Chapter 39: Soul Space (2)
"Looks like we have another mage in the county..." the Count remarked, a faint smile curling on his lips as he watched Astrael ascend.
A high-grade soul space meant that the boy was almost guaranteed to reach the level of a Low-Stage Intermediate Mage with relative ease. That much was a given. However, progressing beyond that point was where the real challenge began.
While a high-grade soul space was superior to a middle-grade one, it still had its limitations. The size of the soul space directly determined how much mana it could store. And even for those with a high-grade soul space, the amount of mana available was often not enough to push through future bottlenecks—especially the breakthrough to higher tiers.
Unless one had access to an abundance of rare and expensive resources to supplement the shortfall, progress would stall.
And in a small county like theirs?
That was easier said than done.
There had never been a record of a high-tier Novice Mage with only a middle-grade soul space in their entire region. The reason was simple: no one had the means to overcome that wall.
As Astrael reached the eighty-ninth step, his pace slowed.
Then he stopped.
His silver eyes narrowed as something subtle caught his attention. Amid the swirling white mist that clouded the void around the staircase, a faint glimmer flickered, almost invisible to the untrained eye. It wasn’t large. A single, floating crystal, suspended in the air just beyond the step, pulsing with a soft, ethereal light. Its shimmer was gentle, like a heartbeat.