*1 year later*
The sky was cloudy, but warm rays of sunlight still slipped through. The weather finally turned colder as the season changed from Summer to Fall. The trees shed their leaves and rocked back and forth naked.
WHOOSH
Two figures jumped between the trees, hardly noticeable.
"Why do you keep challenging me when you know you can't win," the father jumped down from the trees.
"One day you're going to mess up, and I'll finally win." The girl followed her father.
They both wore thin layers of compressed shirts. The girl only had a tiny scarf to cover her red nose.
"I'll win this time!"
They both disappeared within an instant. The girl brought her sword down overhead while the father jabbed forward. The girl panicked and quickly blocked his sword.
"Scared?" The father laughed at the girl.
The girl leaped backward and restarted her position. She slowly closed her eyes. When they reopened, her eyes were a deeper yellow. Also, a yellow veil coated her body and flowed freely.
Without warning she dashed toward her father at an incredible speed compared to just one year ago. However, he simply raised the hilt of his sword and slammed down on her head.
BOOM
The girl fell back and covered her head. She looked back up with teary eyes.
"I said don't use Est until you master the basics," he crossed his arms.
"I disagree," she got up patting the snow off of her "I should be practicing them together," her eyes were still yellow.
The father sighed deeply "Your magic is already growing rapidly. If you continue like that, your basics will lag and you will be too reliant on magic."
The girl bit her lip. She knew he wasn't wrong, but she couldn't think of a scenario where she could even injure her father without magic.
"Don't be impatient," he placed his sword over his shoulder and began to walk back toward their house.
The girl leaned against a tall tree. She was exhausted from the continuous hope she would finally win. Of course, it was fun learning more, but there was a limit to the amount of repetition she could handle.
"I want to go," she whispered to herself in defeat. She didn't want to spend her entire childhood stuck in the same place.
The father quickly turned around. He was ready to scold the girl for the millionth time about how dangerous being an adventurer was.
He opened his mouth but stopped when his gaze fell upon his daughter's tired eyes and slow breaths. He was the one who pushed her to follow her dreams and be happy, yet he was her biggest burden.
He slowly closed his mouth and turned around. "Soon. You can go soon," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear.
The girl's eyes widened in shock. Her stubborn father never let her even dream of leaving. She slid her back down the tree while hugging her wooden sword. She fell asleep lightly with a smile on her face.
***
The girl awoke to an awful burning smell. At first, she thought her father burnt food, but she remembered she was sitting in the middle of the forest.
BOOM
A loud explosion forced her eyes open immediately. She jumped up on guard. When she looked up, she saw a line of black smoke rising into the sky.
An ominous warning gripped her heart, as she ran wildly in the direction of the smoke.
'That's where the house is,' she bit her lips worriedly.
Adrenaline pumped through her body, and her brain processed nonstop. She remembered her father left the house before her.
Within a few minutes, she arrived back home. "What the". The entire front part of the wooden house was scorched and destroyed.
"Lewis, stop resisting," an old man dressed in an all-white robe stood in the center of the wreckage. His hair was similarly white and cascaded down his back. When he tapped his wood staff on the ground, a wave of Est threatened to spill out.
'That density!' Instinctively, she felt this man was on another level. The girl looked closely and saw his eyes basked in a deep yellow.
"You speak nonsense, Alder. I did nothing you accuse me of." The father, Lewis, stood with his arms crossed. His eyes were also a deep yellow.
"The evidence is insurmountable. There are multiple identical instances where we found your signature magic. Furthermore, when we researched the dead party, we found they had some sort of altercation with your daughter prior to their death," the old man glared at the girl who hid in the forest. His eyes locked onto her like a predator.
"Alder, don't threaten my daughter." Lewis suddenly outstretched his arm.
WHOOSH
A large sword flew into his hand from the ruined house. It had a clean dark gray polish throughout. Suddenly Lewis coated his body in a deep crimson Est. His sword absorbed the energy, and then a translucent red coated it. Again a thick density of Est radiated from him.
The girl previously learned that Est was divided into 6 elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Good, and Evil. Each person had a core also known as a Circuit that could process only one element. An Affinity was in close correlation to one's personality. Fire was strong, decisive, and aggressive. Water was cold and calculating. Wind was lazy but clever. Earth was dependable and protective. Good and Evil were very rare Affinities and often appeared randomly.
BOOM
The girl snapped out of her recall due to a large vibration. Lewis tried to strike down at Alder but met a thick blue barrier. Large spikes protruded from the barrier and shot out at him. He quickly dodged and landed back.
"I've grown a little rusty fighting my daughter," he chuckled.
"Lewis this is my final warning," Alder replied seriously "You are under arrest for multiple murders. Turn yourself in peacefully." Alder stood still from the beginning.
"I have a question. What are you doing in a little town like this?" Lewis ignored him and replied curiously.
Alder scoffed "You think the king didn't know of this little pretend life," he looked around in disdain "He LET you play house, but your actions now are unacceptable."
Lewis hung his head down and laughed uncontrollably. "Good joke, but I don't think we are at that friendship level yet" Lewis tilted his head sideways. His expression was nowhere near playful anymore.
Alder squinted his eyes looking at Lewis's rebellious attitude. "Don't say I didn't warn you,"
Suddenly Alder tapped a large white ring, and brought it closer to his face.
"Get the girl." Alder's cold voice echoed through the forest