Atticus stopped thinking about the matter. He didn't know what he didn't know, and there was nothing he could do about that. Instead, since he had the opportunity, he was going to find out everything he could for now.
Atticus completely ignored the sparks flying between Dario and Amara, with the former doing all the staring, and decided to ask another question that was bugging him.
"Where are they?"
Just as Amara was about to respond, Dario interrupted.
"Ah ah ah wait! Don't spoil it for the young master," Dario stood between Atticus and Amara, bowing to the former. "If I'm right, then we're currently en route to one of the Sanctums. I believe it would be best if you see it yourself, young master."
Amara and the other crew member's gazes flashed in unison, their shock apparent. In fact, Amara couldn't help but want to chuckle at Dario's words. A 16-year-old attending the Sanctums? But her expression couldn't help but become firm in the next second.
Dario wasn't joking.
She knew they were heading to Sector 3 but just not where exactly.
Her eyes widened as she simultaneously recalled the way Atticus had been using his elements during his battle with Ae'ark. He was truly already at the level of the Master+ ranks!
He was actually qualified to attend any of the Sanctums. "Damn," Amara inadvertently muttered.
Atticus paid no heed, looking at Dario for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I guess I'll see it for myself. Thank you for everything, Amara. I guess I'll see you later."
Atticus turned after speaking and walked out of the training room, leaving a bewildered Amara. The poor woman didn't even know which to be more shocked about: the fact that Atticus, a 16-year-old, was attending a Sanctum, or that an Apex actually remembered her name.
Atticus walked through the hallway along with his Ravenblade and Dario. Yotad had been silent throughout the earlier conversation, choosing to stay out of the matter and focus on his job.
Although Atticus had trained intensely today, his body still felt energetic. He simply planned on getting a meal and then continuing another round of training in his room.
He suddenly remembered something and abruptly stopped, prompting the duo behind him to do the same.
Atticus spoke without turning back,
"Dario, Yotad,"
The duo turned and looked at each other in confusion before turning back towards Atticus and bowing.
"From now on, anytime I'm eating, the both of you are to get yourselves yours, sit down, and eat. Anytime I'm training, you're also allowed to train separately during this period or simply leave to your rooms. You don't have to follow me everywhere in the airship. It's an order."
Atticus didn't wait for a response and continued moving.
'Was he angry at the result of the battle with that other apex? And now he's recovered. Is that why he changed?' Dario speculated while the Ravenblade sped up and reached Atticus, silently walking behind him.
A few moments passed before Dario came out of his thoughts and also caught up. The walk was fast, the trio grabbing a meal at the mess hall after which Atticus headed to his room.
With him alone, Atticus brought out an engraver and slate and immediately entered a state of focus.
Atticus felt as though he had neglected his rune engraving. He still had a large pile of runes in the space storage, but those had been made obsolete during the leader's summit.
During the battle with Ae'ark, he could have used the runes he had in stock, but Atticus hadn't believed that it was an option. The battle had been fast-paced and intense throughout, and apart from that, he doubted that any one of them would give him the boost he needed. Regardless, any boost would have been a huge help.
Atticus could feel that advancing to a Grade 3 runesmith was another way of gaining an incredible amount of power that would come in handy during the nexus. But unfortunately, it all boiled down to his will. He needed a higher will to advance to the next grade.
Grade 2 of runesmithing was about personalizing each of your runes and adding anything that made them stronger or more unique—basically, your own flair. For example, a normal shield could become stronger by engraving the words "impenetrable shield." Of course, that doesn't make it truly impenetrable, but it becomes stronger regardless.
Its potential was limitless, and Atticus felt like he had been neglecting it for too long. Back when Atticus had 33 points in his will stats, he would usually get demotivated the instant he engraved a Grade 2 rune.
But now he had 45 points, which was incredibly huge considering his young age. This large increase wouldn't allow him to engrave Grade 2 runes multiple times, but at the very least, he could engrave multiple Grade 1 runes after engraving a Grade 2.
'I should strive to reach Grade 3 in a year, but if I can't, I will focus on engraving as many Grade 2 runes as I can before the competition,'
Atticus's mind was constantly thinking and searching for anything that could give him even the tiniest bit of strength.
During the one year at the academy, he had learned a bit of alchemy and blacksmithing, but considering his current situation, Atticus had put a complete stop to training in both of them.
He wouldn't say that he was an expert in them, plus the fact that the time frame he had left wouldn't be enough to even make any significant progress.
Atticus released a deep sigh, his gaze snapping open. With deftness and fluidity, the hand holding the engraver moved as he swiftly engraved a random Grade 2 rune.
After which he engraved multiple Grade 1 runes and depleted his will. The feeling of demotivation hit him like a battering ram, his eyes closed as he focused.
Atticus had decided to leave training his will for the night, just like he had always done.
He fought the feeling for a few hours before eventually sleeping.
The next day came by fast, and despite the intense night, Atticus had still woken up early. He freshened up a bit before heading to the training room. Yotad had been in front of the door while Dario arrived as soon as Atticus's door opened.
Atticus trained for a few hours before being interrupted by Dario, who informed him that he was being called by Magnus.