I haven't spent so much time with Arielle lately.

She's apparently too busy dealing with matters of their house. She's also been travelling a lot lately. Arthur sends me letters almost every week so I always know what he's up to. He never forgets to say he misses me either.

It seems training to become a knight has been going well for him. We'll be meeting each other before the academy reopens again.

I picked up the package that I found lying outside our dorm room.

It was a white robe.

I picked up the letter that came with the package.

-With a little persuasion to a certain tailor I managed to get him to make you this. I hope you like your birthday gift. Even if it's a little late. I had to get this ready for you last minute and had to let my assistant at the magic tower take it to you.

My heart was touched when I read the letter.

I needed a robe for adventuring anyway. The Academy announced that in our third year, we would be entering a dungeon. That's the first time students of the academy are allowed to enter a dungeon. But the dungeon we would enter isn't any normal dungeon. Some dungeons are not available to the public so they get used by institutions like magic schools and such. Dungeon exploration is one of the most profitable businesses around. For most people, guilds and companies, it is one of their sources of income.

There exists millions of dungeons on this world. Lots are undiscovered while others are well known. The biggest and most difficult dungeon to explore is 'Red Abyss'. It's not surprising since they say that the grave of the Demon King is buried there. It's just speculation since a lot of demonic creatures are in the dungeon.

The World Serpent and other monsters like Leviathan roam the seas around the red abyss.

"Alright!"

"Ugh! Why are you screaming so early in the morning!"

Nate threw his pillow in my face. The time was currently 5 in the morning.

"Ah, sorry."

"Where are you going so early in the morning… dressed like that?"

He looked at my white robe.

"I'll be trying out adventuring today. You want to come register with me?" He shook his head and yawned.

"Maybe another time. For now I want to sleep so get out."

"Alright, alright~"

I quickly left the room.

The vacation will last two weeks so I have plenty of time to explore the world out there. After I'm done, I might visit our village.

◇◇◇

I inhaled the fresh outdoor air and put on my hoodie after I shivered from the cold.

The aunties and uncles who were busy setting up their stalls, greeted me when I passed by. The people were lively so early in the morning.

I saw an airship from the Magic Empire pass over our kingdom.

"I can't wait to slay some monsters." Even if I am an adult in mental years, my excitement to explore is that of a child's.

I checked my gear and nodded with a wide smile. My preparations were done.

Ting

The adventurer guild's front doorbell rang when I walked in.

"Hm…"

I only saw a few people in the guild when I looked around. The ones here must be those that couldn't afford to pay for an inn so they used their Adventurer ID to book a night for a discount.

There were many people who were sleeping in the corner of the pub. The adventurer guild is free to the public so they allow anyone to sleep inside for shelter.

"Welcome!" A cheerful greeting came my way. I looked to the front desk and saw a young woman waving at me.

I came up to the desk.

"Are you lost, little one?"

"Ah, no. I want to become an adventurer."

"I see. Usually when people go adventuring at such a young age, they'd have companions. Are you confident in your strength, little one?"

I took out my first year badge. This is to show I have an ample amount of experience.

Her pupils shook when she saw the card.

"O-Oh? I apologize for my behavior. I didn't know you would be from such a famous academy."

Her tone turned polite and kind of stiff. I just smiled and let it go. I'm not a noble so I'm not one who enjoys being flattered so much or having my ass kissed by people wanting to gain favor with me.

"Ranking up is simple." The lady proceeded to explain to me. "Increase your merit in the capital, hunt stronger monsters or undertake escort missions for nobles and merchants. Now, hunting monsters is the most important job for an adventurer. By getting rid of these threats, you protect the surrounding regions while also improving your reputation. It's not like killing monsters is the only way to rank up, so consider doing the other quests as well."

She brought out a book.

"Read this before going out of the field. It's important to have a little knowledge before starting a quest."

'Nah, I'll just ask Undine. As a spirit, she should know more than the writers who wrote this book.'

Despite what I thought, I took the book with a smile.

"If you feel confident enough and you're at least B-rank, head to the HQ located in Pira City."

Pira city is located in the center of the whole Kingdom. The duke's manor is located in the Kanzu noble district.

"Have you understood so far, sir?"

"Yes. Thank you for the information."

The girl smiled and took out something which resembled a card.

"Documentation is needed for normal people but since sir has an academy's card, that won't be needed."

It was a copper plate. I showed my student id and she copied the name and affiliation on it.

"Done. If you would like comrades, come in the afternoons. The guild is packed with people by then. Maybe you might find yourself lucky."

I left the guild after throwing the book in my storage dimension ring.

Undine appeared next to me. Thankfully no one could see her.

"Undine. Can you tell me about dragons?"

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Well, I've been reading a book about them lately. It mentioned something about dragon lords. Can you tell me what those are? Surely you've seen them before."

"Ah, I see. I do know some things about them."

Dragons Lords are the highest existences in this world. Only demons and gods are of the same rank as them. As with any race, there is a more superior species, namely dragon lords.

They have the strongest physical and magical abilities in this world. Their magic could even destroy an entire nation if they're serious.

"There are seven dragon lords at the moment. They served the Spirit King thousands of years ago."

"They've been alive that long?"

We were conversing through telepathy. It would look strange to others if I spoke to myself.

"Yes. As with all mana born beings, dragon are immortal and have no predators."

"Who would even have the guts to take on a dragon."

Undine was quiet while looking at me.

"Don't tell me it's that old man."

"He did cause destruction on the continent, after all. It's only natural that dragon lords–who protect the seven countries–would interfere. The oldest ancient dragon is located in the Draconic Kingdom. They say he wants to die slowly with the nation he protected."

Protect the seven countries? Those arrogant species?

Our conversation was interrupted by a large explosion.

I was already out on the plains and was about to head into the forest.

"What the–"

A beautiful young woman, wearing our official academy clothes was decimating a Mountain bear that seemed to have followed her.

"It's the high elf girl."

I frowned when I saw that familiar white hair. It was indeed the first princess of the Elven Kingdom, Miya.

"Hm?"

'Crap.'

I told Undine to mask her presence. If this elf found out I was contracted to a Monarch spirit then all sorts of troublesome things will come my way.

I was about to stealthily leave her alone but due to Undine's massive amount of mana, I was seen.

She came up to me.

"W-Why are there spirits around you?"

'Ah, crap.'

I forgot about the water spirits that always follow me around whenever I come to the forest.

I hurriedly covered her mouth and looked around. Thankfully, no one was around.

"Could you like, not talk so openly about this? Things might get dangerous if people know I can cast spirit magic."

She nodded.

"Do not worry. We elves know how troublesome that can be."

I sighed in relief.

'She's surprisingly not that bad of a person.'

She quickly understood my situation.

"Anyway, what is your highness doing out here?."

"I came out here to get stronger…"

She said and clenched her fists.

"Get stronger?"

"Yes. The spirits aren't responding to me. For some reason, even the higher spirits are ignoring my calls. Heat and Depth are nowhere to be seen… Could I have lost my ability to communicate with them?"

'Ah, that's probably because of me.'

She seemed to have made a big misunderstanding thinking that the spirits lost their love for her.

"What's up with your robe, though? It's a little flashy for hunting monsters, you know?" She chortled.

"Ah, this was a gift. I stopped myself from throwing it out of the window when I read the note that came with it."

We decided to hunt monsters together. Even if the high spirits were ignoring her, her spells were still incredibly powerful. If she couldn't take out an orc with the lesser spirits then I would be backup.

We were completely in sync the whole time. It was like we could tell what the other one was about to do. To what I said, she told me:

"Spirit mages and elves are connected by a link. That link is the spirits around us. This is how I noticed that you were a spirit mage when I saw how the water spirits were gathering."

It was weird being in sync with a person I met for the first time. Maybe it was because both of us use the same type of magic.

The sun was at its highest when we were finished hunting this region of a certain Count's.

"By the way, do you plan on hiding your spirit magic forever? As an elf, I can understand why you'd want to hide it but…" Miya spoke to me from behind. We were about to split up since the boys dorm is on the right while the female dorm is on the left.

"Not forever. The senior at the magic tower said that it's dangerous to show it in my growing phase. I might attract unwanted attention. I masked my spirit mana whenever I cast spirit magic."

"How were you able to summon spirits more efficiently than me? I have trouble just summoning one with you around…" Moya pouted.

We finally arrived back at the academy using the path leading to the forest. Since the academy is located on the edges of the kingdom, they decided to build a path so students can go to the forest whenever they need to. We didn't have to travel all the way to the gate. I didn't take that route this morning. I took the route through the eastern gate of Prester.

"I better get going then."

Miya took hold of my sleeve when I was about to walk away.

"Can we do this again? Maybe I could give you some guidance in spirit magic as well."

"That sounds good. I struggle to summon any other spirits besides water spirits anyway. Maybe you could help me with that?"

"Of course!" Miya looked at her watch. "I have to meet a friend in a few hours. I'll see you the next time we go adventuring again, okay?"

"Got it."

Miya turned around and waved at me.

"Bye!"

She dashed towards the female dormitory.

'It would be better for me to learn spirit magic from an elf.'

Since she is an elf, her specualty lies in spirt magic as well. Elves are able to control all the four spirit elements of nature

Undine could help me with my water magic while Miya helps with my other elements.

I yawned as I walked towards our dorm. I was completely exhausted.