Friederich Eir Regis stood with an air of elegance, one hand gripping the hilt of his katana. He relaxed his fingers, letting mana flow through his limbs. A tingling warmth surged through his veins, yet he remained steadfast. Full control over his body, his breathing, his heartbeat, and his blood circulation now bent to his will.
His blue eyes snapped open, locking onto a row of target practice golems. With extre focus, he singled out the one in the middle.
“Henceforth, Dawnbreak!” Friederich invoked, his voice chid like a divine bell.
Kagayaki-no-saya, the powerful arc sheath, let out a churning shing as he quick-drew. Light erupted and filled the entire training do, blinding all who watched. The very air molecules split and rumbled with the release of energy. A thunderous explosion rocked the structure, and the ground itself shook violently.
“He might’ve done it!” Aurelia exclaid as she jumped from her inspector’s seat, wearing her circular sunglasses. anwhile, Yammi squeezed her eyes shut and covered her cat ears, obviously terrified of the unleashed power.
As the light faded, Friederich collapsed onto the dirt ground, steam erupting from every pore of his body, which was visible to the naked eye.
His dark hair was drenched in sweat, and his clothes clung to his physique. It further outlined his well-refined proportions, his thick, firm chest and tapered waist.
Swallowing hard, Friederich scrambled to his feet to inspect the damage. “Did~did it work?”
Judging from the destruction, his arc had slashed diagonally, decimating not one but three golems along with the giant pillars far behind them.
“Hades’s hell…” Friederich muttered, both trembling hands resting on his knees. “I’ve been struggling to control its output and, worse, its direction. Like a blind swordsman.” A bead of sweat dripped from his nose into the dirt.
“I must admit… I’m still too weak to control its power,” he exhaled. While his face remained a neutral mask, his eyes betrayed his deep disappointnt. His hands clenched into fists, the knuckles turning white as they shook with restrained frustration.
Simultaneously, the Novitcius mages of Capricorn erged from the side to reconstruct the golems and repair the damage he had just caused.
“Thank you, guys!” Aurelia bellowed to the mages. She lifted the sunglasses atop her head and approached her desperate friend. The princess was dressed in her usual white tunic and trousers. Instantaneously, Yammi followed at Aurelia's heels in her black and white maid uniform.
“Well, at least you didn’t slash the entire row like yesterday. That’s sowhat comndable, right?” Aurelia chirped, eyeing Yammi for support.
Yammi nodded eagerly, handing Friederich a towel with both hands and a bow.
“Thanks,” Friederich said, accepting it with a polite nod before wiping his face. “Not good enough,” he told the princess. Once the mana exhaustion set in, the katana’s hilt dissipated into sparkles of light, leaving only the empty sheath.
Seeing Friederich struggle to stand steadily, Aurelia grabbed his arm. “Fried?! You good?”
“Of course,” he nodded solemnly as he tightened his jaw. “I am fine,” he stressed.
“You might be low on glucose, Pri Guardian,” Yammi suggested. She rummaged through her pouch and held out a packaged Swiss roll. It had a tiger pattern on its exterior. “Please accept this.”
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“Hmm? Is that a sweet?” Friederich asked, hesitant.
“Co on! Take it, Fried. You need carbs. Look at you, getting thinner and thinner,” Aurelia quipped.
Her sarcastic retort caused Yammi to involuntarily gaze at his refined physique, her cheeks becoming visibly pink.
“Fine. Then I shall enjoy this piece of cake,” Friederich replied with genuine appreciation, yet his tone was monotonic.
“HEY!” Zetius’s voice reverberated across the training ground.
“Zeta’s here?!” Aurelia exclaid. She turned with a short-lived smile, which vanished once she spotted Astrid shadowing Zetius like a phantom. “Heh…” she sneered imdiately, causing Yammi to chuckle.
Zetius, with Cubie perched on his shoulder, Frain, and Astrid had arrived, their footsteps thudding across the dirt-packed ground. They all wore amicable smiles, except for Astrid and Aurelia, who seed to share a hidden rivalry.
“Cubie!” The little drone zipped over and landed in Aurelia’s palms, where she played with it like a pet or a Rubik's Cube. Except there’s no puzzle to solve or colours to match. That’s a strange way to put it, Zetius mused.
“Aw, cute braids you've got there, Frain,” Aurelia praised, her voice like velvet. Her kind words made Frain light up with joy.
“Zeta, how’s your training going?” Aurelia asked, curious.
“Hey, Aurelia,” he exchanged a smile. “Well, I think it has been okay?” He turned to Astrid, who was folding her arms.
“He did okay for a Novitcius,” Astrid replied nonchalantly, looking at the Resainanse mages working in the background.
Zetius then turned to Yammi and his elven friend, who was nibbling on the cake roll. “Yammi, Friederich. Snacks after training, I see.”
“Shut it, Zetius. I’m just low on sugar,” Friederich countered, turning away. But he couldn’t endure the stare of the Lioness. Frain was practically drooling at his roll.
Amusingly, Yammi handed her another package. “Here, Frain! You need energy, too!”
Frain’s smile widened as she received the roll and devoured the whole thing in one go. Yammi blinked in bewildernt.
“Geez, you’ll choke, Frain,” Zetius grumbled, and the rest of the group burst out laughing.
“You’re like her parent, fufufu,” Yammi comnted with lighthearted camaraderie.
“By the way, Zeta. I feel like… um…” Aurelia began, but the words seed to stick in her throat. He waited patiently for her to continue.
“A~a picnic would be nice!” she blurted, her cheeks red.
“Heh,” Astrid let out a mocking chuckle, but didn’t look at them.
Blowing air from her mouth to calm herself, Aurelia continued, “Let’s invite Frain and, ahem,” she cleared her throat, “everyone! It’ll be fun! Right, Yammi?” From the sidelines, Yammi provided the encouragent she needed.
Zetius rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know, Aurelia. We both seem to be extrely busy. with training, and you have been helping out with your dad’s work too, right?”
Aurelia’s face darkened with palpable disappointnt. “Yes,” she answered and pressed her lips together.
“Well, it surely has been a while since we’ve been together like this. An afternoon wouldn’t hurt, I guess. What do you think, Cubie?” Zetius said, gently touching Cubie, who still rested in Aurelia’s palms.
“Ladies and gentlen, we can definitely spare ti for a picnic!” Cubie announced happily.
A bright smile spread across Aurelia’s face, and she jumped for joy with Yammi in a small celebration. Then, she snuck a look at her rival. Astrid didn’t seem to care, adjusting her gloves absentmindedly.
After a mont, Zetius twisted his torso, stretching his body. “Alright, folks. Cubie and Frain, play nice.”
The two nodded promptly.
“Astrid, you’re with ,” Zetius ordered decisively. They locked eyes, a passionate fire for the challenge ahead, hyping each other up.
A Novitcius mage in yellow brought them two crested helms in dull gold, similar in design to the ones they wore during their match, though with slight variations.
“Appreciate it,” Astrid said, taking the helms from the man. She tossed one, adorned with goofy, tiny wings, to Zetius, while keeping the helm with a striking axe-shaped fin for herself. He scowled at it but pressed his lips together in restraint.
They both equipped the headgear, securing them tightly. With vigour, Astrid banged a gloved fist against her palm, firing up her flow of mana.
“Let’s do our best!” she bellowed with pride.
And with that, their session began.
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