Without lingering any longer, Kelvin did not leave the administration office. The elevator carried him toward the mana room he paid for.
His expression remained calm, but he couldn't help running the scenario through his head if he had successfully paid for the mana chamber he was sure the second level was at his reach.
Instead...now he did not know how long it would take for him to reach the second level. Several minutes later, the elevator opened onto the cultivation floor.
Following the corridor, Kelvin stopped before the final mana room and held the crystal access card over the scanner beside the entrance.A pleasant tone sounded.
"Identity confirmed:Welcome, Apprentice Kelvin."
The doors slid open.Kelvin had barely taken a single step into the room—A tremendous surge of mana crashed into him.His breathing hitched.The mana circle within him spun wildly, as though responding to the overwhelming concentration surrounding him. His body stiffened.
"So fast..."
The words had scarcely left his mouth before the barrier that had resisted him for an entire week finally shattered.
Boom!!...
Mana flooded every pathway in his body. Kelvin staggered.His knees buckled for a brief instant, forcing him to catch himself before he could fall completely.He remained there for several seconds, taking slow, steady breaths while the violent surge gradually settled.When everything finally calmed...Kelvin slowly straightened.
"The Second Level."
He had expected another period of cultivation.Instead, merely entering the room had been enough.although they said mana rooms could never help you progress the previous week's cultivation had already pushed him to the absolute limit.This room had simply provided the final spark needed for the breakthrough.
Kelvin instinctively considered the Bio-Arcane Capsule.Just as quickly, he dismissed the thought.There was no need.The capsule existed to cultivate beginners safely, protecting them from mana backlash and spellburn while it absorbed and regulated ambient mana on their behalf.His breakthrough had already been completed.
Using the capsule now would accomplish nothing.His cultivation wasn't what needed improvement anymore.His control was.His strength.His ability to make full use of the mana he possessed.Kelvin's gaze settled on the pen resting neatly atop the desk in the lounge area.
Without another word he brought out the mana guide book and began reading moments later he reached out with his mana.The pen trembled. Then rolled off the desk and clattered onto the polished floor.Kelvin wasn't discouraged.Instead, he quietly analyzed the flow of mana he had just released.
Too much force.Not enough precision.He tried again.This time, the pen rose slowly into the air.Barely a few centimeters. Before wobbling and falling once more.A faint smile tugged at the corner of Kelvin's lips.Unlike cultivation...This would require patience.
And with five days of uninterrupted access to the mana room still ahead of him...He had plenty of time to improve.Over the following hours, he noticed how this room was different from the one he was coming from it was infinitely ordinary.The artificial sky beyond the expansive window gradually shifted from night to dawn before returning to dusk once more, faithfully imitating the passage of time outside the tower.Kelvin paid it little attention.
His focus remained fixed on the objects scattered throughout the room.A pen. A ceramic cup.A decorative sphere resting on one of the shelves.At first, each attempt ended in failure.The pen would shoot across the room instead of rising gently.
The cup would tremble violently before slipping from his control.The decorative sphere barely left the shelf before crashing back into place.Each failure revealed the same problem.His mana output was stable.His control was not. Fortunately...Control could be trained. Kelvin slowed down.
Rather than trying to move several objects at once, he concentrated on a single pen.Again.And again. Every unsuccessful attempt was followed by another. Hours gradually turned into days....On the third day...The pen no longer wobbled.It floated steadily before him, rising and descending exactly as he intended.Kelvin slowly guided it around the lounge area.
Across the polished floor. Over the sleek desk.Around the minimalist chairs. Every movement became smoother than the last. Only after he was satisfied did he place the pen back where it belonged.
He immediately chose something heavier. The ceramic cup. Its greater weight demanded finer control over both the amount and distribution of mana. Several attempts ended with the cup tilting awkwardly through the air. By evening...It hovered steadily in front of him. A faint smile appeared on Kelvin's face.
His progress was faster than he had anticipated. Perhaps the advancement to the Second Level of the First Circle had enhanced more than the amount of mana he possessed. His affinity for manipulating it had improved as well.
By the fourth day...One object had become two. Then three. Then five. The room had transformed into an improvised training ground.The pen traced circles through the air.The ceramic cup floated beside it. Several decorative spheres revolved around Kelvin in different directions, each maintaining its own speed and trajectory.
Not once did they collide.Sweat slowly formed on Kelvin's forehead.Maintaining a single object required concentration. Maintaining several while giving each an independent movement was an entirely different challenge.More than once, his concentration faltered.The carefully maintained formation instantly collapsed. Objects fell harmlessly onto the polished floor.Kelvin simply picked them up and began again.There was no frustration. Only repetition.Every collapse exposed another weakness.Every correction refined his control.By the sixth day... The results were unmistakable.
With a simple thought, six different objects rose simultaneously.The pen spun slowly between his fingers.The ceramic cup rotated gently in the opposite direction.The decorative spheres orbited above his head in perfect synchronization.Kelvin watched them calmly.This level of control would have been unimaginable only a few days earlier.
Yet...
He wasn't satisfied.His gaze shifted toward one of the minimalist chairs positioned near the lounge.Compared to everything he had manipulated so far... Its weight was on an entirely different level.Kelvin extended his hand.Mana gathered silently.
The chair trembled.Barely.Its front legs lifted less than an inch before settling back onto the floor.Kelvin lowered his hand.Not enough. He tried again It rose a bit but still dropped for now A faint smile crossed his face. That was enough.He had discovered his current limit.And limits...Were meant to be surpassed.