Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

The next day, at the boarding station of the space elevator, Liliana and Erik were sitting around a table in a beautiful, elegant, and minimalist café in a VIP area. They had come to bid farewell to Eleonora and Sigrún, while Seraphina stood behind Erik with a professional smile on her face.

“Liliana, as always, I’m leaving you the notes and tasks you need to complete during this time. I hope you’re diligent and finish them properly,” Eleonora spoke to her disciple with her characteristic elegance.

“Of course, Master, I’ll make sure to finish them all”

Liliana responded, smiling widely. After all, she was really happy that the punishment for leaving that useless bastard to his fate a few days ago wasn’t too severe. In the end, she only got a mild scolding and was given several tasks, but nothing too harsh, which made her feel her importance in her master’s heart.

“Well, now that everyone’s here, it’s time for us to leave.”

Suddenly, a magnetic voice interrupted the conversation between the masters and their disciples, causing Erik to turn around to look at the source. He found a beautiful woman with fiery red hair and amber eyes, possessing an incredibly voluptuous and sexy body, with large breasts and hips. This was complemented by a tiny waist framed by the fitted white robe she was wearing, which resembled a gala dress.

Upon seeing the fiery woman, Sigrún commented with a slightly mocking smile while sitting in a chair next to Erik, who had resumed eating his cookies.

“It’s the first time I see you arriving last, Thalia.”

“Well, it wasn’t intentional. I received a last-minute summons for an update on the situation in the field,” Thalia replied confidently as she placed a hand on her waist.

“Did something happen?” Eleonora asked calmly and elegantly while sipping her tea, although her expression couldn’t help but become a bit more serious.

“Yes, it was reported that Nixor Vrost was seen again near the area.”

“That’s problematic,” Sigrún commented with annoyance as she crossed her arms beneath her voluptuous chest.

“Nixor Vrost?” Erik asked curiously, looking at Sigrún while holding a cookie, to which she quickly responded.

“Nixor Vrost is a master-level mage with ice affinity from the Virelian species, and a very annoying one at that. It’s suspected that, like Eli and me, he has two perfectly synergistic affinities, which not only makes him quite powerful, but also makes his spells very dangerous. So, it’s almost suicide for any master-level mage to face him unless they have a strong fire affinity.”

“So that’s why you have to go, Master.” 

Erik commented with understanding. Since he found out that his masters were going to the border, he had started researching and discovered that humanity had several enemies, including the Virelians, another species surprisingly similar to humans that dominated a nearby galaxy. They had a long-standing conflict with humanity.

“Yes, that’s why, and because I’m the best alchemist in the faction,” Sigrún replied proudly, but she was quickly interrupted by Thalia, who commented in a somewhat strict tone.

“Enough, Sigrún. We have to go. Things will be more complicated now.”

“Hmph,” Sigrún huffed in annoyance, but still got up from her chair, something everyone else quickly imitated.

“Well, Erik, take care of yourself. Remember not to pay attention to the director. If he tries to talk to you, just ignore him. He’s a dirty old man who likes to deceive people,” Sigrún took Erik by the shoulders and spoke to him very seriously in a solemn voice, to which Erik nodded with seriousness.

“Okay, Master, although I don’t think he’d be interested in talking to me. I’m not that interesting.”

“Don’t underestimate him, Erik. That old bastard is very good at planning insidious schemes and loves to take advantage of people. So, be very careful with him, and don’t accept any gifts from him. That’s his most used tactic to gain trust and exploit others,” Sigrún shook her head before commenting in a serious voice.

“I understand, Master. He’s a dangerous man,” Erik replied solemnly and began to consider several things while bringing his right hand to his chin.

Meanwhile, Thalia watched in silence as Sigrún instilled a clear sense of insubordination and rejection towards the faction leader into her disciple with a serious expression. This was something Thalia could not allow, so she quickly interrupted the conversation.

“Sigrún's first disciple, don’t take those words seriously. Your Master is just joking. The director is one of the most powerful, wise, and recognized mana users in the galaxy. His advice would be extremely beneficial for anyone, even for your Master.”

Thalia spoke in a serious and straightforward tone, expressing her true thoughts about the director. However, she quickly realized that Erik wasn’t even looking at her. Instead, he was whispering to his Master.

“Master, is that woman okay? She seems a bit unstable, don’t you think?”

“Haha, you’re right, Erik. That poor woman is the granddaughter of that old fossil, and she’s a bit crazy, so don’t associate with her either. Who knows what kind of madness someone like that might do.”

Sigrún spoke loudly while mockingly looking at Thalia, who clenched her teeth in anger as her hair began to move and flames formed at the tips. But she froze when she heard Erik whisper to his Master.

“You’re right, Master, she seems dangerous…”

“Hmph.”

Hearing the comment from the star-haired boy, Thalia merely huffed in anger and then walked ahead towards the boarding platform, causing Eleonora to chuckle amusedly as she approached Erik to say goodbye.

“Well, Erik, we have to go. Do you remember how to use the long-distance communicator I gave you?”

“Yes, Master, I remember perfectly,” Erik quickly replied with a smile, to which Eleonora responded by gently stroking her disciple’s starry hair.

“That’s good. We’ll stay in touch, and don’t get into trouble.”

Eleonora restrained her strong desire to hug Erik before leaving and instead said goodbye to Liliana, while Sigrún had no such restraint and hugged Erik tightly as she bid him farewell.

“Erik, I’ll call you whenever I can. Remember to eat properly. You can neglect your studies a little, but not too much, or you’ll get rusty. Furthermore, remember to go to bed early every night. You’re still just an ascended, and you need to take care of yourself. And…”

Sigrún continued giving Erik a bunch of reminders with a serious expression until she was stopped by Eleonora, who gently placed her hand on Sigrún’s shoulder.

“Come on, Sig, it’s time to go.”

After one more tight hug, Sigrún said goodbye to Seraphina along with Eleonora, then walked away with Thalia to take the VIP corridor of the boarding station—the same one Erik had passed through when he arrived on the planet. The star-haired boy watched from the entrance until the three beautiful women disappeared from view.

“Shall we go, Young Master?” A moment later, Seraphina asked with a smile, to which Erik nodded as he replied.

“Yes, let’s go, although it’s just Erik, not Young Master.”

“Of course, Young Master,” Seraphina replied with a somewhat amused smile, causing Erik to roll his eyes in annoyance before looking at Liliana and asking.

“Do you want to come with us?”

 “No need, I have some things to do, so I’ll be going another way,” Liliana replied, trying to sound elegant, though her tone couldn’t entirely mask a strong sense of disdain, which caused Seraphina to frown slightly.

 “Alright, then let’s go, Seraphina.”

Erik casually responded and then spoke to Seraphina with a smile, to which she responded with a small smile as a deep darkness began to rise in the air around them.

“At your service, Young Master.”

With Seraphina’s words, the pair—maid and young master—were enveloped in a deep darkness, then vanished from the spot, leaving Liliana behind. She merely shrugged in annoyance before taking out her crystal card to make a call. … 

… 

…

A couple of weeks later, Erik arrived at his class, where he found a few students already there. He simply nodded slightly towards them, then sat down in his seat and took out a book, one from Sigrún’s personal library—a library which, according to Sigrún herself, was now his to use as he pleased.

While ignoring everything around him, Erik read his book with interest, occasionally taking out his notebook to jot down some notes. But his pleasant moment was interrupted by a male voice calling out to him.

“Excuse me, fellow student, may I ask you a question?”

Curious, Erik looked up and found a young man with an Asian appearance, black hair, and dark eyes who was smiling at him politely.

“What do you want to ask?”

“Fellow student, it’s just that there’s something I can’t quite grasp about the geometric interpretation of runes, and since you’re the best in the class, I was wondering if you could help me out a bit.”

“Aren’t those kinds of questions supposed to be asked in class?” Erik asked, looking expressionlessly at the young man smiling in front of him, who responded with a somewhat awkward expression.

“Don’t be like that, fellow student. It’s an unwritten rule not to ask simple questions in class, and if I do, I’ll be the laughingstock of my family.”

“And your best option is to ask a complete stranger?” Erik rolled his eyes and commented sarcastically, to which the young man responded with a sly and somewhat cheeky expression.

“Not just any stranger, but the first disciple of the great Master Eldurdóttir, which, instead of making me look bad, will actually make me look pretty good, hehe.”

“And why reveal your true intentions?” Hearing the young man’s response, Erik couldn’t help but ask with a bit of surprise and amusement in his tone.

“Hehe, well, if the subtle approach doesn’t work, it’s better to be honest,” the young man replied with a cheerful smile, which intrigued Erik enough to continue the conversation with the curious young man.

“I suppose you’re right. Nice to meet you, then. I’m Erik.”

“Hehe, nice to meet you, fellow student Erik,” the young man spoke with a pleased tone before introducing himself, sounding somewhat proud. “I’m Chen Ming, from the Ming family of the Jade Lotus Union.”

“The Ming family?” Erik asked with a confused expression, which brought an ironic smile to Chen’s face, who quickly explained.

“Yes, we’re part of the 18 Generals.”

“18 Generals?”