“Whoever used this poison knew what they were doing,” said a youthful-looking elf woman who was supposed to be past her prime. Her eyes gazed into mine as she was finishing up the checkup. “Removing the poison is easy, but restoring your sight will prove difficult.”

“Can it be done?” asked King Elwyn as he stood in the corner of the room.

“Not without the proper material components.” She sighed, taking a step back.

“What will you need?”

“An Astral Moonflower.”

“Amm. . . What’s that?” I finally spoke up, glad that they spoke common for my sake.

“It’s a flower that only shows itself under the full moon, possessing healing properties used for rituals,” she explained, walking over to the desk with a paper and quill resting on top. “And the next one will take place during the festival.”

I held back my urge to sigh as she told me that to save my eyes in the upcoming month, I’d have to miss out on the festival I planned to go on with Alice. Expecting someone else to do it instead would’ve been unfair.

“Thank you, Asia. We’ll deal with it from here,” the King said. “If you could, cure the boy of the poison so it doesn’t cause further damage.”

Asia, the Archdruid of Thysa, finished with her intricate drawing of the Astral Moonflower. It was easily distinguishable as it had quite a unique look, appearing like a blooming flower with curved tendrils that held tiny lantern-like tips which grew in the center.

“Sit still.” Asia approached, placing her delicate hand on my head while the other gripped a small pouch she had wrapped around the belt. Something about how her hand pressed against my forehead felt peculiarly soothing, like a mother’s touch. “Greater Restoration.”

The pouch and its content suddenly engulfed in flame, turning to ash before an enormous amount of mana gathered around her, drawn directly from her core and later passed through her hand and into me. The warm embrace of the spell almost made me moan as I took a uniquely fresh breath of air. Removing all the impurities within one's body felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was impossible to describe, like a miracle that washed away the pain that had troubled me for years.

“Feeling better?” King Elwyn asked, surprising me as I hadn’t noticed him approaching, but he stood right next to me by the time the spell ended.

“Of course he does. Do you think I’d mess up a spell like this?” Asia chuckled.

“It’s true,” I said, turning to Asia. “I’m feeling a hundred times better. Thank you for the kindness you’ve shown me, and please know that I’ll be forever grateful. If there’s ever something I could help you with, you need only ask.”

I’ve said some big words for someone who hardly had anything and barely survived the last couple of weeks. However, I meant what I said.

“You’re going to make a grown woman shed a tear if you talk like that.” She smiled, patting my head as if I were a child, and to her, I might as well be. “How about you simply avoid getting into such trouble again?”

“I’ll certainly try.” I sighed.

“I’ll advise you to see my husband as soon as possible. He should be able to help you determine what to do next.”

“Your husband?” I looked confused, not knowing who she was talking about.

“That’s a great idea,” the King added, looking a bit surprised she suggested it. “Her husband is a seer, gifted with powerful divination magic.”

“I shall get going now,” Asia said, turning to the king. “Don’t overdo it.”

“You know me too well.” He chuckled, making me a bit nervous for some reason.

“It was a pleasure meeting you Alex. Hopefully, we’ll see each other in the future.”

“Likewise, Lady Asia.” I bowed my head respectfully while sitting on the bed.

“Well then, I shouldn’t linger any longer,” she said, turning toward the door.

We watched as she left, making it just the two of us. Regardless of how many times we talked, it still made me uneasy sitting in a room alone with the King of Elves. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly made me yawn as I had only woken up moments ago. Asia was supposed to visit me late at night, but something happened and her visit got delayed. However, that didn’t stop the two from storming into the room early in the morning, catching me completely off guard.

“Put on your robes and come with me,” the King commanded, turning toward the door.

“Are we going somewhere?” I asked, but despite not knowing, I still did as told.

“You’ll see.” He chuckled.

We ended up walking over to the training grounds. It was outdoors, surrounded by trees from which roots grew into training dummies used for target practice, and in the center of it all was a stone statue of the first elven swordmaster who formed what they now call the Royal Guards. Sadly I had forgotten his name, and reading Elvish wasn’t exactly my forte. What surprised me the most wasn’t even the training ground itself, but the fact that we were alone.

“Grab one of the swords from the stands,” he said, glancing around as if he were looking for something.

Following his instructions, I grabbed one of the elven blades. It was surprisingly light and extremely sharp, crafted like no human sword. It was thin but long and had no wristguard, a design flaw if you asked any knight of the Human Realm.

“Why do I need a sword?” I glanced back at him.

“Why else? It’s to train of course.”

“But I haven’t accepted your proposal yet.”

“Your poor decision-making shouldn’t affect our time together. If you’re to leave after the festival, I at least want to teach you some of the basics so that you don’t end up dying. I’m sure Alice wouldn’t want that.” He stopped in his tracks, looking left and right before glancing back at me. “Besides, how else am I going to persuade you to become my disciple if you don’t even realize what you’d be signing up for.”

King Elwyn was difficult to understand. His offer had no downsides, making me wonder why he was so keen on doing it in the first place.

“But I already made a commitment to your daughter that I’d be exploring Thysa with her today.”

“You’ll have time.”

King Elwyn didn’t give me much of a choice, but then again, I didn’t exactly hesitate to stay.

I was still confused about why he told me to pick a sword as I believed that the highest priority should’ve been to learn how to strengthen my core, but what do I know?

“You seem conflicted.” He turned to face me. “If you have any questions, nothing is stopping you from asking.”

“Okay. . . Why am I using a sword?”

I was aware that the King was known to be a swordmaster, and based on Alice’s fighting style, it’s only natural that it would be what he taught me; however, I’m no Alice, and picking up her style would take years, if not decades to grasp. Let’s not mention the difference in our physique and weight difference.

“Because I said so.” He chuckled, glancing around again.

“That doesn’t really answer my question. . .” I sighed.

“While I’m teaching you, you shall be doing everything I say without a complaint. Understood?”

“Yes. . . But why did you tell me to ask questions if you’re not going to answer me.”

“Correction. I said you may ask questions, but I never said anything about answering them properly.”

“That’s kind o-”

“Now. . .” He cut me off without a second thought, disinterested in what I had to say. “Three spells.”

“Huh?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

“That’s your current limit, isn’t it?” He turned back to me.

“How did you know?”

It was frightening knowing that someone could have me all figured out from a glance, but considering his reputation, it wasn’t all that surprising.

“Your mana pool for a first-circle mage is atrocious, but don’t worry. It’ll change in the future.” He sounded confident, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. “The way you’re holding the sword tells me we have a lot of work to do before you decide if you wish to stay or not.”

“I’m in your care.” I respectfully bowed, gripping the handle.

“Huh?” He looked a bit surprised by my response. “You’re not going to complain that we’re focusing on swordsmanship rather than training magic?”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“You told me to listen to everything you say, so I’m doing just that.”

To be honest, yeah. . . I did want to say quite a bit, but I thought it’d be both insulting and dumb to question someone a hundred times wiser and more experienced than me.

“Must be because you’re older than Alice was when she first started. Well, that’s good to hear.” He said that, but I could see the sly grin showing. “Ah! There it is.”

I watched as he picked up a thin twig that barely reached half the length of his arm. The first thing he did was bend it to test the flexibility.

“A twig?” I looked confused, readying my sword.

“You don’t expect me to use a real sword against you, do you?” He chuckled, taking a stance as if he was wielding a sword similar to the one in my hand. “It’s time to test out what you are capable of.”

There was no doubt in my mind that he was capable of winning the fight; after all, he could use magic that I simply couldn’t. However, I was still skeptical about why he’d use a twig instead of a sword. We awkwardly stared at each other as he waited for me to make the first move, but I kept hesitating.

“You don’t want to keep distance between us,” he said, swinging the twig horizontally before a shockwave blasted me back, making me roll over my shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but I knew he held back. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

He gave me no time to think, so my only option was to go on the offensive.

Taking a deep breath, I allowed mana to course through me as I charged. The lightweight sword allowed me to perform a flurry I would’ve never been able to pull off with one hand had it been a regular one-handed weapon. Despite my swift attacks that ended with a thrust, King Elwyn perfectly dodged, smacking the sword away and slapping me across the face with the twig. Honestly? I was shocked.

I wanted to analyze what just happened, but my thoughts were interrupted by a significantly weaker gust of wind pushing me back a few steps. He had no intentions of giving me time to think, so I charged again using a different attack pattern. The same result followed, me getting hit across the face.

Instead of complaining, I endured each of his strikes that later targeted my arms and legs. Being occasionally blasted by wind was annoying, and when the fight became repetitive, he used the opportunity to mix things up. The first time I showed the slightest hint of hesitation to attack, he surprised me by stepping closer in what felt like an instant, breaking through my guard as if the twig was a weapon intended to slay dragons. Needless to say, I got blasted by his mana from point-blank range.

“Defend!”

It was all he said before he unleashed a series of attacks that left me bruised in more than one place. That twig that looked silly now frightened me. However, I wasn’t going to back down as I kept trying to block his attacks with some level of composure.

“Blink,” he chanted, vanishing from my view and appearing behind me.

I recognized the spell as Alice cast it before, but I was too slow to react, so he blasted me with wind from behind before blinking again and smacking my shoulder. Blink, blink, blink. . . I kept hearing that word over and over again, each time resulting in me getting hit by the twig. No matter how fast I was to react, it was never quick enough. I even tried running away, but he always kept on appearing close to me, ready to strike.

“Dad!” Alice yelled from the entrance, stopping our duel.

“Well, it seems it’s time to run,” he whispered to himself, showing a feeble smile.

“You said you’d tell me when the treatment’s done.” She approached with her arms crossed.

“Yes, but you see-”

“Can’t believe you dragged him away to bully him in a duel,” she scolded him, turning to me and checking the scratch the twig left on my neck. She got a bit handsy, tilting my head to the side by pressing my cheeks and moving away my hand that tried stopping her. I wouldn’t’ve minded it had we been alone, but it felt weird doing that in front of her father. “You okay?”

“I’m fine?” I asked, not knowing how I looked.

What kept me going was the lack of pain I felt, but that could’ve been because I had a severely increased pain tolerance ever since Fane tortured me.

“Right. . .” She sighed, glaring back at her father while he averted his gaze, knowing he went a bit far. It wasn’t that he had anything against me. He just got excited seeing someone so eager to fight back despite being outmatched. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Alice. . . It’s okay,” I mumbled as she still pinched my cheeks. “Now, could you please let me go?”

“Huh? Ah!” She immediately let go, taking a step back. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize.” I chuckled, glancing back at her father. “However, I’m fine with this method of training if it gets me to where I want to be.”

“And where’s that?” The King asked.

“A point at which no one could touch those I care about again,” I said calmly and confidently.

King Elwyn couldn’t do anything other than nod approvingly while Alice kept looking at us back and forth, probably worried about how far we’d take my training.

“More importantly,” Alice interrupted, “How are your eyes? Was Asia able to cure you?”

“She removed the poison and purified my body, but for the blindness, I need something called. . .” I found myself stumped. Regardless of how hard I tried to remember the name of the plant, it was all foggy as if I had taken one too many hits on the head. Slowly but surely, it began frustrating me. “Dammit. . .” I mumbled.

“Astral Moonflower,” Elwyn said, noticing I was struggling.

“Oh. . .” Alice mumbled. When I glanced back at her, I could see the disappointment in her eyes, but as soon as I did, she smiled softly while looking back at me. “Told you she’d be able to help! I’m so glad it’s not permanent.”

“So am I,” I said, lowering my voice.

Alice must’ve known that the flower appears only during the full moon, so she must’ve been disappointed knowing I wouldn’t be with her during the festival. However, her smile was as genuine as it gets, and she didn’t even consider the option of waiting a month longer before having my eyes cured of blindness.

“Well. . . You were supposed to go to Thysa with me, but I see you’re busy fighting my dad,” she teased, intentionally making it sound weird. “So I’m not sure exactly what to do now.”

“No need to worry,” her dad spoke up. “We finished anyway, so you two can run along now.”

“Alice,” I whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Would you mind waiting just a second before we left?”

“Of course?” She looked confused. “If you’d rather stay and train, we can just do this another time. I don’t mind.”

I could tell she was telling the truth, but that’s not what I wanted.

“It’ll only take a second,” I reassured her, turning to her father. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to try one last thing before we end things.”

“What do you have in mind?” He looked at me with a grin.

I gripped my sword and prepared to defend myself.

“Come at me once more. Oh, and feel free to use blink.”

“You seem to have something in mind,” King Elwyn said, taking a step back and preparing his twig. “Alice, step back.”

“It might not work,” I told him with a decent plan in mind.

It would be a lie to say that Alice wasn’t intrigued by what I had in mind; however, her gaze kept her father in check so that he didn’t go overboard.

“Whenever you’re ready,” I said, gripping the sword and closing my eyes.

He hummed, slowly approaching me.

“Blink.”

King Elwyn suddenly appeared on my left flank, already attacking faster than I could block. However, I predicted such an outcome and decided to attack instead, opening my eyes and quickly turning toward him.

“Shield!” I yelled, unleashing the mana within my core, allowing it to pass through my free left hand.

His eyes went wide as the twig hit a shimmering arcane barrier that knocked back his arm, leaving him completely exposed to my counterattack. I was thrilled that it held up against his strike that nearly broke through; however, he still grinned, letting me know that such an attack won’t reach him. Luckily, it didn’t have to.

“Shield,” he chanted, creating a similar shimmering barrier, intending to block my attack.

However, as my slash reached it and it repelled my attack, I allowed the knockback to turn me around, allowing me to manipulate the momentum gained to try and swiftly touch his body.

“Draining touch!” I yelled without casting the spell, but despite my best effort, he calmly turned sideways, making me miss.

King Elwyn proudly smiled but mercilessly whipped me with the twig across my back, knocking me to the ground face first.

“Not bad,” he said, crossing his arms. “However, such risky attacks won’t work against stronger opponents.”

“It was worth the shot.” I chuckled after getting up, still wiping the dirt off me.

“Alice mentioned that you knew a necromancy spell, but why didn’t you properly cast it? Were you out of mana already?”

“Because if it connected, I would’ve potentially hurt you,” I said, knowing that it might sound insulting that a kid was holding back even slightly against someone so much stronger.

“So touching me was enough, eh?” He chuckled.

“Dad, when did you teach him how to cast Shield?” Alice asked as she got closer.

“Me? I thought you did.” He looked confused before both glanced back at me,

“Alex?” Alice raised an eyebrow, intrigued by how I did it.

“What?” I looked just as confused as they did, unsure what they expected me to say.

“When did you learn to cast Shield?” she clarified what she wanted to know.

“Oh, that. . . Well, I saw you casting it before, so I thought that maybe I could pull it off, and if I didn’t, I’d just get hit and look silly.”

“Wait, what?” She sounded baffled. “You just. . . tried it?”

“Yeah,” I said, scratching my head. “You cast it a few times, and from what I’ve seen, the spell was fairly simple. You unleashed your mana and shaped it like a dome. With minimal alteration to its form, you’re able to manifest a barrier capable of defending against all forms of physical attacks, including elemental ones. I wasn’t sure if I’d get it right, but luckily I did.”

“You were able to figure it all out from seeing it a few times?” Alice asked while her father simply listened.

“It doesn’t feel like a complex spell. Especially if you compare it to a spell like Blink which seems to use the same amount of mana but is simply too complex for me to figure out.”

“Of course it is!” Alice yelled. “You shouldn’t be able to replicate spells just because you saw them a few times. Some take months to learn a single spell.”

“So how long did it take you to learn it?” I asked, intrigued by her statement.

“Well I. . .” she went quiet.

“Three tries,” King Elwyn said. “It was the second spell she ever learned at the age of eleven.”

“Woah.” I looked at her in awe. “That sounds a lot more impressive.”

“But I had a scroll that explained it,” Alice pointed out.

“Do you think that matters?” Her father sighed. “Don’t let it get to your head, Alexander.”

“But that’s praiseworthy.” Alice looked back at her father. “Surely you agree.”

“I’ll admit that the attack was impressive, but it would’ve cost him his life. I’ll praise him when he survives.”

“Unbelievable.” Alice let out a frustrated sigh, grabbing Alex by the hand. “Let’s go. Your training is over.”

I chuckled, glancing back at her father.

“Thank you for the lesson.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled, throwing the twig to the side. “Tomorrow we continue with the three of us, so have fun you two.”

“You don’t have to tell us twice,” Alice said, gripping my hand tighter. “Let's get out of here.”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.