An absolutely green sphere pulsed, following the heartbeats. Suddenly, the entire mass of green energy imploded, turning into a single particle infinitely smaller than before. In an empty space, only five of those particles floated under a single point: the source of a core's energy. That which produces energy for an energy core… the "Fanes Spark," where energy is generated from absolute nothingness.

  A small energetic explosion echoed, limited by the mana core itself. Consecutively, the entire cycle was completed. The neutral core's energy was compressed into a single particle, then the Fanes Spark filled the entire core.

  Gasping, Aryna lost focus on the energy refinement. The girl slid her eyes across the room, stunned and with blurred vision.

  Because it is a technique that modifies the properties of energy, if performed several times, it will cause wear and tear on the Fanes Spark, making energy generation impossible. However, for Aryna, the reality is different.

  In a common core, the Fanes Spark can create energy only five times. After that, if the energy runs out, the deviant dies. However, for Aryna, who possesses the characteristic of infinite energy, the Fanes Spark regenerates unlimited times, allowing the girl to regenerate energy always, refining her own energy in a different way.

  However, even for something infinite, there is a certain weakness. As Aryna recently discovered this method, her core is not yet accustomed to refining energy and regenerating instantly. Therefore, whenever she goes through the refinement process, her senses become confused and her core enters the regeneration state again.

  With a slight headache, Aryna closed her eyes to avoid contact with the light. In moments, a creaking of doors assaulted her ears, forcing her to open her eyes again and look at the bedroom door.

  Rebecca entered, wearing casual clothes, however, a drop of sweat ran down her face. The girl held a letter in her hands, and upon seeing Aryna, she swallowed hard with a false smile.

  "What happened, Beca?" Aryna asked.

  "Headache… Sir Paul brought orders."

  "Orders of the type…"

  Sighing, Rebecca sat on the bed and extended the envelope to Aryna.

  "I will train with Sir Paul for the next five months, as for you, you will train with someone named Luanne."

  Looking at the envelope, Aryna noticed a crescent moon crest sealing the letter. Upon opening the envelope, Aryna removed a small white sheet, practically without content. Only in the middle was a location and time, and nothing else besides that.

  "Beca, what time is it?" Aryna asked, simply accepting Luanne's call.

  "Seven oh six. I'll have to go now, the place Sir Paul set for training is half an hour from here."

  "Me too. The place marked for me is beyond the city of Fulmenbour…"

  "See you later, then," Beca said goodbye with a nod.

  Fulmenbour Academy Gymnasium

  8:10 AM

  Avoiding direct contact with the students, Rebecca looked at the floor, nervous, just trying to get through everyone while looking for Paul.

  When she finally had the opportunity to leave that huge swarm of students, Rebecca could glimpse some Myrddin students training. She froze at a teenager conjuring against her mentor.

  The teacher stood still while the student fired beams of fire at her. However, the mentor's calmness is due to a reason she and Rebecca share: barrier conjuration. However, unlike Rebecca, the teacher was able to maintain the barriers for more than three hits.

  "Do you wish to reach this level?" Paul asked, observing the same training as his student.

  Still looking at the confrontation, Rebecca whispered from the corner of her mouth:

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Yes."

  "Excellent," he nodded. "Because we will have five months to turn you into that."

  Rebecca's gaze went from admiration to insecurity in an instant. Looking at the floor and with trembling lips, she questioned:

  "Are you sure I can really improve?"

  "We all can. If I, a useless former special class, went from a grade five to a grade eight in just four months, who are you to say otherwise?"

  "Huh?" Rebecca muttered.

  Sighing, Paul crossed his arms and returned to watching the training.

  "Comparing me to you is… terrible."

  "You have potential. Perhaps the one with the most potential among the five, second only to that dormant genius. But… you are pessimistic. Deviants without confidence don't live past twenty."

  "This expectation…"

  "Let's go. You will learn not to suffer the damage your barriers take," Paul said, leaving the Myrddin training aside and walking towards an exit of the gymnasium.

  Elainópia Forest, Dione Swamp

  9:30 AM

  The galloping of the horse was the only thing that really made noise in the forest. The trail, almost consumed by nature, had gone from dry dirt to mud and small puddles of water a few minutes ago.

  Looking out the window, Aryna's heart couldn't help but beat rapidly. Her anxiety and restlessness were at their peak, after all, only a window separated her from the most dangerous swamp in the world.

  Straining her eyes a little, it was already possible to see a small portion of the forest flooded by stagnant water. A living vegetation, however, surrounded by green water and covered in slime.

  Gradually, Aryna's carriage braked. A small window in front opened, with the coachman putting his face through to deliver a warning.

  "This is the limit. I was ordered to leave you at this point. Further ahead there will be a small boat that will take you to the real destination."

  Aryna nodded, understanding the coachman's words. Opening the carriage door, her first step was into a puddle of mud. Feeling the muddy ground, she sighed towards the sky, accumulating her hatred for soiling her white boots.

  Following the trail, with each step Aryna took, the deeper the mud became. Aiming to go around it, Aryna entered the forest to the right, as it was still passable compared to the swamp on the opposite side. However, it didn't last long.

  Just a few meters later, Aryna came across a mossy slope, the end of which was already composed only of the swamp.

  Having no other choice, the girl simply accepted and descended under the moss, sliding down with each step she took. Reaching the end, she wished she hadn't gone down. Both her hands and clothes were covered in moss, slime, and mud.

  It was a disgusting feeling!

  However, Aryna's biggest regret came when she saw that she only had one way out now. In front of her, there were only five more meters of ground, still covered in moss. Beyond this small patch of land, from then on it was just a swamp, with the brackish water impossible to see at the bottom.

  Approaching the water, Aryna tried to visualize her own reflection.

  "It's so dirty it doesn't reflect…" she whispered to herself, seeing only a ray of sunlight reflecting on the water, even that being obscured.

  Holding onto the piece of land, she slowly submerged into the water, testing how far her feet would reach the ground. Luckily for her, the water only reached six centimeters above her waist.

  Before taking any step, she sighed, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and reflected. She knew that, most likely, Luanne was watching her, however, her fear of aquatic creatures was greater. At any moment a snake or any other aquatic monster could appear and attack her.

  After each step, Aryna stopped and breathed deeply. Still afraid to advance, at any moment she could sink and the situation would change drastically. She remained in this cycle for minutes.

  At a certain point, the girl managed to lean on a huge tree root, connected to countless other trees. Grabbing onto the trunk of an oak tree, Aryna pondered her current situation.

  Making a crossing in that immense swamp would be impossible and exhausting for her.

  "If I create water ropes, would it be possible to jump through the trees?" she considered.

  In a blind spot for the girl, where she couldn't see, the water moved on its own. As if a small stone had fallen into that region without making a sound.

  The water level of the swamp suddenly dropped one centimeter, awakening Aryna's intuition. Gradually, the water level dropped even further, reaching one meter.

  Looking back, Aryna came across a strange movement in the water. All that water was concentrating in one place, creating a kind of inverted tornado.

  Instantly, the entire inverted tornado dissolved, returning to the swamp and leaving only a disc of water floating in the air. The entire swamp became agitated, creating small waves everywhere.

  The disc began to spin clockwise and was soon thrown at Aryna's abdomen. Almost as fast as the blink of an eye, the disc nearly teleported towards her.

  Instinctively, she dodged to the side, causing the disc to just pass by her. But, just a few meters ahead, the disc exploded into water, causing a pressure capable of knocking Aryna back into the swamp.

  Grabbing a root of the oak tree, Aryna tried to maintain control of her own situation. However, a heavy foot fell on her hand.

  Putting force to hold Aryna's fingers, an armor nearly two meters tall fell there. An aqualithium armor, covered in moss that obscured its matte blue shine.

  A glittering blue ray escaped from the gap of the eyes in the helmet, and subsequently, an explosion in the shape of a blade grew beyond the trees of the swamp.