CH 41

Inside Ivan’s mana core. A wave of mana was steadily being controlled into the mana core, constantly expanding the pool of mana in Ivan’s soul while nourishing his core.

Within his core that was now as big as a basin, the small glowing orb was constantly absorbing mana as well.

Its glowing and deeming process became slower with each passing moment, until it finally stabilised.

Boom!

A small burst of mana pushed out of Ivan’s mana core and spread all around him as his orb took on a permanent glowing state, now as bright as a blazing bonfire.

’Finally, stage 3.’ Ivan thought to himself as he opened his eyes while sensing the changes in his body.

Two weeks had passed since the assessment ended and after using the mana chamber every day with the addition of the mana core he had received, it took Ivan 2 weeks to finally reach the 3rd stage of the Level 1 warrior rank.

’It is already starting to feel slower to advance,’ Ivan sighed. This was common knowledge, as everyone’s growth speed would slow down as they became stronger.

He just didn’t expect to feel the slowness so quickly, at least not until he reached the second Level of the warrior rank.

Maybe he wasn’t as talented as he had thought. After all, children didn’t always inherit their parents’ talents.

’It doesn’t matter, I still have ways to keep up with those with talent.’

As long as he was in the academy, the rewards for ranking high in the assessment would help him keep his progress up to speed. And even after leaving the academy, he wouldn’t fall behind.

There were a lot of resources that could improve one’s strength that humans haven’t discovered yet, they were part of the reasons that the Skrivaloks came to Earth.

At this moment, Ivan realised that Lucas, Juliet, Lena, and Aaron were staring at him with wide eyes.

They had paused their training when they felt the burst of mana from Ivan, it was definitely a breakthrough.

"What stage are you in now?" Lena asked.

"The third stage," Ivan replied, deciding not to hide it.

"!!!" The four students.

"So fast, I don’t think anyone else has even entered the second stage yet!" Aaron exclaimed, an envious smile on his face.

He was happy for Ivan but at the same time wished that he were as talented as the other party.

"It hasn’t even been six months since we awakened and you’re already in the third stage, you really are a monster, aren’t you?" Lena said while giggling.

Ivan smiled in response. Juliet and Lucas didn’t say anything but they were also shocked by how fast Ivan’s progress was.

They soon went back to absorbing mana, they all wanted to catch up with Ivan and not get left behind.

Time passed quickly and the two Level 3 warriors soon came to inform them that it was time for them to come out.

Exiting the mana chamber, the group didn’t encounter any of the other squads like on the first day. After two weeks had passed, the other squads no longer had access to the mana chambers so Ivan and his squad had the five mana chambers to themselves.

But for some reason, the five of them continued to use the same mana chamber.

Well, it was more like the four of them following Ivan into any mana chamber he picked and he didn’t bother sending them away.

"What are you looking at?" Juliet snapped after once again catching Lucas stealing peeks of her waist. This had happened a lot of times since they started training inside the mana chamber and always came out soaked in sweat.

Although Lena and Juliet were still in their teens, their bodies were developing quite well. A scene where their clothes were sticking to their bodies wasn’t one that the students would turn away from when the group returned to the lodge area.

Because of this, they had decided to start going to the mana chamber in the evening after returning from the cafeteria. That way, it would already be nighttime when they returned and not many students would be outside to see them.

The sky was dark when they exited the mana chamber. The cool night breeze brushed past them, making them feel refreshed as they returned to their lodge.

"Hey, Ivan. What are you doing tomorrow?" Lena asked as she walked next to Ivan.

"Same as usual," Ivan replied, hinting that he would be in one of the training rooms.

Since they were done with their assessment, first-year students now had access to the training rooms. This was how Ivan had been spending his days during the past two weeks. Aside from using the mana chamber, he literally spent the rest of his time inside the training rooms.

Aside from that, he also got Juliet to teach Lucas how to use guns. The gun they had picked for Lucas was a double-barreled handgun that could shoot up to ten meters.

Unlike Juliet’s musket, Lucas’s handguns weren’t created with mana and couldn’t be stored away. He needed to carry them everywhere with him. Also, they used metal bullets that were only effective against creatures within the strength range of the level 1 warrior rank.

Anything stronger and the handguns were useless, unless Lucas got the one that used mana cores as a source of power. Only then would he be able to deal damage to creatures that were stronger than the Level 1 warrior rank.

As for why Ivan had suggested this and Lucas had agreed to it. It was because White wasn’t capable of fighting yet and Lucas needed something to protect himself with.

Also, he didn’t want what happened last time to repeat itself.

Lucas didn’t just want to watch from a safe distance while his teammates faced danger for him. He wanted to be able to help too!

"Then do you want to train with me tomorrow? I feel like I’m very close to the second stage, I want to spar with you!" Lena said with sparkling eyes. After learning that Ivan’s routine was still the same, she wanted to test out the strength of her vine.

In her opinion, Ivan was currently the strongest first-year student amongst them. Even Aiden and Kelvin with their summons wouldn’t be his match!

Others might still doubt him but not those who were with Ivan during the assessment, they know what they saw.

"Hmm, okay." Ivan thought for a bit before nodding, he saw no reason to refuse Lena’s request.

Lena smiled happily and turned to bother someone else.

Hearing that Lena and Ivan were going to spar, the rest of the group were immediately interested and said that they wanted to watch.

Lena gladly said that they could come and said that they would gather in Ivan’s lodge in the morning before going together.

"Will that be fine? Doesn’t he have to tell his roommate first?" Juliet asked.

"Roommate? What roommate?" Lena asked in confusion. Ivan also looked at Juliet, confused by what she meant.

"What, you guys don’t have roommates?" Lucas asked before Juliet could speak.

"No, I’m the only one in my lodge," Lena said casually.

"Same here,"

"Me too,"

Aaron and Ivan said one after the other. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Juliet "..."

Lucas "...."

Such injustice!

Looking at the expressions of the two, Ivan raised an eyebrow and asked if they weren’t the only ones living in their lodge.

Lucas revealed that he had two roommates in his lodge, making them 3. As for Juliet, there were four girls who were living together with her but they didn’t talk to each other.

"Really? I didn’t know that, it must be very fun to have roommates; someone to talk to all night." Lena let out a sigh as if wishing she had roommates.

Juliet and Lucas "..."

Trust us, you don’t want to have roommates!

As the conversation continued, Lena asked Juliet if she would want to come stay with her so that they could be roommates.

Aaron informed her that it was up to the academy to decide that. After learning about this, Lena suggested that they should look for Mrs Avalor. Since she was the Vice Dean, she could definitely help them with that.

"You think you can casually meet the Vice Dean whenever you want?" Aaron shook his head with a sigh.

The last time was only because Mrs Avalor wanted to show up. She might not even be in the academy at the moment and might not appear during the following months or even years!

"Doesn’t matter, I’ll ask her whenever I see her!" Lena said, looking determined.

Juliet blinked at her, she had yet to even agree to Lena’s suggestion!

"Please, also ask her if she can move me to Aaron’s lodge." Lucas quickly added.

"Sure, I’ll do that!" Lena nodded, looking reliable.

"Why my lodge?" Aaron asked with a tired look.

"Then Ivan’s lodge," Lucas said in a beat.

"I’ll pass," Ivan replied right away.

"Why?"

"Nothing, stay with Aaron instead."

"I don’t want a roommate," Aaron announced.

"You both!" Lucas said with a red face.