"Focus...focus..."

It was late at night. Everyone was already long asleep, with the sound of snoring coming out from every room, which echoes across the dark corridor.

The soldiers were squeezing all the time they got to sleep, for tomorrow will be another rough and pointless training. No one was foolish enough to stay up late to do something else, no one except for Xiao, who's at the backyard of the barrack, doing magic training.

"Focus.....focus...."

Xiao didn't care about the cold wind of the night blowing through his skin, nor the fact that Lieutenant Carl finds out about him, which he will receive punishment for sure. Xiao was determined to undergo the training no matter what. Xiao was putting all his focus on the spell he was casting.

It has already passed since the magic lesson with Lily, and this training Xiao has started for himself.

Lily told Xiao that because his mana capacity was too low, he ended up with Fire Seed and Ice Seed instead. Xiao's mana capacity was even lower than the required mana for him to cast Fireball or Ice Spear, which is considered a beginner spell.

(Strong focus on what I want, feel the spirit within the air, imagine a cold icy spear.)

Xiao reminds himself, right after that, he pours all his focus into chanting the incantation.

"Ice Spear!"

Cold air burst out from his palm; he slowly opened his eyes to see the result.

"Damn, still the same."

Xiao looked at his palm. It was the same-old Ice Seed that he has been casting from the start of the training till now.

Xiao canceled the spell as his let out a sigh, he then lays down on the grassy floor and stares blankly at the starry sky.

Though the Fire Seed and Ice Seed spells consume little to none mana, Xiao's mind was exhausted from the focus and the disappointing results he has been getting.

"Am I this useless? So useless that I can't even cast a simple spell," Xiao says as he closes his eyes to take a break.

He remembers the promise he had made with Lily, which was the time when they parted ways after Lily's magic lesson.

During that time, Xiao tried again and again to cast Fireball and Ice Spear, but none succeeded as he ended up with Fire Seed and Ice Seed.

Lily explained to him that Xiao was a rare case. Like what Lars had mentioned before, a person with two or more magic elements is considered to have an innate talent for magic.

If Xiao can't cast Fireball or Ice Spear, that means he may be compatible with other magic elements. The fact that he can cast both Fire and Ice magic shows that he had a talent for magic. Still, talent alone won't be enough if his body doesn't have the mana capacity to cast anything else other than Seed Level magic.

"Don't worry. Mana capacity is something you can train to build up more."

Lily told him that mana capacity is something one can build up. So, as long as he keeps on practicing magic which will expand his mana capacity, he should be able to cast Fireball or Ice Spear one day.

That was what Lily told him as he was about to give up. It was through Lily's genuine encouragement and smiles that kept Xiao from assuming that he can't use magic. Xiao thinks that the reason was him being from another world.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

In return for Lily 's encouragement, Xiao promised Lily that the next time they meet, he will surprise her with the result of his training. Lily smiles as they make a pinky promise, not just because of the training result, but also the fact that they will meet again soon.

Xiao closes his eyes and recollecting his memory on the promise they had made.

"I promise I won't let you down, teacher!" Xiao remembers calling her that after they made the promise.

"Teacher?! No no no, that's just too much, I'm also an amateur in magic, nothing worthy of becoming your teacher." And upon hearing that, Lily became so embarrassed that she covered her face.

What surprised Xiao was that with a sad expression, Lily said that if she became Xiao's teacher, that means she won't be able to become his friend. Her statement made Xiao shocked and burst out of laughter.

"What?! Hahaha! Why do you think we can't be friends? Of course, we can still be friends, in fact, we're friends already, right?"

Although Xiao was confused about Lily's comment, he assures her that they are still friends, even when one is the teacher and the other one is the student.

Lily, in return, reverted to her cheerful smile again upon hearing Xiao's reply.

"Yes! Of course, even a teacher can be friends with their student, right? Hehehe! But I still prefer you to call me by my name."

"Alright, Teacher Lily," Xiao teased her playfully.

"Hey!" and Lily got embarrassed again by him.

(No matter how many times I see her, she's still the most beautiful girl that I have seen in the world, like literally.)

Xiao opens his eyes as soon as he finishes recalling his memory. He looks at his palm, thinking how long he needs to fulfill the promise.

"She says she will always be at the tower because of something to do with her merchant business. But if my guess was correct, her true identity is...."

Xiao stopped his thought from proceeding further, as he thinks it's pointless to think furthermore.

"But either way, I can't meet her yet, not like this."

Seeing how he wasted some precious time reminiscing about the time he had with Lily, Xiao took a few breaths before getting up from the grassy floor.

"Alright, again!"

Xiao psyches himself up and jumps off the ground; he proceeds to continue his training.

(Not just for Lily's sake, I need to power up myself if I were to continue living in this world.)

The daily drill gave nothing useful to Xiao, aside from raising his stamina and physical condition, so he decided to learn as many things as possible to adapt to this world.

Ever since Xiao knew the existence of magic in this world, he thinks that magic will be essential for him. It was also one of the first steps for him to become stronger and survive in this world.

As Xiao looks at the failed magic result he got, he can't help but think back on the level difference between him and the other Heroes.

As one of the Heroes, which he no longer cares for as it only brings misfortune to him, it still feels devastating upon seeing the result for himself.

(I wonder if Lily knew about my title as the Hero of Darkness, and also the suspect of Lars's death. Even if she doesn't know it, would she still be talking to me after learning all of this? Guess she would probably freak out and run away from me, hahaha...)

Xiao was standing with his hand out, reminiscing on the past before he realized that his mind was already elsewhere.

(Focus! Focus!)

Xiao quickly pulls himself back and resumes his training.

(Don't give up, don't give a damn about what the others think, I'm from another world and I'm all alone now, I'm the only one who can watch my back.)

And so, Xiao training continues, until his body and mind have reached their limit.

(Let's stop for today.)

But even in today's training, Xiao didn't manage to cast anything other than Fire Seed and Ice Seed in the end.

(Guess I just need to continue this training until I see some result.)

Xiao thought to himself as he washes his face before heading back to his room.

Xiao was on the way back to his room as he was walking through the corridor; he heard someone's footsteps at his back. Before he managed to turn around and identify the person, they had already called him out.

"Well well well, what do we have here? The weak-ass Hero of Darkness!"

It was Private Tom and Private Jerry who greeted xiao.