I Refuse the Tragic Ending

Helen gave him a doubtful look.

”Before we begin, there’s something I want to discuss.”

Kael turned toward her.

”Your Hero Core breakthrough.”

His expression changed slightly.

”Is there a problem?”

”Quite the opposite. Do you understand how unusual your advancement is?”

Kael considered the question.

He had spent a considerable amount of time improving his Hero Core. First, he had used the Core Catalyst alongside Professor Aldren’s Body Refinement method and the Four-Two-Six Breathing Technique to advance from Rank F to F(+1).

Later, the Core Enhancement Material had helped him progress from F(+1) to F(+3).

Those improvements hadn’t come easily. He needed to cultivate consistently, refine his breathing, and gradually strengthen his body.

But reaching Rank E had been different. It was the breakthrough that changed what he could actually do.

”Rank E is the first stage where someone can summon mana outside their body,” Kael answered.

”Correct.”

Helen folded her arms.

”Most people awaken with a Hero Core that allows them to begin developing their mana. However, students with Rank F Cores face an exceptionally difficult path. Based on the academy’s records, only around one percent manage to break through to Rank E.”

Kael raised his eyebrows.

”Only one percent?”

”I’m talking about you. That’s why your advancement attracted attention.”

Helen paused before continuing.

”Your initial evaluation was rather poor. Your Hero Core was classified as Rank F, and your physical and combat assessments weren’t particularly impressive either. Yet you managed to advance beyond the limit that most students with your starting rank never overcome.”

Kael remained silent.

He had known that his Core was considered weak. He hadn’t realized the odds of reaching Rank E were quite that discouraging.

”There’s another reason the academy decided to assign someone to supervise your training,” Helen added.

She picked up the notebook from the table.

”After the examination, the four Senior Instructors submitted their reports. They specifically mentioned that your team was the one who discovered the sanctuary.”

Kael blinked.

”They did?”

”They also reported that your team confirmed you had led them there. According to their accounts, your decisions helped several groups of students reach safety.”

Helen closed the notebook.

”Your performance during the battle was another matter. But when the instructors compared your initial evaluation with what you accomplished during the examination, they found the difference rather interesting.”

Kael scratched his cheek.

He hadn’t expected his actions to attract this much attention. The academy probably saw him as a previously overlooked student who had suddenly demonstrated considerably more ability than his records suggested.

Helen studied him for a moment.

”To be honest, some of the instructors suspect there may be more to you than your initial assessment revealed.”

Kael gave a small, awkward smile.

”That’s quite a generous interpretation.”

”Perhaps. But your breakthrough is real, and your performance during the examination has given us reason to take a closer look.”

She gestured toward the training area.

”That’s also why I’m here. We don’t want you wasting the potential you’ve demonstrated, especially now that you’ve reached a stage where you can finally summon mana.”

Kael understood.

The academy wasn’t simply rewarding him for surviving the examination. They were interested in what he might become.

That was both an opportunity and a reason to be careful.

”Does reaching Rank E mean I should already be able to use mana properly?” He asked.

”No. It means your Hero Core has developed enough to allow you to summon it. Controlling that mana is an entirely different matter.”

Helen pointed toward the mana crystal.

”Show me how you currently summon mana.”

Kael extended his right hand.

He concentrated on his Hero Core and drew out a small amount of energy.

A faint glow appeared around his palm.

It was unstable, almost like a thin mist that couldn’t decide what shape to take. After a few seconds, it dispersed.

Helen watched carefully.

”Again.”

Kael repeated the process.

This time, he managed to keep the mana gathered around his hand for slightly longer, but its shape remained uneven.

”That’s what I expected,” Helen said.

”Is it that bad?”

”Your ability to summon mana is promising. Your control, however, needs considerable work.”

She picked up the mana crystal and held it near his hand.

”At Rank E, your Hero Core has reached the threshold necessary to release mana beyond your body. But you haven’t developed the precision required to shape it into stable constructs.”

”So I can summon mana, but I can’t do much with it yet.”

”Exactly. Think of it as learning to walk before attempting to run.”

Kael looked at his hand.

During the sanctuary battle, he had managed to surround his sword with a crude layer of mana. At the time, the situation had forced him to act on instinct.

Now that he understood the significance of his breakthrough, he realized how much he still needed to learn.

It was no longer the game he used to know where he just needed to tap on the chosen spell and ’bang’, the spell would shoot forward without needing to care about mana control.

Helen placed the crystal back on the table.

”Your first objective is to maintain a stable amount of summoned mana. Don’t attempt to form enhancement or reinforce your sword yet. I want you to learn how to control the energy before giving it a complicated shape.”

Kael nodded.

”Understood.”

”Good. Begin.”

Kael extended his hand again.

He focused on his Hero Core, carefully drawing out mana. The faint glow appeared once more, spreading unevenly around his palm.

Drawing mana from his hero core was easier now for him, however, controlling it was his problem.

He tried to stabilize it. The energy trembled before dispersing.

”Don’t force it,” Helen instructed. ”You’re trying to hold everything in place through sheer concentration. Instead, focus on maintaining a consistent flow.”

Kael adjusted his approach.

He drew out a smaller amount of mana and allowed it to gather gradually.

This time, the glow remained for several seconds.

Helen nodded.

”That’s better.”

Kael continued practicing.

The process was surprisingly exhausting. Summoning mana wasn’t particularly difficult, but maintaining it without allowing the energy to fluctuate required more concentration than he expected.

After several attempts, Helen raised her hand.

”That’s enough for today.”

Kael lowered his arm.

”Already?”

”Your control is still unstable. Continuing while exhausted will only reinforce bad habits.”

She picked up his sword and examined the moonstone embedded in its blade.

”Your weapon is another matter. The mana you used during the sanctuary battle interacted with the moonstone, which helped the blade withstand the contact with the caster’s magic. We will examine that interaction later.”

Kael nodded.

He wasn’t disappointed. If anything, he was beginning to understand how much his breakthrough had changed his training.

Before Rank E, his efforts had focused on developing the Core itself.

Now, he had to learn how to use what it could produce.

Helen returned the sword.

”For the time being, continue practicing your breathing technique. It helped you reach this stage, and it will remain useful as you develop your control.”

Kael accepted his weapon.

”And don’t attempt to recreate the technique you used during the battle until I’ve examined your mana control more thoroughly.”

”I understand.”

Helen gave him a final look.

”Good. You’ve made an impressive breakthrough, Student Grayford. Don’t ruin it by becoming impatient.”

Kael smiled faintly.

”I’ll try not to.”

...

Later that afternoon, Kael visited the library again.

He had intended to continue his research, but his morning training had left him with a new problem to consider.

Summoning mana was one thing.

Controlling it was another.

He had reached Rank E, but his ability to maintain even a simple layer of mana remained poor. If he wanted to reproduce what he had done during the sanctuary battle, he needed to improve considerably.

He had barely reached the research section when a familiar voice stopped him.

”Kael Grayford.”

Kael looked over his shoulder.

Lilith stood a few steps away, holding a thin book against her chest.

Kael found Lilith’s visit to the library rather unusual. In the game, she barely visited the library. Perhaps what happened at the examination triggered something in her. He wasn’t sure, though.

Her gaze briefly moved to his shoulder before returning to his face.

”You’re walking around again.”

”That’s generally how people get from one place to another.”

”Your ability to state the obvious is impressive.”

Kael smiled faintly.

”Have you found anything interesting?”

Lilith lifted the book.

”Possibly.”

She approached and placed it on the nearby table.

”I found something that might interest you. It’s a basic manual on defensive mana techniques.”

Kael glanced at the title.

”Defensive techniques?”

”Yes. You spent most of the battle redirecting attacks. That works when you can predict their direction and have enough room to move. But what happens when you can’t?”

”Take the hit?”

”Preferably not.”

She opened the book.

”Most beginners think defensive magic means creating a wall of mana. That’s inefficient. A simple barrier consumes a considerable amount of energy if you try to make it strong enough to withstand a direct attack.”

Lilith turned to a diagram showing a curved layer of mana.

”Instead, you can learn to distribute the force across a wider surface. You don’t need to stop an attack completely. You only need to reduce the impact enough to avoid being overwhelmed.”

Kael studied the diagram.

It was a simple concept, but an interesting one.

”So instead of blocking the attack directly, I redirect part of its force?”

”Something like that. Though this technique isn’t designed to redirect an entire attack. It disperses the impact before it reaches your body.”

She pointed to the diagram.

”Think of it as a thin layer of mana surrounding a specific area. The difficult part is maintaining an even distribution. If one section becomes too weak, the entire defense can collapse.”

Kael examined the illustration more carefully. It reminded him of what he had attempted with his sword during the sanctuary battle.

He had recently reached Rank E, the first stage at which he could summon mana outside his body. However, his control remained crude. If he could learn to distribute mana more evenly, he might be able to develop a reliable defensive method.

”Can you teach me this?”

Lilith looked at him.

”You want me to?”

”You brought the book over and explained the technique. I assumed you had a reason.”

She stared at him for a moment.

Then she sighed.

”You’re surprisingly comfortable asking people for favors.”

”Would you prefer that I struggle on my own?”

”That would be less troublesome.”

Despite her words, she pulled out a chair.

”Sit down. I’ll show you the basic structure. Don’t expect to master it today.”

Kael took the seat opposite her.

Lilith placed her palm over the table.

A faint layer of dark mana gathered around her hand. It formed a thin, curved surface that barely disturbed the air.

”Look closely.”

She picked up a small wooden bead and dropped it onto the mana layer.

The bead struck the surface, slid sideways, and rolled off the edge.

Kael watched carefully.

”You’re dispersing the impact across the surface.”

”Correct. The mana doesn’t resist the bead directly. It changes how the force travels.”

She dismissed the layer.

”Try it.”

Kael extended his hand.

He gathered mana around his palm, attempting to reproduce the shape.

The first attempt was uneven. The mana gathered too heavily near his fingertips, while the center remained weak.

Lilith watched for a few seconds.

”You’re concentrating too much energy in one place.”

Kael adjusted his control.

The layer became slightly more even, but it collapsed almost immediately.

He looked at his hand.

”That was worse than expected.”

”What did you expect? You haven’t learned the technique before.”

”Something a little more impressive.”

”Then perhaps you should have started learning defensive magic earlier.”

Kael gave her a dry look.

Lilith’s lips curved faintly.

It was subtle, but he caught it.

”You’re enjoying this.”

”I’m enjoying watching you realize that magic isn’t as easy as you thought.”

”I never said it was easy.”

”You certainly looked confident when you asked me to teach you.”

”Confidence is important.”

”Not when it’s misplaced.”

Kael chuckled and tried again.

This time, he focused on spreading his mana evenly rather than forcing it into a fixed shape.

The thin layer formed for a brief moment before breaking apart.

Lilith leaned forward slightly.

”Good. You’re beginning to understand the structure.”

”That sounded almost like praise.”

”Don’t get used to it.”

Kael smiled.

He tried once more, but the mana dispersed before it could stabilize.

After several attempts, his concentration began to weaken.

Lilith closed the book.

”That’s enough for today.”

”Already?”

”You’re still recovering, and your mana control is too unstable to continue. Repeating the same mistake won’t suddenly make you improve.”

Kael lowered his hand.

”Fair enough.”

Lilith gathered the book, but instead of putting it away, she pushed it toward him.

”Take this.”

Kael looked at it.

”You’re lending it to me?”

”You’ll need to study the structure if you intend to practice. I don’t want to explain the same principles every time we meet.”

”That’s considerate of you.”

”That’s efficient.”

”Of course.”

He accepted the book.

Their fingers briefly brushed as he took it.

Lilith withdrew her hand a little sooner than necessary and looked away.

”Don’t damage it. It’s from the restricted reference collection.”

”I’ll take care of it.”

A brief silence followed.

Kael glanced at her.

”Why are you helping me?”

Lilith looked back.

”Because you asked.”

”That’s all?”

”Would you prefer a more complicated explanation?”

”Not necessarily.”

She considered him for a moment before answering.

”You were willing to stand in front of those attacks when most people stood in fear. I thought someone like that should have a better way to protect himself.”

Kael wasn’t sure how to respond.

It wasn’t an overly sentimental statement, and Lilith didn’t appear to expect him to make a big deal out of it. Still, it was more honest than practical excuses.

He smiled slightly.

”Thank you.”

She blinked.

Then she looked down at the book.

”Just learn the technique properly. That’s enough.”

Kael nodded.

Lilith stood and gathered her remaining belongings. Before leaving, she glanced at his shoulder once more.

”Don’t overdo your training. Your body hasn’t recovered completely.”

”I’ve already received that warning from Professor Helen.”

”Then perhaps you’ll listen to it this time.”

”I’ll consider it.”

”That’s not reassuring.”

She turned and walked toward the library shelves.

Kael watched her leave before looking down at the manual.

A defensive technique.

It wasn’t particularly powerful, and he hadn’t even managed to maintain it for more than a moment.

But it offered something he had been missing.

He had spent most of his time learning how to attack, redirect force, and improve his physical abilities. His swordsmanship was developing, and his mana control was slowly improving. Yet he still lacked a reliable method of protecting himself when an opponent’s attack was too powerful to redirect.

This technique could fill that gap.

He opened the book and began reading.