Lucas's body jerked in shock due to the sudden interruption and breaking out of the reverie, he turned towards the source of the sound.
"Lucas, you are still practicing."
"Huh!" Lucas stared at the person approaching him with a bewildered expression and bowed his head to greet the person.
"Hello, Miss Ami!"
"Miss you are here at this hour..."
"I just came out from the staff meeting and I saw someone familiar working hard here."
"It's good to have zeal like this but you are burdening your body too much. There should be a limit to how much strain your body can endure, especially yours which looks quite sickly."
Lucas scratched his head with an embarrassed expression"If I wish to get stronger and move forward, I have to take extreme steps."
"I am way behind others and lack a lot."
"I need to get stronger faster."
"I don't think so, "Ami said, smacking her lips.
"What is the definition of strong for you?"
Lucas pondered for a moment and unable to think of a clear answer shook his head.
"I don't know. All I want is the power to protect myself and survive in the harsh world for now."
"That's a good goal," Ami spoke with a smile and started to explain.
"Many people would have a different say in this regard, however...."
"For me, it is someone confident, determined, and one who could not be manipulated by others easily. He is sharp, steady, and should have the courage to do what he believes to be right."Ami paused for a moment seeing Lucas's eyes glowing strangely.
"For me, that is the true definition of strong."
"I can see a lack of confidence and faint grievance in you as if you are wronged. I know it may be harsh however the world has never been fair. Sometimes the undeserving ones are favored by fate while those who deserve are deprived by the world."
"So, believe my words..."
"Life battles don't always go to the one who is stronger or faster nor does it goes to one who started first. Instead sooner or later, the one who wins thinks he can and always believes in himself, will be one who will succeed in the end."
Lucas's heart stirred as Miss Ami's words echoed in his ears again and again.
"Thanks for the guidance"Lucas nodded his head and thanked her sincerely.
He felt as if the thick obscure fog blocking the road ahead of him was cleared away. Her heartfelt words lessened the burdens buried deep inside his heart.
He was aware of his deficiencies and knew his flaws. This can already be considered the first step to getting stronger.
"By the way, I think I need some guidance. There is something wrong with my mana flow."Lucas spoke, thinking about the problem that had been bugging him recently.
"Hmm...I think you should consult Sir Harris. He is a meticulous teacher who would surely find your root problems and help you in fixing all this."
Ami looked at the watch and decided to leave but before that, she threw something at Lucas.
"Catch!"
Lucas caught the thing instinctively and glanced at Ami with a questioning gaze.
"It's a sword technique," Ami answered indifferently.
"You can think of it as a gift for putting in some sincere effort."
Lucas's eyes widened with happiness and he looked at the scripture.
<Grade 2>
[Drifting Sword Technique]
'I got technique out of nowhere. Do I have a protagonist halo?'
'Oh, my God. This is the luckiest moment I had after coming here.'
Ami noticed changes in Lucas's expression and coughed...
"Lucas, before you let your thoughts run wild, I wanted to tell you that you are not the only one who I have given this technique to."
"Huh! Lucas frowned and stared at her with an inexplicable gaze.
"You may be the first in your batch however I have distributed some students whom I believe to be compatible with this."
"So, you may find someone who has this in the future but I assure you this technique is quite good for you but it's not free. You need to pay 200 points for this. I should not show favoritism from the beginning."
Noticing Lucas's strange gaze Miss Ami feigned ignorance and said"You can think of it as a loan. It originally cost 800 points but I am exchanging it for 200 points which you can pay me slowly."
Ami with a slightly flustered expression left leaving Lucas perplexed.
"Did I just get scammed?"
"Is this a useless sword art that no one wants?"
Lucas opened it again and studied the description.
<Drifting Sword Art>
[There exists a flow in everything. Drifting sword art traces the path of flow with fast and precise attacks countering the opponent's moves with subtle gentle movements and piercing the opponent's defenses by following the flow.]
Lucas raised his eyebrows as he felt the technique quite familiar.
"I see. It's an imitation of Miss Ami's Grade 4 sword arts."
Martial and different types of weapon arts were first divided into ranks starting from G to SS.
However, later it was seen that people overpowered high-rank sword arts with low-rank swords which shows it was difficult to divide sword arts over a long range of rank so the list was compacted and divided into 5 grades starting from 1 to 5. Grade 5 arts can be compared to SS level and are top secret.
Only a few families have this. Frost and Warren's household have their Grade 5 swords Art.
Frederick converted the sword arts of Frost to spear arts which shocked everyone, especially his father.
"Today was a good day. Let's stop for now."Lucas, keeping the scripture back, walked away while wiping the sweat on his face.
As he came out and lowered the towel, his body froze seeing the person staring at him.
'What is this man doing here? 'Lucas notice the time and understanding.
Lucas trains till 12 while this guy mostly leaves around 11.
"Hello!"
"Uh..He...Hello.."Lucas greeted back with a stiffened expression.
The person was none other than the mc of the story.
"You train hard."Frederick praised Lucas with a smile and lowered the bottle he was holding.
"I have to if I don't want to get kicked out from Horizon."
An awkward silence prevailed after this.
Feeling uncomfortable, Lucas asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Training just like others."
"I know that much. I mean why are you training here instead of training in your dorm? You have a whole apartment with a personal gymnasium attached to it."
"It feels stuffy. Moreover, training with others gives me motivation."Frederick answered with a smile.
Lucas found the answer quite odd and looked around. His tone seemed to be quite unnatural as if he was nervous.
The place was empty except for the two.
'Is someone monitoring us?'
Lucas dismissed this thought and stared at Frederick with an eccentric gaze.
Lucas, who knew the reason for which Frederick might be here, clicked his tongue...
"Hey, do you.."
"Sorry, I need to go. I have some work. Bye and have a nice day."Lucas cut Frederick's speech in the middle.
"Huh! Wait...I"Before Frederick could stop him, Lucas ran away as if he was a plague that needed to be avoided.
"Haaaa....Is it that hard to make a friend?"
Frederick shook his head and walked away with a lonely back filled with an expression of forlornness.