"Which skill did you come to learn from me?" Cedric asked while looking straight into Alex’s eyes.

Finally!

Alex’s expression turned serious. He tightly clenched his right fist and answered in a resolute tone.

"Mana Amplification."

"Mana Amplification huh..." Cedric mumbled and stood from his chair. "I wouldn’t ask how you know about it. All of us have our secrets after all..."

Hearing that, Alex inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. He had been worried about this very question, but Cedric had chosen not to ask him.

"However."

A crack appeared on Alex’s calm face, and he asked in a low voice, "However?"

"This skill would be way harder to learn than any others, and this time failures won’t just end with you having to try again – instead, you’d be punished for them."

How difficult is it that even the old man is warning me about it?

"You don’t have to worry, Master. I will do my best to learn it as fast as I can."

"I know you would," Cedric responded and turned toward the exit. "I still want you to think it over."

Alex bowed slightly.

"If that’s what you wish, then I shall."

The orange of the evening darkened into the red of dusk before finally reaching twilight.

Lying in the bed, Alex pondered over Cedric’s warning.

He didn’t really know how that skill worked or what its rank was. It had only been mentioned once, that too during Cedric’s battle against the original Alex after all.

Cedric had been able to contend against original Alex, who was SS at that time, and during that, original Alex had found out that Cedric was using some kind of technique to use less mana than needed without diminishing the effects of his spells.

And because Alex was already aware of that, he had set his eyes on it from the start.

As his thoughts ended, fatigue overtook him, and he fell asleep.

The night passed as usual, and an hour after dawn, Alex sat at the center of the training chamber.

Cedric sat behind him with both of his hands placed on Alex’s bare back.

"In a human mage’s body, there is a total of 26 mana channels, and based on how you flow mana, countless pathways exist in them."

"Nineteen days ago, I taught you the Pathway of Reformation, forming the Ophiuchus constellation."

"Today, I will teach you the Pathway of Multiplication, forming the Hydra and Big Dipper constellation."

"You must not lose your focus. Not even for a moment. Understood?"

Alex, who had been listening attentively, nodded. "I understand."

To be honest, he had been quite surprised by knowing that the pathways were replications of various constellations, but for some reason, he didn’t find it that odd.

Mages were supposed to be the seekers of the truth, and thus they studied everything they could, be it science, astrology, religion, and so on.

Cedric inhaled deeply and said, "Focus on my mana."

Alex nodded and closed his eyes.

Cedric channeled a wisp of his mana into Alex’s body, and just like before, Alex felt as though his whole body was being flooded by mana – however, this time it was much easier for him to retain his focus.

Is it because of the reformation? He thought, and his muscles groaned under the spiritual pressure of Cedric’s mana.

Focus! He screamed inwardly and bit his lower lip.

Cedric’s mana moved from one channel to another, leaving sharp stings for Alex to follow.

Sweat covered Alex’s body, and his forehead swelled from the continuous spiritual assault.

Fifteen minutes later, Cedric lowered his hands and spoke in a calm voice.

"I purposely left minor damage across your mana channels. Follow the pain, and you’d gain what you had come for."

Alex instantly flowed his mana across the damaged channels and made sure to stay as close as possible to what Cedric had done.

One after another mana channel was healed by his own mana, and soon he completed the first cycle of Hydra constellation, then he reversed the mana and made it flow through the channels forming the Big Dipper.

"Ugh!" A groan slid out through his clenched jaw.

His face had turned blue, and blood trickled from his nose, his ears, the corners of his eyes, yet he continued.

Soon, he also formed the Big Dipper and returned to his mana pool.

Suddenly, the golden fog covering his mana pool glowed like glitter, and the mana that he had been handling doubled.

He let go of the mana, and it spread across his body.

A soothing sensation filled him, and his fatigue lessened a lot.

"You did it," Cedric stated with a proud smile, which vanished after a few moments.

He turned toward his chair and said, "You still have to replicate it 99 times."

Alex nodded with his eyes still closed and mumbled, "I know..."

Then he took a deep breath and tried to once again activate the Pathway of Multiplication.

Mana flooded his channels – however, because he no longer had the pain to guide him, the mana moved into the wrong channel, and the result was instant.

"Ahhhh—!" A piercing scream tore through the calm silence, and he fell face-first to the ground while huffing loudly.

His body spasmed a few times, and his eyes appeared lifeless.

Cedric looked at him with a blank expression.

"Do you still think that you can do this?"

"Haah... Haah..." Alex forced himself to sit up and shut his eyes. "It doesn’t matter. I must learn this skill."

His lips sharpened into a crazed grin, and he added, "Not like it can kill me."

Cedric sighed at the stupidity of his disciple and commented, "Do as you want."

"Thanks, Master."

The remaining few days passed in grueling training.

Continuous failures, near-death backlashes, and rare successes filled most of his days.

And just fifteen minutes before his revival, a blue system screen appeared before him.

[System: Host Alex, you have acquired a skill — Mana Amplification (B)!]

Alex’s eyes shot open.

An extremely joyous expression appeared on his face, and he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Master! I did it!"

"Get the hell out of here then."