Soon the last piece of armor ca off and he stretched his shoulders.
"Okay... armor’s off."
Lyra nodded.
Then she said sothing that made him freeze.
"Now remove your top."
Arthur stared at her.
"...My what?"
"Your top clothing."
Arthur didn’t move.
For a mont his brain stopped working.
Did I hear that right?
He glanced around the training hall. It was empty. Just the two of them standing in the center of a wide stone floor.
Then he looked back at her.
The commander stood calmly with her arms crossed as if she had just asked him to pick up a sword.
Arthur’s thoughts went wild.
Is this... still training?
His expression clearly betrayed the conflict in his head.
Lyra watched him for a second.
Then she laughed softly.
It wasn’t a mocking laugh. More like she had already guessed what he was thinking.
"You look like your brain stopped working."
Arthur rubbed his temple.
"Well... can you bla ?"
Lyra shook her head.
"Relax. This is still part of the training."
Arthur raised a brow.
"Training usually doesn’t involve stripping."
Lyra sighed and finally explained.
"Mana reacts to pressure."
Arthur listened.
"To muscle tension as well. The more aware you are of your body, the easier it becos to guide the mana around it."
She stepped a little closer.
"If your armor blocks that awareness, it becos harder to control the flow."
Arthur thought about it for a second.
That actually made sense.
Lyra added quietly,
"So trust ."
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"...Alright."
He grabbed the edge of his shirt and pulled it over his head.
The fabric slid off and he tossed it aside.
Now he stood there bare from the waist up.
For a second the air felt a little cooler against his skin.
Lyra looked at him.
And paused.
Arthur noticed the look.
"What?"
Lyra cleared her throat.
"...Nothing."
But she still glanced at his body again.
Arthur wasn’t insecure about it.
Years of surviving the slums had shaped him well. His body wasn’t bulky like a warrior’s but it was lean and defined. Every muscle was visible without being exaggerated.
The kind of build that ca from constant movent and real struggle.
His chest and arms carried faint scars. So thin lines from knives. One deeper burn mark near his ribs.
They told their own story.
Lyra crossed her arms again but a faint flush touched her cheeks.
"You’re in good shape."
Arthur grinned.
"That sounded like a complint."
"It was an observation."
Arthur shrugged casually.
"Years of running from trouble does that."
Lyra shook her head slightly but the faint color remained on her face.
Still she continued with the lesson.
"Stand still."
Arthur obeyed.
"Spread your mana again," she said.
Arthur closed his eyes and focused.
Mana flowed from his core and spread outward around his body.
This ti without armor he could feel it more clearly.
The cool movent along his skin.
Lyra stepped closer.
"Now pay attention to my fingers."
Arthur opened one eye.
"...Your fingers?"
Before he could ask more, her hand lifted.
Her fingers touched his shoulder lightly.
Arthur stiffened.
"Relax," she said calmly.
Her fingers moved slowly across his shoulder and down toward his chest.
"Guide the mana along the sa path."
Arthur swallowed and forced himself to focus.
The mana followed the movent.
A thin flow traced along his skin where her fingers moved.
Lyra watched carefully.
"Too thick," she said quietly.
Arthur adjusted imdiately.
Her fingers moved again.
Slow and careful.
Tracing a line across his chest.
Arthur guided the mana after them.
"Not dense enough."
He compressed it slightly.
Her hand paused.
"...Better."
Arthur exhaled slowly.
Focus.
Her fingers moved again as it passed across the scar on his ribs.
She paused there.
"This one looks painful."
Arthur chuckled.
"Yeah.. it didn’t feel great at the ti."
Her fingers pressed lightly against the scar.
Arthur almost lost the mana flow.
"Focus," she reminded him.
"I am focusing."
"Not enough."
She moved her fingers again.
Across his abs this ti.
Arthur’s breathing shifted slightly and Lyra noticed imdiately.
"You’re losing the flow."
Arthur groaned quietly.
"Give a second."
Her hand continued moving.
Not teasing.
Just guiding.
But the contact made it harder than he expected.
Arthur tried to keep the mana thin and dense as it followed her fingers.
Sotis it broke.
Sotis it beca too thick.
Lyra corrected him each ti.
"Too loose."
"Too thick."
"Closer now."
Her hand pressed slightly harder against one spot near his chest.
Testing.
Arthur felt the mana react to the pressure.
The flow stabilized for a mont.
Lyra’s eyes lit up slightly.
"There."
Arthur felt it too.
The mana moved like a thin current across his skin.
Flowing.
Dense.
But still delicate.
Lyra continued tracing small paths across his body.
Arthur tried to keep the mana following perfectly.
It wasn’t easy.
Her touch kept distracting him.
And his body reacted before his brain could stop it.
Arthur cursed quietly under his breath.
Lyra raised a brow.
"Problem?"
Arthur cleared his throat.
"None."
She didn’t push the issue but a faint smile touched her lips.
Her fingers moved again across his shoulder.
Arthur focused harder this ti.
He pushed aside the distractions.
The sensation.
The closeness.
The way her fingers traced every muscle.
He forced his attention back to the mana.
As he let it flow, thin but also dense.
And the current stabilized again.
Lyra felt it.
Her fingers stopped.
"...There it is."
Arthur opened his eyes.
"You feel that?"
"Yes."
The mana layer followed her fingers smoothly now.
Thin but solid.
She pressed lightly against it.
The layer held.
Lyra’s eyes widened slightly.
"Just like that."
Arthur held his breath.
"Now hold it."
The mana trembled slightly.
But it didn’t break.
Lyra’s voice softened.
"Good... keep it steady."
Arthur focused completely now.
Every bit of attention locked on the flow around his body.
The thin layer of mana remained.
Moving.
Dense.
Alive.
Lyra smiled.
"You’ve got it."
A/N:
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