Oscar was alone again, in the training fields. It was snowing heavily, as usual. Despite this, Oscar wore light clothing.
He held a wooden sword out, pointing it to the dummy. He was trying to feel something. But all he could feel was the snow against his skin.
"Damn it..."
He began to get frustrated.
An arrow shot through the air.
[Cast: ???]
In an instant, ice formed in Oscar's hair, and his skin became pale. He caught the arrow.
"My speculations were right..."
A voice came out from the distance. Oscar sprinted towards that voice. As he got closer, it turned out to be two people there.
One of them was a bow-wielding elf, with orange hair and green eyes. The second person was a woman with black-and-white hair and yellow eyes. She held a rapier.
Ailmer de Wynstina and Isalda van Mahaut! Anyone could clearly see that it was them. However, Oscar couldn't.
"This is the power that helped him survive, hm?" Ailmer asked Isalda.
"That's what it seems like."
Oscar spun at a rapid rate, sending the arrow back at Ailmer, several times faster.
Ailmer ducked.
"He's just the support. You should be focusing on me."
Isalda jumped at Oscar. She stabbed at him.
Oscar easily dodged.
[Cast: Chilled Halberd]
Ice began to form in his palm.
"Not so fast!"
[Cast: Flowing Water Dart]
Another arrow zipped toward Oscar, moving in an irregular pattern. Oscar kicked it into the air.
With Oscar open, Isalda was going in for another stab into his abdomen.
[Cast: Freeze Step]
The floor became slippery and Oscar was able to avoid the attack, moving a lot faster.
He spun into the air, gathering momentum. Then, he struck.
He landed a clean hit on Isalda's chin. She fell back.
Arrows flew at Oscar, as he was about to land another hit.
"I guess I'll have to use mana against this kid. If he's able to hold up against the captain, he'll seriously be a challenge."
Isalda got back up, taking the time to dust herself. She placed her rapier down.
Oscar lunged at her.
[Cast: Infernal Spark]
Her right eye glowed.
A large explosion engulfed Oscar.
"Your aims getting better! Why didn't you just use that on the captain?" Ailmer cheered on.
"The adrenaline was messing with my mind."
Oscar fell to the floor, unconscious.
. . .
. .
.
(Oscar)
The lights were blinding me. Even with my eyes closed, it was still very bright. It was like my eyes were glued shut.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
"You're finally awake."
I jumped.
It was just now that I realized I was in a hospital bed. I could feel the bandages wrapped around my entire body. My nose picked up a distinct smell. A pleasant one. Almost like... a floral garden?
Alize?!
The angel appeared, standing alongside Isalda and Ailmer.
Wait... my memory is coming back to me. I unlocked that ability! Although... it was a lot weaker.
"Are you okay, Oscar? I saw Isalda and Ailmer carrying you by the limbs and thought you were dead initially. I was worried." she pulled me by the ear.
"Is that your mom, Oscar?" Ailmer asked.
I blushed.
"No, that's not my mom!" I responded, still getting my ear pulled.
Was Alize perhaps the type to easily connect with someone?
"Anyway. I would like to speak to you, Oscar."
. . .
. .
.
It was hard for me to get out of the hospital bed. My body felt numb, my eyes were tired, and my senses were sloppy.
"What is it you would like to speak about, miss... Mahaut?" I asked.
"To recruit you."
"Huh? I'm not ready for any of that stuff. The military-"
"That ability of yours. It's familiar."
"F-Familiar?" Oscar stammered.
"I forgot since you're new to this kingdom... but do you know who Anatole van Mahaut was?"
"Anatole Van Mahaut? You two have the same... last name."
"He was the first king of Anore, and I'm one of his many descendants."
"We had... a similar ability?"
"What? No. I know somebody who has an ability very similar to yours."
"Then why did you start talking to me about that Anatole guy?"
"Just let me finish, alright?"
"..."
"As I was saying, Anatole was the first ruler, the one who united all the lands on this island, and his family continued to rule after his death."
"The former king wasn't of the Mahaut-"
"That was, until a law was placed, allowing other families to join in on the coronation. So it's my job to bring the Mahaut family back to power, for as long as possible!"
As she spoke for longer on, she seemed to get more enthusiastic and a lot more amped up.
'That was the most emotion I've ever seen in her...'
"I'll help you... with that thing, you need help with. The... coronation."
Oscar interrupted her, as she was speaking. She stopped.
"Really? What made you change your mind?"
"Your devotion seems pretty strong."
Isalda smirked.
"And, I also wanna learn how to master my... ability thing."