'You can leave except you, Dante and Aliana. I have a word for both of you.'

The two stayed there waiting for what will the teacher tell them. Dante had a set of assumptions in his head unlike Aliana who didn't even try to think about it, two different modes of thinking but none of them was wrong: one thinks of all possibilities like a game where he tries to guess, and the other doesn't tire himself because sooner or later he will know the answer. They both enjoy it in their own way after all.

Maximus stared at the two alternately, thinking one last time about his decision to tell them some facts as the eldest of the group. He was going to brief them sooner or later but was confused about the ideal time to do it. He made up his mind and decided to inform them:

'I trust that you will keep this secret, remember what I will tell you because it is very important.'

'What happened? What secret?'

Aliana was completely surprised and unaware of the situation yet unlike Dante who was eagerly awaiting for the teacher.

'Focus and you'll understand what the teacher is talking about.'

'You don't look surprised at all. Does it make sense that you know what the teacher will be talking about?'

'Yes, he knows unlike you. Remember the first day we met, I didn't lie but I didn't tell the truth that day.'

Amid the conflicting statements, the heart of Aliana was troubled, who was not aware of the situation until now.

'What does this mean, Master?'

She felt deceived by someone she trusted her life to. She tried to dispel this kind of thought, someone like him cannot be bad or could he be?

'It is true that you will become heroes in the future, but it is not a prophecy. I have gone back in time, little girl, to fix future mistakes.'

'Does this mean that we really became heroes in the future? But why bring us together now?'

Maximus did not hesitate to tell them a truth about him that no one else knows, trust must be present between the two parties so that relations can be strengthened, and this is what the heavenly magician wished for from now on. Being honest since the beginning is better than building on lies and then demolishing it later.

'That's something I haven't told to anyone yet. My virtual age is 38 years old but my current self is 57 years old, I went back in time but I never came back as young as I was.'

Dante smiled amid Aliana’s shock who directed her anger at him, but Maximus continued the conversation and they focused with him:

'Before I came back, each of you told me where you lived or where I could find you over the years considering that we don't know how long I'll be back. In the end I went back thirteen years before the disaster or rather nineteen years back.'

'But you haven't told us yet why you're coming back, how do you plan to change the history?'

'Here comes the most important part, we have not met until eight years from now. None of you has ever received a proper training during these years before you entered the other world.'

'Now I get a grip on it. You wanted to give us decent training before entering the other world that will happen in eight years and so we can become stronger in a shorter period.'

'Good analysis but you are wrong, Dante, why limit the duration of the training to just a month if my plan would last for years?'

Dante’s assumption was totally wrong, who thought he had begun to realize the situation himself, rectify his mistakes and try to understand the situation again.

'Haaa… how did I not notice this? However, why rushing when we have time? Can we enter it now?'

'I know where the gate is and I can take you now to see it if you want but I prefer that we leave it to everyone together without nepotism.'

'So, Master.... Your plan is to prepare us in advance to be more skilled and stronger so that we can benefit from the other world more and then come back stronger and faster than before. Then the safety of the world would be guaranteed!!'

Dante finished his analysis and snapped his fingers in a spontaneous response, when Maximus applauded him and turned his gaze to Aliana, who had hardly grasped the situation.

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'Is that why you sent me to the Red Forest a few days ago? Is it to get good guardian spirits to help me before I enter? Finally I began to understand!'

'Well done girl, the conversation seems to be going smoother than I imagined.'

Maximus then laid his hands on their shoulders and continued with a serious smile:

'I chose you because you are the eldest of each sex, and I trust that you will keep the secret. If others know, it is not a big deal, but if it leaks out, you are the ones held responsible. Everything has a best time and the time to tell others has not yet come. Just listen to my guidance and the plan will remain perfect. We have accelerated the plans so that there will be no problem even if the disaster strikes earlier than what we originally scheduled. Understood?'

'Understandable, Master.'

Here the dangerous conversation ended and each left for his other preoccupations and the sixth day ended without much trouble.

Before Aliana was about to leave, she remembered that she forgot to ask the teacher about the rings he gave her that day.

'Teacher, teacher!!'

'What do you want, girl? Do you have a problem of some kind?'

Aliana stopped him just before he left, if she had been a little late he would have left.

'I would like to ask you about the rings you gave me. A strange phenomenon happened twice that day and I wanted to ask you about it.'

'You're talking about the fusion of spirits? Yes, I have instilled that special ability in those rings. You seem to have read a book in this regard.'

She did not even find anything to say, he told her everything she wanted to say at once.

'As expected from the teacher. However, is it a random phenomenon or are there specific reasons behind it?'

'There's a reason, it's rather a glitch during production. Some mana leaks from the storage spell during the forming process and forms an unstable fusion circle. What I had set is the healthy fusion spell, its function is stable, and the fusion is always successful as long as the spirits are of the same element.'

'So it is like that!! Thank you, Master.'

Aliana also left after getting an answer to her liking and getting rid of doubts about the phenomenon she thought was strange before.

------------------------

The next morning came and the training started on its usual time. It was only a continuation of yesterday’s training. Their control skills improved from what they were and the class concluded in the middle of the day. After a short break, Maximus snapped the fingers of his left hand and suddenly a wooden board and several benches appeared.

'Sit down. Here we conclude our mana training, but there is something that I did not teach you beforehand, which is a few applications of mana in multiple fields. Didn't you ask yourselves why I taught you the same thing despite your different combat specialties?'

'A good question, my teacher, but isn't it because mana is for everyone and applied the same?'

Mira answered directly without delay, but her answer was not correct because she did not read that the applications differ from one discipline to another, that their trainings are fundamentally different. Maximus continued the conversation as he moved back and forth in front of the board:

'Not true, the method I taught you is unlike any of the other methods of the well-known disciplines. You are the first to learn about this mana storage technique after me, its essence is different from the others. Imagine a magician with the grace of a warrior or an assassin.'

'It's not possible as far as we know but if it happens, it would be crazy.'

'This way, slow becomes fast, fast becomes faster and the same goes for strength, mana capacity and stamina.'

Everyone was surprised by what he showed to them; A technique by just having it alone gives its owner an overwhelming advantage over his opponent of the same level or a little higher.

'What if you pump mana to your legs?'

Tai Min answered this question because he was familiar with a few movement techniques owned by his family and how they work:

'It increases your speed, kick power, higher jumps and protects against injuries even when falling from medium altitudes.'

'Excellent answer, now what if you pump mana into your arms?'

Yoon Hwa, who was from a family of martial artists specializing in the field, replied:

'As Tai Min said, it also increases the ability to lift objects and counter attacks if combined with mana pumping for the legs.'

'Well done too, the same goes with the mind and heart, it speeds up thinking, sharpens the senses, increases endurance and reduces the sensation of pain.'

'Is there such a thing, Master? Reducing pain? I know there are medicines for that, but I didn't know about it.'

'This is a new application that I tried personally, no one in this world knew about it. Without talking about mental stability and pain resistance, reducing pain is an overwhelming advantage and can be applied by those who have mastered this technique.'

Maximus signaled them to get up from their seats, clapped and the seats and blackboard disappeared, and then ordered them to do what they had just spoken about. After many successes and failures, they were able to apply the basics of what Maximus had just explained to them.

Wall crush, slipping, ankle sprain, wrist sprain... Several minor injuries, but they heal quickly thanks to rapid regeneration, so they did not pose any serious problems.

Several hours have passed and the children are relentlessly rehearsing something unprecedented in the world with enthusiasm. The weeklong mana training of strenuous efforts is over...