The cheeky boy doesn't know when to hold back

"You see, initially, I intended to have at least a week of just theory as you will get accustomed to sensing malice, but since that will not be necessary, we will have a mix of theory and practice from tomorrow on."

The blond-haired priest nudged the black-haired boy and nodded at him while smirking.

"Actually, we can try out some practice right now. Go on and use lesser prayer on the residual Malice that bothers you."

He added encouragingly, pointing out all the spots with black mist.

"Lesser prayer!"

Zorey didn't question his teacher's decision in the slightest and reached out his hand, activating the Skill.

*haaaa~*

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

For a moment, the single spot with the black mist

lighted up with a warm yellow glow but then the glow disappeared to the sound of a rather downhearted ping and two notifications appearing in Zorey's vision's upper left corner.

...while the black fog remained unbothered...

"It failed...!"

Zorey cried out in disappointment, making a sulky expression toward Gael.

"Yeah, it happens. It's only level 1, after all. But don't worry. Even if the Skill fails, it still gives you a bit of experience so it can slowly level up and become more reliable. Prayer."

The blond-haired priest laughed and patted the boy's shoulder reassuringly while pointing at the same spot and using his own Skill.

*Haaa~*

*swoosh*

A much brighter light shone, and the black mist disappeared with a soft sound.

"The secret for not having nightmares is to always purify the room you will sleep in. If you are around level 15 and have level 10 of lesser prayer skill, you will receive the Prayer skill that's much stronger and reliable, so it's important to train properly... if only for your own comfort."

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

Gael grinned, tousling Zorey's hair... and the black-haired boy didn't waste any time and attempted to purify the next spot instantly.

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

...and failed once more...

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

Then again.

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

...and again...

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

...and then again - again...

"Whoa, hold there, kid. You don't have to be in THAT much of a hurry..."

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

"Lesser prayer!"

*Bu-dum*

[Insufficient MP to activate the Skill.]

It seemed that Zorey was either hooked up on training or was particularly stubborn about dealing with the puff of Malice himself because he ended up running out of mana, trying to activate the Skill one too many times than he could handle.

"Huh...?!"

"And there we have it."

Zorey flinched when the disheartening ping resounded even without any light showing up, but Gael only nodded, patting the boy's head while shaking his own.

"Lesser prayer takes 2 MP, even with increased MP, an MP regeneration due to being within the Sacred Ground that only gets you that many casts. I'm actually impressed that you even squeezed the sixth one there."

The blond-haired priest explained with a chuckle.

"Running out of MP doesn't have any physical consequences, so it's fine to practice until you are empty, BUT!"

Gael said, crouching by the boy and putting his index finger in front of his face.

"It would be best for you if you could sense how much MP you have left by feeling – there is nothing worse than being in a pinch because you miscalculated or were overconfident.

"I will, teacher!"

The older priest said, and the young one nodded his head vigorously...

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

...just to reach out his hand and use the Skill again once again.

*whoosh*

[EXP points granted]

But this time, it worked, and the black mist disintegrated within the warm glow, and only one notification showed up.

"HEY!"

Gale raised his voice, staring down the rumbustious boy.

"Since my MP recovered by at least 1 while I was using the skills, I figured out it would be back to at least 2 while you talked, teacher. Tehehe~"

"You cheeky bugger!"

Zorey fidgeted with an embarrassed smile and lowered his head, letting out an awkward smile – in turn, making Gael gasp with just the biggest grin.

After that, Gael showed Zorey to his room, and the boy was given free time to adapt to the new environment – just the Temple for the moment, but with the promise to go around the city sometime the following week.

After a bath and having the nice Mrs. Luterestia make him something to eat, the new priest of death was introduced to the other residents of the temple.

The day ended, and the boy was in his assigned room before he realized it.

He didn't go straight to sleep, even though Geal warned him about an early day tomorrow.

The reason for that wasn't excitement or sudden need to defile the rules, but a rather big mass of black mist seemingly seeping out through the cracks in the old wooden floor.

No doubt something like that would make the boy have nightmares that Geal warned him about – possibly through the whole night, and it definitely wasn't something that Zorey was willing to experience.

"..."

As he stood before the visual representation of Malice, Zorey shifted his weight from one leg to the other and glanced over towards the door.

Priest Gael did tell him that he could come to seek him if he had a problem... but it was also something he said before he learned that Zorey was already able to properly see the lingering black fog...

"I should deal with it myself, shouldn't I...? Alright!"

It didn't take the black-haired boy too much time to decide on the course of action, and the next moment he already seated himself cross-legged on the floor in front of the accumulated Malice.

"Status Open."

The boy said, and the translucent blue widow appeared in the middle of his vision.

Before in the day, when he actually guessed how much MP would recover so he could use the Skill was actually just beginner's luck – but the black-haired boy knew that Priest Geal was serious about the necessity of getting a proper feel on how much MP one has.

And wasn't this just a perfect opportunity to start the training?

"Lesser prayer!"

*haaaa~*

*Bu-dum...*

[Skill failed]

[EXP points granted]

He said and started a first serious training session while keenly watching his MP go down and trying to figure out whether he felt any different as it happened.