"Zara is going to cut me some slack," Blaze muttered and donned his training robe over his uniform.
When he came outside with his classmates, he saw that the students had arranged themselves in orderly rows and columns. He fixed himself in one. After everybody returned, Zara started her lecture.
"To aid you in increasing the rate of mana absorption, I organized a training class for infusing elemental mana into your weapons. Let's begin…." Her voice trailed off for a moment before she continued. "The higher your control over the mana in your core, the greater the speed of mana absorption from the atmosphere. You already know your elemental association. The first thing you need to learn is 'elements in matter.' Let's start with infusing elements in training swords. There are enough woods for practice."
"Easy." A tall boy strutted out of the crowd of students and pushed Blaze aside before walking to the front. He approached the heap of training swords behind Zara and picked up a sword. He started releasing his mana onto the sword. Bit by bit, flames started coating the sword's surface from the hilt.
"Woah!" Exclamations, gossip, and praises spread among the students like a tide. However, Blaze noticed something amiss: the boy was sweating profusely instead of sticking his chest out to bathe in the shower of praises. The mocking expressions on the faces of the well-dressed students served as a clear indication to Blaze that something was amiss, and Zara's menacing smirk only added to his unease.
Whoosh!
The training sword abruptly erupted into wildfire, prompting the student to toss it away while jumping backward to avoid lighting himself up. The students who dressed luxuriously burst into prolonged loud laughter that made the face of the student showing off turn beet-red.
"You see? Even though your mana can't hurt you, the aftereffect can harm you. Secondly, your control has to be high, or else you might end up wasting your mana. Remember, your flimsy mana can't be used with big weapons. So, remember to use small weapons in actual battles to concentrate your elements." Zara smiled at the students.
"As for those of you who awoke water and some other non-destructive elements…" Zara turned to the students with her eyes narrowing sharply. She continued, "You think you don't need to participate in this training exercise because yours isn't destructive? Let me tell you. If you infuse too much elemental mana into your weapon, it will become blunt instead of sharpening. Worse of all, it might break due to your mana eroding your weapon. Always remember, infusing mana into weapons is not for decoration but to increase the destructiveness and effectiveness," Zara walked around the platform while explaining.
"Okay, pick your training weapon and partner. I will explain while you practice," Zara concluded.
"I chose Blaze as my training partner." Liam's loud voice resounded in the open training ground, making everybody quiet. His statement was an announcement in the open and a hidden threat to anybody thinking of picking Blaze.
Blaze's lips curled into a lopsided, sinister grin.
Blaze picked up a training sword while waving it around to get familiar with it. Each pair kept a safe distance from each other not to hinder the training of each other, but the observant Blaze noticed something abnormal. The lavishly dressed students were fighting among themselves, while the students who followed him on the train were paired with themselves. He was the only person fighting a rich student. He also noticed Zara's gaze stealthily lingering on him.
"I wondered who trained a 15-year-old kid to be an experienced fighter," Aphrodite commented on the way he used his side-eyes to pick up subtle details, with a light laugh escaping her mouth. If not for Blaze's training, he would have been uncomfortable and displayed a slight reaction while listening to a third-party talking close to him. She continued, "I guess you're still a suspect, or they are interested in your sword skill. Or else, they wouldn't let you train with Liam. Liam's mana is thirty times yours, and his control is eighty percent higher than yours."
"I heard you humiliated my fiancée," Liam hissed when he got in front of Blaze. However, Blaze just kept an unemotional face that remained unchanged.
This made Liam's face scrunch up. He has seen that expression before. That's the expression proud nobles display when looking at peasants. Unknown to him, it was Blaze's regular face when nothing intrigued him.
"I'm talking to you!" Liam swung the whip at Blaze with a fierce expression on his face. The sound of the whip slicing through the air was like a crack of thunder, and Blaze could feel the wind from the whip's passing on his face. He evaded the attack with a smooth sidestep, and the whip smashed into the ground, leaving a meter-long gash.
Dust and debris were kicked up by the impact, filling the air with the smell of earth and stone. Blaze could feel the vibrations through the ground as the whip struck, and he could see the grains of dirt dancing in the air like miniature tornadoes.
Liam's face twisted with anger as he infused his fire element into the whip and swung it again. The flames licked at the air, leaving trails of heat and smoke in their wake. Blaze could feel the heat of the flames even from several feet away, and he knew that he had to be careful not to get too close.
As Liam swung the whip again, Blaze prepared to evade the attack once more. He could see the muscles in Liam's arm flexing as he put his full strength into the swing, and he knew that he had to be quick if he wanted to avoid getting hit. With a graceful leap, Blaze darted out of the way, narrowly avoiding the whip's fiery coils.
The impact of the whip on the ground sent another wave of dust and debris into the air, and Blaze could feel the earth shaking beneath his feet. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, ready for whatever Liam would throw at him next.
"The previous place was sturdy; this place isn't sturdy enough. To aid the people who awoke earth, use their element." Aphrodite dispelled his uneasiness.
Blaze breathed a sigh of relief. It would unsettle him if he's always making erroneous conclusions because of the distinct worlds.
The pin-drop silence in the training field made him observe everybody; his fight was the focus of the training field. He then focused on Liam.
Liam's whip was a regular one: It consisted of a handle at one end and a tapered lash at the other end. However, the element he infused made the whip look like it had been left in a blacksmithing furnace. It resembled a red-hot, metal ready for hammering. He also noted the concentration of Liam's element. No flames were dancing wildly on it, but condensed on the whip. Looking to the side, he spotted a five-meter-long scar on the ground, testifying of the destructive power when infused with elements. He snapped out of his thinking and locked onto Liam. All this observation happened within three seconds.
"High control over the fire element," Blaze muttered. Blaze and Liam locked their gaze.
"Isn't using weapons going against the rules?" Blaze suddenly yelled, half-asking and half-complaining. Liam, who was prepared for an intense fight, was caught off-guard by this action.
"You're also wearing your uniform, which is against the rules," Zara said with a smile.
"Okay, let me explain the technique of infusing elements in a weapon so that your training can begin," Zara said calmly, which made Liam's whip slowly lose its fiery luster.
"Slowly release your elements onto the weapon. Remember, releasing your elements uncontrollably will empty your core at the same time, repeating your former classmate's unfortunate event." Zara walked around the training ground with her hands held behind her back.
Everybody, including Blaze, followed her instructions. People with fire, lightning, and wind had the hardest time controlling their elements. Blaze was surprised to see that Robin awoke the lightning element.
"Weird people are always lucky," Blaze muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, Robin was sweating profusely as he tried to prevent his lightning from going awry or exploding in his face.
Blaze had an easy time infusing his element, that flowed like fluid onto his training sword. He focused on other students to perceive the peculiarity of each element; he totally ignored Liam, who was looking at him like a spiteful demon.
He observed a girl, who awoke the wind element. After some observation, he could conclude that wind is extremely sharp when compressed into a weapon. He got his conclusion from the spilled wind that hit the ground, carving a meter-long, thin, stretch mark on the ground; Liam's own was just wider than hers.
"Blaze, focus on your sword," Zara advised sternly because Blaze had already paused his practice. He had to refocus to continue the practice.
Zara continued after everybody had gotten the first step; although some people with destructive elements had to change their weapons more than twice. "The next step is to feel your weapon with your mana. Your mana is connected to your core, so it can serve as an extension of your body part. Connecting with your released mana is the first thing, before feeling your weapon. Let's go. For those running out of mana, there are mana refill potions. Okay, let's go."
The second process made Blaze focus intently, while the students who dressed luxuriously were relaxing. They have already passed that stage. Blaze just found out that they were children of nobles.
The second process took the students with high mana affinity fifteen minutes to practice but took others an hour. Blaze took thirty minutes before he got the process. Some people, including Blaze, had to drink the mana refill potion, or else, they would be empty shells by now.
"Average mana affinity," Aphrodite muttered while staring at Blaze from a distance.
"You observed that during the process of feeling your weapons with your mana, your elements slowly covered your weapon. The last step is to make your mana evenly spread to avoid spillage and mana wastage. Now, the fight can begin with your partners," Zara said and walked towards the edge of the platform after everybody got the previous step.
She abruptly stopped and added, "Before I forget, your mana is difficult to control during an intense battle. So, you have to multi-task. Remember, the training is not about sword fighting, but mana control. Now begin," Zara said while smiling at Blaze.
Liam, who was sitting, jumped to his feet while sending fire into his whip. It took him three seconds to get his whip ready for battle. He smirked menacingly at Blaze.