Chapter 28: The Second Circle [Part-2]

The pressure inside him finally broke.

A wave of mana burst outward from Neo’s body, throwing dust and debrises across the training ground. The wooden fence near the edge cracked from the force of it, and several knights stumbled back, throwing their arms up to shield their faces.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! You have successfully formed the Second Circle!]

[Rank Upgraded: Initiate → Apprentice]

[Mana Capacity Increased]

[Mana Control Increased]

Neo knelt there in the middle of the chaos, eyes still closed, feeling the change settle into his body. It wasn’t like before. When he’d first awakened his core, it had felt like something new had been switched on inside him. This time, it felt like the light had gotten brighter, like a small candle had suddenly turned into a proper flame.

Mana curled gently around his arms and shoulders, drifting off him in faint wisps, responding to his own breathing without him even trying to guide it.

’So this is what it actually feels like to be an Awakener. Not just having a core, but actually feeling the mana move with you.’

He opened his eyes slowly. The dust was still settling around him, and the knights nearby were staring at him with wide, stunned expressions, unsure whether to step closer or keep their distance.

Neo ignored them for now and pulled up his status window.

[Ding!]

-----

[STATUS WINDOW]

>Name: Neo Draven

>Titles: Final Hope

>Talent: Paragon

>Race: Half-Human

>Core: 2nd Circle

>Rank: Apprentice (I)

>Bloodline: Unawakened

>Affinity: Starlight, Gravity

[ATTRIBUTES]

[STR: 40/100] [AGI: 45/100]

[DEF: 38/100] [STA: 42/100]

[INT: 52/100]

[HP: 120/120] [MP: 1000/1000]

[TECHNIQUES]

>Basic Cultivation Scripture

[SKILLS & ABILITIES]

>None

-----

Neo’s eyes locked onto one number in particular.

’A thousand MP. At the second circle.’

He knew enough from watching his parents’ status windows to understand this wasn’t normal. Most Apprentices, even talented ones, sat somewhere in the low hundreds. His own pool had jumped straight past that without even trying.

’Guess that’s one good thing about being reborn with a system. My mana capacity is already way ahead of where it should be.’

His gaze moved down to the Affinity line, and his eyebrows rose slightly.

’Starlight and Gravity. Huh. Didn’t expect either of those.’

He remembered his mother once showing him a small trick with starlight magic, back when he’d pestered her endlessly to see something new. She’d cupped her hands together, and a tiny cluster of soft, glowing light had drifted up from her palms like little floating stars, scattering gently before fading away. He’d thought it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen at the time.

’If I can learn to use that properly one day, that’ll be something else.’

Gravity, on the other hand, wasn’t flashy at all, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized how useful it could actually be. If he could shift his own center of gravity, even slightly, he could dodge attacks that would otherwise be impossible to avoid. Not the kind of power that looked impressive from the outside, but the kind that could keep him alive.

He was still turning the thought over in his head when more chimes rang out, cutting through his focus.

[Ding! You have failed to conceal your breakthrough!]

[Ding! Your talent has been discovered by another!]

[Ding! Failure Compensation Activated!]

[Calculating the value of the failure...]

[Compensating with a suitable reward...]

Neo blinked.

’Wait, seriously? Even this counts as a failure?’

He supposed it made sense. He’d spent weeks being careful, training quietly at night, keeping his growth hidden from anyone who might ask questions. And in the span of a single sparring match, all of that caution had gone straight out the window in front of an entire training ground full of knights and one very sharp-eyed shadow.

[Ding!]

[Failure Compensation Reward: "Mana Suppression" — A passive skill allowing the user to conceal their mana signature and suppress their aura from detection. Effectiveness scales with the user’s control over mana.]

Neo let out a short breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh of relief.

’Well. At least the system knows exactly what I need right when I need it.’

He dismissed the notification, his mind already turning to how useful this skill was going to be going forward. No more worrying about accidentally leaking mana while training in his room. No more risking another scene like the one currently happening around him.

He finally lifted his head and found Eiris standing a few steps away, watching him with the same calm, unreadable expression she always wore. Her broken wooden sword still hung loosely from her hand, the clean cut through the middle catching the light. Her eyes, though, had sharpened slightly, studying him the way someone studies a puzzle they hadn’t expected to find in front of them.

Neo pushed himself up onto his feet, his legs still a little unsteady from the sheer amount of mana that had just surged through his body. Eiris stepped forward without a word and offered her hand, helping to steady him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice as flat and even as ever, though there was the faintest trace of something else underneath it now.

"I’m fine, just a bit dizzy. That happens after a breakthrough, right?"

She studied him for a moment longer before giving a short nod, letting go of his arm once he’d steadied himself. She didn’t ask anything further, though her gaze lingered on him just a second too long before she turned to address the knights still standing frozen around the training ground, ordering them back to their usual drills.

Neo took the chance to slip away quietly, walking back toward the mansion with his thoughts still spinning from everything that had just happened. He kept his pace calm and unhurried, giving nothing away, even as his mind raced through everything he now had to consider.

Once he reached his room and closed the door behind him, he finally let his shoulders drop, sinking down onto the edge of his bed with a long, tired breath.

’The 2nd circle. A new skill. Two affinities. And apparently, I’ve already caught the attention of the one person in this mansion I really didn’t want watching me so closely.’

He glanced down at his own hands, still faintly warm from the leftover mana clinging to his skin.

’Well. Guess there’s no going back to being invisible now.’