NOVEL FROG Chapter 66: Lesson #2
Having allotted all the tasks, it was time for Ray’s personal training to start.
After all, it wasn’t just those three that needed to get stronger—he did too.
Currently, he was able to envelop all four mana types on his weapons and manipulate them directly while fighting, which was the 1st Stage of the Brahma Sword Art.
The 2nd stage of the Brahma Sword Art was a technique that manipulated the mana in the surroundings with your weapon and used it while fighting.
While the power of the 1st stage techniques was highly dependent on the Rank of the user and the types of mana they could master, the 2nd stage removed these limits by directly manipulating the mana of the surroundings.
After all, no matter how much mana a person can store, it will always be far less than the innate mana in the surroundings.
And considering the mana is not coming internally but from external sources, there are no restrictions on the types of mana one can manipulate.
However, according to Misa, his Magic Power and Perception Stats need to be in the range of A Rank before he would be able to use the 2nd stage of the Sword Art.
And currently…
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Name: Ray Laxon Rank: B Stats:
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Both of them were below 10, as required to pass through the A Rank threshold.
Thankfully, Ray’s body had a natural talent for using magic, so his Perception and Mana Stats were rising quickly, even if his other Stats weren’t. Fortunately, Ray could compensate for that with his training.
His goal, for now, would be to raise his magic Stats to 10 by the next month and then begin practicing the 2nd Stage of his Sword Art.
But since he can’t start on that right away, right now Ray’s plan was to start learning the Evolved Elements.
To be honest, the little lightning spark that he had summoned earlier was the best he could do so far, after a week of training to transform his fire mana into lightning.
In theory, it was basically about increasing the kinetic energy of the molecules until the combustion reaction of fire transformed into the ionized plasma that is lightning.
But in practice, increasing the speed of molecules was no easy task.
He had to spend countless hours under a specialized microscope, compressing his mana to understand the minimum threshold of mana compression required for the mana particles to ionize.
He had to maintain a continuous state of concentration because even the slightest falter would cause the mana to blow up in his face.
But thanks to the grueling hours he spent in his lab, he was finally able to put into practice the basics of using lightning mana.
Now it was time to incorporate this Lightning mana into his sword.
He had previously tried it with a normal sword he had bought, but unfortunately, the temperature of the lightning mana was too high, and it had melted the sword as soon as he enveloped it with mana.
So this time, he took out the sword Boldor, the dwarf swordsmith he had visited previously, had made for him. Since it was made with an alloy of Manasteel and Mythril, its durability and mana resistance were far higher than any normal sword.
‘Crackle!’
Slowly, lightning entered from the hilt of the blade as it danced along the edge.
It was a beautiful sight—seeing an unstoppable force of nature moving submissively at his command.
Slowly moving the sword to point toward a tree, he prepared to release a small stream of lightning at it.
‘Blast!’
Hearing the loud noise, Izzy, Mike, and Rohan quickly turned towards their teacher, surrounded by black smoke, his navy blue hair fried at the tips.
“Haha… Nothing to see, nothing to see. Go back to your training.” Ray quickly dismissed them, embarrassed to show his moment of shame.
When he tried to release the energy from the sword, instead of traveling in the intended direction, the mana became unstable and burst right in his face.
‘Guess they don’t call fire the most unrestrained element for nothing.’
The moment he had split his concentration between maintaining the lightning from the fire mana and directing it, the entire thing had blown up into a mess.
For the next hour or so, he decided to train his mind in stabilizing the lightning mana while he also performed various tasks. He started with simple things like walking and gradually moved to intermediate tasks like performing basic swordsmanship techniques with his sword still enveloped by lightning mana.
It was a slow and steady process full of trials and errors. Sometimes the mana would just dissipate in the air as it escaped the blade while other times it would burst up like it had previously.
‘It seems directing a lightning bolt is still beyond my capabilities.’
Ray gauged his limitations as he focused on his training.
“Sir Ray, we have completed the tasks you assigned us,” Rohan called out after two hours.
Looking over, the mana fragments in Mike and Izzy’s hands were glowing brightly and beside them, a tree had fallen, brutally split as if struck by a storm.
Strengthening the sword with mana would have tremendously increased its destructive power but seeing the way the trunk had split, it must have taken him more than 50 strikes to fell the tree with those skinny arms.
“I think I need to add some muscle training for you, Rohan,” Ray observed.
After the intense training, the four of them went inside for the dinner that Jacob had prepared for them. It wasn’t healthy to eat out every time, so Ray had bought some groceries for the house when they had gone out to eat lunch.
Honestly, Ray would have been happy to let the old priest rest and hire a cook/maid for the house. But he was new to the area and didn’t want to hire a stranger who could be a pawn bought off by the various mercenary gangs in Wolfsbane.
Fortunately, Jacob was more than happy to continue cooking for them, saying he wasn’t that old yet to just laze around like a retired bum.
‘Retired bum? In my previous world, 90 was the age when people were already making plans for their funeral.’
“How are the lessons going?” Jacob asked as Ray and he set up the table while the kids took showers in their rooms.
“They are doing better than I imagined.” Ray wasn’t lying when he said that.
First-timers usually take around 5-6 hours before being able to summon enough magic to make the magic fragment glow, but Mike and Izzy were able to complete it in just over 2 hours.
Ray expected this from Mike, who was a future SS-Rank Fallen with talent comparable to the main character’s in the novel, but Izzy had surprised him by keeping up with Mike’s pace.
“Though I am kind of worried about Rohan. I thought he would be able to finish his task faster than he did, considering he was a student at the Star Academy and all...” Ray replied honestly, hoping for words of wisdom from an experienced soul.
“That boy… I haven’t known him for long, but it seems what he lacks the most is confidence. I don’t doubt your eye for talent, Ray, but talent can only flourish if the person is willing to do what it takes. Did something happen to that boy by any chance?”
“I won’t say nothing happened… It’s just that he seems to hate his Skills. He even bought an Artifact to suppress them.” Ray admitted.
“That much? What is his Skill anyway, for him to go so far as suppressing it?”
“He can see ghosts of dead Awakened and use their Skills through mutual agreement. I’m not too sure about the specifics, though.”
“Ghosts…I don’t suppose they are the most pleasant company, especially since most Awakened die violent deaths.”
Ray nodded in agreement. “But that still doesn’t mean he should suppress his Skills. They may be manageable for now, but in the long term, it will do him more harm than good.”
“That’s true. But coming out of this shell is something that only Rohan can do. Rush him, and he would only hide more. As a teacher and his current guardian, the only thing you can do is increase his confidence.” Jacob advised as the rest came out of their rooms to have dinner.
Since everyone was tired after training for so long, the dinner passed in silence. After that, Ray tasked the kids with doing the dishes while he planned the next lesson for them.
'They’re tired from the mana training; I should focus on some theory for now.’
With the chores done, the three slowly made their way to their rooms.
“Where do you think you guys are going?” Ray pointed to the sofa. “We still have a lot of learning to do.”
Izzy, Mike, and Rohan froze in their tracks. “B-but we just completed a 2-hour exercise.”
“So? You do realize you have to do enough mana training to go into a Dungeon in three days, right? If you don’t want to die there, come sit. It’s just theory, so you will only have to work your minds."
Before they could even protest, Ray added, "But if you don't want to do that, I will be more than happy to continue our practical training.”
Izzy, Mike, and Rohan reluctantly took their seats, while Jacob decided to stay for moral support.
For the next 2 hours, Ray stuffed their ears with so much knowledge about mana and its applications, that they were this close to passing out. Even Jacob fell asleep halfway through the lecture.
However, as the lesson continued, all three realized just how great a teacher one had to be to be selected as a Professor at the Star Academy.
The knowledge was no doubt too advanced for them, who had Awakened for less than a year. But the way Ray explained it to them was so easy and creative that they couldn’t help but wonder how come so many people still believed mana to be an indecipherable form of energy.
It was like a god explaining what went through his mind when he created mana and spread it across the world.
“Now, that I have given you the preliminary understanding of mana, let’s move on to the second thing most important for Heroes一Skills and Abilities.”
“There have been long-standing debates in the academic community about whether the two should be treated the same or differently. In my opinion, they are similar but, at the same time, different. Both contribute to an Awakened's strength and need to be trained over time to improve. However, a Skill is something that appears in a person when they Awaken, while Abilities are techniques learned from Manuals. Manuals rated 3★ and above are so rare that most Awakened never even see one unless they belong to a very wealthy family. However, it's not like additional Skills can’t be gained. However, it’s not as if additional Skills can’t be gained. Most boss monsters, upon defeat, drop Skill Beads, which are a condensed form of the knowledge and specifics of their Skill. Mike, the Skill Beads I bought for you at the market are mere imitations of true Skill Beads. Unlike imitations, Beads dropped by monsters can be directly absorbed, turning permanently into one of your Skills.”
“Now, moving on to the differences: Abilities gained through Manuals are usually a compilation of ancient techniques that usually require a sort of weapon to be used. For Martial arts manuals, your hands and legs take the place of weapons. These techniques require immense effort and dedication for you to completely master.”
“Skills, on the other hand, are more innate and akin to innate talent. Like how a duck instinctively knows how to swim without being taught, Skills work in a similar way. However, just because you can use a Skill doesn’t mean you’ve mastered it. Do you know why Skills are ranked similar to Heroes? It’s because the Rank reflects the level needed to fully unlock the potential of your Skills.”
“You three have Skills that are A or S Ranks, but at your current E Rank, what you can do with them is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more you are capable of. So, make sure to practice properly so that you can see what your Skills are capable of.”
Ray put extra emphasis on the last sentence as he glanced at Rohan.
"Class dismissed! Make sure you go straight to sleep because we’ll be starting training early tomorrow morning."
““Aww, man!” Amidst grumbling protests, the three headed to their rooms.
As they were about to leave, Ray suddenly realized something. “By the way, Rohan, Mike. Are either of you willing to share rooms?”
“Share rooms? Why?” Rohan tilted his head in confusion.
“To accommodate an uninvited guest, of course.” With a snap of his fingers, a water ball appeared above Ray’s hand as he hurled it toward the balcony outside the house.
“Care to explain what you’re doing in our house, Ryder?” Ray asked, as the drenched boy on the balcony—his invisibility spell fading—became visible.