CHAPTER 53 – Rachel’s affinity

*CRISTOPHER'S POV*

"So… Was that necessary?"-Hajin asks me once we were walking towards the dorms.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well… You actually hit Shin Jonghak… He won't stay quiet with that…"-He suddenly says.

"So? If he wants. He can come to me. What else will he do? Go talk to his father about how another cadet one-shot him? He's too prideful for that."-I said while shrugging.

"Well… I'm just saying… You even did it in front of the others… Won't that bring you some trouble?"

"Not really, unless they try to come and gang up on me, which I would actually agree to. I can always give them the teaching their parents didn't give them."

"…"-He just stares at me.

"What?"

"Nothing… But… Just how strong are you?"

"Here? Not so much. I was strongly limited when the synchronization happened. Though. I'm probably a high-rank hero at least when using all I've got. I would have to fight someone strong enough to actually compare and see…"-I answer while rubbing my chin and pondering about what my strength here would be. "I mean… It also depends on factors like the kind of enemy, what his gift is, the number of them and stuff… But yeah, I guess high-rank would be a starting point."

"Wow… Just what the heck are you doing here in Cube?"-He asks.

"Lately I've been making myself that question, but, being in Cube has its perks. For example. I'm able to drink without legal age. I have 3 chances to go to whatever country I wish to, monthly. And, well, a few things more. I'm still thinking about using the gravity chamber here. But I'll wait until I'm in the second year for that."

"It does work for you?"-He asks with eyes wide open. "I thought you said you were at least high-rank."

"Using everything I've got. My physicals stats are kind of low. They don't go past 10. Heck, not even one of them goes past 9,5. Except for my vitality that is at 15."

"…"-He looks at me. "I shouldn't have asked. My confidence just got to the floor…"

"Don't be like that… Unlike you, I've been going through things like this for years. It's actually normal, for things to be hard at the beginning. So, don't worry, you'll grow. It just takes time."-I said to him while getting inside the dorms. "So, just train. Keep training until you get to where you want to. And talking about that. I'll see you today at 12:00 PM in the training center."

"Mm? Why later than usual?"-He asks.

"*sigh…* Exams are even closer now… More people would surely be there at our normal hour… Even if it's Monday…"-I said to him.

"Oh come on! If we go later, I'll go to bed later…"-He answered while getting inside the elevator.

"So?"

"I have to wake up early to train in the mornings! I can't go to bed that late!"-He shouts.

"… So?"

"… You can't do that to me, man… Have mercy!"

"Fine, fine… You pussy… Let's go as usual…"-I said to him.

"Oh, by the way, I'm going to see Park Soohyuk tomorrow. I'll be investing money in him. Do you want to come?"-He asks.

"Let me check. I'll text Rachel and tell you whether I can go or not. Though, I would like to hunt a little bit."

"Really? Wow… I never thought you would do the kind to spar with someone else, especially the princess… Well, tell me whenever you confirm if you want to come."

"There's something I want to test. And sure, I'll text you once I get an answer."-I said to Hajin before he goes out on his floor.

***

The next day we got to classes. It wasn't that much. Because of the incident, all week would be theory classes and revision, which was basically self-study time. To some, it was hell. To others, it was paradise. It was like having free time all week.

After classes ended, I went outside with Hajin, we were going to meet with Park Soohyuk today, and after they did a little bit of investment talk, we were going to hunt a few monsters to make some money. Which could be later invested too in Park Soohyuk or more stocks.

While we were going out of the classroom through the back door, I had the pleasure to see Shin Jonghak's face. He was glaring at me, a glare I returned with pleasure.

It seemed like he wanted to jump right at me. And that made me smirk. You could practically see the guy trembling.

"Stop messing around with him…"-Hajin said to me once we were out of the classroom. "It won't do you any good…"

"He's an idiot. A hero wannabee. And, what's worse. He believes he's some kind of great character just for having the surname Shin. That. My friend. Irks me. I would normally let it pass if it wasn't for the fact that he had the balls to actually point his spear to my face. I even gave him three seconds to put it away."

"*sigh…* Whatever, let's go. Park Soohyuk is waiting for us."

After meeting with Park Soohyuk, we basically did everything fast. We invested, then hunted, then invested a little bit more. As a funny story. Hajin played the lottery, and the guy actually got the second prize, which netted him a total of 20 million won. Which he actually invested again in Park Soohyuk.

For my part, I did kill a good number of monsters and invested at least half of it on the guy's agent company. Which was the amount of 5 million won. After that, we got back to Cube, I had to meet with Rachel.

***

"You're here…"-Rachel said while sitting over a rock inside the forest.

"Yeah. So… Shall we start right away?"-I said to her while putting my things, which was basically a bag with water and a towel to the side.

"Yes. I'm ready."-She answered while standing up.

"Just to be clear… We won't be using mana. This is totally about technique. Understood? Also… I'll help you recover after we fight."-I said to her while unsheathing my sword and dropping the scabbard towards my bag.

"Mm? I don't understand, what do you mean by helping me recover?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's start."-I said while adopting my starting position.

"…"-She just nodded while preparing her rapier.

{I still think is useless for her to train her technique against someone who uses such a different weapon…}-I thought while looking at the slim sword she's going to use.

"I'll go first."-She said while advancing towards me with full speed and her rapier pointing at me.

"…"-I merely looked. This time. I didn't have the need to hide everything. So, I could actually play a little with her. At least until she tires herself out.

After receiving her thrust with the side of my sword, she tried to continue with another short one, though I only had to move my sword towards hers. She tried a total of 14 short thrusts, changing the position with each of them. But I only had to move my wrist a little and the long sword's body would stop the thrust.

After the last attack, she made. I actually countered, lifting up her sword a little using my own and connecting a kick to her stomach, sending her away.

"…"-She looked at me with eyes wide open while clutching her stomach.

"What?"

"I thought we were using only sword techniques…"

"Ah? Are you serious? In a real fight, it doesn't matter if you use a sword, your fists, your feet, heck, you could even bite your enemy if that's what's going to let you win. And also… There're a lot of techniques that mix swords and body, just so you know."-I said to her. "Now, stand up. We're only starting. I'm not counting this one. So we're still at 0 victories."

After that, we went on and on, sparing again and again, until it was 10:00 PM.

"Well… That's it. Let's stop here for today."-I said to her while looking at my smartwatch.

"Huff… Huff… Huff… I can… continue… Huff… Huff…"-She said while panting.

"I have things to do. Come on. We'll continue tomorrow. Now, let me help you recover your stamina a little bit."

"Huff… Huff… Huff… Huff…"-She merely looked at me while panting, with a little frown on her face.

For the record. The marker ended up in 23 victories for me, and 0 for her. It was basically one victory every five minutes.

"Sit there."-I said while pointing towards the rock she was sitting upon while waiting for me.

"Huff… Huff… Huff…"-She didn't say anything and only went there. This was part of our agreement after all.

"Huff… Huff… How… are you helping me…?"-She asks one she sits upon the rock.

"Last time you went to the training center, did you remember me putting my hands over Kim Hajin's back?"-I ask her, remembering how she was there the first day I started helping Olivia with her recovery.

"No…"-She answers shortly while panting.

"Well… It's not that hard. You just need to listen to me and stay calm. I'll put my hands on your back. You'll feel like something's going inside you. But don't try to fight it with your mana. That's just something called Natural Energy, it is part of my gift. It has higher recovery properties than mana. So, it will help you a lot. Understood?"

"Yes…"-She again answered shortly while panting.

"Great. Now. When I say one, you inhale deeply and hold the air inside. When I say two, you exhale and let the air flow out. Easy, right?"

"Yes…"

"Great. Let's start."-I said while putting my hands over her back. She slightly flinched, but stay calm after. "One."

My Natural Energy went inside her the moment she inhaled. It started making its cycle. But the funny thing is. While Hajin and Olivia's mana rejected it. Rachel's mana actually absorbed a tiny amount of it.

"…Two…"-I said, and she exhaled while letting out the Natural Energy out of her body.

"Mm… Right now, I felt something weird… It was as if my mana wanted to connect to that Natural Energy you talked about…"-She said.

"… Yeah… I noticed…"-I said while pondering.

Now. In the original story, Rachel was an elementalist. That's the principal reason I agreed to spar with her more than once. I wanted to test what would her affinity towards Natural Energy be. And just as I thought. It was great. Her mana not only didn't reject it, but it actually wanted to connect with it. This means, that the actual factor that determines an elementalist in this world is the affinity they have with Natural Energy, which is pretty common actually. My own Affinity to this world may also have something to do.

What mattered now was… What to say to her? I mean… I could just shut up and don't say anything about it… But, she's not a bad girl. She does treat everyone from afar, but that's not because of her… Just the circumstances of her life for what I remember…

"Mm… Why are you quiet now? There's something wrong? It wasn't supposed to happen?"-She asks while I stopped talking.

"Say… Did you take a test to check if you were an elementalist?" -I ask her

"Huh!? Yes… Why?"-She answers a little wary while glancing sideways towards me.

"To be honest. Not everyone's mana accepts Natural Energy. That's the reason I told you not to try and reject it with your own mana, or it would lead to a tragic end for you."-I said to her.

"Wh-What…? What do you mean with… Tragic end? Didn't my mana just… connect with it?"

"Precisely. Normally, only an elementalist's mana is compatible with this kind of energy. And you have great compatibility if your mana was looking to absorb it."

"But… While I did have some results… They weren't conclusive… And the results didn't change while I was growing…"-She said while pondering.

"Well, that's obvious. You didn't learn how to actually train that aspect of you. Heck… I'm not that surprised there aren't that many elementalists, with no knowledge of how to actually train, only someone with a compatible gift or an insane talent would be able to become one. Probably, a lot of possible elementalist are right now throwing their talent into the trash can. But well, that's not something for me to meddle in."

"And… Do you know…?"

"What?"

"How to train to become one…?"

"Sure. I could even help you with that. It would not be that different from what I'm doing right now to start."

"!"-She turned to look at me. With eyes filled with hope.

"*sigh…* Look. I'm helping you for a month. Then. You'll train on your own. And that's only because you've gone too long without proper training, so, me helping you would actually reduce that problem. Once I think I'm done helping you. I'll be done. I won't continue. If you agree. We can start tomorrow."

"…"-She just stayed pondering. "Fine…"-She nodded. "I'll agree to that condition."

"Also… This will be a service… You need to pay me…"-I said while scratching my head. This was a golden chance. I'm not going to let it pass.

"…"-She slightly frowns. "It's okay. I understand... How much?"-She finally asks after a little bit of time.

"Nothing much… Just… 20 million…"

"Per class?"-She asks while lifting her eyebrows.

"No. For the month."-I correct her.

"Oh… Well… It's fine… I thought it would be more…"

"What class of asshole do you take me for?"-I said while averting my eyes. Trying not to let it be known that it was actually my idea until her eyes went wide.

"Huhu…"-She smiled while covering her mouth.

{Hajin. You just had to make them be that beautiful huh…}-I thought while looking at the girl that almost looked like a beautiful elf taken out of the fairy tales.

"*sigh…* Well, this will be everything for today. Prepare. Tomorrow will be hell. You'll learn to properly train. And I don't go easy on people. You should ask Hajin about it."

"What?"-She asks suddenly surprised.

"Oh, come on. I know you sometimes ask Hajin to answer the problems you don't know how to."

"Oh… That…"

"What? You thought I implied that you liked him or were going out with him? I mean… I doubt it, really… And surprisingly enough… I doubt it more for him than for you… That guy's just a lost cause…"

"…"-She just stares at me, not knowing what to say.

After that, I went towards the training center, while we agreed to the usual hour of 23:30, I didn't have anything else to do. So, I just went directly towards the place, to wait for Hajin, and probably Olivia, to finish their training, help them recover, and be done for the day.

{Thursday's getting close, I guess that means that my bet with Olivia will be decided soon. Well, I'll just let things happen.}-I thought while sitting inside the training center.

The place was packed. And as a funny note. Kim Horak, a few of Shit Jonghak, sorry, I meant Shin Jonghak, were here. Chae Nayun and Kim Suho were also here, the only ones I couldn't find were Shin Jonghak and Yoo Yeonha, but I never see them here. So, I'm not that surprised.

Kim Horak, Chae Nayun, and Kim Suho were all looking at me with a weird face. But I merely ignored them.

It was when I was ignoring them that Olivia came. She ended faster than Hajin, and weirdly enough. She didn't end up passed out on the floor.

"Hey, you're early…"-She says while sitting beside me.

"Yeah… Had a thing to do before, so instead of going to my room, I chose to come directly here."

"Oh, well, that's okay, I guess… So… Are you helping me today?"

"You're already here, right? Come on. Turn around."-I said to her while turning.

"Mm…"- She nodded while turning around. "Thanks…"

"Sure, I have nothing better to do."

"*sigh…* You just have to go and speak, right…?"-She said while sighing. "By the way… Maybe it's just my idea… But… You've been receiving really weird gazes since you came here… Something happened?"

"Nah, that's just your idea, really… Ready?"

"*sigh…* What do I even expect when I ask you something? And yes… I'm ready."

"Then. Try not to blow up. One."-I start.

After a few minutes of helping her recover. Hajin came, totally exhausted. But from what I could see. He's really doing better than what the novel described. So, all in all, he should be stronger than he was supposed to be thanks to the Natural Energy and the insane amount of training. Though, I don't expect his magic power to grow too much. He isn't doing any kind of training for that.

After helping both Hajin and Olivia, we all went out of the place towards the dorms. A few weird glances still going behind us, or well, behind me. Most of them came from Kim Suho, and also from Kim Horak who, even if I kicked him, didn't come to look for trouble. He must be still shocked, even more now that he saw me one-shot someone who could easily win over him.

***

The next day was really boring, I went to classes, laughed a bit from Hajin helping Rachel with a weird face. Slept. And nothing much… Really, they say these are some review classes, but it is just a bunch of students doing self-study in a classroom.

Chae Nayun was basically dropped dead on the desk, talking about how unjust it was to be studying all the week, while everyone else was trying their best to actually study. Kim Suho did try to help his rival, but the dumb girl wouldn't even try, she just complained and complained.

After classes ended. I texted Rachel to tell her I'll be seeing her sooner today. At 6:00 PM. The reason being, that if she wants to train, she would need to first tire herself out physically, and let the Natural Energy do its thing. Also... I was getting bored...

She'll have to slowly let her mana adapt to nature's energy. Once that's done, her mana would have it easier to connect with elementals. Normally, it would take time. But with me injecting Natural Energy, it would be easier, and she won't even need to depend on her gift to do it. Meaning that her potential should rise from now on.

I didn't do much after classes, basically, just hang out with Hajin in the same place as usual while giving him some tips on training. And telling him to slowly increase the amount of training in the morning, even adding a few pull-ups to the list. As a side note. The waitress, whose name now I learned was Angela, thanks to her telling it to me, was more talkative than usual.

***

At 6:00 PM. I was going towards the place we met yesterday. And not being a surprise, she was already there waiting for me.

"Hey."

"Hi, Cristopher-ssi. How was your day?"-She asks.

"Mm… Pretty boring. I had nothing to do while waiting for our training session, so I just went somewhere to talk with Hajin."

"You both are good friends, right?"-She says while standing up from the rock.

"Yeah, kind of. Though, I would say we were in similar circumstances."

"Similar circumstances?"

"Yeah, so… Are you ready?"

"Yes. Why did you ask me to come here sooner?"

"Well. We first have to tire you out before starting your other training."

"Why?"

"That way it will be easier for your mana to absorb the Natural Energy, as most of it would focus on recovering your stamina. So, you will be able to absorb at a faster rate, and more efficiently. With that said. We'll spar. Just like yesterday. No mana."

"…"-She looked at me for a while. "Sure… These sessions were for sparing, to begin with…"-She said while taking out her rapier.

"That's the spirit. Now. Let's do this."-I said, this time being the one to start the bout. "Last night we finished with 23 victories to me. I want to get it to 50 today."

We spared and spared. Even harder than yesterday. The harder I made it for her, the better she would get.

Though, to be honest. She was a really good fighter. Among the cadets, she was surely one of the best, a totally deserved 3rd place. Which she won with both effort and dedication.

After the 25th round. We stopped. Mostly because she couldn't stand up. She was on the ground panting, trying to recover her breath.

"How are you feeling?"-I ask her.

"Huff… Huff… Huff… I… Huff… Huff… am…"-She tried to answer

"It's okay. Don't force yourself too much."-I said to her after looking that she could barely speak. "Rest for a bit, and we'll start."

This time, I'll have to last longer than with Olivia or Hajin, because I'm not only letting Rachel recover, I'm actually going to make her mana accept the Natural Energy, and that could take much more time.

After a little while, she finally sat up, though it seems it would be hard for her to stand up soon. So, I just went and sat behind her.

"Okay. We'll be doing the same thing as yesterday. This time, though, we will be doing it for a while. We need to let your mana absorb as much Natural Energy as we can each time. Remember. I say one, you take a deep breath and hold it. I say two, and you let it out. Ready?"

"Yes!"-She says with determination.

"Ok. One."-She breaths while I inject Natural Energy inside her.

The Natural Energy goes around her magic circuit, slowly permeating her mana, which is greedily trying to absorb it. While I normally try to guide the energy in a way so it doesn't go into conflict with the mana inside Olivia or Hajin, this time, I merely guide it through her magic circuit, letting it interact completely with her mana, without forcing anything. That way, the mana just quietly absorbs what it can, and let go of the rest.

Of course, the amount of Natural Energy her mana can absorb is tiny. It barely counts among the amount I usually inject.

"Two."-She exhales, and the Natural Energy leaves her body. "One."-We start again. She breathes and I inject. Letting the Natural Energy make a round through her magic circuit. "Two."-She exhales and it goes out with the same air she's been holding in.

{At this rate, she'll only need three weeks for her mana to actually adapt to Natural Energy. Then, she'll be able to connect with elementals easier, even without her gift.}-I thought while keeping the cycles.