The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

"Memory-enhancing teas?" Julia repeated.

Well, the instructor was right, she might really need these mushrooms! If possible, she wanted to grow them.

"Yes… They can also be used for various medicines." Instructor Helvia said.

Soon, she introduced the two other plants.

They were the Thistleheart and Laughing Mint.

The Thistleheart with jewel-blue sap was mostly used for an anti-poison tonic. On the other hand, Laughing Mint was an ordinary-looking plant, but they were mostly used to create potions related to Mana Recovery… However, touching it without using Mana could shake them uncontrollably as if they were laughing…

Of course, if that happened, the leaves would no longer be useful.

"These five can make eighty percent of apprentice-level potions," Helvia said, tossing Gian a moontear seed. "Your first task: Grow one at home. My advice is to consider talking to it daily. If it dies, you fail."

Gian smiled at this assignment as he found this easy.

After all, one of his servants was previously taking care of their garden. This should be easy.

Of course, there was still plenty of time, so Helvia started teaching them about the Rules of Harvest.

Helvia opened a book and showed an image of plants in various terrains.

"Rule 1: Never take the first plant you find," Helvia lectured. "The healthiest specimens hide behind their weaker cousins."

The five wanted to argue about that, but they decided to keep silent.

Helvia noticed this as she chuckled. "Of course, there's always an exception, and I just want you all to keep this rule in mind.

She then showed another page... "Rule 2: Always leave half. A greedy alchemist is a starving alchemist."

Then, she showed a root from the table's pot of soil.

"Rule 3: Thank your ingredients. They're dying for your craft."

Julia blinked after hearing this. It felt more like a ritual. She felt that it was a bit too much to include this as a rule instead of a suggestion. Nonetheless, since nobles had etiquette, she could only think that this was the Alchemist's version of etiquette.

By the class's end, each apprentice received a few tools for planting and harvesting. Aside from the seeds of Moontear, they were given a copper herb knife and a field journal, which also includes a few notes or instructions about how to grow Moontear herbs.

"Next week," Helvia said, "we'll meet your seeds in the flesh. If yours is dead, you'll be weeding the poison garden as penance."

Soon, the bell signaling the lunch break rang through the halls of the Tower. At the very least, in the first two levels of the Tower.

Then, Julia's stomach growled in response.

The morning had been grueling—basic mana manipulation drills, endless lectures on spell theory, and the pressure of not falling behind.

"Finally…" Marcus groaned as he stretched his arms…

"We can finally take a break." Lena, their other classmate, added.

Julia chuckled as they made their way to the Tower's communal dining hall. Although they didn't formally introduce themselves to each other, they immediately felt closer since they were in the same batch.

The other student, Harvey, was just silent as he followed the group with Gian.

The dining hall was already filled with people. Apprentices of all ages clustered around long wooden tables, talking about their classes, complaining about instructors, and, most importantly, eating.

Soon, they smelled the scent of roasted meat, fresh bread, and spiced stew…

Julia's mouth watered as she grabbed a tray and loaded it with food.

"Over there," Marcus pointed to an empty spot near the back.

"Ohhh.. Is this a Magic Beast?" Julia's eyes lit up as soon as she realized that they were feasting on Magic Beasts.

Of course, she knew that Magic Beasts could be poisonous and weren't really ideal as food. However, if prepared properly, they could still be very nutritious, especially for Apprentice Mages like them.

She didn't expect that this tower would be so generous to them.

'Is father earning a lot of money?' She mused.

However, after only taking a few bites, a group of older apprentices approached them…

None of them thought too much of it, as they were probably curious about the newbies in the tower.

"Hello there, newbies!" One of the called out…

"Did you join a faction already?" The senior apprentice mage asked.

However, the five of them weren't sure what he was talking about.

"Oh! You all look clueless. I guess we're the first ones to approach you." The man said without waiting for any of them to reply.

"What's this faction? I've never heard of it…" Julia bluntly replied.

"Haha! That's normal… It's just something that the Senior Apprentices made to ensure that the distribution of missions and various resources was properly done." The man replied.

It was definitely suspicious.

"Don't worry… Even if it's not recognized by the Tower itself, the instructors knew about this and they don't mind it." The man added.

"What is this all about?" Marcus finally spoke.

At this time, the man finally introduced himself as Herman and explained the factions to them.

Apparently, the Tower wasn't just a place of learning—it was a battleground of alliances.

Among the apprentices, three factions ruled, each led by a 17-year-old prodigy on the cusp of becoming First Circle Mages.

The three factions were formed by Alexander, Maeva, and Jude.

Alexander was an Apprentice Mage with a high affinity for Fire Element. There were about 20 Apprentice Mages under them.

Maeva, on the other hand, was quite incredible at illusion and subtlety. They have about 30 Apprentice Mages in their faction.

Finally, Jude's faction. It was where Herman was part of, there were about 20 of them as well.

In total, there were about a hundred Apprentice Mages in this tower, and the few remaining weren't part of any faction.

As for Jude himself, he was actually a combat mage with a focus on defense and endurance. According to Herman, their faction prioritized unity and mutual protection.

Still, Julia and the others couldn't imagine the benefit of joining them just yet.

At this time, behind Herman was a tall girl with braided hair, and she approached their table.

"Ahhh… New meat, huh?" She said while looking at their tray… After that comment, she turned her attention to Julia.

"How's your first day treating you?"

Julia paused for a moment before she replied... "Uh… fine?"

The girl grinned. "Name's Rina. And trust me, 'fine' won't last long." She then gestured her thumb toward a table where a group of apprentices was located. They were laughing loudly and one of them was demonstrating a fire spell a little too close to another apprentice's hair.

"They're under Alexander's faction." She commented.

"See that? Without a faction, you're on your own. And trust me, the Tower eats the alone ones alive."

Marcus frowned. "What's the catch?"

Rina shrugged. "No catch. If you join us, you get protection. Missions outside the Tower? We've got your back. Resources? We make sure you get your fair share. Bullies? They think twice before messing with us."

Lena crossed her arms as she heard this…

"And what do we have to do in return?"

"Loyalty," Rina said simply. "You watch our backs, we watch yours."

Julia exchanged glances with her friends. The offer was too good to be true.

'We have to observe first… Furthermore, they're the first to approach us. They painted the others badly in our eyes. That's too suspicious.' Julia mused.

Thankfully, the others were also looking at her for a decision.

For some reason, even Gian was looking at her and waiting for her choice.

"Oh, look. The Jude's henchmen are scavenging again."

A boy, who was probably from Alexander's Faction, arrived. He was flanked by two others, and they seemed to have been observing them up until now."

"Don't listen to them, newbies. They are just a bunch of scared kids hiding behind Jude's shield." He leaned in. "If you want real power, you join Alexander's group..."

Rina's expression darkened. "Back off, Jace."

Jace ignored her, focusing on Julia. "You've got potential. I can see it in your eyes…" You're wasted with these losers."

Julia's fingers tightened around her fork.

"We're not joining anyone yet," she said firmly.

Jace's smirk faltered. "Suit yourself. But remember—when the missions start, you'll wish you'd picked the winning side."

With that, he strode off, and his lackeys followed

"Can we eat in peace, please? We'll have to talk about it first." Julia finally said to Herman and Rina.

"A-alright… You can take your time." Herman replied as he couldn't help but assess Julia once again.

He just realized that she was actually the leader of these newbies.

***

As lunch ended, Julia and her friends huddled together while walking to their next class.

"So… do we join?" Marcus asked.

Lena bit her lip. "I don't like the idea of being tied down. But… we do need allies."

Harvey gently nodded... "I say we wait. See who's really worth following."

Julia wasn't sure about that. Nonetheless, she also wanted to consult Van about this.

Well, for some reason, Van would always give her very sound conclusions based on what he knew and his observation… It would always be convincing…

After reaching this thought, she turned to them.

"Alright… Let's do that…"