The gifted student

Ester and Lupa spent another day worried about Vincent as they walked by his side. Both of them took turns, helping him stand after he fell multiple times. Vincent focused too much on the mana control weighting on his body than where his feet landed.

Koss observed with a smile from time to time, reminding him of his younger days when he and his twin brother would spend days training. The twins had a difficult childhood, but they managed to reach this far after leaving the orphanage, which housed many children with no relatives.

Night arrived once again.

Koss sat on a rock and allowed Vincent to continue the practice of CQC. He attentively observed Vincent's training. Koss admitted that Vincent made stunning improvements with mana Filtering and Rejecting in such a short time.

Koss then noticed how Vincent used Attraction to calculate how much mana is collected and rejected every time.

'This talented genius can already control the manipulation of the traces of mana to this degree. I think I can't get surprised any more than this.' Koss thought while rubbing his chin in interest.

Vincent felt like he was punching and pushing an invisible force at the same time. He could feel a breeze being pushed as if it was an air pocket that can be perceived only by touch and not sight.

To feel something that never existed on Earth and grasp the concept of such a thing was difficult to achieve, yet the plethora of stories he read helped with the three body adaptions. It was an extraordinary and indescribable feeling without the ability to describe unless experienced first hand.

Kazumi also helped with the coordination allowing Vincent to gradually match his breathing and movements without her help the more he trained. As if he slowly advanced from his training wheel, Sensei Kazumi.

'Is this why Koss said, "my job is done?" Because it's impossible to explain until you feel it first hand?' Vincent thought while placing Koss on a pedestal as the best teacher he could have ever met. Similar to a tutorial NPC that appears at the beginning of a game.

"Daddy, are you not bullying big brother today?" Tula asked as she stood beside her father, watching Vincent train with a determined gaze and a pair of green eyes gleaming under the moonlight like a pair of emerald jewels.

"There is nothing more I can teach until he succeeds in awakening a Trait. Now it's all up to him, my baby girl. He is a bright young man..." Koss replied, then continued after raising a frown, "But daddy is sad. Did you think I bully Vincent all the time?"

"No. Big sister Ester said Daddy is helping. But I only see big brother in pain instead." Tula raised a curious frown while cutely placing her index finger on her chin.

"Does that mean you don't know how long my mate will be in pain?" Lupa approached when she overheard Koss talking about Vincent with her heightened hearing.

"Don't get me wrong when I say this, but Vincent should have suffered the trial to temper his body over the course of at least a few months or a maximum of a few years before someone gives up... "

"But Vincent achieved all this progress in a few days. So I don't know how long it will last. He is a talented genius that the book of CQC history has no records of this kind of body adaption speed." Koss shook his head apologetically. He ended up spilling the truth after feeling Vincent got the hang of the three body adaptions and could practice safely alone.

"I will take care of Vincent, no matter how long it takes. " Ester added from behind Lupa.

Ester got curious when Lupa wagged her tail with interest when she left to join Koss and Tula. She soon heard worrisome information, yet she steeled her heart to help Vincent as he helped her in the deadly trail to self magic resistance.

Ester was afraid of the unknown as the unknown almost killed her from a freezing death. She knew Vincent's body was special, but it was also the cause of her worrying. Watching Vincent suffering made her heart feel a pang of pain every time.

Vincent held the fighting stance, followed by a short quick breath. A tightly clenched fist shot the final punch with a breathing hissing sound.

Every second and every moment was ingrained in his body, almost to perfection. The intense focus surprised even Koss.

Vincent barely made a single mistake in the many hours he trained with and without Kazumi's help. It felt as if Vincent's body recovered stamina, learned, and adapted at an astounding rate.

Vincent withdrew his combat stance after the last strike as it was time to sleep.

.

[Name] Vincent Agius

[Condition] Healthy, Tired

[Soul Power] 180sp

[Class] Soul Hero

[Class] Soul Mutation

.

Vincent inspected himself every time he went to sleep, but only a frown appeared on his face by the result every time. He couldn't see the Trait stat unless he upgraded his inspection.

[Don't frown like that. Didn't you want to hoard Soul Power?]

-I know, but... a progress bar would be great at times like these.-

[You are mastering the third body adaption, so don't worry. I also heard Koss say how you achieved something only achievable in months.]

[You aren't overpowered, but maybe this is your calling. Now trim your long hair like every night and go to sleep.]

Vincent nodded after he sat on the makeshift bed. Lupa swiftly sat beside him. In her hand was a knife they normally use to cut his hair every day. The more his body adapted, the quicker his hair grew.

"It's my turn today, hehe." Lupa joyfully said as if it was something she waited all day long.

Lupa started a new hobby after they joined Koss's group. She started hiding a few strands of his hair and sniff his scent when no one looked before closing her eyes to sleep. The loneliness of not sleeping by Vincent's side would make her yearn to sleep like she usually did.

Ester closed an eye to the sneaky happy Lupa. She decided it would be best to let the wolf girl keep a few collected strands as if she saw nothing in the happy Lupa's possession.

'A happy Lupa is a problem-free Lupa.' Ester thought while Kazumi, who saw it all coincidently, thought of the same thing.

*Day 37*

The next morning arrived for the group of nine people journeying to Lusterfall City. The bright sun rays landing on their skin, and the warm breeze was slowly waking them up.

They rested in an open area with a few meters without trees. Soft grass and a few wildflowers laid next to them, releasing a relaxing scent of nature, yet it felt too hot to continue sleeping without the shade.

"Ugh... it's hot." Vincent opened his eyes and wiped his forehead. He pulled himself up and felt a strange emotion welling in his heart.

"What is this? I feel a bit excited..." Vincent noticed his face donned an excited grin. He slept alone, and Koss was awake, drinking a cup of water. Neither Ester nor Lupa slept beside him to cause such a feeling of excitement.

Vincent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he gently exhaled and repeated a few times, the strange excided feeling subsided. However, his heart still lightly raced.

[Are you feeling something strange? You seem to have had a wonderful dream. Perhaps a wet dream? Hehe.]

-No... it felt almost similar to when I lost myself to anger.-

[That's not good. You didn't use any mutation powers other than Soul Dimensional Storage these past few days. So I don't have any ideas as to why the feeling of aggression returned.]

-Could you keep an eye on me? Tell me if you notice something strange.-

Vincent suddenly felt a faint killing intent directed at him. His body was susceptible to malicious intent, so the survival instincts immediately activated the three body adaptions by pure instinct to survive.

His body started rejecting the mana, building a thin film of mana protection and increasing the body weight to keep his balance steady. The intense training he practiced and his survival instincts worked as one.

*Smack*

"Good morning, my boy. haha." Koss said with a loud laugh while delivering a loud smack on Vincent's back.

Vincent jumped forward without losing his balance and glared at Koss with potent killing intent. His arms raised, and his fists clenched, holding the same stance he repeated thousands of times. His body was prepared to fight.

"Wow there, my boy! It just a congratulatory smack... since you adapted for the third time and completed the basic training." Koss was at a loss for words.

He didn't think Vincent would subconsciously activate the three phases of body adaption and simultaneously send a potent killing intent similar to a veteran soldier who experienced many battlefields.

"Vincent, what's wrong?" Ester asked with a worried frown.

"Did you get hurt? Want me to help get revenge?" Lupa quickly added with her fingers extended. They were prepared to shapeshift into combat form and extend her sharp claws at a moment's notice.

"Daddy, I hate you! Don't bully big brother, you meanie! " Tula rushed between Vincent and her father to stop them. Tears welled in her eyes. It looked like she was about to cry.

[What happened now? You look on edge. Did Koss scare you?]

-I... I felt killing intent and then received a smack on my back. But it seems it wasn't a dangerous attack as my senses picked up.-

Vincent withdrew his combat stance. He took a few calming breaths and relaxed his restless heart.

"It's ok... I think my skin is still sensitive to intent. My body thought I was about to get attacked by a deadly attack." Vincent explained. He lowered his head and apologized for making them worried, "Sorry for worrying everyone."

"Ahh... it's my fault for trying to congratulate you. " Koss felt a bit embarrassed for causing this situation. He didn't think Vincent would notice an approach without any intent.

'Why did Vincent call it a deadly attack? I'm sure I didn't use any intent to surprise him.' Koss pondered, hiding his puzzled expression with a poker face.

.

[Name] Vincent Agius

[Condition] Healthy, Forced Body Adaption (High Mana Sensitivity)

[Soul Power] 200sp

[Class] Soul Hero

[Class] Soul Mutation

.

Vincent inspected himself, but the result was both good and bad. He now owned two hundred Soul Power, but the strain of the training built up to the point of causing a new condition to appear.

[Don't worry about this strange condition. My house... I mean, the Soul Domain is unaffected.]

-Why do I feel unpleasant about this comment?-