A portal opens and two people step out, their feet touching the ground as Enrico sets Valença down.
"I hate this..."
Lying on the ground, Valença looks up at the sky and a tear falls from her eyes, but she hides her face with her hands. Enrico sits beside her, already knowing it would be difficult. Unlike him, she had spent that week with Val'Drakar.
"Is this what you felt when you lost Tolen?"
Just like him back then, she wasn't friends with Tolen and didn't know him well. She was sad for losing a classmate, just like the others who died in that dungeon. Lying beside her, Enrico felt that emotion he hated.
"Yeah... that day I felt frustrated for not being able to do anything... if I had at least been stronger maybe I could've stopped it."
That day was horrible for him, that feeling would come back when he faced that Nartheis and again now. It only showed how far he still was from reaching the strongest. If he couldn't defeat a Ranvil-level Nartheis, then he had no chance against the evil gods at their full power. He knew it would take years for everyone to evolve their circles, but he couldn't be the same as the others.
If he wanted to survive and save the others, he would have to surpass every expectation of himself. He couldn't afford to be distracted or stop evolving—no matter what, he had to get stronger, even if that meant making worse pacts.
[That thought is dangerous, Enrico.]
'Thought you guys would be happy about it.'
[We may make things hard for you, but since your value has been increasing constantly, the constellations don't want to see you die from a dumb decision...]
'I know... but if this keeps up, I don't know who I might lose.'
He feels a head being buried into his chest—it was Valença, hiding her face, but he could feel her tears on his clothes. Placing his hand on her head, he begins to comfort her.
"Enrico... I need to get stronger..."
"I know, and I'll help you with that... not just for you, but for me too."
Minutes later, after calming down, they were walking again. Valença was ahead while he thought of ways to get stronger.
'There aren't many ways to get stronger besides training and special dungeons.'
If he wanted to improve himself and everyone else faster, he had to ignite everyone's drive even more than now. So far, Serenya and Kai had shown the most improvement, with Valença now surpassing them. Of course, he himself was stronger than them now, but he would be overtaken quickly if he wasted time.
[Now that you've surpassed your potential limit, you should rest more hours.]
'Yeah, you're right.'
The system seemed relieved, but not for long. He would continue training—worse than before—once his body fully recovered from the limit-break state. What Enrico was planning was to break his potential once again. If he managed that, his potential would be at the level of a normal person, which would help a lot. Of course, it would take a long time, and maybe he wouldn't even surpass that level before the year ended, but it wasn't impossible.
'Now the other way is getting two more items that increase the percentage.'
[From what I know, they'll only appear in arcs, so you'll have to wait.]
'Looks like you've been doing well with reading.'
The system was right—those two items would only appear in dungeons from upcoming arcs, so he'd have to go with the other method.
'I need to find the true dungeons.'
True dungeons had far greater rewards, and when you completed them, one of the rewards was that your percentage increased—but there were two problems.
[Wait, from what I know, during the entire original story, only two will appear—and they also show up in future arcs.]
"Yeah, that's one of the problems. But since the first will appear with two months left before the first year ends, I'm a bit calm and already preparing for it."
It would be different to find more dungeons beyond those two. But what if he went to another continent? In this continent, only two would appear, but in the short stories, two more show up, only on different continents, and only after months have passed since the end of the third year.
Now, the second problem was that each true dungeon could take months—like the first one, which would begin with two months left in the year and they'd only return on the last day of the year. Right after comes the Infernal Academy arc. Well, if his plan worked, that arc wouldn't affect anyone but him, so he wasn't worried.
He noticed Valença's steps were weak—probably due to low mana. He goes to her and kneels, offering his back. She looks surprised and takes a step back.
"What are you doing?"
"You're tired. Come on, I'll help you."
After insisting a little more, she climbs onto his back. As he walks, Enrico asks her to tell the story of Val'Drakar. He had only heard two things while unconscious. Valença adjusts herself on his back and starts explaining how that dungeon came to be.
A little farther away, Angela watched the two. They had finally left that dungeon and could return. But what surprised her was that they seemed stronger, so she immediately contacted Virelle through the magic communicator.
"Ma'am, I have something to report."
Valença, who was talking to Enrico, finishes telling the story of Val'Drakar and rests her head on his shoulder. Seeing how quiet Enrico was, she wasn't surprised—maybe it was a shock, or maybe not. She didn't know what to expect from the boy she liked, and admitting that to herself.
"Looks like I need to reach at least the fifth to eighth circle if I want to break the seal."
Enrico raises his palm, looking at that white mark. Valença nods. She had to help with that to fulfill Val'Drakar's wish.
"You're right."
He had to repay Val'Drakar. He wouldn't let that wish disappear—not after he sacrificed himself for them. The two look at each other, determined. Enrico continues walking with a new goal added to his list.
While the two were thinking, their friends at the academy were training hard. Kai fighting Giulio and Liam at the same time, Seraphina running amidst magical attacks from Silvia, Elian and Caelan sparring, Serenya training with her mother, who watched her daughter rise from every hit with determination. Yumeha was training nervously, seeing Rina glaring at her, while Aoi behind looked amused.
But it wasn't just their friends who were training. Elowyn was pushing three of her subordinates hard, Lan creating two lightning spears in hand, and Deymon in a hideout talking to Jago, who was calmly sipping tea.
"Director, the academies from other continents said they'll participate in the next academic battle."
A man dressed in blue spoke while looking lazy. Director Hao looked out the window.
"Alright then, we better prepare. Only students ranked one to five can form their team and participate."
"Understood."
"And lastly, the council finally approved that the knights can enter the library, so in the coming days the students' training to begin crafting their Ego Weapons will truly start."
The man in blue, before leaving, muttered that it would be troublesome and that that woman must be happy about it. Hao sighed—he hoped this clash with the other continents would spark the golden era of the academy.
"Let's hope it works, Enrico."
Yes, that was a comment from Enrico about using the other continents to evolve. Even though he was a kid, he decided to stick with that idea. Of course, he accepted it because he liked it.
"We really need a golden era for Sanos Academy. No—we need the greatest golden era in academy history."
He stands up and goes to the window. Seeing his students training, he felt truly hopeful. If these kids evolved, they might survive the chaos happening on the continent.