"Other than these, she left a note suggesting I join one of the top five academies in the world—and she recommended Celestia Academy. Have you heard of it?"
Bella Noll tried her best to recall while answering, "All I have heard is that people should be adults and Mana Wielders to join Academies."
"Celestia Academy, if I am not wrong, is new or rather only a few centuries old, and was created to bring all Races together for peace and cooperation. The other four Academies belong to different Races and Continents. Other than these five 'big ones,' there are also some very famous small ones."
"If you are heading to Celestia Academy, then there is a positive aspect experiencing various races all together, but it will be equally dangerous—not only humans who will try striking you, but other races too."
"What else can I inform you of... Hm..." Bella Noll thought deeply with furrowed brows.
She really lacked knowledge in these topics, as she was already too mature to join any Academy back when she began. She also wasn't wealthy or knowledgeable enough to travel that far.
All major and minor Academy students were hotshots worldwide. They were recognized and respected everywhere, especially the top-listed individuals of each year, and that was why they were also rarely seen in public and difficult to interact with. They were also arrogant, so no rogue or loose Guild members appreciated them. Due to these reasons, Bella Noll never bothered to learn much about them beyond knowing whom to avoid provoking or approaching.
She recalled quite a few things, but she felt those weren't necessary for Eric to know immediately, as he eventually would learn those while living in the larger world.
After a while, Bella Noll thought of a few things that she could inform Eric of.
"I am not entirely sure of their admission methods. If I am not wrong, it's very strict, and there are tests and entrance exams. As long as you manage to enter, then your information will be wide spread across the world. So, be extra cautious of this, as everyone pays close attention to each year's students of any of the top Academies."
"Other than this, I can tell you that Celestia Academy is very far from here, somewhere far east of the Humancrown Continent. As for how to get there... Figure it out by yourself. But you will need lots of money just for the journey if you want to arrive there fast."
Eric nodded while stroking his chin.
All he understood was that in Celestia Academy, many races would arrive to donate their kidneys to him. Such kind people! The location was also too far away, so he should give up on casually ambling there.
"Have you decided on how long you want to train?" Bella Noll asked with a smile.
She understood that Eric, Lyria, and Livy needed to leave again for their new training location.
Eric nodded and answered, "Since I don't know how long it will take to reach Celestia Academy from here... I feel we should leave after eight months of training."
After discussing with Riya and hearing her reasoning, Eric had reluctantly agreed to increase the time from the initial six months to eight.
The resources were so massive that they couldn't even take them away inside their Space Rings or Pouches due to their limitations. Thus, Riya suggested making as many finished goods as possible and later selling the unnecessary ones to obtain wealth.
Overall, eight months was already pushing the time limit, as just reaching Batley City might take another three to five months. And then there were other places to travel to, as they highly doubted they could find a direct flight straight to Celestia Academy. He also wanted to travel around for a while.
In short, anything more or less than eight months was troublesome for all three of them.
Bella Noll agreed, "That's right. Just studying won't make a Mana Wielder strong and capable. It is very important to experience the world, so you all should take some time to wander around a little before heading to the Academy. You all need lots of wealth; otherwise, you will never reach Celestia Academy in a decade at least."
"I also suggest joining one of the guilds to receive their identity card for..." She coughed and changed the topic. "Either way, even if you children join an Academy, you can still continue with other outdoor activities."
In the past, Bella Noll had heard of Academy disciples completing guild missions, so it wasn't as if being an academic student would trap Eric, Lyria, or Livy into not doing anything else.
Eric's eyes sparkled. "What do I need to join a guild for? Also, how many guilds are there?" He only knew Bella Noll used to belong to the Adventurer Guild, but she had never elaborated further.
Bella Noll shook her head and laughed. "Figure these things out by yourself!"
She could understand Eric's curiosity, but if she described one thing, she would need to describe twenty others. So, it was better if they figured these things out at their own pace.
"When are you planning to leave with Lyria and Livy for that training location?"
"Tomorrow morning..." Eric sighed.
"Hmm... go ahead. Oh, perhaps you're worried about me?" Bella Noll chuckled. "Don't worry. Since you said it's eight months, I'll hold on till then. Otherwise, I won't be able to rest easily without seeing my daughters one final time."
Bella Noll knew her condition well and knew she could, at most, live for another two months. But that was natural death, she had enough mastery over herself to prolong it further if she wished. It was just that she would suffer extensively for it.
Physical pain was nothing to her, so she could wait at least that long. She would just look much older by the time Eric, Lyria, and Livy returned.
Bella Noll also wanted to see all three of them one final time before they completely left Ringwood Town. It was like seeing them off for the last time.
"Then I'll leave this here. If you ever need it..." Eric gently pushed the 'life-saving' elixir toward Bella Noll.
Bella Noll gave the bottle an indifferent glance and warned, "If you don't take it away, then this elixir will only help extend the lives of all the trees and plants inside the Orphanage garden."
This elixir would only shackle her, even if it could reduce her suffering. She wouldn't even be able to die until its effects ran out. All her happiness would be gone if she extended her life through the elixir.
Eric's mouth twitched. He swiftly kept the bottle away inside his ring.
After these important talks were over, Eric and Bella Noll chatted casually. Eric also pulled out the yellow Elixir bottle that could heal Mana Veins.
Soon, Lyria and Livy walked in like newlywed brides, almost as if this would be their first night with their husband.
Eric felt goosebumps all over, watching Lyria and Livy's blushing faces paired with their macho figures. He was certain no males from his previous world would be able to protect themselves from these power-packed girls—pitiful Earthlings.
But he was safe, as he could escape!
"Ahem, ahem... Nice that you're both clean and smooth... The surprise I was talking about..."
As Eric was planning to give both little girls heart attacks by playing nasty, he was interrupted.
"Becoming Mana Wielders! Congratulations to both of you. I'm so relieved and happy. From now on, you girls can go anywhere, though tomorrow you have to go with Eric, as he plans to take both of you somewhere for a few months. Stay focused and don't waste time pointlessly there."
"As for now, go and spread those mats on the floor and sit." Bella Noll pointed toward the mats, which were folded up in one corner of her room.
Lyria and Livy blushed more deeply, wondering where Eric would take them. Their minds drifted to something they had heard of in the past—known as a honeymoon...
They quickly stopped their random thoughts, or else they might explode into a blood mist. They did as Bella Noll told them.
In truth, Lyria and Livy were extremely nervous.
They had already guessed that Eric was talking about curing them through the elixir, as he had said he had those to make Hannah and Wilburn into Mana Wielders.
But knowing was different from it actually happening.
They had been holding back this anxiety for so long that they couldn't swallow the fact that they could now really become Mana Wielders.
It wasn't that they doubted Eric, but what if the way he was trying to heal them failed? What if something went wrong at the last moment and it didn't work?
Thus, Lyria and Livy were extremely anxious, panicked, worried, and nervous.
Eric was speechless at being interrupted by Bella Noll, but he let it go. It was better for Lyria and Livy to become Mana Wielders first. He was just joking and knew how much this mattered to both girls.
Bella Noll continued guiding Lyria and Livy.
After various explanations were done, she got to the point where Lyria and Livy would definitely be interested, as they had asked her about it in the past.
"Remember how I told you three that if you don't consciously choose which path to take, your body will automatically choose between Mage and Warrior?"
Lyria and Livy nodded. They would definitely take the Mystical Knight pathway without hesitation. It wasn't just to be more capable and helpful to Eric—they themselves had this ambition, and nothing less.
Bella Noll continued with a smile, "Similarly, you can also control a little bit of your physical transformation."
She elaborated further, "When anyone jumps up a major Rank, they evolve not only in power but also in life essence, and that's also why their lifespan increases."
"In other words, during this transformation, if you consciously choose to fix or change a few things, it's possible to do that—but only tiny changes work. If you don't consciously choose this, your body will just go with its natural tendency, like Eric here." She pointed toward the gaping Eric, who had no idea such a possibility existed.
Livy was confused, but Lyria's eyes shone brightly as she already understood what Bella Noll meant.
Bella Noll nodded at Lyria and continued with a smile.
"In short, you can decide if you want more feminine features, such as being leaner, softer, and so on. Remember, no drastic change is possible—like altering height or other major things. Don't focus too deeply on this either. Just set a small goal before the transformation begins, and then ignore or even forget it."
"This shouldn't be any Mana Wielder's focus. It's just a small trick that some choose to remove defects, and some even do this to intentionally leave those scars as trophies, and so on."
"Don't expect everything will go just as you imagined. It will just set a goal for your body, and then it will proceed toward it as much as possible."
In fact, Lyria and Livy didn't really need to do anything, and they would still lose their overly tough and rigid muscles. That was because they were females to begin with, and they had wanted to leave those behind for a long time—so their bodies remembered. Girls who wanted to keep such tough muscles could also do so. But consciously guiding these changes had its benefits as well.
Livy's eyes widened. She got as excited as Lyria. She preferred a leaner, more beautiful body—for Eric as well as for herself—as she wanted to be more agile. She also wanted to remove the scars and blemish on her body from training.
Eric felt depressed. Why hadn't he known about this? He wanted to be more like Arno... ahem, more muscular!
Riya gave Eric the middle finger. "Like hell! You always hated being too muscular and preferred an athletic body—and you in fact have more muscle than that."
"You also have the chance to change it in your next rank breakthrough. How about a bet on whether you'll choose to be more muscular or not in your next breakthrough?"
Eric ignored all the noises in his head as if they didn't exist.
Riya snorted. Eric didn't even need to wait that long—he could just do exercises to increase his muscle, but he definitely wouldn't. She knew that well.
Soon, Lyria and Livy were ready.
So, Eric dropped one drop of the yellowish elixir on both Lyria and Livy's sexy... ahem, open mouths!
Hormones were raging too much lately. Eric felt he needed to take extreme cold baths from now on—and also increase his quota of cursing the heavens.
After that, Lyria and Livy went into deep meditation.
Bella Noll and Eric stayed silent.
A dozen or so minutes later, Wilburn and Hannah arrived.
Bella Noll nodded at them with a smile and told them in a low voice to sit in another location.
Eric helped the couple with the mat and then dropped one drop of the reddish elixir. Soon, they both went into deep meditation.
After an hour, noticing that there were no longer any issues on either side, Eric whispered to Bella Noll that he had things to do and quietly left.