Evil Abyss Mage

After a couple minutes of walking, Kaido and the rest eventually came outside and arrived in a large, wide open field. However, they noticed they weren't alone. By the looks of it, there were twenty other classes, each having fifty to a hundred students. Not only that, but over half of those classes were Knights with the Mages being the minority. Only accounting for 500 out of the 2,000 students.

Their distance to each other was huge, making them unable to even hear one another. Suddenly, Gloria waved her hand towards a patch of shimmering grass.

"Take a seat here. Cross your legs, lie on your back, or however you want to sit. Your posture doesn't matter much, just get as comfortable as possible."

They did as she asked and all sat down in different ways, the majority crossing their legs. But they soon noticed how comfortable they were. Almost like lying on the world's greatest bed. Calmness washed over them, their thought process becoming unnaturally smooth.

"Good, we will begin shortly. Give me a few moments first." As Gloria did whatever it was she was suppose to do, Kaido had sat right next to Caerwyn. He had a small grin on his face as he silently examined her.

Her eyes were closed as she tried to ignore him. Unfortunately for her, giving up wasn't his motto.

"What?" She asked coldly, as if from the deepest regions of a frozen wasteland.

"Which Kingdom do you belong to? I would guess Ice-Fall based on your looks and Element. Are you the daughter of Queen Maven perhaps? One of them at least." Caerwyn's eyes opened, a little shock in them. She didn't expect him to guess her origin on the very first try.

"How did you know?" Curiosity was inside her as she asked. Yet her voice came off as unapproachable and frosty.

"A number of things. I pay attention to the little details that… build up. Though, it's hard to focus on those. Considering your beauty eclipses all else." For a split second, her heart fluttered before she forcibly pushed it down, no change on her face.

She snorted lightly, closing her eyes and choosing to ignore this playboy. Luckily, before Kaido could force his way past her defenses, Gloria arrived just in time.

"Alright, let's start off with what we're doing here. You, along with the other classes, are going to start your very first session of Star Cultivation. This will last for around four hours. Now-" Before she could continue, the same nerd from previously raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Why must we do this for four hours?" Gloria gained a smile on her face.

"Very good question. You see, most of the population only uses four hours to cultivate because you have a lot of other things to do. This includes your Job, training your Element, mastering your fighting style, and many more. Too few hours in the day for all that. Especially since the path to magic is endless, it's mysteries able to keep you busy for a lifetime."

"Now you could go the low-key route and just sit in a cave or something, cultivating all day if you have the talent. But you would, without a doubt, be the weakest in your Rank. The pros don't outweighs the cons. It's a waste of time. Of course, that's just my recommendation and opinion. You are free to live your own life."

"Before we start, I'll briefly talk about the Ranks and how to achieve them. To cultivate, you need to draw in the surrounding mana in the air, or from wherever, to form Stars within your body. The more Stars you have, the better. From weakest to strongest, we have:

 

1st Star needs 100 

2nd Star needs 800 

3rd Star needs 6000 

4th Star needs 30,000

5th Star needs 150,000

6th Star needs 500,000

7th Star needs 1,500,000

8th Star needs 5,000,000

9th Star needs 15,000,000

10th Star needs 30,000,000

11th Star needs 70,000,000

12th Star needs 150,000,000"

 

The students were shocked at the large numbers and felt the higher Ranks were impossible to achieve.

"With every increase in Rank, your lifespan increases greatly. By the time you get to 7th Star, you can live for over 1000 years."

The students were at first daunted at the task ahead, but after hearing the next part they were beyond excited and clamored with each other. Everyone wanted to live as long as possible.

"Alright that's enough. Let's begin." Saying that, she waved her hand and the grass underneath of them enveloped them all in a small bubble. They were separated from each other, all noise gone.

Suddenly, they heard Gloria's voice echo lightly inside their bubble.

"This is a Sound Dampening Bubble, a Rune specifically created to block the outside world. For your first time, any interference can make you… mess up." The tone of her voice at the end made the students think they wouldn't like the result.

"Get in your most comfortable position and close your eyes. Sense the mana around you, and command it to enter your body. It might take some time at first, but don't be anxious. It's okay. It took me almost twenty minutes my first go." Her words soothed them, calming their nerves at they entered into a meditative trance.

Kaido did as she said, ignoring everything else and closing his eyes. Instantly, he could sense the mana in the air immediately rush for him, almost like a child that found a piece of candy. Or a druggie trying to get their next hit. With the first part done, he drew the excited mana inside his body and started creating stars. A white small circle was soon formed directly next to his heart, glowing very brightly. But this single star didn't stay alone for long and was soon joined by others which popped up everywhere inside his body.

'As expected of me. A true genius, blessed by the World!' Kaido thought arrogantly, but dedicated his time to creating as many stars as possible.

Over two hours later, just after forming the 100th star, a mini shockwave exploded outwards as Kaido's body began filling with power. This caught the attention of Gloria, who shouted out in shock.

"What?! Impossible!" The other teachers were startled and rushed over, but she couldn't care about her outburst. She stared at Kaido intensely as the boy opened his eyes and checked out his body.

"What's wrong?"

"Dear Gods! This boy is already at the 1st Star?!"

"Such talent… and it's only been two hours."

Despite their mental fortitude developed by their long life, they couldn't help but be overwhelmed by emotions. After all, they were witnessing history in the making. The record of reaching the 1st Star the quickest was three and a half hours, held by one of the greatest Arch-Mages of not only their time, but of history itself. It might seem close, but this meant he was cultivating almost twice as fast as her. Such disparity wouldn't be too obvious at the start, but it would truly show itself during the later Ranks. What took her a hundred years to accomplish, would only take him fifty.

Kaido was oblivious to them as he was busy marveling at the sense of power. It was as if something unlocked inside him, allowing him to fully manipulate the Mana in the air. At the same time, he felt something new within his body. Something similar to a sixth sense he could flawlessly use without trouble. If he wasn't mistaken, which was doubtful, this new force should be his Mana Pool. 

Safe to say it was... very abundant. For a moment, he almost thought it was infinite. However, he did eventually see the end which disappointed him a little. As much as he wanted to play with his newfound power, he closed his eyes and went back to forming stars. Although he was going to stop at 100, as it was such a complete number, he decided to push himself to his limits.

After the remaining time had passed, the bubble surrounding the students disappeared and awakened them from their meditative state. Some were happy, others saddened, a few angry. 

Kaido opened his eyes, a slightly arrogant smirk on his face which was wiped in an instant. In total, he had formed 187 stars. And that was without the aid of any support like potions or special jewelry.

'A shame the Academy forbids outside help. To make it more fair for everyone they say. Nonsense. I might have reached 200 or even higher if properly equipped.' He shook his head before focusing on Caerwyn.

There was no emotion on her face as she calmly got up, making him do the same.

"How did you do? Well I hope?" She glanced at him, finding him to be an annoyance. Still, she kept her cool.

"Fine." In fact, she had done much better than she hoped. Though it did take her over a minute to get started, she formed 93 stars in total. In future sessions, the number should be a couple higher once she gets used to the process.

Though, she couldn't help but wonder how well he did. Despite her better judgment, she asked.

"What about you?" She saw him smile, almost charming her for a second.

"Very well. Come closer and I'll tell you." Carelessly, Caerwyn leaned in as he whispered into her ear. His hot breath startled her as a light blush appeared on her face. She had never had such close contact with a man, not even with her own father.

Suddenly, before Kaido could say, the sound of clapping drew everyone's attention. He smiled and pulled away, leaving her wondering.

"Well, you'll find out later." Caerwyn frowned for a second before focusing on the clapper.

Gloria stood there, completely calm as the other teachers had already left. Yet her eyes would sometimes glance at Kaido.

"I hope you all performed as well as you hoped. Now, follow me back to class and you'll fill out a form saying how many stars you gathered and how long it took you to get started. They will be displayed throughout the Academy for all to see. Of course, if you don't want that you can just say so."

As Gloria's class went back, along with the others, Dyson had a depressed look on his face on the other side of the field. It had taken him over an hour to bring the surrounding mana in the air to form his first star. The teacher's words did help, but what came after plunged him into the abyss of despair.

'9 stars in total? Even if I get better, the max can't be over 15 or 16.' He sighed regretfully. If he doesn't complete the Two Souls Quest soon, he'll get left behind. However, he didn't have the faintest clue in how to do so.

'And I can't tell anyone either. Maybe I should go to The Library for a book about this.'

Zendrix, who happened to be in the same class as Dyson, was completely calm. He knew there would be no miracles. Instead, he looked at Kaido.

'The same thing as before happened. If I remember right, the whole school and even the world will be shocked when he reveals how many stars he can form. If I want to even barely catch up, I'll need 'that' item.' A firm look was in his eyes.

'I'm sorry, but I need it more than you.' He could never forget that day, despite it having nothing to do with him. It gave him hope for the future, that not all was lost when it came to his talent.

One day, a commoner was chased into The Forest by a bunch of noblemen bullies. They had pushed him all the way to the Inner Layer before finally leaving. However, they gave him a final gift. A sword, straight through the stomach. 

The commoner was weak and had never been here before. There was a high likelihood of him being torn apart by wild beasts. Especially since he was severely injured and the blood would draw them in.

But then, a light in a tunnel arrived. He somehow made his way to the Core Layer, bypassed all the powerful monsters, and arrived in a cave. Inside this empty cave, was a little unassuming flower, barely the size of his fist. It had six leaves in total, with a single star on each one. The commoner didn't know what it was and didn't care. He was dying and foolishly thought to himself, he might as well eat it.

That was the day everything changed for him. His talent skyrocketed and he successfully escaped The Forest. Before eating the flower, he could only generate 10 stars every four hours. But afterwards, the amount jumped to 70 and made him a genius overnight.

'I have to get that before him! But the Core Layer...' He frowned deeply. The Core was the most dangerous area of The Forest and the deepest. Even the weakest monsters that roamed there were High-Class. Every year there would be a few students who thought of themselves as the next big thing and charged inside fearlessly. Their bodies were never recovered.

The amount of luck it would take to get through there without meeting a single monster, while at the same time finding a random no named cave? It was impossible and illogical. But then, Zendrix remembered what Jaizir said and smiled.

'Maybe it is possible.'

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"Congratulations students, for finally stepping on the path of a Mage." Gloria said happily, a smile on her face as she lightly clapped. They had just finished filling out all the forms and class was just about to end.

"Our time together is up for today, unfortunately. Tomorrow, we'll be covering Elements are their importance to a Mage. As for you right now, you'll be needing to get to your next class. Have fun!" With that, she left as the students began getting up one after another.

Kaido looked at Caereyn next to him as she gathered her things. As much as he wanted to join her Ice class to play with her, he was far more interested in the Space Element right now. Besides, they would see each other every day, so he might as well take his time breaking her shell.

"I suppose this is goodbye for now. But don't worry. We'll be seeing each other a lot." While he left, Caerwyn looked at his back and sighed. She had a feeling this was going to be a long year.