I arrive to find myself among the first to arrive, despite the great distance I was forced to travel.
Lector comes up to me, saying "Ah, I see that you are properly practicing as commanded. That was a rather smooth landing, I must say."
I shrug, saying "How could I not do as commanded? And the landing was not particularly smooth; I almost tripped upon impacting the ground."
"Gah! Why can't you just casually accept even the most basic of compliments?!" Despite his tone, I notice a mischievous grin plastered on his face.
Returning his grin, I say to him "How could I accept any compliment of what I have learned from you? As discussed yesterday, such is simply you complimenting yourself; how may I allow myself to be used merely to stoke your own vanity?"
I think I hear him mumble something profane under his breath, before saying aloud "Cheeky one, aren't you?"
"Only so much as I feel I can get away with," I respond with a grin.
"Grr… Already past that line, you are. Do you remember my demonstration of the extent of the power of elemental manipulation I showed you on our first or second day together? When I formed a cube of metal before cutting it with a sword of flame? Well, go replicate that. I want a perfect replication of that demonstration by the end of today's training, to be shown to the soldiers. Perhaps it will motivate them to try harder. Or, perhaps, it may cause some embarrassment for you. Either way, I win. Now, off you go; I have respectful students to train."
[Heh. Seems I went too far, eh? Still, while it will be very difficult, it is hardly too impossible a task for me to accomplish; and besides, I wanted to further test my abilities today; perhaps I would have even attempted this challenge of my own accord even if it was not assigned. After all, was I not only just thinking of this, his most impressive of demonstrations?]
I set off to do as he commands, determined to have success in this endeavor of mine. To begin with, I form a sword of flame. Though harder than doing so with wind, the process is not nearly so difficult as with metal.
Then, imitating my actions from last night, I summon metal particles before tightly compacting them. While I am able to do so with the experience gained from the night before, it is quite difficult as I am also forced to maintain the two forms.
My mind split between two very complex and difficult spells, I feel the point of magical exhaustion rapidly approaching. Thankfully, I have a copious amount of endurance potions on me, and by drinking one I allow myself to continue without the formations falling apart.
As soon as the metal cube is of acceptable size, I immediately end the spell. Thankfully, the cube does as it ought, holding its form just the way that I made it. [That I am able to focus the whole of my attention on the sword once the cube is formed is a welcome relief. Actually, why not just form the cube first, and, when it can hold its form, release it to work on the sword? Though I suppose Lector did tell me to imitate his demonstration, and in his demonstration he formed both simultaneously… Actually, when I consider it, I formed the sword before focusing on the cube, only working to maintain the sword while working with the metal. Should I do both simultaneously? Of course I should; why ask myself? Lector commanded me to imitate him, I hardly would want to cheat].
Realizing my error, I dispel my sword. I also attempt to tear apart the metal at the elemental particle level, but the process seems rather impossible at my current level of power. The particles have fully bonded together, it is as though they were never minute particles within the air and earth. [Actually, what would be possible if I could actually tear this apart? Could I not also then rip apart organic matter into its base elements, a ruthless method of assault? Or am I misunderstanding the elements of 'elemental manipulation'? These elements are certainly different from the understanding of such on Earth; perhaps they may only be manipulated in their pure form, thus preventing most matter from being torn to shreds? Certainly interesting to consider, though perhaps not a question to be answered in short order].
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I again direct them towards the task at hand. Ignoring the previous cube of formed metal as useless to me, I attempt to shape a sword of flame while forming another metallic cube.
The process is of immense difficulty. So immense, in fact, that my first attempt sends a ball of flames bursting into the air as I lose focus on my blade. Thankfully, or perhaps unfortunately, the class does not even look away from Lector; they have all grown used to my failures sending spells flying about.
[This is REALLY difficult. Still, it feels much more doable than mana shaping, or even multicasting, when I first attempted them. The question is not much whether I will be successful, but rather whether I will manage to pull it off by the time Lector calls me over for a demonstration. Still, failure here is not really an option; though I don't really care much for the opinions of others, particularly soldiers objectively inferior to myself, if I cannot even do something so basic as this, how am I to survive when faced with a real foe, an opponent of equal or greater ability, when on the field of battle?]
That thought in mind, I return to my ever favorite method of ramming my head against the proverbial wall until it crumbles before my sheer effort. Trying again and again, gulping down dozens of endurance potions, facing failure upon failure with determination - such is how I have conquered my problems before, and such is how I shall continue to do so. Some may call such behavior unhealthy; however, when the alternative is a heightened chance of death, how may it be anything but healthy? Is not the pinnacle of health life, with any other accomplishment in the realm unimportant by comparison?
The method works here as well, maintaining its perfect track record. After dozens of failures and with much of my time elapsed, I manage to form a blade of flame and a cube of metal at the same time. After a few dozen more attempts, I feel quite confident in my ability to form them both simultaneously.
Now for one quick test, perhaps something I should have tested before, but oh well. Directing my incorporeal sword, I swing it down at the metal. And… nothing. The metal fully blocks the blade, and besides for some gradual deformation on its surface, the cube holds firm. [Dang it! This is why we check things beforehand!]
Judging by the position of the sun, I have under an hour remaining to finish. Performing a series of quick tests, I determine the degree of compression I will need on my blade to properly cut in a similar way to what was demonstrated.
Once the issue is worked out, I quickly return to practicing. The change in required compression means that I need to form the sword in a different way than I had been practicing, with different degrees of compression along the blade than previously, and even a different quantity of source material.
Still, I am rather confident in being able to have mastered this new design, given about an hour. So when my master calls me over after only twenty minutes or so, I am rather unhappy. Though I had had some success, the process is not so smooth nor so consistent as I would like. Still, when time runs out, only one's best work may be put forth.
After I hear Lector calling my name, proudly calling out "Anetor, come and give the unbelievers a demonstration of the power of elemental manipulation!" I go over to him.
Utilizing a strong blast of wind, I am to his side in an instant. "I am hardly capable of demonstrating even a fraction of what may be accomplished with so broad and capable a field as elemental manipulation, but I hope you will allow me to demonstrate the gains anyone may have with a few months of hard work in the field."
They seem a bit unhappy with the implication that they are failures for only reaching their current state with all the time to train that they have had, but, hey, nothing I said was particularly unfair, right?
"As a demonstration, I will attempt to imitate my master's display as to the power of compression, though, as I now know, the compression element of the demonstration was hardly the most difficult or impressive of its aspects. Now, behold!"
I feel that my delivery is about right, though it is not often that I speak to a group of a size greater than one. I had actually briefly considered sneaking in a line about only starting practicing a few hours ago, with intent to direct any heat from failure in Lector's direction. Still, I fear that such behavior would bring more trouble than it could possibly be worth, so I refrain from doing so.
Doing as I have practiced, I simultaneously begin to shape a cube of metal and a sword of flame. I had made sure to drink an endurance potion before starting, so I am at my peak condition. If this is to be successful, now is the time.
A drop of sweat rolls down my face as I compress the elements into the desired shapes, taking special care to compress the metal to the necessary extent for it to hold its form. Thankfully, I am able to maintain focus on the process from the start, and the formation is a success, leaving only the primary task of cutting the cube. Ignoring the stares I can feel upon me, I direct the sword to swing into the cube. To my relief, the sword passes through, leaving two halves of the cube to separate from one another.
Once I note that my effort has been a success, I allow my sword to dissipate and glance at Lector. Seeing that he has a satisfied expression upon his face, I turn to the other soldiers. The awe I am looking for is sadly not there, with the soldiers seeming rather unimpressed with the demonstration.
One of them speaks up then, saying "Yeah, we all saw the commander do the same thing. It's cool that the sword is compressed enough to cut through metal and all, but any of us fire mages could surely do the same if we had only been taught the art of mana shaping."
Realizing then that they don't yet realize the difficulty of mana shaping, I can only laugh. "Should you ever learn to put effort into your training, you may someday realize the greatness of this accomplishment. As of yet, you are simply too foolish, too incompetent, to understand the significance of the combined arts of mana shaping, mana compression, multicasting, elemental conjoinment, and even mana projection that you have seen brought together before you."
While handing out insults to those weaker than me is hardly my usual manner of conduct, I figure that this will aid in Lector's goal of motivating them to work harder. And so, if doing so aids Lector, why not demonstrate a fraction of the capability of my acerbic tongue?
The soldier before me, and those around him, do not take my insults too kindly. The one who had spoken previous sputters out "Y-you dare?! I am a noble of the house of Elren, in service to the house of Alinion, a trusted ally of the house of Eroen itself! You, a mere slave, dare insult me!" - at this he turns to Lector - "I demand that you notify the administrators here immediately of this insult! A slave insulting nobility, such cannot go unpunished!"
[He seems pretty proud of that insignificant relation to this Eroen house, so I can only assume that it refers to the one ruling over this kingdom. Still, I doubt that such a weak relation means anything. His family's role is merely that of a servant's servant, and considering his age, which can't be any greater than twenty, he likely has little power within his family. So, in the end, this is all blustering foolishness. Still, he IS a noble, so I would perhaps do well to be more careful when around him in the future].
Lector's response is about in line with what I would expect, and I am honestly impressed with the idiocy of this noble if he thought it would be anything else.
"Silence! The comments of Anetor, who, I may remind you, is my apprentice and the receiver of the name I granted him, are completely accurate. Your slow rate of growth is due to your failure to show appropriate dedication to your studies. When you started here, many of you already had experience in magic. Yet, you have been drastically overtaken by a man with no prior training or experience in said field. Your failures are incredibly evident and rest on your shoulders alone."
"Drastically overtaken, you say?! Our training prior to coming here was in straight magic, the superior of magics and that which you have neglected to teach us to any acceptable degree! In effect we had no advantage at all in the mostly useless and archaic elemental manipulation branch of magic! And he has had great advantage since then, training under your tutelage with no restriction whereas we have naught but a handful of hours to learn each day! And besides, these skills, while perhaps beyond our own, aren't a useful measurement of power anyway! Beyond being a slave, he can't even use the superior form of magic, he is worthless. I bet that I, with the skills in straight magic taught to me by my home tutor, could defeat him and his weaker methods with ease!"
I glance to Lector, expecting him to continue his mediation, but he only nods to me, as though to indicate that I should continue on.
"Are you sure about that?" I inquire.
He turns back to me, with an irritated look. "I was talking to your master, slave, but I will still deign to answer you foolish question. Of course I am sure of my ability to squash a little bug like you!"
"Really? Prove it."
Apparently understanding what I have in mind, he snorts. "Like I would sink so low as to honor you with a duel. Even after your death, you would owe me a hundred more lives for the opportunity."
"Heh heh. Scared? Too much of a coward to even step on a bug? Do you call for mommy when a cockroach skitters across your family's hut on your masters' land?"
If he was angry before, he would now be best described as byond infuriated. "You!!!" he cries out, eyes bulging out of their sockets, teeth bared.
"Now. That's not a very noble expression, is it? Does your mother not tell you off for making such childish faces, when she is not serving your master?"
"Fine! I will give you what you supposedly want! I will rip out your tendons and relish in your screams! I will dig your teeth from their gums, gouge your eyes from their sockets, and pour lead down your throat!"
"Are you challenging me to a duel?" I ask calmly.
"Are you dense?! I, Altorneth, of the house of Elron, challenge you to a duel! You shall live to regret your ways, wallowing in pain until your death!"
"Very well then. As the receiver of the challenge, I declare that the duel shall be fought with whatever methods we each desire to use, no restrictions.The stakes shall be our lives, and the time shall be now. Are these terms acceptable?"
I had briefly considered setting the duel to be swords only, so as to lock in my victory even further. However, the primary aim of this duel is to provide further motivation to these lazy soldiers, to inspire them to do better in their training, and others would not be motivated to work harder if they saw a swordsman battering down a mage. I still wanted to use my sword in the fight, however, so the methods to be used are not in any way limited.
"Very well! I shall greatly enjoy ripping you to shreds, ending your miserable existence! And don't even think of trying to use your master's power to obtain victory!" he adds, eyeing Lector with mistrust.
Lector responds, saying "I see not why my apprentice would need my aid, but rest assured that he shall receive none. I will officiate the duel. Now, everyone, clear out, make some space. He shoos everyone away, leaving only Altorneth and myself. [Altorneth and Anetor… pretty similar names, I must say. I hope Lector wasn't thinking of this obnoxious student when naming me].