Among all his training sessions, the last one was the most discouraging.
Blood Manipulation.
Rey had expected difficulty.
What he didn't expect was how utterly untalented he would be.
No matter how many times Victor instructed him, corrected him, or demonstrated the technique, Rey could only manage one thing.
Stopping bleeding.
That was it.
A shallow cut.
A controlled wound.
Blood spilling out.
And Rey forcing it to halt.
Nothing more.
Victor didn't look surprised.
In fact, he had expected this outcome from the very beginning.
He folded his arms and spoke calmly, without mockery or disappointment.
"Listen carefully, Rey," Victor said. "You already understand where you stand. You have access to resources most beings would kill for. You carry potential that could place you at the top of the food chain."
He paused.
"But your aptitude is low."
Rey clenched his fists.
"You didn't notice it clearly with other abilities because you succeeded there," Victor continued. "But Blood Manipulation is my primary authority. This is where your weakness becomes obvious."
Rey remained silent.
"To use this ability," Victor said, "you must control even microscopic quantities of blood in your surroundings. External usage alone demands insane precision. Internal usage is far worse."
He looked directly at Rey.
"You are trying to run before learning how to crawl."
After a few moments, Rey finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Then why… why was I able to use it before? When I tried to control the blood in my legs?"
Victor exhaled.
"A fluke," he replied flatly. "That's all."
Rey stiffened.
"What we are teaching you now," Victor continued, "is how to use abilities without relying on the system. The system is a crutch. In a real battle, if it fails, delays, or gets suppressed, you die."
He pointed to the blood sample placed on a glass slab atop an action figure model.
"First, use it with the system."
Rey nodded.
The familiar blue glow appeared.
[Blood Manipulation]
Mana flowed automatically.
The blood trembled, lifted, and obeyed.
It twisted, separated, rejoined, and flowed through the air under his command.
Victor gestured.
"Return it."
Rey did so carefully, placing every droplet back where it belonged.
Then Victor spoke again.
"Now do it without the system."
Rey swallowed.
He closed his eyes and directed mana toward the ability core manually.
This time, the activation was sluggish.
The blood shook.
But it didn't rise.
He pushed harder.
The blood quivered violently before splashing apart, scattering red droplets across the table and floor.
"…Damn it."
Rey rushed forward, grabbing cloth and wiping the stains before Jasmine could ever notice.
He tried again.
And again.
And again.
Failure followed failure.
But he didn't stop.
Ten days passed.
And by the end of it, Rey could finally control a small blob of blood, lifting it and moving it for a few minutes before losing focus.
It wasn't impressive.
But it was progress.
Victor never said it out loud, but he was satisfied.
Not because Rey was talented.
But because he refused to give up.
Victor had seen geniuses abandon weaknesses and cap their growth forever.
Rey didn't.
That alone made him dangerous.
The days that followed were quieter.
No breakthroughs.
No disasters.
Just relentless training.
Weapons.
Forms.
Repetition.
His mastery steadily rose, and the system reflected it clearly.
〈Weapon Proficiency〉
≪
↠ Sword: E- ↑ (3%)
↠ Dagger & Knives: E- ↑ (8%)
↠ Spear: F+ ↑ (4%)
↠ Shield: F ↑ (24%)
↠ Bow: F- (0%)
↠ Great Sword: F+ ↑ (87%)
↠ Hand-to-Hand: E- ↑ (0%)
↠ Gun: F- (0%)
↠ Hammer: F ↑ (13%)
↠ Katana: F- (0%)
≫
The Great Sword became his strongest suit.
Its concept aligned perfectly with his natural, brute combat instincts.
The Hammer followed a similar logic.
Power.
Timing.
Commitment.
The Shield was different.
Defense.
Positioning.
Endurance.
To improve it, Aiden proposed something insane.
"Let Zero control the dummy," he said.
And so she did.
The wooden dummy moved like a living creature, striking, feinting, slamming into Rey with relentless force.
They trained outside.
The room couldn't survive it.
At first, Rey held his ground.
Then his arms went numb.
His grip weakened.
His breathing turned ragged.
But he didn't retreat.
By the end of the session, his shield mastery reached F Rank.
Anything beyond that required Aiden's direct assistance.
Which he refused.
"Figure it out yourself," Aiden said coldly.
Rey collapsed onto the ground afterwards, muscles screaming, hands trembling.
He stared at the sky.
This was slow.
Painful.
Humiliating.
But it was real growth.
And he wasn't stopping.