"Yes, then what is the meaning of chanting?" Next, Takeru asked again.
"Chanting helps one focus more, making the construction of the spell more precise and stable." Hearing this, Via answered again.
"Indeed, but the time needed for chanting, in many battles, is enough for an enemy to kill you. If you truly want to become stronger, the first step is to completely abandon chanting when casting spells." Looking at Via, Takeru said calmly.
"Cast spells without chanting? But my spiritual power isn't high. I can't stably construct some of the more advanced spells." Hearing Takeru's words, Via spoke hesitantly.
"The reason you can't stably construct them is that you only have a superficial understanding of these spells. Another point is that your control over mana is simply too poor. You haven't trained your mana specifically, have you?" Looking at Via, Takeru spoke directly.
"Train mana?" Hearing Takeru's words, Via looked confused.
"Have you studied meditation methods? Have you properly perceived your own mana and learned to control it?" Looking at the confused Via, Takeru asked again.
"What is a meditation method?" Hearing Takeru's words, Via asked awkwardly.
Hearing her words, Takeru understood completely. The people of this world basically relied on their innate talent and leveling up for magic training.
As for mana refinement and meditation, they had never even considered it.
It seemed that mana improvement also relied on leveling up to increase MP. After reaching a certain point, they would learn magic.
Their learning process simply followed the instructions in books step by step to construct spells, without thinking about how to construct them faster or whether there were methods better suited to themselves.
After all, everyone's use of mana is different. Based on individual habits, there will be more or less differences.
Just like the basic difference between left-handed and right-handed people, the process of mana circulation will vary slightly from person to person.
Although continuous practice can lead to proficiency even if it's not habitual, it's still difficult to reach the peak, and it's time-consuming and laborious...
"Sigh. Your task now is not to learn advanced magic, but to train your mana and significantly increase its quantity. I will now teach you a meditation method. Due to time constraints, I'll have someone teach you the principles later. For now, just focus on meditating." As he spoke, Takeru lightly tapped her head. She felt a surge of memories appear in her mind.
"For the next two days, meditate here. Your strength will increase dramatically in a very short time. Alright, go back to your room now." Looking at Via, who hadn't yet come back to her senses, Takeru spoke directly to her.
Via's situation had surprised Takeru somewhat. But since she had chosen to follow him, Takeru wouldn't treat his own people poorly. The meditation method alone would benefit her for a lifetime. Whatever rewards she received beyond that would depend on her own fate.
"Takeru-sama, thank you so much. I will definitely work hard!" After briefly understanding the meditation method, Via could sense that she had obtained some remarkable training technique.
Although it might be a very ordinary meditation method in other worlds, in this world, where strength could only be increased through leveling up, such a technique was undoubtedly groundbreaking.
Watching Via leave, Takeru glanced at the weather outside the city. It was still raining heavily.
Takeru thought for a moment, then used his perception to survey the city.
Soon, he saw Motoyasu and Myne enjoying a meal at an inn, playing and joking around.
Itsuki was nearby, chatting cheerfully with them. Takeru could see that Motoyasu and Itsuki were relatively close, but Itsuki also seemed to harbor some flattery and jealousy toward Motoyasu, giving off a very complex feeling.
After observing the two for a while, Takeru stopped and instead investigated the palace. The king was handling documents.
Overall, if not for his hatred of the Shield Hero, he could be considered a capable person.
For example, in the future, after the queen's death, he would become the Staff Hero and retake control of the kingdom to help Naofumi.
But there are no 'ifs'.
Shaking his head, after checking on the king, Takeru also investigated the palace's layout and military strength. Then he looked toward the church.
There, led by the pope, were those who envied the Heroes the most. In the original work, the pope even deceived ordinary believers and tried to use a replica Holy Weapon to massacre the Heroes.
These posed little threat to Takeru.
Not to mention these people, even the mastermind behind this world's waves, the being known as a 'Deity'… Takeru didn't think they could threaten him.
It was just a pity that he probably wouldn't have a chance to fight such an opponent, as Takeru would only stay for three months.
Perhaps this was the Reincarnation Space's protection for other Reincarnators. Others weren't Takeru... facing such an existence, even with a Holy Weapon, it would be hard to say.
As for after leaving, barring unforeseen circumstances, Takeru probably wouldn't return to this world.
Setting these aside, Takeru continued to survey every corner of the city. Soon, he found a familiar figure.
Revealing a smile, Takeru prepared to find him tomorrow.
Then, as his Observation Haki continued to expand, Takeru also found Naofumi.
Even though it was still raining heavily, Naofumi, eager to become stronger, was quickly defeating monsters to level up. Having obtained a powerful weapon, he could now kill in one swing the balloon monsters that previously took him forever to defeat.
After all, although Naofumi's attack was only 1 point, the Weapon Slime was different. While the Weapon Slime couldn't stack its own power onto the person holding it, its own attributes wouldn't decrease just because of the wielder.
Besides the Weapon Slime, there was also the Demonized Slime. Although Naofumi knew the dragon imitation was the strongest, for now, he only had the slime imitate the Needleboar.
Compared to the sub-dragon, the Needleboar was better suited for killing balloon monsters.
His own hunting combined with the slime's hunting allowed Naofumi's leveling speed to surpass Motoyasu and the others. He had now directly reached level four.
However, Naofumi's starting point was still too slow. Motoyasu and Itsuki had already reached around level six.
Shaking his head, Takeru stopped observing, withdrew his perception, and began his own training.
In the blink of an eye, time arrived the next day. After waking up in the morning, he took Via to a dungeon.
Hunting many dungeon monsters quickly raised his level to twenty-four.
Although the corpses of the dungeon monsters didn't have much value, Takeru still collected them all. Some could be used for manifestation, and the rest could be fed to the Recycling Slime, which was also quite good.
In the evening, after having Via train on her own in the inn, Takeru walked toward a corner of the city.
After passing through a cold, eerie, desolate alley, Takeru finally arrived at his destination, looking at a large tent resembling a circus tent.
"You are... the Sword Hero!" Seeing Takeru's arrival, the pudgy slave merchant was startled. He worried inwardly: 'He wasn't here to cause trouble, was he?'
"The Brave One graces us with his presence. What might be the reason for your visit?" Although worried inside, having seen many storms, the slave merchant didn't show it on the surface.
After all, while slave trading wasn't a glamorous profession, it was a recognized and protected legitimate business.
"There's only one reason to come here, isn't there?" Hearing his words, Takeru said calmly.
"I see. Brave One, please come in. I heard that you once stated in the palace that only those who pass your test can become your companions. So this is what you meant?" Looking at Takeru, the slave merchant revealed a flattering smile.
"You're quite well-informed. Alright, show me your wares." Looking at the slave merchant, Takeru said calmly.
"Yes. Which type would you like to purchase, Brave One? Beastmen, demi-humans, or magical beasts?" Hearing Takeru's words, he began to introduce to Takeru.
"Take me to the demi-human and beastmen areas." Hearing his words, Takeru spoke directly.
"Yes." Hearing Takeru's words, the slave merchant nodded slightly and led Takeru toward a specific area.
Demi-humans were a general term for people whose appearance resembled humans but had different parts.
In this world, they were basically used as servants and for manual labor. Beastmen were demi-humans with a higher degree of animalization, mainly used for guarding and beast fighting gambling.
In this world, people believed demi-humans were closer to monsters. Therefore, these demi-humans had difficulty surviving in many human-supremacy countries, and many were enslaved.
As he walked, Takeru recalled some information he had previously investigated.