The next day, Raiden arrived at the Tower of Mastery, ready to take the next step in his training. As he approached the entrance, he noticed Javier and Ruth standing there, fidgeting nervously. It was clear they were waiting for him.

Javier kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other, glancing around anxiously, while Ruth toyed with the hem of her shirt, her eyes occasionally darting toward the tower’s imposing structure. Their uneasy demeanor made it evident that they were hesitant to proceed to the new floor without him.

"What is wrong? Perhaps it is the same as usual," Raiden said. "It has been a while, but you guys tended to fidget a lot in the past."

"We were just waiting for you... no one is fidgeting," Javier said.

"Mother and Father warned me that things will be more difficult now," Ruth explained. "Before graduating, kids on the last levels of the tower of Mastery usually are pretty competitive."

Raiden wasn’t informed of that, so he wondered about Harth, and Lenore imagined that he would be fine since he wasn’t like the other kids. In any case, kids their age could only be so much scary... considering the experience that they had outside the village, all that seemed pretty weak.

"Anyway, let’s stop wasting time," Raiden said. "The last thing that we need here is to arrive late."

Those three nodded, and then they began to climb the tower of mastery. When they reached the journeymen level of the tower of mastery, they found all of the students there sitting down and meditating while waiting for the instructor.

Surprisingly, the trio’s entrance did not attract much attention. The other kids remained focused on their meditation, eyes closed and breathing steady, seemingly indifferent to the newcomers. Raiden exchanged a glance with Javier and Ruth, and they silently understood that this floor demanded a higher level of discipline and inner focus.

Without a word, they quietly moved to the back of the room, careful not to disturb the others. They found some empty spots and settled down, mimicking the meditative postures of their peers. The silence was profound... they thought that they should do the same, but without knowing the reason didn’t seem like the best of ideas.

Eventually, the instructor arrived, and Raiden, Javier, and Ruth’s anticipation increased. They had expected someone imposing, perhaps more battle-hardened than the old man on the previous floor. However, the person who walked in surprised them all.

The instructor appeared to be a woman in her twenties, a striking contrast to their expectations. She had flowing silver hair that shimmered faintly in the light, adding to the beauty of her presence. Her most distinctive features were her cat-like ears perched atop her head and a sleek, silver tail that swayed gently behind her as she moved. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Her eyes, a piercing shade of amber, scanned the room with a calm, almost serene expression. Despite her youthful appearance and unusual features, she exuded an aura of quiet authority that immediately commanded respect.

"It seems that we have some newcomers," The instructor said. "My name is Altria, and I will be your instructor on this floor. Step up and introduce yourselves."

The atmosphere was still calm, but Javier and Ruth still followed Raiden while feeling nervous. They weren’t used to be the center of the attention. Thanks to that, they were unable to focus their eyes and see that the kids were showing calm expressions.

"My name is Raiden, son of Harth and Lenore," Raiden said.

Raiden didn’t have anything else to say about him, but he still noticed a bit of surprise in the eyes of some people as he talked about those who had adopted him. Still, they did try their best to remain calm.

Soon, Javier and Ruth did the same while forcing smiles, and eventually, they calmed down. Eventually, Altria told them to return to their seats and then spend the morning trying to improve their Aura Force as much as possible.

That was a bit weird, but they followed the orders of the instructors and did exactly that. They had been trying to improve that daily, but only Raiden skipped a few levels thanks to his Money is Power.

The atmosphere was quite easy to concentrate on, but since the group wasn’t used to it, they spent these hours losing their focus now and then because there was something in the air that made them feel tense and nervous. Still, eventually, one hour before the lessons were about to end, the instructor called the students out to show their progress.

As Instructor Altria took her place at the front of the room, the students began to line up, one by one, to demonstrate their progress. Raiden, Javier, and Ruth watched intently, trying to understand the purpose of these demonstrations.

The first student stepped forward and stood in front of Altria. With a focused expression, the student raised his fists, and a faint, glowing aura began to emanate from them. The light shimmered and pulsed, displaying their control over the technique they had been practicing. Altria nodded approvingly and made a few low remarks to give some tips before motioning for the next student.

Raiden observed carefully as the second student approached. This student closed their eyes momentarily, and when they opened them, a sharp, intense light seemed to flicker within their eyes. It was a demonstration of Aura Force channeled through their eyes, enhancing their perception and focus. Once again, Altria gave a nod of approval and offered some words of guidance.

The third student, however, approached with a hesitant demeanor. They stood before Altria but didn’t produce any visible effect or technique. Their expression was one of frustration and determination as if they were still struggling to grasp the ability they were trying to master. Altria’s approach to this student was different; she offered encouragement and specific advice to help them overcome their obstacles.

"You all are making progress; developing your own techniques takes time and a lot of practice," Altria explained. "When you reach home, just focus on improving your Aura Force , don’t train your techniques without anyone monitoring you all. You can home, good work."

So far, the journeymen level on the tower of mastery was pretty weird. The instructor seemed too nice and the atmosphere wasn’t like anything they had expected. Still, they waited until everyone left since it seemed that Altria had something to talk about with them.

"You guys should have sensed your classmates trying to use their techniques and control them," Altria said. "This is what this level is for. Aura Force is what makes us different from ordinary warriors, but it isn’t enough. If it were, all of us would fight in the same manner. From now on, you will have to develop your own techniques that will define your fighting style. You can take those scrolls to learn the basics on how to take the next step to control your Aura Force . For now, only try to learn the basic of each one of them and then talk with me when you find the one that you think that you are suited the most."