I quickly coalesced multiple wind bullets in front of my palm and fired them at Zeph. He dodged them all, of course, but it gave me time to close the distance between us and allow me to use my wind-sharpened hand to slash at his side.

To my surprise though, he conjured a gale of wind to push himself back in an instant, making me stumble backward in the process and miss my target entirely. I didn't even get a breath of re-evaluation as I watched two slashes of wind ripple through the air straight toward me.

“.. Dammit,” I mumbled, as I conjured my Dark Negate spell. Channeling it in battle and keeping it consistent was one of the harder parts of this spell, and I also found out that it uses a lot of my mana reserves, which is why I tried using it as little as possible. Nevertheless, I dodged the first wind slash with minimal effort and nullified the second one before the darkness dissipated.

This little show left me more sluggish than I already was and Zeph closed in fast, landing a kick square in my chest.

I let out an unwanted cough at his strike and tumbled over. “You win…” I said hoarsely.

Zeph looked down at me as he simply picked his nose, “I know.” He sat down next to me, flicking his finger to get whatever he had just plucked out of his nose off. “You did well despite the fact you haven't mastered any movement techniques to keep up with my speed.”

I scoffed, “‘Did well’ you say? I haven't been able to hit you all day.”

Zeph cocked back a brow with a smile, “Well, I'm a genius mage, did you expect to kick my ass with ease?”

“Your ego is as powerful as your mana core,” I said, letting out a sigh as I sat up.

He let out a playful laugh. “You’re only four, and yet you talk to me like an equal, brat.” He waved his hand nonchalantly, “Go and replenish your mana, after, we’ll get started on today's lesson.”

After walking sluggishly into one of the many trees that projected fresh shade into the training room, I quickly started to recover my mana. After I was done, the lesson began.

Vael and Rye who were doing some training of their own, were now by Zeph as well, waiting patiently for the lesson to start.

As soon as I made it over, Zeph started the lesson promptly. “Now that you know the basics of familiars, I want to show you the power they can grant when bonded,” He said with a somewhat serious look in his eyes. “Watch carefully.”

He nodded at Vael. At his gaze, Vael went incorporeal and leapt into his body–similar to how Rye could–and Zeph slowly closed his eyes. There was a long silence for a moment, then mana started to build up around him. The air began to feel dense, almost unbreathable.

Then he opened his eyes. His once emerald green irises had turned a glowing yellow, and the aura he gave off made my senses tremble with danger.

Hell, I had begun reinforcing my body with mana, ready to fight, but he spoke, reassuring me. “This state is called soul-enhancement. It allows you to utilize 50% of your familiar's innate physical strength and magical prowess on top of your own.”

He began moving around Rye and me. As he did, I noticed how the very air around him aided him with every subtle movement, like the wind itself was his best friend.

“It took me three years to achieve the state,” He continued, “but this isn’t all…”

He finished his sentence and the air began sending out sharp pulses, so much so that I had to lean forward to stay on my feet. Focusing back on Zeph, I watch him with wide astonished eyes. His already glowing yellow eyes glowed even brighter and dark wings started manifesting on his back like some sort of…fallen angel.

Soon the wind went calm and he spoke again, “This state is called soul-force. It allows you to utilize 100% of your familiar's innate physical strength and magical capabilities. You even take on some of its characteristics as well.” He said, shooting a thumb back at his dark feathered wings.

His appearance wasn’t his only change, though. In the state, he called ‘soul enhancement’ the wind only aided his movements, but how he was now, the wind seemed entirely subservient around him. It simply warped and pushed him forward.

“How long did it take you to achieve this?” I asked, amazement evident in my voice.

“This took me seven years to achieve, but it could take someone decades to master, and even after training in this form since then, it still gives me backlash if I use it for too long.” Zeph exchanged gazes with Rye and me both, “Whether you’ll be able to master either of the two forms I’ve shown you today is up to you too and your drive, but how long it will take, I'm uncertain.”

I simply shook my head in understanding as Zeph went back to normal his normal form.

“There is also something else I want to teach you. Here, I’ll allow you to inspect my mana core.”

Not being able to sense someone's core meant they were a great deal higher in the mana core ranks than you or they had an artifact to help conceal it. Zeph obviously being the former had to lower his mana output a great deal for me to even get a glimpse of his core.

Doing as he suggested I inspected his core. It was mid-cyan in color with something that looked like a gemstone in the middle. I inspected the gem closer, curious as to what it was. I had never read about gems being in people’s mana cores. Soon, I realized, “...Solidified mana.” I mumbled.

“Correct.” He said with a thumbs up.

“...But how,” I asked, thinking of how he accomplished such a feat. The more I thought about it the more implausible it seemed. The only thing I could compare it to was something akin to turning the air into rock.

“Do you know what beast gems are?” he asked.

I only knew a little bit about beast gems. It was what mana beasts possessed instead of mana cores. “Isn't it what beasts use for their mana pool?”

“Yes. They're like mana cores, but they work fundamentally different. Instead of being what beasts use as a mana pool, beast gems simply work as mana conductors.”

I shook my head to show that I was listening, but there was something missing in his explanation.

Suppose there are several water lines in different places, for the sole purpose of conducting water. Without access to water, the pipes are useless. That's how I understood it anyway.

So I asked, “How can beast gems conduct mana if beasts have no mana pool?”

“I was getting to that,” he snapped and continued, “Most beasts, unlike humans, demies, elves, etcetera, don't need cores to use magic. Mana flows through their bodies as easily as air flows through their lungs. Mana flows through our bodies, yes, but only consciously. Beasts can do it without realizing and their beast gems just conduct the mana and allow them to use magic and enhance their physical abilities. The Lunar Mountains are infested with beasts like this and their corpses–along with their beast gems–go for some good coin on the market, which is why adventuring there is such a valuable occupation.” He paused for a second and his mana output went back to normal not allowing me to sense his core anymore, “My gem though, is just used as an amplifier here and there. It disperses after one use though, and I have to re-cultivate it.”

“Exactly how much does it amplify?”

Zeph tuned toward the training room's grass plain and released a slash of wind attribute mana with his still sheathed sword. Its crescent moon shape soared quickly across the plain until dispersing at a distance, “That simple wind slash would have been three times faster, larger, and would’ve gone much further for the same amount of mana if the gem was in use.”

That ‘simple wind slash’ as he called it, is what made me lose in our sparing matches half of the time. If that was amplified three times over, I'm not sure it could handle it as I am right now. “That's…really useful,” I said, thinking of how strong Zeph would be if he used it in his soul-force state.

Zeph chuckled, “Of course it is. It's a technique I made on my own. Over your training period, I will be teaching you to forge one. It takes the longest the first time, but once you do it once it doesn't take you nearly as long a second.”

“How long does it take?” I asked as I glanced at Rye's sleeping body.

“It takes six years minimum.”

Shaking my head in understanding I scooped up Rye and gestured for him to rest in my body. His eyes opened sluggishly and he complied. I soon felt his presence smooth out, which told me he was asleep again.

Then I got into a combat stance, “Might as well get back to training then, huh?”

“I like the attitude, brat.” Zeph said with a smirk.

Walking through the busy streets of the capital always left me with a sense of excitement. It wasn’t the childlike excitement of eating a birthday cake, no, it was more like an adult's excitement after finally getting the vacation they deserved. I never knew what I was going to see here, and the sight of adventurers and other races added to this prospect.

Zeph and I were currently headed to Vorn’s shop, which was somewhere near this cluster of buildings and scurrying people all attending to their own business.

“This way,” Zeph said as he turned left on the scorching sidewalk.

The sun was out and beaming. Every time we passed one of the merchants' stands offering a cold drink I licked and smacked my lips but I didn't say anything, bearing through it and producing a gentle wind to keep me cool.

Zeph glanced back and seemed to notice my thirst, “Don’t worry, we're almost there.”

Continuing with an unremembered amount of turns and cuts through alley ways we eventually made it to something that looked like a rundown house.

“This is it.” Zeph said simply.

“‘This is it’?” I mocked, disappointment in my voice, “I thought Vorn was some sort of money grub.”

Zeph laughed as he walked through the front door–not even bothering to knock, “While that is true, he’s also a cheapskate.”

I really didn’t care how Vorn liked to spend his money, my main worry was the quality of my weapon. But seeing Zeph’s easy-going attitude I assumed I didn't have anything to worry about.

“Who's a damned cheapskate!?” a hoarse voice spat–it was Vorn.

Walking through the front door, I saw him–in a room I assumed was the living room–hammering away at an anvil.

“Oh, no one in particular, just a certain short man I know.” Zeph shot back.

“You never change,” The hammering dwarf grumbled. “Honey, bring Zephyrus’s weapons here!”

At his words a short petite woman rushed into the room, carrying two weapons. “What did I tell you about yelling Vorn?!” She snapped, handing the weapons to Zeph, “It's already bad enough the neighbors can hear us through the walls.” With her pointed ears, I first thought she was an elf, but her purple hair told me otherwise. That hair color was common among the gnomes.

Honey though? Vorn didn't strike me as the type to have a wife.

“I know, honey. I know” Vorn said in submission, but anyone could tell they were empty words. “Check the weapons out, Zephyrus, little Fal. Tell me how you feel.”

Zeph handed me one of the weapons–a dagger. It was in a glossy black sheath and I didn't hesitate to pull it off and observe the blade and its balance. The blade was a normal metallic silver color. I gave it a couple of swings without mana, then some with. The balance was perfect. More than I expected. “It's amazing, Vorn.”

“That's good.” He said, rubbing his chin, “It’s been three months since I've seen you. How is training going?”

“It's been great. Probably better from now on since I’ve got a weapon.” I responded, sheathing my new dagger and strapping it to my side.

“It’s too bad your sister isn’t here to try out her weapon.” He said, turning his gaze toward the sword Zeph was checking out.

“Well, she has to train as much as she can for the entrance exams tomorrow,” Zeph said, testing the sword by swinging it in a downward arc.

The blade of the sword was curved and metallic silver in color with a tint of blue at the tip.

“I see you forged a caster's stone at the point,” Zeph said, bringing the blade up and into the lighting–to get a better look.

“Well, there's not a lot of casters who wield a sword, and even if they do it’s only for show. So it's the best I could come up with for her long and close-range style.”

His words made sense. These past three months Myla has been training on her own. Even with Zeph giving pointers and sparring with her here and there, she mostly mastered her style of fighting completely on her own. And as odd as it was with her sword style and long to mid-range spells, it suited her.

“The blade is great. The balance and mana absorption rate are good too. ” Zeph said, sheathing the sword and wrapping it in a cloth. ''I'm sure she’ll like it.”

At this Zeph tossed Vorn a sack of coins and we said our goodbyes.

“Where to now?” I asked, watching the townspeople walk by and move on with their daily lives.

“Nothing today, but tomorrow are Myla’s entrance exams, so we'll be taking her there. You, though...” He turned to me with a familiar smirk on his face, “tomorrow you’ll be fighting mana beasts. Let's see if these past three months have bore any fruit.”