“Navigation will be a very important aspect of planetary exploration. Some of you know how this works, but we will start from the basics.”

Professor Dickens mused as he paced around the front of the room.

“We live in a 14 Planetary system, with Sol at its heart. As we go on, we will learn the properties of each as well as those outside of our solar system, but for now we will start to closer home”

I looked at all the world classifications written in the book before me, although it was a lengthy read I summarized all classifications.

Goldilocks-

Provides all necessities for life to flourish, rich with ambient mana. Generally, contains the highest amount of ancient ruins. 

Candidate worlds to colonize.

Average in consumable resource

Average in precious stones and minerals

Mana crystal resource average 

Cryptid Hazard- Varies

Exceedingly rare

 

Water World

Mostly covered in ocean, with a few islands-

Mana concentration varies.

Low in natural resource above ocean’s surface.

Valuable fishing hubs

Aquatic cryptids frequent. 

Cryptid Hazard–

Near land-low

Open ocean- Very high.

If you wish to explore the open ocean must be able to survive and move quickly in very deep water. Must be Master realm and up- Amphibia or Merfolk Preferred.

 

Tomb world-

Completely dead, cannot support life, no ambient mana present. These worlds have little to no value.

 

Continental world

Mostly Land with little oceans

Cryptid Hazard- Average

Everything else is like Goldilocks’ worlds, except life is scarce.

Mining Worlds

Very High in Natural resources such as metals, ores, precious stones and building material, etc.

Cryptid hazard- Low

                          

Abnormal mana world

Very high in mana crystal quantity and quality.

Cryptid Hazard- Very High — Variable Calamities.

Properties of ambient mana are unique; most are deadly to lower realms. Only Master realms and higher may enter unless proven safe.

 

After scanning my notes, I looked towards the front of the classroom once again. Listening intently to the words spoken by the professor.

“We have three examples right here in our own backyard.”

He waved his hand at the large screen, an image blinking to life. On it, a diagram of three planetoids in orbit with each other. Two circled closely as a pair, while the third was much further away encircling the two.

He used his pointing stick to point at the larger of the pair. It was mostly blue, with a few large land masses and several smaller islands.

“This is Gaia, our home. We consider it a Goldilocks world because it supports life and is abundant in mana. It is special amongst the few others we have found because of the very few cryptids that spawn here.”

He then moved the stick over to the other of the pair. This one had fewer oceans and a faint yellow aura that extended out like a halo. It’s almost as if the atmosphere itself shimmered in a golden hue.

“This is Theia. It’s what you call a continental world but it’s also an abnormal mana world. Its ambient mana is not only more abundant than Gaia’s but more unstable, and the cryptids there are very resilient and aggressive.”

Then he points to the lonely white planetoid on the outskirts. It was the smallest of the three 

“This Is Luna, which some of us call the moon. Just like its two sisters it’s also a rather special case. It lacks any potential to harbor life, and it is abundant in a strange ambient mana. Its closest to light attuned mana in some way but it is also very pure, singular and neutral. It simply doesn’t react to anything. There are no recorded gates, so no one has even been to that place. The little we know about it is through the few mana crystals or moonstones that occasionally fall to Gaia. For now, it’s classified as an abnormal mana world.”

He waves his hand at the screen, which showed what seemed to be a map of our night sky. 

“That’s enough rambling for now. Our main topic for today, the basics of celestial navigation, mainly how to find our cardinal points. Obviously, each planet is different, but as long as you understand your instruments and know where to look, it becomes easy.”

 ……

I sat at my desk the next afternoon, reading through the books provided to me. I spent several hours going over the enormous book of celestial maps the professor had dumped on our desk.

“You lot have the most free time out of any other branches in this academy. I expect you to know every one of these maps, like the back of your hand, by the end of the year. You’re going to need it.” he said before exposing his stained teeth.

Though the school had several magic tomes and martial arts manuals, they didn't actually teach us how to fight, instead providing us with the resources as we continued to master our own fighting styles, which I thought was great. So far, each topic was about navigation or understanding cryptids themselves.

Though we had a lot of free time, someone like me with no formal schooling had no choice but to take other classes.

I looked at a fairly hefty book with thick leather covers riddled with intricate patterns. Though not that dirty, its faded title “Terra Glossia the Mother Tongue.” showed its old age. A book to help learn a language already drilled into my head. I sighed while flipping through the pages of the book, looking at terms, phrases and words I’ve learned a long time ago.

 “I’m already fluent in Haakun and Terra Glossia, so no point in reading this.” I said as I threw it onto the white sheets of my bed.

My mother made it her mission to make sure I knew both languages, and I wasn’t exactly fond of the memories. She was so gentle when teaching me martial arts, but when it came to learning from books, be it literature or something else. She was a completely different beast.

My eyes, now dry from the constant reading, I got up from my seat. I thought now would be a good time to stop for the day. I was also close to breaking through to the Intermediate realm, and I was rather eager to get some practice or meditation on it. My room was pleasant, but wasn’t exactly a good place to meditate. So I left and headed to a quiet area at the end of the academic district.

It was a great place to meditate, rich with vegetation, peaceful, the air though not as refreshing as the cool breeze that occupied the Haakuni mountainside. It was enough for me to reach a deep enough state. 

I looked around to see a few people meditating here as well. They are all in various stages of meditation. Before entering I came across a green sign that said “please remain quiet” 

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I only found this place by chance and didn’t know they actually reserved it for meditation. 

Finding a good place away from everyone else, I sat down and pulled out the pill from the trial. I was trying to save it after I broke through to the intermediate realm, but I was having trouble passing the threshold. It was strange. This stage in particular felt difficult, as if trying to climb a slippery slope. Each failure or misstep resulted in a setback of some sort, even with one of these pills.

Was there something I was missing?

Maybe my understanding of my mana wasn’t enough. I asked Allan for advice, and he didn’t seem to have any. I was too much of a special case to give meaningful advice. All he could muster was a “don’t give up”. 

Using ambient mana had also become too taxing for me, just purifying it was enough to make me exhausted. I guess now I will have to use this high grade one. This one gave quite a boost if I am to go off the experience of others, but I feel like it would be a waste since I felt so close to a breakthrough.

I sighed and returned the pill to my bag and pulled out a lesser grade. Deciding on the verdict that I should try one more time, I popped it into my mouth. The pill itself didn’t taste like anything apart from a slight herbal aftertaste. If anything else, it felt as if I ate a ball of wet sand.

I sat in the soil with my knees crossed and began the process of calming myself. The energy from the pill would soon permeate throughout my body, and I would need to process and guide it to my core. 

Breathing in and out, trying to get a feel of my body, searching for the pathways to direct the external energy. This method was much different than absorbing ambient mana. It always starts out like a blanket of pure mana spreading in all directions, which I would then have to gather up and funnel into my mana veins. Way easier than plucking out bundles of unstable mana from the air itself. 

Everything was moving along fine until I felt several presences at the edge of my sensory range. I could barely hear their whispering. They seemed to just stand there for a while, leaving a strange sensation at the back of my neck. They were most likely looking at me. 

It was then one of them walked up to me. Their footsteps approached slowly, crunching the leaves below them.

I tried my best to not get distracted, but this person walked up right in front of me and stooped down to my level. Whoever this person was, they examined me carefully.

“I was curious to see who the rumored red-haired human was, though I never expected it to be a young girl.”

The person’s voice was deep and soothing. They sounded like an experienced spokesperson who knew very well how to speak to a crowd.

I opened my eyes to see a man, with long silky blue hair and long furry ears that rested on his head, he had smooth skin and a well-defined jaw, a strong aroma of lavender filled my nostrils and I could see his brown slit-eyes inspecting me with intrigue. Two Bushy tails flicked slowly and methodically.

A beast folk? No, a Kitsune, A yokai with fox-like features. 

“Dazzling amber, a rare color indeed.” He said as his face came closer to mine. 

“What is your name?”        

I stared at him, still unsure of this person. His confidence was overbearing, and I couldn’t help backing away slightly.

“Oh my, how rude of me. Sorry to disturb your meditation, my curiosity got the better of me. My name is Seishiro Suigetsu. I am a third year at the academy.”

“Atsumi Hoshiko, is there anything you need from me?” I replied, wanting to return to my meditation.

He sat in a posture similar to mine, while keeping eye contact with me.

“No reason, I usually bring some of my guild juniors here to meditate. I just never expected another participant.”

I took that as a queue to get out.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. If that’s the case, I’ll just go somewhere else.”

“It’s alright you are more than welcome to stay. Is that alright with everyone?” He said before looking at his guild mates, who all shook their heads in agreement.

“No, I really don’t want to intrude. I will go now.”

He seemed somewhat disappointed, but relented.

“I see, very well. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

 

I circled around and found another area to meditate, but I was already so distracted, and I could still feel prying eyes latching onto me. I wasn’t sure if it was that same Kitsune, but it made me too distracted to focus. It seemed I wasn’t as good with onlookers as I thought I was. After trying many times to get back in focus, I decided leaving this place altogether was better. 

I walked around for a while exploring the academic district, bought a few snacks and then found a lonely bench in a nearby park. It stood below a large tree that spread its leaves far enough to provide ample shade. There was still some left over energy from the pill, at least it wasn’t completely wasted.

The bench was rather uncomfortable, but I was willing to work with it. 

“Seems like I have a few hours left before sunset.”snacks,

I crossed my legs once more and closed my eyes.