The Moon Thief

Hit by Heinald's Death Ray, a big cleft appeared in the Yeti's chest, and that area was completely charred. Although the Yeti's body was very strong, Death Ray's destructive power was too much. Moreover, he was not a newly ascended Ainsar, his spiritual power was far greater than that of a newly ascended Ainsar. Therefore, all of his spells were quite destructive.

The severely injured Yeti started to flee with all his remaining strength due to his survival instinct. Various parts of his body were also burned while he was trying to get rid of the Fire Vines. There was hardly any part of his thick fur that didn't burn.

Normally, Heinald would chase and kill him, but this time he was intent on letting him escape. The weather conditions were already so harsh, he didn't want to waste any more time chasing him. This yeti wouldn't be any more of a problem for him anyway, as his injuries were so severe he would probably die soon.

He did not linger there any longer and carefully crossed the pass to reach Mount Ariek. He could now see the huge castle which his master had spoken of. As he examined the surroundings to plot a route for himself, he realized that a path had been made leading to the castle.

Heinald started his way up the mountain road, which had a very steep incline. Although he tried to move as fast as he could, it took almost half a day to reach the castle. Mount Ariek was the largest and highest mountain he had ever seen. As an Ainsar, despite his superior physical strength, to move forward against the constantly blowing gusts of wind made it very difficult for him. He had a hard time traveling especially at night. Even though his robe was a Magical Treasure and his body was very solid, the conditions were tough.

When he arrived in front of the castle, he noticed that the entire castle was inside a protection formation. Someone with normal eyes would definitely not see this formation, but his eyes were far from normal. When he approached the formation and touched it, he was pushed back extremely powerfully.

At that moment, Heinald felt the ground tremble under his feet. About two seconds later, a stone golem half his height emerged from under the ground. He could see the various runes on this golem.

"Explain your reason for being here!"

The little golem standing in front of Heinald spoke with a human voice. He almost laughed at this, but he managed to restrain himself.

Heinald said, "I'm here at the request of Albin Redsand."

The golem stood for a while without moving or making a sound. After a few seconds it started walking and said, "Please follow!"

The protective field where the golem was walking disappeared. When both of them entered the formation, that area was back to its original state. Heinald had only seen such a large protection formation in Tulan Town and Grandmaster Albin's mansion before.

Heinald felt a heaviness in his heart as he remembered the isolated Tulan Town. Most likely, no one there was able to get rid of the Century Raid. The formation there was also very strong, but it was surpassed by those creatures.

As he and Golem arrived in front of the castle's great gate, the gate slowly began to open. When they entered, he encountered a sight he never expected to see. Inside a huge fortified fortress built on a large mountain like Mount Ariek, there were stone buildings that looked quite ordinary. At the center of the buildings was a larger and more ostentatious main building, yet still less ostentatious than most buildings he had seen in cities he had visited before.

Heinald began to wonder the person who which own a casle like this, and also quite close to Albin Redsand. It was clear that he was an important person, but it seems like unlike Albin, he obviously wasn't much of a show-off.

"Lord Fredor will welcome you soon." The golem's strange voice snapped Heinald out of his thoughts.

While walking, Heinald had seen many ordinary people. These people were servants working in the castle. He hadn't seen any Ainsar yet, and this situation was strange to him, but this situation did not last long. These ordinary people wore very thick clothing to protect themselves from the freezing cold and tried not to stay outside for as long as possible.

When they arrived in front of the great building, a bald and vigorous-looking man greeted them. The waves of energy emanating from this man revealed that he was also a Level 1 Ainsar.

"Greetings! I'll accompany you from now on." The bald man gave a nod.

Likewise, Heinald gave him a nod.

Heinald's thoughts about the outside of the castle slowly began to change as he saw inside. It was obvious at first glance that the stones on the walls of this building were special, he could also feel the energy emanating from these stones.

"These stones must have been powered by runes." Heinald continued to examine the stones at the same time as he passed through a long and ostentatious corridor. This castle was built in a dangerous area and it was understandable that it was so protected. Even if the formation outside the castle was breached, it would be very difficult to pass the castle walls.

After a few minutes of walking, they stopped in front of a large black door.

The big black door opened slowly at that moment.

"You can come in, Lord Fredor is waiting for you inside." The bald man gestured inside.

When Heinald entered, the first thing that caught his attention was the intense Magical Energy surrounding the room. The interior of the room was quite tidy and large, with many bookshelves around. Apart from books, on these bookshelves were spheres and various magic items that he had never seen before.

At the very back of the room was a very large window, and in front of it was an armchair decorated with precious stones and a man sitting on it.

His eyes widened slightly when Heinald saw this man. At that moment he realized that this man he was looking at was Albin Redsand's twin brother.

The man watching Heinald carefully gave a small laugh and said, "Looks like Albin didn't tell you much about me."

Heinald stared blankly for a few seconds, then recovered himself and bowed.

Fredor stood up and walked over to Heinald, then opened his hand and waited.

"Ah!" Heinald immediately understood what Fredor wanted, and took the box his master had given him from the dimensional pocket of his robe, and handed it to him.

Fredor took the box gently and put on a satisfied expression, then said, "Albin told me about you. Even though you're quite young, it is said that your Potion Brewing skills are pretty good!"

"My master is exaggerating." Heinald gave a modest answer.

"Albin doesn't exaggerate anything." Fredor shook his head and continued, "If he thinks you're talented, that means you're talented."

Heinald didn't know what to say in response, so he wanted to open a different topic, "According to my master's order, if you need me for anything, I will do my best to help you."

"Actually, I asked you to come here..." Fredor walked back to his seat and sat down. After stroking his beard for a few seconds, he continued, "I'm asking for your help, but not for myself, for my daughter Tisha."

Heinald nodded slightly and asked, "Alright, but about what?"

"What do you know about Ainsar academies?" Fredor asked.

"I don't know much. I just know that there are powerful families behind the academies. In these academies, education is given in various fields and Ainsars who are deemed competent are invited by the families behind the academy."

That was all Heinald knew.

"Indeed! Academies are talent-finding tools for powerful families. However, if you ask me, every Ainsar should go there whenever they can." Fredor looked into Heinald's eyes and asked, "Do you know why?"

"For a quality education?" Heinald shrugged.

"Actually, education is secondary..." Fredor shook his head, "The things that matter most are the research done there and the opportunities that will come your way."

"What kind of opportunities?" Heinald's eyebrows rose in interest.

Fredor stroked his beard and said, "Only talented Ainsars are accepted into academies. That means that you will be able to interact with many different talents like you."

Heinald had never looked at it that way before. He wanted to go to an academy in the future to be able to access the research done in the academies, but there were more important things there than research.

Interacting with a large number of talented Ainsars in the academies will be very beneficial, especially in terms of knowledge exchange and experimentation!

Heinald pondered for a moment, then asked, "And what does all this have to do with the task you're going to give me?"

Fredor asked, "Have you ever heard of Ruthas Academy?"