The bloody gate

A cry of joy broke the calm, success quickly meant that the rest of the day would be a rest but it would not be as they thought.

Maximus took carefully seven polished mana stones out of his left pocket and then gave one to each of them.

'You haven't forgotten what we said earlier? This training is divided into two days. The first day training ended earlier than expected so you will start the second day training. If you finish earlier we will start the next training and you will have extra time to learn more then.'

The comfort they wanted disappeared in the wind, not as if they could refuse the teacher's requests.

'Each of you has to absorb all the mana in the stone, the difficulty is not by moving the mana but by storing it in your bodies. Everyone has to complete it by tomorrow morning. Fatigue is temporary but the results are permanent, remember this.'

'Understood.....'

All of them said it in a tired voice, the work does not end, and the training is really hellish from the first days. They have just abandoned the idea of little effort and generous results that they assumed.

Maximus wanted me to explain these facts to them from day one so that they would not complain later about training.

'You can leave now; let's meet early tomorrow morning like today.'

Then each of them left for his concerns, some of them sat off immediately after returning to his room and some decided to go to the library first before his mind got tired later.

.........

Evening fell and the sun was nearing sunset, Dante was sitting on the roof, as usual, resting and absorbing mana from the stone at other times. Maximus suddenly appeared next to him.

'You still have the habit of staying on roofs.'

Dante immediately replied, 'And you have a habit of terrorizing peaceful people.'

'Everyone's progress is fantastic, with greater precision better than I even expected.'

'Is it really that cool?'

'Learning what it takes a month to learn without a teacher or ten days with a teacher in one day is kind of fantasy.'

'Thank you for your praise. I trust that you will not tell them so that the seed of pride cannot germinate in their hearts and hinder their growth.'

'Just like the past, you're on a completely different level compared to others. It's like I'm talking to you before regressing.'

'You said you would need me to help you train others. When is that?'

Maximus thought a little about it before answering the question, as he himself did not specify exactly when he would need Dante’s during the training month.

'I may need your help at any time, especially in combat training, as you have some experience in fighting unlike others.'

'Clear. We will complete this training to the end and achieve all our goals in this period.'

'Then don't be complacent in your training. See you later.'

Maximus moved on his way and left Dante there.

"Mr. Maximus is a better friend than expected, I will definitely help him."

Dante's desire to help Maximus increased more and more as he wanted to contribute more effectively to training. Dante also went somewhere else to complete his training and the rest of the day passed quickly.

---------------------------

The next morning came and the team got together, everyone was late except Mira and Dante. Mira was pressuring herself not to look weak in front of Dante and wanted to show her superiority to gain the teacher's attention and learn more from him. All the way here, she was repeating one sentence non-stop.

"No witch can lose to an assassin in magic.." That is what was in her mind and pushed her so far.

The rest had dark circles under their eyes, the eyes of someone who barely slept because of the training.

Maximus, who always arrives a minute after everyone, saw that fatigue had exhausted them; they worked hard and did not forget their training, which improved his mood.

'Active as usual, you seem to have worked hard.'

Maximus unleashed a silly joke to dispel the fatigue that had stifled the atmosphere. The entrance opened and everyone followed, they sat on the floor immediately, exhausted.

'Speaking of what I asked you to do yesterday, how are the results?'

Each of them took out a small crystal the same size as the magic stone, each of which had either a very pale blue color or completely transparent. Anyone can do such an action if you give them enough motivation or pressure them in an appropriate amount.

"Each one has absorbed at least 80 percent of the mana from the stone, beautiful."

'Well done everyone, you have succeeded in mana absorption training. Now that you have completed the second day training prematurely, we will do a little training and we will conclude today’s training.'

Orion directly asked him with a skeptical expression on his face. He felt that he was not as little as the teacher said, his instincts told him that and they were not lying.

'What do you mean by small training? Isn't it a silly joke?'

'Not a big deal. I am going to teach you the basics of mana storage, which you will practice in the next two days.'

The doubt did not disappear from their faces but they wished that he were not deceiving them.

'Sit down and watch me carefully.' The team sat down and began to observe Maximus.

'When you are good at absorbing mana, you can absorb it from the air and replenish your energy with it. This way you can keep fighting for a while without having to stop or rest.'

They watched how the scattered mana in the air gradually that he collected was forming threads. Then entered through his mouth, descended through his throat, and then suddenly disappeared without a trace. The shy Eric who rarely spoke asked directly about the cause of this phenomenon.

'After a certain point we can no longer track the mana. What is the reason for this?'

'Good question. This is a technique known as energy concealing, which veils a person's energy or mana, so you can't know their level if you're below them. It is mastered by those who have surpassed the expert level, but it doesn't work on those who are at your same level or higher than you.'

A glitter appeared in Eric's eyes after hearing this explanation, the techniques of experts we only hear about in front of us now. Maximus read the atmosphere and decided to delight them.

'Soon I will teach you many expert techniques. These are nothing compared to them.'

'Yes!!' Eric and Mira said at the same time. The enthusiasm of the children is second to none.

'Now it's your turn to use the technique to try to suck out of the air.'

Each of them sat in a position similar to Maximus and began to experiment with absorbing mana from the air... Easily each of them was able to do it and they were surprised.

"Isn't something supposed to be difficult? This is really ridiculous."

'You're wondering why it's not so difficult. The truth is that this is the first stage of mana absorption training in reality. Rope training is the final stage.'

Everyone felt like a talented group of fools except Dante who waited for Maximus to continue talking. Obviously, he expected that there was some reason for him to do it.

'The classic method takes a lot of time and is not suitable for talented people, so the effectiveness of training is greater and success is achieved faster.'

After finishing, they shook their heads after understanding this. They thought the training was over, it is over but it is not really over.

‘We are done for today but…. You have to practice this.'

He raised his hand, collected the mana from the air, and curled it in the form of a skein spinning quickly. Then he continued:

'This is called mana shaping; it allows you to convert mana into a shape of your choice. The simplest form is a ball. You can leave now but practice these. Whoever masters one hand should try to form one in each hand. It will not be as easy to do, as it requires high accuracy and skill. This training is not to be rushed, but there should be no harm trying it on a daily basis in the hope that it will work out somehow. The time limit is before the end of the training month.'

The heavenly magician waved to his former companions and current disciples and then smiled lightly.

'Not you, Aliana, you are going somewhere different.'

'Special training?'

'It's not training but something you'll need in the future. Get closer to here.'

As she approached, he formed an instantaneous teleportation spell. It was a single moment but the place was completely different; it was the Red Forest, where she grew up as a child.

'What brings us here, sir?'

'You know, this is the land of spirits. Your task is to create a contract with a spirit of each of the five basic elements (fire, earth, wind, water, wood). Take these rings. It won't require you to get high-rank spirits, but the higher they are, the better.'

In a wooden case lined from the inside, five gold rings with magic stones modified by the magic of the elements. Red, yellow, azure, blue, green respectively. The five colors that symbolize the five elements. Aliana realized this but did not understand what it meant.

'These are the rings of the elements, they contain the magic of the elements and a unique ability to contain spirits, ask the contracted spirits to access the ring. Your affinity with nature is excellent; it will not take you a day. So, once you're done, break this jewel and you'll find yourself in front of the gate of the academy's training room.'

He gave her a green jewel similar to the one he gave to them in the first day, but in its core, there was an orange dot.

'I'm leaving now, that's the most important thing in your whole life, take it seriously.'

'I'll definitely do it, Master.'

The day was still in its beginning and Aliana had a long day ahead of her. With great enthusiasm, she did not know what was waiting for her in this mission...