The dark fire consumed everything, rushing down the lines of the ritual circle and consuming that too.

But Noah was preoccupied with something else.

At that moment, he felt mana slam into him like a freight train.

He gasped as the torrent of energy rushed into him, like a dam had burst somewhere.

It rampaged in his body, like a snake with no head, until he seized control of it, breaking it under his will.

The torrent slowed into something manageable, and Noah guided it through his body.

He couldn't quite control what the mana did, but he could, in a way, supervise it.

It coiled around his muscles, making it stronger, faster, and better.

It seeped into his mana core, sweeping through the whole place, and sweeping back out.

After almost a minute, the mana slowed to a stop, and began reversing. And just as fast as it came, it left.

Noah sat there, breathing hard, when the screen appeared before him.

[Congratulations! You have ascended to FF-rank!]

[10% synchronization to Abyssal energy complete!]

As if on cue, his skin began to change.

He watched with wide eyes as dark green scales began forming on his skin, his spine clicking visible as it rearranged itself.

Noah winced at the movement, watching as the partial scales rose, then sunk back into his skin, as if it had not even existed in the first place.

An instant later, the tail burst out of his power back.

"Woah! What the fuck!" He was instantly on his feet, trying to see behind him.

The tail was sinuous, covered in scales, and was almost as long as he was tall. It ended in an arrow-like top, the flesh fanning out before hardening, and narrowing to end at a sharp tip.

He watched as the tail twitched, partly as if it had its own will, and partly as he controlled it.

He watched the tail in disbelief for a few seconds before his eyes widened as he realized that the twitches were instinctual movements of the tail's muscle.

If he trained, and gained perfect control of it, it would be like having a third limb.

And just by the tail being out, he could feel his balance improve. He felt like he could balance himself on one foot forever without falling. That was how steady he felt.

Fortunately, the change was not immutable.

There was a soft thwip as he retracted the tail, the new appendage coiling inside his body, merging with his spine.

When it was not in use, he could keep it retracted, and go about his daily life.

That was when the researchers began clapping, celebrating the successful advancement.

Cecilia walked up to Noah with a smile. "Congratulations. You're now an FF-rank mage. One step closer to where you need to be."

"Thank you." Noah grinned, looking around the room.

Everything they had used, the ritual circle, the items, it had all been burned to ashes.

But he was much more preoccupied with what kind of changes the advancement had made to his stats.

"Status."

[Status:]

[Noah Webb]

[Race: Dark Dragon]

[Rank: FF]

[Potential: FFF]

[Affinities: Darkness, Fire, Void, Decay, Hunger]

[Core Attributes:]

[Strength: FF+]

[Endurance: F-]

[Agility: F+]

[Mana Capacity: S]

[Magic Control: S]

[Skills: Roar (FFF-Rank), Dark Furnace (SS-rank), The King's Dominion (SS-rank), Decay of a Thousand Ages (SSS-rank)]

[Spells: Fireball (F-rank), Flame Spark (FFF-rank), Devour (B-rank), Rot (D-rank), Blackflame (D-rank), Pillar of Judgement (A-rank), Void Bolt(S-rank), Utter Annihilation(SSS-rank), Frigid Hunger(F-rank), Eternal Cradle(B-rank), Null Stride(A-rank)]

He'd seen positive changes in his strength, endurance, and agility, but his mana capacity and magic control remained the same.

S-rank.

Maybe it was because this was a small advancement in the grand scheme of things. Maybe when he gets to the really strong advancements, B-rank or A-rank, it'll finally move upwards.

Either way, he was happy with the overall increase. Even though it seemed small, he could sense it.

His body was stronger, and he was now faster.

He hopped in place a few times, to get a sense of his physicality. It was a step beyond what it had been before.

"You can test out your new stats later," Cecilia grinned. "For now, it's time to sleep. You have classes tomorrow."

"Oh." Noah blinked. "I almost forgot about those."

She led him through the halls of the building once more, and before long, they were walking to his dorm.

The moon was high in the sky, but there were no students around, as it was already after curfew. They were all in their dorms.

"Can I ask you a question, professor?" Noah asked.

Cecilia glanced at him. "Ask away."

"Why are you here?" Noah asked.

"What do you mean?" She turned her head to fully look at him.

Noah shrugged at the question. "From what I heard, you're a princess. The daughter of the previous king. So, why are you here teaching?"

"Shouldn't you be in a castle somewhere doing princess things? Or is it true that you're imprisoned here by the king? I mean, why? Why would he lock you up here when he could send you somewhere else?"

They kept walking, Cecilia saying nothing for a few seconds. Then she spoke.

"Because I'm not the problem," she said. "It's just the product of a few events out of our control."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know the story of how my father died?"

"No." Noah shook his head.

"There was a time when I lived in the palace." Cecilia said. "I was the daughter of a concubine, but there was nothing wrong with that. After all, my father was a king. Concubines were to be expected."

"But I had two older brothers, both sons of the queen. The eldest, Cillian, and the second son, Cecil."

Noah frowned, wondering why he hadn't heard anything about this Prince Cecil.

"Cillian was everything that a crown prince should be. Regal, strong, wise, but Cecil was different. He was special." Cecilia continued.

"He excelled in everything he did, and everyone knew of it. Everyone knew the second son was more exceptional than the crown prince, and they made sure both princes knew too."

"Cillian and Cecil were both tight as brothers, and the words of the nobles didn't really bother them, but a seed began to grow within Cecil."

"He began to believe that the heir to the throne should be chosen based on merit, and not primogeniture. He believed he was a better choice, but he said and did nothing about it.

"And everything was already with the world, until some... nobles began to have problems with the King's rule. The king introduced some new laws, restricting their business, and diverting more power to the throne, so they decided to do something about it."

"They began to covet the throne, and the power it held, for themselves. So, they concocted a plan. They chose Cecil as their figurehead, and whispered sweet promises into his ears."

"They painted pictures of the future with him as king with their words, installing their daughter as his betrothed and future queen."

"They didn't need to work hard, as their words were like water, nourishing the seed already in Cecil's heart. And so, Cecil began planning his coup."

"But in order to take the kingdom, he needed an army. However, very few were willing to betray the king."

There was a pause.

"So, what happened?" Noah asked, listening carefully.

"Then, the nobles came again, whispering in his ears. And they gave him an old book." Cecilia said.

"A book about demons."

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