Alex's smile widened ever so slightly as his gaze remained fixed on the system screen floating before him.
To anyone else, however, he would have appeared to be staring blankly into empty space.
Aurora floated beside him, tilting her head with an amused smile.
"You know," she said, folding her arms, "if someone walked in right now, they'd probably think you've finally lost your mind."
Alex blinked before letting out a helpless chuckle.
"I suppose I do look a little strange."
"A little?" Aurora giggled. "You're sitting there grinning at absolutely nothing. If I didn't know about the system, I'd think you were daydreaming."
She leaned forward curiously.
"So? What are you looking at that's made you so happy?"
"I've been saving system points for quite a while now." His gaze lingered on one particular option. "I think it's finally time to spend them."
He briefly explained what he intended to purchase.
Aurora's eyes widened slightly.
"So... you're planning to awaken a third Magic Affinity?"
Alex nodded. "I've wanted to do it for a long time."
Back then, he simply couldn't afford to deal with the consequences that came with awakening a new affinity. Now, however, he finally had both the resources and the opportunity.
Aurora's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"I wonder what it'll be this time."
Alex smiled faintly.
"I'm curious myself."
After a brief moment of excitement, Aurora suddenly seemed to think of something. She looked at Alex with a rather strange expression.
"If Elena or Alicia find out you've awakened a third affinity," she began, "I'm pretty sure they'll be shocked to their core."
Alex's smile stiffened slightly.
He thought about it for a moment before looking at Aurora. "They won't be able to tell, right?"
Aurora blinked before letting out a small laugh. "Of course not." She waved her hand dismissively, and Alex waited for her to continue.
"Magic Affinities aren't written on your forehead." Aurora said with an amused smile. "Unless someone sees you cast magic of that attribute or you deliberately test yourself with a Magic Affinity Orb, it's practically impossible for anyone to know."
She paused briefly before adding,
"Well... there's a one-in-a-million chance that someone with an extremely rare detection ability might notice something. But for ordinary mages?"
She shook her head.
"No chance."
Alex felt the last trace of concern leave his mind.
That meant as long as he didn't recklessly reveal his new affinity, no one would have any reason to suspect he possessed one in the first place.
"That's reassuring."
Aurora grinned mischievously.
"So," she said, leaning closer, her golden eyes filled with excitement, "what do you think you'll get this time?"
Alex looked back at the glowing option within the system shop. A smile slowly spread across his face as he spoke.
"I guess there's only one way to find out." He let out a slow breath before his finger hovered over the option for a brief moment before finally pressing it.
Then, the moment he confirmed the purchase, the system panel flickered, and a new notification appeared before his eyes.
==============================
[The host has awakened Lightning Magic Affinity]
[Magic Affinity: Lightning (D)]
==============================
Alex's eyes widened.
"Lightning! Cool—it's actually lightning..." he blurted out, louder than intended, before quickly lowering his voice as he remembered where he was.
Aurora's golden eyes sparkled.
"Oh? That's a wonderful affinity."
His excitement faded the moment his gaze landed on the rank, D Rank.
The smile on his face immediately froze. "So low."
He had no complaints about the element itself. Any new attribute would have been useful. What truly mattered was the affinity's rank.
Fortunately, Alex wasn't disappointed for long. "It doesn't really matter." Thanks to the system, he could improve its rank simply by spending system points.
Having watched Draim during the tournament, he already knew just how formidable Lightning Magic could be. More importantly, just as his Ice Affinity had strengthened his
Thinking about it, he turned toward Aurora.
"Do you know any Lightning Magic?"
Aurora nodded.
"I do know a few."
Alex's eyes brightened.
"But..." she continued, raising a finger, "I don't recommend learning any new spells right now."
Alex frowned.
"Why?"
"Because your foundation is still too shallow."
Her expression grew noticeably more serious. "You should focus on mastering the spells you already know rather than constantly learning new ones. Otherwise, your progress with all of them will slow."
She paused before adding,
"A mage doesn't necessarily become powerful by knowing many spells. They sure do become powerful by mastering the ones they have."
Alex silently considered her words.
'She's right. I should first deepen my mastery over the spells I already know.'
Aurora smiled faintly before continuing.
"Besides, most Lightning Magic spells I know won't be of much use to you anyway."
With his new affinity successfully awakened, Alex turned his attention back to the system shop.
Now came the part he had been looking forward to the most: strengthening every aspect of himself.
His gaze first shifted to the Magic tab.
The most expensive option was, unsurprisingly, Increase Mana Capacity, costing a staggering two and a half million SP.
His current mana capacity had already surpassed one hundred thousand. While increasing it further would undoubtedly be beneficial, spending more than half of his remaining system points on a single upgrade simply wasn't worth it at the moment.
Without the slightest hesitation, he selected the remaining two options.
----------------------------------------------------
[Purchase Successful]
[The Host's magic power and mana regeneration have increased significantly.]
[Mana Regeneration: 115 MP/sec]
----------------------------------------------------
His mana regeneration immediately improved, though compared to the tremendous increase he had experienced previously, this enhancement felt far more subtle. After all, this upgrade had only cost fifty thousand SP.
As for his Magic Power, he noticed no immediate changes, meaning he would have to test it later.
Magic Power wasn't something that could be judged through feeling alone. Only by casting spells would he truly be able to determine how much stronger he had become.
With the Magic upgrades complete, Alex shifted his attention to the Physical tab and began purchasing every available enhancement one after another.
----------------------------------------------------
[Purchase Successful]
[The Host's strength, stamina, agility, vitality and health regeneration have increased significantly.]
[Health Regeneration: 5 HP/min]
----------------------------------------------------
By the time he finished, the system had deducted a total of one million eight hundred and fifty thousand SP.
His once-overwhelming balance had fallen to just over two million.
Even so, not once did he regret the expenditure.
Hoarding system points served no purpose if they were never put to use.
Besides, the ancient secret realm awaiting him was hardly the kind of place where one could afford to regret being overprepared. If anything, every bit of additional strength he gained now could very well mean the difference between life and death once he stepped inside.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
After finishing his purchases, Alex closed the system shop.
Following the Wilderness Survival Training, Aurora had taught him four Tier-5 Dark Magic spells. Although he had learned all of them, each remained at F-Rank Mastery—the lowest possible level.
In contrast, the majority of his older Dark Magic spells had already reached A-Rank Mastery. Further improving them had proven increasingly difficult.
According to Aurora, mastery became progressively harder to raise the closer it approached perfection. Once a spell reached A-Rank, simple repetition alone was no longer enough. Understanding, refinement, and practical experience all became equally important.
That was precisely why Alex had decided to focus on his newer spells first.
Before that, however, there was one thing he wanted to test.
Alex slowly raised his hand as strands of black lightning began dancing across his palm.
"
The moment the spell was cast, a bolt of pitch-black lightning shot across the training room, tearing through the air before crashing into the reinforced target in the distance with a deafening explosion.
Crackling arcs of black electricity spread across the target's surface before gradually fading away.
Alex stared at the result for a moment before a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"It's noticeably stronger."
Even before awakening his lightning affinity, despite being only a Tier-1 spell, its destructive power had rivaled that of an ordinary Tier-2 spell. If he supplied it with additional mana, its magic power could even approach that of weaker Tier-3 magic.
Now, after awakening his Lightning Affinity and further increasing his Magic Power, its destructive force had risen yet again.
He could only imagine how much stronger the spell would become after raising his Lightning Affinity beyond D-Rank.
Putting that thought aside, Alex shifted his attention toward the four Tier-5 Dark Magic spells Aurora had taught him.
"Let's begin."