"All right. Tell me why your innate mana is showing signs of deficiency."(Ameliana)
Miss Ameliana was angry. Really really angry with Noah, as she looked at him with a question filled gaze, waiting for him to answer.
Noah, keeping himself quiet, wondered how he should answer her. Should he make up a lie? Nope. That is not going to work here. She would catch him immediately.
Though it didn't seem like he needed to speak anything for now.
"Let me guess. You tried using mana until you got too much exhausted and then used light spells to refresh your body and then try again?"(Ameliana)
[I am not here](Elios)
Ignoring Elios, Noah tried avoiding her gaze, making her sigh as she saw through him at once. And then as she massaged her head, she looked at Noah asking,
"Look Elios. I know you are trying to work hard, but can you not put your life on the line?"(Ameliana)
Noah turned to Ameliana a bit confused, to which Ameliana continued explaining,
"Many mages have tried that method before you, and almost 70% of them died when they did that. That is why it is also advised to let the mana recover naturally rather than using a spell. That way the body will have ample time to regenerate the innate mana within your body, helping your growth later. But abusing it… now that's just trying to push a greasy lever until it breaks."(Ameliana)
She paused for a few moments before looking at Noah again.
"You do know what innate mana reservoir is, right?"(Ameliana)
[It is the mana within the body stored that allows you to connect with the outside mana to use the spells. Think of it as a fire-starter inside your body required to light the fire outside the body] (Elios)
Noah nodded at Ameliana while she spoke,
"I guess, you must have felt the growth after forcing the mana for the first time? Well, I guess, it is exciting to see your mana grow so rapidly."(Ameliana)
Their was an understanding expression on her face which then changed back to slight irritation as she spoke,
"But looking at how low your innate mana is, it seems you did more than what you could have handled at that time. Honestly… it's a miracle you are even alive right now."(Ameliana)
Curretnly Ameliana was having mixed emotion of anger, worry and amazement. But in the end, she simply sighed one more time before looking at Noah as she spoke,
"If you want to get strong, I will teach you a few ways to grow your mana reserve without killing yourself."(Ameliana)
Noah was just almost happy to hear that but…
"But for the next 7 days, there will be no classes. You aren't allowed to go on demon hunt as well. Rest. Rest. And rest. Until you recover from this mana exhaustion. I am going to work now, to get away from here. Ah! Also, I am not limiting you from using mana, but if you repeat this mistake again, I won't be teaching you anymore."(Ameliana)
"But!"(Noah)
"No buts. That is your punishment for putting your life on the line. Reflect on that. Now, get out of here. I am going to work."(Ameliana)
Noah silently watched her work. And even though he wanted to ask her to teach, he couldn't bring himself to. It won't be wrong to say that he was still feeling extremely weak, barely able to walk.
He believed he could use some [Self-Curse] but now that he saw Ameliana worrying for him, he wondered if it was okay to take his life so lightly.
Elios was thinking the same as he kept his quiet.
Noah then politely bowed as he thanked her before walking towards the door.
"I am your teacher, Elios. Not just for the dark magic, but also everything else. I don't know why you are so desperate, but rather than finding things alone, try to rely on me, okay?"(Ameliana)
There was kindness in her words, as she genuinely worried about Noah. And Noah could only smile at her before speaking,
"I… Apologise. I shouldn't have done it."(Noah)
"Shouldn't have done what?"(Ameliana)
"I shouldn't have put my life on the line so easily."(Noah)
"Good. Apology accepted."(Ameliana)
A smile was present on Ameliana's face as she hummed before Noah left from there wondering what he should do next. Especially during the night.
And the answer was obvious…
Physical Exercise.
Since he can't use any recovery spells anymore, he was probably going to do it the traditional way without any mana refreshments. And as such, he thought of creating a bunch of resistance items such as dumbbells and barbells.
He was also going to create heavy weight jacket with which he would run around the training area at the edge of the temple
It was also a good chance to see if he can increase his physical stats without using the system points.
And thus, Noah moved towards the training area after changing into a casual outfit, different from his priest one.
It was almost 10PM and most of the people had gone from the training area, leaving a special few who loved to put extra efforts on their body and strive for more.
Noah looked around for a few seconds before he took a deep breath.
The first thing to do was to stretch. About 20 minutes of proper stretching, activating each and every part of the body that he was going to push today.
After that Noah, first put on some heavy weight jacket and then added a few more at his back. And then as he felt the amount was right, he began running around the large training area that covered around half a mile in perimeter.
He ran a single lap, then another and a few more, and finally the 8th lap before he started getting exhausted, until he fell on the ground.
With his fast beating heart, he slowly relaxed for half a minute before getting up to do a few squats, push ups, lunges, etc. There were a variety of exercises he did, exhausting each and every fiber of his body which he could do.
With that done, he stood up again and slowly moved towards the water tank where he drank some water from. And with a slight bit of refreshment, he ran 5 more times around the area with no weights.
It was already 12 AM by the time he was done, as he was drenched in sweat. Tired, he slowly moved towards the shower room where he took a bath before getting changed and then finally back to his room.
As for the results…
[Your Stamina has increased by 0.3]
[Your Strength has increased by 0.4]
[Your Agility has increased by 0.6]
[Your Vitality has increased by 0.2!]
They were wonderful.