Chapter 435

The last Razor-beak Vulture hit the ground with a loud thud, ending the brief skirmish as he received a notification, which Nick waved off.It was unfortunate, but it would take far more than a few level forty vultures to push him to the next level now.

Still, as Nick lowered his hand, allowing the last bit of wind mana to smoothly return to his coils, the simplicity of the action brought a satisfied smile to his face.

He barely used any power to destroy the flock, certainly less than it would have taken him when he first passed through the grassland, and considering how deep his reserves were now, it was such a small amount that it was negligible.

“You already have decent control; you should work on developing it further,” Xander said. He pushed himself away from the carriage and approached the fallen vultures, glanced at them, then nodded. "Both of you, good work. Now, harvest the beaks. They’re dense enough to sell to the fletchers in Floria for armor-piercing arrows. We shouldn't leave coin rotting in the sun.”

Devon was already wiping his broadsword clean with a cloth. He sheathed the blade and pulled out his hunting knife, moving toward the nearest carcass. Nick joined him, and they worked in comfortable silence for the next twenty minutes.

Separating the iron-like beaks from the surprisingly dense skulls was messy work, but it kept him grounded, pulling his thoughts away from the lofty politics of the city and back to the practical reality of the road.

Once they had filled a burlap sack with the harvested materials, Nick vanished it into his ring, and they washed their hands with some conjured water before climbing back into the carriage.

Xander cracked the reins, and the horses resumed their trot.

Floria was about sixty miles away from the western gates of Alluria. For a dedicated courier riding a magically enhanced mount, the journey could be completed in a single day, and Nick himself had done it in just a bit more time, if he didn’t count the ritual he’d used on the Thunderhoof herd.

For a carriage traveling at a measured pace, it would take the better part of three days.

The following hours were spent in comfortable silence and occasional small talk. As the afternoon sun started to dip toward the horizon, turning the grassland into a sea of waving orange, they pulled the carriage off the main dirt road and set up camp near a small, rocky outcrop that served as a natural windbreak.

Devon and Xander focused on caring for the horses and securing the area, while Nick assisted Sonya with the camp's logistics.

As befitting her Class, she quickly set up a portable iron stove and organized their travel rations into a stew. Nick sat on a nearby large stone, conjuring a small fire beneath the pot with barely a spark of his mana.

It was doubtful he could elevate them to the level granted him over his three natural elements, but as he had seen with kinetic magic, even a lesser affinity could become very useful when combined with his spiritual mana.

Fire magic had never particularly interested him, but Nick could already think of a few ways to wield it effectively, so he made a mental note to look into it when he had some privacy.

"You seem pretty experienced," he observed, watching Sonya effortlessly portion out the dried meats and root vegetables. "Most people who work in the city struggle when they actually have to spend a night on the road.”

Sonya offered a mild, self-deprecating smile as she stirred the pot with a wooden spoon. "I wasn't always a maid, you know? Before the Grandmaster took me in, I used to do this quite often.”

Nick nodded slowly. They hadn’t really discussed her background in detail, not beyond what was needed to understand why the Temple of Ulter might be looking for her, but since she brought up the topic, he felt comfortable asking for more.

“I remember you told me he took you in after your grandfather… Well, after he fell. But what did you do before?”

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This was a sensitive topic, but the calm he could sense in her signature reassured him he wasn’t pushing her boundaries too far.

Sonya took a moment to taste the stew, sprinkling a few more herbs and spices in until it reached the desired flavor. Once she was finished, she turned to him with a small smile. “My family was never a normal one. Both my parents were part of my grandfather’s crew, and we moved around a lot. Even as a kid, I had to learn to look after myself and make myself useful by tending to the chores they didn’t care for.”

Nick nodded, maintaining an open and relaxed expression to show he was listening without judgment.

Somewhat reassured, she continued. “I was always told I’d have to take up the family business, but it never really interested me. Fighting other crews, boarding merchant ships… My father used to tell me I had a weak stomach, and would take me along once the battles were over, to try and toughen me up.”

She laughed weakly, shaking her head, and although he could tell she had mixed feelings about her family—exacerbated by the quick end they’d faced when they’d tried to bite off more than they could chew—there was still some affection there.

“Managing things was always a refuge for me. It made me feel in control, and even after we started raiding ports and tried to build a kingdom for ourselves… I wasn't ever interested in that life, but some things did get through, I guess.”

It was sometimes easy to forget that this girl, who worked as a maid, was actually the granddaughter of a pirate king, one so powerful that he had taken over a coastal city and was only brought down by the Grandmaster’s intervention.

It made Nick wonder what she could have become if her family hadn’t been so arrogant as to declare war on the priests of Ulter.

“I will forever be grateful to Master Xander for taking me in. I resisted at first, wanting to slip away and try my hand at life among the urchins displaced by the war, but now I know the priests would have found me.” She took a deep breath before shaking her head. “That life will always be a part of me, but it’s not all I am. I chose to dedicate myself to my path, and I haven’t regretted it yet. It’s why I appreciate your brother so much.”

Nick looked over his shoulder. Devon was carefully checking the straps on the horses' harnesses, making sure everything was in order for their next leg of travel, and intentionally staying far enough away to avoid overhearing.

"Devon doesn't cut corners with the people or things he cares about," he agreed quietly.

"He values love and protection more than personal glory," Sonya said, her voice warm with sincerity. "In a world where many are always chasing the next level, a man who knows how to protect what he has is a rare find.”

Nick smiled, feeling a deep sense of relief. He had spent the past few months worrying about the physical and political dangers threatening his family and the kingdom as a whole. Knowing that Devon had found someone who truly understood and appreciated his nature made it all feel completely worthwhile.

The next morning, they got up before the sun fully rose over the horizon.

After a quick breakfast of leftovers, Xander didn’t immediately move to hitch the horses. Instead, he walked to the center of the clearing, carrying two wooden practice swords he had unstrapped from the carriage's exterior rack. He tossed one to Devon and held the other loosely by his side.

"We have a few days of travel ahead of us, and the road is quiet," Xander said, his sharp eyes moving from Devon to Nick. "You have both grown significantly in the past months. Devon, your foundation is solid, but your combat rhythm is becoming predictable since you have only faced enemies below your skill level. Nicholas, your power has clearly increased a lot.”

Xander pointed the wooden blade at Nick. "But such can become a crutch. You have spent most of your time fighting monsters, who rely on instinct, or mages, who need time and skill to impose their will on the world. You have very little experience fighting a high-level martial artist.”

Nick stood up from his spot by the dead fire, eyeing the old man with some wariness. "Martial classes have lower overall destructive output than mages. I have yet to encounter one that can overcome my shields.”

“That is true," Xander agreed smoothly. "If a knight of your level stood fifty yards away and allowed you to cast a complex spell, he would die. But a martial artist does not enforce their will upon the world, Nicholas. We enforce our will upon ourselves. Our skills do not require complex sigils or the manipulation of ambient ether. They require only a thought and a physical action. We are faster to the draw.”

With that said, he took a stance with his wooden sword. "Put up your barriers and complete your preparations, then try to hit me.”

Nick didn't need to be told twice. He knew Xander wouldn't seriously hurt him, but the Grandmaster wasn’t known for going easy during training.

Casting several layers of the defensive magic around himself, Nick creates a barrier to slow any incoming physical attacks. At the same time, he formed a triad of compressed wind blades hovering near his shoulders, ready to unleash even more at will.

"Begin," Xander said, still keeping his stance.

Nick launched the first wind blade, aiming straight for Xander's chest, while the next two curved around him, even as he started drawing from the ether for a larger spell.

Xander shifted his weight as his sword raised, striking the wind blade at its exact weak spot and deflecting it effortlessly into the next, while the third sailed harmlessly above him thanks to his new position.

Before Nick could fire the second round, he was already in motion.

He closed the distance with a smooth, gliding step that seemed to eat the ground between them, and Nick instinctively tried to backpedal, casting a much larger wave of wind to widen the gap, but Xander anticipated the move.

As Nick's boots touched down ten yards away, Xander was suddenly there, somehow bypassing the spell without a trace of aura and stepping straight into his guard.

His defensive field activated then, pressing down on the old man and trying to bog him down to buy himself time to reposition and unleash the spiritual charge he had accumulated.

It was as if nothing he did could affect Xander, however, because the old man used the tip of his wooden blade as a focus, pushing just a trickle of mana into it.

Yet, that was enough to create a gap that allowed him to close the last bit of distance, and suddenly, Nick couldn’t cast any spell at all, afraid of getting caught in the blowback.

The practice sword stopped just an inch from his throat, and he let out a sigh.

“You have a lot of power, but you don’t know how to use it if your enemy doesn’t allow you to guide the tempo,” Xander said, and although Nick wanted to rebut, to say that if he had a little more time to prepare, none of this would have happened, he knew that was exactly the point of this exercise.

Xander seemed to read that realization in his eyes, so he stepped back with a nod, giving Nick space. "Again. This time, do not try to strike me. Use your magic to deny me the ground I want to step on. Break my rhythm."