Caelan looked at her calmly. His eyes narrowed, looking down at her. He stared into her eyes. She sweated, her mouth open as she huffed loudly.

  That was good. It meant she was afraid.

  Caelan needed her to be afraid. His mark had revealed itself. He felt it for the first time. It felt strange, leaving him with a crowd of questions. What was it? However, that had to come later. He had to deal with this first.

  Ilyen didn't say a single word. She just stared at him in fear. Caelan knew he wasn't strong enough yet. Even if he did try to hurt her, he wouldn't be able to. He didn't want to hurt her anyway, it would serve him no real purpose.

  Judging by her reaction, she wasn't definite about what the mark was. She would be hesitant to speak out if it got her in trouble as well. But his threat had sealed the deal. He did pity her. This wasn't part of the plan. All Caelan wanted to do was know the nature of his mark. He definitely didn't want to find out like this.

  He breathed slowly, closing his eyes. His body was about to break down. It felt like it was about to burst like a balloon. His insides screamed at him, aching to tear through his skin. However, he had to remain calm in front of her. He couldn't look vulnerable.

  "Shit, shit. Need to get this over with soon," he thought to himself.

  He looked at her, reaching out his hand to help her up.

  Ilyen hesitated, but the look in Caelan's eyes made her grab his hand. She limped up, blood dripping down her leg. She grabbed it tightly, gritting her teeth.

  On the outside, Caelan didn't care, but he did feel bad for her injuries. Had his emotions been drawn to her that much? How had his time with her changed him?

  They both walked out quietly without looking at each other.

  One day later…

  The training duties were complete. He could finally rest. His body continued to ache relentlessly. Even turning on the bed and walking seemed a chore. He had to hide his injuries. When people walked around him, he tried to match their pace, no matter how much it hurt. He had to act normally for now.

  The academy had released an official statement about what happened to the well. They quoted it as a "routine fluctuation." That seemed off. Even if Ilyen stated that, the academy had to know more about the issue. What were they hiding?

  And what actually happened down there? The itch appeared exactly when the pattern well malfunctioned. His mark seemed to respond to it somehow. The questions in his mind rose. He tried to formulate his thoughts as he lay on his bed. As far as he knew, his mark responded to space and his inner turmoil. Regular marks responded to the user zooming in on their patterns.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Caelan had never tried to zoom in on his real mark. He didn't know the pattern, and his zoom on the branch mark failed. But now he could.

  Why did the pattern well respond to his mark? The pattern well was made centuries ago to stabilise reality. There seemed to be some sort of contradiction between them, as if they opposed each other.

  He had to get to his last class of the day, which was Applied Armament Studies, where students learned to use weapons. The most popular weapons in the dominion were resonance blades, which were long, thin swords, and crescent blades, slightly curved swords.

  Many weapons complemented marks very well. However, some were practically useless. For Caelan, a weapon seemed as useful as holding a stick. It didn't complement his mark at all.

  He sighed as he walked outside, waiting for the day to be over.

  The class was held outside, the evening sun low. Weapons were laid on a desk. There were blades, short hammers, swords, spears, and bows.

  "Listen. Weapons do not amplify power. They reveal it," said the instructor. He walked around with his hands behind his back.

  He continued to talk. Caelan didn't care.

  The first lesson was about learning stances. Students picked up their weapons. Caelan picked up a single blade.

  They stood in the instructed stance, the instructor correcting feet angle, spine, and grip while hitting the students with a wooden staff.

  The next lesson was movement. They performed twelve precise movements perfectly. A mistake meant a redo.

  "All right, class," the instructor clapped.

  "The last lesson is a sparring round."

  Chatter rose among the students.

  "We will use wooden weapons. One on one. First hit wins."

  The group's excitement began to rise. Caelan looked at Zorian. Zorian gazed at the ground, avoiding eye contact. The last encounter had changed him. He never talked to Caelan since. Even though Caelan revealed his power in his fight against Zorian, he doubted Zorian was smart enough to know what had occurred.

  The group gathered in a circle, each student fighting one by one. When it was Caelan's turn, he just stood there, not moving a single step. The opponent hit him gently, and Caelan stepped out of the circle. Some looked confused. Some laughed.

  The last match for Gale was Zorian.

  "Go easy on me, Zorian," Gale laughed as he rubbed the back of his head.

  Zorian lunged forward, his movement fast. He stretched out his wooden knife. It was almost over. Caelan could finally rest.

  Gale ducked, smiled at Zorian, and jumped over him.

  "Huh?"

  Caelan's eyes widened. This power. He was hiding it. A smile appeared on his face.

  Zorian looked surprised. He turned back and went for another strike. Gale's legs twitched, as if he was about to move. But at the moment of impact, he just stood there. The wooden knife hit his skin.

  Caelan glared at him.

  "He lost on purpose? Why?"

  Night had fallen. All the other students went into their dorms. Caelan collapsed on the ground outside. His body had grown too tired to move. Staring at the stars calmed him.

  He finally mustered all his strength and stood. He walked towards the academy.

  He walked up the stairs to his dorm. Sitting on the stairs was a man, tall, with slicked back short white hair and a cigarette in his hands. Caelan didn't pay him any attention and walked past.

  "Stop."

  The man grabbed his hand, stopping Caelan on his path.