Beyond the Atmosphere
Leon knew his new master could fly.
He had seen it with his own eyes.
But he did not expect this.
The moment Gavin waved his sleeve, the world beneath Leon's feet shrank. The clouds parted like torn silk. The air thinned. The pressure changed. His ears rang faintly as they rose higher and higher—past the floating mana towers of Earth, past the faint glow of continental trade grids, past the atmosphere itself.
Stars exploded into view.
Earth curved below them, blue and luminous, veins of mana arrays faintly pulsing across its surface like living circuitry.
Then—
A black vortex opened ahead.
It was not a tear in space.
It was space folding into itself.
Leon's breath caught in his throat.
He didn't know where Gavin was taking him. And he suddenly realized something else.
"Master… I don't even know your name yet."
Gavin blinked, then laughed lightly.
"Oh, right. I was too excited and nearly forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gavin."
His eyes shifted toward Leon.
"And yours?"
"My name is Leon."
The black vortex swallowed them.
Darkness consumed everything.
There was no wind. No ground. No direction.
Only black space and violent streaks of lightning flashing in the distance—silver bolts twisting through the void like celestial serpents.
Instinctively, Leon tensed.
Gavin raised a hand.
A blue protective shield bloomed around them, translucent and smooth like a curved crystal dome. Lightning struck against it and scattered harmlessly.
Leon stared, awe creeping past his fear.
"Master… where are we?"
"We are in the Dimensional Current," Gavin replied calmly. "It is a spatial flow between worlds. Traveling through it allows one to reach other stars quickly."
He gestured lightly toward the surrounding chaos.
"There are two ways to enter it. One must either reach a sufficiently high realm… or possess a special artifact."
Another streak of lightning tore past them, crackling violently.
"If a cultivator of low realm enters without protection or proper items, they would be torn apart by these spatial lightning currents."
Leon didn't fully understand.
But he nodded anyway.
After everything tonight, pretending to understand felt safer than admitting he didn't.
Half an hour later, the darkness thinned.
The Dimensional Current spat them out.
Before Leon's golden eyes floated a massive green planet.
Lush.
Alive.
They descended rapidly.
Wind rushed past his ears. The scent of pure air filled his lungs the moment they landed.
As far as the eye could see—trees.
Endless forests. Thick trunks. Vibrant leaves shimmering faintly under ambient mana saturation. The air here felt richer than Earth's, almost heavy with vitality.
"This," Gavin said, surveying the land calmly, "will be your training ground."
He lifted into the sky again.
"I will place defensive arrays so that magic beasts do not approach."
And then he disappeared.
Leon stood alone.
Silence pressed in around him.
He exhaled slowly and walked toward a broad tree, settling beneath it. The ground was soft. The wind gentle.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Then another.
Two hours later, Gavin still had not returned.
Leon's fingers tightened slightly against his knees.
Did he leave?
The thought crept in, unwelcome.
Stranded on an unknown planet.
No communication crystals.
No way back.
His pulse quickened.
Just as anxiety began tightening around his chest—
A streak of blue descended from the sky.
Gavin landed lightly.
Leon stood immediately and rushed forward.
"Master!"
But before he could approach, his body halted mid-step.
It felt like walking into invisible glass.
He pushed.
Nothing.
Gavin did not glance at him.
He extended both hands.
His body ignited with blue radiance that surged upward like a pillar.
Simultaneously, four distant pillars of blue light rose from different directions—far beyond Leon's vision range.
They shot toward Gavin's pillar.
Bamm!
Bamm!
Explosions echoed across the land.
The lights merged.
A colossal blue dome formed in the sky, descending slowly until it covered an area stretching hundreds of miles.
The air shifted.
Leon felt it.
Something was gathering.
Mana.
Thick. Dense. Heavy.
"Now, Leon," Gavin said calmly, "all mana within a two-hundred-mile radius will converge here."
Leon frowned slightly.
Mana?
He understood mana powered magical carriages and industrial arrays.
But cultivating it?
Seeing his confusion, Gavin paused.
"Ah. I forgot. I have not yet taught you the foundation."
Leon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
On Earth, mana was everywhere.
Yet no one cultivated it.
Or at least—
No one publicly admitted to it.
Gavin's eyes flickered faintly, as if reading his thoughts.
"You wonder why your planet, despite being rich in mana, has no cultivators?"
Leon nodded.
Gavin clasped his hands behind his back.
"Mana is like fire. It can warm a house—or burn it down. On Earth, it is refined and redirected through technology. Industrial arrays absorb and circulate it artificially. But the human body…"
He looked at Leon directly.
"…is treated like a prisoner."
Leon blinked.
"A prisoner?"
"Yes. Earth's scholars understand how to harvest mana externally. They built magical carriages, transport systems, trade empires. But they do not understand—or perhaps they conceal—the internal path."
Gavin's tone turned thoughtful.
"Perhaps they never discovered it. Perhaps someone did, and chose silence."
Leon swallowed.
The idea unsettled him.
"Ahem," Gavin waved the topic aside. "For now, forget that. First, you must choose a cultivation technique."
He flicked his sleeve.
An ancient building materialized before Leon.
Three stories tall.
Dark stone walls carved with faint glowing runes. Heavy wooden doors reinforced with bronze bands.
Leon no longer reacted with shock.
Strange had become normal tonight.
"Come," Gavin said.
He walked toward the entrance.
Leon followed.
The doors creaked open.
Inside were shelves.
Hundreds of books. Scrolls. Jade slips. Ancient manuals.
"Son," Gavin said, voice echoing faintly in the hall, "these are low-grade techniques suitable for beginners on the path of cultivation. Choose one."
"Master… is there no top-grade technique you can give me?" Leon asked, unable to hide his dissatisfaction.
Gavin laughed.
"You think cultivation is easy? You are only stepping into this world. To comprehend even a low-grade technique can take months or years. The higher the level, the more complex its principles. Without foundation, you would understand nothing."
Leon fell silent.
He had imagined instant power.
Reality seemed slower.
"Now," Gavin gestured, "choose what resonates with you."
Leon walked along the shelves, scanning titles.
Breathing Techniques. Foundation Arts. Mana Refinement Manuals.
None stirred him.
Then—
He saw it.
A thick, ancient book resting alone.
Chains wrapped around it.
Leon stopped.
"Master… why is this one chained?"
Gavin followed his gaze.
"Oh. That technique? I obtained it by chance long ago. I never managed to break its seal. I do not even know its grade. Since I could not open it, I placed it here."
Leon stared at it.
For some reason—
It felt familiar.
Like a magnet tugging gently at his chest.
He stepped forward.
As his fingers touched the book—
Heat flared in his chest.
He looked down.
The necklace his grandfather had given him glowed faintly.
The chains around the book trembled.
Crack…
Crack…
Metal links snapped open one by one.
The book floated upward, pages flipping rapidly in a blur.
Gavin's eyes widened.
Before he could move—
A burst of white light exploded outward.
It struck Gavin directly.
He was flung out of the building.
The doors slammed shut.
A barrier of blinding white light enveloped the entire structure.
Outside, Gavin steadied himself midair.
Shock filled his ancient eyes.
His strength was nearly that of a high-ranking Realm King.
And yet—
He had been expelled.
Silenced.
Locked out.
He stared at the sealed building in disbelief.