A few years have passed, and both Arthur and Tessia have been training rigorously under Virian’s instruction. Their bond has deepened during this time, though Tessia’s naturally competitive spirit keeps things intense between them. After pushing herself hard in training, Tessia is exhausted and takes a break, giving Virian a chance to give Liam a lesson about magic.
Virian explains that once someone stabilizes their mana core, they can begin using elemental magic—water, fire, wind, and earth. However, affinity to these elements varies by race: elves excel at wind and have strong aptitude for water and earth, but struggle with fire. Dwarves are strong with fire and earth, but weaker in wind and water. Humans, uniquely, can use all four, although individual affinities still vary.
Tessia then asks why Arthur hasn’t started training with his mana core if it’s so crucial. Virian answers that Arthur’s current problem is due to the beast will inside his body—it grants great power, but it’s also causing instability between his flesh and mana, resulting in chest pain. Until Arthur reassimilates his mana core, training with mana could be dangerous.
Tessia jokes that she must be stronger than Arthur for now, since she can use mana in her attacks. Arthur fires back that it’s not a fair comparison. Among elves, awakening mana before the age of 10 is rare, but Tessia awakened hers at 9, allowing her to train alongside Arthur ever since.
Virian then tells Arthur it’s time to awaken his beast will—a risky but necessary step. If successful, it should stop the pain in his chest and mark him as an official beast tamer. Arthur agrees, and the procedure begins. But it goes violently wrong—Arthur screams in pain and releases a huge surge of energy that blasts Virian and Tessia away. Though the awakening is technically successful, the strain causes Arthur to pass out immediately.
They take him back to the castle to recover. When Arthur finally wakes up, Virian is at his bedside and asks how he feels. Arthur says he’s okay, so Virian presses further—was there anything unusual about the beast will? Arthur hesitates but finally tells him the truth: the will came from a dragon, specifically Sylvia.
Virian is stunned—dragon wills are incredibly rare and powerful, and it explains Arthur’s extreme reaction. Virian warns him to tell no one, as even mentioning that he possesses a dragon will could bring dangerous attention.
Virian also informs Arthur that, in four months, he’s scheduled to return home. Arthur is confused—he thought he had two more years before the next inter-kingdom meeting, but apparently a cultural exchange event has moved up the timeline. This means the portals to Xyrus City will open much sooner than expected.
Arthur asks if Tessia knows yet, concerned she’ll be upset. Virian says the king and queen are informing her now.
That night, Arthur lies in bed, thinking about his departure while holding the egg Sylvia gave him. Then, the egg begins to crack—a baby dragon hatches. Arthur is surprised, but it seems cute and harmless, so he picks it up—until it suddenly bites his arm.
Arthur yelps in pain and drops the dragon, but when he looks at his arm, instead of ordinary bite marks, he sees a crest forming. This crest is a magical link between Arthur and the dragon—it allows him to sense its thoughts, even if he can’t fully understand them yet.
Arthur decides to name the baby dragon Sylvie, in honor of her mother, Sylvia. After settling back to sleep with Sylvie curled beside him, a few hours later, Tessia walks into his room, intending to talk about Arthur’s upcoming departure in four months. But when she lifts the covers and sees Sylvie next to him, all thoughts of the serious conversation vanish—she’s completely taken by the cuteness of the baby dragon.
Startled awake, Arthur initially panics but quickly realizes Tessia is just obsessed with Sylvie. He groans and goes back to sleep, leaving Tessia fussing over the dragon.
Later that day, Arthur and Tessia head to the training grounds. Tessia tries her best to win Sylvie over, but Sylvie, still a bit traumatized from earlier cuddles, avoids her. When Virian sees Sylvie perched on Arthur’s head, he’s stunned—he never thought he’d see a dragon in real life. Arthur explains that Sylvie hatched as a result of the beast will awakening, and while he worries her presence could cause issues, Virian assures him that dragons are considered mythical, and no one would believe Sylvie is one. Just claim she’s an exotic beast, and people will accept it.
Then, Virian announces it’s time for training. Now that Arthur’s beast will is awakened, he needs to train both his beast core and mana core—the most effective way being through real-life combat. To demonstrate what a beast will can do, Virian transforms into his beast form: a shadow panther, which grants him the ability to control wind and eliminate all sound from his movements.
Arthur can’t even track Virian’s presence and gives up almost immediately. Virian appears behind him, amused. While the ability is powerful, it’s extremely mana-intensive, so he never meant to fight seriously. He was just showing Arthur the potential of beast wills.
With that, Arthur’s real training begins—with a sword. Over the next few days, Arthur rapidly improves. The chest pain has vanished, and his body is toughened enough to keep up with Virian’s shadow form. Outside of training, Arthur spends time playing with Tessia like a normal child.
One day, while Arthur and Tessia are out on a date, Arthur bumps into a boy—Ferith. Arthur doesn’t recognize him, but Ferith, insulted, demands a rematch. The duel is over in a flash—Ferith is face-down in the dirt. Still confused, Arthur is reminded by Tessia that Ferith was the boy who challenged him to a duel years ago. Arthur remembers the fight fondly and offers Ferith a hand, who accepts, giving up on further challenges.
Arthur asks if Ferith will be joining the upcoming cultural exchange, and Ferith says yes, bragging that he was chosen for his talent—though in truth, all noble children were invited. Arthur asks if Tessia will be going too, but apparently not. The royal family doesn’t want to risk their “helpless princess” being kidnapped again.
Tessia punches Ferith in the face so hard he’s knocked out cold. Arthur quickly grabs her and runs away before a crowd can gather. Once they’re safe, he scolds her—reminding her she can’t go around punching people, especially as a princess. Tessia, upset and defensive, calls him an old man and runs off crying.
That night, still in tears, Tessia is surprised when Arthur climbs up to her window. He invites her for a walk in the forest, hoping to cheer her up. As they walk, Tessia asks if it’s safe. Arthur reassures her—if trouble appears, they’re strong enough to escape. The view of the night sky is worth it.
As they sit by a campfire, Tessia starts to doze off, trying hard to stay awake because she knows this may be the last quiet moment they share. She pretends she’s cold (not scared of ghosts, she insists) and asks Arthur to tell her about the human kingdom. He admits he doesn’t know much since he’s never been there. She says she wishes he could stay forever, and Arthur says he would if he could—but that would mean never seeing his family again. Before they can talk more, she falls asleep beside him.
Finally, the day of Arthur’s departure arrives. Before he leaves, Virian gives him a gift—a magical compass that will guide him back to the elf kingdom if he ever wants to return. Arthur is grateful but notices Tessia is missing. Virian explains she couldn’t bring herself to watch him leave.
Just as the portal opens, Arthur hears Tessia call his name. She runs toward him but falls halfway, and Arthur rushes to help her up. She rambles emotionally, warning him to take care of himself or she’ll never forgive him. Understanding how much she truly cares, Arthur pulls her into one last hug, quietly telling her that he’s going to miss her a lot.
Leave a Reply