“Teacher! Teacher, wake up.” A young boy of around twelve stood at head of a bed and aggressively shook a mound that was hidden underneath the sheets. His actions caused the entire bed frame to creak, but he showed no signs of stopping.

“No,” a disgruntled voice wheezed from the mound. “Quit bothering me and go meditate.”

The boy’s face twisted into something ugly. “You told me that yesterday. And the day before that. Now get up!” He raised his hand suddenly and the air around it appeared to become denser. In a swift movement, he slammed his fist down.

A loud yelp sounded and a man darted out from out of the sheets. His dark clothing and hair were disheveled and there were heavy bags underneath his eyes. “Emil, do you have any conscience?”

Emil lowered his hand and snorted. “You wouldn’t have been hurt anyway.”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s the intent behind the action. Fine, you want to learn? Watch how I teach you! Reach the top-tier of the Aes rank by tonight or I’m disowning you.”

Once again, Emil’s expression grew fierce. “You’re just trying to shove me off so you can sleep again.”

The Night Sage grinned. “Indeed. My protégé is so intelligent. Don’t worry. I have faith in you. You’re already an unparalleled genius. What does a measly third rank Aes stage mean to you?”

“Teacher!” Emil cried out helplessly then shook his head.

Two years could be considered a decent amount of time. Many things could change—and many had changed.

For starters, Emil was no longer the same frail boy he had been before. He had bounced back from his previous poor health and recovered even greater beyond that.

He had also reached the second stage of the Aes rank. In this world, there were four mortal ranks: Aes, Argenti, Aurum, and Adamantem. The Aes rank was the lowest out of them all, but it was the most important beginning step. Some would never be able to pull through this magical ranking and their anima circuit would stagnant here.

Most didn’t reach the Argenti level until they were at least fifteen or sixteen, so for Emil to be this far already within the Aes stage, he was an undoubted prodigy.

But, there were some things that just took time, and reaching the third rank of Aes was one of them. The amount of anima that his body could circulate would steadily increase overtime as he meditated and drew in the energy and this was something that he couldn’t rush. His pace was already a hundred times faster than others.

“I’m joking,” the Night Sage said, patting Emil’s head. “Listen, I’ll help you with meditating today.”

The youth’s expression brightened. “All right!”

He had discovered long ago that the Night Sage was actually a very lazy man. He was like a cat who enjoyed to slumber all day and could sleep for weeks, if not months.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Emil knew the Night Sage was someone great, he would have cursed him in his heart.

The Night Sage had left the realm of mortals. Emil’s knowledge of the those ranks was minimal because he hadn’t been told much about them, but he knew that the gap between the Adamantem rank and Speculo was like heaven and earth. The two simply could not be compared.

If an Adamantem could wipe out a city with a basic spell, then a Speculo could do it with just a thought. And the Night Sage was at the stage above Speculo—Pura. Emil, however, didn’t know if he was at the first, second or third level of Pura. Either way, the Night Sage was someone whose existence alone could threaten an empire.

That’s why Emil didn’t let the man’s lazy attitude fool him. He was aware that under that guise, an unfathomable power existed.