With 36 Unlocked Roots, solid arcane knowledge and uncommon abilities, it didn"t take Kilian more than a few minutes to master the First Circle Spells. In fact, thanks to the Desolate Knives" memories, he could also practice Second and Third Circle Occult Spells. However, having spent most of his free time crafting and powering Inyoka, he could not work on those. Across the next three days, Kilian focused on studying Soul Transference, Occultism, and Eromancy. Alas, if Fehl Magic possessed one weakness, it was its lack of Arcanum. A chaotic maelstrom of infinite possibilities, codifying Fehl Magic in one Arcanum was simply impossible.
Moreover, fehls had no need for Arcana. For that reason, Arcana such as humanity"s Occultism, or Urag"s Eromancy became the closest derivatives of a Fehl Arcanum. And while knowledge had no direct effect on magical power, all Arcana possessed four levels of mastery: novice, adept, expert, master.
Though a novice in both Occultism and Eromancy, in Technomancy and Trans.m.u.tation, Kilian had already reached bypa.s.sed the adept level and reached the expert threshold.
But the more he dwelled in Occultism, the more he realized that just like Fehl Magic, with enough willpower, Dra Control and experience, magi could rise above Dark Magic"s side effects, and unleash its true potential. Kilian thus set on a road never traveled and chose to create his very own Arcane Discipline: Abyssal Technomancy!
In the meantime, the three days put his previous a.s.sumptions to the test. Against all odds, Grand Duke Rupert shocked the world by repelling a 3,000 men strong regiment of the empire"s Golden Army at the border of his grand duchy.
Known as the emperor"s supreme army, the Golden Army"s weakest soldiers all were High Templars. Better, crafted in a technology monopolized by the von Skoll emperors, their golden power armors allowed the soldiers" battle prowesses to rise to Quasi-Archons!
For thousands of years, the Golden Army served as the Arcadian Emperors" imperial guards and invincible weapons, with the gleam of their armors alone being more than enough to put high-ranking n.o.bles on their knees.
And while the Golden Army numbered over 100,000 elite troops, this victory broke its invincibility myth, and pushed many n.o.ble houses to believe that the von Skoll...were defeatable! Galvanized by the belief, and encouraged by Rupert"s startling energy weapons and war machines, many high-ranking n.o.bles raised the flag of rebellion, and pledged their support to the grand duke!
Driven by a network of teleportation circles, an army of three million elite troops led by the various rebel leaders gathered within Ruhkfort to lay waste on the empire! But while many expected the von Skolls" response, the Prince of Koln, Erland von Skoll, divorced his wife—wedded a commoner—and announced his rejection of his imperial ancestry!
In a bid to provide more humane living conditions to commoners—and satisfy his long-suppressed love—Erland rebelled against his own house, and led a 500,000 man strong elite force to join the insurgents!
Confusion swept the imperial family.
State officials failed to react!
And if that wasn"t enough, the imperial princes refused to unite. Ayden"s two elder brothers openly challenged his regency, dividing the elder council and the loyal branch princes. Worse, the Grand Orders stood on the sideline, not taking active parts in the conflict.
Certain of their victory, Rupert"s troops left Ruhkfort, and plundered their way across the Arcadian Empire, leaving behind them pyramids of fire and gore. When the news reached him, Kilian gave an unsettling a.n.a.lysis:
"As we expected, the Technocracy is backing Rupert"s vendetta. However, if they truly wished to fight a decisive battle with the imperial family, they would never do it through a mere Rupert. No, this is a diversion.
The von Skolls are playing the lambs to eat the wolf, unware that its eyes look far beyond them. And if we are to trust my Revelation, the Imperial Academy is the true battlefield."
Hearing those words, Lena who"d just condensed her first crystal and was on her way to the second, couldn"t help but feel that perhaps joining the Imperial Academy wasn"t the idea of the century.
At the dusk of the third day, the Dark Eden Society contacted Kilian to give him the date and location of his initiation. He still had one week left.
Dozens of Aristocrats from all across the empire would attend, but while it wasn"t specified, Kilian didn"t doubt that some of the academy"s professors would also be present. After all, without their a.s.sistance, how could the Society organize the secret meeting?
…
Making a maximum use of his time, Kilian polished his understanding of Occultism, mastering all the dark spells at his disposal, and bringing his Arcanum knowledge to the adept level. At the same time, he put his new abilities to rigorous practice through various fleshcrafting experiments, improved Inyoka"s strength by a good margin, and grasped the principles of Soul Transferance.
At first, the ongoing civil war"s impact on cla.s.ses remained minimal. But after one week of fighting and discouraging results on the imperial side, the academy prepared for the worst, announced the upcoming Sura Hunting Games, and urged the professors to focus on grooming their students" battle skills rather than theoretical knowledge.
Even for Technomancy students, duel cla.s.ses became the norm. Of course, unlike their peers, they mostly relied on the tools they created.
After the likes of Anke and Carmen pa.s.sed theirs, Kilian applied for a silver robe and pa.s.sed the examination—leaving the browns" ranks behind. Unsurprisingly, Carmen avoided him like the plague.
Reclining in a sofa, Kilian awaited 23:57 to stand up, don a black cloak, and exit his chambers. Injecting his dra into the crimson coin, Kilian triggered its invisibility charm, and left the academy proper.
Following the directions, he soon landed in a dark secluded forest in the northeastern part of the island, and raised the coin. Dark-purple light surged from it, condensing a violet energy gate that opened to welcome Kilian.
"What an elaborate cloaking spell," he remarked. The Dark Eden Society hadn"t merely cloaked the area, but almost turned it into an alternate dimension. Clearly, their means and abilities outpaced the average grand order.
The invisibility charm dispersed, and stepping through the gate, Kilian landed in the very same woods, except that now—66 cloaked figures lined up in two rows—opening a road toward an onyx altar where six additional figures stood in one line. Six lithe figures kneeled before the leaders, kowtowing toward the altar. The kneeling six aside, all wore peac.o.c.k masks with long dazzling peac.o.c.k feathers adorning their foreheads, and wine gla.s.ses in their right hands.
Dark-purple flames billowed from the altar, and right behind it, the statue of a 2.3 meters tall daemon with a humanoid torso, the legs of a satyr, the tail of a peac.o.c.k, and the head of a wolf stood with his clawed hands outstretched.
Emerald flames flickered in the daemonic statue"s eyes. But from them, Kilian couldn"t feel any dark magic. Those flames didn"t have an attribute.
Fehl magic.
Unfazed, Kilian stepped forward, tremors shook the ground and between the two rows of society members, a rectangular pool of violet liquid emerged. In tandem, the six leaders beckoned for Kilian to cross the pool, and without delay, he dove in.
Thus, Kilian took his first step into the Dark Eden Society, never expecting that this one ploy would not only unravel the darkest secrets of house von Skoll, but forever change his destiny.