I tightened the leather cuff, sighed, and laced my boots tightly. I ran a comb through my hair just to hide my dark circles. These daily workouts were killing me, at least my muque was growing. I couldn't help but smile as I pictured myself with a super attractive physique and attracting a lot of stares... I yawned as I did my morning stretches, and once I was done, I walked over to my bag.

“Hey, João. The coffee is ready.”

I opened the door and excitedly struck a pose.

“What do you think of your brother's muscles, Guilher?”

“Why are you raising your voice? It looks like a chicken.”

"Not even a bit stud-ish?"

Guilher arched an eyebrow and went down the stairs and I, defeated, followed him. I remembered the trainer commenting something related to magic training, I hope this is lighter than the physical part.

I believed that, if I trained for a month, I could have had some results, but it seemed that my hypertrophy process was slow and time consuming. After breakfast, I grabbed my training bag and left the house. I know Guilher was rooting for me, but I expected him to say something like: Wow, your biceps grew a centimeter!

The sun dazzled my vision as soon as I opened the door, put my hand on my face and walked towards the gym. How do adults manage to have so much energy so early? I stopped at the fountain, I needed to breathe before I got there. There was still a post or two about the minotaur… I knew it was a month ago, but it still shocked me that Royal level adventurers would face that.

That is…

"Hey Lumi!" ’ I waved.

My friend stopped his run and fixed his gaze on me, he was sweaty and out of breath and wearing his typical training outfit. Was it a requirement of the collectors' team? For someone who used to be lazy, he looks determined. A smile escaped my mouth.

“Good morning Joao. Going to the gym?”

“As usual. Today we will train magic. But and you? Why are you running?”

“Being a Gatherer is a little more complicated than it sounds.” Lumi looked away, for a moment I noticed the tiredness, fear and exhaustion that emanated from him.

"Friend, have you been resting?"

“Rest..."

Lumi raised her fist and smiled. In that instant, her smile was light and hopeful.

"Good luck at the academy." He said, before I touched his wrist and we separated.

Talking to him became to do after the gym. I followed my path running, in order to try to abstain from thoughts and keep my concentration on the mana being released close to my heart.

I walked past the two guards, who were almost asleep, and into the large training area. There were several students talking quietly or stretching and among them was my group.

"Hello!" I said as I started to stretch my legs.

"Welcome, dear João! Finally, we didn't have physical training right away." Riler replied.

"Looks like Benevi really will teach us how to manipulate magic," said Bruno indifferently. He has been more serious since Lumi's fall, I didn't know if I should be worried.

We stayed here for a few minutes and, around the room, all the students did the same. Benevi walked into the room, he was wearing dark jeans and a black sleeveless shirt. He looked bigger than the last workout. And yes, it was yesterday.

Silence soon filled the room, whether it was out of fear or a desire to learn, I didn't know, and our instructor began to speak.

“Unfortunately, the only physical training we'll have now will be in the dueling ring.” I'm sure most of those who were here breathed a sigh of relief. “I don't intend to teach step by step, or give attention in case one of you can't follow.”

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He walked over to the whiteboard in the corner of the room, picked up an orange pen, and turned to the class. His sharp gaze analyzed each one present here, but at the same time he seemed disinterested. He drew a stick figure with a belly and put a ball in the center of it.

“That pathetic doll represents you. The mana they will generate can run out very quickly if you don't give it a purpose. That is, if it is blatantly released, you are just wasting the reservoir of energy that you have." He scribbled the arms, legs, and head, all the squiggles coming from the center.

“So I want you to try to direct the energy to the right wrist and, if possible, concentrate it. The focus of today's class is control and how to make consumption more efficient." Benevi created a kind of white aura in her hand. “Finally, I don't want you to limit yourself to just what I've been through. If you can do more, do it. Understood?"

"Understood!"

We all responded in unison.

Releasing energy has always been an easy process for me, it comes out like air from my hands. But trying to channel pure energy into the palm of my hand is a more difficult process than expected, it's as if the energy automatically desperately seeks any way out of my body. Benevi was right when he said that the consumption was excessive and not very effective, which made me wonder why it is easier to use my elemental magic than pure mana itself. I wondered if I could ever fly if I was able to create air currents through my feet.

Bruno, on the other hand, had a natural talent. Whether it was to utilize water or protect the body with a white aura, he was one step ahead. My jaw dropped when I noticed both of my friend's arms covered in magic as he manipulated a kind of water scythe from the ground. I noticed several looks at him, murmurs saying how amazing he was or how hot he was.

We spent about two hours practicing. During that time, Benevi brought in insignia students from the Great King 10's school and fixed up the small makeshift fight ring he had made. He explained that we needed to practice with different people and that this was a good way. The murmurs stopped when a female student with black hair and red eyes entered. She wore parts of armor similar to samurai, and her aura alone already showed us the size of her strength.

I swallowed. She wasn't the only renowned one here, even though she got all the attention. Samurai are rare even in big cities, for her to be here...

I exchanged glances with Bruno and Riler, they were also reasonably curious about the situation. A young man stepped into the ring, he held his dark wooden staff and had a confident smile on his face.

"I am Zack from Etin. Everyone here is talking about your great strength, dear Alice Tadaratsuki. How about showing us a little of what you're capable of?" His tone reflected pure noble arrogance.

The expression of shock on my face was second only to that of our instructor, who looked as if he had seen the ghost of a Minotaur. This kid could only be crazy. Benevi opened her mouth to speak, but Alice leapt into the ring. She accepted?

“Oh, great. I'm grateful that you gave me the chance to grow up, honestly I think samurai are pathetic."

Zack pointed the staff at the girl, who just raised the wooden sword. Silence was absolute, everyone was focused on the duel that was about to happen. Will it be a strategic fight? Will it take too long?

He shot two spheres of green energy, that's more than anyone here could do, and Alice dodged each one, giving Zack a good look. Her gaze caused fear, but Zack's arrogance prevented him from seeing it.

“She already won." said Bruno, his gaze focused on the fight.

"Stupid samurai!"

Zack turned the other end of the staff and shot some sort of green beam at her, his teeth were clenched and fear began to fill his eyes. Alice closed her eyes and laid her hand on the pommel of her sword; then she advanced with a single step, which was able to break the two meters distance that lay between them.

The point of her sword hit the brown nobleman's nose so fast that my eyes almost missed the attack. His body pivoted in the air before he landed and one of his teeth bounced off the platform. Alice sheathed her sword and stepped out of the ring, her gaze as neutral as the moment she entered. Needless to say, for a few minutes, everyone was in a state of shock.

The tension lasted a long time before anyone started doing anything again. Two healers fetched the arrogant boy. Zack deserved it. Other duels were taking place, the mild climate allowed training without the fear of making a mistake or losing a tooth. The noble class students opted to just stick with mana practice, by the looks of them I can tell they think they're better than everyone else.

Bruno managed to create a sort of jagged water spear while keeping his entire arm covered in a layer of magic. He was amazing. Riler used up all of his mana, and I got few breakthroughs.

“Wow, you're really good" said a girl who had just arrived.

"I appreciate it, but I think it's the bare minimum."

“I'm Aria. Your group looks like the funniest one here." Aria was very beautiful. Dark blonde hair, brown eyes and very thin. Did she want to ride with us?

"You would be most welcome!" I said without thinking. My two partners shot me a suspicious look.

“Oh, great!”

Bruno was sensational, I could bet she came because of him.

“I… am called… Riler." Her cheeks flushed as she said that.

“Bruno”

"And my name is João"

Aria gave the three of us a very shaken handshake and joined in the training. She was so much fun, it seemed like her energy was endless. Her energy control was a little less dense than the others, but on the other hand it could cover almost the entire upper part of her body. I tried to go back to the lesson, but staying focused was relatively difficult. From time to time, screams echoed thanks to some duel, or glares penetrated students with good performance in magic.

The cause of this turn was a peculiar girl, who exuded a scarlet aura and made the environment darker. The sensation that hit me reminded me of the mist in the forest near the Wood of Voices, a murderous and mysterious air I would choose to stay away from. Unlike most students, she kept her focus entirely on her magic, ignoring any screams or astonishment going on around her.

"She's wonderful… And you've been staring at her for two minutes" said Aria.

“Sorry, her aura gave me chills"

"Ellie Higasa. She is from a noble family" Said Bruno, her tone brought a shiver down my spine.

"Do you know her?" Riler asked, somewhat reluctantly.

"She is strong"

“Maybe she didn't stand out because she was extremely quiet" Aria said as she looked at her.

"Strong to the point where nothing here draws her attention?" I asked, my eyes naturally widening.

"It would be interesting to find out." I think I felt a bit of frustration in Bruno's tone, but it would be rash to say that.

A boy fell out of the ring. The girl who knocked him down had her arm raised in the position as if she had just thrown a punch, only… smoke came out of her fist. She directed her gaze towards me and, at the same time, I pretended to be coughing and looked towards my group. I glanced over to see if it had worked, but all I saw was her approach. Holy crap. Her yellow eyes with red lines were looking at me like an arrow about to hit her target, she was going to call me to fight. Shit.

I turned my head and she was out of sight. A sigh of relief escaped, when I finally relaxed, she was beside me, close enough to make my face flush and I took a step back.

"João, right?" I noticed you staring at me. Get ready, you're going to fight me.