In the southern region of the Darkblood Academy.

At the training center.

Arlo persistently attacked Evangeline. He used his full strength as he concentrated Ki on various parts of his body to momentarily boost his power, and also fought in tandem with ten orbs revolving around him.

His body moved at great speed, and combined with the occasional use of Ruler's authority, he almost touched Evangeline on several occasions.

That is right...

Almost!

Evangeline simply evaded his attacks and would sometimes attack by flicking Arlo's head when he showed an opening or made a mistake.

But the smile on her face showed she enjoyed herself, and along with Arlo's playful laugh, the duo looked more like siblings playing tag than a teacher and student.

Arlo who had become somewhat cold after Old bro revealed some events that happened in the past was now opening up to Evangeline once again.

In fact, his attitude was almost like when he played with his father, Arthur. The relationship between the two had become closer.

After several minutes of fighting in his optimum state, even Arlo collapsed as his reserve of Ki couldn't hold out.

Aside from Anita, Arlo used all his power in this spar with Evangeline. It was on her behest so that she could help him as best as she could before Arlo went to the secret realm.

Evangeline and Arlo sat on the floor, facing each other.

"Your control has become better. Though it still has room for a lot of improvement!" Evangeline gazed at the panting Arlo and didn't hesitate to praise him.

A big smile was etched on her face. She had only explained the theory of Control to Arlo once and demonstrated it to him at the time, yet Arlo was able to instantly understand her teachings and practiced on his own. He made teaching him easy and fun, and she wondered about his limit if he even had one.

"Can you release an orb?" Evangeline suddenly asked, the smile long wiped from her face.

Arlo who had regained a bit of his strength nodded before he released an orb from his right hand.

*Zing!*

Evangeline gazed intently at the orb rotating at a speed that was difficult to follow with human eyes.

After several breaths, she spoke:

"It is just as I thought!"

"There is a smaller orb lying within the colorless rotating sphere."

Arlo nodded in agreement.

"Do you know its function?" she asked.

"No..." He could still remember the first time he summoned Anita after breaking through. She had also told him that she felt the smaller orb lying within the bigger one was special. It was just that with her memory missing, she couldn't tell how exactly it was special.

Evangeline stretched out her right hand with a concentrated look on her pale but beautiful face.

The air around her seemed to be stirred and soon after pale blue energy slowly appeared around her before congregating to form a small orb on her palm.

Arlo's eyes sparkled as he gazed at her palm.

"Mana!" Evangeline spoke with a light smile.

"Huh!?"

She gestured with her head toward her hand and spoke once again:

"This is mana!"

"When a mage in the grandmaster realm breakthrough into the red-core stage, they develop something called 'Will'.

"Will..."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"That is right!"

"It is the ability to somewhat control the mana in the surroundings. Of course, it pales far in comparison to your control of Ki." She referred to Arlo's Ruler's authority.

A mage's will couldn't be compared to Ruler's authority.

Seeing Arlo in thought, Evangeline suddenly stretched out her free left hand to her side towards the chair at a distance.

The mana was stirred before it moved forward and knocked the rows of chairs down. It seemed Will allowed the mages to use mana to exert physical influence on objects in their surroundings.

Arlo was enlightened.

Just like how the Ki in his body turned white when he concentrated it on one part, the atmospheric mana also turned pale blue when it was concentrated.

"I want you to absorb Ki into that inner orb!" Evangeline pointed at the orb on Arlo's hand pulling Arlo out of his thoughts as a blank look appeared on his face.

"Huh!?"

Evangelical shrugged, "I can't help you as I am not familiar with your powers. But if you could accomplish it, your orbs will become five times...no at least ten times more powerful."

Arlo became stunned.

Seeing his stunned look, Evangeline became serious, "I don't think I need to tell you how overwhelmingly powerful Ki is."

'That is right!' Arlo thought.

He knew how powerful Ki was. In fact, the others didn't know that the powerful Ki was the diluted form of a more overbearing energy.

Arlo looked at the spinning orb in his hand. If he could accomplish what Evangeline said, wouldn't he be able to become as strong as the current Arianne?

Of course, that was only when he used the upgraded orbs.

With that thought in mind, he looked at the silent Evangeline and spoke with resolve:

"I will do my best!"

Evangeline smiled in satisfaction before she stood up and ruffled his hair.

"Don't practice for too long and make sure you get some rest. Classes will start a few hours from now."

"Yes..."

With that, she left the building with light but graceful steps.

She once more reaffirmed in her mind that teaching a genius was the best.

Now Arlo was left alone in the huge building. He closed his eyes and thought deeply about how to go about the task Evangeline gave him.

Evangeline told him what to accomplish but she couldn't teach him the method to accomplish it. He had to figure it out on his own.

After a few minutes of thinking, Arlo suddenly had an idea.

He concentrated all his Ki on his left hand, causing a white smoke to cover it.

Then he tried to compress the concentrated ki into a ball like Evangeline did. Unlike her, he couldn't accomplish the feat of directly concentrating the ki in the atmosphere.

Arlo tried and tried but in the end, he failed. However, he wasn't discouraged and instead continued with a steeled mind.

After an hour.

*Huff! Huff!*

Arlo gasped for breath. He appeared tired and weakened, however the excited smile on his face proved that it was worthwhile.

On his right hand was a spinning orb, and on his left was a small white ball of concentrated ki. He finally accomplished it.

Now came the next part.

He didn't know what to next to do next, but he decided to experiment. From there, he would know how to proceed.

*Zing!*

He brought the spinning orb and the small white ball together.

'Can I push the ball into the orb?' Arlo foolishly thought.

Without hesitation, he brought the ball and orb in contact together and what followed was a...

*Booom!*

A mini explosion resounded within the quiet center. The strong floor made with the unique mineral Darknite exploded into pieces and a cloud of dust rose into the air. A shockwave sent all the chairs in the center flying into the air, and soon after, another body joined them in flying as Arlo was flung out of the range of the explosion into the air. He coughed up blood in mid-air before he landed on the ground and stumbled a few times. His figure appeared ragged and miserable.

Arlo stood up and gazed at his surroundings with a dark look on his face.

After a while...

"Whew!* He released a light breath and wiped the blood off his mouth.

An hour later.

Arlo sat at the center of the disorganized center. He had replenished enough of his Ki and the injuries he sustained from the previous explosion were now healed.

He gazed at the two orbs on his hands. One was a colorless spinning orb while the other was a small white orb resting peacefully unlike the other. But Arlo was no more deceived by its stillness. He knew the terrifying power that lay within.

Arlo hesitated several times on combining both orbs. In the end, his fear won. He didn't dare to experiment any further.

'What can I do?' He was starting to feel discouraged. He thought he could catch up with the others, at least a little bit, but in the end, all his efforts ended in vain.

'Wait!'

Arlo gazed intently at the small white orb in his left hand. To create the ball, he had to concentrate his Ki on his hand. But was it true he couldn't do it the same way as Evangeline?

Arlo's eyes suddenly shone.

Didn't he have something far better than a mage's will?

'Idiot!' Arlo berated himself.

He released the small white orb causing it to dissipate slowly into the atmosphere and instead sent his Ki into the slime seal. A bluish energy soon congregated at his throat, and then Arlo released his strongest technique.

"Ruler's authority!"

He looked at the remaining Orb spinning at his right hand and commanded with a nervous voice:

"Absorb!"

Nothing happened for a moment causing Arlo to hold his breath in suspense.

But soon after...

*Whoosh!*

The spinning orb started absorbing the energy in the surroundings. Ki started congregating at the inner orb lying within and soon after it became full.

"Yes! Yes! I did it!" Arlo screamed in joy.

Looking at the spinning colorless orb with a still smaller white orb lying within, Arlo couldn't help but smile in relief.

He sent the orb out toward his side in excitement causing Arlo's eyes to widen in horror.

As the spinning orb left the range of Ruler's authority, the still white orb lying within started losing its form as it churned, and soon after from the inside, it collided with the spinning orb.

*Booooooom!*

An explosion greater than the previous one rocked the training center. The chairs that had fallen were pulverized and the shockwave from the explosion sent the chairs further away and Arlo flying.

Arlo looked at the mess he created and gulped. Soon after, he ran out of the hall.

He was never there!

AN: Don't forget to follow the novel.