How could Amon forget it. The moment when a surge of power rose inside him? He felt so powerful, as if he could defeat anyone, no matter who was in front of him.

But currently, he couldn't move well, so he didn't feel anything physically. Though… his mana had recovered overnight. And unlike before, when he had a small amount of mana, this was a new feeling.

He could feel it clearly. The small pond of mana had transformed into a lake. He decided to check his status window.

'Status Window.'

The moment he thought that, a translucent blue-colored screen floated in front of his eyes, visible only to him.

---

[Status Window]

Name: Amon Vale

Age: 18

Rank: Mana Initiate

Class: Death Bearer

Element: Shadow, Darkness

Mana: 1274

Strength: 101

Agility: 105

Speed: 102

Endurance: 84

Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship], [Umbral Veil Sword Art]

Spells: [Gloom Orb], [Shadow Clutch], [Mana Bullets], [Shadow Claw], [Eclipse Bolt], [Grim Mirage]

Abilities: [Death's Shadow]

---

Amon's eyes were wide, perfectly round. He was shocked. Not because of his stats. Though that was also a reason.

But the biggest shock came from his age. He was eighteen now. He had been seventeen before. Yes. He was seventeen but now he became eighteen.

"Fuck! How could I forget my birthday! It was this month, but because of this damn situation, I totally forgot."

Amon wanted to lift his hands and clutch his head tightly, but he couldn't do it because of the pain.

To be honest, Amon wanted to celebrate his birthday with his friends, but he couldn't because he was here. Not like he would have been able to anyway, since most of his friends had probably gone back to their homes.

"Maybe I could have asked Marcus to take me to his home. I could have spent my vacation at his grand mansion. Maybe I will go during winter vacation."

He pushed those useless thoughts aside. There was no need to think about them right now. He could plan everything once he went back to the academy.

He wasn't too sad because he had ranked up. He was now at the Mana Initiate rank, the same as Seraphina, Arnold, and Marcus.

"Heheheh… HAHAHAHA!" Amon started to laugh loudly. There was no one inside. All the beds were empty.

If someone were here, they would really think that this boy had gone insane. Mentally unstable.

"Yes! Yes! I did it. I fucking broke through!"

Amon's laughter echoed weakly through the empty room, rough and hoarse, but filled with genuine joy.

His chest rose and fell as the excitement slowly settled, leaving behind a burning heat throughout his body. From excitement and happiness.

Mana Initiate.

Second rank.

He let the words sink in.

This wasn't luck. This wasn't charity from some goddess. He had clawed his way here. Through pain, through blood, through moments where death had been so close he could almost taste it.

He knew how many times he had nearly died, not only from monsters, but also from fear.

His grin widened.

"So this is how it feels…"

He closed his eyes and focused inward.

There it was.

The mana inside him no longer felt like a fragile trickle he had to carefully guide. It was vast, heavy, responsive. When he willed it to stir, it answered instantly, rippling with dark vitality.

Before, he needed to be careful while using magic spells, using mana.

Now? Now he didn't need to worry like before.

Amon inhaled slowly, his excitement sharpening into something colder, clearer.

'This is only the beginning.' He thought.

Mana Initiate was nothing special in the grand scheme of things. There were many Mana Initiate rank students beside him.

If he stopped now, he would be crushed the moment he returned. Just like always.

Though he wasn't a power-hungry guy, it would be a lie if he said he didn't like to act powerful and overpower his opponents.

That thing, that feeling was just amazing.

His fingers twitched slightly against the bed, pain flaring through his body. He hissed, teeth clenching, but his eyes burned with determination rather than frustration.

'Tch… damn it. Still can't move properly.'

But even that didn't discourage him. His body was injured, not broken.

Brey had told him that he could move comfortably by tomorrow. So he need to wait.

"I won't stop," he muttered, voice low but firm. "Not now. Not ever."

Every near-death experience had carved the same truth deeper into him. He wanted to be stronger. So much stronger that he could kick anyone's ass however he wanted.

Strength.

If he could reach Mana Initiate like this, then what about the next rank?

What about the one after that?

Amon let out a breath, steadying his thoughts. Recklessness would kill him faster than any enemy. Now he needed to grind more, needed to work hard. It was a sad thing that everyone he met as enemies was always someone stronger than him.

He didn't get to enjoy being overpowered.

"Once I can move properly… I'll start again."

Training. Combat. Pushing his mana to its limits. Refining his spells. Mastering his class.

He would squeeze every drop of power out of this island, this hell, this second chance.

A faint smile returned to his face. Smaller now, sharper.

"I'm not done yet," he whispered.

The empty room remained silent.

But inside Amon Vale, something had already begun to roar.

"Hehe~ I should ask permission from the Commander to explore this place. To kill more monsters. Also, I can train with experienced knights as well."

Suddenly, Amon felt lucky. It seemed like he was one of the luckiest people. He was able remained alive in this dark forest. He was saved by someone, when he was on brink of death.

He was really lucky.

But he didn't know that as lucky as he was… he would also have to pay its price by getting his ass kicked.

The forest was unknown. Mysterious.

He never knew what could happen here.

The enemies were still out there in deep forest. No one knows what their real motives was.

And Amon's belief that he was lucky would soon be proven wrong soon.

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