Inside Seraphina’s house, in the training room, the air was cold and thick with mana.

Ice crystals clung to the walls, remnants of attacks that had missed their mark.

The floor was scarred with frost and shadow, evidence of a battle that had been raging for hours.

-BOOM -BANG

Cael dodged Seraphina’s ice spikes using wind enhancement, his body moving just ahead of each projectile.

The spikes shattered against the wall behind him, sending shards of ice scattering across the floor.

Seeing that Cael was able to avoid her attacks, Seraphina pressed in.

Instantly, tens of ice spikes rained down on him from multiple angles, leaving no room to escape.

In response, Cael took one step back as he vanished from his place and arrived in Seraphina’s shadow.

"I already told you, ma’am, but you refuse to believe me. You cannot beat me at [Silver] rank."

Seraphina gritted her teeth.

"Again."

Cael sighed.

"How about this? Let us make a bet."

But before he could state the conditions, Seraphina immediately agreed.

There was only one word running through her mind right now. Impossible.

No matter how much of a genius Cael might be, she was ultimately a [Mythril] ranker.

Even if she lowered her rank to [Silver], she had the upper hand in sight, senses, thought speed, reaction time, and experience.

She had lived longer, fought more battles, and faced many opponents.

There was no way a boy who had barely been in this world for a few months [as in battle experience] could match her.

And yet...

"I lost... again?"

It was not a big deal. She could already see through Cael.

He used wind to enhance his senses and black lightning to make up for speed.

The only thing he was lacking was battle experience, but his battle IQ was making up for it.

In short, except for sight, Cael compensated for every disadvantage one way or another.

It was not that Seraphina had no way to beat him at [Silver] rank. She simply was unwilling.

She was well aware of his other skills. Cloning. Mana Sovereignty. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

If she used her skills, he would use his. And she had seen what those skills could do.

Ultimately, Seraphina was no longer confident.

It was better to accept this defeat rather than lose after giving her all.

The last thing she wanted was to make the smug Cael even more overconfident in his abilities.

Seraphina sighed softly and asked,

"So, what is your condition?"

Cael stated,

"Spar with me using [Platinum] rank power."

Seraphina raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

As far as she was concerned, Cael was overestimating his capabilities.

He had not asked for [Gold]. He had asked for [Platinum] directly.

That said, she was not one to prejudge.

Perhaps he wanted to experience fighting a [Platinum] ranker.

Whatever the case, it did not really matter.

Then Cael said,

"Ah, I almost forgot. If I win this spar, assist me in the Mana Strengthening Body Technique."

As soon as Seraphina heard those words, thick veins appeared on her forehead.

’Never mind. This kid is getting cocky.’

She intended to teach Cael a harsh lesson.

And so, the spar began.

The temperature in the room didn’t change. The frost remained, but it became even colder than before.

Seraphina instantly released her [Platinum] rank presence.

The pressure was immense, enough to make most [Silver] rankers collapse on the spot.

But Cael moved away from his spot without stopping, his expression calm.

’Seriously, why do mid or high rankers always show off their presence in front of me?’

Seraphina frowned slightly as she waved her hand.

This time, hundreds of ice spikes shot toward Cael, filling the air with a storm of frozen projectiles.

In response, he waved his hand as well. A simple wind breeze touched the ice spikes, and they nullified midway, crumbling into harmless dust before they could reach him.

Seraphina charged at Cael.

In her right hand, an ice hammer began to form, its surface gleaming with frost, its weight promising devastation.

Her speed was fast. Faster than any [Platinum] ranker had any right to be.

But Cael smirked slightly.

He had no intention of sparring for minutes.

As Seraphina reached him, he activated ’Time Deceleration’ at its minimum setting.

Not enough to pause the world, but just enough to momentarily surpass Seraphina’s speed.

In his hand, moonlight stretched into a sword. Using it as a medium, he constructed a blade with Mana Sovereignty.

The sword glowed faintly, its edge humming with nullification properties.

Then he slashed at Seraphina’s hammer.

The blade cut through the ice as if it were paper.

The hammer dissolved mid-swing, the nullification properties eating away at its structure before it could connect.

Before Seraphina could react, his sword reached her neck.

The world returned to normal as Time Deceleration deactivated.

"I win,"

Cael said softly.

Seraphina stood frozen, her arm still raised where the hammer had been. Her eyes were wide. Her breathing was uneven.

She wanted a rematch.

It had all happened in the span of a few seconds. She had raised her hammer.

The hammer had almost reached Cael. She had been certain of victory.

And yet, in the last moment, he had won.

Seraphina wanted to ask for a rematch, but stopped herself.

She had already asked for one during the [Silver] spar.

If she asked again, would he not think she was someone who could not accept defeat?

That said, she was unwilling.

’I am a [Mythril] ranker, damn it. I had the advantage.’

Although she had not used any skills, how could she lose so easily?

Little did she know, Cael’s mana was already down to seventy percent after just three spars.

Seraphina sighed. She had already sighed more than three times today.

"Fine. I will assist you in the Mana Strengthening Body Technique. But you should know, I can only help with mana circulation."

"You have to find your own way to increase your mana daily."

Cael smiled and said,

"I have already made the preparations. The only thing I was lacking was mana circulation."

Since Cael was not a [Gold] ranker, he could not circulate mana through his body on his own.

But if Seraphina helped with the circulation, it would be a significant advantage.

As for increasing his mana daily, that was easy. All he had to do was eat mana beast meat every day.

From that day onward, Cael’s routine changed.

He woke up late in the morning and ate mana beast meat for breakfast.

Then he trained with his clones, pushing his body and elements to their limits.

At lunch, he ate another serving of mana beast meat.

Then he trained again, strolling through the academy’s training grounds, copying elemental skills from other students, merging them with his own elements.

In the afternoon, he ate another mana beast meat as a snack.

At night, with Seraphina circulating mana through the Mana Strengthening Body Technique, his body grew stronger slowly but surely.

Finally, he ate one last serving of mana beast meat before going to sleep.

Just like that, day after day passed.

The days blurred together. Morning light bled into evening shadows without distinction.

His clones trained alongside him, their bickering a constant background noise.

The only marker of time was the gradual increase in his mana capacity, the slow hardening of his muscles.

Before Cael was aware, he had reached the limit of what a [Silver] ranker could achieve.

Three and a half months had passed.

There was only one month remaining before the start of the Tournament of Talents.

On this day, Seraphina and Cael sparred fiercely.

She was using [Diamond 1] rank powers, her ice attacks coming faster and harder than ever before.

Cael met them with wind, black lightning, and the ever-evolving strength of his body.

"Alright, that is enough."

Seraphina stopped the spar mid-way. Her breathing was very normal, and her eyes were calm.

A thin line of sweat traced down Cael’s temple.

His muscles burned, but the familiar fatigue was lighter than before. Three months of conditioning had changed him.

"Good. Compared to three months ago, your body is three times tougher and stronger."

"Your mana capacity has increased by at least four times. Thanks to the Mana Strengthening Body Technique."

She paused, studying him.

"And now that you have reached the limit of [Silver] rank, it will not be long before you reach [Gold]."

"But [Gold] is a qualitative change. With your freakish skills, I doubt there will be many mid-stage rankers who could threaten you."

She crossed her arms.

"So, take some rest. Clear your mind. You need it."

"As you are already aware, [Gold] and [Mythril] are not something you can achieve just because you have reached a bottleneck. So, do not worry about it."

She tilted her head slightly.

"Or perhaps you should spend some time with your teammates. And your fiancée."

Cael nodded and answered,

"I know. But before that..."

He paused for a second, his expression shifting from satisfaction to something colder.

"I need to wipe out a vampire nest."