Discovery

Krios did not know what to say at that moment. But he felt relieved that someone else knew about his closely guarded secret. He felt relieved by the fact that he had someone he can consult with and not just explore possibilities on his own.

"How do you know about it?" Krios asked the woman.

"The letter left to us by your predecessor left enough information for us to not be left in the dark." She answered.

Krios nodded

"Yes. I am talking about chaos energy. It was also the same energy that helped me fix my fractured core." Krios finally spoke

"It's also the reason behind my extremely tough mana core." He continued.

"Can you show it to me? That chaos energy I mean." Headmistress Zelester asked him.

"I don't know any art that can manifest it physcally. I can release it jusy like mana but you probably won't be able to see or feel it." Krios stated

Krios let out his hand and blue flames started to dance on top of his palm. Headmistress Zelester remained silent, focusing intently on Krios.

He infused some chaos energy on to his flame and it immediately started moving erratically. It was moving as if the flame was in a state of chaos— its blue color now slightly tinged with purple.

"But I can infuse a little bit of it to my flame to make it visible." He continued.

Headmistress Zelester's eyes sparkled with admiration. That simple display from Krios reignited the long lost sense of responsibility that she and her predecessors once had while in search for the so called one born of chaos.

"Fascinating." Headmistress Zelester mumbled.

"Very beautiful." She added.

Krios extinguished the flame and they both remained silent. Then a book suddenly appeared on Headmistress Zelester's left hand.

Krios looked at it intently and he noticed that it looked exactly like the boom he found at the chamber under the grotto.

"This is the boom the has been passed down from every headmaster of this academy." She placed it beside Krios.

"Everyone of us tried opening it. I myself did try, but like the rest of my peers, I failed. But now that I have found you, I know that you would be able to open it someday." She continued.

"Someday? I can't open it now?" Krios asked in confusion.

"I was able to open the first book immediately after I saw it. So why can't I open this one the same way?"

"We were told that this book has a cultivation requirement for it to open. You must be atleast at the late Mana Compression realm to do so. And of course, you must possess chaos energy, which I have confirmed that you do." She explained.

He pressed his hand on the crystal on the cover on the book and infused both mana and chaos energy into it. And like the other book he had, the crystal glowed white on the other half, and purple on the other. But unlike his other book, it did not glow brightly, and it did not snap open.

'Well, I guess this book would have to wait.' He then placed the boom inside his storage ring to be kept for later.

"Now that this matter is sorted out, I am now obliged to help you in any way I can to ensure that you reach your full potential." Headmistress spoke.

"Can you show me the flow of mana in your system?"

"Why?" Krios asked.

"I already know that you have an increably fast cultivation speed, but I want to know if your mana rotation is as efficient as it could be." She explained

Mana rotation is the in and out flow of mana inside the body. It pertains to the flow of mana when it is absorbed, and released into and out of the mana core.

Although confused, Krios obliged and let mana flow in and out of his mana core.

"You indeed have a very extraordinary ability of pushing out so much mana in such a short period of time." Headmistress Zelester said in awe.

Krios ended his demonstration and looked at the headmistress.

"But, your mana absorption fails to maych the rate of your mana release. Which can cause an imbalance than would lead to you drying up your mana core faster than normal."

"Unfortunately, this is the only mana rotation method I know. It's the only one taught to me by my father." He stated.

"That method would be perfect for someone who has a normal mana output. But not for you. I have inspected your mana core and it is sturdier and thicker than normal. Thus your the abnormal amounts of mana it can release."

Another book appeared on Headmistress Zelester's hand. It was a thin and small book, looking more like a personal journal.

She gave Krios the book.

"Study this one. It's a mana rotation method I have created myself. I call it mana equivalence."

Krios inspected the contents of the book and found steps on how to properly designate mana flows to maximize the absorption and release or mana to the point of near equilibrium.

"I created that method for myslef because just like you, I also have a mana core that's thicker than normal. But it's nowhere as thick as yours."

"Thank you so much for this Headmistress! This would be of great help for my cultivation." Krios exclaimed with gratitude.

"No need to thank me. As I have said earlier, it is my responsibility to help you grow into the strongest version if you. And I will be taking that responsibility seriously."

"Now, I still have a lot of things to attend to so I will be taking my leave. Be sure to study and learn that method as fast as you can. Them come to my office immediately after. You understand?" She said as she stood up.

"Yes headmistress Zelester."

"Good. It was nice finally meeting you, Blood of Chaos." Headmistress smiled knowingly and she walked out the room."

"Blood of Chaos." Krios muttered.

"That sounds nice and ominous at the same time." He said again.

'Now let's start learning this new mana rotation method Headmistress Zelester gave me.'

He started reading the boom in earnest, trying to soak in as much information as he can. After some time, he sat in a meditative position and started applying the theory in action.

The method teaches him how to utilize a route that no other mage or warrior utilizes. It uses a different set of mana veins, bypassing some of the other more common pathways.

After a couple of hours of practicing and memorizing l, Krios' mana core suddenly churned with increadible power.

'This method is so effective! Not only does it utilize my mana core strength, but also helps me balance the output and input of mana in my core!'

His mana output increased ever so slightly, which surprised him quite a bit as his mana output was already very high. But what surprised him the most was how much faster his core replenished the lost mana which was due to the new mana pathway. Now he would no longer be worried about emptying his mana core fast. And he would be able to last even longer during battles.

He was in a moment of discovery when the door to his room opened and Loras walked inside.

"Hi, I brought you some food." He said as he sat down.

"Where have you been?"

"Professor Ashburn told me to go and rest in our dorm and to just go back by dinner as someone would be talking to you."

'Ah, so it was all about Headmistress Zelester.'

"Who did you talk to then?" Loras asked.

"It was Headmistress Zelester." Krios answered honestly.

Loras' eyes went wide.

"Wow, you talked with the Headmistress? What did you two talk about?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing much, he just asked if I was alright. And asked about someone from my family the she said she knew."

"She probably was amazed by your performance during the tournamen." He said but he didn't answer.

The continued to talk about a lot of things while Krios was eating when he suddenly remebered something he was curious about.

"Hey Loras, how strong is Headmistress Zelester?" He asked.

"Hmm, as far as I know, she's one of the strongest in this Kingdom, second only the the king. And in the North-easter region, she's probably in the top ten." He answered.

'I'm just glad that someone that strong and influential became my benefactor this early in my journey.' He thought to himself.

"One more thing, why are there no sects of large clans of sorts in this region?" In the southwest where Krios came from, the land is divided and owned by different clans and sects. This sects have their own diciples and students which continous to study the different arts and crafts the sect or clan is known for.

"The northeast region, unlike the region you came from, only has two kingdoms — theKingdoms of Hacier and Aldecia. Due to this, all the clans and sects are under the rule of the king, and by respect, these groups will never grow into the size of clans and sects in your area." He explained.

"Well, that makes sense."

"And as a result, these two kingdoms put up magic academies to help raise students coming from these smaller clans and sects all across the region."

"How many academies are there then?"

"Between the two kingdoms, there are about four hundred magic academies, some of which focuses on bery niche and particular fields. Then there are three major academies, one of which is this academy were at. The other two are at the Kongdom of Aldecia."

"In terms of power which of the three would be the strongest?"

"It's hard to say because they are all technically equal to one another. But based on recent performance, The strongest would be the Historia Grand Magic Academy which is at the heart of the Kingdom of Aldecia. The second would be our academy, the Zelestria Academy. Then last would be the Halsenbay Academy which is at one of the largest city of Aldecia."

'Wow, this continent is way bigger than I thought.'