Zushio gave a small nod, listened to Daniel’s words carefully, raised his hand and unleashed a bolt of lightning straight into the ground.
*BzZzap!*
The strike landed perfectly, cracking against the earth with a sharp flash. Yet it didn’t bloom outward in the wide cone shape he had hoped for.
It remained in its first, basic form.
"It didn’t work," Zushio muttered, his brow furrowing in confusion. "But... why?"
"Because you need more practice, Zushio," Marco said, his voice carrying a hint of amusent as he stood a little way off from them.
"Daniel, co here for a second," Marco called.
Leaving Zushio standing alone, Daniel walked over to his master.
"Daniel, let them figure out on their own what they can and cannot learn. Understand?" Marco said quietly.
Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly, catching the subtle aning behind the words, and gave a small nod. "Understood."
"As Daniel jumped straight from the first form to the third, he needed no explanation. Maybe his comrades would figure it out and make the sa leap as him, but such cases were extrely rare.
"Master, since I’ve already learned the third form, shouldn’t I be learning the next one?" Daniel asked, his expression eager.
"For that, I would need so items which I don’t have yet," he replied, his tone calm as he gazed steadily at Daniel. "I’ll let you know when you’re ready. For now, keep polishing your third form and focus on reducing the cast ti as much as possible."
Daniel nodded and returned to his spot, already channeling lightning.
Though Marco could have demonstrated the fourth form to him, he didn’t bother. Teaching it separately at the sa ti would be far too complicated.
The greatest challenge for any master was teaching their students all the basic forms within a limited ti.
Each week, the masters sent reports to the Eagle Kingdom-progress, failures, numbers. And every month, the kingdom judged them.
Recently, the first month had passed.
When the report arrived, it showed that Marco ranked second last among the elental masters. The Earth users were at the very bottom, while the Fire users stood at the top — aning most Fire shamans were learning at a much faster pace.
...
Soon, Belinda arrived at the training ground aboard a horse-drawn wagon, instantly stealing everyone’s attention with her striking beauty.
"Students, breakfast is here!" Marco announced loudly.
The shamans stopped their practice and gathered at the center of the field.
She wore a deep red hooded robe beneath a black surcoat that hugged her breasts tightly. Two figures in black robes stepped forward alongside her and began wiping the wooden plates clean with soft cloths.
The shamans ford an orderly line as Belinda handed out the plates one by one.
When Daniel, who was at the very end, extended his hand, she gently bit her lower lip and placed the plate carefully into his palm.
’A note?’ Daniel murmured as he spotted a small piece of paper tucked beneath the glass of milk.
He picked up his plate, sat down on the ground, and quietly covered the note with his palm as he read it.
——————
( Note )
Are you sure, you can handle ?
——————
After reading the note completely, Daniel gave a soft chuckle and lifted his gaze toward Belinda. She was standing beside the wagon, a playful smile on her face.
’Heh... she sure is a perverted woman in an innocent body,’ Daniel thought, a faint smirk tugging at his lips before he drank the milk.
*Glug-Glug-Glug*
...
At the bakery shop.
"Hm... where is she?’ Daniel thought as he sat at a window-side table, glancing outside.
At the field, he had sneakily told her to et him at the bakery shop. She had agreed, but asked him to wait because she would take a little ti.
After waiting for over five minutes, Daniel began ordering a al for lunch. At the sa ti, Zero entered the bakery, spotted him, and calmly sat down across from him.
"Hey, so... how’s your investigation going?" Zero asked, his expression neutral.
"I got news that a priest has died, and because of that the church is closed," Daniel said in a steady tone.
Zero gave a soft nod. "And?"
"And... that’s all," Daniel replied.
"Well, that news is two days old. Still, you’re doing a great job as an assistant investigator," Zero said, his tone light and teasing.
Later, Zero ordered his al, and the two of them began chatting for a while. Daniel being curious, asked about the fourth form of thunder — after all, Zero had once been a shaman just like him.
Zero, despite being a fire elental user, told him that while he might not know much about the thunder form himself, he had comrades who did, and promised to introduce Daniel to them soday.
"...Great. By the way, why did you hide the fact that Zane is a royal investigator?" Daniel asked in a casual tone.
"Wait... what? A royal investigator?" Zero said, his face twisted in confusion.
"I t him early this morning—"
Before Daniel could finish the sentence, Zero cut him off sharply. "Daniel, what are you even talking about? Zane was in his chamber, sleeping."
"And I’m telling you, I t Zane this morning," Daniel insisted.
A heavy silence filled with confusion settled over the table.
’Thinking about it... recently Zane has developed this habit of waking up late for so reason. But I just saw him coming out of his chamber, yawning,’ Zero thought, his expression darkening with doubt.
"Are you sure you saw Zane?"
"Without a doubt, yes," Daniel replied.
Zero’s mind raced, he abruptly stood up and left without a word, leaving him alone at the table.
Daniel, however, continued eating his lunch, his gaze following Zero as he exited the bakery.
Just as Zero disappeared from view, Belinda entered the shop and glanced around. Not even a second later, her sharp hawk-eyes spotted Daniel.
Daniel raised his hand slightly, gesturing for her to co forward. She approached with calm, asured steps, her hands clutching the strap of her leather satchel as she walked.
Belinda sat down and adjusted her satchel neatly on her lap. Everything was going smoothly until a waiter arrived and placed a plate in front of her before quietly leaving.
Belinda looked surprised and glanced at Daniel.
"Huh? Did you order this for ?" she asked, tilting her head with a mix of surprise and amusent.
"Yes..." he said with a soft nod, though he knew it was Zero’s order.
"Thank you... I was actually starving," Belinda said before picking up the glass of milk.
*Glug-Glug*
As she drank slowly, Daniel’s hand slid across the table and gently settled over hers, his warm palm covering her skin.
"Starving for what, Lady Belinda?" he murmured, his voice low and teasing.
*Kgh! Cough-Cough*
Belinda let out a soft cough as heat rapidly flooded her body from the inside, ignited by his unexpected touch. trickle of milk escaped from her lips, sliding down her chin and dripping between her breasts, soaking into the fabric of her bodice.
She imdiately pressed her hand to her chest, frantically wiping at the spill. Thankfully, the black surcoat concealed every trace of it.
"Oops," Daniel said, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
*Cough*
’W-what was that feeling again,’ she thought, her expression a mixture of flustered confusion and lingering warmth.
"Lady Belinda, are you ready for so fun?" Daniel said with a low, mischievous smile.
She set the empty glass down on the table, lowered her gaze with a sultry smirk, and purred, "Heh... you’re way more pervert than . We might have to find a temporary room, you know."
"For your information, I actually live in this town," Daniel said almost instantly, his voice low and confident.
Belinda smiled and bit her lower lip. "Are you sure you can handle ?" she asked, her tone low and provocative. "I can get quite... greedy when I’m... you know."
"Handle you?" Daniel replied in a low, husky voice. "Heh... the real question is whether you can handle being fucked so hard that you forget your own na."
Her eyes widened for a split second before a wicked, aroused smile spread across her face. She leaned forward, boldly picking up a plain biscuit from his plate and taking a slow bite.
"That’s so big words, Daniel," she purred, her voice low and teasing. "I hope your thing is as big as your words."
"You’ll soon find out once we get out of this bakery," Daniel said, his voice low with dark promise.
With that, they both stepped out of the bakery and headed straight for Daniel’s rented house.
The afternoon streets were buzzing with life — rchants calling out their wares, children weaving between passersby, and the rich aroma of fresh bread and spices drifting from nearby stalls.
Daniel and Belinda walked side by side, their shoulders occasionally brushing, the charged silence between them far louder than the lively clamor surrounding them.
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