Throughout the next four days, the trio spent their days learning. And during their nights, they split off and did stuff on their own.
For Jean and Hiyoshin, this often meant just sleeping, each in their own room.
But for Randall? He often visited the library and shut himself there.
Leaving the visits aside, other remarkable moments did take place throughout this period of time. For example, on the second day, they ended up meeting a few middle aged men.
To be specific, William, and the other human knights who were in the burning town during the unexpected monster tide.
Exactly a week later, on the ninth day of the seventh month, the three of them were summoned to the throne room once again. At night.
"Why is the Monarch the one who always gives us missions?... Shouldn't he take care of other things?..." questioned Randall, on the way over, while yawning.
'Besides, can't they wait until morning…?'
"He must have his reasons," answered the crimson-eyed woman, who just had a long-sleeved white shirt, and trousers acting as pants.
She walked calmly and with grace, in spite of the two notorious black bags under her eyes. As for the panda woman, her only reaction to the question involved a shrug.
They remained mostly silent though, up to their arrival to the place where the chair rested.
The chair of the Monarch… where he currently sat.
A few guards stood in the chamber, orderly and ready to follow orders. Four of them wore some heavy armor surrounding the throne, and the others, in far lighter clothing, remained sparsely scattered across the room.
However, a certain individual stood out from the others, capturing Randall's and Jean's attention with ease.
"Good morning, Monarch Orwell," stated the trio, as two of them bowed down, while one of them just nodded his head.
The Monarch stared at the armrest of the throne, unresponsive.
"... Sir?"
The voice of one of the Royal Guards shook the elder out of his thoughts, who finally faced the reincarnator and his friends… Or-well, companions.
"Uh, sorry…. As I told you a few days ago, you all have a new task. But you had to wait, due to us needing to handle a few things involving the very nature of this ordeal." He declared, with his usual rigid voice.
"However, the preparations are now complete," he stated, before sparing a small glance at a certain stranger in the room.
A figure wearing a dark green hood rested with its back lying on one of the walls, as if waiting silently with its two arms crossed.
"The goal is clear: Destroy that facility in Edelchia. Though, given that you three don't have enough knowledge of the elven territory and the people's customs… Let's just say we recruited a guide. Miss, you may present yourself."
The hooded stranger took off the hood off the face, revealing a fair elven face underneath.
"My name is Nata- Oh… Hey."
The elf's gray eyes scanned the familiar duo, in a rather friendly manner. She recalled the time they saved her and the other elves in that town, and the fact that she couldn't do much to help them in return.
Of course, all of that came to a screeching halt when she noticed the panda.
Right at that moment, her face almost made a sharp 180°, hostility taking over her once friendly expression.
"... Name's Natasha. I'll be your escort, and guide while we're on my land."
***
[Randall's POV]
Trees grew near us, or in the distance, but still remained surrounded by the grass.
The healthy, unstained grass.
In the middle of the small clearing we occupied, ashes littered a small, rock-made circle, while the flames consumed some branches and medium-sized wood logs.
Jean, who sat down on a rock, stared intently at the flames she had lit previously.
On a wooden log, someone vigorously chewed on a piece of meat with some threatening teeth, with no regard for anything other than the bits of flesh being swallowed.
Not even the bits of meat juice that got on her gray hood.
That was Ren, who clearly seemed to be enjoying herself. And to be fair, her food does look worthy of being munched and gnawed on.
As for Natasha, she should be back soon.
'If I remember correctly, she went to-'
"I'm back."
And, there she is.
"Did you find anything?" inquired the dark haired human, who glanced in the elf's direction.
"Luckily, nothing. The area nearby is mostly clear, so we can take a small break, and travel a bit more before the sky darkens."
While they talked, I recalled a certain detail I saw on my first day here, while my gaze flew over the three women present.
'... If I remember correctly, Natasha should be able to manifest her Ego. For whatever reason, Jean and Ren seem to be unable to.'
Thus… Maybe I can ask her about it?
I read a simple book regarding some basics of the Ego, but… A practical class would be more helpful. Definitely.
Especially considering how most experts are too busy dealing with the war for a 1-on-1 session.
"... Hey, Nat."
"Hm?"
"Do you have some time to spare?"
"Depends," replied the gray eyed elf.
Well, that's a good starting point. Thus, I asked if she could teach me a few things regarding the Ego.
"Aren't you humans more adept at handling Ego? In fact, aren't you one of the few capable of dual wielding?... I don't think there's anything I can do…"
"… It's complicated. But I didn't really know what I was doing."
She sighed, and gave me a hopeful reply. "I don't really understand, but whatever…"
The elf got up, and signaled for me to follow her into the woods. And so I did.
"Just be serious about it, and don't waste my time."
With that warning, we left Jean and Ren in the clearing. One of which didn't want to get involved, and the other not being allowed to.
…
"Name's Randall, right?"
I nodded, a casual breeze of wind caressing my cheeks, and a nearby tree trunk, as I did that.
"How much do you know about Ego?"
"... Not much. I know how to manifest and recall it, but that's it."
"Weird… Nevertheless, let us go with the basics," she said before tapping her head.
"First and foremost, our minds. They emanate a strange energy called "Colera", making them the reason we can use the Ego in the first place."
Before she continued, she extended her hand.
A big, brown, wooden bow. Green veins wrapped themselves around the rough, barky surface, in spite of the dried up crimson fluid staining most of the weapon.
One of her hands rested on the deep green string, which meshed well with our current environment.
"This small motion you saw was the manifestation of the Ego… It can be many things, but in my case, it's a bow. This process, along with keeping it around and using it, will tire out your mind and consume Colera. At best, it'll impair your thinking abilities to a negligible degree, or cloud your judgment… Never push it too far beyond its limits. I mean it."
Natasha took a breather, and asked if I understood that.
"Yes, I have."
'... So, both manifesting my Ego and using Time Alter require me to sacrifice my mental stability, which seems to act as a fuel.'
Interesting. But it is dangerous.
After hearing my words, the elf continued.
"Moving on… You can keep it around for as long as you want, but be careful: The longer you overwork your mind, the more exhausted it will be. Of course, push it too far beyond its limits, and forget about it being able to recover ever again."
"Would you mind elaborating?"
She laid back on one of the trees, and looked up to the partially covered sky. "Colera is directly linked to your own mental exhaustion. Any signs of it will manifest visibly, letting you know of your own condition… The first signs tend to be the minor warnings."
"Minor warnings?"
The elf glanced at me, and nodded. "Yes. By that point, you're relatively alright, with only some rest being needed… The issues come later on."
"Hm?"
"You start losing track of everything, except for the one thing your mind is hyper fixated on. A head-splitting headache might assault you at the worst of times. And, apparently, the worst one before the true hell arrives is… hearing the voices…" she muttered, shuddering at the last part.
I recalled that one moment in Danpold, where something eerily similar happened… I barely had control of myself. Both my body, and thoughts.
Almost as if someone else had partially taken over.
"... I understand."
"And finally, remember to be careful whenever your Ego clashes with something. In spite of the Ego's tremendous power, you'll suffer some horrible mental backlash if it is destroyed… I, along with many others, know from experience."
"So, basically: If I keep my mind healthy, I'll be alright."
"... Yes. And the worse it gets, the longer it takes to heal."
My hand moved slightly up, and ended up at the level of my chest. Focusing on my heart beats.
"You want to try it? Ok. Focus on how you feel throughout, and after the manifestation," she commanded.
I repeated the same procedure as the last few times.
A clean, blue rapier appeared on my main hand, and a minuscule piece of my mind seemingly disappeared.
I'm not quite sure what it was… However, I feel a tad calmer now. Or serene.
Yeah, serene would be more accurate.
She spared the rapier a side glance, and nodded. "Did you notice it?"
"... Yes, I think I have."
It was hard to notice, but it was there. Summoning this definitely consumed something.
Meanwhile, she pulled the string, and a lime arrow appeared there. Ready to be shot.
"... Is that Mana?"
"Yes, it is. Are you wondering why I use an arrow made of Mana, maybe?"
I nodded, and she pointed to her mind.
"It is simple. These are safe, and they hit hard… Not as hard as an arrow made with Ego, but I'll take it."
And with that, we continued training throughout the day. Until I got tired, that is.
"We're done for the day." Stated the elf.
"I can still go on, though…"
"... We. Are. Done. You may not be able to notice it, but your breathing has accelerated enough to be mildly concerning. As a side note, you're also sweating."
And with that, she straight up left. "Let's go. We need to be ready to set out in the morning, and sleeping late will not help us."