L.E. Miranda

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 61: The Astassier Estate (1)

Gael raised his gaze from the pile of paper on his desk.

“…Curious,” he said.

In front of the desk, with his head bowed, Nathan nodded.

“It is as you said would happen, Father,” the man replied. “But…”

“It’s too soon,” Gael completed, standing up and fixing his dress shirt.

Rylan’s arrival was something he had fully expected. Given the situation with Jason and what had happened in the Academy, it was only obvious that Rylan would come and ...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 60: A Carriage Ride

Rylan stared at Regis and Lillia with a serious expression. They were sitting on his bed, back in his room. Regis was staring back at him, looking grave, while Lillia looked a bit scared as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. The bedroom was completely silent.

“…And that’s why you need to leave,” Regis said after a few seconds.

Rylan readily nodded.

“Yeah.”

“How long will it take? For how long are you planning to do that?”

Rylan shook his head s...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 59: Steps Toward Growth (2)

Rylan left the tower, nodding at the middle-aged woman by the center desk of the bottom floor on his way out, and started walking to his dorms. Thankfully, neither Hayden nor Jasmine had been waiting for him outside. He nodded to himself as he walked under an archway.

We’ll tell them soon.

The story he and Damian had come up with would have to be enough to keep his two friends from wanting to come along.

Rylan looked to the side before he entered another building ...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 58: Steps Toward Growth (1)

Jason stumbled into his room, almost falling twice. His entire body trembled, soaked in cold sweat. He was alone, as all of the others who were part of his dorm had followed his orders to stay out.

He collapsed on his bed with his back against the mattress. His gaze shook as he stared a the ceiling. Then, the harrowing memories returned. It had been less than an hour, but Jason felt like he had spent his entire life cursed by them. Memories of how the world had gone dark and filled with...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 57: A Threat

For a second, Rylan and Jason only stared at each other.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Hayden asked from the side with an edge in his tone.

Jason looked at him with a calm grin.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m saying I have a way out of the certain doom this kingdom is walking toward,” he replied steadily.

“So you’re a traitor, then?” Hayden replied, his tone much sharper as he took a step forward. Rylan didn’t raise his arm to stop him.

Jason only ...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 56: Other Factions (2)

Rylan gave a good look at each small group. Each group sat apart from the others, their members throwing constant glances at one another. Judging from their appearance and the slightly different robes they wore, there were members of all ages and of later school years in each group, though they seemed to be predominantly made up of people Rylan’s age. Still, he could make a safe guess that they were all nobles.

Rylan furrowed his brow.

Why are they sitting like that? 2025-05-31 00:53:08 +0000 UTC View Post

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 55: Other Factions (1)

Rylan smiled as he returned to the group.

“I’m back,” he said while looking at Hayden and Jasmine, who were smiling at him.

Lucian stepped forward, drawing Rylan’s attention to him. The young man extended his hand.

“I’m sorry you had to go along with our childish request,” Lucian said with a grin as he glanced at the others. Leonard harrumphed. “Once again, welcome to the student council.”

Rylan shook his head firmly.

“It’s my pleasure.” 2025-05-29 00:41:40 +0000 UTC View Post

SSR - Notice about posting schedule

So, I realized I forgot to post about the change in schedule here on Patreon. Below is what I posted on Royalroad. Thank you!

***

Hello there, everyone!

TL;DR starting from next week, the posting schedule will be Monday-Wednesday-Friday, totaling 3x a week, for a variety of reasons.

So, how have you all been? Thank you for continuing to read my story! Your support so far has been invaluable, as was the criticism you guys gave me. There is no end to the journey of self-...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 54: Comparison (2)

Rylan narrowed his eyes. The flow of mana around Oliver had changed.

It’s flowing faster.

A greater amount of it was moving, too, to the point where it made Rylan think that the young man was already in the middle of casting a powerful spell.

As expected from someone so deep into the Third Circle.

He lowered his center of gravity. From a certain point of view, Oliver’s options were still limited by his Circles, since he didn’t have access to gre...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 53: Comparison (1)

The moment Rylan turned to look at Lucian and opened his mouth, every single student council member apart from Lucian himself took a step forward at the same time. He blinked.

Really?

It wasn’t as if fighting him were some sort of event.

“Everyone is curious about what it would be like to fight someone with your fighting style,” Lucian said after a deep sigh. He then looked at Ophelia. “You can’t fight. You’re our healer right now.”

She scowled a...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 52: Student Council (5)

Leonard pulled out a long wooden wand and pointed it at Hayden. Simultaneously, Hayden dashed to the side and grabbed his own wand, which had been a gift from Damian. Neither of them chanted or said anything. Rylan nodded to himself as he kept his eyes on the budding battle, his sharpened field of view managing to grasp everything within the clearing.

I might need to step in.

At their core, all the student council members and Hayden himself were young Mages in training. I...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 51: Student Council (4)

Rylan smiled at the orange-haired young man.

“We are indeed,” he said.

The towering young man breathed in and opened his mouth to reply.

“They’re here!?” a female voice suddenly cut through the building atmosphere in an excited tone.

Rylan blinked and looked at the stairway. A few seconds later, a young woman almost hopped down the steps to come into view. She was short and not as thin as Ophelia, but her expression held the same kind of beaming smile, which ...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 50: Student Council (3)

Rylan rubbed his chin in thought. This was, indeed, an interesting offer. Lucian and Ophelia’s words had been enough on their own, but he was also thinking about things from another angle, now that Lucian had revealed the council’s true influence.

Can’t they protect everyone while I’m not here?

Rylan knew he would eventually head to the battlefield, based on Damian’s words. Things would start slow at first, but once his abilities were gradually unveiled, the lev...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 49: Student Council (2)

Rylan let out a breath as he leaned back in his seat. He watched the male professor leave with a serious expression. To his right, Aelfric looked at him worriedly.

“…Are you okay?” Aelfric tentatively asked. “You haven’t been looking so good these past few days.”

Rylan immediately smiled as he looked at his brother.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about some stuff.”

In the row behind them, Jasmine and Hayden stayed silent. Next to Jasmine, Isa leaned f...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 48: Student Council (1)

Rylan left the study with a heavy heart and an equally heavy frown. Outside, Hayden and Jasmine were waiting for him. Rylan blinked and hurriedly got his expression under control, but not before his friends noticed it. Jasmine hurriedly stepped closer to him with a concerned expression.

“What happened?” she asked, her tone tinged with some anxiety. “Are you okay?”

Rylan smiled at her.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

That only made Hayden frown. 2025-05-15 00:31:41 +0000 UTC View Post

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 47: Time (2)

Damian let out a deep sigh. Rylan merely eyed the man while tilting his head, a possibility starting to form in his mind.

Nowadays, there’s only one thing that can make him worry like this.

The war was getting worse, as wars always did. That was his guess.

“Do you remember when we talked about the Kingdom of Mar?” Damian asked after staring at the window for a few seconds with a conflicted expression.

“I do,” Rylan replied with a grave expression. Th...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 46: Time (1)

Damian looked at his friend with sympathetic eyes, several emotions swimming in his chest. Henry’s expression was grave, as it always seemed to be these days. The man’s greying black hair was a bit disheveled, and his beard had grown a bit too much, but it wasn’t to the point where they detracted from his inherent majesty. Henry stood as tall as ever, looking at a table covered with different maps. Still, Damian knew how great the weight that back needed to bear.

“Henry,” Dami...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 45: Assignment (6)

Rylan stared at Jasmine as she slowly made her way to the middle of the stone arena.

She’s too nervous.

Sweat flowed down her brow, and she was gripping her wand too tightly. She kept glancing at him, as if looking for support, and then looking at the steel cages. Was she really this afraid of fighting a monster? Rylan resisted the urge to shake his head.

That’s a problem.

To Level up, one needed to fight and kill enemies to obtain XP. This was an...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 44: Assignment (5)

Really sorry about the lack of chapters these past two days, boys. I'll try to post one on saturday and another on sunday to compensate.

***

Once Aelfric got healed by the white-robed students, he walked over to Rylan’s side. Rylan gave him a proud nod and patted him on the shoulder.

“You did well,” he said. “But you need to work on a few things.”

Aelfric smiled and grabbed his wrist. Rylan could tell his brother’s hands were shaking.

“Of course,”...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 43: Assignment (4)

Rylan stepped inside the arena proper and looked around. At the far end, opposite to his position, were large steel cages. He looked at the monsters inside them.

I guess this much is enough.

The monsters inside the cages were bound by restraints made of mana, unable to move even as they snarled and growled. To begin with, they weren’t strong enough to break out of something like a steel cage. There were hobgoblins, kobold warriors, and a few other low-level monsters. Th...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 42: Assignment (3)

As Rylan walked through the mage tower’s winding pathways and descended the stairways, he thought about Damian’s words.

Gael’s current plan is a good one, but…

Being quiet was a smart move. Given the circumstances around their relationship, Gael’s number one priority should be to avoid actively creating hostility between Rylan and the Astassier house. It seemed like the man knew this well.

I need more information.

What exactly was Gael aimin...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 41: Assignment (2)

Rylan rubbed his chin as he inspected his Status Window.

Status Window

Name: Rylan Flameheart

Level: 48

Race: Human (E)

Class: The Dreamer

Profession: none.

Trait: Determined

Stats

Strength: 238

Agility: 238

Endurance: 240

Body: 242

Intelligence: 268

Wisdom: 255

Free Points: 44

Active Skills

Magic Missile (F), Magic Shield (F), Stormca...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 40: Assignment (1)

Rylan looked through the window as he put on his uniform. The Academy grounds and Caer Rhelon, which lay beyond it, were as awe-inspiring as ever. A second later, he turned to look at Aelfric, who was also in the middle of putting on his robe.

“If you say so, I’ll believe it,” Aeflric said with a grin.

Rylan smiled at him.

“Just like that?”

“Of course,” Aelfric nodded matter-of-factly. “You’re the one saying it.”

Rylan walked closer to him, ke...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 39: Tipping Point

On the last weekday of the first week of classes.

Rylan walked through the hallways, going in the direction of Damian’s mage tower. As usual, both the Academy’s interior and exterior were breathtaking, especially with the sunset as a backdrop.

“Do you think he’s going to make us hunt monsters? Like, soon?” Jasmine said nervously to his left. She was frowning.

“Of course,” Hayden replied to his right, shaking his head. “We need to keep Leveling up. It’s the ...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 38: Prelude

Three days later, at dawn.

Rylan sat cross-legged on his bed, shirtless. His attention was completely turned inward, to the point he almost didn’t notice the day’s first few warm sunrays shining upon his body.

His consciousness perceived the Mana Core deep within his spirit. It wasn’t as if he could see it or feel it, but he knew it was there all the same. His conversations with Damian over the past few days had resulted in him knowing much more about the Core. All he felt w...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 37: Mana (2)

Rylan leaned forward. He knew very well how helpful such fundamental knowledge could be, especially since his current self used mana alone, without a hint of Aura.

“I thought this should be what we should start with,” Damian said with a grin. “Since the answer to that question actually changes from person to person, and even over time.”

Rylan nodded.

“Of course. People at higher Circles perceive the world differently, and that also goes for mana. Both in terms of i...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 36: Mana (1)

Rylan breathed out a sigh of relief as he looked at his empty plate, feeling like he’d just gone through the Basilisk Wilds again. Finally, he had won the war and could now retreat to the safety of his haven.

“Yeah,” Hayden said from the seat opposite to him, making him raise his gaze. The boy was frowning and looking around. “I think I see what you meant.”

Rylan immediately nodded.

“You finally see the light.”

“It wasn’t too bad,” Aelfric said from...

Aura Awakening (Author's Note)

Hello there, my friends!

I'm sorry to disappoint you, as the notification wasn't for a chapter (there will be a chapter today, as usual). I'm writing this to get you guys' thoughts on something. Specifically, when and how Rylan should awaken his Aura. I do have a plan, but I'm now wondering if I should've had Rylan awaken it back in the battle against the Basilisk, after being pushed to the brink by the repeated attacks of many powerful monsters. I guess this is a spoiler, but the p...

SSR - Book 2 Chapter 35: Professions

Rylan got back to his seat and leaned forward with interest.

Finally.

Professions were something he still hadn’t bothered to go after in this life. There were three main reasons for this. First, there had been simply no time. Between needing to deal with Evenon, the mad training that followed to get rid of his previous Trait, and the need to go through the tournament, he hadn’t had a window to properly learn about this world’s Professions.

Well, I also cho...