Starting with a fresh day, I woke up like a child on Christmas as I walked up to the gym on the third floor to meet Agnes who'd train me for the rest of the month.
I wish I hadn't.
As soon as I entered the gym, I heard a strict voice speak in a no-nonsense tone.
"You will perform precisely fifty squats while holding this fifty kilos weight while you do so. And only ones with perfect posture will count."
And so began my month of hell.
I did not begin my days with any warmups.
Any muscle cramps I suffered were 'opportunities' for me to practice healing my body. While any muscle tears or stretches became the same.
We'd generally start the day by systematically training each muscle in my body from the bottom to the top so that by the end I was basically running on fumes each day.
But muscle training was not the end.
After working out, I was forced to study complicated math and physics books.
Turns out there are two types of magic if broadly classified.
One Agnes explained was my way of doing healing 'magic'. It was unique to me and qualified me as a Mage in technical terms.
The second way of doing magic was the way everyone else did it.
This normal magic followed strict methods and principles so that mana expended would give fixed outcomes based on equal inputs.
For this one needed to deeply understand the way the world worked, so that they could understand exactly how mana could be used to manipulate it by forming it into shapes and diagrams that corresponded to certain effects.
For example, a fractal of circles with four smaller circles in it whose diameter was the radius of the outer one would give the magic the effect of a roughly one point five times multiplier.
'What the heck…'
'Why is it so complicated?'
The worst part was that Agnes wasn't a mage she started off in the Archer class and was currently a Level 6 Evil Hunting Tarantula so most of my doubts went unanswered.
Although Agnes did give me a book to write my questions in, which she promised I would get answers to, I doubted anything was going to come of it, especially since she seemed to be looking at the growing number of questions in it with a little worry too.
After a few days of this, however, after using my Key Insight I started to notice a pattern in the geometrical figures I had to learn to cast my magic. They were all mostly fractals. And so I began to think in terms of sequences and integrals which I thought would best represent them.
I didn't know much about them before I'd been transported to this world, and neither did the Neutral Zone have any books on integration and such so I placed this idea at the back of my mind to see if the Naruto world would have info on all of this.
In exchange, I had begun rote memorization so that in the Naruto world I could compare each of these fractals with their mathematical representations and so I'd be able to peacefully learn more about this new system of magic.
I was only learning everything by memorising it since almost as soon as I'd started to train under Agnes, I'd begun feeling the same strong pulling sensation in my gut where my mana or chakra vanished while I was circulating it within my system.
And although Agnes wasn't able to help me with other things about magic like its building blocks, she helped me with something even more fundamental.
She taught me special mana control exercises that would increase my mana control to the next level.
Since magic in this world was all about manipulating your mana outside the body, I was taught to get fierce control over my mana in the air.
We started with my hands dipped in water where I'd use mana to control the water, which I picked up easily, surprising Agnes a little.
After which we moved to moulding mana in the air with enough control to create various shapes out of it while I controlled it in the air.
This was a slightly extended version of the second stage of chakra control since I was just making what were basically chakra threads and moulding them to a shape in the air and Agnes trained me with this since my basic control was already good enough for it.
Overall the first fifteen days of the training had been harsh but I'd adapted to them well. Yet I was looking forward to going back to the Naruto world to show off to Shizune how drastically I'd improved in such a 'short' span of time, literally seconds in her perception.
Of course, I wouldn't reveal my ability to travel between worlds, but I was surely going to tease her about it.
"Goodbye, Miss Agnes!" I said with a cheery smile on the last day of my fifteen-day training with her.
"Why're you acting like we won't see each other again tomorrow?" Agnes asked confusedly.
"Hehe~ I'm sure I'd have become much stronger 'tomorrow'."
Agnes was taken aback but before she could ask me any questions, I'd already left.
Almost as soon as I crashed into my bed and fell asleep, I found myself waking up and looking right at Shizune who was waiting for my answer.
"Mister…? Are you going somewhere?" Shizune asked again.
I shook my head and calmly replied, "I'm back already."
"What…?"
"Don't worry about it. Do you wanna fight Shizune!? I think I can beat you this time!"
Shizune was quickly distracted and I found myself in a spar with her.
"How are you so confident all of a sudden? Did you think of some new good 'plan'?" Shizune taunted.
"No! I'm going to do exactly as you asked me to! I'm going to take the initiative!"
I rushed at Shizune at a quick pace while performing the cut-healing Jutsu I'd grown so close to.
A bluish hue covered my palms causing Shizune to be confused about what I was trying to do.
As soon as I reached her, my fist shot out in a body shot aimed at her liver. With how quick she was, Shizune instantly blocked my attack, except this time she felt exactly what I'd done to her.
As soon as my fist connected her hand, I modified a few of her cells cutting off a little blood flow to her hand.
Before she could fully react to what I'd done, I spun for a powerful backkick that was aimed at her stomach. Shizune blocked again but I surprised her once again by pushing excess chakra into my soles to increase the force of my kick.
I was using the principle of tree walking to do so, but this was much easier since tree walking required fine control of your chakra to remain stuck to the tree's surface but using excess would just cause a small explosion.
Shizune's block was opened and I sunk low before delivering a palm to her chest.
Except, Shizune's eyes sharpened at the last moment and she recovered from her shock.
I mentally clicked my tongue in disappointment and a little excitement seeing just how much faster a Jonin was in reacting to my 'tricks'.
Before I could react after that, I was already seeing the sky and I landed on my back with a soft *thud* soon after.
"You lost again!" I heard, but I was sure Shizune was a little bit happier.