"So there is actually a trainer there?" Asked the Principal through the phone.

"Yes." I replied. "We're going to set up camp."

I had just exited the tower. The girls quickly checked to see if I was alright, finally letting me go once they saw I was unharmed.

Then I called Principal like she told us too.

"To think that you and Erica were Chosen...just be careful, alright?" Principal stated.

"We will." I nodded.

"Good. Call me if anything else happens. It's crazy over here with the increase in rifts..." Principal sighed, before hanging up.

There's been an increase in rifts recently, no doubt the Demon King trying to cause as much chaos and terror as possible to finally break his way through.

Although we still have multiple arcs left, it's only a couple of months. Hopefully I can get a lot stronger with the help of Merlin.

"How are the tents going?" I asked the others.

"Good!" Erica replied. "Now we just need to figure out who's with who..."

Looking over, they had configured all four of the tents. I would have liked to have more, but there were too many to carry.

Which means that we'll have to be sharing tents with each other. We have a total of eight people, which means that there will be two people per tent.

I think we all know where this is going.

"Rock paper scissors!" The girls yelled.

The contest lasted for a while.

"Yes!" Amber pumped her fist, having won the tournament and therefore the right to sleep next to me.

I'd rather not sleep next to anyone but we don't have the space to put three girls into one tent. Not to mention they likely wouldn't allow me...

A yawn escaped my mouth. I don't have the energy to even fight it. I'm so tired...whatever Merlin did to give me that Tier really took the energy right out of me...

"Goodnight." I said, climbing into the tent. I got out my sleeping bag and shimmied into it to the point where I looked like a caterpillar.

It's nice and warm...

I heard the tent open as Amber got in, zipping up the door behind her. She pulled out her own sleeping bag and got into it.

I closed my eyes, ready to go to sleep in the silence of the night before Amber suddenly spoke.

"Hey Ken. Are you awake?" She asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "What is it?"

"I never really told you, but thank you. Thank you for everything." She stated.

"I didn't do that much." I denied.

"Ken." She said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"It might have been small to you. But to me...that was everything. You freed me from them, for good." She stated.

"You saved me. You cared for me. You got angry for me. No one except for Dad has ever done that for me." She continued.

"You didn't care that I was a delinquent, or yakuza, or like to fight. You cared for who I was." She added. "I love you."

"I don't deserve that." I replied.

"And I don't care." Amber argued. "Because you will be mine. I am not going to give you up."

She leaned over, surprising me with a small peck on my cheek. I looked over at her as she pulled back, giving me a wink.

As I looked at her, I truly became aware of beautiful she was. And with how fluffy her ears look....

I pulled my hand out of the bad, before lightly rubbing Amber's ears. They were so nice and soft, it felt like I could pet them forever.

Amber snuggled up to my hand, a soft smile on her face. It was quite the gap from her usual rough and tough exterior.

I felt a light smile grow on my face.

I don't remember how long I petted her ears, but at some point the tiredness took over and I fell peacefully asleep.

I woke up early the next day, dragged out of my tent by Erica so that we could go to Merlin. Why'd it have to be so early...

I wanted to see if Amber's tails were just as fluffy...

Erica and I entered the tower, climbing up the thousands of stone steps to the top. We climbed through the trapdoor, entering Merlin's room.

"Hello there~" Merlin smiled at us. "Welcome back. Are you ready for your first lesson?"

"Are we going to learn how to use those Tiers?" Erica wondered.

"Not yet." Merlin stated. "First I have to give you a lesson. A lesson in magic."

"Magic?" Erica questioned.

"Yes. You see, magic is the creation of miracles. The ability to do something that normal people cannot do." She stated.

"The way magic is manipulated is through mana. And with mana, you could do anything in theory." She explained.

"In order to actually use it, you must have a 'mana core', the place in your soul which your mana is held." She continued.

Where is this going?

"You see, your Arcana's are magic, but not in the way you'd think about it. It's a handicap, not actually true magic." She stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Erica asked.

"The Arcana is like a crutch. Imagine this. True magic is being able to levitate water from a river and take it to your house. Using your Arcana is like putting the water in a bucket and taking it back." She explained.

"The Arcana makes it easier, but it isn't as flexible and versatile. If you have a tier called 'Thunderbolt', you can only create a thunderbolt. You can't really change the size, make it bend, or any other change." She continued.

"Simply, Arcana's are easier but limited. And since it's really hard for most people to advance tiers, it's not the best method. True Magic is tougher, but more useful and powerful in the long run." She stated.

"Then why does no one use True Magic? How come no one knows about this?" I asked.

"True Magic is lost in this world." She stated. "The last people with it's knowledge was The Four Great Sages, but they...perished."

"So no one knows about it except for you." Erica realized. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"I'm stuck here." Merlin sighed. "Forever imprisoned in this tower."

"Anyways~!" She suddenly switched tone, trying to avoid the earlier topic. "Both of you have mana cores, so we'll need to start developing them."

"And if you can use both true magic and the Arcana, you'll truly be powerful. While not as good as true magic, Arcana's are still very powerful and are amazing if used with true magic." She stated.

"The way an Arcana works is by taking a piece of a mythological figure from the past and bonding it to your soul." She continued.

"In basic terms, if you have a god as your Arcana, you're technically part-god." She revealed.

"Like a Demi-god?" Asked Erica.

"A Demi-god is half god, so no. The Arcana is only a part of the soul, and it's not that large." She stated. "At least, at first."

"As you train your Arcana you can increase it's power in your soul, letting you unlock different powers from that mythological figure. That is how the Arcana works." She continued.

"Ken. If you didn't have your Arcana and your artifact there on your ring, how well would you be able to manipulate fire?" She asked.

"Not very well. Actually, without my Arcana likely not at all." I sighed. It was a horrifying fact. If they could disable my Arcana, then...

"Exactly." Merlin stated. "But the Arcana gives you the power of fire. That is why true magic combined with the Arcana is so powerful. The Arcana gives you the fire, while the true magic allows you to truly manipulate it."

"So how do we increase our mana cores then?" I asked.

"With practice." She smiled. "So Ken, take of your ring. Now I want you two to focus on your element, but don't use your Arcana. Try to draw it out without the help of the Arcana."

"Alright." I stated, taking the ring off and placing it into my pocket. I started to focus on creating a fire in my hand, using the advice from Goku so long ago.

Don't help me Loki.

"I'll enjoy watching you suffer." He chuckled.

Wow, thanks so much...

Erica started to focus on on her hand, trying to create water in it.

I started to feel something. Trying to pull it out, a red lightning bolt shot out of my hand into the ceiling.

"...Looks like this might take some time." Sweatdropped Merlin.

And thus, our training with Merlin began.