The yard was set up as both a place of relaxation and a training ground, with many practice weapons and targets set up against the walls. A small garden had been planted to one side by Orchid for his various experiments when he was 9 years old, which he’d protected with a defensive formation that had been acquired from an elementary textbook on formations. While not being an advanced mechanism he’d slowly boosted its power over time till he was sure it could handle several of his mother’s full powered strikes.

Sofia had hunched her body forward in what he recognized as the 11th stance of the standard Guard Arts, the Hawk Stance. This stance had been developed by his mother to take advantage of her lithe figure and focused on speed.

Insane amounts of speed.

Sweat slowly beaded on Orchids brow as a formless pressure developed.

This feels completely different from normal. It looks like she’s serious enough that she’ll unleash some of her real power.

Gulping, Orchid considered his options.

He couldn’t match her speed.

There was no way his young body could hold up to her trained strength.

She was an experienced fighter.

However, his mother was skilled with a sword and her grappling abilities weren’t nearly as good as his were, despite the experience gap.

Most importantly he had his magical abilities and Sofia was decidedly average in this regard, unable to create much beyond a spark.

Deciding on a strategy of pummeling her with as much magic as he could, he shifted to the 3rd stance of the same Guard Arts, the Wind stance. This was a formless position that was capable of responding to varying situations quickly. Hesitating for a second he started to draw mana from the air and circulate it within his body as per the combat magic guide he had been practicing recently.

Sofia’s eyes were closed and her breathing had become deep and rhythmic.

So, I get to make the first move.

I shouldn’t disappoint her then.

Slowly inhaling he started to gather mana and several orbs appeared around him, revolving and sparking.

Extending his arms towards her, he pushed mana into his hands while calling out a short Manipulation.

The air between his hands compressed and rushed forward, a sharp sound resonating as it slashed towards Sofia.

Her eyes shot open and she vanished from his sight, instantly appearing to his right, a punch already screaming towards his side.

Already prepared for this, Orchid was stamping on the ground with a mana infused leg shouting another Manipulation.

The ground beneath him caved and he sank below the punch while shards of earth shot up in a ring.

Like a mirage, Sofia’s image dissipated and Orchid looked up, ready for the final move in her favorite combination attack, and sure enough a heel drop was heading towards him from 15 feet high.

Stabbing his finger upwards he yelled “Strike!” and the orbs that were circling him exploded into jagged lightning that streaked towards her. Unable to avoid this attack Sofia was hit a dozen times, the lighting exploding on contact.

Each explosion forced her back until she was spun completely out of control, landing heavily on her side.

Not willing to waste the chance Orchid called out the only combat Spell he could use at present and a dozen arcane missiles shot out to strike at the form lying on the ground.

Breathing heavily, he studied the cloud of dust that had been created with the impact to see where Sofia was.

“Well done little Purple. I’m proud of you! I didn’t even recognize that lightning Spell, I’m impressed that you can even cast chantlessly.” Sofia’s voice was coming from near one of the weapons racks, not sounding even the least bit stressed.

“It wasn’t a Spell mom. The only thing I can cast above the Elementary Manipulations is that set of arcane missiles I used at the end.”

Raising her eyebrows in curiosity she asked. “Then how did you do it?”

He could understand her surprise, the difference between Spells and Manipulations was huge. A Manipulation took a basic natural force and changed its nature based on the will of the caster and the Manipulation key phrase, while a Spell was more complex and required the use of the Language of the Gods and the casters skill to convert mana into some sort of effect.

In the previous exchange, he’d used Manipulations to compress air and change the earth. These were considered tricks by most mages, useful tricks, but still tricks nonetheless. The stronger the will of the mage, the more complex the transformations could be if used in conjunction with more advanced Manipulations.

However, the advantage of Spells was truly simple.

You could create something from nothing.

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A simple example of this would be the Manipulation and Spell to generate water. The Manipulation slowly leeched the water out of the air, but the Spell took raw mana and turned it into water.

To explain, he rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to uncover a brass bracer and waved it in her general direction. The bracer was engraved with a series of custom formations that he’d prepared while being inspired from the practice for the performance at the festival a few weeks ago.

“It’s actually a pretty simple idea, Mom. The problem with using a spell in combat is maintaining the concentration to imagine the intent while you’re speaking in the Language. But most combat spells are simple by nature, convert mana into an element and then fire it at a target. Since I don’t have the ability to do the conversion process while fighting, I have the bracer process the mana and that’s stored in the orbs that you saw around me. As for triggering, they’re linked to a key phrase and gesture. The only problem is that it takes time to prepare.”

He was grinning by the end of his explanation since he could now see the singed sleeve of his mother’s tunic.

Got you! Even though I’ve used up my trump card, it was worth it. I can’t get close to that monster Ilse and her casting ability but there’s no way I’ll just sit idly when I can use my crafting to create a solution.

Proud with himself, he drew more mana into the bracer and more orbs started appearing around him.

He was sure the fight wasn’t over.

Sofia leisurely pulled a 3-foot-long practice sword from the weapons rack in front of her. Giving a few light swings that left scars in the stone wall she faced Orchid again.

How do you damage stone with wood?

Tilting her head, she stopped and appeared to be thinking about something.

Not letting any time go to waste, Orchid kept processing more mana into orbs even as he felt himself reaching the limit on the number of orbs he could keep active. One thing he hadn’t mentioned to his mother was the small upkeep cost to maintain the orbs at peak power. He hadn’t been able to increase the power an individual orb held, so he’d gone for quantity over quality, but the orbs slowly lost some power as the energy dissipated into the atmosphere. That was why each orb needed a tiny sliver of mana so that it didn’t shrink.

In this situation, Orchid didn’t dare to save any mana, the presence that his mother exuded when holding a sword was absolutely terrifying. He’d even seen soldiers run in fear of her while she was only practicing.

“Since you showed me so many interesting things today little Purple, I’ll return the favor.” Sofia said seriously.

The world seemed to freeze around his mother, and the pressure she released spiked.

A dull thumping sound echoed through the yard. It resonated inside him and he suddenly felt a horrible dizziness.

Another thump, louder than before, it rippled outwards from Sofia’s body and it looked like a wind had sprung up around her, gently turning around her body causing her shoulder length hair to sway.

Taking a sharp breath, her body transformed.

Her eyes turned red.

Her hair burned like flames.

The sword in her grasp cracked as it was surrounded by a rippling, glowing, blood colored force.

Orchids jaw dropped.

“Is that a Samarian art? HOW DID YOU GET ONE?!” He screamed.

Showing a sinister expression Sofia said. “That will be a secret little Purple. There should be some things I let the Academy teach you.” Her voice itself pressured Orchid.

It was deeper.

Resonant.

Filled with power.

The force of her presence induced an uncontrollable fear in him. It was the peerless presence of a great Monster, wild and vicious.

She swung her sword.

Not realizing what had happened Orchid was suddenly struck in the stomach, the blow sending him flying into the wall 20 feet behind him, a dozen orbs bursting as his control shattered.

Winded he rolled to his feet. His eyes blurred by tears, he pointed towards the direction he sensed the pressure from and fired off all the remaining lightning orbs he had gathered.

The blasts of lightning tore through the air.

The sound of a swing was followed by the lightning dissipating.

That’s not possible!

Howling. Another swing of the blade.

Struck on his right side, Orchid staggered but remained standing.

Sofia appeared before him, sword raised high, killing intent soaring and piercing through him.

Orchid fell to his knees.

The blade slashed down.

A mountain pressed down on him and he couldn’t breathe.

The swing stopped inches from his head with a burst of wind as the blade shattered into dust, the pressure vanishing instantly.

Crouching down, Sofia looked into Orchids eyes.

As the terror slowly ebbed from him, he started shaking. Seeing the fierce beast gone replaced by his mother, he grabbed her shirt as great sobs tore through him.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Patting her son’s soft purple hair, Sofia whispered comforting words, guilt over her actions wracking her. As Orchids crying subsided she gently helped him up and told him to wash up and go to bed.

Watching his dejected back trudging into the house, she sighed while tossing the remains of the practice blade to the side.

“Was it necessary to punish the boy so much.” Iris said as he hopped down from the second floor, robes swaying as his descent slowed before his feet touched the ground.

“It was training.” She replied defensively before sighing again. “He’s good, love. Very good. Despite not having a huge mana capacity or martial sense he knows how to truly utilize what he does have.”

Grasping her hand Iris smiled. “Of course, he is our son. What caused to act the way you did darling?”

“The Academy will be very different this year. The Samarian trade conference was very successful.”

“You are thinking of the exchange.” Iris was solemn. Gesturing around him he started repairing the damage the practice session caused.

“The king is sure to send the prince, and where the prince goes, Orchid is sure to follow.” Laughing softly, she added “Can you imagine him missing out on such an adventure?”

“It will be good for him.”

“The Samarians are very different from us Iris. Their focus on strength…” shaking her head she looked lost, her grip on his hand tightening. “The Guilds are expanding their strength and they’re sure to drag someone with Orchids abilities into their mess. If he can’t face this level of pressure, then the world will tear him apart.”

Iris started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Can you imagine those ancient council members dealing with the havoc he will cause once he gets access to the full resources and information they have? The information that we have spent so much effort to make sure that he cannot even hear about?”

Considering his scenario, she realized that he might be right.

“It is time for him to spread his wings darling. I think we should let the Samarians have him for a while. I am sure it will be very interesting, the boy is resilient if nothing else.”

“You’re right. You know, let’s give him extra training on his breaks from the academy.”

Holding hands and relaxing they both started planning a horrifying training plan for Orchid that would haunt him for the rest of his days.