2025-12-15 20:35:04Asta stood up slowly, still feeling like the floor was swaying under him.
“I… I really appreciate you telling me all of that, even if it feels like someone just dropped a mountain on my head.”
He said, his voice low.
Old Man Kael was already at the door, wrestling with an ancient iron key that looked older than the academy itself.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.”
He grumbled, jiggling the key left, right, up, down, then left again.
“I just need to lock this damn door before the rats throw a party in my scrolls.”
The key refused to turn, Kael muttered curses under his breath, shook the handle like he was trying to choke it, then kicked the bottom of the door so hard the whole frame rattled.
“Come on, you rusty piece of…”
Asta pressed his lips together so hard they hurt. A tiny laugh was trying to escape and he was losing the fight.
Kael whipped around, one white eyebrow raised so high it nearly touched his hairline.
“What’s so funny, boy?”
“Nothing, sir!”
Asta squeaked, his eyes wide and innocent.
Kael narrowed his eyes, turned back and gave the door another furious jiggle.
“Stupid thing’s been broken since the third Empress, I swear…”
Asta bit the inside of his cheek.
“Uh… sir? Let me try.”
“I got it.”
Kael snapped.
“I insist. Please.”
Kael froze, key halfway twisted. He stared at the door like it had personally insulted his mother. Then he let out a long, dramatic sigh and stepped aside with a grand sweep of his arm.
“Fine. Be my guest. There’s no way you can even make it shift an inch. This door is forged from star-forged obsidian iron, tempered in the breath of a volcano wyrm, and enchanted by the Fourth Flame Emperor himself. It weighs more than three warhorses and laughs at normal human strength.”
Asta stepped forward, rolled his shoulder once, grabbed the handle, and slammed the door shut.
CLANG.
It closed perfectly. The lock clicked like it was happy to finally behave.
Silence.
Kael’s mouth actually fell open. His cloudy eyes went round as coins.
Asta turned, looked at his own palm, then back at the door.
“That… didn’t seem like something to struggle over.”
Kael blinked. Once. Twice.
“How in the nine hells…”
“I just pulled.”
Asta said as he shrugged.
“And pushed. That’s it.”
Kael scratched his scarred cheek and muttered.
“That door has humiliated generals, archmages, even a prince once. He cried.”
Asta gave a tiny, sheepish grin.
“So… am I strong now?”
Kael barked a laugh that echoed down the tunnel.
“Strong? Boy, you’re still as weak as a wet kitten. That wasn’t your muscle. That was the dragon strength leaking out and mixing with your blood. A single drop of its power is worth more than a thousand normal men.”
Asta’s grin faded.
“Leaking?”
“Exactly. And if we don’t teach you how to control the leak, one day the whole dam breaks and the empire drowns.”
Kael started walking.
“Come with me. I want to show you something.”
They walked deeper than Asta had ever gone. The torches grew farther apart, the air colder, the stone older. A rusty iron sign hung crooked from the ceiling:
HIGHER SENIORS ONLY—DEATH TO TRESPASSERS.
Asta swallowed hard.
“We’re allowed down here?”
Kael didn’t answer. He just lifted one gnarled hand. A small, steady flame bloomed in his palm,pure golden-white, clean and bright like a sunrise on snow.
Asta stopped walking.
“Wait. You can make fire?”
Kael rolled his eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out.
“What, you thought I was just a retired janitor? Didn’t you listen to a single word of my story upstairs?”
Asta rubbed the back of his neck.
“I… might have zoned out a little when you got to the part about slaying the lava titan. Sorry.”
Kael snorted.
“This is Dawn Lotus Flame, pride of the ancient Kael clan from the Eastern Isles. One of the purest healing-support flames in the world. Also excellent for lighting dark hallways when rude boys don’t pay attention.”
He waved the flame ahead like a lantern. The golden light danced on wet stone walls and made the shadows retreat.
Asta jogged to keep up.
“So… what’s my flame called? Dragon something?”
Kael’s flame flickered. He stopped walking and turned, giving Asta the most sarcastic look imaginable.
“Boy, do you ever stop asking questions?”
Asta took one dramatic step back, hands raised.
“Sorry! Sorry!”
Kael shook his head, but there was a tiny smile hidden in his beard.
“I don’t know yet. First I have to figure out exactly which dragon is sealed inside you. There were nine Legendary Dragons in the old myths, each with its own flame, personality, and favourite way to destroy continents. Until we know which one chose you as its jail-slash-partner, we can’t name the fire.”
Asta opened his mouth,then closed it fast when Kael’s eyebrow threatened to launch into orbit again.
They kept walking. The tunnel sloped down, down, down, until the air felt thick and humming with old power. Finally they reached a pair of enormous double doors,black wood bound with crimson steel, carved with phoenixes and dragons locked in eternal battle.
Kael placed his palm on the door. The Dawn Lotus flame flared bright, traced a complicated symbol in the air, and the doors swung inward without a sound.
Asta’s breath caught.
The space beyond was impossible.
A cavern so huge he couldn’t see the ceiling,just endless darkness lit by floating rivers of pure fire that flowed like upside-down waterfalls. Bookshelves taller than palace towers rose in perfect rings, connected by bridges of living flame. Students,real students, seniors in different crimson-and-gold robes,were flying.
Some had wings made of fire sprouting from their backs, beating slowly and gracefully. Others wore boots that left trails of sparks as they skate through the air. A girl shot upward like a rocket, laughing, trailing a tail of blue-white flame, and snatched a book from a shelf a hundred metres up.
The smell of old paper, smoke and magic was so strong Asta could taste it.
He stood frozen in the doorway with hi
s mouth open.
Kael stepped beside him, arms folded, looking proud and a little smug.
“Welcome.”
He said, his voice low with something like reverence.
“To the Grand Crimson Library.”
The doors boomed shut behind them…
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Latest Chapter
Chapter 45
Flora reached out and squeezed Asta's shoulder, then did the same to Jabber. "...whoever gets called first, remember we've got your back. You're not alone out there. You're representing Ember Watch, and we believe in you.""Hell yeah." Mira added with a fierce grin. "Go out there and kick ass."With that, they split up. Flora and Mira heading down one corridor, Asta and Jabber heading down another. The walk back to their room was quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts, the earlier excitement giving way to a more contemplative mood.When they reached their door, Asta pushed it open and stepped inside. The room looked exactly as they'd left it this morning,unmade bunks, his practice sword leaning against the wall, the small window letting in weak afternoon light. Nothing special, nothing fancy, but it was theirs.He'd barely had time to sit down on the edge of Jabber's lower bunk when there was a sharp knock at the door."Come in." Asta called.The door opened and a higher o
Chapter 44
Old Man Kael stood on the platform, his weathered hands still resting on his walking stick, waiting for the excited chatter to die down enough that he could continue. The crowd was buzzing with energy, a tournament meant action, meant proving themselves, meant finally having something concrete to strive for instead of endless days of repetitive labor and training.When the noise level dropped to something manageable, Kael spoke again, his voice cutting through the remaining murmurs with that authoritative calm that demanded attention."Now, let me explain how this tournament will work." He said, his cloudy eyes sweeping across the assembled laborers. "You all will have the chance to see how strong your squad members truly are. How well you work together when pressure is applied. How you adapt when plans fall apart. And perhaps most importantly, you'll see how strong your opponents are,what strategies they use, what flames they wield, what weaknesses they possess."He paused, letting
Chapter 43
The gathering quarters continued to fill. More and more laborers streaming in, the noise level rising as hundreds of conversations overlapped. Asta recognized some faces from training sessions or work details. Others were complete strangers,the labor section was large enough that you couldn't possibly know everyone.Finally, when the space was packed nearly to capacity, Old Man Kael raised one hand. The gesture was small, but somehow it cut through the noise like a blade. Conversations died down in ripples, starting near the front and spreading backward until the entire room had fallen into expectant silence.Kael let the silence hold for a moment longer, his cloudy eyes seeming to see through and past the assembled laborers to something beyond. Then he spoke, his voice carrying clearly despite not being particularly loud. There was something about his tone,the weight of experience, the authority of someone who'd earned respect rather than demanded it,that made people want to listen
Chapter 42
Flora asked once the laughter had died down a bit. "You said you got letters from your butler? That's nice that they wrote.""Yeah." Asta said, touching the pocket where he'd stored the letters, feeling their slight weight against his chest. "Gregor was my family's butler for decades," he wrote about what's happening at the mansion. My half-brother Cassian officially became clan leader a few nights ago. There was this whole ceremony with all the major clans."He tried to keep his voice neutral, but some bitterness must have leaked through because Flora's expression softened with sympathy."They also wrote about how they're doing." Asta continued quickly, not wanting to dwell on Cassian. "They got dismissed from the mansion after I was sent here,Cassian didn't want anyone loyal to me staying around, I guess. So now they're working as day laborers. Gregor , Helena, and Marcus,they're all doing hard physical work despite being older, despite having given decades of service to my fam
Chapter 41
“P.P.S. Marcus, I'm holding you to that promise about the sword techniques. Start preparing your best teaching voice.”“P.P.P.S. Gregor , please tell me honestly how bad your back is. If you need money for a healer, I'll find a way to send some. The labor section pays a pittance, but I've been saving every copper.”He read through what he'd written one more time, checking for anything he'd forgotten or wanted to add. Then he carefully folded the letter, sealed it with the basic wax provided at the portal station, and addressed it with their names and the return address they'd included in their letters.Asta placed his reply into the outgoing section of his portal,a separate small compartment meant for letters to be sent out,then locked everything back up. His hands were steadier now, the act of writing having helped him process some of the overwhelming emotions.He gathered Gregor 's, Helena's, and Marcus's letters carefully, tucking them into the inner pocket of his tunic where they
Chapter 40
“Also, I'm enclosing a recipe in case you ever get access to cooking facilities. It's your favorite,the honey cakes I used to make for your birthday. The ingredients are simple enough that you might be able to acquire them, and the process isn't too complicated. Something sweet to remind you of better days.”Asta looked at the bottom of the letter where Helena had indeed written out the recipe in careful detail, each step numbered and explained as if she were standing beside him in a kitchen, guiding his hands. His vision blurred again.“Write back to us, dear boy. Even a short note would mean the world.”“With love,Helena”“P.S Marcus says to tell you he's been practicing some new knife techniques and when you visit “notice I said 'when,' not 'if',I'm an optimist”, he'll teach them to you. They're quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”The third letter was from Marcus, and it was much shorter.Marcus had never been much for writing, preferring to express himself through his cookin
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