As the energy of nature was brought into his body by his consciousness and breathing, he could feel it slowly changing his body from inside. Little impurities were being driven out by it, together with sweat.

Not only that, he could feel his mind changing as well. Even though he could feel it changing, he couldn't pinpoint exactly how it was changing.

'It seems cultivating nourishes everything related to the body. But i can't seem to notice how my mind is changing. I feel the same, yet different.' He frowned as he ponders for a while. Not realizing how this time, he didn't called himself a king in his mind.

Cultivation is a way of maturing, growing. It matures your body, helping it get it's full potential, as well as your mind. It slowly cleanses the impurities from everywhere in your body. Including your mind. Things like mental illnesses or obsessions will slowly be cleansed, making your personality be at its most refined. It will slowly turn you into your real self. No masks, no pretending, no lies. You will know yourself fully by cultivating.

Like the name itself says, you're cultivating yourself. You're growing. Maturing. It does not change your personality, it only refines it. Breaks the shackles of your insecurities and fears, and shows your true heart.

A lot of novels he read in Earth showed cultivators being ruthless or uncaring. That was not a result of cultivation itself. Because even tough some were ruthless, some were also righteous and caring. That's because their heart is like that as well.

Every person is different, and cultivation makes that difference appear. In Earth, most people were very much alike each other. There was hardly any big differences, in the surface. That's because people don't cultivate, and let masks and insecurities and other little things interfere with their way of thought, with their Dao. Like how a extreme psychopath lets their mental illness overcome their reason. The Dao is also reason. And the Dao is also heart.

The Dao is ruthless, and yet, it is not. The Dao is gentle, and yet, it is not. The Dao cleanses, yet, it darkens. The Dao darkens, yet, it cleanses.

If you never heard of it, it may sound confusing. But simplifying it, the Dao is everything. But is also nothing.

By cultivating, Hiro's insecurities and fears are being cleansed and purged. His way of lying to himself by saying he is a king and that he is able to do everything he wants is fading. But at the same time, he is becoming more capable of doing those things he wants to do.

The unnecessary is thrown away. The core remains.

And yet, it would take quite a lot of time for him to realize that he didn't refer to himself as King.

When he woke up from meditation, it was already morning. His body was sticky with sweat and he felt refreshened and slightly tired at the same time. Getting up, he noticed how just one day of cultivating made his body more easier to move. Like the effort to move was lessened. But that's just how cultivating works. The first time it's the most noticeable change. The second it lessens, and it keeps lessening forever. And before you notice it, you became strong.

Stretching his sore body, consequence of being in a meditating position all night, he went to take a bath, slowly cleaning his body in the warm water. As he finished, he went back to the room and dressed himself in his noble clothes.

At the same time he finished, his door was knocked. As he opened it, he could see that it was Kira.

"Good. You're already ready to go. Go down and eat breakfast. We'll leave in half an hour." As he said that, he turned and walked away to his room, presumably to get everything ready.

'Who is the young master again?' Hiro thought helplessly. He ended up shrugging and going downstair to eat breakfast.

His breakfast was simple and without anything of notice happening. After eating, he checked if he had everything he needed with him and waited for his sword instructor to come down. It didn't take long and they were soon heading to the Five Star Schools.

Magehold was located right by the side of a mountain, so if you think that the center of the city would be the imperial palace, you would be wrong. It was the Five Star Schools. The Arcane Blue Palace was located right infront of the mountain. The farthest place in the city. And also the highest. It was strategically put there in case of invasions, it was impossible to reach the palace without going through the whole city first.

As they reached the school, Hiro saw how huge it really was. He already suspected it was big, since it could be seen from afar, but it was really too much. This is simply exaggeration! Why would a school needed to be this big? It looked more like a palace! It seemed almost 2 squared miles!

As they walked in throught the large metal bars gate, they entered the building, and the first thing it had was a kind of waiting room, with a receptionist working there. She seemed like a gentle lady. She had the charm of a gentle older sister.

"Hello, are you here for the exam?" As she noticed them, he started talking with a smile. As Hiro nodded, Kira put a hand in his shoulder.

"That's as far as i'll go, Young Master, good luck." He nodded at Hiro and just walked away. What a straightforward guy.

"Then little guy, tell me your name, please." She said politely.

"Fuji Hiro. This King is a genius out of geniuses." He said solemnly with his head held high. The girl lifted an eyebrow for a moment, before looking at a paper at her desk.

"Let's see here, Fuji... Fuji... Ah, here it is. Mana quality B, total rank F, is it?" She said looking back at him amused.

He had the decency to at least look a little embarrassed.

"That's an old thing, This King's talent cannot be measured by mortal means." Although he said that, his tone of voice was low, and he was looking at the ground with red cheeks. It made him look really cute. Just like an embarrassed kid.

"Right." She got up after that and started walking through a long corridor. "Follow me, i'll bring you to the place of your examination."

As he followed her, they walked through a lot of corridors. All of them were filled with doors with little signs telling what they were. There were simply too many rooms. The school looked like a maze.

Finally, they reached their destination. A door with the sign "Examination Room 107".

"Inside this room is an Illusion magic array, which will bring you to your examination, an Alteration array will write your results after you finish it." As she opened the door, she started explaining the test. "Just meditate in the middle of the array and the test will begin. You will have two hours to finish it. The faster you finish it, the higher your score will be. Good luck." As she finished, she was holding the door open for him to enter.

With a look of determination, he walked in, it was a small square room. Different runes and lines were written in the ground and walls, it looked complex and gave head ache just thinking about what they could mean. As he entered, the door was closed. With a deep breath, he walked to the center of the room and sat crosslegged.

As he started meditating, he felt a tug in his mind, and then blankness for a while. When his senses returned and he opened his eyes, everything changed.