Three weeks had passed since the qualifiers, and Victoria had advanced to Circle Three a week ahead of schedule. Hao was doing a good job as her teacher, although the girl remained difficult to deal with, always trying to challenge the training methods she was subjected to.
'Well, she won't be the only one advancing to Circle Three.'
Name: Enrico Solcren Ferreira
Fire Magic: Circle 2 — 51% Water Magic: Circle 2 — 52%
Mana Quantity: 289
Unique Skills: Elemental Clone / Transformation
Soul: 81
'It seems you finally managed to add my new unique skill.'
[I already told you that there are some guys trying to hinder our development.]
Enrico was in his room, inside a magic circle he had created himself after several failed attempts over the past week. Most of the time, magic circles were used to enhance something rather than simply create new spells.
Of course, they could also be used in combat, but unlike people, these circles couldn't evolve on their own. They could only be improved through in-depth studies conducted by alchemists.
'The ones who use this kind of thing the most are literally alchemists.'
At least, that was how things worked in this world. The elves were masters in this field and guarded countless secrets related to magic circles. Up until that point, alchemists had managed to develop circles capable of assisting someone who had reached, at most, the Seventh Circle.
'Let's begin.'
By injecting magic into the circle beneath his feet, Enrico activated its structure. A zone of fire appeared around him, absorbing the natural magic in the surroundings and creating an atmosphere saturated with natural mana within a three-meter area.
'First, I'll make the magic circle channel this natural mana through my body. Then, I'll remove it before this absurd amount of energy damages my own mana.'
The mana present in that area began entering Enrico's body, connecting to the energy already inside him as if they were intertwined threads. Several veins began to stand out beneath his skin, indicating the pressure his body was enduring.
When he noticed that one of them seemed about to burst, Enrico immediately deactivated the magic circle.
[Fire Magic — Circle 2: 53%.]
[There has been a two percent improvement. Besides, you still need to defeat some bosses in the fake aquatic dungeon. This is great.]
'It's still not enough. Serenya, Kai, and Valença managed to reach ninety percent, and that's precisely why I'm going to use the dungeon where Kai evolved to help me.'
That was exactly right. Enrico's current percentage was similar to Kai's when he entered the dungeon inside that warehouse. There was a special reason why Kai had evolved so quickly in just one day, and that reason was related to time.
'Kai spent a total of two months in there, while only one day passed here.'
[I feel like I've seen something similar before.]
'I had the same feeling the first time. To be honest, now I'd prefer it to be a year instead of just two months.'
In that dungeon, the body didn't age as time passed. This meant Enrico wouldn't age by even a single day, something he was quite grateful for. After all, explaining to others that he had spent two months training in a special place would already be complicated enough.
'Well, since I can only use this training twice a week until the circle's cooldown is complete, I'll stop here.'
Enrico had already performed that training before, but on that occasion, he had used water magic, which was why his initial percentage was higher.
After making the magic circle disappear, he left the fake zombie dungeon, the place where he secretly conducted his experiments. At least for now, he intended to keep everything a secret until he could improve that magical structure, which put the veins of anyone using it at risk of rupturing due to excessive pressure.
'It was a great idea to use this place to test things that could kill me.'
He had made a small deal with the System. In exchange for being allowed to enter that dungeon one more time per week, he couldn't use it to train against the Nartheis during that second visit. Since they had all disappeared, Enrico would have to reserve that period exclusively for his experiments.
"System, can you send me back?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his vision disappeared for a moment.
When he opened his eyes again, Enrico was lying on his bed, surrounded by the girls. There were four of them at that moment, since Valença and Serenya had also started living there after discovering that Rina and Aoi were sleeping in his room.
[I can't believe Serenya bought a bigger bed just because of this.]
Enrico's bed had indeed become larger, mainly because Serenya had refused to sleep cramped together with the other girls. He even remembered the argument Serenya had with Valença.
"If I have to sleep cramped up with someone, it'll be with my subordinate, not these pests!"
"What do you mean, pests? You fucking rich girl! Just admit that you simply can't stand sleeping in a normal bed!"
"Shut up, commoner! You have no right to talk here."
"Let me shove that fucking moral of yours right up your..."
The argument between Serenya and Valença quickly turned into a real territorial dispute. The two seemed like animals fighting to decide who would dominate that space, and amid the chaos, they began competing over who would have the right to sleep beside Enrico.
'I had to intervene to stop this from turning into a disaster.'
To resolve the problem, Enrico had established a rule: the two girls who slept beside him would have their own designated days, allowing everyone to have an opportunity. This left the girls from Tsuyokuni satisfied, and although Valença and Serenya remained dissatisfied with the arrangement, they both eventually accepted the agreement.
'I'd better not wake them up.'
Leaving the girls to sleep peacefully, Enrico carefully left the room. In the corridor, he happened to meet Seraphina, who had also just woken up and was leaving her new room.
She had also discovered what was happening but had preferred to sleep in the room next door. The decision had been easy to make, especially since that part of the dormitory belonged entirely to Enrico.
"Good morning, Seraphina. I hope you slept well on your first night."
"Actually, it was great, especially after confirming three times that you were sleeping in the room next door."
Enrico preferred not to comment on one part of her sentence.
"I see. But I'm curious: why didn't you want to sleep in my room like the others?"
"Because I wouldn't be able to control myself if that happened right now."
Seraphina's face was quite serious, and Enrico simply stared at her in surprise when he realized how seriously she meant those words.
"You don't need to worry so much about controlling yourself. In the future, you can ask me for anything you want."
"I will."
Enrico observed her determined expression for a few moments before letting a small smile slip onto his face.
"You know... I like that side of you."
Seraphina's cheeks immediately turned red upon hearing that sentence, while a silly smile appeared on her face.