I arrived at the old man’s place just as the sun dipped behind the buildings, casting long shadows through the narrow streets. The door creaked as I pushed it open, the familiar scent of parchnt and burning candle wax thick in the air. The old man didn’t look up from his book.
"You’re late," he muttered, turning a page.
I rolled my shoulders, stepping inside. "Didn’t realize I was on a schedule."
He snorted. "You’re not. But you should act like you are."
I ignored that and dropped into my usual spot. "Mana reinforcent. I need more control."
At that, he finally looked at . His expression was the sa as always—unimpressed, vaguely annoyed, but still watchful. He studied like I was a puzzle missing half its pieces. "And you think saying that out loud will magically make you better?"
"No," I admitted, stretching my fingers. "That’s why I’m here."
He shut the book with a quiet thud and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Show ."
I exhaled and closed my eyes, feeling that pulse of energy inside . It was easier to find now, not like before when it felt like trying to catch smoke with bare hands. I pulled on it, and wove it through my limbs, feeling the weight of my body shift as mana flowed into my muscles.
The mont I moved, it unraveled. I clenched my fists, irritation prickling at the back of my mind. "Damn it."
The old man humd. "What did you do wrong?"
"I lost focus."
"No," he said flatly. "You never had it to begin with." I looked at him, brows furrowed. He leaned back in his chair. "You’re still treating reinforcent like an afterthought. Like a layer of armor, you slap on and hope it holds. That’s why it keeps slipping." I frowned, flexing my fingers. I hadn’t thought of it that way.
"Again," he ordered.
I tried again. This ti, I held the mana steady for a few seconds longer before it slipped away. I could feel the difference—small, but noticeable. The old man sighed. "Better, but you’re still treating your body and mana as two separate things. That’s your problem."
I shot him a look. "You wanna actually explain what that ans?"
He smirked. "Figure it out, trial by fire and such things."
I bit back a curse and went again. Over and over. Each attempt lasted a little longer, but every ti, the sa thing happened—I lost control. The mana would hold, and strengthen , but the mont I shifted too quickly or hesitated, it slipped away.
The old man stood and grabbed a wooden staff from the corner of the room. Before I could ask what he was doing, he swung it at my ribs.
I barely dodged in ti, stumbling back as the staff whooshed past .
"What the fuck?"
He didn’t answer. He swung again, this ti lower. I jumped back, heart hamring.
"You’re reacting," he said, twirling the staff with absurd ease. "Not acting. Reinforce yourself and strike. No thinking, no second-guessing. Do it." He lunged again.
I barely had ti to process before I moved on instinct. The mana surged, raw and unsteady, but just enough to push my muscles past their limit. I ducked, pivoted, then drove a reinforced palm toward his chest. Take that you, wrinkly bastard!
Only to hit the air. A heartbeat later, the staff cracked against my shoulder, sending staggering. Pain shot through my arm, but I gritted my teeth.
The old man shook his head. "ssy. Unstable. But now you’re starting to get it."
I rolled my shoulder, exhaling sharply. I wasn’t sure if that was a complint or an insult. He tapped the staff against the ground. "Again."
The next hour was nothing but dodging, reinforcing, failing, and repeating the process all over again. Every ti I faltered, the old man struck. Never hard enough to seriously injure , but enough to make feel it. Enough to force to adjust and let out an expletive.
I stopped thinking about what I was doing. I just did it, then, sothing shifted within .
I stepped forward instead of back. Reinforced, struck, and—this ti—hit sothing solid. My hand connected with the old man’s arm, forcing him to take a step back.
I barely had ti to process it before he retaliated. The staff shot toward my ribs, but this ti, my body responded faster. The mana flowed, stable, my reflexes sharper. I ducked under the strike, pivoted on my heel, and threw a reinforced kick toward his side.
He blocked, but I felt the impact. A real impact, I finally did sothing!
I landed, breathing hard. The reinforcent was still there, holding, but it was not perfect, not effortless, but it was there.
The old man regarded with sothing that almost looked like approval. "Hmph."
I smirked. "Didn’t knock on my ass that ti."
"There’s still ti." He tossed the staff aside and folded his arms. "You’ve improved. Still have a long way to go, but you’re getting there."
I exhaled, rolling my shoulders. The aches were setting in, but I barely felt it, I was high on my recent success. I ache wasn’t even from the bruises and bashes I took, or the energy I exerted to make it faster, stronger. This ti, it was the ache of my body growing stronger.
The old man grabbed his book and sat back down. "That’s enough for today. Co back when you think you can actually land a proper hit."
I grinned. "Looking forward to it."
I turned to leave, slipping into the streets with overwhelming confidence. My body felt lighter, my steps sharper. I was starting to see it now, and I could see the path forward. I thought that this body would be a hindrance, and that it would take forever to et the standards I set with my old body. With this new magical enhancent, I would far surpass OG Lucian in a week, maybe two, rather than the six it took to develop everything I had done before.
I barely made it back to the Academy before the screaming started. At first, I thought it was just the usual student nonsense—so noble brat getting into a pointless duel or an experint going wrong. But then the ground shook. A low, guttural roar echoed through the halls, sending a shiver down my spine.
I followed the sound, slipping through the panicked crowd until I reached the main courtyard. Oof, this was going to be a huge problem.
A massive... creature lood over the terrified students, its fur shifting between deep black and an unnatural, shimring blue. Its eyes glowed like molten gold, and jagged, rune-like scars ran along its limbs. Magic swirled around it, thick and heavy, but sothing was off. The thing had to be what my people back on Earth would call, a Chira? The thing had half the body of a griffon, at least the beak, neck, wings, and claws, its tail was replaced with the head of a snake, and the legs, and horns of a stag.
Spells were hitting it—fire, ice, lightning—but they barely did anything. The beast shrugged them off like it was in no more than a pillow fight. A few professors stood at the front, trying to coordinate the students, but I could already tell they were losing. Even the combined forces of his teachers, did little if nothing to the creature... No, it was thriving in this environnt. The creature wasn’t just resistant to magic. It was feeding on it.
I stood in a mont of shock. I wanted to interject, but this wasn’t my issue, this wasn’t my problem. I should have kept walking, and let the professors deal with it. But as another wave of students scrambled for cover, I saw Mara.
She stood at the edge of the fray, a spell half-cast in her hands, hesitation clear on her face.
God damn it. I didn’t have ti to react, I simply did react. I moved forward with deadly intent, slipping into the shadows. I weaved through the panicked mass, circling the fight. The professors were focused on their spells, not realizing that they were making the damn thing stronger. The students had no idea what to do, but I thought I did. I wasn’t a mage, not yet, and I never needed magic to kill before.
The trick was to get the beast away from prying eyes. If I fought it here, people would ask too many questions. I grabbed a loose chunk of stone from the courtyard rubble and hurled it at the creature’s flank. It hit with a dull thud, not enough to hurt, but enough to get its attention. After all, it wasn’t magic and therefore did so level of damage.
The beast turned, snarling. Its glowing eyes locked onto , and for a split second, I swore it saw through . I tapped into all of my courage and power, forcing everything I had into my next move... and I ran, like really fast.
I ducked into a side passage, moving fast but taking a mont to slow down—I wanted it to follow after all. The mont I turned the corner, I reinforced my legs, pushing mana through my muscles like the old man had drilled into earlier. The strain was imdiate, but I gritted my teeth and kept going. Thankfully the beast took the bait.
It crashed through the hallway behind , its claws tearing through stone like paper. I kept moving, leading it deeper into the less populated areas of the Academy, away from witnesses. By the ti I reached an old storage hall, I knew this was as good a place as any, so I stopped and turned to face it.
The beast lunged, but I sidestepped at the last second, barely avoiding the claws as they tore through the air where I had been. My daggers were in my hands before I even thought about it, the Phantom Edge radiated lethality as I tapped into its power. I think it was ti to see if they were worth the money.
The beast lunged again, faster this ti. I ducked low, reinforcing my arms as I drove a dagger into its side, or at least, I should have. The blade phased right through, just like the blacksmith warned. No real intent, no real strike. I had hesitated, and now I was paying for it.
A massive claw swiped toward , forcing to twist away. My back hit the wall, and I barely had ti to push off before the thing slamd into the spot where I had just been. Alright, no more second-guessing, this was for real, and if I failed, I wasn’t the only one who would die today.
I let out a slow breath, resetting my stance. This wasn’t like fighting a person. There was no deception, no feints—just instincts and violence. The beast snarled and lunged one more ti and I t it head-on.
I ducked under its swipe, twisting my body and driving both daggers into its ribs. This ti, they didn’t phase through. The Phantom Edge bit deep, sinking past fur and flesh like there was nothing there.
The beast let out a deafening roar, thrashing as I tore the blades free. Black blood splattered across the ground. It staggered, trying to regain balance, but I didn’t let it.
I reinforced my legs yet again, pushing off the ground and landing on its back. The Void Veil enchantnt kicked in, muffling my movents. The beast jerked, trying to shake off, but I drove one dagger into the base of its skull and twisted. As fast as the fight started, it ended in an instant.
[Experience Gained: One Nightmare Chira Defeated.]
The beast collapsed, and its massive body hit the ground with a dull thud, still affected by Void Veil. Its glowing eyes flickered once before fading into nothing... I exhaled, stepping off its body. My heart was still hamring, the mana reinforcent wearing off and leaving my limbs heavy.
I needed to move. Soone would co looking soon. I wiped the daggers clean, sheathed them, and slipped back into the shadows, leaving no trace of the fight behind. Or so I thought.
As I turned to leave, I caught sothing out of the corner of my eye. A figure standing at the far end of the hall.
Mara.
She hadn’t seen everything. Not the daggers, not the final strike, but she had seen enough. I didn’t stop. I didn’t acknowledge her. I just walked away, hoping she wouldn’t ask questions. I didn’t have any answers, at least not any that I could give her.
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