After lunch, Roderic gave me ten pieces of copper and told me he had some business to attend to and that I could do whatever I liked for the rest of the day. Being left in the house alone, the conversation that we just had kept resurfacing.
"I need to get stronger."
And Crownspire Academy is my best chance, but I need both the commander's and Lady Liora's recommendations. Grabbing my wooden sword and bag, I headed out the door and into the street. Making my way through the village and towards the medical center, I fidgeted with the sword slightly.
Once I arrived, I rushed through the door to see a full room of people waiting in line to talk to Kayla, who sat behind her desk. Sighing, I got into the back of the long line and waited. In front of me was a bulky man with a wooden crutch; after a few moments, a tall, skinny man got behind me in the line. Sighing, I continued to wait. The line moved very slowly, and it seemed that most people who ended up talking to Kayla either left or sat in an assigned chair.
After only moving slightly, I began to tap my feet, frustrated. From behind me, the skinny man coughed, and I could feel the back of my neck being covered by his saliva. Shivering slightly, I stepped closer to the man in front of me. My eyes wandered the room, watching as sickness engulfed it. I closed my eyes, wishing for the line to move quicker. After what felt like forever, I had finally reached the front.
"Luna? What's the matter? Are you sick?" Kayla asked, surprised by my appearance.
"Um, no, he is, though," I responded while secretly pointing to the man behind me.
"Haha, I see, then why are you here? Your next lesson isn't for another few days or so."
"Well, that's the thing, I'd like to talk to Lady Liora."
Her shoulders slumped. "Well, at least you're not sick, but Lady Liora is not here today; it's her day off. That's why we are so swamped."
I stared at her, pain filling my eyes. Then why did I wait in line and get coughed on for an hour?!
Sighing, I spoke. "Then where is she?"
"Well, if I were to guess, at her house?"
I was about to speak, but then a voice rang out from behind me.
"Can you... sniff... hurry... sniff... up!" the tall, skinny man shouted.
"I'm sorry, I'm almost done." I gave him a slight bow.
"You... cough... better be!"
Turning back to Kayla, I spoke. "Where does she live?"
Kayla looked at me and then at a piece of paper. "If she asks, Matt told you," she said before writing down something and handing it to me.
Taking it, I smiled and walked towards the exit.
"Thank... sniff... God."
Exiting the medical center, I looked at the piece of paper, which contained a street name and number. Looking at it and then at the medical center, I swore. "Fuck! I don't know where this is!"
After an hour of dead ends and wrong homes, I finally made it to Liora's door after a young girl led me there. Taking a deep breath, I knocked.
Bang... bang... bang
A minute went by, but there was no answer. I knocked again.
Bang... bang... bang
Still no answer, I decided to look through the window. Inside, the house was well furnished, and the lanterns were lit.
Lady Liora wouldn't forget to extinguish her lanterns, so that means she is home.
Sighing, I banged on her door once again, only to receive no response.
Is she ignoring me?!
Sighing, I took a seat on the steps of her house, hoping to catch her when she inevitably came to see who was at the door.
After around five minutes, with my feet planted on the wooden step, I picked up some faint vibrations with Earthen Sense as someone got closer to the door. Turning around and standing up, I prepared myself. I heard the lock turn and the latch be removed. It slowly opened, and a face appeared in the frame. It was Liora.
As we made eye contact, her expression froze. "Lu-Luna, what a surprise!" she said, her voice unusually high. "What brings you here?"
My eyes met hers. Even though I could only see her face, I noticed how dishevelled she looked and how strangely she was acting. She seemed oddly out of breath for someone who had been home all day.
"I was just trying to talk to you about Crownspire Academy."
Her expression faltered slightly before returning to normal.
"I see... Give me a second," She said, closing the door quickly.
I heard rustling behind the door; her vibrations drifted away for a moment, but then suddenly another set of vibrations appeared. I heard faint whispers, then detected the second pair of vibrations leave her home through the back door and disappear down the alley.
She wasn't alone... Who was that?
I wondered for a moment. I know those vibrations; where have I felt them before? Thinking for a while, but coming to no realization, I decided to leave it alone. A minute later, Liora opened the door again. Her hair was now straight, and her face calm. She wore a beautiful outfit, but underneath her calmness, I could tell that she was slightly anxious.
"Good afternoon, Luna. You would like to talk about Crownspire Academy?" she asked while welcoming me in.
I looked at her suspiciously... "Yes, please."
She brought me to her living room and directed me to sit down. "Tea?" she asked.
Taking a seat, I sank into her couch, the softness almost absorbing me. Feeling comfy, I nodded.
She smiled before leaving me alone and going into another room.
My eyes darted across the room; it was truly different from the commander's home. The walls were painted bright colours and covered in many different paintings. Her furniture was amazing, so elegant and prestigious. I ran my hand across the cushion, my fingers sinking into its ridiculous softness. So comfy...I sighed. My eyes continued to wander until they fell upon something strange.
On Lady Liora's bright white carpet was a faded red stain that looked as though someone had recently tried to wipe it away. Frustrated, I escaped the couch's soft grasp on me and walked towards the stain. Bending down, I examined it; I sniffed.
"Fruity," I said aloud. My eyes were now level with the stain, and from where I was, a small glisten caught my eye. Turning my head, I saw a piece of glass beneath the couch. Grabbing the piece of glass, I stood up. In front of me, right next to the stain, was a small table with an empty wine glass on top of it.
The wine glass sat on a coaster. Beside it was another coaster—with no glass.
I looked down at the shard in my hand.
Interesting...
I walked back to the couch and sat down. After another minute, Lady Liora returned, holding two cups of tea. Handing them to me, I sipped slowly, waiting for her to sit.
As she plopped into a cushioned chair across from me, I opened my mouth. "Did you have company?" I asked while pointing at the stain in her carpet.
Her eyes widened for a second before returning to normal. Smiling an unusually large smile, she spoke. "No. Clumsy me had too much to drink last night."
Sure... then why was it still wet?! Liar!
"Alright, it happens, I guess!" I laughed slightly. "Well, anyway, I came to ask you for a recommendation"
"Recommendation?" she responded.
"Yes. Roderic told me that you both attended Crownspire Academy," I said, placing my teacup on an empty coaster. "And he said that he would recommend me if I earn it, and that I'd have to earn yours too."
"Did he now..." She sipped her tea. "Explain to me right now why I should recommend you?"
My heart rate accelerated. "Well... because I want to learn more things and grow stronger."
"Everyone who wants to go to an academy wants to learn and grow stronger." She placed down her cup. "So explain to me what makes you different. Tell me your real reason why you want to go to an academy."
My expression froze, my hands squeezing the couch cushion tightly. "I want to go to an academy to become more powerful..." I said, looking at her. She opened her mouth to respond, but I continued before she could. "I want to become more powerful so that I can protect everyone who means something to me!" I shouted.
She shifted in her seat slightly before speaking. "And what makes you think that you can actually become that powerful?"
The demon system popped up in front of me for a moment. "I know I can."
"How can you know? You have just started to learn how to use a sword. You can't cast magic. Luna, be realistic; you still don't know the majority of basic life things."
My head tilted down.
"But that doesn't mean I'm saying no. I'm saying that you have to prove yourself to me. And unlike Roderic, I don't care just about power; I want you to prove to me that you can navigate the world on your own."
I raised my head, my chest pumping. "I will, don't worry."
"Good. Now, is there anything?"
I grabbed the cup once again. "What is essence?"
"Essence, why do you want to know what essence is?"
"The commander brought it up when talking about dungeons, but he didn't know exactly how to explain it."
"Oh, well, I guess he didn't take Dungeon Studies," she said, grabbing her cup again. "Simply, essence is the fundamental energy contained within every living thing."
She pointed at herself. "Each thing has its own essence that is moulded to itself. For me, my essence has traces of my race, magic, skills and strength. For you, it will be mostly different," she sipped slowly. "Some things, including dungeons, absorb essence to grow more powerful."
"Alright, thank you," I bowed my head slightly. "What was the most terrifying monster you've heard of that appeared inside a dungeon? Roderic already told me about the ice dragon and a lich."
"Most terrifying monster inside a dungeon?" She thought for a moment, tapping her finger against her cup. "Probably a Labyrinth Mimic."
"Labyrinth Mimic?" I questioned.
"A rare high-level evolution for a mimic..." She stopped tapping her cup. "I learnt about it in class one day. In a remote region of Elarion, the sixty-eighth floor of the dungeon was an unusual labyrinth."
"What do you mean by unusual?"
"It was like every other labyrinth, except its layout changed every day. It was almost as though the floor itself was moving," she said, grabbing her cup. "In the end, it was discovered to be a level sixty-nine Labyrinth Mimic, which was actually the entire sixty-eighth floor. The chests, doors, walls, everything was a part of the mimic."
She sighed, "It would continuously alter its own passages, separating and exhausting anyone trapped inside until they could no longer escape."
Liora smiled slightly. "That's why Dungeon Studies teaches you something Roderic probably didn't mention. The strongest monster isn't always the most dangerous one."
She finished the last sip of her tea. "Luna, you don't know about evolutions, do you?"
I shook my head.
"Well, I guess I can give you a mini lesson." She said.
"First, every race becomes capable of evolving at certain level milestones. Level ten is the first. But reaching the required level doesn't guarantee an evolution; the creature's essence also needs to have developed enough."
I nodded, leaning in slightly. "What happens if their essence isn't developed enough?"
"Then they won't evolve, not right away at least, but the instant their essence has developed sufficiently, then they can."
I leaned back, pondering the question.
I wonder if I'll be developed enough...
"There are many things that can influence what a creature evolves into—its environment, abilities, affinity, what it eats, even how it lives. Take a wolf, for example. If one spent most of its life growing stronger in the Frostreach, reaching Level Ten there could make a Frost Wolf evolution much more likely."
"Alright... That makes sense."
"And a creature can evolve multiple times throughout its life. New evolution milestones appear every ten levels—ten, twenty, thirty, and so on."
So the Labyrinth Mimic was that close to evolving...
"Evolution paths aren't set either. Two creatures could start as the same race and reach the same level, yet evolve completely differently."
She stood up.
"That's all. But wait here, I need to grab something."
I did as she said, waiting on the couch.
I wonder what my evolution will be? Maybe something to do with my class? I hope it doesn't change my appearance to be more demon-like. That would be really bad...
An image of Orobas popped into my mind. Pure red skin. Black eyes. Horns. Bone wings.
I think he claimed to be a Demon King.
Sighing, I finished my tea and sank into the couch.
After a few minutes, Liora returned carrying a clear crystal sphere about the size of my head.
"What is that?" I asked as she carefully placed it on the table.
"An affinity sphere."
My eyes widened.
"It's time to see if you have a magical affinity."