Eris was on her hands and knees, panting and watching her sweat roll off her nose into the short grass, around her body was a light red aura, and her skin was littered with countless small scratches that were slowly being healed. "I need a moment," She held up a hand, but her tutor, Lady Idria, a purebred elf woman saved her no such courtesy.
"The enemy will spare you no such luxury, as a healer they will target you first, it is not my job to babysit, despite being only level 27, your healing magic far outpaces mine in potency after just a month of training it, but to face the demon hordes you need much more than the meagre levels of stamina and strength and durability that you currently possess," The elf chastised Eris.
Her ears were twice the length of Arla's, and unlike the half elf's ears that were pointing to the sky diagonally, Idria's ears were straight at a 90° angle with sharper pointed tips, her eyes were gleaming with magic, her skin much paler than anyone else's and she had silver hair that was neatly tied in round knots that caught her just at the middle of her back.
[Name: Idria
Race: Elf
Level: 130
Title: Healing Corps Commander
Skills: Healing, AOE heal, Healing Arrow
Class: Healing Mage (max level)
Buffs: Preserver, Mana boost, Health increase
Blessing: Fruit of the world tree
Curse: Moonchild; subject is stronger by night, but has difficulty seeing by day
Special: Soul reconstruction; Subject can reconstruct the soul of one target even from the abyss of shattered souls with 100% success, penalty is death].
"If you wish to survive the wars of Arkadia, Eris Schneider, you must become unbreakable!" Idria who was wearing loose pants and a black cropped sleeveless blouse flexed her arms and brushed her chin with her knuckle. "On your feet hero in training, there is much more hell to go through." She adjusted her glasses.
"Ugh," Eris fixed her glasses as well and forced herself to her feet with a huff. "Yes ma'am,"
"Alright then," Idria seemed to vanish from Eris's sights and the girl in response raised her hand blocking a punch to her face but failed to predict the next punch that connected with her stomach raising her off the ground and sending her flying and crashing across the rough sharp grass again.
"I wouldn't want to be her," Dina chuckled to herself, staring across the patch at Eris who struggled to her feet again.
"Focus!" Arla grunted smacking Dina's fingers with her staff and jolting her attention back to herself. "It is embarrassing to say this of a hero but even amongst the regular people you seem to lack progress, not to mention your fellow heroes!" Arla chastised her. "You have no right to mock anyone with your lacklustre skills, are you going to throw your life away in your first battle?" She asked, and Dina gritted her teeth and stared ahead at her target.
Her job was learning to multi-cast while holding a protective barrier around herself, a combination of three spells of the lowest grade.
[Activated barrier tier 1 success]
[Casting fireball failure]
Casting windblade failure]
[-Failure]
[-Failure]
[-Failure]
[Your mana reserves are lower than the required amount to cast these basic spells
[Remaining mana (0/1309,) five hours until mana is completely replenished]
"Fuck, I can't cast any more!" Dina threw her staff to the ground and stomped past her tutor. "I'm going back to the castle!"
"Dina you have to keep pushing yourself, I have potions-" Arla tried stopping her but the girl dragged her hand away and kept walking.
"That's the third time in just as many days that she has given up, did her majesty choose the right summons, I suspect that Sol might have been the mage hero and she may be the imposter," Grim approached Arla while she was in the process of slapping her forehead and kicking grass out of frustration,"
"Unlikely, Master Vestic is his own case, Dina was always meant to be the Mage hero, she probably can't focus because of her inferiority to her fellow heroes," Arla admitted. "While they have all broken past level 20, she is still only level 9, her progress is too slow, she has been left behind." She stated, and the general nodded in agreement.
"The truth is quite sad, that girl lacks imagination, I may have to start from the children's basics to teach her properly,"
"Not even the children use the 'children' basics," Grim shook his head.
"Speaking of, if she is already leaving then I will excuse myself as well," Atla waved to the general and vanished in a flash of light particles, leaving him there standing awkwardly as he thought about her destination.
"Ah, that bitch is gone after master again!" Ikaris made to follow after Arla but was stopped by her mentor. She was a large woman with divinity mixed in her bloodline, she was apparently a descendant of one of the more lecherous gods in the Arkadian pantheon, technically speaking, a demigod.
"Please keep focused, Lady Ikaris,"
"Ugh,"
"That's him right, the imposter who stole the 'mimic' magic and has a hero as his slave?" Sol heard someone murmur behind him while he was standing outside of a shop and looking through the glass at the weak weapons on display.
"I heard he keeps the hero Ikaris chained at night and does all manner of I'll and deplorable things to her," Another person whispered, forcing Sara to turn around and glare at them causing them to disperse into the crowds.
"I heard he's a demon in disguise,"
"There's no way a demon can enter the kingdom so easily!"
"Who started these filthy rumours?" Sol whispered as he ground his teeth in annoyance. "Someone's trying to tarnish my good name!"
"Sir you never had a good reputation amongst the people to begin with, these were rumours coming as far back as your first debut when you bullied a hero in the queen's presence," Sara laughed at his despair.
"I didn't bully anyone, I made a point," Sol shook his fist at the people behind him, and they all scattered.
"Goodness me, how scary~" Arla grabbed onto Sol's hand burying his arm between her breasts, she was dressed in casual clothes, revealing most of her curves and her figure. "Good morning master Vestic~"
"Arla," Sol stared at her surprised. "Did Dina run off again?" He asked.
"She lacks the motivation to fight at all, she struggles with the most basic spells and despite even the average person being able to double cast with a bit of preparation, she struggles to even get her second spell off the ground," Arla complained, and then looked up at Sol again with a slight blush. "Are you free, master Vestic?"
"Am I?" Sol looked at Sara, and the maid smiled and nodded.
"Aside from the castle, you are free to roam wherever else you please, I am overseeing you, after all," Sara gestured to the entirety of the town they were in while Sol looked at the castle in the distance.
"I suppose I am then," Sol agreed.
"Then, I insist on taking you out on a date,"
"D-date?" Sara gulped as a foreboding feeling gripped her stomach. "Lady Arla that is unwise-"
"It is just a date, I am sure Ikaris will understand," Arla smiled.
On the other side of the castle grounds by the training field, the targets were destroyed and there was a crater in the ground and the warrior Lyra Raman, Ikaris's tutor was sitting on her ass with sweat dripping down her chin.
"What the devil just happened?" Grim came running over to the site of the explosion. "Did Ikaris blow herself up?" He asked shocked, but Lyra looked at him even more shocked and shook her head.
"N-no, she suddenly declared that she would murder something and then left, this crater is the result of her jumping before taking flight," Lyra explained as more sweat rolled off her chin. "She has divine magic, and how is she so strong at only level thirty, I do not think I qualify to teach that monster anything!"
"She may already be as strong as I am!"