The Path of the All-Rounder
The martial arts class was in full swing. [You are studying under an outstanding teacher.]
Your hidden talent is blooming.
Intelligence stat is rising rapidly!
I continued attending the Mana Sensitivity class after that. This was the whole reason I had come to the Academy. The growth-type buffs they offered here were something you could never experience outside these walls. On top of that, Asbel’s innate talent played a massive role.
Asbel possessed an extraordinary talent for mana. Born with an unusually high amount of natural mana, his body had naturally specialized toward the path of a mage. As you’d expect, when you invested experience into mage-related stats like Intelligence or Magic Power, they rose at a very high rate. Even repeating the related actions just a few times would make those stats shoot up quickly.
On the other hand, no matter how much experience you poured into physical stats like Strength, Stamina, Endurance, or Agility—or how many times you repeated those actions—the gains were minimal. In short, his body was built for magic.
‘The funny part is that despite all that, his skills and traits are all specialized for martial arts.’
Mage-related stats could be raised quickly, but actually trying to learn magic created another problem. For some reason, he simply couldn’t acquire any magic-related skills or traits. You could tell just by looking at his innate trait, Weapon Mastery.
That was why he’d been cursed at so much in the early days. Well… now that the hidden skill Contractor of Divine Artifacts had been revealed, it was obvious the game company had designed everything this way on purpose. They must have created the most suitable character for handling that particular skill, and this was the natural result.
The skill allowed him to manipulate contracted divine weapons from a distance using mana without touching them. So his body was specialized for a mage, while his skills and traits were specialized for a knight. A perfectly contradictory character.
“Professor, I still can’t feel the mana properly.”
Unlike me, who had sensed mana in a single go thanks to the crystal orb lesson, most of the students were still struggling. Every time that happened, Professor Froy tried different approaches. Just as the status window had indicated, he really was an excellent teacher.
“Hmm. This may be because you were born with very little natural mana. Try drinking this potion and attempting it again.”
“Professor? What about me?”
“Your constitution leans strongly toward fire. It seems your innate nature is close to flame. I’ll bring you a flame stone. Hold it and practice in the same way. You should be able to sense mana a little faster.”
The Mana Sensitivity class taught by Professor Froy was for first-years—students who had qualified to enter the Academy but lacked a solid foundation. He was an outstanding educator, and because he had dealt with these situations often, he continued offering incredibly useful advice as he guided the students.
After the fulfilling class ended—
Intelligence stat has increased by an additional 3 through repeated related actions!
I managed to snatch up a nice chunk of Intelligence points. And with that, class was over.
“That will be all for today’s lesson. Everyone worked hard.”
“Thank you, Professor!”
The kids bowed and filed out in a noisy rush. I left the classroom as well.
There was no class more efficient for grinding Intelligence in the early game. Just attending would raise the stat by around 100 points. I planned to keep showing up diligently until then. I’d paid a ridiculous amount of tuition to come here—I was going to squeeze every last drop of value out of it.
“Alright. Intelligence can keep rising steadily through classes. Now it’s time for skills.”
Since I had raised my physical stats, it was time to start acquiring skills. Martial arts skills. And not just any—a wide variety suited for an all-rounder.
“Sword Drawing, Spear Technique, Curved Sword, Greatsword. For now, let’s focus on acquiring these four weapon-related skills in the shortest time possible. It’s going to be busy.”
A hardcore schedule was waiting for me. Even if I was raising an all-rounder, there were skills that needed to be focused on early and others that were better developed later. Among the early-game options, the two with excellent growth efficiency were Greatsword and Spear Technique.
Using the greatsword’s large surface for cosmic defense, stabbing sneakily from behind with the spear, and finishing with the greatsword’s heavy burst damage when needed—that style could handle most early enemies without much trouble.
That was why I had temporarily put other classes on hold and was focusing on Greatsword and Spear Technique. Since martial arts classes were electives for upperclassmen rather than basic courses, skill-related instruction began from the very first lesson.
“Today’s class will cover skills. I assume you all already know the basic sword forms. We will now add detailed mana manipulation to those movements.”
The spear technique professor, Ramos, slowly demonstrated for the students.
“The power must begin in the legs, travel through the waist, and extend out through the arms. Throughout this entire process, mana must provide continuous acceleration. Then, along with that built-up acceleration, you must infuse mana into the spear itself.”
Slowly, the acceleration that started from the legs traveled through the waist and arms before shooting forward. Watching him, it felt less like a human and more like a rubber spring shaped like one. Ramos thrust the spear with incredible elasticity.
“And the most crucial part here is the mana infused into the spear. You push the accelerated mana to the tip at the exact moment you thrust. If you compress the mana and shoot it forward the instant the spear strikes—!!!”
BOOM!
Ramos repeated the thrusting motion he had just shown at high speed. The mana clustered at the spear’s tip exploded forward at tremendous velocity. The result was a clean hole punched straight through the thick steel plate set up as a target.
It had been a fairly thick plate, yet the concentrated mana and speed had pierced it like it was tofu.
“This skill is the foundation of all spear techniques—the mana manipulation method behind it. It is also well known as the Stingray skill. If the foundation of swordsmanship is the slash, then the foundation of spearmanship is the thrust. Everything changes depending on how well you have mastered this thrust, the Stingray skill. I will now observe each of you one by one.”
Ramos had the students perform thrusts. As he watched, he corrected their forms and pointed out problems.
“There’s too much force in your legs. Relax and move with a light, rolling feeling.”
“You over-injected the mana. It won’t compress properly, and you won’t get decent penetration power.”
He explained calmly, then approached me and made a troubled expression.
“Student Asbel, this is a bit difficult. I’m not sure if it’s even possible to infuse mana into a divine artifact that’s floating in the air without being connected to your hands……”
In other words, he could give feedback if I held a weapon and used the skill normally, but my case made it hard for him to help.
Without a word, I summoned Elm 183 and performed the thrust.
After gaining the Intelligence stat, I could handle mana-related phenomena far more efficiently. Infusing mana into a contracted divine artifact was now child’s play.
The moment I executed a thrust that imitated the Stingray I had just seen, Professor Ramos’s eyes widened.
“Is this the right way to thrust, Professor?”
“Excellent. That was a sharp thrust. However, the mana loaded on the blade is somewhat unstable. The pulled mana must shoot forward all at once and concentrate on a single point in an instant.”
Ramos accurately identified my problem and explained it. At the same time—
[Received outstanding instruction.]
[1% until new enlightenment]
The enlightenment gauge rose. The moment it reached 100%, Stingray would become mine.
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Keep striving. Since it is a skill that handles weapons without touching them, it will require even more precise mana control than when using your hands. If you run into problems or hit a wall, come find me anytime.”
Of course I will. Every single piece of your teaching fills up my enlightenment gauge like crazy.
I’ll be attending every single day until I learn Stingray, Professor.
After class, I immediately headed to the neighboring classroom for Greatsword instruction.
“The skill we will learn today is called Mountain Shaker.”
A giant of a man. Enormous muscles. A bushy beard and a completely bald head. While the students who had attended the spear class had varied body types, everyone here for the greatsword class looked almost identical to Professor Howzer. Given that greatswords demanded tremendous strength, it was only natural.
“It is one of the fundamental skills that marks both the beginning and the end for greatsword users. The method is simple.”
Professor Howzer slammed mana into his greatsword with all his might.
“Pour mana into the greatsword. What matters is that the mana inside must seethe like a balloon stretched to its limit. It must hold energy like a bomb. And then—!!”
Howzer lightly struck the ground with his greatsword. The vibration that followed was on a completely different scale from the light tap. A massive tremor echoed throughout the entire lecture hall. It felt like a bomb had detonated underground.
“The instant you strike down, you must amplify the power loaded in the greatsword several times over and release it. The greatsword is a weapon whose greatest strength is its powerful single strike! Never forget that! Today we will focus on the mana manipulation for this greatsword skill. Come forward one by one and demonstrate!”
Students took turns demonstrating. When my turn came, Professor Howzer burst into hearty laughter and strode over.
“Asbel!! So you’re that famous seventh-year freshman!”
As he spoke, his eyes sparkled with irrepressible delight as he stared at the Iron Lion’s Greatsword floating behind me.
“To see that famous blade with my own eyes! Incredible! Why don’t you show us the skill?”
Everyone was staring at me with uncomfortable interest. It seemed the Iron Lion’s Greatsword was something of a legend among greatsword knights. I felt like a monkey in a zoo. Still, this was Professor Howzer’s class atmosphere. Since I had something to learn, I had no choice but to play along with the social game.
I poured mana into the greatsword until it felt like it would explode, then lightly struck the floor.
BOOM!
A vibration rang out, but it was nowhere near the destructive power Professor Howzer had displayed.
“Still a long way to go. Your mana handling is quite crude.”
It was the same point both Professor Ramos and Professor Howzer had made. The common weakness was that my ability to infuse and manipulate mana within divine artifacts was still severely lacking. Which made sense. My Intelligence stat was still low, and with my current specs, precise mana control was still impossible.
[Received outstanding instruction.]
[1% until new enlightenment]
That was why I had to keep attending. Only by receiving continuous instruction and advice could I acquire the skills quickly.
“Pull it tighter, like drawing a taut string. You need to handle the mana with that kind of tension. Understand, Asbel?”
“Thank you for the guidance.”
“Hahaha!! Of course!! The ability to wield weapons without even touching them! How fascinating! If you ever have questions, ask me anytime!!”
After Professor Howzer’s class, I trudged out of the lecture hall. Even after leaving, there was no time to rest. After receiving instruction, practicing and drilling it was the fastest way to raise the enlightenment gauge.
“Time to go train.”
But I didn’t feel bored. To prepare for the Four Evil Dragons and the Demon event, I had to squeeze out every second and become even a little stronger.
The training room provided a 10% proficiency buff when practicing, so I planned to head there again today to drill what I had learned.
Stingray. And Mountain Shaker. These were the skills that would feed me through the early and mid game. I needed to acquire them as quickly as possible, and even after learning them, I had to keep practicing to raise their proficiency.
Perhaps because it was close to evening, no one else was training. The moment I stepped into the training room and began walking toward the skill-practice rubber dummies—
“Seventh-year freshman.”
A voice suddenly called out from a corner of the training room, near the magic brazier installed to maintain temperature. When I turned my head, I saw the girl who had received a Seven-Wing badge alongside me during the entrance exam. Rachel was staring straight at me.