Eight years passed...
Nathan had now become one of the 13-year-old Sorcerers at the military academy in Kaeis Kingdom. He was trained and turned into a combat tool for the kingdom, and his nature had transformed into a quiet and—ruthless young man.
He would often visit his mother's grave every week at the Kaeis Kingdom cemetery. Nathan would place flowers on his mother's grave and then return to the academy.
Before entering his dormitory, he decided to head to the training grounds first. Nathan intended to test his current strength after years of intense training.
He then performed a summoning, and he was now able to summon a creature known as Satan. A mid-to-low-tier demon, Satan was terrifying in appearance with horns and wings, but Nathan had removed its tail.
「The Satan
「HP: ( 600 )
「Ability:
「Fear Intimidation
「Blazing Fist
「Dark Bone Sword
「Shadow Clone
「Shadow Rush
「Blood Explode
「Regeneration
「Illusion
Nathan let out a soft sigh, thinking that he could probably take down around 5 or 6 demons like this one, but if there were more, he'd surely be killed. Especially if he encountered a High Demon.
He punching the Satan he had summoned. Nathan often took out his anger on the creatures he summoned, still haunted by the demon that killed his mother. The memory of that traumatic event from his past continued to fuel his rage.
"Fuck!" he muttered in frustration.
He intended to evolve his demon, Satan, into a High Demon someday. It might take years, but he was willing to do whatever it took to become stronger.
Nathan deactivated his summoned Satan and turned to leave the training grounds. He decided to head to the library to expand his knowledge, despite having spent the past 8 years immersed in books and relentless mana training.
----
Upon arriving at the library, Nathan encountered a female sorcerer from his own year, engrossed in a book. However, Nathan didn't pay much attention to her, instead selecting a book for himself and taking a seat at a table across from her.
In this world, there was no system of dates, months, or years. None of these concepts existed here, which often made it difficult for Nathan to research historical events or track changes over time. The books Nathan frequently read were illustrated guides about monsters and the powers of strong sorcerers.
However, everyone could determine their own age with the [Age Reveal] spell. That's how Nathan knew he was 13 years old, and the same applied to others.
A moment later, he found himself gazing at the woman across from him, who was also engrossed in her book. Nathan's eyes were drawn to hers, which shimmered with colors like a rainbow—or perhaps they resembled the cosmos itself, like a galaxy.
Her name was Raine Sera, and as far as Nathan knew, she was 14 years old. Sera was the child of a former noble from some unknown kingdom, and now she was a sorcerer at the military academy, just like Nathan—they were even in the same year.
She was the second-strongest sorcerer in their batch before Nathan, holding the class of Astro Sage. Meanwhile, Nathan was the top-ranked sorcerer in their batch.
What drew him to Sera was her [Extra-Dimensional Storage] ability—a useful skill for storing items with seemingly limitless space, as if they were stored in another dimension.
"I rarely run into her... Her eyes look like the galaxy. Maybe I should ask her to teach me an ability," Nathan thought to himself.
Nathan approached the girl, standing in front of her with a blank expression. Sera looked up, her gaze meeting Nathan's, and she seemed slightly startled by his sudden approach.
"You... Your name is Raine Sera, right?" Nathan said with a manipulative smile.
"Y-yes," Sera replied.
Nathan then sat down beside Sera without hesitation, his gaze drifting to the book she was reading—a book about astronomy in this world. A faint smile played on his lips as he began to speak.
"Astronomy book? Is it something you're interested in, or does your magic have something to do with it?" Nathan initiated the conversation, getting straight to the point.
"That's none of your business," Sera said curtly.
"Wow... Aren't we the only two Arcane Sorcerers in our year? Wouldn't it be beneficial for us to help each other out?" Nathan said, his face sporting that manipulative smile again.
Sera let out a soft sigh, then slammed her book shut and gazed at Nathan with a piercing stare.
"Get to the point, what do you want from me?" Sera said, her gaze growing even sharper.
"Simple, I just want you to teach me the [Extra-Dimensional Storage] ability," Nathan said, locking eyes with Sera in a sharp, intense stare.
"What? What kind of benefit will you give me if I teach you that ability, huh?" Sera said with a soft laugh.
"Of course, there is. I'll teach you an ability of equal value in return," Nathan said, pulling out a sizable dagger from his pocket.
Sera was confused about what Nathan was going to do. Nathan then cut his right hand with the dagger, surprising Sera and making her eyes widen in shock.
"W-what are you doing?!" Sera exclaimed in shock.
Nathan then calmly activated his [Regeneration] ability, and his severed right hand regrew as if nothing had happened, while the detached hand rotted away.
"So, are you interested? I think this will be mutually beneficial for both of us," Nathan said with a faint smile on his face.
Sera fell silent for a moment. Unsure whether to accept Nathan's offer or not, she let out a soft sigh, clicked her tongue, and then nodded slowly, agreeing to their deal.
Nathan's smile broadened. He hadn't expected Sera to be so easily swayed by such a deal. Meanwhile, Sera continued to stare sharply at Nathan, clearly still suspicious and not fully trusting him.
"Damn, I didn't expect this to be so easy. Even though she's still looking at me suspiciously, it's still something I can handle easily," Nathan thought to himself, clearly pleased.
Nathan then suggested that they would train in the library itself. Besides, they were the only ones there, and their friends in this military academy were more focused on physical training and mana circulation rather than ability enhancement.
"Alright, let's get this over with... I'll teach you the [Regeneration] ability first," Nathan said with a faint smile.
"Alright, alright," Sera said, sighing again.
Nathan taught Sera, transferring the ability's mana memory to her using his [Mana Transfer] ability. With the mana memory now in her possession, Nathan immediately instructed Sera on how to circulate her mana effectively.
After several tens of minutes of teaching Sera with the mana memory Nathan had given her, Nathan then handed his dagger to Sera, and to start, he instructed her to cut her fingers first.
Sera nervously accepted the dagger. She then prepared to cut a two of her fingers with it, clicking her tongue in apprehension. Her body trembled, cold sweat trickled down, and she closed her eyes.
She then quickly cut the two of her fingers. Sera let out a small cry, and her cold sweat poured even more profusely as she felt the pain. She opened her eyes and saw the two severed two of her fingers.
Since the [Regeneration] skill is a passive ability, her finger would grow back immediately but very slowly, taking around 2 minutes to complete.
"What the...?! Why is my finger regenerating so slowly?!" Sera exclaimed, her emotions boiling over as she grasped Nathan's cloak tightly.
"Hey, hey... Calm down, you've just started learning, of course it's slow. You'll definitely be able to regenerate faster like me if you practice," Nathan said calmly, flashing a manipulative smile.
Sensing some truth in Nathan's words, Sera slowly released her grip on his cloak. Her gaze remained fixed on Nathan, her eyes sharp with skepticism, as she clearly hadn't fully bought into his explanation, despite its logical appeal.
"Alright, as agreed, I'll teach you the [Extra-Dimensional Storage]," Sera said with a calmer gaze.
Nathan's smile broadened. He had been eagerly anticipating this moment, and he nodded slowly. Sera then shared her mana memory with Nathan, and he clearly received it.
After nearly an hour of teaching Nathan the [Extra-Dimensional Storage] ability, as this skill proved quite challenging for a summoner like him.
Nathan finally mastered it, testing the ability by storing the dagger and retrieving it again. With [Extra-Dimensional Storage] now under his control, Nathan gazed at Sera.
"Thanks a lot, Sera... From now on, how about we become friends and help each other out?" Nathan said, extending his hand.
Sera let out a long sigh, but she also expressed her gratitude and accepted Nathan's hand, shaking it firmly. This gesture signified that they would work together and support each other.
Nathan flashed a manipulative smile again, but beneath it, he felt genuinely pleased. Meanwhile, the sharp gaze Sera had given him earlier began to soften, and she seemed to relax a bit more.
After all this time, Nathan had finally found a friend. In the past, his mother was the only one who accompanied him, and now he had someone new in his life, even if trust between them was still a work in progress.
. . .