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His aim was already quite good, but he still had one problem to solve.

Although the high-level magical spears he needed to defeat the fourth-level monster were not disposable, once embedded in the target, they would become unusable until retrieved.

If they didn't knock the beast out of the air in a single blow, the spears would remain stuck and ineffective.

Members of the families carried at least eight lances each time, relying on that number of hits to eventually fell the beast. But Elio had no way to afford eight top-level magical lances, and though the families had dozens, he couldn't borrow any without revealing his plan.

He would have to find a way to recover his single lance after each throw without needing to fly himself to reach the monster.

Von Lucien had told him.

Even level 4 air control was not near enough to lift a person more than a meter high… Jumping with strength 3 or 4 was much better than that.

Also the mana cost would likely be too high once possible… Not like it mattered for his lvl 3 self.

As he prepared to return to his quarters that evening, Elio pondered this dilemma. Suddenly, a faint glimmer caught his attention.

He stopped and curiously examined the small pieces of the broken mechanism that propelled the lance on launch.

When unused it was a nickel cylinder housing compressed oxygen as an explosive charge.

Von Lucien's lessons on its construction and mana-charging echoed in his mind.

But this... This had nothing to do with that.

Something on the metallic surface was glimmering strangely in the evening sun, or was it really a reflection of light?

Elio's brow furrowed as he rubbed the cylinder with his fingers, watching the glow intensify. He moved it up and down, left and right, his eyes narrowing as he tried to discern a pattern in the strange dance of light.

The nickel fragments seemed to quiver, as if alive, drawn by an unseen force.

Intrigued, Elio sank to the ground, cross-legged, and began examining that strange phenomenon in more detail.

Hours slipped by unnoticed as he immersed himself in this new mystery. Gradually, he began to discern some of its properties.

The glow was more intense when the nickel moved in certain directions and weaker in others. It also seemed to be affected by the presence of some objects more than others.

Stone and wood left it unaffected, but metals, especially his lance, caused significant changes.

Elio's heart raced as he realized this went beyond simple light and shadow.

There seemed to be some invisible force or field acting on the nickel.

But what could it be?

He had no idea, since his knowledge was limited to daily life, simple magic and teachings about monsters and challenges. Could it be something similar to the interactions of oxygen and hydrogen in his sacred flame and holy water?

Was nickel not only able to cool and coat things?

In that isolated world where they lived, with barely a hundred years of history, there was no mining, no plants, no animals, and no conventional education. God had left knowledge only of what he deemed necessary.

They only knew from the hundreds of scrolls that God had given them, though many of the latter were controlled by the families…

This strange phenomenon with nickel was completely new to Elio, and for some reason, it didn't seem to be recorded in any of the public scrolls either.

Determined to unravel this mystery, Elio spent the next few days dedicating every spare moment to experimenting with nickel.

He tried different shapes and sizes of the metal, combined it with other methods like mixing the oxygen and hydrogen he could control with his magic. And little by little, he gained more clues about that almost invisible power.

Sometimes, the nickel was attracted to other metallic objects, almost as if being pulled by an invisible string. At other times, it was violently repelled, as if opposite forces were pushing it away.

The strangest thing was that his oxygen and hydrogen magic seemed to alter or intensify this invisible field.

During one of his practice sessions, Elio controlled a stream of air charged with hydrogen particles and made it swirl around a nickel rod. To his amazement, the field grew more intense and the glow much brighter, even got some sparks and it hurt a bit when he touched it.

Suddenly, an idea began to take shape. What if this invisible force acting on the nickel was the key to solving his dilemma with the lances?

If he could understand how to fully control it, perhaps he could make his lances return to him after being thrown.

With renewed determination, Elio immersed himself even deeper into his experiments. He would observe every detail, try every possible combination of movement, wind, and his magical abilities. He would uncover the secrets of this force of nature, and find a way to channel it to defeat the fourth-level monster.

After days and sleepless nights of relentless testing, the patterns began to make more sense to Elio. He developed a strange sixth sense that allowed him to "perceive" the invisible field surrounding the nickel.

He learned to manipulate it, attracting or repelling the metal through precise combinations of movements, winds, and magical charges.

The only problem was that it only worked at a maximum distance of 1 meter...

♢♢♢♢

Elio was so absorbed in his training and experiments with nickel that he barely noticed the passage of time, or the growing concern of his friends. It wasn't until Kriz, Brok, and Ren confronted him that he realized how distant he'd become.

"Can you tell us what the hell has been up with you lately, Elio?" Kriz's voice sounded like his mother Lena's, but laced with frustration.

A tear welled up in his right eye… Kriz was a good actor when it came to nonsense and jokes.

"You've gone weeks without talking to us... You promised you'd help us prepare for the third level challenge!" said Kriz emphasizing a melodramatic tone in his voice.

Elio blinked, abruptly pulled from his absorption. He looked at his companions making ridiculous faces…

Kriz's exaggerated pout, Ren's raised eyebrow, and Brok's crossed arms.

But he realized he really had been ignoring them and a pang of guilt hit him when he saw their feigned annoyed expressions.

"I'm sorry, friends, it's been a complicated… Few weeks."

"Complicated?" Ren snorted. "More like you've been completely avoiding us. What's got you so absorbed? It's way worse than your spear-thrower obsession."

Elio hesitated, torn between his desire to share his discoveries and the need for secrecy. "It's a new project," he said carefully, "a potential strategy to aid Von Lucien."

Brok raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Strategy? What kind of strategy requires locking yourself away for hours playing with scraps of metal?"

Elio's jaw tightened. Had they been spying on him? Before he could respond, Kriz intervened with a snort.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if you want to cover those balls in a metal coating. We're your friends, Elio, we won't judge you no matter your tastes. Buuut, do you remember the promise you made us?"

Elio shifted uncomfortably, his left eye twitching at their damn stupid balls joke again. But the promise he made them, he remembered it perfectly, of course.

After conquering the third level, he'd sworn to help prepare them for their own attempts. But months had passed, and he'd let that commitment slip away, buried under the weight of his obsession.

"You're right, but not about the stupid balls thing… I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "I've been so focused on my own training that I've lost sight of everything else. But that changes now. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it."

His friends' expressions softened slightly at his sincerity, though a hint of skepticism remained. Elio vowed silently to make amends, to find a balance between his research and his friendships.

He couldn't let his obsession with the fourth level alienate him from living his life.

Just then, a messenger arrived, panting and flustered. "Soldiers!" he called out, saluting hastily. "I bring important news from the Families. They've decided to support the preparation of 10,000 soldiers for the third level challenge!"

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at those words. It was certainly unusual for the families to organize something on such a large scale…

The messenger caught his breath and continued:

"From each of the 1,000 god's punishment towers, ten level two soldiers will be selected to challenge the third level monster. Those who accept will be provided with a disposable fire sword as support."

A heavy silence fell over the group as they processed that information.

Even though a free sword was a heaven's sent gift, Elio frowned, suddenly feeling uneasy. Something about that announcement didn't sit right with him.

"A… fire sword?" Kriz was the first to speak, letting out an incredulous laugh. "Is this a joke? Are they really going to give 1000 points to each soldier who participates?"

Brok's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "It doesn't make sense. The Families aren't known for their generosity. Why now?"

The messenger shrugged. "I have not been informed of the reasons behind this decision. I only have orders to deliver the announcement."

Elio remained silent, his mind whirling. Could the breach situation be that bad? No, that didn't make sense. First they'd make them contribute more points per day, right?

Suddenly, a dark thought crossed his mind. Only 40% of soldiers attempting the third level would succeed. Maybe he'd need to discuss his father's strategy with the Summoner soon.

"I need to see Von Lucien," Elio announced abruptly, his voice tight with urgency. "This... this doesn't feel right."

Kriz frowned in concern. "Don't you think you should wash up then, before going to lic... see the Summoner?"