Arlon stared at the aftermath of his spell, his grip tightening around Arcanium Edge.
The monster's body lay still, impaled through by the Ice Pillar.
He exhaled slowly.
The spell itself wasn't what shocked him. He could have pierced that monster's hide with enough power.
If he had cast a high-tier spell from the start, the result wouldn't have been that different.
But he hadn't done that.
He had only intended to keep them at bay, to buy himself a mont to formulate a proper plan.
This was the only way to proceed in this Tower if one wanted to advance.
Instead, the sword had amplified his magic beyond what he had expected.
And seeing that made him realize sothing—
He didn't need a plan.
At least, not on this floor.
Arlon lifted Arcanium Edge and took a step forward.
His mana surged, responding to his intent, and before the monsters could close the distance, he cast his next spell.
Flood.
A deep rumble filled the chamber.
Normally, with his current power, a single cast of this spell could flood the entire room with water, rising up to three tis his own height.
He expected the sa result this ti.
But it didn't happen like that.
The mont the spell activated, water erupted from the spot beneath him—not as a slow, swelling flood, but as an imdiate wave crashing outward.
The force of it hit the advancing monsters head-on, slamming into their bodies with enough power to send them stumbling back.
And in an instant, the entire battlefield was covered in water.
Arlon's eyes flickered with intrigue.
Stronger again…
He didn't pause. He didn't want to.
Sothing inside him urged him forward and test his powers.
His mana surged once more as he raised his sword again.
Blizzard.
The temperature in the chamber plumted.
The water he had just created—enough to cover a hundred monsters—began to freeze.
Ice spread in a flash, consuming everything in its path, trapping the creatures within.
Within seconds, every monster was encased in thick, solid ice.
Arlon could see them struggling inside, their movents sluggish, their bodies unable to break free.
Still, he wasn't finished.
He tightened his grip on Arcanium Edge and lifted it high.
A third spell.
teor.
The ceiling above trembled.
Then, fire rained down.
Countless burning teors fell from above, crashing into the battlefield below.
The mont they struck, the frozen landscape shattered, ice breaking apart in violent explosions, taking the trapped monsters with it.
The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber. A thick cloud of steam and debris surged into the air.
And then, silence.
A familiar notification appeared before him.
[ Challenger, you have cleared Level 1 of Floor 87. ][ Would you like to advance to the next floor? ]
Arlon exhaled, his heartbeat steady.
"No."
The prompt changed.
[ Would you like to start the next level? ]
Arlon didn't answer imdiately.
Instead, he lowered his sword and studied it carefully, looking at it from different angles and seeing different colors.
Sothing was different.
It wasn't just his magic that had changed.
It was the way it had changed.
Every spell he had cast was his own. The mana ca from him. And yet, the power felt… refined. As if nothing had been wasted.
He wanted to learn more about his new sword. He didn't know if he could use this power infinitely.
Of course, he was using his own mana, so he couldn't use them infinitely even if the sword allowed him.
But he wanted to check the sword's limits.
And he could feel it.
That connection.
This ti, he paid attention.
The sword had its own mana inside. But it wasn't using it to enhance his spells. It wasn't pouring its own power into them to make them stronger.
Instead, it was assisting.
It mixed a small amount of its mana with his—just enough to strengthen their connection.
And through that connection, he was able to guide his own mana with absolute precision.
It was almost perfect.
Arlon narrowed his eyes.
He knew about this concept.
He had learned it from Agema.
When he had once asked her what kind of staff she had used during her ti on Trion, she had given a surprising answer.
She had used none.
At first, when she was younger, she had used a staff.
Back then, she had needed a tool to help her direct her mana, to shape her power into the world more efficiently.
But over ti, she had realized sothing during her research on wands and staves.
Even though the staff guided her mana, it also diminished it.
So of the power was lost in the process.
So, she had learned to cast without one.
For others, that would have been impossible. A tool like a staff was necessary for control, for stability.
But Agema was a genius.
She had trained herself until she no longer needed an external dium.
She had beco the guide for her own mana, ensuring that none of her power was wasted.
And now—
Now, Arlon understood.
Even the best staves, no matter how well-crafted, caused so loss of energy while guiding a mage's mana shape into the world.
They served as conduits, but conduits could never transfer everything perfectly.
But this was different.
Arlon wasn't relying on Arcanium Edge to direct his mana.
He was guiding it himself.
And because of that, almost none of his power was lost.
His magic was reaching its true potential.
And the sword—
The sword wasn't changing his magic, making it stronger.
It was simply allowing him to cast it perfectly. So, this was Arlon's own power, not sothing that got stronger thanks to the sword or the staff.
For the first ti, he didn't need to hold back without realizing it.
He could wield this weapon as he pleased and cast stronger spells as long as his mana allowed.
A slow grin ford on Arlon's face.
After getting his rest and replenishing his mana, he checked the notification once again, and this ti, he directly said it himself:
"Start levels two and three together."
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