"Finally... I’ve reached the Advanced rank," I muttered as I sank into the euphoric sensation that came with the surge of power.
I looked at my hand, opening and closing it several times, carefully sensing the changes in my body.
Bones, muscles, tendons... everything had become stronger and more flexible.
Better yet, I could feel the increase in the amount of essence within me.
With a thought, I guided the essence through my body at will and activated my ability.
I frowned the moment my perception spread through the surrounding area. The information flooding into my mind was denser and far more detailed, causing a mild headache.
I could feel the other people in their rooms—how they moved and what they were doing—in more detail than ever before.
Judging the distance my perception reached, I estimated it to be around 350 meters. That meant an increase of 150 meters.
I deactivated my ability."I need some time to get used to this new range," I muttered as I tried something else.
Essence flowed through my hand faster and more efficiently than ever before, forming a thin layer around my skin.
Unlike the previous times I had done this, it was sturdier and stronger, and it didn’t start breaking apart on its own... even the essence consumption was better.
I focused and tried to condense the essence into a single point in front of my finger."This is harder than I expected," I muttered.
In the end, a glowing sphere about the size of my fingernail formed above my finger. I felt tempted to try firing it inside the room, but quickly dismissed the idea... after all, I didn’t want to ruin my beautiful home.
I focused on the compressed essence above my finger and added more to it, slowly shaping it.
It almost slipped out of my control and dissipated several times during the process, but in the end, I managed to create what looked like a dagger about twenty centimeters long. Maintaining it consumed a lot of focus and essence, so I let it fade into the air.
"It’s still not quite like Rank 3," I muttered. Then, with a thought, the system screen appeared in front of me.
Name: Caius Astroweild
Age: 17
Rank: 2
Sub-rank: Advanced
Abilities:
[Soul Eyes]: When activated, you can see and sense the essence and souls of living beings.
[Sea of Soul]
I stared at the latter carefully. [Sea of Soul]
During the mission in Carthen, when I killed many people at once, I felt a change within myself.
It was faint and almost unnoticeable... but I was sure of it.
With every being I killed, I felt something new forming inside me—not on a physical level, but something far deeper than that.
With another thought, the system screen disappeared.
I pushed myself to my feet and walked over to my phone to check the time.1:31 a.m.
I tossed the phone aside and headed to the bathroom, stepping under the shower and turning on the hot water.
After finishing my shower, I went straight to my room and threw myself onto the bed.
With a muffled thud, my head sank into the soft, warm pillow, and my thoughts were quickly swallowed by fog.
I felt weak and numb as sleep whispered sweet dreams into my ears... I even forgot to put on any clothes.
With what little strength I had left, I rolled over and wrapped myself in the blanket.
As darkness consumed my consciousness, I remembered something stupid... the theoretical exams would begin in just one day.
And, well, I wasn’t exactly prepared.
So a foolish struggle began in my head—one part of me telling me to forget it and sleep peacefully, while another urged me to get up right now and start studying.
The struggle lasted for a while before my mind reached its final decision... ignore it and sleep.
I’d wake up early to study.
So I closed my eyes in peace, like a small child exhausted from playing all day... if we ignore the fact that I hadn’t slept for several days.
...
I opened my eyes in the dark bedroom. With some effort, I looked at the clock on the table beside the bed.2:34 p.m.... pretty early.
Great. I slept for more than twelve hours.
I dragged myself out of bed and turned on the room lights.
After washing up and putting on some clothes, I left my room and headed toward the library... better to start late than not start at all.
I walked to the elevator, stepped inside, and pressed the button for the lower floor. The dormitory was empty—everyone was probably in class or preparing for the exam.
As I reflected on the poor choices I’d made in life, a faint growl echoed inside the elevator.
I looked down at my stomach growling without restraint and placed a hand over it."Maybe I should have lunch before going to the library."
After all, who can focus while hungry?
...
"Who am I kidding... I knew this would end up like this."
I looked at the clock showing seven in the morning as I put on my academic uniform.
Yesterday, instead of studying, I wasted time and kept postponing it... not like studying on the last day would change much anyway...
It reminded me of my first life—I always did this... either I studied from the beginning, or not at all.
In any case, these weren’t the final exams for the semester, so they wouldn’t matter much, and I was sure I could make up for it in the practical exam.
I sighed in front of the mirror before heading out of my residence.
When I stepped out and closed the door behind me, I saw a few people in the hallway near the elevator... my classmates.
Specifically, Leona and that blonde girl, Talia. The latter looked nervous, holding some papers in her hand and muttering as she tried to memorize their contents.
I walked toward them, and as soon as Leona noticed me, she waved."Good morning."
I nodded at her."Good morning."
As for the other one, she was still absorbed in her papers. I stepped closer and stood in front of the elevator doors, waiting for them to open.
I looked at Leona."So, are you ready for the exam?"
I looked at her and nodded confidently."Of course..."...of course, ready to fail the exam.
A moment later, the doors opened and we stepped inside. I pressed the button for the ground floor, and the elevator began descending.
...
7:55 a.m.
Sitting in the lecture hall, I could feel the heavy atmosphere in the room.
Everyone sat scattered in their seats as silence filled the large hall.
At the front, one of the professors was arranging a stack of papers on his desk while watching the clock.
The moment it neared exactly eight, the papers flew precisely from his hand, heading toward us as if the air itself were carrying them.
"You have one hour. I’ll be collecting the papers afterward."
I looked at the sheet in front of me, filled with strange formulas I had never seen before.
While a single thought echoed in my mind:
"I’m finished."