Alex sat on a raised stone in the garden.
Connor didn't cease his training, continuing with his clean swings and timely pivots, each movement sharp and practiced.
Alex, whose blue eyes looked a little vacant, sat calmly while swinging his legs in a steady rhythm.
The voice that appeared during his breakthrough burdened him more than it elevated him.
There was only one thing ringing in his head now—grow stronger, and learn everything about himself.
He found it a miracle that he hadn't lost control yet, despite his lacking sense of self.
The voice during his breakthrough had tried saying something about loss of control, but it unfortunately couldn't relay its final warning.
His dad had placed a seal on him to slow his growth and minimize the chances of losing control.
"Have you heard the rumours?" Alex asked with those slightly vacant eyes.
"Yeah, about the guest from the capital and his training method?"
Alex nodded slightly. "I may honestly have to go against Mum. I'm sure she wouldn't let me explain once she hears about the training."
Alex clearly remembered her every word that night. He had been only thirteen when he woke up in tears and pain. His mum had sobbed for him, tears filling her eyes as she held him close.
She had said to Alex that quiet night:
"Alex, listen to me.
The world will tell you to finish yourself—
to seal every wound, harden every weakness, sharpen every edge.
But perfection is a cage, not a destiny.
Your incompleteness is not your downfall.
It is your fire.
A complete man cannot grow.
A complete man cannot dream.
A complete man cannot rise.
It is the unfinished blade that returns to the forge.
It is the unfinished soul that seeks its purpose.
And it is the unfinished boy who becomes something the world has never seen.
You think your emptiness makes you fragile.
But that emptiness is the very space where your future will be built.
Do not fear what you lack, Alex.
Fear only the day when you stop striving to become more."
But to Alex, it still felt like only he could understand himself…
He believed his mum's words mended his unstable emotions in every way.
But there were days when Alex felt stitched together from pieces that didn't match—shreds of anger, slivers of hope, fragments of someone he used to be.
He knew people expected him to stand tall, to be unshakable. Yet every night, in the silence only he could hear, he felt it again—that hollow ache in his heart, the sense that something vital was missing. A part of him he could neither name nor reach.
He hated it.
Not because it weakened him—but because it reminded him he was still human in a world that demanded monsters or gods.
But maybe—just maybe—that emptiness was the reason he still fought.
A silent promise that there was more to him than what he had been forced to become.
More to him than the pain he pretended not to feel.
Alex wasn't complete yet.
But he was learning that incompleteness isn't a curse.
Sometimes it's the doorway to becoming someone stronger.
This had always driven him to grow, even before the voice in his head revealed its existence.
Connor noticed Alex's brows furrow slightly and asked, "What's on your mind?"
Alex looked toward him and smiled shallowly. "How Mum would feel if I just went ahead and participated in the training without getting her approval."
"She honestly deserves to know. At least give her a hint or something… Maybe lie about going on another expedition?" Connor suggested.
Alex shook his head. "She's still a Transcendent-stage bloomer with network sources. She wouldn't buy the excuse. I'm considering going first and facing her anger later. I have high hopes for this training for some reason."
"I will also partake in the training…" Connor paused his sword practice before sheathing his blade and storing it.
"I awakened before you, but you bloomed first. I know growth rate depends on how close one is to the world, but I feel my connection wouldn't lose out to the top students of our academy. I should breakthrough before we set out on this training... My only regret is that my awakened mastery couldn't transcend."
Alex jumped down from where he sat and followed Connor out of the garden. The relic flew over to Connor's shoulder and perched there.
Connor often worried about the possibility of losing his awakened relic when he bloomed. But academy teachings said the possibility was greatly reduced depending on how closely tied one was to their awakened artifact. So the thought didn't worry him as it should, especially since his relic felt like an extension of his senses.
He was so close to his relic, in fact, that he named it Aero and considered him a pet.
The chance of losing the relic from the previous rank was even lower if the integrator didn't change their part. And an integrator's part could only be changed once—at the bloom rank.
Alex scratched his head and said quietly, "I need to shop for body armour. I need to buy at least three… Who knows when the training will end?"
Connor replied joyously, his earlier seriousness disappearing. "The principal told me what the mutated guardian dropped—a sword that can change into armour. He said he handed it to an expert artificer to turn into a nodachi.
"He later promised to make it into a katana to fit my sword preference!"
Alex had already seen the sword and its armour form. They weren't to his liking. His dad had even taken him to a secret weaponry, but he found no armour that resonated with his combat style.
He planned to visit the adventurers' market in the Adventurers' HQ… or check the biggest market in Coeron before embarking on the journey.
Chapter eleven - The adventurers guild. 12/12/2025
Inside a vast—luxurious yet dim chamber in Coeron Arbora._
Kaelon Malven knelt on one knee, head bowed low.
On the glass table before him rested a black, opaque object exuding a domineering darkness._
From it, the shrouded figure of the Dark Sovereign of Valoryn emerged as a projection.
"I take responsibility for my incompetence, Your Eminence… I still couldn't locate this special awakened," the Hourglass said, still kneeling.
"I felt it again, Kaelon… the seed has bloomed," the figure murmured, as if nothing in existence could disturb him.
Kaelon absorbed those words before speaking again, his voice utterly respectful.
"There have been three students in Coeron Arbora who bloomed under my watch… I can affirm there is nothing remarkable about them."_
He hesitated, a bead of sweat sliding down his forehead, unsure if he should continue.
"Your Majesty… perhaps this special seed is not in this particular academy?"
Silence settled—heavy and suffocating—before the king finally spoke.
"Continue searching. Some unknown force is distorting my senses as a Monarch."
He paused, faint amusement flickering in his voice.
"I cannot pinpoint the seed's exact location, but it is in Coeron Arbora. Go through the young seeds during the mission… investigate every one of them, and report those you find unusual."_
The projection vanished instantly—as though he had never been there—leaving only the suffocating aura lingering in the air._
The black object on the table slowly reverted to its natural brown state, its dark haze fading. Even the room's lights brightened again, as if relieved of pressure.
---
A bustling, noisy atmosphere filled the air._
Inside an enormous bright building supported by thick, milky stone pillars etched with glistening ancient engravings, men and women clad in armor and wielding axes, war hammers, or swords moved about—some purposeful, others wandering. A few drunken adventurers slumped against pillars or argued loudly.
This was the Adventurers' HQ of Coeron.
Alex and Connor had told Ellie earlier they'd be visiting the HQ, and it turned out Ellie also needed a charm.
As they explored the shops, they passed one filled with sparkling swords, mana powered firearms of all types, armours, rings, and other shining armaments._
Any integrator who loved flashy gear would stop here without hesitation, and Connor—being one—darted straight toward the displays. His eyes sparkled exaggeratedly, and he looked almost hypnotized as he touched the glass showcases.
He managed to restrain himself and bought only a shiny storage ring._
He spent five gold and four silver coins, which shook his savings.
He previously had fifteen gold, nine silver, and two bronze coins. But after buying the new storage ring, his money dropped to a measly hundred-and-five silver and two bronze.
Connor naturally checked the storage capacity before buying. The new ring held as much space as a small room, while his previous ring held no more than a medium-sized bag.
Ellie requested they visit a charms shop next before checking for body armour.
Connor suggested introducing her to a charms vendor he trusted, claiming the owner was an expert in gathering high-quality, long-lasting charms._
Ellie nodded and followed behind Connor with Alex by her side.
They walked into a narrow hallway. The once-soaring ceiling of over eighteen meters dropped sharply here, the dim lights deepening shadows. The ceiling now rose barely five meters.
Ellie frowned slightly, suspecting this was not Connor's idea of an "expert" vendor.
They stopped in front of a shady little shop. Ellie stiffened.
"Don't tell me they scammed Connor?" she thought in alarm.
"Old man Bramble, you have customers!" Connor shouted.
Ruffling sounds rose from within, and an old man appeared moments later—disheveled hair, deep shadows under his eyes which had milky irises with yellow pupils, and rough, worn clothes completing his weary look._
He stepped behind the counter—a simple desk acting as a barrier—his white, slightly trimmed beard visible now.
"Oh! Young Connor, are these your friends?" Old man Bramble asked, his unusual eyes gleaming and still looking sleep-deprived even though he had just woken up.
Connor nodded enthusiastically and introduced them. "This is Alex, that's Ellie. They're also in their final year at the academy."
Old man Bramble nodded, then faced Alex. "Do you need mind-strengthening charms?"
Both Ellie and Alex froze. How did he know?
Alex asked, slightly doubtful, "What can you offer, and how effective are your collections?"
"Hmmm, my charms are top quality… if you can identify the best," the old man said. He paused before laughing lightly. "Their effectiveness depends on your pick. I create charms, but only in the fire domain._
I have one in the fire domain that greatly strengthens mental fortitude—stronger than even charms tied to the moon source domain. But the rule is this: find it within three trials and pay thirty gold… or pay sixty if you want me to hand it to you directly. Which do you choose?"
Alex was slightly puzzled. Why such a large price difference?
He asked, "Isn't sixty coins a bit too much? And someone with a luck-enhancement charm or skill might get it on the first try."
Old man Bramble chuckled softly, then added as if tempting him, "I have luck-enhancement charms. You can buy one to increase your chances."
Alex suddenly felt like prey being baited, so he quickly abandoned the idea of buying a luck charm._
Old man Bramble invited all three of them inside.
Alex was fully prepared to choose the sixty-gold-coin option if he failed all three trials.