"Damn it still hurts."

I was doing some light exercise to condition my body but I could still feel my muscle ache along with some wounds that were close to healing completely. However, it was much better than before.

A month has already passed by ever since the incident happened.

The parts of the village that were affected by the battle have already been restored to the previous state before it got damaged. The Adventurer's Guild that was completely wiped off, has been in business since last week although the second floor was currently in renovation.

The community was back into their usual life except of course those who were involved directly with the incident. This includes Old Man Jo, Tesuo, Yukio, and I.

Currently, I am trying to get back to my original physical condition with the help of exercise and magic. I've been swinging my sword day after day after I have been cleared to do some light activities.

Besides the conditioning, I am also training myself at the same time. After we were beaten up one-sidedly by the Royal Mage, I decided it was time to take care of myself seriously. My swordsmanship may be better than most people here but it still didn't help me stand up against the enemy.

Learning from my mistake, I didn't focus all my time improving just my sword. I also gave time to improving my magic with the help of Tesuo. (I already regard him as my teacher.)

Tesuo was the most injured after the incident but we were able to save him thanks to the A - Grade potion he was saving for times like those. Thanks to it, I learned that potions were rank based on their effectiveness. E - Grade potions being the lowest while S - Grade potions were the highest.

Healing potions weren't only the one being ranked. There were also things like magic scrolls and mana potions.

To understand the use of these things, I was taught first what 'mana' was. Tesuo simply told me that mana is the energy used by mages to cast spells.

With the concept of mana explained, I understand the basic items needed for a mage. Magic scrolls are self-explanatory. It is a limited-use item that cast certain spells without the need for mana. Meanwhile, mana potions are like vitalizing drinks back in my world. But instead of increasing your stamina, it increases your mana.

A mage strength will depend partly on his or her mana that's why these items are a necessity for mages. Without mana or any of these items, a mage is good as dead in a battle.

Tesuo also has taught me how mages were classified based on their knowledge of their magic and how strong their fighting capability is.

The strongest mages are called the Grand Magus. You can count the total number of known Grand Magus with your fingers but many believe that there are plenty more who are hiding in seclusion or don't show in public very often.

Below them are the Archmages then Grandmaster mages. The Royal Mage we fought was an example of a Grandmaster mage in action while Tesuo is just a Master Mage, a level below. That's why Tesuo didn't stand a chance when fighting against him.

The reason why he fought him was that he thought the Royal Mage was on the same level as him. Stronger mages tend to be better at hiding their true strength against others. Tesuo took the gamble and he lost the bet.

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The second to the lowest mages are called the Apprentice while the weakest or the beginners are called the Novice mages.

I am considered to be a Novice mage since it was only recently that I got my magic tested. There are ways to officially improve my ranking. First is by taking the tests made by the Royal Mage Association for promotion. These tests are mostly located in cities and not in villages like here. Another way is by having enough merits from achievements that the Association would grant it.

I tried to ask Tesuo about the Royal Mage Association but he only told me that I would learn about them soon.

With basic knowledge about this world done, I asked Tesuo to teach me on how to improve on my magic.

I will always remember what he said when I doubted my element of dark magic.

"The Dark Magic is being considered to be the black sheep of the magic world. There are too many mysteries concerning it and people are afraid of discovering it because of the consequences. You have experienced it first hand. There are repercussions on using it unlike any other element out there."

That was how he explained dark magic. Compared to how Shimomura or Yukio viewed on it, the perspective of a Master mage was more in-depth.

However, there was something that he and I were both surprised.

When I was learning to cast simple dark magic spells, there was a strange phenomenon that happened. In the middle of magic training, I accidentally produce fire when my mind was focusing on trying to summon the shadow once again.

Seeing this, Tesuo let me do a simple test for each element, and surprisingly, every single one of them worked.

It was shocking for me because I never knew I have the compatibility for every element. On the other hand, Tesuo was amazed by my circumstance of me being compatible with six elements of magic. He also said that it was unusual for dark mages to have an element beside the dark element.

So with all that said, I told him what happened during the Magic Aptitude test and he concluded it to be one of the many mysteries dark magic has.

Back to the present...

After the physical exercises, I moved on with my magic training. This was my routine every morning for the past few days.

I started with fire magic. For now, the only spell I could cast was [Fireball]. Although, I could cast multiples of it simultaneously and create a bigger scale than the average Novice fire mage could handle.

When I cast my first [Fireball], it went happiness to disaster real quick. I accidentally burned a portion of the forest when I threw one. I didn't expect how difficult it was to control magic spells. Even now, I still have some trouble adjusting the intensity and the size of this spell.

So for my training, Tesuo gave me the task to create a [Fireball] that has the size and shape of apple fruit. So far, none of it were successful. And by the way, I could only cast five of them, or else I won't have the mana to practice other elements of magic.

After my fire magic, I then soon followed by using my dark magic.

Every single day I tried to summon the shadow that helped me during the Battle. It would be nice if it becomes a part of my tricks. The aura of death it produces was something I could never forget, it was even feared by a Grandmaster mage. But no matter how I tried, I never succeeded with my attempts even when I chant my demon transformation like before.

The only result of my dark magic training was the spell [Blackout]. It is a spell that surrounds an object or a person with darkness. The effects of [Blackout] sounds good for a novice spell but the reason it was a novice spell because it is easily countered even by Novice mages.

The reason why it is considered to be one of the worst spells to be ever used mainly because of two reasons. The first reason was its condition to activate. To cast [Blackout], I needed to touch the target first. Just the requirement to cast it successfully was already a big no for mages who wants to take the fight with range. The second reason is the effectiveness of the spell itself. Not only is the duration laughable, but it would also be dispelled as soon as the target blink.

The only positive thing I could take from this spell is that it cost little to no mana and I could cast it continuously.

I can think of times I can use it during battles, especially because I prefer fighting up close. But until I can use it in a real fight, it's a useless spell.

Besides my fire magic and dark magic, I was having a difficult time casting spells of the other elements. Tesuo told me I got better compatibility with fire element but the dark element was my main so I was technically a dark mage yet, I couldn't use my dark magic casually because a dark mage having multiple elements is unheard of and will only attract trouble.

So technically I'm dark mage that could use every element except darkness.

Nevertheless, I don't want to take my dark magic for granted. It seems to have a connection with me, a demon, and an inhabitant of a different world.

The same goes for this ring.

It has returned to a normal ring without any of its golden lusters. During the incident, I felt the same connection a demon has with Hell. Because of it, I was able to release the shadow of death.

If there is a link between this world and the Hell I know in my world, then this ring would be a clue on how to return.

"..."

While I was staring at my ring, I could hear footsteps moving closer to me. The owner of those footsteps was Tesuo who should be coming because it's already noontime.

"Any progress for today?" He greeted me the same as usual.

I simply shook my head to answer his question.

"It's normal to have difficulty at first. Most importantly, you should familiarize yourself and stabilize yourself with magic."

"Teacher, what's for lunch today?" I asked.

During the days I have been taught, Tesuo always brought me different meals native to this world. Every single one of them was new and more delicious than the previous one, except for ramen of course. So I was expectant of what he brought today.

"I didn't bring anything today since Tesuo was looking for you. It seems you could talk over the meal."

I was downhearted when I heard him first but if that was the case, it is probably important.