The rhythmic clang of metal clashing could be heard from one of the training arenas of the Academy. Class IX was in the middle of a combat class. They were in a large colosseum-type structure with a square arena in the centre, and two students were locked in battle. There was no strict method by which the combat classes had to be taught. The material and content of the class would be up to the teacher's discretion. They had adopted a duel-like format for practice in order to emulate and prepare for the coming individual assessment later this month. That was the reasoning that Silva had provided them.

Obviously, the students were told to show restraint before any serious injuries were inflicted. They were also disallowed from using their specialised arts abilities. When asked why, Silva said, "It's boring as hell if you guys just use your flashy abilities. Besides, it's more important to practise your fundamentals."

Other than that, students were free to go all out.

Silva was present to make sure that no accidents would occur. But as always, she appeared to be doing it half-heartedly. She had asked a student who had the ability to manipulate the earth to create a makeshift seat for her in front of the arena. All the students felt the urge to facepalm as she shuffled about, trying to find the most comfortable position for her to watch from.

Once she had found the most comfortable position, she supervised the students' duels by watching through half-closed eyes. It made the students doubt their safety, but they could not say anything about it. They had voiced their dissatisfaction before in the first few instances she had done this, but it fell on deaf ears. They were forced to leave her be, especially since she never failed to prevent severe injuries. Light scratches and cuts, on the other hand, she turned a blind eye to.

The students initially thought it was a bit early to start preparing for the individual assessment. However, once they realised that it was a lazy and efficient way for Silva to teach, it made sense why she chose to do it.

The fight between the two students had ended in a draw. So the two students went up to Silva, and she instructed them on where and how to improve. How she approached things wasn't very pleasing to watch, but she did get things done in the end.

It was now Kaiel's turn to participate in a mock duel. The weather was swelteringly hot, but Kaiel wore a long sleeve combat uniform. While the students could maintain and regulate their body temperature with mana, and it didn't matter what they wore, they still dressed appropriately to match the weather. Most of them wore short-sleeved combat uniforms and had them rolled up. So Kaiel was seen to be an oddball.

Kaiel stepped up to the arena. He readied his sword in a textbook stance in preparation for the signal to start. Like him, his opponent used a sword. His name was Ivan. He was ranked higher than him in the combat rankings, so this should prove to be a tough fight to win for Kaiel. But he was not one to shy away because of that.

Silva yawned and signalled the start of the match, "Begin."

Ivan leapt at him, shortening the distance in an instant. His blade glowed as mana coated it, enhancing its sharpness greatly.

Kaiel blocked the blade in time. The force of the blow caused the ground beneath him to cave in slightly. And his hands felt tingly all over.

From that exchange, he could tell Ivan had higher physical strength. Therefore, Ivan's proficiency in body augmentation must be better than his own.

Ivan did not allow him the luxury of thinking any longer. A flurry of quick strikes was unleashed. He was somehow able to deflect all of them. However, each one caused him to wince in pain and quickly became more intolerable.

Kaiel's dominant arm was blown back at the flurry's end.

Ivan saw this as his chance.

With a powerful grunt, he unleashed a mighty downward overhead swing.

Kaiel quickly switched to his other arm.

If he took the attack head-on, his sword would probably give out. So Kaiel did the only thing he could think of.

He met the strike at an angle and altered its course. The blade grazed him, but he avoided any severe damage.

Ivan was momentarily stunned as backlash.

Kaiel dropped down low and kicked his legs, causing him to lose his balance.

Ivan was dazed as the world spun for him.

Kaiel stabbed towards his opponent, who was lying flat on his back.

Ivan quickly came to his senses and rolled hastily along the arena.

Kaiel's sword pierced the arena floor like butter.

He was not discouraged after missing and chased after Ivan, who was still rolling and repeatedly attacked in the same manner.

Soon Ivan managed to get back on his own two feet.

The two stared at each other as they caught their breath.

Ivan's eyes squinted as they watched Kaiel intently, analysing him for the slightest movement.

It looked like they were at a stalemate, but really, at this rate, Ivan would win. He had consumed less mana compared to Kaiel.

He needed to do it in a decisive blow to win. Kaiel suddenly pointed his sword behind him. He channelled large amounts of his mana reserves into his legs, arms and sword. He was not done. The mana was then compressed several times. His limbs screamed under the gruelling pressure. The mana imbued into the sword roared to life as the blade glowed blindingly. This differed from the standard body augmentation and was like squashing the energy together. It was an alternative to having more powerful, purer and higher-quality mana. He was still practising this technique in preparation for the coming individual assessment, and he saw this as an opportunity to test it out.

Silva narrowed her eyes at this and mumbled, idiot.

Kaiel drew his leg back. Ivan stiffened in response. In the next instant, Kaiel dashed forth like an arrow. The ground where he was standing crumbled. A rippling sound could be heard as his sword cut through the air.

Kaiel intended to end this in one blow.

Ivan's eyes widened in surprise as he was caught off guard. He didn't expect something so swift from Kaiel and reacted slowly. The sword's edge inched closer and closer, threatening to end him. There was no way for him to respond in time. And instead, his body instinctively activated its own defence mechanism. The moment he was about to be struck, an azure wind manifested before him. It formed a circle with him at the centre and protected him.

Seeing this, the spectating students booed. Ivan himself was too focused that he had yet to realise.

Kaiel's sword was weakened by the wind's resistance and veered off course. It did not injure Ivan at all. Instead, the sword that hit the ground released its pent-up strength and caused a mini explosion to erupt behind Ivan. Kaiel tutted in annoyance. All that for nothing, it wasn't very amusing.

But this was a chance. His opponent was still rattled, so Kaiel continued the offensive.

Unfortunately, that single blow consumed around fifty percent of his mana reserves. So, if he wanted to win, he needed to end it with the next attack.

He repeated the same thing he had just done. However, it did not go so smoothly this time, his limbs spasmed, and the flow of mana did not go the way he wanted.

Ivan saw this as an opportunity and did not waste it. The wind wrapped around his sword menacingly. He was about to attack Kaiel but stopped when he heard a shout.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Enough. The winner is Kaiel."

Ivan was initially shocked but finally realised that he was using his arts ability.

Silva ended the match as there was nothing more to see.

Kaiel looked at her but kept quiet. He walked off the platform, ignoring the pain in his legs and arms. He sat in a corner and closed his eyes tiredly. He was in no condition to continue training.

He was not happy. It was a victory but one obtained by default. If this was an actual match where Ivan could use his wind from the get-go, he knew he would not have lasted half as long.

In the end, without my own ability, it's difficult to compete.

He heard someone approach him and settle down right beside him. Kaiel opened his eyes, glanced to the side, and frowned when he saw who it was.

There was not a single drop of sweat on his body, so Kaiel assumed that he had not been doing anything since the class started.

"That was impressive. This is a good opportunity to enact my offer from earlier. How about it, Kaiel?"

"All you have to do is agree, and Instructor Silva will allow us to duel. And you won't have to worry about any injuries. I'm confident in controlling my strength."

Kaiel was silent for a long time, to the point that Rohan thought he was being ignored, he was about to speak again, but Kaiel soon asked him, "Why are you so hung up about me?"

Kaiel did not even entertain the idea. As it stood, he was in no condition to fight again, and he doubted he could win against Rohan even in peak condition.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again, don't waste your time on me.."

Rohan gave up surprisingly quickly. "Suit yourself."

Kaiel silently watched the remaining duels taking place.

Unsurprisingly, the strong students such as Rinne and Altair had won their duels effortlessly.

The following two students to face each other were Leo and another student named Raltis. The only thing he knew about Raltis was that he was relatively strong.

Leo was adept at using a spear and quickly won his match.

As he thought, Leo was strong.

Kaiel wondered if he could win against him.

The only other person of note was a student who surrendered the moment he got on stage. He received a glare from Silva. The boy seemed unfazed by the pressure and smiled brightly, waving back before heading to the arena seats intended for spectators and lying down. He was attempting to take a nap. Silva said nothing about this and ignored the boy. The other students assumed Silva did not care, but Kaiel believed there was more to it.

He was about to leave at the end of his lesson but was stopped by Silva.

"Kaiel. Stay for a second, I need to talk to you."

Kaiel wondered what she wanted. It was probably related to his last few exchanges in his duel. He nodded compliantly, ignoring the curious gazes focused on him.

Once all the students had left, it was only Silva, and Kaiel left behind.

"What did you want to talk to me about, instructor?"

"I've noticed this for a while now, but you've only started learning to use mana recently, right?"

"...How did you know?"

"Your use of it is unrefined, and only idiots would attempt what you tried to do earlier. Actively compressing your mana and using it instead of standard body augmentation is a quick way of crippling yourself if done incorrectly. Consider yourself lucky this time. The other indicator is that you have yet to use an arts ability, which leads me to believe, you don't have one."

Silva had guessed everything through her own deduction, so Kaiel didn't see the harm in telling her, "I first started learning to manipulate it three years ago."

That was only partially correct. It was more accurate to say he only gained access to mana three years ago. But it was a detail he didn't need to inform her of. They essentially meant the same thing.

Only three years? It was Silva's turn to be surprised. She laughed as she couldn't quite believe what the boy was saying.

Kaiel didn't mind her disbelief; he wouldn't believe it if someone else told him that. It was up to her to believe it or not, "..."

She suddenly turned serious, "You're not joking, are you..."

Kaiel stayed silent and averted his gaze.

The average person naturally starts using mana at a very young age.

She knew that there were late bloomers. And she figured Kaiel was one of them, but reaching his current level of proficiency in such a short amount of time, was incredibly difficult.

"If that's true, then that's a remarkable feat, and you are a very talented individual."

Talented? He found that word amusing. It was a word Kaiel found difficulty associating himself with.

"Damn. The more I think about it, the more legible it is. It would also explain why your reserves are so small."

From the time one first utilises mana, their capacity for it would grow naturally through usage. The speed at which one's capacity could increase could be increased through training and repeatedly exhausting oneself. This was the safest, most natural method. There were other external methods of growing it, but most would only experience the first method.

"But, not only are you idiotic to attempt that stunt, you're crazy to do that with a training sword."

She beckoned him to take out his sword. He was hesitant, but he followed her instructions.

She lightly waved the sword, and it cracked into pieces. Kaiel did not have an ounce of surprise on his face. Which meant,

Silva sighed, "Judging from your reaction, you've probably experienced this multiple times."

It was true. He had been practising this for a while now.

"If that's the case, you really are a stupid brat, aren't you?"

"Don't bite off more than you can chew. What you attempted to do was an advanced technique that only veterans can wield effectively. Keep doing that, and you'll regret it. Where the hell did you get the idea to attempt it anyway?"

Kaiel had a blank look on his face. Silva felt the urge to hit him since her words were clearly not going through to him.

"Are you just pretending to be dumb? You literally just saw what would happen."

He knew precisely what Silva was referring to. Supposedly, it was more than just a matter of him employing the technique wrongly. Using the blade as an example, if the physical specs of the vessel were too low, it would not be able to handle the load. Similarly, she implied his body was too weak as a vessel.

"If you started from zero only three years ago, that is a fast growth rate. But at the same time, that means your body has yet to have the time to adapt to your mana's tremendous growth. Thus, your vessel is weak. Come on, weren't you highly ranked in theory? These are the basics."

It's not that he didn't know. He just hadn't thought of it. His impatience had blinded him, causing him to forget it.

"So right now, instead of relying on a faulty impromptu technique you're unable to handle properly, you need patience, kid."

Imagine one's journey in becoming strong could be analogous to diverging paths. In that case, Kaiel was currently sprinting full speed down one without caring to stop and evaluate. Effectively, he was harming his future for the sake of the short term.

Silva thought what she said was very logical. But, unfortunately, Kaiel could not afford to take the advice. There were heavy expectations of him. He bit his lips in frustration, "I know... But I need to improve more, faster than everyone else."

Kaiel's stubbornness caused Silva's head to hurt. But she gave in, "Ugh. Fine. "

She walked forward and poked his chest gently. Silva's own mana flowed into Kaiel's body through his chest. Kaiel felt a surge of comfort diffuse into his body, and the ache in his limbs subsided as if they had never hurt in the first place.

"Since you're so hell-bent on this, forget everything I said just now."

She walked over to a weapons rack, picked up two training swords, and held one in each hand. If the boy was intent on sprinting down his road then the least she could do was guide him to run on the correct path and in the proper manner.

"While everything I said before is true, it only applies to inexperienced users like you. As I said, this is something for veterans."

"Control. That is the most important thing for you as of now. You're failing in that technique mainly because of your vessel and secondly because of your inefficient control. Watch by focusing mana in your eyes."

Users could see the external flow of mana outside their bodies by imbuing their eyes with it. Kaiel watched with rapt attention. Silva was annoyed that the kid only listened to her when it was something he was willing to do and was educatory.

"First, this is what happened with you." with his eyes glowing, Kaiel could see that the mana that Silva inputted into the sword was calm at first. The moment she started to compress it, it fluctuated in a frenzy. Before long, the sword in her hand violently exploded. Fragments of the blade flew in all directions, but Silva was calm. With a wave of her hand, all the pieces stopped midair and floated in place. With one more wave, they disintegrated into ash.

"When you compress mana, it becomes unstable, and if you cannot control it properly... you know what happens. The more you try to compress it, the more violently unstable and hard to control it becomes."

"But, if you can calm the turbulent feature it gains..."

With the second sword, Silva repeated the same technique, this time exerting her complete control over the mana.

"...Even a weak vessel like this training sword can handle a powerful mana."

The difference in quality between Silva's and Kaiel's mana was incomparable. Kaiel's shoddy attempt at compressed mana had blown the sword into pieces. Silva's display attested to her insane skill.

Finishing her explanation, Silva looked to gauge Kaiel's reaction. She saw that his eyes were focused entirely on the weapon held by her left hand causing her to roll her own eyes.

"I've told you all I wanted to say, now it's up to you to find the answer."

There was a benefit in him figuring out how to go about implementing her pointers. She warned him in case of another mistake, "If you were to ask me, I don't see the value in pushing yourself needlessly like this. I'm not denying your efforts. I can tell how hard you work, but there's a fine line between hard work and reckless overwork. And don't let me see you do something stupid again, or else."

It was scary how accurate her analysis of him was from only a month's worth of observation. She didn't appear to pay him any special attention until now either. To be expected of an instructor, I guess. There was one thing bothering him though, he had to admit seeing someone who did everything in their power to make her work easier for herself actually do her job felt weird. Very weird.

But, perhaps she sensed herself being questioned, she protested," I can work hard when it's necessary too, you know?"

With no response from Kaiel, Silva wondered why she even bothered defending herself.

Silva stared at him helplessly and then sighed. "Treat it as if I never said anything. You kids really are so annoying."

Her words did not reach the boy, so she gave up for the moment. But she would keep an eye out for him. Of course, Silva might not care much about the spoilt brats of the Academy. Still, she appreciated genuine hard work, and the last thing she wanted was to let a promising student head to ruin.

"Remember what I said." And with that she dismissed him.

Kaiel bowed deeply, "Thank you very much, Instructor Silva."