"Hold it! Don't let go!"
Currently, I'm being taught how to use a spear properly—more like how to hold it properly.
I had a hard time keeping it steady, it's not my fault if my arms are short and the spear they gave me is heavy.
"Eyes straight! Don't look away from your enemy and strike!"
"HAAH!"
Huffing intensely, I thrust the spear into a dummy.
"Hmmm, good enough. Way to go young master, you're getting better at using it."
"I still want to hold it using one hand though," I said with an image of a great warrior on top of the cliff holding a spear in hand. "and why can't I use a smaller one?"
"It's better if you get used to bigger ones young master, that also strengthens your muscles."
"I should have stuck to the sword," I grumbled.
It's not that I hate using a spear, quite the opposite actually, I like using it the most but I just don't understand why we kept on doing basic thrusts.
"When are you going to teach me real combat? We've been doing this for three years now and I'm about to leave this place."
"Don't worry young master, I will accompany you on your journey and it's also about time for me to teach you some combat techniques."
"You don't know how happy I am to hear that, Polochko."
I don't use honorifics like I usually do anymore, well only towards the servants and retainers. Papa always scolded me for always being polite towards them, he said my status was way too high to address them like that, so even though he teaches me, I don't call him master or teacher.
"Speaking of combat, help me try out a new attack I am practicing."
I have been practicing some conjuration and I wanted to copy a certain Heroic Spirit's Ultimate move. I've made some progress and I can't wait to put this into action.
"Young master, Lord Pantalone won't like it if you hurt yourself again."
"Just trust me okay? It will be fine."
With a defeated sigh, Polochko readied his spear and pointed it toward me.
"I'm ready young master."
"Alright, here goes,"
My vision glowed as I sucked elemental energy from it and it took a few seconds before circles made of ice manifested behind me.
Multiple transparent circles drifted slowly behind me, and intricate patterns that had no other use but for aesthetics glowed as I focused on manifesting more. Gotta make it cool looking.
A minute passed and I finally stopped gathering elemental energy from my vision. Behind me are 20 identical circles made of ice.
"Take this! Gate of Babylon!"
Ice shards that looked like imitations of different weapons formed, the only thing that differs from the original is that each of them had deformed looks that would make anyone who saw them mistake them for random pieces of ice.
"Seriously? Whatever, here goes nothing."
I shot them towards Polochko each having a different speed and mass making them unpredictable. Despite all of these modifications, Polochko managed to block or deflect all of them. What a monster.
"Here comes more!"
I shot more ice towards him in an endless barrage and yet he doesn't seem so bothered.
"How can you block all of them?!" I exclaimed in confusion.
Finally, the rate at which I sucked elemental energy from my vision could not keep up with the rate of fire and I was left exhausted.
"You're a monster, Polochko," I said as I gasped for air.
"You're more impressive, young master."
"No, look how tired I become with just that."
"He's right, you're quite a monster when you use your powers." Suddenly, a melodic young voice said. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"Greeting, Lord Harbinger Damslette,"
Columbina ignored Polochko and approached me.
"Hello, Bena. Here to check up on me?"
She stoped in her tracks and said. "I still don't get why you call me that,"
"It's cute no?"
With a sigh she said. "Whatever, if you like it then it's fine."
Her attention was then directed towards the holes in the ground where a few of the ice that missed made contact with the floor and broke.
"I see that our sessions are not for naught."
"You're a great teacher."
She then contemplated and after a few moments, she said with a voice full of anticipation.
"A few more decades and I believe you can break my defenses, make me bleed, and cut through my skin."
"..."
Here we go again. One thing I learned after hanging out with her is that she has a very distorted view of life. For her, killing and violence are normal—Do you have a problem? Violence is not a question, it's an answer. Your friend is getting bullied? Let's make those bullies go extinct.
Even though she's like this, it's quite easy to get along with her, unless you make her mad or if she doesn't like you. I once made her mad and she didn't speak to me for a whole year. She just appears to check up on me once a week then instantly leaves, she doesn't even reply when I greet her.
It's better now and she visits me once every 2 days. It was a hard time getting her trust back.
"I'm hungry, Bena have you eaten yet? If not let's go have lunch." I said, trying to change the topic.
"I suppose I can join you."
"Then let's go. Polochko if Dad asked, tell him I'm having lunch with Bena in my room."
"As you wish. Have a great day, young master."
"See you later."
***
We had lunch on the roof of the Mansion where a makeshift safety railing was put up. I just climbed on the window from the highest room in the mansion and made our way there with food on hand.
"I'm quite jealous of you, you can just fly and don't need these traditional legs."
"You know the reason why I don't use my limbs as much and don't diss your legs, you're lucky you have one."
"Alright ma'am, I will stop."
One more thing about her is that she doesn't control her power. She could literally squash me in her hands and I wouldn't even know I died. That's one of the reasons why she doesn't use her physical strength to do anything.
She is the strongest if not, is one of the strongest among the Harbingers. Pair that with more of her hidden powers and you have quite the powerhouse.
I guess that's why she is the 3rd of them, after all, they're ranked by strength and usefulness.
"So you'll go tomorrow?"
"Yeah, the sooner I go the better. It's close to winter and I don't want to go when snowstorms are rampant."
"I guess that is so..."
"Will you be there to send me off tomorrow?"
"I'll think about it,"
"If you're there tomorrow I'll give you something."
"And what is it?"
I replied with a smirk. "If you want to know, then make sure you're there."
She thought for a while then she replied. "Then I suppose I have to be there."
"Sounds good to me. Oh by the way, do you still have that thing that Dottore used the last time?"
"..."
"Come on, give it to me, pleeeeease."
"You know that that thing is dangerous,"
"Yep,"
"and it can make you go insane,"
"Yep,"
"and that the Tsaritsa banned you from going near it,"
"Yep,"
"Then why do you still want it?"
"For research purposes,"
"..."
"...'
"You sound more like Dottore now,"
"I'm not as crazy as him though,"
I'm not as crazy as him, I won't even use forbidden knowledge the way he uses it. I just want to see what will happen if something happens if I try to do the same thing as my vision. Absorb it, then before it gets integrated into me, release it. I don't have any material to use and this is the only close thing. Plus, Bena is here to fix everything.
"I already disposed of it."
"Tsk,"
***
We are done with lunch and Bena already left. I'm currently walking towards Dad's room where I will have my final lecture from him.
During the past 4 years, he taught me many things. From loopholes in the laws to trade routes and bandit camps and their leaders.
I knocked on the door and waited for his reply.
"Who is it?"
"It's me Dad."
"Come in, Leo."
I opened the door and inside were many papers that were always there whenever I entered. At first, I thought his work wasn't that much but since he started teaching me, he took all his paperwork from his office and did it here at home, and what's more, it's increasing.
"I'm almost done here, go sit for now."