The Greatest Sinner

Evan spent all his free time doing just three things: sleeping, eating, and training. He didn't shy away from constant exercise, but he was more interested in magic, of course. Evan cast "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil" many times.

He hadn't yet done a Summoning Magic spell. He wanted to get some mastery of those two spells, before he took on the third.

It was about a couple of hours before Zak`s return, and while he was away, Evan had almost completely destroyed the training area.

Dozens of swords had been broken, many dummies had been cut open and blown up. Even on the field, there were several small craters from a direct hit by the "Magic Missile".

From the outside, it might seem that a real battle had taken place there. However, Evan was the only one to blame. No one stopped or restricted him.

He had complete freedom of action. Margaret took care he had new mannequins, but he destroyed them very quickly.

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

Evan was drenched in sweat and trying to catch his breath. He had spent the last few hours practicing the spells continuously. Of course, he needed mana to cast spells, but that wasn't a problem. "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil" were low level spells, so not much mana was needed either.

Thanks to the incredible speed of "Creation", Evan could quickly get enough mana to continue his training.

You need to know one important fact. He didn't cast the spells nonstop ten times a minute. At that rate, he would have simply died of exhaustion, and his mana would have run out in an instant. So he did everything deliberately, slowly and precisely. He put all his strength into making sure that the result would lived up to his expectations. And in some ways he really began to use the spells much better.

For example, now he could cut through to almost half of the same iron dummy, when his last result had been only one-third. The power of "Magic Missile" had also increased slightly.

<Fuh, I think I need to eat and rest.> Evan had been training all day long, just like yesterday. He was very tired and hungry.

Zak would be back soon. Evan had many questions for him. He needed advice on certain things. He also wanted to know about the dark green root he still had in his bag.

The first thing he did was to head to the kitchen and eat the first thing he saw. The maids no longer tried to talk him into eating at the table, instead of in the kitchen, for every their attempt ended in failure.

Then he went to the hot springs and plunged into the water in total silence.

<Well, that's a quite good start, except for the fact that I spent my first day in the jail.>

Evan was happy with his current situation. He had food, water, and everything he needed. And most importantly, he had an enormous amount of time to improve himself.

Evan didn't care much for riches. But if Zak hadn`t had money, Evan wouldn't have been able to start studying magic.

While Evan was thinking about his life and which direction he should go next, he heard loud, heavy footsteps heading toward him.

"Evan, how`s the water? AHAHAHAHA."

Seeing the man walking toward him, Evan smiled broadly: "Really cool. Don't get scalded, Commander Zak."

Whoosh.

Zak quickly plunged into the water, or rather jumped into it splashing large amounts of water around the edges.

"There's nothing like hot water after a hard day." Just like Evan, Zak appreciated all the enjoyment of the hot springs.

Evan wanted to ask something, but no sooner had he opened his mouth than he saw a maid with a tray in her hands.

The girl put the tray next to the pool so they could reach it without getting out of the water. On the tray, there was the standard Zak's set: alcohol, alcohol and more alcohol. There were also some snacks on the tray.

"Will you?" Zak took two bottles in his hands and held one out to Evan. The young man didn't refuse, nodded and took the bottle.

He didn't drink it right away, just put it aside.

"Commander Zak where have you been?"

Zak took a sip and waved his hand in reply, "At my good friend`s place. He also lives in the Mossy Vulture, oh, we had a lot of fun."

Zak sighed and continued: "By the way, you have a fight in a month. I`ve made a deal."

"А?" Evan didn't understand what Zak was talking about.

"AHAHAHAHA, don't look so surprised, my friend's daughter is about your age. She just like you has recently awakened her talent for magic. My friend and I had a bet about which one of you would win in a sparring match."

Evan didn't answer anything. He pondered whether such a development was favorable to him. If he fought an opponent who was about on the same level with him, he could get a lot out of it.

"The winner will receive a secret prize from us that we have already prepared. Try to give your best!" Zak decided to increase Evan's interest by motivating him with a secret prize.

"Okay, I agree. But what format of the competition will it be? A simple one-on-one battle?" Evan saw no reason to refuse. The combat experience was already a worthy reward in itself, and with the extra prize the offer was even more attractive.

"Good spirit! However, Evan, I think you're going to have a very hard time." Zak's voice became even more serious and even a little somber.

Evan didn't understand what Zak was worried about. After all, if they were both newbies, the chances of winning shouldn't be too different.

"Why do you think so?"

"Evan, I just know that sly old fox too well. He showed his daughter and her abilities quite well. But when I asked him what color her "Warp" was, he quickly told me - white. I'm willing to bet my head that he's lying. He can fool whoever, but not me."

Evan realized that this could complicate things. Zak hadn't told Evan that his mana condensation results in the Void Liquid, surpassed even those who had purple "Warp". Therefore, Evan mistakenly believed that his level was about the same as those with a white colored "Warp".

However, this did not frighten him. On the contrary, he wanted to test his strength and defeat that girl at all costs. Evan was deep in thought and his face was concerned.

Zak smiled and mentally praised himself for what a good teacher he was. His lies only motivated Evan to keep going and to get better.

But, Zak had only lied about the rate of mana condensation in the Void Liquid. His friend's daughter really had purple "Warp". He was sure of it a hundred percent.

Sip.

Zack enjoyed his drink and Evan dealt with his thoughts.

After a while Evan came to his senses and took a few sips just the same. For the next month, he would train like the damned, and he would reach an incredible level. That was his decision.

"Evan, I think you need to reach the first stage of "Awareness" in one of the spells to win."

"What does that mean?" Once again, Evan heard a term unknown to him.

"AHAHAHAHAHA, I'll tell you, here, take this." With those words, he threw a fork from the tray toward Evan.

The young man caught it easily and looked at Commander Zak puzzled.

"Use the "Ice Veil" on that fork. Try to give your best. I guess it won't hurt if there are sudden shifts in temperature of the wat....."

Whoosh.

Before he could finish his sentence, the fork in Evan's hand had completely covered in ice.