A year went by so fast I was now eight years old while Sarah was five years old. I remember the time Sarah told mom that she too wanted to start with magic training and sword practice. Though she was very talented she didn't reach the level I was in when I was three.
Well, I guess that would be because of my past memories but still my sister was a true genius like Eri. She would only practice for a short while before getting the hang of it. My mom and dad were ecstatic as always saying that their children were geniuses.
Now that I think about it was around this time that mom got pregnant. Will we be having another sibling? Nah, mom and dad are already busy with the two of us so I guess that's fine.
Still nowadays whenever we have free time Sarah would come to me and say "Brother lets spar." We would spar every now and then during free time. During our sparring sessions, not once was my little sister able to hit me, this would result in her pouting.
Seeing as I'm a brother that dotes on my sister I got hit on purpose one time. I thought she would be happy but then she got angry at me and said: "Brother take it seriously." She was sulking the whole day after that. It took a while before I could appease her. This is torture for me what do you want me to do my little sis?
I kinda understand what mom and dad are feeling now.
†
Another year went by but this time I had some improvement. I even took another ranking test with Gerard and Eri. Our current ranks were like this.
Gerard's Rank:
Sword:
Fire style: C class
Void style: C class
Magic:
Fire: E class
Wind: E class
Eri's Rank
Sword:
Fire style: D class
Wind style: B class
Void style: D class
Water style: E class
Overall sword rank: C class
Magic:
Fire: E class
Wind: E class
Edge's Rank:
Sword:
Fire style: C class
Wind style: C class
Void style: C class
Water style: C class
Overall sword rank: B class
Magic:
Fire: B class
Water: C class
Wind: C class
Earth: C class
Healing: E class
After the ranking examination, I once again confirm Eri being a genius. She was able to improve so much by just watching. Not only that a few pointers from mom and she actually learned magic. Well, the same thing could be said with Gerard regarding magic. The two of them were commoners without enough money to learn magic, so they were happy to learn from mom.
Seeing as they were my friends' mom was happy enough to teach them the basics of magic. She even handed them the book I used to read as a kid.
I recently learned that not everyone in this world knows how to use magic. Though everyone has mana and it is easy enough to circulate it to do basic sword techniques, but releasing them in the form of spells was different.
One needed someone knowledgeable in the art of spell casting to teach them. The other way would be reading a book. Both of which are expensive. Unlike sword instructors who you can hire for pretty cheap. Magic instructors have very high rates. They even require you to own various books before they'll even agree to teach you.
You can try learning how to cast spells on your own but without the guidance of a teacher or a book. The person trying might have their animus vein implode. This was the vein were all mana flows through one's body. So if it implodes you'll no longer be able to use mana ever again.
While I was thinking about those things, Gerard spoke. "You two are great, both of you have at least one B class rank. Damn it! You guys just wait and see I'll surpass both of you in a flash." Gerard who was feeling a bit depressed renewed his enthusiasm. The change of being depressed and being motivated was so fast, I didn't even notice when Gerard felt depressed. Gerard was the kind of guy that could go on, no matter the obstacle. In fact, the obstacles just made him even more motivated.
Eri, on the other hand, was looking at me. "You got higher again." Nowadays, Eri rarely speaks using full sentences. She would usually answer with a nod or a shake of her head. She told me the reason she answered in such a way, was because it saves time. Aside from her head shaking you could also guess her emotions by watching her tails.
But that's not the point right now, something even rarer was happening. Eri's facial expression changed. Her usual stoic expression changed to one filled with determination. "I'll win next time Edge."
"No, no, no, Eri I think you already won. You even have your wind style at B class right. I don't have any sword style above C class." I answered quickly but then I saw Eri pouting.
"Your overall sword rank is B class." Gerard sighed hearing Eri and I talk.
"You two are fighting over something like that. Well, it was my luck meeting you two on that day. If we haven't met that day and became friends I would still be stuck at a lower rank for a while. But having friends that are both geniuses is really making me work harder. I truly am grateful for that. So let the three of us reach even greater heights!" Gerard suddenly made a speech. Wasn't he embarrassed saying that out loud? But I felt his will for improvement in that speech of his. Eri nodded her head and so did I. The three of us bumped our fists together. The three of us, maybe including little Sarah will get stronger together.