"Wakey Wakey Cael, it's time to get up!"
"Mhhh… 5… more minutes…"
"Nah."
"Ueeaahhh!!"
What the fuck just happened?? I was instantly forced awake by something very damn unpleasant. I jumped out of the ground right away, and when my brain had finally fully woken up enough to realize what just happened, I quickly started touching my clothes to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Wet. Or rather, soaked. I was fully soaked from top to bottom, including my underwear.
"That's the spirit! It's great that you managed to get up so quickly, I guess a good night of sleep does wonders, huh? Your body is already getting stronger."
Standing next to me, there she was. Holding a now empty bucket, with her usual oblivious smile on her face. Instead of replying to her, I silently took off my shirt as she started rambling again.
"Yesterday was an exception due to Luna's uninvited appearance, however you won't get saved from your training today. I will give you credits for the fact that you learnt how to enhance your body on your own tho, definitely. That was supposed to be the first thing I'd teach you, but I guess we can move on now while you also master that. Anyway, I'm excited for today, I'm sure you're too. So quickly, get changed so we can begin-"
Without letting her finish though, I charged it with all the strength in my arms, and threw my drenched shirt straight into her face. She didn't move a single muscle, just letting gravity do its job, until it fell on the ground.
"…what was that for? Aren't you being a bit rude here, Cael?"
"Huh?! That's my line! What the hell is wrong with you now?!"
"What are you even talking about?"
"The hell do you mean what I'm talking about?? Was the water bucket method the most effective way of waking me up in that tiny little brain of yours you fucking brute?!"
"I mean, it was effective, no? So I guess I was right in the end, wasn't I?"
Her unironic calm behavior within context made it even worse, because she was also right. God it pissed me off.
"I mean, yeah, clearly it worked but come on…"
I sighed, giving up on further pushing it. For that matter, I should've expected this much from Maia.
"Hey, aren't you going to apologize for that? That wasn't very nice of you."
"…just give me my clothes for the day."
"Seems like someone is impatient, huh? I don't dislike that though, enthusiasm is more than welcomed when it comes to training."
She then snuck out of the tent for a few moments, and took some clothes probably from her bag, and a towel. Leaving them inside, and closing the curtain afterwards, she spoke from outside the tent.
"I'll give you 10 minutes this time so you can also dry yourself up properly. We don't want you catching a cold after all."
You should worry about me catching a cold before you drench me up…
"Got it."
Sometimes I wonder if this is a universal problem or not. On one hand, I'm fairly lucky that I don't have an older sibling that bullies the fuck out of me and makes my life hell for the love of the game. On the other hand though, my older sister makes me go through hell with good intentions and does it casually too. I honestly can't even tell if I'm lucky or not anymore. Either way, I did as I was told, and after about 9 minutes or so, I got out of the tent.
Nodding her head in a proud manner as if impressed by her own choice of my outfit, she ogled me from all the possible angles.
"Yep, yep. I knew this would look good, but didn't think it would look This good. The combinations really are endless, huh? I might be gifted in fashion."
"Right…"
Just how many do you even have anyways?
"Well, that aside, aren't you excited? Today is technically your first actual day of training, you know?"
"Can't really be excited after being woken up like that, you know?"
"Was it not enough water or something?"
Alright, she's fucking with me.
"What's it gonna be today?"
She smiled while starting to stretch her arms.
"Well, for starters we are going to eat at Layra's for breakfast. Oh and don't worry, Luna already laid off a good loan for us, so we can eat pretty much anything at any time."
"Why's Luna our wallet now…"
"Then, although initially I wanted to teach you something else, I changed my mind. Today you're going to learn how to fly."
She ignored it…
"Well, you're the teacher here, so I don't really have a say in it. Are you ready to go?"
Finishing her stretches, she then casually picked me up.
"Yep, we're going to be busy today, so don't expect an easy time."
"Don't worry, I wasn't expecting anything easy coming from you, you damn gorilla."
She then took off, flying towards the town once again. When we got there, Jun and Juna were also present, and although they weren't working or anything, since they were probably still scared of interacting with strangers that much, they were still standing by. At one point, a customer's fork had fallen down, and Juna replaced it for her. They were mostly just doing small tasks like that, but it seemed like the two of them were ever so slightly happier now. I was relieved.
That ridiculously sized platter of food that Layra gave me yesterday also, today's portion was only slightly smaller. I somehow managed to finish it, but I actually think I would've thrown up if I had anything else, so I had to refuse seconds like 5 times before she finally decided to just let my poor bloated tummy rest a bit. Seriously, I'd really appreciate it if she started giving me normal portions…
After breakfast, picking me up and starting flying again, Maia was probably taking us to where my training would begin… but for some very mysterious reason, she was going higher this time, or rather, a bit too high. And it didn't even seem like we were going anywhere specifically, or that far from the town either since I could see it probably only a few kilometers away at most.
"U-uhm… M-Maia. Why are we so high up…?"
"Hm? What, you shouldn't have a fear of heights, no? Did you suddenly develop one or something?"
"Maybe?! For that matter, where are we even going? We're almost at the same altitude as the clouds! And we aren't even that far from the town."
"Jeez, you sure complain a lot, huh? Aren't you getting a little spoiled, my dear little brother?"
"I didn't even complain though??"
At this point, I was actually starting to get seriously concerned. The cherry on top was when we went above the clouds altitude. The air felt thinner, and breathing was starting to become a task, instead of a mindless habit. However, even though it should've been extremely cold by now up here, I wasn't feeling any different than I did on the ground, which was most definitely her doing.
"Your fast paced breathing, and the slight confusion in your eyes. Seems like you've noticed."
"…"
"At this altitude, the temperatures are around anywhere between -20 to -40 degrees, but you're not cold. And you're also feeling the air being thinner, due to the decrease in air pressure, so on and so forth."
Since when are YOU so knowledgeable?!
"The first basis of "flying", which allows you to freely move around however you want, and the most important one…"
Pausing her sentence, She then also stopped all movement, simply standing there on literally nothing somehow. I tried looking down, but obviously enough, there wasn't anything other than the clouds we were just barely above.
"It might seem complicated, but it's not actually that hard honestly. You just have to cover yourself with a thin layer of mana for starters."
"A thin layer, huh. What's that going to do? Or rather, do I even have enough mana to do it?"
"Don't worry, even someone with close to no mana like you would be able to do it with enough practice. After you do it the first time, it honestly becomes second nature."
Guess I'll just let her explain then.
"After you get that thin layer, all you have to do is merge its extremities with the mana that is already in the air. That will allow you to freely move however you want. The matter of going faster is a different discussion, but once you get used to the basis of "flying" itself, you should be able to subconsciously manage to increase or decrease your speed."
I want to be like "it's not actually that hard, my ass!" But this actually sounded fairly easy in theory. If all it took was merging a thin layer of your mana with the one in the air, then it shouldn't be an uncommon skill though, so there must be a reason for that.
"If it's that easy, then why is it not a common skill among anyone that has any control over their mana?"
"Well, there's the classic reason as just fears of height, but there is also a technical one. Feeling the mana surrounding us is like a sixth sense. Anyone feels it, but most people don't realize it, or ignore it. And forming that small layer then merging it isn't as easy as it sounds, since it does require a lot of concentration."
"Even then, if it's for something as useful and fun as flying, shouldn't more people try to achieve it?"
"Are you trying to learn it for yourself or trying to make others learn it…"
Ah. I guess it does sound like that, doesn't it? But honestly, I'm just shocked. Having the ability to fly but willingly choosing not to? Especially when even someone with as little mana as me can do it supposedly, that's just frustrating. The people of this world were just wasting an opportunity like that. But in the end, I guess that wasn't actually any of my business.
"…continue."
"Haha, well as I was saying. That was the first basis, which by the way is also why we're not cold now. I'm covering both of us, and just raising our heat resistance with mana, it's pretty much the same as enhancing your body to not feel cold. Now, for the second basis, which is how I'm able to just stand on air, and is even simpler than the first."
I think I can guess where this is going.
"All you have to do is harden the mana beneath your feet. Pretty much creating your own footsteps, by condensing and hardening the mana beneath them."
Thought so. This was oddly convenient honestly, because I was actually already familiar with something similar. Soul reapers used pretty much the same method to stand on air, so that was extremely easy for me to understand. Glory to the soul society man, seriously.
"Is that really it?"
"Yep, those 2 are the only things you really need to do in order to fly. Told you it's easy, didn't I? Once you do it once, you'll be able to do it as easily as walking."
My, how convenient… I have a terrible feeling about this.
"Haha, I'm glad then. So? Are you going to tell me why we're up here yet?"
"Hahahaha"
"Eh?"
"Hahaha."
"W-wait, d-dont tell me…"
"Well, don't worry. You're already under a protective barrier of mine, so even if you fail, the most that'll happen is probably just shattering your legs… if you land on your feet."
…she's gonna drop me, isn't she.
"…is there any way we could discuss the method of training-"
"Nope."
"Oh for fucks sake- aaaaaaaahhhhhh"
Letting go of me, I started free falling down. We were probably around 6 kilometers up earlier, so it would take me like a minute and a half until I'd reach the ground, but I really wasn't in the mental state for those kinds of thoughts at the moment. I had heard about it, but falling through clouds really does fucking hurt! It felt like sharp needles constantly poking me, and I also could barely see. Those few seconds passing through them were obviously wasted with 0 useful thoughts.
Alright, alright, alright. What the fuck do I do now??
Uhm, what was it again, those 2 steps… that's right, the layer of mana and hardening the mana beneath my feet. I clearly don't have time to try and waste time with creating a layer of mana though. My amount is too small for me to casually thin it out and successfully do it on my first attempt… wait, actually-
What if I just…
What if I just hardened the mana in the air beneath me? Wouldn't it just stop me midair? That should work, right? Right?! Well, since I wasted a good 20-30 seconds thinking about that and I could now see the ground getting closer, I clearly didn't have a choice.
Feel the mana in the air, feel the mana in the air, feel the mana in the air…!
Barely, but I was definitely feeling it. I didn't have time to try and experiment by closing my eyes and imagining the mana and what not other bullshit though, so I did the quickest thing I could. I chose a random spot in the air a few meters below, and with the faint trail of mana I felt towards it, I hardened it, focusing all of my concentration on it.
I think, I think I did it!
I have no fucking clue how I managed to use the mana in the air instead of mine, probably one of those instinctive skills, but who the fuck cares??! All that matters is my success in the task, which is now in the palm of my hand. Or I guess beneath my feet?
"Haha… hahahahah, hahahahah!"
I couldn't help but start laughing excitedly as I approached the area I had hardened. What face will Maia make when she'll see that I succeeded kind of, on my first try? Am I actually gifted in this? I might be a genius! Maybe the Ashford genes didn't all go towards Maia!
Here it comes!
I managed to straighten my feet, preparing myself to land on the hardened area, with nothing but excitement.
3…2…1- huh?
I looked down from my sides. I had certainly, most definitely, absolutely stopped. I was in the middle of the air after all. However, there was something weird.
Why am I sitting on my ass?
I quickly looked down straight this time. Huh, what happened to my… legs?!
"Aaaaarghhhh!"
I could hardly call them legs anymore. The adrenaline from the free fall itself must've numbed the pain on impact, but the moment I had realized what was going on, I felt all of it. My legs were completely shattered. Every single bone in them. And that wasn't all.
"Graaaahhhhhh!
It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!
I could feel it. My pelvis was also completely shattered, and while I was somehow sitting on my ass at first, that didn't last long as I instantly swung on my side. Some shattered bones from my pelvis had dug deep inside of me. I could feel some of my organs being penetrated by my shattered bones.
Still screaming, I had also started crying. This was excruciating. It was the most pain I had ever felt in my entire life. What happened? Why did it get to this? Why am I in so much pain? Why did I fail? Why? Why? Why?!
"…thought that might be the case."
Ascending, stopping on my same level, sighing almost in disappointment there she was, looking at me.
Maia, you bitch! You did this to me!
I couldn't talk. Or rather, any sounds I made were exclusively screams or crying, so even if I tried to, nothing coherent would've come out.
"I can already guess what you must be thinking… those beautiful red eyes of yours are telling me all of it. But I'll correct you on one thing, Cael. You did this to yourself."
What?! Why are you blaming me even now?! What did I do wrong?! Why are you looking down on me like that?!
"You must've thought that there's no point in trying to form the mana layer, since you've never done it before, and just try to harden the air. "I'm just gonna stop on air!" Did you forget your brain at home this morning? You clearly hardened it, but that's it. With no way of slowing down your fall, you changed absolutely nothing other than making yourself hit a fake ground."
"S-arghh!-hut… aeeghhh! Up!"
"My, I'm impressed that you can even make out those sounds while in this much pain. You're either impressive or just insane. Though don't worry, I still love you the way you are, my dear sweet little brother."
I get it. This wasn't her fault, and I was the one in the wrong. But what kept angering me, is the fact that she clearly expected me to fail this way, and just let it happen. Why? Seriously. Just, why?
"Well, I guess it's time to heal you up."
It was almost instant. My pain dissipated into nothingness as if it was never there to begin with. My legs and pants both went back to normal, and any blood disappeared. The shock was something though. I genuinely, from the bottom of my heart wished I could just give up, and I think that I'd actually have every right to as well… but it just wouldn't be right. To begin with, I was the one who wanted this. It was my mistake that got me in that state, and above all… I needed it.
I'm not trying to get stronger to protect anyone, or any heroic reason like that. I simply am doing it for my own benefit, of succeeding later on as an adventurer once I'm old enough. But while that's absolutely true… assuming that neither dad, Maia or mom, or Aldric and Lyanna would be around, and hypothetically speaking, if say… the twins would need protection, and the only one who's around is me. If I don't complete the training and learn everything she intends on teaching me which I know will all be useful in the end, who's going to keep them safe?
Of course, I'd rather never be in a situation where it would be needed for me to be the only one to protect them, and I hope they'll never get in any trouble that would require the strength of anyone other than themselves, but… hypothetically. That thought is one of the reasons for why I just can't give up on my training yet. At least not when I'm still so weak.
A few minutes later, when I finally caught enough breath to calm myself down properly, the first thing I did was get on my knees and bow my head to her.
"I'm sorry, Maia. I was blaming you for it earlier. Even if it was because of the pain, I shouldn't have even thought anything along those lines."
She looked down at me, clearly surprised for around 3 seconds, which then melted into a warm, almost proud smile.
"Raise your head, my sweet little brother."
She said while getting to my side, laying a hand on my left shoulder.
"Of course, I forgive you. But don't get me wrong, I wasn't even mad to begin with. If I was in your place, I'd probably have a similar reaction too. But are you alright? Must've been a pretty hard shock."
"…"
"You wanna quit? I won't blame you for it. The general training will be harder than what any other 7 year old could ever take after all."
Quitting, huh. I'd love to. In fact, I'm so scared that it's hard to even get these words out. But…
"…no. I'll keep going. Until it's time for you to leave, I'll keep going through the training."
I then got up, looking up at her with a smile which I somehow found the strength to put on after giving up on backing down. It was honestly just straight up terrifying. Knowing that a simple mistake of a thought could hurt this much. However, I know that it would've hurt me even more in the future, if I just gave up on a valuable training like this.
"You sure? This is your last chance, you know? Afterwards, I'll never ask you again, and I won't take any complaints."
Again, extremely tempting. But…
"I'm good. For that matter, I should take this as a lesson, that I need to be more careful, and think through every possibility. I honestly didn't even think that it would be the same as just landing on the ground, for some reason."
"I see… Alright then. Are you ready for round 2, my dear little brother?"
"Of course, my dear older sister."