"Claim reward."
There was no flare of light. No fanfare. No dramatic pause meant to impress him.
The system reacted instantly.
A clean sensation cut through him—sharp, decisive—like a pressure seal snapping open deep inside his chest.
A weight he hadn't realized he was carrying shattered all at once, and what followed rushed in to fill the space. Mana surged—not violently, not in waves—but in a single, overwhelming presence. It felt less like something flooding into him and more like something finally allowed to breathe.
Noel staggered half a step, fingers tightening around Revenant Fang on instinct.
"…Status," he murmured.
The response surfaced at once.
[Mana Core Progress: +10%]
[Current Core Progress: 0.22% — Mana Core: Archmage]
Noel froze.
Archmage.
For a long second, the word didn't settle. Then it did, and the implications hit harder than any spell ever had.
