*Alto*

[Some time later]

I wiped the sweat dripping down my forehead as Alban rushed at me with all he had. I dodged out of the way, appearing to his side as he punched the wall of the training room.

Alban grinned as he swung his arm, forcing me to jump out of the way. "Not bad, Alto. Seems you've improved while abroad."

I smiled back as I charged electricity in my right palm. "Same goes to you."

"You thought that I was going to just stay here and do nothing? Like I'll let you widen the gap between us!" He slammed his hands on the rock covered arena, sending a wave of earth after me.

I jumped in the air and closed my right hand, causing the electricity to spread through my fist. A wide grin covered my face as my punch came down at him. He blocked the punch by creating a large earth hand and directed the now weakened flow of electricity safely through his body and into the ground.

I gasped. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

Alban grinned as he raised the ground beneath my feet. "I came up with it while watching Iah battle Lei. And this when he fought Yen!"

The rocks covered my legs entirely.

"Tsk. Earth mages," I said, chuckling. I closed my eyes and focused the earth mana to my feet. The stones encasing my legs crumbled as a wave of electricity ran up my legs until it covered my entire body.

"Woah, neat trick!" Alban said as he pointed his wand at me. He transformed it into a broadsword and brought it crashing down, sending another wave of earth. I jumped up and saw just how much sand had formed from our fight.

I twisted in mid-air as Alban raised the sand toward me just like how Iah had done to Yen in her battle against him.

"Come on Alto, this can't be all you've got!"

I grunted as the sand wrapped all around me and pulled me toward the ground. Blood spat out of my mouth after my back struck the floor.

"Alto!" Arima yelled, running after me.

My entire body ached. A burning sensation spread throughout my entire body as if it were being destroyed from the inside.

"Alban, why did you do that? You didn't need to go this far?"

"His bones have shattered, it's the requirement for him to use the pills we made, isn't it?"

Arima gasped. We had finished making the pills for all of us, but it turned out that we created a stronger one than the 'Pill of Fortitude' which was to strengthen our bodies. Instead, it resulted in 'Pill of Ache' which according to Bruno required that our bones are shattered before it can take effect.

I let out a scream as my skin turned dark red as if it had peeled off. Waves of blue prana spilled out of my mouth, sending Arima and Alban flying into the opposing wall. Much to my surprise, the wave sent even me outside of my body, well an astral form of me.

"Alto!" Ulissis yelled as he reached his hand out toward me. The pulsating waves seemed to be affecting even him as he winced by the sheer amount of prana hitting him.

If I had known that I would've been in this much pain, I would never have taken that cultivation pill. Then again, I never figured that it would be in a situation like this one but in a battle against an enemy that I had to defeat no matter what.

Bruno chuckled from within his barrier. "Awaken your powers, elevate into the next level, young Novus Magus Secundus," he said as he formed a barrier around me.

I gasped as the waves of energy were deflected back at me, further damaging my body.

"Stop it!" Arima yelled.

"It's too late, if I attempt to stop it then he might die."

Alban shook his head. Tears dripped down his face. "No... what have I done?"

"Can't you at least make it so that the barrier doesn't reflect his prana back at him?" Arima cried out. Her face was filled with dread.

"This will further refine his body, should he survive this," Bruno said, leaning his back against a wall. He grinned as he looked up at me. Being a psychic he could surely see my astral self.

He raised three fingers and pointed at my body. Was he trying to tell me to return?

I ran over to my body and tried to pass through the barrier but it wouldn't let me in. Though I could feel the pulsating energy within. It was incredible. I wasn't even aware that I had this much power within me. How much of this hidden power I could unlock would be determine by how well I hold up, if I manage to do so at all.

I pressed my hands into the barrier to force myself in. I managed to get the tips of my fingers in but the energy within burned me. It was as if I had placed my hands into an inferno.

This isn't going to be easy at all. If I didn't succeed, my body would burn out. Bruno's three fingers was likely a signal that I only had three minutes before that happened.

"Wahhh! I'm not going to lose to this! I will become a cop and contribute to making Sefa a better place!" I yelled as I covered my hands in a prana cloak. I pushed them once more through the barrier and felt the waves emanating from my body ripple through me.

What can I do to get through these? Think, Alto, think! I gasped as I recalled how Alban had channeled my electricity through his body. I should try to channel my prana like I would my electric attacks and those of others.

Closing my eyes, I focused the prana through my astral body. Instead of pushing against it, I simply allowed it to flow through me until our connection brought me to my body. I smiled as my hand passed through my body.

"Seems to be working," Bruno said as he watched me.

"Huh?" Arima asked. "What is? Alto is dying!"

Bruno shook his head. "Just watch."

"C-can you see something that we can't?" Ulissis asked, walking over to him.

The president remained silent as he kept watching me.

Arima stared at the same spot and blinked. She gasped. "Wait, why is part of Alto's soul outside his body?" Her hands began shaking. "Please don't tell me that he's... dying..."

Suddenly my body dissolved into a dust-like substance within my hands. Everything around me faded into a brilliant light. I wasn't sure what was going on anymore. Was I dead? Had I failed?

***

I opened my eyes and saw Arima standing by me. She leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Hope you wake up soon, Alto," she whispered.

"Hey," I said, smiling slightly. Even though I found myself in a hospital bed, I felt no pain at all.

Arima screamed. "Al-alto! You were awake?"

I chuckled. "Yeah. What were you doing, kissing me?" I asked as my face reddened. "I thought you like Alban or Ulissis? Don't tell me you're a three timer?"

"I... it wasn't that kind of kiss!" she said, averting her eyes.

I snickered. "Calm down, I'm just toying around with you!"

She sighed. "I think you've been hanging around the likes of Iah, Kun, and Hal that their teasing ways have started to rub off on you."

I chuckled. "No idea, but you know, Alban isn't all that different from them either in that area." I sat up and looked around room. It was rather plain, only having a bed and some monitors. "So, what happened to me?" I stared at my hands. They looked the same as before the pill took effect. "I watched as my body was being burned by the outpour of prana from my body. I even felt it turn to ash."

She lowered her head. "It took me awhile to see your astral projection. It was scary. Especially since your body dissolved soon after I had noticed it."

"It was, even for me." I placed a hand over my heart. "I thought that I had died."

Arima looked up. "Hey, wouldn't a pill like the one we made be able to heal your father? The pill gives one a stronger body. The same goes for Lei and his asthma."

"Woah! Good idea," I said, jumping to my feet.

"That's not a bad suggestion, but as someone who seeks to become a doctor, you must know that the risks for someone with an already damaged body are higher," Bruno said as the door clicked open. The president walked in as if he owned the place.

"Have you been overhearing our conversation all this time?" Arima asked. She narrowed her grey eyes at him. "Wait, how do you know that I wish to be a doctor?"

"I looked through your education files. When graduating middle school you said that you wanted to be a medic. In your application to Nine Petal Academy, you said the same thing but narrowed it down to doctor. I'll tell you what, if you manage to win three gold or at least one platinum and one gold then I'll go ahead and have the government fund your post-secondary studies. Same goes for you too Alto, as well as the others."

"Wait, but do you even have the power to do that? You're a president, not a king," Arima reminded him.

Bruno paced around. "True, but we actually passed a bill to reward talented young mages such as yourselves. Should they achieve great achievements then they shall receive scholarships and such. It's a way that we can promote the active participation of those with magic. It appears that too many have gone on to become the leaders of gangs, such as your friend Alban once did."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Many our age have become pessimistic if not outright cynical about the future. To steal has become attractive in the face of unyielding poverty. Even those of us with magic are no exception."

Arima crossed her arms. "Giving us mages beneficial treatment might not brood well in the future. Those without magic will feel left behind. We already have rampant inequality in which the people feel the elites have done nothing no matter whether its your power or the other that's in power."

Bruno closed his eyes and grinned. "I see, you aren't lacking in foresight. That is true. We will only need to raise taxes on the wealthy and..."

"A wing of your party consists of wealthy industrialists. You will simply tax the sectors that donate to your opponents but not to those that benefit you," Arima said.

"My, my, you're only fifteen or sixteen, right?"

"Like I said, our generation has become cynical when it comes to matters here," I said, getting off the bed.

He took out a coin from his pocket and tossed it into the air. "I'll tell you this; There is no such thing as making everyone happy. Life is a competition. There are winners and there are losers like in any other. You can merely flip who is on which side." He caught the coin in the palm of his hand. It had landed on tails.

"Seems you're rather cynical yourself," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He chuckled. "No. It's not cynicism but realism. I will also tell you this, if you truly seek to help others, then seek out money. Money is the ultimate power of this world, greater than any spell. That is true in not just this one either. Even in the so-called 'divine' realm of Zionia, that is true."

Arima shook her head. "I can see where you're coming from, but there are higher powers than wealth. Wealth comes and goes."

"Ahaha, but so does the body and many other things. Yet, we as mages still strive to increase its strength. Just because something is ethereal doesn't mean it's worthless."

"I guess that's true," I said, scratching my head.

"Hmph. Well, now that you're up, how about we return to your training? I'll like to see how much you've improved after absorbing the 'Pill of Ache'."

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :3. I'm glad to finally show the cultivation pills being used. I merely mentioned then in the first book and showed Lei and co. make them earlier in this one, but no one has used one on screen (or off screen in the case of Lei's class) until now xD. Theories on how much Alto's power has grown? Thoughts on Bruno?**