Many days had passed since the second-year students returned. News began to circulate throughout the academy and the large cities, and it was truly shocking.
The first daughter of the Mythic individual of the big Clan, along with others, had failed the second challenge.
Most people blamed the second-year students, calling them incompetent and weak, claiming that their failure would lead the world into a decline in power.
Everything was filled with negativity. Even though the academy tried to suppress the rumors, it was still difficult. Information spread rapidly, mutating into even worse versions to make it more sensational.
None of this had happened in Hector’s memories, but he hardly cared.
"Very good!" Michael laughed loudly as he swiftly blocked Hector’s kick.
"Yahoo!" Hector shouted, putting all his strength into a dragon kick aimed at Michael, who was still smiling at him.
The sound of a crumbling wall rang out. Cracked and shattered bricks flew in all directions. He had missed, and now he was struggling to pull his right leg out, which was embedded in the wall after the wild kick.
"Now, the mana has seeped deep into each of your cells. You can probably fight a Novice just like everyone else." Michael slowly lifted the corners of his lips, pleased with the result of many days of training Hector.
Yet, he also gently shook his head in disappointment, though a trace of pride was visible.
"It’s really a long way."
"I can’t believe I’ve managed to train you to use mana as if it were a part of your body, while everyone else has done it effortlessly since the moment they awakened their mana," he added.
"If you keep going for a few more days, maybe I’ll throw in the towel. This feels like I’m teaching a fish to climb a tree."
He kept grumbling while strolling over to a nearby stone and leaning back against it.
"Wow! Amazing!" Hector exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face.
He was still thrilled at this point, flowing through a set of basic martial techniques—kicking and punching the air.
A surge of combat forms was flashing through his mind.
In this moment, he truly felt like a martial arts master. He kept moving until—
A fireball blazed toward him, sending him flying and tumbling across the dirt.
"Did you hear me?" an irritated voice rang out.
But Hector barely registered anything. He quickly adjusted himself and rolled over the ground several times to smother the flames on his clothes.
Eventually, he struggled into a seated position, grimacing as waves of searing pain surged through his body.
"What are you doing? Trying to roast me like a barbecue?"
Looking at Hector’s current condition, Michael could tell that his words barely registered with him.
"Forget it..." Michael sighed. Then, he stepped forward and said, "The first phase is over. Now, I’ll show you my perk."
"But first—I have a question."
He turned his eyes toward Hector and slowly asked:
"What is killing intent?"
Hector frowned in puzzlement. To him, the question sounded downright silly.
"Huh? Isn’t it obvious? It’s exactly what the words say!’’
’’Yep. If you take it literally, you’ll never use it like I do.’’ Michael explained
’’So... it’s more like a philosophical thing?" Hector replied, scratching his chin.
"Exactly! You’re clever... but only if you understand it can you wield it. Very few people in the world carry strong killing intent within them—and most of them don’t even realize they’re using it. And I’m one of those rare few," Michael said, a trace of pride threading through his voice.
However, Hector didn’t pay much attention to that. What truly mattered to him was the end result.
"So... how do I do it?" he asked.
"First, you need to possess a strong enough killing intent."
A few seconds later, Michael added in a flat tone, "To gain control, you have to keep it constantly in your mind... for a long time."
"In my case, I spent an entire year on a battlefield soaked in blood."
"One year? A battlefield drenched in blood?" Hector’s face twisted upon hearing that.
"Well... maybe not now. But someday, you might experience something similar," Michael replied.
"So, I’ll just show you how to manage your killing intent. The rest is up to you."
Hours passed as Michael passed down everything he knew about it.
The fusion of killing intent and mana.
The task he gave Hector wasn’t easy. For instance, Hector had to knock an ant unconscious using only a sliver of his intent.
As time went on, their relationship gradually improved—not just today, but steadily over the past several days. They began to resemble a proper instructor-student duo.
However, Hector still maintained a degree of caution around Michael—not because he feared for his life, but due to a more personal worry: he was concerned Michael might be gay.
"Alright... Nothing in this book!" Hector narrowed his eyes, flipping through the pages at speed.
He grabbed another volume, but again, it offered almost none of what he was searching for.
With a deep sigh, he leaned his weary back against the chair after hours of fruitless searching.
"The Lyder clan doesn’t exist in this world... not even a single mention."
"I thought the library would have every record about this place," he muttered, scratching his head in puzzlement.
"So... what happened to the Lyder Clan? Why was the final battle between Elysium and Noxoria only fought by the Pauley and Wolf clans?"
"Ugh... I hate this. It always gives me a headache." He clutched his head, overwhelmed by the swirl of questions in his mind.
"It’s so frustrating! It’s like something’s deliberately hiding the truth from me."
He sighed again, then darted a tired glance around, his heavy eyelids slowly shifting toward the window on the 10th floor of the grand castle’s library to gaze outside.
"I should get back to my room!"