Chương 143: Chapter 140 - Outburst

As soon as the mana shield was formed, I knew my [Mana Manipulation] had advanced, but I also knew this was not the right time to check the upgrade. I turned to Lieutenant Cicero, a smile still plastered on my face. The lieutenant nodded, his eyes full of approval.

"My suggestion would be to try to create a skill that combines mana spells with your spear skill in such a way that you can use it in squad formations, so you will not only increase your individual combat power but also your squad's combat power," the lieutenant said, something I was already thinking. My initial plan was to try to combine [Mana Reinforcement] with [Flowing Spear Style], but by adding the mana shield spell into the mix, I could develop a more comprehensive combat style.

A skill gained from such a combat style could even cross the threshold of advanced-tier and may even reach a rare-tier skill, after all, I am planning to combine three uncommon-tier skills. As I was daydreaming about how this skill would form and how powerful I would become, combining it with my perception skills, the lieutenant cleared his throat, grabbing my attention.

"Before you make any decision, I would suggest spending some time studying runes. Runes were never my specialty. I was always more interested in healing, but your specialty lies in runes. Maybe you can find some other, more innovative way of using runes to create mana-based spells."

"Huh, really? Don't get me wrong, sir, but it sounds like there has not been much research done in the past on non-affinity spells and techniques. I thought that, with the majority of the population having low elemental affinity, it should be one of the most researched topics," I asked. It was hard to assume the lieutenant was the only one who had done research on non-affinity spells.

"And why would you think that? Most commoners do not even know how to read or write, much less create runes. Those who know about runes do not know that there is a possibility of a mage-like path for people without high mana affinity, and while scholars who have all these information prefer to spend most of their time researching fort defense runes or utility runes rather than researching spells." The lieutenant paused for a second, then continued."

In the case of nobles, as long as even one heir has significant affinity, all resources are provided to them, while low-affinity children are given administrative duties. It is not like there are no other non-affinity spells. Some old noble houses use them for their elite guard forces, but they do not share those techniques with the royal army or anyone for that matter." The lieutenant's words made a lot of sense. The only reason I had access to non-affinity spells was because of a lot of lucky coincidences.

First, I had higher-than-average spiritual stats. Second, I joined the army that provided me resources and allowed me to learn about runes free of cost. Third, and most importantly, I had Lieutenant Cicero as a mentor who had a noble background so complex that even now I do not know his origin or what type of house he belongs to, yet he never looked down on me and shared his knowledge without any reservation.

"There are a few more healing-related mana spells that I will teach you, but not now. Your cultivation is still lagging behind, and to learn those, you should have at least four mana nodes cleared." I nodded. I was really grateful for the lieutenant, so much so that I had no words to respond. Half of my skills directly came from the lieutenant's training. He was the only reason I got such a great novice class. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The lieutenant bent down from his seat, opened a drawer, and took something out.

"One more thing, your Silent Step has been a huge success. Even Captain Darrow wants to meet you. I have set up a meeting with him next week. Your rune has become part of the curriculum in the Stonegate Royal Army recruit camp, taught to rune students, and boots made during the class will be used by recruits after six to eight months from now, once they have a sufficient number of boots for the whole batch of recruits." The lieutenant said, putting the badge on the table.

The badge had a circle and two stars in between. I immediately recognized what it was. I already had a similar badge; the only difference was that mine had only one star.

"For your contribution to the army, the army has decided to increase your rank to Rune Adept. In the fort library, you will find a small repository of runes, but once you get the opportunity to visit a city or town, you can find a more comprehensive rune library. This will also increase your authority and allow you to guide and order Rune Apprentices in the army." I picked up the badge and stared at it. This meeting turned out to be full of pleasant surprises.

First, I got a new spell that allowed me to create a mana shield. Now I got a two-star Rune Adept badge.

"Thank you, sir," I said, dipping my head.

"Don't thank me, you deserve it," said the lieutenant. Without wasting any time, I pricked my finger and let a drop of blood fall onto my new badge, sealing my mana signature in it. Then I replaced my previous one-star badge with the new two-star badge. Once the process of registering my mana was complete, my thoughts drifted to the new runes, non-elemental spells, and finally stopping at one thing I always thought about and dreamed about—forming the core.

"Are there possibilities that noble houses have researched the formation of a non-elemental core?" I wondered out loud. If noble houses had kept spells secret, it would not be far-fetched to believe they had already researched it and maybe even found a way of forming— A huge pressure inside of the room halted all my thoughts. A sense of dread crawled over me. I looked at the lieutenant, whose mana had filled the whole room, and his face showed an uncontrolled fury.

This was my first time seeing the lieutenant leaking any mana, and worse than that, it was my first time seeing him lose control over his emotions.

"OUT!" the lieutenant shouted, pointing at the door. I stood up hurriedly. Before I could leave the room, the lieutenant said, "Never think of researching a non-elemental core again, or I will execute you myself." I almost ran out of the room, my heart rate through the roof. I did not know what had happened. My first thought, as always, was to blame his noble background, thinking he did not want a commoner to have such a technique. He might even be trying to hide advanced techniques from me.

But once my heart rate was back to normal and I was out of the command building, I was finally able to think logically. I realized my initial thought did not make any sense. The lieutenant was not that type of noble. Just a few months back, he was giving me advice on how to counter noble influence and how to stay ahead of nobles when it came to their politics. There had to be something else.

I went through my conversation with him once more, trying to find if I had said something disrespectful to him, but I found nothing. I tried to list out the possible reasons for his reaction. One possibility was that the royal family had banned research on non-affinity cores. Another… and the one my instincts kept pointing toward, was that I had unknowingly touched on something personal. Something painful. After all, the lieutenant himself was from a noble background and someone with very low elemental affinity.

There was a huge possibility he had tried to research non-affinity core formation and experienced something that had left a lasting impact on him. But I also knew I wouldn't find the reason behind his outburst right now. So I decided the only sensible course was to avoid approaching the lieutenant and give him time to cool down. Maybe next week, when we met the captain, I could apologize to him—carefully avoiding any mention of core formation research.

That said, one outburst wasn't enough to make me abandon my plans for advancement. Taking a few deep breaths, I pushed thoughts of core formation out of my mind. I had a few more immediate concerns: working on mana spells, researching runes, training my skills, and most importantly, I had to collect my extra mana crystals and help my squad tier up their classes. All the other things could wait.