Chapter 27

Separate Training

Arthur pulled a small box under his bed and opened it. Seven golden gemstones of varying sizes laid inside. He picked up the smallest stone, around two inches in diameter, before shutting the lid again and returned it under his bed. “Shall we start?” he said and hopped on his bed.

“Sure,” Hula replied, hovering closely behind him.

The boy closed his eyes firmly while tightening his grasp on the stone. “Feel it Arthur, feel it…” he uttered under his breath. “Feel the mana residing in this stone.”

A few more breaths and Duliri spoke through telepathy, “It’s not working, Arthur. You should concentrate more.”

“I’m trying…” he said, barely above a whisper. His efforts resulted in nothing, however. His mind was too preoccupied with the conversation he had with Katarina a while ago. With a loud sigh, he glanced at the staff. He was about to say something, but he stopped himself.

“What is it, my lord?” Hula asked almost immediately.

“Nothing…” He reluctantly shook his head, and then returned to his training. He tried over and over again but to no avail.

“What are you thinking, Arthur?” Duliri blurted out in frustration. “You’re out of it. It’s working just right, yesterday.”

“Sorry,” Arthur barely spoke. He took a massive deep breath and tried again while ignoring Duliri who asked him the problem many times. The boy saw no reason to tell him or Hula. After all, he forced the two of them to keep everything a secret - even using the absolution enchantment to do it. And a few days ago, when they talked about it one last time, both Hula and Duliri agreed that they’d leave the decision to him. He could even recall their exact words ---

‘I trust you, my lord. Whether you tell her ladyship these things now or in the future, I’ll always be on your side. Know that that is the sole purpose of my existence,’ Hula said earnestly. ‘Though I think that it would be best to tell her as soon as possible.’

‘Stop licking his arse, you leech.’ Duliri hissed and with a sudden change of tone, he added, ‘But I guess, he’s right, Arthur. Better to tell lady Katarina as soon as possible. Think that she’ll definitely help you with your training once she knows about it. Everything is still up to you though. No pressure...’ ---

‘For goodness sake, Arthur, stop worrying,’ he told himself many times as he closed his eyes. ‘Focus, Arthur, focus… Your training is finally producing some results. Don’t waste that. Don’t waste Hula’s and Duliris’s efforts.’

He took one more massive breath, feeling some sweat rolling on his forehead. He concentrated himself to feel the mana in his hands and redirected his worry towards how much his friends were helping him. Sensing mana all around him proved itself to be very difficult to retain, so for the past week, he used the smallest gemstone to focus his perception of mana in a single focal point. Because the stones he used contained enormous amounts of mana, it required less concentration and he could even move around while feeling the mana in his hands.

“Yes, just like that,” Arthur muttered with a smile. “We just need to start small. No rush. No pressure. Take your time.”

“Begin!” Duliri declared through telepathy which Arthur simply ignored, keeping his focus in his hands.

A few more seconds and he opened both his palm and eyes. He looked at the stone that now radiated a faint yellowish glow before glancing at Hula. With his free hand, he gave him a thumbs up. He then clasped the stone again, proceeding to his table and stood atop it. His eyes studied the new books on his wooden shelf. Once he made up his mind, he pulled the book of his choice and began his self-study of World Geography.

“Stop,” Duliri declared after some time, prompting the boy to turn his attention from the book towards Hula.“How long was it?” Arthur asked.

“Thirty-six minutes and forty-three seconds.”

“Well, that’s quite an improvement,” Duliri praised. “Yesterday’s just around twenty-two minutes.”

“Then, let’s do it again!” the boy said with vigor before going to the darkness.

‘There’s no use in stressing over things,’ he thought. Sure, he hadn’t changed- he’s still a coward. But the important thing for now was he’s willing to be better. There’s no rush. He already knew the answer, after all. He’s determined to tell her, even if it’s bits by bits. He just needed a little time to accumulate the courage. Something, he wasn’t able to do in his previous life.

Live with no regret!

Then, Duliri declared once more, “Begin!”

***

“You’re putting too much mana on your right hand!” Katarina shouted as she hovered a few meters from the ground. She was watching over Vlanca who was fighting three kordovas by herself.

The lass briefly glanced at her and nodded as the faint light emanating from her right hand subsided.

Katarina clicked her tongue. “Don’t look at me, Vlanca! Focus on your opponents!”

Her warning backfired, however. Vlanca, without thinking, turned back again and nodded, not realizing that one of the three fifty-centimeter copperish beetle-like creatures expanded its wings and lunged in her direction.

Katarina’s grip on her staff tightened, immediately casting a spell as she descended with tremendous speed. The girl, on the other hand, elegantly spun her waist, locking her full attention to the beast. She jumped up and dodged its twenty-centimeter sharp horn. Within a blink, she sent a massive punch on it’s back as she returned to the ground.

The young kordova squealed in pain, stopping Katarina’s movement and incantation. Her eyes widened while a lime green sticky liquid splashed all over the place, including Vlanca’s chest, cheeks, and right arm. The monster’s broken internal organs released a strong pungent smell of vomit that Katarina was forced to cover her nose and mouth.

Seeing the tragic demise of their friend, the two remaining kordovas screeched loudly, followed by a buzzing sound of wings that quickly approached them. Three more kordova’s appeared in no time, landing before the young girl. All of them surrounded Vlanca; and with wary and patient footsteps, they encircled the girl.

“They’re now cautious of you, Vlanca!” Katarina warned, keeping her relatively safe distance. “Don’t worry about breaking their carapace anymore! Remember what I taught you! Control your mana so they wouldn’t see how you’ll attack… Wait for the right timing! Attack their weakness!”

“Understood!” Vlanca replied with vigor, her sight fixed on her opponents.

One kordova leaped to her direction once more, but unlike before, it didn’t propel its wings to increase its momentum and speed. Vlanca jumped sidewards and evaded the attack, but another kordova lunged behind her. In reflex, she rotated her whole body and sent an aerial kick to the attacker. Upon impact, it catapulted a few meters away and fell on the ground with a bang. A few more breaths and it rolled back up again, it’s exoskeleton unscratched.

All the kordovas encircled her again and Vlanca already understood, they weren’t only waiting for the right moment to attack, they were also studying her movements. While kordovas were considered weak monsters with limited attack power, they boasted a lot of defense with their hard carapace. Not to mention that they made up with their weakness by living in groups.

Normally, Vlanca would have used her superior mana capacity to overpower her opponents. Afterall, kordovas’ carapace was only as hard as the Katarina’s Arisens - Pirro, Garo, and Servo. It would have been a piece of cake to break them. However, today’s different, Katarina was training her mana control for half a day. If she used her mana indiscriminately, she would exhaust herself in an hour. She knew she needed to be patient and smart.

Vlanca beamed a smile as she put mana on both hands. She jumped forward and attacked the nearest kordova, sending a massive punch on it’s back. The impact blasted it away, but it remained uninjured.

“Not enough…” she whispered, putting some more mana on her hands while her feet took a turn sideward and punched another kordova that sneaked beside her. It dodged, however, before leaping away. She briefly looked at her left hand, a faint yellowish light emanating from it.

“No, I put too much…” She decreased the mana flow on her hands and let it flow on her feet as she turned to the opposite side. She jumped with tremendous momentum, catching one of the kordovas by surprise. Her fist walloped on its head, but it tried to fly away to dodge. Another smile marked the girl’s lips. Vlanca halted the attack and instead, used her other fist to strike the kordova’s unguarded back. Without warning, the repugnant internal fluids splashed all over the place again.

She didn’t mind, for she only had her sight to the remaining opponents that surrounded her.

Two down. Four more to go.