The defeat at the top 10s hands was no surprise. The difference between their names alone proved how outclassed he was.
But what surprised them was Magnus' fighting spirit. Although the disparity between the two had been enormous. And the demon played with him for almost the entire fight.
At the end, he put out a solid attack exceeding his seven digits by quite the long shot. Some even considered it to be close to the infinite concept.
Nonetheless, defeat was defeat. The outer academy was not at all peaceful and the situation quelled thanks to Historian and Richard.
Were it not for those two, the faction may have crumbled already. Solid top 13 as may be. It doesn't change the fact that it represented the absolute pinnacle of the outer academy's factions.
This meant that there was no room for negligence and weaknesses. Albeit fine for now, Richard began to show his ambitions after Monique left.
At first they were some minor changes, but gradually another side split itself within the faction led by Richard. So far, he didn't do much and just wished to change some policies.
But these types of changes always led to the most drastic ones at the end. Historian still supported Magnus fully though.
Perhaps Magnus' potential led to this decision, but even after he took the third position on the leaderboard, there were no signs of wanting to take over.
Moreover, he made it clear multiple times that taking care of a faction was too tedious and draining.
With Historian breaking through to the top two and taking over the Bone Commanding Lich. Most of the faction still stood by Magnus' side.
Not to mention his growth led many to believe that it would not be long before Magnus got his revenge on the top nine demon.
The Bone Legion became much more active after Magnus' defeat. And to his surprise, they disregarded his faction all together.
Their sights pointed at the transcendent faction and like a madman. The lich took the leaders one by one in duels.
They stood no chance, and the battle opened Magnus' eyes even more. It wasn't just the lich summoning an endless horde of overpowered skeletons and other undead.
He mastered the art of summoning beings from other dimensions that were alive. With a simple spell, he bewitched them.
And after they turned crazy and later died, their bodies were turned into their skeleton versions.
The sole power they emitted was enormous and many times stronger. Without the need to create a real undead on the spot.
And through the use of sacrifices. The lich saved a lot of mana and even got useful meat shields before their demise.
It was a win-win method that Magnus never thought of. Maybe after they all reached the origin, such a method would not work as well.
But now it made him seem like no one could touch him, much less defeat him. The summon themselves, to the surprise of many, held consciousness within them.
This made Magnus much more wary. Historian held high confidence in himself though. As much as he didn't care about battling and wished to research.
The fact that he researched the origin meant that he was very knowledgeable. If Magnus had 10 ways to deal with an undead.
Then Historian had 101 ways that were made up on the spot whilst he was tinkering with some random stuff that took almost all of his attention.
All of this, Historian achieved because his three-digit title would soon turn into two digits. Maybe it resulted in his position to the third place.
This also showed the enormous potential the now new top 1 held. The ever so secretive giant was no more than a training junky in the eyes of other students.
While others relax or try to form meaningful connections. The giant trains.
He trains and trains until he can't and waits before he can again. His drive became quite the mystery and gossip.
Some theories dived into him, being a secretive heir and the last worthy one. Some thought that he had an unknown rival or an unacquired crush.
The list grew and grew, but the giant ignored most of it. Much to their surprise, though, when they compared him to the infinity holder, he challenged the loudest ones.
Safe to say, the entire student body grew to a consensus and gossip grew sparse. Monique's quick departure to the inner academy never died down, though.
Many thought the hot topic would last for at least a few months before another person left. Meanwhile, Magnus trained as hard as the giant.
Much of his work he entrusted to lemon as she gladly accepted. Now that Gobo didn't need to take care of, Monique focused all of his attention on Magnus.
Because he didn't possess a concrete plan in the future where he would head. It became one of his missions.
To forge his own path, which he would test for thousands of years if it had the required strength to keep him going.
It would be foolish to assume that a path completed itself once someone thought they wanted to become a swordsman.
Because even a mortal can become a swordsman. Thus, it highlighted a lack of real direction. Ambitious goals with no thinking behind them were foolish, too.
For example, to become the ruler of all or the strongest. It must be decided by an outside influence. Now, when an outside influence decides if someone's path is complete or not is just ridiculous.
Gobo explained that it must be a path he would walk all his life. It could be flexible in a way where the ultimate goal would be slightly adjusted.
Like from achieving a particular pioneering step to taking a few more steps. But the first choice would decide the general direction of one's origin.
If he wished to fulfill his myriad concept. He would have to either choose something akin to myriad paths or myriad options in one singular path.
A mana healer, divine healer, demonic healer and the list goes on. This would give him quite the repertoire of spells, and Gobo recommended it the most.
Many myriad concept users had also walked upon the singular path. Gobo had also explained why large amounts of names would result in a qualitative result in the end.
Like a food dish. It didn't need thousands of small adjustments to be called beautiful and tasty. And yet there is a difference between the same foods.
All thanks to the smallest details being added and expanded upon. Heat, time, spices, the way they handle spices, volume, etc.
In a nutshell he compared it to chicken Magnus knew. You can make dry and boring one in the oven with almost zero effort.
Or you can add things that would transform it and allow it to shine. A natural born void swordsman would have been outclassed by a hard working swordsman that combined concepts to forge the void title.
Of course, the natural born void swordsman could also give it some hard work. And with time. The difference between the two would have been as wide as it was at birth.
Some called it unfair and some thought of it as fate. Many times, people beat it through talent and hard work.
Thus noble birth, albeit a sign that one would reach at least some strength. Could easily crumble in a few hundred generations if catastrophe and weakness overcomes the family.
This time, Gobo didn't give him missions regarding the machine. But took him to domains like the domain of fire.
There he could actually die and he gained a different kind of growth compared to the other one. Now though, thanks to the trigger from the defeat at the demon's hands and Richard's inevitable 'betrayal'.
The potential he had stored up and didn't utilise fully had been unleashed in the domains. In a few months, he lived in many places.
Sometimes even places devoid of mana and filled with other types of energies. There, he learned to convert other energies.
To scout potential places in the world. The power of avoiding younger masters became a much needed skill as well.
The amount of noble races he met on his journey could be counted in hundreds. And at least ninety percent exhibited the same old trait.
'Unless you are of the same or higher birth, you are worth nothing.' A toxic thought fueled by one simple fact.
Most of these domains followed the logic of noble birth ruling the world. They didn't know much about the origin, as those domains were too dangerous for Magnus.
And thus he interacted with frogs whose vision didn't extend past the opening in the well. Most of the times he didn't blame them as his past didn't differ much from theirs.
Luck has fuelled his journey. Or maybe intentions of powerful beings he didn't know of. Sometimes the domains were so far away that Magnus couldn't contact Sophia.
But when he could. Most of the times he got very good news. Although corruption began growing again after peace.
His disciples still held it reasonably well, and all of them trusted Sophia when she told them about Magnus' plans.
At least on the surface. Whether they had any plans in the background, he didn't know. He sure hoped that they didn't, though.
Because if they did. Their past wouldn't be enough to save them, especially if they hurt other fellow disciples in the process.
Sophia stood out from the disciples, and Magnus would have some hesitation. But he knew that he could trust her.
She rightfully became the only trustworthy person so far...