Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

"Now all that is left is to engrave the layer with a circular motion, keeping in mind the center of the primary rune found earlier." Lian exhaled a breath, focusing intently while wielding the Runic Stylus.

Of course, the circular shape to be engraved was not random; it had to follow a precise pattern. Just as before, Lian began to calculate the exact point from which to start engraving.

"Here we go!" he murmured slowly.

The stylus in his hands moved with precision, pinpointing the exact spot he had identified with his mana before starting to move his hand in a circular motion.

"It feels just like drawing a circle with my ability…"

Seconds passed slowly as sweat dripped from Lian's forehead. At that moment, the mana within his body began to resonate gently with what he was doing, and, as if guided by it, the circle took shape in the best possible way.

It was different from drawing with his mind, simpler.

And a few moments later, the Runic Seal began to glow red with great intensity.

"I did it!" Lian was visibly excited as he watched the enchantment take shape.

"Oh, right!" Before forgetting, he clicked the third and final button on the Runic Seal. This had the sole purpose of sealing the enchantment and preventing it from losing more energy.

After a few more seconds, the red glow on the seal became fainter.

Lian grabbed the seal with his hands, his eyes sparkling with excitement. At that moment, the sound of a door swinging open startled Lian, who nearly dropped the Runic Seal in fright.

Damn it, cursed Torin! he thought as he stored the Runic Seal in his spatial ring. He did not want Torin to think he had been wasting time.

"What the hell are you doing? Have you finished working? I expect you to have created a satisfactory number of sets in these hours." Torin began walking toward Lian's direction. He had a frowning expression, as usual.

"Of course, Torin." Politely, Lian made the Bronze 5 rune sets he had prepared earlier appear before him.

Lian noticed that Torin's eyes gleamed for a moment. Heh, you did not expect that, did you?

Blinking a couple of times, his eyes returned to normal, and his scowl softened slightly. "Well done, kid." Torin grabbed all ten sets, placing them in his spatial ring.

"I already gave you an artifact yesterday. Do you want another one, of a higher rank, or would you prefer gold coins?"

"Huh?" Lian stared at Torin in disbelief. He did not expect to be rewarded, actually. Sure, he had gotten the artifact yesterday, but he thought it was an exceptional case.

Apparently, it was not.

Thinking about the artifact, Lian's expression darkened as he lowered his eyes. Has the floor always been this nice? he thought distractedly.

Noticing the boy's strange behavior, Torin tilted his head slightly. "Is something wrong? I can also not give you anything, no problem—"

"It was stolen!" Lian shouted without raising his head, interrupting Torin's nonsense.

"It was… what?!"

Lian slightly raised his head, swallowing nervously, only to see a stunned Torin.

"And when were you going to tell me?! This is serious! No one steals in the academy. And how the hell did it happen?! You only had it for a few hours!"

Lian furrowed his brows. He did not expect such an exaggerated reaction from him. He even thought Torin would mock him, insult him. Instead…

"Give me more details, come on! When was it stolen? Do you know who did it? Where were you…"

Torin continued to bombard him with questions, to which Lian responded with the utmost sincerity.

He too wanted to find Plammer.

---

In the old abandoned building at the edge of the training area…

Rick had woken up just a few minutes ago. Despite this, he did not move from his position.

He was lying on his stomach, his head turned to the side. His arms were stretched along his sides, while his slightly spread legs were extended.

Although he was still the same person, his face looked different.

First of all, his eyes. The blood that was there before could no longer be seen anywhere. Instead, the black color that distinguished them became even more intense.

It seemed to absorb light unnaturally.

"So that is how it is…" Rick's murmur was faint but not devoid of strength.

"All this time, I did nothing but think that shadow was a useless element. Maybe Lian was right… the only weak one here is me."

Rick rose from the ground unnaturally, as if floating. The shadow beneath him had reacted to his thought, materializing and lifting Rick.

Brushing the dust off his robe, Rick headed toward the building's exit.

It was late afternoon. For some reason, the sky had darkened. Gray clouds covered the entire academy, while lights illuminated the streets and buildings.

He had remained in this state of abandon for half a day. "I am pathetic…" he whispered as he ran a hand through his hair, feeling the wind on his face.

"Let me recap… should I thank Plammer for stealing the artifact?"

Absurd words came from his lips, yet there was no trace of laughter on his face.

"After all, if it were not for him, I would never have fallen into this despair, so I would never have gained enlightenment about my element…"

A sigh escaped his lips. "The world really works in a strange way…"

Walking toward the dormitories, Rick could not help but think about what had happened.

His teacher had said something about the possibility of unlocking a unique talent by putting oneself in dangerous situations, and now, Rick, finding himself in a state of despair, had gained enlightenment about Shadow.

Shadow was not about support, control, or things like that.

Not at all.

It was sacrifice and revenge.

A strange concept, but it was true. The more Rick sacrificed, the more powerful the Shadow's power would become.

Moreover, by taking revenge against all his enemies, the shadow's power would grow stronger.

"It feels tailor-made for me… it is so damn strange."

Rick stopped for a moment, looking at the sky, before shouting. "I love it!"

It was quite embarrassing, but no one seemed to be around.

And with this new realization, Rick could not wait to meet up with Lian.

Thinking of him, every malicious feeling about sacrifices and revenge vanished from his mind. "I wonder when he will be able to make my artifact… but first, I need Mana Cores from shadow-element monsters… where the hell am I supposed to find those…"