Chapter 7: Primary Mage
"Flame Burst!"
A loud incantation echoed through the desolate mountain as flames began to illuminate the darkness.
On the empty ground surrounded by trees, a man stood in a standard combat stance, his hand raised high. Heat radiated from his body as flames surged from his half-clenched palms. Scarlet flames streaked across the desolate ground like a raging beast, targeting the dummy that stood motionless at the other end.
The flames engulfed the wooden dummy in their furious blaze before a booming explosion shattered it into pieces.
As the early morning sun bathed the mountain in light, Damon gazed at the burning remnants of the dummy, muttering with a frown, "Four seconds... and can only be used twice."
"Sigh... I don't know if I should be amazed by my talent or scared of it," he chuckled to himself, looking up at the orange-streaked sky.
Clad in an all black outfit Damon let out a satisfied smile as he witnessed the sunrise with his oceanic eyes.
Using an old blanket, Damon carefully extinguished the remaining flames, ensuring his magic didn't cause a wildfire, then left the mountain at a jog.
It had been two months since the awakening ceremony, where Damon showcased his lightning element and awakened several others. Wasting no time, he dove into training, spending most of his time meditating and the rest honing his control, with no cheat days.
Within the first week, he understood the terrifying extent of his talent. To avoid being noticed as an anomaly, he focused on his lightning element just enough to appear as a prodigy, not a record-breaking anomaly. In secret, he developed his other elements, using his full potential while appearing modest with lightning.
His first focus after lightning was fire, the simplest element he possessed. In less than two months, Damon had achieved complete control over all his seven stars and cast his first primary rank spell, 'Flame Burst.'
Aware of his rapid growth, Damon practiced in secret at this secluded site, away from prying eyes, early in the morning before sunrise. Jogging back to his apartment across from the school, he prepared for a new day.
"With the fire element settled, should I start practicing shadow magic? No, I should stabilize my realm first," Damon mused.
He has just entered the primary rank of fire, he still needs to hone his skills and meditate to gain some power, it would be unwise to just dive into another element without having a solid foundation in this one.
Though eager to explore his shadow and space elements, which he hadn't touched since awakening, he knew he needed to solidify his control over fire before moving on.
***
"Mo Fan! You're late again? How many times must I berate you before you take this seriously?" Xue Musheng sighed, standing on the podium and addressing the troublemaker of his class, Mo Fan. The boy, who entered through the back door, had zero foundation in theory but exceptional talent in fire.
"Look at Damon, or even Mu Bai. Both are diligent and serious about their studies. Mu Bai has already controlled his first star," Xue Musheng praised, smiling as he mentioned Mu Bai's achievement with the Ice Stardust. However, his eyes drifted to Damon, who sat in the front row, staring blankly out the window, seemingly uninterested in the lesson.
'Mu Bai controlled his first star... but Damon has already mastered his third,' Xue Musheng thought, astonished by the three-star apprentice aura emanating from Damon.
After meditation one may reach a point in their attainment who can notice the aura of other mages and pry on their strength. Being multiple awakened Damon and Mo Fan both can conceal their additional elements and only show the aura of the element they want to the world from an early stage.
'Damon's talent is exceptional,' he mused. From the moment Damon awakened, it was clear his potential in lightning was extraordinary. Observing Damon over the past two months, Xue Musheng confirmed his suspicions—Damon's talent could rival the best in the country. 'To reach three stars in just two months without any resources... only top talents from Imperial University might achieve that.'
With Damon's talent if he belonged to a large clan or supported by some backer he would have been instantly recommended to some top University but unfortunately Damon is just an orphan with no backing till now.. with the talent Damon showcased it's only a matter of time before Damon gets the offer of recruitments from multiple powers especially because of being a lightning mage.
With a sigh, Xue Musheng turned his attention back to Mo Fan, hesitating if he should give an example of Damon to the class but deciding against comparing him with Damon. Why tarnish Damon's name by comparing a crow to a swan?
The class continued as usual, with Mu Bai casting disdainful glances at Mo Fan and Zhao Kunsan bad-mouthing the protagonist while sycophantically praising Mu Bai.
'I should've taken a day off to cultivate instead of attending this,' Damon thought, listening to the teacher's lecture that offered him nothing new. Despite knowing everything, school rules mandated a minimum attendance requirement for graduation, forcing him to attend.
"I should also think of ways to make more money now," Damon pondered, tuning out the lecture.
He had meticulously planned his magical growth for the next three years but knew that magic alone wasn't enough.
The path of a mage required extensive resources, and Damon needed to find ways to finance his future needs.
While he could make a fortune from the lottery, but the ones available near him were some small prizes only and it wouldn't be suffice for a quadruple awakener like him. He also needed to establish a status and connections for exclusive resources that would be required by him.
Thinking ahead, Damon called out his system and opened the map. The screen displayed hundreds of regions marked with different colors, along with small pointers indicating various locations all over the maps.
Whenever Damon was bored of cultivation he always played with maps locating different things and treasures that can earn Damon a fortune, like mines of elemental stones, rare metals and many others.
'There are so many treasure lands in the world.. sigh but I can't afford any as of now'
Taking a close look at the system Damon sighed before recalling the system back while shaking his head in dismay. The lands that had the unearthed treasures all had their own unique challenges to acquire some were too expensive to purchase, some were guarded by strong magical beasts.
'What to do...'
Damon questioned as he looked out of the window in daze lost in his own thoughts.
'..Should I become a hunter now?'
***
Hey guys! I have a few questions regarding the novel If any of you can help then it would be great
First can you give me your understanding of space element cultivation and spiritual attainment? See the translation be it official or not are all confusing.. not to mention how big this novel is with concepts all lying here and there so in fear of not missing anything I require some of your insights to be as accurate I can be
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