'Do you still think that was a good idea?' Seth asked, still lying on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

'We could've won,' Nightmare muttered with a low growl, his ribcage gulping up and down. 'It got a hit in on me for free at the start.'

Seth blinked and lifted his head from the ground, unsure at first that he'd heard the Nightmare correctly. That's unexpected.

The direwolf never usually admitted a mistake or showed any criticism toward himself. He'd typically blame external factors—enemy attributes, the environment, their cowardly tactics. But this time, he was reflecting on his own error: using Shadow Step early on had left him vulnerable against the imp to counter him with its superior Agility.

'I won't let that happen again,' Nightmare grumbled, raising back on its paw. 'Start another fight.'

Seth sighed and pushed himself up. "Let's at least wait for our Wells to be—" He froze mid-sentence, his eyes going wide as he scanned his Well. It was already seventy percent full. How? He'd used half of it in its punch, a bit less than a tenth for Shadow Step, and almost a sixth for both casts of Huntbound Rush. That meant it had filled up by forty-five percent in barely a few minutes. "The regeneration rate here is insane!"

'Even better,' Nightmare snarled. 'Summon that tiny demon again.'

Seth frowned. "Why are you so pissed? We lost again a High-Iron, for the gods' sake."

'I'm the one who got blasted by that huge lance of flames,' the direwolf retorted, avoiding his gaze. 'You saw how it hit me and changed your approach. That's not fair.'

"Hey, you're the one who rushed in first," Seth answered with a shrug, throwing his hands up. "Maybe next time, don't charge headlong at something twice our Ranks. We could've kept our distance and worn down that imp's Well first. Or do short clashes like we did against that Warrior with the ax in the Rift."

Nightmare lowered his muzzle, thinking for a few seconds before answering, 'Yeah… let's try that!'

"Good." Seth nodded and returned to the orb, putting a hand on its surface while infusing aether inside. A message appeared within the crystal artifact.

Delay before the next fight: 5 minutes 36 seconds.

Well, that gives us time to finish filling our Well, he thought, showing the timer to the direwolf through their bond. And also to learn that other spell.

Reaching into his Endless Pouch, Seth pulled out his Intermediate Identify scroll before stroking its ironish seal with his thumb. For the past day, he had thought about using it, but he never found the right moment after his match and reunion with Elena, Jenna, and Devus.

As he crushed the seal and squeezed the scroll, aether surged through his hand and dove into his chest. The parchment crumbled into dust and at the same time a heat flared within Seth's Well. Inside, new grooves began etching themselves into existence, intertwining with Identify's existing ones. The carving process continued for a minute like for Huntbound Rush, steadily expanding until the spell reached half Fog Shroud's size.

Time to test it, Seth thought, channeling aether into the old and new lines. The process felt sluggish compared to before, taking him nearly five seconds to complete the task. The moment he finished, he glanced at his hand.

Seth

 

Class: Primalist

Rank: 24 (Low-Iron)

Subclass: Beastmaster

 

Core: Feral Instinct

[...]

Strength: 73 (65+8)

Arcane Power: 64 (57+7)

Toughness: 58 (53+5)

Well Capacity: 48 (44+4)

Agility: 79 (71+8)

Regeneration: 54 (49+5)

Spells:

- Link [???〜??? (???)]

- Share [???〜??? (???)]

- Fog Shroud [Iron〜Rare (Decent)]

- Huntbound Rush [Iron〜Uncommon (Crude)]

- Intermediate Identify [Iron〜Common (Standard)]

- Dark Shocking Strike [Copper〜Rare (Standard)]

One point in Agility in a few minutes. Not bad, he thought.

On top of allowing him to Identify people and beasts he couldn't before, the spell was now supposed to provide more details about both himself and things around him. Curious, he turned his attention to the three dots above his Arcane Power, and new lines of words appeared in his vision.

Sensing: Low-Iron

Talents: [restricted]

Manipulation: Mid-Iron

Seeds: [restricted]

Affinity:

- Null

- Darkness ~ Low-Iron

 

Talents and Seeds?

Seth's brow furrowed as he wracked his brain, trying to recall if someone had ever mentioned those terms before. Nothing came to his mind. This left him with two possibilities: either these strange… attributes… weren't important, which seemed unlikely, or they were something he wasn't supposed to have. Probably because of my Draerian blood or my core.

His gut told him it was the latter. But why were they restricted?

I'll figure that out later, Seth sighed inwardly before coming back to his attributes and focusing on one of his spells, as Elena had suggested at the coliseum the previous day.

Fog Shroud [Iron〜Rare (Decent)]

- Creates a zone of fog that reduces sight and aether sensing by 60% for 5 minutes.

- Size, duration and effect increase according to Water affinity and spell quality.

- Consumes 60 uniums.

- Cooldown: none

That's more specific than I expected, he thought before turning his attention back to his other spells.

He already had a general idea for Dark Shocking Strike and Huntbound Rush from the evolution-path's description, and Intermediate Identify's features spoke for themselves—but there were still two spells he barely knew anything about.

Link [???〜???]

???

Share [???〜???]

???

"You've got to be kidding—"

Suddenly, Nightmare's voice broke through his thoughts. 'Check mine!' the direwolf exclaimed impatiently, rushing over to him, red eyes gleaming.

With a smile, Seth looked at him and filled Intermediate Identify's new grooves.

Nightmare (Tenebrous Direwolf)

 

Potential: Silver Tier

Rank: 27 (Low-Iron)

Affinity: Darkness

 

Bonded to [Seth]

[...]

Strength: 75

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Arcane Power: 74

Toughness: 50

Well Capacity: 40

Agility: 83

Regeneration: 47

Spells:

- Illusionary Emptiness [Silver〜Epic (Crude)]

- Shadow Step [ Silver〜Epic (Crude)]

- Danger Sense [Silver〜Rare (Decent)]

- Shadow Bite [Iron〜Rare (Standard)]

Illusory Emptiness [Silver〜Epic (Crude)]

- Allows the owner to hide their presence through illusions.

- Potency improves according to Darkness affinity and spell quality.

- Consumes 1 unium per minute.

- Cooldown: none

Shadow Step [ Silver〜Epic (Crude)]

- Teleports the owner by moving through the shadow realm.

- Range increases according to Darkness affinity.

- Cooldown decreases according to spell quality.

- Consumes 20 uniums.

- Cooldown: 8 seconds

Danger Sense [Silver〜Rare (Decent)]

- Warns the owner of any danger nearby.

- Range and efficiency increase according to spell quality and aether sensing.

- Consumes no uniums.

- Cooldown: none

Shadow Bite [Iron〜Rare (Standard)]

- Adds corrosive smoke to the next bite.

- Potency increases according to Arcane Power, Darkness affinity and spell quality.

- Consumes 10 uniums.

- Cooldown: none

Seth and Nightmare took a moment to skim over the descriptions. Nothing was particularly new info to them, but there were still a few interesting details: like the exact uniums used or the impact of spell quality on their effect.

'Mmm, not bad,' Nightmare said as they finished. 'Now show me my manipulation and sensing.'

Seth gave the direwolf a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow. 'Am I your servant or something?'

'Can you show them to me… please?' Nightmare muttered, exhaling loudly through his nostrils.

"That's better."

Seth focused on the tiny dots above Nightmare's Arcane Power, and a moment later white words appeared in his vision.

Sensing: High-Iron

Manipulation: High-Iron

Affinity:

- Darkness ~ Peak-Iron

'High- and Peak-Iron, I'm so much better than—' the direwolf started, chuckling before halting abruptly. 'Wait… why don't I have those Talents and Seeds things like you?'

"No clue," Seth answered. "I don't even know what they're in the first place."

'Probably just another unfair advantage from your core.'

Seth shrugged. "Probably."

'You better use them to get stronger and get me a powerful spell-shard.'

"Sure." Seth smiled, patting Nightmare's head. "It'll be a pay-back for everything you've done for me "

'As if one spell-shard would be enough.' The direwolf nudged him and turned toward the orb. 'Break's over. Let's start round two.'

"Wait," Seth said, plunging his hand into his Endless Pouch and taking out another spell scroll. "This could motivate me to hit seventy Arcane Power and eighty Strength as soon as possible. "

Without wasting time, he cast Intermediate Identify.

Phantom Punch (Standard)

Spell-scroll

Tier: Iron

Grade: Legendary

Affinity: Undead

Restrictions:

- Primalist

- 75 Strength and 70 Arcane Power

- High-Iron Undead affinity (REMOVED)

- Draerian's blood (ADDED)

[...]

As Seth focused on the three dots, additional information appeared beneath the restrictions.

Spell description:

- Increases Strength by 60 and ignores 20% of Toughness for a single punch.

- Potency increases by 100% against barrier or shielding spells.

- Cooldown decreases according to Undead Affinity and spell quality.

- Consumes 100 uniums.

- Cooldown: 15 seconds

"Holy shit," Seth muttered. And that's just at Standard quality.

According to every book and his class, each spell quality boost provided a flat twenty percent increase to its effects while trimming ten percent off its aether cost. Since these enhancements weren't multiplicative but additive, reaching Flawless would result in a Strength buff nearing one hundred, thirty-five percent Toughness ignored, and all that for less than a third of his Well—and that was without mentioning the unknown cooldown reduction.

"That's insane."

Five weeks flew by in a blur as Seth threw himself into a strict routine. Most evenings and weekends, he buried himself in books, except for the six free hours a week in the Epic Training Chambers with Nightmare. During these sessions they faced the One-Horned Imp again, and again, and again, at the request of the direwolf, which resulted in them getting beaten up and burnt to a crisp like skewers almost every single fight.

Although Seth had yet to reach the seventy Arcane power and eighty Strength for Phantom Punch, Huntbound Rush's quality had finally moved up to Decent and he had also at last caught up on all the missed classes—largely thanks to Elena's unwavering support.

However, all the studying had significantly reduced his free time to track the Black Hounds in Trogan, and as a result he still hadn't discovered their whereabouts in the area. Even Professor Reat had hit a wall. The last time they spoke, the man had mentioned a lead, but he hadn't managed to see it through. No doubt those bastards had doubled their efforts to cover their tracks after losing three of their own.

On top of that, the lack of time for hunting had also cost Seth his place among the top five first-years.

Sitting in the library, he let out a weary sigh and rubbed his face as his gaze drifted to his communication orb lying between the mountains of books on his desk. A message from Elena popped up inside.

Elena: Where are you? You're gonna miss Jenna's fight against Lucius.

Seth's eyes shot up to the clock hanging on the pillar in front of him—it was already half-past one. "Oh, crap!"

Springing to his feet, he ran around the library to return his books to their shelves. There was no way he could miss her fight. Over the past few weeks, everyone in their group had done great in the tournament; the only one eliminated so far was Devus, who'd had the bad luck of facing an Iron opponent last weekend—just before breaking through himself. He still blamed the use of Protecting Belts, though, complaining that skirmishes with those artifacts didn't reflect real combat.

A hit consumed the same amount of aether from the belt no matter the Toughness of the one wearing it. Sure, the ones with higher Toughness—like Guardians—had larger aether reserves in their belts, but Devus still found it unfair.

Today, both Seth and Jenna could join the Guardian in the list of people eliminated since they were each going up against an Iron noble. At this point, pretty much all the remaining participants had already reached that Tier.

As Seth shelved the last book, his thoughts moved to Jenna's match, and he couldn't help but feel like a terrible friend. He genuinely wanted her to win, but part of him still secretly hoped for Lucius to win instead—so Seth could fight him later in the tournament and crush him. Beating the noble in front of thousands of people, including his own House, would be incredibly satisfying.

That said, the odds of Jenna losing were slim. Even though the bastard was loaded with expensive gear and spells, Jenna had become a serious contender for the title since her own ascension, thanks to her sword technique; and of course, her affiliation to the Surani House through her father. It had granted her access to Epic-grade equipment and spells.

Tucking his chair under the desk, Seth slung his leather bag over his shoulder, put away his communication orb into his Endless Pouch, and hurried out of the library. Racing through the hallways, he dodged a few students and quickly made his way to the coliseum. Once he reached the massive building, he sprinted up the stairs two at a time, heading for the sixth floor—where his friends had sat to watch the bouts these past weekends.

Seth quickened his pace, navigating through the bustling crowd until he spotted Devus and Elena at their usual seats. Week by week, the audience had steadily grown, and now the stands were almost packed to capacity. Nearly all of the academy's entire body—totaling over two thousand five hundred students—was present, joined by an almost equal number of citizens, both commoners and nobles. The latter group had thankfully taken the habit of sitting in the first two levels of the stands, sparing Seth from their scornful attitude during the matches. The only residual annoyance was seeing them strut around like preening peacocks, draped in their outrageously expensive clothes and gaudy accessories.

Between the north and south stands, the professors' section was also fully occupied, a sea of men and women clad in their crimson uniforms. At its center, the five members of the academy's board occupied prominently large chairs, marking their distinct status. Director Ryehill sat at the heart of the group, his striking black jacket setting him apart. He was deeply engrossed in a conversation with the tall woman to his right: Intendant Lacet, the overseer of the first-year students.

In the ring, Jenna unsheathed her twin short blade on one side while Lucius, dressed in a purple and black robe, took out a wand with a large scarlet crystal at its end on the other side.

Seth slid into a seat beside Devus, who nodded at him. "Just in time."

Next to the Guardian, Elena glanced at Seth and a playful smile appeared on her full lips. "Did you fall asleep in your books again?"

"That only happened once," Seth retorted with a sigh, rolling his eyes. "You need to stop with that."

"Never."

They all three turned back their attention to the arena as the fight began. Jenna's blades shimmered as she unleashed a powerful wind slash toward Lucius. The noble reacted instantly, flicking his wand to cast his signature spell and form a howling cyclone around himself, which repelled her attack.

Undeterred, Jenna charged forward, her legs surrounded by aether to boost her speed. Lucius smirked and summoned purple aether at the tip of his wand. In a flash, the gleaming particles turned into a lightning bolt that shot in Jenna's direction. She twisted her body mid-stride, narrowly dodging the sizzling attack—yet before she could regain her balance, Lucius fired again. And again.

Jenna's high Agility shone as she wove through the electrical onslaught. However, the moment she reached the edge of the swirling cyclone, her progress faltered. Using her blades, she tried cutting through the harsh winds, but the process slowed her down, giving Lucius the opportunity to use a spell with a longer casting time. A gigantic blast of water erupted from his wand, and Jenna, trapped by the vortex, had no choice but to cross her blades in front of her. The spell slammed into her swords with such intensity that she was knocked off her feet and sent her stumbling backward.

The instant she regained her footing, Lucius zapped her with another lightning bolt. It struck her chest, forcing her to drop to one knee in pain as arcs of electricity coursed across her body. Just as the noble fired a follow-up, she rolled aside and the spell hissed past her.

Springing up, she charged again—but the gale winds kept slowing her each time she got closer, turning her into an easy target for Lucius' water blasts. They drove her back again and again, leaving her unable to close the gap.

Seth frowned as Lucius struck Jenna once more with the water spell. "When did he get this strong? "

"Maybe two or three weeks ago," Devus answered with a grimace. "Have you been living under a rock?"

Seth shot a glance at Elena. "No, in a library, thanks to someone."

The crimson-haired noble barely reacted, eyes locked on the fight. "You're welcome."

As the battle raged on in the ring, Seth could see the strain on Jenna's face. Despite her speed and skill, Lucius' relentless spells were overwhelming her. The shimmering barrier around her was now flickering erratically, signaling it was nearly exhausted. One more spell and she'll probably be done for.

In a desperate attempt, Jenna dashed once more toward Lucius, unleashing a flurry of wind slashes. The barrage managed to strike the cyclone in unison, and the protective spell vanished. The second it did, Lucius smiled and immediately dashed toward the young woman, taking every spectator by surprise.

Jenna, clearly sensing something amiss, leapt to the side, but her reaction came a second too late. Another massive wave of water exited Lucius' wand and rammed into her, sending her hurtling across the arena and depleting the last remnants left of her belt's barrier.

Seth glared at the noble and pushed aether into his eye, filling Intermediate Identify's grooves in less than a second.

Lucius Faertis

 

Class: Elementalist

Rank: 29 (Low-Iron)

Subclass: -

 

Strength: ???

Arcane Power: ???

Toughness: ???

Well Capacity: ???

Agility: ???

Regeneration: ???

Seth's jaw almost fell to the ground as he saw Lucius' Rank. How the hell did he climb so quickly?

"Something's off," Devus muttered, rubbing his face while leaning into his seat. "Even if he has four Ranks on her, that was still way too easy. It felt like he was Iron and she was still Copper."

"It's his spells," Elena said beside him. "I've seen them up close in class. They're incredibly strong. There's no doubt all their quality is either Exceptional or Flawless. And his aether affinities, along with his manipulation skills, are now unusually high for someone so… well, unmotivated."

"I guess that prick is also taking enhancers for that," Devus retorted as Captain Michaelson announced the winner down in the arena. "The Faertis House must've found a gold mine or something to dump so many resources on him."

Seth whipped his head toward the Guardian. "Lucius is taking enhancers? You sure?"

"How else do you think he got Rank 29, mate?" Devus nodded toward the blond noble, who had just stepped out of the ring. "He's been gobbling down some of those that increase his Well Capacity for weeks now," the Guardian added. "He's clearly trying to turn himself into a glass cannon that can throw thousands of spells left and right. But he's going to regret it later on when it will be twice as hard to break through because of those."

Devus' voice had become background noise as Seth clenched his fists and glared at Lucius. The moment the noble was about to leave through one of the colosseum's corridors, he pulled something out of his Endless Pouch. Seth's eyes narrowed, and his nails dug into his palms; he recognized the blue vial in Lucius' hand.

Ocean Tears.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.