Chapter 184: Secrets Author Never Wrote!
Selene closed the book gently. "That is Elaris. Every part of it holds history, danger, and opportunity. To walk these lands, you must be prepared."
"And also, this is the top one academy across the country"
Kael sat back. His mind buzzed with every name, every swamp, every fortress and ruin. He felt small—just one boy in a world vast and dangerous.
But he also felt a spark. "Thank you, Selena," he said quietly. "I... I needed this more than I thought."
She smiled at him. "Then maybe you’re wiser than you seem."
Kael chuckled nervously, scratching his neck as his cheeks grew warm again.
The book lay between them, heavy with secrets.
Kael turned his head aside, his eyes lingered on the thick pages of the map book.
(In the novel, there were no such details... nothing like what Selea just explained to me. Did the author forget to include all of this? Or is this something beyond the novel’s scope?)
The idea unsettled him. Everything so far had followed the story he remembered, with some small variations—but this?
The depth of the maps, the places Selena spoke about, the names and histories... none of it had been in the book he once read.
(If the author didn’t write this, then... am I already straying into unknown territory?)
He closed the thought quickly as Selena turned another page, brushing her fingers against the parchment.
Her elegance made her seem more like a noble lady than a second-year student.
But before Kael could speak, he noticed movement from across the library.
A pair of second-year girls had spotted them, him sitting closely with Selena over the book.
Their whispers carried faintly, followed by giggles.
One of them leaned toward the other.
"Do you see that? Selena’s actually explaining book to a first-year?"
"That’s... unexpected. I didn’t think she wasted time with newcomers."
The second girl smirked and nudged her friend. "Let’s tell Darius."
Kael stiffened when he heard that name. Darius, the rank one second-year.
He remembered him from the novel. Before midterm, Edwin had faced him in a spar, and though Edwin had fought fiercely, Darius’s reputation hadn’t dimmed in the slightest.
The girls scurried off toward the far side of the Ground One, where Darius was chatting with a few other students.
Pushing the thought aside, he refocused on maps.
"Selena," he asked.
"What is the name of the place that lies twenty kilometers away from this academy?"
Selene tilted her head, strands of her silky hair falling against her cheek.
"Twenty kilometers? Which direction are you asking about?"
Kael rubbed the back of his neck, realizing how vague he had sounded.
"Ah... sorry. I mean... to all directions. North, south, east, west. Everything surrounding the academy at that distance."
Selena chuckled softly.
"All directions? That’s a lot of places, Kael. Are you trying to memorize the world in one sitting?"
Kael gave an awkward smile.
"Maybe... I just want to know. I don’t want to be lost when professors assign us trials outside the academy."
Her expression softened his words.
"You’re more cautious than you look. Most students don’t care about maps until they’re knee-deep in danger."
Kael gave a small shrug. "I guess I just don’t like being caught off guard."
Selena turned a page and pointed at a circle sketched around the academy’s location.
Selena gave him a long, searching look.
"You’re a curious one, Kael. Alright, I’ll tell you." She tapped the map with her fingertip. "Let’s start with the east."
"Twenty kilometers east of Arcadia Academy, you’ll find The Silverroot Glade. It’s a mystical forest where the trees glow faintly under the moonlight. Students sometimes sneak there for night adventures, but it’s dangerous. Magical beasts roam freely, and their strength grows under starlight."
Kael’s eyes widened slightly. He had walked the academy grounds countless times, but he hadn’t realized something like that lay so close.
Selena shifted her finger northward.
"To the north, you’ll reach the lower trails of The Howling Crags. The winds there are violent, screaming through the jagged rocks like a chorus of tortured souls."
"On stormy nights, you can even hear those cries from here at the academy. Many believe the crags are cursed."
A chill ran through Kael’s spine at the thought. (So close... and yet the novel barely mentioned it.)
Then, Selena turned west. Her tone dropped lower, almost conspiratorial.
"To the west, about twenty kilometers out, lies the Dawnwatch Ruins. They were once an outpost during the old wars, but it was destroyed, crumbling into scattered rubble. No one has rebuilt it. Students are forbidden from going there without supervision, but..." she allowed herself a sly smile, "you know how rules work. Many still try."
"The place is located between Elaris city and Aracida academy"
Kael swallowed. The way she spoke made him both curious and uneasy.
"Why is it forbidden?"
Her smile faded slightly.
"Because the ruins are not empty. Strange echoes, lights at night, even... disappearances. Some say the dead soldiers who once fought there never left. Others believe something else claimed the place. Either way, people who linger too long at Dawnwatch often don’t return."
(so this is the place of demon’s whereabout)
Silence hung in the air for a moment before Kael forced himself to ask the last question.
"And... the south?"
"South of here, the land begins to rot. About twenty kilometers away is the Whisperden Docks. Once, they were alive with fishermen and merchants. But after corruption seeped in from the Southern Wastes, the place was abandoned. At night, people say you can hear voices calling from the water—ghostly voices... or worse."
Kael felt a cold shiver crawl up his arms. He leaned back slightly. "Voices?"
"Yes." She closed the map slowly, as though shutting away the dangers she had just revealed.
"No one dares investigate anymore. Some things are better left unheard."
Kael’s mind churned. (The book never described this... It’s as though the author skipped half the world. Or maybe, this isn’t just the book anymore. Maybe this world has its own truths, deeper than what I ever knew.)
(I didn’t encounter those places maybe because i travelled through terminals)
He shifted uncomfortably, eyes on the map even as it was folded.
"So... every direction is dangerous."
Selena gave him a look.
"That’s Elaris. Beauty and danger are two sides of the same coin. Knowing the names is the first step, but what you choose to do when you arrive at these places... that’s what truly matters."
Kael nodded slowly, his chest tight. He hadn’t expected her explanation to make him feel so unprepared, so small in the vastness of the world.