The group, including Ruri who eagerly wanted to join, entered a special building. As they stepped inside, they saw the walls were heavily reinforced with various sheets of metal and earth. There were also numerous cages filled with chains, giving the place an intimidating atmosphere.
"I take it this is the training field?" Logan asked, making sure that they weren't dragging him to a prison.
"That's correct, Logan. We are currently in my reinforced gym, specially made to train the largest of my beasts. It should be able to handle an explosion or two, so go wild," the Earl said, while raising his hands to turn on all the lighting in the building.
The place was enormous, probably half the size of the Earl's large mansion, which was already pretty big. Logan went forward towards the center of the large battle dome, his three tames present to begin his testing. He could only have three active skills at a time, meaning he had to choose which of them to have at the moment.
Taking the piece of the chronicle crystal out to see which skills he would use, Logan saw that Zephyr's Gale Force was one of the top candidates. As for fire skills available, only Flame Breath could be selected, as he didn't have a tail to use Searing Whip. Just as he was about to give up, Logan remembered and took out the whip weapon that Rubina had been adamant about him buying in the weapon store.
Holding the whip and checking his Scorchwyrm's skills, Logan noticed that the skill was now available. It was nice to know, but for his first test, he went with his initial choice. As for his third skill, he went with Ice Shards, hoping that soon he would get his ice monster leveled up enough to have more skill variety.
Not knowing how to use each skill, Logan first tried Ice Shards, which would probably be the easiest and less dangerous of the three. He thought for a few seconds, lifted his arm, and spoke out the name of the skill.
"Ice Shards!" Logan mumbled, trying to concentrate, yet nothing happened.
"Remember that you need to mix in some of your mana, Logan," Rubina suggested from afar, where the others were sitting near a bench.
Taking a deep breath, Logan focused on channeling his mana into his arm. He felt a tingling sensation as the energy flowed through him. Sort of how he unconsciously made his blood have a sort of power within it to tame beast, he lifted his arm again and called out the skill's name with more confidence.
"Ice Shards!"
This time, crystalline shards of ice materialized in the air around him and shot forward, embedding themselves in the ground with a satisfying thud. Logan smiled, pleased with his success.
"Great job!" Rubina cheered. Earl Victor and the others nodded in approval.
Logan ran towards the small shards which were quickly melting. They were about five centimeters long, sharp, and cold enough to cause the area around them to be frosted over.
Guess it's a good time to test the fire skill, let's see if they melt.
"Flame Breath!"
Logan tried to act like he was blowing out a candle, yet nothing happened. He tried again, focusing on the flow of his mana, but the same thing happened—nothing.
"Something is not right. How did my salamander do it again…"
Logan recalled that before his Scorchwyrm produced fire, it would sort of charge heat within its mouth before blowing a flamethrower. He hesitated before trying again, imagining that holding a fireball within his mouth would not be an ideal thing for any human to do.
Trying again while imagining a ball of flames being charged in front of his face, Logan murmured the same phrase. This time, he felt a small burst of hot energy in front of his mouth. The boy quickly blew it away, scared of keeping that energy too close to him.
"Logan, calm down. Try to concentrate on where you need to guide the flame, or you will put those around you in danger," Earl Victor called out with a stern tone.
Logan noticed the problem and redirected his position to melt the ice shards. As soon as the flames hit the ice, steam began to form.
The boy stopped, heaving hard. He felt very tired for some reason, which was not caused by breathlessness.
"Seems you're out of mana, Logan. Take it easy and sit down. Here, take a drink from this potion," Rubina advised as Ruri brought out some blue liquid-filled vials.
"I should warn you to have a few of these in case you need them in battle. It's dangerous to leave your core empty as mana takes time to recover normally," Rubina said, popping the cork of a vial with practiced precision and handing the drink to Logan.
Logan gratefully accepted the potion and took a sip. The cool liquid revitalized him almost immediately, and he felt a surge of energy coursing through his body. "Thanks, Rubina," he said, feeling much better.
"You're welcome," she replied with a smile. "Now, take a moment to rest before we continue with the next skill."
Logan nodded and took a seat on the bench next to the others. As he sat there, his fox, Luna, and Zephyr got close to him. His Scorchwyrm, on the other hand, just yawned at a distance. Not particularly keen on being stuck in a place with no food, Logan could relate to the little monster's attitude. He wanted to hurry and finish the experiment to appease the small creature that reminded him of himself.
After a few minutes of rest, he felt ready to continue. "Alright, I'm ready for the next test," he announced, standing up with renewed vigor.
Earl Victor and Rubina exchanged approving glances. "What skill will you use next? I believe you mentioned that you could only use three skills, correct?" Earl Victor questioned.
"It's Zephyr's strongest skill so far," Logan replied. He focused his mind on the power of the wind, extending his hand and calling out the skill's name once more.
"Gale Force!"
As soon as he called out the name, a small but powerful tornado was produced in front of him, causing him to be pulled forward. Unable to control the flow of his mana, it seemed like the wind would lose control.
[Master, danger, Zephyr help] the falcon called out, using his body to enter the small vortex and taking control of the wind while rotating counterclockwise.
"Wow, that was dangerous. You will need to be careful and get a little more practice in, Logan, accidents may happen. You also need more confidence; most skills backfire on their casters when they lose focus," the Earl warned, stopping the training for the day. "You should rest now. It was a good demonstration, but you need to strengthen yourself before we continue. Your mana is quite low and could produce more accidents if we continue."
Logan felt a little dejected; he had only just gotten this amazing skill, yet his strength was not enough to handle it.
Rubina seemed to have noticed his negative thoughts and patted his back. "Don't worry, we still have a few days to hunt, right? Let's work hard tomorrow."
Ruri, who did not like the fact that his master had someone else compliment him first, called out in a rushed manner. "Yes, for what it was worth, master, your abilities were fascinating to see!"
"I see… Thanks, Rubina and Ruri," Logan said, taking a deep breath. He noticed that the Earl behind them was nodding with a complicated expression. His tames seemed to sense his distress and got close to him to show their affection, even the small salamander who lightly bit his pants.
[Food, hungry, bored]
Nope, guess that one was just hungry
* * *
In another part of the kingdom, within the walls of the castle, a young girl had arrived. Tired from the long day and the many events that unfolded, she tied her Breeze Roc to a nearby branch while petting its neck.
"I will be back soon… hopefully." Chloe sighed while looking at the castle.
She recalled the day's events and the hero she was assigned to follow. Her family was one of the kingdom's most trusted, so she needed to give a detailed and accurate report.
Walking into the castle's large gates to meet the king, she reviewed what she needed to say. There was one slight problem she needed to work out: the unusual occurrence that happened on her watch. The dark barrier that nullified her magic and separated her from the hero.
Also, the new tame that he had received—that small fox—was no ordinary beast. It was not one that would live in that part of the forest, which made the whole ordeal even stranger.
"Lady Chloe, we have been awaiting your report. Please enter," said one of the royal guards, one of the king's more loyal ones who she immediately identified.
The girl bowed and entered the throne room, where she kneeled in front of the throne. Their monarch sat reading a few documents, only stopping after one of his advisers notified him of her arrival.
"Greetings, young Amberstone. I hope your trip went splendidly. What news do you have for us today?" the king said with a regal demeanor, removing his eyewear with the tap of one of his rings.
"Certainly, my lord. As you know, the hero Logan, with the tamer class, went out to train with the help of the Rosengards. So far, the boy shows signs of being the weakest among the heroes, which has not changed. He is currently around light red, or as the heroes' way of measuring strength, at level 3 to 6."
The king, upon hearing her words, nodded approvingly. "That is good to hear. And how were his battle skills? I am sure you had the chance to observe his abilities while he was fighting constantly in the forest."
"Well, about that, the hero himself doesn't seem to possess a battle skill, at least for now. His only tame so far, a small Everwind Falcon, was the one to do all the fighting. As you know, this is one of the sky's top predators, but it's still young and inexperienced. I am sure it will take at least a month to train it enough to become an asset for fighting against other demi-humans," Chloe reported, carefully measuring her words and way of speaking.
"Anything else you may want to add then?" The king began to yawn, thinking there wasn't anything of interest in the report and everyone's worries were for naught.
"About that, sir, we had a small encounter with what I think is a guardian. We did not suffer any casualties or harm, but I was unable to see the hero for a certain amount of time. My powers were completely nullified, and after I met with the hero again…" Chloe struggled before deciding whether to continue. "He had with him a small Glacivulpes, an infant of that species to be precise. It does not look powerful, but it may be…"
"The guardian Ferras' kin? Are you sure you are reporting this right?" The king sat up, straightening his back.
"Minister Rowan, please send someone to speak with Earl Victor. I am sure he will be able to report on what happened. As for you, Chloe, continue watching over the hero. Remember, we need him to be below the strength of the others. Report to me if he gets any stronger. You're dismissed." The king tried to remain calm why sending the girl away.
"Rowan, what do you think about this? Do you suppose we went too far by bringing in so many of the forest beasts?" the king asked.
Minister Rowan furrowed his brow in contemplation. "Your Majesty, the forest beasts have served their part. We should release some of the weaker ones to appease the guardian while we finish the first part of the plan. Let's wait for the Earl's words before we continue; he should know the monsters' situation."
The king nodded thoughtfully. "Very well, Rowan. Ensure that Earl Victor's report reaches us promptly. We must proceed with caution."