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The Unfortunate Fool
Vol.6 Chapter 5 - Hellish Training

Vol.6 Chapter 5 - Hellish Training

Part 1 – Magic Training

[First of all, I would like to see your stats. I'll tell you which ones to focus more on]

“Okay....open Status Window”

[quart=Name,Alignment]Eden,Chaotic[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]321,Magic King[/quart]

Status Window

Race

Humanoid Dragon

Title

Destroyer of Sovereigns

[quart=Fame,Infamy]1210,285781[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]509 +182,398 +253[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]611 +130,295+130[/quart][quart=Concentration,Endurance]445 +130,156 +80[/quart][quart=Sustenance,Fighting Spirit]145 +80,409 +80[/quart][quart=Domination,Charm]268 +80,489+120[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]264 +80,147 +80[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]1880,3450[/quart]

Health

N/A

Mana

70 0000

Magic Resistance

40%

Bonuses

+10 magic resistance

+50 to all physical related stats

+100 to all magic related stats

- Relationship with churches are sour on Default

- Mana will replace Health

- Skills will require half the experience to level up

- Able to dominate all creation

- Stats will increase by 30% when fighting a God

- Murderer Mark will disappear within a second

- When killed by the power of a God, you will revive at the last save point immediately

- Fire Resistance will increase by 5%

- Ice Resistance will increase by 10%

- Poison Resistance will increase by 20%

- Wind Resistance will increase by 10%

- Ability to 'Suppress Fire'

- Body is slowly being corrupted

- Purify effect is spreading in body

- Strength increase by 5%

- Agility increase by 5%

- Vitality increase by 10%

- Endurance increase by 3%

- Physical Resistance increase by 15%

- Architectures will hate you

- 41% more damage on structures

- Earth Affinity will increase by 10

- All Stats +10%

- All Stats +30

Equipment Bonuses

- Repels Curses and Purifies the body

- Blade and Blunt damage reduced by 10%

- Fire Damage reduced by 35%

- Lightning Damage reduced by 29%

- Fall Damage reduced by 61%

- Kicks will be twice as effective

- Movement Speed increase by 15%

- Increase Speed on Rough Terrain

- Deflects most Minor Magic and Curses

- Water and Nature Affinity will Increase

- Fire and Lightning Affinity will Increase

I opened up my status window for llyfr to see. It has been 11 months since the monster invasion where I last had my burst of level ups. Since then, I gradually gained experience through jobs from the Guild of Shadows and Dungeon raids with Alexandra and Viv. Plus there were naturally stat gains added with this as well. I think I got the equivalent to 10-15 level ups in this time as well.

[Eden....I have one thing to ask]

What is it?

[When did your charm stat increase so much? I don't understand how it got so high?]

That's my question! It randomly increased by the tens every time I go in cities!

[I think that's a problem with your appearance....plus the fact that you are a Hideyoshi]

What the hell is a Hideyoshi?!

[Think of neutral gender and lean it towards being much more attractive to males. Males can't keep their eyes off you]

I don't wan to be ogled by men!

[Anyway beside the fact that I do not understand why you just didn't stay as female, your stats are actually higher than what I expected at your current level]

Re-really?

[But your level is way below of what I expect after 3 years in this world. Both Alexandra and Viv out level you plus they focus on either physical combat or magic combat. While you're not bad at melee combat, your ace is still magic combat. Because of this, I need you to have at least 1000 points in intelligence and 500 points in Wisdom in order for my training to be effective]

“...”

That would mean I have to level up 120 times!

[Nah, the training I would make you do will power you up stat wise by 50-80 levels. Its not going to be that bad, plus I heard that people have a much harder time levelling from 200 onwards and this becomes even more difficult after level 300]

How long will this training take....

[A few months. Now, show me your skills]

“Open Skill Window...”

Skill Window

Magic Mastery Intermediate Level 7

Elemental Mastery Intermediate Level 6

Ancient Magic Mastery Beginner Level 8

Sword Mastery Intermediate Level 6

Magic Control Intermediate Level 9

Mediation Beginner Level 9

Mana Absorption Intermediate Level 4

Mana Shield Intermediate Level 5

Creation Magic Beginner Level 9

Flight Magic Beginner Level 3

Negate mana Beginner Level 3

Sou Scan Beginner Level 8

Presence Concealment Beginner Level 8

Dragon Transformation Beginner Level 8

Magic King Drive Intermediate Level 1

Poison Purging Advance Level 2

Battle Aura Intermediate Level 2

Dragonic Release (MAX)

Dragonic Overload (MAX)

Evil Glaze (MAX)

Six Strike Form Intermediate Level 5

Dance of Water Intermediate Level 3

Golden Weapon Trio Intermediate Level 1

Impaling Strike Sword Technique (37%)

[Eden....]

Yes....?

[You've been slacking off again weren't you. Only a few skills increased in level since the last time I seen it months ago. Also why are your magic skills, the first skills you got still in the intermediate level?]

“Umm.....”

[I see that you got bored using normal magic. I guess I just have to give you some things to practise with]

Damn....

[Before anything else, I noticed that you still have trouble using mana efficiently. I'll have you learn at least 3 ways of controlling the mana in your body]

“...”

Isn't that a little too much?

[Not at all. In my prime, I was rotating on using a couple dozen different mana channelling methods at once]

“I'm not a monster like you! I'm a normal person!” I shouted out loud.

[Considering what you've been through and what you've done in a mere 3 years, you are further away from anyone from being normal and closer to anyone on being a monster. Now sit down so I can guide you on one of the basic mana channelling skills]

I sat down in this large empty room that was used for mediation and the like training. It was a simple 10 by 10 metre room that was extremely plain in order to allow people to focus better in them which leads to more things being done since people tend to get bored easily.

[The 3 skills I'll be teaching you will do three things. The first will just make it so you can control mana properly. The second will be used to increase the power and control over your spells and the third will increase recovery. Now first I need you to be able of the flow of mana in your body]

Umm....sad to say this but I don't know how to do that.

[Just focus on yourself. You'll eventually figure it out with that body]

Listening to llyfr, I looked at myself which was actually more difficult than I think it would be. The first thing I 'saw' was that there was a mass of mana where I was that expanded in great size. It was gold in colour....was this my 'Aura'? I Continued to look deeper into it where the Golden Aura eventually turned into blue mana which was roughly the same size as the Aura, it was just disguised under the Aura for some reason.

[Good, and it only took you a few hours to get to this stage]

Few hours?! Wait, I don't remember that amount of time passing!

[Well that shows how much you were concentrating. Your concentration stat increased by a point during this time as well]

I quickly checked my status window again and there was one extra point on concentration.

[Now that you can see your mana properly, can you tell me what's wrong with it?]

“Umm.....its too big?”

[Nope, guess again]

“Lacking in quality?”

[It's leaking outside your body]

“Oh....that's bad right?”

[You're losing mana as you are gaining it. Plus it causes your spells to become weaker and harder to control as well. You're also easy to find as well thanks to this which is why you seem to never be able to hide from people since that mana is literally like a beacon saying that you are here]

“So...what do I do to stop this?”

[First of all, you need to make sure your mana stays in your body for now. Note that it will be extremely painful to do so]

“...”

I wanna quit now.

[Quiet! Now push that mana back into your body!]

Following this command, I tried to manipulate my mana and pushing it back into my body. However my mana did not completely go in my body, it all just repelled outwards again when I lose focus for a moment. It was like squeezing a sponge and trying to make it stay compassed.

However eventually, I somewhat managed to do this which was very uncomfortable. To compare the state in between in event, before it was like a mass of mana in which expanded as much as it wanted, while now it was finer and in the shape of my body. But things are still not perfect since the outer layer of mana is pushing outwards occasionally leaking out once in a while.

Ding

You have gained the Skill Mana Channelling

Mana Channelling Beginner Level 1

The power to manipulate mana in a finer way. With this skill, using mana will become easier as well as spell having less mana requirements in order to cast. While this skill has been gained, there are properties to be unlocked in this skill via special actions

Current Properties:

- Prevents Mana from leaking from body (Mana Regeneration +5%)

[Good enough for now. The next thing you have to do is rotate the man in your body. That means allow the mana to flow properly inside. Think of it like blood. If it stops, then considered yourself weakened since you are unable to use mana properly like you are now. When done properly, you are able to distribute a proper amount of mana around your body. However when this is not done, then your mana will be more difficult to do, spells will fail more often, spells would often take more mana to use than normal and most importantly mana regeneration will be stumped]

So...is that the reason why I've been having more trouble than usual recovering mana especially in battle?

[Pretty much, now hurry up. I want to take care of the basics of mana channelling within a month]

A month of this kind of training....won't I need food and water?

[Use creation magic for that. I believe you need some training with that]

But the food I can make with it taste bland and horrible!

[Then level it up]

….

Fine. How do I rotate the mana in my body?

[Its simply thinking of mana similar to blood like I said before. Just flow the mana in the same way blood gets pumped through your body. A tip is to start small, you'll understand soon]

Okay....

I took a tiny bit of mana and started to move it through my body.

Ow ow ow ow!

Mana Reflux, took 100 damage

“What the hell was that?!”

It was like a hot plate of metal was placed in my body.

[That's basically your body saying that it doesn't want mana to flow like that. Basically every time you make a mistake involving manipulating man in your body this happens]

“...”

I can't believe I'm thinking this but this is worse than the Hell Training back in Tellap town with the week long hitting session.

[Well as long as you do it correctly, your body will remember how to do it unconsciously. Its a trial and error sort of thing]

Isn't there another method that doesn't hurt as much?

[Yeah but it takes too long. This way, you'll be finished in about a week for this stage of the training. The other methods takes months or years to do]

“...”

I am not going to enjoy this.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

A Week later....

You have gained a property in mana channelling

Mana Channelling Levelled up

I opened up the mana channelling skill window.

Mana Channelling Beginner Level 3

The power to manipulate mana in a finer way. With this skill, using mana will become easier as well as spell having less mana requirements in order to cast. While this skill has been gained, there are properties to be unlocked in this skill via special actions

Current Properties:

- Prevents Mana from leaking from body (Mana Regeneration +5%)

- Rotates Mana in body (Mana Regeneration +10%, Mana Control +10%)

Damn that was a horrible week. Not only that I was feeling an extreme amount of pain every once in a while, the food was horrible as well.

Even pieces of bread had a soggy feel to it. And to make things worse, when I tried to use mana for creation magic, once in a while the same extreme pain comes back out of nowhere. Apparently, llyfr stopped correcting my spells so this happens more often now. Plus Creation Magic didn't level up yet and was leaning towards it only after a week worth of use.

[Good, now the second stage of the basic training can take place. This time you'll learn how to use your mana for offence and defence properly. Tell me the benefits of using mana in this way]

“Umm...I suppose using mana this way causes attacks to increase in power while its also easier to defend as well.”

[Yes that is indeed true but the fundamental benefit is that the body is stronger overall. Even warriors using mana this way will find that they are stronger physically. The Soul is a reflection of the body and Mana is a core part of the Soul which means if you strengthen your mana in this way, then the Soul and therefore body will naturally become stronger as well. Plus you have a major benefit of being a being that uses mana from every fibre in your body naturally]

“I see but what does it have to do with the next part of the training?”

[That's simple. You'll learn how to naturally strengthen your body using mana alone. Battle Aura and the likes can only go so far when the basics are neglected. Now your task for the next week will be while rotating mana in your body, direct mana at certain parts of your body while attacking or defending]

“I suppose if I do something wrong this will backfire on me”

[Naturally]

“...”

I need to remind myself to not lose in a magic battle ever again.

Since the last week, the mana in my body gradually pumped itself around my body naturally. From the heart, it goes to the left arm, left leg, right leg, right arm, head and finally back to the heart again. Never stopping and always moving.

[First off, try gathering mana in your hands without disturbing the flow of mana]

I did just that and stopped the mana when it reached my hands.

Then the pain started immediately again at my hands.

Mana Reflux, took 100 damage

Reacting immediately to the pain, I stopped the gathering of mana and let it flow. After a few seconds the pain disappeared from my hands.

[I said without stopping the flow of mana. You can't just block out the flow of the mana to collect mana. Take it bit by bit first]

I tried again by allowing the flow of mana in my hands to continued but taking bits of mana here and there slowly. Eventually I got the same amount of mana as before when the pain started.

“Ow!”

Mana Reflux, took 100 damage

Once again the pain in my hands started and I naturally stopped the gathering of mana in my hands to stop the pain.

[Wrong again. You can't just take it bit by bit from the flow at a certain point. Its like having a hole where water can leak out and that water will eventually become big enough that blocks the flow of water. Try again but this time try to gather from everything at once at the same time and without disturbing the flow this time]

Is it me or llyfr is intentionally making me do the wrong things first.

[Pain is always the best way to make people learn things the fastest way]

“...”

That sounds like child abuse to me.

Another day passed since this part of the training started and I was actually getting the hang of it now. I could gather some mana in my hands without it causing an extreme amount of pain at once.

You have gained a property in mana channelling

Mana Channelling Beginner Level 3

The power to manipulate mana in a finer way. With this skill, using mana will become easier as well as spell having less mana requirements in order to cast. While this skill has been gained, there are properties to be unlocked in this skill via special actions

Current Properties:

- Prevents Mana from leaking from body (Mana Regeneration +15%)

- Rotates Mana in body (Mana Regeneration +20%, Mana Control +12%)

- Able to gather Mana in parts of Body (Attack and Defence +15%)

[The next step will to be practising attacking while in this state. Just do some punches]

I punched the air in front of me with the mana in my hands. Almost immediately the mana completely disappeared being shot out into the air.

“...”

Was it suppose to do this...?

[Not at all. You're suppose to keep the mana in your body. This way the body is strengthened but mana isn't wasted needlessly like that]

“I see....”

It really took me a week to master this part of the training. By the end of the second week of training, I could do some attacks without mana being poured out like a fountain and my body was a bit stronger than normal now.

[Now I have 2 more weeks to pound the rest of the basic things you need to know involving mana channelling. The next step is to increase the speed and control you have over your spells. This means channelling mana outside your body properly now. Try making a fireball]

Fire Formation ? Ball Form ? Fireball

“Fireball”

I lifted my hand and a ball of fire appeared.

[Now what can you think you can do with that Fireball alone?]

“Fire it at an enemy, move it about and so on?”

[True but how precise can you move it?]

“Depends on how fast its going.”

[What about say about the speed of a Fastball in Baseball?]

Ignore the fact that he knows about baseball....Ignore the fact that he knows about baseball....Ignore the fact that he knows about baseball....

“Not very much. It has to travel in a straight line for that to work.”

[But what If there was a way to completely manipulate that fireball at the speed of a fastball?]

“Then that would be impossible then right? There's only so much the human brain can do at once. Plus I would have to focus on an extreme scale for that to work.” I explained.

I did try once doing what llyfr said and that only resulted in the fireball moving a tiny bit before hitting the target and it also exhausted me mentally at the same time. It was something that you would normally wouldn't do due to common sense.

[This next skill I'm going to teach you will be able to increase your concentration, your focus, how fast you can think. A very dangerous thing but its benefit will make even the weakest of people seem like experts at combat. This is a skill that will affect you mentally accelerating your thinking process and capabilities at once]

“What's the catch to this skill?”

[Well.....you could faint while using it, headaches will be to the extreme as well and it could lead to complete mental breakdown sometimes]

“...”

Sad to say but that's not the worse thing that has happened or will happen to me.

“Okay but how will I gain the skill in the first place?”

[Well I just have to remove your mental limits for a bit so you can get a feel to it. I'm going to start now, you may feel a bit strained]

“Wait a sec-”

The world instantly slowed down for me. Sound disappeared for starters and the fireball looked more bright than usual as well. When I tried moving my body it seemed slower than usual and took 3 times the effort to move it at all. Then came the headache.

“Owwwwwww!”

My head seemed to split in half as the world went back to normal. I was holding my head in pain on the ground. However llyfr didn't seem to care at all.

[The first time is always the worse time. Anyway the first step here is to learn how to enter that state. Just try feeling it out since instinct will properly kick in after a few days]

True enough, after a few days I've found myself entering that state once in a while with a severe headache afterwards. And then eventually the skill itself appeared after I managed to stay in that state for a full second though it felt like 10 seconds of hell for me quite literally.

Mental Acceleration Beginner Level 1

Increase the mental speed in which the brain works at. In this state, time will seem to slow down as the body adapts to it as well as processing speed and thinking speed will increase as well. However in exchange, the mind is heavily restrained in this state resulting in extreme mental exhaustion when used. Some effects includes extreme headaches to blacking out.

- Control over Body and Magic will increase in this state

- Time will slow down in this state

- Speed in which the Body can move as well as the speed of casting spells will increase

It took me 3 days of agony to get this skill. I'm not even sure if this was worth it at all.

[Eden, you have 4 days to master this skill enough for practical use. For training....what about using the Fireball to do some stuff. Learn your limits as well in the accelerated state]

With that llyfr disappeared again. I wonder what he does when he's not taking care of me. Well the good thing is that I can use this skill any time I want now.

“Mental Acceleration.”

With that, the world turned grey. In order to even use this, I had to shut off several things including my sight of colour, sense of smell, taste, hearing and even touch to a certain extent. However the result was that my head didn't explode every time I wanted to use this.

But I soon found out that being I this state for too long would hurt....a lot.

“Owwwww!” I screamed in pain once again due to the headache.

Mental Acceleration levelled up

With that one use, the skill levelled up. Was this kind of skill easy to level up or was I doing something right?

[I believe your body and more importantly your head adapting to the skill itself. Every time you have the splitting headache, the mind remembers to adjust itself properly for the skill to work well. This results in the skill levelling up. Just keep on holding onto it like that for a while until the skill gets to intermediate level. Then I'll teach you a method to reduce the strength of the skill later]

“...”

Is it me or am I going on the hard thorny path with countless traps on it instead of the soft fluffy and generally less painful path....

However I cannot go against llyfr for lots of reasons so I just decided to endure for now.

Activating the skill again, I immediately noticed that I took a bit longer for my head to split open mentally.

Mental Acceleration levelled up

And the skill levelled up immediately again.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Mental Acceleration levelled up

Time to do it again.

“Mental Acceleration.”

Soon the pain came again as I endured it and soon disappeared. The skill experience increased by another 15%. After reaching Beginner level 5, the experience gain by using it like this decreased a lot. Now it takes a few tries until it levels up.

Plus it takes a few minutes for me to recover enough to use the skill again.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Another 2 days passed making this the 5th day for the training for this skill. The skill was at beginner level 9 and was on the verge of levelling up again.

“Mental Acceleration.”

After what seemed to be forever the pain came back in a bad way as I squirmed about on the ground in pain.

Endurance increased by 1

Concentration increased by 1

Another thing was that the Endurance stat was getting a good increase with these kinds of actions.....at this rate the highest stat I would get would be Endurance. I didn't have to say that it was natural that concentration increased quickly here as well.

Mental Acceleration levelled up

Mental Acceleration reached Beginner Level 10, will be converted to Intermediate Level 1

Mental Acceleration Intermediate Level 1

Increase the mental speed in which the brain works at. In this state, time will seem to slow down as the body adapts to it as well as processing speed and thinking speed will increase as well. However in exchange, the mind is heavily restrained in this state resulting in extreme mental exhaustion when used. Some effects includes extreme headaches to blacking out. As this skill levels up, the duration of the skill will increase and the pain using the skill will decrease.

- Control over Body and Magic will increase in this state

- Time will slow down in this state

- Speed in which the Body can move as well as the speed of casting spells will increase

- Able to manipulate the strength of this skill

I sighed....so that was what llyfr meant when he said he would teach me the method of controlling this skill properly. It wasn't that he didn't wan to teach me that right now but rather the skill had to reach a certain point in order to do that.

[So you're finally done with being a masochist?]

Who the hell is a masochist! It was because of you that I had to endure this pain!

[Yes, yes but now you need to learn how to use it properly with magic. Create a fireball again and then activate the skill while moving the fireball]

Fire Formation ? Ball Form ? Fireball

“Fireball”

A ball of fire appeared over my hand as I started to move it about in a circular fashion.

“Mental Acceleration”

I started the Mental Acceleration in which the world turned slow and grey for me. The fireball for whatever reason seemed to be 'normal' for some reason.

[Now you notice that the fireball is normal compared to the rest of the world right?]

Yeah...

[Decrease the strength of the acceleration first. I don't want you passing out while I'm explaining stuff]

I decreased the power of the skill in which the world seemed a bit faster and had more colour and sound in it.

[Okay now for the explanation. The world is running at normal speeds while you are running at a faster speed which also includes the spell you use. While the fireball is moving at normal speeds for you right now, to others its running at twice or triple the speed. Another thing is that you are able to control the fireball better in this state. First make the fireball move around you gradually increasing the speed]

I did what llyfr told me and the fireball moved about my body. Bit by bit, it went faster and faster until it seemed like a ball of light spinning around me.

[Now make it go the other direction immediately]

By instinct I followed llyfr's words and a sudden pain that was the headache and another surprise which was my eyes blacking out occurred.

Bang

It seemed the fireball was fired somewhere but I couldn't see!

[Calm down, your sight will return soon as the mental strain disappears]

I deactivated Mental Acceleration and waited a few moment for my sight to recover.

“What the hell was that for?!”

[Simple, you need to learn what happens if you strain yourself in that state. Honestly the worse that could happen would be that you would faint at a bad time. Don't do the impossible even if it is possible in your normal state]

“So...what was the point me me losing my sight and the extreme headache again?”

[Pain teaches you better than other methods. Its perfect for a lazy person like yourself]

True that I may be a 'bit' lazy but that doesn't explain that every method of training involves doing the wrong things first!

[Better to learn the wrong things now instead of later]

Still but if you told me in the first place of what would happen it would at least give me a chance to prepare myself!

[If I told you what each action did, you wouldn't want to do them no matter how long]

“...”

Just tell me what I need to do....

[Okay then, good to know you approve of my teaching methods. Next thing you have to do is practise for now. Combine this training with the Mana Channelling one and you will be find for the next 2 days where the last but of basic training begins]

“...”

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Two days later....

Mana Channelling levelled up

Mana Channelling reached Beginner Level 10, converted to Intermediate Level 1

Mana Channelling Intermediate Level 1

The power to manipulate mana in a finer way. With this skill, using mana will become easier as well as spell having less mana requirements in order to cast. While this skill has been gained, there are properties to be unlocked in this skill via special actions

Current Properties:

- Prevents Mana from leaking from body (Mana Regeneration +55%)

- Rotates Mana in body (Mana Regeneration +60%, Mana Control +60%)

- Able to gather Mana in parts of Body (Attack and Defence +55%)

Well...that's another skill in the intermediate level.

Right now I was manipulating a fireball that was moving at high speeds. It was moving around my body but this time it was sometimes shooting off in an entirely another direction once in a while. By the time I had finished this exercise I was quite hungry.

“Creation Magic...”

I created another loaf of bread at hand.

Ding

Creation Magic levelled up

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Creation Magic has reached Beginner Level 10, converted to Intermediate Level 1

Creation Magic Intermediate Level 1

The power that rivals gods themselves. To create matter requires energy. This comes from any source in exchange to bypass the laws set at the beginning of time. Anything can be create as long as there is enough energy or mana to make it. The strength of the object made and the length at which it lasts will increase with the level.

- Objects created will now be more similar to what it truly is (ie, durability increase, taste in food will be better)

Mana used per square metre: 1000

It was like God was blessing me though I was an enemy to Gods....

Destroying the piece of bread at hand, I created another loaf of bread and this time it actually taste like bread! I then created a plate and then meat on it and it really tasted like meat! It was a miracle!

Hoorah!

Though the taste isn't perfect yet...who cares since it doesn't taste like soggy crackers now!

[Now for the next torture...I mean training]

“...”

It feels like someone popped all the fun right now....

[Shut it! I have a week until I have to hand you over for your next torture session!]

Now you don't even bother to correct yourself....

[Anyway the last basic skill will be the most important. As such I didn't teach it to you until the very end since that would make things to easy for you with the other skills]

“...”

Tread wisely llyfr....

[This skill is a recovery skill which I believe you have none of]

“Yeah but doesn't my body heal fast enough?”

[In your normal state? No. This skill is designed for someone like you who has too much mana. Now to heavily wound you...]

“Eh?”

In that one moment, it felt like the headache was actually fine to me. That was how much damage and pain I was in right now.

You are heavily bleeding, treatment is extremely advised

Multiple Bones have been broken

The sheer pain in your body prevents you from using magic

“Cough”

I fell to the floor holding myself together as my body was heavily wounded with deep cuts and broken bones at once.

What the hell was that for?! Those words screamed into my and from my heart.

[Now to explain how this skill will work]

Wait a minute, I'm dying here!

[If I really waited a minute, you would really die. Now onto the explanation]

“...”

This asshole...

[The skill will involve compressing mana into a method that would accelerate the speed in which you would recover. I believe I used this a month ago when you had severe wounds caused by the Sage person you lost to]

“...”

[A more preferred method would be to reverse the wounds but that's extremely difficult and risky to do so I'm going to teach you the other method which is causing your body to heal faster. Naturally this has other beneficial side effects such as the increased mana regeneration during this period of healing as well. However you are somewhat weaker in this state so don't use it while being attacked. Now any questions?]

“How long will it take me to learn this skill?”

[About.....now?]

There was another sudden pain in my body. The limbs that were disjointed snapped back into place and the bones mend itself in an instant. The cuts on my body also closed up and healed at an alarming rate.

You have gained the skill: Recovery Burst

Recovery Burst Beginner Level 1

A burst of regeneration energy surging through the body. Most wounds will naturally heal in this state though it will cause extreme pain to the user. Along with this healing, status debuffs will be removed and mana will regeneration at a high speed.

- Increase Mana Regeneration by 50%

- Wounds will heal quickly

“So...we're done with this right?”

[Of course not, I'm going to wound you over and over again so you can level this skill up fast]

“...”

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck! Get me out of here quick!

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Another week passed with me becoming more deranged and tired than usual.

My body burst into wounds again. I couldn't even feel pain in this body anymore right now.

“Recovery Burst....”

Recovery Burst has been activated

And so the extreme pain came back again as my broken body repaired itself.

Recovery Burst Levelled up

Recovery Burst Advance Level 5

A burst of regeneration energy surging through the body. Most wounds will naturally heal in this state though it will cause extreme pain to the user. Along with this healing, status debuffs will be removed and mana will regeneration at a high speed.

- Increase Mana Regeneration by 300%

- Wounds will heal instantly

- Body's naturally healing rate will be increased

- Skill will activate automatically after a certain amount of damage

“...”

[The training so far is finished. And on time as well]

“Eden are you there?” said Thinny on the other side of that door.

When he opened it, his face was in shock.

“What the hell did you do to stain the floor with this much blood?” he exclaimed looking at me and the floor.

After those words, I fainted from a week long lack of sleep.

Part 2 – The Assassin Training

When I woke up, I was scrapped onto a chair with my arms and legs being restrained.

“...”

What's with this situation...more to the point, why am I being scrapped to a chair? I looked around but it was too dark for me to see with my current eyes. However after a while I noticed that I was in one of those training rooms again.

Am I going to be trained (tortured) in here then?

“Eden you're your awake” said a relatively deep voice that I knew belonged to the person 'named' Thinny.

He walked in front of me with a knife at hand. Was he going to use it on it? It can't be worse than what llyfr did to me....at this point a mere knife or death doesn't scare me that much...which is very sad on my part.

“How long has it been since I've....”

“Fainted? 3 Days which means we're 3 days late in my schedule for your training”

Well considering that I was forced to bear wounds over and over again for a week straight....I'm surprised that I'm still sane....

“Anyway, to speed things up, I would need to see your current stats.”

“Show Thinny Status Window.”

[quart=Name,Alignment]Eden,Chaotic[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]321,Magic King[/quart]

Status Window

Race

Humanoid Dragon

Title

Destroyer of Sovereigns

[quart=Fame,Infamy]1210,285781[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]509 +182,398 +253[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]675 +130,302+130[/quart][quart=Concentration,Endurance]478 +130,276 +80[/quart][quart=Sustenance,Fighting Spirit]145 +80,409 +80[/quart][quart=Domination,Charm]268 +80,489+120[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]264 +80,147 +80[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]1880,3450[/quart]

Health

N/A

Mana

70 0000

Magic Resistance

40%

Bonuses

+10 magic resistance

+50 to all physical related stats

+100 to all magic related stats

- Relationship with churches are sour on Default

- Mana will replace Health

- Skills will require half the experience to level up

- Able to dominate all creation

- Stats will increase by 30% when fighting a God

- Murderer Mark will disappear within a second

- When killed by the power of a God, you will revive at the last save point immediately

- Fire Resistance will increase by 5%

- Ice Resistance will increase by 10%

- Poison Resistance will increase by 20%

- Wind Resistance will increase by 10%

- Ability to 'Suppress Fire'

- Body is slowly being corrupted

- Purify effect is spreading in body

- Strength increase by 5%

- Agility increase by 5%

- Vitality increase by 10%

- Endurance increase by 3%

- Physical Resistance increase by 15%

- Architectures will hate you

- 41% more damage on structures

- Earth Affinity will increase by 10

- All Stats +10%

- All Stats +30

Equipment Bonuses

- Repels Curses and Purifies the body

- Blade and Blunt damage reduced by 10%

- Fire Damage reduced by 35%

- Lightning Damage reduced by 29%

- Fall Damage reduced by 61%

- Kicks will be twice as effective

- Movement Speed increase by 15%

- Increase Speed on Rough Terrain

- Deflects most Minor Magic and Curses

- Water and Nature Affinity will Increase

- Fire and Lightning Affinity will Increase

The window appeared both to him and me at the same time as I was checking my stats as well. Over the last month alone from llyfr's training, I gained over a hundred points in endurance and around another hundred points in concentration, intelligence and wisdom. Yeah. The training llyfr gave me was that cruel.

“Focus on the magic side....that's fine. Agility is a bit lower than I expected from you. In that case, my training will focus on improving your agility and stealth abilities. Expect it to be harsher than anything you felt before.”

Well...just last month....

“I'll teach you some basic skills involving on how to use your body properly with Aura. With this, you will be able to even punch down a wall though I believe you actually can right now. The first thing you will have to know is that Aura is while powerful, connected to your life and when it runs out so does your life.”

So....similar to mana in my case.

“While some mistake Aura as mana, it comes from the life of people who use it. Therefore there are many skills involving Aura that use Health rather than mana. But with you its all the same either way.”

Thinny took something out of his pocket and placed it on me. There was a strange feeling coming from it. When Thinny flicked some sort of switch on it, I was zapped.

“Ouch!”

You took 100 damage

“What the hell was that fo-gegnalgnrel!”

You took 100 damage

“Activate your Presence Concealment skill before you get zapped again” said Thinny bored.

Somewhat trusting his words compared to llyfr, I immediately activated the skill.

Presence Concealment is activated

- Stats reduced by 50%

My body felt a lot heavier than normal but I soon got used to it being that way.

“In order for you not to be completely useless when using this skill, I need you to get this skill to be at least in the advance levels. By then, there shouldn't be any stats reduction and then we can go to the next stage. Also, that device will zap you if you progressed or stopped using the skill. See you in a week.”

“...”

Was that it? This training is pretty tame if I say so myself. The Presence Concealment skill was already at Beginner Level 8 so it shouldn't take long to get to the Advance Level. This will be a walk in the park.

I smiled casually at the thought.

Zaaaaaaaap

You took 100 damage

“...”

The hurt like hell!

Maybe this wouldn't as easy as I thought...

[p=center]xXx[/p]

3 Days Later....

Bored.....bored....bored....bored....

Presence Concealment Levelled up

Presence Concealment Advance Level 3

The ability to fade yourself into the background making it harder for people to detect you. There is a legend that the most the few masters of this skill, the Cloud Knights are able to drift in and out of forts without anyone knowing to the point that even the strongest knights do no know where to swing.

When active:

- Presence is reduced to near zero or to of a normal person's

- Unable to use Flashy Attacks

- No Stat reduction

- Critical Hits will be more likely in this state +15%

- Able to move around people more easily

Well this was quite boring...I wonder when Thinny is coming back. I still have another 4 days so....what do I do now? I wonder how I can alert Thinny that I'm bored....finished. Perhaps if I expand my aura out....but first I need to get rid of this thing on me but Thinny would be pretty mad if I smash this so...

Hmm...no matter how I look at it, I won't get through this unharmed. I wonder what I can do....

[Honestly....just do some magic training or something. Spend some time to get Mana Channelling to the Advance levels along with Magic Control. To be honest, I'm very surprised that Mana Control didn't go to the Advance level after what I made you go through]

Well its sitting at the 95% mark so its very very near the Advance levels now. Might as well do that to waste some time.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

Few hours later....

Spinning....spinning....spinning....spinning the fireball~

Ding

Mana Control Levelled up

Mana Control reached Intermediate Level 10, converted to Advance Level 1

Mana Control Advance Level 1

Allows you to manipulate and control magic more easily. It does not affect the speed of the magic but it'll increase your ability to control it properly. As this skill increase you will be able to control the range and trajectory of your magic more easily.

Increase success rate of all spells hitting the target

Reduces chance of Spell Failing

Able to cast high level spells

Increase control over spells

“...”

That was quick and now I have nothing else to do....

“Eden I'm checking on you”

Oh....that was a weird coincidence.

Thinny came back in the training room in order to check on me who was here tied to a chair for 3 days straight.

“I would have thought that you break the chair by now....also, how's your progress with the skill?” he asked with little concern.

“Advance Level 3” I replied immediately.

“...”

Now here's a rare sight. Thinny is actually looking speechless here for some reason.

“Did you even sleep at all?” he asked with disbelief.

Actually....no. Every time I tried to sleep this bloody device you put on me would try and zap me which in turn made me wake up every time. Plus after what llyfr put me through with a week of pain and torture I'm fine without sleep for 3 days.

“Anyway....get out of that chair and I'll teach you the basic breathing technique to reinforce your body.”

I took a few moments to break through the chair that was restraining me and took care of the mess by burning it into ashes. Then Thinny started teaching me properly.

“This is just a basic but effective skill you can learn. Its simply controlling your breathing to time with either attacking or being attacked. You breathe out if you want to attack and breath in if you want to defend yourself from an attack. But first you need to learn how to imbue Aura into your breathing. Aura is basically the same as Ki which is another force in the body in a sense. They come from the same source and you know how to use Aura already. You need to regulate your Aura properly like how you properly managed the mana in your body.”

So....do the same thing?

[Most likely. Just make sure you don't disturb your mana flow else you will feel that pain again]

Following the words of both Thinny and llyfr, I looked inside myself again like the first training exercise I did and saw my aura. Next I simply compressed it into my body like I did with my mana and started to circulate it around my body.

After a few hours of this, a message appeared.

Ding

You have gained the skill: Aura Channelling

Aura Channelling Beginner Level 1

The ability to regulate and manipulate the Aura in your body with fine detail. Using this skill, the aura in the body will become more efficient in enhancing the body in both speed and strength. There are some properties that can be unlocked via special means.

Properties Unlocked:

- Aura will be leak out unintentionally (Stamina Regeneration +5%)

Is it me or this is pretty much the same thing as Mana Channelling except it involves stamina instead of mana.

[I guess since mana channelling involves using mana while Aura channelling involves using Stamina so there is a connection there. Plus you used the same method to do both of these training bots so its not that surprising that the skills you've gained are very similar]

So...the training is exactly the same then? In that case...

“Okay the next thing you need to do is-”

“Rotate the aura in my body then to gather that same aura at certain parts of my body when attacking and defending right?”

“Yes but while defending, it is actually more efficient to just gather aura all over your body to defend. Since you know all about this already, find me when you reach at least the intermediate levels of the skill so I can teach you proper unarmed combat later.”

With that, Thinny waved as he left the training box with me alone. Is it me or is he not really getting into the training.

[I believe the members of the Guild of Shadows have already done this kind of training a long time ago and it is considered very basic. Its natural to not feel encourage when the other party seems to know what to do anyway]

Hmm...might as well do this properly then.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

A week later....

Circulating....circulating......this is getting very boring~

Aura Channelling levelled up

Aura Channelling reached Intermediate Level 10, converted to Advance Level 1

Aural Channelling Advance Level 1

The ability to regulate and manipulate the Aura in your body with fine detail. Using this skill, the aura in the body will become more efficient in enhancing the body in both speed and strength. There are some properties that can be unlocked via special means.

Properties Unlocked:

- Aura will be leak out unintentionally (Stamina Regeneration +55%)

- Rotates Aura in body (Stamina Regeneration +60%, Aura Control +60%)

- Able to gather Aura in parts of Body (Attack and Defence +55%)

Well I'm finally done with this part. It does help that these skills level up twice as fast than normal. Well I suppose its a benefit that comes with being this way. Now to find Thinny for that unarmed combat for something.

I went out of the training box I was in and walked about trying to find Thinny. On my way I heard some voices once in which was Alexandra.

“So this sword can split into two and be dual wielded right?” she asked examining the sword at hand. There was a large gap in the middle of the sword which seemed really inefficient for a sword that size.

However then she split the sword into two which turned into two one handed swords. She quickly swung then around faster than she would with a two handed sword. That speed was at least twice as fast as she usually could do with her normal sword.

“This sword was designed to be used in both styles of fighting and also has a amplifying effect for sword skills as well. Its quite a interesting design. I believe you can use this to beat down Eden any day”

I looked and saw the other person with Alexandra. It was a little girl with claw weapons on her hands. It was Claw as I will now name her. Does she have some sort of grudge against me?

“Hmm...it is nice but I think its too light for me to use. There isn't much weight behind the swings.”

“I see....so you use a power type style of fighting.”

“Its the only way to keep up with Eden who is a magic power freak.” she smiled sadly when she said that.

Hey...who the hell is a magic power freak you sword power freak?!

I left angrier than normal and kept on walking until I found Viv was also in one of the training rooms with Mask.

“If you cross cast this spell and that spell at the same time, it would amplify the effects of both spells. However its a dangerous method to use Viv” said Mask with concern.

Now what the hell are these guys doing?

“True but if I can channel this power using this algorithm doesn't that eliminate the possibility that there will be negative side effects on me?”

“No, there will still be feedback to you.”

Viv sighed and said, “I suppose only Eden can combine spells like that.”

“Yes, I am deeply interested in what he calls consecutive casting. The naming is extremely misleading since its more of combine casting instead. To force opposites to become one and it results in not mutual destruction of both spells....”

Are they talking about my dual casting skills? Why doesn't Viv ask llyfr or something. He was the one who taught me.

[Umm.....remember back then when I said it would be fine if you learnt consecutive casting?]

Yeah....

[Fact is that I didn't know if you were to blow up if you actually used it. Thankfully you didn't thanks to being something made of almost pure mana in a sense]

“...”

llyfr....we need to talk later.

[Unfortunately that can't be done either]

“?”

[There are some....problems happening in your body right now]

llyfr what is happening to me?

[Don't worry...its a minor side effect when you changed races....just need to adjust the seal properly to stop it. It won't take more than a few years to take place]

You mean the side effect or the solution?

[Can't hear you....working now...]

Hey!

Damn, what the hell is llyfr keeping from me this time. Anyway I need to find Thinny to start my next training thing he has planned for me.

Eventually I got to a large room underground which was several times larger than the other training rooms. There Thinny, Clone and Bulk were standing, waiting for me. For some reason they had a weird aura around them....

“Clone” said Thinny in a cold voice as the entrance behind me closed with a loud bang.

Then Clone used his multiplying skill in front of me again and attacked. I naturally moved my hand for my sword but I remembered that it was somewhere else right now.

“Shit”

I used my arm to block the first strike in which Clone using a wooden stick hit me. Several more times did the clones move around me and attacked me at several places though doing little damage. What on earth was happening?

“Hulk, take him down.”

The large man now known as Hulk moved extremely fast. Faster than even Clone who was the speedy type. His body moved slowly to me as his fist hit my body head on as I was busy defending myself from Clone.

Bang

I could feel my bones cracking as I was smashed into the wall.

Critical Hit!

You took 18145 damage

“Cough”

I fell to the ground with a broken body. Then a certain skill automatically activated to my injuries.

Recovery Burst has activated

Mana Regeneration increased by 300%

My bones cracked back into place as I held my body in pain and as some smoke appeared on my body which was a result of my body healing too quickly.

“So its true that you've gained a powerful regeneration skill. Good, now the training will be more effective this way.” said Thinny with a cold smile on his face.

“What the hell is happening?” I asked coughing out the last bit of blood from internal injuries.

“You will face the three of us. Sometimes one on one, sometimes all at once until you are good enough to take on all of us unarmed. Naturally we will no hold back and don't worry, someone from the guild of light has volunteered to heal any injuries that you may inflict on us.”

I looked to the side of the room where on old man was standing there with a staff on hand to heal those three since I already have a regeneration skill.

“There will be some rules however. The first is that you are not allowed to use magic or any weapons. The second you that you cannot use that Dragon Transformation skill and finally you will not use battle aura. The last two are because it would be too dangerous for us to face you like this. Also no using improper skills in this training.”

With that, Thinny took a short wooden stick and threw it at my head. Activating mental acceleration for a split second I dodged it which was actually me breaking the rules immediately. However it was a feint to allow Clone to start attacking me with his 30 Clones that could touch physical objects.

As I was busy defending myself Thinny started talking again.

“This training will go for a month and you will also learn beside unarmed combat, some foot skills as well. Naturally you will have to learn this by yourself unless you want to die.”

I screamed in my heart, In what way is this assassin training?!

[p=center]xXx[/p]

The next month passed by...quite peacefully actually. After a few days I got used to being attacked on all sorts of manners and eventually got the Unarm Combat Mastery Skill. As I was literally fighting non-stop for a month, this skill increased quite quickly reaching the intermediate level within 2 weeks and passing the halfway mark for the advance levels when the month of up. This was what it looked like in the end of the month.

Unarmed Combat Mastery Intermediate Level 5

Using the body as a weapon. With the increased mastery of this skill, the body will become more flexible and stronger as you use only hands and feet for combat.

Increase strike speed by 65%

Increase strike strength by 2000%

Of course this was not all that happened during the month. Thanks to me dodging around so much with so little room for mistake unless I wanted to be smashed into the wall again and again, I learnt some foot work though it didn't appear as a skill.

2 and a half months in with all sorts of training, I was becoming a bit overpowered now. However that did not explain why those two, Alexandra and Viv were training as well.

“Oh, those two? They said they wanted some help with training since you were training as well.” explained Thinny.

“Why?”

They're strong enough that they didn't need to train anymore considering on how much we have to fight overall even recently where the three of us sometimes go dungeon raiding.

“They said something about not being left behind since when you train, you will become completely different and stronger. Now that I see you train its understandable that they want some more power or speed to face you.”

“...”

Am I really that much of a monster? Its just been 2 and a half months since this training started.

[And look on how much you've improved. The slacking you have been having for the past 2 years compared to their hard work for 2 years have been brought into nothing when you merely trained hard for a while. I say your strength is now properly closer to theirs now]

But if they train, doesn't it mean they will get stronger as well?

[Doesn't mean they're going through Torture....harsh training like you are]

While I was in a conversation with llyfr, Thinny took out some weights and tied them onto me without me noticing. When I looked down and tried to move, it was several times harder than I thought it would.

“....Thinny....what is this?” I asked very concern on what I am about to do.

Thinny actually smiled brightly and said, “There is a special training course that I want you to run for about....another 2 and a half months with these one. Don't worry, you'll won't die unless you're too slow. There will also be breaks in the course so you won't die from lack of sleep.”

There was lever next to Thinny. Why was there a lever next to Thinny?

He pulled it and a trap door opened up under me.

“Thhhhhinnnnnnnnnnnnnnny!” I screamed as I fell an unknown height.

Thud!

You took 10 damage

“...”

Why does this place seem so heavy? Also its kinda hard to breath in here...

Ding

You are the first player to discover the Hyperbolic Time Running Course.

A mysterious training room that was once used in Guild of Shadows. The trainees from this running course were able to become much stronger after a short period of time. However, many of them also suffered from increased stress and developed a phobia of machines and traps. The training room has been fitted with necessary equipment for long stay

Time Left: 2 Months 2 Weeks

“...”

Why does this place sound so familiar....

The place lit up and there were machines....everywhere. It was a running course. With all the thing that you jump and run over....

But I feel there's a catch...there's always a catch.

I looked behind me and saw hell.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!”

And I started running. Running away from hell itself.

There was a fucking giant killer robot chasing me!

These upcoming months will be hell!