It was perhaps stubbornness, pride, and obsession.
But Anakin thought now was the golden opportunity to reach the 4th Circle.
‘Because I only need to compress it a little bit more.’
His power had already surpassed that of the 4th Circle, but there was a limit to how much it could expand.
No matter how overflowing one’s mana was, if it exceeded the capacity of the vessel, it was bound to explode someday.
Hilde opened his mouth while wiping Anakin’s sweat.
“Anakin. Don’t be impatient.”
“……Huh?”
Anakin looked up at Hilde with wide eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re trying to move to the next stage as if you’re being chased.”
“……”
“It’s actually counterproductive.”
Hilde had already been a 4th-Circle mage since the moment he entered Pasadian.
So, no matter how strange the words might be, they had the effect of sounding more plausible when they came from Hilde.
It was because there was something trustworthy about him that made everything Hilde said sound right.
After contemplating for a moment, Anakin asked.
“Then, what kind of mindset should I have?”
Hilde blinked his eyelashes once and said.
“Close your eyes and focus again.”
At Hilde’s demand, Anakin followed his instructions.
Then, a calm, low voice resonated in the darkness.
“Straighten your back.”
As Hilde pressed firmly on his spine, Anakin’s back straightened automatically.
That delicate coaching reminded Anakin of a memory from the past.
The time when Mikhail had helped him with basic magic.
He didn’t know why he felt Mikhail’s aura from a mere trainee disciple, but Anakin followed his words exactly as they were.
“Breathe in and empty your mind comfortably.”
“……”
‘How do I empty my mind?’ As Anakin habitually furrowed his brows, Hilde pressed his index finger firmly on that spot.
“……Hilde?”
“You have too many thoughts here.”
The sun had set, and a cool, refreshing breeze was blowing in the training grounds near the mountains.
At the same time, a cold sensation rose from the spot where Hilde’s finger touched him.
“……Ugh, it’s refreshing.”
Thanks to that, it felt like the stress he had gained from overexerting himself was flying away little by little.
His head cleared, and his mind felt a bit more lucid.
Anakin began to move his mana core, focusing in that very state.
Hilde did not withdraw the cold magic he was channeling into Anakin’s forehead.
As he circulated his mana more calmly than before, it felt somehow easier than earlier.
‘Is it just my imagination?’
Perhaps it was psychological stability because Hilde was next to him.
He organized the mana throughout his entire body and attempted to compress it again.
“Ugh.”
The familiar pain returned.
The kind of pain that felt like his heart was being squeezed.
However, it was different from before.
The cold air around him felt as if it were instilling confidence in Anakin.
When he felt the courage that he could do anything, Anakin squeezed his eyes shut.
A vortex swirled inside his body.
It was a sign that change was occurring.
Along with the pain that felt like death, his breathing became ragged.
From this point on, it was entirely a battle with himself.
‘Just once, I just need to win this once…….’
A time of hardship passed.
Blood flowed from the lips of Anakin, who was soaked in sweat.
“Cough!’”
The moment he lost the flow, the vortex within his body that had been tormenting him became calm once again.
“Gasp…… huff.”
His body tilted toward the floor as if he were about to lose consciousness.
His body, still spasming, trembled uncontrollably.
‘Ah, damn it. I ruined it…….’
Anakin just closed his eyes like a child, curled his body up, and waited for the pain to subside.
‘After the opportunity I finally got, I’m just going to blow it like this…….’
The urge to lose consciousness and fall into a comfortable sleep dominated his mind, regardless of the 4th Circle or anything else.
‘Could I have done it if I were a little healthier?’
He could only resent this damnably weak, cursed body of his.
A few minutes later, Hilde approached.
“Anakin.”
Anakin, who couldn’t even properly open his eyes due to the pain, barely managed to listen to Hilde’s calm voice without being able to answer.
Even in the midst of the dizziness and nausea, the three syllables he uttered in a low voice were clearly embedded in his ears.
“Congratulations.”
At his words, it felt like all the strength in his body drained away.
“……What?”
Anakin’s eyes snapped open. His heart, bursting with expectation, pounded violently.
Anakin immediately moved his solidified mana to check his mana core.
“…….”
His body froze cold, and his eyelashes fluttered.
Then, with a dazed look in his eyes, he placed his hands on the floor and pulled himself up.
“Hilde.”
Anakin stared at Hilde.
The life that had died in his intelligent red eyes came back to life.
And the tears that had welled up under his long eyelashes rolled down Anakin’s cheeks.
Four rings were now spinning in Anakin’s mana core.
At that time, Mantis came out after washing his sweat-soaked body clean in his room.
While he was habitually drying his wet hair with a towel, someone knocked on the door.
Mantis glanced at Anakin’s empty bed and approached the door.
‘Is Anakin still training?’
He said he wanted to become a 4th-Circle mage lately, so it looked like he was pushing himself again.
Mantis stood in front of the door and said.
“Who is it?”
‘It’s almost bedtime, who could it be?’
“…….”
There was no answer.
When Mantis opened the door, James was standing in front of it, arms crossed and looking arrogant.
“James? Why are you here…….”
James of the 46th class.
He was someone who took the same lecture hall but wasn’t very close to him.
‘In the first place, isn’t this guy part of the Kainon group that was keeping us in check? Why would a human like that come looking for me?’
As soon as James saw Mantis’s suspicious face, he smiled brightly and approached him.
“Hi?”
“…….”
“You’re Mantis, right? Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, what is it?”
To Mantis’s stiff attitude, James replied slickly.
“You don’t have to be so cold. You know the fewer enemies you have in Pasadian, the better, right?”
“I know that, but…… it’s sudden because you came to find me out of nowhere.”
James added to Mantis, who still hadn’t lowered his suspicious eyes.
“Ah, it’s nothing much. Your roommate is Anakin, right?”
“……Yeah, so?”
“What is he doing right now?”
James glanced into the room, looking around.
Feeling offended, Mantis slammed the door shut and said.
“Please tell me why you’re looking for Anakin.”
“Hmm. Such an insolent attitude…… Kids these days are always like this.”
“No, this has nothing to do with ‘kids these days’.”
“Don’t be so on guard. Wouldn’t it be better if we all just got along?”
Mantis frowned.
The Kainon group was the one that bullied and looked down on us the most—and now they want to get along?
“This is your own unilateral action, right? Kainon didn’t tell you to do this.”
“……Do you take me for some lackey of Kainon?”
James was the very person who always bowed and scraped to satisfy Kainon, the highest-achieving student among the 46th class.
Even if he was usually cheeky, he would immediately go quiet at a single word from him.
“You must know the feeling of having a talented peer, too.”
“…….”
At those words, Mantis opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again.
James, seeing Mantis like that, laughed and said.
“Let’s talk a bit while we’re at it. You already know that people like us can never win no matter how hard we try for the rest of our lives, right?”
“……What.”
Mantis, who was flustered, tried to say something but quickly shut his mouth again.
It was absurd that he had come out of nowhere to say something like this, but…….
It was true that Hilde, Anakin, and Lucien were currently causing quite a stir in the annex.
I didn’t know who spread it, but it was because a rumor was circulating among the trainee disciples that they were in conflict with Evan.
As if understanding Mantis’s feelings, James closed his eyes and said.
“I was once the most promising talent in my village, too. The day I made my mana core with my own strength for the first time, my parents and the whole village were in an uproar.”
“…….”
“But after coming here, I realized my place. If I was a shining stone, there were other stones shining even brighter among them.”
“…….”
A bitter emotion hung like a dark cloud over his once-confident face. And he chuckled.
“The sooner you admit it, the more comfortable your heart becomes. If there is a protagonist in this world, it isn’t me. Supporting roles like me are just consumables.”
“Don’t say such things.”
“There’s no need to comfort me. I just realized reality early. From the beginning, the protagonist was always that guy, Kainon.”
Despite it being the first time he had spoken to him, Mantis frowned because of James, who was honestly revealing his inner thoughts.
Acknowledging others and reflecting on one’s own situation is never an easy task.
James also didn’t appear to be the type of personality who would disparage himself and praise others.
It was obvious how much frustration he must have felt in the process of becoming who he was now.
