The Life of a Battlemage

After breaking through to the Blue core, Rifi finally allowed himself to relax. The mental strain of staying focused for so long during a breakthrough was exhausting. One misstep, and everything could have been lost. Now, with the process behind him, the tension in his body began to release.

That was so tiresome.

Rifi groaned as he stretched, feeling the stiffness in his muscles from remaining motionless for the duration of the breakthrough. He glanced over at his master, Nala, who slept peacefully in the pond just a few meters away. A faint smile crept onto Rifi's face.

This was too easy compared to my past breakthroughs. He thought back to the grueling process of breaking through to the Brown and Purple cores. Those had been agonizing, both mentally and physically. This time, though, it had felt… manageable. That just shows how much knowledge matters. Having a White core master is priceless.

In the past, Rifi had always struggled with his breakthroughs. Each one felt like hitting a wall, pushing his mind and willpower to their absolute limits. But now, with the guidance Nala provided, the process seemed almost effortless. His understanding had deepened, his confidence grown.

No wonder the main clans cling to their knowledge, Rifi thought bitterly. They hoard it, keeping everyone else down.

The thought of the clans—particularly the "Esquliana" clan—made his blood boil. Just thinking of them stirred the animosity buried deep within him. They had taken everything from him: his family, his future, even his hope. The scar across his chest was a constant reminder of their cruelty, and the promise he made to his dying sister haunted him still.

Calm down, he told himself, forcing his anger back down. No point in getting angry over those bastards now.

He knew the system wasn't just broken because of the main clans. Even smaller clans and independent mages, once they gained power, they would greedily guard their knowledge, hoarding it within their ranks. It was human nature—selfishness and greed.

Master wants me to unite humanity, but how can I fix something so deeply flawed? Rifi sighed, frustrated by the enormity of the task ahead of him. The more he thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. People were corruptible, and power only made them more so.

No point dwelling on it now, he decided. I'll make sure to share the knowledge Nala taught me with anyone willing to learn. At least I can stop that particular injustice.

He wasn't naive enough to think he could change the nature of humanity. Corruption would always exist. But what he could do was ensure that the knowledge he had gained didn't die with him. Rifi had no illusions of being a hero, but he would do what he could to make things a little better.

For now, though, his focus had to be on himself. He needed to get stronger. That was the only thing he had control over in this moment.

Time to test what this Blue core can do.

Rifi closed his eyes, channeling mana through his body. The surge of power was immediate. His eyes glowed a vivid blue as he filled the new pathways he had created. It took more mana to fill them than before, but the density of the mana had increased dramatically, making it more potent.

He willed the mana to shift, converting it into lightning mana. He felt the familiar crackle of energy coursing through him. For a moment, he played with the transformation, switching between elementless and lightning mana. Outside his body, only lightning mana was effective; the elementless mana dissipated too quickly once externalized. But he noticed that even in its raw form, it lasted longer than it had at lower cores, and he had a slight measure of control over it. The only way to make it not dissipiate was to expand his sould space to the outside of his body, which he knew was impossible at low ranks.

Rifi experimented with summoning lightning blasts. In Blue core, he could conjure multiple lower-strength bolts with ease. Testing the limits of his full-powered lightning blast, he realized it drained about a fourth of his mana core. The further the bolt traveled, the weaker it became, but that was nothing new to Rifi. He was more interested in how effective it would be at close range.

At one to two meters, I can use its full power, Rifi calculated. I still need to be up close to fight anyone at my level, but I could easily take on a hundred Tier 1 beasts with low-powered blasts.

Distance mattered in battle, but as long as he knew his limits and the effective range of his attacks, he could adapt.

Now for the real test.

Rifi took a deep breath and filled his pathways with dense lightning mana. His body began to heat up, steam rising from his skin, though he barely noticed. He focused, preparing to activate every muscle fiber in his legs simultaneously and take a few steps at lightning speed.

Boom!

The cave wall stopped him—hard. Rifi found himself embedded nearly a meter deep in the stone. If not for the thin mana shield coating his body, he probably would have shattered half his bones. His body had grown stronger thanks to his training with Nala, but not enough to avoid injury when slamming into solid rock at full speed.

As he struggled to free himself from the wall, a terrifying pressure suddenly filled the cave. His hair stood on end, and his skin prickled as if something immense was pressing down on him. For a moment, Rifi thought he was going to be crushed.

"You idiot, do you want us both killed?" Nala's voice boomed in his mind, filled with fury.

The pressure lessened slightly, allowing Rifi to regain his senses. "I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean to wake you—I was just testing—"

"Think!" Nala cut him off, his voice sharp. "You better hope the devils weren't nearby to notice that."

Rifi's face went pale. He had forgotten, in his eagerness to test his new power, why they were hiding in the cave in the first place.

Oh, shit… what have I done?

"Nothing now, silly disciple," Nala growled. "Get into the pond, quickly! It's harder for them to track our mana signatures near the mana vein. If I tell you to, you'll have to run deeper into the cave and escape through the river."

Rifi didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled into the pond, nodding anxiously at his master. The tension was thick, Nala's eyes grim as he focused, grimacing from time to time as if in pain. Rifi guessed Nala was using his soul space to scan the surroundings, searching for any sign of approaching danger. After what felt like an eternity, Nala finally spoke.

"Silly human," Nala muttered, his voice calming. "We're safe for now. It seems we were lucky this time—no devils nearby."

Rifi let out a long breath of relief. "I'm sorry, Master. I lost control while testing my new mana… I didn't think."

Nala's expression softened, though he still looked tired. "It's my fault as well for not warning you properly. From now on, test your abilities while I'm awake. That way, I can control what leaves the cave."

"I will," Rifi said, bowing his head in shame. "I'll only test things with you are awake, Master."

Nala gave a slight nod, his energy already fading. "Good. Now go and cultivate while I replenish my strength."

As Nala drifted back into hibernation, Rifi sat in the pond, frustrated with himself. His impatience had nearly cost them both their lives, and his master had been forced to intervene. He would have to be more careful in the future.

But despite the mistake, a part of Rifi was exhilarated. The increase in his power was incredible. The difference between the Purple core and Blue core was staggering. His mana was denser, his control sharper. It was no wonder high-rank mages looked down on those with lower cores.

The difference is like night and day. My mana feels at least twice if not even four times as dense as it used to be. No wonder the high-ranked mages look at us like we're nothing.

Rifi closed his eyes, determined to push himself even harder. There was still so much to learn, and he had a long way to go before he could reach the level of his master. But with Nala's guidance, he knew that one day, he would get there.