Summoned and Unwanted

[Those skills sound interesting. I wonder how strong they are.]

-I hope it can help me become stronger in my non-boosted state.-

[Yeah, you can spend twenty Soul Power every time a fight longer than ten minutes, unfortunately, happens.]

“Vincent, my friend. Look at this.” Ollie said. He raised his hand and showed a ring on his finger. “It appears all of teacher Biro’s students are married, so he wants me to marry into the Hawkins family.”

[Really? Doesn’t it mean Ollie is going to become a noble like you? Wow, this is interesting.]

“Congratulations. ” Vincent raised his fist and extended it next to Ollie.

Ollie fist-bumped Vincent and replied, “It was all because of you, my friend. You helped me awaken. It was the start of good fortune for me. I had the opportunity to be taught personally by a member of the best Paladin family in the Lusterfall Kingdom. I am even going to get married to a beautiful wife with a kind personality too.”

After spending half an hour chatting about training routines, Vincent and Ollie went to find Ton.

.....

“Teacher... don’t you think this is too much for the first day?” Ton asked.

“Humph. The standards are low this year too.” Biro answered. He had a frown on his face, and his hand were crossed. He stood in front of nineteen students breathing heavily. Nick was one of them. It appeared the training was more arduous then than expected.

Ton noticed Vincent and Ollie approached them. He faintly smirked when he saw a shocked expression on their faces. The nineteen students looked as if they ran for their lives and are now resting.

Ton signaled with his head to be followed. He went in front of the bolder and said, “Control is key in everything one does. One controls their legs to walk, and one controls their arms to punch. So why do we call it Energy Flow? It is because instead of harnessing the energy around us we call mana, we direct it to our liking.”

Ton placed his palm against the boulder and said, “Nothing is happening when I touch this self-repairing boulder, but when I direct the mana around me to one specific point, I can control it to harm.”

[This demonstration will help me guide you with my Photographic Memory skill.]

Kazumi noticed the mana around Ton becoming chaotic and somewhat easier to attract. The least chaotic mana particles moved in front of Ton’s palm as if he was directing them to go in one place.

“Force Shock!” Ton exclaimed.

A momentary gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, and a feeling of intimidation ran down Vincent and Ollie’s spine.

*Crack!* Cracks began to form like a spider’s cobweb on the surface of the boulder. The deepness of each thunder-like crevice demonstrated how dangerous the skill was.

However, although the destruction appeared to be outstanding, it took about five seconds for Ton’s hand to touch the boulder, used Energy Flow to direct the mana, and used Force Shock.

“Force Shock will collect on a place where you touch, and it will sprout roots of destruction. However, as you saw, it is a stationary CQC Art. The best uses are to break weapons and hard surfaces.” Ton explained.

[Hmm, this CQC Art matches with your brawler fighting style.]

-Yeah, I don’t need to use trickery anymore.-

[So are you implying to shove your arm in a Magic Beast and explode...]

-Ahem, let’s not think about gory thoughts.-

[...]

“What will happen if I use Force Shock on a flesh-based surface such a Magic or Demonic Beast?” Vincent curiously asked. He hoped it wouldn’t be as Kazumi described. He didn’t want to become covered in gore every time he went hunting.

“Hard surfaces crack and break when hit. On the other hand, soft surfaces will expand and contract back to their approximate original form when hit. ” Ton turned around and pointed at his arm. “Flesh is a soft surface that is connected by muscle fibers, nerves, and blood circulation to keep our body alive. As a result, limbs can become temporarily numb or permanently paralyzed.”

Ton crossed his arms and continued explaining the pros and cons, “The same could be said for vital organs. They could stop working. However, because this is the first level of CQC Art, covering the body with Energy Flow or Mana Flow will mitigate the damage. Sufficient control will defend against Force Shock and make it feel like a mosquito bite.”

Vincent and Kazumi understand better the importance of mastering Energy Flow Control. It can be used to attack and defend.

“Oliveros, do you want to try?” Ton asked.

Ollie nodded. He went in front of the boulder, and his eyes widened in surprise. The damage of Ton’s Force Shock was nowhere to be seen. The boulder had already recovered after the lengthy explanation.

Ollie shook his head and placed his palm against the boulder. He focused and channeled Energy Flow.

Five, ten, fifteen seconds passed. His eyes momentary sheened, and a faint breeze with intimidation intent could be felt. When the seconds became twenty, Ollie said, “Force Shock.”

*Crack* Ollie took a step back. The difference between Ton and Ollie’s Force Shock was like day and night.

Ton’s damage left a deep cobweb of cracks and crevices. It was destructive enough to break swords, shields, and even armor.

However, Ollie’s damage left five short cracks. Not only weren’t they deep, but each small crack had no additional smaller branching cracks.

Ollie sat on the ground. He looked exhausted.

“Control is the key.” Ton looked at Vincent and continued, “As you are seeing, Oliveros doesn’t have enough control to do this level of damage. Thus, Force Shock took too long to be usable in a fight. Furthermore, Oliveros overexerted himself to control, direct, and ignite mana more than he is capable of controlling for now.”

[No wonder Overflow is easy to use. It absorbs mana, which removes the need to control and attract mana. All you need is to direct the mana in the gauntlet, and bam! you unleash a powerful attack.]

-Your summery is always the best.-

[Hehe. Kazumi Sensei is the best after all.]

“Now that Oliveros needs to rest, let me personally guide you.” Ton turned his head toward Biro and continued, “Teacher Biro isn’t in a state to be disturbed at the moment, hehe.”

The nineteen students, including Nick, were doing pushups. Their arms were trembling as if there was a freezing blizzard. Biro had a stick in his hands, and he smacked it on the ground while shouting numbers like a drillmaster.

*Gulp* “Yeah, better not disturb their pleasant training, hehe.” Vincent was thankful his body mysteriously became older when he was overexerting himself in Aero Forest. He could skip the arduous training.

Later, the lesson ended. Vincent looked at his hand. He could feel his Energy Flow Control had improved because he could slightly estimate the mana weighting on his hand.

“Vincent, no wonder teacher Biro has his eyes on you. The ability to grasp the concept of moving with the flow and lead the mana is something that can’t be done in one day.” Ton smiled and patted Vincent’s shoulder. “Keep incorporating Energy Flow while exercising. Teacher Biro will teach you CQC when you can estimate how much mana is gathered by Energy Flow.”

[Vincent. Can you ask Ton this?...]

“Umm. If I can sense the mana collected with Energy Flow, does it mean I can sense the mana of spells like from a mage, for example?” Vincent asked what Kazumi was interested to know.

“Good question. Yes and no. Energy Flow simply directs the mana to a specific location. Mana Flow, the energy type spells use. The mana becomes imbued with the power of nature. However, if one is proficient enough in both flows, one can sense both types of flows simultaneously and estimate what kind of attack one should expect. ” Ton explained.

[Hmm, so if you train enough, you can become a radar. It’s like those stories where the main character can tell he is being attacked from behind and do an epic counterattack.]

-But, I already have a great radar, though.-

[Humph! What if I have a body one day? The great Kazumi will not be able to be your radar... I mean, help you... Gosh. Please don’t put words in my mouth!]

Vincent smirked. He thanked Ton for the lesson and turned around to check on Nick’s condition.

“Vincent. Can I ask why you are still wearing brass knuckles?” Ton asked. He was curious as to why Vincent wore so many rings. Unless he were prepared to punch someone with the rings, they wouldn’t help train.

*Cough* “These are my wedding rings.” Vincent blushed and walked away. He decided to wear his rings in another way.

“Vincent married five women. Maybe he has another one since he is wearing six.” Ollie said. He was sitting on the ground after he tried using Force Shock a few more times.

Ton became embarrassed to tell someone their wedding rings were brass knuckles. He decided to gift Vincent an apology gift in the next lesson.

Vincent arrived beside Nick.

Nick was exhausted, and his clothes were wet. As if someone threw a bucket of water on him. All the classmates on the ground were in a similar state to Nick.

Duke Biro Hawkins might have trained the students too much, and he might appear in their dreams as a nightmare if this situation keeps repeating.