Chapter 22

Minute Step

"Arthur, should we go faster? They're gaining on us!" Duliri asked as the golden stone atop him glowed faintly.

Arthur tightened his grasp to the staff, his waist rotating a few degrees. "No!" His body tilted slightly to the side while Duliri made the first turn of their second lap. "Azeah's not using her mana yet, once she does, then let's fly at your top speed…"

"Roger!"

"Anyway, Hula. Can you really control my body?"

"Yes, my lord. Do you wish to do it now?"

"Arthur! Don't listen to him! This plan of his isn't going to work!"

"I know you're worried. But I will be fine…" Arthur sucked a mouthful breath, his grip tightened still. "It'll be a good experience for me to sense mana during intense situations. If I succeed, I have a hunch that it will be easier for me to sense it under normal circumstances."

"Arthur, please!" Duliri pleaded.

"I'm sorry. But just go as planned. Don't go over two meters and only boost our aerial speed once azeah use her mana and do–"

"FINE!" Duliri grunted. "Don't tell me I didn't warn you!"

"Thanks, buddy!" Arthur smiled and closed his eyes. "Hula, you're in charge now."

Several more seconds and Hula opened the boy's eyes. "I shall not fail you, my lord," he declared. Then without warning, Alberta and Vlanca overtook them at an alarming speed. Duliri recognized the signal from Hula and accelerated.

Meanwhile, Arthur looked around where Hula once was. It was a white room. No, it can't even be considered a room. It was simply a space of whiteness that stretched endlessly. And in front of him were images of what his body was seeing. There's no time to waste, Arthur told himself. Time is very limited. You only have five minutes.

The boy's consciousness who now resided in his own head virtually closed his eyes and sat on the white mushy floor. Disregarding the noise from the race, Arthur focused himself on sensing the flow of mana around him. After several seconds, he opened his eyes and he wasn't in the white room anymore. He saw the race in his own body. Still, he couldn't control anything as though he was having sleep paralysis. He felt, heard and saw everything, and yet, he couldn't get his body to move.

His body would have been experiencing goosebumps if he was in full control of it. He wondered how Hula even managed to convince him into their current situation.

Hula looked around using the boy's body and everything was beaming with yellowish light. "As we expected, my lord. You won't lose focus once I'm in control of your body. So long as I keep my composure, you can keep on feeling the flow of mana around us."

"Correction," Duliri mocked. "It's all your prediction. And if something goes amiss-"

"Nothing will go wrong if you do your job properly," Hula retorted.

"Great!" Duliri sardonically laughed. "Master Hula is in charge."

"Good!" Hula squinted, accompanied by a jeering smile. "Mr. Useless."

The two traded several more taunts and slurs before they got a glimpse of Katarina. Hula partially shut Arthur's eyes as the old woman shone like a sun, radiating a yellow gleam.

"Granny's truly something," Arthur praised laughingly through telepathy. "Just how much mana is that?"

"Probably larger than anything you could ever imagine," Duliri answered matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Hula agreed. "She could probably defeat a minor dragon with that mana."

"I'd bet she'd spat it like a fly."

Arthur was about to say something when Katarina cheered, a smile curved her lips. "You're just a lap away for the win, honey! You can do it!"

Hula simply grinned as they passed through the old woman. Not a second later, she also cheered for Vlanca, who tailed them a few meters away. "You're not too far behind Alberta, Vlanca. You can still beat them!"

"Let's proceed to the final phase." Arthur declared. "It's the last lap."

"I'm always ready," Duliri answered straightaway.

"Good…" The boy doubled his concentration, trying to direct his mana in his hands. It's too bad that he couldn't close his eyes to get a better image of it. "Picture it, Arthur. Imagine this mana accumulating in your hands and pouring it to Duliri."

Hula remained silent while Duliri did his best to keep his distance from Vlanca and Alberta. Their opponents had been getting closer every moment and it's all on Arthur to save the day. If only the boy could pour mana to his staff to accelerate their speed.

The boy's eyes widened a little while Hula felt a very small amount of mana flowing from Arthur's hands, making it a slightly brighter than it should have been. "My lord… now is the time!" Hula said as he gave up his control over the body. Within the next second, Arthur took over and poured the mana to Duliri while the flow of mana faded before his eyes.

"What?" Arthur pouted in disappointment. His grip loosened. "Nothing happened? We're still going at the same speed!" By the time he finished his sentence, Vlanca and Alberta overtook them like a gust of wind. He let out a tired laugh as he saw their backs getting farther and farther away.

"I guess, we're really doomed to lose this race." A satisfied grin still marked Arthur's lips after several seconds. He arched forward. His legs clung to Duliri with vigor. "Sorry, Duliri, but it's all on you."

"Not bad," Duliri said with a smug tone. The strong salty wind brushes the boy's cheeks. The staff forced itself to increase its speed but to no avail. Still, Duliri didn't lose heart. The result was more than their expectations. For now, it's more than enough. "I didn't expect you'd be able to pour some mana on me. Even Hula didn't expect that!"

"And so do I!"

Duliri let out a laugh. "You think you can now feel mana better?"

"Maybe…" Arthur shrugged while the staff took a final turn. "But maybe not…"

"C'mon, Arthur!"

Arthur laughed some more and rolled his eyes. Then his gaze darted forward, seeing Katarina and Vlanca waiting for him from a distance. "Let's finish this race for now. They're waiting for us in the finish line."

"Roger!"

Arthur received lots of hugs and kisses on his cheeks from Katarina once he hopped out of the staff. She even raised him into the air with relative ease as though he was a feather. "That was superb, darling!" Katarina exclaimed. "How could you ride Duliri so smoothly with that speed?"

"I don't know?" Arthur scratched his head, pouting, as the old woman put him back on the ground. "I still lost though."

She lightly pinched his cheeks. "Don't be so down, honey…" Her eyes narrowed from a smile that stretched on both her ears. "You know we could have another race tomorrow." Katarina glanced at the lass who stood silently a meter away from them. "Right, Vlanca?" Her expression hoped for an affirmative answer.

The girl simply remained silent, however. Her cheeks blushed as she looked down.

Katarina carried Arthur once again and inched closer to the girl. Her left hand patted her head which she ruffled gently. "Don't be shy, Vlanca…" A warm smile radiated from her warm expression. "You can always say no if you don't want to-"

Vlanca suddenly raised her head, meeting the old woman's eyes. She blushed even stronger. "It's not that, your Ladyship," she paused, lowering her gaze again. "I just feel guilty that the lord seemed down because of me-"

"I'm not," Arthur said, catching her attention. He smiled warmly. "Let's play again tomorrow, and tomorrow after that, and tomorrow of tomorrow and tomorrow of…" Arthur had to stop, huffing.

Vlanca could only nod while suppressing her snickers.

"And you don't have to call us formally," he said once able to catch his breath. He looked at the old woman at eye level. "Right, granny?"

She beamed, visibly amused. "Of course, darling. She's family." She got even closer to Vlanca. "I hope you'll let your younger brother win from time to time. He'll be pleased," She whispered, but since Arthur was so close too, he heard her.

"You don't need to do that," Arthur said with burning eyes. "I want to beat her because I could!"

Katarina laughed and Vlanca smiled timidly while Alberta growled amusingly behind them.

"Yeah, right." Duliri clicked his nonexistent tongue, grabbing all their attention. "But it's gonna take you a few years. There's no way you could beat a grown vampiric demon."

All four of them glared at the staff, not saying anything.

"What?" Duliri backed away. "I'm just stating the truth!"

"Yeah, right," Arthur said, shaking his head. "Killjoy."

Katarina and Vlanca nodded. Alberta screeched again, but now, audibly displeased.

"You should have stayed silent, Duliri," Hula said telepathically. Though, only Arthur and Duliri heard it.

Duliri backed away yet again. "But it's the truth. She's an awakened demon and being trained by a famous enchantress. There's no way Arthur could win!"

For the second time, he was met with disapproving glances. "I'm just saying the truth!" Duliri said, overdramatically as though he was about to cry. "Why are you taking it against me?"

A few more seconds and he began to fly away, while Katarina and Arthur laughed. Even Vlanca snickered and Alberta screeched amusingly. Arthur heard Hula laugh as well before his consciousness went back to the staff.

Amid the comedic drama, they all knew that the boy couldn't beat the girl as he was now. He needed time. And Arthur also fully understood, practice wasn't the best teacher. It's experience and competition, and he would grab the opportunity even if it's only a few minutes a day.