[Reasons Why Flames Rise has been consumed. Your understanding is very high.]

[5th Circle spell Flare Burst has been acquired.]

[The user has consumed an immense number of spells. The essence of magic books will be extracted more efficiently.]

As always, the emotionless voice rang in Theo’s ears before the spell’s knowledge flooded into brain. Theo closed his eyes as he focused on parsing the flow of information. He could no longer consume several books at once anymore. The spells he was acquiring now were of the 5th Circle, so there was an enormous amount of knowledge.

After five minutes, Theodore opened his eyes again.

Flare Burst... I thought it would be a more complex magic.

Vince spoke up from across the room, “Flare Burst is the last book for the day?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Try it out. Try to align the timing of the magic spell accurately.” As he spoke, Vince's magic power started to rise.

His blazing magic power drew a magic circle in the empty space, from which a pillar of heat started to blossom. Flare Burst was a war magician’s bread and butter when they faced an enemy who held some kind of numerical superiority.

Theo didn’t hesitate, completing the magic just before Vince’s fire pillar started to shoot toward him.

“Flare Burst!”

Hwaaack-!

The fire pillars collided halfway between the two magicians, creating a zone of superheated flames. The zone spread as the fire pillars expended their energy in an attempt to pierce through the other. This was the spell that had incinerated all the hobgoblins on their way to Manavil.

“Hrmm, the degree of completeness isn’t bad,” Vince remarked.

The two magicians had formed a shield and were calmly watching the competition between the two fire pillars. Although the two fire pillars had seemed even at first, Theo’s fire pillar was slightly giving way in front of Vince’s spell. If this had been a real battle, Theo would’ve been turned into ashes.

However, the two fire pillars eventually ran out of magic power, and the two fire pillars disappeared like they had never existed. Vince was ready to call this experiment a success, since Theo had successfully cast Flare Burst. Vince dispelled the remaining heat and approached the impact zone. The ground had melted, but had solidified when he had cooled the room.

Vince stroked his chin as he evaluated the damage. “... Indeed, it’s an incredible level of proficiency for someone who’s never cast the spell before. An ordinary magician would need at least two to three years of practice to reach this level.

Theo was still dissatisfied. “But Master’s Flare Burst is faster than mine. The momentum of your flames is also more intense.”

“Well, if you use the same spell for more than a decade, you’ll pick up a few tricks too. That is the difference,” Vince explained good-naturedly before adding. “Things like how to concentrate the flames more reliably and how to construct the magic circle faster... The knowledge gained from books is certainly valuable, but wisdom refined from experience is also important. Don’t forget that the grimoire’s ability is only a single aspect of your strength.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.” Theodore nodded lightly.

As Vince said, Theo had only gained fundamental principles and theoretical knowledge from Gluttony’s extraction process. It wouldn’t pass on the knowledge that a magician acquired through experience. However, Theo didn’t neglect his daily practical training after losing to Pride, so he had improved considerably from half a year ago.

“Theodore, you have now reached a level where you can be called a master of the 5th Circle. I, Vince Haidel, acknowledge your accomplishment.”

Theo smiled. “Thank you.”

“Now, you’re just one step away from the wall of the 6th Circle. It sure is hard teaching a disciple who grows so quickly,” Vince laughed warmly. He was proud that his disciple was growing so quickly.

Theo hadn’t even reached the 4th Circle when he left the academy. He had broken through to the 5th Circle after being sent to his hometown. Now he was on the cusp of breaking through the 5th Circle and becoming Vince’s equal. Vince had been drawing from his experience to guide Theo, but he doubted he would be able to keep doing that. There was a very real possibility that Vince would no longer be qualified as Theo’s master in the very near future.

In any case, now’s not the time to think about that. 

Vince changed the topic. “That concludes today’s magic training. Let’s start mental power training? In truth, there isn’t much I can do to help on this front.”

Theo shook his head. “No, I only figured out how to use this power thanks to Master’s advice.”

Vince chuckled. “Well, you can think about it that way.”

Theo laughed at his mentor and pulled back his right sleeve to reveal a toned forearm.

National treasure no. 3, Umbra... After he had absorbed it on the night of the ball, it had taken the form of a glowing green tattoo. It was a constant reminder of what he had obtained, a treasure which surpassed the boundaries of matter.

Theodore’s eyes flashed blue.

Fluidization!

The moment the light flashed, his whole body turned transparent. A slight breeze passed through his body, which had temporarily transcended the realm of matter. Theo could do many things that were impossible half a year ago. Indeed, what were his abilities after training for half a year?

Syuok!

He suddenly disappeared and appeared a few dozen meters away. The speed he used to reach his destination was clearly beyond the laws of physics. But if the purpose of Fluidization was to just appear in another place, it wasn’t as good as a short-ranged Blink.

Okay, time for a few more reps!

Theo continued to disappear and appear in different places around the room. Meanwhile, Vince secretly admired Theo’s movements around the room. Fluidization had given Theo an ability to make ultrafast teleportations. Since Theo wasn’t affected by the boundaries of matter, there weren’t any of the side effects associated with space jumps. Even aura masters wouldn’t be able to capture the timing of Theo’s teleportations.

This was the fraudulent power that the national treasure, Umbra, had bestowed.

“Hah...! Hah...!”

However, the ability also had a cost. Theo could only teleport five or six times in a row before he was overcome by dizziness and headaches. His mental power had been exhausted, and his body was reacting to it.

At the same time, it meant that Theo’s spirit was growing. It was an incredibly simple training method. Push the ability to its limit, recover, and repeat. Much like a physical muscle, Theo was slowly pushing his ability past its previous limits.

Of course, the answer was simple, but the execution was different.

Theo stood up after ten minutes. The headache had been so intense that it still felt like his head was spinning. Theo had trained for half a year with Fluidization, but his limit was still half of his original goal of ten teleportations.

Theo teetered on his feet as he tried to speak.

Vince sharply stopped him. “Don’t be so hasty.”

Theo was taken aback and felt ashamed, but Vince just shrugged. He had realized that Theo had been distracted recently. The reason was obvious. He was facing another wall.

“You’ve mastered the 5th Circle, so you’ll have to leap to the next level if you want to achieve more. I know that it is hard and frustrating, but you will only get hurt if you rush it.”

Vince had spent ten years at the 5th Circle, so Theo couldn’t disregard his advice. The Meltor Kingdom had a much higher number of senior mages than any of its neighbors thanks to its magicians, who had diligently passed down their knowledge when they broke through their walls, creating a cycle which could last dozens of generations.

Theodore listened to Vince with a serious expression. “Master, what should I do then?”

Vince cocked his head. “Hmm, if you were an ordinary magician, then I would advise you to build up experience steadily, but... there might be another way if you use Gluttony’s abilities well.”

No matter how much of a genius a person was, they still needed luck to cross the wall of a Circle. Vince and other Superiors of the magic towers had once been called geniuses, but they rarely went beyond the limit of the 6th Circle. It was a path of frustration and despair that they could only walk by slowly building up their efforts.

However, Theo could walk another path.

Theo nodded slowly. “Like when I ate the Elder Lich’s Life Vessel.”

If he ate a Treasure ranked artifact, then he might be able to break through the wall of the 5th Circle at an unprecedented rate. Of course, it wasn’t easy to obtain things like an Elder Lich’s Life Vessel, but it was better than waiting for a moment of enlightenment.

To Theodore, who was tired of being stuck at a standstill, it was the best advice he would hear.

Vince shrugged on his robe. “If you’ve recovered, let’s get going. We’re about to exceed our allotted time for this room.”

Theodore checked the clock on the wall as he grabbed his robe. “Oh, that’s already happened.”

The robe hanging on the wall was soft and clean, exactly like when he’d received it before the ball. Theo was now very familiar with wearing the robe, and headed for the exit of the magic training room a step ahead of Vince.

However, the moment Theo placed his hand on the door knob…

“Eh?”

Someone opened the door to the training room from outside. He was clearly an apprentice magician, since he wore a gray robe instead of the colors of any of the magic towers. Apprentice magicians earned achievements by acting as the Magic Society’s internal messengers instead of completing the academy’s curriculum.

The magician in the gray robe apologized first. “Ah, e-excuse me!”

Theo held up a hand reassuringly. “It’s okay. It seems like you are looking for us.”

The messenger bowed several more times before speaking, “Are you Vince Haidel and Theodore Miller?”

Theo nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

The messenger raised his head. “An urgent notice from the Magic Society has been issued to both of you.”

The two magicians blinked in surprise as the messenger unrolled a piece of parchment.

“This is a message to all Superior ranked magicians who are in the capital. The Andras Empire has recently expressed their intention to send a delegation. All magicians who receive this announcement should gather in the auditorium at the center of the Magic Society!”