After a while, Billy managed to make a short schedule for his kids. Throughout the week, he would teach them how to read and write as well as how to do some math three times per week. It was better to start slowly in order not to let them hate that kind of thing. So, each lesson would only last for one hour. His wives also would teach them other things like magic, which was in Sarah's hands. Natalie was going to play with them in order to let them get some more exercise, and she also would teach her the basics of combat. She knew a thing or two about Spearmanship, so it was fine to leave that with her. As for Kate, she could teach all that, so she would stay on standby to take some of their places if necessary. They did a lot for the state and for the people of that world, so it was time to focus on their children.
Once Alexander and Lily saw that they decided to do the same and let the kids study together. While they also wanted to let Lara grow more freely, that kind of experience wouldn't be bad for her. Billy observed things for a week and confirmed that it was working, so he sighed in relief. He also headed to a hideout and checked for messages from his spies, Icarus and Lucyna, but nothing major had been reported.
"I guess I am overthinking it," Billy thought. "Well, let's resume my training."
Bad news has the habit of coming into Billy's life when things are working well for him, so it was no wonder he was acting like that. Nevertheless, if the necromancer did something, Billy already had prepared his own countermeasures, so he wasn't that worried. He was just being cautious because that was his normal self in action.
After doing some training, Billy realized that he could use Mana Dominion to charge those who had his Mana Shield active. However, the range still rather limiting… he could increase the range of Mana Dominion by using more mana, but that wouldn't be efficient.
"This is really a pain in the ass…" Billy thought. "I tried to summon some monsters that could spells with raw mana, but it didn't work that well… I wonder how that summoner managed to make his monsters have such abilities."
It seemed that Billy needed to train and experiment more with his summoning skills, even though he was already doing that on a daily basis. Billy also wasn't making much progress trying to learn new skills with mana alone. He could make semi-invisible weapons with it, but he couldn't wield them and firing them made them lose power over time and the more they moved away from him. Moreover, they didn't become skills, so they couldn't level up.
"I thought that I was pretty good at this… but I guess elemental magic is just that easy to learn and control," Billy thought and then sighed.
Billy laid his back against the ground and began to think for a few moments. He was pretty sure that mana could do almost everything, so he needed a new approach to making progress with that. He needed to find inspiration… he found his inspiration when he tried to practice again, this time with Destructive Aura active. Naturally, he felt stronger, and his magic had increased, so he probably could do more than before. Just as he had expected, the range of his Mana Dominion increased… while the skill had a determined range per level, it didn't mean that it couldn't be forced to increase in power and utility when the circumstances of its use were different than normal.
In the end, Billy also tried what he failed in doing so previously. He tried to create something out of pure mana. He tried to make a dagger, and while he succeeded, it seemed more like a ghost-like item than anything. It could affect the environment, and Billy could hold it, but he couldn't get a good grip out of it…
"Not even like this, huh…" Billy said and then sighed.
Billy then recalled an old and pretty stupid saying: most problems can be solved with strength. If a problem isn't being solved by your strength alone, then you aren't using enough strength. With that in mind, Billy decided to pour more mana into the dagger. Thanks to that, the weapon became more and more physical, and he began to feel the weight behind it… Eventually, a crystal-like weapon was in Billy's hands, and it became something real in that world. Still, he almost used one thousand points of mana. He could make something way better with Earth magic…
You learned Mana Constructs.
Mana Constructs: it grants you the power to create things out of mana. Those objects will disappear over time since their mana will dissipate. Still, when used as weapons, they can cause spiritual and physical damage to the target. With each level up, the cost of the skill will decrease, and the durability of the objects will increase.
"This is rather unexpected… Or maybe not," Billy said and then tried to analyze the weapon, but it didn't work. "So, this weapon exists and doesn't exists at the same time…"
Billy decided to throw the weapon and see how powerful it was, and he frowned when it levitated from his hands… He had planned to move it with his hands, but the weapon obeyed his will. Even though it was made of his mana, something like that still was surprising since it was no longer connected to him. Billy didn't use any more mana, and it didn't seem like controlling it like that would make the weapon disappear much faster, so that was rather convenient.
Billy decided to test the durability of the weapon by using it to make a hole while spinning downward, and he confirmed that it pierced fifty meters deep underground. That would improve as the skill levels up.
