The Greatest Sinner

Evan looked at the three iron chains wrapped around his "Warp" that hadn`t been there before. Moreover, he didn't understand why one of them was shaking and jingling violently. It seemed as if it was about to be broken.

The young man didn't know what to do, he was just standing and watching this amazing scene. Evan felt strange, but he felt no danger from the situation. It seemed as if everything should be so.

Whoosh. Crack.

While Evan was in "Nirvana" the blue butterfly had already flown away and at the same moment one of the three chains broke into hundreds of pieces. They turned into dust and scattered all over "Nirvana". At the same moment, Evan felt an unusual rush of strength.

He had never experienced anything like that before. He felt as if mana was literally coming out of his "Warp". Evan couldn't control it and didn't want to.

Evan smiled as he remembered Zak's words.

<That's what it means to break through the "Barrier", it's like dozens of shackles fell in an instant and you're freer>.

The chains that Evan looked at in "Nirvana" were the "Barriers" that Zak had told him about before. The "Barriers" are special obstacles in the way of every magician, and they are the ones that give anyone a chance to break through to the top.

The point is that, neither "Creation" nor the color of "Warp" affects whether or not a magician can break through a "Barrier". This requires a better understanding of magic and oneself. A magician must understand himself and the way magic works. This is a very vague definition, which makes it incredibly difficult to break the "Barrier".

Training, rare artifacts, exceptional talent, and so on are all shattered as soon as they meet the "Barrier".

Yes, magicians with Purple "Warp" are faster at "Creation" and mana condensation, and easier at learning spells. Talent alone isn't enough to understand the magic itself. Of course, the more time passes, the greater the chance that a magician will be able to break the "Barrier". But it was not uncommon for magicians to die of old age before they could climb higher.

Whoosh.

After one of the three chains had been destroyed, the other two quickly went out of sight. They didn't disappear, Evan still had two "Barriers" to break if he wanted to reach the "One-Pointed Star".

Evan smiled and walked out of "Nirvana" back into the real world.

<А?>. Evan couldn't figure out what was going on.

"What is it...?" Evan muttered to himself looking around.

While Evan was in "Nirvana" and when one of the three chains was destroyed there was an energy surge. This burst of energy is called - "Splash". At that moment, a strange change began to happen to the area next to the young man.

To his left Evan saw thick, tall grass and many flowers blooming in it. To his right, the grass was dry and dead, but a second later Evan noticed something strange. On the left, under the many bright flowers, he saw some dry grass, and under the dead grass on the right, he saw a variety of flower petals.

They were deep under the grass, so the wind couldn't have brought them in, much less in such a short time. It seemed as if the grass was beginning to grow and bloom then, quickly drying up, and it was all happening in a strange order.

A puzzled Evan slowly stood up from the stone ledge he was sitting on.

Crack.

Suddenly part of the rock turned to sand and Evan fell on his back. Evan was dumbfounded by what was happening. He quickly shook off the dust and examined the rock carefully.

"What? Why has part of it become very loose like sand and the other half become as strong as granite..."

The change was magical and inexplicable. Evan was alone on the hill, so he knew it couldn't have been some other person.

Whoosh.

As Evan pondered what was happening, the butterfly that had been circling around him not so long ago flew up to him.

"You too...?" Evan said uncertainly, looking at the butterfly, which had also undergone some changes.

Its wings used to be a nice blue color, but now everything was different. The left side was not just blue, but icy. The wings were covered in a thin layer of ice, which spread cold. The right side was red and burned brightly with crimson flames. Evan didn't understand how, but despite all the amazing changes, the butterfly continued to flutter quietly. Neither the ice nor the blazing fire disturbed it.

Whoosh.

The butterfly flew around Evan and quickly flew away. Evan had no explanation for what had happened. He decided to check his surroundings, but he found nothing else strange. Only the grass and the butterfly, which were very close to the young man, were subject to strange mutations.

After a while, Evan calmed down and returned to the ledge he was sitting on. All night Evan watched the beautiful city, enjoyed the gorgeous blue moon, and pondered what had happened during the breach of the "Barrier".

Unfortunately, he never came to anything, but he put his thoughts in order.

Evan waited until dawn and was about to leave when suddenly he saw the first rays of sunlight. It was a very ordinary dawn, but the sun's rays caught the young man's attention.

<So bright and beautiful>. Evan thought to himself, he was ready to return home. He didn't know why, but because of the simple sunlight, he was sure that he would soon reach the first stage of "Awareness" at the "Magic Missile".

Evan returned home by lunchtime and immediately went to bed. He wasn't physically very tired, even though he hadn't slept a wink all night. Evan had seen something really magical that night and it was beyond his understanding. He needed to rest and regain his strength.

The tournament hosted by the Erden Family and the Cross Family would begin in just a few days. Evan had gotten the good weapons and clothes he wanted, all that was left was the finishing touch and he would be completely ready.

...

Evan woke up a day later, the tournament was only two days away. Evan hadn't expected to sleep that long.

Nevertheless, he didn't immediately take up training. He ate, took a shower, walked around town, and put his thoughts in order. He felt like he had almost reached a new level, only one last step left.

Evan hadn't done anything much all that day and it wasn't until the next day, the last day before the tournament, that he went to the lab.

The young man stood in front of the sturdy, stone wall and put his hand out in front of him. Evan wasn't focused and concentrated on the spell cast, he was relaxed and calm. Mana slowly gathered at the end of his index finger and in the next instant turned into a dense, snow-white beam.

Boom.

With incredible speed, it flew into the wall and there was a deafening explosion. At that moment, Evan saw the difference between a normal "Magic Missile" and "Magic Missile" with the first stage of "Awareness".

The speed of the beam was much faster than before, but that wasn't the main thing. Evan looked at the hole in the wall next to which there were many cracks. What was remarkable was that the beam first pierced through the wall and only then, going deep into it, exploded.