A ten-year Qi pill wouldn't do much for the students in terms of breaking through to the next stage. All of them knew that they either needed a mass amount of Qi at once to break the dantian, creating a stronger one, or discover some type of breakthrough within.

That breakthrough could come in a number of different ways: enlightenment, a clearance in the mind, even through a tough battle. The issue was that this breakthrough was different for each individual and often harder to achieve as they moved up the stages. This was the issue Gunther, Dame, and Beatrix would experience. One might try to force a breakthrough, like Gunther, by fighting whoever he could whenever he got the chance, but it didn't seem to be working.

Which was why he had opted for another method, doing so with an infusion of strong Qi. At times this wouldn't work either, especially if the body was lacking, but Gunther believed he was ready, which was why he was trying so hard to get the item that was on offer from the Crimson Crane. For the younger ones that were still at the first stage, this would certainly be enough.

"We can be on the same level as the Red Headband students, you mean the main disciples, right?" Liam asked. "As far as I'm aware, not even all the Red Headband students are at the second stage."

"That is correct," Dame answered. "Those of you around your age would have to fight through thick and thin to get something like this, before a warrior at a higher stage would gobble them up. Even in your clans, due to the preciousness of items like these, they are more likely to sell them to higher clans or give them to warriors that have already progressed, bringing them closer to the next stage. It is unheard of for a stage 1 warrior to get their hands on these."

Dame didn't need to say any more. Liam was already sold the moment he learned he could advance to the next stage, and it wasn't just him; even Simyon was thankful. There were many at the Red Brigade who had gone through the Pagna Academy and, even after finishing, were still at the first stage. Now Simyon wasn't just going to be someone at the basic level but a warrior that would be respected.

It didn't take long for the three of them to accept their gifts and head outside to the open courtyard. All three of them instantly decided to absorb the power of the pill as they would consume it and control the energy from within.

Stepping outside on the wooden floorboards of the sleeping quarters, both Raze and Dame stood next to each other as they looked at the three of them absorbing the pills. n..1n

"Remember that you also promised to make me something," Dame commented. "I will be waiting to see what type of item you're able to craft for me, Dark Magus."

Hearing the name said this way, Raze thought it wasn't so bad. He had heard the name spoken as if it was some curse in the past. People would scream when they heard the Dark Magus had entered a certain place and area. However, now, as a person who was good at enchanting powerful items, it had a nicer ring to it.

"I want your help with something else, and I'm hoping you will do this one for free," Raze said.

"Oh, what is it?" Dame replied back.

"I want to reach the third stage, become a Stage 3 Pagna warrior," Raze answered.

Dame wanted to ask what the sudden interest in getting stronger quicker was, but he felt like he already knew the answer after seeing Gunther. He had met a man that he felt like even he couldn't beat, so it was normal to feel this way. What was interesting though was that he had opted for the path of a Pagna warrior.

Was his bag of tricks of items and such not enough?

"You will hit a bottleneck at the third stage," Dame answered. "It's the same as when you hit the 6th stage. You can use pills to boost the strength of your Qi up to a limit, but something needs to crack or break inside. You need to have a breakthrough. Whether that's through your fighting techniques or something else, maybe even just going through a desperate situation. Just do what you can to make sure you're at your peak. Get your body, your skills, everything up to the best they can be, and I think you'll be more likely to hit that breakthrough."

This answer wasn't one that pleased Raze, and the word "breakthrough" was something that was also well-known among mages but used in a different sense.

'A breakthrough for a mage is a state that they can obtain. They break the magic core surrounding their heart for a moment, and their whole body is overwhelmed with a mass amount of power.

It's a strong form, and every breakthrough is different depending on the type of magic core that one has. However, the way to obtain a breakthrough is also different. What has been noted down in research is that breakthroughs are somewhat related to how to increase affinity with certain types of magic.

Once a mage has experienced a breakthrough, they can harness that feeling and learn how to use a breakthrough at will, but using a breakthrough, the aftermath is a loss of all control of mana for a temporary amount of time.

'It makes me wonder. If a Pagna warrior learned to use a breakthrough, wouldn't it be less of a problem?' Raze started to think.

'If after using a breakthrough, they didn't finish off one's opponent, then they would still have their Qi and skills to rely on. It would somewhat get rid of the downside of a breakthrough.'

After thinking about this a little more, Raze chuckled because there was one problem. There were no records of a mage that had learned Dark Magic achieving a breakthrough. No one knew what the conditions were or how one would activate it. It also meant that no one knew what type of powers a mage with a Dark core would produce. In his head, that would be a harder task than breaking through to the third stage.

'I guess I have a plan.' Raze looked down at the palm of his hand, and the statue warrior had appeared. With this, he could do as Dame had asked. He could train to the point where he was ready to reach the next stage, and who knew, maybe fighting against the statue would be what allowed him to break through.

"Speaking of all of this, I think the three have advanced."

A strange black muck had come off from the bodies of the three on the courtyard floor. Their clothes were drenched in a strange substance, and a small trickle of blood had come out from Safa's mouth, but she quickly wiped it away and had a large smile.

This was because all of them were now Stage 2 Pagna warriors.

"There was one more thing I wanted to ask you, what do you think about going back to the Demonic Faction with me?" Raze asked. "And, what about bringing them with us?"