The time passed that night, from 7 o'clock to midnight. Aiden walked back to his window, looking right at the archway that led to the hilltop Fire Fountain.
The guard shifts had changed, new guards had arrived and were assigned until morning. Aiden had to be wary of them.
However, the advantage for Aiden was the deserted situation. Among the other students, none of them were awake. They were deep in their slumber.
Realizing his situation was favorable, Aiden stepped quietly out of his dorm room until he reached outside. Still, he saw the two guards still standing at the archway.
"I can't possibly kill them. I have to find another way to distract them," Aiden explained.
To the east, he saw a sheep pen with some sheep sleeping. Aiden thought he might be able to use the sheep to draw the guards' attention.
[Eye of Beast King Talent active]
[Skill: Beast Control]
[Initiate magic to control the beast]
[Beast control active]]
Both of Aiden's eyes opened and glowed crimson red, Aiden could also see the area around him in his vision also turning red.
He picked up a stone to wake the sheep. With the sheep awakened, Aiden could control them through their eyes.
The stone Aiden threw hit the pen's wood. With Aiden's ability, he could control just one sheep. That was more than enough.
Aiden directed the sheep to walk north, toward the hilltop gate. If they saw a wandering sheep, then one of them would go and lead the sheep back to its pen.
That's right! When the sheep Aiden was moving arrived near the hilltop gate, one of the guards noticed him.
"That guy! He must have forgotten to close the pen door," the man complained.
He walked over to the sheep and led it back. Aiden closed his eyes and deactivated the beast control on the animal. Now, there was only one guard left who hadn't left his post.
"Maybe he'll be distracted if I use fire arrows?" Aiden asked, curious.
It wouldn't hurt for Aiden to try. He stretched out his hand and cast his fire magic spell.
[Magic Element: Fire Arrows]
Of the five fire arrows Aiden could summon, he chose to bring forth a single fire arrow. With the power of his mind, he moved the fire arrow to the north.
Again, the appearance of the fire arrow managed to make one guard curious.
After making sure his attention was locked, Aiden flew the fire arrow sideways and entered the Silk-class student dormitory. The guard ran away from his post.
'Good thing there's no one guarding the gate,' Aiden said.
Not wanting to waste an opportunity, Aiden sprinted from the Silk class dormitory to the hilltop gate.
Luckily for Aiden, the people from the academy hadn't put any restriction magic on the gate so Aiden could enter it without anyone knowing.
A few minutes later, Aiden deactivated the fire arrow to the surprise of the guards.
Within half an hour, the two guards had returned to their posts, but they didn't realize that Aiden was already in the forest near the top of the hill.
Aiden's steps faltered as he felt his body burn. The blast of elemental magic energy from the hilltop Fire Fountain was strong enough to knock Aiden over.
With each blast, Aiden's heart was squeezed by the power of the fire, his footsteps halted and he fell to his knees.
'I haven't reached the top of the hill yet but I already feel the pain just from the boom,' Aiden explained.
Even so, Aiden didn't want to give up. There were only a few steps left from where he was to reach the top of Fire Fountain Hill. He had to use his body and magic to the fullest.
[Magic Element: Fire Shield]
Aiden tried to activate the fire shield magic on his body, feeling the effects of the explosion begin to fade even though it was only temporary.
Aiden continued to strengthen the shield so that he could continue his journey.
After 20 minutes of limping, Aiden finally arrived at the top of the hill. There, there was a stone altar with five holes that emitted smoke. Of the five holes, one held a powerful fire elemental gem.
"No wonder this place is rich in fire magic elemental energy, it's because this energy is supplied by the gem," Aiden replied.
At the top of the hill, Aiden began to feel a strong magical pressure on his body, capable of making the fire shield he was using crack.
Aiden tightened his shield again and tried to start the two-magic synchronization. The two-magic synchronization started, Aiden channeled his fire magic energy into the ice-blue gem on the Dimension Beast's ring.
[Host's magic attribute increased by 25%]
[Two-magic synchronization begins]
[Warning! The process of two magic synchronizations can be varied. Differences in the abilities of the Tamer and the Beast are affected]
[Progres Two-Magic Synchronization:]
[9,2%]
[Two-magic Synchronization ability increased by 40%]
As Aiden looked at the panel, he also saw that the amount of fire aura emanating from his body increased greatly and was channeled into the ice-blue gem. Aiden felt happy about that.
However, on the other hand, Aiden began to feel his shield weakening as it eroded under the pressure of the place's magic. More and more cracks appeared, while Aiden's MP was almost drained.
"Damn it! Can I survive in this place without the protection of my fire shield?" Aiden asked, worried.
CLANG!
The shield protecting Aiden shattered and the pressure of the magic instantly made Aiden bow his head.
His breathing was short, his chest and stomach were burning, his skin was flushed and his head was dizzy.
Even so, Aiden had to keep synchronizing the two magics. Both of his eyes were focused forward, looking at the synchronization percentage that had jumped sharply differently than usual.
[Two-Magic Synchronization Progress:]
[9,2% -> 35%]
'I have to hold it a little longer.I can do it!" said Aiden.
Aiden reactivated the fire shield using the last of his MP. If this shield was destroyed, then Aiden would have no other way to protect his body.
The synchronization panel continued to run relentlessly, moving up a significant percentage. Aiden had to focus his magic on synchronizing and maintaining his fire shield.
Two minutes later, another crack appeared in Aiden's fire shield. In an instant, the shield shattered and his body was again put under great magical pressure, almost bringing the two-magic synchronization to a halt.
[Two-Magic Synchronization Progress:]
[35% -> 70%]
Aiden felt that his body could no longer bear the pressure of the magic, his mind was lost and his concentration faded.
His head was dizzy as the skin on his body began to blister from the heat cloud. However, the strong determination in his heart made Aiden regain his focus.
He didn't care about the pain he was getting from the magical pressure at the top of the hill. Aiden was not going to die, he remembered very well that his curse had helped him a lot.
Every time his body regenerated, it was immediately injured by the pressure of the hilltop magic.
[Two-Magic Synchronization Progress:]
[70% -> 98%]
'Just a little more!" said Aiden.
[Two-Magic Synchronization Progress:]
[98% -> 100%]
[Two-Magic Synchronization Process Completed]
There was a powerful explosion of magic coming from the top of the Fire Fountai hill. The explosion sounded so loud that it woke up the people who were sound asleep, including Albert.
Not only was it a magical explosion, but the ring of magic booms spread outward to the entire area of the academy, felt by those who were still awake, including Noran.
Aiden bounced far back and his body seemed to hit the trees. He fell limply with the wounds on his body starting to regenerate.
As the young man focused his attention forward, ice-blue light was slowly extracted from the beast's dimensional ring. Aiden saw the ice-blue energy gather and form a magic ball.
"Did... it work?" asked Aiden, half-awake.
The magic ball condensed and formed like an icicle. Immediately, a hand emerged from inside the ice ball that instantly shattered the ball into nothing, its appearance shaking the entire sky and blowing a cold wind throughout the academy.
"You did it, Aiden," Aurora said.
Before Aiden could see the woman who spoke to him, he fell into a faint with a limp body that continued to regenerate.
As Aurora watched Aiden collapse, it was a miracle Aiden could survive in the middle of an extreme place like Fire Fountain's hilltop.
Not wanting to attract the attention of many people, she reached her hand forward to pick up Aiden. Aurora took Aiden away from the place to recover.
"You've protected me. Now, it's my turn to protect you."