Kyrion found himself surrounded by friends and smiled. “Well, looks like I am prone to commas. How long was I out this time?”

“Only two days. I’d say that was a new record. You’re lucky you didn’t die from blood loss.” Gamodren told him bluntly.

“Master, are you really ok?” Ceres said as she picked the boy up with ease.

“Yeah. If you happen to find an evil time traveler please kill them and make sure that they’re dead.” Kyrion ordered.

“Ah so you met him?” Gamodren flexed his fingers.

“Who is him?” Kyrion asked skeptically.

“The sealed mind in your head. I can sense it paritaly, which is partly why I decided to take you as my student.” Gamodren said plainly.

“That wasn’t a lie. Why didn’t you teach me about it sooner. Can you help me get rid of it?”

“Those memories are there to prepare you for the foe you may face in the near to late future. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about.”

“Edwin’s boss?” Kyrion said plainly.

“Yes and no, Edwin’s boss is a bishop in chess terms. While a king in name they are only a means to an end. The Ruler of the Beast Blood empire is an enemy to you and all of the Goskin continent though you are someone they need put down.”

“Why would a king be after me?”

“Their leader is an orc shaman of great power that is inhabiting a vessel belonging to your deceased uncle. He is after your body to turn it into its next vessel. I would rather that not happen for various reasons.”

“I too would like to keep my own body. So where did Edwin fall in the hierarchy in terms of chess?” Kyrion asked with his arms crossed.

“The one you met was qualified as a pawn. They had a knight and rook at the school as well. I’m sure those are who you sensed earlier. They’re gone now but may return sooner or later.”

“I see. Why can’t I have a simple journey. I think my desire for adventure is a bit more dangerous than I thought.” Kyrion pouted a bit.

“Life in this world is dangerous which is why I’m here to get you as prepared as possible.” Gamodren put his hand on his face in a dramatic gesture.

“What is beyond expert anyway and why haven’t I met or heard of anyone that strong?” Kyrion asked bluntly.

“You had two in your immediate family, your oldest brother and your grandfather. The reason why you haven’t heard of it is due to the fact that those who reach that level of power aren’t allowed to use it here. Using that power puts them somewhere they can’t leave until fully incarnating. After that they move onto the homeworld where the real battle begins.” Gamodren eyed his student carefully.

“So grandfather isn’t of this world anymore and neither is my brother… Why didn’t I know they were that strong?” Kyrion was aghast.

“When I saw what they could do at the arena I thought my brother was pretty lame for being able to plow a field with a single swing of his hoe, cut down multiple trees with a swing of his axe, and harvest crops in seconds. He made it seem so easy.”

“A dragon that announces its nature and causes trouble becomes a dead dragon. While a dragon that hides its claws, wings and fangs, while being productive, becomes a hidden dragon. Sometimes deception is necessary, If they knew how strong the people in your family were they would have sent stronger warriors.” Gamodren explained.

“I didn’t think about it until you told me how strong Jr was. Does that mean dad is strong too?” Kyrion asked his teacher.

“Your dad isn’t that strong. Had he been raised and trained at an early age like you and your brother, or even had the opportunity for it at an early age he could have been. But fate isn’t that nice, he reached practitioner rank pretty late and never attempted to go further down the path as a spirit master until he met your mother. At least that’s what i’ve been told.”

“Ah, so I’ll be leaving him behind one day?” Kyrion asked.

“You may leave a lot of people behind one day. You could try keeping the people you love in that space of yours.” Gamodren told him.

TIffany and Ceres listened intently because it was rare to get answers this straight from Gamodren.

“I see.” Kyrion nodded. “I won’t leave anyone behind if I don’t have to then.”

“You sure are a greedy boy. Don’t change.” His master said with a sad smile on his face.

Gamodren led them out of the dungeon and into an Inn, ordering an extra bed for Ceres in Tiffany’s room. While Kyrion and Gamodren shared a room. Much to Ceres’s distaste.

“Why didn’t I just summon a house?” Kyrion asked.

“Because I had your spirits get to work on something while you were out. I have found a few beavers nearby that may be useful in this endeavor as well. For the next month you will be learning how to boil and freeze water and increasing your bond with Issac while recruiting monsters for your cause.”

“How can I hold so much in my space anyway?”

“It’s a world within a world. You had alot of excess mana in your space that had been put into growing its size for quite a while. Since quite a bit was of expert rank it had explosive growth when you absorbed the backpack gremlins core. And now you even have something that manages your world from inside.”

“The dungeon is alive and inside the space?” Kyrion raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. I’m sure it will be much more orderly now than it was before.”

“Still. Why is it growing so much anyway?”

“Your quality of mana is high, your absorption rate is also high. When your body is full of mana the excess goes into expanding the space. The longer you live the bigger it will get. You saw how big the Backpack Gremlin’s was yourself. I can imagine that yours is only approaching that size now.”

“I see. So growth is dependent on how much mana I can put into it. Since I had a lot to get rid off to begin with It had alot to work with. Well back to sleep then.”

Kyrion spent three weeks learning how to freeze water. It was challenging but fun in a way. His drinks would always be cool and refreshing now. Boiling water was much easier after learning the previous process. After two weeks of practice, he could boil a tub of water in moments. After that, Gamodren had the boy spend a few days filling up a large wooden tub with water and then bringing it to a boil. Kyrion was able to boil the large tub in minutes after another two weeks of practice. Finally, Gamodren gave Krion a set of blueprints and a lot of wood, nails, and other materials for building, along with a book.

“You want the dungeon to build this hot spring hotel thing?” Kyrion asked his master.

“Yes. You’re getting really close to the water control you’ll need. Now we just need to put your workers to work.” Gamodren smiled.

“Can’t they do that outside?” Kyrion asked.

“How would you feel if monsters would build homes back in your village?”

“Point taken. So they build it in my space, and I just summon it when it’s done?”

“Yes, that’s the point.”

“I don’t think I can summon something this big. Are those five floors I see here?”

“Yes. I’m sure you can do it at least once a day.” Gamodren nodded.

Ceres scowled at that answer. “Are you using my master for profit?”

“Yes. Our profit. He’ll get a fair cut out of it. Did you know Gremlins can be quite crafty when taught properly? They have been preparing soap from those scented flowers I had grown. Shampoo has also been completed and perfected for general use.”

“While you’ve been teaching us to fight, all you had Kyrion do was boil and freeze water. How is that useful in a fight?” Tiffany asked.

“Kyrion, summon a water whip and bring it to a boil..”

Kyrion created a water whip that bubbled steam emanated from it, but the pops never seemed to leave the whip. It didn’t require much mana to maintain.

“Now freeze it.”

Kyrion flash froze the whip, leaving its stature behind, some of the bubbles visible in its shape yet all connected.

“Most things can’t handle a rapid temperature change so it’s a win win in my book.”

“I see. So long as he isn’t falling behind.” Tiffany looked at Ceres.

“O-of course.” Ceres stuttered before the two left to continue their training.

“What is the other reason for teaching me how to boil water?” Kyrion asked.

“In preparation for our encounter with a winter wolf.” Gamodren told the boy plainly.

“Huh?” Kyrion didn’t get it.

Gamodren patted the boy on his shoulder. “I hope you won’t need to do it if that helps.”

“Good to know.” Kyrion stretched

“Have you considered turning that dungeon into one of your spirits? It could make building easier.”

“Didn’t know that was possible. How would that work?”

“Like a normal spirit you’d gain some of its affinities.”

“How many affinities can I even have?”

“The limit here is around sixteen, before cores are absorbed. Theoretically anyone can have tons of spirits, you need a lot of mana to use them effectively. You my student have too much mana, four or five spirits could help use the wasted mana. The more you spread yourself thin the more you begin to stagnate, as of currently your powers can complement each other.”

“What would be two powers that went against each other?”

“Fire and Ice, without water manipulation. You can attack with either one or the other and getting both out at the same time is hard. It doesn’t mean that a spirit master can’t grow with those abilities, it will just be difficult. You should theoretically be able to conjure a wall of wind along with a wall of water. It requires a lot of control to mix affinities to get what you want and doing it carelessly can cause damage.”

“Aren’t wind and earth conflicting? And cant we just give it to Ceres?” Kyrion scowled.

“Ceres could use it. In fact she probably should. The benefits would be reduced as it would just go into increasing her own abilities and not by much. Dragons aren’t weak. She just needs some mental training. Your friend isn’t very…Stable? She lacks certain traits that would help her blend in. She needs to be more human, if that makes any sense. Dragons are a priceless treasure to some and a trophy to others.” Gamodren looked Kyrion in his eyes.

“I get it. Ceres is the weakest in our group despite being a practitioner. I don’t want to say it to her, but….”

“Oh that. No she isn’t. I just told her to hold back alot. Ten year old practitioners tend to be weaker or unable to control their powers. She could probably put a stone spear threw your chest if she so desired.”

“Your helping her blend in? I thought you two didn’t get along.”

“It’s not her personally. Its her race, I despise all deep dragons with a passion.”

“So you’re a racist.” Kyrion scowled.

“My family and deep dragons have a long feud that dates back to one of my oldest relatives.”

“Wait. Ceres is an earth dragon!” Kyrion yelled.

“I’m sure that’s what she thinks she is.” Gamodren smirked.

“Will you tell me what a deep dragon is?” Kyrion asked.

“A rare species of dragon that makes its home deep in a planet’s core. They leave their eggs near the surface but still deep underground to keep it from cracking prematurely from the pressure.”

“How do you know so much about these dragons?”

“Know yourself, know your enemy, and know what you need to do to deal the most damage.” Gamodren smiled as he began to walk away.

“Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?” Kyrion mumbled.

The two months of construction came and passed, with Tiffany reaching rank four and her growth shocking even Gamodren. Ceres was busy learning what humans call common sense, though Gamodren called it dragon sense as it included never telling anyone that she’s a dragon. When Kyrion wasn’t working on the hot spring, he was eating or training. Just whipping the wind around himself at a constant rate could create a barrier to himself and push away anything too close. Not enough to make a cyclone, but enough to be helpful.