Once Rudy's training wrapped up, only Borval and Professor Robert remained in the lab.

"What do you think?"

"He seems more ordinary than I thought."

There are plenty of geniuses in the world.

These geniuses usually have little quirks.

Maybe they're obsessed with a specific topic, or they have unusual habits.

Though these quirks differ, one trait is common among them all.

Pride.

Rudy had potential that went beyond Borval's.

Given more time, Rudy would outdo him.

Yet he wasn't looking down on him.

Instead, it felt like Rudy held him in high regard.

And for a prodigy, his learning pace wasn't especially quick.

Like any average person, he made mistakes while trying to put what he'd learned into practice.

So, he didn't appear extraordinary.

Still, Borval noticed something.

Rudy's determined expression as he raced across the field.

Despite it being his first physical session after a long period of rest, he didn't stop.

Borval came to a realization.

Rudy Astria wasn't a natural-born prodigy of the Astria family.

His accomplishments so far weren't due to innate talent.

You could see it in his eyes when he learned something new or trained.

A young man filled with ambition and determination.

It was thanks to his drive that he is where he is now.

"He's interesting," Borval said, to which Professor Robert responded with a small smile.

"I think so too."

After learning from Borval, I grabbed lunch with Luna and then headed to my lab.

Even though I couldn't use the lab from the next term onwards, it was mine until the end of the break.

I reflected on what Borval had taught me.

"Controlling mana..."

Borval taught me about mana control.

Physical enhancement spells only amplify things like muscles, unlike the complete enhancements knights undergo.

Borval offered a new perspective.

Could wizards distribute mana throughout their bodies like knights, and achieve complete physical enhancement?

It was possible, but very challenging.

The fundamental difference between a wizard and a knight was in the mana flow.

Also for knights, the form of mana was important, not the amount.

The Sword Aura of a Knight.

When knights use sword aura, they don't worry about the amount of mana they're using.

Sure, they can adjust it.

But sword aura doesn't demand precise control over the amount of mana.

Knights focus not on controlling the amount of mana, but rather on the form of the mana.

They roughly draw out a certain amount of mana and then refine it.

Sharpen it to the point it can slice through anything.

Knights are those who perfect the form of the mana.

But wizards are different.

Wizards emphasize managing the amount of mana, not its form.

They construct a spell, a kind of container, and inject the right amount of mana into it.

When filling a container with water, you don't worry about the shape to pour it in.

After all, the water will naturally take on the shape of the container.

So, they only need to measure the exact amount.

Wizards find it almost impossible to use physical enhancement because of this.

To spread mana throughout the body like a knight, a wizard must learn to maintain mana in a form that fits the human body.

But while a wizard knows how to send mana to areas like the hands or feet, they struggle to control the form of the mana.

This led me to a question.

Why not see the body as a container and only fill a certain amount?

-A human body cannot be a vessel. If mana is not controlled to the shape of the human body, it keeps trying to move.

-Then the mana would either try to leave the body or return to the heart.

There were several other reasons as well.

But in short, wizards do not enhance their bodies for the same reason knights do not use magic.

It's more efficient to use magic than to learn to finely control mana to enhance the body.

-What if there is a way to strengthen the body in a way only wizards can do?

-Knights spread mana all over their body, enhancing everything. They're not skilled in gathering mana at one point.

-But wizards are different.

-Collecting mana in one place is a wizard's specialty.

Borval lifted one arm.

-What if you only strengthen this one arm without strengthening the rest of the body?

Hearing that, my eyes lit up.

Since wizards already gather all of the mana in their heart, things changed if they only thought about strengthening one arm.

Fill the arm with mana, then explode it out through the arm.

No need to continuously maintain it in your arm like a knight would, but expend all of it alongside a swing.

Then, you could use an unbelievable amount of power explosively.

It's literally a special move.

A technique used to land a decisive blow.

It requires delicate mana movement.

You must be able to move mana at least enough to make it the shape of an arm to exhibit this ability.

And since such delicate mana movement was necessary, it also helped with dark magic.

Dark magic is a kind of magic that requires an exact amount of mana for each spell.

By learning how to delicately move mana, you also increase dark magic proficiencies.

"Shall we start now?"

A week later.

"Then I'll be off."

As Professor Robert had mentioned earlier, he said he was heading off somewhere and left.

By now, I could somewhat control mana.

I hadn't yet succeeded in creating a shape like an arm, but I could channel mana into my fist.

However, when I used it in just my fist, it didn't feel very powerful.

Even if my fist became stronger, it couldn't generate a lot of explosive power.

After my morning workout and learning from Borval, I walked to the practice field.

A reinforced training dummy was set up.

It was a tool to estimate the force of a technique.

Striking the dummy didn't give an exact measure of the force, but it did provide a rough estimate.

Lately, I've been practicing mana control by hitting this dummy.

When I infused the same amount of mana into my arm and hit the dummy, if the force was strong, it meant the mana was properly distributed. If the force was weak, it was the opposite.

Since it was difficult to tell if mana was properly distributed normally, this was the method I adopted.

That's how I began to familiarize myself with the feeling of correct distribution.

When I entered the training ground, I noticed someone else was already there.

A figure with familiar black hair stood there.

It was Evan.

"Oh..."

I suddenly remembered that Evan, too, was spending his holidays at the academy.

I had completely forgotten about him.

But I quickly compose myself and move forward.

Casually, I picked up the training dummy and cast a sidelong glance at him.

He was focused on his sword practice, occasionally incorporating magic.

"No need to be so cautious..."

I murmured softly, too low for Evan to hear, then focused.

I channeled mana into my arm.

I didn't flood it with a vast amount of mana right from the start.

Controlled mana distribution.

After all, the day was still long.

If I exhausted my mana in a single burst and ended up tired before the day was over, it would be counterproductive.

"This should do..."

I positioned my arm and struck the dummy.

-Thud

"Ah!"

A sharp pain shot through my fist, as if the mana hadn't reached it properly.

Tears sprang to my eyes, and my hand throbbed, but I clenched my teeth and endured it.

I couldn't let Evan, who was behind me, see me squirming in pain.

Honestly, it wasn't just because of Evan.

The mere thought of someone seeing me punch a dummy and then roll around in pain was so embarrassing that I was simply fighting the discomfort.

I swallowed the threatening tears and drew a deep breath.

"Ugh... Huff!"

Bracing myself, I began hitting the dummy again.

This cycle repeated several times.

Sometimes, I controlled it just right; other times, it was far from it.

"Sigh...."

Perhaps I should try this a couple more times and then leave.

A significant amount of time had passed, and I couldn't spend the entire day here.

I turned my gaze to Evan.

He was showing no intentions of leaving.

"He's diligent...."

Watching him, I felt great relief.

He seemed to be progressing well on his own.

Redirecting my attention, I focused on channeling mana into my arm.

Infusing my arm with mana...

I needed to remember that feeling.

The feeling of mana permeating every muscle...

This time, it felt like things were falling into place.

Like I could hold more mana.

I channeled a larger amount than usual.

Eyes fixated on the dummy, I lifted my fist.

And then, I swung.

Unleashing all the mana contained within my arm...!

-Kwaaaang!!!!!

"Huh...?"

I stared at the dummy in disbelief.

My fist had gone right through it.

Furthermore, extensive scars marred the ground before it.

"....."

Dumbfounded, I stared at my own fist.

Then, I cautiously lifted my gaze to Evan.

His face was a picture of astonishment, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

"....."

Keeping my cool, I casually collected my stuff and left the training ground.

Despite maintaining my composure on the outside, inside, I was flustered.

So much so that I practically sprinted out of the training ground.

".....That's not going to be a problem, right?"

Even if Evan had seen it, there should be no consequences, right?

Instead, demonstrating my growth could kindle Evan's own development, I rationalized.

Just then, I heard the sound of someone racing behind me.

"Rudy Astria."

It was Evan.

Evan was calling out my name as he gave chase.

What's going on?

Keeping a calm façade, I turned to face him.

"What is it?"

At this, Evan returned an awkward grin and began to speak.

"Well... the Swordsmanship Department's professor has been asking about you. Seems he's trying to identify the person who broke the training dummy..."

"Ah...!"

So, that's how I ended up being escorted to the professor...

"What, you're the one who destroyed the training dummy? Who are you?"

"I, I'm sorry..."

After telling them my name and apologizing several times, I was finally allowed to exit the training field.

***

Hope I explained everything fine here...

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