Author: what up my people i had difficulty writing this chapter because my english is terrible but i think it flows nicely now thats why it took me so long to post this any who as always if you like plz rate and comment thx for reading PEACE!!

Chapter 24|| 7th Rank

"So what did she teach you anyway?"

After another sip of tea, Sen sets his cup down and calmly states.

"Everything."

Lyyla's eyes widen in shock and in disbelief, she looks on with a frozen expression, after a few seconds, mysteriously her face turns scarlet red and then she works up the courage and ask.

"Even adult bedtime stuff ?"

Sen's spits out the tea all over Lyyla's face drenching her head entirely, he then jumps to his feet and shouts.

"What the hell are you talking about I'm just a kid you idiot."

Sen as well turns bright red from head to toe, he's never felt so embarrassed in his entire life and for once his mind is completely stumped. He can't think around this situation. He's never even thought of ryyla in that way before. As he rambles on for a moment Lyyla just sits there soaked, everything just happened so fast she couldn't react and time to get out of the way.

Sen looks on at the wet Lyyla and decides to dry her, but his minds still a bit jumbled so when he cast a bit of wind magic at Lyyla. He accidently uses too much force causing Lyyla's hair to become instantly frazzled and poofy. The two just stare at each other for a moment in silence and Lyyla pulls out a small mirror from her desk. As she looks at herself she can't help but laugh.

"Pfff hahaha hahaha."

After she starts laughing Sen as well breaks out into a wild laugh.

"Ha hah hah."

"I look like a bush!! hahaha hahaha."

After a few minutes of straight laughter, they both settle down. Sen's mind returns to a calm tactical think machine and he gives a slight bow.

"I'm sorry for spitting out my tea all over you."

Lyyla fixes her long silver hair, stubbornly brushing it out with her fingers.

"No, it's ok, I should apologize as well. You said you and Ryyla are teacher and student, I shouldn't have assumed that my sister was doing something sinister to a child. She may be wild, but she wouldn't be inappropriate like that."

"Nah, it's ok, she does have her weird tendencies so it's not wrong to have thoughts like that, but no we haven't slept together like that yet."

"Yet?"

Sen realizing what he just said immediately tries to backpedal.

"No no, not "yet" I mean, um, you know ."

"Hmm, so you are interested in my sister."

"No no no, that's not what I said... I..... I."

"You are a bit bold aren't you."

Once more Sen's face turns red, until today he never thought about Ryyla as anything more than an annoying pet, but her sister has put weird thoughts in his head. Sen shakes the thoughts away and quickly changes the subject."

"Martial arts."

"What?"

"That's why I've come to this city, to learn martial arts."

"Hmm, but the conversation was getting so interesting why change it to fighting."

"Because I must learn how to fight."

"Hmm, but why didn't Ryyla get you a martial arts teacher?"

Sen shyly rubs the back of his head.

"Well, I never asked her to get me one, you see I always thought what's the point since magic is so much superior to fighting skills."

Lyyla's face twitched a bit she took a bit of offense to that .

"Huh, who told you that, is that what my sisters been teaching you all this time ?"

"No, she didn't, I just assumed it was since a mage's magic is so much stronger than a warrior's magic is."

Sen could tell that Lyyla was slipping into a bad move he quickly added.

"But I don't think magic is superior anymore."

Lyyla's face changed to a bit of a smirk.

"Ho and what's changed your mind?"

"Well, you see recently I was attacked by zombies."

"Zombies?"

"Yes, a whole horde of them just over 500 of em."

Lyyla's eyes widen "This kid managed to escape 500 zombies I've gotta hear this." Lyyla leaned forward in her chair and her pointy ears perked up a bit.

"Go on."

"Well, as I was fighting them."

"Wait what, you fought them, how? what rank are you currently at?"

It was now that Lyyla realized Sen's aura was fluctuating between the 2nd and 3rd rank. She realized he was using the family technique to disguise his lvl. After she asked him what rank he was at Sen let out a light smile and his aura rapidly rose to 3rd 4th and then 5th.

As his rank continued to rise Lyyla was just paralyzed with disbelief. When he reached the 5th lvl she immediately thought." Genius" To be at the 5th lvl at 10 years old, that's where most people who trained were at when they turned 18. Still his rank rose to 6th, Lyyla thought. "This is madness" Then once more it rose again to the 7th lvl. His aura stopped rising and settled down at the 7th rank, Lyyla could only think one thing. "Monster"

"As you can see I'm a 7th rank mage ."

"How is this possible, how are you possible?"

Lyyla's head was spinning, she couldn't think straight, she's never heard of a child with so much talent.

"How is this possible you ask, I simply have a high amount of mana potential."

Hearing Sen's comment immediately snapped Lyyla back to reality, to her something didn't make sense.

"Wait a minute, even if you have high mana potential it shouldn't mean you can just get to the 7th rank at 10 years old. That's something that should happen near your late 20's early 30's. What I'm asking is how you can be at this level when your only 10, answer that if you will."

Sen pondered for a moment, he saw no harm in telling her about his knowledge, but just in case he decided to describe it in a different way that really did help him out a few times.

"Let's see, as you know when it comes to magic there are two different things that you must do in order to be competent at magic and rise rank."

Before Sen could say more Lyyla interrupted him.

"You're talking about theory and practice right what does that have to do with you being so high lvl?"

"I'm getting to that, anyway, in order for one's rank to rise in this world you need a few things. You need enough mana, you need to learn magic and understand your elements basic principles. You must be able to control your own mana properly and you must practice your abilities constantly to improve.

Now let's mark a few things off the list that aren't as important like the amount of necessary mana. For example, yes you do need it, but even if you have very little with enough money you can buy tools and mana stones that will act as mana for you. So forget about that and after enough times of controlling your mana it becomes like breathing, so forget that as well

Now this is what you need the most in order to rise in rank. First is to understand the basic principles of your elements. You must study it, the more insight into your element you have the better you will be at using it and the closer you will be at raising rank. Now in order for you to study it you must practice it and you must ask questions and you must try to find answers. For example, one of my elements is light. Since you as well use light one of the basic principles of light magic is what?"

"Restoration."

"Exactly, now we must study it.Let's say your finger breaks and you heal it, why does it work. For that, you have to look at the body as well as the magic. When you use it, what is it doing, it's mending bone regenerating tissue reconnecting nerves recreating muscle and much much more.

Understanding each of these small things and then combining them together gives you a better understanding into your element. Which by nature's law helps you grow and rank up. Now hears where theory and practice come in for me. Let me ask you something, when you have a theory about magic how long does it usually take you to figure out whether your theory is right or wrong?"

Lyyla pondered for a moment thinking of some of her past theory's about magic.

"Around a few weeks or maybe a month or two, depending on what the theory is it could take up a lot of mana to try it out or very little."

"Right you are and that's how most everyone is, they think of a theory, they put it to practice and after a few weeks or months of trial and error they have their answer."

"So what you're saying is that it doesn't take you weeks or months ."

"Exactly."

"Well, then how long does it take you?"

"On average, when I come up with a theory, it takes between a few minutes or a few hours before I know whether or not I'm right."

"How is that possible, how can you come up with a theory and practice it to the extent to know whether you're right or not in such little time?"

"My mind."

"What do you mean?"

"My mind is very very quick and I don't think of one theory at a time I think of dozens."

Now Lyyla was lost.

"You think of dozens at once, but isn't that counteractive. After you test your first one and you go and immediately test a new one won't you forget things from the first one."

"I almost never forget, but I don't test them one at a time anyway I test 5, 10, 15 theories all at once. Afterward, I write my findings down and review them later. Then it's all about making small adjustments until it works perfectly. This is how I improve and this is how my rank goes up so quickly, theorize and practice it until I gain insights into the natural law of my element."

"But even if what you say is true the cost of mana is incalculable. Where do you get so much, don't tell me Ryyla's actually done it."

"Done what?"

"Huh, you don't know, she's been working on a philosopher stone most of her life. That's the only thing that could give you a constant unending supply of mana ."

"That's the first I'm hearing about it."

"What, then where do you get so much mana from to be able to continuously test so many theories out at once?"

"That I can't tell ya."

Lyyla jumps to her feet .

"What, Can't tell me, if there is a way to have an unending supply of mana that's something that could help end wars and protect countless lives, you simply must tell me."

"I cannot."

"But but but."

"If I were to say, it could put the owner of the power source in danger, would you really ask me to put someone's life at risk."

Sen's POV

"Even though that someone is me."

"I.... I... no."

Lyyla sits back down slumping in her chair hanging her head in depression. She definitely wanted that power source, but she wouldn't want someone to get hurt over it, she was stumped at what to do. Sen looking at the depressed Lyyla couldn't help but sigh, Lyyla seems trustworthy, but you can't be too sure. Suddenly Lyyla sits back up excitedly and shouts.

"Wait, does my sister know the owner of the power source?"

Sen sat there for a moment then nodded.

"Really, she knows, do you think if I asked her she'd tell me who it is?"

"Maybe, I don't know."

Sen's POV

"Well, I guess there's no harm in her asking Ryyla, no way Ryyla would give me up, she still wants to study me."

"If I got that power source I could finally achieve my goal."

"Your goal."

"Oh, nothing nothing, so where did you say my sister was at?"

"Well, as I said she's in the holy continent, but I don't think she'd tell you, plus I thought you two don't talk to each other."

"It doesn't matter, if there's any hope of achieving my dream, then I'll take it, even if it means I have to."

Lyyla takes a hard gulp.

"Talk to her."

She then gets up and quickly heads for the door.

"Wait, what about martial arts ?"

"Huh, what about it?"

"That's the whole reason I'm here remember, I need to find a teacher, someone that's strong."

"Hehehe, then you're in luck kid because I can teach you how to fight."

"What, but you're a mage."

"Hehehe yes, but not just any mage I'm also a battle mage and a very special one at that."

"What's a battle mage?"

"You don't know, jeez, what has Ryyla been teaching you. A battle mage is someone that uses magic as well as some warrior techniques, like how warriors still have 1 element and so they can use magic we battle mages aren't suited to be warriors, but we can still learn martial techniques. So how about this, ill go ask Ryyla about the power source and if she says yes ill come back and teach you some techniques."

"Wait, that doesn't sound very fair I'm the one at risk."

"You're the one at risk?"

"What, no, nevermind."

Sen's POV

"Shit, I shouldn't have said anything, why do I keep slipping up in her presence."

Lyyla pondered for a moment, thinking about what to do.

"How about this, I can at least teach you how to use your mana to strengthen your body, that will only take me a second to teach you. That way you're getting something now, then ill go ask sis about the power source and even if she doesn't tell me ill still come back and teach ya, how does that sound?"

Sen didn't hesitate and nodded immediately. He was basically going to get a technique for free and a teacher as well, it was really a no-brainer.

"Ok, this is a simple technique, but very effective."

"What exactly does it do?"

"It strengthens your entire body. It literally breaks down your body from the inside out and repairs it, strengthening it in the process. Most warriors use it and strengthen their body to a certain extent. Where the skin becomes as tough as stone and the muscles get as strong as steel, increasing strength overall by leaps and bounds."

"Wow, really ?"

"Yes, but relax it doesn't happen overnight this comes with years of practice. Most warriors that practice this technique take over a decade to get stone like skin."

Sen looked a little disappointed, even though he already knew it wouldn't happen overnight, to Sen a decade was literally his whole life.

"Come on, it's a great skill to learn. I've even heard of a master to the far south who with this skill can withstand enchanted blades."

"Enchanted blades holy crap."

"Yes, and it's said that even his organs are as tough as stone."

"Hearing this Sen perked right back up and got really excited."

"Teach me, teach me."

"Ok, ok settle down."

Sen calmed down, he couldn't believe how excited he just got. If you had asked him years ago if he wanted to learn a warrior skill he would have laughed in your face and called you pathetic, but now was different. Now he realized the value of having a stronger body. If he had a stronger body and stronger magic than what could stop him.

"Now before I teach you this there's one thing that you need to know."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"You must never do this technique after exercising ."

Sen couldn't understand why, he looked sideways at Lyyla and asked.

"Why not?"

"Because if you do, you'll most likely die."

End of Chapter 24