'I'm not used to teaching…' Seven already tried his best with dialogue.

There was no need to tell these things to a 7-century-old warrior.

"Hey!" Duke Entras was well within range of the barrage spell. Mallory only shook her head while trapping herself within her barrier.

'Each mana bolt has its path, not random. Hmm, predetermined path to make the spell less mentally intensive.' Seven deciphered the spell and each mana bolts' possible paths with half of their Will running the simulations the moment the spell was activated.

Without the use of external magic, Seven bent his knees slightly before exploding a Flicker forth, and 4 figures seemed to split from him. Each one merely an afterimage to the mage, but Duke Entras could probably see through where Seven's 'real' body was if he wasn't too busy protecting his body.

"I can't catch him!" Duke Entras roared when he was easily propelled away just like how he was pushed by Seven's gravity tunnel earlier. Although the arcane mana of Professor Lennings hada more solidified manifestation than gravity mana, the result was the same for the warrior.

The moment he was knocked mid-air for even the briefest moments, Lennings wouldn't let the chance go. Even if the old mage can't conjure a mana bolt a dozen metres away from the warrior's body, his tossed projectiles had the speed and power to reach Entras. Not accurately due to the mage's large pulses of mana beams to keep Duke Entras from touching the ground, but he sent enough to overwhelm the warrior's impressive control of his body in mid-air to deflect as many mana bolts as he could.

Seven could tell that Entras was hardly bruised, even if he got hit, but the reddening on his face told him that it wasn't the first time he was getting humiliated in a similar fashion.

Seven could easily break free with a simple Flicker on a conjured mana platform. Ebony, once Domain Augmented no longer needed a mana platform he could Flicker on air itself with hardly any difference from kicking off the ground.

But he couldn't tell Entras to do that without the appropriate footwork and muscle control, much less teach him a Skill amid battle.

'Lenning's mana pool is still at 96% or so, but Entras is already at 89% after the limb enhancement and it's still dropping faster than Lenning's consumption.' Used to having all-around skills for most typical situations in battle, Seven had to wonder.

What if the fighter didn't have the required skills?

"Catch the mana sphere coming from your right, let the rest hit you if you must." Seven placed himself in Entras position and let their instinct talk. He used a mana thread to talk so that Lennings couldn't overhear them. The arcane mage could probably tell and maybe even dig deep enough to decipher the words.

Entras didn't even bat an eye at the command and stopped flailing to deflect the bolts, he caught the closest mana bolt by stabbing both arm's claws into it. The force pushed him off balance for a fraction of a second before the Duke was propelled up by another large, unavoidable beam of solid-like mana.

Admittedly, Seven didn't think Entras would stab it to 'catch' the ball since having claws was not the instinct he had.

"What now!?" Entras was not very happy.

"What now? Time to pit your strength against the strength of his mind." Seven had hoped the old warrior could already tell what he had to do by now.

"What on ell are you talking about? I would reach and rip him apart if I could!"

"…You have the weapon to do so in your claws. He can't manipulate that mana bolt anymore due to your magic body, unless he comes up closer to you and your magic bodies' range overlap and I doubt he has a weaker control over mana than you." Seven explained. Once tossed out of his magic body's range, the mage could take back control, however, that would pit the physical force of Entra's throw against the strength of Lenning's mind.

It took more Intelligence stat to manipulate mana to grab something to toss at the same strength as simply picking an object up with their Strength to throw.

Entras wasn't completely helpless in the air, he manoeuvred similarly to how he escaped Seven's gravitational tunnel and let the next mana bolt hit his legs to kick off from. However, unlike offline Seven in a secure library, Lennings was present to shoot more mana pulse beams to recorrect the step that Entras took.

Lennings was forced to reduce the mana bolts he sent at his target since it was helping the warrior close the distance and crush layers upon layers of his mana barriers.

'This Lennings…he's a Lord family member isn't he? The barrier magic isn't as complicated as Mallory or Navin but he's very familiar with it.' Seven guessed that part of the reason why he didn't know this person despite scanning the vast majority of the Empire and its citizens. He could've been hiding or studying in his mage tower all this time. Easily out of the Numbers and Dusk scouting and information gathering activities.

Even so, the relatively weak barriers told him that this man didn't evolve with the best Fortifications available. A genetic limitation may be a large reason, but Navin and the recent generations have been proving this wrong; it is possible to go beyond mere genetic limits.

"DIRE RUSH!!!" Entras explosive charge blasted through the pulse beam towards his target.

Seven watched closely at the stamina and mana-intensive boost to his legs and back. He couldn't sense other people's stamina, but he could discern the physical implications to the warrior's body when a stamina-intensive Skill was used. No different from muscles burning up and expanding should they be overly exerted.

"You crazy bastard! You're using your killer move on me!?" Lenning put as much distance between him and his target as fast as he could at the warrior's scream in a panic, "This is just a demonstration, old friend!!"

"Who's your friend!?" Entra's headbutt knocked the mage up higher. "My old waist!" The mage complained when every layer of barrier he cast was crushed, but he still seemed good enough to complain.

'He's doing fine. So the previous talk was just what they call depression. But, I suppose he's not wrong. A warrior needs good mana perception and knowledge against magic to be good at what they do.' Seven, as a hybrid fighter class, understood the strengths and weaknesses of both a mage and a warrior better than most.

He just didn't like how Entras put himself, his whole career as a warrior down like that.

'This Entras doesn't use vitality offensively at all, but his fur and body are choked full. A passive vitality skill. He's quite…unkillable.' As an ice golem, he had close to no ability to perceive energies such as life force and stamina, but Mana Discern can tell more than just mana.

Duke Entras was not a vanguard, not a formation breaking cavalry that the Imperials thought he was.

He was a survivor, a defensive specialist.

Seven and probably Ebony hadn't even sensed condensed life force coursing through someone. Ebony's wife did something similar by compressing blood containing life force. More than compression, he observed an unnatural flow of it.

Duke Entras didn't heal from any of his bruises, but his life force was still swirling at an impressive rate. Although certain beastmen had higher base life force regeneration compared to humans while they had a lower mana regeneration, Duke Entras must have some Fortification that brought this even higher. Yet, he wasn't healing at a visible rate despite this energy.

Seven was forced to be intrigued. He would take more damage to his mana pool from taking a hit from one of Lenning's mana bolts than Entras to his health. Though he wouldn't be hit at all and Ebony's main body was probably far more durable, there must be a reason for the life force manipulation.

'There are benefits…less waste of energy healing non-essential injury. Contained energy for a large burst of healing when heavily injured, which would be a lifeline for a heavily incapacitated warrior on the frontlines. Healing damages from the wounds he gives himself from that 'dire rush' of his.' He immediately came up with some possible reasons for this controlled effect.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Other than a defence-focused class, he suspected that the man's profession had a focus on vitality. A profession similar to mana meister but for life force.

Thinking and thinking, Seven concluded the possibilities and reasons for holding and slowing down vitality.

"I see. I see…that is a lifespan extension passive or active Skill." Seven Flickered to the buddies tussling and placed his hand on both their shoulders to stop them. Blasting every ounce of mana he could drag at once to force both of them to calm down. Entras stood strong, but Lennings had half his body deep in the earth.

He HAD to know this skill.

He HAD to be correct about this.

"Tell me I'm right." Seven didn't realise that he was coming on stronger than he'd ever done but it mattered not.

"I'm not telling you anything about the Entras Lineage skill…" Entras bled from his nose as he struggled to maintain his mind and control his voice from the mana and Will pouring into his mind.

"You don't have to tell me how to use the skill. I just want to know if it increases your lifespan. You're old for a wolfman, but your aura and appearance are younger than your mana's age. Tell me."

"That's no secret! Our Entras family has always been long-lived."

"…I see." Seven had never cared much about the Imperial Nobles. Although the Numbers knew about each family and general skill set or preferred class choices, it wasn't like all of them discussed their lineage skill out in the open for him to eavesdrop on.

He picked Lennings back up and patted both their shoulders. "Apologies for the roughness." That was unfair of him and not 'equivalent' at all, they knew when to apologise.

"Well, we started on the wrong foot, but I'm Lennings Lord. The Barrier King's uncle and retired professor of the Tidal Academy. Aspiring Fourth Order mage, I would love to learn a thing or two from our resident Mr Domain Mage."

"Tikal Entras. 1st Spearhead of the Empire. Ducal shield of the Beastmen."

"I'm Seven. Seventh Apparition of Ebony."

"Ap-apparition? Like, a ghost? I fought one of those in a dungeon near Fragadal Sea if I'm not wrong…"

"What do you mean….seventh?"

"Clone type spell, far from perfect. I share some similarities with the apparitions you are thinking of. Please tell me about that dungeon sometime, I would like to take a look. Haven't been to Fragadal's Sea." The Numbers and Scout Pigeon did map Fragadal's Sea out, but only from afar.

The heat from the volcanic range made their mana consumption higher, and they didn't explore the dungeons in that region. "I'm the 7th clone, hence the name."

They avoided Fragadal's Sea as ice constructs, but it wouldn't be too hard to explore that region in depth, just more costly. It was supposedly compared with Hoarfrost Glades, and that was an area even Ebony would have some trouble with, so they hadn't found a reason to put themselves at pointless risk with no reward.

'Then again, that was in the past. It should be simple enough now. The Garden of the Deceased should be higher in danger rank than both these regions, or perhaps the coastal and oceanic region right past Hoarfrost Glade's cliff. That erases everything, even a Turtle Fort. Nature huh….can't beat that any time soon.' Seven turned part of his attention to the students taking his easy test not far away, just past Mallory's barrier.

'Huh…why are there only 89 participants left? Their mana spheres for all aren't depleted yet.' Seven delayed reconnections with his external perception due to Lennings area of effect mana disruptions.

Seven replayed the past events of the Will he received.

All of them gave up!

They weren't badly injured, with constant healing provided to keep them in tip-top shape, except for exhaustion.

They didn't have a failure condition so how could so many give up!?

'I guess none of them wanted to learn from me. I suppose that's fair, I'm a random guy they never heard of.' Seven nodded his head after understanding the reason. They were young, in their tens to thirties. Knowledge about Ebony was considered to be limited, although plentiful for the right group of people.

In the end, he's a Grandmaster in their eyes, and Seven couldn't deny that.

To the 12 fire magic users who remained, he gave them credit where it was due. His mana sphere was extra resistant to their spells but they were still going on.

The warriors had more stamina; the difference was great for the low evolution group and their endurance outstripped the mages by a large margin. Although they dealt less damage to his mana sphere and general damage over time to be 4 to 5 times lower than similarly levelled mages, their total output at the moment already exceeded the mages on average since they just never stopped attacking and moving.

Merely moving was enough for the mana sphere to consume their energy, as inconsequential as it seemed, it added up over time.

Seven's distracted look had his two new acquaintances go quiet. Lennings left at some point in time, but Tikal stayed to watch his daughter struggle. She was barely hanging on.

There was no rest.

Whether they ran out of stamina or mana, his mana sphere would pester them endlessly.

Some mages turtled up with a barrier-creating item with its power source to rest inside. The earth mages could adjust their earthen capsule to a thickness just enough to defend themselves, and earth element and spells would remain in their form without constant mental holding. Allowing the earth mages some breather to hide and meditate and recover mana. The problem was that they couldn't fall into a meditative state with the constant knocking on their earthen dome.

Seven was fair.

The warriors faced stronger and faster attacks, which increased the mana spheres' consumption rate compared to the mages. Each sphere was only fast and strong enough to cast microfracture, mostly bruising. A few suddenly stronger attacks were spaced out, and they made sure that it was easy to tell apart and dodgeable or defendable by a spell or proper blocking technique with a shield.

6 hours since the start of the test, the warriors now suffered far worse amongst the remaining 43 participants.

Without stamina, they couldn't even move their bodies. But his mana spheres never relented.

The mages, while physically slower, still had the stamina to move around. They had slower attacks to deal with, even if they did the same relative damage.

Of course, he kept it constant so that if they used mana or life force to defend a certain body part about to be hit, they would take less damage. It was too bad for the unclassed and Journeyman that life force manipulation was out of the question, other than a few beastmen with that ability.

Tikal tried not to show it, but his grip was as tight as his Dire Rush when he saw his daughter in a fetal position.

She was actually one of those who did the best. Due to her Physique and tough body, the mana sphere assigned to her had the second highest consumption rate amongst the remaining warriors to cause her to bruise.

Her warrior's instinct also wakes her up the moment one of the strong attacks is coming, and she would leap away with her movement skill at the last moment, allowing her to maximise her stamina regeneration. She was clearly taught well.

The only problem she was having was keeping her rage in check. Berserkers weren't as rare amongst the beastmen compared to humans. It was in their blood.

She was struggling not to explode in anger, as it was a test of endurance, and the number [ 0.751551112413125413698752354851 / 1 ] was telling her there was no point wasting her energy.

Her bloodshot eyes glaring from under her fetal position at the number was all her father needed to know that she was nearing her limit, but wasn't willing to quit just yet.

'She hasn't learned the vitality storing skill, or just the tier 1 version at the moment.' Seven wished Xin could return and observe the Skill at work. There was no rush, he just had to keep the Tikal protected till they learned his tricks by observation.

Either that, or the girl had the willpower to rely on the city's healing and deal with the pain.

There were no special people in Seven's unseeing eyes. As long as they didn't pass this impossible-to-fail test, it didn't matter how special their skills or spells were. Even Entras.

All Ebony needed was knowledge on the working principles of their lineage skill; Tikal's daughter was not a priority.

Umar, Yusqly and Raika from the Piercing Tempest Academy were present. The two kids were now Journeymen, [Arcweaver Lvl 45] and [Spark Striker Lvl 39] respectively.

One is a Lightning Mage, and the other is surprisingly identified as an archer for those with Tier 1 Identify. But Ebony knew the teenager was not an archer and had never been one.

Raika was the same as he'd last seen her a decade ago, a level 300 Great Mage.

The two teenagers showed grit, and both of them had impressive control of their mana reserves. They only used spells every so often, while moving their bodies to dodge and exhaust his mana sphere.

Completely shutting off any sort of casting to recover mana, they learned from him how to move their bodies and clearly kept their training up over the past decade.

Raika, the highest level participant here, had little trouble draining 1 point of mana out. She was one of the only 6 Masters who even bothered taking a test to be taught by a 'measly' grandmaster.

Despite her bruises, she was the first person who passed. The other Masters had already given up, all fresh Masters at level 110 to 120, but were too red-faced after getting hit a couple of hundred times.

They shouldn't need more than two hours to exhaust 1 point of his mana, even if they never attacked and focused on dodging.

The amount of speed and power required from his mana sphere to hit and hurt them was many times higher than the Unclassed and Journeymen, and their consumption rate would reflect that.

The pass rate for a Master against a single point of his mana should've been 100%.

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