"Now that you've learned two debuff spells, what do you want next? An attack spell? A stealth spell?"
"One of each!" Alex answered instantly, eyes sparkling like a kid picking candy.
Aurora didn't even blink. She had clearly expected this.
"Okay, okay," she said with a resigned wave of her hand. "I can teach you every dark magic spell I know—which is basically all of them—but even you should learn moderation."
Alex visibly deflated, his shoulders slumping in disappointment.
Before he could sink deeper into sulking, Aurora floated closer, her voice shifting into playful teasing.
"Why are you sulking? I will teach you. What I meant was—you shouldn't only think about learning new spells. You also need to improve the mastery of the ones you already have."
She poked his chest lightly to emphasize the point.
"Sure, higher-tier spells have higher magic power. But even a low-tier spell with high mastery can outperform them in the right situation."
Alex paused, reluctantly admitting it made sense. 'Fair… but learning new spells is way more fun.'
Aurora watched the subtle shift in his face, clearly reading every thought, then hummed as she began floating in a small thoughtful circle.
"Now then… attack spells." She tapped her chin. "There are plenty suited for you."
After a moment of consideration, she nodded decisively.
"Let's narrow it down. Two good options for your next step would be Black Nova Pulse or Dark Spiral. I'll let you decide."
Alex blinked.
"...I have absolutely no idea what either of those are."
Aurora sighed helplessly, though a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Of course you don't. Fine—let me explain both."
Black Nova Pulse was an overwhelming AoE spell.
The caster would gather mana into a basketball-sized pulsating nova—unstable, pulsing violently, and constantly expanding. Once fully charged, the core would unleash smaller dark spheres in every direction. Each tiny orb burst on impact with a violent explosion strong enough to tear apart anything caught within its range.
Its power was unmatched for clearing groups. Its downside was simple and brutal: it attacked indiscriminately. Anything inside the blast radius—ally, enemy, or unfortunate bystander—was treated exactly the same.
Dark Spiral, on the other hand, was far more controlled.
It conjured a spinning conical lance of darkness, a massive spiral of physically compressed mana that could be launched at a target. Its size could be adjusted freely—shrunk to a needle-fine drill or expanded into a towering spear. With higher mastery, the caster could even redirect or guide its trajectory mid-flight, turning it into a precise, lethal tool.
Compared to the chaotic devastation of Black Nova Pulse, Dark Spiral was straightforward, focused, and adaptable.
After thinking it through, Alex felt Black Nova Pulse suited him far better. A wide-coverage AoE spell—high destruction, massive reach—it aligned perfectly with his chaotic fighting style.
==============================
[The host has learned a new magic spell]
Tier: 5
Attribute: Dark
Mana Cost: 9000
Mastery: F
==============================
After this, she moved on, revealing the magic circle of the next spell: Dark Curtain.
This was a stealth-type magic that formed an ink-black canopy around the caster, a curtain of living shadow that swallowed light and masked presence. Everything within its boundary became concealed, allowing anyone inside to move freely without being seen or sensed from the outside.
However, it wasn't perfect. Large movements or abrupt actions would send faint ripples across the shadowy veil, subtle distortions that keen observers could detect if they were paying attention.
==============================
[The host has learned a new magic spell]
Tier: 5
Attribute: Dark
Mana Cost: 7000
Mastery: F
==============================
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
A moment later, Alex was already in a private training room, excitement buzzing through his veins. He didn't waste even a breath before casting the first spell he wanted to test.
In the next instant, thick black mist erupted outward, flooding the training hall like an unbound tide.
Within seconds the entire room was swallowed in swirling shadow.
It was so dark that Alex couldn't even see his own hands.
Aurora's voice drifted to him, "Close your eyes and focus."
He obeyed.
The darkness behind his eyelids shifted—and then he felt it. Every corner of the room. Every movement of the mist. Every subtle disturbance in the air, as if the mist itself had become extensions of his senses.
Aurora explained gently from beside him, "The mist will always blind your enemies, but you can control what you perceive with just a thought."
Alex's breath hitched in amazement. 'Tier-5 spells are amazing…'
But the admiration didn't last long.
Lightheadedness washed over him. The spell was draining his mana ten times faster than he could regenerate it. He hastily dispelled the spell, breathing heavily as the black fog retreated into nothingness.
After a short rest and a bit of mana recovery, he pushed himself up, ready to move on to the next spell.
But Aurora floated in front of him with a firm look.
"Stop right there. No more Tier-5 spell testing." She tapped his forehead lightly. "If you use anything that strong again, someone will notice. Tier-3 is safe. Tier-4 is pushing it. Tier-5 is asking to be caught."
The training rooms were soundproof and reinforced for student practice, but they weren't built to handle high-tier spells. Even with their protections, the barriers couldn't hide mana fluctuations that strong.
Alex deflated a little, rubbing his temples. Still, he couldn't deny the thrill pulsing in his chest.
He finally had real firepower.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Since he couldn't touch any Tier-5 spells yet, Alex shifted his focus to something safer—and far more tedious.
Mastery grinding.
Dark Bullet was already at A-rank mastery, but his remaining Tier-1 spells—Dark Fire, Dark Ice, and Dark Lightning—were still stuck at B-rank. His Tier-2 spells, Dark Barrier and Shadow Walk, hovered at C-rank. Everything above that sat embarrassingly between F and D.
He started with the simplest task. Pushing the rest of his Tier-1 spells up to A-rank took little effort, almost mechanical at this point.
Then came Tier-2.
Tier-3 was… different.
Alex summoned skeleton soldiers nonstop, lining them up like disposable training dummies as he hammered them relentlessly with Void Spear.
At the same time, he pushed Void Step to its limits, blinking in and out of space, weaving through his own spear volleys to sharpen precision, timing, and spatial intuition.
For Summon Skeleton Mages, he took a more brutal approach. He summoned pairs and forced them to duel endlessly, letting their repeated deaths and resummons funnel mastery straight into him.
Five days passed in that relentless, mind-numbing cycle.
Leaving Mana Drain aside, every spell from Tier-1 to Tier-4 now gleamed with A-rank mastery, each one polished to near perfection.
But raising them beyond that—to the near-mythical S-rank—felt almost impossible. Even his most-used Tier-1 spell, Dark Bullet, stubbornly refused to budge an inch further.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
It was a fresh new day, sunlight spilling across the academy plaza as students gathered in front of the large outdoor stage. Today marked the official announcement of the Wilderness Training Course results—not that anyone expected surprises. The ranking list had already been posted on the academy forum three days earlier, and the discussions were still burning nonstop.
The ceremony itself was more formal than meaningful: the top ten teams would be called onstage, congratulated by the Principal, handed certificates and rewards, and photographed for the academy's archives. A symbolic tradition, nothing more.
But Alex wasn't thinking about any of that.
His gaze drifted downward to the translucent system message hovering at the edge of his vision.
[The system has levelled up!]
[The host has unlocked Map.]
'Finally.'
He wanted—badly—to open the panel and explore everything the update had brought. But he didn't get the chance.
"Alex! Is it true you and Sherry got the thirteenth place?!"
"Bro, how did two nobodies get over ten million points?!"
"Did you actually solo an A-rank monster, is it a rumor?!"
A storm of questions crashed over him from every direction. The rows around him buzzed like a beehive kicked open, students twisting in their seats to stare at him like he was some newly discovered species.
Ever since the public rankings went up, Alex had become one of the academy's hottest topics. A previously somewhat known pair suddenly placing 13th—with ten million points—was unheard of. Most students trained their whole lives just to scrape into the top fifty.
Alex tried to return a polite smile, but it twisted into something closer to a grimace. 'Can't they calm down for even one second…? I just want to check the system…'
And then, mercifully, salvation arrived.
The anchor's magically amplified voice boomed across the plaza.
"Attention, students! The top ten teams of this year's Wilderness Training Course will now be announced."
The noise around him died instantly as the crowd faced forward. Alex let out a slow breath, shoulders loosening.
'Thank god… finally a moment of peace.'
He sank back into his seat, doing his best to look indifferent while excitement churned beneath the surface.
The system update was complete.
And the moment this ceremony ended, he would finally see what awaited him.