After Seraphina went home, the atmosphere returned to silence.
Jody now sat on the floor in the middle of the house, while Syd cleared the area to make room to move around easily.
"Alright. Since you kept your end of the deal, it's finally time to teach you the martial technique."
Syd pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her.
"The first step in martial training is to extract the energy from within you."
"Extract?"
"Let me ask you this. Do you play games? Like MOBAs or RPGs?"
"Not really, but I've seen some on YouTube."
"Alright, then you should get the idea. If you want to use martial techniques, you need to build a mana gauge for yourself first. That's what extracting energy is all about. And what energy are we talking about? Just the same energy your body uses when you exercise, or when you summon your own power. The energy that comes from the food and water you consume."
Jody listened attentively.
"Training in martial arts drains your energy—a lot. Like, a crazy amount. Honestly, it's no different from playing sports. You need to train often, and over time, your body will gradually get used to extracting that energy. In the beginning, you'll start by calling forth your blue aura. Anyone with powers, even if they don't move a muscle—if they enter combat mode, they'll still lose energy continuously. So, summon it. And try to maintain it for at least half an hour. Got it?"
"You knew that? You knew that power users can toggle combat mode?"
Jody was surprised.
That kind of thing—if you weren't a power user or hadn't studied it seriously, there's no way you'd know. It's real insider knowledge.
One inherent trait of power users is: if their aura is flowing—it means combat mode is on.
When in combat mode, or when using their powers, even just manifesting the aura and symbol counts as expending energy.
The simplest analogy would be like leaving your phone screen on. Even if you're not doing anything, just having it lit is draining the battery.
Same thing with combat mode.
Calling out your power is like turning on a device. Even if you don't use it, it's running and draining energy.
"Of course I know. I've knocked out all kinds of people like that."
"Wow…"
"Yeah, so. You understand now? Any other questions?"
"Half an hour, though?"
In this world, using special powers for extended periods burns energy just like running a full-speed marathon. As explained earlier, the more you use, the faster you get exhausted.
On average, just maintaining power use for 20 minutes is already tiring enough. But Jody had to last 30.
"Train gradually. No need to rush. And don't overexert yourself. I don't want to have to carry you to the hospital, okay?"
"...Mm-hmm..."
"At first, your mana gauge will be really short… I'll just call it a mana bar, it's easier to visualize. But it'll gradually stretch out the more you train. We'll go from 30 minutes to 40, then 50… until we can hit one full hour. You need to maintain your aura for at least an hour. And you'll have to sit still right here. Sit still and focus your mind on sustaining your aura."
"Are you telling me to meditate? Like those martial arts movies?"
"You don't have to meditate. Just stay still, that's all. That way you won't waste energy on unnecessary movements. Because right now, you're training your body's endurance."
"So… can I do aerobics while training?"
"You could… if you really want to. But I'd bet you'll pass out within the first 10 minutes. It'd be like lifting weights while running a 100-meter dash."
"...Ah, okay…"
Jody took a deep breath. She adjusted herself into a comfortable sitting position, then crossed her legs and began releasing her blue aura.
"Fuuuuu…"
The blue aura swirled around her continuously. Soon, her cyclone symbol manifested as well.
The air in the room trembled, but no power was actively being used.
What the boy had instructed her to do was to enter combat mode without fighting—to let her body adapt to continuous energy drain.
"Keep going. If anything feels off, call me. Don't just try things on your own. I'm not responsible if you go into shock and die."
"And if I do go into shock and die, what will you do?"
"I'd probably bury you somewhere around here."
"Hah, you've got quite the sense of humor."
"Shut up and train."
Syd turned on the TV and connected to the internet.
"Let's see… what new anime is out this season… another isekai? Seriously? Aren't people tired of this crap yet?"
As he flipped through the channels, Syd accidentally stopped on the first channel, which was currently reporting some breaking news…
[BREAKING NEWS! High Priest of Saint Paul Cathedral Arrested for Possession of Illegal Artifacts!]
"..."
The news anchor's voice caused Jody—who was sitting on the floor training—to immediately look up and listen.
(...)
As the report continued, she was stunned to realize that none of their names—hers, Syd's, or Seraphina's—were mentioned at all.