Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer

[Congratulations, you have condensed your 2nd Virtue ‐ The Virtue of Purity.]

[Synergy unlocked between the 『Right Eye of Purity』and the 『Trait: Purity』...]

[Congratulations, you've unlocked the 『Aether Purity Heart』! ]

[Your Curse: 『Hex of Mediocrity』, had been suppressed greatly. You can now learn Intermediate-Ranked Offensive Spells!]

Inside the training room, Ashton groaned in comfort.

Laying flat on the ground, his body was emitting a pure white brilliance that covered him from head to toe. His Magical Constitution appeared as a visage within his surroundings; his Mage Crest, Core, and Virtues, all releasing their own blinding brilliance in response to the changes happening to him.

Inside his body, his heart transformed. It has turned crystal clear as if it was made out of glass. Every time it beats, not only was it aiding the circulation of blood on his body, but it is also releasing a small dose of Aether to nourish his body.

Aether Energy is the origin of Mana itself. It can be said that Mana was derived from diluting Aether first since absorbing pure Aether could potentially kill a regular human being.

It had to be known that, the regular Mana Reserves of a Sorcerer are only enough to condense a handful of Aether Energy. Considering how an Aether Purity Heart comes to being, that is far from enough.

『Aether Purity Heart』

• An organ steeped in Aether Energy for 9,999 years. It has been thoroughly purified by Aether and gained the ability to convert Mana into Aether.

• Only those who possess the Purity Trait may be able to possess this Heart.

• As it is the crystallization of Purity, this Heart is incorruptible by any curse. If the holder of this heart was touched by a Curse, this Heart will help them suppress it.

The appearance of the Aether Purity Heart did not meet any kind of resistance. Not even the curse that's been plaguing Ashton's body was strong enough to combat it.

The heart firmly replaced his old one and already started nourishing Ashton's body while also suppressing the curse, allowing Ashton to learn Intermediate-ranked Offensive Spells in the future.

Aside from condensing this thing, having Purity as his 2nd Virtue allows Ashton more security as he walked the dangerous lands of the outside world. At this point, Ashton can walk barefoot on the corrupted grounds and still remain safe due to this.

Ashton's practically immune to being corrupted. His Will became extremely firm and unable to be influenced without his consent. He's also Immune to all kinds of Negative Status Effects thanks to the Virtue of Purity.

Additionally, the limitations of the 『Right Eye of Purity』 disappeared. Before, he could only negate any ill intent targeted at him 3 times per day. Now, he could do that as much as he wants considering that he has enough mana for it.

Well, Ashton is a Child of Mana, so this shouldn't be a concern to him...

Ashton eventually woke up from his breakthrough. When he scanned his body and noticed the changes, a wide smile appeared on his face.

'That's good...I'm a bit lucky this time.'

Although he's expecting that having Purity as his 2nd Virtue will provide him with some good things, he still underestimated his gains.

'...this is absurd. My body is now producing Aether Energy itself.' He mused to himself. 'I believe this will further improve my Mana Physique all the way to Perfection. Hell, It might even evolve further!'

Just thinking about the possibilities makes Ashton extremely excited. At this point, who could refute him when he said that he had the best foundations for pursuing the Ultimate Truth?

No mages or Knights of this present era can be compared to him. By right, Ashton has all the qualifications to become a Hero Candidate! But...

'Why would I do that?' Ashton shook his head, 'I agree that this world needs a Hero. It needs more than one Hero.'

'Even though I have the qualifications for it, I don't want it. That's just not me. It can't be me.'

'I want to be Humanity's Strongest Backer instead. I think that fits me more.'

He stood up and dusted his robes. His cultivation base was already consolidated. He feels much stronger compared to before. He could also sense Laws better as he felt closer to them.

While standing up, Ashton noticed that the Cursed Book of Infinity — his Magical Artifact, was out, and has visible changes in its appearance.

Previously, the book was always sealed by thick pitch black chains around it. Now, the chains are gone, only the lock remained. He could also feel more familiar with his Magical Artifact for some reason.

'...it's probably caused by the Aether Purity Heart.' He mused, 'That's good. With the restrictions loosened up, I can now play with intermediate offensive spells.'

'So long as I finished all of my mission, I could have that pill which will allow me to get rid of the curse once and for all. By then, I can achieve my dreams of raining down meteors on my foes. How exciting!'

Ashton shook his head and stepped out of the room.

Now that he had made his breakthrough, his future battle should become lighter and easier. He can probably go toe to toe with a couple of Noble Demons and 1st Sphere Angels at the same time.

That being said, Ashton's not looking for a fight right now. What he needs is more information.

'I only had a small realm promotion in strength.' Ashton then proceeded to bleed his senses past the walls of the Library to check if the battles were still ongoing.

He didn't see any Angel nor Demon patrolling around, the Chaotic Warzone was peaceful, which meant that the camps were resting currently.

'Alright, great. I can try it out now.'

He sat down once more and focused on his intent. Right now, he's attempting to lift the entire library off the ground.

One thing to note is that Ashton himself can't fly. Well, not without the help of a Spell. That trick is something that only Sorcerers can do.

Lifting the Grand Library while he's inside for the sake of infiltrating the Celestial Camp is something that he obviously wants to do if he wants to investigate most securely.

And to his surprise...it is working...somewhat.

He could feel the library rising as he focused. It wasn't just his imagination either. His current method is a little stiff and awkward but it is happening.

'The mana drain is acceptable...' He hummed inwardly.

He wasn't alarmed by the drain since he knew that will happen anyway. It'd be weird if the flight didn't consume his mana at all.

Since this was his first attempt, Ashton didn't dare to lift the library too high. He made it hover at least several meters above ground before releasing his control and the mana supply as well.

As a result, the library sharply fell and he, as well as Aria, felt that as they were inside of it. Nevertheless, he let it fall until it hits the ground just to see what the result will be.

Again, to his absolute surprise, there was no sound nor any commotion when it fell. Ashton didn't even feel any impact, it kind of landed like a feather.

That was really weird, though it's a good kind since Ashton can certainly take advantage of that. Now that he knows that the library won't make any sound even at the event where he loses control, he could just focus on control instead.

But...just to be sure, he tested it again and again until he confirmed that it indeed won't make a sound.

When he made sure of that, Ashton focused on control instead.

'Hmm...' Ashton hummed as he controlled the library. 'In a way, isn't this similar to the Psychokinesis Spell?'

The Psychokinesis Spell falls under the Study of Psionics — which can be summarized as 'mind over matter. The Spells; Force Push and Force Pull falls under the same branch of Magic as well.

Thanks to this inspiration, Ashton somewhat gained an idea of how to improve his control. And just as he expected, driving the Grand Library is just like using the Psychokinesis Spell.

It didn't take long before was proficient enough to ensure that he won't fall. The more practiced, the better his control got. He could even do evasive maneuvers with it just in case he was sensed and attacked out of nowhere.

The only downside of doing this is that they could feel the movement as he drove. It's really like driving a vehicle. Ashton couldn't afford to have the library doing a barrel roll in the air since that certainly makes a mess out of the library.

Ashton used two days to completely familiarize himself with controlling the library's flight before taking action.

Once he made a decision, he willed the library to rise several hundred meters up in the air until he reached the clouds themselves.

The moment he reached that altitude, the entire base of the Celestials became visible to his senses.

A solemn expression appeared on Ashton's face as he murmured:

'Okay, let's see if I can infiltrate this place safely.'