"Ouch ouch..." Alex shook his right hand and stumbled backward with a pained expression.

Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, and he asked while looking at his master, "Why did the mana scatter?"

Seeing the pathetic state of his foolish disciple, Cedric clicked his tongue.

"Did you really read that book? If you had, you would have known that even a slight change in emotions can use mana to scatter."

Alex’s jaw fell open. He obviously knew that, but he hadn’t expected his mana to fall apart under such a subtle change.

Looking into his eyes, Cedric guessed all of his thoughts and said, "Mana is delicate, and it requires great focus to control it. Any mental change causes that focus to weaken."

"I understand, Master." Alex nodded.

He turned toward the stone pillar and thought while glancing down at his right hand, Should I try it again?

"Why are you just standing there?" Cedric asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"I think I should try using mana without any physical consequences," Alex stated his thoughts before Cedric.

Hearing him, Cedric’s lips dropped into a frown, and he muttered, "What would be the point of that? By punching this pillar, you are made aware of your faults and weaknesses – if you remove that, you’d just be swinging in the air."

"Do you think a person becomes a mage by treading the easier and safer path?" Cedric sharply pointed at him.

"Do you even know how many years it takes for a Chosen to become a Mage, yet even with everything being much easier for you, you want to use an even easier method..."

Alex fell speechless and lowered his head.

"Why do you want to become stronger?" Cedric asked flatly.

Alex blinked.

Why do I want to become stronger? He repeated the question in his mind.

Is it because I want a different ending? But it is no longer a book — there is no ending. Then, is it because I want to break Alex’s dying fate? Change the destiny of the damned characters? Or is it for something else...

As he thought about it, his life as James flashed in his head.

He remembered his days at the orphanage. The divorce of his adopted parents, his college life, and the loathsome day that had pushed his life into a spiral.

All his life, James had done everything to build good connections, and one of them was a politician’s beloved son.

And one day, he happened to see him commit a grave crime — that man had murdered someone.

Due to his connections, the person was unable to paint James as the criminal, so instead, his father completely seized James’s free will.

After graduation, he was forced to work in a company backed by that very politician, and that was enough for them to keep him under wraps.

Recalling the day he so wished to forget, Alex’s face turned sour, and he muttered from his very being.

"I want to be strong because I do not want to be weak. I do not want my life to be controlled by someone else."

Witnessing the defiance burning in Alex’s eyes, Cedric’s eyes shone with a hint of surprise and pride.

"Then work for it. Just words alone won’t make you strong – you have to sweat and bleed for what you wish to achieve."

"Let go of anything that forces you to hesitate because it is a luxury that mages cannot afford."

Feeling his genuine care, Alex’s eyes watered faintly, and he mumbled, "I am—"

"Do not apologise to me. I do not want your sorry, I want you to train," Cedric cut him off and left the place.

Seeing him walk away, Alex chuckled and whispered, "What a tsundere. I wasn’t even apologizing."

With a heavy sigh, he focused his gaze on the stone pillar and said, "I must’ve failed to recognise how tired I am because of my continuous growth in the past few days."

He stepped forward and raised his fist to punch once again.

But suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.

"You do not punch by just swinging your arm. For a real punch, you need a solid stance, and you have to use your whole body."

Alex’s lips curled upward. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

How cute...

"What do I have to do?" Alex asked genuinely.

"Position your feet shoulder-width apart, with your dominant leg and hand in the back," Cedric instructed in Alex’s head.

Alex nodded and took the stance.

"Good. Now channel your mana and turn your hips and shoulders towards the pillar as you throw the punch."

Mana streamed through Alex’s mana channels and reached his right fist.

His eyes glowed, and he punched forward.

With a loud wham, the fist landed at the side of the pillar, and Alex stared at the pillar in surprise.

Even though he had used all of his strength, the stone pillar was completely fine. Not even a faint chip had appeared on it.

"Master..."

"What?"

"Can you give me some of these stones? I bet they’d be no weaker than an uncommon weapon."

"What are you talking about?"

Alex clicked his tongue and once again took his stance. "Nothing."

Just like before, the punch landed clean.

Third punch. Fourth. Fifth. Tenth. Twentieth.

Sweat dripped from his body, and the number continued to rise.

Seeing this stupidity, Cedric asked in a confused tone.

"What are you doing?"

Alex landed his ninety-ninth punch and answered, "Learning a skill."

"Hmm?"

Alex grinned widely. "If a Player perfectly repeats an action a hundred times, that action turns into a skill allowing them to perform it without having to go through the same grueling process again."

With those words, he landed his hundredth punch.

And as he had expected, a blue screen appeared before him.

[System: Host Alex, you have acquired a skill — Mana Punch Right (F)!]

"Sweet." Alex grinned, unaware of the absurd task that he had done.

From the tower, Cedric watched him with curiosity and disappeared.