School of Runes Infirmary – Dawn (Day 7)Ethan woke to white walls and the sharp tang of mana salves. His stump ached less than yesterday. The calf was gone, severed cleanly at the rot line by his own dagger under NEXUS guidance. New tissue had already regrown to the knee—pink, tender, but functional. He flexed the joint experimentally. It held.NEXUS. Status: Stable. Regeneration: 73%. Mana reserves: 89%.Two figures stood at the foot of his bed.Glan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his lazy genius posture as familiar as the Trial forest where they'd first met. Daina stood beside him, light-affinity blade sheathed at her hip, her expression a mix of relief and concern. They'd hunted the Level 1 wizard-beast together—her radiant strikes carving paths through Frost Wolf packs while Ethan's crossbow provided covering fire."You're alive," Glan said, voice flat but eyes sharp.Daina nodded. "You should be more careful, Ethan. Level 2 wizards don't duel for fun."Ethan pushed himself up on his elbows, the infirmary gown loose around his healing frame. "Glan. Daina. Didn't expect visitors."They talked for ten minutes.Glan shifted his weight, slouching deeper into the wall. "Heard the report. Van versus some Elements fire wizard. Mutual annihilation. You crawled 18 kilometers back here on one leg. Impressive. Stupid, but impressive.""Survival," Ethan said simply. No need to elaborate. NEXUS had pushed his body beyond normal limits, but they didn't need to know that.Daina paced three steps to the window, then back. Her voice was measured, professional. "Wilson—my master—couldn't care less about this war. He's above all the Level 3 wizards entirely. Stays secluded, out of Victor's squabbles. But the rest of us aren't so lucky. School of Elements keeps hitting supply lines. Victor's tripled guards everywhere. You got extremely lucky escaping that mess."Glan smirked. "Rest up. I want to steal your meditation method before you die."Daina rested a hand on his shoulder. "Heal fast, Ethan. We need fighters." The touch lingered a moment—Trial bond, forged in blood and Frost Wolf roars.They left. The door clicked shut behind them.NEXUS. Room clear. No scrying detected.
Day 11 – Discharge from Infirmary
Healers removed the final bandages. The knee was fully regrown, muscle firm beneath scarred skin. Ethan tested his weight. Solid."Good meditation method," the head healer noted, eyes narrowing slightly. "Wizard-caliber efficiency for an apprentice."Ethan dressed in fresh standard robes. His crossbow and dagger were returned, cleaned and sharpened. He slung the crossbow across his back out of habit.First priority: hide the Void Ring and magic stones. 102,000 stones and a spatial artifact represented more wealth than most Level 2 wizards accumulated in decades. They couldn't stay in his quarters.Empty Alchemy Wing – 10:23 AMThe war-damaged sector was perfect—blackened walls from an Elements raid two months prior, abandoned and forgotten. No patrols ventured this deep into the ruins.Third sublevel. A fallen statue of some long-dead archmage lay toppled against the wall. Beneath its pedestal, a loose flagstone shifted under Ethan's boot.NEXUS. Coordinates locked. Optimal cache location.He removed the Void Ring from his finger. The black void-iron band felt cold as it slipped off, revealing the 51 cubic meter dimensional pocket now filled with glittering magic stones. He transferred the entire satchel's contents—102,000 stones exactly—into the ring's storage space.The ring went into the stone cavity. Ethan poured mana into a [[SPATIAL LOCK]] ward, binding it to his personal signature only. No Level 2 peer could break it. Level 3 might take hours. Perfect.He replaced the flagstone, scuffed dust over it, and walked back to his assigned apprentice quarters before curfew sweeps began.
Ethan's Room – Night (Day 11)
Mana churned at the Level 1 wizard apprentice limit. The threshold trembled under pressure.He locked the door, activated the privacy crystal, and sealed the windows with basic wards. No interruptions.Cross-legged on the floor, Ethan began the breathing cycle. NEXUS guided the optimization in real-time.NEXUS. Ready. Breakthrough probability: 96%.Hours passed. The room grew warm from mana density.Mana thickened in his meridians, flowing like molten silver. Body channels expanded, burning at the edges. His core pulsed brighter, hotter.The threshold shattered.Level 2 Wizard Apprentice achieved.Mana reserves tripled instantly. [[SHADOW STEP]] range extended to 25 meters. [[DIMENSIONAL SHIFT]] cooldown dropped to 8 seconds. Spatial affinity sharpened—distances in the room felt fluid, walls permeable to his awareness.Someone knocked on the door.
Apprentice Barracks – Morning (Day 12)
Word spread through the apprentice barracks like wildfire."Level 2 apprentice? That fast after near-death?""Wizard-level meditation method. Not normal apprentice training."Other apprentices gathered in clusters, whispering. A few shot Ethan sidelong glances as he emerged from his room.The wizards ignored it completely. They had no interest in apprentice breakthroughs.Glan walked by later, hands in pockets. "Earth method." He said it quiet, for Ethan's ears only.People watched Ethan more closely now. The necklace at his throat—Yama's gift—continued hiding his otherworldly origin. No one suspected the truth.War EscalationAlarms became daily routine. Crimson klaxons blared at random hours. Explosions rattled the mountain foundations. Teleportation flares lit the night sky like false stars.School of Elements attacked relentlessly. They wanted Victor's pendant around his neck. No one called it a beacon aloud.
Day 14 – The Message
Meditation in his room stopped abruptly. The stolen crystal vibrated in its hidden pocket.Ethan activated it silently.Wello's voice came through, strained and quiet. "Crow. Attack tonight. Victor's chambers. Using your map exactly. Hide. Lockdown comes fast."The crystal went silent.Ethan exhaled slowly. The map had been perfect. Wello's team would follow it to the centimeter.
Night – Near Victor's Chambers
Anti-scrying wards blanketed the sector. Triple guards patrolled in silence. Darkness pressed thick against the stone corridors.Ethan moved through back hallways from the map he'd sold. Level 2 spatial sense let him evade detection effortlessly. No footstep echoed. No ward pinged.He took position 35 meters from Victor's private door, behind a concrete pillar in a shadowed alcove.NEXUS. Full surveillance active. 900-meter radius.Hour 1: Alarms screamed in Sector 4 and Sector 11. Fake attacks. Guards scrambled, splitting patrols thin.Hour 2: Silence fell. Unnatural quiet. Tension built.Hour 3: Movement in the maintenance tunnels.NEXUS. Ten fighters confirmed. Two Level 2 wizards among them. Wello leading.Ethan stayed perfectly still. Crossbow loaded across his lap. Dagger loose in its sheath.Wello's group moved with surgical precision through the tunnels. They used Ethan's map exactly—past ward timing gaps to the second, avoiding pressure plates, threading the needle through detection fields.They reached the storage room door adjacent to Victor's chambers. Mechanical lock only, as the map specified. No magical wards.The lock pick clicked. Door opened silently. They filed inside.Alarms triggered.Red emergency lights flashed on. Steel blast doors slammed shut throughout the sector. Mana barriers hummed to life, sealing corridors."INTRUDERS! VICTOR'S SECTOR!"