Eliron was seated on a straw mat in his beat up hut, his legs crossed and his eyes closed.
His body was perfectly still, and save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest, one could have assud he was a statue.
"The world is changing..."
Although his eyes were closed to the real world, it was open to the word within him, Constance.
The more he improved his mana capacity, circulation and potency, by constant ditation, the more the world was being expressed.
The lush grass that was once behind him was now slowly encroaching into the barren lands, a few ancient structures were rising, returning to their forr glory, and the air felt much fresher.
It was the effect of his judicious accumulation of mana using mana breathing.
Still deep in concentration, he then said:
"System, assign nine points to mana capacity and three points to vitality."
[Assigning points...]
[Mana capacity ~> 25 9=34]
[Vitality ~> 17 3=20]
Although mana capacity was what he needed the most, Eliron could not afford to be squishy.
His defence was not terrible, which ant normal attacks would do little against him, but if he was to ever be injured and on the verge of death, then his vitality would determine if he lived or died.
Once the system screen flashed in front of him, informing him of the upgrades, Eliron could feel a small shift within him.
It was nothing life changing, but it was there and it was important.
anwhile, outside the open world, the more Eliron pulled mana towards his core, the more the mana in the room condemned, up till the point where it beca visible.
Vwooom!
Mana rolled out of his body like clouds of steam, hanging in the air and slowly moving around.
Since he was absorbing both Fire and Water mana particles, this was the resultant manifestation.
He continued this until he knew his core was at its limit.
"How long was I on this?" He said to himself as his inner world began to crumble.
’5 hours? Seven hours?’
"UGHHHHHHH— I feel like I slept underneath a rock." Eliron heard soone groan.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Yennefer rising up, a pained expression on her face.
She sleepishly spoke while trying to locate Eliron through half closed eyes. "Why does my back hurt so much, what happened yesterday?"
"You don’t rember?"
Yennefer rubbed her eyes and shook her head.
"Well, you ate a really bad mushroom."
"What? I thought I checked it properly," she groaned as she got up.
"Well, you didn’t. But it wasn’t that bad, drugged Yennefer was very useful."
Yennefer’s eyes widened at the implication of his words. "W-Wai— what did you make do?! My arms feel like they’re going to fall off!" She yelled and reached for him.
But Eliron had already escaped the hut.
•••
After eating what they had left over from the previous day, Eliron, accompanied by Yennefer set out to find Ash and their newest knight trainee, Terra.
When they arrived, they were so invested in their training they they did not notice them.
Ash was demonstrating sothing with a practice sword.
"Don’t force the sword, give it direction and it will bend to your will"
He took an astute stance and lifted the blade.
"The first thing you should know about sword fighting is that a sword is no re tool. What you hold in your hand is death."
Eliron nodded as he listened to his teaching.
Swords may look fancy and cool to a lot of beginners, but only in the heart of conflict will the true nature of the weapon be exposed.
’Swords were made to kill...’
Every single aspect of their design, from the thick poml, down to the tapering end of the blade was made to reap lives in the fastest, most efficient way possible.
The muscles of Ash’s hands contracted and then he brought the sword down in one swift motion.
Whoosh!
The sword cleaved through the air with an audible whistle, the wind blowing past Terra and sending her blonde hair flying back.
Terra gulped, her hands clasped tightly behind her back.
Clap Clap—!
Ash turned around to see Eliron clapping as he approached him.
"Great lecture Ash, it looks like I made the right decision putting her in your hands."
The chief guard bowed when he saw Eliron. "Greetings my lord! I did not notice your arrival, forgive ."
"Good morning, my lord." Terra greeted as well.
Eliron waved his hands dismissively. "I actually ca here to borrow both you and my student."
"Oh? Might I ask what our task will be?" Ash asked.
The young lord picked up one of the wooden swords then tossed it to Terra.
"Swing it at , use as much force as you can muster."
Terra’s mouth was slightly agape as she was shocked by his odd request.
"W-what? I can’t do that my lord!"
Eliron chuckled. "Trust , besides, it is an order, not a request. And don’t hold back, or I’ll know."
Still hesitant, Terra’s fingers tightened on the hilt of the sword then she sucked in a breath and lunged.
Thwack!
She had aid for his shoulder, but because she was still a beginner and clumsy, Terra ended up slamming the sword into his neck.
"E-Eliron!" She panicked, her eyes wide.
But when she saw that he was okay, she settled down a bit. The entirety of her attack was only enough to leave a very small, barely noticeable bruise on his neck.
"Do you see what the problem is Ash?"
The stalwart guard nodded vehently. "I do my lord, I should have noticed this at the start."
Terra glanced between them, confused. "What are you guys talking about?"
Eliron started speaking as the bruise suddenly vanished due to Yen’s magic.
"Ash did well by teaching you the purpose of the blade, but before that, there is sothing he missed."
"Raw power..."
"Before we begin sword training, you need to strengthen your body or you won’t be able to do any real damage."
Ash nodded. "What do you suggest, my lord?"
"Terra, I think it’s about ti you visited my construction site!" He said with a devilish grin on his face.
Terra instinctively took a step back.
’C-construction site?’ She repeated in her head.
It was the first ti she had ever heard such a word, yet...
’Why does it sound so morbid??’
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