"Are you ready to witness the master Mage in action!?" Ethan grinned as he and his family stepped into the small garden behind their home.
It wasn't much — just a modest patch of grass with a few worn chairs and a weathered table, all enclosed by a wooden fence. The grass was uneven, a few patches of dirt breaking through, but it had always been a peaceful sanctuary for the Vale family. Today, however, it would serve a new purpose.
It would be the place where Ethan cast his first spell.
He inhaled slowly, nerves fluttering in his stomach. He didn't want to burn down the neighborhood on his first day as an Awakened. Better safe than sorry.
He called up the spell info again.
[F-Rank - Fireball]
Mastery: 0.00%
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 2 seconds
Range: 20 Meters
Base Damage: 50 → 56 (+6 from Spell Power)
"Alright," he muttered under his breath. "Twenty meters of range — if I shoot it straight up, it should be fine."
He glanced at his parents and younger sister, all of them watching with wide eyes and held breaths. A moment passed, and then he smiled.
Taking a deep breath, Ethan raised his right hand toward the sky.
"Fireball!"
Technically, casting aloud wasn't required, but for beginners, vocalizing the spell helped concentrate Mana. And Ethan needed all the help he could get.
Immediately, the Mana within him surged to his palm, warm and buzzing. Sparks danced around his fingers before a crimson orb flared to life. The fireball hovered for a heartbeat, then launched upward with a blazing trail, disappearing harmlessly into the open sky.
"WOOOOOW! BROTHER IS A REAL MAGE!" Alice squealed, bouncing up and down with glee.
Ethan couldn't stop the grin spreading across his face. His chest swelled with pride. The sight of his little sister's joy made everything feel real.
It's happening, he thought. I'm really doing this.
But his curiosity soon tugged him toward another thought. He turned toward his family, still smiling.
"I need a moment to myself. I want to test something."
His mother nodded knowingly and guided the others back inside. Once the door clicked shut, Ethan turned to face the garden again.
It was time to test his Talent — Mana Overflow.
[Mana: 140 / 150]
"Alright. That's fourteen more Fireballs. Let's see what happens."
He rolled his shoulders and narrowed his focus. Then he began casting.
"Fireball!" "Fireball!" "Fireball!"
Every two seconds, another sphere of flame rocketed skyward. His control wobbled at first, but improved with each repetition. Sweat began to form on his brow, but he pushed forward.
His Mana dipped lower and lower. Ten left. Then five. He wiped his forehead, chest heaving.
"Last one," he whispered, bracing himself. "Fireball!"
The spell shot upward—and the world went dark.
[Mana Exhaustion Detected]
[Mana Overflow Activated]
[+1 Mana, +1 Spell Power]
Ethan awoke groggily on the grass, the sunlight now a bit warmer, his head pounding like a drum. But despite the discomfort, a victorious grin spread across his face.
It worked. The Talent had activated.
He checked his stats.
[Mana: 19 / 160]
Looks like he had been unconscious for about seven or eight minutes.
Then a thought hit him.
Can I trigger it again?
He waited for his Mana to tick back up to twenty, the bare minimum to cast two more Fireballs.
"Fireball!" "Fireball!"
And then — darkness.
He awoke again, this time with a splitting headache. Definitely worse than before.
Still, he sat up quickly and called up the System, eager.
[SYSTEM PAGE - ETHAN VALE]
Class: Mage
Talent: Mana Overflow
Class Rank: F
HP: 110 / 110
STA: 110 / 110
Stamina Regen: 110 Stamina / Hour
Mana: 20 / 160
Mana Regen: 160 Mana / Hour
STR: 11
VIT: 11
AGI: 11
STA: 11
Mana: 15 → 16
Spell Power: 12 → 13
Spells: 1 / 6
Spell Memory:
F-Rank - Fireball
Mastery: 0.00% → 0.17%
Mana Cost: 10 Mana
Cooldown: 2 seconds
Range: 20 Meters
Base Damage: 50 → 56.5 (+6.5 from spellpower)
There had been no new increase to Mana or Spell Power after the second fainting.
It clicked for him.
Ah… probably only triggers if your Mana fully refills before exhausting again.
Even through the lingering headache, he chuckled.
At least his spell's Mastery had increased. 0.01% per cast — slow, sure, but progress nonetheless. If he kept this up daily, it would eventually rank up. That was the beauty of this world. Everything could be earned.
An hour passed, and Ethan's Mana was back to full.
He stood, stretching.
Time for round two.
[110 / 160]
[80 / 160]
[50 / 160]
[20 / 160]
[10 / 160]
"Let's see what happens this time," he muttered, casting one final Fireball before the darkness took him.
[DING]
[Mana Exhaustion Detected]
[Mana Overflow Activated]
[+1 Mana, +1 Spell Power]
He awoke once more, still sprawled on the garden lawn, grinning like a fool.
Mana: 16 → 17
Spell Power: 13 → 14
Fireball Mastery: 0.17% → 0.33%
Ethan sat up slowly, shaking off the haze.
"So it's true. No cheating the System. Full refill required between activations."
But he didn't mind. Quite the opposite — he was thrilled.
Each cycle of exhaustion had brought tangible improvement. Mana. Spell Power. Mastery. His path forward was clear.
But even as the fire of determination burned in his chest, reality cooled it.
I can't keep passing out in the backyard, he realized. Casting spells in public — even private property — was restricted by law. He'd been lucky no one reported it today.
He needed to train properly. Legally.
I need a Training Pass for the city's Awakened Hall, he decided. That would let him practice without risk. Without hiding.
His excitement dimmed for just a moment.
Do I even have the money for that? If not, he'd have to go straight into a Dungeon — untrained, unprepared. That thought made him uneasy.
Still, as he lay back in the grass, the blue sky stretching endlessly above, a quiet resolve settled over him.
One step at a time. He had a spell. He had a Talent. He had a plan.
Tomorrow, the real grind would begin.