The duo went through all the elemental fields, which took fifteen hours. By the time they were done, only three days remained before the freshmen test started.
The gains were great for their first run together. Niara left the hall feeling proud — they now had a hundred thousand chaos crystals to use.
Thankfully, since Darian was a Spiritual Guardian, he didn't need to sleep or eat. And Niara, like all adult Mannaz, technically didn't need it either because of her powerful bloodline.
Still, going too long without rest caused a lot of mental stress. That's why most people took one day off every five — eating and sleeping just to relax.
"Don't worry about me. I spent fifteen days trapped in that dungeon. There was nothing to do, so I pretty much slept the whole time," Niara said, as they left the academy and headed toward the city.
Darian nodded: 'Great, then let's go to a restaurant so you can eat.'
"You don't need to waste time and resources…"
'It's not a waste,' Darian cut her off. 'Resting is part of training too. I'm your partner, and we're splitting this burden together. Don't push yourself too hard.'
She tried to argue, but he didn't listen.
Eventually, she sighed and nodded, a bit skeptical… but deep down, she was kind of happy. Her partner wasn't completely obsessed or cold — he actually cared about her well-being.
Darian, on the other hand, was thinking about something else... his experience dealing with the opposite sex.
He'd only ever dealt with two women in his life: his mom and his sister — and they were the same in that regard. He'd rather fight the Risen than deal with them when they were hungry and mad.
Sure, this was another world, but Niara was still half-human. He didn't want to risk it, so he'd do everything he could to keep her relaxed.
It was noon when they entered the restaurant.
Obviously, everyone turned to look at Niara — she stood out a lot. But quickly, eyes widened as they recognized her. Luckily, everyone noticed the slug on her shoulder, and gradually calmed down.
Now that she had a Spiritual Guardian, absolute rules applied to Summoners: they couldn't kill regular people without reason. If they did, there was no hiding it — they'd be caught.
Darian told her to eat until she was full. She sat down and ordered what she wanted...
Then ordered again...
And again... and again...
'Is your hunger tied to the power of your bloodline?' Darian wondered, stunned. She was like a bottomless pit.
When she turned to him... he looked away and pretended everything was fine. He even silently encouraged her.
The restaurant started bringing food out super slowly — they were working hard in the kitchen while she just kept eating.
They only left the place when night came.
They had actually spent a thousand chaos crystals — which were worth a hundred times more than regular currency — just on food.
'Where did all that food go?' Darian thought. Her stomach was empty. Everything had been completely turned into energy by her bloodline.
As they walked through the city, Darian noticed the slight smile on her face. He sighed, feeling the strong emotions coming from her too. Niara was pumped and seemed ready for anything — way better this way.
Darian felt satisfied. He pictured himself as a dragon tamer who, after feeding and calming his beast properly, had her completely tamed. His limited experience back on Earth had really come in handy.
Until Niara suddenly stopped.
She turned toward a clothing store and spotted something in the window:
"Oh! Look, that one kinda looks like what I usually wear — and it's got a big neckline. Makes it easier to carry you around in battle."
Darian froze. He looked at the outfit in the display, then instinctively, his eyes shifted to the reflection in the glass… and landed straight on the two raised mounds of the Dragoness.
She wasn't wearing anything under that tight dress, leaving them completely free, he thought. Then he saw those two soft peaks tremble slightly…
He looked at her face — and saw she was laughing, amused. She had clearly noticed exactly where he was looking in the reflection.
His eyes widened and he quickly looked away, flustered.
"Ah... but red doesn't really suit me. We'll find another one later," Niara said, trying not to laugh as she started walking again.
She had already noticed that Darian was pretty young and a bit immature when it came to that sort of thing. Not that she had any experience herself, but after living for over a hundred years, she wasn't shy about anything. Seeing him flustered only made her want to tease him more.
Darian sighed. She definitely wasn't some wild beast — she was a bold and provocative woman. He had to keep that in mind.
Luckily, he was just a slug at the moment, which made it easier to be around her. But still — there were limits. Deep down, he still felt human, even in this form.
They headed toward the black market. That kind of place was open day and night. They spent hours going from shop to shop, each one more hidden than the last.
They spent half their chaos crystals. They bought around twenty corrupted weapons — everything that was available in the city. But soon, every shop would restock.
Since it was almost morning, Darian asked to visit the biggest pill store, which had just opened.
He'd read about magical, unbelievable pills in that book, but once he got inside, reality hit. Pills in that world had pretty limited effects — mostly used for healing wounds or curing sickness, not much use in battle.
Still, there were a few worth getting. One in particular caught his attention — the top-selling pill among Summoners. Its name: Corruption-Devouring Pill.
Its use was simple: you just threw it into the area during a fight with a Risen. It would absorb all the corrupted energy around, slightly weakening them — but only for less than a minute.
After that, the pill turned pitch black and super dense — anyone who dared touch it would get corrupted instantly. It was a one-use item with a decent effect… but kinda expensive.
Darian lit up, but Niara didn't get what he saw in it.
'Throw it away? This pill's actually a priceless treasure — but only after it's used. Buy them all! Every single one they've got!'
She didn't hesitate. They spent half of what they had left, buying over fifty of them.
Finally, they hit one last shop: the inscription store.
Inscriptions were made using beast blood and all sorts of powerful natural materials found on planets. Mixing those things with other components would create different effects in the environment.
There were infinite types and uses — they made people's lives way easier. To the people of that universe, inscriptions were kinda like Earth's technology.
Planet-to-planet travel in that galaxy, for example, was done using a specific kind of inscription.
Of course, it was still a magical universe. Besides the minerals used to make space rings, there were tons of natural wonders too — even ores that could directly be used to travel between planets or galaxies.
But using that stuff raw was dangerous — inscriptions were way more stable and safe.
Darian calmly checked everything out until a specific inscription caught his eye. It was made from some rare kind of plant and gave off a natural kind of energy.
"This one boosts your body's natural regeneration by a lot. If you combine it with healing pills, it can save your life in emergencies," the vendor explained.
Darian got curious and asked about the plant. He learned that this inscription was super expensive because the plant was nearly extinct — it got corrupted easily and was hard to grow or find in the wild.
He felt the plant's energy was a lot like his white power. It could help him improve his healing abilities. Plus, he could use the inscription in battle in front of others and keep his true abilities hidden.
They bought three of those inscriptions — the store's whole stock. They spent everything. Back to being broke. But with the corrupted weapons, they'd be able to multiply their money a hundred times — money wouldn't be a problem anymore.
After that, they headed back to Celestia Academy.
On the surface, Niara looked calm, but her eyes were glowing more than usual. She had no idea what Darian planned to do with the weapons and the rest… but she could feel that soon, he'd totally surprise her.
But once they got back to the academy, Darian didn't plan on using his limited white power on the weapons.
His white and black powers didn't recover on their own; they needed the karma. It was different from the normal ring on his forehead, which did recover over time. They were about to face an important test. He had no idea if he'd be able to get more of that white and black power later. Since money wasn't an issue now, he focused on something more important.
Niara took him to her room at the academy. She'd been given one — it was a big, comfy space meant for safe rest or study.
She sat on the bed and gently placed the little slug in front of her.
'You've learned the basic Summoner techniques, right?' Darian asked casually.
"I tried... I could barely manage the level 1 ones, and only thanks to my talent. Without that, I wouldn't have even passed the test," she answered with a sigh, then explained more.
There were Martial Arts, that vary between D and S ranks. And there were Summoner Support Abilities, which are different. Those ones vary from Level 1 to Level 5.
At the academy, basic Summoner techniques were split into five levels. Any Summoner with minimum talent could learn levels 1 and 2.
There were no rules against using the others if you had the skill. Level 3 and 4 were available if you could handle them. But level 5 didn't exist at the academy — they were lost, just like martial arts above rank B.
'You read the level 2 techniques, right? Remember everything?'
Darian asked, and she nodded. Even though she didn't like thinking too hard or studying, she wasn't dumb at all. If she read or saw something, she remembered it perfectly. She looked a little confused… but then it clicked.
'Yeah, technically, I'm a Summoner too. I can probably use those,' Darian said.
She told him everything she knew.
So, the two of them spent the next few days holed up in her room, completely focused.
In their final free hour before they had to head out, Niara felt her spiritual root activate. It wasn't Darian's ring power — it was something else… warm and comforting...
'Success. I can use level 2 techniques now. We've gotta figure out a way to get the other levels later,' Darian said, clearly excited.
Niara nodded, taking a deep breath.
'Let's go take the test,' he said, climbing back onto her shoulder.