Professor Borem wrote a single word on the board as he looked over the students of Class D.
That word was: Concept.
"Many people believe that the strength of magic depends only on the amount of mana or the magic circle. They are wrong. True evolution begins when you understand your own element."
He raised one hand, and a small flame appeared above his palm.
"Fire doesn't exist only to burn. It illuminates, warms, purifies, destroys, consumes, spreads, explodes, and even transforms matter. The more aspects of fire a mage understands, the more possibilities their magic gains."
With a snap of his fingers, the flame changed shape several times. It became lighter, formed a small fire tornado, and then a medium-sized fireball.
"The same applies to every element. Water can cut, heal, suffocate, shape, carry life, or exert crushing pressure. Wind can propel, compress, deflect, or create a vacuum. Earth represents not only hardness, but also stability, weight, and growth."
Borem slowly walked across the classroom while holding an earth spell in his other hand, divided into countless tiny particles of magical dust.
"Magic responds to knowledge. A mage who sees only a single concept will remain trapped with simple techniques. But one who studies their element deeply expands their limits and creates spells that others would consider impossible... Of course, you can learn other elements, but the best path is to first improve your primary one and only then learn a second, just as I did."
He turned back toward the class.
"Never study only how to cast magic. Study what your element represents, how it behaves in nature, and the principles that govern it. Understanding strengthens control, reduces mana waste, and increases the power of every spell."
After a brief silence, Borem smiled enthusiastically at his students.
"In other words... the better you know your element, the more it will respond to your will."
For the rest of the lesson, Borem asked the students various questions to evaluate how much they had understood. Among all of them, he noticed that only a few had truly paid attention to every detail of his explanation: Kai, Valença, Cris, the top-ranked student in the class, and Tolen, as always. However, the one who surprised him the most was Enrico. Whenever he asked a question about the fundamentals of magic, the boy answered without hesitation and demonstrated an unexpectedly deep understanding of the theory.
'I thought he didn't care about learning at all...'
When the class ended, Borem remained silent as he watched Enrico leave the classroom with the other students. At that moment, he remembered the words Virelle had spoken before the duel.
Without a doubt... Enrico was far better than he had imagined.
A few minutes later, Enrico was already in the academy cafeteria. Sitting at a table, he was devouring an absurd amount of food before Sir Drenholm's class began.
'I managed to lose eight kilograms over these two weeks, but now I need to eat and train at the same time to make the most of the pact's effects.'
[So you're going to keep living like this for a while.]
'Yeah. I'll keep this pact as a secret weapon for now. It's a shame I can only use it once.'
[But its benefits will be permanent.]
'I know. But like you said, that only happens with the first pact. Anyway, I need to start strengthening other characters if I want to survive the future.'
Ever since Chalés's death, that concern had never left his mind. Even though Chalés had been capable of defeating an Evil God, he could only accomplish it at the cost of his own life. As for the other characters, almost none of them would be able to face those creatures. Aside from the protagonist and the strongest of them all, the others would barely make any difference.
'But I know people whose potential was never truly realized. The Rank 1 student of the first year, for example, had even greater potential than Kai... but he gave up after losing to him.'
That was precisely the greatest difference between the two.
One was a prodigy who had spent his entire life winning and gave up as soon as he suffered his first defeat.
The other kept moving forward, no matter how many times he fell.
'And now that the System can display people's attributes, I'll also look for those who never appeared in the original story. Actually, even people without great potential will be useful if I can make them strong enough for the future.'
He took another bite of food before letting out a sigh.
'Besides that, I need to evolve as quickly as possible. This body's potential is below average, and there's a chance I'll die before I can even use the Sun Heart... what a hellish situation.'
As he finished eating, he noticed eight people approaching his table.
'They're here.'
Tolen was the first to arrive and sat down across from Enrico. Right after him came Serenya, Elian, and Caelan, who took the remaining seats around the table. Shortly afterward, the four knights who had fought against them also arrived. All of them looked exhausted, but Bruna appeared to be in the worst condition. As soon as she sat down, she let her body collapse onto the table, completely worn out, as if she no longer had the strength even to sit upright.
Seeing that, Tolen raised an eyebrow, unable to understand why those four were there as well. However, he chose not to ask any questions. He simply turned toward Enrico, curious about why he had been summoned.
"Why did you call me, Enrico? Do you want me to teach you something new?"
"Subordinate, I'd also like to know the reason."
Enrico looked at the four of them for a few moments. When it came to potential, Serenya was undoubtedly the most talented among them. However, when it came to knowledge, Tolen was far ahead of everyone else.
"Very well. First of all, thank you all for coming, Leader."
Serenya raised her chin proudly, as always.
"If my subordinate needs me, of course I came."
"Thank you, Leader... and to answer your question, Tolen... yes and no. Actually, I invited all of you because I want us to train together."
The four of them showed surprise at the same time, while a small smile appeared on Enrico's face.
"Interesting. A training session? May I join?"
The voice made everyone turn to look behind Enrico. Tolen showed the greatest surprise, while Serenya, Elian, and Caelan immediately narrowed their eyes.
Enrico turned around as well.
"President?"
Elaris looked at them with a beautiful and innocent, gentle smile.