Chapter 162: Secret technique manual

When Seiji finally returned to the real world after his [Visualization], it was already evening .

He checked the time, and it was 9:00 P . M . It had taken him nine hours again .

He had missed dinner, and his stomach was growling .

Seiji opened up his system and inspected his stats . [Spiritual Power] had increased by 6 points, which was 1 more point than last time!

'Was it due to my newfound experience?' Seiji rubbed his chin in contemplation .

Taking into account his bonus stats, his [Spiritual Power] was now above 20 points, but nothing new had appeared .

Seiji closed his system after he finished inspecting his stats, stretched, and left the room .

When he arrived at the dining hall, he saw a luxurious lunchbox resting on the table with a note tucked underneath it .

Seiji picked up the daintily written note and read it .

For you, Haruta-san . Please enjoy and remember to be grateful for this meal . After you're done eating, if it's still not past 10:00 P . M . , please visit Milady's study . She has something she'd like to discuss with you .  

Seiji chuckled . "Thank you, Senpai . "

He then sat down, opened the lunchbox, and began eating .

The lunchbox had a built-in heat-conserving function, so all the food inside was still hot and tasty .

Seiji ate in silence .

Suddenly, a petite figure slithered inside and stared at him with her heterochromia eyes .

It was Rana .

Seiji exchanged glances with her .

"Would you . . . like to eat some as well?"

The cat girl nodded .

Seiji picked up a fried egg .

The cat girl shook her head .

Seiji put down the fried egg and offered her a juicy meat rib .

The cat girl shook her head again .

Seiji wondered what she wanted . Suddenly, he was struck by a bolt of inspiration as his gaze was drawn to the corner of the lunchbox's third layer .

He picked up a small dried fish .

The cat girl's cat ears began to tremble .

'So, she likes to eat these . . . well, she is a cat girl after all . '

He held out the salty dried fish to her .

Rana opened her mouth and chomped down on the dried fish, chewing it with a joyous expression .

So cute!

Seiji felt a strange sense of enjoyment from tossing food to the cat girl .

He was about to ask if she would like another when she turned around and left abruptly .

Seiji suddenly felt slightly lonely and let out a deep sigh .

'She really is as free-spirited as a cat,' he remarked inwardly . A short while later, the delicious food was finished .

After dinner .

Mai appeared just as Seiji was about to use the sink to wash out the lunchbox .

"I'll wash that for you," she said . "Go and talk to Milady—it's already getting late . "

"I'll wash that for you," she said . "Go and talk to Milady—it's already getting late . "

"Okay, sorry for troubling you . " Seiji handed the lunchbox over to the maid . "What did the President want to discuss?"

"I don't know . I think it's probably about what you need to watch out for during cultivation . "

"Ah . " Seiji nodded and left .

At Natsuya's third-floor study .

Seiji opened the door and walked into the room after knocking and receiving permission to enter .

"You've arrived, Haruta-kun . " Natsuya fixed her gaze on him . "How long did you Visualize for this time?"

"Nine hours . . . plus about five or six minutes . "

"You didn't stop at any time in between? You didn't wake up at all?"

"That's right . "

Natsuya stared at Seiji's face for a few minutes before letting out a wistful sigh .

"You're too amazing, Haruta-kun . "

Both her praise and a slight sense of disappointment at her inability to compare with Seiji was contained in this sentence of hers .

Seiji scratched his face awkwardly, unsure how to respond to Natsuya .

Natsuya took a deep breath to calm herself .

"How do you currently feel? Do you feel particularly tired, dizzy, or anything like that?"

"I think everything's fine—I'm just a little tired, that's all," Seiji said honestly .

"Mmm . . . It seems that you have a naturally high affinity for 'Visualization,' which is also evidence of either your high Mana level or incredible imagination . " Natsuya blinked . "But I still recommend that you stop for tonight; it's better if you sleep like normal . No matter how high your affinity, good rest is still necessary . "

Seiji nodded .

Since she was more knowledgeable than him regarding these matters, he decided to listen to her advice .

"Also, you mentioned spells before . . . I thought it over, and I might as well teach you the basics . "

"Also, you mentioned spells before . . . I thought it over, and I might as well teach you the basics . "

Spells! Seiji's ears pricked up .

"As long as you became a temporary Spirit-branded Retainer, the spirits will aid you, enabling you to cast some spells naturally, which was why I didn't intend to teach you anything originally .

"But you brought it up by yourself, so I pondered on the issue, and I decided that there's no harm in teaching you . . . Although I doubt that you'll learn how to cast a spell in such a short time, it's always better to begin learning as early as possible . "

Natsuya paused for a moment .  "The spell I plan on teaching you is the most basic spell that almost every magic or Spiritual Ability user starts with—the 'Body-strengthening Technique . '"

[Body-strengthening Technique]! Seiji's eyes lit up upon hearing this .

He had been wondering how he was going to ask to learn this particular spell, but now he was going to learn it without any trouble .

"As the name suggests, it's a spell which strengthens your body's attributes . This means that spellcasters almost always have strength far surpassing that of ordinary humans .

"It's one of the most basic and common spells, yet at the same time it's also profound and mystical . It's not very difficult to grasp it, but to truly master it to a high degree of proficiency is an incredibly difficult task . "

Seiji nodded in understanding .

To him, this situation bore resemblance to a fighting or action game . Everyone had the same controls, and everyone knew how to play games, but even if two people chose the same character, experts would defeat newbies instantly .

"Here's some information for you to look over . You could even call it a secret technique manual . Go ahead and take it, but take care not to let others see it," Natsuya said, handing Seiji a yellow-sleeved booklet .

Seiji took the booklet and flipped through it . Various life-like pictures filled many of the pages, with explanations written below them .

"It sure doesn't seem like much of a secret technique manual . Shouldn't a so-called 'secret technique manual' be . . . more archaic, with classical words and a mysterious historical aura?"

"I also have that type of edition—would you prefer it?" Natsuya's eyes flickered with amusement .

"Oh, not really—I only spoke out of curiosity . "

If there was a modern edition, who would want to look at the archaic edition!?

"Even if it doesn't seem like a secret technique manual to you, its contents are unmistakably top secret, so please, don't let anyone know about it," the president informed him in a serious tone .

"I'll be careful with it," Seiji promised solemnly .

"Look it over tonight and tomorrow morning . I'll begin teaching you after breakfast . "

A secret class taught to him by the scion herself? That sounded great!

"Look it over tonight and tomorrow morning . I'll begin teaching you after breakfast . "

A secret class taught to him by the scion herself? That sounded great!

Seiji smiled happily . "Understood! Thank you, President Yoruhana!" 

After that, he left Natsuya's study .

Before going to his room to study the manual, he headed to Shika's room to wish her a good night .

He knocked on the door and entered after receiving permission .

"Shika-chan, are you about to rest?"

"Not yet . . . "

"What are you up to?" Seiji glanced at her desk and saw a notebook with something written inside .

A hint of red crept into Shika's cheeks .

"I was thinking about . . . the stories I want to write together with Brother . "

"Oh, nice! Have you thought of any good ideas?" Seiji was quite interested in this topic .

"Some . . . I don't think any are very good . . . " Shika seemed shy as she looked at the notebook on the desk .

"You've written them down? Can I look at them?" Seiji was filled with anticipation .

What would this literature-loving girl use for her ideas? The more he thought about it, the more interested he became .

"Mmm . . . " Shika's answer was rather ambiguous .

Seiji felt the urge to say 'I'm so curious!' because of the way she was acting .

"It's okay if I look at it, right?" he asked, walking over to her desk .

Shika didn't attempt to stop him .

He picked up her notebook and began reading . Seiji was shocked to his core after he read the first page .