C120 - Promise
The following morning, Khan finally had the chance to give the Divine Reaper's techniques a try. He had the null-grade blunt knife ready for his training now, and his body had even washed away most of its tiredness after spending an entire night sleeping. Nothing could stop him from approaching his second martial art.
Multiple desires fused in Khan's mind while he tried to memorize the initial techniques of the Divine Reaper. He had the deep and tense feelings connected to the imminent crisis, but he also felt simple excitement toward the idea of getting to his first-grade magic weapon.
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The Divine Reaper employed only one weapon, which made Khan's two null-grade knives only temporary tools. Their enhancements didn't even make them immune to the after-effects of the martial art. Damages would inevitably accumulate in their structure, so alternating them would prolong their life.
Khan had already decided how to divide his time with the knives when he inspected them the previous night. He would limit the blunt weapon to his training and bring the sharp one into battle once he managed to fuse the Divine Reaper with the Lightning-demon style.
The first-grade knife would have to wait for his expertise to improve. Khan didn't want to ruin it with failed executions unless he desperately needed its incredible sharpness. Its grade made it more resilient than the other weapons, but his constant lack of Credits kept him worried about an eventual future when he couldn't rely on the Global Army to get goods.
The Divine Reaper was completely different from the Lightning-demon style. It wasn't only a matter of using hands instead of legs. The moves, the speed, the strength, and the rhythm he had to express during each technique were inherently opposed to the martial art that he had memorized during the past seven months.
The habits and instincts developed after countless hours spent repeating the same techniques over and over again made the initial approach to the Divine Reaper end up poorly. Khan kept failing to even stand in the right position since his legs didn't feel it to be natural.
Still, spending the entire morning training inside his room eventually allowed him to see positive aspects that his initial struggles had prevented him from noticing. Khan was immensely better at controlling mana compared to when he first started practicing martial arts. Moreover, his battle sense had also improved, so he could succeed in a few moves after successfully suppressing his old habits.
The Divine Reaper didn't rely much on actual moves or weapon quality. It heavily depended on the control of mana to work since the sharpness and the deadliness of each technique would depend on how the user deployed that energy.
The martial art could theoretically work with every type of move since it only needed the mana to match them. The training program still contained a series of ideal knife techniques meant to provide warriors with a general battle style. Yet, the hooded woman often stressed how the Divine Reaper didn't have set limits, which was the very reason why it could get such a high evaluation when used with other skills.
The theory behind each move was to envelop the knife in a thick layer of mana, but that was the first big issue. The hooded woman explained how weapon users usually limited themselves to fill the structure with their energy and create a temporary enhancement similar to what magic items experienced. Instead, the Divine Reaper needed them to go beyond that and create an actual membrane capable of adding intense features.
Filling the knife with mana and enveloping it into a thick membrane were only the initial struggles. The amount of control required to maintain that enhancement while moving was immense. Khan saw his azure energy dispersing in the air whenever he tried to practice in one of the techniques described by the training program.
Khan didn't have the time to reach the third and last hurdle of the martial art in a single morning, but he checked it out anyway. It turned out that the last barrier before the competent proficiency level saw him enhancing specific features with his mana, not only use it as a barbaric method to make even blunt weapons sharp.
The single morning of training didn't allow Khan to do much, but it gave him a general idea of his starting point. His mental training made him slightly talented in controlling mana, but the Divine Reaper's moves went completely against his style. They felt so off that he even considered completely ignoring them for the time being.
Khan had lunch in the canteen with the other recruits after spending the morning in his room. Then he discovered that the professors were still taking a break from the lessons, so he basically ended up having the entire day for himself.
"You need to put your legs right under the base of the wings," Khan explained to the recruits who had gathered around him right after lunch. "They are quite sensitive, so don't squeeze too hard."
Snow turned to look at Khan when it heard the word "sensitive", and the recruits around them couldn't help but laugh at that scene. Khan had decided to teach everyone the basic flight position before traveling toward the mountains, so even the boys and girls from the other class had gathered outside the camp.
Their test to tame the Aduns would come soon, and Khan was the only human who had succeeded in the task. He was even the only one who knew what the trial featured, and that made him the greatest expert in the entire human species in that specific field.
"Your hands should be on its neck," Khan continued. "Then again, it's sensitive, so don't pull its feathers. You don't really need to cling on its neck when you fly, but all of you will do it before gaining some confidence."
Snow gave voice to a pissed screech again, and it even started scratching Khan's head with its beak. The scene felt hilarious for the audience, especially once Khan decided to address the issue.
"Sensitive doesn't mean weak!" Khan complained while fixing his gaze on the eagle's three eyes.
Snow complained through another screech, and Khan decided to ruffle the feathers on its neck until it gave up to its pissed attitude. The Aduns fought back by rolling on itself and making dirt cover Khan, but the latter only continued with his pets.
"I've gotten a playful one," Khan announced while patting his uniform to remove part of the dirt once the two stopped playing. "You don't get to decide your Aduns during the test. You will climb the mountain until one of them chooses you."
Khan then patted Snow's back, which unfolded its wings and prepared itself to set off.
"Remember that the Aduns won't attack you directly," Khan repeated one of his previous warnings. "However, they will try to make you fall, so never lower your guard. They'll probably order me to oversee your tests, but I probably won't be able to do much. Remain calm and prepare your bodies for the climb."
Khan set off at that point. He didn't want to study the admiring gazes of his companions. Also, creating a faint barrier between the recruits and him would only improve his image. It was better to leave before the others could feel too close to him.
Khan's expression grew cold once he remained alone. The wind blowing on his face didn't make him forget what he had to do.
Warning Liiza and trying to plan a strategy that could allow them to face the incoming crisis together was almost treason, but Khan didn't care about that part. His worries were on how little his girlfriend could do the information. After all, she was simple soldier. Her privileged status came from her mother, but she didn't have much power over her species.
The familiar flat spot among the mountain chain soon unfolded in Khan's view, and Snow didn't hesitate to drop him there. Liiza was nowhere to be seen, so a long training session started.
Khan meditated and spent time in the mental training. The eleventh exercise continued to make him struggled, but he never stopped improving there. The Wave spell kept getting closer to his reach, and his excitement inevitably intensified with each step forward.
Khan decided not to bring the blunt knife on purpose since he wanted his main focus to remain on the Lightning-demon style. He had yet to understand if his proficiency had stepped on the competent level, so slowing down his training couldn't be an option in his mind.
The familiar sound of flapping wings made Khan interrupt the seemingly endless repetition of his techniques. Liiza's dark-grey Aduns appeared in his view when he turned, and the sight of his stunning girlfriend forced his face to break into a smile.
"How are you feeling?" Liiza quickly asked while hurrying into Khan's arms and leaving a kiss on his lips.
Her question involved multiple topics. It went from the long night spent hunting to his nightmares, and Khan didn't hide anything. He told her that his dreams always involved the new scenes uncovered by Zalpa and that his body had almost fully recovered after spending an entire day resting.
"The spell yesterday has drained me too," Liiza sighed while taking Khan's hand and leading him toward their favorite spot in the corner of the wall. "I remained asleep for an entire day just to recover."
Khan sat in the corner, and Liiza didn't take much to reach his lap. They had grown so used to be together in the past two weeks that they didn't need to voice their wishes. Liiza liked Khan's warmth, so she always wanted her back to be on his chest.
"We need to talk about the monsters," Khan said while the two snuggled closer to each other to enjoy the sensations generated by their position. "The Global Army has found the cause of the crisis. I think that Zalpa is right."
"I'm not surprised," Liiza sighed while turning her face to stare into Khan's worried eyes and raising a hand to caress his cheek. "My superiors are studying every old text they can find. It seems that Nitis will face much worse once the sunlight arrives."
"Yeah," Khan continued. "The matter won't involve only Tainted animals. The Niqols who have no control over mana might be at risk. The younger generations of your species might experience mutations if you don't shield them from the sunlight."
Liiza's eyes widened in surprise, and she couldn't help but divert her gaze. Her hand also left Khan's face and joined her other one as the potential consequences of the crisis became evident in her mind.
Liiza was quite rebellious, but her behavior mostly came from her poor relationship with her mother. She didn't hate the Niqols at all. She didn't agree with some of their politics and customs, but that wasn't enough to make her loathe her species.
The Niqols didn't have the precise and detailed scanners of the humans. They knew mana in ways that the other species couldn't even begin to comprehend, but that understanding mostly involved feelings. It didn't feature math and equations.
The fact that the previous crisis had only involved Tainted animals had made the elders of the Niqols ignore that the sunlight could affect their species. However, Liiza understood how tragic the consequence of that event could be. The future of her kind could be at risk. She even felt retches rising through her throat when she imagined kids and children mutating.
"The army wants to exploit the crisis to strengthen the relationship with the Niqols," Khan revealed as his expression darkened. "They might refrain from helping until your situation gets tragic."
Khan didn't forget to caress Liiza's back and sides while she absorbed those revelations. She wasn't ignorant about political matters, so she could immediately understand how the humans could benefit from the crisis.
The thought that the army would let children and kids die to gain more benefits disgusted her, but the warmth spreading from her back slowly made her feel better. Liiza turned and saw how Khan was experiencing similar feelings. He was trying to do the good thing, even if his actions put his situation in the army in danger.
The last barrier around Liiza's heart crumbled when she fixed her eyes on Khan's worried gaze. She took his head between her hands and pressed her lips on his mouth while straightening her position.
Khan wanted to stand up with her, but Liiza made him understand that he could remain in his position. Her gaze felt more intense than usual during the process, but she didn't give her boyfriend the time to ask questions.
"I need to warn everyone," Liiza said while remaining bent toward Khan and keeping her hands on his cheeks. "I'll say that Zalpa came up with this, so you don't have to worry about the army. You only need to promise me one thing."
Khan nodded. He felt confused, but the intense glow coming out of Liiza's eyes was too captivating to make her interrupt her actions. He had never seen her so serious. Even her usual cold expression couldn't match how resolute she appeared in that situation.
"Think carefully about us and our situation these days, okay?" Liiza almost pleaded before turning without waiting for Khan's answer.
Khan wanted to follow her, but the dark-grey Aduns landed on the flat area and took her away before he could say anything.
To be continued