The golden light that erupted from David's workshop was not a silent event. In a city like Aethelburg, a dense tapestry of mana, every ripple in the aether was felt by those with power. To a mage of Transformation Four, like Princess Elisa, the shockwave was a beacon, a blinding pulse of raw, chaotic energy that was both terrifying and utterly unique. It felt like the very fabric of existence had been momentarily torn and then stitched back together with a strange, new thread.
Elisa, who was going through the motions of a formal dinner with her brother, Prince Arion, felt the pulse and immediately stood up, her attention drawn towards the western district. Her emerald eyes widened.
"Elisa? What is it?" Arion asked, his voice laced with concern. He was not as attuned to mana as his sister, but he could feel the faint tremor that ran through the palace.
"That... that's his mana signature," she whispered, her hands clenching into fists. "It was him. He's... he's in trouble."
Without another word, she turned and left the dining hall, ignoring the bewildered glances of the other nobles. Her bodyguard, a silent but formidable Knight in his own right, followed her, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. He knew better than to question the Princess when she had that look in her eyes.
Navigating the streets of Aethelburg at full speed, Elisa's mind raced. She had not forgotten the fierce power he had shown her in the hidden market, nor the sheer danger of his path. She knew the materials he sought were volatile, and his solitary cultivation was a reckless gamble. A part of her had hoped he would wait, perhaps even seek her counsel, but she knew better. David was a lone wolf, driven by a pride that was both his greatest strength and his most dangerous weakness.
She arrived at his workshop, the windows shattered and shards of glass glittering on the cobblestones. A pungent smell of ozone and burnt mana filled the air. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She pushed open the door, her hands already glowing with a soft, healing light.
The sight that greeted her made her breath catch in her throat. David lay on the floor in a makeshift runic circle, his body bruised and broken. His dark tunic was torn and soaked with blood. A thin stream of crimson trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his skin was covered in a network of faint, pulsing golden lines, as if his veins were glowing with residual energy. He was unconscious, his mana core dangerously depleted and frayed at the edges. The Celestite geode, now an empty, inert rock, lay beside him.
This was the man who had humbled Lord Kael, who had made a gnome and an elf master bow their heads in respect. In this moment, he looked utterly human. He was a survivor, not a god. The cold facade was gone, replaced by the vulnerable reality of a man who had stared into the abyss of his own power and barely managed to crawl back.
A deep, bone-chilling sadness washed over Elisa. She had seen countless elites in her lifetime, men and women who cultivated their power through established, safe methods. None of them had ever had to pay such a brutal price. This was a lonely path, and for the first time, she truly understood the depth of David's wounds, both physical and emotional.
She knelt beside him, her hands hovering over his chest. She channeled her healing magic, a soft, green light flowing from her palms, but it was not as effective as she hoped. The wounds were not physical; they were aetheric, a kind of damage her standard healing spells couldn't fully mend. She did what she could, closing the cuts and steadying his volatile mana core, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Just as she felt his mana stabilize, the front door of the workshop was pushed open. Two figures entered, wearing the standard uniform of the city guard. They looked confused and wary, their eyes scanning the scene of devastation.
"Halt!" one of them commanded, his hand on his sword. "What happened here? We felt a massive mana surge."
Before he could take another step, Elisa stood up, her body radiating the cool, undeniable authority of a powerful mage. "Silence. This is a private matter. This man is under my protection." Her voice was soft, but it carried the weight of a kingdom.
The guards froze, recognizing her immediately. They bowed low, their faces pale. "P-Princess Elisa! We apologize. We didn't know."
"You know now," she said, her voice dropping to a dismissive tone. "Leave this place. And if I hear even a whisper of this, you will both be reassigned to the sewer patrol for the rest of your careers."
The guards bowed again, their retreat swifter than their arrival. Elisa sighed, looking back at David. She was a political player, and she would protect him from the curiosity of the city. But she was powerless against the true threats that were already mobilizing.
As if on cue, a formal envoy arrived at the workshop, dressed in the pristine white-and-gold robes of the Aurorian Kingdom. The leader, a handsome man with a smirk on his face, bowed to Elisa.
"Princess Elisa," he said, his voice smooth and condescending. "I am sorry to intrude. Prince Valerius sends his regards. He heard of the... commotion here, and as a fellow cultivator of the arcane, he offers his sincerest well wishes." He paused, his smirk widening as his eyes fell on the unconscious David. "However, the Prince also believes that such a display of power, while impressive, must be tempered with a public display of control. It would be a shame for a 'legend' to be a mere fluke, wouldn't it?"
He then presented a rolled-up parchment to Elisa. "Prince Valerius formally challenges Master David to a Demonstration of the Arcane at the Royal Coliseum in three days' time. The challenge is not for battle, of course. It is a 'friendly' contest to see which of our kingdom's geniuses has truly mastered their path."
Elisa took the parchment, her face a mask of cold fury. This wasn't a challenge; it was a political trap. A public spectacle designed to corner and humiliate a man who was, at this very moment, lying broken on the floor.
As if sensing the shift in the air, David's eyes fluttered open. He groaned, his body screaming in protest as he tried to sit up. He felt a gentle pressure on his chest, and his eyes, still hazy, focused on Elisa. The fear and exhaustion in her eyes were a stark contrast to her usual confident demeanor.
"Elisa," he mumbled, his voice raspy and pained. "What… what happened?"
She gently pushed him back down. "Lie still. You pushed yourself too hard. You broke through, didn't you? To Transformation Three."
David's mind, though in agony, was sharp enough to process her words. He had succeeded. But the pain… it was far worse than he had ever imagined. He felt her hands on him, the gentle magic trying to soothe the unhealable wounds in his mana core. He was surprised by her presence, and even more so by the tears that welled up in her eyes. It made him feel… a vulnerability he hadn't known since his days on Earth.
"What is this?" he said, his eyes shifting to the parchment in her hand.
"A challenge from Prince Valerius," she said, her voice laced with bitterness. "A public demonstration. He wants to expose you in front of the entire kingdom."
David's eyes hardened. The pain, the exhaustion, the aetheric trauma—it all faded away, replaced by the familiar, cold resolve that had always been his driving force. He was a man who had faced mockery and ridicule his entire life. He would not run from it now.
"I accept," he said, his voice a low, steady rumble, even as he coughed up a bit of blood.
Elisa's eyes widened. "David, no! You're in no condition to..."
"I accept," he repeated, his eyes burning with a dangerous fire. He looked at the envoy, his face now a familiar mask of impenetrable coldness. "Tell your Prince I will be there. In three days, at the coliseum. Tell him I look forward to our 'friendly' competition."
The envoy smirked, bowed again, and departed.
Elisa turned to David, a mix of frustration and fear on her face. "You fool! He's a Transformation Five Mage, a genius on his path. Kael was a mere Transformation Three Knight, he was nothing. Valerius is a political mastermind. This is a trap! You cannot win!"
David closed his eyes, his mind already calculating the odds. He was at Transformation Three, but his path was an enigma, a secret weapon. He was still in immense pain, but he knew he would heal. He had to. He had to show them all. That this time, he would not be the one to be laughed at.
He opened his eyes and looked at Elisa. "Then we'll have to make sure he's the one who loses. Now, for the next three days, Princess, you are my doctor, my strategist, and my only ally. Do you have a plan?"
Elisa, for the first time since she had found him, let a small smile grace her lips. This was the David she had been searching for. The one who did not just survive, but who challenged the very world that had broken him. "I have a plan," she said, her eyes gleaming with a new, dangerous kind of light. "I have a very good plan."