They shortly arrived in the training hall. There were many guards and knights practising and sparring with one another.
"Greetings Young miss, Greetings Young master!"
"Greetings Young miss, Greetings Young master!"
"Greetings Young miss...
" Greetings...
Noticing them coming in, every guard and knight greeted them. Their gaze toward Anna was filled with reverence which confused Max a little. If this was Emily he would understand but Anna was only a one-star mage.
Thinking this Max asked Lilly in a whisper about this. Lilly looked at him as if he was a fool which in turn made him slightly embarrassed.
"Young master, you might think that becoming a one-star mage is quite easy right?" Lilly asked as if she already knew his answer.
"Mhm...!" Max nodded.
Lilly shook her head and continued "In reality, It is very difficult. Especially for commoners like me and these guards and knights who don't have any resources or status to get into any reputable academy to learn magic. Even for nobles, it is considerably difficult to become a one-star mage without many precious resources, right guidance and most importantly talent."
"You can become a novice mage easily through meditation or some sort of special exercises to sense and accumulate mana or eating mana rich food for a longer period of time as you only need to have 100 units of mana which the human body can contain easily.
But to become a one-star mage not only do you have to accumulate 500 units of mana inside your body which is a difficult task as the human body doesn't have this capacity. Thus you also have to compress it enough to liquefy it or in its normal form if someone tries to accumulate in their body they will simply explode. After mana becomes liquid you have to consciously make it flow inside your body to strengthen your body so that it can contain more mana.
"This is why countless people remain novice mage their entire life and that is also why people respect those who can become a one-star mage and that too in their early twenties which indicates the talent of a person." After hearing this he nodded in understanding.
'Does the same process apply to me or not?' Max wondered. After all, he has the lust system by which he can get stronger but he didn't know whether it will help also him do the said process or he will have to do it himself.
"Max, you said you can fight a novice mage right? How about we spar a little so that I can see how much efficiently you use your and gauge your control over it so that I can guide you properly." Anna spoke which made him come out of his daze.
"I don't think that's necessary because I don't have any control over mana and it took quite an effort for me to gather it around my palm when I demonstrated yesterday." Max smiled bitterly.
"Oh... Max, do you the know most efficient way to get better at sensing and controlling mana?" Anna asked, she had a completely different expression than her usual childish and happy go lucky attitude.
"No" Max replied without hesitation as he simply had no idea.
"It's to fight. Fight while using your mana consciously to be precise. It doesn't matter how you use it, Be it in spells or with weapons etc. When you fight your control gradually becomes better and as you have a limited amount of mana you learn how to use it efficiently." She replied while waving her little fists around.
"Is that so?" Max pondered and found her reasoning to be right. No matter what to want to learn. The fastest way is always to try it yourself so that you can know where you are making mistakes etc.
"Okay let me find a suitable opponent then." Max nodded and was about to turn towards the knights when Anna grabbed his hand.
"You don't have to look for anyone. I'll fight with you." She winked at him playfully.
"You? aren't you a one-star mage?" Max asked her warily. Given her playful nature, she might accidentally injure him which he didn't want.
Anna pouted her small pink lips "So what? I'll be careful not to hurt you. Don't you believe me that much?"
Seeing her behaviour he sighed and nodded "Alright."
"Yay! That's my sweet little Max." She instantly became energetic.
Max looked at her up and down and said in his mind 'Compared to you I'm indeed little, especially in some places. cough! cough!'
...
...
"First of all, try feeling mana inside your body at all times and when you start attacking use mana to boost your speed by focusing it on your feet or on your fists, on the weapon to make the attack stronger. It is important to..." Anna slowly explained what he had to do and what he should keep in mind.
"Okay enough with the explanation. Come let's fight now." She gestured for him with her fingers to come forward.
"Huu.."
Max took a deep breath while sensing the mana flowing inside of him. He tried to concentrate it below his feet and dashed toward her.
'Eh~'
He let out a surprised gasp in his head. By using mana to boost his strength required him to constantly focus on it which made him feel a headache but in return, he was almost two times faster than what he normally was.
'It really is magical.' He thought and simultaneously focused his mana on his fists which made him feel dizzy. He threw his fist at her chest. His punch seemed quite powerful but Anna gently sidestepped and dodged it with ease. Due to the fast speed and the strength behind his punch, he couldn't stop himself and crashed into the ground face first. Fortunately, the ground wasn't cemented or he would have lost a few teeth.
"Pffffttt~ "
Anna burst out laughing and some guards who stopped to watch their spar chuckled lightly so as not to let anyone hear it.
Max spit out dirt and rose from the ground. He had a serious look on his face.
"Hahaha, Max you need to familiarise yourself with the speed and power which you have after using mana first. Otherwise, you won't be able to properly use your power." Anna advised after seeing his expression.
Following this, they continued their 'spar' until Max was completely out of breath and collapsed on the ground but he had a satisfied smile on his face. He was starting to get used to mana and was becoming more proficient in using it.
