The Author's POV

Sitting crossed-legged in the middle of the training grounds, Donna placed both of her hands on my back. Slowly, a purple hue pulsated from her body.

"huuu..."

Similarly closing my eyes, feeling her soft hands on my back, I exhaled as I tried my best to not get distracted by the soft feeling on my back. With her eyes closed, as she circulated her mana into my body, Donna softly said.

"Focus and feel how my mana is circulating inside of your body. Make sure you remember the feeling and try to envision it in your mind"

"Mhh"

Nodding my head, I did as Donna told me and focused on the mana that was entering my body through her hands.

Shortly after, I could vividly feel Donna's mana smoothly entering my body through the channels of my body. It flowed much smoother and faster than what I was used to. It was a weird feeling.

Shortly after, as I felt her mana circulate around my body, a frown appeared on my face.

Although Donna was channeling her mana in my body, right now she was keeping her mana regulated at <F> rank...yet, I somehow felt stronger than before. This came as a shock to me as I was already <E> rank.

It was a completely different feeling from usual, it felt as if I no longer needed to accumulate mana inside of my body before performing the first and second movements of the Keiki style as the mana inside of my body gathered at a much faster pace.

How was that possible?

Seeing that I noticed something, Donna softly said.

"...do you feel it?"

Nodding my head I curiously asked

"Yes, but what's going on?"

Knitting her brows, Donna didn't respond immediately. Thereafter, as she thought of something, she said

"The way you channel your mana is way too crude and unrefined. From what I've observed so far it doesn't even look like you know the proper channels to which you should be circulating your mana in as the paths you use aren't efficient at all. As of right now, the speed at which your mana is circulating is at 70% of what it should be...a big loss."

"As a result of this, it takes much longer for you to channel the mana inside of your body compared to other people"

Pausing there for a second, Donna tried to word her words carefully as she softly said

"...from what I'm observing, it seems like no one properly taught you how to control your mana, am I right about that?"

Hearing Donna's question, a bitter smile appeared on my face.

"Yes, you aren't wrong"

Seeing me nod in confirmation, the frown on Donna's face deepened as she softly mumbled.

"...Odd"

Odd indeed.

For someone to have been able to enter the Lock and yet still not know how to properly circulate their mana this was indeed odd...however that's how things were for me as of right now.

This was what happened if you suddenly found yourself inside of your own novel coming from a world without mana.

Perhaps the previous Ren knew how to circulate mana properly, but I never once learned how to properly control the mana inside of my body. Nor which channels I should be using.

With me entering the academy and everyone already knowing how to properly channel their mana since young, I wasn't taught any of this. Every single time we were taught something regarding mana, I had to learn through experimenting with my body...and let's just say it wasn't the most pleasant experience.

Although I tried searching the browser and watching videos online to get a better understanding of how to properly channel the mana inside of my body, it simply wasn't the same as Donna directly teaching me through her directly circulating her mana inside of my body.

"Don't lose focus and properly focus on my mana circulating in your body"

Once again feeling Donna's mana circulating around my body, I lowered my head and softly mumbled

"I see, I'm starting to understand now..."

After listening to Donna's explanation, everything was starting to make sense to me. The things that have been plaguing me since reincarnating here became much clearer to me.

...If I circulated the mana inside of my body just like Donna was showing me, I could already envision myself and my arts drastically improving.

I could finally see a light at the end of the dark tunnel that I was stuck in for the past two months.

Noticing the fluctuations in my emotions, Donna circulated the mana in her body even more as she softly said.

"Alright focus and try to memorize the exact paths my mana is flowing inside of your body. This is the fastest and most efficient path that we humans have discovered after a lot of trial and error."

"I won't ask you about what type of arts you're practicing as that is your business, but if you follow this path I am currently showing you...you will find that your mana will circulate faster and that you can gather mana at a much faster pace than before when you're trying to use a skill of something that requires you to accumulate mana...if you can get a grasp of what I'm teaching you, in the next month or so, your strength will see a considerable boost"

Listening to Donna explain things for me, nodding my head seriously, I fully focused on the mana that was circulating inside of my body.

"Understood"

Thus, for the next two hours, silence prevailed in the surroundings as Donna and I sat crossed-legged in the middle of the room with her hands on my back.

Slowly but surely, the mana inside of my body was starting to circulate at a much faster pace than before. I could vividly see myself improving at speeds that I could've only dreamt of in the past causing my heart to beat in excitement.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

At exactly 10:00 A.M. breaking the silence was Donna who took her hands off my back and stood up. Stretching her neck, Donna looked at me and said.

"Come back next week on Wednesday same time. We will resume your lessons then"

Feeling Donna's hand leaving my back, I felt a slight tinge of regret before I exhaled and nodded my head.

"...understood, thank you"

Faintly smiling, while walking to the other side of the room and taking a towel, Donna threw it at me and said.

"I'm just holding onto my end of the deal. Since you held your end of the deal, it wouldn't be right if I didn't it as well no?"

Taking the towel that Donna threw at me, an awkward smile appeared on my face as I looked down at where I was sitting.

My clothes were completely drenched in sweat at the moment, and a pool of sweat appeared in the area I was sitting. Because I was so focused on Donna's teachings, I didn't notice how much I was sweating.

Noticing my awkward face, Donna smiled as she shook her head.

"Alright, you better get going. Lessons will start in a couple of hours so take a shower and rest up until then, I'll see you in class"

"Understood"

Nodding my head, I quickly turned around and made my way out of the training grounds.

Though I was tired, I couldn't suppress my excitement. Even though this was the first lesson, I could already see myself progress even further. Especially in my understanding of how mana flowed.

From today onwards, I would definitely see major improvements in the understanding of my arts. Thinking along those lines, wiping the sweat that had accumulated around my body, I happily left the training ground.

...

After Ren left, Donna untied her ponytail as her hair gently scattered all the way down to her back.

...looking back at the training session she just had with Ren, her mouth couldn't help but arc upwards.

He was talented alright.

Although his talent was assessed at D rank, Donna didn't think any less of him. After all, being a Hero wasn't the only respected profession in the world. He could very well find himself becoming an agent in the future.

Moreover, recalling her sparring session with him, Donna couldn't help but become more interested in him.

The way he learned was simply very efficient.

Although he wasn't as exceptional as some of the other students that she had seen before like Kevin and some others. His thought process was what impressed her. Especially at how he would always try to not commit the same mistake again.

...she couldn't say he was a quick learner, but the way he tried to not commit the same mistake again and learn from his previous mistakes was what thoroughly impressed her.

Such a thought process was what enabled him to learn fast.

Moreover, from what she heard from the others, apparently, he was the one that came up with the strategy for the tryouts.

...although it wasn't the most perfect strategy, from the way he analyzed everyone's capabilities as well as the opponent's thought process, Donna believed that he could very well become someone of importance in the future.

Though he may not become a ranked hero, he could very well get a position as a leading agent which was just as prolific as being a <S> ranked hero.

Thinking thus far, Donna couldn't wait for what awaited her student in the future.

...would he shine in this forsaken world or would he be buried alongside the other unpolished gems out there?

Donna didn't know...but, she sure as heck was going to try her best to help him out.

After all, that was her duty as a teacher.