Because they had spent four entire days on Alfa Station, by calculation of how fast the flying station moved through the universe, it would take them approximately three to four days to return to the Ouroboros Planet.
As the ship jumped into the hyperspace tunnel and entered the warp state, Emery excused himself to Silva and entered one of the rooms within the ship. As the door closed tight behind him, he sat on the floor in a lotus position, proceeding to close his eyes.
The trip had allowed Emery to add a new spell to his repertoire - [Photosynthesis], a new subject he could learn - the [Metamorph Theory], and a new item he could explore - the [Flora Colossi] sapling.
However, with a mere glance on the scroll, Emery knew he couldn't start on any of them without buying the few necessary ingredients stated within the recipe. Hence, he put all of them aside into his spatial space for now.
Actually, Emery's main intention of excusing himself and entering the room was to concentrate on his cultivation, which currently had reached the bottleneck of rank 8. Once again, his eyes glanced at the notification that the symbol on his hand showed.
[Spirit force 1000]
It took Emery quite a while to reach this point. Now he knew there was only one step that separated him from the prominent rank 9 acolyte.
Emery was not that delusional to think he could directly break through and reach the esteemed magus level without having gone through the process of strengthening his foundation and building the nine pillars that defined the rank 9 acolyte.
Therefore, in order to do so, Emery focused his attention on his two cores. Due to the uniqueness he had, the method he would adopt was to create two foundations - one for his nature core and one for his dark core.
Emery spent hours rotating spirit energy within both cores, as he prepared to force his way through the bottleneck. However, he kept finding himself just a bit short on success. It was as if he was currently pushing against two thick and heavy walls with only one hand each.
After spending two days trying to break through the bottleneck simultaneously, Emery finally understood he would gain nothing if he continued as he was doing.
He was pretty sure he just needed a boost to help him push through the bottleneck, something similar to that a [Spirit Foundation Pill]. He did try to inject one of the [twilight fey booster] but other than giving him 2 points in battle power and 1% increase in his gene essence percentage, it didnt help.
Knowing his endeavor would remain fruitless until he obtained the stimulus he desperately needed, Emery decided to calm his agitated self by opening his eyes and finally going outside the room.
Emery walked into the common room of the ship, where he and Silva had hung out earlier when they were on their way to Alfa City, and found her sitting on one of the plush comfortable couches.
The girl could be seen admiring a white and yellow flower that she had evidently put nicely inside a vase. Emery could also see the glass of drink on the small table beside the couch, which further strengthened his guess that the girl was enjoying her leisure time.
Silva seemed lost in thought. She didn't even realize that Emery had come out of his room and arrived at the common room where she was. It was only when Emery called out to her that she finally reacted.
"Silva."
"Ah!" The white-haired girl's body slightly jumped from the couch, "Oh, Emery. You surprised me! You're finally out!"
Seeing the cheerful expression and wide smile on the girl's face made Emery almost forget how she used to always be angry and throw harsh words at him at every opportunity. It was as if the person standing in front of him had somehow been replaced.
Emery reflected on himself and couldn't help but believe it was him who made the girl this way and for the same reason, he also felt extremely terrible in his heart.
He took a deep breath and took a seat in front of her. Putting the flower vase away from their line of sight, Emery looked her in the eye. On the other hand, upon seeing his serious expression, the smile on Silva's face slowly started to fade.
"What is it? Something wrong with your cultivation? Do you need my help?"
Emery shook his head at every question Silva asked him. "Silva, let's have a talk."
After seeing her straightening her back, Emery took another deep breath, before starting the conversation. He started by calmly and sincerely explaining his gratitude for all the help she had provided to him, before specifically talking to her about the meaning of the flower, so she did not misunderstand.
In response, the white-haired girl fell silent, as if she knew very well where the conversation was going.
Meanwhile, Emery could clearly see her hand trembling, as he started talking about how he really felt. Her breathing turned irregular and the smile on her face became forced, she said.
"I really thought we were having so much fun together?"
Emery steeled his resolve and looked at her.
"Yes, that we did, but…"
Before Emery could continue his words, Silva raised her hand and told him to stop. She took a deep breath and threw her face away as she said,
"You know, Emery… these past few weeks, I have been asking myself why I am attracted to a fool like you… I remember the first time we met, the sight of you foolishly charging towards a dragon to help out those foolish acolytes."
Silva chuckled lightly as she said those words, as her brain replayed the memory in her mind. However, there were various deep and complex emotions struggling within.
"At that time, you even wanting to share the reward, that stupid green potion, to that stupid acolytes was the topmost dumbest thing I've ever heard in my entire life!" This time, she bursted out laughing for a moment, before then taking another sip of her drink.
Meanwhile, Emery just kept quiet. He let the girl freely express her thoughts and feelings.
She then turned her head to him again, "But… I guess… that's what I like about you, Emery. You may be a fool, but you are kind hearted and always true to yourself. And… the truth is… the more faithful you are to your girl, the harder it is for me to let go of you."
Emery could see a slight tear in the corner of her eye, but the girl quickly looked away and wiped it away, trying her best to stay proud and look okay when it clearly was not.
At this exact moment, Emery understood he must be truthful even though it would hurt the other party even more. Therefore, he clenched his fist and opened his mouth.
"I am sorry, Silva. I…"
"No!" Silva turned and glared at him. "I don't want to hear it! No!"
The words caught in Emery's throat, He watched as Silva schooled her expression and, this time with more composure, calmly said.
"I don't want to hear it."
"I couldn't take no for an answer… unless… unless you are ready to take me. Please… don't ever talk or bring this up again."
With a new resolve, the girl said, "We will go back to Ouroboros, I will help you convince my mother and you'll become part of the faction and that's it… dont you worry about my feeling… you need my family to help you… you really need it.
Emery took another deep sigh when he heard that. He finds it hard to agree to her proposition. It really seemed unfair to her.
Surprisingly Silva accessed her storage ring and took out an item.
It's a unique-looking bracelet that seemed to be made of bronze. It was none other than the bracelet that Emery borrowed from Klea. The girl has been keeping it from him all this time.
Silva pushed the bracelet to Emery's side of the table with her finger and after making sure the bracelet was within Emery's arm's reach, she said.
"I don't want to care about her anymore... at the moment what I really want is that after you join the faction, we can go back to the academy together… Then, I will help you to beat that dragon boy for what he did last year… I want to see you become the number one ranking in the privileged class!.. That's what I want"
Afterward, Silva started talking about how much she missed the Magus Academy and her hopes of taking the mid and final exams together with him. She really didn't give Emery a chance to say anything about the previous matter.
On the other hand, Emery became anxious about the future. He honestly thinks what Silva was saying will not be an easy feat at all. Not about defeating Zack or being the number one privileged acolyte, but because of a certain girl who was waiting for him.