Ivy Graceful stepped out of her chariot. Her feet landed on the cobblestone roads of the Undying City, and her eyes glanced out at the giant city in front of her. She was dressed in modest white robes, and her blonde hair was braided backwards in four rows, revealing her green eyes. Her robes had been altered slightly to accommodate for her recently amputated hand.

  "This place is unbelievable." She said as her fellow holy sisters stepped out beside her. They had all come from different villages throughout Varadna and were finally 13, the age to join the Great Church.

  With them were also Holy Knights. A special order of the empire dressed in white armour, whose job was to deliver the girls safely to the city. There was also a Holy Mother with them. A woman who had finished their mandatory work in the Great Church, but had yet to reach Angelite status. Her name was Venus, and her hair was red like fire.

  "Take it all in, my daughter's. This will be your home for the next three years." Mother Venus said as she pointed out into the distance towards the great church. "And that, will be where you're staying. One of the Five Sacred Churches of The Fourth World."

  The holy daughters gawked at the sight of the towering church. Except for Ivy. Her eyes landed somewhere else.

  "Mother Venus, is that the Varadna Academy?" She asked, pointing at the largrst building in the city, even larger than the palace itself.

  "Why yes, it is. In just a few weeks, many boys and girls around your age will be entering that academy as first years. Particularly, those who have just finished up with the sixth year in preparation school. I'm sure some of you have some friends who might be entering."

  A few of the holy daughters nodded their heads. Ivy Graceful found herself smiling to herself.

  Mother Venus was right.

  Leox... I can't wait to see you again.

  ---

  Leox sat in the dark underground tunnels, finally having discovered a skill connected to his Novice Fire Mage class.

  Its title was Overheat, and it allowed him to convert the mana within his body into heat. This heat could not be used externally, which hardly made it feel like a fire skill. Instead, it allowed him to heat up an area of his body to great temperatures, and in turn increasing the physical strength it could output.

  He tested this skill by heating up the entirety of his right arm. His skin steamed and hissed, eventually taking on a shiny pink hue, before he eventually felt the muscles tighten like springs, preparing to release their strength in a single burst.

  It hurt to keep the arm overheated, but instead of releasing the heat, he used his hands like a grill to hold onto the rat he had previously slain. The rat sizzled and started to cook. It was a ghastly meal, but Leox found his mouth watering at the smell alone. By the time the heat in his arm ran out, the rat was sufficiently cooked. Leox devoured it like it was the first meal he had ever eaten in his life.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  In a way, it was.

  ...

  After eating the rat meat in its entirety, he was left feeling more satisfied. Now he needed a way to purify the water. He did this by gathering the rat fur, soaking it in water, using overheat to boil the water, and squeezing it into his mouth.

  It hardly worked, but it was all he could think of. The water still tasted disgusting. Yet after half an hour, he squeezed enough into his mouth to feel satisfied.

  For the first time in what felt like forever, his thirst and hunger were replenished. Still, in order to bring his body back to its normal state, he would need much more.

  At least I'm in a state where I can defend myself now.

  ---

  Leox spent the next hour exploring the tunnels. It seemed all the same for the most part. Dirty water dripped onto his face from the ceiling, and the tunnels seemed to be constantly travelling downhill. Every now and then he would hunt another rat and drink from the water. His stomach didn't seem to enjoy these meals as much as time went on.

  Eventually, he reached a point in the tunnel where he could no longer continue. His feet landed in water that was much deeper than anywhere else. After getting a closer look, he realised that it seemed to be some sort of entrance to a larger body of water. If he wanted to go further, he would have to swim into the water and through the rest of the tunnel, hoping that he would eventually emerge into a lake on the surface.

  The problem was that he had never been the best swimmer. Not to mention, it was important for humans to avoid water at all costs, due to demons.

  Should I turn back?

  As he was stuck between his options, Leox suddenly heard something. It was like a cry in the distance, seemingly belonging to something that wasn't human. Whatever it was, it had to be in severe pain. Then, another cry followed. Though this one seemed to belong to a maniac.

  It was a voice that Leox recognised all too well.

  "There's no escaping me, Leox!"

  The voice that echoed through the tunnel belonged to Donn Hawkings.

  The boy had returned and found that Leox had escaped from his captivity. He must have then found the demon and put it to rest, before setting out to complete his more important task. To find Leox, and capture him again.

  "Ahh..."

  Leox began to panic. He would rather face any other fate than to be tied up by Donn and kept as a slave once again.

  He looked back at the water and contemplated taking his chances at swimming. If he drowned, he would simply be brought back to life. Yet that left the risk of him potentially being stuck in a never-ending loop of drowning and coming back to life again. Such a fate was almost as bad as being held captive again.

  He turned back to the tunnel, where he could hear footsteps in the distance travelling towards him. He had time, but not much. Leox looked at his Overview. With the skills Overheat and Weave Current, that was two out of the four core elements he could use.

  Maybe if I learn how to use Earth and Wind fast enough, I can fight. This is my best bet. No... my only bet!

  With that, he got to work on trying to figure out the full capabilities of his classes. Leox did not understand exactly what he had done in order to awaken the Overheat skill, or even the Weave Currents skill; however, at both times, it simply felt like it was a skill that his body desperately needed. How the Overview determined what skills were 'needed', was something he couldn't grasp yet. However, he knew that at that moment, he had a strong desire to awaken the skills of his two remaining classes.

  He hoped that desire would be enough to help strengthen him.