Fred got up and looked at Jouti, who stood a few meters in front of him. He knew the old man was powerful, but he couldn’t even imagine how powerful he was.

Knowing that hiding his power wouldn’t matter in front of this man, he planned on using everything he had. With sword in hand, Fred took a stance and circulated mana around his body. He used the full capability of his mana manipulation skill, making mana aid him in every way it could. The mana around his sword was dense and sharp, making him get the most power out of his sword mastery skill as he could.

Fred stepped forward, slashing downward with his sword. The old man was blind, but Fred knew he could somehow ‘see’ much better than any eyes could. Jouti stepped to the side, totally evading Fred’s attack. An instant later, Jouti’s index finger was on his neck. “You just died.” Jouti shook his head and continued. “You’re probably used to fighting someone with as much power as you, or weaker. When you fight against a stronger foe, you must learn when to use overwhelming power and when to hold your ground. Before releasing everything you have, find an opening, before evading an attack, know your enemy's next step.”

He took some distance from Fred, and said. “Again!!”

_____________________________

Fred and Jouti trained for the rest of the day. Fred didn’t hold back, showing everything he had. Jouti taught him how to truly use his mana in combat.

Because he had been hiding his mana manipulation skill until now, he had not learned how to truly use it in combat. His applications were crude to say the least.

Jouti showed him how to use mana to reinforce his body in a more efficient way, how to make some mana bursts while attacking, speeding up his sword mid swing. That alone didn’t mean much, but when placed together with many other small techniques Jouti just taught him, he showed great improvements.

The sun was setting on the horizon, and Willfred was exhausted. His body ached in many places, and his mana felt sluggish to control. He looked at his notifications and smiled.

Mana manipulation leveled up to 2!

Mana manipulation leveled up to 3!

Mana manipulation leveled up to 4!

His training showed plenty of results. He had not expected to level mana manipulation of all skills. He came to Jouti expecting to get his sword mastery to Rare.

“Why is my sword mastery not evolving to Rare?” Fred asked. Seeing that even though his power was improving, his sword mastery was not evolving.

Jouti pointed to the side of the circular platform where they had been training all day and asked. “What do you see below this platform?”

“I see flowers and plants.” He promptly answered.

“You’re just like these flowers. You're still growing and accumulating. The time for your sword mastery to bloom is still away.”

Jouti got up and said. “Come, let’s eat and rest. You still have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”

Fred followed him into the house, and Jouti prepared soup. Fred ate it voraciously, feeding his hunger. Just after that, Clarissa stopped by to pick him up. Jouti asked her to bring him back early the next day.

“So, how productive was your training?” Clarissa asked while taking him back to the school.

“A lot… I learned many things with master Jouti. He is truly extraordinary.” Fred said while thinking back on his training.

“Treasure this opportunity, he doesn’t agree to train many people.” She said and continued walking in silence.

After they got to the school, she showed him a place where he could sleep, and gave him a new change of clothes.

“Fred, we can help you for a few days. But after the ceremony, you’ll be considered an adult, and will be responsible for your things.” Clarissa said, and Fred asked.

“Is there any job I can do around here?”

“After you get your class tomorrow, you’ll be able to join the adventurer guild. Even though we are a small town, we still have a small office here. There’ll be many jobs offered, enough for you to earn your keep.” She said and turned around to leave the room.

“Thank you for everything. I’ll make sure to repay you.” Fred said while Clarissa left the room.

After taking a shower and changing his clothes, he slept as soon as his head hit the pillow. It was a dreamless night, and morning soon arrived.

He woke up in panic, looking around and holding his sword tightly. He looked through the window, and saw the sun rising in the horizon. Relief washed over him. “I’m not locked in that place anymore. I have the entire world for me now.”

After calming down for a bit, he heard someone knocking on his door. He got up and opened it. A girl waited with a tray of food in hand. “Clarissa asked me to deliver this to you.” She had long wavy blond hair, and her almond green eyes were lovely.

He nodded his head, and took the tray offered to him. “Thank you.” Fred said while taking the food.

“You’re welcome.” She said, “Clarissa said that master Jouti instructed you to train with us today. We’ll begin in thirty minutes.”

“Oh, thanks. I’ll finish up and be there shortly.” He said.

The girl left, and Fred entered the room to finish his food. He devoured the meal. There were many fruits, bread and boiled eggs on it. Enough to fill him completely.

After that, he went to the gym. The others from the previous day were all there. After counting properly, he saw that there were exactly twelve of them. The ones that grabbed his attention the most were a huge muscled boy, and the girl that went to serve him his food before.

After a few minutes, Clarissa arrived. She looked around and said. “Today is a very important day, it’s when you’ll get your class.” She waited for a moment, while they digested the reality of the situation. “You’ll be considered an adult from tomorrow onward, and many paths will be available to you.” She looked at some specific teenagers with a small smile on her face. “Responsability…. Many of you will only discover it from tomorrow onward.”

“As the important day today is, we’ll be doing something special, something that can maybe help you get a better class. You’ll be battling between yourselves, and after that, everyone will fight against me. However, unlike previous times when you sparred, you’ll be going for the kill this time.”

Fred saw that many people flinched when she said that. It was obvious that they didn’t want to go that far.

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll place a skill on you that will protect you if any deadly attack is coming.” She said with a small smile on the corner of her mouth.

Willfred instantly identified the catch. The skill would only protect the person if a deadly attack came, if the attack would only injure the person, it wouldn’t activate. He wondered how such a marvelous skill existed.

After some hesitation, a boy wearing leather armor and using a spear stepped forward. After him, the muscled giant stepped forward. The spear wielder visibly flinched, but it was too late to back out now. Clarissa pointed her hand forward, and a halo appeared around them, before concentrating around their hearts.

“You can begin.” Clarissa said.

The spear wielder took a stance and concentrated his mana round the weapon. Fred could see that his mana manipulation was around common tier by the way he manipulated it. It was obvious that mana was only used by his spear mastery skill, and not a weapon on itself.

He couldn’t feel an inch of mana coming out of the muscled guy. It was like his mana was sealed, and couldn’t leak.

“You can make the first attack.” The muscled one said.

The spear wielder didn’t say anything else, and simply stepped forward explosively. Fred admitted that his footwork was quite good, but there were many points where it could be improved.

The muscled guy slapped the spear to the side, and punched forward at the same time. He was so fast that Fred’s eyes could barely keep up with him. Some green ethereal vines sprouted from the place where the punch landed, and protected the spear wielder. However, he was still thrown a few meters backwards, and rolled on the ground until stopping.

“Emmanuel wins.” Clarissa said. “NEXT!”

Emmanuel went to the side, and another pair stepped forward. The ones that stepped forward were a man who wore a black vest, and had a pair of daggers on his hand, and the other was a girl in a teal robe. Clarissa soon cast the skill over the pair, and they began to fight.

The boy used shadow and stealth to quickly shuffle around. His mastery over shadow was good, but leagues below what Emily could do back in the facility, combining her icy light with her spear.

The girl used lightning, and even though her mastery over it was much better than her opponent's grasp over his element, she still lost in the end.

More fights happened one after the other, and many injuries began to happen. If the attacks were not lethal, they easily drew blood. Clarissa healed each person after the fight with some kind of healing skill.

After some time, Clarissa called for him. “Fred, step forward. You’ll fight Amanda now.”

With sword in hand, he walked forward. Soon after, Amanda, the girl that delivered him his breakfast, stood across from him.

As soon as Clarissa applied the skill over and gave her instructions to begin the competition, he felt a power brewing within Amanda. A burst of flames left her and attacked Fred. He stepped to the side, using a small burst of mana to enhance his step. Right after, he felt another attack coming.

This time, instead of evading, he concentrated mana in the blade of his sword and slashed the incoming flame. Right when the sword made contact with the flame, he made the mana expand and made a concentrated explosion, distersing the attack.

Amanda stood in place, and even though her attack was easily defeated, didn’t back down.

He felt her manipulating more mana, and small balls of fire appeared around her.

Just like the previous flames, they were almost white, with a tinge of yellow.

This time, all small balls of flames went toward him together. Fred was surprised, and didn’t have enough time to retreat. He released mana around his body, and solidified it over his skin.

The flames burned through some of his mana, and singed his body. Small parts of his clothes were ripped apart, and his burnt skin was exposed.

“That’s what I get for underestimating the adversary.” Fred thought while ignoring the pain.

He circulated mana all over his body and sword, fortifying them. His body became stronger, and his sword sharper.

He stepped forward, making a burst of mana below his feet to enhance his speed. His technique was much more refined and stronger than what the spear wielder used.

Amanda couldn’t even react when he slashed her. Clarissa’s skill activated, and the vines appeared to protect her.

She nodded toward him and went to the side. Clarissa walked over to heal him, but his burns were already healing. She didn’t say anything and just said. “Emmanuel, fight with Fred.”