The exhaustion finally won over Aegon after he completed the Third Rune Sphere, making his mind go numb for a moment. But even in that state, he maintained the Spell Sphere.

Only when he was able to think again did he raise his head and stare at the marvelous structure before him. His lips tugged into a lopsided grin.

"Finally!"

And then, he dispersed the Spell Sphere as it slowly crumbled away, the mana mixing peacefully with the surroundings. This needed to be done.

Aegon dropped back onto the bed and closed his eyes for a moment. He knew his limits, and even though he liked to push them, as he had just done, he didn't want to go too far, as that would no longer be productive.

Creating the Third Rune Sphere had already exhausted him greatly, both mentally and physically. If he tried making the Fourth immediately afterward, only severe consequences awaited him.

"I might have skipped the first day of Academy if I continued," Aegon chuckled and raised his hand upward, then clenched it tightly. "Still, I did it. Just one more Sphere and I'll become a proper 2-Star Mage."

Even though his Mana Core had reached 3-Star, he wouldn't be counted as such unless he could cast a Rank 3 Spell properly. That was the foundation of Mage Rankings.

He rested for around fifteen minutes, during which he used his Mana Circulation Technique. It helped him recover faster than anyone else, and before long, he was ready to try again.

This was yet another benefit of possessing a Mythical-Rank Mana Circulation Technique.

Afterward, he spent the rest of the day trying to perfect his Third Rune Sphere instead of rushing to create the Fourth.

He always focused on his foundation first. Besides, in his current state, he knew he would just lose control over the Third Rune Sphere.

So, he focused entirely on recreating the Third Rune Sphere again and again. Though he failed a few times, he was gradually getting used to it and would soon be able to form it without much effort.

That would be the day he attempted the Fourth Rune Sphere.

[The Evening Quarter has begun!]

Aegon opened his eyes upon hearing the system notification, a yawn escaping his mouth as he slowly sat up. Taking some rest after practice was always necessary.

"It's already evening, huh," Aegon muttered as he looked out the window. 'What's the time via Earth's clock?'

[07:16 PM!]

'I see.'

This world had its own version of a clock, though it was a rougher kind, like sand clocks and other simple methods.

Since Dusk City always remained under the same eternal sky, the mages had installed a giant sand clock in the central plaza's tower. It showed the time for everyone. One full spin of it represented around twelve hours, so it turned at dusk and dawn.

That was how people distinguished time in a city that was forever trapped in twilight.

Mages and others had their own ways of tracking time too, so a proper invention like a watch was never made. Even Aegon didn't think much about it since he never measured time before doing anything.

"I guess I'll work on that too. It's just a watch so it shouldn't be too tough," Aegon muttered before stepping out of his room.

Seeing the dimly lit lanterns in the hall, he was reminded of another thing he'd been thinking about for quite some time.

'Fuel. Proper fuel!'

Since this world had Mana Stones, no other proper energy source like oil or electricity had ever been discovered. After all, mages didn't need such things.

'There were probably times when mages suppressed the inventions of mortals too. They must have felt like mortals were challenging them.'

That was another reason why this world's technology remained stagnant and centered around magic.

Aegon had once tried searching for traces of crude oil but found something far more interesting. Apparently, since everything in this world was made of Essence, it also returned to its raw form to merge back with the world.

Therefore, there was no oil here. All the fossils had turned into essence and seeped back into the land. But that was where the interesting part began.

Since fossils were buried deep within the earth, their essence mixed with stones and other materials underground under immense pressure.

That was how Mana Stones were formed and later mined by all races. But they were incredibly important for mages and other high-ranking individuals.

The demand was so great that Mana Stones became too expensive for ordinary people. The common folk could only afford Low-Grade Mana Stones, which barely contained any mana.

"The main problem with Mana Stones is that they're like one-time batteries. Once used, they turn into regular stones and crumble into dust. They aren't reusable."

Aegon muttered as he stared at the lantern. It was powered by a Mana Stone too as this was still the home of a princess, so such luxuries were common and even necessary.

"What are you looking at?"

He heard a lazy voice and turned, only to see Cali stumbling inside with a few wounds on her arms and exhaustion written across her long, pretty face.

"Were you training?" Aegon asked calmly, knowing those wounds would heal in no time. That was one of the benefits of being a Rank 5 Knight, even internal injuries healed rapidly.

"Yes. That hospital guy was weak, but he managed to pierce through one of my weak spots. Even I didn't know about that, so I was working on it," Cali replied as she washed her hands and then chugged a prepared juice made from some fruit.

Then she flopped down onto the sofa and asked, "You still didn't answer me."

"I'm just wondering if I can make these lanterns affordable enough for even mundane people, to have their homes lit all night with these," Aegon said as he took out the Mana Stone from the lantern and examined it.

Cali looked confused by his words and asked, "You want to sell lanterns now? What's the catch? Do they explode after some time?"

"Why do you and Xav always assume I'm working on explosives whenever I try to create something?"

"Because they're fun. Explosion is an art, little brother."

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