Before I knew it, hours had gone by - and I had been reading the whole time.
Not bad, right? Considering the only things I'd actually read in years were webnovels and the occasional clickbait headline before Truck-kun did his job.
But this stuff? It was gripping. Especially after watching Zeyra dismantle those three clowns earlier. How could I not be fascinated? Aura and Mana were real here, and I needed to know how they worked.
So here's what I pieced together.
Ascendants, people who pushed past human limits, followed two main paths: Aurists, who channelled aura into their bodies. And Arcanists, who refined and stored mana.
A rare few tried both, but the progress was harder, and harmony between the two energies had to be maintained.
Aura was life force, sharpened through discipline. Most people awaken it in their late teens or twenties after grinding their bodies to the limit. Prodigies awakened earlier. At first, it just boosted speed and strength, but at higher levels, it could unleash feats that were akin to magic.
Mana was different. It lived in nature, thought, and even spirit. Mages had to learn to sense and borrow it through conduits - staves, scrolls, circles - before awakening the ability to store it inside themselves. That's when they officially became Arcanists.
It was at around a similar age to Aurists, of course, depending on talent and potential.
Two parallel tracks, same ranking ladder:
Initiate → Intermediate → Advanced → Elite → Master → Grandmaster
The books were vague about what each stage meant in real power, but it was a useful scale.
One clear thing was that ranks weren't the whole picture.
Potential is the natural ceiling your body was born with as an Ascendant. Most people's potential could be measured at birth and rarely budged. Rare cases could push theirs higher, but those were exceptions. Conveniently, the Chess King System had a letter grade for it. Nice, clean, easy to track.
Talent, though - that was something else. It couldn't be measured. It decided how fast someone climbed, how far they'd push, and whether they'd ever reach their maximum potential at all. From what I'd seen, Zeyra had talent in spades.
She seemed to progress rapidly. Terrifyingly so, according to the recorded norm. And I'd only seen a fraction of what she could do.
Another thing stuck with me: climbing higher wasn't just about strength training. The further you progressed, the more it demanded from your mind and spirit. Enlightenment, perspective, and even willpower factored in. Layers upon layers of variables stacked together.
And skill? Skill was the wild card.
The ranks told you what stage someone had reached, but two people at the same level could be worlds apart. A genius with high talent and sharp skill could crush a peer who'd just scraped by. Hell, with enough skill and the right setup, someone like Zeyra could probably ambush and take out an opponent 'stronger' than her.
Special Traits were another additional variable that weren't really written about, but seemed to be under the umbrella of skill.
All of it painted a bigger picture.
This world wasn't just about raw power. It was about potential, talent, enlightenment, and the skill to actually use it all.
Funny thing is? I hadn't even got around to reading about the Kingdom I was supposed to be a prince of, or the Empire whose princess would soon be here to visit. That probably would've been more useful considering. But regret? That was for the weak-minded.
Or so I always said to myself, likely to cope with bad decisions.
At least I now had a foundation of knowledge and an idea of how the ranking worked.
And if I played my cards right - I'd be climbing that ladder faster than anyone expected. Or, more correctly, my pieces would be doing it for me.
-
A yawn slipped out before I could stop it. My mind still ached faintly from earlier, but the worst had passed. I'd survived overusing the King's Will without collapsing on the spot. Barely.
And now? I was somewhere between thrilled and dazed.
A new world. A new body. Royal blood. A system I barely understood. Magic. Aura. Chess pieces made of people. Knowledge bouncing around my skull like ping-pong balls.
Even just staring out the window felt entertaining.
The sun streamed through latticed glass in soft golden streaks. The courtyard below was immaculate - towering trees trimmed with obsessive care, shadows cut sharply across tiled paths. Strange birds trilled high, musical notes, and a fountain murmured lazily in the distance.
The Drakenthorn estate oozed luxury. Marble flooring, carved pillars, and chandeliers worth more than my old neighbourhood. It screamed nobility at every turn, but beneath all the beauty ran a quiet tension - like the place itself was holding its breath, waiting.
For what, or for whom, I wasn't sure.
I stretched, arms behind my head, ignoring the weighty silence. Zeyra hadn't moved from the corner in hours. Still cross-legged, still steady. Her swirling energies, once turbulent, now hummed evenly through the air.
Checking her condition on her Status Window, I was relieved to see that she was supposedly improving.
'Elite rank in both pathways at her, that's impressive.'
Not that I had the faintest idea how strong she actually was.
Sure, the system gave me ranks and titles, but that didn't translate to a tangible image in my mind - not that I wanted to experience it personally.
'She could kill me while blindfolded. In her sleep, even.'
I let the chessboard fade away with a sigh. I'd obsess over that later. For now, I needed to-
"Young Master."
I flinched.
One heartbeat, she was meditating. The next, standing in front of me, as if she'd skipped the in-between. If I hadn't known she was in the room and experienced her speed already, I might've screamed.
Her voice was calm, clipped, and professional.
"It's time."
"Already?" I certainly wasn't looking forward to the formal proceedings that were to come, in which I was sure I would be looked down upon.
I was the loser prince after all.
She simply nodded. No hesitation. No mercy. There was no getting out of this.
As such, I pushed myself up with a grunt.
But before we took a step, Zeyra stopped me.