Chapter 168: Hidden danger
After Kyle took the mana stones from Nine. Everyone went to train for a while.
Kyle wore a satisfied expression the whole time. He spent two hours inside the training ground with the others before leaving for the library.
Elder Han was already waiting for him inside the secret room and unlike before he was free today.
With a serious expression, Han sat opposite Kyle and taught him about the weak points of Arrays.
All the Arrays had a weak point. It was something that would destroy the Array if not handled properly. Usually, the weak points would be present in the middle of the Arrays but some more complicated Arrays had their weak point hidden underneath layers of symbols.
He asked Kyle to draw an Array on a page.
Kyle nodded and unlike before he only took a few seconds to draw the nine basic symbols on the page and completed the defensive Array.
Elder Han was surprised at his speed but he stopped himself from praising Kyle and took out some mana stones before placing them on the page.
The Array lit up and a circular defensive shield formed inside the page.
"Look closely."
Kyle nodded and saw how Elder Han just touched a specific part of the shield and it burst into particles.
"?"
"This is a weak point that can destroy the Array. Your Array was fine but I found the weak point very easily because you just copied everything from the book."
Kyle listened to everything with a serious expression. Elder Han nodded inwardly with a smile seeing Kyle's serious face.
"To hide the weak point of an Array you have to change the placement of the symbols and make it unique in your way. Don't just copy everything."
"Usually it's very hard to find the weak point with the naked eye because each Array has a different weak point. You have to sense the mana around the Array."
"It's complicated because unlike normal mana the mana around Arrays is very thick but when you start sensing you can see small symbols floating around the Array. To find a weak point you have to look for a tiny hole within those symbols. It's very rare to see no weak point in an Array because it's not possible."
Kyle nodded. After Elder Han finished his explanation he gave him a book related to weak points.
"Just focus on the beginner Arrays for a while because finding a weak point inside an Array is very hard."
Han gazed at him one last time and stood up to do his work.
Kyle sighed and made another Array on a new page. He closed his eyes and sensed the mana around the Array but he didn't find any floating symbols.
'Destroying Arrays is harder than drawing them.'
He shook his head with a sigh but then Bia looked at the Array curiously.
-'I think I can sense the mana around the Array you made but I am not sure about the weak points.'
'You can, how?'
Bia blinked her eyes and came out from his hoodie before sitting on the table.
-'I can naturally see it I am now sure about the reason.'
-'Don't close your eyes. Just like how you can sense the faint feeling of mana around your body. Try to sense it around the Array. If you focus on it instead of feeling you can see faint needles like threads made of mana. They are continuously floating around the Array. Maybe the threads are the Array symbols?'
Kyle listened to Bia's words and did what she asked. After trying a few times he was able to sense the threads but it was so faint that he had to concentrate on a single thread.
He sensed that thread for a while and tried to follow it's movement. He wanted to see the other threads as well but after a few minutes, his head started aching.
On the other hand, Elder Han almost broke the glass vial present inside his hand. His eyes showed shock and disbelief.
'He sensed it already?'
It took him more than three months just to sense a single symbol and Kyle sensed it within half an hour.
He took a deep breath to calm his troubled heart.
"Don't concentrate on a single spot for a long time or else you will get a headache. Try to sense it naturally. Sensing mana can place some pressure on your mind so take your time no need to hurry."
Kyle nodded and after taking a small break he started observing the Array again. After a few hours, he left the secret room.
He went back to his room and fell asleep. His everyday schedule was very similar. As he has to wake up early for classes. Then he would train with the others in the training ground for a few hours. Afterward, he would go to the library to get Array lessons from Elder Han.
It was a normal routine just like any other student but Kyle liked this peaceful life.
...
Inside a dimly lit room. Professor Aster was pacing around a communication crystal with a serious expression.
A projection of a middle-aged man wearing dark clothes was seen on top of the communication crystal.
With a deep breath, Aster stopped and gazed at the Crystal.
"Are you sure you want to do it? If yes I am out of this plan. My life in the Academy is pretty good I can't risk getting caught."
The other person snickered. He had deep red eyes and black hair.
"I want that beast no matter what! I know the other Kingdoms are keeping an eye on the Academy but I don't care."
"The Principal won't come back for a while and I have already sent a few spies inside the Academy. You just need to do a single thing and you are still hesitating?"
"I am not giving you so many resources just to get a negative response every time I ask you to do something!"
Professor Aster gritted his teeth when he saw the latter crazed expression.
"Why? Just why do you want it so badly? It's just a beast. It's not like it will reach (SSS+)-Rank within a few months. There's no point in getting your hands on it because you have to use many resources just to let it grow! Also, unlike the Royal Academy where no one is willing to make a move, they won't hesitate to attack you if they knew about this."
The man present in the projection chuckled. He didn't care about Aster as he could kill the latter anytime but he needed Aster's help that's why he was willing to hear him out.
"Who said I am like those idiots who want to just acquire a strong pet? I don't want to make it grow. I want to use it for my new experiment. If I succeed I will be able to increase my talent! I will write history! hahaha."
"Now that we are doing it the hard way. Just bring me all the talented students from the Academy. After my experiment is done I will dig their hearts and make some incredible life-increasing potions!"
"It would be a very beautiful sight when Principal Ratric returned and saw everything, hahaha."
A crazed laughter echoed inside the room and Aster's eyes widened slightly.
Talent is something that can never be changed. It was everyone's potential and no matter what after reaching their potential no one could advance further but the man inside the projection claimed to increase his talent.
Aster took a deep breath. He was still against the idea of doing something risky inside the Academy but he agreed after the black-haired man promised to give him some of the benefits.