--
**
[Skills]:
• Basic Breathing Technique - (Perfect 500/1000)
• Basic Fighting Technique - (Perfect 515/1000)
• Basic Footwork Technique—(Perfect 530/1000)
• Fencing—(Perfect—10/1000)
• Shooting—(Minor—150/250)
**
In a single night and a single game, TJ earned hundreds of mastery points.
Had he chosen to go about this usual way, it would take him days or even weeks to have this much progress, yet with the help of the Dream Echo Battlefield, he could gain this much overnight.
The rewards weren't just limited to this. In fact, this wasn't the actual reward he got from the Dream Echo Battlefield because the increase in mastery points was the effect of the [Limit Breaking Hard Work].
A small but noticeable increase in his overall strength is what he gets as a reward for beating a dream echo. It made him feel a tad bit lighter and stronger upon waking up, in addition to feeling refreshed and relieved.
Although it wasn't a lot, these small increments of upgrades will eventually add up in the future, and he doesn't even need to pay for it. Of course, this was under the assumption that he defeats his enemy.
"Next time, I'll fight a Caster to see if the rewards I get are similar," TJ decided, but now's not the time for that.
He just woke up, after all. And he could only enter the Dream Echo Battlefield once a day.
Besides, he had a camp to attend, so he got up, did his morning routine, and made his way to the school.
He arrived pretty early. The school didn't have many people since it's still the vacation. He also didn't see many of his peers in the camp just yet.
As he was making his way to the training area, the one he got access to through Mr. Eden, he paused and began looking around suspiciously. A frown formed on his face as he scanned his surroundings, trying to see if his guess was correct.
'I could've sworn...'
TJ felt like somebody was staring at him just now, but as he looked everywhere, he didn't see anybody.
He wanted to say that he may just be sensing things wrongly, but the way he felt goosebumps all over his body tells him otherwise. It was creepy, and he didn't like it.
But, since he didn't see anyone, he could only give up and move on. However, he was already spooked, so he became wary as he walked away.
He eventually got into the training area safely. The feeling of being stared at and being followed was almost gone and forgotten.
Upon arriving there, he saw Lily there already, so he said,
"I could've sworn I got here as early as I could to be the first to arrive. How come you're already here? Is the school your home now?"
Without looking back to him or breaking her focus on her current activity, Lily replied:
"Kind of."
"Wait, I wasn't serious. I wasn't expecting to be correct."
Lily chuckled and said, "That's so you. But yeah, I'm kind of living here at the moment. Well, not here in the training area, exactly. My teacher, the Dean, transformed a spare room here for me to use. It's not so bad, really."
TJ thought for a bit, then realized why it is so.
"They still haven't found them?"
"Yeah." Lily sounded less energetic this time. "Well, it's those people after all. They're terrorists, not some random street thugs."
TJ guessed it correctly. Lily was staying here for the moment to be safe from the Black Church cultists.
As the precious student of this school's dean and her identity as the only daughter of the Medical Saint, Anthony Heartveil, Lily's name was pretty high up on their assassination list. If they get their hands on her, it will be a serious blow to many people. Her parents will also be devastated.
So, to protect her, they have to temporarily put her somewhere safe, and this school just happens to be one of the very few places she could be in. Staying here, she's under the direct protection of many professionals, including her own teacher as well.
Not wanting to stay on this slightly depressing topic, TJ switched the topic by asking her, "What's that right there?"
See, hovering between Lily's palms was a cube the size of her hand. It glowed with a soft blue light and was separating into tinier cubes as it behaved rather weirdly.
"Ah, this? It's a Mana Tuning Cube," Lily revealed. "It's a tool that can assist with Mana Training."
"Never heard of it," TJ replied while preparing his own equipment.
"That's not surprising. The teacher said that this was born from a thesis of an alumnus last year. It hasn't been proven to work a hundred percent just yet, but it does help."
"How does it work?"
"It's a medium, so it reacts with mana. It could be broken into tinier cubes; the actual number depends on how finely the user controls their output. Each cube has to be controlled to be moved, after all."
"It can also form or imitate shapes depending on how well the user controls their mana. The more complicated the form is, the more difficult it is to recreate them using this cube."
"So, it could only separate into tinier cubes? The rest is up to you?" TJ asked to confirm.
Lily nodded and said, "Yeah, pretty much. It's boring, I know, but it does help with mana control. I use less mana when using spells now because of this, so it's not that bad."
Spells and magic are created using a person's mana and spiritual consciousness—or, as most would call it, imagination. Both aspects are important for the spell or magic to manifest.
In the basic curriculum of the prep school, many activities were disguised for the sole purpose of improving one's imaginative mind to prepare for this problem because studies have shown that most people fail at this part when they're trying to cast their spells for the first few times.
As for Mana, training will have to wait until after the awakening ceremony. That's because mana stays dormant and completely still in the bodies of the unawakened.
Of course, mana quantity, quality, and control are also equally important as one's imagination. Not having enough mana stops one from attempting to cast the spell, putrid and chaotic mana could cause the spell to deteriorate or hurt the user, and not enough control causes the mana cost to be high.
TJ has read enough material online to name a few tricks and tools that pros use to train their mana control, and this Mana Tuning Cube wasn't one of those; that's why he didn't recognize it earlier.
As for how effective it was, TJ had no idea. He could only take Lily's word for it because he's quite confident that even if he were to hold this cube, it wouldn't react to him because of the abysmal mana he had.
TJ talked to her for a while. At some point, Sieg arrived, and their routine and unsupervised training began.
**
Let's rewind time a little bit. Around the time when TJ felt creeped out by the sensation of being stared at.
As it turns out, TJ's instincts weren't wrong. Someone, or something, was indeed staring at him.
The moment he stilled and started looking around warily, the figure instantly blended into the surroundings, its presence completely disappearing to the point that even direct eye contact wouldn't reveal its shape.
'How sharp! It seems that I see another delicious target.'
However, this presence didn't do anything just yet. Instead, it just stared and followed TJ until he disappeared from its sight. The desire in its eyes was thick and, quite frankly, terrifying.
'Ahh...I can't afford to be distracted. He's not my target. I should look for the medical saint's daughter. I can take him along when I get her. For now, I have to work.'
Zing!
"Urk!!"
The figure's eyes suddenly constricted as it felt a strong grip holding its neck. It thrashed around in attempts to free itself, but the hand held it like a vice grip with how tight it was.
"Fucking hell. You sons of bitches sure are becoming bolder and bolder, huh? Even daring to intrude upon school grounds."
Mr. Eden's rough and gritty voice reverberated within the figure's now revealed body. Veins protruded on his forehead, indicating that he's really pissed. He's even biting hard on his precious cigar.
The intruder did its best to struggle free from the grip, but it was helpless. The more it tried, the more desperate it became.
In the end, Mr. Eden had enough of its writhing like a worm. His arm glowed with a strong black light then, and the intruder stilled, falling unconscious in his hand.
"If this was any other day, I would kill you right away for this. Unfortunately for you, the Dean and the City Lordess are very determined to hunt all of you down like the rats you are."
"So, I'm sorry, buddy. Your brain's about to be prodded by some brain freaks. You will tell us everything that you know whether you like it or not."