Following the demonstrations, Dusty and his classmates were escorted to their rooms for the night.
They arrived at a grand hall lined with large, dark oak doors. Behind each door lay a fully furnished bedroom, one prepared for each of the heroes. They were assigned to a private room and instructed to rest before the training in the morning.
As Dusty entered his room, he was immediately impressed by its simplicity. Compared to the throne room, it was extremely ordinary. Its only noticeable feature being the size of the room and the objects in it. He noticed a massive wardrobe against one wall that had a polished desk next to it. The most noticeable piece of furniture is the bed. The moment Dusty lay down, the bed seemed to consume him, the plush material providing a soft embrace.
Life in the Underworld had been dominated by stone furniture. It was certainly durable, but nowhere near comfortable. This was truly a paradise compared to what he used to live in.
Before heading to sleep, Dusty decided to experiment with his new, unique abilities. He immediately decided against using Fire Manipulation in a wooden room. In this case, two negatives made a larger negative.
First, he focused on his Appraisal skill. He channelled his mana, directing it into his eyes. The world seemed to glow for a moment until he focused his eyes on the large bed. Another small blue screen materialized before him, this time not in his thoughts but actually in front of him. It provided a short description of the bed.
— — — — — — —
Bed: Grand Oak Bed
• Material: Primarily made of dark oak. Secondary materials include various types of silk.
• Construction: Entirely Hand-Made and was designed to ensure maximum comfort.
• Enchantments: Minor comfort, temperature regulation, enhanced relaxation, and drowsiness.
• Overall: An extremely luxurious and comfortable bed designed for optimal rest and recovery.
•Value: 500000 Copper (500000 USD)
— — — — — — —
The information was brief, yet it perfectly explained what the object was. The bed was not only visually pleasing, but also crafted with some of the finest materials. He didn't understand how much it cost, but assumed that it was expensive. It was a strategic investment for the heroes, a fast recovery and gaining their favour. Dusty grinned. He was going to enjoy this.
Next, Dusty turned his attention to "Reality Manipulation."
He received no explanation of how the ability actually worked, so he decided to create a few experiments.
He formulated three trials:
1. Alter the material of an object.
2. Alter the form of an object.
3. Alter the properties of an object.
He began with the first trial. Placing his hand on the desk, he focused his mana through his hand and imagined the wood transforming into the demonic stone of the Underworld.
Nothing happened. His brow furrowed. It seemed altering the composition of matter was beyond his ability, for now.
For the second trial, he envisioned the desk changing into a simple wooden stool.
This time, the magic responded. The desk shifted, it slowly twisted and bent until it solidified into the stool. A wide grin spread across his face. This was certainly an important development.
He quickly reverted the process, eager to conduct the final trial.
For the third trial, he needed a control variable. Dusty picked up the desk, testing its weight.
Then, he focused his ability, imagining the desk becoming heavier.
When he attempted to lift it again, it was definitely heavier, though still manageable for his human body.
It appeared that his Reality Manipulation was currently limited to just altering the shape and properties of objects. Changing their actual composition would probably require further development of his abilities.
Satisfied with his tests and exhausted, Dusty decided he had pushed himself enough for one day. He collapsed onto the plush bed and instantly fell asleep.
[The morning]
A loud knock could be heard outside Dusty's room, banging against the enchanted dark oak doors that only he was able to open. Startled awake, Dusty was still in his pajamas when he opened the door.
Standing before Dusty were Alistair, Abigal, and six others he didn't know yet. Currently, he only knew Alistair's name from all the talking he did yesterday.
"Alistair, why are you banging on my door so god damn early in the morning?" he asked while rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, sorry! We were told to gather everyone for training. I'm just going around collecting everyone. Do you want to join us?" Alistair replied enthusiastically.
Dusty grumbled, still tired. "Sure, I guess. Just let me get ready, and I'll join you."
He went back into his room, closed the door shut, and changed out of his pajamas. The large wardrobe held multiple pairs of plain white button-up shirts and sturdy black pants. They were extremely high-quality but simplistic clothes that all the heroes were provided with. He quickly got ready and stepped back into the hallway.
Alistair and the group had moved a few doors down, so it took Dusty a moment to catch up with them.
He joined the group and then continued going door-to-door collecting everyone.
After a series of loud knocks and tired people, they finally reached Connor's door.
Everybody in the class knew that he had a short temper and aggressive demeanor. The group instinctively backed away, leaving only Dusty and Alistair directly in front of his room.
Alistair knocked, and a frustrated scream could be heard inside. Moments later, Connor came out of his room.
"What do you want?" he snapped at Dusty.
Alistair, attempting to stop the tension, replied in a calming tone, "Ah, I'm sorry, but we were all told to gather for the morning's training."
Not wanting to get on Alistair's bad side, he took a deep breath and said, "Fine, I'll head down in a few minutes. Go on without me,"
Without a second thought, he slammed the door shut.
The group continued on their mission to gather the remaining heroes.
Eventually, they had arrived at the training ground.
Dusty had begun to learn the names of most of his classmates. He particularly noted Alistair, Mark, Abigail, and Connor.
In his mind, he ran through their personalities and characteristics.
Alistair - Kind, powerful ability, protects the weak, overly apologetic and takes the blame.
Mark - Intelligent, rule follower, holds a powerful ability, fair.
Abigail - Quiet, had a powerful ability, and was very mysterious.
Connor - Terrible personality, currently hated Dusty, also had a powerful ability, easily angered.
Dusty's interest in each of them came from their powerful abilities. Alistair possessed a Grandmaster ability, Mark had an Ethereal one, while both Abigail and Connor wielded powers just below that of Ethereal.
He quickly snapped back to reality when the group was split into two categories: Swordsmen and Magic Users.
Dusty, revealing he had Fire Manipulation, found himself assigned to the Magic Users. He was uncertain about the swordsman instructor, but he could easily see that the magic instructor was not someone he wanted to mess with.
"QUIET!" she yelled, her voice cutting through the air.
The class fell silent instantly, each student suddenly focused on her every word.
With brown hair and fittingly brown eyes, she wore a camo suit and had a tall, muscular frame. It was definitely unexpected for a mage, but who was he to question how people looked?
"Alright, heroes," the instructor began, her voice loud as ever. "Today, we delve into the very essence of your power: mana. You all have experienced the feeling of using your abilities during the royal demonstration. That's because, quite simply, you all are inexperienced. But don't worry, I'll help you develop your skills today!
She paused, letting the class comprehend what she had just said. "Magic always starts at your mana core. In other words, it's your heart. Think of it as your very own power container. Each core has a limited capacity. If you run out, your abilities don't work. It's as simple as that.
One of the 14 students slowly raised their hand.
"Yes?" the instructor set her gaze on the student.
A shy, soft-sounding girl responded, "Well.. it's just... how do we not run out of mana?
The instructor had a slight smile. "An excellent question! Maintaining your mana in combat comes down to two key factors: capacity and proficiency. You can train your core to be able to store more mana, increasing its capacity. You can also train your efficiency- Learning to use less mana for each ability. Proficiency is, however, harder to train as it takes a large amount of time and practice."
Another hand was raised, this time belonging to a young man, "How do we increase our capacity?"
The instructor sighed, a hint of annoyance at getting interrupted again, "I'm getting to that. As I mentioned, proficiency is gained through experience and time. On the other hand, there are several methods to increase your capacity. The most common are ability usage, magic artifacts, and most importantly, core evolution."
The instructor continued, "While regular individuals can't evolve their abilities, they can evolve their cores. This not only increases your mana capacity but also amplifies the output of your magic. Think of it like this: a low-core mage with a low-ranking ability will, of course, have low output. In contrast to that, a high-core mage with a low-ranking ability could achieve medium or potentially high output. There are specific rankings for cores, but that's a lesson for another day."
The rest of the lecture was dull for Dusty. He already had a solid understanding of how magic worked. Curiously, it was almost an exact replica of the magic system of the Underworld. The key differences are spells rather than abilities.
The first day concluded with three hours of training, which consisted only of lecturing. It felt like an eternity to Dusty. Finally, the heroes were dismissed for lunch. While their usual schedule had whole-group training afterwards, they were let loose for the first day of training.
Free time followed training. The heroes could enjoy the luxurious meals, socialize, or explore the various facilities the castle offered. However, they were not permitted to go outside. It was strictly forbidden for their safety. The high-mages had even put up a barrier around the castle, capable of withstanding the attacks of even an abyssal-level demon.
As soon as he finished his meal, Dusty made his way to the library. What better way was there to learn about a new world? There were only three heroes in the library: Mark, Abigail, and himself. They didn't even look in his direction. He scoured the bookshelves and eventually settled on The Chronicles of Eldoria. He found a comfortable chair near a window, set the book down, and began to read. The book covered geography, historical events, key discoveries and inventions, and the relationships between the kingdoms. It was a complete overview of Eldoria.
He spent several hours on just the first section, and the detailed and complex passages confused him. It was a lot to take in, but he managed to obtain some crucial information.
First, the world was called Eldoria.
There were originally three empires, known as The Ancient Civilizations, who were the first to record history and make inventions.
Then came wars, plagues, and the eventual rise and falls of empires. The original three fractured into numerous kingdoms. It led to the seven main kingdoms. They maintained relative peace for centuries up until the Holy Kingdom annexed the seventh kingdom. There were only six remaining kingdoms:
• Ethrixual Alliance
• Holy Kingdom
• Augustus Kingdom
• Goldenvale Empire
• Eclipsara
• Verdantia
As he read, he noticed a small intriguing section titled "The [Redacted] Theory." The actual name of the theory was crossed out, and most of the information was hidden.
The text read:
"Humans are not the only ###### on this continent. There is evidence of an uncharted #########. The evidence also suggests this land once had #####, ######, and even #######, all creatures of myths. The origin of all of this comes from The Ancient Civilizations. They erased the ######## of the ######. But the truth remains: we are not alone here. And there may be more than we can imagine... more powerful, more ancient, more terrifying- "
The words stopped there.
The remaining information was completely crossed out.
Dusty was, simply, unaware of the significance of his discovery, yet he still made a mental note of the passage and continued reading.
The book then continued to detail the demon king's invasion, the fall of the Ethrixual Alliance, and the more recent events in history. The book appeared to be updated frequently, containing very similar information to what had been explained to them during their training.
Dusty had been immersed in the text for hours, and it was beginning to show. He glanced around and noticed that Mark and Abigail were gone. They had already departed for dinner.
Grrr.....
His stomach rumbled, and he decided it was time to eat as well. Hunger was new to him, as demons didn't require food to live, but it was certainly something.
He carefully returned the book to the shelf and left the library. He took in the luxurious quality of everything in the castle as he walked through the hallways. It was simply stunning compared to the stone castle he had known his entire life.
He found the cafeteria, picked up a meal, and settled at a small table. He found it.. odd.. that he was the only hero present. It was only slightly past the typical human dinner hour. That is, until Alistair entered the hall.
Alistair looked around until he found Dusty. He approached the table.
His voice, low and serious, "We need to talk."