Death.

  Rowan had come dangerously close to death each time, but he always managed to survive.

  Rowan had to admit that he had been lucky so far, but It seems that his luck finally ran out.

  As darkness enveloped him, he finally accepted his fate.

  Then a familiar deep rumbling voice broke him out of his thoughts.

  “What are you doing? How long do you plan on sleeping?”

  Rowan's eyes snapped open. In front of him, stood Vulcanus, in the library that he had been spending a lot of time in.

  I’m alive?

  That didn’t make sense. The tail had impaled him and he should have a gaping hole in his chest. He didn't know how long it took for someone with a hole in their chest to live, but a few seconds had passed and he was still cognizant.

  “Look down.” Vulcanus said mirthfully.

  Rowan did as he was told. What should have been the end of a tail poking out of his chest was not there. Rather his whole body was perfectly fine. Rowan patted himself a few times just to make sure he was not imagining it. There was no gaping hole in his chest or any pain that accompanied it and he was no longer close to dying.

  “What happened?” Rowan asked the dragon.

  “What you just faced is considered a very advanced illusionary technique. It was necessary to see what you are capable of so I can formulate a plan on how to train you.”

  “Did you really need to kill me? Besides, how much were you able to find out about me when I was killed almost right away.”

  “Those few seconds were enough for me to get enough information. Who do you think I am? I can see through you with just a glance.”

  “Then why did you need to test me in the first place if you could see through me right away?”

  “While I can see through your skill level right away, it is different from observing what you can actually do. Characteristics like habits and techniques are different for everyone. Only after observing you in combat can I formulate a plan for your training preparations. Those few seconds allowed me to understand your strengths, weaknesses and capabilities.”

  Rowan understood the reason why he had to go through such a terrible experience, but still opened his mouth for another question.

  Vulcanus apparently knew what Rowan wanted to ask and stopped him in advance.

  “No you cannot learn this technique in your current state. What I did to you is known as killing intent. Others may know it by murderous intent or bloodlust. It's an advanced skill that focuses on killing their opponent. There are two conditions to using this technique. One, you must be stronger than the opponent. The second condition is in the name of the technique itself, killing. Be it monsters, humans, elves, or any other races; it doesn't matter as long as you take their lives.”

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  “That … doesn’t sound too good.” The explanation was already giving Rowan an uneasy feeling. However if he could learn the technique, it would make it a lot easier to hunt monsters.

  “Of course it's not good. Killing a large number of beings can have heavy consequences on the mind, especially on you weak minded humans. I have seen more than one case where you humans lose themselves from having killed a few people.”

  “Is there a way to use the technique without killing a lot of monsters or people?”

  “If you are thinking about the illusion of you dying, then magic is a possibility. Perhaps those with blessings that have mental or illusion characteristics also have this capability. However few would be able to match the authenticity of an killing intent, especially when i release it”

  “How come? What made yours so special? Why did it feel so real? I really thought I died.”

  “That is because killing intent actually shows what could possibly happen. There is no falsehood in what you saw. That’s why I stated that you needed to be stronger than the opponent you use it on. There are few beings who could match my power. What you saw was just one of the ways I could kill you.”

  Rowan contemplated a bit more on what the dragon said. While Vulcanus words sounded like he was bragging, the words were all true. Rowan did not doubt the dragon had numerous ways to end him and the killing intent only displayed one possible way of his life ending.

  “Killing intent is beyond your current level. You’ll naturally develop killing intent as you grow stronger in the future. You can figure out how it works then. Now, would you like to hear the results of what I determine about your current skill level?”

  Rowan eagerly nodded his head.He was actually glad he could get someone else’s opinion on his current strength.

  The dragon raised a claw and said “One word. Terrible. “

  Rowan didn't know if he should be shock, sad or angry. While he appreciated criticism and knew the dragon was supposed to help shore up his weaknesses, the blunt judgment was hurtful. “I’m not that bad.”

  “You're right, you’re worse than terrible. Do you want to know why?”

  Rowan nodded his head eager to see how the dragon analyze him and what was his criteria for their judgment.

  “Do you know thanks to the World tree, your body has completely changed from a regular human body?”

  Rowan shook his head and said “No. I mean I know my arms changed, but the rest of the body should be normal.”

  “Not visibility externally for the most part, but internally there are a lot of changes.. The World Tree molded your body to the best condition a human body could possibly be in. It must have known you wanted to leave the forest, so it prepared your body for it. The problem is that you have no idea how to use your own body. You have more mana than any other person I have ever seen, but you use it so inefficiently, not to mention in a wasteful manner. It's like a child using an adult body. “

  That was some harsh criticism, but Vulcanus wasn't wrong. Everything the dragon said made sense in a way. Rowan thought his body was strangely in good condition even though he never did anything besides train. The only thing that seemed odd was the amount of mana his body could carry, otherwise known as mana pool.

  “Are you sure about the size of my mana pool?”

  “Hmph, completely sure. Have you ever felt like you were ever running low on mana?”

  Rowan thought about it. In the first few years, he did feel his mana running low, butas of late, he never had that feeling again.

  “We’ll need to start off with the basics which means getting you to fully be able utilize your mana properly. Come, we have a lot of work to do.”