Do-yoon hesitated for a moment before finally calling up the trait information.
⚙ TRAIT INFORMATION ⚙[Vow of Purity] (Inherent authority of a mythical creature, the unicorn. Purity is your identity. The moment you someday offer your purity to a man, you will belong to that man for life...)
"Um..."
Do-yoon flinched dramatically, dismissing the system window as he turned to Sophie. He'd been so focused on reading her status window that he'd completely forgotten about the current situation.
"So..."
It didn't seem like she had more to say, yet she was trying to keep the conversation going. Was she bored?
"...D-During the tournament, are you... going to use spear techniques...?"
Once again, a completely out-of-left-field topic popped up.
Sophie seemed to realize it herself after saying it, her face flushing red. The more he watched her, the more her reactions struck him as purely innocent and delicate. No matter how many times he saw it, her personality was a stark contrast to that lewd body of hers.
"S-Sorry... I was too much, even though we're not that close..."
Do-yoon chuckled inwardly. Her flustered demeanor was pretty cute. She was such a promising talent that he already felt a bit smitten.
His original plan had already gone awry thanks to the combat instructor anyway, so Do-yoon decided to hang out with this fresh, adorable talent for a bit.
"Hmm... If I enter something like a tournament, I'd probably use swordsmanship. But what tournament are you talking about?"
"Huh? You don't know about next week's tournament? Wait, but... s-swordsmanship?"
Sophie, despite bringing up the topic herself, panicked at the completely unexpected response.
"Oh...! You missed all of week two's classes, didn't you...!"
Sophie's eyes widened, her pretty pink pupils sparkling. Excited at the chance to share something Do-yoon didn't know, she started chattering away.
"There's going to be a tournament at the Cradle soon. Oh, it's just for show, really—it's actually a grade evaluation... Um.... But swordsmanship...?"
Do-yoon and Sophie chatted for a little while after that.
Do-yoon hadn't approached the conversation with any particular goal, but he ended up getting some useful info unexpectedly. There was a tournament for grade evaluation at the end of week four.
"Ah, so swordsmanship is your main specialty... Then the fist art you showed during the test was...?"
"Something I learned as a backup for extreme situations without a sword."
"Th-That's just a backup!? No way, at that level...?"
Chatting with Sophie was enjoyable. Her personality was as great as her talent. She had this incredibly feminine, gentle vibe that put people at ease.
Sophie seemed to enjoy talking with Do-yoon too, flashing him a soft, beaming smile.
Before they knew it, break time was almost over.
"Ah... Time..."
Sophie murmured regretfully. He couldn't understand why someone who loved talking like this always sat alone quietly during class. Was she shy around others?
"Well... I'll be going then!"
"Sure. Let's talk again next time. Thanks for the good info."
She bowed politely in greeting before trotting off down the opposite hallway. The more he saw of her, the more proper and endearing she seemed.
...Though her zebra-like lower body kept jiggling and stealing his gaze all the way, Do-yoon tried his best not to look.
'Her underwear... must be some kind of circumstance.'
That axe scar he'd seen first wasn't a hallucination. He'd confirmed it peeking at her status window, and even now, the deep groove of her buttocks was visible through the tight cadet uniform clinging to her.
For some reason, it seemed she couldn't wear underwear. That had to be it.
Do-yoon shook his head to clear his thoughts.
More importantly, he focused on what Sophie had told him.
'A tournament, huh...'
Do-yoon's lips curved up in anticipation.
It looked like he'd get to swing a sword around soon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Mana] Class.
This class taught theory on mana, how to accumulate it in the body, and ways to utilize it—one of the most important classes at the Cradle.
But to Do-yoon, it was just self-study time.
"Mana is fundamentally accumulated in the heart. Controlling mana through willpower requires tremendous concentration, making detailed control impossible in combat. You can't sit cross-legged meditating on the battlefield. That's why mana must be stored in the heart."
This was the exact opposite of Do-yoon's case, where he stored mana in his dantian, but it was the standard for most people.
"Mana users wield it in just three ways. First, draw in mana through breathing and accumulate it in the body. Second, spread the mana stored in the heart throughout the body. Third, form spell formulas with the heart's mana to cast magic."
The second was the combat style for those who used their bodies. The third was for magic users.
"Concentrating mana in the arms to boost strength and such isn't possible. Even mana accumulated in the body isn't that easy to control. There have been papers claiming it's theoretically possible, but examples are extremely rare—purely in the realm of talent—so it's essentially obsolete theory."
Extremely rare cases. Purely the realm of talent.
Do-yoon's story.
"There's only one way to strengthen the body with mana: ride it along the blood flow from the heart to spread it throughout the body. Thus, the minimum unit for body strengthening via mana is always the whole body, which is why it must be stored in the heart."
Yet even as the instructor explained, Do-yoon was concentrating mana in his eyes to enhance his vision.
The eyes have very few blood vessels and meridians, making mana reinforcement extremely difficult. But right now, Do-yoon's eyesight was sharpened enough to see the pores on the instructor standing at the podium.
'As expected of this body—it takes mana so well. A perfect vessel for deploying my techniques.'
He concentrated mana in his fist.
The pure mana pooled in Do-yoon's dantian didn't spread through his whole body—it focused entirely in his grip.
A power unbelievable for Strength level 5 burst from his rock-hard fist, crunching the air with a vicious sound.
Localized Acceleration Control
An ultra-precise mana control technique that rapidly concentrates mana into specific local parts of the body rather than the whole.
Even after centuries facing countless geniuses, no one could replicate it. It was Enoch's innate, signature technique and his ace.
The explosive output and overwhelming efficiency from concentrating mana that should spread evenly into local body parts.
It might seem minor, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this technique made the hero Enoch who he was.
"Thus, it's essential to learn how to draw out only portions of the heart's mana and spread them. Wasting all your mana body-wide every fight would be too inefficient."
One reason Do-yoon stored mana in his dantian.
Unlike a stagnant dantian, the heart pumped nonstop, causing needless waste.
Storing in the dantian was superior in every way: concentration, control, efficiency.
But others needed the heart's pumping to use mana in combat, making it impossible for them.
"That's what we'll cover in today's lesson."
Do-yoon kept his gaze fixed on the podium while focusing on circulating his body's mana. Lessons on mana were utterly unnecessary for him.
In such classes, Do-yoon ran the Războinic Style Mana Circulation to build up mana in his dantian.
No need to close his eyes or sit cross-legged. Mana operation as natural as breathing.
A near-miraculous feat possible only for Do-yoon.
⚔ STATUS UPDATE ⚔[Mana level has increased by 1.]
Do-yoon smiled in satisfaction.
It hadn't even been a week since he'd opened his meridians to reach Mana level 1. Now he'd hit level 2.
The level itself wasn't high, starting with the Mana Handicap trait, but his growth speed was unmatched.
Do-yoon closed his eyes briefly, gauging the mana accumulated in his dantian.
'As expected. The mana has surged dramatically.'
He circulated mana through his whole body. Do-yoon shivered at the sudden boost in output.
The sensation of mana quantity exploding in an instant, like getting doped up. A thrill he'd only felt from top-quality elixirs.
'My mana pool has grown—not just a stat notation. As the stat number rose, the mana swelled sharply.'
Indeed. No matter how many times he felt it, this system was truly a divine blessing.
"...That concludes today's lesson."
The class ended while Do-yoon was immersed in mana circulation.
Next was mealtime, a huge stress reliever—and a time of special significance to Do-yoon.
Cadets rose from their seats, heading en masse to the cafeteria. The moment Do-yoon stepped out of the classroom door.
"Um... Cadet Do-yoon."
A pleasant voice tickled his ear from behind.
It was Sophie.
"Want to eat together...?"
Do-yoon and Sophie were in different combat classes but shared the same general classes.
They'd been acquaintances before, but after chatting in the hallway last time, they often hung out. Sophie usually approached him first.
"Sure."
Do-yoon accepted immediately, as always. Meals with good company were far more enjoyable than eating alone.
Male cadets eyed him enviously, while female cadets watched the pair with warm, pleased gazes for some reason.
But then, an unwelcome intruder barged in.
"Human."
A gruff, rough voice. A familiar situation. Do-yoon sighed at the incoming annoyance.
Do-yoon and Sophie turned. There stood a giant over 2 meters tall.
"...What?"
Minotaur. Torn.
"Get lost. That female is mine."
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