After having breakfast inside his room along with his mother, Alan left his room and headed towards the training grounds.
"No good, I won't be able to train here." Alan mumbled as he saw the many members of the dragon clan currently sparring on the training ground.
Although training with the others would be more proficient than training alone, he decided to leave quietly as there were many techniques, he wanted to use that could not be witnessed by others for the time being.
After watching the trainings of the members of the dragon clan sparring for some time, Alan turned and left the training grounds of the dragon clan that was getting overly crowded and filled with the sounds of clashing of metal, along with the sound of the shouting of the members of the dragon clan as they trained their sword.
Alan instead preferred to train somewhere alone out of sight, so he headed to the garden located on the rear of the mansion.
As golden rays of the sun shone brightly in the azure sky, it was still very early in the morning, as the lingering cold night air still persisted on the outside.
The ground was slightly dampened, and the scent of the wet plant filled his nose, from the rain that had fell during the night.
"I shouldn't be able to attract anyone's attention out here. And using techniques not found in the dragon clan could get me in a lot of trouble." He muttered as he gazes at the garden filled with various kinds of plants.
Alan walked towards an area where he had plenty of rooms to move about unhindered. A fountain of clear silver water sprayed occasionally, sprinkling in the lawn which was filled with a vast greenery of grass.
"Akane, are you awake?" He called out.
[....]
However, even after waiting for several minutes he got no response from her. He tried calling out to her several times, but no reply.
"Did something happen?" He wondered. Usually, she would respond to him as soon as he called out to her. His brow furrowed slightly in concern.
However, despite that, Alan materialize Akane in her sword form and began swinging his sword. Even if her consciousness was asleep, he still had access to her sword form.
Soon, the sound of his blade cutting through the air resounded as his body moved gracefully like that of a rose petal fluttering in the wind, but the movements of his swing was vastly different from his usual movements.
Instead of practicing his own unique style of swordsmanship, he used the sword style of the dragon clan. The swordsmanship of the dragon clan consists of three different movements techniques. A dragon must be strong and fierce.
The dragon clan had a special technique only members of their clan can use, a technique used solely to strengthen the physical body and brings out greater physical prowess of the human body.
With the strengthen of the physical body, the user can put more force into their swing.
Even allowing them to cut through a wooden tree with ease. The sun clan was a clan who specialized in utilizing the magical power, so their physical prowess was no different from an ordinary human. Despite that, the destructive attacks of the sun clan were far superior to that of the dragon clan.
While the moon clan also specialized in their own unique magic similarly to the sun clan.
The dragon clan was the only clan who prioritized raw, physical power over magical attacks.
Using the method, he had learnt from his grandpa Cole Alan used his spiritual energy to strengthen his physical body. A white radiance covered his body in a faint light as he felt an extremely pleasant warmth suddenly filled his body.
"So, this is the technique used for body strengthening in the dragon clan." He muttered as he gazes at his hand which kept radiating spiritual energy. Although it wasn't as good as his "Spiritual body physique" The boost to his physical body was no joke. Even now he could feel his entire flesh and muscles strengthening rapidly.
'Though, it's a shame it's limited to only physical strengthening. If it had given me a boost to my body's natural recovery and reflexes, I might decide to use it as my primary source of enchantment.' He thought inwardly.
Soon, the sound of stirring wind resounded continuously.
As Alan continued to swing his sword, his muscles tightened and swelled with each swing. The blade of his sword moved so fast that it was impossible to discern the shape of the blade!
Alan then got into a stance with his sword braced tightly in his hand and did a fast series of thrust, his form was straight and his posture upright.
His attack was as elegant and refined as someone who had practiced the sword their entire life.
After performing his thrust Alan spun his body skillfully and swung his sword in a wide horizontal swing, the wind stirred noisily as his blade drew an arc in the air. He continued to swing his sword even as the muscles in his arms began to ache from the strain of strengthening his physical body passed its natural limits.
It was only after swinging his sword nonstop for almost three hours, did Alan finally lowered his sword and took a breath.
Although his physical prowess was limited to those of ordinary mortals, with the right amount of training, he felt like he could hold his own against those who possess divine blessings.
However, he had no confidence in defeating them in a frontal clash.
"Haah... I think I have trained enough." He mumbled as he wipes his brow which was covered in beads of sweats. Trisa who was dressed in her usual black and white maid attire, had appeared at some point during his training, waited patiently for his training to reach its end, before she approached him from behind as she offered him a bottle of cold water.
"... Thank you!" Alan said cheerfully as he accepted the bottle of water and gulped it all down. After drinking for a few seconds, he gasps cutely as he felt a feeling as though he was just reborn.
"He hehe... You seem to be working hard." Trisa's lips curved upwards as her hand covered her lips and she giggled cutely. Hearing her words Alan could only put on an awkward smile.
"Ahaha... I train because I want to get as strong as possible." Alan answered easily as his grip on his sword became strong and firm.
That's how it's always been. Only with strength will he be able to keep moving forward.
Only with strength will he be able to protect those who he wishes to protect.
Remembering his house being consume in flames while he stood unable to do anything only motivated him to keep pursuing greater power. His desire for strength was insatiable!
A fierce gleam shone in Alan's emerald, green eyes as a look of determination filled his face, he will cut down all those who stands in his way, that was how it was back when he was Ellard, and that's how it will remain even now.
Trisa's golden eyes shone faintly as she saw the glint in his eyes, something a boy of his age should not have. "Oya, I do wonder why you are so determined to become stronger; will you enlighten big sis here?" Trisa smiled faintly as she asked, her voice laced with curiosity.
"... Because there is someone I wish to protect." He answered, vaguely. However, Trisa's eyes widen and, for a moment, she even doubted her ears. "... Someone you wish to protect, whom might that be?"
"Sorry, I can't say." Alan responded, shaking his head. He couldn't tell her he was the strongest knight of the goddess. His expression was completely uninterested as he turned her down bluntly.
"Eh, come on! You can't leave me in the dark after revealing such juicy information!" Trisa complained, as she swung her arms in a frenzy. The corners of Alan's lips trembled as he gazes at her throwing a tantrum like a spoiled child.
Suddenly, Trisa's eyes lit up as though she had come to some kind of realization and immediately held onto Alan's shoulders, which startled him.
"Big sister, is something wrong?" Alan's brow twitches as he asked overwhelmed by her zeal. "Don't tell me you are training in order to protect lady Elena?" Trisa said with sparkling eyes. "..." Alan gaze at her dumbfoundedly with his mouth agape. 'How did she jump to that conclusion?' He wondered.
[He hehe... It's never boring with this girl.] Akane's slightly exasperated voice resounded inside his head. She had been in a deep sleep until now.
'Oh, you're awake, should I say good morning?' Alan asked. After materializing into her physical form, she ended up using up her spiritual energy and ended up falling into a deep slumber. Finally, after absorbing Alan's spiritual energy she had recovered.
Even though she could now materialize freely, staying in a physical form constantly spent her spiritual energy.
Unlike magical energy which can be found in the atmosphere, spiritual energy was a type of energy that can only be found in the soul.
Spiritual energy was connected to the life force of all living beings, so completely depleting one's spiritual energy could potentially harm the vitality if the user is not careful.
Thankfully this rule does not apply to Akane as a natural spirit born from spiritual energy, so her life was never in any kind of danger.
But even so, Alan could not stop worrying about her when he notices she was not responding to his call.
'You weren't answering me, so I got worried.' Alan said, with a serious expression etched on his face. Losing Akane would be a great blow to his emotional state, as not only was she his greatest source of power, but his greatest emotional support as well.
Akane became silent after hearing his words. Maybe it was because she could feel the sincerity in his words, but her soft pink lips subconsciously curved upwards into a crescent shape. Her smile alone was enough to enchant any who are lucky enough to witness it. Unfortunately, Akane was currently residing within Alan's soul, it was impossible for him to see it.
[Sorry, for worrying you.]
Hearing her words of apology, the corners of Alan's lips curved upwards. 'Don't worry about it.' He replied inwardly.
"Hey, tell me already." Trisa pouted as she continued to pressure Alan for an answer. 'How persistent.' He thought.
"Cough, no... I don't particularly have any kind of special feelings for her." Alan said somewhat indifferently as he pushed Trisa's body back who had been clinging to his small body until now.
However, at that moment Alan suddenly shuddered and turned his head to a particular direction, and as though he could see through the walls of the gardens, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Outside the estate of the dragon clan, a luxurious carriage was currently making its way towards the gate of the dragon clan.
Once the guards standing at either side of the double gate saw the emblem of the side of the carriage, they bowed respectively and promptly opened the gates to let them through.
Within the carriage was a beautiful woman who seemed to be somewhere in her early thirties with an otherworldly bearing to her.
Her long waist length silky black hair was decorated with various flowers, and her emerald, green eyes shone with a faint light as she gazes at the mansion that stood tall in the distant.
The woman held a feather fan elegantly in her hands that partially hid her soft luscious pink lips which curved upwards into a small, beautiful smile.