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Chapter 2
Intense Preparation
Enrico was squatting in his room, sweating all over and breathing heavily.
"Damn it, my body can't take it anymore... this body is trash..."
He lay on the floor, struggling to breathe. He needed to improve this body as fast as he could.
[Why don't you train outside?]
Enrico looked at the system. "Doesn't this system talk a bit too much?"
"Because if I train outside, the student council president will see me, and she's on the protagonist's side. She watches me constantly until the duel to give him advice."
Enrico turned over and started doing push-ups with great difficulty.
[Yeah, this is one of those harem stories, right? So she must love him a lot.]
"I wouldn't say she loves him, at least not at the beginning. She's only interested in talented people, so at first she helps him out of self-interest. She also hates the three stooges and their leader, and wants to see their ranks drop."
Enrico stood up, exhausted. The ranks were very important at Astrong Academy. It didn't matter if you were a noble, commoner, or another race—what mattered in this academy was power. There were a total of 240 students in the first year, which meant 240 ranks. Enrico was ranked 103, and the protagonist was ranked 153—but that didn't mean much, since everyone below rank 100 was considered weak, except for the protagonist and his friend.
"This character was literally created to showcase the protagonist's power."
[What shitty luck you have.]
"Can you shut up? The only magic this character has is a fireball he throws at people. And since the president constantly watches him to help the protagonist, the best thing I can do is get stronger in secret."
In truth, Enrico knew that even if he trained, he wouldn't be able to defeat the protagonist—not even if he had two months. The only way to win was by catching him off guard, which would only be possible if the president didn't find out.
"Damn it. On top of that, this body is hard to train, and I feel an enormous hunger, but I have to endure it."
"To create a new fire spell, I need to study magic, but it'll be hard with the president breathing down my neck. So I better ask that scholar who becomes the protagonist's friend in the future for help."
Tolen Rusk was a first-year student ranked 105. His magic was the weakest in the academy, which made his life difficult. But he was a scholar who created good strategies, and he also had fire magic. So on the last day, Enrico would ask him for some tips.
To make things worse, around this time, the protagonist should be at 68% in Circle Zero, while Enrico was at 25%.
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The Magic Circle System was the first power system introduced in this world, structured as follows:
Magic is divided into 10 levels, called Circles, visualized as rings rotating around the heart.
Each Circle represents a deeper understanding, control, and fusion of magic with the body.
Every magic starts at Circle Zero, and to ascend to Circle 1 and beyond requires intense training, compatibility, and time.
It's easier to evolve the magic one has a natural affinity for (e.g., fire).
Secondary magics also begin at Circle Zero, even if the main one is already advanced.
Even within a Circle, there are progress percentages. For example: Circle 3 at 22% vs. 88% (closer to advancing).
Advancing to the next Circle resets progress to 0% at the new level.
Each advancement strengthens the body, increasing physical and magical power/resistance.
Mana difference matters! Someone at Circle 3 with lots of mana can face a Circle 4 with low mana, though it's difficult.
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At the Magic Academy:
Children with magic are sent to the academy at age 15.
Advancing to Circle 3 is easier, and it's common to reach it in the first year.
From Circle 4 onward, each level-up can take a year or more.
Most students focus on a single main magic due to the difficulty of evolving others.
Students who reach Circle 5 before graduating are considered geniuses.
The power scale per Circle is absurd:
Circle 0: Causes minor or fatal damage to a person.
Circle 1: Can destroy small structures.
Circle 2: Can destroy houses.
Circle 3: Destroys small plots of land.
Circle 4: Devastates entire terrains.
Circle 5: Annihilates villages.
Circle 6: Destroys cities.
Circle 7: With 200 mages, can erase countries from the map.
Circle 8: (Only 70 mages currently) Can destroy continents.
Circle 9: Destroys the planet (only 7 mages).
Circle 10: Affects reality itself (time, space). Only the one living Archmage has ever reached this level.
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Why the Earth Can Withstand It:
This world is not only three times larger than the original Earth, but the more powerful beings exist in the world, the stronger the world itself becomes. That's why someone at Circle 9 would have to put in extra effort to destroy it.
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Mental and Physical Barriers:
After Circle 5, the user's mind begins to suffer from the "weight of magic."
Circles 8+ require body reinforcement via breaking magical mental barriers or risky magical mutations (99% die trying).
Unified Techniques:
Some people create exclusive techniques that can only be used with a combination of specific magic and high progress percentage (e.g., "Magic of the Scorching Small Sun – requires Fire Magic Circle 8 at 50%").
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Enrico finished resting and started exercising again.
"Well, there's also the other side: the knights, who at most can reach Circle 6, but they created their own system from there. Though the protagonist broke that rule and can use both systems at their maximum, even creating Circle 11, and still he…"
Enrico paused and looked at the system.
"But tell me, you don't seem to know this story."
[I don't. They just sent me here. Oh, and don't ask who they are.]
Enrico, who was about to ask, stayed silent.
[So I just raised the difficulty level as they ordered.]
Enrico froze and stood up.
"Wait, what do you mean? Does that mean the protagonist is stronger?"
[No, not at all. All characters remain at the same level.]
Enrico sighed, but with doubt and fear, he asked:
"Then what do you mean by increased difficulty?"
[Well… all characters except enemies, monsters, demons, etc. The world, once ranked SSS in difficulty, is now EX.]
He grabbed his head in despair and fell to his knees.
"It can't be, no, no, no…"
[What's with all the despair?]
Enrico looked at the system.
"You don't know this world, so you don't know the ending… Everyone dies in the end to the 43 evil gods."
The system fell silent as Enrico clutched his head tighter.
[You have terrible luck.]
"Damn it, what do I do? How am I going to survive? If even the protagonist only managed to eliminate three evil gods..."
[Maybe you'll have better luck next time.]
Enrico looked at her with hope.
"Do I have a second chance?"
[No, you only have this one life.]
Enrico's fist trembled, wanting to punch something. "If I ever meet him in person..."
Enrico began to calm down and think.
"Come on, think, think... I guess I'll have to steal some ideas from the future."
[What a thief.]
Enrico punched the system, his fist passing through it.
"That's it, I'm going to kill you!"
The door burst open and the maid shouted with a dark aura.
"What did I say about making noise?"
Enrico and the system trembled.
"Sorry."
[Sorry.]