After what seemed like a lifetime to Zac, he had finally returned to Blue city with his friend and a baby dragon. From a distance, the guards at the city gate had mistaken them for a pair of homeless youths followed by a stray dog at first.

But despite their shabby attire, the guards noticed the two young men were not dirty in the least bit and had an air of nobility around them as they drew closer. This surprised the guards, and they let the two in without much questioning despite the suspiciously huge bag one of the youngsters was carrying over his shoulder.

"How many magic cores do you have in that thing anyway?" Zac asked as he pointed at the bag.

"About 750," Silver replied

"S-seven.." Zac was speechless

"Yeah, but only 50 of them are D class cores. The rest are only E-class cores."

"To think that we actually collected so many in just two weeks..." Zac could only shake his head in disbelief.

"Well, we could've easily gathered more if all the magic beasts didn't hide and run away from us. Oh, and if Ghost wasn't eating half the damn cores, we found. I don't understand how he can eat that much and barely even grow" Silver didn't even want to bother keeping count of how many cores the little dragon had eaten as the numbers would most likely break his heart.

"Well, they aren't worth that much anyway. Everything in that bag will probably equate to just over 2000 gold," Zac said

"Not that much? How rich are you, man?" Silver was in disbelief at how light his friend had made 2000 gold seem.

"Uhm, I have over 500 thousand on me right now, so don't even bother mentioning anything about my half. Also, 2000 is the price of a common B- class magic core, you know? which is why I said it's not much."

"Holy shit? Just for a common beast core? That's a bit excessive, no?" Silver didn't know when it started, but he had started talking more like his new friend.

"Don't worry, my good friend. If you are ever in need of a few extra coins, then you can always ask me. I can lend you any amount as long as you give me my 10% interest, hehe."

"Wooow! I can't believe you would charge me. Aren't we suppose to be blood brothers? It's fine. I don't need your money anyway, hmph!" Silver acted as though he had been offended.

"Hahaha, don't cry now. I'm only joking. Besides, if I gave you money, I wouldn't expect it back" Zac patted Silver on the back and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Hahaha, that's more like it. You're the one who gave me this damn dragon that eats all my money, anyway. It's only right for you to sponsor his development, hehe." Silver teased. But in reality, he never intended to ask Zac for money.

The two laughed and engaged in merry conversation as they walked shoulder to shoulder through the city.

On a vast island far away from Blue city, an old man with a bald head walked up a flight of black stairs that seemed to end in the clouds. Despite walking with the aid of a walking stick, the old man got to the top in a matter of seconds and began enchanting a spell with his arms wide open. Soon a purple portal appeared on the empty plateau at the top of the stairs.

It's almost time for them to arrive. I wonder if there will be any interesting ones this year. The old man thought as he stroked his non-existent beard.

Silver wasn't exactly sure where the best place to sell the magic Cores would be, but luckily for him, Zac was able to lead him to a shop that dealt with bulk sales. He sold 700 E-class magic cores for an average price of 2 gold coins and the 50 D-class magic cores for an average of 15 gold coins each. Adding to the 87 gold coins he had on him previously, Silver's total capital was now just over 2240 gold coins.

"How the hell are you carrying 500 thousand gold coins," Silver asked as he weighed his coin purse. Even though he only had a few thousand gold coins, it was easily a few kilograms in weight, so wouldn't that mean Zac was carrying over 500 kilograms of coins?

"Unless? wait a minute, do you have a spatial storage item as well? Silver knew he had guessed right as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Hahaha, how else do you expect me to carry that much gold."

"But aren't those extremely expensive?" Silver had heard that even the smallest rings that promised a few meters of storage space had a starting price of 100,000 gold coins. But then again, considering his friend had over 500,000, it did make sense for him to have one.

"I guess, but if the son of Eustass Reid couldn't get a measly storage ring, then what would that say about our house, hahaha."

"Ehh... I guess you have a fair point" Silver became slightly envious of his friend for being able to invest hundreds of thousands of gold that easily.

"I guess the ring that Academy teacher gave you was a spatial storage one, then?" Zac asked, noticing the way Silver had phrased his question.

"Luckily for me, It is. I thought I would have to struggle for a bit before getting my hands on one." Silver replied while putting his ring on and using it to store his newly found wealth.

"Ah, Lucky indeed. But yeah. What are your plans for your final day in Blue city?"

"Uhm, I'm pretty much ready to set off, so I'll just get a good night's rest."

"Hmm, I see. Well, I have a few things I need to take care of, so I'll see you tomorrow, I guess" Zac needed to get his luggage ready and send a few last messages to his family before he set off for the Academy.

"Sounds good. We'll meet by the city gate just before dawn and head to the meeting location together," Silver suggested. They had been sent a message a few days ago, informing them where they needed to go to find the teleportation array that would take them to the Academy.

"That's the plan then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you then," Silver bid his friend goodbye and made his way to the bear and geese.

There were several things he needed to be fully prepared for the Academy. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't enough time to complete any of these matters.

He wanted to make a sword, but he lacked the materials. Although he now had enough capital to buy them, it was too late. And so he decided that he should wait instead.

He also wanted to make various magic gear and armor that would aid him in different situations, such as combat and training. This was not possible for the same reason mentioned previously.

Lastly, he wanted to improve his magic skills and buy more spells. However, he felt that perfecting the ones he already had was a more efficient use of his time, and he hoped that the Academy would have better resources in this regard.

In the two weeks he had been training with Zac, his use of Ice Blast had improved drastically. Silver could now cast the spell a total of 25 times before his mana depleted. This wasn't only because his mana pool had increased but because his proficiency with the spell had also improved, thus resulting in more efficient mana usage.

He was also practicing Ice Barrier in secret when he had the chance, so he could now keep the spell active for 15 minutes before exhaustion. Previously, When Silver had used Ghost to check the effectiveness of the spell, he found that the baby dragon's attacks had decreased the duration of the spell.

However, now he found that no matter how many times an E-class beast attacked him, The spell's duration would not be reduced in the slightest. This made him very grateful to his mother as he wondered how overpowered it would be as his mana got stronger.

With only these two spells and all the combat training he had from his master, Silver truly believed that no beginner-level mage could best him. This was the final thought he had as he slept with a smile.