“How was that?” Mom asked as she slid her finger across my arm.

“Better. This part was harder than it was for my right arm,” I responded.

“Is that so? Well, maybe it’s because you favor your right arm more,” Mom suggested.

“A possibility for sure, but I can and do use both my arms and hands frequently. I suppose I do use my right side slightly more, though,” I said as I exhaled slowly.

I opened my eyes and let my arms drop to my side. Mom was just smiling kindly at me with an expectant look.

“It went well. I can feel this pathway more than before. It took us three days for the right arm. Hopefully, with another session, we can finish the left side early,” I said as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

It has been three days since the incident with Cerila. Mom ended up helping her after that episode, and Cerila stayed locked in her room. Others would bring her food, and I was told to keep my distance for obvious reasons. But I was assured that Cerila would be returning to normal soon enough.

Since then, I’ve started training with Mom in learning this different style of utilizing my mana. This was a tiring and taxing form of training. I was basically relearning how to use my mana in the opposite way. But, I’ll never forget sitting in the backyard and spending days upon days guiding the tiny droplet of warm water like mana through my body and to my fingertip.

However, now I was taking the mana to my fingertip and guiding it back into my body, creating a sort of mental mana channel to facilitate a more straightforward process. It turned out that it was incredibly difficult to do that when you have spent the better part of a decade doing it the opposite way.

Using my mana enhancement and forming spell cores has become second nature to me. I’ve trained countless hours in the first method, and undoing it would simply just take some time.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem like it would take that long, as it only took three days of training to complete the reverse pathway in my right arm. With only a morning of training and the skills I learned from Mom and my previous attempts, I managed to get halfway through the left and that only left the legs and the body. Mom and I both agreed that the body would probably be more of a challenge, but there was no point in worrying about it now.

It is just another obstacle to overcome.

“That’s good. I’m happy that I was finally able to teach you something,” Mom said with a bitter smile.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean by that? You’ve taught me plenty of things.”

“I…well, I sort of meant regarding magic, but I’m glad that you think that way. It makes me happy,” she said with a far more genuine smile.

“Back then, when you were training with your father and learning magic from Doctor Jacobs, I was afraid that my magic might have been too niche and difficult to learn. I felt inadequate as it took me years to learn it, yet you took to magic like it was second nature for you. And my training wasn’t exactly in an environment like this,” she said, looking around at the man-made forest.

I see, her training was probably far more brutal than this. For her, learning magic was a matter of life and death. And I can’t imagine the people who taught her were patient.

“Well, there’s nothing to worry about now, is there? We have all the time we need, and I couldn’t ask for a better teacher,” I said earnestly.

A genuine ear-to-ear smile bloomed on my mother’s face. “It means the world to hear that, Kal.”

I returned her smile only to hear my name shouted far off in the forest. Mom and I had taken our training to a more secluded area not to bother the others and so that I could remain focused.

“Your friend is calling. You should go keep your promise,” Mom said with a wave. “I’ll go check on Dallin and Mila and make sure breakfast is ready.”

“Thanks, Mom. But uh…just make sure, okay? No, helping, right?” I asked as I wiped the dust off my legs.

Mom puffed her cheeks out at me and shooed me away. I couldn’t tease my mother too much about cooking as I was just as horrid as her. Whatever ingredients our hands touched in the process of making food turned awful. It was a genuine curse that I hadn’t figured out yet.

Either way, it was probably nothing. I chuckled to myself and jogged through the forest when a thought struck me.

Why don’t I just use my Soul Sight to see what’s affecting the food? If it’s magic based, I should be able to see something, right? Huh, maybe I’ll do that soon.

I jogged through the woods until I reached the usual training ground. Varnir and Dad were both waiting for me there as I had promised to spar with Varnir today. He and many of the others in Class Onward had a small fight coming up.

There they would fight other students who were interested in being in the tournament with Sandervile. Forward University didn’t bar any student’s entrance. All they had to do was earn their way as well as be under a certain age.

It was pretty simple stuff but thankfully, I didn’t have to compete in that fight. Queen Maxwell had given me a direct invitation which was something only one person could get.

“Yo, you ready, Kaladin? Don’t tell me you are too tired from your training now,” Varnir said with a grin.

I extended a hand and caught Dad’s spear with ease. “I’ll be fine. Just don’t get mad if I beat you today.”

Varnir chuckled to himself and eyed me with a hint of annoyance. “You know, when are you getting a new weapon? It’s been months.”

“And I told you that it would be soon,” I said as I swung the pitch-black spear to warm up.

“You’ve been saying soon for literal months, Kaladin. When the heck is your soon? I get that you're the Dragonslayer and all that now, but you don’t have to go buy some expensive spear somewhere,” Varnir said as he watched me.

“Who said I was buying a spear? Listen, don’t you worry about me. I made a promise that I intend to keep. I’m certain that it will be worth it with a little patience,” I told him as I pointed the end of my spear at him.

Dad just watched from the side with a smirk and his arms crossed. “You know the rules. The first to three hits wins.”

“Yeah, you heard that, Varnir? You know the rules, right?” I teased.

Varnir rolled his eyes and lowered his shield. “Are you going to give me a hard time over that forever? It was an accident… just a reaction. Maybe if you didn’t move so fast, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he grumbled.

“I can confirm that Kaladin has always been like that,” Dad said with a nod. “I’ll never forget when he surprised me with his speed for the first time. As a boy I knocked him down without even thinking about it,” Dad said with an awkward chuckle.

I remembered that moment fondly as well. It was the first time I had seen Dad move so fast before. Back then, I wondered if it would have been possible for me to reach such a level, and I was happy to say that I was getting closer.

But I just chuckled at Varnir’s complaint as I recalled that memory. Not long ago, Varnir had accidentally used his shield against me. His shield may look like a random piece of bark ripped off a tree, but it was a fully functioning dungeon item.

I had pressed him a little too hard and gotten the upper hand with a surprise attack. Varnir just let his training react for him, and his shield attacked me with its tentacle-like roots. I did get slashed on the arm, but it was barely a flesh wound, nothing to be worried about.

Although Sylvia didn’t see it that way…

Vanir and I squared off, and Dad sent a gust of wind out into the training ground. That was the cue to start the fight, but neither of us moved. Varnir and I always started off that way, but this would be different today.

Without magic or being in a life-or-death fight, Varnir and I were at similar levels on paper. I was stronger and faster than him, and my mana enhancement was better, but Varnir’s skills with his spear and shield surpassed me. Varnir was also physically older and taller than me, which helped him.

In our fights, my best option was to keep him at bay with my spear, although I rarely fought him like that as it didn’t mesh with my aggressive fighting style. His short spear and shield combo excelled at blocking and countering. Without a shield or second weapon of my own, it meant that if I committed to a strike and Varnir successfully blocked me that meant a spear was coming my way.

And if I used my spear to block his spear, a shield aiming for somewhere on my body was moments away. But if I kept Varnir at a distance and used my spear’s superior length, and never over-committed, I could whittle away at Varnir and score a few hits on him.

Well, that’s typically how our fights should go, but I always pressed him. I was an aggressive fighter. I always had been. It was the only way I knew how to fight, it was engraved in me, and I had no plans of changing a successful formula now.

And I usually used these spars to focus on my spear skills. Today was different. Today was a spar to prepare Varnir for his upcoming battles. And unlike our sparring, Varnir’s opponent wouldn’t be following such strict rules. Instead, they would be using magic, items, and any possible technique they could to defeat Varnir.

So what Varnir didn’t know was that today he was going to taste defeat to prepare himself for the future better. I would make sure of it.

Varnir started off the fight with a straight thrust of his spear. I went to deflect it, but Varnir immediately turned it into a slice, and I flicked my spear up to deflect it. The metal rang out, and I slipped by for a return thrust.

As to be expected, Varnir blocked it with his shield. However, the pitch-black spear oddly enough, slid off the wooden shield like it was made of metal. It was a unique quirk of that shield that Varnir figured out he could manipulate at will with just a little bit of mana.

He caught me by surprise the first time he changed the shield’s outer hardness, and my spear sank into it like wood. I lost a few points because of that trick, but I’m always cautious of it now.

We continued to trade blows like this for some time. Varnir began to show signs of frustration as I had remained on the defensive the entire time. Only retaliating at appropriate times and never firmly committing to an attack.

Varnir made his first mistake as he went for a low thrust at my shin from behind his shield. I side-stepped into his blind spot and thrust my spear forward with more strength and speed, purposely missing the side of his calf.

“That’s one hit for Kaladin,” Dad called out.

Varnir clicked his tongue, and we both reset. Varnir wasn’t out of steam as he was in excellent shape, and so was I. Even so, sweat rolled down our faces, and our chests rose and fell in rhythm with our breathing.

The fight was still ongoing, but I showed no signs of attacking Varnir. He scowled at me and pressed forward. Usually, it was me that always moved forward, but today I had different plans, and they were already coming together.

Varnir grunted as he thrust his spear, only for me to step back and out of its range, not even bothering to counter him. I danced around his attacks for a minute, and Varnir became noticeably irritated. He wasn’t used to somebody who retreated instead of attacking at every opportunity.

It was also true that I would never win a fight or teach him a lesson if I continued to use that technique against him. But my current goal was to anger Varnir so he would slip up. And it was about time that I showed him just how dangerous a fight could be.

Varnir’s cut went wide, and instead of backing up, I lurched forward and thrust my spear as fast as I could manage it. Varnir’s frustration melted away, and his eyes went wide as he backpedaled away from me.

My spear’s aim was true and it forced Varnir to block it with his shield in a panic. I felt the tip of my spear sink into the wood, which was the cue for me to flip this spar on its head.

I plunged my spear deeper into the shield, much to Varnir’s surprise. Varnir tried retracting his spear, but I brought my foot down on the wooden shaft, snapping it in two.

Now that my spear was sufficiently embedded into the shield I wasted no time in using my spear as a reel, forcing Varnir to me. His shield was strapped to his arm, and he wasn’t nearly fast enough to undo it. Varnir had no choice but to fall into my grasp.

Varnir tried to lean into his shield to use it to bat me away and make room between us, but I was expecting that. I continued to pull him and sidestepped around him. I even let go of my spear, which made Varnir stumble forward awkwardly on unsteady feet.

I quickly tripped Varnir and grabbed his shield that still had his arm attached to it, forcing it behind him and using it to press him to the ground. Varnir let out a pained groan as my knee went into his back, and my weight pinned him to the floor with his own shield.

Varnir let out a deep sigh that felt more like I was pressing the air out of him. “Guess I’m the one who needs a new spear,” he complained. “I lost.”

Upon hearing his words, I immediately took my knee off of him and returned control of his arm to him. Varnir sat on his butt as he rubbed his shield arm. Varnir looked up at my dad, and Dad gave him a knowing look.

“This is not what I expected. But I understand what happened. I took this as a spear versus spear combatant when I told you this was practice for the tournament. If this were the first round, even here at school, I would have lost because I didn’t take it seriously. I should be pissed off at myself. Sorry for wasting your time, Kaladin and Alanis,” Varnir said as he stood up and grabbed his spear tip.

So he understood it without me having to say a word. Varnir may be better than me with weapons alone, but I had overwhelming more experience than him in fighting other people. However, Varnir is far more mature than I thought, and he is pretty talented to recognize what I was trying to teach immediately.

“If you understand, then I wouldn’t call this a waste of time whatsoever. Now you know what the next few weeks of our training should look like, right? I’m sure we will have plenty of time after school starts,” I said as I stuck a hand out to him.

Dad laughed and stuck his thumb up. “Exactly! And don’t worry about it! If Kal hadn’t taught you, then I would have done the same thing!”

Varnir grinned and shook my hand. “Yeah, you’re right. You know you are a pretty good teacher when you want to be, Kaladin, so how about another few rounds with the training staffs?”

I looked up at the sky and then nodded. “I got time.”

—

It was the following day already, and I was on my way to the forest for more morning training. Tomorrow was my rest day and the day we decided to clean the dorm room. School was also starting in two days, so training was going to take a back seat for a couple of days as we all adjusted to life.

But for the time being, I decided to push myself for one more day so I could enjoy the next few in relative peace. So instead of a morning jog, I opted for a morning sprint. Today was Sylvia’s day to watch Mila, and I ended up waking up earlier than Dad, so I went off on my own.

But when I was running down the path, the cold air whipping my body and long before the sun rose, I encountered a lone figure in front of me. Her short red hair bounced on her head. It was a surprise to see her. And I just meant that literally, Tsarra usually moved around the school with her illusion magic cloaking her.

Was she concentrating more on the run today?

I quickly gained on her, and Tsarra’s head flicked around, and she stared at me with a frightened look that vanished the moment she recognized me. She let out a sigh of relief as I pulled up next to her.

“Ca—can you please not suddenly increase your running speed when you are behind a p-person. You are very big, and your steps can be scary,” Tsarra complained.

Being this close, I could hear her heart thumping in her chest. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I admitted.

We jogged the rest of the way in silence until we reached the gate into the woods. Tsarra went to open it, but she stopped and turned her head slightly at me. Her red hair covered her green eye.

“I’m s—sorry,” she murmured so quietly I barely heard her.

“Sorry? Sorry for what?” I asked, confused.

Tssarra turned away from me completely. “Sorry for lying to you.”

Lying? Huh? What is she on about?

“I’m sorry, but I’m not following, Tsarra. What exactly are you lying about?” I questioned.

“I—I….you…you have been training an enemy, and I didn’t mean to wait so long to tell you. I just—” Tasrra trailed off and let her shoulders drop.

Oh, now I understand what she is talking about. I suppose one could think of it that way, not that I would.

“I won’t be fighting for Luminar in the tournament,” Tsarra said meekly.

Well, I take that back. That’s news to me. I didn’t know Tsarra intended to compete.

But truth be told, Tsarra wasn’t lying to me. I was the one withholding the truth from her in actuality. I knew more about the upcoming event than she did. Thanks to Queen Maxwell and our plans, I was privy to more information in regard to the tournament than most people. I’m aware of something that nobody but Queen Maxwell knows.

Speaking of that. The announcement should be anytime now.

“I think I understand what you mean. But don’t worry, I don’t and won’t ever see you as an enemy, Tsarra. I’m just helping a friend and family member train. So it’s nothing to overthink,” I told her.

It’s not like my Dark Elf side of the family is looking at me with smiles. Maybe Mom’s side will pan out better, even if it’s only Tsarra.

Tsarra looked back slightly but didn’t say a word. I put a finger to my chin and shrugged. “I suppose if you feel bad about it, then how about you tell me why you are competing? This is the first I’ve heard of you showing interest in the tournament.”

“It’s…because I have—no, I need to. If I…want to achieve my goal, then I need to have those watching me look favorably upon me,” Tsarra explained in a cryptic yet serious way.

“Goal, huh…I understand. I won’t pry any further. If you are going this far, this goal of yours must be pretty important, right?”

“It is,” she said, turning around and opening the gate.

Tsarra didn’t seem to have some big lofty goal like Lauren or Parker. She seemed content with living life and even living under most people’s radar. Tsarra sat behind me in class for a long time before I even realized her existence. And when I first met her, she spent most of her time hiding from others. It’s only been recently that Tsarra has been somewhat comfortable around other people.

But for her to be so serious, this must be important to her.

"I hope you know that if we get matched up together, I don’t plan on holding back,” I told her playfully.

Tsarra nodded to herself. “Good, because I don’t either,” she said with a hint of happiness. “B—besides, the others would be mad if you went easy on me. Al—although I would prefer it if we didn’t face each other at all…Kaladin…”

“Yeah, let’s hope—huh? Hey, do you hear that?” I asked.

“Somebody…yelling? No, are they ordering somebody to swing a sword? It—” Tsarra trailed off and looked at me.

What would Grandpa be doing up so early? Cerila is still recovering as of last night, so who is he training?