WILDERNESS

  Ethan collapsed onto his bed, exhaustion seeping into every muscle. The long day—the market, the theater, the laughter—had drained him in a way that felt different from battle. It was a good kind of exhaustion, the kind that made the bed feel impossibly soft, the kind that made sleep come instantly.

  And as soon as his consciousness drifted, he was pulled into the dreamworld.

  The shift was seamless—one moment, he was in his dorm, and the next, he was standing beneath an endless sky filled with swirling galaxies.

  A warm wind brushed past him, carrying whispers of ancient knowledge.

  Then, he saw her.

  Sophia.

  She stood atop a platform of light, her white robes flowing like cosmic mist. Her silver eyes—so much like his own, yet infinitely older—watched him with quiet pride.

  “You did well,” she said, her voice both gentle and commanding. “The first essence has been retrieved.”

  Ethan took a step forward, his mind racing. “What exactly happened back there? When I absorbed it—why did it go into my chest?”

  Sophia’s expression didn’t change. She regarded him for a moment, as if weighing how much to tell him.

  Then, she smiled faintly.

  “Time will answer your questions.”

  Ethan’s brows furrowed. “You always do this. Just give me a straight answer.”

  Sophia chuckled. “And ruin the journey? You already know that’s not how this works, little brother.”

  He sighed, knowing he wouldn’t get more out of her.

  “Fine.”

  Sophia stepped closer, raising a hand. A gentle pulse of energy passed through Ethan, filling him with warmth.

  “There will be more trials ahead. Trust yourself, Ethan. And trust the fire within you.”

  Before he could say anything else, the dream began to fade.

  His sister’s form drifted into golden light as the world dissolved around him, pulling him back into the waking realm.

  Ethan woke up feeling rested, but frustrated.

  “Time will answer my questions,” he muttered under his breath, rubbing his temples. “Yeah, sure.”

  Before he could dwell on it, Orion groaned from the other bed.

  “Why are we up this early again?” Orion complained, rolling over.

  Ethan glanced at the Academy schedule pinned to the wall.

  “Because today, we’re going to the wilderness.”

  Orion groaned even louder. “Ugh. Can’t we just learn about nature in books?”

  Ethan smirked. “You’d be a terrible hunter.”

  Hours later, the students of the Academy of Stars stood at the edge of a vast wilderness, their instructors leading them into the untamed land beyond the Academy walls.

  Their teacher for the lesson, Master Orlan, was an older man, his frame lean but strong, his weathered features speaking of decades spent in the wild.

  He turned to the gathered students, his sharp eyes scanning the group.

  “Magic is not just about battles or grand displays of power,” he began. “Survival is its own kind of mastery. Today, you will learn how to use your abilities to adapt, to craft, and to sustain yourselves in the wild.”

  He gestured toward the towering trees, the flowing river in the distance, the open sky above.

  “Out here, nature does not care if you are a noble or commoner. The only thing that matters is how well you can use your gifts.”

  He snapped his fingers, and a wooden branch flew into his hand from a nearby tree.

  With a flick of his wrist, he ran his aura through it.

  The students watched as the branch twisted, hardened, and reshaped itself—forming a smooth, polished spear.

  “Your first task,” Master Orlan continued, “is to craft a weapon from what nature provides. No premade blades, no enchanted tools. Just raw materials and your own ingenuity.”

  The students dispersed, searching for suitable materials.

  Ethan knelt by a tree, running his hands over its bark. He activated his Virgo aura, letting his vision shift.

  Immediately, he saw the “code” of the wood—lines of energy flowing like data streams. He studied its structure, searching for ways to reinforce it.

  “If I rewrite the density and composition…”

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  He focused, altering the internal properties of the wood, compressing its fibers until they became as strong as iron.

  Within moments, Ethan held a sleek wooden staff, its surface smooth and nearly unbreakable.

  Orion, standing nearby, held up a twig with a dead leaf attached to it. “…I don’t think this is gonna work.”

  Lysandra, ever composed, had already fashioned a thin, rapier-like weapon from a vine, reinforced to be both flexible and deadly.

  Callan, meticulous as always, took his time studying a stone before carefully inscribing symbols onto it, embedding Virgo scripts to give it an enhanced cutting edge.

  One by one, the students completed their weapons, each using their own interpretations of alchemy and enhancement.

  Master Orlan surveyed their work with a nod of approval.

  “Good. But weapons alone will not keep you alive.”

  ?Adapting to the Environment – Hunting & Gathering

  The next phase of the lesson took place beside a glistening river, its waters shimmering under the afternoon sun. The sound of flowing currents mixed with the rustling leaves, creating a serene yet lively atmosphere. The Virgo students gathered at the edge, awaiting their next challenge.

  Master Orlan stepped forward, holding nothing but a thin stick and a long blade of grass.

  “Survival is more than just crafting weapons,” he said, his voice calm yet firm. “A warrior without food is a dead warrior. Today, you will learn how to hunt and gather using your aura and intelligence.”

  With a flick of his wrist, he twisted the blade of grass, wrapping it tightly around the stick, shaping it into a simple yet functional fishing rod.

  But the real demonstration was just beginning.

  Master Orlan gently dipped the rod into the water, his aura extending from his hands into the improvised tool.

  Suddenly, the rod moved on its own, twitching and adjusting as if it were alive. The students watched in awe as the stick’s tip seemed to sense the motion of the fish below, darting and shifting with the current.

  Then, with a quick flick—he pulled, and a fish emerged from the water, flailing in the air before landing on the riverbank.

  The students murmured in amazement.

  Master Orlan smiled slightly. “Now, it’s your turn. Make your own fishing rods, and catch your own food. But remember—it’s not just about construction. You must extend your aura into the tool, let it become an extension of yourself. Feel the water. Feel the movement beneath it.”

  The students spread out along the riverbank, gathering materials—thin branches, long blades of grass, and small twigs. Each of them worked at their own pace, focusing on constructing their own fishing rods as they infused them with aura.

  Ethan quickly shaped his rod, reinforcing the fibers of the grass rope with his Virgo aura to make it more durable.

  Orion, seated nearby, had a more confident approach. He twisted the grass around his rod with ease and tested its weight in his hands.

  “Alright, let’s see how this works,” he muttered, dipping his rod into the water. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, focusing his aura along the length of the rod, letting it become a part of him.

  The water beneath him rippled.

  Then—a sudden tug.

  Orion reacted immediately, his hands snapping upward in a controlled motion.

  A fish burst from the river, flailing wildly as Orion expertly caught it in a net of enhanced grass he had woven beforehand.

  “Ha! Got one!” Orion grinned, holding up his catch.

  A few students nearby glanced over, impressed.

  Callan nodded approvingly. “Not bad. You actually listened to the instructions.”

  “Of course I did! I’m not just a pretty face, you know.” Orion smirked as he dropped the fish into a basket.

  Other students continued attempting the exercise.

  Among them was Felix Aldren, a wiry boy with sharp eyes and messy brown hair. He was one of the more technically inclined students, but his enthusiasm often outpaced his skill.

  Felix’s fishing rod twitched—then jerked violently.

  Excitement flashed across his face as he yanked hard, expecting a large fish.

  Instead—a rusted, ancient-looking hilt of a broken dagger flew out of the water, dripping with moss and tangled in river weeds.

  There was a moment of silence.

  Then Orion burst into laughter.

  “Nice catch, Felix! Looks like you’ve unlocked the legendary artifact of the river!”

  Felix groaned, holding up the broken piece of metal. “Oh, come on.”

  Lysandra smirked, arms crossed. “Maybe next time, try fishing for something still alive?”

  Even Master Orlan let out a quiet chuckle. “The river gives what it will. Try again, Aldren. This time, with patience.”

  As the laughter died down, another student, Marianne Faelis, a composed girl with dark green eyes and auburn hair, successfully caught a fish of her own. Unlike the others, her method was precise—her rod barely twitched before she lifted it effortlessly, pulling a gleaming silver fish from the water with grace.

  She looked at it with a satisfied nod before placing it into the collection basket.

  One by one, more students succeeded, their rods moving with increasing precision. Some took longer than others, but by the end, everyone had at least one catch—except Felix, who was still shaking his head at his unlucky pull.

  The atmosphere settled into camaraderie, as the students exchanged remarks and encouragement, their confidence in survival techniques growing.

  ?Stealth Training – Cloak of Invisibility

  As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the forest, Master Orlan gathered the students in a small clearing surrounded by towering trees. The air was still, the distant chirping of birds fading as anticipation filled the group.

  “Your final lesson for today is concealment,” Orlan announced, his sharp gaze scanning the students. “In battle, not every fight is won with brute strength. A skilled warrior knows when to strike unseen.”

  He extended a hand, his aura flaring subtly. Nearby, a section of his own cloak shimmered, shifting in color until it blended seamlessly with the surrounding forest.

  The students watched in amazement as Orlan moved without a sound, his form seemingly vanishing as he took a slow step forward.

  “Alchemy is not just about creating,” he continued. “It’s about adapting. You will alter your clothing—infuse it with properties that allow you to blend into your surroundings. If done correctly, you will become as silent as the wind, as unseen as the shadows.”

  Orlan then demonstrated another technique—he removed one of his boots and, with a simple infusion of his aura, altered its composition. The fabric grew softer, dampening any sound it would make upon touching the ground. He stepped onto a bed of dried leaves, yet no sound emerged.

  The students whispered among themselves, realizing just how useful these techniques could be.

  He then took a thin vine and a sturdy stick, manipulating the elasticity of the vine while reinforcing the wood. In mere seconds, a bow was formed.

  From another vine, he twisted fibers into a string, attaching it with precision. With a few more alchemical alterations, the bow was complete.

  Next, he picked up a small, straight twig and examined it with his Virgo sight. With a careful rewrite, the twig hardened, its tip sharpening into a fine point.

  Orlan pulled the bowstring back, his movements fluid.

  With a flick of his wrist, he released the arrow.

  It flew silently through the air, striking a distant target—a tree trunk marked with a small piece of cloth. The students turned in awe as the arrow embedded itself precisely at the center.

  Orlan lowered his bow, satisfied. “This is the power of mastery. Now, you will do the same.”

  The Students’ Attempts

  The students exchanged determined glances before getting to work.

  Ethan ran his fingers over the fabric of his cloak, activating his Virgo sight. The material’s structure unfolded before his eyes, allowing him to analyze its properties.

  “If I rewrite its reflective properties… adjust how it interacts with light…”

  Slowly, his cloak began to shimmer. The colors dulled, blending with the earth and trees. It wasn’t complete invisibility, but his form became a shifting blur, difficult to focus on.

  Nearby, Callan infused his cloak with a different effect. Instead of visual concealment, he enhanced the material’s ability to muffle sound, making his footsteps completely silent.

  Lysandra, ever the strategist, altered hers for movement. By thinning the material and lightening its weight, she enhanced her speed, allowing her to move swiftly with minimal resistance.

  Other students followed suit:

  ? Marianne Faelis crafted an intricate blend, both silencing her movements and camouflaging her form.

  ? Felix Aldren, inspired by Orlan’s bow demonstration, attempted to reinforce a piece of vine into a whip, though his first attempt snapped apart from too much tension.

  ? Victor Renwald, a quiet but skilled alchemist, managed to completely vanish, his aura manipulation so precise that even his shadow faded.

  Meanwhile, Orion—determined to prove himself after his earlier success in fishing—focused on modifying his cloak.

  “Let’s take this up a notch,” he muttered, infusing his fabric with active adaptability.

  Instead of a static camouflage, his cloak subtly shifted colors depending on where he moved, adjusting automatically like a chameleon.

  When Ethan saw it, he raised an eyebrow. “That’s actually… pretty smart.”

  Orion smirked. “Told you, I’m not just a pretty face.”

  Master Orlan observed them all, nodding in approval. “You are learning to use the world as your ally.

  ?Day’s End

  As the sun dipped lower, the students gathered around a controlled fire pit, started by one of their classmates who had learned heat manipulation.

  Master Orlan supervised as they cleaned and prepared the fish, roasting them over the flames.

  The smoky scent filled the air, mingling with the crisp freshness of the wild.

  Seated on the ground, the students ate together—laughing, sharing stories, and reflecting on the day’s lessons.

  For the first time, Virgo students—often seen as scholars and crafters rather than survivalists—felt a deeper connection to the raw elements of nature.

  Ethan took a bite of his fish, the flavors rich and satisfying.

  As he looked around, seeing the camaraderie between his housemates, he realized something.

  They weren’t just learning to adapt.

  They were learning camaraderie.