As the final lecture of the day ended, many eyes drifted involuntarily toward an empty desk.
"Pierce hasn't shown up all day," a girl whispered. "Do you think he actually crossed the mist? Did he go to report to The Arcane Quarter?"
"No way," a boy argued, though he sounded uncertain. "I saw his meditation limit yesterday. He wasn't that much further ahead than the rest of us. You don't just bridge that gap overnight."
The debate was cut short as a student burst through the doors, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Stop guessing! I just spoke with Master Julian. Pierce advanced. He registered as an official Initiate this morning!"
The classroom fell into a deafening silence.
The shock was palpable. Envy and despair flickered across the faces of those who knew they were falling behind.
"He actually made it..." "Another one gone. Our class is losing all its talent."
Ben sat in silence, his expression dazed. Despite having already resigned himself to the path of a Knight, hearing of Pierce’s success tasted like ash in his mouth. He realized with painful clarity: from this moment on, they were worlds apart.
...
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The Apartment.
Pierce carefully placed a single, violet-tinged Soul-Nurturing Leaf beneath his tongue.
The effect was instantaneous—a rush of ethereal chill swept through his body, as if he had plunged into the depths of a frozen lake. His consciousness drifted into a state of absolute, crystalline silence.
Hours later, Pierce snapped his eyes open. His mind felt sharper than ever.
"Omniscience."
-
[Spirit: 3.62 (+0.13)]
-
[Physique: 1.80 (+0.05)]
"The results are incredible, but it's a hell of an expensive habit," Pierce muttered. After buying the herbs, his savings had dwindled to a measly seven gold coins. He needed to earn more, but first, he needed more power.
"Accelerate analysis of Will-Rune #2." A wave of familiar exhaustion washed over him as his spiritual energy was drained as fuel.
-
[Task 1: Estimated time remaining: 7 hours.]
"It’ll be ready by dawn," he noted with a satisfied smile. At this rate, he’d hit Rank 2 within two months—a pace that would leave even the high-born prodigies in the dust.
While resting, a thought struck him. He was currently practicing "The Universal Discipline," the standard meditation codex distributed by the Astral Coalition. It was reliable, but rumor had it that the Great Houses possessed "High-Arcane Legacies"—superior techniques that allowed for more runes and a smoother path to becoming a full Arcanist.
"Could I use the Eye to improve the standard method?"
The idea took root. "Omniscience, optimize the Universal Discipline." [Task Created. Estimated time: 1,341 days, 11 hours.]
"...Three and a half years?" Pierce was speechless. It seemed that even with a 'cheat,' re-engineering a classic that had been refined by millions of mages over ten millennia was too much for his current spiritual capacity. The "CPU" simply didn't have the clock speed yet.
"Fine," he sighed, closing the HUD. "I'll focus on leveling up first. Once my Spirit is high enough, I'll show these ancient mages how to write a real textbook."