8 Chapter 8: The Many Talents of the Strongest Man (End)

Some old man clapped.

There were two more people here. I could recognize Maria viva la maid uniform.

"Enchanting! Young Lord Eugene, I never knew you could play like this! As your teacher, I am wholly impressed, moved to tears."

"Sure, sure. Name?"

The old man tilted his head to his side. He did introduce himself as the teacher, so I didn't care that much for the name.

The other person in the room was Keith. I was surprised that I managed to play the entire piece while circulating mana in my body. Eugene's fingers were rather dexterous, even with the few mistakes I made, it would be impossible to complete the entire thing without enough stamina and muscle memory.

After that, things went by at a fast pace.

***

"Oh, dear! What's this memory? You might become a great archeologist or a historian if you keep learning these facts, young master!"

"Indeed, those subjects are heavily dependent on your ability to make connections and be familiar with factual events. I am very interested in the Gods' Age, teacher."

"Of course! The gods that choose the oracles and apostles are the same ones who ruled over these lands and still protect us from the evil demons!"

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"Math wizard! Young master has turned into a math wizard overnight!"

"No way, I am not even half as good as you, teacher."

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"What is this... magic formation? Array?"

"Oh well, teacher, it is but a theory, please do help me realize it if you see any worth in it."

"Don't worry, young master! If need be, I'll even call out to the elves and court mages, no, such genius, even sorcerers will come running to you!"

"What territory would this fall in, teacher?"

"You already know that magic is a well-defined and rule-bound art, witchcraft deals with hexes and curses, and the ever-mysterious sorcery is the ability to bend reality. Something this detailed will have to be a part of magic, but the effects you are reaching out for are almost in the zone of sorcery."

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"Unbelievable! Such grace! Such elegance! Such poignancy! Young Master, at this rate, you can become the best dancer amongst the nobles."

"Oh dear, you flatter me, teacher. Would you allow me to indulge you in some tea, the dancing must have gotten to you."

"Gentlemanly to boot!"

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Day after day.

The words of praise poured into my ears.

But that was the very last of my concerns.

Strength.

Power.

I had learned a lot about how things went here. Just like in my old world, people here used Ki and Mana too. Except, there were also gods and demons, and fairies? Gods used Holy magic while Demons utilized Demonic Energy. They all lived in their own hells and heavens so it was impossible for any human to utilize them.

The part that mattered was only here, in Mana and Ki.

Mana utilization was divided into three halves based on the refinement and efficiency one reached.

The normal Mana, more refined Aether, and most refined and powerful, Arcana.

One then just had to add properties and attributes to Mana through the magic circles and it would be manifested. From raining fire to destroying things into bits, a lot was possible.

My goal was, of course, to reach the Arcana stage and start affecting the rest of the world. But more importantly, there was another thing that took my interest.

Ki.

Just like Mana, it was divided into different stages too but not about refinement and more on its usage.

Six stages. Charge Ki, Aura Ki, Projectile Ki, Manifest Ki, Intent Ki, and Soul Ki.

I had heard from Keith that there was more, but it wasn't mentioned in any books.

For now, I could not even use Charge Ki.

Power. Pure Power.

That was the only thing that filled my mind.

And before I knew it, in my pursuit of strength...

Four years had already passed by.

I was now 12 in this world.