Days went by after the freshman party, and Aiden found this Academy life not much different from his previous one, with a single exception: he was now ranked 2nd.

    Over the next three months, many students challenged him, but he defeated them all—until Ramona came along. She seemed like a superior version of him, knowing everything about his moves and skills. For the past year, every time they fought, she defeated him.

    Aiden stood in the long corridor, looking at the ranking list, and saw his name in the 2nd position. Unconsciously, he clenched his fists and then released them with a sigh.

    "What the hell is with that girl?" Aiden mumbled to himself.

    Every time he challenged her, she defeated him easily. Once, Aiden was so frustrated that he asked for a private match, where only the two of them would fight, and no one else would know the result or the way the duel went.

    His aim was to see whether he could defeat this crazy girl with all his powers. But the result was the same: his defeat. However, it wasn''t a total loss, as he managed to force her to reveal her Spirit and use a Spirit skill.

    Yes, she had defeated Aiden in pure combat without showing any of her Spirit before. She only used skills aside from her Spirit skills, but even her martial skills were outstanding. Unlike Aiden, who had comprehended Destruction Sword Intent, she had comprehended more than ten Intents.

    "Well, at least my comprehension of Destruction Sword Intent increased," Aiden thought, looking at his hand, which glowed with a golden light mixed with blackish-yellow particles.

    His Sword Intent comprehension is now at 21%, after fighting Ramona for past year.

    After awakening his sword intent, Aiden tried to comprehend it further on his own. However, after three months, he had only managed a mere 1% increase. It was his sparring matches with Ramona that pushed him beyond his limits.

    Currently, Aiden was at the peak of the Spirit Lord stage, while Ramona was at the middle stage of the Spirit King rank.

    After checking the rankings of Chloe and Loyd, Aiden returned to the mansion where they all lived together. Upon arriving, he sought out his chubby disciple, Wilhelm. Knocking on Wilhelm''s door, he waited.

    After a moment, Wilhelm opened the door and invited Aiden inside. Wilhelm then led Aiden straight to his attached training room to showcase the results of his training.

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    Nodding in satisfaction, Aiden picked up a fine paintbrush and dipped it into the solution, watching as the bristles absorbed the enchanted liquid.

    He began drawing a complex magic circle on the ground, each stroke deliberate and precise. The room was silent except for the soft sound of the brush against the floor. Intricate symbols and patterns emerged, each one glowing faintly with the same pale blue hue. It took nearly three hours to complete the circle perfectly, with Aiden pausing occasionally to ensure every line was exact.

    "Phew... it took more time than I thought, but what else could I do?" Aiden said, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. He then sat cross-legged in the middle of the magic circle, the symbols around him shimmering slightly.

    Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Aiden activated the runes embedded in the walls of his room. A faint hum filled the air as a protective film enveloped the room, isolating it from any external influences. He then took a mana crystal from his pouch, its surface glittering with condensed energy. Crushing the crystal in his hand, he guided the released energy toward the magic circle.

    The pale blue circle began to come to life as it absorbed the mana, pulsing rhythmically. Aiden then added divine energy, focusing intently as he channeled it into the circle. The pale blue runes started to glow with a golden light, each symbol becoming more vibrant. With the next pulse, Aiden introduced aura energy, causing bright green runes to manifest within the circle.

    Finally, after one last pulse, he added abyssal energy, completing the infusion.

    Satisfied that the magic circle and all the runes were ready, Aiden closed his eyes and adopted a meditative position. He began to chant in an ancient, powerful language, each word resonating through the room. The circle responded, amplifying his voice and transforming his words into runes that hovered in the air. These runes began to connect, forming the outline of a human skeleton.

    As Aiden continued his incantation, divine energy stones placed around the circle started to crack and dissolve, their energy flowing into the forming figure. Gradually, the outline filled out, becoming more defined and lifelike. Aiden watched as the figure took on his own appearance, with white hair, milky white skin, and blue eyes like an endless ocean, sitting cross-legged and naked.

    When the process was complete, Aiden opened his eyes to see an exact replica of himself sitting before him. He nodded in satisfaction, acknowledging the success of his ritual. Touching his chest, he focused inward, connecting with his soul. As he recited the final incantation, an ethereal thread of light emerged from his chest, reaching out to his newly created self.

    The thread connected the two, symbolizing the transfer of essence and consciousness.

    The newly created Aiden slowly opened his eyes and looked at the original Aiden, nodding. "I will live here from now on."

    Aiden nodded back, understanding that, since they were two bodies sharing one soul, his new avatar instinctively knew what he wanted and needed. This was the essence of the ancient spell taught to him by Liliac, the Undead Monarch, his first teacher.

    Liliac had taught him this spell for protection. If anyone were to kill him, at least his soul wouldn''t be destroyed, and he would have a new body to inhabit. It was a safeguard, a way to ensure his continued existence against the many dangers he faced.

    But now, Aiden was using the spell for a different purpose: to create a clone of himself. Other cloning techniques failed to replicate his Spirits, the specialties of this world . This ancient spell, however, allowed his avatar not only to exist but also to harness his Spirits.