[Training Coliseum Alpha: Mio 18, 3728]

The Lifespan of a Demon and an Elf are very similar, with both races capable of reaching 800-1000 years of age.

Dark Elves, unlike the Elves of the Eliyen Empire, do not maintain a code of honor or ethics.

Due to this, they tended to be more morally flexible when making decisions.

Their only difference was their tanned/light brown skin, which gave them the same beauty and grace as the Elven race.

Fortunately, The Dark Elf City Of Olarion is located near Lord Broggon's Citadel, which provides a variety of benefits to both parties.

Mason was still surprised, however, when he learned that Thelsea and Lord Commander Verrona were childhood friends.

"So...Succubus Lord Zaelryn was friends with Dark Elf Lord Drinverth?" Mason asked.

"Pretty much," Kedro replied.

Mason and Kedro were in 'Training Coliseum Alpha', where Kedro was teaching combat skills to Mason.

"In my opinion, you aren't doing all that badly, Mason. Although, your casting time still seems too slow," Kedro smiled.

Mason focused on hitting the training dummy with a fireball.

"Do you think I don't know that?" Mason asked.

"Well, Thelsea said that you're a B+, so I guess it's only a matter of time," Kedro said while rubbing his chin. "But you need to use Tier 2 magic as soon as possible."

"So we're going to act as if I didn't get reincarnated last week?" Mason asked.

"Of course not. But if you wish to reach your ceiling, which is becoming a Tentacle Lord, we need to see what you're able to achieve," Kedro said.

"Did that arrogant Dragon Lord finally end his ego-centric ways? Perhaps we could be friends," Verrona joked.

Mason and Kedro turned back to see a Dark Elf woman approaching. As Mason admired her beauty, he observed her large breasts in particular.

The Lord Commander had light brown skin, purple hair, purple eyes, and wore a set of light armor. Additionally, she seemed to be more well-endowed than Thelsea, but had a greater sense of superiority around her.

"Oh, so he's Thelsea's assistant?" Verrona asked with relief, "I was a little worried he was going to be another Iggith," she added, "but he's so much cuter than Iggith."

They exchanged a secret handshake before conversing.

"In any case, did you read those translated Orcish reports?" Kedro asked.

"Mhm. Not sure I fully trust the reports. The idea that the daughter of Themy is traveling with Owen strikes me as odd. I'll dispatch some spies to investigate," Verrona replied.

"Do you really think he wants to be a Merchant hero?" Kedro asked.

"Who knows, Kedro?" Verrona replied.

Verrona looked at the training dummy as Kedro nodded in agreement.

"So you guys are practicing basic magic spells, right?" Verrona asked.

"His casting needs to be faster, but other than that, he seems to be doing pretty well. There is a lot of untapped potential in him," Kedro said.

"Well, did you guys practice any tentacle spells? Did Thelsea manage to awaken the demon inside of him?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" Mason asked.

Kedro scratched his chin.

"Is it possible you haven't awoken the demon within you yet?" Kedro asked.

"I don't think it's very smart to ask the same question twice, does it?" Mason remarked.

"Well, that explains why your demonic aura is so low," Verrona said, "but I'm surprised Kedro didn't think of that sooner."

"In fairness, I thought Thelsea had done it already," Kedro said.

"Is someone going to tell me what this means or...," Mason said.

"Because of your half-demon and half-human nature, I suspect you possess two distinct personalities: the normal you and the Alter you. Every Half-demon's Alter personality is different. You won't know about it until you encounter it," Kedro said.

"That's probably the most cliché thing I've ever heard. It's sort of predictable, isn't it?" Mason said.

"Whether you expect it or not, we'll need to activate your demon form. It's pretty simple; all you need to do is utter a specific prayer in your demonic tongue," Verrona said.

"Si lezz affalone er ladek evd siemsz ailn ladek lon dieitva!" Kedro recited.

"Si lezz affalone er ladek evd siemsz ailn ladek lon dieitva?" Mason recited.

After Mason recited the prayer, a large and complex magic circle appeared underneath him.

His body underwent several physical changes as he was surrounded by dark droplets of Demonic power.

Slowly, his human eyes turned into red demon eyes.

As his voice became deeper, his body became slightly more muscular.

The demonic variants absorbed some of his human emotions and personality.

Almost as if in response to Thelsea's prayer, Mason's insignia had now covered his right chest and upper arm, like a half-sleeve tattoo.

As a result, he created the demonic version of Mason, which he called Masxn. Since most of Mason's emotions had been suppressed, Masxn had a different thinking process.

"How do you feel?" Kedro asked.

A dark, villainous voice responded, "Yes, Masxn. How are you?"

"I feel great. However, I think I am hallucinating. I thought I heard a voice in my head," Masxn said.

"It's probably the wind," Verrona said. "If it persists, we can investigate."

Kedro smiled as he placed an arm around Masxn's shoulder.

Kedro assured Masxn, "Don't worry. You're one of us now, and we've got your back."

In agreement, Verrona nodded.

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[Verrona decided to give Mason a quick refresher on magic to begin his training]

Magic in Adrios is derived from life force. Thus, magic has a presence everywhere in the world.

While magic derives from the force of life, it doesn't mean all beings can make use of these energies. Due to these differences, Adrios has developed specialized jobs, professions, and industries.

Therefore, those with the highest magical potential are also some of the most powerful people in the world.

Demons. Angels. Gods. Demi-Gods. Wardens. Anomalies.

They all have a high potential for magic.

Generally, magic is regarded as a common thing in this world. The different branches of magic have many names, but they are all derived from Light and Dark Magic. In Adrios, only Ogis (Dark) and Owen (Light) possess primordial magic.

The abilities associated with your class are easier to learn than those outside your class. In other words, a tentacle mage would have an easier time learning tentacle spells but a harder time learning fire spells.

You need mana to use magic, which is constantly flowing through your body. Your body is able to subconsciously tell how much mana you have left by the same method it uses to tell you when you're hungry or thirsty. Gods and Demi-Gods have higher mana counts than mortals. Demons also have a slightly higher mana count than mortals.

If you aren't careful, using magic can cost you. If you attempt to use magic with zero mana, your blood will be consumed instead.

Mana management is an important aspect of being a good mage.

There are five tiers of magic in Adrios:

Tier I Magic - C and C+ Mages

Tier II Magic - B and B+ Mages

Tier III Magic - A and A+ Mages

Tier IV Magic - S and S+ Mages

Tier V Magic - SS+ and Above

In general, this is true, but there are a few exceptions. Usually, they take the form of magic items.

Multiple mages are required for some Tier III and Tier IV spells. In other words, several mages can combine their powers to accomplish more than they can alone.

'Transfer' is also a way to lend or borrow magic power.

When a mage becomes powerful enough, they will be able to combine various types of magic into one. We call this 'Multi-Threading'.

Therefore, 'Multi-Threading' your attacks is considered a highly advanced move. Typically, people gain the ability to 'Multi-Thread' when they reach rank A.

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As she stood 50 meters in front of Mason, Verrona placed her hand on her hip.

"Believe it or not, Iggith paid many visits to Olarion to improve his magic," Verrona said, "From what I remember, he said that there were four branches of tentacle magic: Assault, Support, Defense, and Summoning. Part of the reason the pervert died is because he focused on the wrong things. He was so absorbed with summoning lewd tentacle monsters that he died when he encountered a Warden. He basically had zero defense."

"So how did he learn tentacle magic?" Mason asked.

"I'm not sure. I know he said that Tentacle magic was an innate ability, so maybe it depends on your connection to the tentacles?" Verrona said, "Try casting a spell through the tentacles. Aim for that training dummy over there."

Mason shrugged as he placed his hands in his pockets. Several tentacles emerged from his back.

"Fireball," Mason said.

One of the tentacles on Masxn's back quickly aimed towards the training dummy, as a fireball emerged and scorched it.

"Not bad. You'll need some defense if you're able to attack from range. Let's see how you move with the tentacles," Verrona said.

Each of the 4, thick tentacles that emerged from Mason's back were approximately 6 feet long at full contraction. However, they were able to extend to a maximum of around 60 feet in length. Each of his tentacles featured 4 large pincers at the end of the appendages.

He used 2 of his tentacles to hoist himself up, as if he was Doctor Octopus. Oppo jumped onto his shoulder.

By combining the strength of both his tentacles and the pincers, Mason scaled the Coliseum's interior walls by attaching to its surface.

"So, how do you feel? Are you getting used to the tentacles?" Verrona said.

Mason hung off the side of the wall.

"I think so. I think Oppo and the tentacles can react to my subconscious and conscious thoughts," Mason said.

"Sounds good," Kedro said.

"Let's give you a real test now," Verrona said.

Verrona used magic to launch several training dummies at Mason.

"Remember: You'll have opponents who'll try to attack you from a variety of angles," Verrona explained, "Your survivability will depend on how quick and efficient your attacks are."

As the training dummies rapidly gained speed, Mason jumped off the wall and lept towards them.

"Bleeding Failnaught!" Mason shouted.

As Mason uttered those words, multiple spikes protruded from 2 of his tentacles. The tentacles lunged ahead to quickly puncture and destroy the training dummies.

"Let's go! That's what I'm fucking talking about!" Mason said proudly.

"Are you sure you're not forgetting something?" Verrona smirked.

"What? Of course no—," Mason said.

Suddenly, Mason's tentacles sensed danger as he looked above. A large, fiery boulder was seconds away from hitting him.

"Well...shit," Mason said.

As Mason used his tentacles to dampen the impact, it launched him straight into the ground.

But before the boulder could crush him, Verrona cancelled the spell.

She walked towards Mason with a smile on her face, as Mason's bruised body laid on the ground.

"The good news is that you're not totally useless," Kedro said.

"The bad news is that your situational awareness is horrible. You need to be more mindful of what you can't see," Verrona said.

"Ugh...noted," Mason said painfully.