Sherry came in the morning to pick up Seth and Emily, and Seth was surprised Emily was also being trained. Sherry attempted to carry Emily, but Emily vehemently refused, to the point Sherry wanted bring her by force, but Emily wanted to walk on her own, to prepare for the training. The standstill ended with Seth piggybacking Emily the whole way there. Emily attempted several times to get down and walk the rest of the way, but whenever Seth sternly refused, she shyly accepted it, until she regained her composure and tried again. Sherry also explained that it was okay to use names, as neither one of them would be considered slaves from now on. Also, they were never true slaves, Flan, doesn’t have a magician who can make a slave imprint, so they use force to keep people there.

“You will have two different training menus. Seth since you seem experienced with a lot of weapons, I will train you with daggers. You mentioned throwing knives but not daggers, they may seem similar but they’re different. A dagger can do anything a throwing knife can but a throwing knife can’t do everything a dagger can. I will guide you completing your aura, show you a footwork technique, and spar with you. For Emily, I will teach you how to wield a sword and dagger, showing you how to create an aura, and footwork techniques. If you learn fast enough, you may be able to spar with Seth before the first mission.”

“Sp-sp-spar with Seth?”

“Only if we have enough time.”

“Heheheheh”

“Do I get no say in it?”

“Wouldn’t you want to spar with someone, similar to your own age?”

“I would rather spar with someone stronger, so I don’t hurt anyone.”

“Well she will need someone to spar with, and I will be too strong, so it’s better for you. It will also be like you’re teaching her, and you’ll learn quicker.”

“That makes sense. Emily try your best and try to be a good practice mate.”

“Right!”

Sherry decided to hold on weapon training since Emily was still recovering, and she didn’t want to reteach the lessons for her. Sherry was going to focus on aura training first, since it would also help the body’s resilience and strengthen the body. She was planning a training schedule then she realized something.

“Emily you’re seven, right?”

“Yes.”

“So did you have your awakening ceremony.”

“yes.”

“So what element did you awaken?”

“Wood.”

“That’s even better. Wood is good for healing, and it has a good synergy with Water, which is my element. Water is also good at helping healing. So we’ll focus on teaching you how to use mana first, then convert it into aura. Since you wanted my training, being a mage isn’t an option.”

“Okay…”

Mana and aura users activated their mana in different fashions. Mana users were taught a technique to gather mana, while aura users sent aura into someone’s body in order for them to get used to the feeling, and to help wake up the mana. Mana users would do this, but unrefined mana was dangerous for the body. That was the original way people taught their young, before the twelve gods changed things.

“I will use my aura, to awaken your mana. I will pour my aura into your core three times. The first time to stir the hive. The second is to help you get familiarized with the feeling of aura. The final time is used to show how to condense the mana.”

Sherry led Emily to a mat, and made her sit down. Sherry placed her hand on Emily’s back, around where her heart was. The core was usually near the heart, having several would circle the heart, normally. Sherry generated her aura around Emily’s heart and then forced it into Emily’s core. An excruciating pain shot through Emily’s core. Emily trembled and screamed in pain. Before Emily could get over the pain, a second wave hit, but this time it was soothing, as it help disperse the aura through out her body. When the aura started returning to Emily’s core, Sherry sent the final wave of aura, started to control the aura, and rotated it around Emily core, and close started enclosing around it, before it finally dispersed. There was different ways to condense mana, and the way Sherry used was rotation method.

Mana flowed naturally through the body, but when it’s was used excessively, it wouldn’t be able to handle the impurities in the mana. Aura was condensed where the impurities wouldn’t be harmful, but the potency of the element would be weaker. For instance, a lightning mage and an lightning aura users at the same level. The lightning mage would be able to use lightning to it’s full potential, it had the ability to shock, paralyze, gave off heat, was great at facing multiple enemies. While the lightning aura user could use the lightning aura to stimulate their senses, increase their speed and reaction speed, increase their explosiveness, gave off heat, and could shock an enemy. The mage would be better for facing hordes and the aura users is better at facing single targets. Gentler elements like light, water, wood, and life could be used to heal, but only light and life could be used for extended periods. They’re supposed to be holy elements, so they have lower impurities.

While Emily was trying familiarized herself with mana, Sherry walked over to Seth. Seth had created a bolt of lightning above his hands, smiling gleefully. Sherry was astonished, she believed originally he only able to use it because his life was in danger, but seeing he has this much control, all he needed to do was condense it. Sherry placed her hand on Seth’s back and poured her aura into him, but the moment she did, she lost connection with it. While the lightning bolt in his hand exploded, blasting Seth into Sherry. Sherry planned to help Seth guide his mana, since he was using it, and help him compress it into aura, but the moment it entered his body, his mana core broke it down and absorbed it, which distracted Seth.

“Keep on miss Sherry. I think I might catch the hang of it soon.”

“…okay…”

Sherry was confused about what happened to her aura, she wanted to question him, about what happened to her aura but realized she wouldn’t be able to understand a monster like him. She placed her hand on his back, pouring her aura into him, which she lost connection with every time, but she continued to pour her aura into him. As the aura was broken down, sensed that the aura was denser than normal mana but it didn’t feel natural, it wasn’t lively, it only had the properties of the element, rather than feeling like an element with mana. So he had to find a way to change the properties of the mana, instead of adding the element to the mana reinforcement. It made sense, Abyss told him that mana cores were transformed into elements.

While Sherry was pouring aura into him, Seth created a ball of mana in right hand, and a ball of lightning with his left hand. Trying his best to imitate the lightning, he could feel heat, and remembered it burnt him, and saw it was yellow. He was able to alter the ball of mana, to turn it yellow, as he attempted to make the ball of mana hot. Sherry pulled her hand away from Seth, and stood up.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“l will allow you too practice alone and come back later.”

“…”

“…”

Sherry saw the ball of lightning and the ball of yellow aura. Aura refined to the peak was basically mana without any purities, the only difference was aura was so dense it loses some of the characteristics of the element its made out of, while Mana can gain new characteristics of someone is experienced enough. Sadly, Seth was the only person in this age who had a mana core, and had the opportunity to manipulate mana without an element, and he was too inexperienced to change the characteristics as will. Sherry left the training room, while Seth and Emily were concentrating on their mana training.

Seth didn’t understand the understand the other characteristics of the lightning, and decided to quit for now, and add these knew changes to his mana reinforcement. He dispersed the ball of lightning while he made the ball of mana float in front of him. Seth activated his mana reinforcement and started changes the properties of the mana, it was yellow and gave off an intense heat. He started running through the room, to see if there were any changes. His every step was explosive, what Seth didn’t notice was, he changed the mana into yellow flames. Lightning shared a lot of characteristics with fire, but it was more advanced and it had even more.

Emily’s wood mana started to blossom, not because she had gained control of it, but because the heat from Seth’s mana, made it believe Emily’s life was in danger. Mana awakened when one’s life was in danger, the heat radiating from Seth was starting to affect Emily. The wood mana radiating from Emily, was helping her maintaining her temperature and attempted to heal her leg, but since mana capacity was so small, it could only be used to protect Emily from the heat.

Seth stopped in his tracks when he saw the vibrant green light around Emily. He released his mana reinforcement and walked over to Emily, and when he released his mana, all the light focused on Emily’s leg. Wood mana was gentle enough to be used on a person to heal them. Water and light was the only two of the gentle elements that could be used offensively as an aura. Wood would take more defensive properties when converted to an aura, but not many people found this out, since most people with wood or light would be forced to become healers. Emily’s family even had that planned for her to be a healer, but she was kidnapped before they could make all the preparation for it. Most people focused on using aura because it’s easier to be teach and being taught to use aura. So mages were more sought out, and it required talent, like this.

“Seth, we will let Emily continue what she’s doing, and we will have a mock battle. So I can see how complete your aura is and your proficiency with a short sword and I will use daggers”

“Yes ma’am”

Sherry came back and saw Emily healing herself, instead of compressing her mana. Sherry couldn’t help with this process so she decided to test Seth since he wasn’t doing anything. Sherry picked up Seth by the collar of his shirt and threw him to the middle of the training room, along with a short sword and a leather pouch, that held ten throwing knives. Seth secured the leather pouch to his right leg, and picked up the sword with his left hand than stood up. Sherry rushed towards him, and kicked Seth back and by the time Seth caught his balance, Sherry was swinging a dagger towards him.

Seth stumbled back, but before he regained his guard he heard a whistling sound and instinctively swung his sword towards the whistling. As soon as the sword and dagger clashed Sherry kicked Seth back again and threw one of her daggers at him. Seth deflected the dagger, and ran towards Sherry and grabbed three throwing knives, placed between his finger, and threw them simultaneously at Sherry. Sherry easily deflected the throwing knives with her remaining dagger, and with her tree hand she flicked it towards her self. Before Seth reached Sherry, he felt something wet on the back of his head, followed by a deep pain. Seth ignored the pain and swung his sword towards sherry’s abdomen, but she easily parried with her dagger, and than she caught the dagger she had thrown. Seth had finally seen the wire connected to Sherry’s fingers and saw the water dripping from the dagger, and figured she used her aura to prevent the dagger from cutting him.

Sherry slashed at Seth, which Seth blocked and Sherry attempted to kick Seth again and he jumped back avoiding it, and Sherry threw her dagger at him, and Seth deflected it. Seth charged at Sherry with his weight shift to the front, sprinting at full speed. Sherry flicked her hand back towards her self, and when Seth felt something wet on the back of his head, he activated his mana reinforcement, lightning imitation, and his next step propelled him towards Sherry, reaching sherry in an instant, and force all his momentum into a punch, that landed on her abdomen, and than he sidestepped behind her as he knew the dagger was following him, and she would have to focus on it.

Sherry grunted, but activated her aura, and spun around to face Seth, still in full control of the dagger on the wire, and swirled the wire around her self, as the dagger continued to follow Seth. As Seth attempted to block the dagger flying towards him, Sherry slashed at him with the dagger in her. Seth switched his target towards the dagger in her hand, and stepped forward, parrying the dagger, and dodged the dagger flying towards him. Sherry attempted to kick Seth, but he sidestepped it, and swept his foot under her other leg, and placed his right hand on her abdomen, and pushed, to make sure she fell. Seth placed the sword against her neck as she was falling to end this spar.

Sherry caught herself, with her free hand, and when Seth placed his sword against her neck, she twirled her self away from the blade, as she was now in an one handed, handstand, she kicked Seth in the face, as she twirled around in the handstand, controlling her balance using her fingers, and rotating her legs in the air. Sherry threw the second dagger towards Seth, as she placed her other hand onto the floor, rotating more fiercely, with both hands on the floor. Seth dodged the dagger, but as he attempted to close in on her, the two daggers flew towards him.

Even though Sherry was swirling in one direction, the daggers moved independently. Seth continued deflect the daggers, and he threw three more throwing knives at Sherry and she easily knocked the knives away with the wire she used to control the daggers. When Sherry knocked the throwing knives away, they flew back at her. Seth was trying his best at imitating, the wire Sherry used, with his mana. Seth may not been able to control the flying weapons as well as Sherry, but he was good at manipulating his mana. So this waged to battlefields, where they were both controlling wired weapons and deflecting the others attacks.

As the standstill went on, Seth never realized, that the rotating Sherry was behind him, and with one kick, Seth was fell unconscious. Sherry had forgotten Seth was a child, and she stood up, and held Seth in her arms.

Emily had awoken during the fight, fully healed, and she felt uncomfortable, watching Sherry hold Seth, but she didn’t say anything. Emily walked over to Seth and a green light surrounded Seth.

“Impressive, you can already control your mana, without a teacher. When, Seth wake up, I will focus on teaching you how to use a sword.”

“yes ma’am”

Seth woke up, and Emily hugged Seth. Seth was surprised as he didn’t think they were that close, but he figured she was happy to have another kid around to hang out with.

“So Seth, from the spar, I see you have a good battle sense, but that’s it. Your aura lacked several characteristics of lightning, it felt more like a fire variant. It lacked the fluidity and agility of lightning, but only captured the explosiveness of it. So I will teach you both my sword fighting technique. It was originally made for a fire user, but my dad modified it, to be shapeless and formless as water. That will help you get a better understanding of lightning. But it’s weird that the lightning is incomplete now, but when you fought the wolves, it was complete as lightning, it just wasn’t aura like though.”

Sherry proceeded to guide Emily and Seth the flowing fire dance, sword technique. Seth caught on quickly, while Emily took a while to understand. Seth helped Emily understand, but after he learned the flowing fire dance, he had an epiphany. Seth was applying mana into his legs, as practiced being formless. He attempted many different ways of manipulating his mana through his legs. His speed was starting to surpass his complete mana reinforcement state. He continued perfecting this step, when Sherry wasn’t around. Seth was practicing alone, while Sherry gave all her attention to Emily. Emily needed more attention, and Emily became just as important to her as Seth, because she was finding new ways to apply her mana without a teacher, so was Seth, but she thought he was just a genius using aura, and let him learn on his own, afraid to disrupt him teaching himself.

After two months, Emily had reached a satisfactory point in using a sword, and using a dagger. Sherry was disappointed neither one of them chose to learn the flowing fire movement technique. Seth refused to learn it, because he was attempting to make his own technique, and Emily couldn’t, because she used mana instead of aura. Emily could defend herself against an average untrained adult, while Seth was constantly improving each day.

Seth figured up how to incorporate lightning, using his mana reinforcement on himself, and surrounding the mana with lightning. It was weaker than the imitation lightning, as he wasn’t receiving the benefits of the lightning, but the characteristics of the lightning made up for that, and since his mana reinforcement already gave buffs similar to aura, it was a slight improvement as, the lightning didn’t lose any of it’s original characters, from being compressed.