Alex opened his system shop and decided not to hesitate any longer.
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[Magic]
-Awaken Random Magic Affinity: 5000 SP
-Improve Magic Affinity: ?
-Increase Mana Capacity: 5000 SP
-Increase Magic Power: 15000 SP
-Increase Mana Regeneration: 50000 SP
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[Physical]
-Increase Strength: 10000 SP
-Increase Stamina: 10000 SP
-Increase Agility: 10000 SP
-Increase Vitality: 25000 SP
-Increase Health Regeneration: 100000 SP
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He had more than four million system points. With that kind of reserve, there was no need for careful calculation—no need to be thrifty.
This time, he would spend.
"Let's do this!" he said quietly.
He began upgrading.
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[Purchase successful, mana capacity increased.]
[MP: 14500→35000]
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[Purchase successful, magic power increased.]
[The Host's Magic Power has increased significantly.]
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[Purchase successful, strength increased.]
[The Host's strength has increased significantly.]
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[Purchase successful, stamina increased.]
[The Host's stamina has increased significantly.]
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[Purchase successful, agility increased.]
[The Host's agility has increased significantly.]
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[Purchase successful, vitality increased.]
[The Host's vitality has increased significantly.]
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The numbers ticked upward in steady increments, system points draining away in massive chunks. His mana pool expanded—still not enough to cast a Tier-7 spell, but Tier-6? That was no longer a problem.
Alex paused, fingers hovering over the remaining options: Mana Regeneration and Health Regeneration.
He hesitated—then shook his head and decided. 'I'll save those for later.'
Normally, upgrades came with a rush—a surge of power, a heady sense of expansion that made his heart race.
This time? Nothing.
There was change—subtle, undeniable—but muted. Like adding water to a cup that was already nearly full.
"That's it?" he murmured.
Aurora floated nearby and shrugged. "Maybe your strength has already increased significantly over the past few days. Compared to that, this boost probably feels like nothing major."
Alex nodded slowly. That explanation fit.
Later that day, during training, Elena noticed.
Not immediately—but inevitably.
Her gaze sharpened as she watched him move, endure, recover.
"Hmm. So," she said at last, cracking her knuckles, "you've been holding back."
She raised her hand.
"Good," Elena continued, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "That means I can stop being gentle."
Elena fully intended to wring every last bit of that strength out of him.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Elena's training resumed the very same day.
And this time—there was no mercy.
Unlike Alicia, who hesitated at the sight of his pain—who couldn't bear to see him hurt and instinctively pulled back—Elena was the complete opposite. She drove Alex to the brink of death without wavering, not slowing even when he was one mistake away from being killed.
She pushed him straight to the edge.
Spells struck without warning. Fire scorched his skin. Concussive blasts sent him crashing into walls. Relentless pressure crushed him into the ground again and again. When his limbs trembled, she increased the pace. When his breathing faltered, she raised the output.
She never hesitated.
Not once.
To an outsider, it would have looked grotesque—like a one-sided beating devoid of restraint or mercy. Like a teacher venting cruelty rather than imparting discipline.
But Alex knew better.
He could see it in her eyes.
That demonic grin that surfaced from time to time was unmistakable.
It was pure, unapologetic sadism.
She drove him until his mana ran dry. Until his muscles refused to respond. Until his consciousness flickered at the edges, threatening to slip away. Only then did she stop.
Not when he screamed. Not when he bled.
Only when he had nothing left.
Alex learned quickly that Elena didn't measure limits the way others did. Pain wasn't a signal to stop—it was merely confirmation that the training was working. As long as he could still stand, still think, still respond, she continued.
Day blurred into night.
Night bled back into day.
Meals were rushed. Rest was brief. Recovery was earned, not granted.
For several days straight, the hellish routine continued without pause.
And somewhere within that endless cycle of destruction and recovery, Alex understood something clearly:
Elena wasn't trying to break him.
She was carving him into something that wouldn't break.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
The air cracked with heat.
Elena stood a short distance away, a whip coiled loosely in her hand—its length wreathed in living flame. An advanced form of Mana Infusion.
Instead of saturating the weapon with raw mana, she had infused it with elemental mana itself, granting the whip the properties of fire—searing heat, explosive force, relentless momentum.
Alex barely had time to register the danger.
The whip snapped forward.
He reacted instantly, mana surging as he cast
Before he could stabilize—
A roaring torrent of flame surged toward him.
Alex slammed his foot down.
A massive wall of compressed ice erupted from the floor, thick and layered, intercepting the spell head-on. Fire exploded across its surface, steam and frost colliding violently as the wall groaned under the pressure—
And held.
For half a heartbeat.
Then Elena moved again.
Flames burst from the ground around Alex, spiraling upward into a blazing ring that closed in on him from all sides.
Alex didn't panic.
A torrent of killing cold erupted from his lungs, flooding the enclosed space. The flames hissed and faltered, frost racing across the fiery ring as the temperature plunged.
For an instant—it worked.
Then the air itself betrayed him.
A violent gust slammed into the ring from the side, tearing through the frost-laden air. Oxygen fed directly into the flames, and the inferno surged back to life—hotter, faster, deadlier.
Alex's eyes widened.
He moved on instinct.
Black frost formed beneath his feet as he launched himself sideways, sliding across the ground just as the ring collapsed inward. Flames detonated where he had stood a moment earlier.
He skidded to a halt, breath sharp—but his eyes were already locked onto Elena.
Chains erupted from the frozen ground, icy bindings snapping through the air like living serpents as they shot toward her.
She smiled.
Her body grew light as the wind caught her, lifting her just enough for the chains to pass beneath her feet. With a flick of her hand—
A cutting blade of wind tore through the chains, shattering them midair.
Alex didn't hesitate.
Mana surged.
The temperature plummeted instantly.
Violent winds spiraled outward from Alex's position, snow and ice erupting into a raging storm. Visibility collapsed as razor-edged frost filled the air. The ground froze solid, jagged ice spreading as the blizzard swallowed the training hall whole.
Elena didn't retreat.
She smiled.
Mana flared around her—fierce, overwhelming.
Fire and wind fused into a roaring vortex, a spiraling inferno that tore straight through the blizzard. Heat and cold collided violently, steam detonating outward as storm met storm.
The training room shook.
Ice shattered. Flames roared.
Alex gritted his teeth and pushed through the chaos.
Mana condensed above him.
A massive spear of deep-blue ice formed overhead and hurled itself forward, cutting through the storm like a falling comet.
Elena raised her hand.
The air went white-hot.
A miniature sun ignited in her palm and detonated outward. Light and heat crashed into the lance, vaporizing it instantly. The explosion ripped through the remaining blizzard and slammed into Alex like a hammer.
He skidded across the frozen floor, coughing, barely managing to stay upright.
The storm faded.
Elena stood unharmed, flames dancing lazily around her.
She regarded Alex with sharp approval—and unmistakable menace.
"Good," she said. "But not good enough."
Then she stepped forward again.
And at the center of the shattered training hall, teacher and student stood locked in open combat—neither willing to yield even an inch.