...
{3rd Pov}
Astreo decided to resume his battle training against monsters once again, this time focusing on a group of Cyclops rats.
He made the decision to begin with a duo of Cyclops rats as his initial target.
First, he tested his casting speed, which turned out to be 1.7 seconds for a Tier 2 spell and 1.9 seconds for a Tier 3 spell.
This was significantly faster than the speed he had achieved when he started using Tier 1 spells, which took 3 seconds to cast.
At that time, even a 3-second casting speed was already considered good for a novice operating at Tier 1.
After that, he entered the simulated environment prepared for his training.
Immediately, he cast his magic, "Spirit Ripples: Expand Senses!" As the name suggested, this particular magic was designed to expand his magical senses, allowing him to perceive things beyond normal human capabilities.
Because monsters contained magic crystals within their bodies, this spell could be used to sense their presence.
However, it was important to note that this ability was not particularly useful for non-magicians, as it relied on having a trained magical sense to detect the magic sources.
Within moments, he was able to sense two Cyclops rats moving simultaneously in different directions.
Reacting quickly, he turned toward the nearest one and immediately noticed the bushes moving, indicating the rat's position.
"Spirit Ripples: Pacify!" Astreo shouted, and the magic instantly struck the nearest Cyclops rat, stunning it completely.
He didn't hesitate for a single moment and charged at the immobilized creature with his sword.
With precise aim, he pierced it directly in the eye. Blood sprayed out violently, marking the successful strike.
Pulling his sword out, he immediately turned in a different direction, scanning for the next target, and shouted again, "Spirit Ripples: Pacify!"
The magic shot forward and hit the second Cyclops rat just as Astreo ran toward it.
With another swift and well-aimed attack, he finished it off without any delay.
He was panting heavily; for a five-year-old, this level of exertion was extremely strenuous, pushing his small body to its limits.
However, when he restarted the stimulation, his stamina was fully restored.
This time, he decided to challenge himself further by choosing to battle against three minion Cyclops rats at once.
With determination and careful strategy, he successfully managed to defeat and kill all three of them.
Just like that, Astreo continued with his training, steadily improving his skills and endurance with each encounter.
He remained focused, methodically working through one challenge after another, showing remarkable persistence and growing competence in his magical combat abilities.
...
Several days passed, and during this time, Astreo managed to reach a level where he was capable of defeating up to seven Cyclops rats simultaneously without requiring any external aid.
The only tool he relied on was his magic sword, whose sole special ability was its extreme sharpness.
This sharpness alone was sufficient to eliminate minion-level monsters with relative ease, allowing him to handle multiple opponents efficiently.
However, Astreo once again faced the harsh reality of death.
This time, it occurred against a group of eight Cyclops rats.
The overwhelming number of enemies forced him into a defensive position, and he had no choice but to rely on his magic to calm himself down and regain composure.
After reflecting on the encounter, he realized that taking on eight opponents with his five-year-old body was simply impossible.
Accepting this limitation, he decided it would be more effective to focus on quality rather than quantity in his battles, targeting stronger opponents one at a time rather than overwhelming groups.
With this new approach in mind, he chose his next target carefully.
This time, he faced a One-Eyed Wolf. Like the Cyclops rats, it had only one eye, and it was also classified as a minion-level creature.
However, compared to the Cyclops rats, which were considered Lesser Minions, the One-Eyed Wolf was a step above, classified as a Normal or Standard Minion.
Astreo understood that this opponent would present a more significant challenge, requiring more strategy, precision, and focus during the battle.
The monsters at the Minion level are further divided into four distinct sub-tiers: Lesser Minions, Normal Minions, Great Minions, and Evolving Minions. Each successive sub-tier is significantly stronger than the previous one, with power levels increasing by several multiples.
Among these, the Evolving Minion is already so powerful that it can only be defeated by an Intermediate-level mage.
Even a Lesser Minion, such as a Cyclops rat, requires at least a Level 2 or Level 3 Novice Tier mage to defeat it effectively.
In comparison, a Normal Minion like the One-Eyed Wolf demands even more effort; it would take a coordinated group of Novice Tier 3 mages to bring one down successfully.
Unfortunately for Astreo, he failed to kill the One-Eyed Wolf on his first attempt and died easily.
The reason for his failure was not that his magic lacked power; rather, it was due to the limitations of his weak, five-year-old body.
After all, there is only so much physical strength that a child of his age can possess, no matter how skilled their magic might be.
The second time Astreo died, he still experienced trauma from the event, his mind struggling with the shock and the pain.
However, by the third attempt, the fear was considerably lessened.
He only felt a little scared, and the sensation quickly faded after a single use of his Spirit Ripple magic on himself.
Astreo was gradually adapting to the experience of death.
Thanks to his Psychic element, his mind and psyche were becoming conditioned to the pain and sensation associated with dying.
In fact, after dying a few more times, he would reach a point where even if his hand were ripped off, he would likely only flinch, his body and mind fully acclimated to the extreme experiences he faced during battle.
While Astreo recognized the advantages of adapting to repeated death, he didn't want to turn into a suicidal maniac.
After all, compared to virtual training simulations, he only had one life in the real world, and losing it recklessly was not an option.
With this in mind, he decided to take his training to the next level.
This time, he employed two magical tools simultaneously: one that increased his physical strength to the level of a healthy adult, and another that enhanced his speed and reaction time to match that of a fully grown teenager.
With these enhancements, he finally managed to defeat the One-Eyed Wolf.
Fortunately, his Psychic Element allowed him to momentarily stun the enemy, giving him the opportunity to finish it off using his magic sword.
Without the Psychic Element, even if he relied solely on his Lightning Element, he would have needed six to seven precise strikes just to barely kill the creature.
Astreo knew that facing two Normal Minions simultaneously would be extremely difficult, yet he continued his training regardless.
During this stage, he recorded two more deaths, each one teaching him more about his enemies' behavior and patterns.
On the third attempt, he finally managed to kill both of them.
This success was not simply luck—it was the result of carefully learning and adapting to the predictable patterns of how these Normal Minions acted during combat.
Astreo understood that to take on even stronger enemies or a greater number of foes, he would now need external magical tools that could increase his strength to superhuman levels, along with a Magic Ring Accelerator to enhance his combat efficiency and reaction time.
What he had already achieved as a Novice Tier 3, using only a magic sword with increased sharpness and a modest 1.5 times power boost, was already nothing short of a miracle.
The fact that he was able to defeat Normal Minions at all with such limited resources demonstrated just how exceptional his abilities were, even at such a young age.
The main reason for Astreo's rapid progress and exceptional skill was that he could train continuously without taking any breaks, plunging into the most dangerous combat scenarios without ever experiencing a real death.
This type of intensive, uninterrupted training was almost impossible for ordinary individuals, as they would risk fatal injuries or permanent consequences.
For Astreo, however, the controlled environment of his training allowed him to push his limits far beyond what would normally be achievable.
This unique advantage was a significant factor in why he had been able to reach his current level of prowess at such a young age.
Additionally, Astreo's spell-casting speed had improved to an almost ridiculous level of efficiency.
His Novice Tier 1 spells could now be cast in just 1.2 seconds, while his Novice Tier 2 spells required only 1.3 seconds.
His Novice Tier 3 spells, which were the most complex and demanding at his current level, could be cast in a mere 1.7 seconds.
Such speeds were extraordinary, making it possible for him to launch attacks against Minion-level monsters almost instantaneously, giving him a decisive advantage in combat.
Recognizing the importance of further growth, Astreo decided to shift his focus from merely improving his speed and strength to enhancing his spiritual attainment.
In addition, he concentrated on strengthening his stars, understanding that higher spiritual refinement and stellar power would provide a long-term edge in both magic and combat.
By improving these aspects, he aimed to become not just faster and stronger, but fundamentally more capable and resilient, able to face increasingly powerful enemies in the future.
Now, there were three primary ways for a mage to increase their power once they had reached the peak of their current tier.
The first method was to simply break through to the next tier, a process that typically required months or even years of dedicated meditation and intensive magical cultivation.
Astreo, however, knew that he would not face any significant problems in this scenario, given that he had access to virtually infinite resources and the ability to train without interruption.
The second method involved increasing the grade of a mage's elemental affinity, which provided a permanent multiplier to the power of all their attacks.
This increase applied across all tiers and was fully stackable, meaning that multiple enhancements could compound their effects.
The elemental grades were categorized as Spirit Grade Element, Soul Grade Element, and Heavenly Grade Element.
These grades could be stacked sequentially on top of one another, and in addition, they could also be stacked on top of the mage's innate elemental talent, if they possessed one.
This method was considered the most cost-efficient of the three, and in practice, almost every powerful mage would prioritize increasing the grade of their element.
It was generally easier to elevate an element to Spirit Grade than it was to advance from Intermediate Mage Tier to Advanced Mage Tier.
The multiplier effect from elemental grade improvements was extremely valuable, allowing mages to enhance their magical output without the immense time investment that tier breakthroughs required.
The third method was both the most expensive and the least cost-effective.
This involved strengthening the stars of an element, which required imbuing the element with complete soul essences obtained from defeated monsters.
Soul essences, also known as soul cores, were extremely rare and valuable.
For instance, to elevate oneself to Novice Tier 4, a mage would need seven Minion-level soul cores, and the cost of acquiring these resources could easily reach around 28 million RMB.
While the power of Tier 4 spells was roughly double that of Tier 3, the amount of resources required to achieve this was vast.
In comparison, the same resources could be used to elevate a mage to Intermediate Tier while simultaneously obtaining two Spirit Grade Elements, which could effectively triple the strength of all their spells across every tier.
This significant difference in efficiency explained why very few people opted to strengthen the stars of their elements.
Most mages limited themselves to raising Intermediate-level tiers to Level 4 and Novice-level tiers to Level 5.
Beyond that point, the number of soul cores required and the necessary element grades became so high that the method was considered highly impractical and prohibitively expensive.
There was, however, a significant benefit to the tier system: each successive tier offered roughly double the power of the previous tier while consuming the same amount of mana as a Tier 3 spell.
This meant that advancing even a single tier could dramatically amplify a mage's combat capabilities without increasing the strain on their magical reserves.
For Astreo, this first method of tier advancement was the approach he intended to use to enhance himself.
Since Psychic Element was unique and special, it could not be enhanced through Spirit Grade Element techniques.
The only way to increase the grade of his element was to improve his spiritual attainment directly through meditation and cultivation.
Although he theoretically could have worked on both his cultivation and spiritual attainment simultaneously, given the infinite resources at his disposal, Astreo deliberately chose not to.
He believed firmly in the principle that to become a "Master of All," one first needed to become a "Master of One."
Otherwise, he reasoned, he would merely become a Jack of All Trades and Master of None, spreading himself too thin to achieve true mastery in any single domain.
Astreo began the painstaking process of fusing his Seven Stars with Minion-level soul cores.
The process was incredibly time-consuming; it took him approximately seven hours to fuse a single Minion-level soul core with just one star.
Observing the sheer time requirement, Astreo adjusted and extended his training schedule accordingly.
From 8:00 P.M., which was normally his sleeping time, until 6:00 P.M. the next day when he awoke, combined with an additional three hours on average from his afternoon training sessions, Astreo ended up dedicating a total of fifteen hours to training each day.
Being a Psychic mage, Astreo's need for sleep was effectively replaced by meditation, thanks to the aid of the Sacred Grade Stardust Tool.
He also understood that even his current fusion speed was only possible because his cultivation speed had been multiplied by a factor of twenty-five.
Without this extraordinary enhancement, achieving even the current rate of fusion would have been completely impossible.
As a result of this rigorous schedule, in just three days, Astreo managed to raise his Magic Level to 4.
Yet, he did not stop there. Immediately after achieving this milestone, he began fusing his stars with Soul Cores obtained from Warrior-level monsters, aiming to upgrade his Magic Level even further.
His relentless dedication and disciplined approach ensured that each day brought him closer to mastering his element and reaching unprecedented power.
It took him nine full days of continuous training and meditation to raise his Magic Level to another tier.
Now, his spell tier had reached Level 5, meaning that his spells, while consuming only the same amount of mana as a Tier 3 spell, were now four times as strong as a normal Tier 3 spell.
This level of power had already reached the approximate strength of an Intermediate Tier 1 spell, barely matching that level, but it was a remarkable achievement for someone still formally classified as a Novice Tier 3 mage.
For the first time, Astreo fully realized what it truly meant to have infinite resources at his disposal.
With unlimited materials and training time, he could theoretically raise his spell tier all the way to Level 8 without worrying about limitations.
By stacking these spell tiers on top of the three grades of Element multipliers and adding his own innate elemental multiplier, he would be capable of attacking with the strength equivalent to two or even three major tiers above his current classification, all while still consuming only the mana of his original tier.
This combination of tier, elemental multipliers, and innate power was beyond what most if not all the mages the world could ever achieve.
After successfully increasing his Magic Level to Tier 5, Astreo chose not to continue raising it further immediately.
He understood that each successive tier would require exponentially more time and effort to achieve.
Instead, he decided to shift his focus to improving his spiritual attainment.
His new goal was to reach Spiritual Attainment Level 3 before attempting to break through to the Intermediate Tier, understanding that higher spiritual attainment would enhance not only his magical power but also the efficiency of his cultivation.
At the same time, he deliberately decided to delay the progression of his Space element.
His reasoning was strategic: after reaching the Intermediate Tier, he would be able to increase his magic cultivation speed to 300 times his current rate or even higher.
This accelerated growth would then be stacked on top of the already enhanced cultivation rate of his Space element due to higher magic cultivation, which would increase further due to his higher tier and elevated spiritual attainment.
By postponing the advancement of his Space element, he would maximize the efficiency of his future training, ultimately saving himself a considerable amount of time and allowing him to reach even greater levels of power more quickly.
Astreo was the true combination of genius, hard work, and smart work all rolled into one!
His progress was not the result of luck alone, but of careful planning, rigorous training, and the clever use of resources that most mages could only dream of having.
This time, Astreo focused on properly training his Spiritual Attainment.
He used Magic Crystals and soul cores as precise guides, while a considerable-sized mental stone served as a stabilizing medium to aid his concentration and focus.
The process required careful coordination, as each component had to be integrated correctly to maximize the efficiency of his training.
At lower Spell Tiers, one only needed to fuse individual soul cores with individual stars, which was relatively straightforward and much easier to manage.
However, to attain higher levels of Spiritual Attainment, it was necessary to use soul cores as a medium to fuse multiple stars together simultaneously.
This process almost functioned like a semi-automatic casting system, allowing him to synchronize multiple magical points and achieve results far beyond what ordinary manual fusion could accomplish.
In a single day, through disciplined effort and precise use of his resources, Astreo managed to increase his Spiritual Attainment from Level 1 to Level 2.
Then, over the course of another five days, he successfully elevated it from Level 2 to Level 3. This was an incredible feat that demonstrated not only his natural talent but also his meticulous approach to magical cultivation.
As his Spiritual Attainment increased, his Magic Cultivation simultaneously advanced alongside it, further enhancing his overall magical capabilities.
However, despite this rapid progress, he still required several more days of focused meditation to break through to the Intermediate Level.
Understanding this, he ultimately decided that it was time to return to combat training to continue sharpening his practical abilities.
"System, tell me how strong my Level 5 spells are now!" Astreo asked the system.
While he was capable of performing the calculations himself, he recognized that the system could do so far more quickly, accurately, and efficiently, providing him with precise results that would allow him to plan his next moves with certainty.
[Master's spells now had a natural multiplier of six times, which meant that all of a Master's Tier 1 to Tier 3 spells possessed the strength equivalent to Intermediate Tier 1 and Intermediate Tier 2 spells, respectively. Meanwhile, a Master Novice Tier 4 spell is twelve times stronger compared to an average Novice Tier 3 spell, corresponding roughly to the power level of an Intermediate Tier 2 spell.]
Astreo gasped in astonishment.
He was this powerful now?
His own strength had increased far beyond what he had imagined.
Yet, he quickly realized that the revelations were far from over—his Novice Tier 5 spell remained completely untouched by these calculations.
[Master's Novice Tier 5 spell, is twenty-four times stronger compared to his previous Tier 3 spell, possessing the equivalent strength of a strong Intermediate Tier 3 spell, further enhanced with a moderate Spirit Element buff.] the system informed him.
At this point, Astreo's Novice Tier 4 Psychic Spell was known as 'Spirit Ripples: Stun,' which had been developed as a derivative of his Novice Tier 1 Psychic Spell, 'Spirit Ripples: Pacify.'
While the original 'Pacify' spell combined multiple effects—confusion, stunning, and calming enemies simultaneously—'Stun' focused all of its energy on a single effect.
Its primary function was to paralyze the enemy, delivering such an overwhelming force of mental disruption that the target was completely incapacitated and unable to act for a significant period of time.
Similarly, Astreo's Novice Tier 5 Psychic Spell was named 'Spirit Ripples: Confusion.'
This spell operated on a more complex level, inducing mental disorientation in the target.
When cast, it muddled the enemy's mind, causing confusion, nausea, dizziness, and a general state of cognitive chaos.
The spell was designed to disrupt the enemy's ability to strategize, react, or maintain any coherent sense of awareness, making it exceptionally effective against both single powerful opponents and groups of weaker foes.
After that, Astreo proceeded to conduct a series of combat tests, and the results left him utterly shocked.
He was able to easily defeat groups of Cyclops rats without any real difficulty.
When faced with dozens of them at once, he still managed to emerge victorious with relative ease, demonstrating just how much his skills and enhancements had amplified his combat capabilities.
Of course, this level of success was not achieved purely through talent or magic alone.
He relied heavily on the magical equipment that had increased his five-year-old body's strength and speed to that of an average adult.
Without these enhancements, even with all his magical abilities, he would have struggled significantly and likely would have been defeated in such scenarios.
Finally, when Astreo turned his attention to One-Eyed Wolves, he found that he could dispatch several of them effortlessly, without even breaking a sweat.
However, his limits became apparent when the numbers increased to dozens.
At that point, he still experienced deaths and setbacks, highlighting the restrictions imposed by his physical body and the maximum output of his current spells.
Astreo found himself in a somewhat hilarious and ironic situation.
His area-of-effect (AOE) attacks were comparatively weak due to his young body and the limitations of his spells, yet his one-on-one, player-versus-player (PVP) capabilities were extraordinarily strong.
This contrast was most clearly demonstrated when he managed to kill both a Great Minion and an Evolving Minion in a single encounter.
Such feats confirmed that he now possessed the basic ability to protect himself against formidable threats, even if large-scale battles still presented challenges.
With these confirmations of his growing strength, Astreo decided that his next priority should be breaking through to the Intermediate Tier.
Achieving this milestone would significantly increase his cultivation speed, magical power, and overall combat potential.
However, just as he was preparing to focus on this next stage of his training, something unexpected occurred—an event that would dramatically change the otherwise monotonous rhythm of his life and training.
(A/N: Considering that Astreo awakened his system on his birthday, and that a few days are negligible, the current time map indicates that it has been 62 days since his awakening.)
To be continued...