Thyrandel’s skies were clear, a crisp blue canvas stretched across the horizon. But beneath the serene beauty of nature, inside a vast forest both Arthur and Kai were seen clashing with each other.

“Watch your left, Arthur!”

But Arthur was a bit too late to dodge.

Kai’s foot swept low, knocking Arthur’s legs from under him. His body hit the ground with a solid thud, the wind rushing out of his lungs as his back slammed against the forest floor.

Kai towered over him, hands on hips, the faintest smirk on his weathered face. “That’s thirty-seven now. Are you even trying to hit me at this point?”

Arthur groaned, rolling onto his side and pushing himself back up. “Yeah, yeah… old man. One day I’ll eventually land a clean one on you.”

Kai chuckled. “At this rate? Might take you until you’re actually old yourself.”

Arthur brushed off the dust and grinned. “Keep talking. You’ll be eating those words when I wipe the floor with you.”

That week had been a gauntlet for Arthur. From sunrise to well past sunset, Arthur after completing his classes at the academy had immersed himself in learning the way of Chi under Kai’s guidance. 

By the end of the week, though, Arthur still hadn’t managed to land a clean blow on Kai as he had promised. Not even close, fighting Kai was like fighting the wind… if the wind also occasionally punched you back in the gut.

…

At the end of the week, after his classes were over and a meditation session with Kai, Arthur found himself alone atop a rocky outcrop in the forest. The night was approaching and the stars above blinked lazily.

He reached into his dimensional pocket and withdrew a small, rune-etched box.

“The Dragon Core…” he murmured.

He’d won it in the auction, he had tucked it away for the right moment to absorb, when his body was strong enough to handle the pressure of absorbing so much mana. Now, after days of grinding his body and spirit into steel, he figured he was ready, probably.

If Kai knew about it he would have told him to wait and prepare more. But Kai wasn’t here tonight, and Arthur felt it was the right moment.

He set the box on the stone before him and slowly broke the magical seal. As the final glyph vanished, a warm pulse of energy burst from the box, washing over him.

Inside lay the core, red in color like crystallized fire. It looked like it was alive as mana flickered inside the core.

Arthur’s throat tightened. ‘What kind of dragon was this from?’

But he didn’t find it using ‘Analyze’ so he would have to absorb it and see for himself.

With a steadying breath, Arthur sat cross-legged and used his skill [Energy Absorption] on the core.

A soft buzz filled the air as strands of mana began to unravel from the core, drawn into him like water spiraling down a drain.

Minutes passed, then an hour. The world faded away as Arthur focused solely on the energy flowing into him. At first, it was smooth. But when the final threads of power were drawn in, something changed.

Arthur stiffened.

‘What… the hell?’

It felt like a thousand ants were crawling beneath his skin. He thought the process would be painful, but there was no pain. He thought, ‘Was this how it was supposed to feel? Or is my [Pain Tolerance] skill suppressing the pain?’

His mana, previously calm and contained within the 2nd Circle, suddenly exploded outward. His eyes snapped open. Mana flooded his dantian, slamming against the walls like a tidal wave, forcing it to expand.

Instead of breaking into the 3rd Circle, his core simply… grew. Swelling, and expanding with every heartbeat. His dantian stretched unnaturally, and for a moment, he feared it might rupture.

“I should be breaking through… why aren’t I breaking through?” he muttered, sweat beading across his brow.

A sharp, twisting bolt of pain ran down his spine, through every vein and nerve of his body. He clutched his chest, gasping, ’No, stay focused. You can handle this.’

But that quickly subsided to an amount of pain that he could tolerate easily due to his [Pain Tolerance] skill. 

The core trembled within his dantian, mana started to spin around it. His mana flared uncontrollably, and then the core started to stabilize after nearly ten minutes.

Now his mana core is at least five times bigger than what a 2nd Circle mage should possess, that means it is now capable of holding five times the amount of mana at the same realm.

And around him, tiny golden arcs of lightning crackled in the air. They danced along his skin, flickering across his fingers and forearms.

“What…?”

He quickly opened his Status Panel, to check what changed.

//——————–//

[STATUS]

Name: Arthur Sully

Designation: ECHO

Mage Rank: 2nd Circle

Martial Arts Rank: Peak Grade

Age: 27

Height: 6’3″

Mana: 500,000 Units

Chi: 306,614 Units

Strength: 61.32 Kilotons

Speed: 629.7 m/s 

Durability: 237.4 GPa 

[ABILITIES]

[Reactive Evolution] [Superior Regeneration] [Toxin Immunity] [Gene Lock] [Technopathy (Lv3)] [Energy Absorption (Lv4)] [Mana Manipulation (Lv3)] [Chi Manipulation (Lv3)] [Lightning Manipulation (Lv1)] [Pain Tolerance]

[Lightning Manipulation (Lv1): Host can generate lightning and can control it as easily as controlling a limb.]

[SPELLS]

[Mana Bullet] [Mana Shield] [Telekinesis]

[TECHNIQUES]

[Heaven’s Breath] [Astral Flow Technique]

//——————–//

Arthur blinked. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…”

A slow grin tugged at his lips.

He noticed that his realm was still stuck at 2nd Circle, but he can feel that with just a slight push he can become a 3rd circle mage. But he has mana comparable to a peak 7th Circle mage. He doesn’t know how that was possible but he was happy nonetheless.

He also saw his [Energy Absorption] also leveled up after absorbing the Dragon core.

He got up and started to manipulate lightning still flickering around him, he figured the dragon when alive was a lightning dragon. 

He felt lightning manipulation was inherently different compared to having lightning affinity. He mulled over researching it later. He hadn’t heard of any human naturally possessing powers of manipulating elements, he thought it might be the trait only a dragon possesses.

The crackling around Arthur’s fingers hadn’t stopped.

Tiny arcs of golden lightning still danced between his fingers, skittering like fireflies. It tickled, but also felt… right. Like the power was a part of his body and he can control it with just a thought.

He stepped off the elevated rock and walked into an open area in the forest. 

“Okay,” he muttered to himself. “Let’s see how powerful it is.”

He focused on the arcs around his hands. They responded immediately, flickering brighter.

Arthur stretched out his right palm and tried to imagine pushing lightning forward. Nothing happened, and the sparks fizzled.

He frowned. “Alright. That’s not it.”

He remembered what Kai always said about Chi. Intent leads energy and focus leads form.

So Arthur took a breath. Slowed down and closed his eyes.

He didn’t imagine lightning as just another power. He imagined it as one of his limbs, wild but with a purpose.

The lightning pulsed in time with his heartbeat, synced to his breath. When he inhaled, the arcs flared. When he exhaled, they steadied.

His eyes snapped open.

“Now lets see.”

He stretched his palm forward, and a small bolt of golden lightning snapped from his hand, striking a distant rock with a loud pop. The rock blew up and a faint trail of smoke curled upward from the blackened spot behind the rock.

Arthur’s jaw dropped.

“Whoa…”

He did it again. This time faster. Crack! Pop! Another bolt, then another.

The bolts were small, maybe the thickness of a finger, but damn, did they feel cool.

He tried both hands this time, holding them out like he was dual-wielding pistols.

“Pew, pew,” he said under his breath, blasting a tree stump with a grin. The stump sizzled and smoked. One had to consider that the trees in this world are much harder than what they normally should due to the presence of mana. So, the lightning bolt had to be extremely powerful to destroy the tree stumps.

But the skill wasn’t just about offense. There was more to it.

He concentrated on his legs, and sure enough, faint lightning crackled around his calves. The lightning worked not just as a ranged skill, it was enhancing him physically too. It increased his speed and reaction time, like the lightning was supercharging his nerves and muscles.

He thought about combining Chi and lightning and tried to do so. A surge burst from his palm uncontrolled and slammed into the ground just a foot away, kicking up dirt and blowing him off his feet.

Boom!

Arthur crashed onto his back, groaning as he blinked up at the stars, his hair smoking slightly.

“…Okay,” he coughed. “Note to self. Ease up on the juice.”

But as he sat up, laughing to himself and brushing ash off his shoulder, he decided to return to the academy after collecting the golem.

…

The next morning, the academy buzzed with the usual chaos, students dragging themselves half-awake into classrooms, some still chewing on breakfast pastries.

Arthur walked in alongside Leon and Finn, both of whom were chatting animatedly about spell theory and battle formations. They entered their class and took their respective seats.

Professor Elaine entered the class room and stood at the front of the class.

After taking roll calls and completing teaching her lessons she cleared her throat to attract the student’s attention. As the students looked at her she didn’t waste time and started.

“A month from now,” she began, “Velcrest Academy will be participating in the Inter-Academy Tournament called ‘The Dominion Ring’.”

The room fell dead silent.

“It’s a competition held once every three years,” she continued, pacing slowly. “Students from all the major magic academies across the continent will gather. The whole of Arkanis will be watching, and the best of the best will be awarded with glory, honor, rare artifacts and elixirs.”

That got a reaction from the students.

Whispers erupted among the students, and more than a few of them instantly sat straighter, their faces lighting up like someone had just announced a free mana stone buffet.

Professor Elaine raised a hand, silencing the room once more. “You have one month to prepare. Train like your life depends on it, because for some of you, your future might. And from now on for one month your morning classes will be shortened to give you more time to train. That’s all.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the class, her robes billowing like she rehearsed the dramatic exit in the mirror.

Leon leaned over with a grin. “Guess it’s time to get serious, huh? You’re signing up, right?”

Arthur didn’t answer immediately. He thought should he compete?

His strength wasn’t just ahead of the curve, it was off the chart compared to the academy students.

“It wouldn’t be fair…” he muttered under his breath.

“Huh…Did you say something?” Finn asked, blinking up at him.

Arthur waved it off. “Nothing. I’ll think about it when registration opens.”

Leon nodded and continued, “Let’s go to the training hall, we should start training or we would be left behind by others.”

Finn, seeing Arthur not coming, asked “You are not coming?” 

Arthur thought for a second and decided to visit the training hall as this would be his first time going there. 

He nodded at them, “Alright.”

Then Leon and Finn practically sprinted out of the class, laughing like a pair of kids who just got told they were going to an amusement park.

Arthur smiled, shaking his head.

Then his eyes caught sight of two familiar figures across the hallway, Eva and Natalya, walking side-by-side. Both were chatting quietly, as they headed for the training hall.

He then closely followed them.

***

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