The massive energy from the sky suddenly disappeared, sucked into Kaelus instantly. The mana-rich atmosphere of the training grounds, which had been vibrating with the celestial influx of power, normalized immediately. The air returned to its usual crisp, autumn chill, but the grass where Kaelus stood was now tinged with a slight, unnatural shimmer. Kaelus lowered his arms and stood up, the movement slow and deliberate, as if adjusting to a new gravity. He felt a profound, terrifying surge of power deep within him. The pain from absorbing the two monster cores was entirely gone, replaced by a calm, massive strength that felt like the steady pressure of an ancient river.
The rest of the team, momentarily frozen in awe by the visible Heavenly Manifestation, rushed over as soon as the celestial light vanished.
Sylva was the first to reach him. Her initial fear quickly morphing into angry frustration. She raised her hand, ready to strike, but stopped short, staring at him.
"You absolute idiot, you reckless, beautiful idiot!" Sylva finally managed, dropping her hand to clutch her staff, the wood vibrating slightly with her emotion. "I can't even count how much energy you just consumed! That was the residual mana of an S+ Rank monster, Kaelus! Two of them! Are you even okay?"
Zane put a hand on Kaelus's shoulder. "The magic coming off you is crazy. It's too dense for a 4-Star and yet... too singular. Kaelus, what's your new rank?"
Kaelus genuinely felt lost for words. The breakthrough was successful, but the result defied all conventional magical theory he knew. He shook his head. "I... I don't know my rank. I can feel a massive expansion of power, but it's not following the expected progression."
This is unheard of, Kaelus thought. The breakthrough was a success, rocketing me from Initial 8-Star Dragon Level to Mid-Rank 8-Star Dragon Level. And the basic knowledge says I should have a new element. Is my power as a dragon so unique it defies the common knowledge of this world?
A sudden, quiet voice cut through the discussion. Jian, usually silent and reserved, looked up at the sky. "Have no one asked what's with the sky lately?"
"That's a visible Heavenly Manifestation of Mana," Sylva stated, her focus now on the receding celestial phenomenon. "There's a record of it in one of the old books, usually associated with an immense influx of energy stabilizing in a single location. It's my first time seeing it. Normally, that manifestation is naturally an invisible force, but your breakthrough was so extreme that it became visible."
The team was confused by Kaelus not having a new element.
"That heavenly manifestation means there was a breakthrough," Sylva stated, her voice sharp with confusion. "But where is your new element? The Fire and Earth cores—where are they? I feel no Fire and no Earth power from you, just a magnified Wind."
Kaelus looked just as confused. "Even me. I'm surprised at what happened. What I feel is that my Wind magic just took the two cores and turned them into raw energy. That energy then made my own core much stronger. I am still a single Wind Element user."
Sylva's mind raced. This defied everything she knew about magic. "So, I guess this explains why you failed to upgrade your Wind Element to Sound Element back then. Kaelus, you might just be unable to learn any element besides your very powerful Wind Element."
Just then, Aethon burst back into the training grounds, panting and out of breath, carrying a small obsidian orb.
"I got it! The Mana Classification Crystal!" Aethon gasped.
Kaelus placed his hand on the crystal. It glowed with a pure vibrant green light—the color associated with the Wind Element.The reading showed his rank was still Peak 4-Star Mage.
The entire group stared, silence falling once more.
"I don't know what to say anymore," Sylva finally whispered, completely defeated. "What is going on with your body, Kaelus? Are you even human?"
"Of course he's human," Zane chuckled, trying to inject some normalcy into the insane situation.
Kaelus thought hard: The energy is still in my core, just converted. Maybe with intense focus and training, I can still manifest the properties of Fire and Earth. He knew he had to push himself harder than ever in these remaining two days before the mission.
Zane quickly brought the conversation back to their current mission. "Speaking of which, where is your sword again? Are you still planning on using a wooden sword in training?"
Kaelus gave a relaxed shrug. "I left my Viridian Sword and my Knight's Cape with Grolnuk. He's performing a radical upgrade using the S+ Crystal Wyvern's mana nullification crystal on the sword and the S+ Armored Scorpion fragments on the cape. He needs two days."
"Who's Grolnuk?" Zathis asked.
"The information we got is from that guy," Sylva replied, pointing to the journal notes. "You must introduce us to him, Kaelus. He's the descendant of the First Mage Emperor's party member a millennium ago."
"I am thinking of recruiting him to our guild as our exclusive blacksmith," Kaelus said casually, not yet revealing Grolnuk's true status as an Artificer.
"I guess it's okay," Aethon agreed."We can pay him well."
"He will be using the S+ Armored Scorpion fragments as my new armor," Kaelus added.
Kaelan whistled. "S+ artifact armor? That's too much, even for you."
"The Players are immortals," Kaelus said, his face growing serious. "Too much is exactly what we need. I'll use the wooden sword for the next two days."
"I will stick to the training schedule," Kaelus concluded. "Also treat me as a usual Wind Mage only".
"Very well," Zane grinned, picking up his own training weapon. "We'll take turns fighting you, Kaelus. We need to maximize the use of these two days by constantly testing your limits and pushing your new core power. I'll make sure you still sweat, even with a wooden sword."
Zathis practically vibrated with excitement. He had acknowledged Kaelus's strength since the Eastern Territory event, but he'd only heard rumors of the spectacular victories against the S+ Wyvern and Scorpion since he was unconscious. "I'm fighting first!" Zathis declared, eager to test the power that had just defied magical classification. "I've been itching to see that great power myself."
The Obsidian Phalanx, now fully aware their strongest member defied all known magical laws, spent the rest of the day in intensive training. The expedition to the Eastern Territory was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.