For the next two weeks, everyone took turns while striking the pillar repeatedly. The clanging sounds reverberated in the room almost rhythmically. Sogdrith watched everything in a rather sour mood. Two weeks had gone by and they were still going at it with no intention of stopping. He thought that by now they would be despairing already, but it turned out entirely different than he was expecting.
[How much food do they’ve left? Humph, I just want to see how long you’ll be able to keep your composure like this!]
After striking the pillar for who knows how long, the group stopped and retreated to the maze. Fang Chu’s appearance was much worse now that she’d used her full power constantly for the past two weeks and the time she needed to recover was increasing. She coughed lightly and distributed the rations that would be everyone’s lunch.
They began eating in silence. The enthusiasm of knowing the method out of this place was being supplanted by the reality of the situation. There were still no great changes to the metal pillar. At this rate, how long would they need to keep striking at it for it to break?
“Say, Ben, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you turn my tutoring offer down? You said there were some reasons you wouldn’t be able to accept it. Could you tell me what they are?” asked Fang Chu.
It had been long enough now that Fang Chu felt comfortable bringing her offer up again. She wasn’t thinking of forcing or pressuring Ben into accepting, but she felt curious as to why he refused in the first place. Only by learning this would she be able to see if there was a chance of him accepting it in the future or not.
Ben looked at the redhead and felt his heart tighten. Her face was much leaner than before and he could see faint markings where that blue wiggling veins usually appeared. It was clear she was giving her all and pushing herself to get everyone out of here. He sighed.
“I don’t know if you’d believe me. Liza certainly didn’t take well at first.”
“Well, what did you expect?” said the half-elf while shrugging her shoulders.
“Try me. Why wouldn’t I believe you?”
In this manner, Ben started his tale. Of how he was dragged to this world from a different place and held captive. Telling her how Liza, Eliot and Boro ended up rescuing him unintentionally as well as some of the dangers they’d come across. Fang Chu listened to everything without interrupting. It was hard to judge what she was thinking, as she kept her expression mostly neutral throughout the story.
“That’s why I need to focus on becoming a mage. That way I can search for the right spell that will be able to bring me back home.”
“Whew, that was fantastical indeed, but I believe you. That explains why you were able to grow this old without a single spec of mana inside of you. However, for that same reason I’ve some bad news for you.”
“What news?”
“It’s impossible for you to become a mage by yourself with your current condition. Mana is foreign to you and your reserves are basically non-existent. You would never be able to sense mana, manipulate it and gather it inside of you to learn and cast spells.”
“That’s why I need to focus entirely on studying magic. Only then would I be able to find a way to overcome these problems.”
“You wouldn’t be able to, not in a hundred years.”
Ben frowned. No matter how much he liked Fang Chu and felt attracted to her, no one would enjoy having his hopes and dreams denied to his face. His mood soured and he responded in a more aggressive tone.
“So what? Are you telling me to accept the fact that I’m doomed to die in this foreign world and do nothing about it?”
Fang Chu coughed some more, splashing a bit of blood onto the ground. The strain of using mana repeatedly left some minor damage on her lungs, something she’d need a day or two to recover from. This caused Ben to rein in his feelings that were starting to run out of control. Arguing and shouting with a feeble person was never something to be proud about.
“You’re being silly. I said you can’t do it by yourself. Didn’t you hear it? I can help you!” said the redhead after recovering from her coughing fit.
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“What? You can?” Ben was taken aback.
“Yes, but only if you accept my proposal.”
“This…”
“It’s not like I’m trying to con you. They’re related in fact. Most of the warriors from my country train in the same way. You need to learn the secrets of your own body and how to connect it to the world. And what is the language of the world? Mana! It permeates everything and allows for life to flourish. Once you can feel mana and manipulate it, you can make it flow into your body through special channels, strengthening your muscles, your reflexes and perception.
The next step is to gather that mana inside of you, creating a pool. Most of the Zahurian warriors use it to unleash powerful strikes, but some do learn magic they can apply in combat. What a person does with their reserves is their own choice. You could use it to cast the spells you’re so eager to learn.”
“Is this true?” asked Ben in excitement.
“Why would I lie to you? I would gain nothing in the long run,” she scoffed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that! I was just surprised… This is like multiclassing! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“So, do you accept my terms?”
“Can we still keep traveling with Liza, Eliot and Boro while I train? I want to help them out and see things through the end!”
“Naturally. With the way you guys always seem to find yourselves in trouble I’d say it’s the perfect environment for your growth,” said Fang Chu with a chuckle.
Liza was happy to see that Ben still thought of them even in this circumstance. Eliot and Boro were also glad to know he wouldn’t be departing anytime soon.
“All right! I accept your terms!” Ben exclaimed. He was beyond happy right now. Not only would he finally be able to progress towards becoming a mage, he would be helping Fang Chu avoid her fate of forced marriage. If he was being honest, he wasn’t sure which he was happier about.
“Then call me master. From now on you’ve to listen to what I say and do what I ask. I’ll train you from the ground up to heights you couldn’t even imagine before!”
[Master?] Ben’s mind instantly whirred into motion. The word master in the modern world was used a lot when describing the relationship between mechanical parts, but to say it out loud to another person usually meant another thing: roleplaying. The sexy kind of roleplaying. He couldn’t help but imagine Fang Chu in a tight leather corset while holding a whip.
The redhead noticed the change in his glance and felt extremely uncomfortable all of the sudden. When he replied “Yes, master!” the next moment, she didn’t feel the glee she thought she would, but felt a cold shiver run through her entire body instead. It left her in goose bumps.
“Thinking better of it, it would be strange if you call me that, giving your age and the fact we are all together in one group. Just call me Fanu, it’s what my friends call me. You can all do that in fact, I’m sure Fang Chu is mouthful.”
Ben reined in his wild imagination and took a deep breath to calm himself. “Ok, Fanu. When do we start?” he asked.
“I like your eagerness. I hope you can keep it like that all the way,” she laughed. “I need more time to recover, then we can start. That is, if the others don’t mind that we slack off for the rest of the day.”
“Nope, you guys can take your time. I’m glad you figured everything out,” said Liza.
“Yes, leave it to us!” exclaimed Eliot.
A couple hours later, Fang Chu was ready to begin. She placed one of her hands on Ben’s chest and the other at his back. Ben felt a little hot due the contact and blushed a little. A slow trace of mana began to flow from Fang Chu’s right hand, passing through Ben’s body to arrive at her left hand, thus completing the cycle.
“Close your eyes and try to feel it. I’m circulating a thin thread of mana through your body.”
Ben did as he was told and closed his eyes. He concentrated to the utmost, trying hard to grasp this incredible chance he was presented with. However, he didn’t feel anything at all besides a slight increase in his temperature. And that was probably because he was feeling nervous. After two minutes, Fang Chu stopped and let out a long breath.
“How was it? Did you feel anything?”
“Nothing…”
“Don’t despair yet. I have a trump card if everything fails. Let’s try again.”
They tried a couple more times, every one of them ending up in failure. Fang Chu decided to stop cycling such small amount of mana and went for a bigger volume, just above what Ben could tolerate with comfort. This time, Ben felt something. Pain. A prickling pain spread through his body and yet, he couldn’t pinpoint the cause. He couldn’t sense the mana moving through, only the consequences of its movement.
“That hurt a bit, but still nothing.”
“Well, guess I’ll have to use it. Here, take it and eat it,” said Fang Chu as she passed to Ben a small darkish-purple fruit.
“What’s this?”
“A rare fruit. It’s called the Seer’s Plum, and it’s said that when correctly prepared it can help people see the future. By itself it has the capabilities to enhance one’s senses by a lot. You need all the help you can get.”
Ben’s hand trembled. The thought about refusing such wonderful gift crossed his mind for a split second, but the truth was that he wanted this. He needed it! Putting the entire fruit in his mouth, Ben chewed on vigorously and swallowed. A few minutes later, he started feeling strange. He suddenly could see everything around him much better, even the distant parts of the maze where the torch’s light didn’t reach. Fang Chu’s silent breathing and her heartbeats (as well as his own) were clearly audible to him now. Everything felt amplified and odd.
“Let’s do this again. I’m not sure how long the effects will last, we need to make the most of it!”
Fang Chu put her hands on his chest and back again. Ben could feel them much more clearly this time, but he didn’t get distracted and closed his eyes. He needed to give it his all! This time it had to work!
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-> This chapter has an alternative title: Accepting a Master. I decided to stick with Mausoleum for this one in order to not spoil anything ahead of time.