Deep within the western mountain range, near the Royal Academy, a group of acolytes toiled relentlessly to construct the ultimate ritual circle. They worked with whatever materials they could gather from their many hidden bases scattered across the kingdom, using resources hoarded and preserved over millennia.
"Head priest, our calculations show we do not have enough materials to proceed as instructed," an acolyte reported.
"Supplent it with sacrifices."
"Even then, it would require thousands of lives. We lack the manpower, especially with the kingdom's soldiers and adventurers cracking down on our movents. At most, we can slowly continue bringing in resources from our remaining supporters."
"How long?"
"A year."
"See to it."
"Yes, Head Priest."
The newly promoted head priest was known as Erasmus, an alchemist infamous for crafting poisons for the demon worshipers. He was the sa man who had created the poison used to assassinate Bastion at the age of 5, and the mastermind behind the poisoned banquet.
Now he bore a darker title, Erasmus the Pale Alchemist, having taken command after the previous head priests were purged by the Saintess.
Following his promotion, he had attempted to eliminate the Saintess through an elaborate sche, foolishly believing that a re Rank 2 demon would be enough. He had been gravely mistaken.
He now understood that targeting the Saintess directly was a futile effort. Her domain, cursed though it may be, sohow perfectly countered the Demon Lord's divine energy.
So he shifted his focus. If the Saintess could not be killed, then the world would be broken before she was ready. He would bring the reckoning forward by empowering the Demon Lord, just as his predecessors had done.
But the cult's resources had dwindled. Sacrifices alone would not be enough to fuel the ritual. Still, progress continued. And in one year's ti, the Demon Lord would not only be unsealed…
He would rise stronger than ever before.
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By the end of the second sester, Bastion had managed to gain a new summon, learn the Ta skill, and even considered actually making use of it.
His new summon was an Apprentice Rank earth spirit that had responded to his summoning ritual, allowing him to pass the class. It also granted him the Summoning Art, which imdiately advanced to level 2 thanks to his prior experience with Zephy and Steve.
Spirits are the embodint of nature itself, fully aligned with their respective elents and able to manipulate them with far greater mastery than any sorcerer. Unfortunately, they require the summoner's mana to function, as their natural existence does not belong outside their elental plane.
To keep a summon anchored in the material world, the summoner had to continuously supply it with mana. Any active ability the spirit used would also draw from the summoner's reserves.
This was the drawback of mana-dependent summons, unlike Bastion's Diamond Steed, which required only a small amount of mana to maintain its form. That minimal upkeep was easily sustained by Bastion's passive mana regeneration due to his high Wisdom.
This limitation did not apply to familiars, as they naturally existed within the material plane.
On the upside, the summon allowed Bastion to manipulate earth like never before, reaching a level that nearly matched a Rank 1 sorcerer.
He nad the small spirit Pebbles, a fitting choice given its form. It was a cluster of smooth, grey stones that floated in the air, gently rotating as if held together by an invisible force. Its grey color and shape made it resemble a living pile of pebbles.
Another benefit was that, just like his familiar Zephy and his Diamond Steed Steve, Pebbles would grow stronger in proportion to Bastion's rank. It was a long-term investnt with imnse potential.
Bastion had hoped for a flying summon, but luck hadn't been on his side. As a precaution, he purchased the Ta skill in case he ever ca across a suitable flying mount in the future.
He regretted not bidding on the malford griffon at the auction. Given ti and care, it could have beco a dependable partner in aerial combat.
As for his Animal Rearing class, it was a basic course that taught students to respect animals while providing a list of known dosticated species and the standard thods used to raise them.
"I hate taking magical classes," Seraphina complained.
The magic users were once again grouped into a set of highly technical magical classes designed to elevate their casting techniques while reducing mana costs and improving overall efficiency. These included Mana Flow Managent, Formulaic Casting, and Resonant Channeling, all of which were notably heavy on mathematics.
"I love it," Lilia added. "There's just sothing poetic about numbers and formulas producing magical works of art that draw in."
"It's a necessity," Bastion said. "You should really start thinking about the future, Seraphina. I know you took alchemy to defeat the Demon Lord and magic because it was, well, magical, but you need to start thinking about what you'll do with your life after."
"Can't I just be your lovely wife?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.
"You can, but you'd be bored out of your mind. There's no internet or television here for you to enjoy, so think about how you'd want to spend your ti. We have a lot of it."
At present, Seraphina kept herself busy by mass-producing random potions to sell, buy more ingredients, and repeat. She was basically on autopilot, maintaining her alchemy skills in case she needed to make more money in the future.
Money, after all, was what made the world go round, and having more of it was always a good thing as far as she was concerned.
"How's Elyra doing?" Lilia asked.
"Happy now that she's taking Cooking, Monster Anatomy, and a specialized Traps course," Bastion replied.
"I almost got caught in one of the traps she forgot to take down when I entered Bastion's room," Seraphina added.
With dungeon diving effectively set aside, Elyra had shifted her focus to maxing out her non-combat skills. It wouldn't take her long to raise all her arts and skills to level 3, and she might even be the first among the four of them to reach Rank 1.
"Is there any news on… them?" Lilia asked, her voice tinged with fear.
"No movent at all," Seraphina replied. "I even reached out to the information brokers, but there haven't been any signs of them anywhere in the kingdom. It's as if they simply gave up."
"Which ans we're in for a surprise," Bastion said. "There's always calm before the storm."
They resud classes as scheduled and passed easily given their high ntal stats. This included Aurelia, Tobin, and Cyrus as well who had equally impressive statuses.
Once they completed the 3rd sester, their 3rd year ca to an end as well, marking their group's originally scheduled graduation based on the ga. From this point on, it was uncharted territory for Seraphina, as she had no idea what was supposed to happen next.
Bastion sent a letter to his parents explaining the situation with the demon worshipers, only omitting Seraphina's true identity.
In their reply, his parents expressed full understanding and said they were willing to wait as long as necessary. They also gave their full support for his marriage to Seraphina and promised to coordinate with her parents after graduation.
At Bastion and Seraphina's request, their group chose to remain at the academy to prepare for the battle against the Demon Lord.
Any financial difficulties Aurelia and Tobin might have faced as commoners were resolved thanks to the wealth they acquired from raiding the head priests' hideout. With their newfound resources, they were thrilled to stay for years, eager to pursue the additional knowledge now within their reach.
Damian graduated early, assud the role of Duke of Steelhart, and married his tigerkin girlfriend almost imdiately. Although Bastion and Seraphina were invited to the wedding, they declined due to the ongoing threat of the Demon Lord. Damian understood their decision and held no grudge.
Julius remained vocal about his belief that the kingdom should not have accepted its current Rank 2 designation, arguing that an Open designation would have been more preferable. However, his letters to his father failed to receive any response.
As a result, he chose to remain at the Royal Academy, diving into the Grand Library in search of answers and a deeper understanding of the world's current state.
Most of their classmates decided to graduate, largely due to a lack of funding. So remained, but they had little interaction with Bastion's group, as they belonged to different circles.
Over the sumr break, the group saw another wave of progress as they dedicated themselves to improving their arts and skills.
Bastion reached level 3 in both Diamond Edge and Diamond Armor through consistent use. He also advanced Enchanting to level 2, bringing him closer to his goal of achieving industrial production capabilities.
Elyra managed to raise Cooking, Cleaning, and Traps to level 3, along with the skills Reinforce, Clean, and Cook, which also reached level 3. With only Backstab at level 2 and Garrote at level 1 left to train, she considered herself nearly ready for Rank 1.
Lilia expanded her repertoire with several new spells, selling them to the academy for a tidy profit. This allowed her to unlock Spell Weaving at level 2. Through frequent use, Water Barrier, Water Curtain, and Mystic nd each reached level 3. Despite her progress, she understood that she still had a long way to go before she could attempt Rank 1.
Finally, Seraphina advanced both Synthesize and Extract to level 3 thanks to her persistent potion crafting and money-making efforts.
All in all, it had been a productive year for them as they entered their 4th year at the Royal Academy, only to be t with a disturbing surprise.
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