Leona found herself sprawled on the ground. The ends of her hair were singed, her right arm trembled from gripping the staff too tight and her legs were spasming from pain.

“Ugh…”

She uttered as she mustered enough strength to lift her head.

“Your mastery over magic has increased significantly.” A female voice sounded up ahead as she locked eyes with her other self. “But this is nowhere close to me.” The fully armored Leona had her frostburnt silver longsword pointed at her with a smug expression on her face. “So, me. What will it be? The sword or the knee?”

“That’s rich coming from someone that is just a shade.” Despite her wounds and fatigue, she stood up with the help of the staff and pointed it towards her. “I will become stronger. Just you wait…”

With one swift flick of the longsword, the knight cut her down. Splattering blood across the stone tiles.

“Argh!” Leona shot up awake with a terrible migraine assaulting her brain. “Ugh…”

She grasped her head while frowning her eyes in pain.

“Should have dodged that wind bullet.” Robert commented as he stood up and bent backwards in order to relieve the back pain. “Mmmmh… let’s take a break, it has been almost six hours since you’ve been training.”

“Huh?” Leona glanced at one of the vents which gave a full view of the mountainside. It was already dark. “But we’ve been there for what felt like a day.”

He walked over to the table in the middle of the room and grabbed an empty glass cup in order to pour water from a jar that was sitting beside it.

“What do you think your inner world is?”

“Uh… a physical manifestation of my mind?”

“Yes, but you are missing one key factor about it. Time there passes as fast as your brain can process all the information inside of it.”

He filled his cup to the brim and chugged it down in one go. Meanwhile Leona was trying to make sense of what she just heard, but the headache was too intense for her to focus.

“So… what does it mean exactly?”

She was still holding the side of her head while wincing from the throbbing sensation through her cranium.

“It means that you are learning way faster than normally possible.” He put the empty glass back on the table and tapped twice against the side of his head. “If we speed up the rate at how you train, that means we’ll effectively cut down the time you actually need to train.”

“And how exactly does that have anything to do with time passing slower?”

He looked at her and slightly shook his head.

“If you are faster, does that mean everyone else is slower?”

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow as she answered.

“Not necessarily?”

“It’s the same thing with time. If you’re experiencing things faster in the inner world, it doesn’t mean time itself is passing slower, it just means that your mind is that much faster at processing information.” He sat on the couch and stretched out his legs on top of the table. “The resulting headache you feel everytime you come out of the inner world is the result of your mind catching up. Of course, there are some inherent risks in training so much in there but we’ll take our time so you get familiar with that sort of mental stress.”

“Ugh… just how much longer will I have to do this?”

“Until you become strong enough to withstand your grandmother’s aura.” He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. “Gravity.”

Suddenly, her body felt like it was twice its normal weight as she felt a tremendous amount of pressure on her entire being. A dark mist enveloped her as she tried to move but to no avail.

“Ugh!”

Her own weight was working against her as she tried to lift her head, but her muscles couldn’t muster enough strength to overcome his spell as her entire forearm was supporting herself against the carpet.

“Remember what you went through before, aether can vastly change one’s soul in a short amount of time.” He snapped his fingers again, lifting the spell’s effect on her. “Mana pressure can potentially kill a person, given the right circumstances and since I made a deal to train you, I can’t have you die on me, can I?”

“Haa… ah… what’s the point of training in the inner world then?” She lifted her head whilst panting. “Shouldn’t I be increasing my mana?”

He looked at her with an incredulous expression as if she just said something stupid.

“The only reason as to why you are doing this in the first place is to increase your mana capacity. It may not help you physically, but you are getting stronger in the magic department. Do you not feel it?”

She stared at her own right hand, but despite him saying so, she couldn’t tell the difference. Seeing no significant reaction from her prompted Robert to lean forward out of his relaxed pose in order to think.

‘Maybe because she has been training this entire time in the inner world—she herself doesn’t feel any different from when she was there…’ He thought while rubbing both sides of his face with his right hand. ‘Interesting…’

He stood up and signaled her to do the same by flicking his left hand up. She did as instructed and was about to ask what that was all about, before he said something unthinkable.

“Unleash your most powerful spell against me.”

She blinked a few times.

“Huh?”

“You heard me. Use your staff and fire at me your most powerful spell.”

“You can’t be serious right?”

“Here and now, come.”

“But we’re inside-”

“I’ll make sure to take care of it, whatever it is.”

She hesitantly took up her staff from the floor and aimed it at him. Upon taking a deep breath, she could feel every single fiber of her body sharpen and focus on gathering mana as light blue strings of magic began to surge from her feet and course around her body towards the very tip of the staff.

“Heed me o blazing comet-” She started to chant, though her words were substantially different from the usual ‘by the book’ incantation. “-herald of doom, bring destruction upon my foes-” Mana from the very air started to accrete towards the azure fire orb taking shape at the end of her staff. “Fireball!”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The already very destructive fire spell was about four times bigger than normal when she released it. By encompassing it with mana, she effectively created the first high payload explosive spell that could potentially wipe out everything in the current vicinity including herself. It was at that point when she realized she put way more mana than she initially intended to.

“Wait this isn’t-!”

As she was about to say something along the lines of an apology, Robert raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. In the blink of an eye, the large sphere of fire vanished in thin air as he chuckled.

“See? Your mana did indeed increase.” There was a sudden chilling breeze hitting her face before she slumped back on the couch stunned by the sheer amount of mana she had just displayed. “Good grief, why do you not believe me?”

“No I…” She looked at her own trembling hand. “I achieved this in less than a day…”

“Because of the sheer amount of time you passed in the inner world no doubt.” He sat on the other couch and started to yawn. “With your current capabilities… six hours here should be equivalent to roughly thirty six there.”

“Then, shouldn’t I keep going? If I can grow six times faster there then-”

“Unless you want to assimilate your soul with mine, I suggest you give yourself at least a few hours to recover.”

He snapped his fingers and a glass cup of wine appeared out of thin air before he catched it between his fingers. The red liquid swirled dangerously close to the glass’ edges before settling at the bottom of the cup.

She flicked her head up.

“Come again?”

He was about to take a sip from his drink before she asked with a puzzled expression—promptly interrupting him.

“Your soul will merge with mine and your body will become a soulless husk.” He seemed a bit annoyed as he took a sip from the wine. “These trips to your inner world are made by using my soul as a catalyst for your mind to comprehend your own soul. Think of it as me lending my perception of the inner world’s existence to you so you can access it. In doing so that makes your soul ever so slightly similar to mine.”

“Okay… so what should I do while not training there?”

“You could always train your body.” He took another sip. “A mage that dies the moment an enemy touches them is not a very useful one.”

“Huh?” She seemed genuinely confused. “Wait… wasn’t I supposed to be far away from the frontline?”

“Ideally, yes. But you don’t always get what you want on the battlefield.” He finished drinking his wine and tossed the empty glass up before snapping his fingers—making it disappear out of thin air. “Get some food in your body, rest up and prepare for tomorrow’s training. We’ll start early.”

At that moment he simply stood up and walked away without giving her another chance to speak. On the other hand, Leona was approached by the maid Tomoe carrying a thick glass jar filled with what seemed to be some kind of broth.

“Miss Leona.” The maid spoke in a soft tone. “You and master Robert weren’t available for dinner so I took the liberty to make a spare meal for you. Would you like to seat here or at the table?”

“Oh, here is fine.” She nodded and settled the jar on the low table with a fork on the side. Leona promptly sat on the carpet in order to be at the ideal height to eat. “Thank you, Tomoe.”

From the smell alone she could tell what it was. Though what puzzled her specially was how hot it was. Her inquisitorial glance was enough to make the maid ask her.

“Is something wrong?”

“This is this ramen,right?”

“Yes.”

“Did I keep someone in the kitchen all evening just to make this hot meal for me?”

“Ah, do not need to concern yourself with this Miss Leona. Master Robert made it so we can heat it up by adding some mana through a rune specifically crafted by him.”

“A mana rune? For food?”

“Yes, it uses lightning magic in order to heat it without requiring metalware. He mentioned something along the lines of ‘microwaves’.”

“Huh… I never heard of that.” She used the fork and poked the piece of cut pork that was floating on the broth as it released a gentle wave of warm steam. “I should ask how he did it.”

She proceeded to silently eat her meal, only noticing how really hungry she truly was after the first few bites.

Though something felt off. Before she could proceed with her food, she noticed Tomoe simply standing by her side not even looking at her. She settled her fork down in between the noodles.

“Tomoe?”

The maid looked at her with a stoic expression.

“Yes?”

“Are you just going to stand there?”

“Yes.”

“Are you not hungry?”

“No, I ate a few hours ago.”

“Huh… then could you at least sit down beside me? I would rather not have you stand to wait for me.”

“Did I perchance bother you? I can leave if-”

“No, no, just sit down.” She crossed her right arm and tapped on the carpet twice. “Company during a meal is always welcomed.”

Leona’s faint smile surprised the maid a bit as she adjusted her long skirt before sitting down. Once she finally sat down on her own legs, the tactician was reminded of her dear personal maid, Adele. From the way they both sat and the similar haircut, she couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

“Is something wrong?”

Tomoe asked as she noticed Leona looking at her with a longing gaze.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing. You just reminded me of someone that once was very close to me.”

“Truly? My kind isn’t very well known for traveling.” She discreetly pointed at the two thin horns protruding out of her forehead. “These tend to attract unwanted attention.”

“I’m unsure whether or not she was an oni, but she also had horns. Though they were much thicker and came out of the sides of her head.”

She tapped twice just above her right ear. At that point, Tomoe tilted her head slightly down with a pensive expression.

“Adele… Adele…” She uttered the maid’s name a few times. “Where have I heard that name before…?”

Leona was about to take another bite of the noodles as she turned her head slightly to ask.

“Did you say something?”

“Hm? Oh, no. Apologies.”

The tactician chuckled.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.” She giggled a bit. “I have to say, you really remind me of her even with the smallest of reactions.”

After the moment of retrospection, Leona began to enjoy her meal in silence with the only sounds filling the room was the clinking of metal against glass and the crackling of the fireplace.

Much had happened until that point and looking back—the tactician could tell that she had made leaps and bounds of progress compared to when she had first started. Though to get there, she had also sacrificed a great deal, be it the company of former friends or her own body in the form of her left arm. From time to time, her left shoulder would throb in pain and serve as a reminder of what she had lost.

“Tsk.” She clicked her tongue while Tomoe was taking her bowl away which prompted the maid to look at her, but before she could apologize, Leona decided to clarify. “Sorry, my arm, or rather, my shoulder is killing me right now. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Do you want me to fetch master Robert?”

“No, no, it’s fine. It’ll pass soon.” She used her right arm to sit back on the couch before holding on her left stump. “I just need to rest for a bit…”

“Very well. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

“I will, thank you, Tomoe.”

She bowed and headed off to the kitchen in order to clean the dishes. Leona on the other hand decided it was best to just rest as she leaned her head against the couch.

“Ngh…” She took a very slow and deep breath trying to shrug off the pain, but it felt like needles were puncturing through the non-existent left arm. “I’m not unfamiliar with pain, but this is… argh…” She closed her eyes while clenching her teeth and squeezing her left shoulder. “Ha… ah…”

After a few minutes had passed the pain began to subside. But the phantom limb still felt like it had electricity coursing through it as the tingling sensation lingered for quite a while before she was finally able to lie down on the couch while still grasping her shoulder.

“Ugh… I need to sleep for tomorrow…” She turned on her right side and forcefully closed her eyes. “I need… to rest…”

Hours passed before Krieg, Miyamoto and Setsuna entered the homestead. With the knight drenched in sweat, he was heading towards the bathroom before he took a glimpse of a trembling Leona lying on the couch.

“Maybe we should have Leona train with him next time.” Setsuna was talking to the knight’s father. “Practical experience of an active battlefield is always better than simply training.”

“One’s blade must be ready for anything at any moment.” Miyamoto shook his head. “Needless to say, he is still too inexperienced to use it and at this rate we might need to rely on her grace.”

“She wouldn’t say no, especially for her own kin.” They both walked past Krieg who was standing by the couch which prompted Setsuna to turn around. “Krieg?”

He had just finished putting a blanket on Leona before he looked at her.

“Yes?”

“Ah… no, it’s nothing.” She smiled faintly. “Go take a bath and rest, we’ll have more training tomorrow.”

“Understood.”