"You... are nothing, Glenn #######. You're doomed to mediocrity, and you'll accomplish nothing in this pitiful life you call yours."

Pain.

"Do you hear me? YOU. ARE. NOTHING!"Hate.

"...Tsk, it's that bitch's fault... Hey, Glenn #######. I'm giving you two choices... Either do as I say, or ########. Got it?"

Despair.

"Good boy. Now go get my things."

Rage.

"...What did I say?! Get lost, you mutt!"

Helplessness.

Suffocating powerlessness.

Ba-dump.

"Gasp!" Glenn's eyes flew open and his heart raced in his chest, his mind in shambles. The ground he slept on was hard and cold, barely lit up by the twin moons hanging in the sky as they watched attentively with their pale gaze. The young man clenched his heart as he watched his surroundings with trembling eyes, soon getting a hold over his emotions as he realized that he was nowhere near "that" place.

"Shit..." He shook his head, getting rid of any thoughts related to "it", before trying to remember what he was doing before passing out. The immense power he felt in his chest soon answered that question, making him take a peek into his Mana Heart curiously.

"Yeah, I reached Third Circle... It was way different from how it happened back with Onnea, though..." Glenn entered Meditation, his eyes widening at the change of scenery. The Magellanic Clouds were still there, acting as the main organ of his Mana Heart, but the two grey runic Circles surrounding it had been replaced by three mystical star rings. Where the two Circles, and even the Third "temporary" one, were almost physically present, surrounding and canalizing his Mana's power, the rings were instead vibrating in rhythm with the Magellanic Clouds.

It was as if they were...attuned to his Mana. And additionally, they seemed to contain power themselves. If the runic Circles were only acting as limits to control the Mana, the star rings were instead amplifiers with a symbiotic relationship with the Mana Heart. Glenn could feel it, this upgrade was way more incredible than it looked. He felt so much more...powerful, it was as if he could practically do anything he wanted.

'Cough, cough, so, huh, do you mind telling me what the hell happened?' Diamanes' polite cough made Glenn flinch, the young man biting his lips after realizing he had forgotten the existence of this ever-^present friend.

"Uhh, yeah, so, to resume it, I ranked up...?" Glenn hesitantly grinned as an oval-shaped mouth appeared in his left palm. Diamanes' mouth opened and closed as, in a rare instance, the entity was at a loss for words.

"What....What do you mean, rank up? Do you even realize what you just did?" Diamanes exploded, surprising Glenn. Diamanes hissed in frustration, not giving his host a second to explain himself.

"You...You fucking broke through the Wall! You're a Third Circle, that's not how this shit is supposed to work!" Had he been able to have bulging eyes, Diamanes would have probably looked quite comical in this instance. Glenn scratched the back of his head with his other hand, confused.

"...The Wall? What are you talking about?" He asked with a puzzled expression. Diamanes sighed in exasperation.

"God...The Wall is the obstacle separating Initiates from Magus. It's the ultimate hurdle to surmount before reaching a higher plane of existence!" Diamanes bordered on the verge of hysteria, confusing Glenn even deeper.

"Well, isn't that good, then...? I broke through the Wall one stage early, that has to count for something, right?" He asked while pinching his lips. Diamanes mumbled nonsense for a few seconds, before smacking his lips together.

"Yeah, no, that's good. That's...that's great, even. Shit, this fool broke through the Wall early, as if that was possible..." Diamanes trailed off as he clenched his teeth, lost in thoughts, "...But then it did happen. What am I supposed to make of that?"

Glenn leaned his head backward, still adapting to his new power. It felt so...familiar, yet so strange at the same time. He summoned his Mana while Diamanes racked his brains on whatever the entity was trying to explain, his eyes widening when he saw the flow of Mana shift differently from usual. Before, Mana was simply an energy he manipulated to cast spells and summon stuff from his imagination. Now, it was still an energy, but it felt so...close as if it was a part of himself.

'Never thought this shit would get philosophical...' Glenn smirked, trying to cast a Magic Bullet to see and test the difference from when he was Second Circle. That time with the "temporary" Third Circle was incomparable to how he felt now. It was as if Onnea had given him a crutch back then to try and win a marathon when now he was driving an F1 car. This was two different worlds.

"...Wait, does that mean the Goddess gave me the lowest of the low in terms of power-up? What a cheapskate..." Glenn mumbled, his brows creased as he continued to focus on creating a Mana Bullet. For some reason, it was much harder than it previously was, the Mana seemingly...rejecting his intent?

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

'What the hell? Since when did Mana become able to refuse my will?' Glenn couldn't believe his senses as he failed at manifesting a Magic Bullet.

The first spell he ever made, the one that served him the longest, was now locked away from him. This was a shitty feeling.

"Crap, was this level-up a downgrade? Did I get patched or something?" Glenn blinked with a blank expression, the Mana swirling around him mystically. He shook his head and motivated himself.

"Nah, maybe it's just me. Let's just try another spell—" His voice died down as he failed again after trying to cast a Drilling Bullet. Glenn became extremely serious and stood up while staring at his right hand as if the limb was the source of all these issues.

'What about the Arcane Auger?' The young man held up a hopeful hand, but nothing appeared in the air. It wasn't even a failure, as there was no Mana consumed or wasted. No, his Mana was simply denying his will.

"This is crazy..." Glenn drew a deep breath and looked at the marble wall behind him. He glanced back at his right hand, and in a fit of annoyance, decided to try and summon a Blackhole. The Mana surged hurriedly surged forward as if it had only been waiting for this occasion. Glenn's eyes widened and he let go of the spell, the Blackhole flying away slowly. The moonlight warped as it was swallowed by the hungry spell, soon followed by everything in a ten-meter radius.

The young man stared with wide-opened eyes before he forced himself to shut off the Mana supplying the spell. The Blackhole had created an immense hole in the marble wall, actually opening a passage to another path where previously was standing a few dozen meters-thick marble wall. And the best of it all?

It barely consumed any Mana. Glenn blinked in amazement as he grabbed his head, unable to utter a word.

'Crap, a Blackhole is costing me as much a Magic Bullet would before!? This is insane!'

The young man let out an amazed laugh, his voice echoing in the night. He then suddenly froze, wondering.

"...What does that mean, then?" He asked aloud, looking at the destruction he caused.

"You truly attuned yourself to your Specialty," Diamanes answered aloud, the entity still struggling to recover from his shock. Glenn glanced at the mouth in the purple palm, waiting for more explanations. Diamanes didn't make himself wait.

"When a mage reaches the Fourth Circle, and hence breaks through the Wall, he attunes with his Specialty. You never wondered why Redan only ever used Ice magic?" Diamanes sneered as Glenn suddenly realized. Indeed, in the little time he spent with the powerful old man, he had only used Ice-type spells: Ice spears, ice platforms, chilling stuff, and all that.

"...I kind of thought it was only because he, uh, liked ice?" Glenn tried, only rewarded with Diamanes mocking chuckle.

"Nah, that's because he became completely attuned with his Mana Heart, the White Ice Spear. Hence, he became extremely powerful in that specific kind of magic, but in exchange lost all rights over different types of Mana. It would be impossible for him to create a Fireball, for example, unless he used the School of Words, which is just dumb since it's weaker and more rigid," explained the entity. Glenn rubbed his chin thoughtfully, having a hard time to figure if he was happy with that change.

Sure, his Specialty, Astral Sorcery, became extremely powerful, but he lost the freedom to do whatever he wanted.

"I'm not sure freedom is a price I'm ready to pay..." He mumbled, pinching his lips. Diamanes snickered.

"That's where the Specialty in question comes into place, you imbecile. Redan's specialty is White Ice, so he can only do that, but what's yours?"

Glenn hesitated.

"...Astral Sorcery?"

Diamanes agreed by passing his tongue over his white teeth.

"Yeah, exactly. And what does that englobe, exactly?" The entity's voice echoed in the young man's mind. This was a question he still had a hard time figuring, in reality.

"I...I don't know, stars..?" Glenn made his friend sigh in annoyance.

"Yeah, sure whatever, stars. Do you even realize how wide your affinity is? You have a dwarf galaxy in place of your Mana Heart, that pretty much encompasses everything. Your Mana is on another dimension compared to normal mortals! Think! Why the hell did Redan almost die from the shock of seeing your Mana Heart?!" He exploded, trying his best to guide Glenn to the truth.

The young man blinked and Projected his Mana Heart above his palm. Technically, the Magellanic Clouds were twin irregular dwarf galaxies...Could that truly mean that he had an affinity with a fucking galaxy, no, two galaxies? Glenn shook his head in denial.

"Nah, that's just not balanced. Imagine, everyone is like fire, earth, or shit like that, and I'm just: "fucking galaxy in your face, fucker?" This is impossible!" Glenn sneered, trying to dismiss Diamanes' words. And yet, he knew that it kind of made sense, in a way. But then, it did raise the question of 'why the fuck would his Mana Heart be so OP?' This seemed so...unfair, compared to other mages or even Aura Practitioners. Was there no balance whatsoever in the universe?

"Hah, of course, there is!" Diamanes sighed, "...Let me ask you. Do you think you can beat Redan, or is there more chance he'll use you as a rag to wipe the damn floor?" Diamanes irratedly questioned. Glenn nodded slowly.

"Yeah, the second option seems still more probable..."

Diamanes smiled.

"Yeah, exactly. You might have a higher reach of possibility, a higher potential, but you didn't reach it yet. You're barely at the start of your journey, and you're already thinking about using the 'power of galaxies'. Gne, fucking cringe-ass guy..." Diamanes grumbled, making his host smile.

"...So you're telling me I'll eventually be able to do it, right?"

"I don't know! Fuck off, and get used to being a puny Third Circle already, damn it!" The entity snapped off. Glenn replied with a hearty chuckle, shaking his head slowly as he realized the progress he made. From shooting Magic Bullets through the Arcane Auger, then the Blackhole, and finally the true attuning with his Astral Sorcery... He had come a long way. And now, he'll at least be able to stand back at the same level as the other bastard, who was gloating over and over that he had broken through the Third Stage both in Aura and Mana.

"That makes me think, is there truly no way to also use Aura for me...? I mean it's pretty cool too..." Glenn mumbled, before feeling a shiver down his spine.

"Stop! Don't even think about it! If you die because you mixed the two, I'll haunt you even in Hell!" Diamanes raged, still fuming.

"Okay, okay, I take it back. Damn..." Glenn quickly gave up, laughing off the matter. Nonetheless, he still kept that idea in the back of his head.

After all, who wouldn't want to be a cool magic swordsman?

The idea surely tempted him, that was for sure.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Javier appeared out of nowhere, his blank face shining in the moonlight as unsettling as ever. The Pale Son glanced between the collapsed marble wall and the one who had caused the destruction. Glenn shamelessly dusted himself off, before turning back to the mess he'd caused.

"Oh, that? No, that was already here before. My turn for the watch, right?"

This was indeed an eventful night.

It was still calm compared to the next day's mess, though.