54 Master Nien Dinra

Ten minutes earlier

The day Ovandarrak told Savyrran about Gray Gray's shape shifting abilities, Savyrran had not stopped hoping to see it herself. It felt like a dream come true when she saw it happening on the large screen. But she was not the only one who gushed with excitement as the small gray dog transformed into a large bizarre monster. Soul armos which could change their forms were very rare even among rare class soul armos. Thus, seeing one right in front of them was enough to cause chaos and excitement among the teenagers.

By the time the trial was over, Ovandarrak and his shape shifting soul armos were the topic of the day in the academy. Savyrran could not help but beam with pride.

That's right, she thought. My brother is awesome. Bow down, you mortals.

As she waded through the large crowd filing out of the auditorium, she heard someone call her name. However, there were too many people around her, and she did not believe she knew anyone among them. Who could possibly be calling her? Perhaps, she was imagining it. After all, no one knew she was Ovandarrak's sister either.

"Savyrran." This time the voice sounded a little louder and closer and Savyrran was absolutely certain that she had heard it someone before. "Savyrran, over here."

Savyrran turned her head sharply towards the sound of the voice. Her eyes widened in glee when she saw the familiar red bouncy hair and sweet cheerful face adorned with those golden freckles.

"Minyet!" Even before Savyrran could think, she had already ran to meet up with the girl. "This is such a pleasant surprise. I didn't think I would ever see you again." Savyrran and Ovandarrak had met Minyet in the train back in Valley Province, and ever since the twins had parted with her in the Lower Domain, Savyrran had not thought they would meet again this soon.

"I know. This is so wonderful." Minyet said.

"Were you in the auditorium the whole time?"

��Oh, yes." Minyet nodded vigorously. "Ever since I finished my trials, I became bored from having nothing to do so I decided to come here and watch the the other trials until my classes begin."

"You have finished yours?" Savyrran was genuinely surprised. The last time she spoke to Minyet, the girl was not even sure about what school to join. And now, she had already finished her trials?

Minyet noticed Savyrran's confusion and thus, decided to elaborate. "After much deliberations, I finally decided to continue in the family business and uphold my family's heritage. So I joined the School of Weapon Studies. We were the first to start and finish our trials… that was four days ago. Currently, you are looking at an official student of the Royal Dream Higher Academy." Minyet's face lit with joy and pride, and it seemed her golden freckles became even more brilliant.

"Really? That is wonderful, congratulations."

"Thank you. So, where is your… brother?�� A slight blush flushed in her cheeks when the image of the tall handsome boy flashed in her mind. Since she found out that Ovandarrak was participating in the trials at the Soul Recovery School, Minyet had been keeping a close eye on it. In the last two days, she had been most impressed by Ovandarrak's performance. Not only was the boy good at making smart decisions, but he was also incredibly powerful with his green essence and shape shifting soul armos.

When Minyet first met Ovandarrak, he struck her as someone cold and unfeeling. But when she saw how Ovandarrak helped out his colleague, when he could have just left him back there, it changed Minyet's perception. Perhaps, beneath all the hard cold exterior was a kind heart.

"Ovan? He is at the Soul Recovery School. I'm actually on my way there. He's probably waiting for me outside."

"Can I come with you?"

"Of course. We'll take a carriage at the nearest stop."

…....…..

A few minutes later, Savyrran and Minyet were in front of the grandiose building, appropriately named as the Grand Hall. Upon reaching the very wide stairs that spanned in front of the entire building, Savyrran took a seat on the fourth step. She beckoned to Minyet to join her.

"What were your trials like?" Savyrran asked once Minyet sat next to her.

"It was nothing fancy. Just a written examination."

"A written examination?" Savyrran raised her eyebrows. "But if someone is new to the discipline of weapon studies, how could they answer any questions on it?"

Minyet chuckled. "It's nothing that difficult. We were only tested on basic things we learned back in lower academy. You know, like what kind of soul energy was found in various natural things and uses of certain elements. There were also questions on the weapon-type soul armos. All basic stuff. I'm sure you already know them."

Savyrran nodded slowly. Back in Coast Town Lower Academy, they had learned a great deal of things, and she was sure whatever Minyet had mentioned were part of it. However, Savyrran had been too focused on her training with Master Bufan to retain anything else that was not directly related to that.

"So you will be learning about making weapons then?"

"Well, not just that. Weapon studies is not just about making weapons. It's more about harnessing soul energy and using them to make things; anything. You know, like everyday items such as communicators, screens, carriages, you get the picture." Minyet grinned when she saw the adorable confusion clouding Savyrran's face.

"Of course, it also includes making weapons." She quickly added in order to clear Savyrran's confusion. "The term 'Weapon Studies' is merely historic since weapons were the main things that were made using soul energy in ancient times. When it was discovered that soul energy could be used to do things other than powering weapons, life changed completely."

As Savyrran watched and listened to Minyet, she could not help but notice how similar Minyet was to Ovandarrak. Well, except that Minyet was a dazzling ray of sunshine while her brother was the harbinger of storms. Just like Ovandarrak, it seemed Minyet had thoroughly done her research on what weapon studies was about before even applying to the academy.

"You know a lot about weapon studies."

"I did not have much of a choice in learning about it. Forging weapons has been in my family for several centuries."

A realisation dawned on Savyrran. Of course, that was why Minyet knew so much about this. She remembered what Minyet had said about joining the family business. It seemed she was from a family of blacksmiths. If Minyet was indeed a blacksmith, then that explained why she had such a strong grip and rough hand on the first day they shook hands. Still, it was a little too strange that the girl did not look strong at all. But whatever Savyrran thought, she never voiced it out loud.

"Hey, Savyrran," Minyet suddenly called out as she pointed toward the distance. Is that not the Captain of the Soul Recovery School?"

"Yes. What's he doing outside the Grand Hall? He should be inside with the examinees. I'm going to him."

Before Minyet could respond, Savyrran was already running towards the young captain with the white dreadlocks. Not sure of what was going on, Minyet followed Savyrran.

"Captain." Captain Jarjaha stopped in his tracks once he heard his name. It was someone he had never met before. However, based on the rather stark description Ovandarrak had given him, there was no doubt that this was Ovandarrak's sister.

"Ah, you must be Savyrran."

Savyrran did not remember ever meeting the captain, thus, it came as a surprise to her that he knew her. But Savyrran's face did not betray how she felt. Instead, she had a small smile on her face.

"Your brother said you would be waiting for him."

"He did?"

The captain nodded. "Indeed. He's in a meeting with the Head of the Soul Recovery School. He said you don't have to wait for him. He will return alone once he's done."

"Alright then. Thank you, captain."

The captain nodded and then left the two girls behind. He had a lot of preparations to make in order to welcome the new students into the school.

"I'm really sorry for wasting your time." Savyrran said to her new companion. They had been waiting behind for a while and she felt she had wasted Minyet's time.

While Minyet was quite disappointed that she could not see Ovandarrak now, she did not feel like her time had been wasted at all, so she told Savyrran just that. "This is actually the most fun I have had since I came into the academy… So… are you hungry? Come on, I'll buy us lunch."

"Food! Perfect."

….......…

Residence of the Head of Soul Recovery School

Pan opened the door with such reverence that one would think he was entering into the Divine Realm itself. When they entered the room, there was no one inside. But they were too busy admiring the beauty of the room to even notice it.

"No… wait." Pan called in a panicked voice when he saw that Ovandarrak was actually going to take a seat. How was Ovandarrak so nonchalant in a situation as hair-raising as this? Did he not realize where he was? Ah, of course not, Pan thought. He's never even heard of the master's name before.

Pan felt himself die a little inside as the thought of someone not knowing who Master Nien Dinra was, plague his very soul.

"You can't sit. What if this is all a test?"

Ovandarrak inwardly scoffed at this ridiculous notion. However, to save himself from hearing Pan's endless nonsense, he decided to stand instead. He had known this boy for all of one hour, and there was never a single time when he did not talk.

While Pan was distracted by the serene design of the room, and made comments on everything he saw, Ovandarrak merely stood still in silence. None of them sensed nor heard someone step into the room.

"Hello." A sweet soothing voice flowed into their soul. It was not a voice they heard with their ears, however, they could feel it resonating withing them. The voice was so refreshing that they could even feel their souls become a little bit rejuvenated by it.

The boys suddenly turned around to see where the voice had suddenly come from?

That was when they saw her.

There was a tall slender woman standing right in the middle of the room and she was looking right at them. No, not that she was staring at them. As Ovandarrak and Pan stared at the unblinking gray eyes of the woman, they felt like she was peering right into their souls. But perhaps, the most striking thing about the woman was her long golden hair and pale almost white skin. Her long dress concealed her whole body, except her face and neck.

The woman's serious lack of melanin reminded Ovandarrak of someone he knew back in Coast Town. Though the aura surrounding the albino woman was serene and devoid of any malice, Ovandarrak still kept his guard up. This woman had imparted her voice directly into his soul. In addition, her voice had even refilled his soul energy. Was something like this even possible? Exactly who was this woman? Whoever she was, she was not ordinary.

"It's okay. I mean you no harm." The woman said. This time, she used her actual voice and Pan thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

Pan who wanted to speak was rendered speechless. There was something about the woman that entranced people kept them immobile. It was not an unpleasant feeling. In fact, one felt like they were basking in an eternal cycle of peace.

"Who are you?" Ovandarrak asked.

The woman chuckled. It was so genuine and pleasant that Ovandarrak felt himself calm down.

"Well, I guess that is a fair enough question. My name is Nien Dinra. I believe you two are here to see me, no?"

While Ovandarrak did not seem shocked by the woman's revelation, Pan's jaw almost dropped to the floor as soon she heard the woman introduce herself. Master Nien Dinra was a blind albino woman? Who were those people spreading the rumors? He needed to talk to them.