Chapter 7

What an absurdly powerful mana growth technique.

「Mana Tide (LV: 30) — No control required. Permanently active. The tide converts a greater quantity of elements into mana, conversion ratio greatly increased. High tide and low tide occur simultaneously. During tidal overlap, additionally restores lost mana.」

Kanzaki Rei now roughly understood the effect of his God-Tier · Proficiency Evolution.

In simple terms—each time he used a skill, its proficiency increased once.

And not just increased—

It increased by ten thousand times.

He didn’t know what that "ten thousand times" was being compared against.

But the feedback he received was clear: every single use of a skill raised its proficiency by nearly one full level.

Of course, after Mana Tide reached Level 30, advancing to Level 31 required two cycles instead of one.

But after reaching Level 31, it immediately jumped again—to Level 33.

Which meant that, at least for now, the EXP required per proficiency level was still far below 10,000.

Rei couldn’t see the exact EXP requirement per level.

He could only estimate based on the upgrade speed.

As for what proficiency levels actually did—

He had a general sense.

Roughly every 5 to 10 levels, the skill either gained a new, highly practical effect, or one of its existing effects underwent a qualitative transformation.

In just a few dozen breaths—

Mana Tide’s effect had already become astonishing.

And Rei’s total mana pool—

Had increased to more than three times what it was before.

This growth technique...

It was unbelievably fast.

And up to now, Rei hadn’t felt any slowdown as his total mana increased.

If anything...

It felt faster.

A single tidal cycle now granted nearly a 9% increase in total mana.

And that 9% wasn’t calculated from his original base.

It was 9% of his current total.

As his mana pool grew, each high tide carried more mana outward, contacting more external elements.

Thus, the low tide brought back even more converted mana.

Even the portion that self-expanded grew more dramatically due to the larger base.

"Master, this Mana Tide..."

"It’s incredible."

Iz smiled proudly. "Of course. It’s one of my proudest works."

"Unfortunately, not many can learn it."

Rei nodded and flipped further through the book.

Most of the next pages elaborated on Mana Tide’s principles—its sensations, step-by-step implementation, ritual coordination, supplementary spells to assist in sensing tidal formation.

Hmm...

So it’s not entirely "no wasted words."

Still, the writing didn’t feel tedious. Iz Parut had clearly done his best to explain everything in accessible terms.

He truly was a genius when it came to teaching.

And while reading—

Rei made another discovery.

As he studied the theoretical sections, his Mana Tide gained additional proficiency.

After finishing those few pages, he had gained roughly 200,000 proficiency.

If calculated before the ten-thousandfold multiplier—

That would be about 20 points of proficiency?

Just reading was equivalent to practicing 20 times?

Proficiency... really was proficiency.

Rei’s understanding deepened.

Proficiency didn’t just represent usage.

Learning. Comprehension. Insight.

All of it counted.

Theoretically, then—

Anything that increased skill familiarity should benefit from God-Tier · Proficiency Evolution, receiving the same ten-thousandfold amplification.

He flipped roughly eighty pages.

The theoretical section of Mana Tide finally ended.

"That’s a lot."

One enhancement technique had required eighty pages—and every page was dense with substance.

No wonder the book was so thick.

Just as Rei eagerly turned the next page, curious about what new spell might follow—

He froze.

[Mana Tide · Simplified Version]

[If attempts based on prior theory yield no results and Mana Tide cannot be learned, try this simplified version.]

...Huh?

Is it really that hard?

Didn’t the opening three sentences already explain how to practice it?

Iz, watching Rei’s subtle expression, felt a quiet sigh rise within him.

He had remained here to answer Rei’s questions.

With his assistance, the success rate of learning Mana Tide could increase significantly.

The two students who had mastered it before—

Had both done so under his guidance.

As for anyone who had learned it purely from reading the theory—

Not a single one.

"Further back are optimized versions of Mana Tide," Iz began to explain.

But by the time he spoke—

Rei had already learned Mana Tide · Simplified.

The moment he mastered it, however, it naturally merged back into Mana Tide.

The only effect was an increase of 100,000 proficiency—roughly equivalent to ten tidal cycles within his body.

「Proficiency Level Increased — Mana Tide (LV: 74)」

"Master, I’ve already learned this one."

Iz sighed softly.

He already knew.

Through his perception of surrounding elements, he could tell that Rei had trained Mana Tide to a truly terrifying level.

The ambient elements were in constant agitation, being drawn into Rei in relentless waves and converted into mana.

What should have been rhythmic tidal motion now resembled a black hole devouring elemental energy.

"Beyond Mana Tide lies a Tier 2 mana growth technique."

"That’s where we stop."

Rei blinked. "Can’t I learn the Tier 2 one?"

Iz shook his head firmly.

"No. You must at least become a Level 2 Mage before attempting it."

"Otherwise, it will cause irreversible damage."

"Learning Mana Tide is more than sufficient for you right now."

"It won’t be long before you encounter the bottleneck of your mana limit. When that happens, I’ll teach you how to break through it."

So there’s a bottleneck.

The tide surged again.

But this time—

The mana Rei brought back did not remain within his body.

Instead, it dispersed outward.

The mana that should have grown naturally—

Didn’t grow.

It felt like...

It really wasn’t increasing anymore.

Rei lifted his head and looked at Iz Parut.

In a calm, almost innocent voice, he said—

"Master Iz."

"I think... I’ve already reached the bottleneck."