It was a bright, sunny morning.
One week had passed since Ian and Aetherinra reached an agreement to teach Elise together.
At this moment, two figures were flickering back and forth on the Duke’s Mansion training ground, trading offensive moves.
“Elise, your sword speed can be even faster.”
“And the timing of your magic release is a bit off.”
Elise was currently engaged in practical combat practice with Veronica on the training ground.
In Veronica’s eyes, constant fighting was the only way to improve one’s strength, so she kept dragging Elise into battle.
Meanwhile, Ian and Aetherinra sat to the side, quietly watching them fight.
However, Ian’s eyes were tightly shut, making it look as though he were sleeping to any outsider.
Only Ian himself knew that he had entered that mysterious Black Space.
Over the past week, it wasn’t just Elise who was making progress; his own improvement was equally significant.
He had now successfully unlocked quite a few basic Dark Magic skills.
[Status Window]
Name: Ian Saint Yola
Level: Second Tier
STR: 201
Speed: 66
MP: 188
Defense: 55
Skills: Basic Swordsmanship LV2 (Low-rank), Fireball LV1 (Low-rank), Water Dragon Spell (Low-rank), Night Stealth (First-tier), Dark Cloud (First-tier), Hand of Darkness (First-tier), Might of the Night (Intermediate-tier), etc.
Ian, who originally hadn’t mastered a single Dark Magic spell, had now mastered several.
Even his basic stats had doubled compared to before, reaching the standard level of a Second Tier Mage.
‘If things keep developing like this, in one month, I might even be able to take on two opponents at once without Elise’s help!’
Ian fantasized happily.
“I understand, Teacher Veronica.”
Elise held a greatsword in her hands.
After these few days of training, her strength had improved tremendously, and her realm had already reached the peak of the First-tier.
She was essentially guaranteed to reach the Second Tier by the time of the Adelan Magic Academy’s Entrance Test.
Even Ian, who possessed the mysterious space, felt a bit ashamed at this cultivation speed.
‘God is truly biased!’
“It’s good that you understand. Now, come again.”
As Veronica spoke, she gripped her sword and charged forward rapidly.
Facing Veronica’s sudden strike, Elise appeared a bit flustered.
“I’m not ready yet, Teacher Veronica!”
“In a real battle, the enemy won’t give you time to prepare.”
Just as Veronica’s sword was about to touch Elise, Elise swung her sword horizontally to block the attack.
Although she had expected it, Aetherinra still found the scene hard to believe.
After only one week of special training, Elise could already trade blows with Veronica.
Even though Veronica was holding back, this was still too ridiculous.
She knew Veronica’s strength well.
Although she was only at the realm of a Third Tier Mage, her actual combat ability was not inferior to a Fourth Tier Mage.
And Elise was currently only a First-tier Mage!
She couldn’t help but marvel at Elise’s power.
As the battle between Veronica and Elise reached its peak, Aetherinra glanced at Ian beside her.
She found that he actually had his eyes closed!
‘This guy… he can actually fall asleep.’
His little maid was working hard to cultivate while he was snoring on the side.
Did he not know that the test was a team effort for two people?
“Hey, wake up.”
Aetherinra knocked Ian, who was training in the mysterious space, awake.
“Hmm? What is it? Is it time for lunch?”
Ian asked, rubbing his eyes in confusion.
Ignoring Ian’s words, Aetherinra tossed a sword directly in front of him.
“Let’s duel.”
“Huh?”
Having just woken up, Ian clearly hadn’t figured out what was going on.
“I won’t hand Elise over to you.”
Ian thought Aetherinra was still persistent in her desire to steal Elise away from him, so he rejected her proposal immediately.
“The Adelan Magic Academy’s Entrance Test is for two people.”
“Right now, only Elise is working hard. Don’t you feel irresponsible?”
“If you still want to enter Adelan Magic Academy, pick up that sword and fight me.”
After saying that, Aetherinra turned and walked to the center of the training ground without looking back.
After hearing Aetherinra’s words, Ian thought it over carefully.
After several days of cultivation, he didn’t even know what his current strength looked like.
It just so happened that he wanted to test his combat power.
If his opponent was Aetherinra, perhaps he could win now!
After all, Aetherinra specialized in support magic, while he was suited for combat magic!
Thus, Ian scratched his head and said, “What a hassle. Fine, I’ll consider this as playing along with you.”
Having said that, he picked up the sword from the ground and followed Aetherinra to the center of the training ground.
By then, Elise and Veronica had also finished their training.
They sat to the side, preparing to observe the battle between Ian and Aetherinra.
‘Will I get to see the Young Master fight today? How exciting!’
‘The Young Master must be very strong.’
Elise’s eyes sparkled with anticipation for Ian’s performance.
This was the first time she would see Ian’s magic.
Meanwhile, Veronica watched Ian and Aetherinra on the field, her heart full of confidence in Aetherinra.
In her mind, even if Aetherinra was a support-type mage, she was by no means someone Ian could defeat.
Without any nonsense, Aetherinra immediately stacked several layers of buffs on herself.
**[Enhancement Magic—Strength Enhancement, Speed Enhancement, Magic Power Enhancement, Defense Enhancement, Mental Enhancement]**
In an instant, Aetherinra’s aura surged, showing signs of faintly reaching the Third Tier.
‘No way, friend, are you using cheats?’
Ian complained inwardly as he watched Aetherinra’s skyrocketing aura.
“Here I come.”
Aetherinra gave Ian no time to think, charging straight at him with her sword.
**[Water Magic—Water Dragon Spell]**
Seeing the extremely fast figure approaching, Ian didn’t just wait for death.
He whispered an incantation.
A massive water dragon surged out from the sword in his hand.
However, just as the water dragon was about to hit Aetherinra, her figure suddenly vanished, reappearing behind Ian.
‘Oh no, Aetherinra’s speed is actually this high!’
After the speed enhancement, Aetherinra was so fast that Ian could only see afterimages.
‘It seems I can only use that move.’
**[Dark Magic—Night Stealth]**
‘With this, you won’t have any options left, right?’
Since it was currently noon and there were no dark places, Ian dove into Aetherinra’s shadow.
Ian originally didn’t want to use this move because he couldn’t attack Aetherinra while using it.
However, Aetherinra couldn’t attack him either.
Faced with imminent defeat, he had used it without hesitation.
“The Young Master’s move is so cool! Is the Young Master going to win?”
Elise’s eyes shone with admiration as she spoke with great worship for Ian.
“Dark magic? Since when did Ian learn that kind of magic?”
“But if it’s only at this level, Aetherinra won’t lose.”
Veronica crossed her arms over her chest, speaking with confidence.
Sure enough, upon seeing Ian dive into her shadow, Aetherinra only frowned for a split second before her lips curled upward.
“Holy Light Magic—Holy Light Healing.”
In an instant, an extremely dazzling light erupted on the field.
This light swallowed Aetherinra’s shadow, and Ian’s magic was forcibly canceled, causing him to fall out of the shadow.
When the light dissipated, all that could be seen was Aetherinra holding a sword against Ian’s neck.
“You lost.”
Aetherinra looked down at Ian and spoke.
“If this is all you’re capable of, please don’t team up with Elise. You’ll only hold her back.”
After saying that, Aetherinra retracted her sword and left without looking back.
Watching Aetherinra’s departing figure, Ian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
‘Should I say it’s expected of the heroine?’
She could actually think of using support magic to break his dark magic in an instant.
At this time, Elise and Veronica both walked up to Ian.
“Young Master, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Ian propped himself up and stood.
“Young Master, your figure just now was super cool!”
“Especially when you dove into the lady’s shadow. I really thought you were going to win.”
Hearing Elise’s words, Ian laughed awkwardly.
‘This girl… why is she rubbing salt in my wounds?’
“Don’t you find it strange?”
At that moment, Veronica looked at Aetherinra’s retreating back and asked Ian.
“Strange how?”
After subconsciously replying, Ian realized it was Veronica.
‘Wait, sister, are we that close? Don’t just come over and start a conversation on your own.’
“As a support mage, why is Aetherinra so obsessed with combat?”
“Not only does she practice swordsmanship with the Duke, but she also innovatively uses support magic for battle.”
“It’s probably all for self-protection, right?”
Ian answered speculatively.
“Perhaps. But I always feel like there’s more to it than that.”
Hearing Veronica’s words, a black line appeared on Ian’s forehead.
‘Hey, hey, you’re making it sound like Aetherinra is hiding something huge.’
‘And why are you telling me? Don’t you know that saying this will get me caught up in some weird event?’
Ian felt strong dissatisfaction inwardly toward Veronica for explaining this to him.
After speaking, Veronica said no more and followed in Aetherinra’s footsteps.
Elise, on the other hand, excitedly pulled on Ian’s sleeve and said, “Young Master, lunch is ready. Let’s go eat together.”
Looking at Elise’s smiling face, Ian felt that the beating he took was worth it.
‘As expected, Elise is the best little angel.’
In this manner, Ian struggled through the day of training.
By nightfall, Ian was burning the midnight oil, trying to find a way to become stronger within his books.
Through the battle with Aetherinra this morning, he realized that although he had learned many spells, he had absolutely no clue how to use them effectively.
Otherwise, how could he have been defeated by Aetherinra using support magic?
While Ian was reading a magic book, the door to his room was opened.
“Young Master, I’ve brought the late-night snack you asked for.”
“Just put the things on the table.”
Studying at night was mentally draining and required extra nutrition, so Ian had requested a snack.
Unexpectedly, this maid today was quite bold.
Previous maids would knock on the door and wait until he agreed before entering tremulously, but today’s maid had walked right in.
‘Maybe this is a good thing. It proves my reputation among the maids has improved?’
However, he felt as if he had heard this voice somewhere before.
‘Where was it?’
Ian thought carefully when a terrifying figure suddenly popped into his mind.
Lilian! It was Lilian!
Ian finally remembered where he had heard that voice.
He turned his head sharply, and what met his eyes was Lilian’s stunningly beautiful face.
“Ian, have you decided how you want to die?”
“I can accommodate you as much as possible.”
There was no emotional fluctuation on Lilian’s beautiful face, as if she were merely delivering an announcement.