The next day, after training with Platina and completing his own training in his room, Enrico arrived at the room where his older brother was. Upon entering, he found Valerio reading some books about training methods.
[Even with that expressionless face, it's adorable to see how hard he's trying.]
'What is it? Have you fallen in love with him?'
[No. He's not my type.]
Enrico's face showed surprise for a moment at the System's response, which came so quickly and without hesitation.
'How cruel.'
"Hello, Mr. Valerio. I'm coming in."
Valerio nodded and asked Enrico to sit in the chair in front of him. Once he had settled down, Enrico noticed how focused his brother was on the books. Valerio was the type of person who made a point of surpassing the average, mainly because of Matteo and his own desire to take the family to increasingly greater heights, regardless of the methods required.
'Someone obsessed with strength, willing even to sacrifice himself so that a family member can reach a higher level than the others.'
"Very well, Enrico. Let's start with the basics of one of my spells."
"You're going to teach me one of your spells?"
"Yes. So pay close attention."
Apparently, this would be the most conventional training session of all, but it could also be quite useful. After all, now that his magical abilities had improved, Enrico really wanted to learn other techniques besides that enhanced version of his arrow.
'Of course, that doesn't change the fact that my bow is much stronger now. The problem is that I only managed to reach that level because I reached the Third Circle.'
To reproduce that same power, he would need to reach 70% development in the Second Circle. The rest would depend on the enhanced circle of 30% he had received.
"This spell is called Flame Thread. It was one of the first spells I developed. I may not use it as much nowadays, but it was quite useful in the past."
In Valerio's hands, several threads of fire appeared between his fingers, connecting to one another and forming a kind of spiderweb.
"To use it, you need to shape a thread and concentrate your fire magic into it until it takes on a physical form. These threads possess monstrous cutting power for someone in your circle."
Enrico remembered that spell. After all, Valerio had already used it to cut down several mages during his battles. It was a dangerous technique, but since Enrico was still in the Second Circle and possessed an average amount of mana, his cuts would be less powerful. Even so, he could use it against other students.
"First, hold this thread."
Valerio handed Enrico a thread connected to a glove. The thread possessed enough cutting power to slice through almost anything within its level. Enrico knew this because it was Valerio's special equipment, used during decisive moments in battles to further enhance the spell and allow him to cut even stronger opponents.
'This item has excellent cutting power... I shouldn't expect anything less from Titanza.'
Thanks to her iron magic, Titanza could forge various objects and even transform metal into threads as thin and flexible as ordinary strings, but far superior to conventional magical threads. She was one of the best weapons manufacturers, and her main customers were knights.
"I trained this spell every day while experimenting with ways to use equipment exactly like this."
Valerio snapped his fingers, and three fire dummies appeared around Enrico. None of them attacked; they simply remained motionless, waiting for orders.
"First, I need you to infuse the threads with your fire magic so you can feel how to shape them with your own mana."
'It must be like this...'
As he transferred his magic into the threads, Enrico realized that Valerio had used this equipment so many times that the threads had become accustomed to his amount of mana. Therefore, to establish a proper connection, Enrico had to use almost all of his own reserves.
"Good job. Now, put on my gloves."
Enrico obeyed, and as soon as he put on the gloves, he felt his hands lose their sensitivity for a brief moment, but the sensation soon disappeared.
'Even just by putting them on, I can feel the difference between us... This must be how my bow will feel when I reach that level.'
Valerio was at an ideal stage to obtain an Ego Weapon. Enrico had been wondering whether or not he should tell him about it, but when he remembered that the mages' Ego Weapons would first be tested in Astrong and then made available throughout the continent, he decided it would be better to act in advance.
'I need to tell him and earn his trust. It shouldn't be difficult to convince him, after all, he wants to put the family at the top. But first, I need to focus on the training.'
"Now that everything is ready, we can begin. Stay alert and don't let your guard down. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"One more thing: use the threads only during combat."
"All right."
Valerio snapped his fingers again, creating a fire shield around the furniture to protect it. Enrico advanced to the center of the area occupied by the dummies and noticed that a number two made of fire had appeared above each of them, indicating that they were all at the Second Circle level.
'They can reach the Fifth Circle, one level below Valerio, but they always remain at 0% development.'
The first attack came from behind. Enrico quickly spun around, concentrated his mana into the threads, and managed to deliver several cuts to one of the dummies' arms.
'That won't be enough, and I still have very little mana left. I need to use my body together with the gloves and the threads.'
Concentrating the thread at a single point, Enrico managed to wrap it around one of the dummies' feet. Then, he pulled it toward himself and took advantage of the movement to strike the very dummy whose arm he had cut.
'Since they still aren't regenerating, Valerio must be holding back.'
[What a wonderful brotherly love.]
As if the world wanted to contradict the System's words, Enrico saw one of the dummies disappear, turning into fire before striking him from behind. The explosion caused considerable pain, forcing him to struggle to maintain his stance.
'Damn it! He sacrificed one of the dummies to damage me. Good thing I managed to concentrate mana on my back in time.'
Enrico also needed to be careful not to reveal the fire cancer mark he possessed. That was information he didn't want his family to discover during training.
"Good strength, good speed, excellent endurance, and even an excellent reaction time. Physically, you're above all the companions I had in Astrong in the past."
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Valerio."
"However, you seem to be running low on mana. That indicates that your reserves are still average. Well, I can leave that part to our mother's training."
Valerio approached and summoned five clones this time. Before they could continue, however, the two received a message from Titanza's personal maid, who opened the door with a displeased expression and requested that they conduct their training outside instead of using a room that could be destroyed.
Valerio looked at Enrico, and he did the same.
"Let's go to the courtyard, Enrico. For now, we'll continue with the same level of difficulty, using five dummies."
"All right. While we're walking, can I talk about Ego Weapons?"
"What about the knights' weapons?"
"Well, they're being tested by the academy, and all the older mages already know about it..."
The maid witnessed that exchange of words and, upon noticing Valerio's curiosity, sighed. She had never imagined she would see something like that happen in that family.
'I think my lady will be able to use this information to her advantage.'