The Greatest Sinner

When Evan first saw Sebastian using the case and giving commands to the other servants, he was extremely surprised. But, Evan quickly realized that it was a special artifact for communication. Moreover, the servants' earrings' stones were also artifacts. It was a clear example of the tremendous usefulness and functionality of the Summoning Magic spells.

Special magical circles were placed on the magic ball and the stones. Thanks to them, it was possible to communicate at a distance. The case itself was not an artifact, it would be more correct to call it a simple mechanism. Thanks to it, the whole system could work.

On his way to the training ground, Evan checked the status of everyone who passed him. He wanted to understand how Mammon's Gaze worked and how much information he could get. Unlike Lucifer's Shackles, this spell didn't make Evan stronger directly, but Evan could get a lot of information about various objects and people. Information was a powerful force for which some people were willing to sacrifice their lives.

After a while, Evan made his way to the training ground. Just as Sebastian had said, Malespera trained nonstop.

She took turns using the sword, and staff Evan had given her. Malespera tried to find her fighting style by combining different weapons with her spells.

Next to Malespera were several maids. They watched her and occasionally asked her to stop and take a break.

Evan glanced at Malespera and saw her status.

[Malespera ???

Race - Mage

Stage - One-pointed Star, two flames.

Warp - Crimson]

<Hmm, Malespera doesn't have a Rank, but common people do. I wonder if this has something to do with Malespera being a mage or if I'm just not good at Mammon's Gaze yet. I'm sure this spell will get a lot stronger in the future, and then I'll be able to get more information about my targets>.

Evan was surprised that the Race parameter said Mage. He knew that mages and ordinary people were very different in power, but he didn't think mages could be considered a separate race.

<So my race is a Mage too, but that's not important. All Mages were once humans, and other than our ability to use mana, we are no different. We're practically identical. More importantly, I can see what color "Warp" Malespera is, but is it?>

Evan wasn't sure if he could see the color of the other mages' Warp. He needed to check it out. And without the spell, he knew what Malespera's "Warp" was.

As he pondered, Evan failed to notice the most important thing of all. He paid attention to Malespera's stage at the last moment.

<Wait a minute...has she broken through two "Barriers yet?" This girl is some monster. It took her about a month and a half to reach this level, and that's even though she was just training and not getting into deadly situations. If you think about it that way, though, my speed isn't much different. I spent a lot of time exploring this world, gathering information, and so on. If I only trained, I'd probably be even faster than Malespera>.

The training was an important aspect on the path to strength, but the higher a mage went, the more he had to train to reach the next level. Compared to mages at the 'One-Pointed Star' stage, it was fairly easy for beginner mages to break through their Barriers.

At such a low level, training was not much worse than battles and deadly situations. A mage learned more about himself, mana, and magic. Thanks to this knowledge gained during training, a mage could break through Barriers if he was talented enough. But, with time, training became less effective, fighting or research was the best option.

Of course, training was important even for the strongest mages. They had to practice using their spells to become more proficient. However, regular training was not the best way to break through their "Barriers."

"Mr. Evan!" One of the maids spotted Evan and bowed to him.

Just then, Malespera stopped working out. She was lightly dressed since it wasn't really cold in Vextin. The temperature in the city was kept around +15 degrees thanks to a special barrier. Otherwise, there would have been piles of snow several meters high on the streets and rooftops.

"Evan!" The girl said loudly and ran up to her fake older brother.

"Hey, I see you've made some good progress while I've been busy. You broke through two Barriers in such a short period. Those are great results." Evan said, smiling.

"Barrier? What do you mean?" Malespera asked, puzzled.

"That's what the chains around your Warp are called. Every time you break through the Barrier, a Splash happens, and some energy bursts out of your body. Something like that has probably happened to you before."

Malespera nodded and said, "Yes, there was dark energy coming out of me and it caused part of the garden to die... twice..."

She was upset that plants died because of her. She thought there was something wrong with her Splash.

"Don't worry, some people have caused entire forests to burn. It's just that you have to go to a special room during 'Splash.' I'll tell Sebastian to get everything ready so that next time it goes off without a loss."

"Okay, Sebastian has already got the garden in order. He bought some stuff, and the destroyed parts quickly overgrown."

"Great." Evan nodded and said, "If you need anything, you tell me, I'm going into town on some important business, stay here."

"Got it, by the way, Evan, what happens when I break through all three Barriers?" Malespera asked curiously.

"Then you'll be several times stronger, okay, I'm off." Evan quickly replied and headed for the exit of the manor.

He went to the nearest appraiser to test his theory. Moreover, as he walked, he stared intently at every passerby. Evan tried to gather as much information as he could. He had to know how much Mammon's Gaze was showing.

...

<Hmm, I've checked about 10 mages already, and I've seen the Warp color of every one of them. That's really impressive. Usually, only in Mage Academies and unique places can you find out the color of another mage's "Warp." But, I don't see what their Class is. Perhaps this feature will be revealed to me in the future.> Evan thought.

He also checked a vast number of ordinary people and concluded that Sebastian was a powerful person. Most people didn't have a Rank greater than 0.1. Out of hundreds of people, only a few had 0.2 like Sebastian.

Ordinary people were incredibly weak compared to mages, but there were thousands of times more of them. Moreover, if you put a soldier behind a magic gun, he could kill a mage or a monster. It all depended on his accuracy and the power of his weapon.

Click.

Evan walked into the nearest appraisal store and showed the appraiser his scythe. He examined it carefully and calmly said, "You are a very lucky young man, this is an excellent weapon made by a true master. But, it should be noted that there is nothing unusual or unique about it. It is a simple but deadly weapon."

"What rank would you assign to this weapon?" Evan asked.

"I can state with certainty that it is a rank one weapon with three stars. Would you like to sell it?"

"No, thank you." Said Evan, tossing the appraiser a few gold coins.