Still lying on the cold floor of the cave, Seth closed his eyes and pushed his consciousness inward, examining his core. Nestled in his chest next to his Well, the thing was gradually returning to a dormant state, reabsorbing all the mysterious energy it had unleashed earlier.

  It felt like a long-lost part of him—something he’d always possessed, even before using Kreytorus’ Legacy to learn Link, but had never tapped into. It was an inner beast he'd inadvertently awakened, which was now serving him as his greatest weapon. A weapon he had to hone and master.

  As Seth started to sit up, a surge of energy coming from Nightmare coursed through their bond. The direwolf was still lying on the ground, but within his body, his Well was burning with aether, pulsing fiercely, each beat stronger than the last.

  Seth realized, feeling a torrent of aether pouring through Link and flooding into his own body. His weary muscles seemed to rejuvenate almost instantly, while the searing pain and exhaustion vanished in seconds.

  Nightmare’s eyes, previously clouded with pain and fatigue, were now gleaming. Scrambling on his paws, the direwolf turned to the left, staring at a large boulder a dozen feet away. Then, suddenly, he vanished and leapt out from the rock’s shadow.

  Seth’s jaw dropped. ''

  '' Nightmare answered, coming back toward him. ''

  '' Seth exclaimed, channeling aether into Identify’s grooves.

  Seth thought, going through all of Nightmare’s freshly gained attributes. With the hundred bonus points from the breakthrough, the numbers were now absurdly high. On top of that, the direwolf had also already gained ten attributes into the Iron Tier, putting him at the door of Rank 22. And as if it wasn’t enough, Shadow Bite had increased in quality once more.

  '' Seth asked, feeling dumb to think beasts wouldn’t obtain one with their breakthrough.

  '' Nightmare answered, licking his wounds. ''

  '' Seth chuckled while standing up. , '

  '' Nightmare repeated. ''

  '' Seth smiled and nudged the direwolf before giving him a Healing Potion and taking one for himself. He then walked toward the large Night Beetle’s corpse now that the toxic cloud had dissipated. ''

  Nightmare glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the chamber’s shadows. '' The direwolf then vanished again and appeared in the shadow beside another rock. After roughly eight seconds, he did it once more and sprang out of a shadow next to Seth. ''

  '' Seth said, recalling the ten-minute cooldown of the Doubled-Tiered spell, Ground-Splitting Strike in the academy’s shop. ' '

  ''

  ''

  ''

  Seth knelt down to harvest the beetle’s beaststone. ''

  '' Nightmare laughed through their bond. ''

  ''

  Seth had tried countless times to replicate Illusionary Emptiness’ grooves within his Well and aether channels but had failed miserably every single time. When evolving Quick Step into Haste the process of carving new grooves had been relatively straightforward: repeatedly sliding aether while following the rudimentary outline provided by the spell scroll. Yet, that method was somehow useless when it came to the direwolf’s spell.

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  At first Seth had assumed the issue was his attributes, like how Haste needed twenty-five Agility to ensure his nerves could handle the increased aether flow. But that theory didn’t hold up—the direwolf had learned the spell as a pup, with hardly any attributes. Seth had then come to the conclusion that it was his own body… or Tier.

  Elena had once mentioned the concept of Well malleability—a topic covered in Spell Evolution I, a class Seth attend as a commoner. According to a popular Scholar named Eldric, Wells and aether channels were like clay. During the awakening, certain areas hardened, making it impossible to learn some spells, while others—those aligned with the newly acquired class—softened. For example, Warriors could easily carve new grooves around their muscles, and to a lesser extent, nerves.

  Seth thought before plunging his dagger into the Night Beetle’s lower neck.

  After slicing the upper thorax with some difficulty, he dug his hand into the flesh, yanked out the beaststone, and reached for the pouch at his belt to grab his vita and register the kill. Then, he showed the purple and green crystal to the direwolf. ''

  Nightmare shook his large head. ''

  '' Seth shrugged and put away the stone into his pouch before heading out of the chamber.

  As they made their way into the cave's tunnel, he glanced at his hand to see his own stats.

  A smile spread across his lips as he saw Dark Shocking Strike qualityremembering the powerful lightning arcs during the fight. By surrendering to his instinct and pushing more aether into the spell’s grooves, he had somehow boosted their quality—as if his core and body knew the optimal pathways to boost the spell’s power. Thanks to it, Seth was forming grooves like beasts, without even needing the nobles’ exclusive knowledge.

  , he thought, excitement bubbling up in his chest as he remembered how Warsis’ book, Introduction to the Adventurer’s Life, said such quality wasn’t accessible to commoners.

  As his eyes landed on the bonus attribute of Link, it became obvious why he’d felt that rush of energy when Nightmare had moved up to the Iron Tier. In addition to the eleven attributes he’d earned through the fight, Link had granted him another nine in just a few seconds with the direwolf's breakthrough, pushing the total bonus from the spell to a little over three full Ranks.

  Nightmare interrupted his train of thought with a low, rumbling growl. ''

  '' Seth answered as the cave's entrance came into view ahead. ''

  Stepping into the sunlight, Seth squinted against the sudden brightness and shielded his eyes. He then breathed in the forest’s fresh air, filling his lungs while letting the powerful rays warm his skin.

  Professor Reat was leaning against a large oak, arms crossed and studying a scroll. Upon seeing them, he raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. You two actually made it out in one piece. I thought I’d have to go retrieve your corpses soon."

  "Thanks for believing in us, professor," Seth answered, rolling his golden eyes. "Picking a beast that’s basically a fortress on six legs didn’t exactly make things easier for us."

  "That was the whole point," Professor Reat sighed, tucking away his scroll. "I chose the worst possible opponent for a Rogue-type beast like your Tenebrous Direwolf. This way, there was zero doubt it’d break through. Well, assuming you both survived, of course."

  Seth was about to reply, but then he paused, frowning. "Assuming we ?"

  "Look, you're a Primalist. Without any danger you won’t progress."

  Seth opened his mouth to argue, but then shut it. The man wasn’t wrong. Every time he had to put his life on the line, it had paid off.

  "Tell me something, Seth," Professor Reat said, his gaze drifting up to the leaves above them. "Why are you really here? You knew Lucius would make your life hell. You're not stupid enough to risk it all that without a good reason. So, what is it?"

  “What? I—uh… I’ve got a few,” Seth said, scrambling for words. “I need, um… strength to stop the Faertis House’s tyranny and keep hundreds from starving in my hometown. I also want to pay back a lot of people who helped me…" He hesitated, then added more quietly, "And maybe… help a few awaken. One per year."

  That was all the crown’s absurd awakening law allowed—one per year. The more coin he earned, the more absurd the limitation felt. If he were still in Sunatown, watching people fail to reach their potential while knowing he had the means to help them… how long before that resentment turned inward? How long before it broke him?

  Marcus, Sericar, and Vandric had never awakened anyone else in town. It was obvious now—they had done so to avoid drawing attention. But could Seth really bring himself to stop at one per year? Did the Houses truly have a way to know if someone lied, if more had been awakened in secret?

  "And you think the crown would let you challenge a Noble House?" Professor Reat asked, his expression turning cold as ice. "One that stood among the Twenty Great Houses barely a year ago" He shook his head. "You’d be a fool to think they’d sit back and watch. The king’s men have wiped out entire branches of the Adventurers Guild for less. Any hint something could become a threat, and they'll stamp it out. No questions asked."

  Seth frowned. "Then why are they tolerating a branch like the Champions of Chaos, professor? Isn’t there a risk you turn against them?"

  "If they weren’t on the verge of another coup, they would’ve already forced us to disband or, more likely, slaughtered us," Professor Reat answered. "The crown can’t afford to make any more enemies right now. The Great Houses have about three hundred Gold Wielders combined, and it’s no secret that a good chunk of them have been wanting to overthrow the king for years. If our branch’s fifteen Gold members were to join them, it’d tip the scales. So, they leave us alone, and we stay out of their… politics."

  , Seth thought, recalling Sericar's words.

  "If you want to achieve anything worthwhile, you're gonna have to take a lot of risks," Professor Reat continued, walking to Seth and pointing at the Champions of Chaos' crest pinned to his chest. "And also become stronger than anyone in this branch."

  Seth glanced down at the emblem, then looked back up at the man. He was so invested in this. The Rising Stars Tournament’s prizes couldn't explain everything. "Why do you care so much about my reasons, professor?"

  A sly smile spread across Professor Reat's face. "Let’s say I wouldn’t mind seeing the Faertis House fall either. So, when I spotted one of their kind bullying a Draerian at the selections, I decided to step in… figuring that monster might help me someday.”

  Seth's heart skipped a beat. "I-I'm not a Draerian."

  "Please, those golden eyes are a dead giveaway," the professor replied. "My old man was a Wandering Merchant who traveled all over the world. He used to tell me stories about different nations when I was a kid. Many times, he talked about the famous Primalists of Draeria, how seeing those golden eyes on the battlefield was basically a death sentence. Most people probably assume this color isn't limited to those people. But seeing how quickly you’ve progressed… It confirmed my suspicion."

  Seth's mind reeled. "I'm not a Draerian. I basically don't know anything about that place."

  "I know," Professor Reat answered with a laugh. "That part was easy to guess with how weak you were. But still, the blood in your veins is special. Who knows, it might give you an edge when it comes to breakthroughs and help you progress faster than others."

  As the man spun on his heels with a shrug and began walking toward where they’d come from, Seth stared at the professor’s back. Even if the man had his own motives, Seth still felt somehow grateful—he and Nightmare had gained so much because of him. And now, there was someone else he didn’t have to keep from.

  "Professor!" Seth shouted, jogging to catch up.

  Professor Reat half-turned. "Yes?"

  "I’ve got… another favor to ask," Seth said, glancing at Nightmare behind as his core stirred in his chest. Depending on the direwolf’s protection didn’t feel right—he also needed to make sure got stronger too. "Could you talk with my teachers so I can skip all of this week's classes? I want to take an extra week off on top of the inter-semester break."

  A puzzled look crossed Professor Reat’s face. "And why’s that?"

  "I’d like to Rift Dive for two whole weeks."

  January 15, 2026 (8h30PM ET)

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