Morning sun peeked into Room 6, lighting up six sleepy faces sprawled across bunk beds and floor mats. Some were still snoring softly, like Yuuv, who had his head buried in a pillow shaped like a bread loaf. Rick's foot was in Iuro's face, and Izumi had a book still resting on his chest.
Lui was the first to stir. As always.
He sat up, stretched his arms, and looked around with a soft sigh. "Wake up, everyone. We need to check the mission board, remember?"
"Five more minutes…" came Yuuv's muffled plea.
"Nope." Lui pulled the blanket off him.
Yuuv blinked slowly and then turned over like a sleepy pancake.
Rick yawned dramatically. "Do I have to move? My dream was finally getting good…"
"You were dreaming of muffins again, weren't you?" Izumi asked, adjusting his glasses.
"I WAS!" Rick gasped. "You read dreams too!?"
Everyone eventually got up—some more willingly than others—and washed up before heading into town. Timbervale was waking up too: shopkeepers lifting stalls open, townsfolk sweeping their porches, and kids chasing chickens that clearly wanted none of it.
Their first stop was the guild board in the plaza.
"Let's look for training grounds today," Lui said. "We've only done one quest so far, and we barely used any real techniques."
"I'd like to test my gravity swings," Izumi added.
"And I want to see how far my vines can grow!" Iuro grinned.
Yuuv raised a hand sleepily. "I'll cheer from the shade."
"No," everyone said.
They stopped by a food stall and grabbed a quick bite—roasted cheese buns and berry juice—before heading to a large field behind the town, marked with wooden signs:
"Timbervale Public Training Grounds – Be safe, be smart, don't blow up the flowers."
The wide area was perfect for practice: straw dummies lined the edge, wooden targets on trees, and soft ground underfoot. A few other rookie guilds were already training nearby.
"Alright," Lui said, stepping forward. "We go one at a time. Basic skills only. Nothing too flashy."
"I volunteer!" Rick shouted and rushed forward.
He twirled his staff dramatically, aimed at a dummy, and summoned a thin stream of water.
The dummy… got slightly damp.
"...That's it?" Iuro blinked.
"It's called precision hydration!" Rick declared proudly.
Next was Iuro. He waved his staff and sent out a patch of thick green vines that… instantly tangled around his own legs.
"Ack! Wait! I didn't mean to—!"
Thump.
He hit the ground.
Laughter echoed.
"Maybe let the plants grow away from you next time," Ishi said dryly.
Yuuv clapped softly. "You did great."
Iuro gave a thumbs-up from the dirt.
Izumi went next. He drew both practice katanas, focused, and blinked into a short-range spatial dash.
Zip!
The straw dummy now had two shallow cuts across it.
"Nice," Lui nodded.
"I misjudged the ending spot," Izumi said calmly. "Almost landed in a bush."
Ishi took his turn and summoned two large shadow hands that lifted a wooden box nearby.
"No weapons. Just control today," he muttered.
The hands folded the box gently like origami.
Rick gasped. "That's so cool!"
Then came Lui. He swung his ruby-bladed sword and focused. A small flame flickered at the tip.
He slashed.
The air shimmered.
The dummy got scorched, though unevenly.
"Still hard to balance heat and control," he muttered.
Finally, Yuuv stepped forward.
"Your turn," Lui said.
"I don't have anything cool," Yuuv whispered.
"You have you," Izumi smiled.
Yuuv took out his silver wand with the bell on top. He concentrated. The bell glowed faintly, but instead of using magic, his eyes shimmered—his psych magic ability.
In this world everyone's eye has some ability. There are two types of abilities—passive and active. Passive ability doesn't use magical energy while active ability does. All six brothers had a special ability tied to their eyes too:
Lui's red eyes could burn objects by will—just by looking, flames could flicker to life.
Ishi's black eyes could see clearly in darkness and even through objects.
Izumi's gray eyes could analyze magic, status, and abilities of anyone he focused on.
Iuro's green eyes allowed him to see far distances and control plants more directly.
Rick's light violet eyes let him see underwater, communicate with sea creatures, and move small amounts of water.
And Yuuv's bluish-cyan eyes glowed with active power known as Psych Magic.
So far he can float small things by it.
A nearby rock floated.
Then a second one.
They hovered, slowly spinning in the air.
"I don't have useful technique yet," Yuuv said. "But I can do this."
He made the rocks gently bonk each other like pebbles playing tag.
"Yuvi, that's amazing," Iuro whispered.
They took a break after training, lying under a tall oak tree at the edge of the field.
"I still think muffins should be an element," Rick muttered, tossing a leaf into the air.
"Then you'd be a top-tier mage," Ishi replied dryly.
Suddenly, a group of guild members passed by. They looked older—maybe early teens—and wore sharp blue coats with a wave symbol.
"That's Wavecrest," Izumi said. "They're B-Novice. Good at water combat."
One of them gave a nod as they passed. "Not bad, Celestars. Keep practicing."
The boys straightened proudly.
After lunch, they explored Timbervale more: a potion shop run by a sleepy-eyed grandma who gave them free mint tea, a scroll shop where Rick accidentally made a stack collapse, and a small field where townsfolk practiced dancing magic lights.
Iuro joined the lights with spinning vines, and Yuuv clapped sleepily from a bench.
By sunset, they were back at their inn.
Their muscles ached.
Their robes were dusty.
But their hearts were full.
Lui looked around at the team. "We did good today."
Rick raised a mug of apple juice. "To Celestars!"
"To Celestars!" they echoed.
And somewhere outside, under the starlit Timbervale sky, the magic in the air shimmered with quiet approval.
The world was big.
But the Celestars were just getting started.