If you don't want to just drift through life, you have to go through time.

Frillie devoted herself entirely to deciphering the spellbook, spending all her time in the basement. Although Haita had expressed a desire for her to tutor Philon in her spare time, it seemed she had no such intention now.

As a result, the task of teaching naturally fell to Truman.

Even though he was only a half-baked expert.

Upon reaching the nearby cliff, they found Philon. She was holding a magic staff in her arms, staring blankly at the other side of the cliff, or more precisely, at the huge rock on the cliff about 50 meters away.

Truman said hello.

"You're here, little Philon. I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Lord Truman."

"Call me... never mind, whatever makes you happy. What are you doing here?"

"Cultivation. Speaking of which, is it also difficult for Lord Truman to find me? Lord Haita often says that I have no presence. That's a wonderful thing."

Yes, that's right.

Truman also found it unbelievable.

He knew that Philen had strong control over magic, and that his magic perception barely registered against her, but enemy perception wasn't a simple skill; it involved life force, breathing, and heat...

These probes barely elicited any response from Philon, as if she herself had some expertise in the subject.

"Little Philon, your control over your magic is amazing."

"This move is called 'Watch me out, I'll outsmart him.'"

"...What?"

"This move is called 'Watch me out, I'll outsmart him.'"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant!"

strangeness.

Do you have such a skill?

This move sounds absurd, especially with Little Philon saying it with such a blank expression, which only adds to the contrast. But why is it called that?

"It was Lord Truman who taught me."

"Oh, it was me!?"

Case solved.

Although the skill name sounds ridiculous, it really tricked Truman several times.

In the hut in Haita, Philon made sure he didn't notice her presence several times. In addition to hiding her magic, she also concealed her breathing and life force, which was clearly a countermeasure against perception skills.

"If you don't conceal your presence in the wild, it's easy for the demons to spot you."

"……Yeah."

"Furthermore, demons don't hide their magic power; they flaunt their strength to maintain their hierarchy, so hiding their magic power is of no benefit to them. Therefore, deliberately concealing your magic power when fighting them, and then unexpectedly ambushing them, will almost always succeed... That's what Lord Truman said."

That's so true to me!

He has a deep understanding of the essence of a cunning and treacherous person!

Imagine fighting an arrogant demon who thinks, "Heh, so you're just a weakling with a power level of 5, nothing to worry about." Then, suddenly unleashing a burst of power that shocks the opponent into shouting, "What?! Your power level is 5000?! Impossible!" Ideally, they'd also unleash something like First Shift or Second Shift...!

"Not bad."

Truman was increasingly satisfied.

"Lord Haita said that as long as I can break through that rock at the top of the mountain, I will be able to stand alone." Philon said this, and then suddenly started making moves at zero frames, constructing a magic circle in the blink of an eye and releasing the magic.

The magic was powerful, but it lost momentum after the magic beam broke through halfway and quickly dissipated in mid-air.

"But my magic is dissipating like this, and I can't hit the stones. Lord Truman, what should I do?"

She asked softly.

Philon wanted to repay Hyta by finding a way to survive on her own, so she chose magic. Hyta's test for her was to break rocks on a cliff 50 meters away.

"There are many methods. But the one that's most suitable for Philon, let me think... there's probably only one."

"Excuse me, what is it?"

"Gather your own magic."

Philon was somewhat puzzled.

Truman decided to demonstrate. He held up a finger and said "fire," and a flame shot outwards, flickering continuously at his fingertip.

"This is a normal flame, so what happens when I strike it into the ground?... As a result, the flame simply hits the ground. Because stone isn't flammable, it can't do anything and just dissipates like this. But what if I condense it?"

"Cohesion?"

"That's right. Right now, the flame in my finger is just shooting out randomly. But what if I were to control the flame and direct it within a specific area?"

The flame at Truman's fingertips gradually thinned.

It looks small and inconspicuous, but the heat it emits is stronger and more dangerous than before, and the light blue at the base of the flame gradually changes to dark blue.

"...It will cause the temperature at the center of the flame to rise, making it extremely destructive. Like this."

Then, he stuck his fingers into the ground.

Pfft!

Flames pierced the ground, which was easily broken open as if it were tofu, emitting a hissing sound like burning oil and a wisp of charred black smoke.

"Do you understand now?"

"Does Lord Truman mean to continuously contract and condense magic power, thereby achieving greater penetrability?"

"That's it!"

Focus on one point, and you'll reach the pinnacle.

The dispersion of firepower is wasteful and deadly; only by concentrating it can we achieve greater penetrating and propulsive power. The same applies to magic.

"Little Philon, come and give it a try."

"OK."

Philen slowly held the magic wand horizontally to her side, while Truman stood beside her, one hand on her shoulder and the other helping to support the magic wand, while gently guiding her.

"Listen carefully. The world of magic is a world of imagination, and everything is built upon imagination. So, little Philon, imagine that your magic is stored in a giant container, and the outlet for releasing your magic isn't a valve but a pipe... That's right, magic isn't just about having a lot of it; you need to adjust it to the right level, using pressure to stimulate the flow and make it gush out..."

Philon's magic began to fluctuate and gradually boiled under Truman's guidance.

"Now!"

"————!!!"

A magic circle suddenly appeared at the tip of the magic wand, and a beam of magic shot out, flying towards the rock on the cliff 50 meters away and hitting the bullseye!

However, it only hit the rock; it did not penetrate it or cause any damage.

"pity!"

Truman let out a regretful sigh.

It seems that the magic still lacked staying power. Although the range of the magic attack was extended, the power of the magic was not enough to penetrate the rock.

"But that's already great, little Philon. To hit the rock on your first try, you really have a talent for it. You just need to keep refining and adjusting your magic output so you can destroy rocks."

"Thank you, Mr. Truman."

Little Philon remained expressionless.

But her small hands gripped the magic wand tightly, and her whole body was tense, indicating that she was somewhat agitated.

Truman couldn't help but pat her head.

"Be happier, little Philon."

"Hmm," Philon responded softly, then said, "Lord Truman, would you like to come somewhere with me?"

"Sure, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I want you to see me dance."

"...Huh?"