Tars listened closely as Feerestia began describing the skill she wanted to show Tars.
"This is one of the first variable skills Blade Dancers usually learn," the elven woman said while taking a loose, almost relaxed posture. Her body faced the side, her sword was held horizontally, and her legs were in a widened stance. "This is a pair of simple skills that we combine to make an Elemental Sword Art. The first part is a martial attack called 'Lunge'."
Feerestia then dipped slightly and thrust the point of her sword straight out. Amazingly, there was a hint of movement and a fence post almost ten feet away was cracked and now had a split going halfway down the pole.
"Lunge is designed for two things," Feerestia continued, "piercing defenses and striking when an enemy is out of range."
Tars tried to imagine how it could be used in a fight, but without being able to remember one he was left with memorizing her words to apply them later.
"Now, I'll show you how Blade Dancer's use their Elemental Arts, just so you can see it. For the second skill I will use 'Ice Missile'." Feerestia lowered her sword and took a similar stance as before but with a couple differences. Her feet were closer together and her body was facing the other side, now having her free hand out in front of her as opposed to her sword arm.
The reason for this came a moment later when Feerestia gathered a small ball of blue swirling light that quickly sharpened into a needle shaped icicle that then sped away until reaching a tree in the neighboring farm's yard. It stuck halfway into the tree, from what Tars could see, but it was too far to see clearly from where he was standing.
"When we get to the second skill, we'll use a different element since ice is a tier two element, not that of a basic tier one. Tier one skills will be easier to learn," Feerestia explained. "I only used ice because wind would be hard to see and water isn't the best for that style of attack. For now, I'll show you 'Ice Lunge', then we'll focus on 'Lunge'."
With that, Feerestia stood as she had the first time with her sword held horizontally and the tip pointed towards the tree she'd struck with her 'Ice Missile'. This time her sword began to glow with the same blue swirling light her hand had held before. For a moment, Tars though he could see wisps of something outside of that blue light, but when he focused on it whatever it was faded from view.
It took only half a second from when the light began to gather until Feerestia thrust her sword forward. Unlike before, where an icicle the size of a forearm flew away, this time it was the sharp image of her sword, as if a layer of ice had created a mold of the blade. When the blade of ice struck the tree, it pierced straight through it and then disappeared a dozen feet later.
"Out of curiosity, how much mana can I expect an attack like that to cost?" Tars asked. He was unsure how many times he would be able to use a skill like the one he just saw Feerestia use.
The other two glanced at each other before looking back at Tars. Ponter looked suspicious while Feerestia looked merely curious.
"That is something people wouldn't normally ask about," she said. "It is as if you were forming a strategy about how to defeat them," she further explained.
'This would be something children learn, some unspoken rule,' Tars reflected. Fortunately, these two knew his situation, and Feerestia at least, wasn't offended.
"That is not why I asked. I was afflicted with mana exhaustion earlier and I can't afford to sleep until I've finished this training."
Ponter's look changed from suspicion to confusion. Feerestia simply nodded in understanding.
"How long …" Ponter began gesturing, seemingly looking for the right way of saying what he meant. "Or, well, when did you lose your memories?"
"I woke up this morning trapped in a giant yellow crystal with no idea how I got there," Tars replied, understanding what he was asking. It wasn't a secret and too many people saw him arrive to hide it, even if he'd wanted to.
"And before you ask, the only thing I 'knew' was the language," Tars continued before they could ask. "Sometimes I can figure things out from my system, instinct, and once from a memory that came to me. I believe I knew many skills before, but I have to relearn them. That was why I wanted you to teach me. If I can see some skills and understand how they work my body should be able to remember them and I will get the skills back easily."
Ponter appeared lost in thought and Feerestia nodded in understanding and resumed her teaching as if she'd never stopped.
"Skills' mana costs are usually based on the tier and will be similar to the experience you would earn for learning it. So, a tier one skill gives ten experience and usually will cost about ten mana."
'If my Oath skill is tier four that means it should be around a hundred mana, then.' He wondered how much mana he'd had at the time he used his skill.
"There are always exceptions, and there are more for skill than for most things," Feerestia continued, breaking Tars from his thoughts. "People have their own affinities with things, like elements or weapons which could reduce mana costs. Continuous use of skills will unlock passive skills or traits that will reduce them, and some titles will also do that. Many skills have varying costs within a tier, also."
"For the one I just used, it was a tier two skill, so it will usually cost between twenty and thirty mana."
Feerestia went on to repeat the 'Lunge' sword art a few more times, explaining what he should feel and watch for. Then she had Tars step forward to try it himself. Tars stood as she had, sword held outward horizontally. He was happy to not have his blade shaking in his grasp, but he was exerting a lot of strength to keep it steady.
Tars tried to focus his mana and push it into his sword. For a minute nothing happened as Tars tried to recreate the feeling of using his Oath, hoping to find where the mana lay within himself. Finally, Tars felt movement and energy flowed towards his arm. In his excitement, Tars lost focus and the energy dissipated back to wherever it was stored.
For the next half hour, Tars tried to repeatedly control his mana. He'd long ago resheathed his sword, knowing it was unnecessary for right then. When he was able to find and grasp his mana consistently, he drew his sword and tried to use the 'Lunge' sword art once again.
This time, the mana came when called, flowing into the sword as Tars wished. He formed his mana into a ball where he contained it using his will. Next, he focused on aiming the energy, so it would explode forward. 'Focus on the tip of the sword,' he reminded himself. 'Find your target. Now!'
Unfortunately, as Tars was about to put thought into action, a blast of multicolored lights appeared all around him, causing his control to slip and the mana to release in all directions instead of towards the tree, as he'd intended.
The ball of energy he'd formed at the base of his sword exploded, sending Tars tumbling into a nearby fence post. His sword spun off to the side and bounced into a pile of firewood.
The Protector slowly sat up, his vision blurry and hand stinging. Ponter and Feerestia were leaning over him but backed off once Tars started moving again.
"What in the abyss was that?!" Ponter yelled.
"I don't know," Tars answered groggily, wincing as he looked around. "It looked like there was an explosion of colors all around me and I lost focus."
Tars shook his head to clear it, wincing once more. When his eyes opened, he saw small motes of light in various colors floating around him. Tars checked his skill menu to see if he got a new skill to explain what just happened. He was surprised to find three new skills and a bonus stat.
Bypassing the messages, he went directly to the skill tab and started reading the new entries.
'Mana Manipulation' allowed him to move either his own mana or free-floating mana at will. 'I must have unlocked this when I was trying to feel and push my mana around my body.'
'Mana Sense' allowed the viewing of external mana and the ability to separate mana by element. This was the skill that revealed all the colorful lights. They were wisps of mana the system called 'pips' with the different colors representing different elements. 'Then what was the third skill?'
'Mana Explosion'. By channeling his mana into an object or location Tars could detonate the mana to cause damage to the surroundings. The more mana he infused, the longer he maintained it, or the farther he was away would all increase the mana cost of the explosion. Also, certain items could not hold mana or could hold only small amounts before detonating on their own.
'This spell is dangerous, and mostly for me!' It would be useful for laying traps, perhaps, but not at his level where the mana costs weren't worth the effect.
In addition, losing his health, fighting against his 'weakened' status, and possibly from the mana exhaustion earlier, Tars had gained a point to his Vitality stat, giving him both of his stat point gains for the day.
When Feerestia saw him finally look up at her she asked in a somewhat shaky voice, "Did you just learn 'Mana Sense'?"
Tars nodded briefly before grimacing at the ache it caused. "Yes, along with 'Mana Manipulation' and 'Mana Explosion'."
Tars had briefly seen Feerestia angry, sad, and determined, but this was the first time he'd seen her unsure.
"Is that bad?" Tars asked, confused.
She shook her head before getting under control again. "We were taught that the various sentient races, humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and the various beastkin tribes are born with 'Mana Sense'. It is what separates us from the monsters." She paused a moment before continuing. "But you didn't have it, which means it is a learned skill, not inherent. Our entire civilization is based on this concept. I don't know what this means but you should not tell this to anyone you do not trust."
Tars knew almost nothing about the world, so he simply took Feerestia's warning to heart and decided to worry about it later. He stood up and began looking for his sword but was distracted by the tiny floating orbs of light around him.
A moment later he noticed Ponter approaching with Tars' sword in his hand. He returned it, thinking they were done for the day. Tars, however still had his daily quest to finish.
A few minutes later Tars stood in the center of the makeshift training field ready to learn his first Sword Art. He flexed and shook his right hand, trying to get rid of the stinging needles feeling that still pained him. There was no physical damage, however, so he simply worked through it.
This time when he took his stance the mana came easily and being able to see it made it even easier to guide into the shape he wanted. The mana formed a grayish aura, completely lacking all the color of the motes around him. When he dipped to begin his Lunge, he felt his instincts guiding him in a different direction. He held fast, wanting to learn Lunge first before letting himself try something new.
After ignoring the feeling, Lunge came easily, with the skill acting as it should, though the distance was only a few feet and didn't have nearly the power that Feerestia's did.
"That went pretty smooth, after the last bumbling attempt," Ponter quipped in equal parts surprise and amusement.
Feerestia was less insulting in her praise. "Yes, I may not have had the issues you did, but I failed many times before I finally succeeded in learning this skill. In many of the skills I learned, in fact."
Tars just smiled in thanks, not sure how much praise he deserved. His situation seemed to be unique and he had no idea how long it took him to learn the skills he was learning the first time he'd tried.
Checking his menu, Tars did learn Lunge and its description was word for word what Feerestia had said. Tars wondered if the system was using the same information for everyone or if it was because that was how he'd learned. It was something to learn later. For now, Tars had a tier one Sword Art and both stats, meaning all he had left was an elemental skill for his daily quest.
"Let's see what the other skill was," he said and noticed the two share another glance to the duo of spectators.
Tars resumed his Lunge stance but this time he would let the instinct guide him as it willed. Sword out, sideways stance, dip ...
Nothing happened. The instinct didn't come to him. He spent several minutes subtly changing his stance and movements worrying that he'd missed his chance.
It seemed following the instinct was a gamble. If he followed it he would learn a skill but what the skill was could be anything, and his ability to afford the mana cost was risky. But if he ignored it he might not be able to get the skill again. At least, not the easy way.
Finally, after another minute of ignoring Ponter's whispers, he felt the instinct come to him once more. This time, he let it take control, doing as it willed.
His stance changed to be less wide, with his feet only shoulder width apart. There was less focus on power and stability and a greater focus on aim. Similar to when Tars used Lunge, mana gathered into a ball at the base of his sword, but then something changed. The mana that formed a gray cloudy ball of mist began to change to a bright yellow color. It looked like a tiny golden sun just in front of his fist at the base of his sword. Tars noticed a brief glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, but he stayed calm and let the skill continue.
His focus paid off a few seconds later when the yellow ball shot a ray of golden light straight passed the tree he'd aimed for and struck a building about fifty yards away. There was an explosion of light and the small barn collapsed in on itself.
All three people looked at the fallen building in disbelief, two of them several paces back from where they'd initially stood.
Feeling more mental pulses, Tars checked his menu in suspense.
-You have learned a tier 3 spell, 50 exp awarded!-
-You have completed a quest!-
Tars then looked at the new spell he'd gotten.
It wasn't a Sword Art, or even an Elemental Art, but a Light Spell called Radiant Beam. Before he could read the specifics a large group of people arrived in the training yard.