Compared to my first training session with Syzslic, this goes far smoother. Through a short period of constant projectiles being fired at me, Syzslic helps me increase my maximum spell limit from an easy ten to a stressful fifteen.

This helps immeasurably because my first attempt at using my fast spell to intercept the projectiles was cut short when I couldn't cast quickly enough. The two balls of earth that were so helpfully aiming for my hands ended up breaking both of them in several places.

Syzslic was surprisingly a little apologetic but was more than happy to throw in a lesson or two while he healed me.

We spent just over an hour on that particular technique before stopping for a meal and a break in the shade. I try to start casual conversation with Syzslic several times, the ease of talking mentally while eating something I'll miss when I eventually leave. Yet he ignores me or gives short answers in favour of sitting and meditating. I want to ask if something is bothering him, but I'm far from the kind of person he should let shoulder his concerns, so I let the matter slide.

Or so I want to, but somethings been nagging me from the back of my mind. Something that becomes ever more present as the days pass. I have a feeling he's got the same issue in mind but doesn't know how to approach it. Luckily, I can be blunt enough to bare it.

We both know you want something from me, Chief. This training. There are a thousand different ways to become stronger, so why push me down this path? What do you want me to do?

Syzslic starts throwing off some dangerously aggressive vibes for a moment before visibly deflating and holding his small head in his hand.

(You are even sharper than you let on, boy. I am not the first to teach you about magic am I?)

I smile softly. I wouldn't call Declan's brief lecture much of an education, but using that and some far-flung guesses, I had more than just a feeling I was being groomed for a specific purpose.

The first to almost kill me during every lesson.

He laughs lightly then looks at me almost sadly.

(It is almost easy to forget how little we know about each other. But you are correct. I have been preparing you for a trial I can no longer complete that may spell the survival of my species.)

What do you mean?

(Though the surface of the kings' court was wiped clean along with much of the subterranean tunnels, there is a remnant of the court that still remains further below the ground. A place of immense power that will secure us a future. A dungeon.)

I desperately scour my memories for the last time I heard that word.

I think Michael mentioned them when he described the surface of the planet. He said something about places of power, but not much more. I can tell from context that neither he or Syzslic have my own image of a dungeon in mind. 

How will the dungeon save the tribe?

(The mindless beasts that would usually roam the dungeon were wiped out by the court. The place is a veritable paradise for creatures that can be sustained by magic. And if I can get them there, they will be able to thrive.)

You're making it sound like you won't make it.

(The chances are that I won't. An incredible amount of magic both in volume and finesse will be required to alter the very core of each and every one of my people. At the cost of my life, I believe I can do it.)

The love he must have for his people. It makes me remember each of the moments when I realised that I would die for my own followers. I can relate to his situation, and the last thing I want to do is try and talk him out of his decision.

So where do I fall into this equation?

(The dungeon was a well-guarded secret of ours. It was a magical construct sustained and maintained by the court guardians. The only way to open the dungeon is through the cooperation of two guardians. It was a failsafe to try and discourage an individual from attempting to seal themselves in.)

So once I get the class, I can help you get into the dungeon and then you'll seal your species in the dungeon, making them monsters of said dungeon. That's the plan?

He huffs, probably irritated at my oversimplification of his masterplan.

(Essentially, but there is far more finesse below all that. Primarily, I must prepare you to become a Guardian. Years of training are being compressed into days. But you are capable. I believe that. Now, let's return to training. You have much to do.)

After we eat, it's just more of the numbers training. I don't try to make More than fifteen spells at once, but I no longer have to consciously direct each tendril of mana. Now, it's like splaying a fifteen fingered hand. Every digit moves more or less independently when given a collective command.

I'm sure that with a clear mind I'll be able to do more, but I'm occupied by what Syzslic has told me of my purpose.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

While I'm not sure whether or not I was being manipulated, I'm finding it hard to find out what negatives I might receive from this. Really, I have no reason to refuse following through with this plan. The Skaleans have been... relatively kind to me as a whole, and I feel like I really should repay Syzslic somehow. I'm recovering what is probably an incredibly rare amount of magical knowledge and guidance all to reach the goal of a class so rare that eventually, I'll be the only holder of it.

I'll become a Guardian of the court, but I need to finish my training first. First, that means improving my body through mana control.

Syzslic promises that learning how to use the mana infusion technique is a process far easier and less painful than what I've had to do so far. All I need to do is force the mana deeper into the flesh than it usually does.

When given the command to practice while he observes, I sit on the ground and meditate. I have to learn how to naturally use the mana in this way from start to finish. This is neither a skill nor a spell, nothing will help me here.

I begin by focusing on the large bicep muscle in my right arm. I have a flawless image of the internals of my body in my mind, something cultivated over the centuries through all the times I've taken someone apart. Both medically and otherwise.

I spread my single tendril of mana into many smaller threads, wrapping the bulk of the muscle. There is no reaction, so I slowly pierce the muscle with the treads, running them parallel with the thick bands of tissue. I still can't figure out if it's working, so I slowly flex the muscle, trying to use the mana threads as a crux, consciously flexing without trying to move the arm.

I can feel a pull from the muscle itself, and my right forearm raises slightly. I wrote the muscle to relax while keeping a tight hold on the mana and my arm stays rock solid.

I push the mana deeper into the muscle, weaving around the bone and running through the tendons that hold it. An intense tingling takes over the area that I'm operating in and the extremities of my arm begin to go numb.

I withdraw the mana from my arm as quickly as I dare, still not trusting my mana to be completely harmless.

My raised hand slaps down on my leg, perfectly relaxed and I let out a sigh. Mentally, it's an arduous task, but it's far easier than training my shields. Nothing hurts, and I've already seen a hint of what this power could mean for me.

A slow clapping causes me to open my eyes and look over to Syzslic, who is giving me a rather lacklustre round of applause. The ridges of scales above his eyes are raised, making him look both smug yet surprised.

(Well well, who would have thought that the student would be so worthy. And why, pray tell, do you have such an understanding of your own body. Such knowledge of Skalean physiology would take a painstakingly long period of time to explain. Yet, you know how you work down to the bone. I'm not expecting an answer, but I must ask. Just who are you, Reuben the merchant?)

I sigh, suddenly exasperated at his change of tone. I expected to be working along the curve he's set but I've accidentally catapulted myself ahead.

I've been well educated, ok? I didn't always want to be a merchant, and at a time, I studied the human body.

Syzslic is silent, considering my answer. It pissed me off how he keeps pushing me to reveal truths I can't easily explain. It's all I can do to keep up convincing pies that he may or may not believe. I just wish he would stick with the cool and calm teacher instead of jumping to the arrogant warrior whenever he wants to.

Besides, if you didn't think I would be able to do it, what then?

(Well, luckily for us, the muscular structures of our species are not all that different. Bones are moved by tendons which are all powered by muscles. I would have even used the body of an ape to demonstrate it. This specific technique was supposed to have been trained through weeks of theory followed by practice. I'm not sure what exactly to think of you and your knowledge, but I... I need to go and re-evaluate the... my plan. You may practice by yourself for the time being. I will return and assist your demonstrations for my hunters.)

Suddenly, he's gone, his rapidly retreating robes flying up behind him.

Honestly, I want to storm after him and scream at him in frustration. Such a being acting in such a confusing manner frustrates me to no end.

"What the hell is wrong with him? Pick a personality and stick with it, asshole!"

I kick the ground, knocking some loose dirt away with my barefoot. I get that intelligent conversation is something he hasn't had a lot of and I understand how stressed he might be to save his tribe before he dies, but his reactions are insane!

Maybe he is... Just a little bit. To have fallen from a kingdoms guardian to a glorified tribal chief, maybe he has gone mad.

I shake my head hard enough to give me a headache. I don't need to worry about the sanity of my teacher. All I need to do right here, right now is to perfect my mana infusion, figure out what I'm going to teach the hunters, and move onto the next phase of my training. Maybe after he's cooled down, Syzslic will be back to normal so he can translate for the hunters.

I push away any concerns I have for the old snake and imagine my own torso again, slowly winding the mana around my collarbone, spreading down through my ribs. This time, I'll start from the bones and work outwards.

----------------------------------------

Without break, I silently let time pass as I repeatedly push smaller and smaller fragments of mana into the depths of my body.

I don't try to test my new limits at all during the exercise, vowing to nail the method before refining the amount of mana I actually use. All too quickly, it gets to the point that I can easily use my mana to operate my arms without any effort on behalf of my body.

I thread my way through my torso and legs too, but since I can focus better while sitting, I don't try to push them using my mana.

The last area I focus on is my wings. The challenge proves great, as I'm blind to the internal workings of my wings. Assuming them to be a fusion between mammal and avian limbs, I do my best but fail to advance beyond a very small twitch in the largest muscles.

I'm frustrated by my lack of result of course. I had hoped that infusing my wings with enough mana would make them actually usable. I shrug off the annoyance, realising it's probably not the kind of thing I'll be able to find a shortcut too. To reach 500 soul, I'd assume that reaching the required body stat to fly would have been achieved long ago.

Somewhat irritated at how this world's system works, I stop trying to infuse my body with mana and do my best to remember everything I was taught as a soldier in the 50's. The Israelian army had some issues, but I was lucky that their hand-to-hand classes were revolutionary at the time. As the youngest mixed martial art I know, my only experiences with it were my initial training while in Israel, and several months at an intermediates class almost 15 years and two lives later.

My lesson will have to be altered slightly because I want to teach the hunters something useful, but if their only enemies are the apes, I have to account for an enemy that is not only smaller in stature but is also unarmed.

Of all that the martial art covers, disarming and subduing is the main focus. Since there will be nothing to disarm, I'll teach them all I can about subduing their opponent as quickly and aggressively as possible.

Hopefully, I'm never the target of their efforts, but I can retaliate with magic now if necessary.