Davi, Gravilis, and Russell made their way toward a large central square within the Blue Sky Kingdom.
The atmosphere there was completely different from the previous night's celebration.
What replaced the lively energy was a more structured and purposeful arrangement.
Candidates were being organized into distinct groups, each standing under the banner of their respective academies and factions.
The separation was clear.
Magic academies; Knight academies; Special institutions like the International Council of Mages.
Each group carried a different presence, a different expectation.
Nimue approached Davi without saying much, and the two of them moved together toward Lady Stacy's position with Nimue in the lead
On the other side of the square, Russell walked alongside Priscilla as they made their way toward Lady Clare, who was already surrounded by several candidates who had chosen the Glacien Hollow Academy.
There was a brief moment of calm.
Then… the Grandmasters began to act.
Screech!
Roar!
In rapid succession, several massive beasts were summoned into the square.
The sudden appearance of these creatures sent waves of shock through the remaining crowd.
Some instinctively stepped back, while others stared in awe.
The difference was obvious.
These were not ordinary contracted beasts like the candidates possessed.
These beasts were fully integrated into their masters' beast-taming spaces, allowing them to be summoned and withdrawn at will, something the newer candidates had yet to achieve.
They were mounts of different sizes!
Even the density of their presence felt different.
Heavier, more refined and controlled.
Surprisingly, even Grand Commander Dufus from the All Hallows Knight Academy revealed a beast of his own, proving that even among knights, such mastery was not uncommon.
"Woah… that's a Raging Eagle! And it's a Class 3 beast lv.5!" someone in the crowd exclaimed loudly.
All eyes turned toward Lady Stacy Fredrick!
The massive eagle stood tall, its wings partially extended as if asserting its dominance over the space.
Its feathers carried a faint fiery glow, shimmering under the morning light. From a distance, it resembled a phoenix, but up close, it was far more aggressive in presence, less elegant than phoenixes but undeniably powerful.
The air around it felt slightly heated.
Lady Stacy remained composed. She glanced at Davi and Nimue…
"Get on," she said.
"The International Council of Mages is quite far from here, approximately eight hours of travel at the speed of my beast… We should leave as soon as possible."
However, neither Davi nor Nimue moved.
There was a brief pause.
Both of them instinctively turned toward their pet beasts… Gravilis and the shadow fox.
There was hesitation.
Not out of fear, but uncertainty.
Were they supposed to leave them behind?
Lady Stacy noticed immediately.
"…I see."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I overlooked that detail."
She raised her hand slightly and reached into her storage bracelet, retrieving two small, intricately designed cards.
With a smooth motion, she activated them.
A faint glow emerged with dazzling arrays.
In the next instant,
Gravilis and the shadow fox were both drawn into the cards, disappearing completely without resistance.
Davi and Nimue were clearly surprised by what they had just witnessed.
Davi actually didn't see anything but he felt Gravilis presence disappear but knew it was still safe.
"This is a Beast Storage Card," Lady Stacy explained calmly.
"It allows you to temporarily store beasts. However, it has limitations… after a certain period, the beasts will be forcefully released mine can hold a beast at least for a day"
She paused briefly before adding,
"It is especially useful for beasts that have not yet formed a proper contract space or without a master"
Davi nodded slowly.
Nimue did the same.
Without further hesitation, the two of them leapt onto the back of the Raging Eagle.
Up close, its size was even more imposing than it had appeared from the ground. The feathers beneath them were warm, almost like sitting near controlled flames, yet they did not burn.
The creature let out a low screech as it adjusted its stance.
Just as they were about to depart…
"Davi!"
Russell's voice called out from a distance.
Davi turned slightly.
"Till we meet again… take care!" Russell said, forcing a smile, though a hint of sadness remained in his eyes.
Davi gave a small nod.
"You too… brother."
There was nothing more to say.
Both of them understood.
This was where their paths began to diverge.
With that, the Raging Eagle spread its wings fully.
A powerful gust of wind surged outward as it took off into the sky.
Within moments, it ascended rapidly, leaving the square behind.
Below, the other candidates also began mounting their respective beasts.
One after another, the different groups departed in different directions, each heading toward their own future.
***
It had been over two hours since the journey began.
The Raging Eagle flew steadily through the skies, maintaining a fast but stable pace.
For most, the view would have been breathtaking, the vast landscapes stretching endlessly beneath them, mountains, forests, and rivers blending into one continuous expanse.
But for Davi…
There was nothing to see.
With no scenery to distract him, he turned his focus inward.
His mind shifted toward the system.
Silently, he began reviewing everything.
The Rune Key;
The completed mission;
The reward…
And most importantly, all the changes.
"System open my interface!"
[Ding!]
[Opening System Interface]
[…]
[Asura System]
[Main Panel]
[Sub-panels]
[- System's Cultivation Shop]
[- System's Pet Shop]
[- System's Magic Shop (locked)]
[Host: Li Kai]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: ???]
[Soul Age: 1345 yrs]
[Physical Age: 16 yrs]
[Soul Strength: +800/1000]
[Physical Strength: +350/1000]
[Magic Affinity: Zero]
[Magic Attribute: None]
[Cultivation Realm: Mortal]
[Exp Points: +410/100]
[Soul Points: +54/100]
[Asura Points: 55]
[Mission Available: 0]
As davi saw all this he sighed… assuming the system hadn't increased the price of activating the treasure mapping skill, he wouldnt have spent so much and would have had about 85 asura points.
With this line of thought, he immediately asked to open the cultivation shop!
[Sub-panel: Open]
[Systems's Cultivation Shop]
[Skill Technique]
[Asura God Descent (Battle Art) → 280 AP
Devouring Asura Gaze (Soul Art) → 350 AP]
[Weapon Rack]
[Sky Piercer (Spear) → 168 AP
Star Breaker (Staff) → 182 AP
Dawn Bringer (Staff) → 210 AP
Ocean Fury (Staff) → 280 AP]
Davi slowly clenched his fists… this system was clearly ripping him off.
It increased the prices by over 40%!
Looking at the items, "I need to complete more missions to be able to afford this skills particularly the battle art… I think it will help me refine my cultivation and my use of asura qi" Davi made a mental note.
"Well now I have a beast pet… I previously imparted it with the Ninefold Dragon Nirvana, let me check its stats!"
"System open pets store!"
[-System's Pet Shop (Expanded View)]
[-Pet Info]
[-Pet Diagnostics]
[-Pet Inventory]
[-Pet Info: Displayed]
[Name: Gravilis]
[Rank: D]
[Status: …]
[Affinity: Decay & Earth]
[Age: 12 years]
[Breed Class: Uncommon]
[Base Element: Earth]
[Sub-Element: Decay]
[Combat Role: Ambush Specialist (25%) | Terrain Modifier (2%)]
[Notable Traits…]
[Wisp Veins (Status: Fair): Allows silent movement through shallow earth]
[Rotfangs (Status: Not Bad): Necrotic tail venom inflicts slow-acting poison]
[-Pet Diagnostics: Displayed]
[Pet Compatibility Index: A compatibility meter that helps determine synergy between user and bonded beasts (Locked: Requires Bond Sync > 50%)]
[Pet Evolution: Increase your cultivation, Increase rank of pet, Increase bond & Collect needed materials]
[Pet's Possible Evolution Routes: …]
[Sandstorm Drake: Specializes in desert combat, sand manipulation, high-speed rotation attacks]
[Gains ability: ???]
[Material Requirements: Host hasn't reached the required level of authority!]
[Decayrend Drake: Focused on erosion and corruption, spreads decay through environment and touch]
[Gains ability: ???]
[Material Requirements: Host hasn't reached the required level of authority!]
[Gravemire Drake: Swamp-dwelling variant; Uses miasmic earth, and terrain poisoning.]
[Gains ability: ???]
[Material Requirements: Host hasn't reached the required level of authority!]
[Bond Sync: 45%]
[ Pet Familiar Archive: Stores detailed evolution records, ancestry, and bloodline purity of all tamed beasts (Locked…Available at Level 20)]
[-Pet Inventory: Displayed]
[-Pet skills store (Locked) ]
[Host has limited access due to low authority (lv.5)]
[Beast Sanctum: 'Where the souls of beasts whisper, and forbidden bonds are forged' (Locked)]
[Requirements: Beast Codex, …]
[Host has limited access due to low authority (lv.5)]
[-Pets ???]
[Host has limited access due to low authority (lv.5)]
Davi smiled after reading this, he was already at lv.4 in authority level… just a final push and he felt he could unlock the Beast sanctum.
"Could this be the beast space lady stacy spoke of?" He thought
That pet compatibility index… I am quite close just five more percent! Davi thought excitedly.
Just then a notification rang out.
[Ding!]
[Host Status Updated]
[New Function Unlocked: Mini Pocket Dimension (33 cubic meters)]
Davi's attention sharpened immediately.
"…Open."
A subtle shift occurred.
Within his perception, a space appeared dark, empty, but clearly defined.
Roughly the size of a large storage container stable yet Isolated.
"…So this is the pocket dimension."
He quickly understood its value… perhaps its similar to the storage bracelet Lady Stacy spoke of.
This held limitless possibilities for Davi!
Even future materials or items that couldn't be exposed.
"…This changes things, perhaps I should get a random bracelet so I could disguise this" he thought.
Then…
His focus shifted again toward his cultivation.
Circulating nen slowly, he began refining it slowly condensing it into asura qi.
Dufus' words resurfaced in his thoughts.
Your usage is crude.
Davi didn't deny it.
Up until now, he had relied on instinct, reaction, and raw output and the hell of torment scripture.
However it was a cultivation technique not a battle art hence he had no foundational structure.
Even without choosing the Knight Academy, he now understood something important… I must find this martial art he spoke of!
Slowly he began to fully saturate his bones… hopefully if I can make a breakthrough I can begin to temper my blood.
***
Hours passed and slowly the air began to shift.
Davi noticed it at first through sensation… the density of nen in the surrounding had increased significantly.
Compared to blue sky kingdom it was a stack contrast!
His cultivation even improved slightly.
"…We're getting closer," he thought.
The Raging Eagle began to descend gradually.
From above, a massive structure came into view.
The International Council of Mages.
"Is that a floating mountain?!" Nimue cried out in shock!
This place rose upward, towering structures and magical formations.
Massive spires that seemed to pierce into the sky clouds.
Just then Lady Stacy spoke for the first time since the journey began.
"Welcome to the International Council of Mages!"