Shoosh..

The heavy oak door at the front of the room clicked open.

The chatter died instantly.

Evelyn Whitehound strode in.

She wore a pristine white instructor's uniform today, trimmed with gold braid, a stark contrast to her usual severe black.

Her platinum hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall of silk.

Her presence commanded the room instantly, silencing even the most whispered conversations.

"Welcome back, students," she said, her voice smooth, carrying to the back row without effort. She stopped behind the podium, her storm-grey eyes scanning us, dissecting us.

"I trust your break was productive. Judging by the shifts in your mana signatures… some of you have been very busy indeed."

Her gaze lingered on me for a fraction of a second longer than the others, a knowing, amused glint in her eyes.

'She knew about about the changes of mana signature around me, is more dense ...she probably know that I have got stronger in this means time.Nothing escaped Evelyn Whitehound.'

"This semester," she continued, pacing slowly across the dais, her heels clicking rhythmically, "will focus on specialization. You have built your foundations. You have proven you can swing a sword and cast a spell. Now, you must build and polished your skill in actual battle"

She stopped in the center of the room, raising a hand.

"And before the actual battle all of you must understand one thing, that is..… is partnership."

A murmur rippled through the class.

'Partnership?' We'd done team exercises before. Was this another group project?

"Not with each other," Evelyn clarified, a small, mysterious smile touching her lips.

"With the world itself. With the spirits that inhabit the mana streams."

She tapped the blackboard behind her. Glowing mana-script flared to life, spelling out words that made the entire class sit up straight.

Spirit Contract Ritual.

"Every Hunter," she explained, her voice taking on a lecturing cadence, "eventually reaches a limit of their own mana capacity....to break through, to sustain higher-tier spells and techniques without burning out your core, one must learn to borrow. To harmonize."

She looked around the room, meeting the eyes of the ambitious students.

"Today, you will undergo the Rite of Communion. You will attempt to form a bond with a spirit entity—a partner that will amplify your strengths, cover your weaknesses, and grow alongside you. This is not a mere pet. It is a soul-bond."

Excitement buzzed in the air like static electricity. Spirit Contracts were legendary. They were the mark of elite Hunters, of true powerhouses.

"However," Evelyn added, her tone sobering, dropping an octave.

"This is not a gift handed out freely. It is a test. Spirits are fickle beings. They judge intent, potential, and the purity of your soul. If you are found wanting… you will walk away with nothing."

The excitement dampened slightly, replaced by nervous tension.

I leaned back in my chair, keeping my expression neutral, though my mind was racing. I knew this event.

In the game, it was a major plot point, a power-up cutscene where the main characters got their signature companions. Leon got his Rare Spirit. Eric got his eagle.

And me? The extra?

I felt a faint, possessive grumble in the back of my mind, a telepathic ripple that had nothing to do with the lecture.

...Mine... No other...

Nox.

I sighed internally. My 'spirit' was currently a Mythical-grade Abyssal Dragon who viewed sharing as a capital offense.

His aura, combined with the lingering trace of Draken's doom-energy on my soul, made my mana signature… distinct.

"Prepare yourselves," Evelyn said, her eyes shining with anticipation. "We are going to the Sanctuary."

The journey to the Sanctuary wasn't a simple walk across the campus green.

Evelyn led us out of the lecture hall and towards the central administrative spire, the towering needle of white stone that marked the heart of the Academy but instead of ascending to the offices of the Principal or the Council, she led us to a heavy, restricted elevator bank guarded by two golems.

We descended.

Down past the basement levels, past the storage vaults, deep into the bedrock beneath the Academy.

The air grew cooler, heavier, charged with a dense resonance that made my teeth ache.

When the elevator doors finally slid open, we stepped into a chamber I recognized only from deep lore files buried in the game's codex.

It was a circular cavern dominated by a massive, ancient stone archway. The stone was dark, older than the Academy itself, etched with runes that predated the current era of magic.

They pulsed with a slow, rhythmic green light, like the breathing of a sleeping giant.

"This is the Gate of Roots," Evelyn announced, her voice echoing in the silent stone chamber.

We weren't alone. Students from Class B, C, and D had joined us, nearly a hundred first-years crowding into the space, their whispers filling the air. I spotted Alex near the back, looking nervous but determined, clutching his shield strap.

He gave me a shy wave, which I returned with a nod.

"The Sanctuary," Evelyn explained, gesturing to the shimmering energy curtain within the archway, "is a pocket dimension. A fragment of the primal world, preserved by the Academy's founders thousands of years ago. The mana density inside is ten times that of the outside world. It is a place where the veil between the physical and the spiritual is thin to the point of nonexistence."

She turned to face us, her expression serious, ensuring every student understood the gravity of where they stood.

"It is also restricted. Forbidden to all but authorized faculty and students undergoing the Rite. Even the Elves, who claim dominion over nature, are barred from entry without express permission from the Council."

Elara Moonshade, standing near the front with the other top rankers, stiffened visibly. Her hand unconsciously went to the pendant around her neck—a symbol of the Elven Royal Family.

Her eyes were wide, fixed on the gate with a mixture of reverence and longing. For an elf, being denied access to such a place must have been a torment.

"There is a myth," Evelyn continued, her voice taking on a storytelling cadence that hushed the crowd.

"That this Sanctuary is the resting place of a Guardian. The Dragon of Light, blessed by the Gods of Life and Light themselves. It sleeps beneath inside the this dimension, its dreams fueling the spirit forest."

A hush fell over the students. A dragon? Here? Infront or I said inside this dimension.

My own heart skipped a beat. A Light Dragon.

That… was inconvenient. Nox was an Abyssal Dragon. Their energies were diametrically opposed. Light and Void were primal enemies.

If that Guardian sensed Nox's trace on me…

...Light... bad... itch... Nox grumbled sleepily in my mind, shifting in his dimensional pocket.

"Relax," I projected back, trying to soothe the wyrmling. "Just stay asleep. Please. Don't pick a fight with a god-blessed dragon today."

"Form a line," Evelyn ordered, breaking the spell. "Do not wander from the path once we cross. The forest is alive, and it does not take kindly to trespassers who stray. Stay close to the instructors."

One by one, we stepped through the archway.

The sensation was like walking through a curtain of cool water that tingled with electricity. The stone chamber vanished, replaced instantly by an explosion of green and gold.

We stood on a path of white stone winding through a forest that defied logic.

The trees were immense, their trunks as wide as houses, their bark shimmering like polished bronze. Their canopies were lost in a golden haze above, filtering the light into soft, shifting beams. The leaves weren't just green; they shimmered with emerald, teal, and gold.

The air was thick, sweet, and so rich with mana it tasted like honey on the tongue. Every breath felt revitalizing.

Tiny orbs of light—spirits—drifted through the air like fireflies. Some were simple wisps of color; others had vague shapes—butterflies made of wind, birds made of water, miniature foxes made of earth.

"Whoa..." Aiden breathed, looking around with wide eyes, his usual boisterousness subdued by the sheer majesty of the place. "It's… it's beautiful."

Even Eric William looked impressed, though he tried to hide it behind a mask of noble indifference. He adjusted his cuff, looking around critically.

"Acceptable," he muttered. "At least it's not a swamp. The mana here is… pure."

We walked for what felt like miles, though my internal clock suggested only minutes.

The spatial geometry here was fluid. The path led us deeper, towards a clearing where a massive structure rose from the forest floor.

It looked like a cathedral grown from living crystal and wood. Buttresses of interwoven roots supported walls of translucent quartz that glowed with inner light.

A massive pair of wooden doors, carved with images of beasts and spirits bowing to a central, radiant figure, stood closed.

"The Hall of Communion," Evelyn said, stopping before the doors.

She placed her hand on the wood.

It glowed, recognizing her mana signature, and slowly swung open with a sound like wind chimes.

The door opening slowly.....

(To be continued )

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