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After Frank managed for Hilvera and Asterion to acquire the Skill Gust through his System, which also ended up awakening their Mana Cores into Wind Attribute Mana Cores, he began to think about what to do now.
"Alright, now that they awakened, we can simply tell Cathyl-san and Gwendolyn-san that after pushing hard your limits both of you awakened your Gust Spell… Yeah, that sounds nice enough, right?" asked Frank.
"Is there really a necessity to keep this a secret, Frank-kun? Wouldn't it be better to tell them so they can be happy about your amazing powers?" asked Asterion with an excited smile.
"Yeah! I mean, if you want it to be a secret, we'll keep our mouths shut… but I wonder why you want this?" asked Hilvera.
"There are many reasons, I will explain them to you right now, so hear me well," said Frank.
The three kids sat down over the springy grass alongside Ruby, as they nodded their heads like obedient students…
"First of all, although it is an amazing power, it is too dangerous for everyone to know immediately. If things end up spreading around, more people will come to ask me for things, and it will ultimately bring trouble to our door… This world is filled with corrupt people, as Reuberto told me, revealing too much of my powers will only make us all become these people's next prey… I am strong, but not strong enough to do as I please, and even if I can run away, they could use all of you to extort me, right? This is why we must keep things a secret. For now. At least, I will slowly introduce things, so they do not feel as much of a shock. This whole process was an experimentation of my part, well, mostly," said Frank.
The kids then finally understood a bit more of why Frank tried to hide something as impressive as the power that let Hilvera and Asterion learn 'Skills'.
"But there is more than that…" muttered Asterion.
"Ah yeah, this strange… window thing in front of our sight…" said Hilvera.
"Window thing…? (Wait…! Didn't the System say something about sharing the 'source'? Is this…?)" muttered Frank.
"Yeah, you helped us awaken our Mana Cores through the rare Grimoires you had, but after that, we also got this strange thingy… It says status," said Asterion.
"Is this part of Abraddon-sama's Divine Protection powers, Frank-kun?" asked Hilvera innocently.
"(Did they acquire the System? Oh no! Now that they have the System, I am not unique anymore! Damn it, now how will I keep being the main character?! …As if this were such a stupid cliché-filled web novel world, this is the real world, after all. Although I really wonder what is the full extent of the System they got…)" thought Frank, as he fell silent while the kids glanced at him think.
And then…
Ding!
[Hilvera] and [Asterion] had become your [Apprentices]
[The [Source] that you have shared with them had unlocked their hidden talents]
[Now both of them, or anyone that receive the title of 'Apprentice' shall inherit the ability to Level up, change Jobs, equip Equipment, and obtain Skills]
[However, the leveling speed of those that have shared your power is decreased compared to you, and they cannot learn skills as proficiently as you either]
[But fear not, Tutor, as long as you are near them, a 'Party' will be automatically formed, and their gained experience will increase. And as long as you teach them Skills, the proficiency they need to acquire the skills and level them up is lowered]
"So that's how it is… It seems that they cannot use the shop or anything, so what they can do is very limited. But even then, it is incredible, with this, they would be able to grow impressively fast…" muttered Frank.
"Frank-kun?" asked Hilvera.
"Frank?" asked Asterion.
"Hm, I figured it out. What you got is also part of Abraddon's Divine Protection, it is a way for me to share my powers with you. It is called the 'System' and you can defeat monsters to gain power through 'Leveling up', you can also gain Skills, which are similar to Spells, all of such things are just an addition to your already awakened Mana Cores. This is part of my true power, use it well, okay?" said Frank.
Hilvera and Asterion's eyes shined brightly with excitement as they heard Frank say that they had gotten part of Abraddon's Divine Protection powers, while also having acquired a power similar to him.
Although they had met for two days, their admiration towards Frank skyrocketed to even further heights.
"Woooo! So awesome! So we can grow just as strong as a Hero like you, Frank-kun?" asked Asterion.
"I will make sure to use this power to protect everyone!" said Hilvera.
"Me too, count me on, I will become your right hand!" said Asterion, remembering the tales he had read about warriors and adventurers.
"That's right let us all grow stronger together. (Haah, such childish words… but they are also filled with hope and goodwill, I have to raise these kids well, they will become important allies…)" thought Frank as he gave the two a gentle smile.
"Eh?! Is that so? Frank, let me also get the power! I am keeping the secret after all!" said Annabelle.
"I don't have more Skill Books, so I can't do it for now… unless there is another way?" wondered Frank.
Frank began to think that if he were to teach Mana Core to Annabelle, there might be the possibility of making her his 'Apprentice' too.
"Eeeeh? Really? Sigh…" sighed Annabelle as her fox ears twitched around.
"But there might be other ways to acquire it… for now, let's continue hunting. All of you must train your magic as much as you can, I will pour you with Mana, so don't worry about that" said Frank.
"Mana? Will you give us mana?" asked Asterion.
"Huh? How?" asked Hilvera.
"That's impossible, granting Mana to another person simply by willing it is not something that anyone is capable of, special artifacts are needed for- Huh?" asked Annabelle, as Frank touched her shoulder as his blue-colored Mana Aura emerged from within his body, flowing like a stream of mystic energy towards her.
She slowly felt as if her Mana Core was filled up to full within less than five seconds.
But how could had Frank done such a thing?
It was simple. He had Mana Control as a Skill, which let him manipulate Mana.
He simply used this method to infuse mana into another person by manipulating his own mana and moving it like a stream into another people's body.
Because the Mana was completely devoid of any attribute, it was rich and pure, making its way into Annabelle's Mana Core without complications.
Frank decided to name this Gray Magic Spell as 'Mana Transfer'.
"How?! My Mana! It's all filled!" said Annabelle.
"It's a spell I just created, it is named Mana Transfer. I pour my no-attribute mana into your Mana Core and fill it again," said Frank with simple words.
"Is that… so? Damn, you are such a showoff, how many powers you got?! …But thanks!" asked Annabelle with a slight blush.
"Does this mean that we can always have Mana near Frank as well?!" asked Asterion.
"Kind of? My Mana Regeneration is very high, so all the mana I spend is often regenerated a few seconds afterward," said Frank.
"Amazing! Let us go train then! I want to try out the power of my winds!" said Hilvera.
The party quickly resumed their hunting session as they explored the forest's deepest areas, finding fewer Horned Rabbits and more Walking Mushrooms, alongside large rats named Demon Rats.
Asterion, Hilvera, and Annabelle, by receiving Frank's teachings through his Tutoring Skill, slowly grasped the power of Mana Control, managing to make the manipulation of their Spells or Skills smoother.
Asterion was able to enhance his speed with Gust, making his movements faster, and finally managing to catch up with Walking Mushrooms and Demon Rats with his axe, which he used in combination with his herculean strength to reduce the monsters into smithers.
Hilvera on the other side used her Gust to manipulate the wind differently, using it to move her daggers around the air with great control, using them as missiles that could even fly for several meters before falling. She was slowly learning how to change their trajectories as well.
And lastly, Annabelle slowly grasped Mana Control to the point of becoming more accurate with her Fireball, and even improvising a new 'upgraded' version of it, that seemed like a Fire Whip, but that needed a lot of practice to become an official Spell.
Due to their efforts, the three kids ended up learning Mana Control right before the sun finally fell into the horizon and the night came.
This also caused Annabelle to become Frank's 'Apprentice' and acquiring the shared and limited power of the System.
Through what they defeated, Hilvera and Asterion seemed to have reached level 3 in their current Jobs, which were Warrior for Asterion, and Hunter for Hilvera.
Meanwhile, Annabelle had the Fire Mage Job straight away.
Frank wondered what the conditions for such Jobs were to be even chosen, and why was he given just the Farmer Job from all of them, the three kids already had cooler Jobs than him… Well, he still was vastly stronger than them, so this did not make him that worried.
And about Ruby, she reached Level 6 and as one Mana Core short of getting her own.
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[Name: Asterion.
[Race: Minotaur.
[Titles: Apprentice.
[Gender: Male
[Mana Core Cultivation: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)
[Job: Warrior.
[Job History: None.
[Level: 3
[Health Points: 55/55
[Mana Points: 25/25
[Strength: 30
[Defense: 20
[Magic: 15
[Resistance: 15
[Agility: 25
[Passive Skills: [Minotaur's Strength (Innate): Level 1], [Mana Core (Emerald Green): Level 1], [Mana Control: Level 1]
[Active Skills: [Axe Technique: Level 1], [Gust: Level 1], [Wind Attribute Magic (Innate): Level 1]
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[Name: Hilvera.
[Race: Minotaur.
[Titles: Apprentice.
[Gender: Female.
[Mana Core Cultivation: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)
[Job: Hunter.
[Job History: None.
[Level: 3
[Health Points: 40/40
[Mana Points: 35/35
[Strength: 27
[Defense: 18
[Magic: 30
[Resistance: 20
[Agility: 35
[Passive Skills: [Minotaur's Strength (Innate): Level 1], [Mana Core (Emerald Green): Level 1], [Mana Control: Level 1]
[Active Skills: [Knife Technique: Level 1], [Gust: Level 1], [Wind Attribute Magic (Innate): Level 1]
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[Name: Annabelle.
[Race: Fox-kin beast-girl.
[Titles: Apprentice.
[Gender: Female.
[Mana Core Cultivation: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)
[Job: Fire Mage.
[Job History: None.
[Level: 1
[Health Points: 25/25
[Mana Points: 30/30
[Strength: 12
[Defense: 10
[Magic: 30
[Resistance: 18
[Agility: 25
[Passive Skills: [Mana Core (Red): Level 1], [Mana Control: Level 1]
[Active Skills: [Fire Attribute Magic (Innate): Level 1]
[Fire Attribute Magic Spells: [Fireball], [Fire Whip] (Work in progress!)