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Without hesitation, he activated it, feeling a surge of power coursing through his body.

His mind filled with intricate knowledge, his hands gripped his staff moving instinctively.

The skill, now firmly etched into his abilities, felt like a natural extension of himself.

[Volcanic Lance skill acquired!]

[Volcanic Lance Level 1: Summons a massive, molten spear of fire and lava, hurling it at the target. Upon impact, the lance explodes in a 10-meter radius, dealing 250,000 base damage and an additional 200% Spirit as damage to all enemies caught in the blast. Enemies hit are inflicted with "Burn". Consumes 100,000 mana. Cooldown: 45 seconds.]

With a satisfied nod, Alex tucked the skill book away, knowing it had served its purpose.

Even the [Basic] ranking of this ability was almost better than some of his fully maxed out ones, just to show how powerful these skills would become as the game progressed.

Over the next few hours, Alex found himself observing Arceus in action.

The ancient mage was unlike anything Alex had ever encountered.

A series of strange magical symbols floated in the air around Arceus, glowing with shifting colors.

With precise, fluid motions, Arceus manipulated them, each gesture summoning or altering a spell.

At times, runes flickered into existence and encircled the room, resonating with an ominous hum.

Arceus flipped through thick tomes, muttering in an arcane language that sent shivers down Alex\'s spine.

Every few minutes, he would pause, wave his hand, and summon a swarm of glowing orbs that spiraled around him.

The orbs pulsed rhythmically, as though they were alive, and Arceus directed them with the skill of a conductor leading an orchestra.

One orb transformed into a miniature storm cloud, crackling with thunder.

Another morphed into a tiny vortex of fire, its heat making Alex sweat from several feet away.

The display was mesmerizing yet eerie, a chaotic symphony of magic.

Despite the awe-inspiring display, Alex\'s thoughts wandered. Questions brewed in his mind, and eventually, he spoke up.

"Do you know about the Hatred Sect?" Alex asked, breaking the silence.

Arceus didn\'t pause in his work. Dozens of orbs continued to orbit him, but his calm voice carried across the room. "A bunch of lunatics who want to summon an entity, if I\'m not wrong."

"Precisely," Alex said, leaning forward slightly. "What do you think of them?"

Arceus chuckled, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "A bunch of fools. If they believe the Hatred Demon will listen to them, then they\'re wrong."

The answer was unsurprising, but Alex felt the urge to dig deeper.

"Who\'s stronger, between you and him?"

At this, Arceus finally glanced at Alex, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement.

"First of all, his real name is Aphostos. I have no idea why they call him the Hatred Demon—it\'s stupid," he said with a mocking tone. Then his expression darkened, turning serious. "And if he did in fact regain all of his powers, then I guess it would drain me a little."

"Would you lose though?"

"Nah. I\'d win."

The orbs around him suddenly vanished, dissolving into harmless sparks as Arceus finished whatever he\'d been working on.

"But," he continued, "for Aphostos to return, they\'d need all the artifact items to summon him, and that\'s unlikely."

Alex noted the confidence in Arceus\'s tone. It was clear the Grand Mage didn\'t view the Hatred Sect as much of a threat, or at least, not yet.

"Anything else interesting you know of?" Alex asked, changing the subject.

Arceus shrugged and grabbed another book from a nearby stack.

"Not much. I guess Undead Land, the Abyss, the Sacred Tree, the Academy, and all these different clans would intrigue some people. But me? I wouldn\'t bother with them."

He paused, his grin widening mischievously. "Except for one place."

Alex tilted his head. "Which is?"

"The Door of Destiny, though even I don\'t know how to open it. No amount of magic can make it budge."

Alex\'s eyes widened at the mention of the legendary door.

Even Arceus knew of the door of destiny, yet it hadn\'t considered him as "Worthy" of completing its task either.

Before Alex could speak, a notification appeared before him to remind him of what he needed to do to possibly open it.

[You have triggered SSS-Level Ultimate Hidden Quest: The Door of Destiny!]

[Find all five tokens and unlock the chains to enter the Palace of Destiny. Tokens required: Token of Wrath, Token of the Abyss, Token of the Undead, Token of the Tower, Token of Nightmares.]

"What\'s behind it?" Alex asked, his curiosity now burning.

Arceus leaned back, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

"Who knows? It didn\'t deem me worthy to enter, so I stopped wasting my time. But if you\'re looking for advice, stay away from Aldritch. He\'s obsessed with that thing and won\'t hesitate to destroy anyone he sees as a threat to his research."

The conversation ended there. Arceus returned to his experiments, clearly feeling he had fulfilled his "talking quota" for the day.

Alex, however, couldn\'t stop thinking about the Door of Destiny and the quest.

The five tokens… Where would he even begin looking for them?

His thoughts turned back to the Hatred Sect.

The conversation had reminded him of the Vial of Undead Blood—an artifact he had foolishly handed over to them two weeks ago for information about this tower.

That vial was one of the items they needed to summon Aphostos, he couldn\'t afford to leave it in their hands any longer.

"I need to go somewhere," Alex said, breaking the silence.

Arceus didn\'t even look up.

"I\'d rather you didn\'t come back." He waved dismissively, then continued, "I\'ve no more tasks for you, so don\'t return until you\'ve mastered the Volcanic Lance. That should keep you busy for a few months," he added with a mocking laugh.

Alex smirked. "Alright."

Arceus, always assuming he\'d bested Alex, didn\'t realize that with [Skill Evolution], Alex could max out the Volcanic Lance in just twelve days.

For now, though, Alex had other priorities. Retrieving the Vial of Undead Blood was the first.

The Hatred Sect held their meetings once a month, usually to discuss progress and exchange information, meaning there was a chance that it was still in the academy.

The Chairman\'s Office was one of the most secure locations in the academy and Universal Descent in general.

Unlike Arceus\'s tower, which relied on trials to deter intruders, the office was protected by layers of magical seals and alarms.

If an intruder triggered any of them, the entire area would lock down, and tier-7 powerhouses, if not stronger, would arrive within seconds to eliminate the threat.

It was a near-impenetrable fortress.

But Alex didn\'t care. He would retrieve the vial no matter the cost, even if it meant losing a few lives in the process.

Also...

"World Map!"

The map appeared before him, and while zooming on [Star City] and clicking on the academy, a subsection appeared, one that made him smile.

[Chairman Office.]

[Do you want to teleport there?]

"Why not," he shrugged, clicking yes, already ready to simply check it out to see if it was there and immediately leave.