11 Unexpected Gains

Yune was quite happy with the progress he was making, but couldn't help but want to improve even faster.

His mind now not fully being occupied with surviving to get oxygen, Yune had started to think about what more he could do. He had already stabilized his breathing pattern, and from looking at other students, and Noah Cain, Yune had also improved his running technique as best as he could for now.

With his mind racing to find something else that could help him run faster and longer to close the gap between the other students, something clicked in Yune's mind. 'Right! Why didn't I think of that earlier? If I use my mana to decrease my weight, then I can run longer!'

Ecstatic about this idea, Yune didn't wait a second before using his mana. Just like this morning, Yune dissolved around one fifth of his mana, decreasing the gravity on his body, making him 10% lighter.

Instantly it felt like a weight was lifted of his shoulder.

Knowing that this effect wouldn't last forever, Yune started picking up his pace, running even faster than before. Feeling light on his feet, less strain on his muscles and a decreased amount of oxygen intake, Yune's heartrate started to stabilize even more, a smile forming on his face as he ran.

Unfortunately, after around a minute, Yune's bodyweight returned to normal. But Yune was happy nonetheless as he had managed to run faster than he had been able to before, and his body even felt less fatigued.

Wanting to keep this going, Yune used another one fifth of his mana. With this he ran another full minute, even faster than before. Keeping this momentum going, Yune continued this cycle.

But by the sixth time, Yune only managed to decrease his weight by 8% before he had used up all his mana. Yune wasn't unhappy by this at all, because he knew this was going to happen eventually as mana isn't infinite. Instead, this was exactly what he was waiting for, to do a little experiment.

Having continued to run for another minute, Yune's weight returned to normal again. This was the moment Yune was waiting for.

Immediately, Yune tried decreasing the gravity once again, feeling his body become lighter yet again. "Nice, it decreased around 3%!" Said Yune, a slight smile forming on his face.

This might not seem like much, but this was how much mana Yune naturally managed to replenish within one minute. With this Yune knew that he could continuously reduce his weight by 3% while running.

And that was exactly what Yune did, run, and run even more. With a lot of falling and getting up again, pushing his body to the limit and eating a lot of military rations to energize his body, Yune was improving at an unbelievable rate.

This growth might even seem supernatural to some people, because it is. Marks, specifically said mana, is a particle which passively enhances a person. People with mana recover faster, can build muscle mass quicker than a normal human, and most of all, mana allows a human to surpass their limits.

Not even three hours ago, Yune could barely even run for a hundred meters, but now, he managed to run over a kilometer without getting out of breath too much, which would have been impossible for a normal human.

Lap after lap Yune ran around the one kilometer track. And now, Yune wasn't getting overtaken or lapped anymore, instead he was the one passing and lapping people. With Yune's determination at an all-time high, and his stamina improving at a rapid pace, eventually Yune was one of the only people still running on the track.

Most students had just started walking, tired, or not being bothered to run anymore after nearly four hours. Some students were sitting down, while others had even left the class entirely.

Standing on the sidelines, Noah Cain was looking at the field proudly even though a lot of students had given up. "Okay guys! Class is over, dismissed!" Noah Cain said over a megaphone, immediately lifting up the spirits of the students as they quickly left the field.

'This is going to be a long year like this.' Noah Cain thought, seeing everyone so excited about leaving class.

But then, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching him. Looking back on the field, Noah Cain saw Yune running past him. 'Well, maybe it won't be a long year for everyone' Noah Cain thought, as a smile instantly appeared on his face.

Unpacking his stuff again, Noah Cain sat back down. As Yune passed by again, Noah Cain quickly stood up. "Yune, come here for a second." Noah Cain said.

Out of breath, Yune jogged over to Noah Cain. "What's wrong sir? Do I have to leave the field?" Yune said, not wanting to leave now.

Even though a person with a mark, with mana, could recover faster than a normal human, there are still limits to this, and Yune's body was now also slowly starting to give out. But despite this, Yune still wanted to push himself further, the desire to grow stronger fueling him.

Seeing the fire still in Yune's eyes with his body being worn out, Noah Cain's eyes widened as Yune earned a certain amount of his respect in his books. "Haha, I like you boy. Of course I am not going to stop you from training, but with the state your body is in now, any more running will only do you harm." Noah Cain said.

With Yune's facial expression saddening after hearing this, Noah Cain put his hand on Yune's shoulder and let some of his mana pass to Yune's body.

Instantly, Yune's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing sir?" Yune said as his body immediately felt refreshed and full of energy again.

Noah Cain didn't answer Yune's question however. "Now you can start running again." Noah Cain said, a smirk now on his face as he saw Yune staring at him with a bewildered expression. "Well, go on. Start running."

With his body refreshed, Yune started running again, now even faster than before, pushing his body even further, making it break down even faster. But every time his body was on the point of breaking down, Noah Cain used his powers to rejuvenate Yune's body again.

Continuing this cycle, Yune was improving at an even faster rate than before. With the sun having long gone down, Noah Cain was the one to finally call it quits.

But at this point, Yune also agreed to stop, his desire having been saturated, for now, satisfied with the results of today.

In this simple training, not only did Yune improve his stamina tremendously, there were also other benefits Yune had gained from this related to his mana. Gains he didn't quite understand and couldn't wait to ask Alvin.

With dinner long having passed, Yune wouldn't be able to meet Alvin today, so he just headed back to his room. Much to Yune's surprise, Alvin was standing in front of Yune's room.

"Hello Alvin!" Yune said excitedly.

Alvin, however, didn't return this excitement as his expression looked saddened, almost angry. "Why didn't you come to the cafeteria for dinner like we agreed?" Alvin sad, his voice sounding a little worried.

Yune was quite taken aback by Alvin's reaction and took a second to answer. "Oh, sorry Alvin. I completely forgot the time while I was training." Yune said sincerely.

Seeing that Yune was telling the truth, Alvin couldn't stay saddened or angry. "It's okay. Just let me know next time. Can I come in for a bit?" Alvin said, his usual happy expression returning.

"Yes of course." Yune said, having wanted to talk to Alvin.

After entering and sitting down, Yune couldn't hold his curiosity anymore and immediately started the conversation. "Alvin, as I just said, I missed dinner because I was training. In these seven hours I only trained my stamina while running, but for some reason both my mana recovery rate and my mana quantity have increased. Why is that?"

Hearing this, Alvin looked surprised for multiple reasons. First because Yune said he had ran for seven hours, but most of all because his mana recovery and quantity had improved.

"Did you use your mana while running?" Alvin asked, as he thought to have come up with a reasonable explanation.

"Yes, after around a few hours I started to use every bit of my mana to continuously decrease my weight so I can run better" Yune explained. "How did you know?"

"You're unbelievable Yune." Alvin said as he began to laugh. "Your mana recovery and quantity improved because you were also training them. A way people can increase their mana recovery and quantity is by using their mana as much as they can."

This was one of the most basic things to know, but Yune simply had not learned this yet. Hearing this for the first time, a question formed in Yune's head. "Then, why doesn't everyone just use their mana all the time? I don't think any other students used was using any mana." Yune asked.

This was a valid question, but Alvin had a simple answer for it. "Well, let me answer this question with an example. For example, why didn't someone with a fire mark use their mana while running in your class?" Alvin said, setting up the stage.

Hearing Alvin ask this question, Yune shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." Yune said.

Alvin then continued. "First of all, there are two types of mana usage, internal and external mana usage. Internal mana usage is what you have been doing, activating your mana inside your body. And external mana is the opposite, activating mana outside of your body."

Having said this, Alvin looked at Yune to see if he was understanding it so far. Seeing as Yune was quickly writing things down, in a summarized version, Alvin continued with his explanation.

"So why do for example people with a fire mark not use their mana while training? Well, first of all that is because external mana usage is not allowed unless permission is given by the teacher, so they can't just shoot out fireballs to use and train their mana, as that is dangerous. And internal mana usage is also not really a good option for them. When someone with a fire-mark uses their mana internally, their body heats up significantly, and that is not really a helpful thing while running." Alvin concluded simply.

"So, my mana powers are good for continuous use while most other's aren't?" Yune said after writing down some notes for a few more second, trying to summarize what Alvin explained.

"Yes, exactly!" Alvin said excitedly.

After having explained this, Yune and Alvin continued talking, most of the conversation centering around Yune's mark as Alvin was an enthusiast for unique marks while Yune wanted to get more ideas about how to use his powers.

With this shared interest, they had no problems filling the time.

<All students are to be in their rooms in fifteen minutes>

This school alarm being the reminder, Alvin quickly left for his own room hoping to make it in time.

And just like that, Yune's first day at the national mark academy had passed by quickly.

'Today has been quite fruitful.' Yune thought as he was lying in bed, quickly falling asleep as the fatigue finally started to catch up to him.