I closed my eyes and focused. A moment later, a torrent of mana swirled and entered through my fingers, bathing my right hand in translucent blue. The surging waves of mana looked like an azure flame engulfing my hand.

It had been three months since I had woken up in Florence's body. I had been training hard every day and had finally achieved some level of mana control. I could now enhance any part of my body. If I enhanced my eyes, I could improve kinetic vision. If I enhanced my limbs, I could increase their strength and speed. Enhancing my whole body was still impossible for me, but even enhancing one part of my body greatly increased my combat ability.

In terms of swordsmanship, I was still very much a beginner. It was just too hard to make much progress in a few months. I could now take a proper stance and swing the sword correctly. That was about it.

My stamina and endurance had improved the most after these three months. It was only natural since I had been running and swinging the sword almost every day.

The reason I was trying so hard to grow stronger was because I couldn't rely on the plot of the novel anymore. After becoming friends with Julian, I could say for sure that the current state of this world was different from the original story.

In the novel, Julian would have already awakened the unique magic he had inherited from his father. However, in this world, Julian still hasn't awakened his latent powers. He had definitely grown stronger after training with me, but he was far weaker than the protagonist in the story.

If my deduction was correct, the main reason for Julian's slow growth was me. Since I was not his enemy, there was no urgency for him to improve.

The other reason was Earl Vazquez's strange behavior. Unlike the Earl Vazquez in the novel, the Earl in reality was a lot more cautious. He was completely different from the lazy noble in the story who spoiled his son. He had barely talked to me over the course of the past three months. I couldn't read what was going on in his mind. The only thing I knew was that he was not an ally I could count on.

One-dimensional characters, was it? I remembered one of the comments I had read before I got to this world. Perhaps it was true, and the characters in my novel were shallow and irrational. Maybe this was how they were supposed to act.

Apart from the main characters of the story, there were also background characters. In the novel, the background characters had barely any effect on the plot. However, reality was different. No matter how insignificant someone may seem, they could affect the future with their actions.

Another reason I was in a rush to improve myself was because I knew about the other nations on the continent. It might seem peaceful on the surface, but war could break out at any moment. There were two nations that were particularly dangerous. The Loxearyn Empire possessed the most advanced magic technology on the continent. They were always looking for more mana stones to fuel the development of new weapons. It wouldn't be surprising if they started eyeing the mines of other nations. The second nation was the Yukretia Theocracy. It was led by a Divine Oracle who could receive orders from their god. If their god told them to burn another nation to the ground, they wouldn't hesitate.

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Thanks to all these unknown factors, there was no telling what would happen next. It was scary to know that I could no longer reference the plot I had written to survive in this world.

I could help Julian awaken his latent powers and get him to protect me, but In the end, it was safer if I relied on myself. I didn't have qualms about making use of others, but I wanted to be able to rely on myself in a pinch.

With my current rate of progress, it would take a few years before I even reached the level Florence had achieved in the prologue of the novel. I could train my body to the limit, but no matter how much I honed my body, pure physical strength could not match magic.

A power that could rival magic. There was only one thing I could think of.

It would be extremely dangerous, but I didn't think I had much of a choice. If it was going to take me several years to be able to use magic effectively, I might as well take my chances with something else.

The Trials of Tormented Souls, I recalled the name of the place. If I could pass through them, I would gain a power that was completely different from magic. It was something that Julian from the novel stumbled upon by chance. After he got the power from the Trials and awakened his special magic, he became one of the strongest individuals on the continent.

The Trials of Tormented Souls didn't have any restrictions on who could take them. It was extremely hard to clear, though.

The location of the cave leading to the Trials was very far from the region ruled by Earl Vazquez. If I wanted to go there, I would have to prepare for a long trip.

Well, no use worrying about it. If I can become strong enough to protect myself by clearing the Trials, that's what I should do.

My mind was set. I would clear the trials.

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"I see." Logan Vazquez nodded after hearing what I had to say.

I had told him that I was going to go on a long journey to the East and that I would be taking Julian with me.

Logan didn't ask any questions. As I expected, Logan didn't seem to care much about me. I didn't mind though. It was better to know upfront that I couldn't trust him than to get backstabbed later.

"Do you want to take some of my soldiers with you? They will be helpful on your journey."

"No need," I replied. Regular soldiers would only get in the way.

"Is that so?"

As I made my way out of Logan's room, I saw my younger half-brother Johen standing in the corridor. He smirked at me.

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(Logan Vazquez)

"Such a pity..." Logan sighed after Florence had left.

Florence Vazquez had been very talented at using magic. However, about three months ago, he had suddenly lost the ability to wield magic. Logan didn't know the reason, but he had never heard of someone losing the ability to use magic without sustaining any sort of injury.

Florence hadn't told him about it. Logan only knew about Florence's situation because of all the people around the castle who served as his eyes and ears. Originally, Logan had been planning to send Florence to the Royal Academy, where young individuals in the kingdom could receive the best magic education.

Now that Florence had lost the ability to use magic, Logan planned to send his younger son, Johen, to the academy instead.