The days passed by with Lucy staying by Seraphina's side as much as she could while the girl healed. They grew closer during this time as they spoke, getting to know each other more, and Lucy grew more fond of the girl.
However, the day came when Lucy's family called her back home due to her prolonged absence.
"I'm going to miss you, Seraphina. Promise to visit when you can?"
Lucy said, her eyes brimming with emotion as she stood by the carriage that would take her back home, looking over at the girl.
"I will miss you too, Lucy. I will visit as soon as I get the chance."
Seraphina replied, her voice soft but filled with sincerity. Lucy couldn't help but jump forward and embrace the girl one last time before she had to go. Climbing into the carriage, and leaving the estate.
With her body fully healed, Seraphina decided it was time to resume her training, with renewed determination to progress even quicker than she did before.
She could feel the changes in her body, the strength and agility she had gained from her rigorous exercises during the battle with the bandits, she was getting closer and closer to becoming a proper knight.
Each morning from that day on, she trained with Sir Aldric, focusing on refining her swordsmanship and improving her stamina. Her movement became more fluid, her strikes more precise, and her body more used to the blade as she practiced.
The hours she spent running, lifting weights, doing push-ups, and practicing all sorts of combat drills were showing signs of paying off with each passing day.
She wasn't quite superhuman, but she could feel that her body had improved to such a point that it could only be called peak athletic capabilities.
She could do things that she would never dream of being able to do before, her body could move in such ways that it could put a normal person in awe.
And she wasn't even a proper knight yet.
One afternoon, after a particularly intense training session, Seraphina retreated to her room to rest. As she laid on her bed, she decided it was time to delve deeper into the new books that had appeared in her mental space.
Closing her eyes, she entered the familiar infinite darkness of her mind, now a space filled with light. The mental space greeted her with its endless rows of bookshelves, all the books she had touched in the library stored in her; even the ones she hadn't finished going through yet.
She made her way to the serpent bookshelf, where the new books were located.
Examining the books more closely, she realized that they were techniques she had observed during her training and in battle. Each book contained fighting techniques in the form of images and moving pictures, stances, and some even contained the basics of a knight training method, but they were all largely incomplete.
The knight methods, in particular, were fragmented to the point where she couldn't even understand them. She could see the outlines of the idea behind the technique, but they didn't go into how to practice or accomplish them.
She assumed if she wanted to gain more details about the techniques, she would need to observe them more to fill in the gaps.
Seraphina decided to focus on the most complete book she could find, the one containing the basic knight fighting method she had seen from Sir Aldric and Davanai. She spent hours studying the detailed illustrations and instructions, committing them to memory before anything else.
Afterwards, she spent her remaining time in the room sole practicing the techniques and moving her body in the way they said she had to. Since the mental space did not have any effect like stamina, hunger, weakness, and so on, she could practice without stopping for hours.
Eventually, however, she was forced to wake up, a new day dawning upon her to begin her training once more.
She approached Sir Aldric with a new sense of purpose and called out to him.
"Sir Aldric, I feel ready to advance my training. I've been studying the knight method, and I believe I am ready to take the next step."
Sir Aldric looked at her with a mixture of pride and curiosity, nodding his head.
"You've come a long way, Seraphina. Very well, let's see what you've learned."
He guided her through a series of advanced drills, testing her understanding and execution of everything he had taught her so far, as well as testing her physical capabilities to see if they were up to standard.
Seraphina was able to accomplish them with all the training she had done over the course of weeks. The movements were almost instinctive to her at this point.
As the training session continued, she felt a familiar warmth in her chest, the same feeling she had experienced when she first began sensing aura.
It was stronger, more focused; or rather, she could feel it better.
With Sir Aldric's guidance, she began to channel her aura more effectively to flow throughout her entire body. She couldn't really control it, it was hard to will it the way she wanted like something was blocking the path.
But as she completed the set of drills, she felt the energy disappear into her entire body.
With a nod of approval from Sir Aldric, he spoke.
"You're ready, Seraphina. You've progressed to the second stage of apprentice knight. From now on you will begin training in the Shinster Knight Training Method in earnest."
Seraphina smiled as she heard the man's words, even in her tired state she felt energetic enough to begin practicing it right now.
"Remember, this method is something you need to thread on your own. While I may be able to help you with some parts, it is ultimately up to you to make it your own method."
The man warned, placing his firm hand on her shoulder he gave her a resolute look as he spoke.
"In this stage, you're required to cleanse the impurities in your body to better train in aura. While the method should help, you will need material to aid in the process. I will speak to your father to get the method, I'm sure he'll be proud."
Seraphina nodded in understanding, and with that, the training for the day came to an end.
That night, as she lay in bed, she reflected on the path she had taken so far. She wasn't sure if it was the right path, but she knew that she had come a long way.
From the frail girl who could barely move, she was now able to not only stand on her own but fight for what she wanted. But she still had a long way to go.
Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to drift into a deep, restful sleep.