Chapter 21

"Are you sure about this? I wouldn't want to hurt you before you leave. What kind of first impression would you leave all banged up?" Nick asked with a mocking smile. "Tsk. Last time you barely managed to trip me up with a rock, and now you're all cocky. It seems like I need to remind you of your place in the pecking order." Devon replied, tapping his practice sword on his shoulder.

Trash talk was a time-honored tradition before a fight, and the two brothers were not about to break it.

Elena's firm voice cut through the banter. "Are you two done? I'd like to finish this session before sundown. Or are you volunteering to cook and clean?"

Both brothers glanced at her, then back at each other with identical grins. Nick dipped his head in a mock bow and lifted his hands, fingers twitching as he summoned a trickle of mana, weaving it into a net around him, knowing better than to leave himself open—it had only taken one sword throw from his brother for him to learn that he had to dedicate some attention to defense.

Devon took a stance, his weight evenly balanced, breathing slowing as he worked to activate the Stalking Gait. He was getting quite good at it.

"All right, ready when you are, big brother," Nick said, eyes glinting.

Devon's reply was a blur of movement. In an instant, he was rushing forward, his enhanced speed propelling him across the training field. Nick didn't waste time, feeding mana into his prepared telekinetic field. The ground stirred as small stones lifted, hovering in place, then shot toward Devon like arrows. He rolled to the side, by now knowing to expect something of the sort, but the assault continued as he was peppered with stones, forcing him to zigzag and waste time blocking.

Nick grinned, conjuring water and gathering it in a floating glob. He flicked it forward, telekinetically accelerating it into a missile aimed straight at Devon's chest, who twisted, dodging to the side. Still, Nick was relentless, conjuring another water ball and launching it in quick succession. The glob whizzed past Devon, missing him by inches and splattering on the ground in a wet burst.

With each dodge, Devon inched closer. He slashed through another water ball, sending droplets flying as he closed the gap. Nick's focus sharpened as he rerouted his spells to widen the distance, conjuring two more water globs and firing them with rapid flicks of his fingers. This time, Devon deflected them, skillfully redirecting the spheres away by hitting them with the flat of his sword. The strikes left a mist in the air, but Devon kept advancing, undeterred.

Nick clenched his teeth, his telekinesis swirling the mist into a small whirlwind to obscure Devon's vision. He used the brief moment to gather mana and hurl another series of stones, this time larger, pelting them one after another in a staggered rhythm. Devon's sword blurred as he blocked and deflected. He really was getting good with the Stalking Gait—it allowed him to maintain a rhythm that Nick would have never thought possible.

Nick couldn’t see him, but he knew his brother was smirking. With a burst of speed, Devon dashed forward, shoulder lowered. Caught off guard, Nick backpedaled, flinging a water ball with all his strength. Devon raised his sword, mana pulsing through it as he sliced cleanly through the ball. The water exploded around him, a fine spray covering him, but Devon ignored it, pressing forward.

His heart pounding, Nick retreated, but he forced himself to remain calm—all his losses came from losing his cool, and he wasn’t about to hand his brother another win just because he was leaving soon. He tightened his focus, drawing further from his reserves and creating a much larger ball of water, almost as big as his head. He held it for a heartbeat, letting Devon advance just a step closer before hurling it straight at his chest. This time, he pushed more mana into the telekinetic field, straining the bounds of the spell. Devon raised his sword, expecting to deflect it again, but the ball struck with a heavy splash, exploding right in his face. Water splattered everywhere, sending him staggering back, spluttering and blinking water out of his eyes.

Nick used the opening, launching another volley of stones, each striking Devon's sword with enough force to make his arms tremble, forcing him back step by step until he was so overwhelmed that he didn't see the next water ball. It hit him squarely in the chest, sending him tumbling back.

"All right," he groaned, slowly getting up. "I yield. Happy now?"

Nick allowed himself a grin, releasing his mana as he offered a hand to his brother. Devon took it, shaking with a huff, but his begrudging smile showed he wasn't too sore about it.

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"Well done," Elena called from the sidelines. "Now, Devon, take a seat. Nick, it's time for a lesson."

Nick groaned, his moment of victory slipping away as quickly as it had come. Devon shot him a smug look, folding his arms as he sat on the ground, clearly eager to watch whatever their mother had in store for him.

Elena stepped forward, rolling her shoulders as she looked at Nick with a wry smile. "Since you insisted on more hands-on training," she said with more than a touch of sarcasm, "I think it's only fair I show you the flaw I've noticed in your fighting style." She took a ready stance, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword even as she kept it low. "Come at me with everything you've got."

Nick's confidence faltered. Sparring with his brother was one thing, but his mother was on an entirely different level. Still, he straightened up and took a deep breath, focusing. He wasn't about to back down now.

Again, he gathered mana into a telekinetic field, drawing up a cluster of stones and flinging them at her in a rapid volley. Elena's hand flicked, and her sword flashed, casually deflecting each stone. She did not move from her position.

Nick gritted his teeth. Water surged up in a swirling glob, which he fired off with a flick of his wrist, accelerating it with his telekinesis—there was no need to increase his output slowly with her. This wasn’t a fair fight, and he could afford to bottom out his mana. It wasn’t what he would do in a real fight, but then again, he would’ve done his best to avoid facing an opponent that outclassed him.

As expected, Elena handled it well. Her sword blurred as she split the water ball in two, droplets scattering harmlessly to the ground. Nick barely had time to blink before she was advancing, and the distance between them shrank fast.

Panic flared as he conjured another water ball, hurling it at her with as much force as he could muster. Elena didn't slow down. She sliced through the water with a sharp flick of her wrist, overwhelming the magic holding it together and dispersing it in a cold mist. His attacks were nothing more than an inconvenience to her.

Nick forcefully calmed himself, deciding to switch tracks. Water was useful for spars where he couldn't harm his opponent, but with his mother, he could afford to be less careful.

His desperation fueled his mana, and a fireball blazed to life in his hand. He had only done this once before, and the results had been more than he expected— enough so that he wouldn't have cast it against anyone he didn't want to harm. But this was his adventurer mother he was fighting, and he couldn't think of any other way to stop her.

He flung the fireball at her feet, pouring all his focus into making the spell as explosive as possible. The heat was more than a match for his previous attempt, and for a split second, he thought he had her. But Elena didn't even break stride. The air seemed to warp as she swung and sliced through the fireball. It dissipated into two harmless puffs of flames at her sides.

Before he could recover, she closed the remaining distance. He instinctively raised his hands to defend himself, but she tapped him lightly on the neck with her blade.

"Dead," she said.

Nick's shoulders slumped, the adrenaline draining out of him. He had known there was a significant gap between them, but he hadn't been able to do anything.

Elena's expression softened, and she lowered her sword. "You have achieved an impressive level of proficiency with , Nick, especially for your age. But you rely too much on keeping your distance. Any decent fighter with a speed-based technique will close in on you. Your fireball was acceptable and probably would work on someone with less experience, but you need to tailor your spell to who you are fighting. Replicating the same approach for every fight is bound to make you lose." She paused, letting her words sink in. "You also need more than just spells, whether you like it or not. You didn't even try to use the Stalking Gait. I know your class makes it harder, but being a sitting duck is only a winning strategy if you can overwhelm any opponent, and you can't."

Nick sighed, nodding, though disappointment weighed heavy in his chest. He never fought much in his previous life, and it showed. This was something he'd have to solve soon.

The next day, Nick made his way to Ogden's shop. The old alchemist sat hunched over his counter, his scaly fingers adjusting his tiny glasses as he inspected a vial filled with a swirling, dark liquid.

Nick cleared his throat, and Ogden looked up, peering over the rims of his glasses. "Ah, young Nicholas. How might I help?"

Nick shifted. "I was hoping you'd have a muscular relaxant and some air-aspected ingredients."

Ogden's eyes gleamed with interest. "Ah, you always ask for such interesting things. However, anything with a significant enough elemental signature is very expensive, and muscle relaxants are technically only legal for licensed alchemists to buy. Nightcap mushrooms, frost lichen… You can ruin someone with a high enough dose."

"How much would it cost?" Nick asked, ignoring the technicalities. The man wouldn't have mentioned them if he had not been willing to sell.

Ogden leaned back, tapping his fingers thoughtfully. "Given their scarcity and the risk of being caught selling, it won't be cheap. Certainly more than the Dream Spider venom, I'm afraid."

Nick bit his lips. He couldn't afford that. "Is there anything you might be interested in?"

Ogden sighed, adjusting his glasses. "If you're brave enough, you might find the ingredients in the forest yourself. But it's dangerous out there. Nightcap mushrooms and frost lichen only grow in the deep shade, and any air-based ingredient is probably attached to an avian monster. Anything you might exchange for those would be found far away from here."

Nick hesitated. The Green Ocean was not the kind of place one entered carelessly, yet he knew he had already decided to go. Allowing himself to stagnate when he could do something about it went against everything he believed in, and he had already tried the slow way. The Stalking Gait wouldn’t work for him unless he could make it work. This was just the last in a long list of reasons he needed to explore the forest.

Just as he left the shop, a voice called after him. "Wait!"

Nick turned to see Rhea standing in the doorway. Her orange hair fell in loose waves around her face, and she wore a determined frown. "You're going into the forest, right?"

Nick hesitated before nodding, not sure where this was going.

"You'll need someone who knows what they're looking for. I'll come with you, " she said.

Nick blinked in surprise. "Are you sure? It will be dangerous."

She rolled her eyes. “Master has already taken me in several times. "

Nick hesitated before deciding that the girl was old enough to make her own choices. It was true that it'd be helpful to have someone with more experience with the local flora anyway, and asking anyone else for directions would mean risking discovery by his parents, who had just stopped being mad about the last time he went in.

"All right," he agreed.