*Clang!*
A wooden sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound; besides it, a young boy was rubbing his hurting wrist.
"You can't drop your defense like that! Your attacks are riddled with flaws, keep to the footwork I taught you!" Troy said sternly, admonishing his careless grandson.
"One more time!" Teo begged his grandfather.
"You look like you could use some rest. Go freshen up a bit, we can continue in half an hour, I still have some time left to teach you today," Troy responded with a gentle smile.
Teo had started to get lessons in swordsmanship shortly after his 8th birthday because he had continued to pester his uncle with the topic for months until he finally agreed, and it had been a full year since. Time really did fly.
Usually, his grandfather Troy would teach him, as he had taken up a few skills during his long journeys at sea. He also had a professional instructor for the times his grandfather was not available though.
Teo practiced with Jack in his free time as well, but it was hardly the same as having a real instructor with actual fighting experience, capable of drilling in the basics.
He did, however, learn a few neat tricks from Jack, who was personally tutored by his father in the matter of the sword. Even indirect lessons from Commander Jumpheart, the famous 'Burning Sword Saint' of Sigella, were not to be underestimated, and he learned a lot from the experience.
In return, Jack's and Angelika's Magic skills improved by leaps and bounds, while Angelika helped both of them to keep their grades in an acceptable range. Overall the three friends complemented each other perfectly.
Of course, Teo did not let his Enchantment practice slide either; he had made tremendous progress and was capable of successfully carving some basic Magic Circles by now.
It would not be long until he could finish some simple Enchantments completely by himself.
Goliath had used the time efficiently as well. He had spent most of it collecting data, scanning books, and categorizing the differences between ancient Enchantment techniques and their modern equivalents. Apparently, he was just a tiny scrap of data away from a breakthrough.
Teo's rapidly growing Mana capacity could supply the little Golem with an increasing amount of energy each day, allowing Goliath to be more active and enabling him to use simple analyzing spells from time to time, increasing his helpfulness exponentially.
According to Goliath, Teo's Mana Affinity had already reached the lower mark of a high-grade Affinity, and with his Mana Core almost the size of a plum, what he could do had increased a lot.
The most significant change over the last year though, was probably his progress in regard to the Fire Element. After literal years of practice, he had finally awakened his Fire Vision and could already manipulate small quantities of Fire Elemental threads. However, not as much as he wished to.
Spiritual power can be considered as the muscle that does all the heavy-lifting when using Magic, and Affinity acts as a kind of leverage to control the Elements with greater ease —one without the other was utterly useless.
Just as Goliath had said, it was possible to manipulate more than one Element. But the advantages one's natural Affinity provided were immense. Teo's body was naturally attuned to Mana, so it was always attracted to him without the need to do anything, and when he wanted to manipulate it, the Mana threads would not offer much resistance.
The Fire Element was completely different. Teo had no natural Fire Affinity at all and could only increase it step by step through repeated practice. Even a single strand seemed to weigh as much as a boulder when he tried to move it, any progress on this front was dead slow.
However, after thoroughly discussing the matter with Goliath, they had discovered a way to quicken the process considerably.
His body was like a sieve to the Fire Elemental threads, unable to contain them for long, but his Mana Core was a different story altogether. It was a dense mass of energy, tightly woven together, and it seemed to be possible to incorporate any type of Elemental Thread into it permanently.
This was easier said than done since Teo's almost negligible ability to manipulate the Fire Element made it practically impossible to weave it into anything. Still, the results were immediate once he succeeded. Barely a week after he pulled it off for the first time, his Fire Affinity had already risen by a significant margin, allowing him to retain more of the Elemental Energy in his body, and to manipulate it with greater ease. He could even warm himself up or start a fire using Elemental threads by now, but he would need more practice to incorporate the new Element into his regular skillset.
Teo had even started to get in touch with the Darkness Element through Angelika's help. Since he knew how incredibly long it had taken to get a feel for one of the easiest to comprehend Elements, he intended to prepare for future expansions in time. It never hurt to get a head start, regardless of what he might focus on in the future.
Also, he did not have to invest large amounts of time into practicing new Elements. If it was just developing a sense for and getting accustomed to an Element, then regular exposure to the Elemental threads over a long period of time would already do the trick — which was Angelika's role in the matter. Acquiring Elemental Vision was a slightly different process, but it was not exactly time-consuming either.
Understanding and accepting the nature of an Element played a significant role in the awakening process. It was just as crucial as the compatibility with one's character and primary Element. Accepting a new Element was more a matter of enlightenment and insight, than of time.
Yet time was always a critical part of everything else. Magic-, Sword- and Enchantment-practice took up most of Teo's day, not to mention going to and learning for school. He barely had the time to spend an hour supercharging before going to bed every night.
Luckily, the training sessions with his uncle had been significantly reduced recently, honoring his lighting-fast progress in the craft and his excellent morale. Instead, he had unrestricted access to the workshop now, free to experiment however he liked. Apparently, his uncle trusted him to bite off
Since Goliath was also the fastest and most efficient rock on the continent when it came to cramming and tutoring, Teo still had some additional time to spend on his personal agenda.
"Free time" was relative in this context, however, because Teo tended to utilize any remaining second for more Magic Practice, or to spend time with his friends. At least he could plan out his schedule more freely now.
Teo was a real 4th-year student starting from next week, and the world lay to his feet. He did not know what awaited him after his last few years of school, but becoming a successful Enchanter and secretly training to become a Magician didn't seem too bad. He wondered what path his friends would end up walking down.
"What are you spacing out for? The break is over! You better show me some proper footwork now!" Troy called out to the boy who was leisurely sitting against a tree in the backyard.
"Coming!" Teo yelled back as he got to his feet and started running.