Mage Observation Platform
A heavy silence lingered over the high platform until it was shattered by raucous laughter.
"Hahaha! I love this kid!" Grandmaster Halver exclaimed, slamming his fist on the railing.
"Did you see that movement? The ferocity! The instincts! There's no better place to train him than my Azure Claw Sanctum. With that bond to his beast and combat instincts, he's a born beast tamer! He would thrive under our discipline."
The other mages shifted uneasily.
They couldn't deny it Davi's actions had left even the most seasoned of them impressed.
His daring escape from the green-spined monkey was nothing short of extraordinary, especially for someone blind.
It was impossible not to harbor thoughts of poaching him.
But Grandmaster Thomos was not amused.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Halver," he said, voice sharp but composed.
"Just because your Azure Claw Sanctum has fame in beast-taming doesn't mean it's the only place suited to raise a prodigy."
He stepped forward, arms clasped behind his back. His presence silenced even the more vocal magi.
A legend in his own right, Grandmaster Thomos bore a glowing claw-scar across his left forearm, a memento from a beast tide he once survived alone.
"Look at what the boy just demonstrated," he continued.
"Exceptional control of nen. Precision. Intelligence. Not brute force. That is the mark of a formation prodigy. If nurtured properly, he would become one of the greatest array masters the central continent has ever seen."
He paused, his words echoing. "Aether Veil Spire is where he belongs. With us, he would learn to manipulate runes, enchantments, and combat wards. Let's not bury his potential under raw instinct and brawn."
Halver snorted. "You array freaks always want to carve every talent into a rune stone. Give him a beast and let him evolve through combat. That's how real power is forged."
The debate was heating up.
But then…
A new voice calm, deep, and authoritative cut through the air like a blade.
"Enough!"
Heads turned.
The commanders of the Seven Griffin Squadrons straightened immediately, their expressions turning respectful.
A man stood near the edge of the platform, having gone unnoticed until now. His robe was plain, a deep midnight blue with a white sash.
No armor. No sigils. Only the faint insignia of a coiled silver dragon etched over his chest.
Archon Alzerath and Archon Draith instantly stood, placing fists to chest in salute.
"Grand Commander Dufus…" Alzerath said, voice reverent. "We didn't know you were present."
"If not for that boy," the man replied, voice low but firm, "I would not have involved myself in your affairs. But he caught my eye... so I remained."
A hush fell upon the platform.
Dufus of the Hallows Knight Academy.
A High Duke.
A grandmaster of martial nen arts and a knight in all respect.
A man whose name made even archons choose their words carefully.
Even the typically smug Zi Mou and Zi Kai straightened up, pride shining on their faces.
"This is an honor," Archon Draith said carefully. "May I ask what interests you about the boy?"
Dufus turned toward the projection, eyes narrowed as he watched Davi vanish into the forest like a shadow.
"You mages always overlook the finer details," he said.
"Everyone here saw the nen explosion. They saw the enhanced movement. But did you understand what it was?"
Lady Stacy tilted her head, curious. "It looked like crude augmentation… maybe a mutation?"
"No," Dufus replied.
"That was martial nen manipulation. Primitive, yes… but unmistakable."
He clasped his hands behind his back, eyes gleaming.
"That child reinforced his aural perception his hearing with nen. Then he reinforced the deep-tissue muscles and skin in his legs. Not just the surface, a risky maneuver.
That kind of self-augmentation is common in the Xiaoling Martial Art, though what he used was a flawed, imperfect version. Unrefined. Likely learned through scraps."
Gasps circled the room.
"He's never been formally trained in martial nen?" Lady Clare asked.
"Not a chance," Dufus replied.
"But he still achieved that speed. That control. That precision. He used his hearing to compensate for blindness, his legs for explosive speed, and his nen to suppress sedative poison. That's not luck. That's instinct. That's talent. And I want him."
He looked directly at Archon Draith. "Is he registered under any institution?"
"No!" she replied, her grin growing sly.
"He came from the lower provinces to be precise it is the blue wind town. No noble house. No backing. Just raw will and an awakened ability that we haven't even fully documented."
"And what ability is that?" Dufus asked.
Lady Stacy stepped forward. "We suspect it is a nen devouring ability. At least, that's what we're calling it. He can absorb nen from the environment at terrifying speeds. We've never seen anything like it."
"Devour nen?" Dufus echoed. "Interesting" He said.
"Exactly why I want him at the Hallows Knight Academy," he said.
"Not just anyone can use martial nen effectively. But if someone with such an ability is taught to refine martial art principles…"
He smiled.
"…he won't just fight like a knight. He'll redefine what a knight is… at least that is my expectation"
There was a long silence.
Archon Draith chuckled. "This is the first time in decades we've had all factions argue over one candidate."
"And the exam is not even over," Lady Clare added dryly.
"Well then," Dufus said. "Let's watch. If he survives the Bonecradle Range… he may be even more than we thought."
***
Ashwood Forest…
While tension brewed at the Mage Observation Platform, as Davi had rightly predicted, Russell and Priscilla finally arrived at the site of his recent battle with the green-spined monkey.
"Wait…" Priscilla narrowed her eyes through the thinning mist. "I see something up ahead."
Swoosh!
The two blurred forward, their boots skimming the leaves as they rushed toward the figure lying curled beneath a twisted root.
Russell gasped.
"That's… Gravilis! That's my brother's beast companion!" he shouted.
"But… where is Davi?! Why would he leave Gravilis behind?!"
Priscilla's sharp gaze swept the area, instantly taking in the broken branches, claw marks, and the dried streaks of poison on Gravilis' side.
"Your awakened ability is healing, isn't it?" she snapped.
"Then stop panicking and use it! If anyone knows where Davi went, it's that beast!"
Snapped from his panic, Russell quickly knelt beside Gravilis, his hands trembling as he summoned forth the shimmering waters of his awakened gift.
Gentle ripples of pale greenish white light pooled in his palms before soaking into the drake's wounds.
"Please… hold on, Gravilis," Russell murmured, voice cracking.
"Davi… I hope you're not hurt. I'm coming for you, brother. Just stay alive…"
Slowly, the toxins began to dissipate as Russell purified the sedatives from Gravilis' bloodstream. A faint hum vibrated in the air, signaling that the healing was taking effect. But Gravilis' breathing remained shallow.
He wasn't out of danger yet.
***
Mage Platform…
Back in the tower, the air was thick with curiosity and calculation.
"Hmmm… So his name is Davi L. Vermillion," Grand Commander Dufus muttered thoughtfully, gazing into the mirror projection.
"And that tamed beast just now… wasn't that his brother's?" He raised a brow.
"Didn't you mention that one of the Vermillion twins failed the beast-taming assessment?"
Lady Stacy nodded reluctantly. "Yes… the boy tending to the drake is Russell, Davi's twin."
"And he has the awakened ability of healing?" Dufus asked, narrowing his gaze at the mirror.
"You never mentioned that."
Lady Stacy hesitated. "It wasn't relevant at the time. Russell was initially deemed unremarkable. He lacked combat instincts… but I admit I may have misjudged."
Dufus chuckled. "Two twin brothers. One who can devour nen, the other who can restore it. That's beyond rare… Perhaps it's practically unheard of."
"But Davi failed the elemental and affinity test," Lady Clare interjected.
"No elemental alignment. No mana circuits. By all current arcane standards… he should be magicless."
"And yet he clearly performed magic," Dufus said, his eyes glinting.
"Even the instruments can be wrong when dealing with anomalies. Perhaps we've been testing the wrong things."
He leaned forward.
"This boy… might be the bridge between mage and knight."
As everyone heard this, they took in a breath of cold air.
***
Elsewhere in the Mage Platform...
Old Man Frank shifted uncomfortably near the back of the chamber, having silently slipped out earlier. His face was pale.
This is bad. This is very, very bad.
He had only just finished sending a private message to Priscilla:
"Abort the mission. Do NOT harm Davi. New orders. He is not to be touched."
Frank clenched his fists, cold sweat trailing down his spine.
"If this gets traced back to me… or worse, to him…" He swallowed hard.
"This could destroy everything."
He inhaled slowly, wiped his brow, and slipped back into the crowd of observers, hoping no one had noticed his absence.
***
Meanwhile… At the Edge of the Bonecradle Range…
Darkness had begun to bleed across the forest canopy.
Crickets chirped in eerie rhythm. In the distance, frogs croaked in discordant chorus.
The Ashwood Forest's once-muted gloom had turned into an oppressive shroud.
Davi collapsed onto his knees, panting, his breaths ragged and uneven.
Fifty kilometers... I've pushed too far, he thought, gripping his ribs as his body trembled.
For nearly two hours, he'd kept his body reinforced with Asura Qi, relying heavily on the system's Treasure Mapping skill to navigate.
He'd activated it three times, each use draining ten Asura points.
He'd spent thirty points a massive cost with only 20 asura points left.
"Damn it… I need to be smarter with this," Davi muttered between gasps. "I don't know how much longer I can last without proper rest."
But despite the exhaustion, he smiled.
He had made it.
The gnarled, jagged cliffs of the Bonecradle Range loomed ahead black silhouettes against a moonlit sky.
Cracks pulsed across the rocks like glowing veins, remnants of old enchantments.
"This is the place…" Davi whispered, half in awe, half in fear.
This is where Gravilis was mutated. Where she was broken down from Rank C to Rank E.
The Bonecradle Range!
Still on his knees, he clenched his fists.
"I've fully tempered my muscles… That means it's time."
He rose unsteadily to his feet, using a nearby tree for support.
"It's time I begin bone tempering… Tomorrow, I begin my search for the Rune Key."
His jaw set with grim resolve.
"I'm the only one responsible for how I use my time."
Gritting his teeth, he climbed the nearest tree, using its thick canopy to shield himself from the bone-chilling wind.
Once settled into a branch with a steady hold, he crossed his legs and shut his eyes.
The night will be long… and dangerous.
He could already hear distant howls rising from the canyons below.