Disappearances

The students all fixed their gaze on the cave ahead, separated from them by a transparent barrier.

Step~ Step~

Out of nowhere, the cub of the flaming tiger beast emerged from the dark cave. It was adorned with black stripes all over its orange body, and two sharp saber teeth jutted out from its mouth. The tiger was a meter tall and had a fiery blaze encircling its neck, while its tail was also ablaze with a yellow-red flame.

Roar~ Roar~

The tiger let out a deafening roar as it locked eyes with the humans standing before it. Yet, its attempts to break through the transparent barrier were futile, leaving the predator feeling immensely frustrated. This confinement was a far cry from the freedom it had experienced by its mother's side.

The flaming tiger was a Lord Beast, a 7-star magical creature. As a rule, magical beasts gain intelligence once they reach a 3-star rank, while those who attain 5-star beast status can transform into humanoid forms.

However, some special beasts with high bloodline concentrations in their bodies can transform even at a 4-star rank.

"Magical beasts are classified as normal until they reach the 6-star rank. Once they achieve the 7-star rank, they are bestowed with a title of 'Lord Beast', while an 8-star rank earns the title of 'Royal Beast', and a 9-star rank grants the title of 'Legendary Beast'."

"Among them, flaming tigers are renowned for their expertise in flame magic, with their flames deemed second only to the fire phoenix race." Instructor Arron maintained a straight face as he observed the students' reactions.

In the midst of the lecture, a student's hand shot up, indicating he had question to ask. It was none other than the same student who had previously opposed Max's admission into the academy. Max, who was also among the crowd, turned to observe along with the rest.

Instructor Arron caught the student's eye and gestured for him to speak his mind. Stepping forward, Tian introduced himself and posed a query regarding the highest attainable rank for a mage beyond the legendary beast rank - the Pinnacle. "Is it the highest level a wizard can achieve?" he inquired.

"That's an intriguing question, yet somewhat silly, as there are numerous unexplained theories surrounding this topic that many of you may already know." Replied Instructor Arron with a hint of amusement.

"Humans awaken their magic by forming a mana core in their body beside their heart. This core aids in the circulation of mana throughout the body, much like how the heart facilitates blood circulation. Once a mage reaches the 2-star rank, they can awaken their elemental magic."

"As one ascends to higher ranks, their mana core strengthens and expands, enabling it to store a larger amount of mana with each level. Until the 6-star rank, we refer to magic users as normal mages."

"Upon reaching the 7-star rank, they are elevated to the status of Great Mage. Those who ascend to the 8-star rank are known as wizards, while the 9-star rank is reserved for Legendary Wizards."

"Regarding the next rank beyond Legendary Wizard, as far as the world knows, no one has achieved it yet." With that said, Instructor Arron proceeded to elaborate on the distinctions between magical beasts and humans.

Kathleen paid close attention to the lecture, curious to learn more about the world of Aurora.

As she was familiar with the novel, Kathleen possessed a wealth of knowledge beyond that of the instructors themselves. However, there are some simple things that she has yet to learn.

The Elacnor Empire was situated amidst a lush green forest and the novel didn't delve much into the world beyond its borders. However, towards the west lay the Dreamland Forest, where a variety of beasts resided and formed tribes.

These tribes occasionally raided the villages along the empire's border, plundering their possessions.

In the novel, the attacks of the magical beasts were referred to as a "beast tide". Although the instructor spoke about higher-ranking mages, Kathleen was aware of the true power hierarchy in the world. Finding a 9-Star mage in the Aurora World was exceedingly difficult, let alone contemplating the next rank above it.

As per the author's description, the Aurora World flourished in ancient times, with dragons and phoenixes soaring through the skies and mythical creatures being a common sight. Additionally, it was believed that the magical ranks extended beyond the 9-star level.

However, things took a drastic turn when the mythical creatures in the Aurora World started vanishing inexplicably, and within a few years, several races including the dominant humans disappeared.

This sudden disappearance also resulted in the loss of valuable resources and magic techniques that could have aided people in surpassing the 9-star rank barrier.

Although it was believed that the reason for the disappearances was known, with time, it became one of the numerous theories that people discussed to this day.

Following this event, mages who remained in the world began to unite and form new powers. They developed their own techniques for the magical path and began anew.

Long ago, the Elacnor Empire was merely a dense forest until the ancestors of the Takar imperial family discovered it. As the place began to attract numerous mages, they seized control of the land and founded their own empire.

As the Takar family had been ruling the empire for an extended period, it was natural for many nobles to aspire for the throne. The same went for the Duchies.

Despite this, rumors circulated that the imperial family possessed 9-star legendary wizards within their castle, which prevented any duchy from daring to revolt against the Empire to this day.

The six Dukes of the Duchies were all 8-star mages, implying that a solitary 9-star mage at their peak could wipe them out.

They could not risk their lineage, which had persisted for thousands of years, without first verifying the Takar family's abilities. Thus, the war between the imperial family and the Dukes had reached a stalemate.

==============

Author's Note -

Sorry for the late, here is the chapter...

And thanks for the 50, No, 58 power stones.

As a reward I will be uploading 2 bonus chapters. One will be today alongside the usual chapter and another one will be tomorrow.