Chapter 92 The Fifty Fourth Mage!

"You see, that’s where you’re wrong, little Lucy, because bigger doesn’t always mean stronger."

Snap!

Snapping his fingers, Ethan activated his illusion spell, altering the surrounding scenery.

The ground beneath their feet began to shift; no longer were they in the usual training room. Instead, they were floating above the ruins of a destroyed city.

In front of them, cars burned, buildings had collapsed, and emaciated people fled in terror in every direction.

Behind them towered a giant behemoth made of a massive sludge of green slime, a scene constructed directly from one of his memories from the past.

"You see, the world is no longer what we once knew it to be."

"In this world, just like I told you last time and what you’ve heard from your parents, monsters like this have suddenly appeared."

"Some are smaller than a dog, while others are larger than an elephant. In such a situation, how can we humans expect to survive?"

As Ethan spoke, he snapped his fingers again, teleporting them down to the ground.

In front of them, a beautiful woman wearing a white faceless mask and ice-blue hair appeared out of thin air.

Just standing beside her, a few of the children couldn’t help but shiver as the air around her grew visibly frosty.

"In a situation where humans were outclassed in strength, speed, and every other metric..."

"...mana is our only salvation!"

"I know some of you have awakened abilities, but only by mastering and using those abilities can we overcome this crisis!"

Bang!

As he said this, the masked woman waved her hand, flash-freezing the giant monster and half the city blocks in a single instant, a display of raw power that left everyone utterly stunned.

"To achieve such strength and protect your family and friends, you’ll need to face and defeat monsters in the future."

"Just like this lady just did, and just like I and the others did yesterday."

"And that starts with all of you forming your very first circle."

Snap!

Snapping his fingers once more, Ethan dispelled the illusion, bringing them back to the training ground.

"The twenty-five of you here are the future of this shelter."

"Every single one of you matters—the future cannot afford to lose any of you."

"As such, I, as the Patriarch, solemnly ask for your help and hope you will work as hard as possible to break through and get stronger."

Bowing slightly, Ethan expressed his sincere thoughts, a gesture that shocked everyone present.

It was fine for the kids, who didn’t fully grasp the weight of Ethan’s bow, but the adults, like Emilia, were completely dumbfounded.

"Nephew, there’s no need for that. It’s fine, we were all going to try our best anyway."

"Even if not for your sake, then for our own, the world isn’t safe anymore, so we have to do our best to survive."

Waving her hands dismissively toward Ethan, Emilia, though deeply stunned, felt an overwhelming wave of admiration for her nephew.

He knew precisely when to bend, when to stretch, and how to genuinely win people’s hearts.

Among all her siblings, she couldn’t imagine anyone better suited to be Patriarch than him.

It seemed her grandfather had made the exact right choice.

"Thank you, Aunt Emilia. In that case, let’s grow stronger together!" Ethan said, preparing to explain the principles of energy and how to construct a magic circle.

While he wouldn’t forge the circles for them directly, his live demonstrations and real-time guidance should drastically accelerate their progress.

As for exactly how long it would take them, that was what he was about to find out.

And with that, the daily routine was set.

Just like when he was training the veterans, Ethan’s schedule quickly became fixed:

Morning: Attending meetings to discuss daily shelter affairs and logistics.

Noon: Accompanying Emilia to audit and manage the base’s supply reserves.

Afternoon: Leading meditation and training sessions with the Awakeners, guiding them step-by-step toward forming their circles.

Evening: Practicing swordsmanship with Kenjiro and refining close-quarters combat and martial arts with his sister.

Night: Recording recollections of his past life and mapping out future strategies in a personal diary hidden away in a secure location only he could access.

It was a rigorous, demanding cycle that went on day after day without end.

However, after the fifth day, a sudden breakthrough occurred.

Among the twenty-five students, his very first independent success was about to break through to the 1st Circle entirely on her own!

Sitting directly in front of her, Ethan focused on little Lucy with absolute, unblinking concentration.

This was a major milestone for his Mage System.

This would be the first mage created without his direct intervention or forced system shortcuts!

How could he not be excited? He had to ensure no disruptions or complications affected her process!

With that thought, the mana in his eyes surged violently, carefully scanning her internal pathways.

Outside the training room, the entire veteran squad had been deployed to form an impenetrable perimeter, ensuring absolute silence and safety.

’Is this... her mana core resonating?’

Muttering in shock as Lucy’s circle tips were about to complete their loop near her heart, her innate Awakener core began to pulse in tandem.

Her plant control ability automatically activated.

All around her, small flowers and vibrant vines rapidly sprouted from the packed earth of the training room floor, leaving Ethan briefly astonished.

He had already analyzed her specific ability three days prior, even drafting a derivative spell to accelerate the growth of crops and solve the shelter’s ongoing food production issues.

Yet, he hadn’t expected it to manifest during her breakthrough.

Not only that, but her long pigtails began to float as if caught in a gentle breeze, her eyelids twitched beneath closed eyes, and the surrounding ambient mana rushed toward her body in a tidal wave, rapidly reinforcing her physical body.

"That’s it, Lucy! You’re almost there! Just a little bit more!"

Watching the final arc of the magic circle slowly close, Ethan crossed his fingers tightly.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry for long.

Just as he was tempted to step in and stabilize the mana flow for her, the loop finally snapped shut.

Boom!

The moment the tips touched, a pure wave of mana swept through her entire body, kicking up a sharp gust of wind inside the room.

At the same instant, a brand-new notification chimed across the Global Mage Chat Room, welcoming a new member:

<A little girl who hates monsters has joined the chat room!>

Along with that notification, the fifty-fourth mage of the world had officially been born!