chapter 6

We exited the Dark Witch Forest at sunrise the next day, tired but victorious. Ember was flying around our heads joyfully, enjoying the morning sunlight, while the Silver Moonflowers in Elyana's bag glowed with a soft shimmer.

"Finally!" Elyana stretched and yawned. "I miss a real bed and food that doesn't include suspicious berries."

"The berries tasted fine," Draken said seriously.

"Draken, those berries made me see talking rabbits giving me philosophical lectures about islands," Elyana replied dryly.

"Perhaps the rabbits were trying to tell you something important," Draken answered with a completely serious face.

Elyana and I stared at him in shock, then burst into laughter when we realized he was joking. Even serious Draken could be funny sometimes.

We reached a crossroads where we had to temporarily part ways. Elyana needed to return to her family home in the trading city to the east, while Draken and I headed toward the capital.

"This isn't goodbye, is it?" Elyana asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Of course not," I said firmly. "We'll meet again at the academy exams in two weeks."

"Promise me you'll take care of yourselves," she said as she hugged each of us. "I don't want to hear you faced another dragon without me!"

"No promises," Draken smiled, an unusual expression on his face.

"Draken!" Elyana protested.

"We'll be careful," I assured her. "And you take care too. The road to your city isn't entirely safe."

"Don't worry about me. I have this now," she said, pulling out the Silver Moonflower, which emitted a gentle protective glow. "Dad said it repels small monsters."

We said our goodbyes as she headed east, while Draken and I continued south toward the capital. But after an hour of walking, Draken suddenly stopped.

"Lian, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I can't go with you to the capital. Not openly, anyway."

"Why?" I asked, though I already remembered his story from the game.

Draken hesitated, then decided to tell me everything. "Six months ago, my older brother Victor accused me of stealing a valuable family ring and selling it to shady traders."

"But you didn't do it, right?"

"Of course not!" he said angrily. "But Victor had 'evidence'—a forged receipt with my name and a bribed merchant to testify against me."

"Why would your brother do that?"

"Heirship," Draken said bitterly. "He feared Father might change his mind and make me the heir instead. I'm stronger than him as a warrior, and some nobles whispered that I'd make a better leader."

"That… that's terrible."

"Worse still, Father believed him. He officially disowned me from the family and erased my name from noble records. Now I'm just 'Draken'—no family name, no rank, nothing."

I understood the problem now. "So if you appear in the capital, the guards might consider you a wanted criminal."

"Exactly. Victor spread rumors that I 'fled after the theft scandal' and that I'm wanted by justice."

I thought for a moment. "Okay, then we'll sneak in."

"What?"

"We'll sneak into the capital. I know secret routes to get in. And when the academy exams come, you'll apply under a fake name."

"But the academy requires a recommendation from a noble family…"

"You'll get one from the Shadowind family," I said confidently. "I may be the last one left, but the name is still officially recognized."

Draken stared at me in shock, then deep gratitude. "Lian… you don't know what this means to me."

"I know exactly," I said. "Friends help each other."

We spent the rest of the day walking toward the capital and planning our secret entry. I used my knowledge from the game to remember smuggling routes players used to enter and exit the city without paying fees or dealing with guards.

"There's an old drainage tunnel on the eastern side of the city," I told Draken. "It's not used anymore, but it's still passable."

"How do you know all this?" he asked curiously.

"I used to sneak out of the Shadowind estate sometimes," I lied partially. "I learned a lot about secret paths."

We entered the capital at night through the tunnel, which was smelly and full of rats, but worked as expected. Ember wasn't impressed with the sewage smell and showed her displeasure by glowing an angry red light.

"I know, I know," I whispered to her. "But it's temporary."

We emerged in a poor district on the outskirts of the city, where the alleys were dark and guards were rare. We found a small, cheap inn that accepted money without asking many questions.

"Two separate rooms," I told the innkeeper, a fat man with a greasy beard.

"Five silver pieces per room per night," he rasped.

"Three pieces per room," I bargained.

"Four, and meals included."

"Deal."

In my small, modest room, I sat on the creaky bed and pulled out my father's book. I had two weeks to strengthen myself as much as possible before the academy exams.

I opened the book to a page titled *"Intensive Training Techniques."* According to the book, there was a way to accelerate training using the *Dragon's Tear* and the concentrated spiritual energy of the capital.

*"Training in a high-energy area with a powerful stone can achieve a month's worth of progress in just one week,"* I read quietly.

I started applying the written technique. I sat in meditation posture, holding the *Dragon's Tear* in my hand, and began absorbing spiritual energy from the surrounding environment.

The capital was full of spirit controllers and magical warriors, meaning the energy in the air was denser than anywhere else. With the *Dragon's Tear* acting as a catalyst, I felt the energy flowing into my body at an astonishing rate.

Ember sat beside me, glowing with a soft light, helping regulate the flow of energy. Our bond was also growing stronger, allowing me easier access to her abilities.

After four hours of intense training, I stopped and checked my status window:

---

**[Status Window - Lian Shadowind]**

**Level:** 8 (up from 1!) 

**Rank:** Advanced Trainee 

**Attributes:** 

- Strength: 22/100 (+14) 

- Agility: 28/100 (+16) 

- Intelligence: 35/100 (+12) 

- Spiritual Power: 31/100 (+16) 

- Luck: ??? 

**New Skills:** 

- [Basic Fireball] – Level 3 

- [Flame Body Enhancement] – Level 2 

- [Advanced Spirit Bond] – Level 1 

**Contracted Spirits:** Ember (Level 8) 

---

"Amazing progress!" I whispered. In one night, I achieved progress that would normally take weeks with conventional methods.

A soft knock came at the door. "Lian? Are you awake?"

I opened the door to find Draken standing in the hallway, looking tired but alert.

"I couldn't sleep," he said. "I've been thinking about the exams. What if… what if I can't pass them?"

"Come in," I said, opening the door wider.

He sat on the only chair in the room while I returned to the bed. Ember flew over and landed on his shoulder, glowing with comforting warmth.

"Draken, you're far stronger than me," I said honestly. "If I'm confident I can pass the exams, you should be even more confident."

"But my only strength is combat. What if the exam requires other things?"

"Like what?"

"Writing, academic knowledge, politics, noble etiquette…" he listed on his fingers. "I was raised as a warrior, not a scholar."

He had a point. In the game, the academy exams included multiple tests, not just displays of strength.

"Okay, then we'll use these next two weeks to prepare," I said. "I teach you the academic stuff, and you help improve my combat skills."

"That… makes sense," Draken nodded. "But where will we train? We can't use magic in the inn."

I thought for a moment, then remembered something from the game. "There's a place. An abandoned training yard in the old noble district. It was used by a noble who died in the last war, and now no one goes there."

"How do you know so many places?" Draken asked with increasing curiosity.

"I told you, I learned a lot during the past three years," I said vaguely. "When you're a servant, people don't pay attention to you, so you hear and see interesting things."

Draken accepted the explanation, though I saw in his eyes that he remained curious about my secrets.

"Okay," he finally said. "Shall we start training tomorrow?"

"We start training tomorrow," I agreed.

We spent the next two weeks in an intensive routine. Every morning, we went to the abandoned training yard where Draken taught me sword basics and battlefield movement. Every evening, I taught him geography, history, and the basic politics every academy student should know.

Ember was an important part of our training. Her abilities grew rapidly as our bond strengthened, and she learned new techniques:

- **Controlled Fire Burst**: Small, highly precise fireballs 

- **Flame Shield**: A fiery barrier that protected against attacks 

- **Healing Pulse**: Warm energy that healed minor wounds 

"You and Ember are developing techniques I've never seen before," Draken noticed on the tenth day. "That bond between you is unusually strong."

"We understand each other well," I said, petting Ember, who was resting on my shoulder.

"This is more than understanding," Draken said seriously. "This feels like… like a Twin Spirit Bond."

Twin Spirit Bond? I hadn't heard that term in the game.

"What is a Twin Spirit Bond?"

"It's very rare," Draken explained. "It happens when there's perfect harmony between the spirit controller and the spirit. Instead of a master-servant relationship, they become true partners. Their power grows together, and they can develop unique abilities no one else can copy."

That explained why my growth with Ember was so fast, and why we were developing new techniques instead of just using standard ones.

"So does that mean I… we… are special?"

"More than special," Draken said. "A Twin Spirit Bond is extremely rare. The last recorded case was two hundred years ago."

I felt a wave of warmth and pride from Ember through our bond. She was happy about being special too.

On the final day before the exams, we decided to do one last test of our abilities. Ember created a target made of solid flame, and Draken used his strongest techniques to try to break it.

The result was amazing. Ember's target held up against Draken's attacks for several minutes before breaking—an impressive feat considering Draken's strength.

"Ready for the exams?" Draken asked in the evening.

I looked at my status window:

---

**[Status Window - Lian Shadowind]**

**Level:** 15 

**Rank:** Elite Trainee 

**Attributes:** 

- Strength: 45/100 

- Agility: 52/100 

- Intelligence: 48/100 

- Spiritual Power: 58/100 

**Mastered Skills:** 

- [Dancing Flame Blade] – Level 5 

- [Double Flame Blast] – Level 4 

- [Fire Protection Barrier] – Level 6 

- [Twin Spirit Bond] – Level 3 

**Contracted Spirits:** Ember (Level 16) 

---

"More than ready," I smiled. "Tomorrow, we enter the Imperial Sorcerer Academy."

"Tomorrow," Draken agreed, excitement and determination shining in his eyes.

Ember flew between us, glowing with warm golden light, as if celebrating with us.

Tomorrow would mark the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. And I had never felt more prepared.

But first, we had to reunite with Elyana again. And I hoped she had prepared for the exams as well as we had.