Progress 2

Ron opened his eyes to find himself lying in the forest, his consciousness returning slowly. Beside him, Blame was vibrating wrought with worry, having remained by his side during his nearly hour-long unconsciousness. Ahead, the fourth-class core emitted a dense aura of magic, enveloping the surrounding area.

Realizing the lateness of the hour, Ron's head still felt dizzy, his body fatigued despite his unmatched regenerative abilities. His mental fortitude, too, had its limits.

He hurried towards the dormitory, intent on deliberating the fate of the fourth-class core. While selling it could fetch him a handsome sum and fulfill his desires, Ron harbored a deeper aspiration – to surpass even the legendary Adam himself.

Entering the dormitory, Ron settled on the ground, clutching the fourth-class core in his hand. Its radiant glow bespoke its unparalleled power.

Deciding to absorb the core, Ron knew that while a regular person might experience a mere 20% increase in power, his possession of the devil's heart granted him the ability to fully assimilate its energy, potentially elevating him by 50% or more.

He also desired Blame's empowerment, lamenting that had he not destroyed the flesh golem, Blame could have absorbed its essence and grown stronger.

Wasting no time, Ron assumed a meditative stance, holding the core firmly. A torrent of magic surged through him, coursing towards his hand. The sensation was akin to flames engulfing his arm, but he persevered, knowing any lapse in concentration would result in his magic channels burning out.

After what felt like an eternity, the heat dissipated, leaving Ron imbued with newfound power. His strength had surged, nearing the threshold of a third-class mage. His physique had undergone a remarkable transformation, his muscles bulging with strength that belied his tender age of thirteen.

After absorbing the core, Ron headed back to his room. Inside, he found Luther already fast asleep, having enjoyed a relaxing bath. Ron climbed into his bed, eager for the next day's classes.

.

Days passed without much excitement. Ron found himself paying less attention in class, as he had already learned much from Gazelle.

Instead, he focused on mastering the abilities of his new sword. Blame grew stronger and more agile with each corpse he absorbed, evolving into different forms. Ron learned from Blame that the more corpses he absorbed, the stronger he became.

So, Ron decided to gather more monster corpses for Blame to absorb. In return, he sold the cores he obtained, earning enough to meet his needs.

Today's class caught Ron's interest, as it focused on making Runes and was taught by Angelica, a sixth-class mage. While Ron admired her teaching skills, he also knew that she was a spy for the Dark Hand. Eventually, during an attack on the academy, her true allegiance was discovered, leading to her execution.

As Angelica entered the class, with flowing chestnut hair cascading down her back in soft waves, her piercing emerald eyes held a mysterious allure, captivating the attention of all the boys in the class. She had delicate features, with high cheekbones and full lips that seemed to be perpetually curved into a seductive smile.

"GULPS."

"Well, I guess now I have to save her for sure," Ron thought, a mischievous smile playing on his lips as he contemplated the allure of Angelica's beauty.

Angelica then started running her eyes through all the students including Adam Seraphine Aria, Cain, Luther, Asher and so on. However she finally turned towards Ron and gave a smile towards him which kind caught him of gaurd.

"She already knows I guess" thought Ron.

Soon the class started with Angelica explaining how to make as well as care magic runes. For making a magic rune, a person should have a magic stone unlike magic core, these cores can only be obtained from specific regions and are much valuable and powerful that a magic core of the same class. Also the person also require a tool call the rune etcher which helps us to carefull carve the magic symbols onto the rune.

Now Angelica started demonstarting how to make a Rune. She took the rune etcher and the magic started running through the etcher in a rythmic style and she slowly started carving onto the magic stone. After a few minutes the rune was ready.

She then grasped the magic stone in her hand and channeled her magic into it. Instantly, the stone glowed with radiant energy as intricate magic circles formed around it, culminating in the creation of a fiery orb. One of the key advantages of using magic stones was their ability to provide a steady flow of magic to the user without requiring the individual to tap into their own magical reserves.

Now it was the students' turn to try making the rune. Each student was given a magic stone and a rune etcher.With a deep breath, he began to carve on the stone, carefully pouring magic onto it and connecting all the pointers.

(Pointers are the spots on the stone that supported its structure and were more efficient in drawing out its magic.)

breaks*

Ron glanced toward the source of the sound, noticing that one of the students had accidentally applied too much pressure, causing the magic stone to shatter. Unlike magic cores, magic stones were fragile, and since the stone the student had been given was of low class, it didn't contain much magic power. Thankfully, this prevented it from exploding upon breaking.

Finally, after 10 minutes of meticulous work, Ron completed making his first Rune and eagerly decided to give it a try. With anticipation, he poured a bit of his magic into the stone, but to his disappointment, the Rune didn't activate. Ron was left dumbfounded, feeling like his time had been wasted.

As Ron sat there, Angelica approached him with a warm expression which made him lost in the mesmerizing sight of her smile. Understanding his confusion, she kindly explained that the problem with his Rune lay in the depth of his carvings. Some were too deep, while others were too shallow, creating an imbalance in the magic flow needed for activation.

After the class, everyone filed out of the classroom, including Ria. Over the following days, Ron developed a close friendship with her, spending a lot of time together and getting to know her better.

Unlike many others at the academy, Ria was a commoner admitted based on her exceptional talent. She had learned magic much later than other children in her village but had quickly surpassed them, leading to her enrollment at the academy. However, her family lacked the financial means to support her education.

Fortunately, her studies were sponsored by one of the nobles in the village. Ron himself knew this fact well, recognizing the significance of Ria's achievement as a second-class mage by 80%, especially for someone her age.

Soon, Ron noticed a large gathering outside the academy. He and Ria walked towards the crowd to see what was happening. Among the crowd, Ron spotted a blonde guy with another student from the second class standing behind him. It was Cain, who appeared to be smirking as he glanced at Adam.

 "So, your the top ranker among the first graders" murmured Kael.

"I am, so what do you want to do?" replied Adam his eyes fixed on Kael.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you since I heard a lot about you," replied Kael as he walked past Adam, his gaze briefly shifting to Seraphine and Aria standing behind him.

With a suave gesture, he gently lifted seraphine's chin, his touch sending a shiver down her spine.

"Damn, you have a nice friend here," murmured Kael to Seraphine.

However, as he was about to run his finger along her lips, his hand was stopped by Adam, whose eyes glinted with fury. Without breaking eye contact with Kael, he challenged him to a duel.

The students erupted into excitement at the prospect of a duel between the two, especially since it involved a junior challenging a senior. Amidst the chaos, Ron found himself particularly intrigued, eager to witness the skills of the main character he had been so interested in.