"Not like that! You need to grip it much tighter!" Lilia corrected Nick as she watched him slowly learn to swing the big piece of wood in his hand. She had given both her students wooden training swords and a dummy to swing at, watching them and giving them advice. The short girl next to him seemed to be getting the hang of things much quicker. She was shy but clearly determined, taking every word her instructor gave her to heart.

Nick, on the other hand, wasn't having the easiest time. All the games he had played in this previous life couldn't help him now. He was wielding a wooden sword, but it still felt a little heavy for him. Each swing was slower than it had to be and he even dropped his sword a few times as his attacks connected, unable to hold on.

"Like this, Nick," Lilia explained as she demonstrated a simple slash with proper form. The difference between them was night and day but in his own mind, he was still trying to copy her form. Sword pointed directly in front of her, one foot ahead of the other, and both hands holding tightly onto the handle. She swung much faster than he could even dream of, leaving visible cuts on the wooden dummy despite the training sword they were using not being sharpened.

Doing his best to imitate her exact moves, the sword slowly felt lighter and lighter in his hands as the muscle memory started settling in. A full hour passed and he felt like he was finally starting to make real progress. Jade, the other girl who had as little experience as he did, didn't seem to be miles ahead of him anymore.

Due to a certain action, a new skill has been created!
Sword Mastery: Allows the user to freely handle various Swords. Increase damage dealt with Swords. Bonus: 5% Level: 1

Potential Unlocked!
Once you master your current Potential, more options will be available for you!

Nick was happy to see the window as he stepped away from the dummy and took a seat at the nearby bench, catching his breath. A passive skill that simply made all the damage he did with a sword better, was well-earned. It seemed like Skills were getting harder and harder to get, or maybe he was just imagining things.

"That's not bad for an hour of progress," Lilia said as she took a seat next to him while calling Jade to rest as well.

"Yeah? It's not easy." He replied, happy with the skill but still worried about needing xp to level up his potentials. He was getting far too many options to work with now despite still not having mastered his original choice.

"Nothing is easy. Just keep working on it and you'll get where you want to be," his teacher assured him with a nod.

"Though to tell the truth, you're a bit weaker than you look..." Lilia added, causing Jade to snicker.

"I'm more of a mage, to be honest. My dad signed me up for the class." Nick explained with a slight redness on his face. He knew he wasn't exactly the strongest but she didn't have to be so blunt about it.

"Well... then do you know any strengthening spells?" She asked, and this caught Jades's attention as well.

"Not really, but I'm sure I can do something basic that could help." He had no physically strengthening spells, and yet he felt confident he could still empower himself. He just had to focus his mana on his hands right? It wouldn't be a spell the same way Invigorate or Aqua Arrow were spells, but it would just be some simple enhancement. Hopefully enough to impress his teacher.

"Feel free to try once you've rested up. Most students try to avoid something like that but it's not cheating to use, this is a mage academy after all."

"They might have books about stuff like that in the library. My brother works there and he always tells me about all sorts of interesting books. Both magical and regular books." Jade chimed in, trying to offer some help to her rookie classmate.

That did sound interesting to Nick. With how easily he had learned his first spellbook it was the easiest way to get stronger. How did he not think of that? A mansion as fancy as the one he lived in must have had a library tucked in somewhere. Hopefully, all the books that would catch his attention would have low-stat requirements to learn. Nick had invested a lot in his intelligence but was still much worse compared to others in his grade. His roommate came to mind as someone seemingly pretty smart.

The other option was to simply level up and raise his strength. His skills leveled up when he used them but he couldn't make any progress towards his own personal level or potential without actually defeating enemies. He knew he needed to invest points into strength. He couldn't stay at a measly 10 forever. Agility too, maybe he would be able to swing faster if he raised it. Either way, he was sorely lacking in levels compared to everyone around him and had a lot to work towards.

"That's a good idea. Anything to get me a leg up." Nick told them as he focused back on the two girls on either side of him.

"Try getting some exercise in then before you get overwhelmed with assignments," Lilia said as she suggested the obvious solution.

Would physical exercise work for him? His power was quantified in numbers after all. Would he suddenly gain a point in strength after lifting weights? Or a point in agility if he ran a mile? That easily warranted some testing. The more free stat points he could get, the more of a chance he had at keeping up with his much stronger and well-experienced classmates. It wouldn't be a good look for him if he stood out as being much worse at everything than everyone else.

"I think I will. Couldn't hurt right?"

"You'll have plenty of time to recover from your workouts before next week, just don't show up complaining about being too sore for my class."

"Yes ma'am."

Lilia raised her eyebrow at being called ma'am for a short moment before smacking Nick on the back, pushing him to his feet.

"Enough rest, time to get back to it!"