First Attempt at Magic

An hour later, Jonathan opened his eyes.

"It seems that having strong mental power really speeds up cultivation. In just one hour, I've already accumulated a certain amount of magic power. That should be enough to cast a Shadow Arrow."

Jonathan walked to the balcony, where a large tree that would take several people to encircle stood a few dozen meters directly ahead.

He recalled what Charles had said earlier and began to attempt the spell.

The first time, and the second, were both failures; the condensed black light points dissipated instantly, but fortunately, there was progress each time.

Jonathan learned from his previous mistakes and kept improving, successfully condensing a Shadow Arrow on his sixth attempt.

"Six tries, success. My talent should be considered decent, right?"

He held the Shadow Arrow above his palm and looked around.

"This is the first time in my life, I can't just shrink back. It's better to shoot it out!"

"Forget it, I'll just pick a direction at random."

With a "whoosh," the pitch-black Shadow Arrow seemed to vanish into the night as it shot off in a certain direction.

"Who's there!"

A furious shout suddenly rang out from afar. It turned out that Jonathan's arrow had coincidentally landed right in front of a couple who were on a date, just as they were kissing.

The sudden appearance of the arrow, which embedded itself into the ground, left them both pale with fright.

The man then roared in rage, "If you've got guts, come out and face me!"

"Leitos, is that you? You coward, come out if you dare!"

The voice was very loud; even though Jonathan was quite far away, he could hear it vaguely. Many people walked out onto their balconies to look toward the source of the noise.

Jonathan's face twitched slightly. He silently walked back into his room, closed the window, drew the curtains, and continued his cultivation.

The woman on the date felt that such loud shouting would surely attract attention and that people would soon come to watch, so she hurriedly pulled the man away.

The next morning, at dawn.

Jonathan woke up early and began his morning exercises in a patch of woods. He wouldn't give up on his warrior training either, and he would set aside time to practice it.

When he returned to his room, breakfast—bread and milk—was waiting on the living room table.

Collette asked curiously, "Where did you go so early? I even bought breakfast for you guys. Ford had class this morning and already ate and left. You're the only one left, so if you don't mind, have some."

"Thanks."

"But you don't have to do this next time. I'm used to waking up early for morning exercises, so I eat quite early."

"Is that so? Then I won't bring any for you next time."

Jonathan smiled and nodded, then returned to his room. After taking a shower, he began to accumulate magic power.

Collette couldn't help but mutter to himself, "With such talent, and he's still an ascetic? This guy is making it impossible for the rest of us to live!"

Afterward, he also returned to his own room.

By the afternoon, Collette and Charles set off together for the Dark Element lecture hall.

As soon as they walked in, many eyes fell upon them.

Jonathan looked around and saw dozens of people sitting in small groups. They chose a spot at random: the fifth row of the column directly facing the blackboard, on the far left edge.

Not long after Jonathan sat down, the girl behind him greeted him.

"Hello, Jonathan. My name is Yuelinna. Let's get to know each other."

Jonathan turned his head to look. She was a beautiful girl with fiery red hair and brown eyes; her eyes were lively, and she blinked them in a somewhat mischievous way.

"You already know who I am, so there's no need to get to know me again."

Yuelinna's expression froze.

Charles, sitting next to him, smiled and said, "Jonathan's personality is just like this. I'm Charles, his roommate."

Yuelinna clearly had no interest in Charles; she glanced at him and didn't even respond.

Not long after.

A man who looked to be in his thirties, wearing black mage robes, walked in. He went straight to the podium, threw the items in his hand onto the desk, pressed his hands down on the table, leaned forward slightly, and said, "Quiet! Class is officially starting!"

The classroom immediately fell silent.

He scanned the crowd, seemed satisfied with their attitude, and nodded. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Winter. I am a teaching assistant at the academy and also a fifth-year student. I will be teaching you for the next year."

"Of course, being able to enter the Ulada Magic Academy means your talents are all quite good. Some of you may have even learned magic before enrolling."

"Therefore, you can apply for a magic level test every semester. If you pass, you can be promoted to the corresponding grade and receive guidance from the academy's mentors."

"Today is your first class. I've introduced myself, so it's your turn now."

"Let me get to know the geniuses of this year."

As he spoke, he picked up a roster from the table.

"First one, Jonathan."

After Jonathan stood up, Winter looked at him and said with a smile, "So you are Jonathan, the student with the highest talent this year."

"Yes."

Jonathan replied, then continued, "My name is Jonathan."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Winter gave a helpless smile. "Sit down. Next, Endom."

"Hello, fellow students. My name is Endom. My home is right here in Black Phoenix City. If you have time, you are all welcome to visit."

"Mm, next."

Once the self-introductions concluded, Winter began to explain the characteristics and elemental traits of Dark Magic.

As the class neared its end, a brown-haired youth suddenly spoke up, "Teaching Assistant, since this is a magic class, shouldn't you demonstrate some magic? Why not ask our number one genius to show us his magic?"

Winter looked at Jonathan, seemingly seeking his opinion.

Facing a youth with such talent, even though his own strength far surpassed the boy's, he dared not push him too hard.

A tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind; Jonathan had long known that his talent would invite some trouble.

But he had not expected it to come this quickly.

He turned his head to look at the brown-haired youth, deciding that to avoid further trouble in the future, he must make him feel fear and awe.

As for the brown-haired youth, he had a fondness for Yuelinna and had been filled with anger after seeing how Jonathan treated her earlier.

Furthermore, he felt jealous of Jonathan's talent, and having heard from his father that Jonathan came from a mediocre background and had never studied magic before, he had orchestrated this scene.

He wanted to make this genius, praised by everyone, make a fool of himself in front of the crowd.

"Teaching Assistant Winter, since this classmate has spoken up, I don't mind. However, doing it alone is too boring. Why not invite him up to demonstrate together?"

Before Winter could speak, the brown-haired youth immediately stood up and said, "Bring it on."

The two walked to the front and stood face to face.

The brown-haired youth thought to himself, Once I condense the magic, I'll claim my mental control was unstable and the spell went out of control, then fire it directly at him.

At such a close distance, he will surely find it hard to dodge. Even if I can't kill him, I'll scare him until he collapses to the ground and makes a fool of himself in public!

The brown-haired youth only wanted to vent his anger and never considered what the consequences would be if Jonathan were actually injured!

"Begin."

As soon as Winter finished speaking, the brown-haired youth began to condense the surrounding dark elements; he was casting a Shadow Arrow.

In his seat, Charles wore a look of concern.

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