“This should be ours,” Benji said as he walked up to a wagon with the group, “Let’s get in. We’ll be moving soon.”

“We’ll have to cramp up in this for the entire day?” Sahra asked, “I say we walk to Rettor instead.”

“It’s just for the day,” Benji said, “We won’t have to waste so much time just getting there, and it was cheap.”

“I don’t mind paying extra if we can travel alone,” Sahra said.

“You get a bad sleep, princess?” Rufus glanced at Sahra and said, “You’ll never make it in the Outskirts if sitting in a wagon for a day bothers you this much.”

“Put me in front of five Silver beasts before being cramped in a wagon with a bunch of strangers any day,” Sahra said.

“I don’t mind either way, on foot or in the wagon,” Adion said, “But could we get moving?”

Benji looked at Sahra with a slightly pleading gaze. “You really want to walk instead?”

“Haah,” Sahra sighed, “Fine, I’m just going to try to sleep the entire way.”

With that, the group stepped onto the wagon and took their seats. It wasn’t long before more Outskirters joined them, and they had to sit shoulder to shoulder to make room. Adion thought he could see Sahra’s eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

Many places around the Silver Wall apparently had these services where a caravan of wagons took Outskirters to the outposts in the Endless Forest for a small amount of coins. Adion thought it was a good idea. With Silver beasts pulling the wagons, the trip would go a lot quicker. Even if he too wasn’t too fond of this way of traveling, it was hard to justify spending days on the road walking when this option was available.

I need to quickly figure out a way to kill a Diamond mage. I should ponder about concepts during the journey. I feel like only by combining my unique space magic, my Authority, concepts, and careful planning, will I stand a chance.

Adion had talked a lot about concepts with Benji and the rest ever since finding out about their existence. Adion had figured out that he had already grasped a few concepts, at least somewhat, but he had never made an effort to ingrain them in his core. This meant he had to spend a lot of Will whenever he wanted to make fire burn hotter, or make space more stable, freezing his opponents.

There wasn’t much he could do about the fire. He didn’t have a fire core, after all. But he had a space core, so it was a waste to not make full use of that.

It was actually pretty simple to ingrain the concepts you had comprehended into your core. Benji had explained it all for Adion, and it made a lot of sense.

When you manipulate mana and pull it into your core, you attune it to your Will. This is why it’s a lot easier to use the mana from your core than to pull it from the surrounding atmosphere. You don’t need to waste any Will to make it attuned to you.

The core even does this by itself. When you’re sleeping, and the core refills the mana lost, it is attuned to the mage's Will without conscious effort.

Something similar happens with concepts. Once you comprehend a concept, you can change mana to a certain degree, like how Adion can make space freeze, or more ‘stable,’ when he uses his Will. But if you do the same thing when meditating and pulling mana into your core, you will fill your core not only with mana attuned to your Will, but also the concept you have changed it to adopt.

If a fire mage has comprehended the concept ‘hot’ and then fills their core with fire mana attuned to their Will and that concept, it isn’t strange that the fire they conjure from that fire mana is a lot hotter than normal fire.

Eventually, the core itself will change to accommodate this process, making it happen almost by itself. Just like how the mana will be attuned to the mage's Will without conscious effort. The mage still has to continue improving their understanding of the concept and implementing that, of course.

Adion was still not sure what concepts to pursue when it came to his space core. He had already grasped ‘stable’ to a high degree, but he wasn’t sure if that was the best option to make his space core attuned to. His conjured space was pretty useless at the moment, but eventually, it would become Adion’s best weapon. And he wanted it to have some offensive power. He could always make use of the ‘stable’ concept when using his Authority, just at the cost of his Will.

But maybe there is a way to make ‘stable’ space offensive. Just like an ice spike is kind of like stable water, I might be able to do something similar with space. But when I think of an offensive attack, I can’t help thinking of a more destroying kind of space, a space that’s not strong and sharp, but chaotic and destructive. A space shredding every other space to shreds, even if it is a space protected by the Will of a Diamond mage.

But will I have a chance of grasping a concept like that? Is it simply ‘destruction,’ or am I looking for more? Something like a Deep Concept? Do I have a chance to grasp something like that?

Adion kept thinking deeply as the wagon sped along the road to the Outskirts. It finally came to a stop when the sun was nearing the horizon. Adion was feeling really stiff and enjoyed finally getting a chance to stretch his limbs.

“This is Rettor,” Benji said to the group as they stepped out of the wagon, “I think it will be a good place to serve as a base for the time being. The beasts in the surrounding area are not too strong, and it’s a lot bigger than the outposts further in. We can always head to another place after a while if we change our minds.”

The group didn’t have any objections and headed into the town-like outpost. Adion walked up to Lomin to ask him about some questions he had.

“Hey, Lomin. Do you think I would be able to grasp Words of Truth of my own?” Adion asked.

“Hmm,” Lomin pondered, “You definitely could. Just like I could gain Authority. But is it not something easy to happen.”

“Those two are the same level of difficulty?” Adion asked, a little surprised.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’m not sure exactly how difficult either of them are to accomplish, so it’s impossible to say,” Lomin answered, “Then again, you are able to teleport. From my perspective, that seems like a Deep Concept, but it might be something that space mages are simply able to do.”

Teleporting is a Deep Concept? That doesn’t make sense. It’s a step-by-step process that doesn’t seem like Lomin’s description of Deep Concepts at all.

“I don’t think so,” Adion said, “It’s more like a complicated application of my Authority and space magic.”

“Maybe,” Lomin nodded, “I’m far from an expert on the subject.”

“But how did you manage to grasp your Deep Concept?” Adion asked.

“I lived my life, I went on my journey, I paid attention and thought about the things I saw and heard.” Lomin answered, “I didn’t force it, however. I simply made myself someone capable of welcoming it when it finally made itself available to me.”

Adion stared at Lomin for a few seconds before shaking his head.

“I don’t think that’s my style. I’ll focus on normal concepts for now,” Adion said, “And simply make them stronger than any Words of Truth through sheer brute of force. If I train hard enough, it should be possible.”

Lomin suddenly smiled and looked at Adion, “I just realized why you are so powerful, Adion.”

“What? Why?” Adion asked, confused.

“Some might call it luck, or talent, or the fact that you train so much,” Lomin said.

“Isn’t it a combination of all three?” Adion asked.

“They have contributed, of course. But mainly, I believe it’s that you actually believe anything is possible with enough effort, no matter how impossible it seems to others. I believe this world is a place where that is something very important.”

“Oh,” Adion said. He hadn’t thought about it that way. Maybe there was some truth to it. It’s hard to spend so much effort on things that you don’t actually believe would yield results after all.

“Anyway,” Lomin commented, “Just continue on the path that you’re on. I believe you’ll get results that trump what you’d get from whatever advice I could give on the matter.”

Hmm. Then, let's spend the next few days experimenting with a few more destructive concepts. Let’s see what I can accomplish.

They reached the ‘Outpost Inn’ after only a few minutes of walking. They all agreed to rest in their rooms for a while before having dinner. Even though they had been sitting still all day, it was an exhausting journey in many ways.

Adion threw himself on his bed as soon as he entered the room, his thoughts still on concepts.

This is all so complicated. I would be more at ease if I had more time. But having a Diamond mage I have to kill, and maybe a few Gold and Silver witnesses to go with him, sure is something that puts a lot of pressure on someone.

Adion decided that his brain was feeling completely fried, and while other forms of training could be pushed through, even Adion realized that grasping concepts was something that needed time and rest. So he headed down to the tavern in advance to get something to eat.

Adion thought he’d be the first one down, but when he came down the stairs, he saw Rufus sitting there with a large beer, seemingly content sitting alone and enjoying the beverage.

“Hey, Rufus. Mind if I join you?” Adion asked as he sat down opposite Rufus.

“Of course not,” Rufus said with a smile, “Haaah, they have good beer here. You should have one.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded and waved over a waitress.

“So, how you feeling Adion?” Rufus asked.

“What do you mean?” Adion asked.

“Well, just in general,” Rufus shrugged, “But you also have found the organization that is responsible for killing your family. They are probably one of the top powers of the continent. And now you plan on killing a Diamond mage as a Bronze. That would usually stir up some stress in a 15-year-old.”

“I guess I’m a little stressed. Concepts are too elusive for my taste, really. But I think I’ll manage.” Adion said as he accepted the beer the waitress brought over, “But how should I put it? I don’t think it’s all bad. It’s been exciting. Now that I’m not completely powerless, I feel like I can make an impact. It’s a good feeling.”

“Haha,” Rufus chuckled softly, “I suppose. But I somewhat hope this won’t become a habit. You won’t live a long life if you do, no matter how talented you are.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Adion said, “I need to focus on getting stronger to make any real difference. I just got myself into a situation where I don’t really see any other way out.”

Adion got quiet for a few moments, with Rufus looking at him.

“And I suppose I want to kill him,” Adion said, “Maybe I would have made the same choice even without the threat of them looking for me. The thought of being so close and having an opportunity to strike and simply run away would have been a hard blow.”

“I can understand that,” Rufus nodded slowly, “But just remember that these people don’t deserve that much of your attention. They will be no more than ants for you one day. My advice is to focus on living for the moment a little more. Before going to Cyalis. And once there, forget everything about this, focus on enjoying your limited time there.

“Have some fun with the Noble girls in your classes,” Rufus winked with a smile, “Don’t let these bastards steal more of your youth than they already have.”

Adion thought about Rufus’s words for a moment. There might be some truth to it. Even if I feel it’s my own choice to get revenge, and something I want to do. I should not forget to do other things I want in life. I should keep in mind not to let my hatred toward Heavenly Light direct my every decision.

“Thanks, Rufus. I’ll keep it in mind,” Adion nodded in gratitude.

“By the way,” Adion said after taking a sip of his drink, “Do you guys plan on staying by the Silver Wall? I won’t have to leave for a while, but in a year or so, I’d have to get moving to Cyalis.”

“Well, we haven’t talked about it,” Rufus said, “But I think no one would mind accompanying you further north. The Outskirts aren’t exclusive to the Delovan Empire, after all. And Benji might want to visit his family in Rellen. Now that Sahra lost her father, I’m the only one of us with family here. And I have plenty of siblings to keep my parents company. I want to see more of the world while I’m still young.

“So, even if it’s up to Benji, I think you’ll be stuck with us for at least a while longer,” Rufus said with a smile.

“Happy to hear it,” Adion said and raised his glass in a cheer.

“Now that we’re alone,” Rufus leaned forward and said in a low voice, “You fancy any of the girls in here?”

This again.

“You know you don’t have to involve me in this, right? I’m sure you’re plenty successful on your own.” Adion said.

“Bah! I just wanted to make sure you find a way to relieve some stress,” Rufus said.

“I’m planning on training through the night, so you don’t have to worry,” Adion said.

Rufus stared at Adion in disbelief, “Adion, that's not how you relieve stress.”

“Well, it works,” Adion shrugged, “When I manage to kill that Diamond, we’ll have plenty of time to celebrate.”

“I suppose that’s as close as I’ll get for now,” Rufus sighed.