Predation
Zhou Fan walked through the dimly lit streets, his mind a whirl of new information and the strange, new power thrumming within him. The evening was quiet, with only the distant hum of traffic breaking the silence. As he turned a corner, he noticed a stray dog rummaging through a pile of trash. The animal was thin, ribs visible through its matted fur, and its eyes glinted with a mixture of fear and hunger.
He stopped, his eyes narrowing. The memories of his past life were fragmented, and the knowledge of this new world still settling. Yet, the power of Predation within him called out, a whispering temptation to test its capabilities.
"Let's see what this can do," Zhou Fan muttered, a hint of malice creeping into his voice.
He focused on the dog, feeling a dark energy stir within him. With a swift movement, he extended his hand, and a tendril of dark energy shot out, wrapping around the dog. The animal yelped, struggling briefly before falling silent. Zhou Fan felt the life force drain from the dog and into himself, a surge of energy that left him momentarily breathless.
The body of the dog lay still, a lifeless husk. Zhou Fan's eyes glowed with a faint, eerie light as he absorbed the essence of the creature. The sensation was intoxicating, a rush of power that made him feel invincible.
『Trait Activated: Predation』
『You have absorbed the essence of a stray dog.』
『Mana +5』
He felt the new energy settle within him, and his mana reserves slightly increased. The process had been easy, almost too easy. Zhou Fan looked down at his hands, flexing them as he marveled at the sensation.
"So this is what it feels like," he said, a cold smile spreading across his face. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
As he walked away, the night's silence returned, and the lifeless body of the stray dog lying turned to dust forgotten in the shadows. Zhou Fan's journey had taken a dark turn, and he was eager to see just how far his new powers could take him.
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The summer turned to autumn. Dead leaves swirled along with the wind, finally landing on the school grounds.
On the side of the school grounds was a dense shade of trees. The afternoon sunlight shone through a gap in the leaves, turning into threads of light, like a particular autumn stage.
For Zhou Fan, the time passed quickly. It had already been two months since his awakening.
During those two months, Zhou Fan had focused on meditating and finding new prey for Predation. He had also checked the pending notifications and received two more titles.
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『Achivement: Apprentice Mage (Growth)
Description: This title is granted to individuals who have successfully awakened their first elemental affinity and have started their formal education in the magical arts. As an Apprentice Mage, one is introduced to the basic principles and practices of magic, laying the groundwork for future growth and mastery.
Effect as given below:
1. Increases control over star cluster.
2. Increases spell damage by 10%.』
『Achivement: Fire Magician
Description: As a Fire Magician, one is recognized for their ability to control and manipulate fire even at a certain distance as long as you are the caster of that spell.
Effect as follows:
1. Increases Fire Clusture affinity with the user by a large margin.
2. Increases the fire damage by 1.5 times.
3. Increases fire resistance moderately.』
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Over these two months, Zhou Fan meditated as much as possible each day to increase his control over the stars and sought out things to use Predation on.
On the first class of the first day, the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, gave all the magic students one very important lesson: the activation of Magic!
The activation of Magic consisted of only three very simple steps:
Step 1- Meditation
Step 2- Control
Step 3- Activation
Meditation, just as the name implies, requires one to use their fullest attention to concentrate.
When a person closes their eyes, their mind constantly wanders into different scenes.
However, if one were to empty one's mind and remain in an undisturbed state, one's mind would become an empty space.
After their magic awakening, a star cluster corresponding to the Element would emerge within that empty world.
In other words, as long as Zhou Fan closed his eyes and didn't think about anything while allowing his mind to enter a dark, cosmos-like space, the star cluster of Fire elements would emerge within the empty space.
Within the star cluster of the Fire Element were seven stars. These stars recklessly orbited around within that small star cluster, just like seven mischievous children, energetically running around.
For any magic students who had awakened, as long as they could cause the star cluster to appear within the empty space, and see the bright, child-like stars within the cluster, then they would have completed the Meditation step.
One could even say that this first step was unexpectedly simple. The homework assigned to the students for the first two months was this alone.
Zhou Fan did not slack off; he did this for two whole months. He even sat down and meditated on weekends. On many different occasions, he pondered about why the students were assigned this simple task and had them do it for two months.
What if I go ahead and try 'Control'? Zhou Fan thought it was very easy for him to enter Meditation, thus, he was eager to begin the next step.
The second step of Magic Activation was also very simple.
One could see the star cluster after entering Meditation. Within the star cluster were seven lively and energetic stars that were orbiting around frantically.
Control… It meant they had to use their own thoughts to control these stars, making them stop, and placing them into a designated spot to form a Star Path.
Once they had successfully formed the Star Path, the Magic Power would be conducted through the Star Path into the Magician's body, thus becoming genuine Magic as they activated it.
"They sure run fast. Let me touch you," Zhou Fan began attempting to connect the stars.
"Whooosh~~~"
That star was extremely cold; it didn't give Zhou Fan any attention. It was like a loli quickly escaping from a strange uncle.
"Sheet, they're being tsundere. Forget it, let's try a different one," Zhou Fan attempted to connect the other Fire Element stars.
Zhou Fan attempted the same thing on the other stars as well, but the results were the same. Not a single one cared about Zhou Fan. There were even a few that started moving faster when they felt Zhou Fan's thoughts trying to control them.
After some tries, he was able to control two stars to stay aligned as long as he stayed focused.
You can't cast magic if the stars are not aligned.
Controlling them was like playing a game with seven separate controllers.
It's just like an electrical wire. The energy is the interior part of the star cluster. If one wanted to use the electric energy, one would have to form a wire with the stars so it could guide the energy into the Magician's body.
"Haah, just how much time will it take for me to use the primary magic spell?"
Level 1 Fire Burst: Scorch (The spell creates a fireball that can be thrown).
After lamenting the fact that he couldn't cast the magic right now, he again sat in bed meditating.
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone