Despite seeing her anger, Lirae simply pouted.
"But Grandma… if anything, it was because of that that I didn't win. I didn't get enough time to get used to the new power."
Jezenet clicked her tongue irritably. "That was the perfect chance for you to absorb some of the powers of the other races, but…"
Jezenet released an audible exhale. "What's done is done already. We move forward."
"That's the spirit!" Lirae smiled wryly as Jezenet shot her a death glare.
"Alright, alright," she raised her hands in resignation, rolling her eyes.
Jezenet's tone grew more serious as she shifted her gaze away from Lirae. "Getting to the other apexes will be tough, considering they belong to the superior races."
"The two mid-race apexes will also be slightly challenging; however, the lower race apex…" She paused thoughtfully.
"The Dimensari will go for the human apex during the banquet. That will be where we'll start. The humans might have won the Nexus, but they're far too weak. The only problem will be the other superior race paragons who would also see the opportunity."
Jezenet's gaze turned toward the sound, her eyes narrowing as she saw Lirae once again staring into the mirror.
Jezenet's veins throbbed, her teeth gritting slightly. She clicked her tongue irritably and chose to ignore Lirae. She didn't have time for nonsense.
As Jezenet continued pondering their next course of action, countless thoughts were racing through Lirae's head as well, despite her seemingly playful demeanor.
'So, it was a human after all.'
Lirae had sensed a bad feeling before the Nexus, and she'd been trying to discover why. However, after watching the battle between Atticus and Karn, she instantly found that reason.
'Atticus Ravenstein.'
That name echoed in Lirae's mind. She didn't know why, but she felt excited, her heart beating fast.
'He's just like him.'
A sting of pain struck Lirae's heart as she remembered someone from her past life. Her hand drifted to her chest, grazing the spot where her heart was. There were no visible wounds there, but she felt an intense ache.
A sad expression appeared on her face for a brief moment before a smile replaced it.
'This should be fun.'
She couldn't wait for the banquet.
After receiving praise from Magnus, Atticus focused all his energy on restoring his will to full strength.
Magnus had insisted they share one room, not that Atticus minded. This was the Dimensari domain—beings who could teleport and appear anywhere at will.
Anything could happen at any moment, and to him, it was better to have a paragon beside him, no matter how awkward it was.
Atticus took the bed while Magnus took the couch. But, to Atticus's slight surprise, before Magnus sat down, he created multiple grade-three runes and placed them around the room. Their function was to prevent teleportation and spying.
A grade-three rune hardly had any effect on a paragon; however, it would at least somewhat deter individuals in the grandmaster ranks.
Atticus was a bit surprised, but then again, it made sense. Every one of his stats had increased as he ranked up, including his will.
Even though willpower wasn't Magnus's main strength, as a paragon, his will was undoubtedly off the charts—most definitely higher than Atticus's.
Magnus sat with his eyes closed, though Atticus could tell he was still fully alert.
With Magnus in the room, Atticus felt safe. Fortunately, since the Nexus was over, Atticus had received his space ring back from Magnus and immediately downed a will renewal potion.
It didn't take him long to recover, and he quickly restored his will within minutes. Afterward, he decided to check his status.
**Character Profile:**
**Name:** Atticus Ravenstein
Intelligence: 75 → 78
**Bloodline:** Primordial Elemental Bloodline
- Earth: 98.5 → 98.9%
- Light: 98.2 → 98.8%
- Darkness: 98.9 → 99.1%
- Lightning: 99.1 → 99.7%
- Space: 33.2 → 96.4%
- Spirt Element: 5 → 6%
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* Conceal [Potential: Mythical]
- The ability to conceal your level from anyone regardless of rank. You may choose what level you want to be shown.
- Current mastery: Mythical
* Transcendent Slash: Godspeed Grace
* Arcane Barrier [Potential: Transcendent]
- Current Mastery: Master+ >> Grandmaster-
* Elemental Mimicry [Potential: Transcendent]
-Current mastery: Grandmaster-
*Ethereal Cloak [Potential: Empowered]
-Current mastery: Master
Atticus gazed at his stats with satisfaction. This was his stats without his exosuit.
He hadn't trained as much recently, but because he'd fought so extensively, he'd still managed to advance, even if only slightly. However, he was mostly pleased with the increase in his will.
Using his will extensively in his battle with Karn, along with his life-and-death encounters with Carius, had strengthened it even further.
'I need to focus more on this,' he thought.
After his battle with Karn, Atticus had recognized the enormous potential his will had, and he realized it could greatly enhance his fighting capabilities.
But there was more. 'The spirit element.'
Now that the Nexus was over, he wasn't sure what his next destination would be, but he could finally train in the spirit element extensively and discover its true potential.
'I'll meet with Lady Seraphina when we return,' Atticus decided.
His spirit element had grown by one percent, even though he hadn't trained in it. Just being near Seraphina, a paragon, had influenced it. He could think of no better teacher, and fortunately, she seemed to like him.
Atticus's thoughts drifted to a certain purple-haired girl back at the academy.
'I wonder how she's doing,' he pondered.
His time with Zoey had been brief but memorable. He enjoyed her company, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was about her that drew him in. Nevertheless, he knew he liked her.
A small smile crept onto Atticus's face, but he froze when he noticed Magnus watching him from his seat.
"Why are you smiling?"
Atticus cleared his throat, muttering quietly,