Taking a deep breath, Kenji drew out Ki and guided it toward his legs, and as he applied forward pressure, he jumped up really high.

  The moment Kenji was in the air, he hurriedly stopped supplying his feet with Ki, and soon he fell to the ground.

  “Need to…move forward… instead of upward.” Getting up, Kenji tried again.

  [Flash] is an E-rank movement skill that enables one to quickly hop from one place to another.

  Kenji spent the next few hours practicing, and after going through hundreds of trials and errors, he was getting the hang of the skill.

  Now, he was just a little off with his landing timing.

  After some resting, Kenji kept practicing. With each try, Kenji’s mastery of the skill [Flash] kept increasing.

  It wasn't long before Kenji was able to effortlessly perform [Flash], and he kept flashing from one corner of the yard to another.

  “Hahahaha!” After finally performing [Flash] six times without any mistake, Kenji burst out in laughter.

  Now he had another move that could help him deal with monsters more easily, and two more were on the way.

  Just as Kenji was about to go take another [Skill Manual] from his room and start learning another skill, he remembered his appointment with Mary.

  Thus, he hurriedly gathered all three [Skill Manuals] and headed out.

  “On time today.” By the time Kenji arrived before the Library, Mary had just gotten out.

  “Let’s grab something to eat.” While leading the way, Mary took the [Skill Manuals] from Kenji and asked,

  “Did you study them? How much time do you think you will need to master any of these skills?”

  “T..two days. I already…got the h..hang of [Flash], now…just need some..time for [Bull Fist] and [Fire Ball].”

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  Kenji had read the descriptions of both [Bull Fist] and [Fire Ball], and he felt that mastering [Bull Fist] would be very easy, but [Fire Ball] seemed complex.

  “Two days, much earlier than I thought…. Wait, you said two days, not two months.”

  Mary suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and glared at Kenji, not believing his words.

  “.......” Kenji immediately got uncomfortable with the stare Mary was giving him, and to prove himself he immediately used [Flash].

  “See, I am.. telling the…truth.” Using [Flash], Kenji instantly appeared in front of Mary.

  “H..how?” Mary was amazed and looked at Kenji as if she were seeing a ghost.

  She knew how hard it was to master an E-rank Skill. Even in the [Skill Manual], it was mentioned that talented people needed at least a week to master the skill.

  But now, Kenji has been able to do it in just a single day.

  As for why Mary didn’t think of Kenji using a [Skill Book: Flash], it was because she knew his situation. He couldn’t afford a decent weapon, much less spare money to buy a [Skill Book] just to impress her.

  “Can you do it again?” Mary asked Kenji to demonstrate again.

  Kenji, lost in Mary’s beauty, complied and used [Flash] five more times before running out of Ki.

  “How did you learn it so quickly?” After seeing Kenji perform [Flash] so many times without breaking a sweat, Mary grew genuinely curious about how Kenji was able to master an E-rank Skill in such a short period of time.

  “Simple, I gather…….” Without skipping a beat, Kenji told Mary the entire process of him learning and mastering the E-rank Skill [Flash].

  The more Mary listened, the more she came to a realization that the skinny boy before her was a genius.

  “Let's eat before it gets cold.”

  By the time Kenji finished narrating the whole training process, they had entered the restaurant, ordered, and even the food had arrived.

  During eating, Kenji kept seeking a peek at Mary, memorising beautiful moments.

  Ever since he met Mary, Kenji felt life was worth living, and every day he woke up, he would be filled with motivation to strive for a better tomorrow.

  “Since you still haven't gotten your first gift, is there any particular one that you want? Maybe I can help you choose, I do have a lot of knowledge about gifts.” Out of nowhere, Mary brought up the subject of gifts.

  “Yeah…I wanted F-rank [Peak Physique]...but I failed...the trial and then I…got into an...accident. Now…, after paying back…medical debt, I am going to …gather material for…[Peak Physique] again.” Kenji didn't go into too much detail so as not to embarrass himself.

  After all, he had never heard of a person failing their first Heavenly Trial.

  “You failed your first trial, maybe it's because of your weak body. But [Peak Physique] is such a trash gift. Just buy body refining pills and slowly refine your body.” Mary didn’t study much about Heavenly Trials, so she didn’t say anything about Kenji failing his first trial.

  However, her opinion of the F-rank gift [Peak Physique] was completely different.

  [Peak Physique] elevated its bearer’s physical condition to the utmost limits of the body. The sad thing about the gift was that it couldn’t instantly let the person have a Bronze Body.

  Instead, one still needed the assistance of Body Refining Pills to enter the ranks of a Bronze Body.

  “B-body refining pills? What…are those?”

  This was the first time Kenji had heard such a term.

  “Unlike other awakenings that strengthen the body, Source Ki doesn't do that. So, to compensate for a weak mortal body, body refining is the only way.” Thus, Mary went on and on about body refining.

  How important it was, how many parties were already helping their members to get started, and what things he needed to get started.

  “Ah, look at the time, I am going to be late again. I will look around for the most suitable gift for you, and also remember to start refining your body as soon as you can.” While talking, Mary once again lost track of time and hurried back for her classes.

  As Mary left, Kenji also headed back. Returning to his room, he soon drifted into sleep.

  [Ancient Calendar: 4 Mar 0001]

  The next day, Kenji ate a little with Rex and the others before heading straight for the Kobolds’ cave.

  Yesterday, Mary had taken back all three [Skill Manuals], as the Library didn’t allow long borrowing periods. So today, he planned to kill as many Kobolds as he could to increase his Ki reserves.

  In the blink of an eye, hours went by, and Kenji killed thirty-two Kobolds. Many of them died by [Ki Blade], while some were killed using [Flash] to catch them off guard.

  __________

  Author’s Note:

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