Chapter 2: Training (Part 2)
The combat training came to a halt.
"You," The knight captain singled me out, "Are you really a Hero?"
"…." I turned toward him but didn't make eye contact, "why do you ask?"
"Because you're weak." It was an extremely blunt reply. "You ran far less laps than the others, you couldn't even swing the practice sword fifteen times and you even failed to reach any of the physical standards we use to train children."
"It's because I'm a magician…."
He scoffed, "Even the old men who read books all day are stronger than you. I even allowed you the use of body reinforcement as a 'magician' but even that you failed."
"I'm a highly specialised magician." I was getting slightly angry now. He was ranting his head off and the other Heroes had begun to look at me in pity.
"Ha? In what way?"
"I was born weak and for whatever reason I can't use any physical reinforcement type magic. However I was also born with what my master called 'incredible' mana control and capacity." I was giving away some of my weaknesses but they would have been uncovered anyway if I wanted to continue to play Hero. Everything I said was true, it was just that my strengths far outweighed my weakness.
"I don't believe you or this 'master'. You're weak and don't deserve the title of Hero. Head home before you die a dog's death."
I had the feeling that he was told to say that to me in some way regardless of what I did. It probably came under the King's plan to get rid of me. If I gave up, all the better for him to get closer to the Heroes. Unfortunately for him, knowing that just made me feel all the more annoyed.
"Boulder."
"What?"
"Bring over that boulder. In fact bring one ten times bigger if you want to." I glared at him in challenge.
His expression turned into a solid smirk and he turned to the knights nearby, "You heard him get a boulder, in fact get the 'big' one."
They ran from sight and quickly returned with a giant clump of rock that was larger in size than the first. It wasn't as round and I felt sorry for the knights who had to transport it in a hurry.
"Go on then 'Davios' try your best. If you can even nick a peace of it off I ma-,"
"Obliterate." I clicked my fingers and the boulder exploded into hundreds of small chunks. It was only after I blew it up that I realised it wasn't just made of rock. It was harder than that, there were metals and magic mixed in as well. The Knight Captain was standing aghast. Crap, this guy had tried to rile me up so he switched it with something an ordinary magician (like me) should have no way of blowing up. Because I was actually annoyed I had taken it seriously, it would have had the same affect if it was just rock but it also would have the same affect if it was solid iron….
"How… how did you," the knight captain was stuttering, he looked at me.
I immediately collapsed to my knees and feigned pain. "Argh!"
"Dave?" Carl yelled and came to my side.
"You…" I pretended to heave, "that wasn't… just a… rock."
"What's wrong?"
"Too much… effort. No mana left." I squirmed in false discomfort.
"Hey what the hell were you thinking?" Carl yelled at the Knight Captain. "Test or not don't you think you're taking this too far!?"
"I didn't think he could do it," was all the Knight Captain could say.
"Well obviously he did." Carl carried me into the shade as the other Heroes came around. "You okay?"
"No," I croaked.
"Is there a doctor here?" Alicia called to the knights but before they could react the Court Magician from earlier arrived at my side.
"He's fine," he said simply.
"Are you sure?" Sayuri asked a little frightened at my condition.
"He just used too much mana and caused his body to enter a depleted state. Right now it's trying to regain mana from anywhere possible. A painful state but he'll recover soon enough. In fact it is a good example for what not to do."
"So we just leave him alone?" Gary asked.
"Take him somewhere to rest and ensure he drinks something to revitalise him. The servants can guide you."
"Gary help me out," Carl held up one side of my body. With that the Heroes and I slowly made our way elsewhere. I turned back to see the Court Magician holding a piece of the boulder I had exploded. He glanced back at me with interest. I was incredibly tempted to wink at him but right now, I was meant to be tired.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Carl asked me as we sat down. It had been an hour since my 'accident' and we were now preparing to be taught magic.
"I'm fine," I smiled reassuringly. Out of all the Heroes Carl was definitely the most caring, and the best thing about it was that it was natural with no ulterior motive. That kind of personality though would be incredibly easy to control, I'd have to make sure he didn't get too close to the King.
"Maybe you should rest some more. It's not like you need to learn magic from the beginning like us."
"No, I still have a lot to learn and learning from a different master could help me all the more."
"Fine, but if you're feeling sick again just call me." Carl finally let it go and sat attentively waiting for our teacher to come in.
We were in a large room with a desk and chair for each of us. There were books lining one wall and plenty of space to practice low scale magic. The room itself held some resistance to magic. In the case anything went wrong it should remain intact. The method they used to do so was different from the magic I was taught. Coming to the human side was definitely a good idea. Not only could I watch over the Heroes but I could learn firsthand their techniques as well. I had to wonder if I could blow up the room and how much effort that would take.
A voice interrupted my musing, "Dave, how is this going to work?" It was Alicia. I looked at her confused and she continued, "I mean, we've never used magic before so how do we do it."
I rubbed my chin in thought. I was pretty much born into mana so I had the natural disposition since a baby. "There are a few ways."
"Like?" Gary leaned closer as Sayuri noticeably did as well.
Before I could answer someone entered the room. I barely hid my dismay, it was that damn Court Magician.
"To answer that question, there are two main ways." He strode naturally to the front of the room. Come to think of it I never described this guy. For one, he was quite old. Probably in his late sixties, he had a stiff brown beard and sharp calculating eyes. To symbolise his position he wore a blue robe trimmed with gold unlike the ordinary magicians that had theirs trimmed black. He certainly looked the part and continued, "The first way is to understand mana. This can take weeks or even months of study as you realise its connection to you and the world. That method however is much too slow. The method we will use involves something more invasive."
"Invasive how?" Alicia's expression went pale.
"Perhaps we can have our own resident magician explain." He looked at me.
I cleared my throat. He was testing me. What kind of knowledge did I have compared to my ability. "Forced exertion of ones mana to the internal circuit of another. It forcefully connects one to mana but can be fatal if done on one not suitable to the amount or purity that is injected. Unfortunately, while it may be the quickest method it is also incredibly painful."
"And you're planning to do that to us?" Carl asked.
"Yes," the Court Magician replied easily.
"Then are you also the one who will be teaching us?" Gary was unfazed so far. In fact he was more excited than anything else.
"At first I had not intended to but after seeing the talent you displayed today, I have decided to take a personal interest in your growth." His eyes flashed towards me. "My name is Antonio Heafest of the Falling Rock. You may refer to me as Master Heafest. Now who shall be first?"
Three out of the four of them hesitated, Gary raised his hand with a wicked grin.
"I'm game."
"Hang on!" Alicia grabbed his hand, "Didn't you hear what Dave said? Pain, and lots of it. Not to mention the whole death thing."
"You need not worry about death at least," Heafest began. "As a Hero you have incredible capacity for mana even without training. The pain however, I can only guess to how much it may be."
"Dave how did you learn magic?" Carl asked.
"I did it the normal long way," I lied. It was more of the instant, I can use magic way.
Gary moved away from Alicia and towards Heafest, "Well we all have to go through this anyway. Lay it on me."
"Very well." Heafest laid his hand on Gary's shoulder. I detected a single sharp impulse of mana. In my eyes Gary lit up as if on fire. Then he collapsed to his knees. "Oh, that's surprising. Truly as expected from a Hero."
"Garr are you okay?" Alicia rushed to him.
"I'm fine. It hurt for a few seconds but," Gary's eyes lit up, "I'm just amazed. So this is mana…. I feel so alive. I feel like I could do anything right now."
"You really can't," I smiled wryly, "what you're feeling is what we call 'first time glory'. Calm down, you'd be surprised how many people almost kill themselves. Think about what happened to me before but worse." He stiffened as he was brought back to reality.
"Then I will be next," Sayuri stood up and took Gary's place while Alicia helped him back to his seat.
The Heroes really were a force to be feared. The rate at which they began to control mana was astonishing. Even though they only began to learn the basics of magic, they were able to use multiple spells and techniques that would take a prodigy a week to learn. They were learning at a faster rate than I had. Though really I was three years old at the time. Eventually they would hit a cap to their development but I feared where that point may be. Right now they were weak. Right now I could kill them as easily as clicking my fingers but in the future? If all of them attacked me at once, I may just lose.
"Dave, what's with the long face?" Carl asked with a stretch. We were back in our chambers and currently relaxing after dinner.
"Nothing important, I'm just surprised at how fast you're learning," I answered easily.
Gary stuck out his chest full of pride, "We are Heroes."
Gary in particular had done well in today's class in magic and the temptation to take him down a peg rose within me. I didn't need to however as his sister knocked him into the couch.
"Don't get a big head, Dave could easily squish us if he wanted," she said bluntly. Well she was right.
"Dave wouldn't do that though," Gary laughed. I just stared at him. "Oi, don't do that. It looks like you're actually thinking about it." Well I was before, so he was close.
"Though at times like this, after a hard day's work, watching some TV would be so good," Alicia stretched and sank deeper into the couch, "Though here I guess that's impossible."
"TV?" I'd never heard of it before. Was it some kind of entertainment?
"It's like a box where you watch things," Carl tried to answer.
"You mean like observational magic?"
"Ah no, you watch shows or play games on it."
"So do you mean like going to watch a play?"
"Kind of, but it's in front of you."
"… I see." I turned to Sayuri who had been silent, "Do you watch 'TV' as well?"
"Yeah, a lot with my family," she answered sadly. Eugh, I set off a bomb that time.
"Who knows then maybe we can replicat-," A sudden tinge alerted me of someone else's presence. Two perpetrators not belonging to any of the servants or knights nearby. They were hiding just outside the walls. For whatever reason they were undetected by the knights.
"Dave?" Carl waved his hand in front of me.
"Ah nothing. Actually I have something similar to those cards you were talking about before. I'll go get them." I turned away and went to my room while they chatted.
"Oh nice, there's nothing like a good game of cheat."
"Cheat? I prefer poker. What about you Sayuri?"
"Sevens."
I entered my room and as soon as I did the two targets shifted to the shadows outside my window. The window was sealed shut but that wouldn't stop them I was sure. I pretended to drop my guard and crouch down looking inside the cupboard. There was an ever so slight shift in mana. They had phased through the wall. A high level technique for sure and to do so without alerting the guards, they must be quite skilled. They took a silent step closer, a knife coated in poison poised to strike. The knife thrust down but there it stopped a foot from my back.
"Unfortunately for you, you messed with the wrong man," I turned to them with a wicked grin. They immediately tried to back away but their bodies were held in place. Magic locked them solidly and all they could do was squirm under my control. I floated them in front of me as I sat down on the bed. With a flick their masks fell off. Both men in their thirties. Their eyes lit in determination to finish the job.
"Speak, who sent you, the King?" I asked.
"There's no point talking to a dead man," one said in a whispered anger.
"Ah uh, wrong answer." A finger on his left hand snapped backwards and a scream of suppressed pain filled the room. "That was loud. You're lucky I have this room sealed from noise. Now who sent you?"
"We don't know, it's just a job," the other one said.
"Liar," this time they both had a finger broken. "Please, I've been avoiding assassins for years. Don't think I don't feel you trying to break free. Two people of your skill would either be under the personal use of a country or smart enough to get the dirt on your employer."
"We're not going to tell you anything."
"Just so you know, I can do much more than break your fingers." My eyes began to darken as I stared into theirs. Fear me. Although no visual source of magic appeared. Their minds were being sent into a turmoil of apprehension as all their worst memories were being filled by me. Their expressions paled but that wasn't enough, it wasn't enough to break them. "Leg," There was snap followed by a scream, "Right arm," another scream. "Don't mistake me I don't like doing this. It's just that when someone who tries to kill me won't give in, I have to be a little more forceful. Now speak before I decide on which organ to fry from the inside."
The two looked at each other. The one in charge shook his head but the other looked at my approaching hand in terror. I pointed at his chest.
"Hmm, heart? No you'd die too soon. Kidney? Ah yes I heard you only need one of those. Let's start with that."
"The Klerical Kingdom sent us!" he screamed.
I smiled, "That wasn't so hard was it? Now explain why."
"We don't kno-," the other one began but I forced his mouth shut.
"Continue."
"It was to kill the Heroes," he spoke feverishly.
"I got that fact. Why would the Klerical Kingdom want to kill the Heroes?"
"I'm not sure…."
"Really? That's a shame. Goodbye kidney."
"No wait please! I- I think they said it was to diminish Elsbeth. I even heard talk that if the Heroes died then they could force Elsbeth to let them summon their own."
"…." To think that the human Kingdoms were that fractured. I could use this later. But why wouldn't the Klerical Kingdom just summon their own Heroes? No, they couldn't. It should only be possible to summon one set of Heroes at a time. If the Heroes under Elsbeth's protection died, then they could force them to allow their Kingdom to do the next summoning. From what I knew the two Kingdoms were almost equal in power.
"Now please let me go."
"Well I won't kill you at least." I turned to the other assassin, "As for you. I'll use you as an example."
"What are you trying?" he groaned as I positioned him to the door.
"Training," I smiled and sent him flying through the door into the lounge. He smacked into the far wall. I heard the Heroes yell in panic and surprise as I jumped out of my room. "It's an assassin, get back!"
"You bastard," the assassin glowered at me but switched targets to the other Heroes. A knife appeared in his hands. The Heroes were frozen stiff, Sayuri was the worst by far. Even with her determination the real thing was scary. Alicia reacted first and covered Sayuri. Gary jumped in front of his sister and finally Carl jumped in front of Gary. None of them took any real action to defend themselves.
"Like I'd let you!" I yelled dramatically. As the knife flew from his hand lances made from ice pierced his arms and legs to the wall. Another hit the knife in mid-air. The man yelled in pain but looked at me with a crazy smirk.
"Defile thy servant."
"What?" A sudden wave of mana came from behind and in front of me. He was trying to blow himself up. Tch, if the Heroes saw something that gruesome their resolve would crumble. "Halt!" I directly interfered with the spell. His eyes rolled back into his head as his skin and muscles squirmed in a crazed jig finally ending with a brief spasm signalling the end of his life. I managed to stop the explosion in time but I had been too careless. I looked back into my room to see the other assassin in a similar state.
"Dave did you… did you kill them?" Alicia asked shaken.
"No, they killed themselves," I replied coldly, angry at myself for letting them slip.
The door leading to the corridor to the Palace burst open. Knights charged in.
"What's happening in here?" They quickly scanned the room.
"Assassins sent to kill us," I explained.
"Are you hurt?"
"No, they attacked me in my room first. Thankfully I was able to fend them off. It seems however that they sensed you coming and took their own lives."
"Thank the high heavens that you are safe," the knight sighed in relief. "Casper contact Captain Rafhound. The rest of you clear the bodies and check the area. Servants see to the Heroes."
It was a rush of movement. People came and went, however the King was kept safe elsewhere. For assassins to make it so far into the palace was a shock indeed. The guard was doubled and Heafest interrogated me as to what happened. I explained with half the truth but left out the information I had learned. I'm sure that they could make their own assumptions. If I told them what I knew, war could break out. Even if they were my 'enemies', war meant the loss of innocent lives and that was never my goal. The Heroes were startled more than I had expected. Apparently seeing someone die in front of them was a shocking event. Well that much was obvious at least, it just seems their world was more pacifistic than I had earlier thought. Even with my father and grandfather being so peaceful, I had still killed someone before the age of ten. It was that or be killed myself, and the Heroes just learnt that lesson as I had intended.
Finally it began to calm down and I sat with the Heroes on the couch.
"Dave," Sayuri began, her words were hesitant and I was pretty sure it was the first time she had called my name.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for saving us." The others also nodded and said the same.
"It wasn't much. Right now you're weak but save me one day and I'll call it even," I smiled ignoring the fact that the source of their encounter was me. Then again, if I wasn't here what would have happened?
"No umm, it really is a lot. I mean you just saved our lives," Carl said.
"We're all Heroes here. It's just right now I'm stronger than you. If you want to pay me back, get stronger so I won't have to look out for you so much!"
"Yes!" they yelled together. A new determination lit in their souls. Thinking about it that may have been a bad thing for me to say. I just urged on my potential killers. Ah whatever, what's the worst that could happen? For now I would just continue to play Hero.