Preparation

Author's note: three chapters in one day, if you see errors please report

When he arrived at the orphanage, he came across Han.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Even the calm and expressionless old man couldn't hold back when he saw Kayden in the eighth realm. This was bizarre and inhuman.

"I had an epiphany, Dad." Kayden decided to go for a safer approach that wouldn't lead anyone to investigate his secrets.

"I see, congratulations, kid." The old man said in a dazed manner. He didn't remember epiphanies being common enough for a person to have them without fighting hard for them. And without a doubt, Kayden hasn't experienced anything traumatic in the last few days. Han was sure of it. He could feel the boy's aura and confidently say that Kayden was in top physical and mental condition.

After saying goodbye to Han, Kayden went to his room to consolidate his base.

Two days later, Kayden received a package in his name. Sitting on his bed, he analyzed the yellow-colored package. Unable to guess who could have sent it or what it was, he decided to open it.

Carefully, he used wind magic from a distance to cut the package and remove it. There was little care in this chaotic world. As soon as she opened a decent cut, a letter fell out of it.

"A gift from the army?" The letter was brief and congratulated Kayden on achieving a spectacular rank for his age. The question that arose in his mind was: why didn't he receive anything when he advanced to the seventh rank?

This was answered a little further down the letter. It was simply because ranking seventh at the age of nine was something excellent but common among geniuses. Ranking eighth at the age of nine was extremely rare.

Many would be happy with the gift, but Kayden didn't even see what it was while his mind was racing. He hadn't left or told anyone about his advance. This meant that the army was keeping a heavy watch on him.

With a shiver and a mental note, Kayden decided to be more careful not to accidentally reveal any of his secrets. The boy sighed and decided to put that aside for the moment.

Turning to the present, Kayden found himself in possession of a book titled "A Guide to Advancing Kingdoms." First, the boy was surprised. Afterward, he realized that his rapid advances had probably worried the army.

As soon as he started reading the book, he realized that it explained many points that the boy had to learn from the harsh experience of failure, especially in terms of mana manipulation.

The deeper he went, the more the boy felt that this wasn't just any book that anyone could have. Especially when it came to the part about advancing kingdoms. At that moment, many doubts were removed from his head.

As Kayden didn't have time to fully read the work at that moment, he was just quickly flipping through the pages and making mental notes about the various topics the book covered.

The next day, Kayden woke up early as usual and waited for his ride. Around noon, a black sedan car appeared on the horizon of the orphanage. Within seconds, he parked in front of the house.

A middle-aged man dressed in a black suit opened the door and looked around. As soon as his eyes met Kayden, he lit up and addressed the boy.

"You're Kayden, aren't you?" His tone was friendly. "I came to take you to the meeting point."

"I'm ready." Kayden had already left his suitcase with some clothes and some coins ready the night before.

"Mister Kayden, where is your guardian for the trip?" The man asked a question that caught Kayden off guard. He didn't know he needed to take someone with him. Nobody had warned him about this.

Before either of them could say anything, the door to the orphanage was opened, revealing a smiling Ryan walking out with a suitcase in his hand. Right behind him was Han watching everything.

"I asked Ryan to accompany you, Kayden." Not that it was a stretch for the boy, as he was given a few days off from college. When Heimer went, Han sent someone else from the orphanage in adulthood. In this world, an adult was someone who had already entered college, regardless of their age or rank. Kayden was happy about this little surprise. As Ryan entered college, they didn't see each other as often.

"Hello, Mister Han," the butler bowed in respect. "Kayden and Ryan, please follow me." After saying goodbye to the old man, Kayden got into the car and relaxed as he waited.

In the meantime, he talked to Ryan about the boy's academic life and discovered that he was doing very well and had already reached eighth rank. But his friend was embarrassed when he discovered that Kayden was also at that level.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a huge train system outside the city. This was the fastest and safest way to travel long distances, so Kayden wasn't surprised to see the huge station.

The butler took them to a very spacious private cabin. Inside, there were two beds and a sofa. Additionally, there was a minibar and a television. The environment exuded an air of elegance and luxury, with decor entirely in black and white.

After they got comfortable, Kayden picked up a small booklet that was on the couch. It contained all the recommendations for the championship. In it, Kayden discovered some more peculiar things.

The championship lasted four days, the first three only to reduce the number of participants to the top 25. One of the places was already guaranteed for the school that won last time.

The prizes were with great mage-level mana stones, which Kayden discovered was the second realm through the pamphlet. Each top ten winner could choose one with their favorite element.

But the grand prize went to first place, who won a third realm mana stone. The pamphlet did not mention the name of this kingdom. Kayden had already noticed this in his daily life.