The academy grounds at night were deceptively peaceful. Lanterns glowed faintly along the paved paths, casting flickering shadows that danced across the marble walls. The air held a chill, laced with mana-rich mist from the day's earlier rainfall. Max walked alone through the west corridor, his hood drawn low and thoughts heavy.
It had been a week since the last evaluation. Since Thorn had handed him that mission. Since the system had unlocked All-Element Affinity in full.
He was no longer the same person who once cried in his room after awakening as a green talent. That boy was gone.
[SYSTEM STATUS: LEVEL 12]
[EXP: 5%]
[Unlocked Skills: Mana Veil (Lv. 3), Elemental Surge (Lv. 2), Adaptive Combat (Lv. 1), All-Element Affinity (Passive)]
[Side Quest: Threads of the Past – Progress 0/3]
[Main Quest Update Pending…]
His footsteps halted just outside the west training dome. It was mostly empty this late. A few lights flickered inside—upper-year students running late drills or personal sparring. His eyes fell on a familiar silhouette: Celia Rugpt, weaving vines and fire in a dual-element demonstration. She moved like a dancer, each motion precise.
Jack's absence had changed her.
She spoke less. Trusted less. But she trained more than ever.
Max slipped past, careful not to let his presence interrupt her. Not now.
He wasn't here to watch others grow stronger. He was here to prepare for what came next.
I can't stay still anymore, he thought. Too many pieces are moving. The board is shifting.
He veered off the main path, heading toward the restricted forest zone behind the academy. This place wasn't meant for ordinary training—it was where older students and scouts tested survival tactics. It was also where Thorn sometimes disappeared to without explanation.
Trees loomed like ancient sentinels, and under their shadowed canopy, Max felt the quiet press of nature and the surge of magic that pulsed through the ground.
[SKILL ACTIVE: Mana Veil – Stealth Level Increased]
Max created a personal training ward, a circular ring of stones and elemental sigils etched into the dirt. Then he drew mana from every direction.
Wind swirled around him first, followed by sparks of electricity and droplets of condensed water. Fire flickered between his fingers while vines sprouted from the earth in response to his mana.
He was done hiding.
He would master them all.
Elemental Surge! he commanded mentally.
All four basic elements surged into a spiral, crashing together into a sphere above his palm. Lightning arced through it, creating a beautiful but volatile force.
He launched it toward the stone pillar he had erected earlier.
Boom!
The explosion shattered the rock, sending debris flying—but he wasn't done. He stepped forward, air currents lifting him slightly off the ground as he shifted to water magic. Sharp icicles formed midair, orbiting him like floating blades. Then, with a sweeping motion, he directed them into a flowing line of attack, carving a path through more training dummies.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: "Elemental Surge" – Level 3 Unlocked]
[All-Element Affinity Synchronization: +12% Efficiency]
Breathing hard, Max collapsed to one knee. His chest heaved with exhaustion, but the glow in his eyes didn't fade.
Then he heard it.
A low growl.
Not from a beast.
But something worse.
He turned. Standing twenty meters away was a creature cloaked in red mist. It had three legs, six glowing eyes, and flesh that pulsed unnaturally with each breath.
[SYSTEM WARNING: Class-D Aberration Detected]
Max rose to his feet and summoned lightning in one hand and fire in the other. "So Thorn's test wasn't just training…"
The creature moved. Fast.
Max rolled to the side, launching twin blasts that combined into a firestorm. The creature swerved, taking the brunt of it in its shoulder, but still lunged forward.
Max activated Adaptive Combat. Time seemed to slow as he predicted the next move, ducked beneath a sweeping claw, and retaliated with a wind-infused blade slash across its torso.
Blood—if it could be called that—splattered in thick, purple globs.
[System Notification: Adaptive Combat Success – Critical Damage Bonus Applied]
The battle lasted another three minutes. Max won. Barely.
The beast collapsed with a hiss, disintegrating into mana particles. As the dust settled, Max stared at the space it once occupied.
He wasn't safe. Not from the creatures. Not from the people who wanted the artifact. Not even from himself.
[SYSTEM QUEST UPDATE: "Threads of the Past" – Progress 1/3]
[Memory Echo Triggered – Activate Now? Y/N]
Max hesitated.
Then tapped: [Y]
A ghostly projection shimmered in the air—a younger version of Peter, his father, kneeling beside a woman as he whispered, "They must never find it… not Elric, not Thorn, not even the Board."
The image vanished.
Max stood frozen.
Elric. Thorn. The Board. All names tied to the past he was never told about.
He clenched his fists. The world was changing, and if he didn't uncover the truth soon, someone else would shape it for him.
And Max had come too far to be a pawn.