Chapter 85: Guiding and Guarding

"You must have noticed the changes in your eyes. Initially, I estimated that such changes would only occur once you advanced to a full-fledged sorcerer. I don't know why it happened earlier than expected, but rest assured—it won't bring you any harm," Gregaliel said, sensing Hughes' spiritual force and finding nothing amiss.

"By the way, do you know anything about advanced meditation techniques?" Hughes suddenly recalled his earlier inquiry to Lindsay about such methods. Lindsay had been clueless, but Gregaliel, who could so casually bestow first-level sorceries, might have a solution.

"Advanced meditation techniques? Are you interested?" Gregaliel looked momentarily surprised at the question.

"Obviously. What sorcerer wouldn't be interested in those?" Hughes replied, casting Gregaliel an exasperated glance.

"I do possess one," Gregaliel said, immediately capturing Hughes' full attention.

"But it's not suitable for you," Gregaliel added, turning him down without hesitation.

"Why not? Can I at least take a look?" Hughes persisted, unwilling to give up. Even if he couldn't use it, he could let the chip record it.

Seeing Hughes' stubborn determination, Gregaliel relented and handed him a scale. "This contains an advanced meditation technique, though it's incomplete—at best, it can take you to the third level of sorcery."

"Third-level sorcerer!" Hughes accepted the chip, feeling waves of emotion. He himself was only a third-level apprentice; third-level sorcerer was a distant goal. The Shadow Ring had sparked conflict with other sorcerer organizations over just a single piece of information for advancing to the second level, yet here he was, casually receiving a method that could take him to the third level.

"Gregaliel, who are you really? To give away such a meditation method so freely," Hughes looked at him with a complex expression.

"I'm telling you, you must not use this meditation method. Wait until your eyes have fully transformed; then it won't be too late to choose a method," Gregaliel warned, clearly aware of the fervor in Hughes' gaze and what he was thinking.

"I understand," Hughes replied, gradually calming himself. He trusted Gregaliel—someone willing to hand over something like this clearly wasn't afraid of him cultivating it. Since Gregaliel said it wasn't suitable, he'd just have to keep searching in the future.

"Alright, just find a chance to leave when you can. I've said all I needed to. If you manage to become a full sorcerer before you reach the place I marked for you, all the better!" Gregaliel reminded him again.

"Are you leaving?" Hughes felt a surprising sense of fondness toward Gregaliel.

"Just about. I'm planning to stir up a bit of trouble," Gregaliel said, suddenly excited by the prospect, as if he found such things entertaining.

"Uh, couldn't you just slip away quietly? Why go through all that trouble?" Hughes was suddenly worried; the formal sorcerers in the academy were nothing to take lightly.

"Of course I could sneak away, but the Shadow Ring has already grown suspicious of me. If I just left, and the Shadow Ring started investigating everyone, what would you say if they found you?" Gregaliel gestured with his tail toward the evolving guardian still present.

"So what do you plan to do?" Hughes fell silent at that. If the Shadow Ring did investigate and saw the state of his room, he'd likely be finished.

"Don't worry—it's just an avatar, nothing serious. Just remember what I told you. I'm off!" With that, Gregaliel darted out of Hughes' dormitory.

Watching Gregaliel's retreating figure, Hughes was seized by an unexplainable sense of emotion.

He examined the map Gregaliel had given him, then carefully stored away the scale containing the advanced meditation technique.

Gregaliel, true to his word, was ready to make a scene within the Shadow Ring.

"Let's head for the library, then," Gregaliel considered. He had first thought of heading for the central castle, but that would be courting death. The third floor of the library, on the other hand, might hold some useful information.

Without hesitation, Gregaliel made his way straight to the third floor of the library, no longer bothering to conceal his presence.

Back in his dorm, Hughes wasn't surprised when a thunderous explosion suddenly shook the academy.

"That's coming from the direction of the library!" He listened, quickly discerning the source.

"I wonder how Gregaliel is faring?" Hughes felt a pang of concern. Even if it was only an avatar, its destruction would surely affect the original.

The explosions continued for quite some time before finally dying away, and calm returned to the Shadow Ring.

"I hope Gregaliel's alright." This was a conflict Hughes couldn't get involved in, nor could he expose himself. All he could do was hope that Gregaliel could handle it.

Worried that the evolving guardian might be affected, he dared not go out and ask what had happened.

He sat quietly on the sofa, eyes fixed on the evolving guardian, waiting patiently for its final transformation.

Hughes sat there the entire night, but the guardian's transformation remained incomplete. Only the orb outside seemed to have grown a deeper color.

Feeling somewhat bored, Hughes took out the scale Gregaliel had given him.

"Beep! Data interface detected! Connect?"

"Begin connection," Hughes instructed, allowing his chip to scan and record the advanced meditation method stored in the scale.

"Beep! Estimated time: 4 hours and 48 minutes!"

"Why so long this time?" Hughes remembered previous times when receiving such data hadn't taken nearly as long.

"Beep! Data volume is substantial this time!"

"Alright, then," Hughes could only admit he had underestimated the complexity of advanced meditation techniques.

While waiting for the guardian's transformation, he examined the map Gregaliel had given him.

"Beep! Data link analysis complete!"

"Beep! Data sorting and summarization complete!"

"Beep! Summary of data as follows:"