Before we start, I actually did a small change someone pointed out a week ago.
Dale's Magic stat isn't "104(129 -> 258)" it's actually "104(119 -> 238)", can you spot why? It's very obvious… Or perhaps not, after all, I spent a week with it like that...
When I added 15 to 104, I somehow ended up with 129 instead of 119... Oops.
I committed quite the simple blunder, and yet, I didn't notice it for quite some time…
His normal stat is 104, but he gets a + 15 from Aspect of Might -> (All Stats +15), lastly, his Mana Ratio is 2x, so all of this doubles.
Okay, enough of this, back to action.
.
.
.
PS: Sorry for the delay, I was doing some things, copying down some exercises for my Exam after tomorrow.
Don't worry about the releases, I'll still post the chapters.
Oh yeah, did I say it already? We'll have 2 chapters per day till next Sunday to cope with the missed releases.
No need to get concerned, I can pull it off just fine.
The next one should drop by soon after this one.
—-----------
/Creak.../
"Excuse me..." Dale said as he got inside Testro's house
'I'm here.'
Finally, it was time to start training for real.
Dale had been waiting for this moment, the time to meet with his teacher after his most recent... Change.
So he got inside Testro's house without a single shred of hesitation, his steps were light just like his mood.
Inside, he saw a simple and humble room, most of the first floor was a large open area, decorated with old furniture.
The kitchen was connected to the living room, and was relatively small, containing what seemed to be a simple oven and several drawers…
It was what you would expect from a late 19th-century Kitchen.
In the middle of the room, Testros could be seen reading a book on top of the main table, next to him was a small pile of books, the ones he grabbed from Dale when they organized all of their findings from their Little adventure.
This entire house gave Dale the same vibes as his Grandma's house, even the woody smell it had was somehow making him remember her...
"..."
/Thud/
Testros closed his book, marking the page he was reading.
He stared at Dale and said:
"You took longer to come than I expected, although personally, I would've liked you to not come in the first place."
"W-Wow... But why?..." Dale asked awkwardly
'What a way to start...'
'He doesn't look angry… Neither does he look upset, so what's the problem?'
"Why you ask?... Indeed, why?"
He then looked at Dale with a frustrated gaze and said:
"Are you okay boy? 2 days ago you got hurt pretty badly in the Catacombs, yesterday you got severely hurt in the Forest, and today you were fatally wounded by your own training... It's a miracle nothing bad happened to your body yet…"
"And still after all of that, instead of resting for a few days, you go all around the village, knocking on everyone's door like an errand boy?"
"Ah..."
Dale understood what he meant, but there was nothing he could do apart from smiling and looking at the ground like a kid that did something bad.
'When he puts it that way it does make me concerned about my own well-being, still, I'm completely fine.'
'If I could, I would take a few days off to rest, enjoy the environment, study some of the books perhaps, do some light training...'
'But time waits for no one!'
Seeing his smile, Testros shook his head.
"Sigh… It doesn't matter, as long as you're okay. Just remember to not push yourself too hard, it may be harsh, but you'll do us no good if you were to incapacitate yourself." Testros said as he got up from his chair
Still, he looked straight at Dale's eyes and asked:
"You are okay, right? Don't tell me you disobeyed Yumi's orders and is now impairing your own recovery?"
Dale's eyes opened wide, and he quickly retorted:
"No no! I'm fine, as long as I don't do any heavy exercise I'll be okay."
'She told me to remain in bed, and albeit it's rude, I know my condition well enough to know I can at least walk around the place...'
"..."
Testros let out another sigh.
"That's good enough, we won't be doing physical training today anyway."
He turned around and pointed at one of the chairs next to the table.
"Pick one and sit, be sure to be comfortable as you'll be sitting in them for a while."
With a nod, Dale went after Testros and sat opposite to him at the table.
…
/A few minutes later.../
"..."
'This is getting awkward…'
The minutes passed, yet Testros remained silent, thinking…
"Uh…"
"No, don't talk, let me think."
But Dale couldn't hold himself anymore...
"Well, I… What are you even thinking about?"
"I trying to figure out where to start, your unique conditions surely don't help my case." Testros replied with a complex expression
"Start what?"
"Your dammed training! It's getting on my old nerves!"
"I want to teach you the basics, but you already did something many would only accomplish after years of training!"
"..."
'Albeit he looks angry, he is mostly frustrated... Perhaps even a bit pleased?'
Testros scratched his nose and said:
"Alright, let's start with this."
"I asked this before, but you can feel Mana, right?"
"Yes, I can."
'I would say quite well, but I don't want to sound arrogant only to be humbled down...'
"Good, although we'll have to properly figure out how good your control over it is, and how sensitive you are, knowing you can feel Mana in the first place will do for now."
"With this in mind, tell me in detail, how did you come to learn Mana Control?"
"How did I learn?... Funny thing is… I learned it from you."
"I said it before, but as I watched you train, I got… Inspiration. So I tried it on my own and… It happened..."
Testros raised his hand, prompting Dale to stop.
"Alright, that's enough."
"You saw me employ Mana, tried it out for yourself without understanding what it was or its dangers, and that ended up in you opening your Heart Gate miraculously, I know that story."
'This is truly a lot for someone that never felt Mana in his life... Although I guess that's how unpredictable enlightenment can be, sometimes, decades or years' worth of training can pass by in the blink of an eye...'
'Or perhaps he is simply talented... Or both.'
"I'll ask just to be sure, but you never controlled, nor felt Mana in your life. Is this correct?"
Dale nodded, there was no need to lie here.
The most he knew came from past iterations of games, but he has no idea how his experiences back then would affect this world.
And in any case, while playing those games, he never felt any sort of sensation as close to what he felt a few hours ago…
"The only thing I know about Mana came from a book I read not long ago while I was recovering from my injuries… This one." Dale said as he took out the book about Mana Circuits
'I have yet to finish it though.'
"Okay…"
'As always, this young man is jumping stages… This isn't a book he should be setting his eyes on...'
'I expected this already, but if that was his first time dealing with this…'
'Taking this slowly as I wanted may result in undesirable effects… The question is how fast I should take this, and what sort of things should I leave to practice rather than to theory.'
After thinking for a little while, Testros knew how he would train the young man in front of him.
"For starters, let us do some basic exercises, I want to test the limits of your control and sensitivity so we can have a base to work with tomorrow."
"After this, I'll teach you the basics of Mana and how we... Or should I say, the warriors of the Southern Corps, employ it."
He lifted his left hand, and after a second, the tip of his finger started to glow slightly, even under the faint sunlight, it shone in faint red light...
Dale soon realized that the red glow wasn't from the Mana itself, but because the source of the light was coming from within his body and passing through his skin, just like when you stick a flashlight to your fingers.
"First, try to move a portion of your Mana to your finger just like I did." He said seriously
"Oh? Is this a test?" Dale asked, amused
"Yes, I want to see how good you are at it... But let me be clear, this isn't a competition."
"Don't try to be fast, nor try to move large amounts, just try to be smooth, stick with the pace you are most comfortable with... Else you may risk blowing up your finger."
"Blowing up my... Finger?..." Dale asked as his eyelids twitched
"What? Handling Mana was never supposed to be a safe thing to do... Although mostly harmless, if you don't take precautions, you may get yourself injured."
"Even a small candle can start a forest fire."
'Normally, I would have you go through a few sessions of reading and simple mental training before this, but for him, I've decided to jump these stages and have him feel it rather than studying it.'
Dale gulped dry, but he shook his head, regaining his confidence.
"The pace I'm most comfortable with… Okay." Dale replied with a nod
'That's simple enough, I just need to remember that feeling…'
'But... It won't take too much to be slightly cautious...'
Just like Testros did, Dale lifted his left hand and focused…
1 second turned into 5, and 5 turned into 20…
/Shine…/
But eventually, his entire hand started to faintly glow.
"I did it."
Dale opened his eyes and stared at his hand, smiling proudly.
'Much simpler than I thought, there was no need to be that cautious... Still, I'm happy that I did, better be too cautious rather than overshoot and lose a limb.'
"Uhum…"
But Testros didn't seem proud in the least, instead, he looked at Dale with an inquisitive look, analyzing his performance.
'That was a fast response, his Mana sense and control are rather high for a beginner… Much higher than I expected.'
'I told him to choose a comfortable range to work with, but this was much more than I expected…'
'And I see no discomfort, meaning, his Circuits must be rather robust, his body affinity for Mana must be high as well... Perhaps high enough for him to become a Mage...'
'A shame... I have no idea how to lead him onto that path.'
From Testros' perspective, such a magic-focused profession was Noble in a sense, and having the talent to partake in it meant that Dale's future was boundless...
And for him, it was certainly a shame he couldn't seek that path out.
'Well, such control over Mana was to be expected, he did open his Heart Gate, and his original Vessel was indeed rather large for someone that never trained it…'
Testros looked at Dale and asked:
"Did you feel any discomfort?"
Dale shook his head.
"On the contrary, it felt quite smooth, just like you asked, I believe I could push myself harder…"
He knew it, if he were to compare, Dale felt as if he had grabbed a 1Kg weight when in fact, he was used to lifting 12Kg.
"No, there's no need to run else you may risk tripping down."
'Much less in my living room, I don't want my house to blow up.'
"This is enough for a first try, but let's see if this was beginners luck shall we?" He said with a small smile
Testros lifted his right hand and pointed it towards the middle of his chest.
"I want you to try and perform a full Cycle."
…
.
.
.
Notes
Also, another thing, you may see that this chapter has quite a few repetitive terms, I did it so for the readers that have remained a few weeks without reading, but it's also due to myself not writing a single chapter for 2 weeks after... Well... 2 weeks of studying and writing other fics.
If the style changed, make sure to point it out to me so I can go back to how it was before, sometimes, my habits from other Novels may be reflected in my other ones...
The playful personality of one of my Mc's may affect the serious Mc of another one, breaking his character slightly...
So yeah.