"Can you stand up, Miss. Rowe?" the female instructor asked.
"Of course she is. She is a magic swordsman. A mere punch won't bring her down," Jake replied in an obvious tone. "Stand up, Reina."
Reina supported her body with the sword and stood up. However, when people thought she was alright, she coughed out blood.
"Miss. Rowe, are you really alright?"
Reina extended her hand at the instructor, indicating she was fine. "I am fine. I can't go down in a place like this."
Jake rubbed his chin when he heard that. She might be a quiet girl, but she had the resolution to become stronger, and she seemed desperate too. Maybe he could leave her alone and focus on the other students.
"Reina, let's end it quickly. Use your ultimate move," Jake said. He had fulfilled his purpose, except for seeing her final attack, so he didn't have interest in prolonging the battle.
Reina nodded and said, "Jake Butler. You are strong." She infused her aura into the wooden sword, but she didn't stop at that. She infused her pure mana into the sword and chanted, "[Strength Enchantment]!"
Jake grinned as he saw the tremendous aura and mana around the sword. He finally could witness the attack unique to a magic swordsman, the fusion of aura and magic, or also known as [Magic Slash]. To use this attack, the magic swordsman had to spare a part of their pure mana instead of turning all their pure mana into a weapon aura. They used this spare mana to cast an enhancement spell on their sword, increasing its firepower. As a result, [Magic Slash] had two times more firepower than [Aura Slash] with the same mana output.
Of course, using [Magic Slash] needed extreme precise control of mana. Even many high leveled swordsmen couldn't manage it. However, Reina could do it at level one thanks to her [Mana Manipulation] talent.
Reina poured all her concentration into fusing the aura and the magic, creating blinding light around her sword.
"Prepare yourself," Reina said as she swung her sword, blasting the [Magic Slash] toward him.
Jake put on a relaxed expression as the [Magic Slash] was coming at him with incredible speed. At the right time, he used a repulsion aura on his feet, propelling his body to the air. He kicked the air with the repulsive force, pushing himself past her. After that, he landed behind her and pointed his halberd behind her neck. "Checkmate."
People cheered as Reina dropped her sword and raised her hands. Jake might have effortlessly evaded the [Magic Slash], but the other students couldn't follow his movement.
"The winner is Mr. Butler!" the female instructor announced. Then, she gave two legacy potions for Jake and one legacy potion for Reina.
After the match was over, they were excused to go to the infirmary. Reina left the class because she had exhausted her mana, and Jake did it because he saw an opportunity to skip the class. Besides, the instructor told him to bring Reina to the infirmary.
Reina could walk alone, so Jake only followed close behind her. He could have left, but he promised the instructor to accompany her to the infirmary.
"Say... Reina, are you planning to participate in the Young Heroes Tournament?" Jake asked.
Reina looked at him and nodded. "I will become stronger. I will participate to prove myself."
"I see...." Jake smiled when he heard her. He was happy to gain an easy ally. With her talent, she could dominate many people of the same age as her.
"If you need a pointer, I will gladly help you. I don't want to brag, but as a son of Tang Xia, I have endured people's expectations through hellish martial art training."
Jake couldn't underestimate the tournament. If this academy couldn't win for three years straight, that meant the other academies had the eyes to gather monstrous talents. That was one of the reasons why he was willing to help her to get stronger. The other reason was because she had a genuine desire to be stronger.
"Tang Xia... No wonder you are strong." Reina stopped walking and bowed at him. "Then please help me in the future."
"Don't sweat the small stuff. You are the vice president, so let's get along," Jake said as he tapped her shoulder.
They had a small conversation as they were walking. It turned out she was a nice person to talk to. It made him wonder what kind of grudge Cody had with her.
"By the way, what sort of problem does Cody have with you?" Jake asked, but he immediately continued his speech when Reina put on a sad expression. "You don't have to tell me if it is too hard."
Reina shook her head. "His family has been serving my family for years. He will be serving me in the future, and I think he doesn't like it. That's why I will become stronger so he will have his freedom."
"I see. I support your dream, so become stronger, Reina."
Reina smiled. "There is a gap between us, though, but I won't give up."
"Yes! That's the spirit. To be honest, I am actually weaker than you. You have various abilities thanks to your talents. You just need experience to apply the right skill at the right moment. You need to work with your creativity."
Normal geniuses would be offended after hearing criticism, but Reina listened to him attentively. "I will take your advice to heart, Butler. Then, if you excuse me." She bowed and entered the infirmary.
Jake saw her off with a smile and walked away. He was free, so he would like to rest, but there was something he needed to do.
After talking to Reina, Jake gained an idea of how he could help his classmates get stronger without tiring himself. The idea was to write a self-cultivation guidance for each of his classmates. Of course, writing those manuals would be tiring at first, but the hard work would pay off when those were finished. He could help classmates without instructing them one by one, and he could have plenty of time to relax later. It was a beneficial solution for him and his classmates.
---
After writing the outline for his book and waiting for the general self-defense class to be over, Jake attended the next mandatory class, the supernatural ability research class. In this class, the students would learn how to use the best of their talent abilities, so each of the attending students would have their own personal instructor, or so he heard.
The truth was only one teacher was teaching this class. However, the teacher had a unique talent called [Shadow Clones]. This ability allowed him to create the clones of himself. So, he used these clones to personally instruct the students.
A middle-aged teacher approached him and offered him a handshake. "Black scleras and white irises. Are you Jake Butler? It is an honor to instruct the son of the greatest hero myself. My name is Graham. I am a commoner."
Jake didn't care about his commoner status and happily accepted the handshake. He smiled at him while hiding his envious feeling. Yes, he was very envious of his ability to clone himself. As a lazy person, this was the ability he wanted to have the most. He imagined his clones doing everything for him while he was lazing around. It sounded like a good life.
"Pleasure, teacher. Are you a clone by the way?" Jake asked.
Graham laughed. "Correct, but you don't have to worry about the quality of my teaching. I have the memories of my original self. You don't have to worry about introducing yourself to my real self too because when I disappear, the original body will receive the memories of the clones."
"I see. Do you share pain with the original?" Jake asked curiously.
"Haha, luckily not. But enough about myself. This class is about you, the student. I have received your data, and I know you have two talents. Which one of the talents do you want to develop first?"
"About that. I actually have three talents now, and I want to develop my third talent the most."
"Pardon?" Graham asked in surprise.
Jake smiled at his reaction because it was understandable. Talent abilities were something people had since they were born. Of course, there was a rare case like him where someone endured a great burden of absorbing a high-leveled Legacy. In this case, his genetics went through a great change, evolving the received ability into a talent ability. Those were the known ways of receiving talent abilities. However, Jake gained a third talent through his [Akashic Eyes], so it was understandable people didn't believe him when nothing much happened to him.
To clear his doubt, Jake explained about his [Akashic Eyes] and how he received his third talent.
"I see. I can't believe something like this exists. I can't stop being amazed by supernatural powers, I tell you. So, are you going to keep this ability a secret?"
Jake smiled. "Why would I? Only incompetent cowards hide their abilities. I can gain many benefits with this talent of mine, so I won't cower."
Graham laughed. "Agreed. I gained this status despite being commoner because I took advantage of my talent, so I understand you, Butler. And you can rest assured, as a teacher, I won't sell your information. I swear in my honor as an educator."
"I am glad to have a great instructor."
"My pleasure. I am eager to assist you in developing your talent. Now, shall we discuss your training plan?"
"I already have one in my mind. You can assist me."
"Alright. You have to tell me about your training plan first."
Jake nodded and explained to him about his training plan. After he was done, Mr. Graham put on a shocked expression and told him it was too reckless, but Jake didn't care. If he wanted to order around his classmates, he needed to be stronger than anyone.
After winning an argument against Mr. Graham, Jake's training plan was approved. They proceeded to prepare the environment for his training next.
Mr. Graham brought several training golems with him. These training golems were automatons that could move by themselves with the power of mana stone. They were capable of combat, so they were helpful as training partners for the students.
Normally, a student would spar with a golem, but Mr. Graham brought several of them for Jake, and each of them carried a different weapon from blunt weapons, sharp weapons, and even magic staffs.
"Which one are you going to pick first, Mr. Butler?" Graham asked.
Jake wanted more than one, but he had to pick one first as a trial. "Hm, let me think. I guess I will choose golem mages first and please let it cast a pure mana-based spell."
"Okay, are you ready?"
Jake took off his cloth and dropped it to the ground. He felt the gazes of the other girls as he did that, but he didn't care. He was about to face a world of pain, and even he felt nervous.
"I am ready. Do it," Jake said after assuming a firm stance.
[Butler Style: Plum Blossom Stance]!
He activated his technique and slightly increased his endurance as long as his feet stayed on the spot.
Graham recognized the change in Jake's aura and activated a mage golem. The golem lifted its staff and fired a pure mana bullet at him, pushing him several steps back.
"Are you okay, Mr. Butler?" Graham asked after Jake coughed out his saliva.
"Don't mind me. Please continue with the same mana output."
"Are you sure you don't want to decrease the mana output?" Graham asked, hesitated.
"Just do as I said!"
Graham nodded and instructed the golem to fire another [Mana Bullet]. After that, they repeated the process several times.
As he was doing his reckless training, people sometimes glanced at him. Some people thought he was mad, and most girls couldn't bear to see the sight. However, Jake didn't care about their opinions. Or rather, he was closing his eyes and trying to empty his mind as he was enduring the magic attacks.
This was his idea of training [Overcome] the lazy way. He would just let someone beat him over and over until he developed a resistance to the attack. Of course, it was painful. That was why he was doing another training in his mind. He wanted to awaken [Meditation] and [Mental Fortitude]. With those two passive abilities, his mind could relax.
Of course, this was a reckless method, but his effort paid off.
[You have triggered the Overcome effect]!
[Congratulations! You have gained Greater Mana Bullet Resistance]!
Jake was happy to see a new ability, but the system's message wasn't over yet. Another notification appeared in front of him.