It had been more than 13 hours since Vicente had begun his attempt to advance to level 1 of the Acolyte stage, and he was still in that training room at the Mazzanti family headquarters.
Another afternoon had given way to evening, and the night was gradually giving way to the start of another day as Vicente meditated in that room, making the people in that building gradually more anxious.
An ordinary Senior Apprentice's progression to level 1 of the Acolyte stage took between 4 and 6 hours. But the head of this family had already been in the training room for more than twice the maximum time!
Therefore, while they were on the outskirts of this estate, the men there became increasingly worried about their leader's situation.
Some of them had even changed shifts twice, going to rest, working in the family territory, and returning to this place. However, Vicente was still in that cultivation room.
One of the Acolytes who had been there since Vicente began his meditation was one of the most nervous. He hadn't only entered the training room to check on Vice because the family leader's powers affected the entire building.
Ever since he began his attempt to advance, Vice's powers had caused everyone in the building to feel heaviness in their consciousness, as the internal metals in their bodies were affected by the magnetic waves coming from the training room there.
As time passed over the past few hours, the magnetic phenomena around that building became more intense, and all the 1st-grade magical equipment there stopped working.
At the same time, sparks would appear from time to time near sharp surfaces, and the house's walls, ceiling, and floor would look strange.
These phenomena resulted from someone with Vincent's elemental affinities attempting to advance their stage.
Aware of this, despite their leader's delay, the men around this estate still held their positions and fulfilled their duties, for their leader should be okay.
But even though they were aware of this, the people there couldn't help but become nervous, quite tense as they waited.
In the midst of this, some of them were talking among themselves.
"Why is he taking so long?"
"I don't know... He must have run into a problem."
Two men exchanged comments in low voices on one side of the building.
On the other side, near where Vicente was training, two Acolytes were also talking about it.
"What's taking the boss so long? Someone with his talent level should have finished this ten hours ago."
"Our boss' power is extreme. Maybe the level of mana he needs is very different from ours." A man who had recently returned from his rest commented, not wanting to say words that might question the level of his leader's talent. But inwardly, he couldn't help but question it.
The higher the talent, the faster the progress!
No matter how fast Vicente was in other situations, advancing one stage was the most important way to tell someone's talent level.
After all, it didn't matter how fast you could advance within a single stage. If you couldn't make a stage breakthrough in the maximum amount of time, you risked staying at the same level for the rest of your life!
There was a limit to how much one could meditate. It depended on a magician's level of power. Still, everyone had their limits, and if they couldn't progress within their limits, they would fail.
Failing to break through would make it even more difficult for them to break through in the future, which was an awful sign.
...
While many of Vicente's men were worried, he was still meditating in his training room with his eyes closed.
However, if someone walked in there at this moment, they would see a rather peculiar situation.
Sitting in the lotus position, Vicente floated 20 centimeters above the ground while the mana in the air around him seemed to form a large chain over his body.
As his Magic Gem continued to glow an intense yellow, with rays of light constantly entering it, one of the points of this chain suddenly cracked.
A cracking sound spread through the area as the chain cracked more and more rapidly as if it would explode at any moment.
Seconds after the first crack, a burst came from the semi-transparent thing around Vicente as he suddenly opened his eyes to see the space around him distorting with the dense energy of the area.
Opening his eyes and looking around the room, Vicente saw and felt the consequences of his meditation, noticing the effects in the area disappear as he felt all the mana there being absorbed by the two gems on his forehead.
All the energy concentrated in the small space of this training room soon entered him as if he were a large manhole in a flooded street that, after being cleared, quickly "swallowed" all the water above it.
Sensing this, Vicente formed a satisfied expression as he noticed his level suddenly rising and stabilizing at the beginning of the 2nd stage!
As this happened, the two pentagrams inside his being vibrated and increased in size, gaining new details in their strange symbols.
At the same time, his two gems suddenly radiated a feeling of lightness to Vice's entire being, while he felt as if the colors in his surroundings had become more vibrant.
His senses multiplied, and he could see smaller things that he knew humans couldn't see with the naked eye.
He could sense the mana in his surroundings from a greater distance than before, which also gave him greater control to probe those close to him.
His sense of touch and hearing were developing. Closing his eyes briefly as he floated in the air, Vicente could almost feel the air molecules touching his skin as he heard some of his men talking on the other side of the door.
"...The effects have changed..."
Ignoring the two talking, Vicente neglected his taste buds, the least useful of the senses in this situation. He noticed a much greater attraction to the many metals in his surroundings, whether they were parts of living bodies, the building, or metal artifacts near him.
Vicente didn't gain any new abilities, as that would only come with new pentagrams. But all of his previous aptitudes and abilities have advanced a few levels.
Also, now that he was on a new level, he felt he could create even stronger and more complex spells and control more mana during his upcoming meditations.
"Perfect!" He opened his eyes again and said aloud, feeling the good sensation of progress and improvement.
'With this breakthrough, I won't be defenseless against the bloody Brody anymore!' He clenched his fists, feeling that everything might change after he absorbed his second Magic Pentagram from his first gem.
When that happened, his powers would stabilize, he would gain a new ability, and he could finally think about taking action against his local enemies!
