[Eternal Night]

As the water orb formed before his eyes, Claude's heart pounded with a mixture of caution and curiosity. This was no simple magic trick or sleight of hand; it was a defiance of everything he had known of the world around him.

Mental energy.

Only now did it sink in for Claude, that this was a power with an almost limitless nature. 'Is this power...?' he wondered silently, awed by his newfound ability.

Tier 0: Water Orb

Use mental energy to manipulate and condense water vapour in the air, forming an orb of water.

This was the spell Claude had just performed, a spell suitable for mage apprentices. Its initial levels of mastery simply revolved around condensing a ball of water and then firing it. 

As one achieved a certain level of mastery over it, one would be able to manipulate the shape of the water condensed. Using his mental power, Claud began to try and alter the shape of the water.

As Claude focused on the orb of water suspended before him, he tapped into the various principles of pressure and motion that Raymond had drilled into his studies.

Manipulating the water ball involved altering the pressure around and within the orb.

By concentrating his mental energy, Claude could create subtle variations in pressure that dictated the water's movement and shape. For example, by increasing the pressure on one side of the orb while decreasing it on the other, he could make it stretch or compress, effectively changing its shape.

He visualized the theoretical flow lines of the water as he attempted to reshape the orb into a more elongated form.

This required a delicate balance of forces: too much pressure could destabilize the entire structure. His brows creased and sweat pooled on his forehead as the ball began to violently pulse.

As the water began to morph in shape, it didn't take long for Claude to lose control of it.

Boom!

The water free from the grasp of Claude's mental energy dropped towards the ground forming a puddle of water which was swiftly absorbed by the forest floor below.

Claude could only watch in shock as the orb of water imploded before him, thankfully, it wasn't too close to him so he wasn't affected by it.

Despite his failure to control the shape of the water, Claude only felt helplessly enthralled by this newfound power.

He repeated the process a few more times until pain began to emerge in his head.

As he sighed he thought to himself, 'Is this the mental exhaustion mentioned in the diary?'

Raymond mentioned in the diary that mental energy can be exhausted by repetitive use and can only be replenished through rest.

If one were to fully use up their mental energy, Raymond states, that would lead to either death, severe memory loss or even a drastically reduced intelligence.

A novice mage apprentice could only use a tier 0 spell around 5 times at once, an intermediate apprentice 10 times and an advanced apprentice could cast such a spell 20 times.

Claude could himself cast the spell 'Waterball' seven times.

This was higher than your average novice, Claude could only assume this should be due to him having more mental energy than the average novice.

'I mean knowledge is what develops mental energy and it's not like Raymond didn't shove knowledge down my throat for the past few years...' At the thought of his teacher, a deep sigh escaped him.

Looking around his surroundings he also noted that the surrounding mist had slightly thinned due to his practice; thinking to himself, 'I guess I'll take a nap for now... By the time I wake up let's hope dawn arrives.'

Laying on the rough tree branch he found himself slightly uncomfortable with its rough texture. 'At this rate how long will I have to wait to sleep on a comfortable bed like at home...'

With his thoughts meandering to his home, Claude closed his eyes as he readied himself to sleep. Claude soon sank into a slumber as he lay on the sturdy tree branch, the diary firmly held in his hands on his chest.

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Before Claude knew it, he found himself standing amidst a familiar forest at night, the air thick with a sense of foreboding.

Shadows danced around him, twisting and contorting into sinister shapes that seemed to leer at him from the darkness.

His breath quickened as he looked around, soon finding traces of familiarity. To his dismay, he found Raymond standing at his side, his expression grim and unreadable.

A chill ran down Claude's spine as he realised where his sense of familiarity came from. In the distance, a haunting monstrosity loomed, its form shrouded in darkness.

Claude's heartbeat quickened, his senses on high alert as a wave of dread washed over him as he watched motionlessly as the horse-like beast thundered towards him.

Without warning, the scene began to morph and shift, twisting into another familiar scene. Surrounded by the familiar emerald forested landscape, he found himself there at day.

Clenching his fists he looked around him briefly before locking onto the first clearing in his periphery.

Claude's heart hammered in his chest as he stumbled forward, his movements sluggish and uncoordinated like a drunken waltz. His footsteps echoed hollowly in the darkness, each sound magnified in the oppressive silence.

And then, as if from nowhere, he saw it.

A figure lay ahead motionless, the ground around it stained dark with what looked like dried blood, the nauseating metallic scent heavy in the air.

Dread coiled in the pit of Claude's stomach as he approached, his every instinct screaming at him to turn back.

But he couldn't look away.

He wanted to.

No, he needed to confirm whose corpse that was.

With trembling hands, he reached out to touch the figure, only to recoil in horror as it sprang to life, its bloodied hands closing around his throat with a vice-like grip.

"IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!" the figure roared.

Claude tried to scream, to fight back against the suffocating terror that threatened to consume him.

But no sound escaped his lips, only a strangled gasp as darkness closed in around him.

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"NO!"

With a start, Claude jolted awake, his heart pounding in his chest, his body drenched in a cold sweat.

Panic gripped him like the ice-cold fingers of a corpse, as he struggled to catch his breath, his mind reeling from the nightmare he just had.

For a moment, he lay there in the darkness, his thoughts a tangled mess of fear and confusion. Reality blurred and overlapped with his dream, as he lay there wordlessly clutching his head.

As his panic began to settle down, Claude began to realise what had just happened.

He had a nightmare

More than that, it was a reminder of what he had been so desperately trying to forget by indulging in the magical future he kept painting for himself.

A nervous chuckle escaped his lips as he tried to shake off the lingering sense of dread.

"Let's hope that won't happen again," he muttered to himself, though deep down, he knew the nightmare would continue to haunt him long after he woke.

As much as Claude wanted to see Raymond gain, that was most certainly not the way he wanted it to happen. However, he grew perplexed as he looked around his surroundings.

"What the...?" Said Claude with utter bewilderment filling his words.

Although he wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, his restored mental energy suggested it was more like a full sleep than just a nap.

Yet, despite the passage of time, he looked around to see it was still seemingly nighttime. The now familiar crimson moon floated in the night sky, with no apparent notion of ever moving.

"Blast it! I can't keep waiting here. For all I know there might not be day in this world..." Claude murmured under his breath. 

Carefully placing the small diary between his coarse linen shirt, damp with sweat, and tattered tunic, Claude began to descend the tree.

With cautious footsteps, Claude began to tread through the misty forest path. The glow of the various fungi present provided a faint source of light, guiding his way through the darkness with their pale glow.

However, his attention was soon drawn to a strange light in the distance, its azure glow standing out amidst the sea of glowing red and purple fungi. Intrigued, Claude edged closer, his curiosity piqued by the unfamiliar sight.

But before he could reach its source, the glow suddenly jolted. Like a streak of light, something shot out towards him, its trajectory aimed directly at his face, leaving him with no time to react.