Chapter 1269: Forests, lakes, and starlight...
Arc Strada fell into pandemonium.
Although the Astral turbulence died down. The apocalyptic explosions engraved terror into the hearts of many.
Reasonably so.
If it is just the Astral turbulence then the populace will probably laugh it off as a weird event. However, when the same Astral was drained from dragons and humans, nobody giggled. They were left enfeebled by that drain.
They assumed their deaths were imminent. When life returned to them, they looked at the sky in stunned horror.
Their lives were momentarily threatened.
That threat came from the world itself.
All five world powers decided they needed to get to the bottom of this.
They needed to know how to prevent another Astral turbulence.
Nobody knew that the culprit behind this incident fell in the forest of Lautreamont Knightdom.
Ansullivan Dragonar Academy...
A special school within Lautreamont Knightdom.
It is a school for Breeders and Pals (contracted dragons).
All denizens of Lautreamont Knightdom are required to visit the Albion Forest when they hit the age of 7 to undergo the Orphan's rite. They will need to look for the Mother Dragon and if luck is by their side, get a star brand and pal in the future.
Those chosen kids are given a star brand. In time, they will get their pals and become breeders.
The descendants of breeders might be able to get a pal compared to normal citizens. Even so, the increased chance is only around 10% or so.
The Ansullivan Dragonar Academy was created to train breeders.
After Astral returned to her body, a beautiful redhead lady slowly stood up albeit with much difficulty.
She had flaring hair that touched her hips, emerald-green eyes and a refined around her. The school uniform couldn't hide her bewitching figure.
She tossed her hair back as she examined her body.
"My Astral is back?"
Rebecca Randall.
The student council president of Ansullivan Dragonar Academy.
The strongest person in Ansullivan Dragonar Academy.
No, she isn't just the one with the highest authority among students. She is the strongest among the students.
Far stronger than the teachers teaching her classes.
She is strength and beauty personified in a single body.
Just like other humans, she had her Astral drained as she looked powerlessly at the ensuing Astral explosions in the sky. She couldn't even drag herself closer to the window due to her fatigue.
Rebecca clenched her fists.
"Wh-what just happened?"
Astral is the life-giving force driving every living thing.
It is even more important than food.
Breeders supply Astral to dragons through Astral Flow, an energy channel between a breeder and his pal. It is also through this channel that breeders can see Astral.
Rebecca can see the Astral leave her body and her dragon. She saw the Astral storm in the sky and the ensuing havoc.
Even her wits and powers couldn't benefit her when the Astral chaos erupted.
Then, she saw something intriguing.
She saw something akin to a green meteor being spat out of the second Astral explosion.
That meteor was on track to hit near Ansullivan Dragonar Academy.
Specifically, the forest near Ansullivan Dragonar Academy.
"That's..."
Rebecca knew that the green meteor had something to do with the Astral explosions.
Rebecca calculated the approximate location the meteor will hit before exiting the Student Council room.
Fiona forest is a forest situated west of Ansullivan Dragonar Academy.
It is huge and close to the school so it became a regular training spot and external curriculum ground for students of Ansullivan Dragonar Academy.
The students, including Rebecca was familiar with this forest.
Rebecca arrived near the spot where the meteor was expected to hit.
Rebecca slowed down while focusing her perception on anything out of the ordinary.
Rebecca pulled apart tall grasses to see a sparkling lake in front of her.
It wasn't big but it sure was beautiful.
Hidden by tall trees from almost all corners, the lake looked eerily quiet.
Green orbs of light flew around like fireflies, lighting up the lake.
"That..."
Rebecca gasped.
"Astral?"
There were Astral orbs flying all over the place.
"Visible orbs of Astral?"
Rebecca couldn't hide her shock.
Astral is a lifeforce normally unseen but within lifeforms.
It won't float around like this under normal situations.
This confirmed Rebecca's suspicion.
That meteor had something to do with the Astral disturbances.
She looked around, mesmerized by the glowing Astral orbs around her.
Then, something caught her eyes.
There is a large tree sticking out of the center of the lake.
There are Astral orbs dancing around the tree, giving it a magical green veil.
At the top of the tree is a human who slept peacefully under the glow of the Astral Orbs. It looked like the lights were protecting him.
Rebecca stood there, stunned by the beauty of this scene.