I stood at the assembly at Tian Lan Magic High School. Everything here was like a regular school. The only difference was that the principal was urging everyone to study magic instead of science. It was a decent speech, and the principal himself was an Intermediate Magician, so he commanded respect. Aside from him, no one made a sound. I was placed in Class 8. Guess who is studying with me? That's right! His Majesty Mo Fan, the future over-powered Forbidden Curse Magician. Also in my class was Mu Bai, the local rich kid. His Mu Clan essentially owned this city. Mu Bai wasn't the main heir, but he still belonged to the city's elite, so it's better not to interact with him too much and remain a casual acquaintance.
I even heard his lackey, Zhao Kun San, trash-talking Mo Fan at the school entrance. Talk about being the only outsider in a company of future stars. Mo Fan will become a Forbidden Curse Magician and create his own clan. Zhang Hou—Mo Fan's best friend standing next to him—will become a big shot in the military and an Advanced Magician. Mu Bai will reach the peak of the Advanced level and become a Fallen Angel, a sort of emissary of the Dark Dimension on Earth. There's more than one dimension here; there's the Summoning Dimension, the Dark Dimension, and God knows what else, but that's for later. Essentially, the only one picking on Mo Fan was the only person in their group who might not even break through to the Intermediate level. Truly, the smaller the mutt, the louder the bark.
After the assembly, we went to our classrooms to awaken our magic. How exciting! Even if elements don't differ much in strength, you want to awaken something lethal right away, like Lightning!
After Kun San finished insulting Mo Fan, our class finally began the awakening.
Mu Bai went to the orb first. He touched the magic orb and began the awakening, closing his eyes.
The Basic tier of awakening is called a Stardust. A magician awakens a main star and seven smaller ones. By taking them under control, the magician can cast Basic magic.
The orb in Mu Bai's hand glowed with a steady blue light, and the class gasped in excitement. It was the Ice element, just like in the canon. A magician of this element could freeze and bind a target—quite universal magic. Resources for its development are also fairly common. Let's hope I'm just as lucky.
The smile on our homeroom teacher's face was huge. I think if the other students weren't there, he would have kissed Mu Bai. Then the assembly line continued.
Light, Water, occasionally Wind and Earth. One girl got Fire.
"Number 23, Li Kai."
I approached the orb. I was wearing that same ring on my right hand, and that's the hand I placed on the orb. The ring began to heat up slightly, and I fell into my inner world. It looked like an endless cosmos where a new star flared up. It was dark green, surrounded by seven little stars circling their parent endlessly. Suddenly, a beam of energy erupted from the main star, and another star formed—black with a purple tint—surrounded by its own seven satellites.
I admired this magnificence for a bit longer before leaving the inner world.
The class was silent, and only our homeroom teacher was wearing a satisfied smile.
"Congratulations, Li Kai! You have awakened the Shadow Element. It was once forbidden, but that ban was lifted long ago. This element belongs to the Dark Magic category, and at the Basic level, you will be able to move and hide in shadows."
After a second's pause, he added, "Initially, your stone glowed emerald. Did you notice anything else in your inner world?"
"No, teacher. Only the appearance of a black-purple constellation," I replied.
"Good, well done Li Kai. Go back to your seat and rest."
"Thank you, teacher."
I went back to my seat. So, I awakened Poison first and Shadow second. Talent on the level of the protagonist! But I don't want military scientists hunting me down when they find out about the dual awakening, and I definitely don't have Mo Fan's luck. So, I'll cultivate quietly and show everyone the Shadow element, while keeping quiet about Poison and using it only as a last resort.
The process continued, and then Mo Fan stepped up. He placed his hand on the orb amidst the mockery of his classmates, stood there frowning, and then shouts about Lightning erupted from the hallway.
Everyone jumped up and ran into the corridor. It's such a rarity; not every year do students in this school awaken the Lightning element. This year there are two, but no one knows that except me and Mo Fan. I ran with everyone else. I don't want the protagonist looking at me suspiciously; let him deal with his own problems while I follow my own path. I don't like him anyway.
After everyone saw enough of the Lightning awakening, the teacher drove us back to class. Oh, the looks on their faces. The student everyone had buried in advance had Fire, and a fairly strong one at that. Our homeroom teacher immediately started smiling and praising Mo Fan, who stood there soaking it in; he loves being admired.
When everyone was seated, the teacher gave us some magic theory and the curriculum. Briefly, it boils down to regular cultivation: enter the inner world and try to arrange the stars in the correct order. In a year, we'll have an exam, and by then it's desirable to have all seven stars under control to perform a release. Your class placement will depend on this. If you get into the elite class, you'll be given a Stardust Magic Tool to speed up cultivation. Considering a magician at the Basic level can cultivate for no more than an hour a day, it's a very useful tool.
A magician's inner world is like space, but the area you can stay in is strictly limited by your stars. I have two sets. Since my inner world is twice as large, I can cultivate for two hours a day instead of one.
I didn't rush with the Shadow element. If I mastered all stars in six months, I'd attract attention. Why would I need that?
Time flew by at school. I cultivated, got to know my classmates, and befriended my roommates. I was lucky; they were simple guys—two Light magicians and one Water magician. When they found out I had the Shadow element, they practically appointed me their leader and started following me everywhere. Well, let them; humans are social creatures after all. I even got a girlfriend.
One day, a girl just walked up to me during a break and announced, "Hello, my name is Le Ri. Let's date!"
Honestly, I was a bit stunned at first, but I agreed. I was relatively popular with my element, so it wasn't surprising many wanted to be friends. Even Mu Bai approached, offering his patronage, but I played dumb.
Months passed. The Shadow stars were very playful; they constantly played hide-and-seek with me, hiding behind each other. I had to fly after them through the entire inner world to make friends and set them into a star map. But I cultivated Shadow only when Mu Bai mastered another star, staying right behind him. The rest of the time, I cultivated Poison.
The Poison stars were very friendly. As soon as I approached, they surrounded me and began to circle. When I started taking them under control, they would scatter and immediately return, as if pushing me toward another adventure.
After six months of classes, we got a new teacher. We were sitting in class waiting for another boring lecture on magical zoology. The door opened, and our new teacher walked in. It was Tang Yue—an Intermediate Magician of the Fire and Shadow elements, a member of the Magic Court, and the guardian of the Totem Snake! Apparently, the Black Order had already started its activities in Bo City, and the Magic Court had embedded its agent as a teacher.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, the boys started drooling, and the girls huffed. No wonder; she was a truly stunning woman with an hourglass figure, prominent features, sharp, almost fox-like facial lines, and clothes on the verge of propriety.
Damn, I need to stop drooling and try to look her in the eyes. In the eyes, I said!
Everything went according to the canon. First, she asked about the Fire magicians, then demonstrated a release, incinerating a dummy. That's when the whole class fell in love with her, as we rarely see the results of cultivation, and everyone was tired of theory.
Time stretched toward the exam. I cultivated, hung out with my roommates, and met with my girlfriend. I even took her virginity. Never mind that she's only sixteen; I'm no older in this body, and experience is something you don't lose.
In the eighth month of training, I completed the Poison star map. Seven stars lined up, and a ruby mist enveloped my right hand. The first tier of the Basic level: Poison Spit. Dark magic doesn't have standard improvements like elemental seeds or spiritual boundaries to strengthen the elements. To enhance Poison magic, one must synthesize various poisons in their body by extracting them from monsters or plants and mastering them. After that, they can be mixed to create something unique. The main weakness of Poison magicians is their body; not every poison can be taken internally without an antidote on hand. Of course, Poison magicians increase their immunity as they cultivate, but they still have to spend a lot on antidotes. Ideally, one should study to be a pharmacist to do it all independently. There is also the insect path, where a Poison magician becomes like a Summoner, calling a swarm of pests kept in their body, but the mere thought of that makes me shudder.
I spent almost a month practicing the release of my first magical strike. Poison Spit causes tissue necrosis in a target. It should work well on lower Servants, but the higher the target's strength, the greater its magic resistance. A middle-level Servant might only lose a clump of fur instead of having flesh die off, but hitting the eye, for example, could blind them—which is significant in our reality. And I certainly won't be staying safe, because my ring needs souls and fragments to develop. In that case, my tool will speed up my cultivation. Although one can cultivate for days on end at the Intermediate level, spending years on each tier sounds too depressing. Given that I'll have twice as many elements, one could cultivate in a safe zone until old age without significant success. My talisman can speed up cultivation manifold, but first, it must be upgraded!
A month before the exam, Mu Bai mastered his last star. I waited exactly a week and then took control of the last Shadow star; it was practically following me by then. But I courageously ignored it. Now I wouldn't have to slow down my cultivation, as no one can check the number of my tiers, and I can show only the first in public. Perfect! All that's left is to train the release so I can hide in shadows at any moment, making me an excellent killer for the weakest Servants. Then I'll collect souls and strengthen my amulet.