"And how are you going to do that?" Erik asked, looking at Seras with a doubtful expression.

Seras glanced at Erik. "Ah, I can curs…" she cleared her throat, stopping midway. "Cure him. Don't ask how," she replied in a slightly defensive tone.

I definitely heard 'curse,' Arnos thought to himself. Is she going to experiment on me? He looked at Seras. No way. She wouldn't do that… She doesn't seem like that kind of person, Arnos mentally assured himself.

Erik kept glaring at Seras, fully aware she was hiding something.

Seras sighed heavily. "Ah, fine, I give up. I was thinking about cursing Arnos to help him," Seras admitted, looking directly at Arnos.

And I'm dead, Arnos mentally added to himself.

"Please excuse me… I have something important to do," Arnos said in a terrified tone as he tried to step away. Erik grabbed the back of his collar, stopping him in his tracks.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Erik said, giving Arnos a small, amused smile at his reaction.

"Arnos, don't worry. The curse isn't going to harm you in any way," Seras assured him. "Think of it as an enchantment. And first of all, I'm not completely sure, so let me go ask Alisa about it," she added, looking at Arnos. Then, without waiting for a response, she hurriedly walked toward the dorm.

Arnos turned to Erik, his curious face making it clear he was expecting an explanation.

Erik released Arnos's collar and began speaking. "First of all, I'm not going to go into too much detail—that's your teacher's or Miss Margrave's job," Erik said, looking at Arnos.

Arnos nodded quickly. "Understood," he replied.

"There are eight affinities—or nine, to be precise. The first six are fire, water, ice, wind, lightning, and earth. Then there's light and dark. The ninth one is normal affinity, which covers all the others that don't fall into those categories," Erik explained.

Arnos nodded again, listening intently.

Erik continued. "Among these affinities, a few have specific functions—namely, light and dark. Light affinity is used for enchantments. For example, a sword that breathes fire by consuming the user's mana—that's the function of enchantments. They're designed to give users an additional ability at a low cost." Erik paused, glancing at Arnos.

"Are you following so far?" he asked.

Arnos nodded again. "Yes."

Erik resumed. "The other affinity with a specific function is dark affinity, which is used to place curses on someone else. Opposite to enchantments, curses are meant to deprive the person they're cast on of their abilities. For example, a curse could hinder someone's sense of vision or hearing."

"Don't they, like, kill people too?" Arnos asked, his expression both curious and doubtful.

"Hmm, yeah," Erik replied nonchalantly. "That would be the case where a curse deprives someone of their life."

That's a weird way to put it, Arnos thought to himself, his mind turning over Erik's explanation. Suddenly, something clicked.

"Wait, they can deprive someone of their senses?" he asked in a surprised tone.

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Erik nodded. "They can," he confirmed. "And you know what else is a sense? Pain," Erik added with a small smile directed at Arnos.

"I see… I understand now. But why was Seras avoiding it, then?" Arnos asked.

"She isn't the explaining type," Erik replied, "and she probably isn't entirely sure about curses, which is why she went to Alisa," Erik added as he pointed towards the dorm with his thumb.

Erik moved towards the opposite corner where he had placed his wand while refereeing the match. Picking it up, he looked back at Arnos.

"Since Seras is busy with Alisa, how about I help you train?" Erik said, looking at Arnos.

"Won't it be a waste of your time, Sir Erik?" Arnos replied with a nonchalant look.

"It would not be like that. You shouldn't say stuff like that, or you'll become a weirdo like Al..." Erik stopped mid-sentence, clearing his throat.

"So, as I was saying, do you want my assistance with that flaming step ability?" Erik questioned.

"Flaming step?" Arnos muttered under his breath. "Ah, do you mean when I boost my speed? I don't know how I could improve it," he said, looking at Erik curiously.

"It has a lot of inaccuracies from what I saw," Erik said, walking back to Arnos and standing in front of him.

Erik raised his right hand, counting on his fingers.

"First of all, your fire should be limited to a small space. When you use your ability, your fire spreads everywhere, decreasing the forward push it could give."

"Second point is, you're only able to use it for a burst for a single moment," Erik added, looking at Arnos.

"It's so I don't hurt myself," Arnos replied.

"I understand, and that's for Seras to fix. Now, coming to the first point, I'll be showing you a light spell known as Quick Step. Focus on my feet," Erik said in an instructive tone.

Arnos nodded, standing in the arena with his attention focused on Erik's feet.

"Quick Step," Erik said.

Arnos looked at Erik's feet, noticing how they were covered in the aura of light magic.

In the blink of an eye, Erik moved forward. The speed was faster than anything Arnos had seen so far. He observed Erik reach the opposite corner of the arena in an instant.

"That was awesome," Arnos mumbled with a surprised tone, looking at Erik.

"Focus on my feet, Arnos," Erik shouted as he scolded Arnos.

Arnos quickly looked at Erik's feet. This time, as Erik chanted "Quick Step," the light aura remained limited close to his toes and didn't envelop as much area as before.

Is he using less mana? Arnos questioned himself as he blinked. When he opened his eyes, Erik was nowhere in sight.

Arnos felt a hand on his back. Turning around, he saw Erik standing next to him.

"Did you notice any difference?" Erik questioned Arnos curiously.

"It was way faster the second time," Arnos replied immediately.

Erik nodded. "That's an accurate assessment, and that's what you'll be practising right now, if you want to train, that is."

"I want it," Arnos replied hurriedly.

"But shouldn't we wait for Seras…" Erik suggested.