, they both spoke in unison, “If one of the parties were to break the pledge, they would suffer from a Major mana depletion curse for the remainder of their life.”
When they both concluded the Mana Pledge, the room seemed to hum with energy, and Daniel sensed a subtle connection with Shadewood—indicating that the vow they had just made was valid in the eyes of the Unseen.
With the Pledge in place, Daniel made his way towards the library to join his friends. As he navigated the hallways, he spotted Lucia sprinting in his direction. Her face was etched with panic, and as soon as she reached him, she cried out in a distressed voice, "Daniel, you must help Alex! He's in trouble!"