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The Warlock Rank can be considered a watershed for most Mages...

To reach this stage, one must have an unshakable foundation and, more importantly, their comprehension must not be lacking.

See, at the end of the day, Mages are just Scholars who can use Magic. Using Magic requires high-intellect and comprehensive ability. It\'s safe to say that most Mages who reached a high realm in their cultivation are intellectual geniuses of their own kind.

As a Mage, it is their duty and desire to trace the existence of Magic back to its roots and forge their path, it is only through this that they won\'t just have sufficient ability to protect themselves and their loved ones, but also allow them to understand the secrets that the world has.

This is the ultimate pursuit of knowledge...

Warlocks are Mages that forged a deep connection with the world they live in - a communion of sorts, this allows them to sense the Laws that govern the very world they\'re living in and adapt to their lives, allowing them to use it.

Mages call this process \'Enlightenment to Virtues\', and this is what every mage had to experience before they step into the Warlock Rank to make sure that their connection to the world is as stable as it can get.

This is also what\'s currently happening with Ashton...

At this point, he barely knew a thing about himself. Only that he\'s name is Ashton and he\'s undergoing a breakthrough, that\'s it. He\'s so immersed in this new kind of sensation that he\'s slowly losing himself.

Ashton was currently making contact with the world for the first time, experiencing some kind of baptism and seeing the world beneath all the pretenses.

Colorful lights mesmerized him. Lines, nodes, diagrams...all sorts of mysterious shapes swam through his vision.

With eyes hodded as if drowsy, Ashton watched everything like it had nothing to do with him, yet at the same time, he felt like he could subtly understand everything and nothing at once, which is bizarre if you ask him.

His physical body turned illusory at this point. If one could see him right now, they\'d see that Ashton\'s entire cultivation was on full display. His Mageroot, magical array, and rainbow-colored core, it manifested outside of his body in response to this communion.

A rainbow-colored splendor radiated out of his body. The room he\'s in got submerged by a rainbow-colored cloud. A sharp buzzing hymn could be heard coming from Ashton\'s body. Each tone contained a distinct profundity in them.

Out of nowhere, the Cursed Book of Infinity emerged from the depths of his body. It rose just above Ashton\'s head, pausing in there before releasing a faint yet murky black radiance.

That and the rainbow-colored cloud seem to be in disagreement. The black light was trying to suppress the auspicious rainbow radiance but the latter wasn\'t fazed in the slightest.

The Cursed Book of Infinity was trembling, it was visibly struggling against the chains that bind it shut, it is clear that it is seeking freedom, unfortunately, the chains bound to it were a little too strong.

Nevertheless, the chain was feeling the pressure as well. As the chain represents Ashton\'s curse, this image meant that the curse was starting to feel threatened. Both the rainbow-colored cloud and the Book of Infinity were putting up a strong resistance.

The rainbow cloud even went as far as to fuse itself as a sacrifice to weaken the hold of the chains on the book. As the rainbow cloud dissipated, the chain suddenly turned illusory for a moment.

The Book of Infinity them ceased this chance. It released a strong pulse and forcibly shattered the chain\'s hold on it. The book opened and its infinite pages began unfurling.

It stopped at some point, on a page where there\'s a drawing of an eye with a strange symbol on the iris.

\'Purity\' is what it meant...

The eye drawing then suddenly disappeared, just in time until the chains materialized once more and wrapped themselves around the book, sealing it tightly. The Book of Infinity didn\'t struggle since it finished what it was supposed to for now anyway.

The chained book disappeared inside Ashton\'s body, all that happened just now, Ashton\'s unaware of them.

But in his right eye, a change quietly occurred. With his unfocused gaze, the change was barely noticeable. Deep in his iris, an ancient character emerged. A character that meant \'Purity\'.

As soon as that change took effect, Ashton\'s body suddenly jolted. He suddenly felt like he had just woken up from a deep slumber.

All of a sudden, he can remember everything. He could now remember that he\'s in the middle of a breakthrough and he\'s wasting a valuable chance to seize a good amount of fortune because he dropped his guard.

Ashton\'s gaze turned focused. Once again, in this dream-like space where nothing made sense to him, he focused on a single aspect that was somewhat familliar to him.

\'Mana.\' His mind supplied. \'Something that all living being has. An intrinsic composition that is shared throughout everyone, no matter which race.\'

\'Mana, in a sense, represents life. All living beings have Mana. In a way, it is Mana that started everything, to begin with. With Mana, an individual can do a lot of things, without it, only death and desolation remain.\'

\'The idea of cultivation ultimately came from understanding how Mana behaved in the first place. By understanding how Mana operates on a natural basis, one can figure out ideas to successfully harness it and use it to elevate themselves.\'

\'Mana is not a weapon but it can be on the right hand. Mana cannot heal but it can be if a proper process was followed. Mana can enhance, weaken, hurt, heal, revive or impose death to everyone so long as one knows how.\'

\'In conclusion, Mana is the basis behind everything. I am a Mage, my pursuit of the Ultimate Truth starts with the Virtue of Mana!\'

As soon as Ashton made this declaration, his vision swarmed violently and he felt the world-shaking. Nevertheless, no matter how chaotic everything might seem, Ashton remained unmoved.

He focused and maintained his connection with Mana, eager and determined to forge his first communion with it.

In the physical world...

Ashton\'s body was shaking like a leaf. His brows unknowingly furrowed and his expression was a little ugly. Nevertheless, he was unmoved. He held on and maintained his connection with Mana.

A vortex with him at the very center suddenly appeared. Mana surged and circled him as if they were curiously observing him.

Aria, who was in her lab not too far from Ashton\'s training room, sensed the violent surges of Mana inside the library. She was shocked for a bit and became nervous.

\'He\'s breaking through.\' She mused to herself, \'And it seems like he has chosen the Virtue of Mana. Babe, your appetite is too damn big. Please, you must succeed in this. You have to hold on.\'

As a Sorceress, Aria understood the implications of Ashton\'s choice. Choosing Mana as the first Virtue was a bold move. The idea is not foreign since many Mages had the same idea as before but 9 times out of 10, it leads to failure.

The consequences of failure could range from a simple injury all the way to death. Aria of course hopes that, if Ashton failed, his injuries wouldn\'t be too bad. But more importantly, she\'s hoping that he actually succeeds.

Having the Virtue of Mana as his first one would set the most stable foundation for his path. Aria understands this and she knows that Ashton\'s goal was very demanding.

If he succeeds, Ashton will be considered as the Child of Mana, and to any Mage, this is no doubt an extremely noble title. Mana is the foundation of everything therefore if someone becomes the favored child of Mana, they\'re practically setting up themselves with a bright future.

But again, this isn\'t a simple feat to accomplish. The world wouldn\'t just simply allow any Tom, Dick, or Harry to be hailed as the Child of Mana. Especially if it\'s the first step? The process would be even more demanding.

Ashton feels like he\'s bearing the weight of the world. He can feel his body so close to caving in due to the sheer weight pressing him down. It doesn\'t make sense since he was linking to Mana and not Earth, yet it\'s still so damn heavy.

Nevertheless, Ashton held on. He refused to give up because of this hardship. He had made a decision, a vow. No one can expect him to easily turn his back from that.

After what felt like an eternity, Ashton felt light of a sudden. The weight pressing him down disappeared completely and he could now breathe just fine.

It was then followed by a drowning sensation of euphoria and lightness. Ashton felt so comfortable that he unconsciously let out a groan of pleasure.

He could feel every cell on his body voraciously devouring the endless surge of mana.

Slowly but surely, a crest formed in front of him. A marine-colored orb manifested and etched itself on Ashton\'s mageroot.

That is the sign that he succeeded and became a Child of Mana.