"Hiss—"
Kanzaki Rei's lips twitched.
Kumironi shot Iz a resentful look. "Iz, don't you think you went a little too far on Rei? I don't recall you having a habit of child abuse."
Yes. Exactly.
Kumironi, give this child-abusing maniac a proper scolding.
What was that nonsense about, 'In real combat, it's not just you attacking—the enemy counterattacks too'?
No honor. No respect for seniority. Just straight-up blasting me.
Is that how a master behaves?
Rei lay sprawled across Kumironi's lap as she treated his injuries.
But this time, the healing was nothing like when she had restored the fatal wound in Iz Palut's chest. It was much slower.
As the gradual restoration continued, dull aches still lingered throughout Rei's body.
Yet beneath the pain, he faintly sensed something else—
As his wounds mended, his vitality and physique seemed to be strengthening as well.
Iz scratched his head.
"Well…"
"Potential has to be stimulated somehow. He needed to experience what real combat feels like."
"If he walks around thinking enemies won't fight back, that's going to get him killed."
Kumironi continued tending to Rei's injuries. "But no mage's first sparring partner is Iz Palut."
"This was his first real battle, wasn't it?"
"Iz, no matter how you look at it, you went a bit overboard."
That's right.
Teach him a proper lesson, Kumironi.
Rei lay on her lap and shot Iz Palut a sideways glare filled with disdain.
This fight had left him utterly frustrated.
Truthfully, he had looked forward to defeating Iz Palut.
After transmigrating into another world—who didn't harbor at least a few grand dreams?
Becoming the world's strongest mage. Sweeping aside all opponents within the same realm. Suppressing enemies across the heavens.
Even if he had just begun, even if he couldn't yet become the strongest mage or suppress all enemies across the heavens—
He should at least be able to dominate opponents of the same level, right?
Judging from the Advancement Ceremony results and the descriptions of mages in the common knowledge texts—
He should qualify as an absolute magical genius. The once-in-a-generation, strongest-of-the-strong type.
And after reaching Level 2, he had gained an additional Divine-Tier talent—
「God-Tier · Multicast」
The moment Iz proposed a same-level battle, Rei naturally imagined crushing him effortlessly.
Starting with defeating Iz Palut—
Then sweeping across the heavens!
But who would have thought—
The one crushed so thoroughly would be himself?
Iz, you really know how to demolish a child's confidence.
Iz shrugged. "It's not entirely my fault."
"Mainly, Little Rei genuinely ignited my competitive spirit."
Kumironi arched a brow, her tone teasing. "Oh~ The legendary Iz Palut, feeling competitive with a child?"
Iz shook his head.
"No, Kumironi."
He answered seriously.
"At that moment, I truly felt that if I didn't take it seriously, I would lose."
"And I believe Rei is an opponent worthy of my full effort."
Kumironi froze briefly, studying Iz Palut carefully.
Then she said nothing more and focused on healing Rei.
...
It had to be said—Kumironi's healing was extraordinary.
Moments ago, Rei's body had been torn open with wounds everywhere.
After treatment, not even a scar remained.
Even the phantom pain that lingered in memory had completely vanished.
Had she healed even the trauma in his heart?
Kumironi really was impressive. No wonder she was a Level 5 Life Reforger.
Rei couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Back in his room, he reflected on what Iz had said that afternoon.
"You need your own thoughts."
At present, he had mastered fourteen spells.
Including Mana Augmentation, that made fifteen.
"Come to think of it… I've learned so many spells, yet I don't understand a single bit of magical theory."
With that thought, he reached toward his bedside table and picked up the dust-covered copy of Ice Cone—the book he had skimmed once for the incantation before tossing aside.
He opened to the first page.
And began reading from the beginning.
Now that he had trained the spell to Transcendence, rereading it brought entirely new insights.
The history and origins…
Were not as boring as they once seemed.
...
When he woke the next morning, it was back to his usual routine.
Go to the library and read.
Though he carried the common knowledge book with him at all times, there were still matters that required cross-referencing.
So during the morning study session, he still preferred going to the library to consult additional materials.
After lunch—
It was time to train magic with Iz Palut.
Training under Iz truly accelerated progress at a terrifying rate.
In a single day, Rei had trained the six newly learned Second-Tier spells all the way to Transcendence.
「Heavy Wall」「Venom Vine Lash」「Wind Burst」「Sinking Shadow Mire」「Rigid Barrier」「Rising Wave Art」
Respectively evolving into:
Stone Wall Hardness Evolution.Vine Toxicity Evolution.Wind Blast Amplification Evolution.Shadow Mire Adhesion Evolution.Barrier Strength Evolution.Water Column Range Evolution.
This time, when Rei sparred against Iz—
It was no longer as one-sided as the previous day.
Perhaps Iz was controlling his strength, holding back somewhat.
But regardless, Rei gained immensely from every battle.
「Mage Mastery — Transcendent」 granted additional experience each time he cast Transcendent Magic.
And Multicast's triple casting provided triple experience.
Combined with the fivefold experience bonus from sparring with Iz—
Plus sudden bursts of inspiration during real combat that further increased proficiency—
Every spell Rei cast now granted hundreds of thousands—sometimes over a million—experience.
A single cast equaled the bitter cultivation of ordinary mages over millions of repetitions.
At the same time, through constant combat with Iz—
Rei's application of magic became increasingly fluid.
Techniques he had never considered before began to surface.
For example—
Generating a Stone Wall behind a Rigid Barrier.
After the enemy's initial strike was mitigated by the barrier, the stone wall formed a secondary safeguard.
Once the wall shattered—
Another Rigid Barrier waited behind it.
Layered like a sandwich.
Under triple force dispersion, it could neutralize the vast majority of offensive attacks.
Meanwhile—
Combining Silent Wind Swarm with Wind Burst—
He could instantly blast the Silent Wind Swarm onto an enemy's body, delivering lethal damage in a single moment.
Or use Wind Burst to whip up the air currents, masking the presence of the Silent Wind Swarm.
Beyond that—
The coordination between Sinking Shadow Mire and Curse Arrow.
Between Stone Wall and Pillar Surge.
Transcendent Magic held another advantage beyond sheer power.
It was new.
Almost entirely new spells.
Aside from Rei and Iz Palut—
No third person possessed them.
And what no one knows—
Is hardest to guard against.
However, one thing puzzled Rei.
Why could Iz also use Transcendent Magic?
Did he possess Proficiency Evolution as well?
One day.
Two days.
Three days…
In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed since arriving in this world.
He had completed his class advancement on the fifth day.
Since then, each day followed the same rhythm—
Morning: Intensive world-knowledge study.Afternoon: Training with Iz.
Occasionally, Akasei would drop by asking:
"Coming to subjugate the Frost Subdragon?""Coming to subjugate the Ruin Subdragon?""Coming to subjugate the Blaze Subdragon?"
Yet Iz seemed remarkably responsible toward Rei.
Every time Akasei came asking—
He declined.
…Wait.
Isn't he your teammate?
At least go once. I can afford to skip a day of training.
That's what Rei thought.
But truthfully—
He wanted to keep training.
Every single day, he could feel his strength skyrocketing.
That intoxicating sensation of rapid growth—
It was impossible to stop.
Meanwhile, Mana Void had successfully completed its evolution.
Under Iz's guidance, Mana Void advanced into 「Empty Domain」—which Iz described as the strongest mana enhancement technique available to a Second-Tier Mage.
And the only mages who had mastered Empty Domain—
Were Iz and Rei.
Those who had learned Mana Tide would, upon reaching Second Tier, instead study a weakened version of Empty Domain—
Called Mana Blank.
Learning magic from Iz was truly an exquisite experience.
If no unexpected events occurred—
Rei felt he could continue studying under him indefinitely.
The day after mastering Empty Domain—
Rei descended the stairs as usual, intending to grab breakfast before heading to read, already wondering what new insight Iz would teach him today.
But the moment he stepped into the main hall—
He saw Iz and the others already waiting.
Yes.
Waiting.
Rei could tell.