In a secluded area of a small forest, there was a young man and his beast companion resting in a small cave. If one were to have a bird's eye view of the surrounding area, they would see countless corpses of magical beasts littering the vicinity of the two.

Silver was unsure exactly how many E-class beasts he had slain alongside Ghost, but he was sure the number was most definitely in the hundreds. They encountered magic beasts, mainly boar-like creatures known as Dhibis and wolves.

Although the baby dragon was somewhat of a hindrance at first, after consuming an E class magic core, he soon began breathing dragon fire which was blue in color. The fire itself wasn't very damaging to the E-class beasts; however, it had an apparent slowing effect, significantly reducing the time it took Silver to slay them.

The only issue was that the little dragon seemed to have a never-ending appetite for magic cores, as he had managed to eat just under half of them. This initially angered Silver, especially considering how much gold the dragon was costing him.

However, when he saw Ghost's frost fire was becoming stronger, he could tolerate his expensive eating habits. This was because although he required money, having a powerful beast companion was higher on his list of agendas.

As far as the final item on the list was concerned, Silver had been meditating daily, drawing in mana from the surroundings and increasing his mana pool. He could now cast Ice Blast for a total of 10 times, and Ice Barrier now had a duration of 1 minute before he ran out of mana.

Sitting in the cave, Silver looked over at Ghost, who looked very peaceful as he slept, most likely dreaming about magic cores and fresh meat.

"Damn, you grow fast," Silver muttered as he noticed the half-meter size of the baby dragon and the bone-like wings extending out even more from its scaly body.

"I just hope your appetite doesn't grow too," he added. But he knew deep down that this was most likely a given, and thinking otherwise was only wishful thinking on his part.

He then applied his magic will onto his necklace and watched as Snowfall appeared seemingly out of thin air. From the first time he used it to fight a Magic beast, Silver knew that this sword was something that should be kept to himself and that if others ever found out about it, he may end up being killed over it. 

He realized this as soon as the blade cut into the first Dhibi he was fighting. Without him even applying any of his magic will, it severed through its thick hide as though it were cheese, cauterizing the wound instantly and causing ice to spread through the Beast. Although Silver was very familiar with magic weapons, he hadn't seen anything like it before. Such a sword, which had its own elemental ability, was a rarity in the world.

"My mother really left me a treasure" Silver was even more thankful to his mother and was ever surer that the separation from his family was not of their own volition. Had they had the choice, he was sure that his parents would have raised him and that he would've grown up in a loving household. It was not as though he missed parents he never had. But now that his master had left, he felt lonely and wanted to have somewhere he belonged.

"I must protect you so that you can reunite me with my family," Silver said as he looked at the sword. But this was more of a promise to himself, which he would achieve by making sure no one else ever coveted his sword. With that thought in mind, he made a plan to go back to Blue city tomorrow so that he could buy himself a new sword that he would be able to actually use without others becoming envious over it.

Although a master blacksmith like himself would have instead made one, He was aware he no longer had time. And so it would have to wait until the Academy.

As he did not want to waste more time, he quickly returned to his meditation so that he could increase his mana even more on this last training day. By his side, a baby dragon was still in a deep sleep, unaware of the youth conversing with himself in a cave.

Meanwhile, in the bear and geese, Zac had begun to question the lady that invited herself to his table.

"And who might you be?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"Isn't the custom to first give your name before asking for someone else's" the lady replied

"Hahaha, well said. I'm Zachary Reid, but do you dare say you didn't know that before you sat at my table?" Zac replied as he gave a broad, teasing smile

"I may have," the lady replied as she blushed slightly, noticing his smile. Although he had only spoken a few words to her, she suddenly wanted to kick him. However, she decided to hold it in, at least until she accomplished what she came for.

"Isabella Moxum. At your service" She decided to give him her name.

"Hmm, it's a beautiful name. But why haven't I heard of the Moxum family before?" Zac was confused as he knew most noble families in the capital. Was she from a faraway kingdom? Or was the family a declining one?

"My family is just a small family."

"Oh, I see. So how can I help you, Isabella?" Zac decided to change the subject as he noticed that she didn't wish to say anymore.

"Well, I was thinking we could help each other, actually" Isabella smiled as she finally got to the matter she came for.

"Oh? And how do you propose we do that?" Zac was truly intrigued now as he had initially expected her to ask for a favor regarding his family.

"Well, like myself, I'm sure that you are also aiming to get into the Academy" Isabella paused for a second, acknowledging the slight nod to go on from Zac.

"I was thinking that perhaps we could exchange information on what we each know about the academy," she added.

"Hmm, that really is an interesting proposal," Zac replied as he recalled how much of an enigma the Academy had been to outsiders. With the campus being on its own island away from the rest of the continent, it was almost impossible for others to know exactly what went on there.

That being said, information leakage always occurred, so some rumors were known to the general public. The truth, however, was only known to students and teachers of the Academy, as well as alumni who were under strict orders not to divulge any information.

"How do I know if what you tell me is reliable? And what if it's information I'm already aware of?" Zac asked as he weighed his options in his mind.

"Simple. I can guarantee that I have one piece of information you don't already know. And as far as its reliability is concerned, I swear it on my name that what I'm about to tell you it's the truth," Isabella replied as though she had been waiting for these questions.

"And I'm assuming you want me to do the same?"

"Exactly, and it's even easier for you as anything you tell me will be new information for me. All I ask is that you swear by your name that you will do the same when I am done telling you what I know," Isabella replied as she noticed Zac, deep in thought. 

He was currently in a dilemma as, on the one hand, he didn't know if this young lady could be trusted. On the other hand, there were only two days left until the trials, and assuming they both got in, the little information they had would soon become common knowledge.

Going into an unknown environment with no communication to the outside world was a considerable risk, and so every bit of information he received might end up saving his life.

"I, Zachary Reid, swear to give you a piece of information on the Academy so long as I find your information to be new and useful." Zac decided that his father would forgive him for giving away the information he trusted him with, so he agreed.

"Good, an indecisive man is destined not to get far in life. I'm sure you won't regret your decision," Isabella replied

"Oh, save your sweet talk and spill the beans already" Zac was slightly impatient to find out what she had to say as a slight feeling of regret started welling inside him.

"Hahaha, have some patience, Reid," Isabella laughed.

"Zac, just call me Zac."

"Hmm, okay, Zac, as I'm sure you already know, the Academy has a ranking system. But do you know who the 1st rank in the university is?" asked Isabella

"You know who the Rank 1 position belongs to?!?!?" Zac couldn't contain his shock and disbelief as this was highly classified information. It was hard to find information on a student in the top 100 ranks, let alone the top 10, yet this young lady in front of him claimed she knew the one who stood at the forefront of the university.

"Hahaha, close your mouth already. I said I had information you didn't know, didn't I? How could it be something simple" Isabella was beginning to feel excited as this youth who had teased her and ignored her was now showing an unsightly face because of a few words she had said.

"Go on, then. Who is it? Which house is he from?"

"' She' actually. And it's Rebecca Snow."

"Snow? R-Rebecca Snow? Didn't she enter the Academy last year?. She's only 19 years old. How could she possibly be the 1st rank?" Zac was beginning to think he was being pranked as this was simply unfathomable information to him.

The Snow family was of the less prominent families in the capital. For them to nurture a talent that was Rank 1 in the Academy was almost an insult to the rest of the big houses. And she had done this by the age of 19? The heavens were playing a joke.

"Indeed she did. According to my sources, as soon as she entered, she challenged the rank one at the time and took his place after defeating him".

"How is that even possible" Zac was utterly shocked and started repeating himself.

"Your turn," said Isabella as though telling him she had no more to say

"Well, is there anything you would like to know?" Zac asked, still distracted by what he had just learned.

"Hmm, nothing in particular. Perhaps the most useful thing you know, I guess."

"let me see, do you know how exactly the ranking system works?" asked Zac

"I don't. Please go on."

"Okay, well, it's rather complicated actually..." as the two talked, a youth with scarlet hair finally decided to make his way back to Blue city.