Koss noticed how Vincent's face relaxed after this strange, unimaginable occurrence. It greatly helped Vincent recover at the cost of tiring Koss for manipulating the mana in the air. "Ahem... take your time. We aren't in a hurry to arrive since we should have traveled quite some distance from Laurel Town." Koss said with a poker face. Koss tried to act as if the situation was under control. He knew it was a bit irresponsible, but the years as an army instructor knew the effects of having a leader without confidence. "Thank you, teacher. " Vincent weakly replied. Koss felt a pang in his heart at these words. Like an emotional arrow shot directly to his heart. He turned his gaze at the three new recruits. Their faces screamed, "Why the hell did I want to become a soldier to make money?", "Do all soldiers suffer like this?" "It's better to work as a messenger soldier than suffer this hell!" Koss then turned his gaze at Tulip, but she felt like a spectator that knew no one. Or like a passenger waiting to arrive at her destination without mingling with anyone. Next, his gaze went over to his daughter, but as he suspected, she donned a deeply worried frown concerning Vincent's condition. Koss approached Vincent. He was being helped to stand by Ester and Lupa. Koss raised his hand and placed it in the middle of Vincent's chest. Then he lied with a determined gaze, "I will help you by sending some restorative mana with my special ability to help your body regenerate energy." Vincent nodded and started to feel his body become lighter. He felt thankful, but the other party doing the support found it hard to keep his confident poker face, almost revealing his hidden bewildered expression. Vincent's body supposedly was in a state of mana rejection, yet it absorbed or devoured the mana as well. A thing that doesn't make sense stood in front of his very own two eyes. Koss wanted to test if Vincent's body absorbed mana to recuperate like the previous night, and to his surprise, he did with flying colors. "Thank you, Koss. I feel much lighter now. Maybe five kilos of extra weight at best." Vincent lowered his head and offered a heartfelt thanks. Koss averted his gaze. He couldn't speak his mind say to Vincent's face that this was the test of a theory he jumbled up in his night shift. "Haha, don't worry, my boy. I will do this when you can't take it anymore." Koss lightly smacked Vincent's back a few times with a smile. The situation was somehow under control by an unbelievable solution. [Koss seems reliable. I feel like we were fated to meet with a kind and knowledgeable army instructor.] -I feel much better now thanks to him. The heavy pressure was smothering me.- The group shortly left after eating breakfast. Vincent walked under pressure, weighing his body to the ground. His stamina burnt faster, and his body felt as if wearing a suit of heavyweights. Koss would help from time to time after Vincent's legs couldn't take it anymore. The day soon approached its end. The vicious cycle of training to temper his body in a mysteriously fast process had to halt and call it a day. The night quickly approached, and Vincent wished to recontinue training CQC that night. Koss declined and told him to rest. However, Vincent waited for Lupa's guard shift to start. "I want the reward upfront or no deal." Lupa cheekily said as if she was blackmailing him. "Fine... but I will tell Ester to teach you better. I wonder who taught you to speak like this?" Vincent sighed at the sly wolf girl. He could hear Kazumi chuckle at his situation, causing him to frown. [Hey, don't look at me. I have nothing to do with this... *sly whistling*] Vincent felt as if he got double teamed in doing what they wanted, yet it was a nice change of pace. A break from painful and exhausting training. Lupa received a few minutes of delightful petting on her soft hair and wolf ears. She approached her head when the time was up and delivered a kiss. Lupa swiftly stood up for his lap and giggled seductively. Her tail waged, causing a small breeze and a small dust cloud, almost making someone sneeze and wake up. [Let's start training before I change my mind to help you.] Kazumi said with a hint of anger and jealousy in her tone. She didn't think it would make her yearn for Vincent's touch. -Let's cuddle next time we meet, hehe.- Vincent offered in a good mood. He also felt better to tease Kazumi. Shortly, Vincent started training CQC under the direction of Kazumi sensei. She allowed him to repeat the moves accurately as if Koss stood in front of him. Only the Intimidation or Murderous gaze was missing, but his current condition almost felt equivalent to that. *Day 36* Vincent woke up the next morning without feeling the heavy pressure weighing on his body. He immediately rushed to wake Koss with an excited smile carved on his face. "Huh? Is the pressure unbearable and need help? One moment." Koss lightly grunted from not feeling to have rested enough. He squinted his eyes a couple of times and prepared to wake up. Koss didn't want to mention how helping Vincent exhausted him every time, but he had to hide his tiredness. Using the intent to influence the mana in the air was tiring to do. "I'm not feeling the pressure anymore. I don't feel the mana touching my body anymore, either! I feel like it's an ordinary day without any inconveniences." Vincent announced with an excited tone. The same kind of excitement he felt on the day he was promised to read the Book Of Heroes. Koss fell on his back before he pulled himself in surprise. He thoroughly gazed at Vincent with a pair of bulging eyes, but he couldn't see his body trembling from the strain anymore. The surprising announcement was real and hard to believe. 'Slap me, silly! How is this even possible!... no... keep a calm and collected mind. ' Koss thought while trying to keep a difficult poker face. "Can we continue training CQC now?" Vincent quickly asked. "Fine..." Koss felt like he had no other choice but to accept. Koss spent a few hours directing his Murderous and Intimidation gaze while Vincent practiced the previous combo. As time passed, Vincent began to understand how the pressure lessened, and his body could comprehend the tainted mana's intention. Vincent's body and his blood adapted at an astonishing rate. He could understand Koss was intimidating him, scaring him, showing the intention of aggression or the feeling of murder. "Phew... now that's a good workout. Now, remember that your body has adapted two times, but you need to train more to awaken the Trait. " Koss wiped his forehead. He sat on the grass and leaned his back against a tree to catch a breath. The days of overusing his intent built up. "So now I need to practice until I can control a droplet of blood in my body by using by adapting to mana Attraction, right?" Vincent asked to confirm his next goal to advancement. "Yes. It would be similar to Energy Flow. That's why I suggested CQC. It will become much easier to learn while actively moving and straining the body." "You might think CQC basic technique looks simple, but it enhances the probability to temper the first droplet of blood in your body from your arms or upper region. We humans aren't fast like beastmen, so we mostly focus on improving our upper body." "It took many years until the manaless people started understanding why spells need chants. The power words direct the mana with their intent." "So many started to think if it would be possible with movements like how sign language is a language based on movements and intent." "Breathing appropriately is also important to the combat sign language. It's vital to understand and instruct the mana with your intent, so match the breathing and moves." "Many years later, a few people created many styles until they became a collective under the name close combat quarters or CQC for short." "Imagine we are like fish. Fish live in water. Water is both their air and pressure. Like us, our air is filled with traces of mana and is our cause of life and pressure. Fish cause a ripple in the water, and we cause a ripple in the mana within the air." "Now I know what you want to ask since many ask this question, but I really don't understand how this combat sign language thing works, haha. I learned like everyone else and trained the same CQC until reaching this level." "Regrettably, we soldiers aren't taught many forms, unlike noble CQC instructors or the royal family." Koss let a sigh. Koss then rubbed his nose with a proud smirk and boasted, "But hey, I'm quite well known in the Southern Gate division as the best newbie trainer in the whole Lusterfall Kingdom, if I say so myself, hehe. The fragile weak-willed critics don't count." [So, any fighting stance with moves that carry intent like a sign language is a branch of the many CQC combat forms accumulated through the years.] [Well, you better learn since we don't have much time until we arrive at our destination. I don't know if Koss would have time to teach you after that. Unless you become a soldier.] -You are right. I should focus on adapting faster. I need to grow stronger and keep the three of you safe.- Kazumi felt happy hearing these caring thoughts. She resolved herself to help Vincent even further with moral support and help with training. The group left to continue after Vincent and Koss rested for some time. The thirty-sixth day was another intense self-training day for Vincent. He started feeling as if he could touch the rejected mana surrounding his body. Vincent could feel the mana through his Filter adaption. It sometimes felt as if the invisible force would move to his will at certain times. It felt similar to determining if a breeze, a fly, or a person's finger touched his skin without looking. The ability to understand if malicious intent was directed at him. Vincent decided to start collecting mana to carry the heavy pressure of intimidation at all times. He felt like wearing an empty suit, and the more rejected mana builds, the heavier he becomes. It was a hard feat to do, but he succeeded after imagining wearing a sticky raincoat. It would stick the faint traces of mana in the air like droplets of sticky liquid. He tried to force the attraction of mana to adapt and hasten the mana build-up progress. However, control was key, so Vincent started filtering and rejecting a little amount every time trying to use Attraction or what he thought he felt as his body was quickly adapting.