After the training, I had a private meeting with Instructor Lee Hanwol in the Second Main Tower.

The question I heard from him as he handed over the promised product. ‘Why don’t you use other magic skills?’

For that question, I thought the time had come.

There was no explanation for why Baek Yu-Seol did not use other magic skills in the game. The character ‘Flashing Baek Yu-Seol’ had little to no backstory and was simply cultivated into the Stella Academy as an extra.

But, the truth was quite different. Every one of my action would draw someone’s attention, and I could not keep making personal excuses.

Therefore, the answer to Lee Hanwol’s question was without even an excuse, ‘I am incapable of using magic.'

I had to answer truthfully.

A student entering a magic academy without being able to use magic? Did that make sense? What kind of repercussions would the stigma of ‘A mage who can’t use magic’ have on my academy life, career, and society?

If I was extremely unlucky, I might be expelled from the academy. I could not get a second chance because it was not a game.

However, as I looked confused for a while, Lee Hanwol answered without giving me a chance.

‘No worries. We also respect your beliefs. But, you have decided to walk a rather difficult road ahead. Yes, it is admirable, but it is also worrisome.’

'….. Yes?’

Before I could even understand what he was talking about, Hanwol said that he understood everything. Then, the next moment, I was out of the room with only his last words echoing in my ears. 'Keep working hard in the future.'

I was not sure, but it was definitely a positive result. In any case, my inability to use magic could cause problems such as expulsion, but since mage Lee Hanwol acknowledged it anyway, there would not be any problems for the time being.

Afterward, on the way out, I met Hong Bi-Yeon and she handed over the item I had been lusting for.

Magic Sword, Argento.

“Look at it.”

It was not flashy, but there was something special about its simplicity. An ancient buried deep behind its ordinary appearance. That was the description of Argento in the game.

It was actually quite lovely. A transparent pearl-like crystal shimmered in bright colours at the tip of the twenty centimetres long silver rod. The colour was said to change depending on the attributes used.

In my case, I had no attribute, so there should be no change even if I held it.

“As expected, it took the shape of an intangible sword. It’s difficult to find something like this.”

I was glad that I helped the Princess. Even if I used all the money I had accumulated so far, I would never be able to obtain a magic sword of this level.

Now that I had this, I thought I could relax for the next episode.

‘If Edna hold this, it will be very colourful.’

The protagonist, Edna was a very special existence. Even though she was a human, she could wield the magic of elves, dwarves, and angels.

A holder of multiple attributes different from Haewon-ryang and Mayuseong, who would manipulate all five attributes in the future.

One of this wand’s characteristics was that it constantly drained the user’s mana. As a result, it was impossible to use unless you were a fairly skilled mage.

Edna, on the other hand, possessed the [Fortune Breath] and the ability to restore mana by praying to nature. As a result, she could use this wand to perform a special move.

But, what about me?

I had no mana anyway.

Because of the Mana Accumulation Retardation, mana was constantly being absorbed into my body, but I could not accumulate even a speck before it was discharged.

In other words, the concentration of mana contained in my breath would soon become the output for the Argento.

[Mana Accumulation Retardation Lv.2]

[Strength increased by 05%]

[Agility increased by 08%]

[Sense Enhancement by 15%]

[Sixth Sense: Activated by consuming the user’s mental power. Effective within a radius of 18m.]

[Once mana fluctuation is faintly detected, ‘Cognitive Acceleration’ would activate. It gets automatically triggered when it is judged that the user is facing a crisis.]

[Blood Mana Circulation Rate: 1%]

When I checked the Mana Accumulation Retardation skill description, the circulation output was 1%. When I first reached level 2, there was no such phrase, but it was created after I learned breathing excercise.

'It’s only at 1%…'

Next, I checked the abilities.

[Baek Yu-Seol]

[Abilities]

[Physical Strength: 1-star (77%)]

[Sense: 2-star (29%)]

[Agility: 1-star (87%)]

[Health: 1-star (55%)]

[Endurance: 0-star (97%)]

[Mental Strength: 1-star (43%)]

[Mana: ~]

[Remaining EXP: ~]

[Skills]

[Flash Lvl.1]

[Characteristic]

[Mana Accumulation Retardation Lv.2]

There was no opportunity to gain EXP, but as the level of the Mana Accumulation Retardation increased, some of the stats went up along with it. In particular, every time I gained EXP, I invested in my senses, and it rose noticeably.

‘It’s hard to train physical strength stats with simple exercises.’

Where was I going to get the protein? My health and physical strength increased slightly after consuming the root I received the other day, but the change was insignificant. “Well, I’ve got a weapon anyway, so I should go on a dungeon tour,” I concluded.

My mana output was still low, so the Argento’s power might not be as strong, but its performance was so good that it could accompany me even if my strength soared in the future.

I wondered if this was enough to clear a low-grade dungeon mentioned in the Sentient Spec.

However, before that.

“… Should I practise how to use a sword?”

Living as a modern man, I had never attended a swordsmanship class, so I had little experience with actual swords. Since there was no separate swordsmanship-related skill, the only way to train myself was by swinging it a lot.

Class S Training Facility.

There was a training field here to improve players’ sensory stats, and it was similar to a ‘pitching machine’ that shot a baseball.

Here, the characters practised to dodge and block the magic bullets fired at various angles and speeds, which in turn increased their sense stat.

The increase would be faster if the machine was manipulated by a mage with high sense state. However, most preferred automatic training by pressing a button.

Since the efficiency was low, the characters had to train themselves while they ate or slept.

“It would be nice to have something like that in real life."

As soon as I pressed the button, a light appeared on the screen in front of me.

[Magic Pitching Machine Step 1 Started!]

[Respond quickly to the attack and unfold the magic shield!]

Shoo!

As a red sphere flew towards my left thigh, I immediately pulled out the Argento.

From the top of the twenty centimetres long silver rod, a pure white flash of light rose almost one meter high.

A visual that reminded me of a lightsaber from a sci-fi movie!

Taang!!

When the sphere was struck with the light field (or mana field), Argento shook. If my breathing rate was disturbed, the power of the magic sword would also become chaotic.

‘Concentrate! Concentrate!’

Shoo! Bang! Shoo! Bang!

The trajectories of the flying magic spheres were not fixed. Except for the floor and the ceiling, all four directions were its possible routes.

It was not easy to weild Argento.

[Step 1 Clear!]

'All 20 hits! Wow, should I sign up to become a baseball player?'

The first training ended in an instant.

I had no idea how to use a sword, but that could be due to the monster-like reaction speed provided by Mana Accumulation Retardation. To some extent, it was possible to swing the sword in response to the incoming attack.

When I saw the perfect scoreboard, my confidence soared.

“It’s doable. Please raise it to level five.”

[Step 5 Start!]

Pa! Pa! Pa!

“Oh! Please! Kekk! Argh!”

… And, in the midst of countless magic spheres dancing around in every direction, I dodged like a madman.

“Heh, hey.”

It was impossible to even maintain the shape of the Argento's light field. By the time I swung it once, five magic sphere would be knocking on my doorstep. While the second time I swung it, as much as fifteen magic spheres struck me. What the hell was that?

'How do I block them?'

“It’s crazy that…”

After lying on the floor to rest, I went back to the machine and pressed the fifth step start button.

Pa! Pa! Pa!*

That day, I had bruises all over my body.