The trio continued until they reached the cafeteria where they got something to eat and waved goodbye to Grania, as her dorm was located a good distance away from Reno's.
While Grania was eating a chocolate chip muffin she was thinking back to the events of the day.
‘Today was pretty eventful, even if it wasn’t a day chasing pants and annoying Reno’
‘Reno’s vital core is destroyed huh…’
Grania initially just reacted like she usually did and hoped that Reno would be alright, luckily he acted pretty close to how he usually did.
Unlike the old Reno who was more laid back, Grania worked hard to get stronger, she didn’t have a goal but just felt that being weak at a moment when strength was needed would be stupid.
‘With strength comes the handsome hubbies after all’
‘The way how Reno acted today along with the provocation from that weird guy should give him some motivation, hopefully, he takes it to heart, especially with his vital core being broken’
Grania then ate the last bite of her muffin before muttering something.
“You better keep on my level, I know I’m laid back and dumb most of the time but I can’t imagine myself being a strong combatant without Reno.”
Grania knew what she wished for was most likely impossible but chose to believe that it could happen either way.
‘Hopefully, some of the strength of his new roommate will rub off on him.’
Reno and Cassia walked for around 20 more minutes before they came face to face with their dorm room door.
‘Why is this damn academy so big, at least install bicycles or something’
Reno made Cassia scan her smartwatch and do all the formalities this time to make sure that everything was working.
Everything worked out smoothly and the two were inside the dorm room in no time.
Despite feeling tired and a bit sore, the first thing that Reno did as he entered was get ready to enter the training room.
“Cassia, I’ll be training for a bit more, you know where to find me if you need something”
Hearing this Cassia nodded. “Don’t work yourself too hard, getting stronger is an endless process. Overworking your body will just make you lose progress.
Reno nodded and then went off to the training room. Cassia didn’t exactly feel full from what she got from the cafeteria so she ordered some food and then went to her room.
She then sat on her bed and struggle appeared on her face.
“I have no time to waste either, If I can just get the hang of my energy flow and how to condense all of my energy then I’ll be able to become a full-fledged combatant quicker”
To train one’s vital core at the stages of a student, they would need to merge as much of the energy into their body as they could.
A vital core was like a solar-powered battery, they recharged by just going about one’s day like normal.
Of course, different types of vital cores had different recharging speeds and energy limits.
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The spherical vital core that most psychics and mages use usually recharged faster than their energy was depleted.
One might think that for mages or psychics, improving their body would be useless as they were casting spells but that would be wrong, the stronger a psychic’s or mage’s body then the more energy it could store and the stronger they would be.
The thing that made most of them weak in close-range combat would be their lack of close-quarters combat.
Something that someone like Cassia didn’t lack.
In the case of a close combatant now, who mostly comprised those with stick-like cores, their energy regeneration speed was much worse than spherical-type vital cores.
The thing that made it better for those who wielded cold weapons was that the strengthening effect of stick-like cores on the body itself or certain extensions such as weapons was much higher than spherical-type cores.
[In the Training Room]
Reno took his sword out of its sheath before observing the damage that it had taken during the sparring match.
‘Even though Cassia’s makeshift sword seemed so rusty and worn out, my standard academy blade was barely a match for it.’
He estimated that if his sword was hit with around 10 more of those strikes, it would break.
Reno then let out a slight sigh. ‘If it wasn’t because of me then the sparring match could have gone on longer’
‘No use dwelling on it though, I’ll be able to spar for longer and with stronger people when I become stronger myself’
Reno then tapped his smartwatch and checked his combat evaluation sheet to see if he had any growth in his skills due to the sparring match.
Wendao’s Sword Art, Proficiency : [II] EXP : (28/1000)
(Needs Energy to be activated)
{This was a decent sword art made by the swordsman Wendao when he was bored with nothing to do When the user keeps hitting consecutive blows the damage and speed of the user increase by 5% up to 25% after every new consecutive blow} (Rarity: C [Average]) [Cooldown time: 5 minutes]
Cut [IV] (1289/1500) (A very basic sword skill)
{A vertical strike of any weapon that can swiftly deal a small amount of damage on hit {Calculated based on the user’s speed/strength and the skill’s proficiency level} (Rarity: F [Common]) [Cooldown time: 7 seconds]
Focus [I] (1 hrs/ 2 hrs)
{Able to maintain full concentration on any task for 1 hour, during the skill duration, comprehension is increased} [Cooldown time: 1 day] (Rarity: N/A)
-Focus (Theory) [Unlocked] (1 hrs/2 hrs)
{Must have the focus skill to use. After a session of using focus, the user can review the focus session and edit it before it is permanently saved to the brain.} [Cooldown time: 1 day] (Rarity: N/A)
Parry [I] (54/100) ( A very basic sword skill)
{A basic move that can be used with most weapons. Able to redirect the direction of an attack very slightly while also negating 10% of the damage received. {Calculated based on the user’s defense/vitality and the skill’s proficiency level}} (Rarity: F [Common]) [Cooldown time: 20 seconds]
Stab (0/100) (A basic sword move)
{A basic move that can be used with most weapons. By turning the weapon horizontally and applying force to it swiftly against an opponent, the user can slightly pierce through some defense and at times even cause a small amount of damage based on their speed/strength and the skill proficiency} (Rarity: F [Common]) [Cooldown time: 15 seconds]
Quick-Step (27/100) (A simple movement skill)
{By concentrating a great deal of strength in one of your feet, the user can swiftly change his position from where they were standing to anywhere within a 30 cm radius} {Calculated based on the user’s speed/vitality and the skill’s proficiency level} (Rarity: F [Common]) [Cooldown time: 5 minutes]
Seeing the growth in the proficiency level of his skills, Reno realized something.
‘Combat is hailed as one of the best ways to raise a person’s skill level but the growth in parry and quick step pales in comparison to just one hour of using focus especially when you add theory focus into the mix’
Reno then grabbed his sword hilt in excitement.
“I can’t believe it! Focus is my way out of my weak identity. I still need to put in as much work as possible, yes but with actual substantial results when I do. The most important thing is I don’t have to be as worried as before.”
“The more I can grow then the less I have to worry about being taken from”
After a while more, Reno relaxed and let out a breath of air while thinking of which skill to grow today.
He thought about it for a brief moment before making up his mind.
“It’s best that I grow the parry skill as much as possible. Not only was I able to survive a hit from Cassia who is much stronger than me but it has had the effect of negating a portion of damage and changing a weapon’s direction even if just slightly”
“The thing is just that I need to make sure to increase my vitality and defense along with my skill level so it doesn’t bottleneck”
With this in mind, Reno consciously activated his focus skills.
[Focus Skill: Assign a Task]
‘Assign the task to increase the proficiency level of parry.’
As soon as Reno said this, the feeling of being a cloud drifter or someone in a trance immediately acted upon him while he felt his control over his body vanish.
[Focus is starting, Time allocated: 1 hour, Task: Raise Parry Skill Proficiency]
As soon as the skill started, instead of just spamming the parry skill as it did with the cut, Reno’s body moved into the room that was used to train defense.
His body then fiddled with his watch and took out his sword from its sheath.
A short moment passed by before steel balls started to be periodically shot at Reno.
One was shot and then his body activated parry and deflected the ball, around 20 seconds passed and the same thing was done again and again.