One day after he returned to the Solcren Ferreira family home.
Enrico was breathing deeply in his room that morning, feeling his own heartbeat. He had noticed something strange a few seconds after waking up from his unconscious state during the fight against Tilios, but apparently, everything was normal. His heart was beating regularly, and there were no signs of any changes in his body.
'Everything seems fine... So, System, have you discovered anything about someone who tried to take over my body?'
[I'm trying to find information, but I haven't found any traces, as if someone were erasing all the evidence.]
Enrico didn't remember moving to that corner during the fight. His last memory was closing his eyes and then finding himself somewhere else. Because of that, he was certain that someone had somehow tried to take over his body.
'To make matters worse, I feel like I forgot something while I was being defeated.'
He couldn't remember hearing that voice. It was as if someone didn't want him to remember what had happened, and that upset him.
'Could someone be tampering with my memories? If that's the case, I won't let that person do whatever they want.'
The problem was that Enrico tended to be suspicious of practically everything, and although he wanted to discover the truth, he knew it would be extremely difficult. After all, this situation involved something related to himself, which made everything even more complicated.
'Well, anyway, it's time to find Platina for the first part of my training.'
The previous day, they had decided how the training sessions would work, and Platina would be the first to take responsibility. Angela had also received a message from Virelle and passed it on to Enrico.
'Miss Virelle said that the king had to leave with Director Hao, leaving his wife in charge for the time being. They will return one day before the end of the vacation, so she recommended that the young master focus on training with his family. When she returns, she will speak with you in person.'
"So, for now, I just need to get stronger? Very well, I'll gladly do that!"
As he walked toward the courtyard of the Solcren Ferreira mansion, Enrico examined the reward he had received from a Constellation. It was something quite interesting, with potential that could help him greatly in the future.
'Circular Breathing Technique.'
It was a new technique for him, but it showed considerable potential. Its function was to make mana circulate more intensely through the magic circles, gradually accelerating the development percentage. At first, the increase would be small, only 0.1%, but the improvement would grow as he continued using the technique.
'If I practice every day for three months, I can master it and increase my percentage by 1% per week. This will help a lot. And if I keep doing the same thing for a year, I could gain an increase of approximately 4%...'
The only problem was a natural limitation of this process: when someone reached a new circle, their development percentage returned to the value corresponding to that level. The reason was simple. Each new circle made progress much more difficult than the previous one.
'That would be the problem, but aside from that, I can use this technique as many times as I want. And that's the best part.'
Enrico didn't know which Constellation had decided to help him, but he was very grateful for that reward. When he finally met it, he intended to treat it very well, unlike the other Constellations. However, that didn't mean he would become friends with it, since, just like his companions, it was probably enjoying this spectacle.
"Welcome, little brother!"
"Hello, Miss Platina."
"Big sis!"
"No."
As he approached, Enrico noticed that Platina had probably already done some warm-up exercises, as she was sweating a little while holding a metal sword.
"Let's begin, but keep in mind that even though I'm the first to train you, that doesn't mean it will be easy."
"That's exactly what I want."
"Very well, little brother."
Satisfied with his answer, Platina assumed a combat stance, pointing her sword in his direction. Apparently, she intended to put her skills into practice right from the start.
"As far as I know, you don't usually fight with swords."
"Let's just say I've recently started taking an interest in them."
Platina enveloped the sword in her magic and drove it into the ground. Immediately, metal chains appeared and spun around Enrico, attempting to restrain him. This was only a test, so she would use only her metal magic, which was still not very developed.
"Flame Impact!"
The chains were destroyed by the attack, and Enrico immediately advanced toward Platina. Then, he pointed his hand at her face.
"Large Fireball!"
The magic exploded in front of Platina's face, forcing her to retreat. Enrico, meanwhile, dodged in time to avoid the blade that passed close to his shoulder. Judging by the way she wielded the sword, it was clear that she was still in the early stages of her training, using fairly basic movements.
[Pointing a spell at your own sister's face? How cruel.]
'Actually, I think this family will like precisely this behavior of mine during training.'
"Above-average speed, magic at a good level... Your development should be around 30%. Even so, your body is above that of several Second Circle individuals I've met."
Platina emerged from the smoke without a single scratch. Enrico assumed a combat stance again, but she made the sword disappear and asked him to come closer. As soon as he obeyed, she made him sit on the ground and placed both hands on his shoulders.
"I'm going to focus this training on improving your percentage. First, no matter what happens, don't dodge the attacks. Just try to endure them."
Platina sat down five meters away, pointed her hand at Enrico, and launched a fire tornado at him. Surprised by the intensity of the attack, Enrico quickly crossed his arms and spread mana throughout his body to withstand the impact. When the flames disappeared, his body was injured, and he shot his sister a displeased look.
With a neutral expression, she explained the training they would be doing.
"What we'll do now is an attack-and-counterattack exercise. We'll keep launching spells at each other, gradually increasing the intensity of the attacks. By enduring spells that directly affect your body, you'll be able to develop your endurance. I'll also use an enhancement spell to increase your ability to withstand attacks above your level, allowing you to endure them for longer."
Enrico understood the proposal. From what he could tell, Platina had combined an enhancement spell with the fire tornado, causing the attack to remain active for some time before disappearing. By repeating the process several times, he could increase his development percentage. Of course, this would only work because he was still in the Second Circle. Even with the help of the enhancement spell, his body would be able to withstand a maximum of about twenty attacks of that same level per day.
"Now it's your turn to hit me. That way, I can evaluate your progress. You can use everything you've got, little brother! Your big sis can take it!"
"If you say so..."
This was somewhat problematic, because now he would need to spend mana attacking without being able to use it to protect himself at the same time. Fortunately, thanks to the improvement he had received, his mana reserves were at the same level as the average student's.
"This is going to be harder than I thought... This is too good, Miss Platina!"
A big smile appeared on his face when he realized that this training would be much more useful than he had expected.
[You're crazy.]
"Very well, little brother! You can release your mana!"
Platina seemed quite pleased that Enrico liked the training. A moment later, a barrier of flames rose around the two of them, isolating the training area. Soon afterward, the sound of magic began echoing through the courtyard as Enrico and Platina launched their attacks at each other, marking the beginning of the first training session.