Cedric was back in his penthouse.


    His ''Elements 101'' sses ended a few hours ago and it was particrly enlightening. He definitely learned things that he hadn''t touched before so he was left satisfied.


    As expected, his possessing a pinnacle level of affinity towards the fire element left his ssmates stunned. Since they''re still students, most of them could only imagine just how wide the gap is between them and Cedric, the realization won''t truly sink in yet, not until they experience an event relevant to it.


    Before ending the ss, Instructor Michael left them homework. He told them to start meditating with the intent ofmunicating with their respective elements. He said that forging a strong bond between the practitioner and their chosen elements was the very first step in learning skills rted to them.


    Their goal was to manifest an energy signature of their chosen element. In Cedric''s case, it was to produce at least a plume of fire. He had taught them ways to do it and given them their homework, in their next ss, they''d be rewarded with APs depending on their results.


    This is why Cedric was now in the training room of his penthouse. He didn''t feel tired at all and he''s way too energetic to fall asleep so decided to spend time training instead.


    Upon starting his meditation with the intent of sensing Fire Attributes, his absurd talent almost immediately began showing its effect.


    He was a natural in it as he instantaneously sensed clumps of Fire Attributes from the surroundings. They were dancing around him like joyful children who found a new ymate.


    With a gentle urge of his intent, the Fire Attribute suddenly fused with his body, allowing him to feel a raw warmth in his depths. As soon as that happened, Cedric seemingly fell into a trance. He felt no resistance from the Fire Element at all. He even felt weed by it.


    Due to his absurd level of perception and instincts, the rest was easy for him. He opened his eyes and promptly began seeing the Fire Energies with his naked eyes. This meant that his entire being already adapted to this new experience, allowing him to more conveniently interact with Fire Energies as he pleases.


    He opened his palms and with a slight intent on his side, the fire energies gathered in his palms. He ignited them using his Ki then lo and behold, he just produced a plume of mes.


    It had to be known that it hadn''t even been 10 minutes since he started this exercise. Even for Isabe who had a superb level of affinity towards Water and Ice, she needed a full day toplete this exercise yet he already seeded in it. This just proves how ridiculously talented he was in this kind of thing.


    Cedric heard several notifications from the system. It informed him that due to this exercise, he was supposed to receive a corresponding skill for it, however since he had 『Sage Arts』 which allowed him to convert his Ki into True Sunlight and Sunfire, the skill: 『Fire Control』 was redundant for him so he received 100 Tier 3 Demon Souls instead aspensation.


    This notification also tells him that, since he didn''t need Fire Control as a skill because of Sage Arts, his control over Fire would be just as exceptional as he does with Sunfire, after all, they''re not that different.


    Testing his theory, he focused slightly and made several shapes using the mes he conjured.


    The vermillion-colored mes followed his will like an obedient child. If he wants topress it, it willpress. If he wants its size to double, it will double in size, and so on.


    He conjured apressed ball of fire and shot it at the dummy. Seeing the results made him a bit disappointed but he wasn''t fazed. Next, he experimented bypressing the fireball even more, essentially having a single fireball with the strength of two.


    The results were eptable so he moved on. Next, he began releasing a stream of mes like a torch. It started unstable but he adjusted and learned so eventually, it became a steady stream of mes.


    That was followed by more exercises until Cedric ran out of Ki, still that only caused him to pause his experiments for now. Once he recovered, he nned on continuing with all exercises he could think of until he was satisfied with his progress.


    Cedric spent all night exploring this new territory and it sufficiently upied him until daybreak. By then, he could produce a small plume of me that was hot enough to melt steel in a couple of seconds. He could even produce mes hotter than a forge could handle.


    As he realized just how much progress he made in a single night, a wry smile appeared on his face:


    "...I think I went overboard." He whispered to himself, "Surely I haven''t unknowingly gone through the entire ''Elements 101'' sybus in just one night, right?"


    He''d have to check this for himselfter, for now though, he''s a bit hungry so he made his way out of the training room, showered for a bit, and ate something.


    While eating, he thought to himself: "Erica and Chrissy said they''d be busy and my next ss is on Saturday still. I guess it''s time for me to check out the Sword Tempering Cave."


    Deciding this to be his next destination, he left the penthouse after eating and went straight to the Sword Path Dojo. Of course, he didn''t forget to wear his badge to prevent being denied entry to the ssroom.


    Upon arriving there, he discovered that Thirdy wasn''t around. Cedric shrugged and decided to move on instead. He followed the way towards the Sword Tempering Cave and arrived there shortly.


    ''I could already feel the sharp Sword Intent just by standing at the mouth of the cave.'' Cedric murmured inwardly as he continued inside.


    The interior of the cave was fairly dark but it didn''t hinder his senses at all. He could still see everything in crisp detail even with the low visibility. Because of this, he was able to sense the presence of a few senior students stationed a few meters deep into the cave.


    "Oi, is that him?"


    "Yep, that''s him. Our new ssmate."


    "He''s young...and damn, I guess the rumors weren''t exaggerated this time. He''s indeed talented."


    "Yeah, looking at him makes me feel like I''ve wasted my entire life for nothing. Life''s truly unfair sometimes."


    Although his senior ssmates were discussing in hushed tones, Cedric heard them loud and clear as if they were speaking right next to him. Of course, he didn''t n on confronting them about this, it''s not like theirments harmed him.


    As he got close, he wore an expression of mild surprise. He gave them a curt bow and approached them.


    "Hey there, Freshy!" One of his seniors greeted me in a friendly manner. "I''m Franklin and this guy beside me is George. What''s your name?"


    "My name is Cedric, Senior Brothers. I just enrolled yesterday. Nice to meet you." He replied to them.


    ''He seems like a nice kid. What do you think?'' The one on the left said to the guy next to him via telepathy.


    ''I think so too. I''m already liking him more than the guy before him.''


    ''Psh, that guy is trash with delusions of grandeur. He''s nothingpared to this kid. Anyway, let''s talk to him before he''s weirded out.''


    ''Toote for that.'' Cedric mumbled inwardly.


    "It''s nice to meet you too, Cedric. We''re here to act as guards for this ce. If you ever meet trouble inside, we will sense it ande to help you." The guy on the right told him.


    "That said, don''t bite more than can chew. We know that this is your first time here and you might be feeling a little eager to surpass your limits. All of us felt the same before and some of us suffered because of it, so do heed our warning, yeah?"


    "I understand. Thank you for reminding me." Cedric replied.


    "Typically, you can stay here as long as you like/can since this ss has an open schedule. But since this is your first time here, we''ll check on you every three hours to see how you''re doing just to be on the safer side."


    "Also, we only guard this ce during daytime. Others take the nightshift so if you everst that long, don''t be surprised to see new faces."


    Cedric nodded and remembered that information. After that, the seniors made way for him so that he could enter the initial depths of the Sword Tempering Cave.


    As soon as he stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was the sense of istion. It is indeed just like Thirdy described it to be, he wouldn''t sense others who came here as well.


    That was then followed by a slight shift in the air that raised his rms. Cedric summoned his sword and faced the iing breeze.


    ng!!!


    Sparks flew briefly when his sword and the breeze collided. The confrontation was brief but it left a deep impression on Cedric. He stared at the cave which seemingly goes on indefinitely and whispered:


    "Ah...I get it now."