Shattered Destiny : Fate

Mc POV 

After all my elements were revealed, I removed the suppressor ring Master had given me and returned it to him, insisting that he sell it for a profit. He was reluctant, but I convinced him.

Not long after, Professor Rushford sent one of my classmates to summon me to his office. The moment I arrived, he got straight to the point.

I would be training under him.

—

"Knock, knock."

"Come in," he said.

I stepped inside, bowed, and greeted him. He sat behind his desk, his expression unreadable.

"Sit down, Ajax."

I obeyed, but the seriousness in his tone made me uneasy. Had I failed his course? Done something wrong? As the professor of mana manipulation and enhancement, he was known for being strict, so I braced myself for the worst.

Instead, his next words caught me off guard.

"I saw your duel with Berry. You're impressive, Ajax. Believe it or not, I was once like you. I can't watch such talent go to waste—I want to personally train you."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. If this had been about failing a course, I would have been furious with myself.

Without hesitation, I agreed.

I assumed training would start the next day or later. I was wrong.

"Follow me," he said.

Still in my uniform, I hurried after him as he led me to his personal training grounds. The abruptness caught me off guard, but I was eager to begin.

His first instruction was simple: sit down and meditate.

I obeyed. One hour passed. Then another. Nothing.

Frustrated, I opened my eyes and asked what I was supposed to be doing.

"Figure it out yourself," he said. "Focus on your breathing and surroundings."

Lucius, as usual, refused to help. He had called me weak too many times, insisting that relying on him would only make me weaker. I hadn't faced enough real challenges to understand just how much I lacked.

I forced myself to continue meditating. Two more hours passed.

Then, finally, I noticed something.

Lucius had tried to teach me this before, but I had never fully grasped it. Everything around me—grass, air, trees, animals—had mana.

I had always believed what the books said: that our mana core was within us, like a heart pumping energy through our bodies. Lucius had told me there was more to it, but I had ignored him.

Now, I could feel it.

Mana wasn't just inside us. It was everywhere.

Professor Rushford must have noticed my shift in focus because he spoke.

"Try absorbing it."

I tried. And failed.

For an hour, I struggled before he finally dismissed me for the night, instructing me to return after my last class the next day.

—

The next day, I tried again. This time, I absorbed a small amount of mana—progress, but not enough. It took me two weeks to meet his expectations.

From there, he taught me how to use absorbed mana to enhance my physical strength. That took another two weeks.

Curious, I asked why he never taught this in class.

"The academy follows the books," he explained. "They believe everything written applies to everyone. If I taught this, only three other students besides you could do it. The rest would feel inferior, so we focus on common techniques like manipulating our own mana."

That's when the sparring began.

I lost. Every. Single. Match.

Lucius still refused to help.

"You beat Berry without my advice. Figure it out here too."

I knew I was weak.

Determined to improve, I trained with Ax every night before bed. Using mana to enhance my strength, I swung my weapon over and over until my hands gave out.

To Professor Rushford, I seemed to be adapting quickly. But I knew the truth—I wasn't improving fast enough.

That became painfully clear when I dueled two of his top students, the twin brothers Joel and Noel Fagioli.

I fought each of them three times.

Six matches. Six losses.

My downfall? Lack of flexibility and slow reflexes.

Reality hit me hard.

If I couldn't even defeat them, how was I supposed to complete my mission? At this rate, I'd be dead before God even told me what I had to do.

With that in mind, I pushed myself harder—relentlessly.

I trained. I read every book Professor Rushford gave me.

Slowly, I started to improve.