*The special magical herb*

Axel hadn't noticed earlier that Kevin was really cute; his green eyes shone like emeralds, and his red lips were very tempting. He coughed to regain his composure and motioned for Kevin to help himself to the food on the tray he had brought back, which was full of different dishes.

He then said, remembering what he had just said, and almost feeling hurt in his pride as a man, "No matter how powerful these people are, no one will ever be able to force me to date someone I didn't choose."

Kevin, who already appreciated Axel, respected him even more after this confession. He decided to say something to appease him: "I didn't intend to start a fight, and it was her who provoked me first with that murderous glare. I had already guessed that you couldn't be interested in this kind of woman."

Axel found it strange; usually, all the men inside the sect fought to get her attention. After all, it was true that she was very beautiful. It was just that her personality was the opposite of her pretty looks, and she represented everything he hated the most.

He asked Kevin curiously, "What do you mean by 'this kind of woman'?"

Kevin, who was about to taste another dish, replied nonchalantly, "I mean a spoiled child: selfish, narcissistic, who gets angry easily, with an obvious sense of superiority even though she doesn't seem very talented... If you loved this kind of woman, I would have been really disappointed."

Axel couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing, which got everyone's attention again. Then a familiar voice said, "Hey, it's you, Kevin! Hi, Axel!"

Kevin turned toward the source of the voice and said, "Hi, Alan! I was looking for you. Do you want to join us?"

Suddenly, a dead silence fell around them, but Alan ignored everyone and replied with a smile, "With pleasure! How did the two of you meet?"

Alan sat down next to Kevin, and Axel told him how they had met. He also urged Alan to get some food before there was nothing left.

Alan got up immediately and said, "Oh yeah, that's right! Crap, I'm going."

When Alan was gone, Axel also got up and sat next to Kevin. He told him, seeing Kevin's surprised expression, "It will be easier to share our meal since I brought only one tray."

Kevin found his behavior strange. If Axel had been his boyfriend, he would have understood that he wanted to mark his territory, but they barely knew each other, so he couldn't be that right, could he?

As Axel seemed to be someone honest, Kevin decided to accept this explanation and continued to taste every dish on the tray without thinking too much about it.

When Alan returned with his meal tray, the scene he saw shocked him a bit. Axel was a loner and rarely mingled with others. That didn't stop him from having a lot of fans, but he never seemed to care for anyone, be it girls or boys.

But seeing that he had intentionally changed chairs to be closer to Kevin and that they were sharing dishes from the same tray was truly unexpected.

And what about the behavior of this new boy? Yesterday, Kevin, although polite, had kept his distance from him, but now he seemed quite natural and at ease with Axel.

Alan decided to join them and sit down to find out more. When their attention turned to him, he asked Kevin curiously, "So Kevin, why were you looking for me? Did you need any help?"

Kevin then asked Alan what he wanted to know about meditation, and Alan really didn't expect that Kevin would have already looked through his books and would want to learn more about meditation.

Fortunately, Alan had what was needed in his magic bag. He took out a very special magical herb that allowed mages to open their minds and capture the spiritual energy around them.

He handed it to Kevin, who accepted it without hesitation. Then Alan began to explain: "This magical herb will allow you to open your mind and feel the spiritual energy around you. The main goal of meditation is quite simple: in the spiritual energy that surrounds us, you will have to absorb particles of the different elements. They will have the same color as what you saw in the crystal ball. The more particles you absorb, the more likely your soul force will increase, and after some time, you will be able to use those particles to launch spells. However, I must warn you that it's a process that takes time, but the more you practice meditation, the easier it will become."

Kevin looked at the magical herb Alan had just given him and asked, "Are you really giving it to me for free?"

Alan just nodded, and a dazzling smile appeared on Kevin's face. He asked again excitedly, "Can I eat it now?"

Alan and Axel laughed together at Kevin's reaction, and Alan told him that he could take it now, but he would have to wait at least 4 hours before trying to do his first meditation.

Kevin let them laugh and smiled; after all, if he were in their shoes, he would have found it amusing too. So he ate the magical herb, but he didn't feel any noticeable change. Thanks to Alan, in only a few hours, he would try to do his first meditation.

While they ate, Alan gave him some more tips on meditation, and they talked about their origins. Kevin then understood why he felt so close to Axel; he was an orphan too and had to work hard to be where he was.

As for Alan, he came from a wealthy family, but it was a family of fighters. Being the only mage in this family, he had been called a freak and was completely excluded from their family.

Kevin decided to use his Perception skill on Alan, even though he already suspected the outcome.

[ STATS ]

Name: ALAN

Race: Human

Level: ???

Class: Mage

And indeed, he hadn't learned anything new.

Kevin found Alan's family behavior to be really shameful, and he told him so. For him, a family was meant to be tightly knit and support each other, no matter what happened, right?

Alan laughed when he saw Kevin's outraged look and confessed that since then, the Sun Sect had become his real family. He even had a boyfriend who was now entering his fourth year as a fighter.