Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

Some Sirenids brought unique items Seline knew nothing about, others mana-rich objects, and still others Mana Cores vibrating with power.

However, none of this truly caught the girl's attention. Sure, if she could, she would have taken everything, but since she had to choose only one item, she wanted to wait until the end.

After spending many hours refusing everyone, the last monster finally appeared.

It crawled slowly, its eyes hiding wisdom. It bowed its head for a moment before presenting something different from all the others.

Seline watched the newcomer with wide eyes and sweaty hands, her heart racing with anticipation.

"Its mana!" she thought, shocked. "There's no doubt, it's a Silver 1! Plus, it seems much stronger than the worm we faced in the previous Gate…"

Seline was so stunned by the scene that she almost did not notice the object in the monster's hands.

Unlike the others, the item shown by the Silver 1 sirenid did not shimmer magnificently or carry any special aura.

It was simple in every way, but that was what made it special and worthy of a closer look.

How could, after all, such a powerful being offer a mere scrap as a gift?

After recovering from the shock, Seline closely examined the object in the monster's hands.

"A book?" she whispered questioningly. She had not expected to see a book in a place like this.

Needless to say, Seline was truly curious about it.

"Can I see it?" she asked, extending a hand, almost hesitant.

The sirenid merely nodded, its eyes gleaming for a moment.

Seline did not notice as she took the book in her hands.

It was ancient but very thin. Its cover was made of a rough, light blue fabric. No insignia or writing adorned it.

With curiosity, Seline opened the book to the first page.

A large inscription appeared on it.

"Meditation of the Sharp Siren"

Seline was stunned for a few seconds before finally understanding why all this was happening.

"So it's because of my talent that everyone is acting this way, huh?" she said softly before continuing to read the meditation technique, growing more impressed by its depth the more she read.

This is exactly what I need! she thought, mouth and eyes wide as she carefully read every detail, her excitement palpable.

Suddenly, just as Seline reached the crucial part of the technique, a burst of aura made her tremble for a moment.

Looking up, she saw the Silver 1 sirenid's eyes fixed on hers. Seline noticed. This was not the gaze of an admirer, like the other sirens. It was the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey, a chilling intensity that froze her in place.

Now she had to make a decision.

Accept the gift and all that came with it, or refuse and face the consequences.

---

In another place-

"Well, here we are again…"

A week had passed since Lian suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the gargoyles, Bronze 5 monsters with exceptional power.

Lian had trained relentlessly, defeating countless golems and absorbing their Mana Cores, even for minimal enhancement. He could not consider hoarding them to sell once he left the Gate.

He had to become stronger as quickly as possible.

Moreover, the Mana Cores were the only resource his body could assimilate to avoid dying of hunger or thirst. However, a human body could not survive on mana alone.

Lian's face was gaunt from hunger, his muscles wasted as his body consumed itself to survive, a skeletal figure driven by sheer will.

Yet he was alive. His eyes had not yet lost hope.

Lian was in the same spot where he had awakened on the brink of death after escaping the two gargoyles. It was far enough from the tower to avoid drawing attention.

"That time, when I escaped to this point, the monsters turned back, becoming statues again," Lian said thoughtfully. "Does that mean if I attacked them from here, they would not awaken at all?"

His question had logic. He had thought about it extensively, searching for ways to face those two monsters, but despite his recent improvement, he did not feel ready to challenge them face-to-face.

He was about 100 meters from the tower's doors, unsure if his spells could reach the gargoyles, but that did not stop him from trying.

"Let's begin," he murmured, his eyes gleaming with determination and resolve.

Closing his eyes, a circle appeared in his mind. Due to the distance, he did not know if his spells could travel so far before losing power or even dissipating.

Without thinking of anything else, Lian began drawing the circle with precision. During this time, he had trained extensively, managing to increase his precision to a good level. Soon, he would reach the peak.

"Ignis Arde, Ignis Globus"

[Precision: 90%]

Mana flowed from his body with a speed and naturalness far different from before. The fireball formed instantly, its power incomparable to previous ones.

In a single moment, the fireball shot at full speed toward the two statues at the entrance.

"Maybe I can do this—" Lian thought, watching his fireball cover nearly half the distance.

But as it reached 50 meters, the fiery orb visibly began to lose power, the flames weakening until they vanished completely at 55 meters.

"Well, I haven't lost my magic touch… anything I say can be turned against me, for better or worse…"

Perhaps Lian was simply cursed, or maybe he was overthinking it. After all, even if he had said nothing, the fireball would have lost its effect anyway.

But the boy's confidence was unshaken. He still had other forms to try and other variants. Not to mention, he could approach and retreat after each strike.

This time, he held the upper hand, not the two monsters at the entrance.

After trying different sizes and variants, he finally moved to his favorite.

"Geometric Spell, Circle"

"Let's try this." His eyes closed as he visualized a series of concentric circles. This time, he formed four in total.