Ethan's feet dragged as he wandered through the endless hallways of The Arcanium, his nerves frayed from both his training session and his complete inability to find his damn dorm.
He'd been walking for what felt like an hour, every corridor looking the same—polished stone floors, grand arches, and doors marked with symbols he couldn't read. Everything was carved from stone and wood so perfectly it looked like a bunch of architects had banded together to show off.
Unfortunately, none of it looked familiar.
"Alright. Think. You wrote this place, remember? Just... try to remember the layout," Ethan muttered under his breath, his voice bouncing off the walls.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to visualize the way he'd described The Arcanium in his writing. The school was meant to be massive, ancient, and impressive, but functional too. The dormitories were supposed to be somewhere near the classrooms, but not too close.
"Come on... where the hell is the dorm section?"
He kept walking, turning corner after corner, his frustration mounting with every wrong turn. His muscles were sore, his head was pounding, and he could barely keep his thoughts straight.
Maybe he was just too tired to think properly. His earlier training session with Ignatius had pushed him way past his comfort zone, but the fire in his chest hadn't gone out. Not yet.
He needed to get stronger. And the System's revelation about the Modification Functions was practically screaming at him to make progress.
The problem was, making progress meant actually figuring out how to use his spells without blowing himself up.
"Gotta practice... but first, I need to find that stupid dorm."
He stumbled down another corridor, his eyes scanning the walls for anything remotely familiar. Instead, he spotted something else.
An open archway, wider and more welcoming than the others he'd passed. The air beyond it felt cool, crisp, and... oddly inviting.
Curiosity poked at him. Maybe it was just a supply closet or some storage area, but something about it made him hesitate.
With a tired shrug, he stepped through the archway and found himself looking into a massive, circular room. The stone walls were lined with runes glowing faintly with blue light, their purpose obvious even to him—Absorbing and dispersing excess mana.
A training room.
His eyes widened. Of course, he'd written The Arcanium to have training rooms scattered all over the place. But he hadn't expected to find one so easily.
And more importantly, it was completely empty.
The whole area felt untouched, like it was just waiting for someone to come along and use it.
Ethan glanced around, half-expecting someone to yell at him for trespassing, but the place was utterly silent.
"Well... this is way better than wandering around like an idiot." He let out a shaky breath. "Maybe if I can get this Mana Threading thing down, I won't suck so much when the exam rolls around."
He stepped into the center of the room, the cool air making his skin prickle. His body was aching, but his mind was buzzing. The System's revelation about the Modify, Evolve, and Breakdown functions was practically begging him to keep pushing himself.
But before he could do anything fancy, he had to actually master Mana Threading. That was the key. The one thing Ignatius said he was doing wrong.
"Alright... let's just focus on keeping the flow going. Nothing else. Just... maintaining the flow."
He shut his eyes and tried to visualize his mana moving through him. The way he'd described it to himself before—threads winding together, flowing through his veins like liquid light.
He took a deep breath, then another. His chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm, each inhale drawing in mana, each exhale letting it circulate through his body.
But it was hard. Really hard.
Every time he tried to hold the flow of mana for more than a few seconds, it would sputter out and leave him feeling like he'd just tried to carry water with a broken cup.
"Come on... focus. Just... keep it going. Smooth and steady."
He inhaled, feeling the mana gather. Exhaled, letting it spread through his body.
Inhale. Draw the mana in.
Exhale. Let it flow through you.
He repeated the process, over and over, his breathing becoming his anchor. His shoulders relaxed, his heartbeat slowing down as the threads of mana gradually began to weave together.
The sensation started to feel natural. Like it wasn't something he was forcing but something he was guiding.
The flow continued, steady and calm, like a river winding through his veins.
And then it happened.
A soft chime echoed in his mind.
[ Skill Registered: Mana Threading (Basic)]
Ethan's eyes snapped open, his breath catching in his throat.
"Holy shit... it worked?"
He was almost scared to believe it. The System actually acknowledged what he was doing. It was like getting a gold star from a teacher who normally just handed you blank report cards.
But that wasn't even the best part. The mana was still flowing through him. Smooth, consistent, stable.
He raised his right hand, the mana still coursing through him like a steady current.
"Alright... let's try this for real."
He focused on his palm, feeling the mana gather and coalesce. This time, there was no stuttering, no interruption. It was just... flow.
The cool glow spread over his skin. And then, with a deep breath, he released the energy.
A shimmering Aqua Sphere appeared, hovering just above his palm.
Perfectly stable.
He stared at it, his jaw practically on the floor. "I... actually did it."
The sphere floated there, waiting for his command. He guided it forward with a thought, sending it flying toward the wall. It hit with a satisfying splash, leaving a wet stain behind.
Ethan laughed. Actually laughed. A wild, disbelieving sound.
"Alright. Let's keep this going."
He conjured another Aqua Sphere, launching it with more force. Then a Fireball, hurling it at the wall. It left a scorch mark just like before, but this time it was intentional. Controlled.
Again and again, he fired off spells, alternating between Aqua Sphere and Fireball, his confidence growing with each successful attempt.
The mana flowed through him, the rhythm becoming second nature. The System was practically singing to him, the messages flashing every time his control improved.
"Guess I'm not as useless as I thought," Ethan whispered, his hands trembling from both exertion and excitement.
He was finally getting somewhere.
Ethan's body screamed at him to stop, but his mind wouldn't listen. The progress he'd made was too real. Too satisfying.
He was actually getting better.
He'd spent the last several minutes testing himself, conjuring Fireballs and Aqua Spheres and throwing them at the wall one after the other. The constant repetition was making him faster, more precise. His control over the mana flow was holding strong, the rhythm of Mana Threading becoming something he could maintain almost without thinking.
But it still wasn't enough.
"Come on... if this System really works the way I think it does, then just improving isn't going to cut it."
His fingers trembled as he stared at his hands, his breath ragged but steady. He'd gotten Aqua Sphere and Fireball to work individually. Now it was time to push things further.
"What happens if I try to use both at the same time?"
The thought of combining them made his head spin. It felt impossible. Like trying to juggle two completely different weights while walking a tightrope.
But he had to try.
He took a deep breath, letting the air fill his lungs before releasing it in a slow, controlled exhale. His focus narrowed, his heartbeat steadying as he slipped into the rhythm of Mana Threading.
Inhale. Draw the mana in.
Exhale. Let it flow.
The energy surged through him, smoother than it had ever been. The flow wasn't perfect, but it was holding steady.
"Alright... let's see what happens."
He raised both hands, the mana splitting as he channeled it toward each palm. The strain was immediate, a heavy pressure squeezing against his mind like a vice.
In his left hand, he conjured an Aqua Sphere. The cool orb of water shimmered softly, its surface swirling like liquid glass.
In his right hand, he formed a Fireball. The flames danced and flickered, their heat pressing against his skin but not burning him.
Holding them both at once felt like trying to balance on one leg while someone threw rocks at his head. The mana flow wavered, his control threatening to crumble under the strain.
"Come on... keep it together. Just... keep the flow steady."
He inhaled deeply, the mana responding to his command. The flow adjusted, shifting to accommodate the demands of holding both spells at once.
It was working. Barely. But it was working.
Ethan's lips twitched into a grin. "Alright... let's try something even harder."
He focused on the two spells, trying to move them both at the same time. His brain practically screamed at him to stop, but his stubbornness overruled his own self-preservation.
He launched the Aqua Sphere toward the wall, the orb smashing against the stone and leaving a faint wet mark.
Almost immediately, he hurled the Fireball at the same spot, the impact leaving a scorch mark right next to the water stain.
The sequence was sloppy, the timing off, but the fact that he'd actually managed to pull it off left his heart pounding with exhilaration.
"I... I did it!" Ethan gasped, his voice breaking from both excitement and exhaustion. "Holy crap, I actually did it!"
But the rush of success only made him want to push further. To test the limits of what he could do.
"Alright, let's see if I can... combine them."
He tried summoning both spells again, the mana flow struggling to keep up with the demand. This time, though, he didn't just want to fire them off one after the other. He wanted to merge them.
"Come on... just... work."
The energy swirled around him, heat and coolness fighting for dominance as he tried to weave the two elements together. It was like trying to tie a knot with two completely different strings—every time he got close to making them mesh, the threads unraveled.
His breathing grew shallow, his focus fraying. But he refused to give up.
"Evolve," he whispered, the word sounding like a desperate prayer.
The System's response was immediate, the message appearing in his vision like a slap to the face.
[Evolution Attempt Failed: Insufficient Understanding of Combined Elements.]
Ethan groaned, his hands falling to his sides as the spells dissipated. His muscles ached, his head throbbed, and his mouth felt like sandpaper.
"Goddamn it..." he muttered. "What the hell does it even take to make this work?"
The System clearly wanted him to fully understand his spells before it would let him do anything cool with them. And just throwing spells at the wall clearly wasn't cutting it.
He needed to get better. Way better.
"Alright... let's try something else."
He inhaled deeply, letting the mana flow through him like liquid light. This time, he didn't try to force the spells together. Instead, he kept them separate, holding them both steady within his grasp.
The Aqua Sphere swirled in his left hand, cool and steady.
The Fireball burned in his right, hot and fierce.
He tried launching them at the wall again, one after the other, but this time he aimed for precision. Power wasn't enough. He needed control.
The Aqua Sphere hit first, splashing against the stone and leaving a faintly wet mark.
The Fireball hit next, the heat sizzling against the moisture, steam hissing from the impact.
It wasn't much, but it was progress. And right now, he'd take anything he could get.
"Alright... that's definitely something. Now if I can just get them to work together..."
He pushed himself to keep going, his breathing growing ragged as he repeated the process over and over again. His control was improving, but the idea of merging the two spells still felt impossible.
The System's messages kept taunting him with the same line:
[Insufficient Understanding of Combined Elements.]
But the more he practiced, the less it felt like a dead end and more like a puzzle waiting to be solved.
"Okay... okay, I can do this. I just need to figure out how..." Ethan whispered, his legs shaking from exhaustion.
The effort of maintaining the mana flow was draining him fast. His head was pounding, his vision swimming, but his determination kept him moving.
"Just a little more..."
The door creaked open.
Ethan's head jerked up, his exhausted mind snapping to attention.
Someone was standing in the doorway.
Tall. Dark hair. Eyes sharp and vivid, practically glowing in the dim light. His posture radiated strength and confidence, like someone who had never once questioned his own power.
It only took Ethan half a second to realize who he was looking at.
Lucien Ashford.
And damn, was he beautiful.