All Chapters of Awakened in a Realm of Magic and Blood: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
33 chapters
A Bed Softer Than Stone
After the meal finally ended, the atmosphere inside the dining hall became strangely quiet.Not because the candidates had run out of things to say, but because most of them were too full to speak properly anymore. Plates that had once been overloaded with food now sat nearly empty across the tables while several of the candidates leaned back in their chairs with exhausted expressions that somehow looked peaceful for the first time since arriving at Ashwake House.Eli looked especially dramatic.The boy had both hands over his stomach as if he had just survived a life-threatening experience.“I think I ate too much,” he groaned weakly.Andrew looked at him with complete disappointment. “That sentence should embarrass you.”Eli turned his head slowly. “I haven’t had the chance to eat too much in my entire life. Allow me this moment.”A few candidates nearby laughed quietly.Even Lyra shook her head slightly while hiding a faint smile behind her cup.Before the conversations could conti
The Road Beyond Ashwake
The next morning arrived far too quickly.Andrew had barely opened his eyes before the sound of movement echoed throughout the corridor outside his room. Footsteps passed repeatedly beyond the door while servants moved through the halls preparing for departure. Somewhere farther away, one of the caretakers barked instructions loud enough to shake the silence out of the building.For a moment, Andrew simply remained on the bed staring at the ceiling.Then reality returned.They were leaving today.Actually leaving.Andrew sat up slowly while rubbing his face before glancing around the room one last time. The comfort from the previous night still lingered faintly in his body, and for the first time since arriving in Aetherion, he had managed to sleep deeply without waking every few hours from pain or discomfort.Unfortunately, the memory of Eli snoring inside his dream still irritated him.“That should be illegal,” Andrew muttered while standing up.He washed quickly, changed into the p
The Capital of Aetherion
The closer they got to the capital, the slower Andrew’s footsteps became.Not because he was tired.Not because the journey had worn him down.But because the city ahead no longer looked real.Even from a distance, the capital had already seemed enormous, large enough to make Blackmere City look like a forgotten village hidden beside the road. Yet now that they were finally approaching it directly, Andrew realized his first impression had still underestimated the sheer scale of the place.The walls alone were monstrous.Massive black stone stretched endlessly in both directions, so high that Andrew had to tilt his head upward slightly just to see the top clearly. Huge banners fluttered above the gates while armored guards stood watch from elevated towers with spears longer than ordinary men.The road leading into the capital was crowded beyond belief.Merchants guided wagons loaded with goods toward the entrance while travelers moved in groups carrying bags, weapons, or crates. Horses
The Man at the Center of the Guild
The deeper they went into the guild, the quieter the atmosphere became.The loud discussions and constant movement from the outer halls gradually disappeared behind them as the representatives led the thirteen candidates through a series of wide corridors lined with silver lanterns and dark polished walls. Even the guild members they passed here looked different from those outside.Sharper.More disciplined.Dangerous in a way that could not be explained with simple words.Nobody laughed loudly here.Nobody wasted movement.Every person Andrew saw in this section of the Astral Vanguard Guild carried themselves with calm confidence, as though they belonged among strength and expected everyone else to recognize it immediately.Eli had gone unusually silent.That alone was enough to concern Andrew slightly.The boy normally complained every few minutes about something, yet now he walked carefully beside him without speaking, his eyes constantly moving around as though afraid he might acc
Officially Astral Vanguard
The moment they stepped out of the central hall, it felt as though everyone had been allowed to breathe again.The giant black doors closed slowly behind them with a deep metallic sound that echoed through the corridor, cutting them off completely from the overwhelming pressure of Guild Master Vaelric’s presence. Several of the newly recruited members visibly relaxed afterward, while a few others wiped sweat from their faces as discreetly as possible.Even Kellan, who usually carried himself with cold confidence, looked far more serious than before.Andrew noticed it immediately.Interesting.So even the great shadow prodigy could feel fear.Beside him, Eli exhaled loudly while placing both hands dramatically over his chest.“I almost died,” he muttered. “I swear my soul left my body halfway through that meeting.”Andrew smirked faintly. “Weak.”Eli stared at him in disbelief. “Weak? Did you not feel that terrifying pressure?”“I did.”“And you’re calling me weak?”“Yes.”“You’re unbe
The World Beyond Ashwake
The next morning felt completely different from every morning Andrew had experienced since arriving in Aetherion.For once, he did not wake up to shouting.No caretaker was banging metal against walls.Nobody was threatening to starve them.Nobody was dragging people out for punishment.Instead, sunlight filtered calmly through the large windows of his room while the cool morning air drifted quietly across the guild quarters. For several seconds after opening his eyes, Andrew simply stared upward at the ceiling in silence.Then reality settled in.Guild member.The words still sounded strange in his head.Andrew sat up slowly before glancing toward the neatly folded grey uniform resting beside the bed. Unlike the rags he had worn at Ashwake House, the guild attire actually fit properly. The material was durable yet comfortable, lined lightly with silver stitching along the sleeves and chest.The Astral Vanguard insignia rested over the left side.Simple.But respectable.Andrew picked
The Dangerous Truths of Aetherion
The classroom remained silent after Seran’s final words.Some should not exist at all.The statement lingered heavily inside the chamber long after he stopped speaking, and Andrew noticed immediately that the atmosphere among the recruits had changed. Earlier, they had been curious. Interested. Even excited at certain points.Now they looked uneasy.Even Ronan, who normally carried himself with confidence, seemed more alert than before.Seran allowed the silence to settle for several seconds before walking slowly toward another shelf positioned near the side of the chamber. Resting there were several old objects sealed behind transparent crystal panels.Claws.Fragments of blackened bone.A cracked helmet stained dark red.And something else.A long jagged tooth nearly the size of Andrew’s forearm.Eli stared at it immediately.“…That came from a monster?”“Yes.”Eli swallowed. “That thing had a mouth large enough for that to fit inside?”“Yes.”“…I suddenly miss Ashwake.”“No, you do
The Boy Who Survived
For several moments after Seran left the hall, nobody moved.The enormous classroom that had earlier been filled with discussion and questions suddenly felt strangely heavy, as though the information they had just received was still hanging in the air around them.Rifts.Monsters.Forbidden affinities.Void.Guild wars.The competition.Everything they had learned in a single afternoon was more than most of them had ever known their entire lives.Eli slowly slid downward from his chair until he was sitting directly on the polished floor.Then he leaned backward dramatically and groaned.“I miss being ignorant.”A few of the recruits laughed weakly.Andrew remained seated, one arm resting against the side of his chair while his eyes stayed fixed ahead thoughtfully.He had expected this world to be dangerous.But not like this.Not organized danger.Not an entire civilization built around surviving horrors powerful enough to wipe out cities.His mind drifted briefly toward the word Sera
The Things People Don’t Say
A few recruits still remained seated, trying to imitate the breathing method he had shown them earlier, while others quietly discussed everything Seran had taught them about Aether, affinities, and the monsters beyond the Rifts. The atmosphere was no longer as noisy as before. Everyone seemed more thoughtful now, as though the reality of the world had finally settled properly into their minds.Eli was stretched across two chairs dramatically, one arm hanging downward while he stared at the ceiling with the expression of a man who had just discovered life was far more difficult than he expected.“I miss ignorance,” he muttered weakly.Andrew, who stood nearby with his arms folded, glanced at him briefly.“You say that every hour.”“Because every hour this world becomes more terrifying.”Lyra remained quiet beside them.Unlike Eli, she wasn’t joking around. Her eyes occasionally drifted toward the exit Kellan had used earlier, and the more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable sh
The Beginning of Cultivation
The next morning arrived quietly.Unlike Ashwake House, where every sunrise had once meant shouting, hunger, and exhaustion, mornings inside Astral Vanguard carried a different atmosphere entirely. The guild was already alive long before the recruits woke up. Footsteps echoed through the distant corridors, servants moved supplies between halls, and somewhere far outside their quarters, the faint sound of metal clashing against metal rang through the guild grounds repeatedly.Training had already begun for someone.Andrew opened his eyes slowly.For a brief moment, he simply stared at the ceiling above his bed.The mattress beneath him was still far better than anything he had ever touched inside Ashwake, though nowhere near the comfort he once enjoyed in his previous life. Even now, after weeks inside this strange world, there were moments where memories returned suddenly and without warning.Cold drinks.Luxury cars.Nightclubs.His father’s towering company buildings.The freedom of