-1 YEAR LATER
Extensive land sprawled out in an open field, beautiful and enchanting in all its entirety.
Earth-shaking rumbling travelled through the ground below.
Endless waves of currents set the ground quaking.
Me and Victor clashed attacks, my longsword met his fingers creating a sonic boom in the process.
Victor bent his elbow and positioned his arm at an angle, sending a hook targeted at my liver.
I used my new and improved levels of supernatural speed to flicker out of Victor's line of sight.
I readied my blade and lunged at his blind spot, thinking I had him right where I wanted him; but oh was I wrong.
Victor matched my speed with an even greater burst of speed.
Vanishing from my sight with ludicrous movement.
The air was so intensely heavy that I was forced to fear for my life.
I heard a little chuckle from behind me and before I knew it, my feet were swept from under me.
My body leaned into a weird position perfect for Victor to capitalize off of.
I had to save myself from this situation or this would be a clear win for Victor.
Landing on my empty hand I braced myself strongly as my hand felt the ground.
Placing me in a handstand position as I spun around and rotated my lower half, using my hips and legs as a spinning top.
My spinning legs hit Victor by surprise from an angle he'd least expected.
Although he blocked it, that didn't erase the stunned expression from his face.
"HAH!"
"NICE LITTLE TRICK YOU GOT THERE KID!"
Victor called out in praise.
The man's eyes enlarged with excitement as he lunged forward while I jumped backward to fix my stance.
Grrr….
I dashed ahead in a straight line, with Victor doing the same.
Victor seemed excited but I knew sure and well that he was holding back severely so he wouldn't decimate me with the utmost ease.
There wasn't a shred of mana coming from him either, this was all simply raw ability and skill.
We clashed again and again, returning attacks and matching each other's amble movements down to the molecule.
Victor was so great that it was damning trying to keep up with him regardless of him holding back.
If I tried to incorporate flips and unexpected angles in my fighting style Victor would answer by increasing the difficulty up a notch.
My swordsmanship was no match for his combat prowess, Victor was not man, but an untamed beast more incredible than anything I had ever known.
What made it even more challenging was the fact that nothing was off limits in this session.
We were allowed to aim for areas such as the colon, the groin, the temple, you name it.
Victor's footwork was becoming noticeably harder to track the longer our session went on.
Sometimes he would act with the lead foot, remaining on his forefoot, and others he would do something that was hard to explain.
I hit with all I had.
Nonetheless, Victor countered and parried the attacks I threw, not allowing for a single attack to penetrate his defense.
I threw a feint and then released my grip from my blade and retrieved it with my other hand, throwing a slash at Victor's face.
Victor relinquished his offensive stance, forcing a clash between my blade and his hand; is what I thought.
Huh?!?!?
Victor carefully planted my blade between his fingers and slowly forced my blade downwards in a fluid motion.
Dragging along the motion of the slash and redirecting it elsewhere.
Pivoting on his left foot; primarily his toes, Victor blasted me with a back kick.
I went sliding back in the dirt, my feet scraped through the soil as I was launched back.
If I had not blocked that kick with the blade of my sword, and right in the knick of time, I definitely would've been a goner.
I stopped myself from sliding backwards, and looked ahead, Victor standing there frozen and a creepy grin all over his face.
"Heh!"
"Is that all you got kid?!"
He loudly chuckled out from a distance away.
This is starting to get boring!"
"Look at yourself! Your movements are too wide, too exaggerated! C'mon kid!"
Victor turned up the banter.
"You can't threaten another awakened with this!"
Victor said as he gestured me in, eager to see what else I had up my sleeve.
I charged back in without a second thought, mana amplifying my steps to make me faster.
All this time training with Victor had taught me something, and that was to never allow your thoughts to make or break you. Especially at a time like this.
Victor charged forward as well, i'm guessing in an attempt to try and clash with me again.
I foresaw this though and right as Victor's hand lunged at me, I spun around at indiscernible speeds, and slung my blade upwards from Victor's feet to his face, trying to slice from the middle starting from the bottom.
Just what I wanted..
Words I didn't quite understand until it was far too late.
A flash of imperceptible speed shot a shockwave of whistling wind past me.
Moving faster than sound, Victor disappeared from my sight and closed the distance immediately, ending his display of monstrous speed in a stance I'd never imagined in my wildest dreams.
Victor blocked my surprise attack with his foot, my blade feeling as though it was under the weight of a million boulders.
"Gotcha…"
Victor spoke in a shallow and resonating tone.
Sweat dripped from my pores and I braced for the outcome of my mistake.
Victor slowly led his forefoot upside the shaft of my blade, his foot following along a path right up to my hilt and eventually my chin.
"STOP!"
Lucien screamed from some yards away, draped in his usual class of lavish attire and precious jewels.
Victor and I froze in place as we were knocked out of our battle trance.
"That's enough!"
Lucien got closer to us.
"We must leave now. The carriage is ready and it's been decided that Alexander's will be our designated driver."
Lucien kept his hands behind his back as he walked up.
"Hmph.."
Victor turnt to face Lucien and dropped his shoulders as if he had been robbed of something amusing.
"Way to ruin the mood, goldilocks."
Victor joked.
"Save your complaints for the road Victor. We are scarce of time and i'd rather not deplete the remainder of it arguing with you."
Lucien turned away and headed in the way of the carriage.
We all moved in the direction of the carriage and hopped aboard once we got to it.
Victor liked to sit on the top of the carriage for peace of mind, but mainly so he could sleep his life away without bother.
Lucien and I sat inside the carriage which was notably emptier in comparison to when I first saw it, which is when it was littered with cages.
I saw Ve in the corner of the carriage closer to one of the carriage windows, melancholically gazing out of it at the sun.
Lucien took a seat more at the front of the carriage where he could speak freely with Alexander.
I placed my things and equipment near where I planned to take a seat, but when I tried to do exactly that, I felt my bottom touch an arm.
I twisted my neck to see what it was, and lo and behold, it was Kadil.
Snoring under the cover of a brown blanket probably dreaming of counting white sheep.
His body was strikingly sturdy, but more impressive was the fact I wasn't able to sense him using mana sense.
I rolled my eyes and sat opposite to the sleeping Kadil.
The wheels started to turn on the carriage and before I knew it, we were in motion.
I closed my eyes and practiced my meditation.
Over the course of this year me, Kadil, and Ve were all taught essentially everything there is to know regarding the basics of the Ancient and mana control.
This was made possible by the fact that we were able to safely train without the threat of any Wretched nearby thanks to the protective barrier around the training grounds.
I tuned out Kadil's obnoxiously loud snoring was kind of easy. I say that because at first I didn't think it would be.
I peaked one eye open over at Lucien, not knowing to say.
I still never completely forgave Lucien for what happened a year ago, and neither did I forget. The rage, although not as fresh, was assuredly still there. At the beginning of this whole thing, I was set on killing Lucien.
But over the course of these 13 months.I had come to an apprehension that sufficed for the time being; however, I was stuck on what really to do.
Do I continue to serve under him or kill him today? No wait. I'm not serving under him, i'm occupying myself with him.
Wait.
Am I?
What am I doing?
Must I actually have to kill him her-
"Is something on your mind Nel?"
Lucien demolished my train of thought.
"Huh? Oh, no."
"Nothing."
"Alrighty then. You can let me know anytime if you're having any doubts about anything. You know that right?"
He smiled smugly at me.
". . ."
"Just focus on yourself Lucien."
The carriage rolled on as I went into my state of meditation.
Once I had finished my trial of meditation, I opened my eyes to bright sunlight and the sounds of birds chirping; the exact same as when I first went in.
I guess I completed the trial quicker than I gave myself credit for.
For it to still be the same hour of day, I had to have completed it in record time.
With ample amounts of free time on my hands to spare before I went back in for another trial, I looked for something to entertain myself with.
I slid to face the pondering Lucien, my hands clasped together.
". . . Hey Lucien."
"Hm?"
"I have a couple questions to ask you. And I need them answered."
"Sure Nel. Anything for you."
Those words were eerie and distrusting. I could never read Lucien, it was like he was a snake in the grass, deceiving left and right with no emotions attached.
"I never knew you also had such a deep interest in Valeria. Why did you never tell me about this?"
Lucien's head pointed towards the roof of the carriage.
"Hm.
"I don't know."
The inside of the carriage went completely quiet.
"Just kidding with you!"
Lucien revealed. I scoffed at his childish games, he was known for pulling these stunts.
"Truthfully though, it was because I knew you wouldn't accept it at the time if I did."
I thought for a moment, and his answer managed to prove satisfactory.
I then advanced to my next question
"Secondly, since I know now that all of us are Awakened, even Alexander, what about you?"
"I mean, I simply don't believe you would miss out on a golden chance such as that."
"Something in there has to desperately want that kind of power."
I asked with genuine curiousity.
"Wait a minute now Nel."
"Who said I wasn't an Awakened?"
He then giggled and refused to elaborate, so I just gave up and moved on to another question.
"Thirdly, where are we headed right now and how long left do we have?"
I asked.
"Oh you'll see. I can't tell that quite yet, but I do honestly think you're going to enjoy this one my fellow warrior!"
I didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but I knew that after that if I asked again he'd just respond with another riddle.
"Well, for me to be able to complete my meditation in only a few minutes, I think I deserve for my mind to be put at ease with a simple answer."
Lucien caught hold of what I said.
"What do you mean a few minutes?" Lucien sat confused.
"Look outside, it's the same hour of day as when I first started meditating. How long has it been? Fifteen minutes at most?" I threw out random numbers.
Lucien sat in his seat puzzled like I said something outrageous.
"Nel. You were out for four days straight."
"! ! !"
"What??! That can't be!"
I launched myself out of my seat, refusing to accept that we had been on the road for four whole consecutive days and I didn't notice.
"Yeah. You went in four days ago exactly.
"We've stopped for so many bathroom breaks that i've lost count. Victor and Alexander have also switched between the role of driver a ludicrous amount of times."
Lucien added on.
I stood there, bewildered by what I was hearing.
It took me some time to calm my nerves and come back to my original self, but once I did, I sat back down and moved on to ask Lucien my last question.
"Well then. Lastly, since you're the King of Solim, what'll happen to the throne now that you'll be gone for a while?"
"Oh that?"
Lucien responded by shooting me a look.
"My sister will take over for the time being, don't worry. Everything will be fine."
He paused.
"I hope."
Lucien's face displayed an air of cluelessness.
Truthfully, he genuinely had no idea if his sister would be a fit candidate for the throne during his leave.
So he prayed to himself that his worries were nothing but feelings of anxiety as the backdrop of a heavenly forest outside the carriage windows gave us a serene view of our first stop.
"So this was our destination."
"Lucien, tell me, what are you planning to do here?"
I couldn't believe my eyes. We were actually here.
At the elven kingdom of Estolia.