Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

"And with this, we have reached nine completed sets—" Lian wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Unlike yesterday, Lian had exhausted himself much earlier today. But this was normal. While yesterday he had mostly created Bronze 3 rune sets, this time they were all Bronze 5.

The mana required was much higher, but Lian managed the task, also thanks to the fact that his reserves were greater than those of an average Mage.

Just over an hour and a half had passed since Lian began extracting runes. The sun streamed through the windows, and the clock showed almost nine.

"Why do we not use a mana potion?" Observing his body's condition, Lian could not help but think that it would be useful to try a potion and rest a bit.

With a simple thought, a vial containing a blue liquid appeared in his hands. "From what I know, I do not need to drink it all. Just what is necessary to recover."

Lian removed the cap, and a sweet aroma emerged from the vial. "It smells good—" he muttered, inhaling the scent before bringing the vial to his mouth.

"And now?" he asked himself. He had consumed about half, but nothing had changed.

But before he could say anything else, a sensation of intense warmth burned in his dantian.

"Wow, it is pleasant—" Lian murmured, sitting in a lotus position and breathing steadily. After about five minutes, the effect faded.

"What?" Lian was slightly surprised by what he was feeling. Despite having just ingested half a Bronze 5 mana potion, his dantian was only half full.

Considering he still had some residual mana after the rune extraction, this meant that a Bronze 5 mana potion would not be enough to fill it completely.

"Well, that makes sense… so the amount of mana I possess seems to be slightly higher than an average Bronze 5."

Lian decided to finish the vial completely, and after a bit more time, his dantian was almost full again.

"Good, now I can continue working. I said I wanted to start creating enchantments, but I am curious about something…"

In Lian's hands appeared a Mana Core larger than those he had handled before.

It was a Silver 1 Mana Core!

"I wonder if I can turn it into a rune—" Lian was very curious. He had many Silver 1 Mana Cores to play with, kindly provided by the Dean, so he had nothing to worry about.

Moreover, Lian also possessed a Silver 1 Mana Core from the blood worm that he, Seline, and Freddy had faced in the Gate.

Sure, Seline had simply fainted, but still.

"She said she would come visit me, but I doubt it. With the current situation in the world, travel should be more restricted. I wonder if she has gotten stronger…"

Shaking his head, Lian gently inserted the Mana Core into the Core Extractor.

After a few moments, the screen lit up. Inside the extractor, the rune began to glow red. "A fire element Mana Core, interesting."

Lian selected the primary rune on the screen. He took a deep breath as his hands positioned themselves on the glass.

"Damn—" Not even a moment later, the mana, just replenished, began to flow in torrents. The sensation was different from a Bronze 5 Mana Core. Lian could feel the intensity with which his body was being drained.

A minute passed, and his mana did nothing but flow into the machine and refine the Mana Core. Fortunately, the process was automatic for him; otherwise, it would have been much more complex.

Having a high runic affinity made him special.

Time continued to pass, and before Lian could realize it, the mana in his dantian began to run low.

"Damn it! I have no idea how long it will take, but at this rate, I will not make it—"

The mana kept flowing, but just as sweat was forming on Lian's head and his hands were about to lose their grip, it all ended.

Lian collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

The entire process had lasted about ten minutes, but they were long and grueling. "I did not think I would make it…" he muttered, breathing heavily.

"Fortunately, I did it! No Mana Break, just a Silver 1 rune!"

Lian had a smile on his face as he looked at the rune inside the machine. He could not see anything different from the other Bronze runes. Only its power was greater.

After a few minutes of rest, Lian grabbed the rune and immediately inserted it into a Runic Tablet before storing it in his spatial ring.

He would not tell anyone about this. At least, not for now.

"Now I really need to rest and meditate. I cannot absorb more mana potions for now; after all, there is a limit I must respect, unless it is an emergency, of course…"

Finding a free corner in the room, Lian sat in a lotus position and began to meditate. But the mana replenishment process was not quick.

"It will take me several hours… damn, why am I so hasty? A Silver 1 rune is useless to me, at least for now."

Leaving useless thoughts behind, Lian began absorbing mana orbs. He could have used Geometric Meditation to recover faster and strengthen himself, but Lian did not want to do it in this place.

Even though there was no one around, Torin in the other room could sense strange mana fluctuations. It was better not to risk it.

Time passed slowly but steadily.

---

A few hours earlier, in another part of the academy…

Rick had not gone to class today. In fact, he had not even slept. The thought that his friend had been robbed because of him gnawed at his conscience.

"I am an idiot! I am not a child anymore; I cannot keep making mistakes all day. I need to grow up." Rick's black eyes had turned red as blood pulsed in his temples.

He was not in his dormitory room. He was in an isolated corner of the campus, near some old structures in the training area. Very few people were in that area; everyone was busy with mandatory classes.

Rick slid down against a wall, knees bent and head in his hands. "How could I have been so stupid?" he muttered, his voice broken. "Lian trusted me, and I made him lose his first artifact…"

Although it was not entirely his fault, the guilt for handing over the sword so quickly consumed him.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Plammer's cunning grin, the clink of fake coins, the flaming sword disappearing in his hands.

Rick had always joked, always taken everything lightly, but this time his mistake had hurt someone he considered a friend. It was not just the loss of the artifact.

It was the betrayal of Lian's trust.