Leo stepped out of the golden light and found a crowd waiting for him.
The old guardian. Kessel.
And, standing a little way off with big smiles on their faces, Sorren Draike and his son Kaelan.
*Great,* Leo thought. *Of all the people to see me fail, it had to be these two.*
---
Here’s what Leo didn’t know.
Kaelan had been so scared of the Starlight Unicorn that he’d used his token and run out of the mountain in a hurry. But later, when he learned about the bet between Sorren and Kessel, and what was riding on it, he got even more scared. With shaking hands, he told his father everything that had happened when he met Leo.
Sorren was stunned.
If Leo had really gotten a mount like a Starlight Unicorn, then his own son wouldn’t have stood a chance against him. The whole bet would be lost before it began.
So father and son made a plan. They would stay outside the mountain, cultivate in the open air, and wait. They wanted to see with their own eyes what kind of mount Leo came out with.
They waited for days.
And when Leo came out with nothing in his hands, Sorren’s smile nearly split his face in half.
Every day, it had grown wider. Every day, he had teased Kessel a little more. Today, he couldn’t hold it in any longer.
---
"Elder Brother Kessel," Sorren said, laughing out loud. "Don’t forget our bet! I’m really looking forward to meeting you at the Alliance Magical Beast Hunt trials. Kaelan, let’s go!"
He had Kaelan call out his Emberscale Wyrm, and he made sure everyone saw his proud, shining face as he left.
Leo’s soft, beautiful face turned red with anger.
He watched them go with cold eyes. And in his heart, he carved this insult in stone. *Not forgotten. Not forgiven. Just saved for later.*
Kessel’s face fell.
"You didn’t find a partner?"
He had never imagined his student would come back empty-handed, just like himself. And this time, it was even worse than his own.
Leo lowered his head.
"I’m sorry, Master. I let you down."
---
The old guardian frowned.
"With talent like yours, how could you not get a mount? Could all those Magical Beasts be blind? That’s very strange."
Leo gave a small, tired smile.
"I don’t understand it myself. I searched the whole Sacred Mountain and met all kinds of Magical Beasts. But none of them wanted to come near me."
*Technically true,* he thought. *Please don’t ask follow-up questions.*
The old man sighed.
"You don’t need to be so upset. There have been many fighters who had no powerful mount, and they still became very strong. A mount is important for knights like us, but it isn’t everything. What’s your plan now? Do you want to tame a Magical Beast yourself in the future? Or do you want to try your luck here one more time?"
He paused.
"But you should know this. If you use the magic array to call a mount, you must make a binding contract with it. And once the contract is made, that beast will be tied only to you."
"Your master and I can help you with this small matter. But it might leave a deep fear or a bad memory in your heart. That could hurt your training later."
---
Leo didn’t need time to think.
"Elder, I want to try my luck again."
The old man nodded.
"Alright. But don’t hope for too much. The bigger the hope, the bigger the disappointment."
As he said it, he seemed to be remembering his own old days, because a faint sadness showed on his face.
A golden token appeared in his hand. He made a few gestures, and a golden light wrapped around the three of them. High in the sky above them, six strange marks appeared. They twisted the space around them.
Leo had a vague feeling that the old man was using some kind of magic. And it seemed the odd miracles of the Sacred Mountain were connected to this very magic.
The golden glow was so bright that Leo had to close his eyes.
And then he noticed something strange. The energy inside his chest was spinning at least ten times faster than normal.
*What kind of power is this?*
---
It lasted only ten seconds.
Then the energy slowed back to normal. Leo opened his eyes, and the whole world around him had changed.
They were inside a giant cave.
The walls were studded with precious stones. A soft golden light filled the whole place. It wasn’t as strong as the light in the Sacred Mountain, only a little stronger than outside.
The cave was huge. The ceiling was about 66.6 meters high. The cave was at least 333 meters long, like a giant open field.
And it was completely empty. Just the three of them.
Leo looked at the ground, and his eyes widened.
Dark, trapezoid-shaped patterns covered the floor, all linked together in a huge circle. Each one carried a mark he couldn’t recognize.
"Don’t stare and don’t pretend you can read it," the old man said. "Even old men like us don’t know these marks. It’s a spiritual language from ancient times, used by a race that has vanished. Even our ancestors at the Knight Temple were stunned when they first saw it."
"This is a Bridge Array. For a short moment, it connects us to another world. Starting it uses a huge amount of energy, so it lasts only fifteen minutes. If you don’t find a partner willing to come close in those fifteen minutes, I’m afraid you’ll truly go home empty-handed."
His voice was gentle. It sounded like he felt really sorry for a boy this talented. In his whole life, he had never seen a child like Leo. If such a child went without a good mount, it would be a real shame.
"Thank you, Elder." Leo bowed.
The old man nodded.
"Go to the middle of the array and sit down. When I start it, you’ll begin to feel it."
"Yes."
---
Leo walked to the center with big, steady steps.
The center was a circle about nine meters wide, with one huge mark in the middle. It looked a little like an old word, but twisted and strange.
For some reason, the moment Leo saw that mark, the Lodestar Stove in his chest began to pound like a drum.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
He sat down cross-legged and pushed all his extra thoughts out of his head.
*This is it. My last chance.*
Behind him, Kessel was just as nervous. His fists were clenched so tightly that the veins stood out, and his nails dug into his palms.
*Come on, kid,* Kessel thought. *Don’t make me watch you fail twice.*
---
The old man slowly raised the hand that held the golden token.
Kessel saw it clearly. In that moment, the old man’s right hand turned into glowing golden light. His palm looked like a precious gem.
It was a seventh-stage knight’s power. They could turn any part of their body into light, and in that form, their holy energy became even stronger.
He pressed his glowing hand against the floor.
The dark patterns on the ground shivered.
One by one, the trapezoid marks lit up, glowing deeper and deeper, until the whole giant circle was shining.
Leo felt it right away.
The energy in the air began to spin around him, faster and faster. It felt like the whole cave was breathing.
And somewhere, far beyond the walls, far beyond the mountains, far beyond this world, something answered.