Chapter 276 - Hold Still

Alec breathed lightly.

He was about to break through into the next stage. He was near the threshold, and he was hovering at a paper-thin line before he broke into the advanced stage. Yet, it seemed like no matter how many monsters or creatures he killed, there was no improvement to the amount of magic inside his body.

Alec likened his body to a cup that had already been completely filled up. No matter how much more he poured inside, nothing more could be added without spilling over the sides.

Still, Alec wasn't annoyed by his lack of progress.

To be quite frank, the magic ranks didn't quite have much effect on how Alec fought.

At least, there wasn't one that he saw right now.

Alec was still treading blindly on this path that he was inventing himself – what with the lack of information and his trial and errors.

So, it was expected that his progress was rather mediocre. He was quite satisfied by how he was doing already, but there was always room for improvement, of course.

For one, he was of the Awakening Magitype, which wasn't magic that was primarily used for offense.

For another, he used his magic to fuel his Awakening Magitype anyway, so whenever he managed to deplete his magic, it still went towards improving his body in the end.

He didn't see how advancing to the advanced magic rank could do any difference if he wasn't like the standard magic practitioner.

Alec slowly perfected his movements against the different types of monsters and creature, occasionally working together with Sekai or Elysia.

The trio didn't exactly have a set goal right now that they were supposed to look for, but Alec had a sneaking suspicion that some sort of plot was going to approach them soon.

With three Main Characters in the same place, he wouldn't be surprised if something happened to 'help' him advance to the advanced magic rank, much to his displeasure.

If he had to say how it happened, it would probably have something to do with the crazy woman who'd confessed to Alec the minute she saw him.

Alec hesitated.

She couldn't have been a Cher, could she?

Alec had surpassed the odds by being a person with two Societypes, so who could say that another Cher couldn't have him as a soulmate?

Alec's brows furrowed. Somehow, that thought left him a bad taste in his mouth.

Still, he stood by his actions. They'd already happened, and there was nothing he could do to take it back now.

It was her own fault for doing such a thing when he had been in a bad mood.

Not only was she still around in the forest, she was keeping close to the trio. Alec, most of all.

Alec was rapidly approaching the end of his patience.

He wanted her gone, and he wanted her gone right now.

Surprisingly, she had not gotten in over her head, and she was holding her ground remarkably well against all the creatures and monsters.

Like both Sekai and Elysia, she was in the advanced stage as well, and Alec almost had the illusion that the advanced stage wasn't all that uncommon with how often he was meeting them.

In actuality, reaching the advanced stage was a mark of power and potential, and outside of sects and clans, it was remarkably rare.

…Alec kind of wanted to kill off the sudden stalker he'd gained right now, but he didn't.

What if him killing her off was the cause of the plot progression instead?

Suddenly feeling annoyed, Alec slid through a series of move that easily dispatched the creature that he'd been fighting.

Lucielle, who'd been quietly watching from the shadows, exclaimed inwardly at the smoothness and elegance of the actions.

Though Alec made it look simple, there was an efficiency and calculation to the moves that would have caused it to fail had any of them been the slightest bit off.

From the distance, Sekai sauntered back from a patch of trees, looking bored.

Alec zeroed in on the transmigrator.

This was as good a time as any for him to start working on the brand that'd been stuck to the Main Character.

Though he'd taken a look previously, he hadn't been able to properly study it.

More than that, this was the perfect opportunity for Alec to take revenge on Sekai for laughing at him for unintentionally picking up a stalker. Not to mention, a way for him to throw off his pursuer as he worked quietly on Sekai's seal.

Alec smiled. "Sekai, come here."

Sekai stopped dead in his tracks, looking at Alec warily. He associated nothing good whenever that smile was directed at him. "What do you want?"

Alec tilted his head. "I want to take a look at your seal."

A mix of complicated emotions flashed on Sekai's face.

Honestly, he'd been trying his best not to think of the brand that was still limiting him even to this moment.

The quiet moments between the trio gave him a false sense of security, almost as if the brand never existed in the first place. But Alec had just shattered that false sense of security so casually.

There was a part of him that was frustrated, while another part of him was relieved. There was also a part of him that was elated but worried.

In the end, Sekai just silently sank down on the ground before Alec. He couldn't even muster up the energy to be grumpy right now.

This was the first time that the System was going to seriously look at his brand, and Sekai was feeling nervous.

Alec prodded the back of the transmigrator's neck, causing him to twitch.

"Channel some magic."

Sekai obediently followed Alec's instructions, and Alec saw the entire brand bloom to life before his eyes.

The runes blended together in a shade of grey, hovering faintly over the transmigrator's skin. They made Alec feel faintly sick, almost appearing as if they were rotting from inside out.

It seemed to reflect the original maker's intentions, morphing into something that could hardly be called a seal at all.

Alec could only feel disgust at the creator distorting the beautiful art in such a way.

The System quietly studied the seal, taking quick notes as he tried his best to decipher it.

While Alec was completely focused, Sekai was fidgeting where he was sitting.

Alec was taking a long time, and Sekai had never been one to sit around doing nothing. However, he couldn't move because Alec was working, and neither could he retrieve his magic, so he was forced to constantly move his magic from time to time.

In the end, Sekai couldn't handle it anymore and moved, causing Alec to glare at the back of Sekai's head.

Alec prodded Sekai with a finger, causing the transmigrator to cringe at the sudden ticklish feeling to his side.

"Hey! Stop it!" Sekai growled out.

"You stop it," Alec said dryly, taking his petty revenge on the Sin. "If you really can't do it, then why don't you make it an exercise instead."

Sekai's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Alec stared at the transmigrator. "Your control over your magic is trash. Fix it. Now."

Sekai snarled. "I know, alright?! I'm pretty sure it has something to do with *that*!"

"Really," Alec said, unimpressed. "So, of all the other people that you know who has the *that* as well, every single one of you is suffering from bad control?"

"Yes!" Sekai hesitated, suddenly thinking harder. His brows furrowed as he thought of Xin Yi. "Wait. No?"

"Yes or no?"

"No?"

"Then your control is trash," Alec drove the point home, causing Sekai to growl weakly.

"What should I do then?" Sekai reluctantly asked.

"Head, right arm, left arm, palms, stomach, eyes, feet. In that order, move your magic around. The quicker you complete it, the better your control."

Sekai scoffed. That didn't sound so hard.

Focusing harder, Sekai fell silent as he worked on trying to improve his magic control as he was egged on by Alec's tone.

On the other hand, Alec kept prodding Sekai's side whenever he thought the transmigrator wasn't doing it quick enough, disrupting his concentration.