After months of study, training, and a mana core awakening that shook the ruins themselves, Caelum was finally allowed a small break, peak D Rank.
The day after Caelum finished the study felt strangely quiet. Training had become part of his bones, breathing mana, tracing runes, molding elemental flow and Mana core.
That morning, the sun was soft, spilling over the wooden house like a gentle blessing. Caelum stepped out of his room, stretching his small limbs still young. He approached his mother, tugging her robe lightly.
Lira noticed him immediately.
"Caelum," she said with a smile, brushing off flour from her apron. "Come with me to the market. You've outgrown half of your clothes." Lira hugged him warmly, "You've grown so fast."
He blinked down at the edge of his shirt. The seams strained. His training and the mana coursing through him had strengthened his body faster than any normal child.
"Okay," Caelum nodded.
Eryndor watched them from the doorframe, arms crossed. "A little break will be good for him."
The two walked through the scattered markets of Eldrascar
Caelum walked beside his mother through the beautiful paths of their village. Eldrascar was large, peaceful, full of chatter and warmth. Merchants talked across their stalls, spices filled the air, and children ran around playing with wooden staves.
Lira held up different shirts and coats against him, humming.
"This one… no, too long on the sleeves… this one looks perfect." Lira chose light, flexible clothing suited for training, with a small cloak. Lira insisted on "keeping him warm," though his mana radiated like gentle heat.
Caelum didn't care much about clothes, but seeing his mother happy made him smile. She paid the merchant with a warm greeting, then ruffled Caelum's hair.
"Let's go home. Your father and Eryndor are waiting."
When they returned home, Caelum immediately resumed his routine.
He practiced:
sword forms Kael taught him, mana flow cycles from Book 1, basic Lightning and Light elemental sparks, balance footwork, rune-positioning over movement.
Lightning and Light magic, rare, almost mythical, responded to him with unusual ease. Sparks skipped over his fingers like playful fireflies. A thin line of light obeyed him like a blade.
Days of continued training
Back home, Kael placed a wooden sword into Caelum's hand.
"Since you started understanding runes and elemental theory," Kael said, "it's time you learn how to fight with a weapon."
Eryndor stepped forward. "Today, we focus on your stance, then your flow."
Caelum nodded. His mana core thrummed softly inside him peaking near the upper threshold of D-rank, powerful at this age. His elemental affinity was clear now:
Lightning and Light two of the rarest elements.
Eryndor demonstrated a swift strike, clean and controlled.
Caelum followed.
Not perfectly, but with frightening accuracy for a boy his age.
"Again," Eryndor instructed.
Caelum struck.
"Again."
Mana sparked faintly around his wrists. Lightning licked the blade's edge for a moment too brief for any normal child to pull off.
Eryndor exchanged a glance with Kael.
"He's already channeling lightning through a weapon…" Kael whispered.
Eryndor's jaw tightened. "at four years old, terrifyin.."
They trained until Caelum's breathing grew ragged. His legs trembled, but he pushed through, molding the lightning inside him, shaping the light to strengthen his form, balancing the unstable elemental flow that threatened to burst each time he pushed too far.
"Enough for today," Eryndor said finally, placing a firm hand on Caelum's shoulder. "You're progressing too fast."
Caelum simply bowed his head. "Thank you."
But inside, something whispered.
Go further.
Go deeper.
There is something waiting in Eldrascar…
For days, that whisper didn't leave him.
Even in sleep, he felt it, an old pulse, an ancient echo. Eldrascar was a land of ruins and forgotten battlegrounds, a place adults refused to step into unless necessary. But to Caelum, it felt like something was wrong, to understand, to uncover.
Curiosity gnawed at him.
His mana pulsed… urging him.
One morning, unable to resist, he walked toward the ruined edge of Eldrascar while his parents worked. Caelum explored deeper into Eldrascar than before,past familiar ruins, past training areas, into overgrown corridors where the air smelled ancient. A strange pull guided him deeper, past trees, past broken stone columns, through fog-like mana drifting gently around ancient wreckage.
He stepped into a clearing. There, behind a broken wall, he found it:
A secret ruin.
The architecture was different. At the center was an archway made of blackened stone.
The symbols were not Vyxen runes.
Not Eldrascar runes.
Not any runes in his ten books.
Strange, spiraling glyphs and twisted scripture crawled along the stone like living veins..
"What is this place…" Caelum whispered.
Before he could study further, the ground trembled.
A scream.
Caelum rushed toward the sound.
Inside a half-collapsed chamber, surrounded by mana beasts, stood a girl around his age four as well holding a trembling dagger lit with wind enchantment.
Her hair was silver-pink.
Her eyes trembled with fear.
Her mana core flickered at Lower D-Rank.
And the beasts approached.
"Stay back!" she screamed, but her mana failed the next second.
Caelum moved before thinking. Lightning exploded from his feet, propelling him forward in a flash. His swordmagic swung down, coated with faint light.
A beast stumbled back, snarling.
The girl fought with her hands glowing with wind enchantment magic. A blade of compressed air sliced into a beast's side.
The girl looked at him, shocked. "Who…who are you?!"
"Later," Caelum said. "We fight."
There were too many.
Caelum's core was Peak D-Rank, but these beasts were vicious, mutated versions.
They fought back-to-back.
He used:
Sword Magic
Lightning bursts
Light-weave slashes
She used:
Wind Enchantments
Gust barriers
Cutting currents
There were mana beasts C-rank and D-rank. Strong enough to kill two children instantly. But Caelum's core glowed fiercely, pushing against its limits.
He dashed forward. Lightning crawled up his arms, merging with his magic blade.
Crack!
His strike sliced through the nearest beast. The girl gasped, gathering what mana she had left.
Wind spun around her fingers. She cast enhancement magic on her legs, then slashed across another beast's flank.
Caelum blocked a beast's claw with his Enchantment barrier splintering under the pressure, then jumped back. Light formed as his blade, sharpening it.
He cut upward.
A clean strike.
The girl panted heavily.
Her enchantments flickered.
Caelum noticed her wavering stance. "Stay behind me."
"I...I can still fight…" she insisted, raising her dagger.
But he could see her mana core, it was trembling, nearly empty.
The last beast lunged with a shriek. Caelum held his ground, and the girl fell forward, collapsing to her knees.
"No!"
Caelum dashed forward, lightning bursting from his legs.
He caught the beast's maw with his bare hand, light burning against its teeth.
His sword flashed.
The monster fell.
Silence.
The girl collapsed completely, breathing weakly.
Caelum lifted her. "We need to get out of here."
They ran through the ruins, Caelum practically dragging her as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
The mana beasts gave chase.
Caelum pushed his D-rank mana core to its limit, lightning surging painfully. His runic marks began to glow faintly through his skin, something neither child understood.
He wasn't strong enough to fight more.
They had to run
They escaped to a quiet chamber, resting against cold stone.
The girl trembled, exhausted, but safe.
While she rested, Caelum sensed something… a presence. Then Caelum stopped, for a while.
He quietly followed the mana trace and saw them:
People…
Ahead, through the stone openings, he saw robed figures moving around a massive altar-like structure. He couldn't see their faces. They held crystal lanterns filled with swirling red mana. One of them raised a hand.
A portal pulsed open.
A dungeon gate.
Monsters stepped through B-rank, A-rank, even an unrecognizable S-rank beast that towered like a nightmare.
It wasn't like anything in the books.
Twisted. Wrong. Humanoid but monstrous two massive legs, two long arms, but its entire head was one enormous mouth lined with endless teeth.
Caelum's breath froze.
"This isn't in any book," Caelum whispered.
That shouldn't exist…
He backed away slowly.
But his runic reacts. The Beast Sense his mana…
The S-rank beast's head-mouth twisted and roared toward the mana.
Caelum fled.
He reached the girl and pulled her to her feet.
"Run!"
"You have to move," Caelum whispered urgently to the girl.
She was barely awake.
They ran.
Beasts roared behind them.
Lightning burst from Caelum's feet. His vision blurred. His mana core screamed fracturing against its limit. His runic marks glowed hotter and hotter
Caelum cut down smaller monsters, lightning flashing with each swing.
But there were too many
A beast cornered them between crumbling pillars.
Caelum held the girl close.
Light surged.
His runes veins glowed.
Lightning tore through his body.
Light surged like a star imploding.
BOOOOM!!
A shockwave of pure mana exploded outward.
The world turned white.
Then…
Darkness.
Caelum fainted.
He remembered nothing afterward, no pain, no sound, only darkness.
Hours Later
The next thing he felt was…
Warmth.
And voices.
"His breathing is stabilizing…"
"He pushed himself far beyond what a child should."
"He saved her, Kael. He saved that girl."
He opened his eyes.
Lira leaned over him, tears trembling in her eyes. Kael stood behind her, arms crossed but shaking slightly with relief. Eryndor watched quietly.
"Where… where is the girl?" Caelum whispered.
"She's safe," Lira answered immediately. "She's in good condition. Rest now."
Caelum closed his eyes for a moment. "…I thought about the explosion… hurt her."
Eryndor shook his head. "She's alive because of you."
He handed Caelum water. "Your body is overstrained. You need rest."
Caelum tried to sit up and pain struck his head sharply.
Kael pushed him down gently. "Don't move too fast."
Caelum asks about the Mana beast and dungeons.
"There's no traces of any mana beast and Dungeon portal" Kael said, but a lot of bloods, and dilapidated stones
Caelum sighed in relief.
He slept again.
When Caelum woke again, sunlight was pouring through the window.
And sitting in a chair beside him was the girl from Eldrascar.
She smiled shyly. "You're awake…"
Caelum blinked. "Are you… okay now?"
"Yes," she said softly.
She bowed deeply. "Thank you for saving me."
Caelum sat up, smiling back.
"I'm Caelum."
"Aeyla," she introduced herself. "Aeyla Zack."
Their small hands shook, awkward but sincere.
Eryndor entered the room a moment later. "Good. You're both awake. We need to talk."
A few minutes later, everyone gathered Kael, Lira, Eryndor, Caelum, and Aeyla.
Eryndor asked first, "Caelum, why did you go to the danger zone?"
Caelum hesitated. "I… felt something there. Like a pull."
Eryndor frowned. "A pull?"
He turned to Aeyla. "And you?"
Aeyla lowered her eyes. "I was training… and exploring. Then I saw the ruin. I found that place by accident, I thought it was safe."
Kael sighed deeply. "Children shouldn't enter danger zones. Ever."
"But the monsters…" Aeyla whispered. "I didn't know…"
Eryndor's face turned serious.
"That area is a danger zone. Dungeons gate and Mana beasts appear automatically."
Lira kneeled beside her gently. "You're safe now. That's what matters."
Caelum thought of the robed people…
And the creature. He kept remembering the robed figures. The portal. The S-rank monster.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
But he said nothing yet.
The next day
the village erupted with noise. Soldiers marched in formation, armor gleaming. Wizards in robes followed behind, holding glowing relics.
A carriage stopped at the village center.
A tall man stepped out broad-shouldered, dark-haired, wearing a crest of a silver hawk.
Lord Mirael Crest.
"Where is Duke's daughter?" his voice boomed.
Aeyla stepped out from Caelum's house, and the Lord rushed forward, kneeling to embrace her tightly.
"My princess… thank the heavens."
After confirming he was unharmed, Lord Mirael turned eyes sharply.
"Who saved her?"
Eryndor stepped forward. "My student. Caelum."
The Lord recognized him instantly.
"You… Eryndor Vaelun. The guardian soldier from the war."
The Lord looked down at Caelum with astonishment.
"This child… saved my daughter from the danger zone?"
"Yes, my lord," Eryndor said. "And risked his life doing so."
The Lord inhaled slowly. "In that case… I owe you a debt."
Eryndor bowed slightly.
But the Lord was not finished.
"I would like all of you Eryndor, Kael, Lira, and Caelum to come with us to Rycloss City."
Kael blinked. "Why?"
"To reward the boy," Lord Mirael answered. "And to offer him a place."
The wheels of the carriage rolled smoothly over the cobblestone roads of Eldrascar, the rhythmic clatter mixing with the distant sounds of the market. Caelum leaned back, his arms resting on the edge of the carriage, glancing at Aeyla, who sat across from him with her hands folded neatly on her lap.
"So… you're a princess?" Caelum asked, his voice a mix of curiosity and surprise. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Aeyla's lips curved into a small, mysterious smile. She met his eyes briefly before looking out the window. "Did it really matter back there? You saved me without knowing who I was."
Caelum chuckled softly. "I guess… that's true. But still, a princess. That's… kind of Respect."
She shrugged lightly, still smiling. "Titles don't matter to me. Out there, in the ruins, I'm just like anyone else. And besides…" Her eyes glimmered with a hint of mischief, "I wanted to see if you'd treat me the same, no matter what."
Caelum grinned. "Well… I guess I passed the test, huh?"
Aeyla laughed quietly, the sound soft and warm. "You did. Now… let's just focus on getting to Rycloss."
The carriage continued down the road, carrying them toward the unknown city, the quiet hum of anticipation and unspoken friendship settling between them.
After a long journey, they arrived at Rycloss.
Caelum's eyes widened.
Rycloss was alive:
Buildings of stone and silver high. Ancient structures lined the streets. Market stalls bustled with hundreds of people, magical shops, runes and weapon forges. Magic crystals lit the pathways, and at the center.
A sprawling academy.
Rycloss Academy
Training ground for mages, warriors, enchanters, archers, and spellknights.
Aeyla leaned toward Caelum. "I will study here…, next year."
Caelum nodded, amazed.
They entered the duke's mansion and were greeted by the butler.
Lord Mirael welcomed them into the duke's mansion. The butler, Rhogar Flintwarden, bowed deeply and guided them inside.
After settling, everyone gathered in the Duke's study.
The duke embraced Aeyla tightly.
His wife, Lady Lysandra Zack, cried as she hugged her daughter.
After sending Aeyla to rest, the duke met with Eryndor, Kael, and Caelum.
Eryndor explained everything about Caelum's combat, the beasts, the ruins, the explosion.
Duke Draven listened in silence.
At the end, he sighed. "I thought Eldrascar had closed long ago… but it seems the barrier was different."
He looked at Caelum.
"A child your age… with such ability."
He made an offer. "In recognition of your bravery, I wish to offer you a place at Rycloss Academy. You may begin next year, alongside my daughter."
Caelum blinked. "Thank you." he bowed.
"But…" Caelum hesitated, "how do I get into the highest academy? The one in Varlume Citadel?"
The Duke chuckled deeply.
"You have high ambitions, young one."
He rested a hand on Caelum's shoulder.
"It isn't easy. To enter Varlume Imperial Academy, you must prove yourself among the prodigies and nobles of all kingdoms . Only the best of the best make it. Each city trains students for four years to earn a chance to take the entrance exam."
Those who fail continue studying in their city school.
Caelum's eyes sharpened with Light.
A goal formed inside him.
A quiet fire.
Duke Draven smiled at the look in his eyes. "If anyone your age can reach it… perhaps it is you."
Later that night, they rested in guest rooms. But Caelum couldn't sleep.
He thought of:
the robed figures
the forced dungeon gate
the S-Rank monster
the symbols inside the forbidden ruin
He grabbed the book, he opened the books Duke Draven lent him records of kingdoms, dungeons, gates, and monsters.
He read:
Five major kingdoms:
Kingdom of Aerlunia (Human)
Kingdom of Aeloria (Elves)
Kingdom of Grimstone (Dwarves)
Kingdom of Verdant Shard (Beastkin)
Kingdom of Ironbound (Valtorians)
and the unknown kingdom…Netherclaw (Orcs, Demons, Beasts). Location unknown.
Caelum remembered the S-rank monster's shape.
Was it connected to Netherclaw…?
He flipped through the book of mana beasts.
None matched what he saw.
None even came close.
"That thing… shouldn't exist," he whispered.
He closed the book slowly.
Somewhere in Eldrascar… Someone was summoning creatures not of this world, and Caelum knew…
This was only the mysterious...