Lodra explained what Redd had done. Even when he was speaking, he didn't believe his own words.
"Woah! Really? I thought someone before me would've thought of that idea."
"No one I know of did that. I'm not even sure why." Lodra shrugged. "So, what do you feel right now?"
"Hm? I feel energized! Aether is flowing inside my body so swiftly, way better than before."
Lodra thought for a moment before he pointed at Redd. "Perhaps your method reduced the effects that Aether should have?"
"Effects?"
"I'm talking about the flaws."
"I don't know. Maybe it did."
'If that's the case then he might really do something unexpected. I need to see for myself.' Lodra said as he looked at Redd again. "How are your injuries?"
"I'm feeling great!" Redd said as he made some stretching moves. His injuries were almost fully healed.
The effect of 14 points in healing was amazing. He now heals three times faster than an average person, not to mention the effect of the Blood Accelerator that stopped the bleeding instantly.
"Good. Then, follow me outside."
The two then left the house and stood outside on the grassy ground.
"From what I can see. You already learned how to channel Aether around your body, right?" Lodra asked.
"I think so."
"Good, then we won't talk about that. Instead, I want you to focus on channeling Aether to particular body parts at a time." Saying that Lodra walked toward a tree nearby and then stood in front of it.
"Since most people can't really do much with Aether, they learned how to effectively use Aether to the utmost benefit."
Saying that Lodra's right hand suddenly started shining with brilliant blue light before he took a fight stance. After that, with a sharp look, he delivered a punch forward.
*BANG*
His fist swiftly connected with the tree, creating a loud noise along with a small shockwave that rustled the grass around him.
"Woah!"
Looking at the tree, Redd could see Lodra's fist digging into the trunk, almost fully submerged. The hole created was big enough to fit a human head.
Pulling out his fist, a few shards of wood fell down along with it.
"This is the effect of a punch imbued with a little amount of Aether. The more you use, the more devastating the effect is."
"That's amazing! So can I blow a house with one punch?"
"Given the right amount of practice and dedication, you can even eradicate an island out of existence with a punch. But that would take decades of training to pull off."
"So it's possible! Damn, so cool!" Redd felt adrenaline pump into his blood as he imagined himself having such a power. He was more than excited for the future.
"Relax, boy. You're still taking your first steps. You should try to learn how to actually imbue your fists with Aether first. Come here."
Redd approached the old man before he made him stand in front of him.
"Channel your Aether."
Redd nodded his head before he closed his eyes for a few moments. A blue halo appeared around his body.
"Now, I want you to try and move all that Aether toward your fist. Think of it as redirecting the path of a flowing river by creating a smaller stream toward your hand." Lodra thought for a moment before he gave an example that might help.
Redd nodded his head as he closed his eyes again. It didn't take long for a change to start appearing in the flow of his aura. Redd's face crunched up as he tried to do what Lodra said. However, he couldn't immediately do it.
After fighting with his own aura for a while, he opened his eyes again.
"Sigh, that's harder than I expected."
"Keep trying."
Approaching the tree he just punched, Lodra sat down, resting his back on it as he watched Redd.
Redd then took a deep breath and started again. Time passed slowly till it was almost dusk. The sun was slowly sitting on the horizon.
"Hah, hah, that's tiring," Redd murmured as he wiped his face and was about to try again, only to be stopped by Lodra.
"Don't you feel any pain? Particularly in your head and chest?" He asked.
"No? Why?"
"..."
'As I thought, he isn't getting affected by Aether. At least not as fast as I should expect from a beginner. No, even experts usually can't handle this much Aether being used for such a long period of time. So making Aether bend to his control does have a completely different effect.' Lodra thought to himself.
"Continue."
"Hmm, fine. But, I think I'm starting to get it." Redd said as he closed his eyes again and concentrated completely.
His mind was already exhausted from countless hours of training in the past few days but he didn't want to stop. This was even more fun than he expected. The sheer enjoyment of feeling his constant improvement as the moment of leaving grew nearer and nearer pushed him way beyond his limits mentally and physically.
'I will definitely do it!' Redd thought to himself.
"Hm?" Lodra's eyes squinted when he noticed.
Redd's aura started shifting as it moved toward his hand, accumulating there. The sheer chaos ensuing with his aura made Lodra stand up. He was ready to intervene in case anything bad happened.
Aether was a dangerous energy even when it was used for harmless tasks. Countless people got injured misusing Aether or making mistakes in manipulating it.
Now, Redd was edging toward that territory with how he was recklessly trying to push Aether. However, shockingly enough, nothing of that sort happened.
Instead, the chaotic Aether swiftly floated around Redd's fist. Its spiky nature and almost audible movement made Lodra unconsciously gulp down a mouthful of saliva. It looked so wrong and yet so right at the same time.
"Woah! It worked! Look, Lodra! It worked!" Redd said with an excited look. His fist tightened.
"Ok, let's try."
"Hey, Redd, wa-"
*Swish*
With full force and a toothy grin, Redd punched forward. His fist flashed through the air as it fully extended forward and the effect was unthinkable.
A big gush of air sent the whole grassy plain facing Redd into a frenzy. The wind even reached Lodra along with an audible booming sound.
"Woah! Hahahahahaha! This is amazing!" Redd exclaimed as he looked at his fist. "I didn't expect it to be this effective. Right, Lodra?"
Looking at the old man, Redd smiled.
'This boy will give me a heart attack before leaving.' Face palming, Lodra thought to himself. At this point, there wasn't even a point to feel surprised anymore. The kid was doing some extraterrestrial things with a grin.
'Well, that at least puts me at ease a little. Sending him to the Hunter's Dream this quickly was already a dumb idea as is.'
"That was good. But, you used too much Aether. In a fight, you won't be throwing one punch."
"Heh, I know that already." Rubbing the back of his head, Redd seemed troubled for a moment.
"Speak."
"Ugh, it's just… Any weaker than this and my punch will become almost useless."
Although what he pulled off was amazing, Redd did see the glaring flow in his technique. If he used too much Aether, he would end up feeling tired way quicker. But, at the same time, if he used a little amount of Aether, his punches lose their destructive power.
What he needed was something to use instead of his fists.
'I can't use my knife either. It will break quickly.'
"Hmmmmm…" Humming with a frown, Redd sat down and thought about it.
"You do have a point, boy. A weapon is necessary for you." Lodra murmured before he closed his eyes.
The moment he heard the word 'weapon', his mind already knew what weapon he should give Redd. But, the question is, should he really give him that?
'I remember Lian saying he wanted to give it to his kid if he ever has one. Tsk, I guess there is no point in hesitating anymore. Redd is leaving either way so I might as well bet on him rather than hinder his growth.'
"Come with me, kid."