The next morning, Julian awoke with a hungry stomach. The exhaustion from the previous night had left him with no energy for anything except collapsing into bed. As he stepped out, he felt the soreness in his muscles, a reminder of the intense training he had undergone.
He made his way to the hall, where he was greeted by the sight of children of various ages gathered around the table. Sister Theresa was serving food to each of them.
"Good morning!" Julian greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning. Take an empty seat and introduce yourself to everyone after breakfast," she instructed.
After breakfast, Julian introduced himself and explained his reason for staying at the church. The little ones were excited, eager to hear more about his adventures, while the older children, those around his age, had a look of pity in their eyes. They knew the rigorous training Sister Theresa was about to put him through. Although she didn't train everyone to join the Magic Knights, she taught self-defense to every child from a young age.
"Meet me in the courtyard in an hour. We need to discuss your training plan," she said.
Julian took the time to explore the church. It was at least three times larger than the church in Hage village.
Aside from Sister Theresa, there were more Nuns staying in the Church.
There was a cafeteria where the children ate, with either Sister Theresa or two older boys being the main cook.
The main part of the church had a grand statue of a deity with many seats around it, and he noticed a steady stream of visitors since morning. The church also had a courtyard and a backyard for various activities.
When Julian reached the courtyard, Sister Theresa was already waiting for him.
"I will not be teaching you for free. You will clean the entire church and wash everyone's clothes every day, and I won't hear any complaints," she began. "From your performance, I saw that you rely on your eyes too much and fail to react to sneak attacks. I will train you to fight without depending on your eyesight. Your attacks are brute force without any technique. You're not even using your mana attacks to full capacity. I will give you all the knowledge I have, including how to wield a sword and a dagger. It's up to you how much you can take and which mode of combat you make your primary. I will train you in the morning and evening; after that, you are free to use the courtyard for your practice."
She told him to take a fighting stance. Julian agreed and activated his mana rotation instinctually. Today was going to be about training his instincts. She handed him a cloth to cover his eyes.
"For the next hour, you will avoid my attacks. You are not allowed to use mana at all."
She charged at him with insane speed, and Julian couldn't react in time, getting hit on the head. This pattern continued for the next hour, with him getting constantly hit by attacks he couldn't see coming. She wasn't using mana, so he couldn't even detect the direction of the attacks. Fortunately, she didn't hit him too hard, ensuring no serious injuries that could hinder his training.
After the session, Sister Theresa left him to contemplate. Julian went ahead to do his duties, washing everyone's clothes, including his own. He was relieved that his fire magic didn't burn his clothes or shoes, sparing him the need to buy new ones daily.
In the evening, the training resumed, and Julian was beaten black and blue again. This time, he managed to evade one of her attacks, but that was all.
Before leaving, she handed him a book. "Memorize this by tomorrow."
The book detailed different methods of mana control, from shaping mana into different forms to compressing it. This was exactly what Julian needed. The book describes five stages of mana reinforcement:
Basic Intermediate Advanced Master Grandmaster
In the advanced stage, not even mana fluctuations could be detected. Julian had just broken through basic reinforcement and touched the edge of the intermediate stage. There was still some time before he could grasp it completely.
The book also explains the three main types of spells:
Normal Magic – Uses mana directly, like flame waves, fireballs, flame claws, etc. Creation Magic – Shapes mana into something before taking effect, like Sister Theresa's flame summons, arrows, armors, or creating complicated weapons out of mana. Healing Magic – Heals wounds by creating a domain over the area.
To cast a proper spell, an incantation was required. However, if a mage had enough mastery over the spell, the incantation could be omitted.
Julian practiced different types of mana control, sorting them by difficulty until it was time for dinner. The next day, he was beaten up again during training, unable to react to any of Sister Theresa's attacks as she increased her speed. At night, he continued practicing mana control exercises and used his mana rotation.
The increased amount of mana made mana control more challenging. This cycle continued for almost a week. Julian got along well with the children, and the food and housing were much better than back in the village. He managed to improve his flame claws due to insights gained from the book.
Earlier, Julian had formed claws directly out of condensed mana. Now, he first formed a shape and then condensed mana around it. This increased the sharpness depending on the mana used.
After staying in the Church for days Julian got bored so Theresa promised to take him somewhere new for his next step of training.