Aftermath

The effects of the incident lingered in the air in the days that followed. Class scheduled were modified, curfews were imposed, and guards started to roam around the campus all hours of the day.

And the fact that the culprit had never been identified and the other missing student still has not been found, added to the dilemma the entire academy was facing.

It has been more than two weeks since the incident but the tension was still high. But more than the tension, the students were starting to feel agitated by all the changes.

"It feels more like a prison camp than a school." One student commented.

"Yeah, it seems like we're being held inside rather than us being protected from someone outside." Another added.

The stress level of students were at an all time high. The fear of being the next victim of a ruthless attack coupled by the feeling of isolation are sending a lot of students on the edge.

I the days that followed, Headmistress Zelester made some important calls. Asking about the malevolent energy they have emcountered on that faithful night.

Despite the changes, Krios continued with his training. He knew thinking too much about their circumstances would change nothing so he opted to go for his usual schedule, enabling him to feel some sort of stability and flow.

"Chaos Phoenix!" He called out and the majestic purple phoenix flew off of his hand and went strait to its target dummy.

*Boom!*

The ground shook and a gust of wind followed going in every direction. Krios has now mastered his chaos mana— a perfect combination of his chaos energy and mana.

Although during normal days, he opted to use only his mana as he still prefered to keep his secret hidden from others. Especially now that another chaos like energy have been found on the body of the victim of that brutal attack.

After his training session, he packed up and went back to their dorm to freshen up. As he was walking across campus grounds, he can't help but feel sad about the lack of activity and life. There were less people going out and about, all choosing to stay inside their dorm rooms or training rooms.

"You done training?" Loras asked him as he went inside their room.

"Yeah, I'll just take a shower and head back out. Professor Ashburn asked to meet me again." He answered.

In the days that followed, Krios, along with Headmistress Zelester and Professor Ashburn have been meeting almost every day to talk about some news, or progress about the incident.

"Okay, just be careful out there. Although The defensive formation covering the entire campu has already been set up earlier today."

"Really, I had not noticed that."

"Yeah, the headmistress' uncle apparently came over yesterday and finished the formation earlier today."

"That's nice. I hope that added protection help ease the minds of other students in the campus." Krios said and he walked inside the shower.

After freshening up, he went out and walked in the direction of the admin building direcy towards Headmistress Zelesters office.

"You're finally here." Professor Ashburn greeted him as he went inside the office.

"Good afternoon, Professor Ashburn, Headmistress Zelester." He greeted them and he sat on the sofa next to the Professor.

"So what's new?" He asked.

"I have asked around about the mysterious energy we detected previously, but I have not found anything with regards to that." She said.

"I have even contacted people from the free continent, but to no avail."

"The free continent? There is another continent aside from Keshvan?" Krios asked, as he was equally confused and surprised by the revelation.

"You didn't know about it?" Professor Ashburn asked him.

"Not really, I did not care to ask my father about the existence of another continent." He answered truthfully.

"In this world, there are six continents." Professor Ashburn explained.

"Six?!" Krios was now flabbergasted. The news of knowing another continent shocked him, but having to learn that there were four more completely blew his mind away.

"Yes six. Yiu know about this continent Keshvan, also known as the human continent. Then there's Elceres, the elven continent. Barbaros, the continent of barbarians, Anzelia the beast-men continent. The free continent where all the four races are free to live in amongst each other. Then the dark continent, of which no one is courageous enough to find out who or what lives there." He explained.

'Other continents, with different races? How could I have not known this?' He asked himself, regretting not asking anyone in his family about the world outside.

The world he was living in was indeed expansive.

"That's a lot to take in." He honestly said.

"That's alright, it might have not been common knowledge down south as contact betweet this part and there have been very limited to the important day to day matters." Professor Ashburn consoled him.

"Anyway, we're getting sidetracked here." Headmistress Zelester interjected.

"As what I've said, no one of my contacts knew, or have seen what we saw that night."

"Not until two days ago." She continued.

Krios and Professor Ashburn's eyes went wide with anticipation.

"Two days ago, a smaller academy was attacked in the same way and manner. The student was found tied to a tree the same exact way the our student was found."

"Unfortunately, the student died of blood loss as they were not able to close his wounds due to the same enrergy we have discovered."

Krios felt a little bit sad about the news. He could have helped, if only he knew.

"I have talked with the headmaster of the academy and cross-examined the facts, and they matched with what happened here in our campus."

"Like what happened here, they also have one student missing, and until now has not been found."

"Does that mean that this somehow a coordinated attack?" Professor Ashburn asked.

"We don't know. But we can't rule that out yet."

"This is bad. The school year only has a few months left before it ends and we still need to send the first year into the moon realm. Their safety cannot be compromised now." Professor Ashburn said.

"What's the Moon Realm? And why are we first year going to be sent there?" Krios asked.

"It's a spatial realm under the protection and ownership of the Kingdom of Hacier. The King has designated it as a training ground for all first year students of every academy in the kingdom." Headmistress Zelester explained.

'So it's like the spatial realm that the youth of my clan enters every two years.' He thought.

"What are we going to be doing there exactly?"

"It's a realm that contains treasures of great quality. First year Students from all the academy in the kingdom can train, fight, and battle with each other for those treasures. That also gives the. The necessary battle experience which can never be taught inside of a classroom." Professor Ashburn answered this time.

"When would this be?" Krios asked again.

"By the end of the schoom year in around two month's time. Once there, you'll be inside the realm for about three months or when the final challenge has been done, whatever it may be." The professor answered again.

'Atleast I now have a clear short term goal. I now have something to set my mind into to help me forget about the recent events.' He thought silently.

"How are we going to make sure that none of this would happen inside the Moon Realm?" Professor Ashburn asked the headmistress.

"We don't know. All I know is if it happened there, and these young ones survive, then it would be a great boost in their battle experience."

'She's right. Safety and comfort would only lead you to complacency. You need to face real danger from time to time to actually grow in this world.'

"We just have to have faith in these children. They are strong, and they are not going there on their own. They have each other." The headmistress said.

The Professor remained silent, contemplating about their current dilemma. He understood the sentiments of the Headmistress as he also believed in them. But he can't hide the fact that he feels strongly for the safety of his students.

But he also knew that postponing their entry to the moon realm could be detrimental to their progress, which he would never be able to accept.

'I guess we just need to have faith in them.' He thought.

"Which is why I need you to train harder, Krios." The Headmistress looked at him straight in the eyes.

"You're the only one who has the ability to control the power our enemy is using. And once the people behind this scheme learns of your ability, you'll have a target at your back."

"I need you to be strong enough to fight not just for others, but for your own safety. Because if my hunch is right about this being a single puzzle piece to a much grander scheme, an all out attack might happen sooner than we can expect."