It was a bit anticlimactic that I didn't have to journey to the depths of a volcano or the top of the highest mountain to find the Manual, but it was very comfortable.
Having already learned the Manual, making the physical tome dematerialize and disappear, all that was left was to practice it.
As its disappearance left me with a somewhat clear notion of what it made me able to do, I was eager to start experimenting.
The Manual was pretty much what I assumed elemental manipulation to be, but on steroids, as long as the user found intricate and efficient ways of using it.
This was also one of the reasons I hesitated to learn it. I was pretty sure that the mist element didn't carry a lot of offensive capabilities, thus it was translated to my Side Manual being the same. However, now I was certain that it could be worth it as long as I made up for it by strengthening my body and practicing using the scythe.
Getting up from my bed, I called out sub-me, my second body who carried the same childish glee that I did.
"Let's begin!"
"Yes!"
Sub-me walked with confidence, excited about seeing what I would be able to do as it sat down in front of the computer to cram information about an animal.
At the same time, I took my main body to the practice room and started to try and get a feel of the mist inside of me.
Having read up a bit about elemental manipulation, I concluded that the biggest difference between it and mana manipulation was the fact that one needed to carry out a conversion process before using one's element.
You could compare it to having to compress raw data before converting it to another digital format, as to finally uploading it to the internet.
My skill [Conjure] pretty much automated this process for me, leaving me with only having to call out my mist and forming it to my desire, as long as it was within the realm of my understanding.
It was mostly a matter of efficiency, both in the speed of conjuring the phenomena but also in terms of waste of energy. Both of which were improved if I used my skill.
Putting my hand out, parallel to the floor, I began with caution, not wanting to accidentally empty all my mana instantly.
A small grayish cloud of mist concealed my hand from the world, with even myself not able to see it. The mana expenditure was divided into two parts, one larger consumption as I conjured the mist and when that was done, there was a continuous drain every second.
Concealment, deliquescence, and intangibility were the main characteristics of the element. Concealment as it blocked the eyes of spectators, deliquescence as it appeared as suddenly as it disappeared, and intangibility as it had the shared nature of its sibling; The wind.
These three things were what I needed to keep in mind when trying to create my automated elemental skills that would get ingrained into my being, as well as the attributes I had to control when I used my mist more freely.
Injecting more mana into the small cloud of mist, I enlarged it into a dome with a circumference of two meters, making it occupy the space in every direction around me. This time, I could feel a tangible loss of mana as it grew outwards and a somewhat severe cost per second to uphold it.
My first goal in manipulating my mist was just this, creating an area of mist where my presence couldn't be seen or felt by anyone outside of it, buying me time to plan another move in case I was in danger or to launch a surprise attack at an enemy.
'Thinking about it, I haven't even sparred anyone yet. I wonder how a real fight feels? I guess it's natural though, what kind of earthling would just instantly acclimate to the different culture and be comfortable with fighting?'
****
[Sophie's Pov]
In the end, we ended up on the sparring grounds again because Arthur got fired up as he thought about how hard James was working. Or at least because of how hard he said he was training. I still wasn't sure if I trusted him about his talks about training, it was not like he had shown anything except for that teleportation skill.
Having changed his pants into the black slacks that were part of the uniform, Arthur was now smiling brightly at me, ready for another session of getting his ass kicked. "I'm ready!"
Smiling back at him, I also made myself ready to fight. I had stopped bothering to [Dragonize] my hands though, as it was overkill because of the difference in our stats. That was not to say that I didn't overwhelm him with skill, I was clearly the more skillful out of us, something I could only attribute some kind of inner instinct I must have been granted by the god who reformed my body.
"Come at me then!"
With my shout acting as a trigger, he dashed toward me, not afraid of me getting hurt even though he was using a real longsword. Using the momentum of his dash, he stabbed out with his sword toward my chest.
Seeing his telegraphed movement, it was easy for me to turn my body and return the favor by aiming a right-handed punch at his face. Somehow, the feeling of flesh against my hand never came.
"Ho?"
Arthur had managed to crouch down, dodging my punch and setting himself in a pretty good position as he swung his sword upwards towards me. There was no time for me to dodge this, so I had no choice but to quickly [Dragonize] my hands and catch the sword in my left hand.
Feeling a bit annoyed that he had improved so much in just a couple of days that he forced me to use my skill when I previously overwhelmed him, I sent him away by punching his stomach with my right hand, resulting in Arthur getting flying a couple of meters before landing on the ground.
"Ugh!"
During our week at the academy, I had already gotten over hurting him as it now felt like I was helping him by sparring with him. There was also the fact that no matter how hard I punched him, he always got up with a smile on his face. Just like he did this time as well.
"Hehehe! You transformed your hands! That must mean I got stronger!"
It was almost scary how much progress he had made after just a couple of days, especially when reminding myself of the fact that I was also making a lot of progress every day. There was obviously a very valid reason why he was the hero of the story.
However, I wasn't angry at the fact that he was improving freakishly fast. On the contrary, I was more than happy! It didn't take long at all for him to start showing signs of what he would become in the future.
"You did, Arthur! I told you, you will be strong as long as you continue working hard! Let's go again!"
Raising my draconic paws in front of me like Mr. Brown had shown me, I prepared myself for another bout of sparring as I knew that Arthur wouldn't give up so easily. When he got up from the ground and raised his weapon in a classic swordsman position, I was the one to go on the offensive this time, also eager to try a new trick of mine.
'[Draconic Strength]'
Empowering my body through my skill, I also added some extra mana into my legs to further the enhancement before I launched myself forward. The result was that I pretty much jumped horizontally all the way to Arthur, who in turn didn't expect the sudden shift in momentum and got caught off guard.
Taking advantage of the opening, I sent out a right uppercut toward his chest but was once again surprised as he managed to squeeze his sword in front of him just in time to block it. Although he was still sent upwards and back, he landed on his feet, quickly steadying himself, and dashed forward.
Mimicking his movement his weapon and my right claws met in the center of us, creating a temporary stalemate. I did, however, carry an overwhelming advantage in this position as I still had my left hand free to try and grab him. Seeing that he was in danger, he used his right leg and kicked off from my thighs, and sent himself backward.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't have time to fix his posture before kicking off, making him fall on his back in front of me. The next second I was towering over him and sent my right fist downwards toward his face.
*Bam!*
Of course, I didn't actually hit him with that attack, I was not a savage. Instead, I had sent my fist into the ground just a couple of centimeters away from his head to show that I had won the spar. Looking down, Arthur was half-smiling and half-pouting because I had once again defeated him.
"You really are too strong, Sophie."
Inspecting his smiling face just about ten centimeters away from my own, I felt my face flush as my heart started to flutter. In order to not get arrested for indecent acts on public ground, I quickly stood up, while at the same time giving him a hand and lifting him up, with my face still mimicking a cherry.
"Don't worry Arthur. You said it yourself, right? You have already gotten a lot stronger!"
Scratching the back of his head, his face also gained a tint of red as he was embarrassed by my praise. "Thank you, Sophie. Oh, look at the time! If we were going out to town we should start moving I think, or we won't be able to find a restaurant to eat at!"
Yes. It was time. This was my first real date with Arthur! It was just sad that he didn't know that...