In the end, one week after the princess' birthday party, Drannor didn't appear to train with Zaos a single time. As much as it was painful to admit, Zaos missed the kid, the reason being that one can grow a lot faster when one trains with another of similar strength. Besides, Zaos also wanted to have a real fight with Drannor while using a longsword.
"I can't believe I actually want to defeat a five years old kid…" Zaos said and then sighed.
Fortunately, that gave Zaos plenty of time to think about how he could use Cold Whisper with less mana than usual… he had the time, but he didn't find the answer. Zaos was delaying his exploration of the capital until he obtained that answer. Still, slowly he was getting sick of waiting. Although his father said that they shouldn't move around the capital alone, it doesn't mean that Zaos was in dire need of an actually useful combat-oriented spell. The guards would be there to protect them… However, for some odd reason, Zaos didn't want to entrust his life in the hands of others all that much. That was why he decided to keep looking for an answer to that problem.
"It looks like you still are having a hard time finding an answer to that question," Lyra said.
"I am sorry, mom," Zaos said with his head down.
"Don't worry, I just learned that when I was ten, so I am not disappointed," Lyra said. "Anyway, there is something else that I can teach you that might help you find that answer. That will also come in handy with your magic training."
"Really?" Zaos asked.
"Usually, kids are too energetic to be able to use this technique, but since you are not like the other kids, you will be able to use it," Lyra said. "Sit cross-legged on the ground and then close your eyes."
Zaos frowned when he heard that since it wasn't anything like he had heard before. In any case, he could trust his mother with his life, so Zaos just obeyed it. While that position was a bit weird, Zaos felt strangely relaxed.
"Take some deep breaths and then stop thinking about everything," Lyra added. "Once you do that, focus your mind on the things that are troubling you."
That probably was an exercise mage probably does now and then. It was weird that Zaos didn't hear about it or found any mention in books. Regardless, as if that was a magic spell in itself, Zaos saw the same thing he saw dozens of times over the last week: Cold Whisper being fired from his hand in a completely white place.
Your Meditation has reached level 01
Zaos frowned when he heard that voice, and his concentration was broken. Despite that, he saw his mother smiling in front of him, and she looked pretty proud for some reason.
"You did it on your first try again," Lyra said.
"What was that, mom?" Zaos asked.
"I exercise that mages use, it is like a mental training," Lyra explained. "Once you get better at it, you will be able to imagine yourself using your spells while fighting and thus you will find better ways to use your attacks. Also, that helps you recover your mana faster. Try to meditate every day for one hour and in a few years, you will probably reach a level where you will recover all of your mana several times in a single day."
That seemed too good to be true, but if there was someone, he could trust that someone was his mother. After doing some tests, Zaos confirmed that his Focus increases by one point whenever he is meditating. While that is a temporary buff, the level of Meditation determines how many points of Focus he gains. So, that truly was a helpful technique.
Health: 72/72
Mana: 152/152
Stamina: 82/82
Strength: 36
Magic: 76
Endurance:41
Resistance: 51
Focus: 01+ 01
Sorcery Lv 11, Meditation Lv 03, Swordsmanship Lv 07, Shield Mastery Lv 06
Lesser Heal, Heal, Holy Light, Detoxification, Cold Whisper,
Using and leveling up Meditation was fairly easy, so Zaos managed to level it up once in the next two days. He was taking a liking to that technique. Still, in the end, he had to halt his progress when he heard the gates of the residence being an opening, and with it, he heard the sound of many sets of armor moving. When Zaos opened his eyes, he saw the royal guards escorting two small figures. They were Ameria and Drannor.
"What the hell…" Zaos opened his eyes widely.
Eventually, the royal guards stopped since they only saw a little boy with a wooden sword and his mother taking a nap in a chair. Regardless, it looked like the number of troublesome visitors would increase from now on. Before Zaos could think anything about it, he had to bend his knee. While she was just a kid, she still was the next ruler of the kingdom.
"Your Highness…" Zaos said.
"Stand," Ameria said.
Despite her tone, it looked like Ameria wasn't as angry as before. It was weird considering that Drannor probably had been pestering her for the last ten days. After looking around for a while, Ameria's eyes stopped on Zaos wooden sword. While it wasn't much of a weapon, she was greatly interested in it.
"Drannor said that you two play war almost every day," Ameria said.
"… I believe calling training would be more accurate, Your Highness," Zaos said.
"I want to play too," Ameria said.
"Like I said…" Zaos rolled his eyes and then said.
"It is okay, Zaos," Drannor said. "If all the adults think that we are just playing, then they won't stop us."
What stupid reasoning… as expected of kids. Anyway, maybe it does make sense, but Zaos didn't want to get involved. His life was already too busy, and he didn't need those two to make it even busier. Despite that, he lent his wooden shield and wooden sword to America. Those two can keep themselves busy, Zaos would meditate.