In the second circle, mages begin to develop a more intimate connection with their own mana and with the element of their magic, causing it to be able to take on a different form. For approximately ninety-seven percent of the people on the continent, this change follows a similar pattern, while the other three percent may develop a unique manifestation, something that only the most absurd prodigies can achieve.
'He didn't get any ability.'
Valença noticed that, besides the heavier mana being released into the air around Enrico, there was nothing different about him. However, even those who were part of the three percent normally did not awaken this ability right in the second circle; in most cases, this only happened from the sixth or seventh circle onward.
'What will happen now that he has reached the same level of power as the Rank Faizes Nartheis?'
She wanted to observe as much as possible of what would happen from that moment onward. Of course, if Enrico needed help, she would help him.
A single step was all that happened before Enrico disappeared and appeared behind Tarcen. This time, however, he had not switched places with that strange flame Valença had seen earlier. He had simply moved using his own speed.
"Incredible..."
Enrico pointed his hand at Tarcen, who tried to move away, but received a powerful fire attack fired directly from his palm. The attack somewhat resembled Valença's Incandescent Ray, although it was weaker.
'Was that my attack? No... it doesn't have the same basis. It seems more like he compressed a fireball and did something similar.'
Enrico's speed increased even further when he used Charged Impulse. He disappeared before Tarcen's eyes, who, trying to keep up with him, began moving between the puddles of water left by his own previous attacks.
Even so, Enrico still had the advantage in speed and managed to dodge all the water magic attacks launched at him.
After stepping onto a tree, Enrico jumped over it and fired a fire arrow. The arrow had taken on a much more stable form than when he was in the first circle; now it seemed capable of maintaining it naturally, while the flames escaping from its surface were smaller.
Enrico pulled back the arrow's string and fired.
It pierced Tarcen's knee with such speed that it left a hole, causing the Nartheis to retreat while the area slowly began regenerating.
Tarcen charged toward Enrico again. The boy assumed a stance with both arms above his waist, covering them with fire before disappearing along with his own flames. Four punches struck Tarcen's body in rapid succession, burning his skin.
The Nartheis opened his mouth and tried to bite Enrico, but he held his teeth with one hand and, using enough strength, dislocated his jaw. Tarcen retreated, apparently looking for some way to defeat Enrico, until his body completely transformed into water the moment he jumped into the river.
"He ran away."
Valença was quite surprised. That Nartheis had fought against three people before facing Enrico and, after that, still had to fight him while the boy evolved. Naturally, he no longer possessed the same amount of mana he had at the beginning of the battle. Even so, what drew her attention the most was how much Enrico had managed to dominate him after reaching the second circle.
'His body...'
Valença began to realize that the true difference was Enrico's own body. Upon reaching the second circle, that body, which already possessed a level of strength equivalent to someone above Rank 17 of Class S, had improved even further. As far as she knew, only the top ten students had reached the second circle.
'So... Enrico is at the level of the Top 10 now.'
When she realized it, Enrico had disappeared. Valença searched for him but couldn't find him anywhere. Then, an explosion of steam emerged from the river.
Tarcen was launched out of the water and fell near the mountain. Enrico came out right after him, with steam escaping from his body while his own magical fire evaporated the water that remained on his skin. He immediately pointed his bow at Tarcen, who was trying to return to the river. An enormous amount of fire began concentrating in the arrow, causing it to glow intensely.
When Enrico fired, the arrow broke through the air with a bang and left a flaming trail behind it.
Tarcen was hit directly.
The arrow exploded, sending debris in all directions and opening a new crater in the ground. When the dust began to settle, the only thing that remained was Tarcen's core. Apparently, the Nartheis himself had thrown the core away at the last instant, realizing that he would die and trying to preserve his existence.
"This boy has evolved quite a bit, but he is still in a dangerous state."
Enrico remained standing still and unmoving, as if he were waiting for another enemy to appear so he could continue fighting. Valença ran to him and grabbed him, making him lie down on the ground. Val'Drakar watched the scene and thought that, at least, Enrico did not seem to see the miss as an enemy.
'Well, at least he doesn't see the miss as an enemy.'
While Valença took care of Enrico, Val'Drakar approached Tarcen's core, but before he could pick it up, a humanoid lizard made of earth emerged from beneath him, swallowed the core, and began fleeing. Val'Drakar immediately raised his sword and launched a fire slash.
"You are breaking the rules, Laflez."
Before the attack could hit the lizard, a dark portal appeared and sucked it inside. Val'Drakar looked furiously at the portal, immediately recognizing who was behind it.
"DAMNED SAIRAO!"
"Who is Sairao?"
Valença carried Enrico on her back while watching the situation with concern. Everything indicated that this was much more serious than she had imagined.
"Miss Valença, follow me and carry Sir Enrico carefully. We need to protect ourselves before it begins."
She didn't understand what was happening, but decided to trust him and quickly began following him. The animals also ran in the same direction, as if they knew exactly where they should go. After some time, they arrived again at the tree where the fruits were, and Valença sat down with Enrico.
"Stay here, miss. I'll be back in a few minutes. This is a safe place. I'll be right back."
"You're not going to explain?"
"I'll explain later."
Val'Drakar quickly left in another direction and, shortly afterward, an impressive barrier covered the entire region. Valença carefully placed Enrico on the ground and sat beside him. Her mind was full of questions, especially one that she couldn't push away.
'Will we be alright?'
She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Then, she looked at Enrico and began thinking again about the battle she had just witnessed. She also wanted to reach the second circle and felt that she was very close to it. She only needed to wait a few more minutes, perhaps ten. During the fight against Tarcen, she had felt that her mana had improved considerably, and now she only needed to let that change happen.
"You're getting so far ahead of us..."
Valença watched Enrico, who seemed to have become unconscious. After a few seconds, she approached and touched his face. To her, it seemed increasingly impossible to catch up to him, but she always remembered that day when she was about to give up. Enrico had appeared at that moment and said those words that made her continue. She intertwined her hand with his and closed her eyes, waiting for the ten minutes to pass.
What seemed to last for hours, although it was only a few minutes, finally came to an end. Valença's heart began beating faster when a second circle appeared around the first.
The atmosphere around her began to change, but unlike Enrico, whose evolution had caused his magic to explode outward, Valença managed to contain the power within her own body. The fire began circulating around her while the air was forced to follow that change.
"Haa..."
Valença let out a relieved sigh upon realizing that she hadn't hurt Enrico during her evolution. She leaned against the tree and, carefully, placed his head on her lap. She felt much stronger now, and that meant that she had also reached the level of the top ten students of Class S.
"This is incredible."
She began messing up Enrico's hair. At first, she intended to stop quickly, but ended up continuing for longer than she should have. She didn't want to admit that she liked doing that, although she was beginning to feel increasingly comfortable around him.
Then, she heard a sound.
Valença raised her eyes and saw Val'Drakar approaching. Even so, she did not stop stroking Enrico's hair. She really was enjoying it.
"I'm sorry for leaving, but now I will explain everything."
Val'Drakar noticed what she was doing, but preferred not to interfere in that matter between young people. He sat down near the two of them and placed a crystal ball on the ground. Shortly afterward, a light came out of the tree and created an even larger area of protection, also covering the animals, which seemed much calmer now.
"It would be good to wait for Enrico to wake up."
"Sir Enrico won't wake up unless an enemy appears. So, I ask that you don't try to do anything else with him. The place where he is must be difficult."
Valença wanted him to explain that as well, but preferred not to interrupt him. First, she needed to understand what was happening.