SSS-Ranked Skill in a New Filthy World

About him, the ten dark figures battled tirelessly, with magic and weapons he had never seen.

The figure bearing the chain summoned a dragon of fire that flew into the ranks of the enemy, burning dozens alive. Another sword thrust, and the earth gaped open, swallowing demons alive.

Roman sweated on his face, Mana burning in his chest, but his body was still strong. He just kept casting, fire, ice, lightning, earth—spells he had no idea he could cast, words his mouth spoke without thought.

Then the demons broke through, and he was fighting them hand-to-hand.

Roman raised a hand, and a sword of light appeared in his hand. He swung it, cutting through the throat of a demon. Another leaped at him, and he threw it backward with a toss of force.

He was not alone. The figure with the twin daggers spun around him, a whirlwind of motion so fast it was difficult to discern, cutting down demons before they could reach him.

Still more demons came forward. Roman raised both hands, and a pillar of flame shot up into the air, exploding outward and clearing a space around him.

The earth was littered with bodies, demon blood steaming in the cold air.

Roman panted, his chest on fire.

Then something strange happened. His hand spasmed again, and he spoke words he did not know. The world shimmered around him, and the demons paused, seeming confused.

Illusion magic.

But this illusion was different from any other, greater than anything he had ever tried before. The demons saw something—Roman had no idea what—but they screamed and assaulted each other, rending and snapping.

Roman watched, his heart pounding and suddenly he gained control of the body, he moved his hands and immediately it was lights out.

Roman's body jolted hard, and his eyes snapped open.

For a moment, he lay there on his bed staring upward, he was sweating with his chest raising up and down.

His heart was beating so loud he could hear it in his ears.

He stared up at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath.

The memory of the dream was still fresh—the roar of demons, the heat of fire, the clash of magic, and those ten dark figures fighting beside him.

It didn't just feel like a dream, it was like he was living a memory.

And then that last moment—when he suddenly had control, moved his own hands, and everything went black.

Roman sat up slowly on the bed. The room was quiet, just the soft sound of the wind outside, Ava wasn't in the room and he had no idea how long he had been asleep.

He looked at his hand, the same hand that had cast so many spells in the dream.

"What was that…?" he whispered to himself.

It had felt real. Too real. The weight of the Mana in his chest, the rush of power, the fear, and the calm all mixed together.

And those figures… who were they?

Roman rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the strange feeling still clinging to him. "Just a dream," he muttered, though it didn't feel like it.

Slowly, he stood up sae the black stone he kept besides the bed, Roman picked it up, feeling its smooth surface.

He closed his eyes and infused Mana.

The warmth stirred in his chest, a bit easier than before, and when he opened his eyes, the stone glowed softly in his palm.

He still couldn't feel the Mana but the stone still glowed.

Roman let out a slow breath, setting the stone down. His thoughts drifted back to the dream again—the demons, the spells, and especially that final illusion magic that made the demons turn on each other.

'Is it because of my [Arcane Supremacy], maybe my head of just showing me what I could become, I'm pretty sure my head is fabricating things'

"But what if I could do that…" Roman whispered to himself. "Even just a fraction of that…"

His lips curled into a faint smile.

For now, it was still just a dream. But it showed him what could be possible, the only thing wrong with the dream was the other people he saw, he didn't see their faces but it didn't bother him much.

Roman stood up from his bed placing the stone back on his bed and exited the room.

Roman walked through the hallway heading outside, some of the girls doors were open as he walked by.

As soon as he exited the dorm he could already see students training on the training ground, the problem Roman had was most of the students in the academy were already trained while he was starting from the scratch.

Roman wasn't planning on going to the training ground, his mind was fixed on the library, even though he couldn't check any spell book he was going to see Neia.

Roman walked to the library and unlike the first time he was here, he wasn't alone, as he stepped in he could already see students walking around and Neia behind the counter reading another book.

"Neia," Roman called softly as he stepped closer.

Neia looked up from her book, startled. Her big, round eyes blinked at him, and for a second she just stared, quiet. Then she pushed the chair forward and moved closer to him.

The top of her head barely reached his chest. She had to tilt her chin up to see his face.

Her limbs were thin and delicate, the oversized robe slipping off one shoulder like it was made for someone else.

"Roman… y-you're back," she said, voice barely above a whisper.

"I am," Roman replied, "I thought I'd see you."

Neia shifted her gaze to the floor, then back to him. "Um… do you want to practice Mana control again?" she asked, sounding unsure.

Roman shook his head slightly. "Not this time. Actually… I wanted to ask about illusion magic"

Her eyes widened, surprise flashing across her face. "Illusion magic? Because it doesn't work on you?"

"Not that," Roman said, leaning a little closer. "I've been thinking about it, is it possible for all mages to fall prey to illusions?"

Neia's fingers fidgeted with the edge of her robe, "Why are you concerned about that, you're an elemental mage right, if my illusions can't affect you then you have nothing to worry about"

"I'm just curious," Roman said, keeping his tone casual. "How do they work? Also show me illusion spells"

Neia didn't understand why Roman was asking about illusion magic, she had tried to cast illusion spells on him last time he was here and it didn't work.

'Wait, is Roman lying about his Magic type, that makes theost sense, he could make people see flames when it was actually illusions' Neia mumbled in her head.

She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Illusion magic is… it's not just about showing illusions. You can use it to change what people see, hear, sometimes even feel. But it depends on the caster's skill and Mana control."

Roman listened quietly, watching her face as she spoke.

"It's hard to learn, because it requires delicate Mana control to perfect it" Neia continued softly. "Most mages can't do it well because it's not just about power… it's about precision. You have to make the mind believe what it sees."

"So it's not just about strength of the mage?" Roman asked.

She shook her head. "No… illusion magic can be strong even if the caster's Mana isn't very high. It depends on the caster's will and how well they can trick the senses."

Roman's lips curled into a faint smile. Even though it was hard to learn, he could focus on two of the best illusion spells that fit what he wanted and master them.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Neia's gaze dropped to his hand, then back to his face.

"If… if you ever learn illusion magic," she whispered, "you should be careful. It's easy to lose yourself in it."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Lose yourself?"

She nodded slowly. "Some illusion mages forget what's real and what's not… but, um… I guess that only happens if you go too far, it's happened to me once, I began to see someone who wasn't real"

Roman chuckled softly. "I'm an elemental mage so I have nothing to worry about there"

Neia shifted on her feet, her robe slipping lower on her shoulder before she pulled it back up. "D-do you still want help with Mana control?"

"Maybe later, I'm training with my roommate" Roman replied.

Neia lowered her gaze, her cheeks pink as she looked away from Roman to see most of the girls in the library staring at both of them.

"Okay…"

Roman glanced around the library, noticing a few students scattered between the shelves, as soon as he looked over some of them averted their gaze while some actually waved to him.

"I'm sure it's not working for you but the entire library is under an illusion, no students would be able to see any spell books" Neia chuckled as she looked towards Roman.

"Ohh, because of the assignment"