章 3: [3] First Steps
1 (Alice)
We had no choice in the matter, it was either refuse to work for them and lose the chance to go back or suck it up for that same chance we would have lost otherwise.
Of course, I was merely following along, but for Shana, everything seemed so new and unknown. . .yet, she was enjoying herself.
It was the first time I saw her eagerly enthralled in something new in awhile.
She stood at the center of the underground arena with a wooden sword in hand and a man opposing her.
A head of short-kept blonde hair. A chiseled face and a spotless white smile. He wore only a training uniform of a white shirt that showed his rather slender body and black pants—the same we were currently equipped with as well.
In this world, if you knew the method to do so, you could see the level of someone. I wondered how mine appeared to the outside world, but his sacred text looked as such to me.
[Albein Mass — Level 150]
A magic knight of the kingdom, he was level 150 when he wielded a simple wooden sword. Even from here, I could feel the immense amount of mana rolling within him and boosting his strength. If we were to compare his to mine, I was an ocean and his was a cup. It would seem like he was useless by that comparison, but Shana's was like a drop of water.
He was a man assigned to bring us up to level 10 before we could even be eligible to enroll in Albion's academy. Supposedly, Merlin was away on state business, which I didn't really care for either way, and supposedly the man would also be our bodyguard for the time being.
Anyhow, he was a very practical person.
"Most untrained people or novices attack with and in the direction of their dominant hand in a fight. So, dodge, and use that chance to strike."
Shana nodded her head at his words as she grasped her weapon. For some reason, she wore a very determined expression.
The man came with a slow swing of his weapon as he stepped into her attack range.
She moved left and slashed.
Of course, he easily dodged her counter, but the basic was still drilled into her.
"If you can't dodge, quickly block or parry their attack before it has time to fully extend or hit. This will stop the buildup of momentum and minimize the force behind it."
He came striking while her legs were still in motion and she did as she was told, raising her weapon and causing a clank between them.
"Being heroes, as you continue to fight and increase in level, your body, mana and Heroic Relics will evolve alongside you. Please draw out your mana, roll it around your body, and strike at me."
She nodded, "Mhmm."
I felt the energy within her spike at that moment as it swirled through her veins. Her mana was like a wild creature, not unyielding but flickering. Unlike what Merlin said, it didn't only reside in her bloodstream but sprung into every part of her body until I could sense it dyeing her whole in its might.
Albein stood shocked for a moment as a wooden sword flew his way.
The man jumped back like a flash, avoiding her attack, yet Shana came swinging once more. In a few quick steps, she reached him and slashed out.
A clank rang.
"I said strike me, not strike me twice—" He laughed, looking down at her.
"Ah, I'm. . .I'm sorry."
Shana quickly separated away with a tinge of red on her cheeks. It seemed she had inadvertently got too into her own flow.
The very next moment, however, her expression brightened.
"Woah I leveled up again!" She jumped up, "I reached level 4!"
He watched her leap in joy with a gentle smile and congratulated her.
"Good job."
"Ah, yes," He bowed her head with a grin plastered on her face, "Thank you."
"Mhmm."
Shana day by my side, sweat riddling her body yet a smile on her lips. I raised a brow and she looked my way
"Go get him!"
"You seem enthusiastic."
She chuckled, "Well. . .isn't being in a fantasy world fun?"
Fun? I suppose I thought so the first and second time I went to one.
"A bit."
I left my seat and entered the 'arena', which was simply just a stone floor.
"Your turn," Albein said.
We exchanged some strikes.
I could see his every action, his set up, and feel the changes in the mana within him. I went slow and made myself unskilled in the handling of my weapon. In honest, it was far too boring for me, so I used the chance to stealthy spread my own mana into his body and felt every change in him.
It was a mana application from another world called 'feeling'. Its only purpose was allowing the user to perceive what their mana does.
With each clash of our wooden sword, I understood a bit more about the standards of this world.
"Good," He stopped us for a moment.
"Draw your mana and revolve it around your body. However little you can."
Unlike the worlds I had once visited where mana was used exclusive outside of the person, it was mostly used to strengthen the body in this world. It could also be used in what was known as 'True Magic', but that was rare and harder to control. Of course, there was such things as 'Battle Arts' that seek to mimick magic, but that was for another time.
Right now, I only needed to do the first.
I maneuvered a drop of my mana and rolled it around my body. Unlike Shana's, mine was one of serene calmness, it flickered not and listened to my will as I stopped it from entering any other parts of my body besides my veins. It was nice to know I already took on the attributes of mana in this world.
His body shook slightly after I strengthened myself as he narrowed his eyes.
"Hmm. . .must be my mistake," He muttered and brought his weapon up and smiled, "Attack me."
2
There was a problem.
I did not level up and it still appeared as nothing in my Sacred Text after the training. I wondered if that man noticed this fact but it was something beyond me.
Although it would seem to me that I could not 'level up' in the true sense of the world, I have—at the very least—realized that it functioned similarly to my 'Mana Devouring'.
When Shana leveled up, her quality and quantity of mana increased, which was the same thing that occurred whenever I used that ability. In a sense, then, the people of this world had my same ability but without the need to kill another for it.
I wondered if this world's True Magic and Battle Arts also took shape in some parts from the others.
"Umm. . ."
A murmur brought my attention back, "Hmm?"
"Tomorrow we'll be going to a ball party. . ." Shana said with a hint of nervousness in her voice, her legs dangling below her as she blinked her eyes at me, "I hope it's not too formal."
I looked up at her face and shrugged.
"If it gets too much for you, you can just stand behind me."
"How would I do that? You can't hide me."
"Well I'm sorry for being rather short," I rolled my eyes.
She laughed at that.
A moment later and her eyes stared intently at me.
"By the way, Alice. . ."
"What is it?" I asked with a bit of caution.
". . .why does your level still say 0. . .?" She tilted her head.
Drats.
Was that how it appeared to others?
3
Albein stopped before a door, raised a hand hesitantly, and soon knocked.
"Come in."
He stepped into the room to the sight of Merlin sitting behind a desk, papers in his hands and staring up.
"I presume you have a report for me?"
"Yes sir," He bowed, coming back up moments later, "The one called Shana is doing well and has already reached level 4."
"Fast," The man stroked his beard.
"Mhmm, but the other girl. . .you speculated correctly. She appears to be defective. We won't be able to use her."
He had been slightly shocked when she rolled her mana around, but some defects were better than others. Through his eyes, her level had still remained '0'—it might have been alright for a normal human, but something like that was odd for a High Human.
"Defective? It really must be so then."
In this world, there existed those called 'Defects'. Individuals whose level or might could not increase no matter what they did. In fact, their bodies would continue to deteriorate until their mana eventually ripped them apart into a black rose. It was odd that a summoned hero was cursed with a body like that, but it wasn't impossible. In the first place, he had only meant to summon a single hero, the mana they had acquired and the artifact they had used was not enough to summon any more—it was still a mystery to him how another managed to find their way here.
"What shall we do with her, then?" Albein asked.
Merlin took a moment to think.
Sure, she was defective, but Alice still wielded an Heroic Relic. He had been there when it was summoned and when she grasped the handle so he couldn't be mistaken. That was also a mystery to him, a mystery of value to the higher ups of the order.
"We watch her and carry out our plans as normal. If she becomes a liability, we get rid of her," He said, "If she crumbles before we act, at the very least we will have a black rose on our hand. Until then, she shall accompany the true hero while she can and you continue to protect the girl."
"Affirmative."
Merlin smiled, "Do well and we'll reward you accordingly."
"Y-yes sir," He bowed.
"You may retreat."
Albein left the room and wandered the halls of the castle, a hand to his chin as he pondered.
Could it be?
He thought about the night before and the spike of mana he had suddenly felt for a brief moment. He thought about standing in front of the two's door and his body ringing an alarm. And then he thought about how the girl's mana had given him a similar impression.
No, he thought. A defect was still a defect. Even if she had been the one to release that signature, she couldn't escape an unhealable fate. Sooner or later, she would become a Black Rose.
He affirmed himself, shaking his head, his footsteps lighter as he walked with a more resolute expression. There was only focus and his job on his mind. The order still had need for him and he wished to acquire even the lower grade Rose Pills.
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