Chapter 34: A Year Later
Time passed by, and soon an entire year had passed; three years it has been, three complete years since Damon stepped on the path of cultivation.
After completing three years of training in magic high school, the students were now just a step away from completing their graduation by undertaking the graduation exam.
The three years can be said to be fruitful and peaceful for Damon in a way. Before coming to Damon, let's first talk about the world and the plot, shall we?
After the practical examination, everything went almost exactly as it did in the novel regarding Mo Fan. At the end, the protagonist also had his destined duel with Yu Ang just 5 days ago.
Damon, being a nobody amongst the circle of the Mu Family who didn't know at all about him, wasn't invited to the duel, nor was Damon bothered to try a way and watch, knowing its results already.
And just as he expected, the next day after the night of the duel, the entire city of Bo heard the news of the prodigy of Tian Lan High who defeated the disciple of the Mu Family while revealing his dual elemental talent, which became the talk of the town in no time.
Coming back to Damon, let's recount the things he had accomplished in the given year. First of all, starting with his operations in Africa, his biggest achievement was the mercenaries that he owned, who had provided him with great news through David. The lord that subordinates him along with his men was able to defeat many major lords of the continent.
The mercenary organizations have occupied a major part of the ungoverned region and, spanning from east to central, established dominance in the majority of the lands. The land under the group included a lot of forbidden areas but still was now considered a part of his assets.
The organization has grown by a lot, with an area spanning so great that it equals some of the large nations, while at similar times facing resistance from all directions, who have joined into an alliance.
During the span of the year, his Crown Group of Industries has also experienced a huge growth, with major mineral mines in control. Damon's corporation has become a mining giant with a lot of contracts and is earning a lot of profits while still expanding at a rapid pace.
The maximum profits Damon generates come from mining and supplying elemental stones, which are akin to fuel and electricity in this world, powering all technologies in the world while always being in demand.
Dealing with the Zu Clan, Damon was also able to establish connections with the Asian Magic Association, Holy Judgment Court, the Military of China, and other well-established families. With the Zu Clan as the middleman, he was able to form contracts with these powers and became their partner to supply them with rare metals and minerals.
Investing in luxuries, automobiles, military, magi-tech, games, magi-brain (AI tech), and other things, Damon has opened various other companies from the revenue his mines generated. The companies are not super popular, being new ones, but are continuously attracting new customers and increasing their fanbase.
In a few years, with such an explosive growth rate, Damon might not only reach the title of the richest man on Earth but also surpass the richest of clans in terms of wealth if he maintains a similar growth for a few more years.
***
The sun stood at its peak as it gazed at the city from the highest heights. The blue sky adorned with white clouds looked mesmerizing as the bird-type magical beasts soared through the vast skies.
Yawn~
Stretching his body, the teenager who had just left the bed yawned with all his might as he opened the curtains and let his muscular body bathe in the sunlight.
The sudden assault of intense sun stung Damon's eyes. He shut them tightly as he felt the nostalgic feeling of laziness that he had fought for three straight years.
"It feels so good to sleep without any schedule..."
Damon couldn't help but mutter to himself as he praised the sin of sloth that was hidden within his body. After living a life of discipline for three years, getting up early every day, exercising, cultivating, and practicing control all day without a break, Damon finally decided to take a break.
For the first time in three years, Damon took this much-needed break from his disciplined routine.
What's the occasion, you may ask?
"Heh..." Damon smirked as he entered his spiritual consciousness and looked at the 4 Stardust that glowed brightly.
Fire, Shadow, Lightning, and Space—all the Stardust illuminated the empty void of his consciousness as he watched them with a smirk.
"Peak Primary Mage..." Yeah, Damon finally reached it here. He finally made it to the peak of the primary rank and can feel the thin but rigid wall that now blocks the path just a step away from becoming an intermediate mage. And not just in one or two elements, but all four of his elements now stood at this point.
Looking at the 4 Stardusts of his, Damon couldn't help but be nostalgic about the time when he first awakened these four, three years ago.
Actually, Damon could have reached this level way before, but he slowed his pace down and engaged in other activities that required his urgent attention.
After the practical examination, Damon understood that what he now lacks is the experience to deal with beasts and survive in the wild. Recalling his embarrassing performance when he first saw the wolf, Damon can't help but chuckle to himself.
After the practical examination, Damon contacted and hired multiple teams to arrive at Bo City and guide him through the wilderness and help him gain exposure to the wild.
The veteran hunter groups he hired accompanied him at different times while being in the dark regarding the presence of other teams. This was done for Damon to gain exposure to the wild while not blowing his cover of possessing multiple elements.
The groups carried him and taught him all they could about hunting and also had him participate in killing some of the beasts by himself.
Remembering the teachings of the groups, Damon couldn't help but be glad he did this. The hunting and practical sessions might have taken up a lot of his time, but still were worth it all, teaching him the things that he really needed to know.
The most important thing that he learned amongst all that the veterans taught him might be to understand his element and to control it.
See, first of all, what do you know about the world of magic in Versatile Mage? Every time a mage levels up, his spells also get leveled up; this is done naturally to rank 3.
But tell me, what happens to the spell and the effects of it on the previous level? Nothing. The spells still remained ingrained, but mages don't often use the lower rank magic.
But this practice is wrong and flawed according to the experienced mages. Every spell has its own unique properties and multiple ways they could be used.
For example, the primary rank spell of fire, the Scorch, the first spell, is mostly used in a fireball motion, but there are also different ways to use it, like spreading the fire through the legs and creating a protective area, barrier, and whatnot.
Damon was surprised by this revelation. He may have mastered a lot about the theory of magic, but this was something only through thousands of failures and practical experiences could one understand. As a student who followed the books and studied on his own, Damon had his mind wired to think like a student, and not having much practical experience, this was unknown to him.
In his past life, he may have read something similar in the novel, but that being 18 years ago, he has forgotten a lot of things, so he was unable to think of this.
With the guidance of the hunters who taught him, Damon realized his flawed understanding of the elements and decided to change his approach that had been affected by living in this world, to take a more novel and unique approach of his own with the ideas and knowledge of his previous one, which he was slowly coming to forget about.
Rewiring his mind and changing his approach while giving more time to practical aspects, Damon slowed his cultivation down a bit but still reached the peak of the primary rank in all 4 elements in this short period of time by relying on both his talents and resources, being just a step away from the intermediate rank.
"Just a small stimulus of energy is what I need now to break this wall..."
Damon muttered to himself as he felt the so-called bottleneck, if you can call it one, that is stopping him from advancing further.
'And I know exactly where to find this stimulus...'
****
Sorry! Went out of the city to take admission, just came back and did the first thing of uploading this chapter! 6 chapters till the evening tomorrow confirmed! Sorry once again
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