Several days passed while Cercius slept deeply and soundly without waking.
Only after nine full days—more than a week—did he finally awaken from his deep slumber, full of energy once more.
To his surprise, all of his injuries had already healed—something that would have been impossible for ordinary humans and only made possible through Morgana's magic.
After waking, Cercius went, as he did every day since beginning his training in Avalon, to the trunk of the great apple tree that stood at the island's center, its vast canopy spreading like an umbrella over the land, serving as both shelter and shield.
"Master, why is this here?"
When Cercius arrived at the grand manor—the largest building on the island, standing directly beside the great tree's trunk and, of course, Morgana's home—he found before him the corpse of the sacred boar he had slain.
But before he could ask why the carcass was lying there, in the entrance hall before the staircase leading up to the rooms, Morgana spoke.
"Do you remember? The task was not merely to kill it, but to capture it," Morgana said meaningfully.
Cercius, of course, remembered and nodded in confusion, wondering what she meant, his gaze shifting from the boar's corpse to his master.
"That's because the first trial was not only meant to test you, but also to enhance your potential and grant you a better awakening."
Cercius tilted his head in puzzlement, not quite understanding what Morgana meant by 'enhance your potential and grant you a better awakening.' How is that supposed to be possible just by hunting a boar?
But Morgana then explained the meaning behind it.
Most humans in the mortal worlds still knew nothing about the secret behind awakening, nor how it came to be. That was one of the reasons their strength developed so slowly, and why so few powerful individuals appeared among them.
One example was Albert van Goldberg from the mortal world B1. He had only later learned that one could become stronger and increase one's mana through the cores of monsters. Likewise, those same cores could be used to trigger an awakening.
That was one of the reasons Cercius had to face the first trial before becoming an awakened being—to obtain the core of the sacred boar and use it to initiate his own awakening, increasing his chances for a more advanced one.
Another reason was that it allowed him to write a fable.
For an ordinary mortal without mana to hunt an awakened being—whether a creature of nature or a magical beast—was no easy feat and held deep meaning. It was a kind of trick that allowed one, even before awakening, to create a fable and thereby increase one's potential.
It wouldn't just expand one's reserves of strength but one's overall potential as an awakened being.
In other words: if someone originally only possessed the potential to reach C-rank, a fable written before awakening could raise that potential to B- or even A-rank.
Thus, Cercius succeeded in writing the fable "Overcomer of Weakness."
Moreover, in this case, it had been a creature of nature—one that possessed intelligence, pure energies perfect for awakening, and a special ability that made capturing it even harder.
In the sacred boar's case, it was its steel-like hide, against which all arrows shattered without dealing harm.
The cores of natural creatures were far purer than those of magical beasts or ordinary awakened beings, filled with the purest natural energy. Hence, the core of such a being was perfectly suited for awakening and ensured success.
Sometimes, awakening with a natural core even granted special advantages—such as a new talent or an ability linked to the creature itself—not to mention greatly increased potential.
Now Cercius had the chance to begin his awakening using the sacred boar's core.
"Wow~ I never thought there was such a story behind it," Cercius marveled after hearing her explanation. "Wait! Does that mean that I…"
His amazement quickly turned into overwhelming excitement as realization struck him.
He had already heard of the power awakened beings possessed—but now, after witnessing such a creature himself, his curiosity about that strength burned brighter than ever.
Morgana watched him for a moment, smiling at his childlike joy.
It always amused her to see that innocent side he kept hidden behind a façade of struggle and a painful past. Seeing him like this was truly soothing to her, as if it made all the world's pain fade away.
After a brief silence, she nodded. "Indeed. When you absorb the core, you'll be able to awaken. I will stand by your side."
Then Morgana produced a fist-sized, green orb infused with mana.
It was the core of the sacred boar, which she had carefully extracted and preserved while Cercius slept.
Cercius took the core, admiring it as though it were an immeasurable treasure.
"Well then, let us begin."
After observing the core curiously for a moment, he mentally prepared himself to absorb it. Without further hesitation, he swallowed it whole.
Like a tablet, the natural creature's core slid down his throat.
Cercius immediately sat cross-legged on the floor, expecting something extraordinary to happen.
Morgana, too, watched silently from behind, waiting for the moment.
The next instant, a bright, golden-brown light rose from Cercius's lower abdomen, and a warm energy coursed through his body, flowing rapidly into every part of him.
The natural energy of the core spread to even the most distant parts of his body, cleansing all impurities. It even healed remaining internal wounds not yet fully closed.
Cercius entered a trance-like state, and his body instinctively began absorbing all the core's mana, converting it into his own.
When Morgana saw this, her eyes widened before a gentle smile crossed her lips. Impressive. I didn't expect this… he's absorbing the energy almost one-to-one, leaving nothing behind… but that could be dangerous. If this continues, the mana inside him could go berserk and cause internal injuries!
Out of concern, Morgana snapped her fingers, casting a spell to support him during the process.
A layer of mana formed around Cercius like a translucent dome. The spell protected his body from external harm while guiding and regulating the mana within him, keeping it under control.
The awakening process, which for most people took only a few minutes—or at most an hour if they did it in their sleep—lasted a full nine hours for Cercius.
After the mana within him finally calmed and formed a core in his abdomen, just above his navel, the process slowly came to an end. Mana still enveloped his body, and even after the core had formed, it continued filling with the pure mana of the sacred boar and the natural energies around him for several more hours.
Cercius had changed slightly on the outside. He had grown a few centimeters taller—now around 1.81 meters—his skin subtly glowed, and his muscles became more compact and defined.
Slowly, he rose to his feet, his body drenched in sweat, yet showing no sign of exhaustion. On the contrary, he seemed energized and thrilled, feeling the new power within him and imagining what he could now accomplish.
"Wow~ So this is mana!" Cercius exclaimed in wonder at the translucent energy radiating from his body.
"Congratulations. You have successfully awakened—and judging from your magical power, I'd say you're already at D+ rank. Impressive," Morgana said gladly.
It was truly a miracle. Most beings—human or monster—awakened at F-rank, or rarely E-rank. In the mortal worlds, no one had ever awakened above E-rank.
Even the gifted swordsman Albert Van Golberg had only awakened at E-rank and had to work his way up to C-rank before absorbing the cores of powerful magical beasts to advance further.
Cercius had shattered that limit and set a new record.
"All right, for now we'll adjust your training. I'll teach you how to control your mana and make the best use of your abilities," Morgana explained. "Oh, and you should now be able to access your status window. There, you can view your stats as well as your awakened abilities."
"I'm really curious to see what abilities you've awakened with."
Cercius looked eager and quickly followed her instruction, opening his status window.
And one had to admit—his stats were absurd for someone who had just awakened. They were: [Strength: D], [Endurance: D+], [Agility: D-], [Constitution: D], and [Mana: D+]. Every one of his stats was at least D-rank, with mana and endurance already approaching C-rank.
But it wasn't just his stats—he had awakened two abilities, both displayed in his status. Their names were "Bronze Skin" and "Golden King's Eye."
While [Bronze Skin] was an inherited trait from the sacred boar—allowing its user to harden their skin, increase endurance, and gain affinity with the earth element—[Golden King's Eye] was truly a cheat-like ability.
As its name implied, [Golden King's Eye] was an ocular ability with two distinct functions. The first was called [Combat Prediction].
With [Combat Prediction], Cercius could foresee his opponent's movements before they even made them, granting him an enormous advantage in battle.
That alone made it an S-rank ability.
But the second function was even more astonishing—it allowed him, depending on his current strength, to look briefly into the future. It was, in essence, an advanced version of [Combat Prediction].
With his current power, however, he could see no more than three seconds ahead, after which all his mana would be consumed, leaving him unconscious for half a day.
That made [Golden King's Eye] an SSS-rank ability. The effort of hunting the sacred boar before awakening had been well worth it.
When Cercius told Morgana about his new abilities and stats, she was speechless for several minutes. She had already known he was a gifted and fortunate boy, but awakening such absurd powers and stats was simply ridiculous.
He was, in the truest sense, a monstrous genius with limitless potential.
Soon after, Cercius's training began anew—but this time, it differed greatly. The effort was no longer just physical but mental, testing his endurance.
After a week of lessons on mana and how best to wield it—and truly, who better to teach than a witch—something unexpected occurred in Avalon.
A new face appeared on the island, strolling as if he had returned home.
The proud figure, clad in immaculate knight's armor, walked through the island's streets toward its center, as though the place belonged to him and he were simply taking a stroll through his garden.
No one stopped this intruder. On the contrary—the fairies and animals of the island stared in awe, and a few even cheered, recognizing the familiar face and welcoming him.
Morgana's Manor.
Cercius sat cross-legged on the floor of an empty training hall. He seemed to be meditating, yet his brow furrowed constantly, as if he were struggling with something—wrestling with a force within himself.
"Urgh!"
After several minutes of meditation, he lost concentration once more and collapsed for what felt like the umpteenth time.
Cercius opened his eyes wearily, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Damn, this is really exhausting!" he complained.
Morgana was currently teaching him to channel his mana evenly through every part of his body—to perfectly enhance his physical abilities and constitution.
It was also an excellent method to learn and perfect mana control.
He had already been sitting there for hours, cross-legged, practicing this control. His legs were cramping, but he ignored the pain and kept forcing himself to move the mana within.
Cercius's endurance was truly remarkable—something even Morgana admired.
"Still, you've come quite far in just two weeks," Morgana praised, lounging on a sofa, eating grapes while watching him. "You can already maintain that state for three minutes without issue. At this rate, you'll be able to sustain it continuously—even outside combat—within a month or two."
"Haah~" Cercius let out a heavy sigh.
The training itself might sound simple, but the effort behind it was unimaginable—it was as if weights were strapped to every limb while swimming through the sea.
After a short break, Cercius resumed his training. But just as he began again, an unexpected interruption occurred.
The armored figure who had arrived at the manor paused and looked around.
"Hm… where are they?" he wondered. "Then I have no other choice…!"
His expression hardened as he raised one leg and stomped forcefully onto the ground.
At once, a massive, oppressive aura burst forth, engulfing the entire manor like a torrential storm. It was so immense that it made the earth tremble and the atmosphere quake.
The fairies and beasts of Avalon who sensed the sudden change were struck with terror, paralyzed by the aura.
These peaceful, gentle beings had never experienced such power before, and in that moment, they felt a fear and dread unlike anything in their lives.
Some fairies even fainted, collapsing to the ground.
Cercius and Morgana, too, sensed the overwhelming aura—and were shaken.