I practiced, I could feel the faint hum of thunder within me, connecting to the weapon, strengthening the bond between magic and steel. For the first time, I understood how deeply intertwined my magic was with the very weapons I wielded. And for the first time, I got a mentor who knew about my attribute capabilities.
AUTHOR POV.
Ursang standing by the door of the house. The two of them fully focusing on their matters, he's just looking at them worried yacha may abandon the mission and turn rogue, as the connection between those two is getting stronger, far more than two thunder attribute users, like yacha is one of his kids. Sigurd shows yacha how to feel the weapon and swing it precisely, how to feel all the tips of the axe and extend the things within those tips making the weapon glow in silver light. Ursang is not afraid or worried yacha may get stronger, he's afraid yacha is softening a place in his heart for this man they just met two days ago.
Days go by and yacha is a quick learner he learned how to use the axe more swiftly. Until one day Sigurd gathered the four of them in the backyard of his house.
"Now, I need to know what is your attribute?" Sigurd said trying to know more about us.
No one of them spoke he sighed and said
"I'm trying to train you, your now level is far weaker than any I have encountered, sure you are young, but it is the power you seek."
Speira first answered " wind attribute and healing attributes."
Eline second answered "I used water only" with a disappointed look on her face.
Ursang took a while " tsk!! I use earth attribute… but I start to unlock fire."
That was a surprise to yacha and speira and eline specifically. She's more upset now but she swollen it. Yacha jumps to Ursang happy as a baby goat jumping around his mom. Asking Ursang why he kept it a secret.
Sigurd interrupted them, he asked them to pick up their best weapon and follow him, yacha however determined to keep the axe picking up another one, which visually made Ursang upset but he didn't say a word, they walked to the depth of the forest, the five of them up a rock they stood, looking down a group of monsters.
Round eyes like plates with large red noses and too much hair on their body. Giant walking-looking monsters some of them had several heads and some of them had one eye. They eat some mooses, while time to time fight among themselves. Savages with weapons made from sticks and rocks.
A look of disgust on eline face as their smell reached them, while yacha expressed his look of wonder as those orcs he called them exist even her.
" no, no, no, those are trolls, they grew a strong sense of desire for human flesh ." He said observing the trolls.
" so …? What are we doing here?" Ursang said questioning Sigurd actions to take them there.
He smirked an evil smirk with a laugh," Your training begins here, council your aura as trolls can sense them if you are near, and kill all of them." In the last part, he popped his eyes, in a way as we have to accept the challenge.
Yacha without questioning jumped following his advice and speira too. Elin and Ursang stayed back, and Sigurd assured them he would be there in case trolls overwhelmed them. Still hesitating, they look down. Yacha and Speira moved in perfect sync, their blades flashing under the dim forest light as they sliced through the horde of trolls. Speira's wind magic spun around her, enhancing her agility, while Yacha's axes crackled with fire and thunder, striking down any creature that got too close. They exchanged a quick, exhilarated grin in the chaos, reveling in the thrill of battle as the trolls kept coming.
As Yacha and Speira charged ahead, the thrill of the fight took over, and they decided to split, each handling the trolls as their own challenge. Yacha's axes gleamed, slicing through the one-eyed trolls with ease, but the two-headed monsters were more cunning, forcing him to dodge their powerful blows. Speira spun like a whirlwind, her short swords flashing as her wind magic guided her strikes, but even she found the larger trolls harder to topple.
Just as the battle heated up, Ursang and Eline leaped into the fray, their entrance a thunderous roar. Ursang's heavy sword slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves through the battlefield as he struggled against a towering troll with two heads. Eline, with her fluid water magic, weaved around the one-eyed trolls, cutting them down swiftly, but found herself entangled by a particularly tough two-headed brute.
The four of them moved in a chaotic harmony, each taking on their share of the monstrous horde. Yacha's fire and thunder magic scorched the battlefield, while Ursang's brute strength held back the fiercest of the trolls. Speira's wind magic swirled like a storm, while Eline's water spells dampened the ground, making the trolls slip and falter.
Though some trolls fell easily, others fought back with ferocity, their two heads snapping at any who came too close or their single eye glaring with lethal intent. Even as they faced difficulty, the group pressed on, determined to turn this battle into training worthy of their strength.
From the top of a jagged rock, Sigurd watched, his arms crossed, observing the four warriors as they clashed with the trolls below. His sharp eyes gleamed with approval as Ursang, for the first time, let sparks of fire dance along the edge of his sword, a faint glow flickering in his movements. It wasn't much, but Sigurd knew the boy was close—each swing of his blade becoming more precise, more infused with the raw power of the fire attribute slowly awakening within him.
Yacha's axes cleaved through the thick hide of the trolls, his form relentless, while Speira and Eline moved like twin whirlwinds of wind and water, keeping the battlefield in constant flux. Sigurd's smile grew as he saw them adapt, pushing themselves against the monstrous strength of their enemies.
Before they could even register the tremors in the ground, a massive troll emerged from the shadows, towering over the rest. With three heads, each crowned by a single glaring eye, and a grotesque face snarling from its stomach, it charged at them with a thunderous growl, shaking the earth beneath its feet. Yacha and the others barely had time to grip their weapons, hearts pounding at the sight of the monstrous creature hurtling toward them.
But in an instant, a blur of motion descended from the rock above. Sigurd, with both axes gleaming in hand, moved faster than their eyes could follow. With a single devastating swing, he cleaved through the giant troll, splitting it cleanly into three massive pieces before it could strike. The ground trembled with its fall, but Sigurd stood tall, "Hahahaa!!! Good job kids, the trolls weren't a challenge I see." his axes dripping with blood, barely breaking a sweat.
"A challenge? More like, 'Hey, go train, by the way, you're going to die,'" Ursang shouted, clearly upset.
"Now, now, you let the fire out," Sigurd replied, calm and confident in his methods, effectively shutting Ursang up.
Yacha's eyes sparkled with excitement, thrilled at the opportunity to grow stronger, completely unbothered by Ursang's anger.
"Can we eat those?" Speira asked, all the time the hungry food lover.
Sigurd denied her request, leading them to their next objective—finding food.
Noticing something was off with Eline, Sigurd approached her. "You okay, kid?" he asked.
"Ye-yes, thank you for asking," she replied, but her tone betrayed a hint of sadness.
"Hmm, don't worry, you're still young, and you'll unlock new attributes. Cheer up, Eline," he reassured her.
Her face brightened slightly as Sigurd gathered them to explain more about magical attributes. He demonstrated how he could control all five elemental attributes, as well as thunder, explaining that with time, focus, and the proper growth of their mana cores, they could achieve the same.
"But let me tell you one thing," he added as they made their way to hunt moose, "focus on three attributes, sharpen them, train them to the maximum. Make those attributes a part of your physical body. Focusing on all is just a waste of time."
The final task for the day was completed, they hunted down twelve Moses, and the four of them started to wonder how they going to take those back to the village, Sigurd with his evil laugh again.
" each one of you drag with one moose, use two wooden sticks as a carriage, I take two, and my wolves will take the rest that's the final training for the day," he said walking away, as Geri and Freki carried the rest. They were now kind of annoyed at Sigurd's actions, and he started to run away like it was nothing.