"Hello, Your Majesty, my regards to King Alexander." Ravena instantly knelt in mid-air, surprised. She didn’t expect the strongest man in the other kingdom to come and welcome them.
Kayden shouldn’t be that important. Was he a once-a-decade genius? Yes, he was. But nothing that would cause this level of recognition. She in her time was able to jump several levels. What she didn’t know was that the news that Kayden faced five lightning bolts was already known to world-class figures. And in the entire world, the number of five-ray magicians barely exceeded 30 people, considering only the new generation.
"You don’t need all this formality, pride is the first enemy of knowledge." After Kayden bowed and greeted the man, the king lifted them both with a gentle wind magic that didn’t even seem to have touched Kayden’s body. This level of control was surreal.
"I will take you to one of our ice palaces to get some rest. The next day, Kayden can go visit our libraries to record his technique and receive corresponding access to the shared level. We will also have a guide to help you during your stay. " The king began to float, and Kayden and Ravena went after him. But before he could move forward, Kayden spoke.
"Your majesty, I would prefer to go and pass my technique right now and have access to the libraries immediately. I’m not tired from the trip, but I appreciate the hospitality." Kayden’s sentence caught the king by surprise for a moment, but soon he just accepted it and took the boy to the kingdom’s main library.
The structure was ridiculously large and stretched almost 4 kilometers wide and a few more kilometers long. The ice this time was well worked into different turns and shapes. Not only that, but its color was gold and black. Kayden could barely tell it was ice.
The entrance was formed by an immense staircase of a few hundred meters that led to a platform with several gigantic pillars. Above everyone, there was a sign that said the following phrases:
"Leave arrogance at the door. The true master is an eternal learner. Bow down to show your willingness to learn, bow down to show your insignificance in the face of knowledge, and bow down to show respect to those who brought you here what will you learn."
The king read the sentence and bowed three times. Kayden was surprised that even the strongest man in this kingdom followed the words of a mere sign. Then the boy bowed too. He agreed with every word on that sign.
"Your guide has arrived, I’ll leave you with him for now, I have a lot to work on." He hadn’t. He only came to test Kayden’s temper and left satisfied.
The boy showed no fear in his presence, not even subconsciously. That was impressive. He also had the humility to bow three times and it was clear to the king that this was not due to pressure from his presence.
A teenager with white hair and a low amount of clothes appeared in the two’s vision among dozens of people leaving and entering the library. He looked to be around 20 years old, about Kayden’s age. The teenager was handsome and had a high nose that made him seem disdainful of everyone around him.
"Hello, Count Kayden Heart and General Ravena. I am the third prince of the kingdom of the Enlightened, my name is Thomas Sagebrush. My grandfather put me as your guide for these six months." His tone was neutral and no expression appeared on his face.
And in fact, these were his real feelings. He was too weak to fight for the throne, so he was always someone without blatant pride like other nobles. He was the only one who lived what his grandfather preached, humility to learn. His grandfather had just given him an incredible chance, the chance to befriend a wizard who faced five lightning bolts and would probably surpass the fourth realm and reach the top of this world.
"My compliments to your Highness, I would like to pay my tribute immediately if it is not inconvenient," Kayden asked politely and didn’t say anything else as the prince led them inside.
The structure inside was even more impressive. The library was divided into several squares guarded by some beautifully dressed and impressive-looking women. They sat at small tables while approving who could pass.
Each square represented a different level of knowledge and type of knowledge. Kayden was sure there must be more than 1 million books on this floor alone and, according to the prince, there were even more floors below.
They were taken to a square with several tables and armchairs, with a fire in the center that made the environment warm and cozy. Several people were writing without stopping, not even to breathe.
"Here the knowledge test is done. You must give something of value to the library to gain access to more knowledge. They are all writing their theses. You can sit at any table and start writing. I will wait here outside", said the prince, taking a book and sitting down in one of the squares next to it.
Ravena just stood next to Kayden. The boy first drank and ate dried meat from his bag and then sat down at the table. As soon as he sat down, the woman who took care of this square appeared in front of him.
"Hello, candidate. You have as much time as you want and you just need to raise your hand when you’re done. The level of your technique and its rarity will be evaluated by me. If I’m not capable, it will be passed on to one of the supervisors. Good luck", said the woman, returning to her table and leaving Kayden alone.
Without wasting any time, Kayden began explaining each phase of mixing mana with blood. The first and most important was to have specific veins for this and only a few connections between normal and mana veins. Afterward, he talked about the treasures that could help in the process and how to acquire them. Although this information was easy to find, he decided to make a perfect step-by-step guide.
Then he explained the way to mix blood and mana without poisoning. Right now, Kayden had all of his veins with a proportion of blood and mana, but in the beginning, it was easier to mix the two through specific veins. He recommended using some treasure to stop hunger and thirst. The person would probably need at least two months and have good mana control. Kayden got it in 1, but his path made him special.
Afterward, the boy began to explain all the advantages and how the person would need a breathing technique. As a bonus, he included some that he found and wrote down which one he was using at the moment and how to obtain it to be successful in his learning. Kayden also made the recommendation to learn the breathing technique before mixing the blood.
As a conclusion, he named all the advantages that a person would acquire by obtaining this mixture. All the writing took a few hours. Kayden wasn’t used to writing so much and had to rework several paragraphs to make them easier to understand.
As soon as he raised his hand, the woman came in front of him and began to read. In just a few seconds, her brow furrowed and her countenance became increasingly gloomy as she read.
"Is this a theory?" She couldn’t understand the level of focus that a mere wizard would have to have, nor the determination to spend so long doing the same thing. Furthermore, these were advantages that in the third realm would be common.
"No, it is perfectly applicable." With Kayden’s statement, the woman had to call a superior. Within a few seconds, another woman appeared. The first thing she felt was Ravena standing next to Kayden. All the people at the tables were in the second realm, while the higher ones were in the third.
Even so, neither of them could feel Ravena’s strength. This meant that they had to be more careful in their speech so as not to offend someone they shouldn’t, but there was no fear. This was a country where everyone was equal and, oddly enough, even a person in the fourth realm would face criminal prosecution for killing someone from lower realms.
The supervisor read the document and had the same reaction as her subordinate. In theory, this would be perfectly possible, but in reality, no first-realm mage would be cool-headed enough to do this procedure. Were the gains huge? Yes, they were, including high natural regeneration, even of lost limbs, but the process was very difficult.
"How do you guarantee that this is possible? Theoretically, it’s perfect, but no wizard could have the mental resilience for that", the supervisor found the same problem. Perhaps a wizard in the second or third realm would have the ability to do this.