Exitus sat cross-legged, staring intently at the small stone in front of him. A stream of thought flowed from his magic core, surrounding the pebble; it was as if an invisible hand slowly lifted it into the air. Exitus used his thought to move the pebble to the left and then to the right. “Thud” the pebble fell because of the exhaustion of Exitus, he felt his head ache like it was being hammered, his spirit drained.

  “So this is ‘Will’ the power of a mage.”

  Exitus marveled in admiration. “Will” was a special skill of mages, allowing them to control objects, attack, and defend using their mind. Its applications were many and diverse; however, only powerful mages could control it fluently. Mages with strong “Will” were hard to restrain. They could easily break free from illusions, see through false visions, and had extremely strong mental defense.

  Exitus stared for a long time at the transparent crystal orb floating around the book Madenes. He had not yet decided which type of magic to engrave. Exitus seemed to have no particular affection for any element or rather, no element felt close to him. Perhaps he would seek help from a true mage, someone who might know which element suited him.

  Mira ran out of the training room full of excitement. She had succeeded. She had formed her first magic core and officially become a mage. Now she could engrave a basic spell to greatly increase her combat ability. A mage at eighteen, Mira was full of faith in the future; perhaps she could even pass the entrance exam of Great-Mornet. Mira was lost in thought when a voice cut through her mind.

  “Hey! Mira, long time no see, how are you?”

  Exitus smiled as he slowly approached her from behind. Mira was astonished to see Exitus, only a month had passed, yet he had grown taller and much stronger. From Exitus, she could sense a faint pressure, a danger coming from a true warrior.

  “It’s only been a month! Seems like you’re already a mighty warlord,” Mira replied politely with a charming smile.

  “You’re not bad either! I can feel the mana flowing in your body very smoothly and steadily. Of course, you’ve already become a mage.”

  Hearing that, Mira couldn’t hide her pride. Magic was much harder than fighting; it required certain knowledge of mana, subtle control, and patience. Each time one condensed a core, it consumed great amounts of mana and mental strength. Because of that, mages spent a lot of money on recovery potions. Luckily for Mira, thanks to successfully recommending Exitus, Xevia had given her enough mana stones to advance quickly.

  “Ah! Actually, I’ve also condensed my first magic core! But for now, I don’t know what spell to engrave because I don’t know which element I belong to,” Exitus suddenly said.

  “What did you just say?” Mira thought she had misheard. She asked again, full of doubt, her face showing extreme shock.

  “Huh? I said I’m also a mage. I’ve condensed my first core.”

  Mira looked at Exitus in horror. She wouldn’t be surprised if he became a mage, there were countless young geniuses who reached that level, but what shocked her was that Exitus had become a mage in only one month. To do that required unimaginable talent. Mira suddenly felt a pang of sadness; she touched her chest, trying to calm her feelings. She felt jealous of Exitus. Compared to him, she didn’t seem to be much of a genius at all.

  In the crowded Seabloom Library, countless students were studying their books. Xevia sat there with dignity, holding a thick tome inscribed with strange ancient runes. From time to time, she would look up, observing the students absorbed in their studies, smile in satisfaction, then return to her reading. Everything seemed peaceful for Xevia, and she rather enjoyed such a life.

  “Excuse me, Miss Xevia!”

  Someone was calling her, a young girl’s voice. Xevia was pulled back to reality. She smiled kindly.

  “Ah, if it isn’t Mira. What brings my little mage here today?”

  “Um… actually, there’s someone else who wants to ask you something, Miss Xevia,” Mira said shyly.

  “Someone else? No need to be so nervous! Bring them over,” Xevia said, puzzled.

  Mira waved her hand toward a boy who had been watching from afar. Receiving the signal, the boy quickly approached, smiling politely.

  “Hello, Miss Xevia. It’s been a while.”

  “Huh? The student of that drunk Renes, isn’t it?”

  Xevia’s face turned sour, not that she disliked Exitus, but seeing him always reminded her of that sloppy drunkard Renes. Her voice carried a trace of sarcasm.

  “What’s this? The student of Renes coming to ask me questions instead of him? This is the magic department, boy. If it’s combat knowledge you’re after, go next door.” She waved impatiently.

  “No, Miss Xevia. What I wish to ask is about magic. The thing is… I’ve become a mage as well.” Exitus raised his hand, revealing a small pebble resting on his palm. He focused his Will, and the pebble floated in the air before Xevia.

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  Unlike Mira, Xevia’s surprise was far greater. Someone capable of walking both paths held immense meaning. She had lived long enough to witness many things, including the terrifying power of the Champions, the leaders of their races, whose strength and authority were beyond measure. The one requirement for a Champion was mastery of both magic and combat.

  “I did not expect this! To think I’d be lucky enough to meet a Champion in his youth! Hahaha!”

  Xevia burst into laughter. Her eyes gleamed as she looked at Exitus, like a gem of unimaginable value. If she could, she would have stolen this disciple from Renes without hesitation. Exitus looked confused; he still couldn’t understand why Xevia was so excited. Wasn’t forming a magic core something simple?

  Seeing his expression, Xevia raised her hand. A magical barrier surrounded the three of them, cutting off all sound from the outside. The space grew quiet, utterly still. Under the fascinated gaze of the two youths, Xevia spoke slowly:

  “You think anyone can condense a magic core easily, don’t you? That’s true… but not the whole truth. When one becomes a Warlord, the body absorbs mana according to a unique pattern. Once that pattern is formed, the mana flow in your body is forced to follow it, making the condensation of a magic core nearly impossible. That’s why those who take the path of warriors cannot walk the path of mages. However, some rare individuals possess a special phenomenon within their Inter Space, a peculiar point of mana convergence known as the Anchor Point. The Anchor Point allows condensed mana cores to remain stable, revolving around it instead of dispersing into the body’s mana flow. Such people are called Champions. In the great Madenes War long ago, it was the combined power of those very Champions that slew a god.”

  Exitus closed his eyes, sinking into the strange space within his body. So this was what they called the Inter Space. Yet he soon realized, there was no damned “Anchor Point” anywhere inside him. What stabilized his magic core was the pitch-black Book of Madenes floating silently at the center. So, he wasn’t anyone special after all. The power he possessed came from the Eighth Artifact, The Monster Book of Madenes.

  “You can see it, can’t you? That’s the reason you can condense a magic core even though your body has already become that of a Warlord,” Xevia explained calmly.

  “All right, if I’m not mistaken, you’re here to find the elemental attribute most compatible with yourself, for inscribing your first spell core, correct? Come with me.”

  Xevia led Exitus and Mira into a quiet laboratory filled with flasks, glass tubes, and models of human and monster anatomy. She rummaged through the clutter before pulling out a strange sphere caked in dust. A gentle blow revealed its surface, covered in intricate ancient runes.

  “This is a Dragon Pearl! When young dragons bite it, it glows with the color of their innate element. The dragonkin use it to classify hatchlings before they mature. Now then, place your hand on it!” Xevia urged, almost trembling with excitement.

  Holding his breath, Exitus slowly placed his hand on the orb and channeled mana into it, waiting for a reaction. The runes began to swirl, lighting up before fading away. From within the sphere, a small black spot appeared, expanding outward until the entire orb turned pitch-dark, exuding a gloomy, ominous mist.

  “A dark attribute! How rare!” Xevia was so thrilled that her voice shook. Renes himself was a dark-type warrior; clearly, the connection between master and student was no coincidence.

  "Since ancient times, there once existed an extremely powerful human mage of the Dark element. That person, of course, was none other than Madenes. Before becoming a Newborn God, Madenes had been the greatest mage of humankind but he was consumed by power, selling everything away to become a higher being."

  "Alright! Let's get back to the main task. I suggest your first inscribed spell be Dark Orb. It’s a basic dark-type spell, but quite powerful and it can inflict the ‘Blind’ condition. You know that effect well, don’t you? It’s Renes’s signature.”

  Exitus nodded. Having once suffered the Blind effect firsthand, he knew how practical it could be. He didn’t overthink it, after all, it was just a basic spell. Dark Orb seemed like a decent choice.

  “From now on, drop by my room often. I’ll personally teach you a few things about magic,” Xevia said with a sly, narrowed-eye smile, as if plotting to steal her colleague’s disciple.

  “That wouldn’t be proper, Miss Xevia. After all, I’m already Master Renes’s student,” Exitus hesitated. Though tempted, he was a man of principle. He wouldn’t abandon his teacher so easily.

  “Don’t worry! Renes will agree. I’ll "inform" him myself.” Xevia gave a gentle, kind smile.

  Exitus swallowed hard. He doubted that Xevia meant “inform” through mere words. Knowing her strength, he could only hope Renes would survive the encounter in one piece.

  The inscription of Dark Orb gradually took form upon his magic core. The once-crystal orb had turned black, like a piece of the night sky. Exitus exhaled in relief, he had succeeded in engraving his first spell without a single flaw. Excited, he decided to test it.

  Whoosh!

  A pitch-black orb formed in his palm, surrounded by wisps of shadow that spiraled inward. Exitus hurled it toward a nearby stone block—the sphere streaked forward like a bolt of darkness, leaving a faint blur in the air before it struck.

  Boom!

  The rock shattered into fragments, black scorch marks spreading across the ground like burnt trails.

  “Fast… good impact, and low mana consumption,” Exitus assessed. “And don’t forget, it still causes Blind.”

  He estimated that with the mana stored in his core, he could cast it about ten times before depletion. Then, an idea came to him. Exitus connected with the Book of Madenes, drawing out a strange energy, not mana, but something darker, the energy of nightmares. It quickly flooded his core, twisting the Dark Orb engraving into something far stronger… far more horrifying.

  Exitus raised his hand to summon the new spell. A orb similar to Dark Orb appeared but within it echoed chilling whispers. Its surface writhed with countless mouths filled with sharp fangs and shifting eyes that opened and closed in madness.

  “What the hell is this!?” Exitus stared in shock at the grotesque thing hovering before him.

  He threw it forward "BOOM!"

  The sphere erupted violently, unleashing a wave of destruction that annihilated everything it touched. The ground at the blast center cracked open, spiderweb fissures spreading outward.

  “This power… equal to a mid-tier spell, maybe stronger. At least ten times the Dark Orb and whatever effect it has, it’s definitely not ‘Blind’ anymore.”

  Exitus thought to himself. The spell had drained nearly all energy from his core, leaving it cracked and unstable. The overload made it impossible to use again immediately. It would take time to recover. Watching the mana slowly gathering to mend the damage, he estimated it would take about three days to fully restore.

  “Guess I’ll treat it as a trump card,” he murmured. “Let’s call it… Nightmare Orb.”