Nico sent a grateful nod to the white-haired male. He accepted the information and stored it in his mind. Already a few ideas were forming on how to deal with the elusive beasts.
The only problem, though, was that they first had to find the Leopards. Anything else did not matter before that.
William suddenly stood up, startling Nico out of his thoughts. "I'll be back in a moment."
The lanky boy heard his instructor's quick steps reverberate through the interior of the hut. He closed his eyes and focused on enjoying his coffee.
True to his words, a moment later, William returned holding an object in his hands.
As the older man sat down, Nico scrutinised the new object carefully. It was rectangular and made of some sort of dark wood. The image of a sun engraved on its surface.
Nico's eyes narrowed. If his had instructor retrieved this, then surely it must be important.
William cleared his throat and gestured towards the strange rectangular-looking object, "This here is called a Sun Charm and will be your fail-safe if you and your group find yourselves in a dire situation."
Based on its name, the brown-haired boy quickly gleaned its use. And sure enough, his theory turned out to be correct.
"Once activated, the Sun Charm issues a bright wave of light that dispels any darkness within the surrounding five metres. This radiance creates a flashbang effect, capable of stunning an enemy from point-blank range. In your case, when deployed, it will reveal the Shadow Fang Leopard's location - or, stun it - allowing you to exploit its momentary weakness and quickly finish it."
Nico's brows rose despite himself. "Oh?"
William glanced at his student, his bearing turning even more solemn. "Now this is the part where your oath will come into play," he sighed and rubbed his face, before continuing, "Since you do not have a mana core, the only other way to activate the charm is through the arcane language of Dragonese."
Nico's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but stand up in shock. "What!?"
The white-haired instructor smirked at his reaction. He didn't reply and let his student get over the shock.
'He's going to teach me Dragonese?!!' Nico screamed in his mind.
His eyes sparkled, and his hands trembled in anticipation.
Although he did not know the full effects Dragonese had, nor had he studied it in depth, the young boy intuitively had a feeling that it was certainly powerful.
Anything related to the mighty Dragon race was bound to be potent, of course.
Not much was known about the language of the Dragons. Not much that was revealed to the public, anyway.
The only tidbit that the average person was aware of, was that it had profound mystical effects capable of altering nature itself.
After a few moments, the brown-haired boy calmed his raging excitement and sat back down.
William suppressed a smile at the eagerness of his student before his expression turned grave.
"I will teach you the few words needed to activate the Sun Charm. The incantation goes as follows…" The instructor took a deep breath and intoned in an esoteric tone.
"Let…"
Just with that one word, the forces of nature were already being stirred.
"There…"
An invisible draft blew into the room, ruffling the duo's hair.
"Be…"
A stronger breeze formed this time. Nico glanced at the window and found it was closed.
'How mystical…'
"Light…"
As soon as William finished chanting the last word, Nico felt the temperature in his surroundings rise a little. An expression of awe appeared on his face.
The man with the scar exhaled lightly after completing the demonstration. He purposefully intoned each word one at a time, for fear of stirring nature's powers too much.
He did not want to harm himself and his student.
"Neat, right?" the instructor asked with a smirk.
"So cool…"
William felt his student's gaze bore into his own as if pleading with him to teach him how to do what he just did.
The white-haired man chuckled.
It was only after much of his resources, contacts, and pleading, did the Merchant Association agree to his demands - even then it was through a secret channel.
Both the Sun Charm and the corresponding Dragonese had cost him quite a pretty penny.
Not to mention the time it took him to actually learn the small number of words.
Still, he felt it was worth it if it ended up helping his trainees in their time of need. Although he didn't show it outwardly, he was a little fond of these little rascals.
The ones that weren't too unruly, at least.
The Nobles were a different matter.
As William shook his head to clear away his unnecessary thoughts, he instructed Nico on how to perform the incantation.
His expression was still solemn.
***
"Remember… you must recite the incantation first before you crush the Charm and release the radiance stored inside." William educated Nico.
They had spent the past quarter of an hour going over how to intone the words correctly. Now, Nico felt confident in his ability to activate the Sun Charm.
A warm feeling bloomed in his chest. It seemed his instructor really cared about his students, after all.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm not doing this for you. I just don't want my perfect record to be sullied." William's gaze darkened as he received an inkling of his student's thoughts, based on the silly smile plastered on his face.
Nico smirked and chuckled, "Of course, of course."
With a scowl, the white-haired instructor quickly changed the topic, "One more thing before I let you leave. Are you prepared for the eventuality that Lucas may strike back at you?"
Nico's cheerfulness instantly vanished at the mention of the haughty trainee. He formed a scowl of his own, before replying vaguely, "Maybe… why do you ask?"
William narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "Trust me when I say that just letting things go is not within a noble's capabilities. Their pride is one of, if not their biggest flaw. I have lived in one of those families, after all."
Nico quirked his eyebrows at the revelation.
"Look, all I'm saying is just to be careful. Particularly after what happened in the duels. Don't go provoking him and making the whole situation worse," the man with the scar concluded.
"Thank you for the warning and thank you for teaching me Dragonese." Nico dipped his head in William's direction and promptly stood up. He bade his instructor goodbye after retrieving the charm and briskly strode out of the hut with a dark expression.
The white-haired man glanced at the window, where countless constellations lit up the amethyst sky before he sighed.
A far-off look in his eyes...
'Be warned, Nico. That brat will use dishonorable methods and aim for your biggest weakness. He will not rest until he has achieved what his heart desires.…'