Lust System: Sword Genius in Women's World

Clara and I went back to the dormitory. My head still reeled from the action at the crystal tower.

I couldn't get my mind off the spell I had used, Arcane Siphon and that for just a moment, had affected the barrier around the kingdom, I didn't know it was going to cause that big an issue.

This time, I had gotten away with it, but it was a reminder of how careless I was.

I didn't fully understand how the crystal tower worked, yet I went and tampered with something that powerful. I would have to be more careful in the time to come.

"Are you okay?" Clara said, cutting through my thoughts as she glanced over at me, her eyes narrowing in concern.

"Yeah, just thinking about earlier at the tower," I said, trying to shrug it off like it was nothing.

By the time we finally reached the training ground, the sun had already begun to set below the horizon. The temperature was well cooled with a soft breeze carrying with it the smell of evening dew.

Clara didn't waste any time. She turned around and faced me, she was happy as she started telling me about her concept of wind magic.

"Wind magic is all about control and flow," she began at a steady, patient tone. "You cannot force it. You have to feel the air around you, stir it with just a little touchie, like you would coax a flame. It's about guiding the breeze, not commanding a storm."

I listened closely as she spoke, nodding all the while. I had read about a spell so I knew, but it was another thing entirely to hear about it from someone with experience. There was a subtlety to her explanation that was never captured in the books.

Clara raised her hand, and with barely a gesture, the wind blew around us, a few strands of her hair dancing around her head. Just that tiny, controlled movement, yet powerful in its simplicity.
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"Try it," she said, stepping back and giving me space. "Don't overthink it. Just focus on feeling the mana inside you and guiding it into the air around you."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, focusing. I grasped for the mana inside me, envisioning that it should run in my veins like some sort of river. I extended my hand, it needed to mimic Clara's movements earlier and tried to push the mana outwards. At first, nothing happened. It was there inside me; it just wouldn't listen.

Clara watched me silently for a while, then gave some advice. "Relax, you're trying too hard to control it. Let the mana flow, like water spilling from a cup."

I nodded and tried again. This time, I focused less on forcing mana and more on guiding it. Slowly, I felt a shift in the air around me. It was faint, barely noticeable, but there. A light breeze stirred, lifting a few blades of grass at my feet.

I was used to infusing Mana in my sword, and body but to cast a spell I had to push the Mana outward.

"Not bad," Clara said, clapping her hands with a smile. "With more practice, you'll get the hang of it. The key is control. You've got the basics down, but you need to refine it. Wind magic is as much about finesse as it is about power."

I continued to practice a little longer, repeating motions Clara had shown me. Each time, the breeze I conjured was a little stronger, a little more controlled. It wasn't much, but it was something.

After an hour or so, we called it a day. Clara clapped me on the back in a friendly manner as we went towards the dorm. "You did well today," she said. "Just practice more and in no time, you will be in full wind magic.

"Thanks," I replied, but my mind had already wandered to something else. Much as I wanted to master wind magic, there was something far more important on my mind tonight: I was going to break through to Mana Stage 4.

I went directly to my room for a quick bath to wash off the sweat brought about by training. I sat cross-legged on the bed, my heart racing with excitement as I pulled up the system screen in my mind.

This was it,with the system breaking through was going to be a cake.

"System," I murmured, and the system screen materialized before me, showing my present status.

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[Name: Xavier Quinn]

[Level: 2]

[LP: 5,900]

[Points for level up: 4,100]

[Temp Partner: 7]

[Perm Partner: None]

[Skills: Disrupt Magic, Temporal Weapon Bind, War Buff, Arcane Siphon]

[Spells: Healing, Firestorm]

[Abilities: Perfect Copy, Lust Scent, Lust Meter, Inventory]

[MANA: 50/50]

[STR: 50]

[AGI: 55]

[STA: 50]

[VIT: 45]

[CHA: 135]

[Mana Stats reached the max]

[Do you want to break through to Mana Stage 4?]

I thought, Yes, thoroughly without hesitation.

[Stats too low to break through]

[All stats must be above 50.]

I stared at the message as my excitement deflated. Of course, it couldn't be that easy, I had no idea my stats all had to be above 50.

My vitality was still below 50, and until I raised it, I wouldn't be able to break through to Mana Stage 4.

I let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through my hair. Increasing my vitality wasn't the hardest thing to do, daily training could help do just that. With my duel against Mirabel coming, I needed to be at my best.

The rest of the week flew by in a whirlwind of activity. Our training became even more intense, and I had now mastered a basic wind spells.

I barely had a moment to myself. My mind kept slipping back to my stats screen, and that breakthrough to Mana Stage 4. It was frustrating to think something as simple as my vitality might be what was holding me back.

But Miss Laura did not allow us to slack. The next day after my breakthrough attempt, she raised the difficulty of the training. Since none of us could imbue mana inside our jumps, she made us swing our swords five thousand times.

Gone were the easy, one- or two-hour training sessions in the afternoon. We were out there in that training field now for three to four hours, perfecting every move. Miss Laura's voice cut through the air as she yelled instructions at us.

As the days went by and our training increased, we were all required to do practice with mana first. It was tiring but a necessary tedium. My body grew stronger and my statistics inched their way up toward where they needed to be.

And then the day, my duel with Mirabel finally came.

I was on my way to the dorm to rest after morning training when Mirabel came up to me. As ever, she was confident, and her sharp eyes were glinting in the sun.

"Let's go and see Miss Sofia," she said. "I have told her all about the duel between us, and she has agreed to preside over the whole process. We both need to see her first."

"Alright," I said, and followed her to meet Miss Sofia who was just standing there staring at the students.

"Mirabel told me both of you agreed to duel," Miss Sofia said. "You do realize that she is more powerful than you right now, right? Fighting a beast with swords is one thing; fighting a mage like Mirabel, quite another."

"I can defend myself," I muttered, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"I wasn't expecting any of the students to start dueling this early on, did you have a misunderstanding?"

"No" both of us replied.

Miss Sofia cocked an eyebrow but let the matter drop. "Very well. We shall meet an hour before your next training session. And according to the academy's rules a penalty is a must. So, what would you want the penalty to be?

I turned to Mirabel, who shrugged.

I and Mirabel already had a deal but duels in the academy had penalties attached, anyone can challenge another student to a duel and they just had to set a date, it was a way for both students to show their abilities with an instructor watching.

The aim of almost every student in the academy was to become a Royal knight, Royal knight weren't just for protecting the palace but the entire kingdom in time of war, after the head of the army, then the generals, the Royal knight were the next, and they do not take orders from my dad, instead they had a head Royal guard.

I wasn't that worried about the penalty since I was going to win, my spell and everything was enough for me to win, and since we'll both be using swords, once I get in close and use Mary's skill, it's game over.

"The loser must do one task of the winner's choice," Mirabel said finally. "Anything reasonable."

"Agreed," I said.

Miss Sofia nodded, "Then it is settled; I will see you both here in an hour time"

As we exited the office, there was palpable tension between me and Mirabel. None of us said another word, but I could feel her competitive energy radiating off her in waves.

It was it. The duel was set. Now all I had to do was win.