Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

One month later, on the deck of an elegant cruise ship sailing through space, Erik could be seen sitting at a beautiful wooden desk, occasionally jotting down notes in a notebook while Sigrún spoke and wrote some things on the floating blackboard in front of her.

"Well, with this, the class is over. After all, we don’t have much further to go," Sigrún commented in a relaxed voice, and the floating board vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Thank you very much for everything, master," Erik politely thanked her and set aside his notebook and pencil, which disappeared into thin air. He then commented with a tone still tinged with surprise, "These space rings are truly wonderful, master."

On Erik’s right index finger was an elegant silver ring, intricately carved with detailed miniature runes, which he looked at with affection and evident curiosity.

"Hahaha, I’m glad you like it," Sigrún responded warmly.

A week ago, Erik had mastered reading, writing, and speaking the galactic language. Although his level wasn’t very advanced, he could speak fluently and understand most basic and intermediate books written in that language.

Pleased with her disciple’s diligence, Sigrún decided to reward him and gave him a 50-square-meter storage ring. Although it wasn’t much for a Master-level like her, it would be a great treasure for an ordinary person.

"I love it, master. Thank you so much. I never imagined something like this was possible. I assure you, I won’t let your efforts on me go to waste," Erik responded with joy and a touch of conviction.

"Hehehe, that’s good. I can’t wait to see your future achievements," Sigrún replied happily, looking at Erik with a bit of pride.

A while later, the familiar sight of colorful horizontal lines outside the ship disappeared and was replaced by a beautiful dark landscape illuminated by millions of bright points—the vastness of space. But what surprised Erik the most was the planet in front of them.

The planet stood out in the darkness of the void with a radiant blue color, adorned with imposing continents and endless stretches of crystalline seas. But what truly astonished Erik was something else.

The beautiful planet was surrounded by a gigantic, semi-transparent sphere composed of hexagrams emitting soft white light. From the equator, something Erik had only seen in science fiction movies emerged: a space elevator.

The space elevator was topped with a gigantic saucer from which ships of all kinds, sizes, and shapes constantly entered and exited through what seemed to be several ports, while a vast number of various ships waited their turn around it.

"Amazing," Erik commented softly as he gazed dreamily at the impressive scene.

"It really is, though you’ll get used to it over time. But get ready; we’ll be docking at the orbital platform."

"Don’t we have to wait our turn like them?" Erik pointed to the other ships that seemed to be waiting around as he asked.

"Hehehe, that’s for everyone else. Your master is a very important member of the Arcane Order and the university, so I have several privileges," Sigrún commented proudly as the ship moved towards a distant, very exclusive-looking port.

"You’re amazing, master"

Erik commented with bright eyes, playing along with Sigrún, who responded cheerfully while adopting a casual yet elegant posture, the most fitting to accept the compliments of her adorable disciple.

"But of course."

When the ship docked, a large sphere of soft white light extended from the port, connecting the cruise ship to the orbital station. Then Sigrún disembarked with a serious expression, followed by Erik and the wolves, which now measured about a meter each.

A few days ago, Sigrún had taught Erik how to make them smaller, a task that turned out to be quite simple, requiring only a small rune applied to them. Erik managed it without any problems, which led to the discovery that he was very compatible with the Aegis system, something that made Sigrún very happy, as she couldn’t wait to show off to someone.

By the time the group reached the end of the disembarkation ramp, they encountered two guards dressed in futuristic black armor with several softly glowing runes engraved on them.

The guards bowed respectfully to Sigrún while she simply murmured something, causing the ship to shrink to the size of a small toy, after which it disappeared.

"An honor to be in your presence, Master Eldurdóttir," the two guards said in unison in the galactic language. Sigrún only nodded and pulled Erik closer by the shoulder, then spoke in a solemn voice.

"This is my first disciple, Erik. Remember him well. Disrespecting him is the same as disrespecting me."

The guards' eyes almost popped out of their sockets at that declaration, causing them to look at Erik as if he were a legendary monster. They quickly regained their composure and spoke again in unison.

"Understood!"

"Very well, let's go, Erik," Sigrún said in a serious tone and led Erik into the saucer while the guards bowed as they passed. Just as they were about to enter, the guards spoke again in unison.

"Welcome to the Arcane University, Master Eldurdóttir, direct disciple Erik!"

Erik glanced one last time at the guards before entering the 'saucer', and what he found inside surprised him greatly. Despite the exterior resembling a saucer made of dark metal, the interior looked completely different, essentially a roofless city teeming with people, with a perfect view of the ships outside.

The city was beautiful, featuring a curious blend of the technological and traditional, with runes, geometric magic circles, and even Asian characters in various places. Some buildings were square, similar to what Erik was used to in his past life, but there were also classic, Victorian, and Asian-style castles, alongside all sorts of futuristic-looking buildings.

The city had a radio concentric layout, with gigantic circular towers at the center where the elevators operated continuously, with people of all shapes and colors, as well as huge containers presumably filled with all kinds of goods, moving in and out incessantly.

"Don't just stand there, Erik," Sigrún turned to call Erik, who had been stunned by the city, to the point that he had stopped moving.

"Sorry, master," Erik quickly apologized and picked up the pace with his wolves behind him, until he was back at his master's side.

"Hahahaha, you look so cute, like a country bumpkin gawking around," Sigrún teased her disciple a little.

"Well, I really am a country bumpkin, but that’s not something I consider bad or a disadvantage in any way. In fact, I think it’s an advantage. After all, I have valuable knowledge. For example, how many of these people do you think could survive in my situation on your island, master?"

Erik wasn't bothered by his master's joke, as it was true. In his past life, he had shown that a country bumpkin like him could outperform 'city folk'. After all, he achieved an enviable economic level and positioned himself as an elite. In his mind, being a 'knowledgeable city dweller' wasn’t an advantage or something to be proud of; rather, it was a great disadvantage for many.

For her part, Sigrún was a little surprised by her disciple's reaction, but quickly smiled and responded.

"Hehehe, you're right about that, Erik. Not many of them could do the same, but don’t look down on them either. Many here could have easily made it from a deserted island to the continent without much effort," Sigrún agreed with her disciple but also tried to caution him.

"I know that perfectly well, master. What I mean is that the way I've lived gives me an advantage because I know things they don’t. Likewise, sooner or later, I'll learn what they know. But the opposite is difficult for them. Therefore, being a country bumpkin isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it’s quite good."

"Hahaha, what an interesting philosophy you have there."

"It’s pure logic, master. If knowledge is power, I’ll eventually be more powerful than them because I'll know more. One thing is to read about it, another is to live it, and I doubt many of them are willing to leave their comfortable lives."

"Hehehe, I wouldn’t be so sure about that," Sigrún commented with a mischievous smile as she listened to her disciple's arguments, finding him even more endearing the more he tried to justify himself.

"If you say so, master, but going to war and milking a cow are very different things. You can live without a war, but not without eating."

"From the Sage-level onwards, you can live without eating, but not without resources, you know that?"

"Really, you can live without eating. Then why do you eat, master?"

Erik looked a bit surprised at his master, though it was no longer so unthinkable for him. After all, he was not only beside a '1,000-year-old baby' but also casually walking through the orbital station of a space elevator without a spacesuit.

"Because it's still delicious, but I could live without eating easily."

As Sigrún and Erik talked about random things, they kept walking until they reached the center of the city. They approached one of the towers or tubes that everyone else avoided using and where there were two guards dressed differently from all the other guards Erik had seen in the city.

The guards wore loose white robes with an emblem embroidered on the left side of their chest, the same one Sigrún wore. When they saw her, they bowed respectfully and spoke in a solemn voice in unison.

"Welcome back, Master Eldurdóttir."

After that, the same scene from the entrance repeated, and the guards were surprised when Sigrún introduced her disciple. However, unlike the entrance, these guards not only showed surprise in their eyes but also a lot of envy and ill intentions mixed in.

The vicious look of the guards caused an instinctive reaction in Erik and his wolves, who immediately assumed combat positions, the wolves growling and ready to attack, while Erik placed his hands on the machetes at his waist.

But the actions of the boy and the wolves were halted abruptly when the guards disappeared from their sight, followed by two clear slapping sounds and then a loud thud from a blunt impact.

Surprised, Erik looked in the direction of the last sound, only to find the guards several meters away, their faces battered and almost unconscious. At that moment, a monstrous pressure that seemed to increase gravity began to flood the city.

Along with the monstrous pressure, a cold voice loaded with murderous intent resonated in the place, making time seem to stand still.

"What is the meaning of that look towards my first disciple? What gave you such guts? Do the Blackthorn and Xuanling families think they have enough to openly go against me? You have three seconds to speak, or I will personally go seek an explanation from your families."