Asroth was now inside the Time Stone. He sat down and began to absorb mana. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sensed his surroundings.
Moments later, Asroth entered a Mana absorption state, with strong Mana from the Time Stone flowing rapidly through his body.
One month later...
"3rd Level Mana Force."
Asroth had reached the 3rd level Mana Force using only his average talent. In the world of Hestia, talent ranking is determined by a thing called Mana cube. When one places their hand on a Mana Cube. This is usually used to test talents when one wishes to join an academy.
The talent stages, from lowest to highest, are E, D, C, B, A, and the 1 in a billion S talent. According to the legends of Hestia, there is also a Divine talent, but only the goddess Hestia had this talent a long long time ago.
Asroth had C talent, which is considered average. He discovered this when he was tested with the Mana Cube as a child, a requirement in the Dietrich Clan. The speed of mana absorption is dependent on one's talent; higher talent means faster absorption.
If Asrah were here, she would have reached Asroth's current Mana Warrior level in just five days.
Asroth took a deep breath and re-entered the Mana absorption state.
Quiet surroundings, gentle breeze, moderate temperature, and 1000x stronger Mana—this is how perfect Mana absorption is inside the Time Stone.
Five months later...
"4th Level Mana Force."
Five months had passed inside the Time Stone, meaning 10 hours had passed in the real world. Asroth didn't feel the time pass; it seemed like only a few hours had gone by. This is how Mana Warriors feel in the Mana absorption state—time is irrelevant to them.
One year later...
"5th Level Mana Force."
Three years later...
"6th Level Mana Force."
Three years had passed inside the Time Stone, meaning three days had passed in the real world. Asroth took a deep breath. It felt like only a few days, but he knew three years had passed.
Five years later...
"6th Level Mana Force."
Eight years later...
"7th Level."
Eleven years later...
"8th Level Mana Force!"
Asroth opened his eyes again. His face remained the same and hadn't changed. In the real world, his aging is based on real time, so Asroth was still 15 years old. Only his mind aged while inside the Time Stone.
"It took me 11 years to reach the 8th level Gathering Mana here in the Time Stone with 1000x stronger Mana. What if I didn't have the Time Stone and absorbed Mana in the real world?"
"Hahaha. This is the pain of being an average talent!" Asroth laughed at his thoughts.
"11 years... 11 days have passed in the real world. I wonder how Asrah is doing now?"
To Asroth, it felt like only a week had passed due to the Mana absorption state, so his thoughts and mindset remained unchanged despite 11 years passing inside.
Asroth looked around and smiled at the plants he had planted 11 years ago. They had accumulated a significant amount of Mana and looked beautiful.
Asroth closed his eyes again and began absorbing Mana.
Fifteen years later...
"9th Level Mana Force!"
He had reached the peak level Mana Force!
Asroth opened his eyes and stood up.
"Time's up. I need to return because the Village Tournament is tomorrow. Even though it's child's play for me now, given my current strength, I still want to acquire the 1st tier low-level magic skill [Fire Ball]."
"It's funny, my Mana absorption level is so high, but I still don't have any Magic Skills."
Asroth touched the Time Stone to return to the real world.