8/28 - Anti-bandit army camp - morning

Today’s training is about to start. Selena is going to transport me over to her castle soon. I’m prepared for today’s training. Today, I need to show my progress, I need to show my diligence. No matter what, I have to move past Source control and onto other things. Though, I’m not arrogant enough to believe I’m going to breeze right into it. To be honest, at the rate I’m going, who knows if I will.

“What’s wrong, buddy?”

Proxy approaches from behind, Nunnalé by his side.

“Nothing, I’m just deep in thought.”

“About what?”

“Nothing. What are you two doing?”

“Us? We decided to go with you to the loli witch’s place.

“Why?”

“It’s kind of boring here, so we decided to tag along with you.”

“I don’t know if it’ll be any different going over there.”

“I’d rather be in a giant castle than kick rocks here.”

“If you insist, but you want to go too, Nunnalé?”

“I wish to observe your progress, if that is alright with you, Master Richard?”

“I don’t mind, just curious is all.”

“Good, then let’s go!”

We waited for a solid minute, yet, nothing happened. It is a bit early, so she isn’t going to port me right away.

"So. . .when is she gonna--”

Proxy’s sentence is cut off as our surroundings shift around us. We suddenly find ourselves in a courtyard. The sunny sky is replaced with a pale moon that shines down on the witch. . .

“Hello there, children.” Selena greets us as she stands off the courtyard, next to the entrance/exit.

“Sup, little witch.”

“Does your coarseness know no limit?”

“I was only saying hi, geez. Also, maybe.”

Selena lets out a sigh, quickly bringing her attention to me.

“Richard, do I need to tell you what needs to be done?”

“No!”

I immediately activate my Source and go to work regulating it.

“Good, as for you two, please leave the boy to his training. Come, we’ll chat in the lounge.”

Proxy and Nunnalé follow Selena to the inside of the castle. This leaves me to myself. Good, now I can focus on myself. Proxy trained hard throughout the entire night last night, so I can’t slack off, even for a second.

Selena’s castle - Lounge Room - morning

Selena sits in the arm-rest chair while I and Nunnalé chill on the side couch. The room is giving off the grandiose feel as usual as the three of us sit in silence. I can’t take the silent company. What should we talk about?

“Doll, go and fetch us some tea.”

“Understood.”

Nunnalé gracefully gets up from her seat and heads for the kitchen. With her footsteps growing farther and farther apart from us, it leaves me and Selena by ourselves.

“So child, tell me: how have you been?”

“I’m okay, why?”

“No reason, I just wish to inquire on how you’re feeling.”

“If you say so. Well, since we have a bit of time, I might as well tell you.” I tell Selena what happened to me yesterday.

“I see, quite the troublesome foe you’re facing. Whatever will you do?”

“Don’t know, at the moment, I’m waiting for him to come to me,”

“A foolish idea.”

“I know, but what other choice do I have? Even if I go looking for him, where would I start?”

“I suppose that is the best thing you can do.”

“Yep, so until the time comes, I’ll just chill out.”

“What an unruffled attitude.”

“Thanks.”

“Though, aren’t you worried that he might try something underhanded against your band of allies?”

“Yeah, I did think about that, but as long as I don’t run away, or stay away from the camp for too long then it’ll be fine.”

“Then I guess all I need to ask is this: do you want me to end him?” Selena casually asks me.

Asking something like that in that way. It’s unnerving.

“Huh?”

“Did I stutter? I asked if you wish for me to get rid of this threat? It would only take one simple moment to learn where he resides and eviscerates the scoundrel.” Selena raises her hand. Electricity crackles around her hand. “. . .It would be easy to do so. Well, would you like me to?”

It’s kind of hard to tell if she’s yanking my chain, or if she’s for real. Her smile is not warming, inviting, or even condescending. I can sense the pure killing intent behind it. She really does mean it. In that case. . .

“Nah, I’m good,” I reject her request while trying to keep my cool.

“You’re good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I don’t need you to beat him for me.”

“Why, it wouldn’t even take a minute?”

“Maybe, but what’s the point if I can’t even defeat him myself. If I need someone to fight my battles for me, then I’m no better when I came to you when I was desperate. So, thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”

Selena lowers her hand, the electricity stops crackling around it. . .She lets out a light chuckle. “So you wish to prove yourself?”

“Hey, I gotta show you that I mean business. Besides, it’s time I start racking in bigger wins.”

“I see, well, I wish you the best of luck.”

That reminds me, I still haven’t properly thanked Selena for saving Richard. Sure, I got on my knees and thanked her, but that isn’t enough. There’s also the time she saved me and Gil. Overall: without her, I would be dead, or worse. . .

“Where’s your kitchen?”

“Past the door behind me, you keep walking until you reach the last room on the right.”

“Great, I’ll be back.”

“What are you planning?”

“You’ll see. I’ll blow your mind!”

“You think you can do such a thing?”

“Got no choice but to. I’m gonna pay you back for everything you did for us, just watch.”

I head down the hallway Selena told me to. Along the way, I see Nunnalé. She’s holding our tea on a silver tray.

“Proxy, what are you doing?”

“Heading towards the kitchen.”

“Are you planning on cooking there?”

“Yep, and I might need a bit of help.”

“Okay, allow me to deliver the tea and I shall come to the kitchen.”

…

I got to work soon after Nunnalé entered the kitchen. We decided on baking a cake, and nothing too glamorous, just something simple. Nunnalé is a pretty good helper, she’s able to keep up with my instructions, even some of the joke ones. I finally added the cake batter to the baking pan and put it into the preheated oven. Now, all we need to do is wait. As for the icing, we already got that done while we were making the cake; rather, Nunnalé did with my guidance. Suffice to say, we got everything covered.

“What is next?” Nunnalé asks me.

“We wait.”

“I see. You’re very competent in the kitchen. How did you hone your skills?”

She makes it sound like I’m only good at cooking.

“I cook for myself all the time back home. I learned from reading cooking magazines, on the internet, and cooking shows. I’m also in my school’s cooking class. Half the reason I went to school.”

“I see, what a curious thing.”

The only reason I joined was so that I can have something to eat for lunch. I wonder if I should join when I get into high school?

“May I ask you another question?”

“Shoot.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Have you heard what I said yesterday?”

“What would that be?”

“On your chances of defeating the bounty hunter.”

“How did you know I was listening?”

“I was able to see you eavesdropping on us, but I said nothing cause I thought nothing of it.”

“Then why bring it up?”

“Cause I am curious. Were you bothered by my words?”

Okay, now she’s just pissing me off. She’s not pretending to be careful with her words, It’s as she said: she’s curious, and I think that’s what’s pissing me off. Well, might as well give her what she wants.

“If I’m being honest: yes. What you said bothers me.”

“Is that why you trained through all of last night?”

“So you watched that?”

“Master and I did, yes.”

Damn, they’re pretty good, I didn’t even notice them following me.

“Yep, that is why. When you said all that about me, it pissed me off so bad that I didn’t know what to do, so I decided to go and train. To get stronger; to prove you wrong. I’m going to fight Willy, and prove I’m capable.”

“It’s foolish to actively seek a fight against someone superior to you in terms of fighting prowess.”

“Shows what you know, I’ll prove to you, just who’s superior, so how about you keep your estimates to yourself, okay?”

A few minutes have passed since our exchange. Neither of us said anything else to the other. I check in on the cake. Tapping it with a spoon in my hand, it has a dry feel to it. We’re good to go! I turn the oven off and carefully pull out the cake with oven mitts on. However, the pan slips out of my hand since the kitchen mitts made it a tad difficult to keep a grip on the pan’s handles. Like a blur, Nunnalé moves in to catch it with her bare hands. She catches the hot pan with her hands and places it on the table. I throw my mitts off to check her hands. The idiot just caught it without even flinching.

“You okay!”

“Yes, I am fine! It is only a minor burn.”

“You dumbass, put your hands in cold water!”

I drag her over to the sink, soaking her hands in cool water.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to make sure it doesn’t grow any worse, what else!?”

“I don’t feel the pain.”

“Doesn’t matter, just because you can’t doesn’t mean it’s not bad! If you can burn off your skin like that!”

“It wouldn’t mean anything to me.”

“It would to Richard. If he saw that you got a burn mark he’d freak!”

“But--”

“But nothing, you have to be more careful.”

“. . .The cake would’ve fallen to the ground.”

“It would’ve been fine, besides, even if it did get ruined we could’ve made another. Hang on, I think I saw a first-aid kit somewhere around here.”

I scour the kitchen to find the first-aid kit and wouldn’t you know it, it’s near the entrance to the kitchen. I head back to Nunnalé, who still has her hand in the cold water. I have her take out her hands and dry them so I can apply the burn gel inside the kit and put a bandage around her hands.

“Done, is it still burning?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Good, it’s not too bad, so it should be fine. But you have to be more careful next time when handling objects that are hot or sharp.”

“Okay.”

“Hopefully Richard doesn’t freak out when he sees those bandages.”

Of course, he probably will, so why am I saying hopefully?

“Proxy, may I ask you something else?”

“What?”

“Why do you want to become stronger?”

I’m surprised she’s asking me this. I didn’t think she had any interest in knowing. Though, I want to keep that to myself.

“I just hate losing, so I want to win, and to do that I need to grow stronger. And it’s as I said, I want to prove you wrong.” I clap my hands when I finish tying the bandage around her hand. “Okay, you should go back to Selena, and get Richard.”

“As for you?”

“I’m gonna finish up by myself. Don’t worry, I got this.”

“Okay, please take care.”

“Thanks.”

She walks out of the kitchen, her footsteps echo out in the hallway. All right, time to do this! I take a knife and circle around the edge of the cake to separate it from the pan. Carefully taking it out, I place it on a plate I prepared in advance. All that’s left is to spread the icing and add some stuff onto it. . .

“Done! It took a while, but it’s perfect.”

The cake is ready, and it’s some of my finest work, if I may add. I collect some small plates from a cabinet, placing them and some utensils under the plate the cake is on. I walk out of the kitchen and towards the lounge. Inside there, I see Richard sitting with Nunnalé.

“Sup, I hope y’all are in the mood for some cake!”

I settle the cake onto the table that is in the middle of the furniture. Everyone is in awe of it. After setting the plates onto the table, I take out a knife to cut pieces for everyone. Nunnalé and Selena are the first ones to get their pieces. I want to see their reactions first since I know Richard’s already.

“Tell me how it tastes,” I ask them.

“Fine, but do note: I shall not spare you from criticism.”

“I will do my best to give a concise answer.”

They both take a piece out of their slices and put it into their mouths. As they chew, I wait with a confident look about me, and to my expectations, I got the reaction I wanted. Their eyes widen in sheer surprise. Their expressions are the same dumbstruck look. Needless to say, it’s. . .

“This is delightful!”

“This is delicious!”

The girls give their compliments at the same time. Just as I expected. I cut out a slice for Richard and then myself. Putting a piece of the slice in my mouth, I can confirm that it’s good. I’m surprised, this is only my second time making a cake, so I’m glad it came out so well. Though, I feel like I went a little heavy on the icing. Oh well, it’s good overall.

“You have done well, child, you earn high-marks.”

“Thanks, I aim to please.”

“Seriously man, this is great!”

“Thanks, buddy. I’m glad you guys like it. Now, time to dig in.”

We all enjoyed ourselves as we ate cake and drank tea. This is rather pleasant, it’s been a while since I could say that; kind of been non-stop action.

“Well, I’d say that was delightful. Child, I thank you for baking the cake.”

“Kind of weird getting thanks from you.”

“Is it a bad thing?”

“Not at all.”

I collect the plates so I can wash them. It’s been a while since we left camp, and I don’t want to be gone for far too long. So after I wash the plates, I’ll head back to the camp.

…

After getting done with the dishes, I immediately head back to the lounge. Everyone’s still digesting the cake slices they had.

“Well, that was fun, but I think I should be heading back. Richard, what are going to do?”

“Oh, I’m staying here. I did come to train after all.”

Hm, you know, he never told me what type of training goes on around here. And I for one am kinda curious.

“Actually, scratch that, I wanna stay.”

“Why?”

“I want to see you train. I wanna see what it’s like.”

“Seriously? I mean, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah, I want to see my buddy work up a sweat.”

“I, too, wish to see my master’s progress.”

With our insistence, Richard lets a sigh, giving us his blessing.

…

Richard stands in the middle of the courtyard as Nunnalé, Selena, and I stand away from him. We wait in anticipation for him to start. . .Wait, did it already start?

“Hey, Richard, have you already started?” He doesn’t answer me. “Hey, Richard, can you hear me? Buddy! Hellooooo.”

Nunnalé puts her hand over my mouth. “Quiet, he’s already started.”

“He has?”

“Yes, he has.”

“What’s he doing?”

“He’s attempting to control his Source’s Volume and Flow,” Selena explains.

“What’s that?”

“Listen attentively, because I shall not go over it twice. Source control is the practice of the control of your Source’s properties. First: The volume is how much of your Source you allow to release around your body, or singular body part. The more you allow through your body, the stronger your Source abilities become. However, there’s a catch: if you use a large amount of Source without the proper control, the more easily the exhausted the person will become. That’s where flow comes in. As the name implies, it’s the practice of control over your Source, properly channeling it around your body. Without it, you risk endangering the body.”

“So, he didn’t have proper control before?”

“Correct, which is why he had such a hard time healing, even without his trigger. However, there’s another factor into flow: Mental focus.”

“Mental focus?”

“Controlling Source takes a level of concentration, so the moment a user loses concentration on their control, then the flow and volume control will be disrupted. Just the other day, I used a bug to scare the young man. It worked, his shock led to him losing focus on him controlling his Source Source.”

“Sounds like a lot of details.”

“It’s quite simple when you get down to it. Maybe I just went too fast for you.”

“You saying I’m dumb?”

“Not my words,” she playfully laughs at her little redirect.

Man, whatever, that doesn’t matter. Richard is giving off a more focused feeling about him.

“Proxy, I would like for you to shock him,” Selena instructs me.

“Why?”

“Consider it a part of his training.”

“Consider it done.”

I walk up to Richard. His eyes are closed, so I have the element of surprise. I put my mouth in front of his eye. Taking in a slight breath of air, I prep my voice for what’s about to come out.

“WAKE UP!”

To say he jumped is an understatement. Hell, I say he just broke his record in farthest jump yet; and let me tell ya, it was pretty unimpressive before, now it’s just freaking amazing.

“P-P-Proxy, what the hell are you doing!?” he stutters as his voice is in a higher pitch than usual.

“Sorry, but for once, that wasn’t my idea.”

I point towards Selena, who’s giggling with her hand covering her mouth.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Nah, I should apologize. I don’t even know why she had me do it.”

“To shake me up.”

“Why?”

“Well, she wants to see if I can control my flow even when I’m caught off guard.”

“Oh, did you do it?”

“No, I kind of let go the moment you yelled.”

“Ah, my bad man.”

“No, that just means that I need more practice.”

His practice went on, I would continue to scare him on Selena’s behalf; each time I come up with a different and bizarre way to scare him. Yet, every time he fails to hold his concentration he just keeps going on with a determined look on his face. Ironically enough, it catches me off guard every time I see it. At this point, I would’ve given up, so why doesn’t he?

After about 2 hours of this, Selena loudly claps her hands. “Right, I think that’s enough for today.”

“Are you sure, I can keep going,” Richard says as he takes a breather. . .

“No, I think you should go back for the day.”

“Why this early teacher?”

“I just think 2 hours for today will suffice. After all, you’ve been working hard, so I think I should at least throw you a bone and let you take it easy.”

“If you say so, teacher,” Richard responds, dissatisfaction written on his face.

“Master Richard, your flow control is great.”

“Thanks, but it really isn’t, not yet.”

There it is again. Despite a hint of dissatisfaction, he has that same determined look. Is it that big of a deal if he masters flow or not? Actually, why does he care?

“Now then, I shall be transporting you back to your encampment. Thank you for the cake, child,” Selena directs her thanks towards me.

“Hey, I’m not the only one who made it, thank Nunnalé as well.”

Though, I feel a bit bad about what happened earlier. Maybe I should apologize for calling her a dumbass?

“I shall see you all later, and by the way Richard, do get rest. Your body is important, so properly maintain it.”

“Yes, teacher!”

“With that, I bid you a good day.”

She snaps her fingers, and in a blink of an eye, we’re back in the camp. It seems to be the afternoon from what I can tell.

“I’m going to go read a book before bed,” Richards says.

“Alright, I’m just gonna be doing my own thing.” Hm, actually, maybe this is the best time for me to ask Richard that question. “Yo, Richard, before you head off, I wanna ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you--”

“Proxy, get over here!”

Marie’s voice booms throughout the camp, catching me off guard as it sends a shiver down my spine. I rush over to her.

“Marie, before you say it, I didn’t even know I had morning duties today, so just go easy on me.”

“That’s not it. Look at this!”

She hands me a sheet of paper. It’s a bit beaten up. Opening it up, it reads: “By sundown, meet me at the Titan trees forest. If ya don’t show by then, or if ya bring your friends, then I’ll invite some bandit friends of mine to your little hideout. So kid, let’s pick up where we left off.”

Sighed - Willy: the bounty hunter

“Proxy, we’re getting ready to deal with this guy. We'll hold down our camp after sundown, and when he does arrive with bandits, we’ll ambush them. Hopefully, we’ll--”

“Screw that crap. . .” I ball up my fist, I can feel the tension rise within me. “. . .This bastard is mine, and mine alone!”

I hope he’s ready, cause tomorrow is gonna be a grudge match!