[AN: Trying to make a poll, more info at end of chapter.]

The relationship between Adam and Alfred did not change at all after their duel. Only, Helen treated them quite stiffly for a time and they felt awkward around her since she tossed them aside after they confessed. The night when they came back from the duel, Susan had noticed that Helen was angry and pried what happened out of her. Consequently everyone at Madame's now knew what happened.

For the first couple days after the duel, Adam and Alfred slunk around with their heads down and their ears burning as many of their friends threw jabs at them. Helen had to deal with some embarrassment as well, since some joked about which guy she should choose. She also silently wondered why she would have even a small crush for Adam.

After these few days, the humor of the event started to die down and the three mostly went back to their normal lives. It was around this time that Hansen made an announcement to the boys as they were training in the morning: “The wolves have been getting less ferocious since that demonic bear has been killed. The Silver Saviors will soon be ready to take up your training again!”

The boys were excited when they heard this. The Silver Saviors were their gateway into the rest of the world. They were otherwise stuck at Madame's until they turned sixteen. Even then, they might not have the ability to go out and venture the world, only to toil and struggle as a normal person with normal work. If they were good enough, the Silver Saviors may just take them in as members and they could experience a much broader world. Even Bruno and Clyde were torn between whether they wanted to join the military, like their father, or join the Silver Saviors.

A week after this, Hansen finally took the boys over to the Silver Saviors. This time, however, they were not actually going to go hunting! It was still going to be a two day affair, but the boys had no idea what they were there for. It made them both excited and apprehensive about what was to come.

The yards in front of the Silver Saviors homes were converted into one long training area. It wasn't big enough to accommodate many people, but it was sufficient to allow for practice. There were a few people waiting for the boys to arrive on one side of the yard, including the large and burly Clayton.

Clayton waved them on over. “Over here, we will explain the training we want to offer.”

The boys followed Hansen until they were in front of Clayton. They were all a little intimidated by the powerful presence that this burly man gave off, even if they knew he was good at heart. Clayton smiled at the children as he said: “We came to a consensus. Since Hansen has only been able to teach you proper stances and forms, we decided that we want to train you boys in some martial art techniques!”

The boys were immediately flabbergasted and excited. Their blood still pumped from the story Adam gave them from when he went out with the military to kill that demonic bear. They even excitedly asked: “You will make us into those martial artists that can move as fast as the wind and cycle spirit essence into our bodies and weapons!?”

Clayton was immediately alarmed and quickly waved his arms. “No! That is completely different! It's just some bad terminology.”

The boys looked confused and disappointed. Just what did he mean then? Clayton quickly continued: “We want to train you in some human level martial arts. Not make you spirit level martial artists. Unless you show some amazing innate talent, it is too late for you boys to begin training in spirit level martial arts.”

The boys still looked confused so Clayton explained further. Martial arts were divided into the spirit level, which the boys were originally thinking of, and the human level. The human level is just special techniques that can be used by a normal body without need for circulating spirit essence. Using human level marital arts, they could still attain a vast amount of strength compared to common people, but will still pale in comparison to spirit martial artists. If they show a certain type of talent while training in the human level, they just might be able to train in the spirit level but it is rare to find someone who has the correct aptitude to train once they are over ten years old.

As Clayton was finishing his explanation, someone came running over with a letter for him. Giving a quick glance, he immediately took the litter and opened it. As his expectant gaze read the letter, it started to become overcome with disappointment. He then looked over to Adam and said: “I sent a letter out to your teacher, to ask about her thoughts on teaching you martial arts. You might discuss this further with Cathryn, but she says that you should not learn human level martial arts. Since you had already started down the path of a martial artist before, and it has only been a little over a year since you successfully became a spiritualist, she feels it is too soon for you to learn any type of formal martial arts. She fears that your soul might attempt a switch again, since you have been unable to form a truly solid foundation as a spiritualist, yet.”

Frustration and disappointment became evident on Adam's face. The other boys looked apologetically over to Adam. They were very excited to receive this type of training, but it seemed Adam would be excluded. Clayton was also a tad distraught, he had just brought this exciting opportunity forward and just had to deny it to Adam. To compensate a little for it he said: “If you want, I think I can put some money together to hire a simple carriage to take you over to SILU so you can talk to Cathryn.”

Adam was a little surprised. Taking a carriage really didn't cost a lot of money, but it still had to be paid. That Clayton would pay for it out of pocket for him, Adam felt grateful. He only had to think for a moment before accepting. This whole two day training time was going to be for their martial arts training. If Adam just stayed here, he would have nothing to do!

The time to reach SILU was not much different from the Silver Saviors, than if he went from Madame's. Cathryn was a little surprised to see Adam, since it was another off day. When he brought up the martial arts training, she finally knew why he was there.

“I am sorry Adam, but that is my professional opinion on this. It's not that I don't want you to learn martial arts, I am just truly afraid of the side effects it might have on you. I never explained too much about martial artists and their human level martial arts, because I was afraid you might try to learn those martial arts, since your path has not been progressing. The only real difference between human and spirit martial arts is whether the user can utilize spirit essence. They are both the first things a martial artist learns!

“Truthfully, it should be rather hard to force your soul to change it's foundation again and switch to the path of a martial artist, but it is still possible. As I said in the note; your foundation as a spiritualist is not as strong as it could be, since you cannot truly control spirit essence. It would be easier for your foundation to crumble than for another spiritualist at the same point as yourself. This time, if your soul does change again, it will have far more catastrophic consequences than when you finally became a spiritualist. You may even die from it!”

Adam had been hoping that there was some point he could force to let him learn human level martial arts. But when Adam's soul first formed a path as a martial artist, he wasn't even learning human level martial arts. Just practicing standard sword stances and movements. Human level martial arts would be even closer to spirit martial arts and more likely to effect his soul's foundation. There was no way he could simply ignore Cathryn's recommendation, unless he wanted to be truly reckless. This was almost saying that he could not properly be a spiritualist, nor could he even become a formidable mercenary with his friends.

Still, Adam could not help but ask. “Is there truly no way I can practice just the basic martial arts?”

Cathryn gave an answer that could give Adam a small amount of hope: “You will have to wait a few years. At that point, even if we cannot get you to proceed along your spiritual path, your soul's foundation will have become stronger with age. As long as you also continue accumulating spirit essence, it will insure that you may practice human level martial arts without fear of breaking your soul's foundation. There are a few spiritualists who practice various amounts of martial arts for simple self defense, so there should be no problem for yourself, as long as you wait!”

Adam quietly nodded his head as he thought about what Cathryn said. He had to wait a few years, but how far away would Alfred and the others get during that time? Adam felt a little insecure about this, but there was nothing to be done. All he could do was wait.

Adam did not stay for a lesson with Cathryn. His mind was not in the mood to learn many things. He left to take the carriage, that was waiting for him, back to the Silver Saviors. By the time Adam got back, it was around noon. Adam discovered that Alfred and the others had taken a break and were going to have lunch.

Going into a house that a Silver Savior pointed out to him, Adam went to join them. Alfred and the others were happy to see Adam, hoping he would be able to continue training with them. He was only able to bring the bad news that he would have to wait for at least a few years before learning human level martial arts.

After Adam told them the bad news, Franklin was the first to try and liven the mood with a sly smile: “Well, hey this means you get to spend more time with your little Silber, right? You might even get some alone time with Helen!”

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Alfred held a pair of disbelieving eyes as Adam turned beet red while yelling: “Hey!”

Kevin, one of the Silver Savior members they were close with, asked with surprise written all over his face: “Do you already have a wife and a child, Adam!?”

Adam's face turned a darker red as he blurted out: “No! Silber is a wolf cub I saved and Helen... is a girl I like.” Adam said the last part rather quiet as he turned shy.

Kevin laughed heartily as he heard this answer. He, as well as a few others, became curious about this cub he saved. When Adam told them the story, they were all surprised, even Clayton was impressed when he over heard the story.

The Silver Saviors started talking out:“So you actually fought with that demonic bear!? Amazing. You wouldn't catch many of us going out to fight a creature like that, all our weapons and armor would snap under it!”

“I think Clayton could have gone one on one with it and still come out on top!”

Clayton rubbed his stubble of a beard as he said: “Well, I hate to brag but... yea I could take that teddy bear down!”

Many of the Silver Saviors laughed as they envisioned their leader easily slaughtering the bear with his great axe. Adam stared wide eyed at Clayton. Was he that much stronger than Dane and the others?

As the others were laughing, Clayton seemed to suddenly come up with an idea. “Hey, Adam, since we can't train you in martial arts, why don't we help you with training your pup how to fight by your side!?”

Adam showed surprise. “Train Silber?”

“Yea, he could become an invaluable companion to you. We can help you train him to fight by your side and help you out! We typically don't keep dogs, but your Silber should be a strong pure wolf. He just might be worth the effort of training.”

Adam started to get a little giddy with excitement. Sure he wouldn't be learning martial arts, but he gets to work on training Silber. Maybe the Silver Saviors would even be willing to keep Silber when he got too old for him to continue keeping at Madame's.

After lunch was over, Alfred and the others went to continue learning martial arts, while Adam started to plan things out for Silber with Kevin. On the rare occasion that they do keep dogs, Kevin is one of those who know how to properly keep and train them. Adam even asked about leaving Silber there when he got older. Kevin told him that as long as Adam paid for Silber's upkeep, he would be willing to look after it. Adam could get money for the upkeep from hunting, and by taking Silber along while they were hunting they could further his training.

The evening quickly descended and it was time for dinner. Alfred and the others met up again with Adam, each excited from what they learned earlier in the day. Adam's mind was constantly thinking of the ways they were going to train Silber and how to make it easier but more effective for him to learn. Alfred and the others couldn't wait to refine what they had learned and gain an advantage over Adam's elemental sight. With enough technique, even if Adam knew the attack was coming he might not be able to defend against it.

The next morning, Alfred and the others continued their training. Adam had already talked over everything he needed to with Kevin. They were going to wait until next week to start Silber's training, so he could get a full two days in. Since there was nothing else to do, Adam decided to actually head to the wall garden and start to try and accumulate spirit essence again. He had not done so since he encountered that demonic bear, but it was something he had to do to stabilize his soul's foundation as a spiritualist.

Adam sat down at his favorite bench to gather spirit essence. This time, he was not going to concentrate on controlling anything, observing any changes, nor was he pressed for time. He decided to just sit, gather the essence, and immerse himself in the sounds of the spirit essence. This made it so he was far more relaxed and even felt a little refreshed as he just let everything go. No longer worrying about how to proceed along his path, how long before he could learn martial arts, or about that situation between himself, Alfred and Helen. Just listening to the spirit essence like it was the most marvelous music he had ever heard.

Before Adam knew it, his stomach was grumbling for lunch. To Adam, it felt like he had just sat down to enjoy the music from spirit essence but a few hours had already passed by! Adam stood up, a little surprised about how the time flew. He felt more refreshed than tired after gathering the spirit essence, as he went back to the Silver Saviors for lunch. That afternoon, they finally went back to Madame's

The first thing Adam did, when he got back, was to find Silber and Helen and tell them about the training. Silber didn't really understand, but was enthused by Adam's excitement. Helen, on the other hand, was aghast!

“Silber is just a puppy and you want to force him into labor!?”

Both Adam and Silber were startled by this sudden outcry. Adam quickly started to say: “The first training we will do is just getting Silber to follow our commands, he wont go out hunting, that would be ridiculous! Besides, the Silver Saviors will be able to look after Silber when he gets older, since he will be trained. This way we don't have to give him to complete strangers and never see him again!”

Helen paused when she heard this. “Really? They wont work him hard or anything will they?”

“No. I will be paying for his stay and we can visit him any time, since it's not far away.”

While Helen still didn't like the idea of training Silber to hunt, it should be a natural instinct for him. There were so many pros and just a few cons to this training. As long as they didn't work Silber to the bone, Helen thought it would be fine, as if she had the final say in the matter.

During the next week, Alfred and the others started practicing the martial arts they had been taught during their morning sword exercises. Adam tried not to enviously watch them practice, but couldn't help sneaking quite a few glances. When it came time to spar, even thought their techniques were rough, what Alfred and the others learned gave them an edge over Adam.

The first thing they had learned from the Silver Saviors was a feinting technique. They will start an attack one way, but end it in a very different fashion. It seems like it should be simple, but it is rather difficult to actually execute properly. This worked well against Adam since he only knew that his opponent was going to attack, not how they were going to attack. He could no longer rely on the superiority of his elemental sight, while sparring.

When it was time to go back to the Silver Saviors for more training, Adam took Silber with him this time. When they arrived, Kevin took a careful look over Silber to assess his health. He determined that Silber could soon start eating semi solid foods and started showing Adam how to properly care for the puppy.

Silber was a tad frightened of Kevin at first. Even though his hands were rough, Kevin treated Silber gently so he quickly warmed up to Kevin. Kevin then showed Adam ways to play with Silber while teaching him tendencies he should know as a hunting or attack dog. Before too long, Silber tired out and decided to sleep. Kevin did not prevent this, and in fact approved of it.

Kevin told Adam: “If we let him sleep and continue playing with him this way, he will gain more stamina quicker. It will help make him a true companion for you.”

Adam was extremely hopeful for the future where Silber would follow along beside him. While Silber was sleeping, Kevin and Adam also took a small break. Adam went outside and ended up overlooking Alfred and the others training. In an effort to suppress his envy, Adam looked the other way.

On the opposite side of the yard from Alfred and the others, there were some more simple training spots. With nothing else to do, and wanting to beat the envy he felt away, Adam went over to practice some of his sword forms there. He pulled the sword from his side out of it's sheath. Looking at the gleaming and sharp weapon, Adam froze as a new thought came to mind.

When he spiritually enhanced the sword, he used the images of how he used the sword to do so. This created a song with the various sword stances and forms he knew being expressed in it. He could use small parts of the song to even move the sword in his hand to attack! If he used this ability of his as a spiritualist to express human level martial arts..... wouldn't that still just be him using his abilities as a spiritualist?

Adam began to get giddy as a small hope started to harbor itself in his heart.

[AN: Ok so I want to change Spiritualist. It seems to be an overused generic term I have started seeing everywhere. Possible changes are to SEMs=Spirit Essence Masters and Zekem,  a weird work I made up. There was already a thought of if I change to Zekem, maybe change other terms like the generic Demonic beast to like Dekem or something. Post any suggestions you want to share too!]