When they arrived at the entrance, the doors were wide open, revealing a luxurious interior. But Nova frowned.

'Something doesn't feel right.'

The more he looked, the stronger the strange sensation became. He scanned the tower, trying to pinpoint the source of the feeling. Then his gaze narrowed.

'An illusion array, and not a grade one, either. Does that mean this tower has books about arrays too?'

Deborah didn't notice the change in Nova's expression. "Don't stare too deeply at it. Some people get lost in what they see."

"Mhm."

As an array master he didn't dare take arrays lightly as he knew how strong they could be.

With that, she walked up to the door and placed her hand on the tower. Moments later, the illusion quickly faded, replaced by a massive, shimmering white door that slowly opened without a sound.

Deborah signaled for Nova to enter. "Come in."

The interior was spacious, though the furniture was minimal, just a desk to the side where a few people were chatting. Doors leading to various rooms lined the sides of the hall.

Everything was white or gray, with a faint, luminous shimmer that gave the place an otherworldly feel.

"Amazed?" Deborah asked from the side, her eyes roaming the hall. "Even after months of visiting, I still can't get used to it."

Nova nodded thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, the few mages at the desk noticed Deborah and waved silently.

She waved back.

With such a small number of mages allowed into the tower, everyone knew each other, forming a close-knit group wherever they went.

She then led Nova to a side room, where a flight of stairs descended into the lower levels.

"The place at the bottom of these stairs is filled with light elemental mana. It's the only location on campus that has it, and I'm not sure if there's a similar place anywhere else in the world," she said quietly. "But the only light mages I've seen are from the Magic Tower and there aren't many of them."

"And the only rank nine mage besides the Tower Master is your father, a light element mage." Nova shook his head at the absurdity of the situation.

Deborah gave a wry smile.

They descended the stairs, which went so deep that Nova almost felt as if he were reaching the center of the planet. Soon, a warm light spread out from the bottom. When he reached it, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks, his body relaxing at the comfort of basking in it.

Beside him, Deborah glanced at him and lightly chuckled, having half-expected this reaction. "The first time basking in light mana is always the most enjoyable. Many would pay just to feel it again. But after the first exposure, your body quickly builds enough resistance that you don't get lost in it."

As Deborah's words fell, Nova's thoughts spun.

'No other element gives off such a strong, personal feeling… it's so strange. Is there a reason for this, or is light just special compared to the other basic elements?'

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Nova closed his eyes and absorbed her words as the sensation of being wrapped in the softest blanket slowly faded. After a few minutes, his body returned to a slightly warmer state than before but nothing like what he had just felt.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Deborah staring at him with a gentle smile. Before he could say anything, she spoke again.

"You can take your time with the light element here. This place has no doors, no private rooms for studying, but I doubt many people come here anyway. There's only one warning I must give you."

Her face turned serious.

"Don't go too deep, or you might lose your life."

Nova finally looked around and saw a cave with walls bathed in blinding light, so bright that it hid the depths of the space. Even with his strength and eyesight, he couldn't see more than a dozen meters ahead.

"Alright." He glanced at her solemn expression and nodded before stepping into the light.

Deborah watched his back disappear and murmured, "I hope he listens."

She sat on the stairs and waited.

Everywhere around Nova was filled with light mana. It was so concentrated that he had never seen anything like it with any of his other elements.

His steps were slow, hands extended in front of him. Light mana particles danced playfully on his fingers before being absorbed through his skin and stored in his body. A sense of accomplishment washed over him.

'It took me years to find this element, but I finally have it. Now only the darkness element remains before I complete the base elements. Then I'll have so many options in battle that my enemies will never know the full extent of my power.'

A smile tugged at his lips at the thought.

If someone were proficient in just one or two elements, it was only a matter of time before others studied them and devised ways to counter them. Some might even disregard everything and pursue paths that made them immune to the elements their mortal enemies used.

But what if someone showed only two or three elements for years, perhaps their whole life, letting their enemies believe that was the full extent of their power, only to reveal more elements when their foes came prepared for revenge? That would be… comical but also deadly at the same time.

Coming from a low-tier civilization that was still not part of the wider Universe, Nova couldn't afford to study only a few elements and then rely on an elder or his background to save him, because he had neither.

He didn't know if his army could grow quickly enough to support him. If not, he would have to spearhead the change himself so that his subordinates and friends could follow.

To do that, being good at only one or two things wasn't enough.

He needed to master everything.

This was one of the thoughts that drove Nova to study anything that could grant him even the smallest advantage.

At one point, his steps came to a halt. Even now, he hadn't seen a single other mage in the place, which increasingly resembled a bright white desert.

'Since this is the only place I know of with light mana, I should take this opportunity to form a Light Core,' he muttered to himself.

Never had he imagined that the second core he would create would be of the light element, but he couldn't be too displeased. Now, with a month of time available, his other elements were bound to follow suit.

He sat down and calmly went through the process of forming an elemental core in his mind.

'Gather the light mana to form a rudimentary core near my mana core. Condense it and temper it thoroughly until it's as strong as the mana core. Last time, it took everything I had to do this and my body nearly collapsed, but now…'

Nova spread his Will through the cave. With a single thought, the mana responded, humming as it was drawn straight toward him.

A vortex formed around him, with him at its eye, thinning the light mana in the nearby dozens of meters, though there was no one around to notice.

Although he hadn't gathered as many individual light mana particles, the sheer amount present in the cave more than made up for it. In fact, it was so abundant that the core's formation progressed swiftly, without a single hiccup, inching closer and closer to his wind core's state.

Compared to the time he had risked his life to form his wind core, this time his body accommodated the process smoothly, making Nova almost lose focus as he waited for a pain that never came.

The process was so effortless that, a dozen minutes later, a bright core, matching the green-grey one in both quality and size, rotated steadily beside the wind and mana cores.

Internally staring at the light core in his body and then at his surroundings, an idea popped into his mind.

'Should I use all this light mana to temper my core?'

Once such a thought took root, it refused to leave.

On the stairs, Deborah calmly gazed at the white cave, lost in thought, when she noticed something.

"Why does the light look like it's dimmed?"

Earlier, she could see only a few meters ahead. Now, she could see several more.

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