The Arcane Emperor

Chapter 48 The Ice Wolf Queen

Chapter 48 The Ice Wolf Queen

Rainer sat with a stack of notes in front of him, as Kara still lay sleeping behind him. Out of everything from Nalmar he only had the tier 5 spells left to commit to memory enough to then recall them in [Sleep Learning].

Picking up a small journal, it soon disappeared in an Arcane-Fire. He had just finished with [Frozen Sun]. Different from the other 8 mage towers, only The Frozen Sun Mage tower had a tier 6 spell, the rest were tier 5.

[Frozen Sun] was not just a mass freezing spell but could be used on a smaller scale. At least, that's what its creators said one could do as they mastered it. And then to not only freeze its target but Magic itself. He wondered then what made [Inferno] a tier 6 spell. The Great Sage was light on explanations.

In fact, most of the Great Sage's notes contained little explanation, Rainer complained to himself.

One by one he burnt away the tomes on the various tier 5 spells. He could always rewrite them, and having them taking up space in his Spatial Ring was of little point. Once he used [Sleep Learning] on what he read, they became permanent memories.

From there, Rainer went through everything from the hidden library one last time before burning them away as well. He was most interested in the various blood magics that didn't use any Runes. It was for the same reason Druidic Magic interested him to such a high degree.

Magic that differed from everything he knew interested him far more than any other.

Seeing Kara still sleeping, Rainer headed out of the room. He gave another command to the [Auer's Moss] to dim further.

As he exited the room, he saw Gunthar and Theodore sitting in meditation.

"Morning, Elru still sleeping?" Rainer asked.

"No, she's been in the scroll room since you went to bed. She muttered something about inconsistencies in the Fae library. Apparently, Furtak's revelation on a Goblin's similarity to a Monster was something she'd never heard of. At least…not in a derogatory way," Theodore answered.

"I'll head over then."

Gunthar stood up to follow Rainer, while Theodore remained in front of Kara's room. Rainer wished to speak to Elru about his accomplishments with Body Enchantment and learn more from her. She had brought back the bark that is used as practice material. Rainer had since just kept it in his Spatial Ring.

Walking over, he thought of that exact bark and whether he could recreate it in [Sleep Learning]. He had no issues with wood in general, and now he realized he'd never tried to copy a corpse.

Entering the scroll room, his thoughts returned to Body Enchanting. Elru stood over a table; a scroll laid out in front of her.

"It all makes so much sense now…" She mumbled to herself before noticing Rainer coming into the room.

"Hello, Rainer," She said. Her mood was more jubilant than not since coming back. Even if she had a deal with Rainer in the past, it was not the same as her sister now received the Fruit.

"What are you reading about?"

"Just some general history of the tribe…the recent revelation of Goblins being of Aura…it alters one of my long-standing theories."

"Which is?"

"That all sentient races share a common background. And that this common background is a mix of Humans and some unknown ancestor. Though," She said with a slight laugh, "Most would have a distaste for such a theory. Ah, nothing personal."

"It's fine. Humans don't leave the best reputation," Rainer responded.

"We look too similar, don't you think? Even with our differences. I assumed Fae and Demon were the closest to this ancestor given our magical nature, with Goblins somewhere there as well…but…"

"They are completely different," Rainer answered. Even with his level 1 in [Goblin Anatomy] he only knew Goblins were different than Humans. It was his assumption from his knowledge that they were partly magical in nature. Something that the Great Sage had believed as well until he raised [Goblin Anatomy] to level 7 during his studies to become Flame-Touched.

"So, what can I help you with? Do you require another demonstration on the Bark, or perhaps…"

"I've already enchanted Kara. I'd like you to take a look and then let me see some of your enchantments again," Rainer said interrupting her.

"Alright then. I shall clean up and head over," Elru responded.

Both Gunthar and Rainer were surprised at her lack of a reaction. In fact, Rainer had used [Arcane Sight] to see through her Glamour just for such a thing. He just shrugged his shoulders and headed out of the room.

As Elru put away the scrolls in a place she could find later, her movements gradually slowed. Slowing until the point she froze completely. The scroll fell from her hand as she replayed Rainer's words in her head.

"W-what do you mean, you e-enchanted Kara?" A stuttering question, not fitting the ethereal voice of a Fae, came out from Elru.

"It's just a simple shield enchantment. I did it while you were gone. I have something of an illusionary space to practice. After getting it correct on the Demon, I used my space to practice it on a Wolfkin," Rainer added. He didn't need any questions brought about why he could use a Demon's body to transfer over Body Enchantments to Kara directly.

Had Gunthar eyes, they would be glaring at Rainer. Seeing the grin on his face, Gunthar knew Rainer intentionally left out the part where Aura fueled the simple enchantment.

But before he could lessen the incoming shock, Elru already rushed out of the room.

"Ah, Kara's asleep, though, so maybe first we…"

"Then we shall wake her," Elru responded uncharacteristic of her usual self. But, she paused before entering the room, "Can you check if she's awake?" Elru then asked.

Rainer just chuckled as he opened the door. Kara was already awake sitting in meditation on the bed. As he entered, Kara's eyes opened.

"What was with Elru yelling?"

"I told her about the enchantment. Can she see it? I'd like her to make sure there isn't something wrong in any case."

"I'd appreciate that," Kara responded to Elru's delight. Gunthar followed behind but soon realized what checking the enchantment would entail. He closed the door behind himself as he left the room, grumbling how no one even asked him to leave.

Kara was a bit embarrassed unbuttoning her shirt for Elru, but seeing her interest, not too different from Rainer's solely in the Runic lines, she calmed down.

Looking on from a distance, Rainer noticed that were it not for Elru tracing the lines with her finger he wouldn't be able to notice them. The silver lines with a slight violet tint were almost invisible. At night, he didn't notice them at all.

Staring at the two, Rainer became lost in thought over the various enchantments he could perform. But a little Fairy coming out of his pocket poked him in the cheek.

"Rainer should fantasize such things with Luna, not Elru," She complained, misunderstanding his interested gaze.

But Luna's comment had quite the effect on the bare-chested Kara. As well as Elru, who was too entranced to notice her fingers moving across a more sensitive place.

The shield rune itself was focused on Kara's back, but Elru's primary interest was on the strange Mana Output Rune, that she was unaware in fact dealt with Aura.

Elru coughed lightly before speaking, "Everything looks alright, but Mana Rune is a little strange…"

"It's an Aura Output Rune," Rainer said. Following which Kara displayed the Shield ability. A solid spherical shield formed. She then altered it to a small circle in front of her. Kara, of course, unaware of Elru not knowing it was Aura related.

"Aura…"Elru said, before mumbling some random thoughts.

"How is this possible?" She flatly asked. She didn't know where to begin with her questions. So she just asked a completely general one.

Rainer paused for a moment. This type of knowledge might provide a significant increase in strength to the Fae. If they knew the true inner workings of their race's magic, Rainer couldn't imagine the type of advancements they might make.

And with Luna's situation, the Queen may not be her only enemy. Sooner or later, someone would use [Appraisal] on Luna. After seeing Elru return and how she's acted, he imagined her the perfect one to take a chance on.

"It's not related, but you can appraise Luna now."

Elru furrowed her brows but did appraise Luna. Who, had not even the slightest worry on her face, sitting on Rainer's shoulder.

Elru's eyes opened wide as she went through the various information she received through [Appraisal].

However, the largest shock was not Luna's class. In fact, even the well-studied Elru, who couldn't see the description of the class, didn't think it was anything strange. [Holder of the Faerie Arcane-Fire] was a far too different term to the Sacred Faerie Fire, as Theodore called it, in any case.

The shock was a title.

[Homunculus].

"And?" Elru asked. She didn't know if Rainer was even aware of the title, so she said nothing. Now, she started to understand why the Queen was after Luna. But she had no idea where to direct her displeasure at such a thing. Whether Rainer was the creator or the Queen was the one who had done such a thing.

But seeing Luna in front of her, she hadn't the heart to reveal such a secret to someone who may not know.

"Her class doesn't mean anything to you?" Rainer asked. He was well aware of Luna's origins but not that she had a title about it.

"No…" Elru responded. She thought over the class. Faerie Fire itself wasn't a rare existence. Though, unknown to Elru, this was not something that could be compared to an ordinary Faerie Fire. So, she assumed the Arcane part was a secret.

Remembering Rainer's magic, she now understood that it was Arcane Magic. Few would attribute his magic to being the same as the common training spell, [Arcane Bolt].

Thinking this was somehow his weakness, and that this strange Arcane Magic had then changed Luna, she assumed that was the secret of the class.

Rainer needed confirmation that Luna having a Sacred Faerie Fire wasn't a point of contention. But even with [Mana reading], he sensed nothing strange.

And while Elru displayed an odd reaction, Rainer thought it could be for many things. Such as the combination of Luna's age and yet having a level 25 [Fae Enchanter] subclass.

Lacking the answer he wanted, he lied. Or rather, omitted certain truths.

"It's related to the [Archon] class. I can easily gain skills so long as I make an attempt at them and have a decent enough understanding. Seeing the mechanics of Body Enchanting was enough for me to cross that gap. I can't say I fully understand it, though. But I can create copies as well as alterations," Rainer said pointing to Kara.

While to Rainer's party, this was no longer a big secret, to Elru it was massive. She did not even question that if it was the whole truth, and just assumed Rainer decided to trust her.

"But how then, did you alter it to use Aura?" Elru asked. This point she was extremely curious of. While Aura talent was as rare among Fae as Mana Talent was among humans, it still existed. [Fae Enchanter]s had in the past tried to get their enchants to work with Aura, but were completely unsuccessful.

"My Aura," Rainer said, manipulating a small amount in his hand, "Is a mix of Magic and Aura. I used it while enchanting Kara to bridge the gap. To connect and alter the Rune to draw from her Aura pool."

Elru moved slowly, walking closer to the small orb of violet Aura. Using both [Aura Detection] and [Magic Detection], she found both detected the strange Aura.

"Incredible…" She whispered, for a moment getting lost in the violet hue.

"Then which shall we start with?" Elru said. She was just as excited to see other enchantments on Kara and perhaps bring back the Aura Rune to her people.

"Ah, do you mind if I copy down the Aura Output Rune? Aura users are rare among the Fae but…" She then asked.

"It might not be of any help, but go ahead." Rainer doubted anyone could accomplish it without his Arcane Aura, "Can you leave out the part about me?"

"Of course. I've already come up with an excuse that I read it from an old text," Elru responded.

Rainer's mind changed again. He knew he might never get another more trustworthy Fae to ask about the Sacred Flame.

"Elru," Rainer said in a serious tone.

Elru looked over confused.

"What does the Sacred Faerie Fire mean to you?"

Elru froze as she came to a realization. Why he hid Luna's class.

"It was the power of the First Queen, who established the Fae a place in the world. The world now considered the Fae's Realm. Then her class…"

Rainer nodded as he awaited Elru's reaction.

"Then…Yulia, she seeks Luna as a helper for the next trial? To overcome the preparations, we've made to counter her Wind Magic?" Elru asked. She didn't know how this cooperation would have been gained, however.

If their only record of the Faerie Fire is from a beloved legend, then it might make sense they wouldn't know it can be stolen as Yulia does.

Rainer thought.

"That's what I imagine. Luna had escaped on her own, was captured by Goblins, and here we are."

"But…if the Fae courts knew of this they would protect her. There is no reason to fear Yulia," Elru said.

"Protect, or use?" Rainer asked. His face slightly darkened at Elru's suggestion. Even if Elru was unaware of Luna's fire being able to be stolen, he wasn't sure anyone else would have the same ignorance.

"I see…your point," Elru added, "Then we can consider this another secret amongst us. You have my word to keep it as such," She then said, taking on a more formal tone.

"Thank you," Rainer said, "As for which enchantment I wish to see first, I'd like to see the one with a similar effect to [Gift of Lightning]." This enchantment was of the greatest interest to Rainer. Especially considering that it stacked with a cast version of [Gift of Lightning].

Rainer spent the next few hours taking notes of the enchantment. He had Luna cast the gift version as well and watched with [Arcane Sight] the Runes that formed it. He also listened to the strange chant that accompanying it.

Now assuming the chant was a magical language innate to the Fae. Similar to the [Internal Runic Mana Formation], he thought the Fae didn't have an actual skill for it.

As Rainer poured over his notes, Elru used the time to speak to Kara about her first enchantment.

"Have you gained the skill yet?" Elru asked.

"For?"

"There is a skill for General Body Enchantment use, and then each enchantment is its own skill. Part of our strength is that we can quickly level up [Runic Knight]s. Of course, the weaker enchantment skills stop providing good experience in the later levels, so it isn't omnipotent by any means. But with yours being one that draws off Aura…"

"It may give great experience," Rainer responded.

"Kara, now that you have level 25 in [Blade Dancer], maybe you should switch it to a subclass and see if you have a similar [Runic Knight] class?" Rainer asked.

"I shall leave the room then," Elru said, "I wish to finish the scroll I was reading in any case. Prior to being…distracted by such an amazing achievement," She added. Choosing one's class was actually a personal affair. Rainer knew not what Gunthar sharing his class description meant.

After Elru left the room, Rainer asked another question as Luna already headed over to Kara, "Did you get your Class Advancement Quest?"

"No…" Kara answered, "My second class is level 23. So it seems they are connected."

"I may as well switch for the time being. If it's as Elru says, who knows how fast I can level it. And with all four of my Aura talents, I may even reach level 25 with the new class before my De-Wolf one." She stopped herself from saying Demon, just in case.

"Four?" Rainer asked.

"I have [True Aura Affinity], and [Excellent Aura Comprehension], but I have each one twice," She said a bit proudly.

Rainer's looked on in shock. He knew Kara had likely a high talent for Aura, but he would never have thought her Half-Demon nature would mean she had talents to such a degree. He recalled the recent scene of her easily killing a 2nd Tier Demon.

"What's the True part mean?"

"My mother said it's a step above Excellent."

Rainer was a bit disappointed at being only excellent. However, he viewed nothing as permanent.

From the notes, Rainer read that the Great Sage's Fire Affinity rose from Strong, to True. And given his regrets, Rainer wasn't sure he would follow the path of becoming Touched by Magic, but at the very least he knew nothing was permanent. Not even one's race.

"So, then you'll be switching classes?" He asked.

"Of course, It would be foolish to attempt my second class trial without as many subclasses as I can train," Kara added, before awkwardly looking down.

"It was foolish. But I'd take that chance again, no matter who it was that was after us." He said looking at Kara, "I'll go back to studying my notes, tell me if you need my opinion. The class won't be much use unless I make more enchantments for you."

"Ah, before I forget. Are there any other options for your Demon Class?" He asked while using [Soul Detection] to make sure no one was nearby.

Kara shook her head, "Most of my race, no matter what they do can only select their bloodline Class until they reach the 2nd Tier and unlock the extra primary class slot. It's part of what makes the Class Advancement quite difficult for us. We can't have any subclasses. At-least…normally. But mine should be easier-"

"No, it should be far more difficult. Kara, I've been thinking for a while what is required for a Third Tier Class."

"You believe such a thing exists?" She asked.

"Perhaps you may not know, but when you get a title that gives too much experience it says-"

"Experience Deferred…So you received Experience Deferred even while having a 2nd Tier Class?" Kara questioned surprised

Rainer nodded, "I think the 3rd Tier Class is a combination of two 2nd Tier Primary Classes. If your is a combination, it may be harder than anything ever known. Even mine. You can't take it lightly."

Kara sat in thought before going back to selecting her class. Not receiving a Class Advancement Quest after [Blade Dancer] reached level 25 had surprised her. Now thinking about it, she realized what that could mean.

Only several minutes passed before Kara had made her choice.

[Mystic Dancer: A Mystic Dancer of weapons who empowers themselves with the power of Runes. Yet these Runes fueled by one's Aura and infused with the Arcane are of a different power. An unprecedented talent in Aura merged with the strength of the Arcane. A symphony of Aura and Magic. A Mystic power unstoppable on the battlefield. 100% General Improvement to Body Enchantments. 70% Reduced cost of using Body Enchantments. 70% General Improvement to any Aura and Weapon skills. Learn any Body Enchantment skill far easier. +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity +2 Aura Control, +2 Aura Attunement per Level past Level 1.]

Kara gave a self-depreciating smile as she spoke, "To think it gives the same bonus to Aura and Blades, or rather any weapon, on top of an extra point in control…my [Blade Dancer] class seems pitiful now. And your ridiculous class bonus is added on for Body Enchantments."

"If any part of you could be considered pitiful, I pity the rest of the world now," Rainer said eliciting a small laugh from Kara.

He now thought of the kind of force he could create for his school. Given the unprecedented talent in Aura part of the class, Rainer guessed there might not be another on this world who could gain this class. But with an Aura Runic Knight, or some variation, he could now see an entire knighthood for his Academy. Unmatched in strength.

"Shall we call Elru back inside now?" Kara asked with excitement. She already thought her shield enchantment quite strong before, which it was. Especially given that it received all of Kara's bonuses to Aura. But now it reached a different level.

Rainer watched in shock as over the course of a few hours Kara not only leveled her [Aural Body Enchantment Mastery] and [Runic Shield Enhancement] to level 2 but had reached level 9 with [Mystic Dancer]. A class, that gave 1 attribute and skill point per level.

"I was right…the Aura part of the Runes made them far higher ranked skills. But to such a degree…" Elru said as she appraised Kara.

Rainer, in the background, rubbed his eyes, quite tired from pouring over the notes.

"Elru, let's continue in the hall," Kara said. She couldn't believe how fast she leveled. She knew those in their second class could often power level a first-tier class, by using a specific skill or spell to level. But it was hardly something they did in a few hours.

Just as Rainer was falling asleep, he looked over to Luna.

"So, what do you think? Your ability makes you as much as a legend as mine."

"Hmm?" Luna responded. Her face was a bit red as she thought, or rather fantasized when it was her turn for Body Enchantments.

"Luna agrees, Luna going to sleep now," She responded before fluttering away.

Rainer with a smile on his face fell asleep quite easily.

Earlier that day at the Baron's Mansion.

"Stand still boy," Raspard said as he placed a hand on the Crown Prince of Mier's head. A surge of Mana followed as Raspard tried to get a sense for his target's Soul. He needed someone who interreacted closely with his target recently.

As he was doing this, Yarik carefully monitored him. Any sense of an additional magic and there would be hell to pay.

He considered David no different from his own son. Even with the vast resources of the Skyborne Mage Guild, Yarik had over centuries only ended up having a single daughter. Engaging her to David held a far higher meaning in such a case.

"The read is blurry, but this'll work wonders," Raspard mumbled quietly to himself before asking to speak with Yarik in private.

"Did you notice Yarik?" Raspard asked. He barely kept a grin down. He didn't want to earn Yarik's rage given a lack of a current target.

"Notice what?"

"Your boy has less Life than he should," Raspard said. He knew the exact amount was only a few years, but he wouldn't mention specifics.

Having no idea either, when and if the Prince's lack of Life Energy had anything to do with his target. But he cared not, anything to get more help would be ideal.

The fact that Yulia needed his help at all meant the task was not as simple as it seemed. But a Fruit of the World Tree, along with 100 years of life from the doses of Fairy Dust, was more than anything for an all but dead man.

"You mean…" Yarik growled out in understanding.

Raspard said nothing and let Yarik's imagination do the work.

The Prince's age of 33 was well known. He had reached the second tier at age 30. Reaching level 25 at 30 was by no means a record, especially as a Human, but attempting and beating the trial with not even a subclass at that age was a grand feat. At least, when not knowing of Foreign Lord Magus' accomplishments.

Seeing Yarik stew in anger, Raspard left the room. His goal had been accomplished. He knew the general direction his target went, though some strange interference made it unclear. His spell normally revealed a target's exact location.

Which, unknown to him, was exactly why Yulia had chosen to hire him.

Speaking with his employer, Maya, Raspard told that he knew the general direction. Though, until he got closer, he couldn't guess how far.

"Just tell me when we are about a day away. My mistress is more than capable of catching up," Maya answered.

The lack of fear and respect perturbed Raspard, but still remembering his duel with this "Mistress", he held himself back.

"Will she be assisting us in the fight?" Raspard asked. He wished to make sure of the matter.

"Of course. Would she offer such a payment if she were capable of doing it alone? Act your part and lead me there. Handle his companions and she will handle him." Maya answered. That wasn't the exact truth, as her Queen only intended on acting at the last possible moment, but she wanted to reassure Raspard.

"Once Yarik prepares himself, along with additional help, we'll be off."

Maya didn't respond. She was too worried how relieved she'd sound at having additional help. Or what, in actuality, she viewed as additional fodder for her Queen.

In another room of the Baron's Mansion Yarik sat with the grey haired [Sword Saint], Elijah. Yarik personally inspected the Prince's Life Energy. While he couldn't get an exact reading like Raspard, he knew it wasn't the same as before.

And with Yarik's ability in Mana he didn't believe Raspard could steal Life Energy from right under his nose. A method to steal Life Energy without Magic? Yarik knew of no such thing, nor could even imagine such a thing.

"Elijah…we can't let this go unanswered. With Raspard there, it is our best chance. I already suspect he might know of the deposits in the North."

"I won't come cheaply."

"I know," Yarik responded. They prepared to leave. Yarik took out masks from his Spatial Ring. It wasn't the first time he would act in secret.

Entering [Sleep Learning] Rainer decided to spend this night on Auto-pilot to fully solidify all the knowledge from the various notes and books. But first, his interest was seeing if not only he could recreate the magical bark in here, but also a recently deceased corpse.

Using [Arcane Sight], Rainer thought over the magical bark. The strange lines of magic that crossed the non-living wood. And soon it appeared in front of him.

He then focused on a recently deceased Fae, the Female [Runic Knight] who's enchantments he had studied closely. Though, lacking the ability to study them in use, they didn't provide the same knowledge as Elru's.

His eyes opened wide in excitement as he saw the corpse form in front of him, but it almost instantly began dissipating into Mana. No different than when any Fae died. However, the process was extremely quick; leaving no time for Rainer to experiment.

He then tried to recreate the corpse of the Lion-like Demon. A dead body, with a small hole in his head from where Theodore killed him, appeared. Rainer wasn't sure how useful this would be to practice on, as the body lacked any energy source within.

With the unlimited nature of [Sleep Learning], Rainer quickly recreated the Runes he had made on Kara.

Under [Arcane Awakening] and having no fear of failure, the process finished in only a few minutes.

Without the need to carefully manipulate his Mana, he flew through the enchantment. His recent levels in [Internal Runic Mana Formation] made the process as safe for him as it would be for a Fae. Compared to the amount of Mana he used when enchanting Kara, it was over 100 times that. Speed cost as such.

He looked on. The enchantment succeeded, as far as he could tell.

Rainer created a copy of the notes he took after studying Elru's Runes and Luna's casting of [Gift of Lightning]. He would try to cast [Gift of Lightning]. Intending on surpassing any non-Fae student of Fae magic which came before him.

He had the [Sleep Learning] space recreate the chant Luna did but soon found an issue. Trying to follow along, it was as if he lacked the ability to create several of the strange sounds.

He now realized too, that it was almost as if more than one person spoke. As he was now, Rainer had no idea how to replicate this with Magic. He knew no Magic related to sound apart from the skill for infusing his voice with Arcane. Let alone, how to create any other strange words Luna said.

Leaving that for another time, Rainer attempted to enchant the Demon in front of him with the Body Enchantment version of [Gift of Lightning].

Several hours and many bodies later, Rainer found success. But he ran into a problem. He wasn't sure what the effect was. For all he knew it might shock, or even hurt Kara.

Using a combination of [Aura Drain] and [General Aura Manipulation], Rainer filled the formerly empty Aura pool of the dead Demon and tested out the enchantment. Power surged, and the dead body was seemingly unaffected. Touching it, and not being shocked Rainer only had one more step to complete.

To create it for [Arcane Awakening].

Standing up, he looked at his body. He chose the center of his chest, the same spot where both the Runes for effects similar to [Gift of Lightning] and [Gift of the Giants] were.

He reformed the Runic Lines of [Arcane Awakening] in a multitude of ways. Every time the Rune just fizzled out. Recalling back to the need of his Arcane Aura to complete the Aura Output Rune on Kara, and himself, he now called upon Arcane-Lightning.

During his numerous tests to shock himself in the past, he felt an effect akin to [Gift of Lightning]. He partially converted the Arcane Power of [Arcane Awakening] to Arcane-Lightning, before it then powered the Rune in the center of his chest.

After numerous attempts and several life-ending shocks, he succeeded.

And with some minor corrections from his [Archon] class bonus, the skill became reality.

[Skill Gained: Arcane Awakening: Surge lvl 1/10].

[Arcane Awakening: Surge: Channel the power of Arcane-Lightning in a Rune made of Arcane Awakening. Increases the speed of all one's abilities.]

[Arcane Awakening has reached level 4]

Instantly his entire body felt almost ethereal. And charged with a surging power.

Yet without any outside comparison, he couldn't understand how much faster he truly became. In his current level, with [Arcane Awakening], he hadn't experienced Luna's [Gift of Lightning].

But a more important change occurred, at least in Rainer's perspective. As his [Arcane Awakening] leveled he felt the cycling Arcane Energy in his body far more clearly. This he viewed as another step toward whatever requirements he needed for his Third-Tier Class of choice.

Feeling the time that had passed, Rainer decided to see how his new Void skills worked in here before using Auto-pilot solidify the rest of his memories. He would be careful, however, not to level them.

Using [Void Seer], Rainer noted he could just scan across the White Void. With [Void Grasp] Rainer tried to use [Void-walking] but found resistance. He immediately stopped as he gained a general understanding of the skill.

He went into Auto-pilot then, as he wished to save the second level of the skills to further his [Voidwalker] class.

Waking up soon after, all his gains from Nalmar permanently entered his memory.

Kara stayed awake the whole night. Standing in the corner of the room, she still trained with her Shield Rune. Though, she hadn't made the same progress as before.

[Wolfkin, Female, Mystic Dancer lvl 9]

"Kara, if this kept you up all night I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep for a while," Rainer said. [Arcane Awakening] reached 100% as he activated Surge. He ran towards her far faster than before. Small tendrils of Arcane-Lightning went around his body.

"It'll probably take a considerable amount of time. I'll have to talk to Elru on how to stop midway or something of the sort."

"Take your time. I don't think she needs another shock so soon," Kara said. In truth, she was beyond excited for both the attribute and the skill store she would unlock at level 10. And this new enchantment, and therefore skill, could be the answer.

Rainer laughed at her joke, but Kara only tilted her head confused. This only made him laugh harder as he recalled Gunthar trying to tell a likely similar joke but it not being translated properly at all.

"It's nothing, just a translation error," He added. Kara just looked at him strangely and returned to her training.

Rainer sat back on the bed. He used [Void Seer] to glance around, partially intent on leveling it.

In the scroll room, Theodore joined Elru in a discussion. Rainer tried to focus closely, and hear what they were saying. With the aid of the [Archon] class, his skill leveled and granted him such access.

[Void Seer has reached level 2]

[Experience Gained: 14%]

[Voidwalker has leveled up to lvl 14/25. Standard Attributes have been distributed. 1 Attribute and skill point have been rewarded]

"But mixes between Elves and Humans are very rare and almost never work."

"I see. It was always quite a stretch. Especially now, after learning about Goblins."

Rainer recalled the Half-Elf he saw but kept using [Void Seer] elsewhere. He quickly felt guilty as he basically spied on Theodore.

He immediately stood up, seeing Furtak speaking about something with a wolf. The [Druidic Magic Language] came from both sides. Where a single word could have a hundred different meanings.

The magic behind it is what caused communication along with the words themselves. Rainer understood this from his skill. Both the word and the power behind it held equal importance.

He got the general gist of the conversation. The wolf seemed displeased about something, while Furtak argued against that.

Getting up, Rainer headed to where he saw Furtak, in the foyer of the mansion.

[Lupin, Female, Ice Wolf Queen lvl 9]

The wolf, with a light blue fur giving the feeling of ice, growled at Rainer's appearance.

Rainer tried his best to intone friendliness in Druidic speak. His class helped him in the process. The earlier eavesdropping joined with his current attempt.

[Druidic Magic Language has reached level 2]

The wolf ceased her hostilities and Furtak's jaw dropped.

"Y-you…" He pointed, utterly confused.

The wolf's mood took a complete turn.

"Greetings, [Archon]." She gave such a meaning in Druidic Tongue and followed with a bow. This time Rainer found himself surprised. Little did he know, his surprised response confirmed the wolf's conjecture.

He knew not why a monster would show respect to an [Archon]. Especially given the Legend stated the [Archon] gave people the means to fight back against monsters. Legends, however, had a habit of changing over the course of time.

If Furtak was confused before, now he lacked even the means to exclaim his surprise.

"Question. Argument. Reason?" Rainer tried his best to reply in Druidic Tongue. The wolf gave a strange yip that sounded like a laugh before speaking to Furtak.

"She says to speak through me…[Archon]…" Furtak said in a daze. He decided just to go along with the situation for now. He knew not how to even react.

"So, what were you disagreeing about?" Rainer repeated the question normally to Furtak.

"Ah, this I can answer. She disliked that I had decided to hold off on stopping the humans. I tried to explain the partnership but," Furtak gave a small cry as the [Ice Wolf Queen] bit him. She was currently the size of a normal wolf, far different to her massive size before.

Furtak spoke in Druidic Tongue to the [Ice Wolf Queen].

"She said she would negotiate with you if you can prove you are an [Archon]. As well as give some information on Unicorns. Under the same condition."

Hesitantly Rainer walked over. He saw little reason as to hide this as her guess and his reaction likely confirmed it. More importantly, he wanted information on Unicorns for Gunthar and Theodore.

He operated [Arcane Awakening], intent on using Shield Mode at any time.

The [Ice Wolf Queen] stretched out a paw and Rainer shared his class with her. She turned around and sat a large table. She spoke a bit to Furtak.

"She says she is happy to discuss terms now."

"What have you told her so far?" Rainer asked.

"Just that with us alone it wasn't possible and we needed help to keep the North. She disagreed saying she would gather more monsters," Furtak answered. He gave a weary glance at Rainer. Already he saw him as a strange and powerful Mage. Now he was utterly stunned and quite happy with himself at having taken the deal offered previously.

"Well, let's see what she has to say then," Rainer said. He used both [Void Detection] and [Arcane Awakening] at a low level as a precaution. He still recalled the [Ice Wolf Queen]'s attack which damaged his shield mode.

But what she had to say interested him far more than anything else.