Chapter 12: The Problem

William tried to change the amount of mana needed for the two magic runes and tried several times, but still failed to successfully cast 【Sword Strike Slash】.

"Take it slow, don't be discouraged; even if you're a top-tier genius, it's not very possible to learn a new martial skill in a day." David said comfortingly.

"Hmm."

William nodded; he didn't really feel any frustration.

In his past life, even though others could learn 【Sword Strike】 in just a few days, William only succeeded after practicing for over a year; speaking solely of the tenacious willpower he forged in his past life, few could match it.

William repeatedly swung the Long Sword; the sword aura on the blade condensed and dissipated, dissipated and condensed, until all the mana within his body was exhausted, leaving him lying on the ground panting heavily.

This feeling of exhaustion and inability to succeed reminded him of when he practiced martial skills in his past life, leaving him feeling both familiar and happy.

The feeling of familiarity with his all-out effort, and the joy of finally possessing the aptitude ability to change his own fate and that of those around him—something he had longed for in his past life but could not obtain.

David and the others didn't mock William for collapsing from exhaustion without success; instead, they all showed relieved smiles, knowing how rare it is for someone so young to dare to give their all without fear of failure.

Geilan walked up to William, looking at him with a smile.

William felt a creepy sensation, always sensing that Geilan's smile harbored no good intentions.

As expected, Geilan pulled out a glass jar filled with reddish-brown viscous liquid from his back pouch, smiling and saying, "Alright, after training you're tired—rest a bit and take some supplements to nourish your body."

Seeing the familiar glass jar, William's face showed difficulty as he said, "Uncle Geilan, I've already awakened my mana; do I really need to take this?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Unless you've given up on getting stronger, you'd better eat these supplements properly!" Geilan said.

William's face turned ashen, but he was now completely weak and powerless, certainly no match for Geilan, who is even stronger than a bear.

Watching William forcefully swallow every drop of the reddish-brown liquid poured into his mouth, Geilan finally released his hand covering William's mouth and chuckled, saying:

"That's right! After training is the best time to take supplements for maximum effect. Let me tell you, the stuff I, Uncle Geilan, obtained is expensive—I myself am reluctant to eat even a bite. If you dare to spit it out, I'll get angry!"

The next day, Magic Forest.

Today it was Ouli's turn to teach William; only Ouli and William were present. After the novelty of the previous day wore off, Geilan and the others also went to Mobius Town to attend to their proper business.

"Today I will teach you the mage-system magic 【Minor Recovery Technique】. I remember you know 【Minor Restoration Technique】, right? Do you understand the difference between 【Minor Recovery Technique】 and 【Minor Restoration Technique】?" Ouli asked.

William said: "The 【Minor Restoration Technique】 I know is a continuous healing magic, while the 【Minor Recovery Technique】 is a rapid healing magic; they should only differ in the duration of their effect."

In his past life, William couldn't afford healing potions due to his meager income, and as an adventurer—a profession that often suffers injuries—he would use 【Minor Restoration Technique】 in place of healing potions whenever he was wounded.

His wife, Ai Li Si, could use healing magic, but William didn't want to worry her, so whenever there was nothing urgent, he would make excuses to endure the pain and wait a day for his wounds to heal before returning home.

Ouli nodded and said: "That's correct. I'll now demonstrate the magic rune for 【Minor Recovery Technique】 once; feel free to ask if anything is unclear."

As he spoke, Ouli traced the magic rune for 【Minor Recovery Technique】 in the air before him,

Next, he took out a prepared wild rabbit from the cage and, with a dagger, cut a wound on its back.

The rabbit kicked wildly from the pain, but since Ouli had grabbed its ears, it couldn't break free.

Immediately afterward, Ouli applied the 【Minor Recovery Technique】 to the rabbit; the wound on its back healed completely within a few seconds, and even its fur grew back to normal, leaving no trace of injury.

"Alright, your turn to try."

Ouli lifted the rabbit by its ears to William's face and, with the dagger, cut another wound on its back, slightly deeper than the previous one.

William imitated Ouli, constructing the magic rune with mana outside his body and then casting it at the rabbit, but the rabbit showed no change—the wound continued to bleed.

He tried several more times, but just like yesterday's attempts with 【Sword Strike Slash】, they all failed.

The rabbit, having lost too much blood, had its legs stop struggling; Ouli, feeling unwilling to see it suffer, cast a spell to heal the wound on its back.

Ouli returned the rabbit to the cage, then took out a spare rabbit from the cage, puzzled, and said: "I see your magic rune has no problem; try using 【Minor Restoration Technique】 on this rabbit."

"Um, can 【Minor Restoration Technique】 be cast on others?" William asked.

Ouli blinked at the words, then said: "Of course, you didn't know?"

William said: "I've never tried casting 【Minor Restoration Technique】 on someone else; let me give it a try."

Having said that, William cast 【Minor Restoration Technique】 at the rabbit, but just like before, the rabbit showed no change.

This time, not only Ouli but William himself was a bit bewildered— in his past life, he could certainly cast 【Minor Restoration Technique】, right?

He tentatively cast 【Minor Restoration Technique】 on himself, and a yellow Magic Light wrapped around his body; the spell took effect instantly, with no issues.

"What's going on?" William asked, puzzled.

Ouli rested his chin on his chubby hand, thought for a moment, as if realizing something, and said: "Your problem isn't in constructing the magic rune; it should be the same as yesterday's issue with learning 【Sword Strike Slash】—a lack of proficiency in mana external projection."

William, not quite understanding Ouli's meaning, asked doubtfully: "But 【Minor Restoration Technique】 isn't a single magic rune spell; how does it involve external projection?"

Ouli explained: "Yesterday we thought your mana usage for the two magic runes was uncoordinated; today it seems your control over mana external projection lacks proficiency, which is why both 【Sword Strike Slash】 and 【Minor Restoration Technique】 fail when cast on targets other than yourself."

Upon hearing this, William seriously considered Ouli's words, feeling that Ouli might be right— in his past life, his mana was scarce, and he had never experienced any mana external projection.

Actually, William's aptitude for mana control is relatively poor; the reason he could display a decent level of mana condensation when casting 【Sword Strike】 is entirely due to his past life's forced practice of martial skills using minuscule amounts of mana day after day.

Therefore, with zero experience in mana external projection in this life, his progress in learning external-projection martial skills and magic is about the same as that of peers his age with similar aptitude—of course, this pace certainly isn't fast.

Watching William look thoughtful, Ouli muttered to himself:

"Given William's astonishing mana control shown yesterday, he shouldn't be this poor at mana external projection, right? Could it be that William's mana is so condensed merely because he encountered some kind of fortuitous event?

If that's the case, then why William could use martial skills even before awakening his mana, and why his body contains demon race mana, would all be explained.