15 A Path More Complex Than Expected

Damian didn't even know how he walked all the way back to the dormitory.

He slammed the door shut, threw all the books and the crystal ball onto the bed, and slowly slid down the bed as if he were a worm.

"Why can't I perceive many dark elements? Is it because the elemental particles in the classroom are unevenly distributed?" Damian pondered this, immediately opened the book, took the crystal ball, remained seated on the floor, and began to meditate.

This time he felt dark element particles, but they were still very few, not even as many as the white ones.

"White is clear; how is this possible? When I tested it, it was clear that my perception of dark elements was higher than my thunder and fire elements." Damian didn't really understand the magical system that operated in this world; it was also clear that it was very complex, and he had only been practicing magic for a week.

Looking at the magical power surrounding his body, Damian subtly manipulated the slight electric arcs that came out of his fingers, knowing that this was magic.

He hadn't studied any dark spells yet but knew he could do it; however, he wanted to focus on attack magic first and then defensive magic. Dark magic might be more practical at other times.

"Wait, is my main element thunder and not darkness?" Damian remembered that the boy from the evaluation wasn't exactly a good person; he even came personally to bother him a few days ago.

Could all of this be because he's a servant? Damian thought this was likely; he was the first person to go from servant to apprentice mage. Many who came to study here were sent from big cities in the north and villages buried by war. It's not that they all had more privileges than Damian, but they were here to learn and didn't come by chance.

Damian knew a bit of his story, so he knew the truth of why he was here, but obviously no one believed him, and he didn't expect them to.

He wanted to ask Syndra about this, but it wasn't a bother not to handle darkness correctly because he wanted brute strength now, and thunder was exactly what he needed to be stronger.

"If the element with my highest perception isn't dark, it's most likely that the experiment I participated in is changing my body in some way." Damian knew that what he put his hand in wasn't a potion; perhaps it was something different that he currently had no knowledge of.

But going back to the beginning, it wasn't a big problem he needed to worry about.

Now the most important thing was to control his mana, keep it hidden, and continue learning magical theory. He would also learn all about new magical spells and figure out the best way to fight on the battlefield.

Damian knew magic was powerful, but if he didn't have large amounts of mana, he would have no chance on the battlefield. So, following his teaching methods, he would also focus on practicing swordsmanship and improving his body.

A few hours after practicing, Damian left his room but found no traces of Adda anywhere.

The plan was to ask her about her meditation state and whether the notes he had given her had somehow helped her; after all, that knowledge wasn't his but his parents'.

But, not finding her, he walked to the fifteenth floor.

First-class master Dom had his exclusive laboratory right there.

Common apprentices who want guidance from their mentors mainly need to go to the laboratory; the mentor can answer some questions when they conduct experiments there.

But most of the time, apprentices are reluctant to seek out a mentor until they encounter problems.

The answers they are likely to get are: "Don't you know how to do this simple thing?"

"Didn't I explain everything about this question before?"

"I don't think you're that stupid; just search for the answers correctly yourself and free your mind from your limitations."

For more seasoned apprentices, they knew seeking out a mentor would be a waste of time if they weren't talented. Only newbies who haven't seen their mentor angry would be excited to meet their mentor up close.

Damian had many things on his mind, so he didn't feel excited at all when he reached the fifteenth floor.

He arrived at the laboratory of the famous Dom and was met with a pair of eyes as soon as he opened the door.

The owner of those eyes suddenly went through a variety of emotional changes that included surprise, anger, fear, and forced composure.

Damian looked at Luke and scratched his chin with his bone knuckles.

Luke immediately looked away.

After all, there were still slightly purple fingerprints on his neck.

Not many apprentices chose Dom; only three out of the twenty newcomers.

Damian, Luke, and a very pretty girl named Angela.

She seemed unaware of the conflict between Damian and Luke, her large eyes sparkling and a peaceful smile on her lips.

In addition to the new apprentices, there was also a young man wearing the badge of a second-class mage packing his things in the laboratory.

Seeing the three of them standing quietly in the laboratory, he stepped forward to greet them: "Master Dom usually doesn't come this early in the afternoon. You can come around 5 o'clock in the future."

"Of course, it's also fine if you don't come; we're just here to seek advice on our research based on the puppets we want to make. Besides, if you don't have large amounts of mana and dark elements to control people's souls in a certain way, you won't be able to create even a single puppet with its own will, and believe me, controlling one is not easy."

After simple greetings, the laboratory fell silent again. The second-class mage stopped paying attention to them because he was busy and had no interest in further interactions.

Seeing that Master Dom had no intention of arriving early, Damian simply took the book and found a debris-free table to sit and study.

Seeing this, the other two people also found a place to read.

There is a gap between the three, and it's clear they are quite different.

Due to having too much on his mind, Damian became interested only in the visual elements of the figures created with clay and was surprised that, as a mage, he could give mobility to these self-created figures. Additionally, there are cases where one could give their own traits to their puppets.

"It could be..." Damian came to this class because he wanted to learn how to create a puppet he had in his imagination. If he could do that, then, as a mage, he could focus solely on his magic for a while and not on physical combat.

How incredible would it be to create a famous monster from his past life? Someone like Berserker, who was a mad warrior, might even make a replica of the Divine General of the Eight Divergent Leaves of Sila or one of its Mahoraga variants.

If he could create something like that, Damian would feel invincible, which is why he's here and precisely why his mana levels are increasing day by day.

Finally, when the hourglass marked four thirty in the afternoon, the laboratory door opened again.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood up.

"Master!" The second-class mage greeted him with a respectful look.

Following his line of sight, Damian looked at the old man who had previously taught them, but this time he had a long wound on his face.

What happened to him? That was the question everyone asked themselves upon seeing Dom injured, but out of respect, no one said anything.

The other person seemed very old, with wrinkled skin and slightly clouded eyes that made Instructor Dom seem to be over ninety at the moment.

Dom entered slowly, with a steady step.

He didn't respond to the second-class mage but looked around the laboratory.

Damian could tell that the second-class mage was very nervous.

"My request for you to learn from me is very simple." Dom's tired voice first addressed the second-class mage and said, "Return the used items to their original places. If you can't even do this, don't come to my laboratory in the future."

The second-class mage smiled slightly and nodded with a serious expression. "I apologize for lying; I will clean up by the end of the day."

"When are you going to the battlefield?"

"In a month..."

"Remember not to be useless and die at the hands of demons; at least kill a hundred before falling with those despicable pigs."

"Understood, master!"

Damian noticed that upon hearing these not very encouraging words from Dom, the second-class mage seemed relieved.

After that, Dom looked at the three newcomers and said, "Come here and stand in front of me. Are you going to let me, an old man, walk towards you?"

Damian, Luke, and Angela hurried to stand in front of Dom.

Dom's gray pupils scanned the three one by one, and when they finally landed on Damian, he suddenly asked in a harsh tone, "Two questions: why do you have your eyes blindfolded, and why do you have so little magical power?"

Luke's eyes lit up as he stood on the other side of Angela. He seemed to hesitate about taking the initiative to help Damian explain his situation better.

But just as he was about to speak, the wound on his face hurt a bit, and he couldn't make any sound.

Damian knew his situation couldn't be hidden from the official mage, so he took the initiative and said, "I hide my magical power, as my parents recommended that I always hide my magical levels and keep them suppressed. If I'm facing a demon, I could deceive it, and with this, I would easily kill it when my enemy lets down their guard."

Dom smiled strangely when he heard these words, and he nodded. "My apologies for the first question; what about the first?"

"My eyes are special; it doesn't matter if they're blindfolded because I can clearly see what's around me."

"Well, I hope you don't die because of that."

Damian was surprised by these words, but he didn't feel uncomfortable. There were few things he wanted to learn from this place, so once he achieved them, he would rarely attend this class.

"Well, this goes for everyone. If you're not a third-class mage in a month, don't stand around here anymore. Your mana must be quite abundant to take my classes, so it would be pointless to keep coming if you don't have this important quality." Dom said, glancing at Damian sideways.

In fact, this test was very difficult to achieve because, to be a third-class mage, one should learn defense, attack, and numerous support spells, so it wasn't simple.

This in itself demonstrated how complex Mr. Dom's class was and how important these requirements were to learning about the magic he had developed.

After making his instructions clear, Dom looked at Luke and Angela, who seemed to have poor control over their magic. "You will learn with Mark later, but first, you will talk to me.

."

"Why do you want to study in my class?"

"I'm good with crafts."

"I would like to create a powerful companion."

Damian thought for a moment and said, "I don't want to see anyone die protecting me; I need to create a powerful companion who will be my vanguard and also my executioner."

Dom's eyes sparkled when he heard this. He nodded his head and said, "You go with Mark; you two will learn from me."

Damian didn't know why Dom sent him to his disciple Mark, but he knew not to be impatient, so he approached where the learning mage was.

"Do you know why I sent you to me?"

Damian shook his head at this question.

Mark smiled and said, "Professor Dom agrees with free imagination, and he also saw that in my magic, so he usually gives the theory, and we will learn on our own. Those who don't have that privilege will be taught by him."

"What if we don't show progress?" Damian asked as he sat in front of Mark.

"That's impossible; he only leaves us alone if we have exact control over our magic."