12th day since our arrival on the southern mountain range…
"Well, even I have to admit it now, you've been making rapid improvements. Your breathing is correct, your stance is more refined, and your other bad habits are now almost negligible. Good job."
Hearing the red-haired jerk applauding me for my efforts, I felt a sense of satisfaction start building up in my chest.
"You say that, but all I've been doing for the past twelve days is getting my ass kicked by you," I rolled my eyes. "It makes me wonder if I'm truly improving."
"Trust me, you are," Leo replied. "By the end of the fourth week, you'll be twice— no, at least thrice— as strong as you were before coming here."
Grrr—!!
Upon hearing a growl emanating from somewhere nearby, Leo's ears perked up and he looked towards the woods.
"Hmm? Was that a beast?" he asked aloud, frowning.
But how could that be a beast? Every single one of them is too terrified by Leo's presence to even approach the area he's in.
"No! That was my stomach!" I snapped, frustrated beyond reason. "You say I'll become strong by the end of the fourth week? Well, I won't even survive until then!"
"Oh, so you're hungry?" Leo clapped his hands together in understanding. "That's why you're sprawled on the ground."
"....."
Due to sheer starvation, after completing my morning exercise of running uphill and downhill a few times and practicing my swings, thrusts, blocks, and parries a thousand times, I collapsed on the ground.
And this jerk, who's supposed to be my master, casually woke up a few minutes ago and devoured an entire red velvet cake right in front of my eyes for breakfast!
One of Leo's many nicknames was The Red Devil. Now I can understand why he got that moniker.
He's a devil alright! I can see it!
"You're being overly dramatic, oh dear disciple of mine," Leo playfully clicked his tongue. "During my own training, my master starved me for four months. For you, it has only been twelve days."
"Bullshit! I call bullshit!" I attempted to rise, but my legs lacked any strength, causing me to end up on my knees. "You can't survive for more than two months without food!"
"Yet, here I am, alive and kicking," Leo gestured to his own body. "You will survive as well."
...I'm going to die, aren't I?
Shot by a maniac author in my first life, and starved to death by a maniac master in my second life.
Am I some kind of magnet for maniacs or something, huh?!
"But hey, since you've completed my first challenge and made it through the first week in this mountain range, I suppose I can offer you a small reward."
Upon hearing the word 'reward,' anticipation surged within me. What could it possibly be?
A sliver of red velvet cake? Some leftover chicken soup? The last piece of beef jerky? Heck, at this point, I'm even willing to eat leftover chicken bones!
"I allow you to now use mana while training and sparring," Leo declared.
…Huh?! That's it?!
For reference, after I grasped the basics of Martial Aura and began my training with the spear, I was not allowed to use mana at all.
"Huh?! How is that a reward? If you really want to give me something then just, for the love of god, give me something to eat!"
"Not happening," Leo flashed an amused smile in my direction before he got up. "Come on, let's start today's training."
…Oh, yeah. I'm definitely going to die. Just wait for me a little more Grandma, I'm on my way to you.
†
I gave it my all during the spar with Leo, but even after tapping into my mana, he ruthlessly wiped the floor with my ass.
I now found myself in the same defeated position I was in before the training— lying face-flat on the ground.
"Good job," Leo's voice reached my ears. "I didn't expect your mana control to be that impressive."
Impressive, my ass! I couldn't even manage to land a scratch on this red-haired jerk.
"Get up," Leo said, poking me with the shaft of his spear. "This time, try using Martial Aura and extend it onto your weapon."
Groaning and whimpering, I forced myself to stand.
"Extending it onto my weapon?" I raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"Yes," Leo nodded. "Think of your weapon as an extension of your own limb. Then, cover it with Martial Aura—this technique is known as Weapon Qi or simply Sword Qi."
"Wouldn't that deplete my mana pool way faster than usual?" I frowned.
"Yeah, that's why you need to use it carefully in real battles," Leo replied. "If you learn to wield it effectively, it can become a formidable weapon in your arsenal."
My frown deepened. "Yes, perhaps for now. But when I face seasoned fighters in the future, exhausting my mana too soon will only lead to my death faster!"
Leo looked at me, an amused glint in his eyes. "Don't worry about that. Even though I don't possess a massive mana pool myself I can still use Sword Qi for a long period of time. Do you know why?"
I actually do know why.
In the novel, although nothing was mentioned regarding the size or rank of Leo's mana core, something else caught my attention.
Within the story, Leo possessed a highly lethal secret art that allowed him to surpass the potential limitations of his mana core.
Upon employing this secret art, he could harness the ambient Mana present in the atmosphere to effortlessly cast spells and perform advanced martial arts techniques.
That's why everyone in the story assumed that he possessed a high-ranking mana core, even though his specific rank was never mentioned in the novel.
Even I believed he had a formidable mana core. That's why I thought with his secret art, he was pretty much broken.
But now I can see, since his mana core ranking wasn't high, the only option he had was to use that secret art.
So in a sense, despite being overpowered, I don't think he was broken anymore.
Of course, even after connecting those dots, I can't go ahead and answer him so I decided to feign ignorance.
"How is that?" I asked.
"I will tell you when the time comes," Leo answered. "But until then, get the hell up and start training!"
