The next day, in the dining hall of the Evros Duchy, everyone was seated around the table.
Cassian quietly ate his food, but he could feel a sharp glare directed at him.
Looking up, he met his mother's piercing gaze.
"Hmph! I'm so angry with you. Why do you keep using your regeneration like that? Can't you win without hurting yourself?" Sophia said, her tone a mix of anger and concern.
Cassian sighed. "Mother, Theon wasn't giving me any openings," he replied.
"And I need to fully use this ability so I don't hesitate when it matters."
Mark nodded in agreement. "He's right, dear. He can't just let this ability rot in the corner."
Turning his attention to Cassian, Mark's expression grew serious. "But Cassian, you don't regret revealing your ability like that, do you?"
Cassian shook his head. "No, I don't regret it."
'Not like it matters'
Mark gave a satisfied nod.
Meanwhile, Elisa, who had been silently listening, wore a confused expression.
She looked at Cassian and asked, "Brother, where did you get that amazing regeneration?"
Cassian sighed and turned to Mark. "Father, I don't think we should keep Elisa in the dark about this matter."
Mark rubbed his temples, already feeling a headache coming on at the thought of explaining everything.
Finally, he nodded, but just as he was about to start, Cassian stood up abruptly.
"I'm going to train. You can go ahead and tell her," Cassian said, heading for the door.
Mark's mouth twitched as he muttered under his breath, "That brat…"
------
Leaving the full explanation to his father, Cassian headed to his training chamber.
After entering, he closed the door behind him and began his daily exercises.
Though he does not get those daily quests, but it had now became a routine for him.
He started with running, followed by push-ups, squats, pull-ups, and other basic workouts.
Next, he picked up his sword and practiced swinging it... horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.
He added thrusts and stabs to his routine, ensuring each movement was precise.
Afterward, Cassian sat down and meditated for an hour to focus his mind and energy.
Once done, he stood up and selected a sword from the weapon section.
Approaching the Damage Absorbing Dummy, he took his stance, holding his sword firmly with both hands in front of him.
He slashed horizontally at the dummy.
A panel above it displayed the damage:
[98 damage]
Cassian frowned but quickly re-adjusted his stance. This time, he infused his sword with mana.
A dull blue glow enveloped the weapon as he struck the dummy again.
[122 damage]
"Fuck, my mana infusing efficiency still sucks," Cassian muttered under his breath.
From the memories of the previous Cassian before his kidnapping, he knew that version of himself had been far more efficient at infusing mana.
Cassian had tried everything the previous Cassian had done, but he couldn't achieve the same results.
"It's as if something is blocking me…" he murmured, frustration evident in his voice.
"..."
"Sigh, whatever. It's not like thinking about this will change anything," Cassian muttered to himself.
Then an idea struck him, one that might actually work.
He approached the dummy again, assumed his stance, and began infusing mana.
This time, instead of infusing the entire weapon, he concentrated the mana solely on the sharp edges of the sword.
A slightly brighter blue glow appeared along the edges.
He slashed horizontally at the dummy once more.
[196 damage]
"Yes, it actually works!" Cassian exclaimed, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
Another thought came to him, and he decided to put it into practice.
For the next hour, Cassian experimented with a trial-and-error approach, adjusting and refining his technique.
Finally, he stood in front of the same dummy and took his stance again.
This time, he didn't infuse his mana immediately. Instead, he swung horizontally first.
Just as the sword was about to make contact with the dummy, he infused mana.
Rather than covering the entire edge, he infused mana into the specific part of the blade he predicted would hit the dummy.
A bright blue glow appeared at the spot, and the same spot struck the dummy.
[256 damage]
Cassian grinned from ear to ear. "Now we're talking."
He paused for a moment, pondering the technique.
"Let's call this method the [Selective Pulse Method]," he decided, nodding to himself in approval.
With the method named, he resumed his training, focusing on mastering the flow of his mana to precisely match the point of impact.
He attempted a vertical slash but failed to infuse mana into the perfect spot.
[185 damage]
Undeterred, he tried again, practicing vertical, horizontal, and diagonal slashes.
Though slashes were challenging, he found thrusts to be slightly easier.
He thrust his sword forward, infusing mana into the tip just before it hit the dummy.
[302 damage]
For three hours straight, Cassian practiced the [Selective Pulse Method], honing his control and accuracy over mana flow.
When he finally stopped, his t-shirt was already drenched with sweat.
As he drank a refreshing potion, he remembered his quest reward.
Which he got from defeating the protagonist.
Opening his system inventory, he retrieved the card-like item.
As he inspected it, a description panel materialized in front of him.
[Class Evolving Card
Rank: SSS
Effect: With the help of this card, the user can evolve any class below SSS to an SSS-rank class.]
Although it was a highly valuable item, a frown appeared on Cassian's face.
"Tch. Although it's an amazing item, it's not useful for me."
He mused aloud, "In this game, a person doesn't get a good class just by being lucky. It's based on achievements before awakening."
"The method I just created will also count as an achievement. Maybe someone else has created the same method before, but I achieved it without knowing that method and developed it entirely on my own."
"As for Cassian... he awakened an SS-rank class in the game even after doing nothing following his kidnap. So I'm sure I'll get an SSS-rank class."
"And I'm also about to go to that place, so…"
This item was practically useless to him.
Then he asked his system aloud, "Am I the only one who can use this?"
[No, host. You can also gift it to another person if you wish.]
Cassian smirked. "I guess I'm about to give someone a lifetime debt."
Just then, he started feeling dizzy.
"I think my mind is finally taking a toll from training with mana for four straight hours," he muttered.
'I just want to take a bath and sleep,' he thought as he walked toward his chamber door.
Opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of Elisa.
She stood there crying tears dripping from her eyes like someone opened the tap.
Her face is showing a mixture of emotions.
Anger, sadness, guilt and concern.
'I can already feel a headache coming,' he thought.