Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

The light of dawn filtered through the small window of Lian's room, tinting the stone floor with golden hues.

With a slight yawn, the boy opened his eyes. The mana surrounding him was denser than the day before.

"I feel much better—" he murmured as he got up, stretching his muscles—as if he needed to. Lian had only practiced basic meditation, unable to reach the daily limit despite cultivating all night.

Moreover, he had no intention of practicing Geometric Meditation for now. He did not want to become too strong too quickly. His plan was to cultivate as long as possible to break through in one go.

He also needed to absorb Mana Cores, actually. Since becoming Bronze 4 in the tower within the Gate, he had not absorbed any more Mana Cores.

"Another magnificent day awaits us!" he murmured while looking at the scenery outside the window. Although he was on the ground floor, the view of the natural landscape outside the dormitory was stunning. And he was not the only one looking out.

Numerous heads poked out from their respective room windows, while various greetings and yawns filled the area. There was no privacy at all. For fear of being recognized, Lian quickly pulled his head back into his room, making a gesture with his hand and murmuring a spell to expel all the stale air.

"I just hope Master Corvan does not kick me out after a single failure… he is right to say that one must also relax, but at least after two or three failures, not just one. But first of all—"

Lian headed to the bathroom. If there was one thing he had to do first thing in the morning, it was showering.

"All right, we are ready for this day!" After finishing getting ready, Lian adjusted his robe before leaving the house.

Many boys were leaving their rooms at that moment, while others had already gone out. Some, however, were still sleeping. It was only seven-thirty, neither too late nor too early.

With a goal in mind and trying to avoid too many glances, Lian headed toward the forge.

"At this rate, that guy will never improve…" he murmured while thinking of Rick. From what he himself had said, he was the type who took life easy. He liked to wake up just in time to get to class on time, not that he attended it anyway.

Along the way, Lian stopped to buy some crispy bread and red berry juice at a roadside stall. "This bread looks very inviting—" he thought before biting into it decisively.

"Yes, very good—" Between one bite and another, Lian drank his juice, which was also very good. For the record, Lian had decided to buy several more pieces of bread to keep in his spatial ring in case of an emergency.

He had not developed some kind of food trauma, as he had with dirt, but it was always better to have something in reserve. Things in the spatial ring did not spoil, after all.

Lian soon reached the Rune Forge. Its gray, moss-covered walls were still the same. They did not have an inviting air at all, but the boy did not care in the least.

The boy's heart beat fast with excitement as he entered the building.

"Good morning!" Lian shouted, expecting to find someone inside.

From what Master Corvan had told him, among the nine Rune Masters of the academy, only a few worked in this dilapidated structure. The rest preferred to work in their villas, isolated from everyone while focusing solely on training.

It was a great thing, but someone had to stay here to welcome potential new Rune Masters. Moreover, the Core Extractor in the center of the room was not unique. There were several in the academy, used by other instructors to test the runic talent of Mages.

"Maybe there is no one here?" Lian murmured while looking around. But before he could walk too far, a side door swung open.

"You are finally here, kid! Master Corvan told me about a new young talent. I am Torin, nice to meet you, but let us not waste time chatting." Torin's sharp eyes scanned Lian from head to toe.

Just looking at him, Lian made a small grimace. The boy's robes were… worn out. His brown hair was tied in a messy ponytail, giving the impression that it was very dirty.

He was several years older than Lian, but for Mages, age did not matter much. Every time they advanced a rank and mana flooded their bodies, their lifespan increased. It was not wrong to say that there were Mages who had lived for several centuries.

Torin ignored the boy's strange look as he continued. "You have a long way to go before becoming a true Rune Master, like me. Your task today will be to assist me in creating artifacts. Come with me, let us start—"

Lian tilted his head, trying to piece together what Torin had said. Help him with creating artifacts? His eyes sparkled with initiative.

"Hurry up, kid. We have to move; we have an order to deliver. But do not worry, I will reward you for your efforts."

"Greedy youngsters—" he added subtly, but Lian heard him clearly.

Lian almost choked on his saliva hearing Torin's words. Why does this guy have it in for me?!

The two reached the workroom where Torin had been earlier. "Here, those are the Mana Cores you need to turn into runes. Nearby is a note with instructions on which sets of runes you need to create. I do not think I need to tell you anything else, right?"

Lian did not respond. He stared at the pile of Mana Cores of various levels, his brain nearly in overload. I have to turn them all into runes?!

"Are you deaf?"

Lian snapped at the boy's words. "No, all clear, sir!" he said almost automatically. Torin did not have the air of a warrior, but the mana swirling around him said otherwise. He was at least a Silver rank, but very different from the worm boss he had faced in the past. He was more dangerous.

"Then why are you standing there like a statue? Move, we do not have all day. We need to hurry—"

Lian did not need to be told twice. With a gesture of his hand, he gathered all the Mana Cores and headed toward the central area where the Core Extractor was located.

"What a guy…" he whispered while reading the note with the runes he needed to create.

Only four sets of runes were listed, each consisting of a primary rune, a secondary rune, and a tertiary rune. Each set corresponded to one of the four elements, while the secondary and tertiary runes were the same, varying only by element.

"Let us get to work, then… even though I wanted to try creating an enchantment… extraction is simple enough."

Without wasting more time, Lian picked up a Mana Core at random from the pile.

"There is just one small problem…" he murmured, observing the system notification.

[Mana Core: Bronze 3]

[Mana Core: Bronze 4]

[Mana Core: Bronze 5]

[Mana …]

[Do you want to absorb?]

"They are all Bronze 3, 4, and 5 Mana Cores… how the hell am I supposed to manage this?!"