Looking at their grinning faces, brimming with confidence, his master nodded in satisfaction, and said, “Whether you can do it or not, does not matter. But you should not give up before trying. That is the attitude you should have as Wanderers.”
Pausing briefly to glance at him, his master added, “Of course, that does not mean that you can ignore your limits, or be reckless. Being confident with strength, and having the ability to back up your confidence is different from being hopelessly reckless. One can help you achieve great success, while the other will simply lead you to your death.”
“…I will not be reckless,” Alnea mumbled, as blood rushed to his face. “Besides, this time they were the ones being reckless, master. They dragged me into it.”
“…I never took your name.”
“…Please continue, master.”
“Cheeky disciple,” his master said, briefly pinching his nose, while smiling at his embarrassed face. “Coming back to what I was saying earlier, the Heterodox Wanderers would not be coming for a while. And when they do come, I will make it so that they will be forced to send only False Wanderers after you. But that will mean that you will have to face some Peak Stage False Wanderers, which you three are clearly not capable of doing so at the moment. Especially Alnea.
“Having just reached the False Rank, there are still many things he needs to learn. From his new Spirit Forging Art to an entirely new set of Martial Styles. And once he comprehends a Mystery, he also needs to practice creating Arcanas. Due to certain reasons, he is not able to use Arcanas created by others. And facing Heterodox Wanderers, without any Arcanas, would be too great of a handicap.”
“…Why can he not use Arcanas created by others, Lady Nyssa?”
“…I can only say that it is a secret involving his Roots,” his master said, glancing her eyes over Cecilia. “As for whether you can figure it out or not depends on you.”
“Secret regarding his Roots…” Cecilia mumbled before staring at Alnea with wide eyes. “You… No wonder you insist on Forging your Spirit like a freak. How can you be so stupid?”
“That’s exactly the reaction that big sis Nyssa had when she first learned of it,” Yuri said, giggling from the side.
“…I call it being ambitious.”
“Being ambitious my foot! You…”
“Enough, Cecilia,” his master said. “Let us not dwell on the past, and focus on what is ahead of us. As I was saying, there are many things that Alnea needs to learn. So, for a period of time, he will have to stay with me. This period will not be long though. At most a month. At the end of his special training, he will still remain an Initial Stage False Wanderer, and no match for the Heterodox Wanderers. And the same goes for you two. Individually, none of you will be a match for the Heterodox Wanderers.
“However, if you act as a team, then you may have a chance of facing the Heterodox Wanderers head on. And when I say team, I do not mean just randomly throwing your attacks at your enemies in unison. You need to learn to cooperate with each other. Understand each other’s strengths, and weaknesses. Develop your own tacit understanding. And from that understanding, develop your own combination of fighting styles, determining your roles in the fights according to your situations.”
“…Why does it sound like you want us to develop as a standard Union Expedition team, big sis Nyssa?” Yuri asked, a bit hesitant, but with expectation, and excitement in her voice. An excitement, which was mirrored by Cecilia, who looked toward Yuri, and then at his master, with bright, and shining eyes. His master, on the other hand, just shook her head with a smile.
“Because that is indeed what I want you three to do,” his master said. “To develop as a Union Expedition Team.”
“A Union Expedition Team?” Alnea mumbled, looking around in confusion. “What is a Union Expedition Team, master?”
His master did not answer him immediately. It looked like she had guessed what he was thinking, for after looking at him for a few moments in silence, she let out a sigh, before looking at him with an apologetic look.
“In your Wanderings, and other trainings, I had almost forgotten that I still have so many things to teach you… But I guess it is about time to tell you about things like this. Do you remember what I had taught you about the Thralls?”
Stolen novel; please report.
“…I do, master,” Alnea said. “We did not cover them in much detail, but I remember everything that you had taught me.”
“Then do you remember how the Orthodoxies, and the Union handle the Thralls?”
“By handle, you mean…?”
“Fight.”
“…We did not cover that part in detail, master. I just know that the nine Origin clans, which still have their Domains, have to take care of a Thrall Domain each, while the Union has to take care of one Thrall Domains, and four Origin Battlefields. Besides that, I recall Cecilia telling me once that the frontlines are basically divided according to the Ranks. That’s all I know about how the Orthodoxies, and the Union handle the Thralls, master.”
“It is alright, Alnea,” his master said, giving him a reassuring smile. “It is not your fault that you do not know more about it. It is just that your time has been so tight recently that you have not had much to learn. It cannot be helped though. Your Oaths… We will get back to filling up your missing foundations once we are done with the Rising Wanderer Trials. In any case, what you know is enough to understand what a Union Expedition Team is. So, you do not have to compare yourself to the girls, or get disheartened by the lack of your knowledge.”
“…Yes, master,” Alnea said, feeling the tender touch of his master in his Heart. She was not touching him physically, but she was always with him, touching every part of his life. She was…
“So, as you have already said, the nine Origin clans, and the Union, each have their own respective battlefields on which they fight. We will talk about the Origin Battlefields later. First, let us talk about the Thrall Domains. As you already know, each of those Thrall Domains differ from each other in every possible manner. From their geography, to climate, and even the Mysteries the Thralls have corrupted those Domains with. As such, the way that the Orthodoxies, and the Union have to deal with the Thralls in those Domains is all dependent on the Domains themselves, and the Thralls which they have to fight.
“Still, in general, the way in which we handle the Thralls in those Domains can be divided into two categories. First would be large armies. Since the Thralls launch a large scale invasion almost every month, we have no choice but to station a large scale army at the edge of the Thrall Domains, so that we can keep the Thralls from invading further into our world. Of course, these armies are generally stationed right outside of the Thrall Domains, so we do not suffer from any field disadvantages during the battles.
“Then there are the small scale expeditionary forces, which invade the Thrall Domains, and cause as much damage to the Thralls as possible. Other than that, these expeditionary forces are also responsible for excavating, and salvaging precious resources from the Thrall Domains. Like the wood which was used to make the door of Yuri’s room. Or the Purgon metals which are used as a base for many types of Fire Glyphs, including cooking stations.
“Of course, since the Thrall Domains themselves are different from each other, the make, and the composition of these expeditionary forces are also quite different. The Origin Battlefields, however, except for a few things, are all almost similar in nature. As such, the expeditionary forces that are designed to venture into the Origin Battlefields are also pretty similar in their structure. And since the Origin Battlefields are almost entirely handled by the Union, the most basic structure of the expeditionary forces going into the Origin Battlefields are called as—
“Union Expedition Teams,” Alnea said, nodding along with his master’s smiling face, with a strange sense of excitement bubbling up inside of him. “Then does that mean you want us to go to the Origin Battlefields, master?”
“Why are you thinking of something so far?” his master said, flicking his forehead to calm him down, before looking towards Yuri, and Cecilia. “You two should also calm down. Nothing is final. Take this training, and your fight against the Heterodox Wanderers as a test. Only if your do well against them will I take you three to the Origin Battlefield. Do you understand me?”
“Yes!” all three said in unison, before looking at each other in excitement, as if they had already begun with their teamwork, and coordination, causing his master to chuckle at them.
“Now, coming back to what I was saying earlier, Alnea is going to stay with me for a while. You two, on the other hand, have no such restrictions. Earlier, I had planned on letting you understand the dangers of the Night Canyons…”
“There is no need to change your plan, Lady Nyssa.”
“…But with how excited you two are, I am afraid that you will only end up creating more troubles for me.”
“…We will remain careful.”
“…Are you sure? You can take this time to let yourselves relax. After all, you will probably not get any breaks for months once you begin your training as a team.”
“We are,” Yuri said. “Since you are treating us like your disciple, then we should treat you like our master, right?”
“And you are right, Lady Nyssa,” Cecilia added. “We have indeed become a little lax… A sense of danger is necessary. Especially since we wish to stand at the top of the world of Wanderers.”
“Good,” his master said, nodding with satisfaction. “Do you want to go separately, or do you wish to be together?”
The girls glanced at each other, before nodding in unison.
“Since we wish to develop a sense of danger, then it is necessary to explore the canyons by ourselves. As for teamwork, we can do it after Alnea joins us.”
“As you wish.”