บท 16: Training days

PH1RE'S P.O.V

Sunlight was filtered into the glass dome where flowers of vibrant colors grew around it, said flowers currently being watered by Edward. Maya and I sat opposite Lydia with cups of tea given to us by Edward, despite what was probably the prettiest woman I had ever seen in both my lives in front of me I couldn't bring myself to look up from my cup.

Tea was rare in the world of Raize to the point that it costed an arm and a leg in game despite giving zero benefits. So, for us to be casually drinking it made me slightly surprised.

"How much do you both know about being adventurers?" Lydia finally asked, breaking the silence and causing me to cease the staring contest I was having with the cup of tea.

"Not much," Maya replied, her tone steady. "We know the basics, but nothing in-depth."

Lydia nodded, setting her cup down with a soft clink. "Then let's go over the basics."

She took a moment to collect her thoughts before she began. "Adventurers are, for all intents and purposes, employees of the government. Our primary role is to maintain law and order, protect citizens, and carry out various tasks assigned to us through quests. However, we also have a significant amount of freedom in how we operate. We take on private commissions, travel between cities, and sometimes... well, we do things that aren't always in line with strict government regulations."

Maya and I nodded, taking in her words.

"Each adventurer is classified based on their rank," Lydia continued, her eyes assessing us once more. "These ranks reflect your mana capabilities, combat ability, experience, and most importantly, your mana quality. You're both currently at the lowest rank—Class F. The Imperial government requires an individual to have at least D-class mana to take the evaluations for an adventurer's license. Anything less, and you're not allowed to get one."

She paused, letting her words sink in. "The guild provides training to help adventurers grow stronger. I'm guessing it will take you three months to reach Class E and nine months to reach Class D. Of course, since you're merely here to pass the time, there's no reason for—"

"No," I interrupted, my voice firm. "I have to. It would be rude to stay here without giving anything back, and I can't expect to find my aunt the way I am."

"....I suppose so" responded Lydia after a short pause.

I honestly had a different thought process, even if I was currently an imposter and not their son. The least I could do was make sure that last request was fulfilled, I also have no doubt the "falling petals" and the Cerphurian military being after me has something to do with this reincarnation shenanigans. Either way, I wasn't going to be able to accomplish anything the way I am right now.

"And you?" Lydia asked, turning to Maya.

"I'm just trying to make sure my friend doesn't get himself killed," Maya replied.

"Very well, follow me" she said dropping her now empty cup of tea.

She led us outside of the glass dome and into a clearing where we surrounded by flowers on each side; "The easiest way to increase mana quality is to strengthen the mana core," Lydia explained, leaning down to inspect a flower. "This is done by exercising it. Most of the population has no need to use all their mana at one time and as such will never leave Class F."

She straightened up, turning to face us. "Once a week, the both of you will go up against me. I'll limit my mana refinement to Class D quality. If either of you can successfully uproot one of these flowers, you can both take the test for your license."

"Use mana, use spells, use skills, use talismans if you'd like. Nothing is restricted," she said, getting into a stance that made my blood run cold. Her voice was flat, but there was an underlying intensity that was downright terrifying.

Before I could fully process her words, Lydia moved with blinding speed. One moment she was standing in front of us, the next she was between us, delivering a foot to my midsection and a palm to Maya's stomach. The force of the blows sent us both sprawling to the ground.

'Plus step'

"However," Lydia added, her tone calm as ever, "If you're both trying to hurt to my precious flowers. I won't go easy on you"

'We're gonna die,' I thought, my head spinning from the impact.

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'We lasted forty-five seconds.' The thought echoed in my mind as I lay flat on the ground, gasping for breath.

Even if we ran away, she would chase us down and beat us into the dirt. Pleading didn't help either. It was like she genuinely believed we did something wrong just by existing.

"It felt like being hit by a carriage," Maya groaned beside me.

"It felt like riding one," I muttered, still reeling from the experience.

My view of the cloudy sky was suddenly obstructed by a large gourd of water, held by a familiar hand. I followed the hand up to see Ethan, smiling down at us with that same carefree expression he always seemed to wear.

"Need water?" he questioned.

"Did you have to ask" I said sitting up.

I grabbed the gourd and downed the water as fast as I could trying to sooth my burning core, it felt like someone had lit a fire in my stomach which was spreading across my body like wildfire. The cold water was a welcome relief, but while it made my insides feel better it did little to sooth the ache in my body.

I paused just long enough to see Maya gulping down her share of water with the same desperation. 'I hope I didn't look that bad when drinking,' I thought, mildly embarrassed.

"Hey, Ethan! What rank are you, anyway?" Maya asked after she had finally caught her breath.

"C," he answered with a proud smile.

"Huh! Is that it?" Maya said in mock disappointment.

"Getting your mana quality higher up becomes harder the more you do it," Ethan replied, a little defensively.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Maya responded, waving him off.

Ethan rolled his eyes but didn't argue further. "You'll see soon enough. The difference between each rank get's more and more the higher up you go"

"Is it really that easy? Just suffer constant beatings like this" I asked.

"For the most part yes, the amount of mana a person can absorb from their surroundings varies between each person but is fixed. So, when the body needs more mana the core works out a way to filter what it absorbs better creating mana of higher and higher quality"

"However, Class D isn't that difficult. Do this enough times and you'll get there,"

I wanted to be happy with about that, but after our first "training" session with Lydia I can't say I was looking forward to it.

"Now, Let's go get breakfast"

Ethan helped us both to our feet, and we made our way back toward the main building.

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The sound of the people moving up and about in the marketplace was near deafening, stalls lined the streets, each one brimming with goods from fresh produce to Jewelery. The smell of roasted meat and spices filled the air, mingling with the scent of flowers from a nearby vendor. People jostled past us, their voices blending together.

"Everyone that isn't Loid, hold onto your pockets. There are some really talented pickpockets here," Ethan warned. Considering the kind of person he was, that was enough to make everyone grab onto whatever they had a little tighter.

"Wait! Why everyone but Loid?" asked Gwyn, looking puzzled.

"He has nothing to worry about," Ethan grumbled.

Ethan and Gwyn followed us to the Kerith marketplace to buy some clothes and other essentials since Maya and I didn't have much on us. At least, that was the plan until everyone decided to go on different side quests, buying things they conveniently forgot about until now.

"Hey, let's go in here" said Gwyn pointing at a certain shop and going in.

The rest of us were forced to follow her in and as soon as we did I was taken aback by the amount of paper flying around, it was so much paper in fact that the floor was completely white.

"Mr. Darian!" shouted Gwyn walking up to a man sitting on a desk writing on a piece of paper with an intricately decorated pen.

He looked up for a second and an instant later said paper glowed red before bellowing smoke causing everyone to start coughing.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Mr. Darian exclaimed, waving his hands to disperse the smoke. He was an older man, with silver hair and round spectacles that gave him a scholarly appearance. Despite the chaos, he seemed entirely unbothered, as if this sort of thing happened all the time.

Gwyn fanned the smoke away, her excitement undiminished. "Mr. Darian, these are our new members! Maya and Loid!"

Mr. Darian adjusted his glasses, peering at us through the lingering haze. "Ah, new recruits! Welcome, welcome! Pardon the mess—well, get them something nice. It's on the house," he said, going back to his work with the paper.

"Something nice?" Maya echoed, her curiosity piqued.

"Talisman—might as well get you both something to surprise my sister."

"Wait! Lydia's your sister?" I asked, surprised.

"Isn't it obvious from my good looks? I'm kidding. My dad adopted her, but yes, she's my sister," Gwyn replied with a grin.

"Well, that's news," I remarked.

"So, do either of you have your mind set on something?"

"Get her Plus Step and Plus Jump," I said, pointing to Maya.

"What he said," Maya agreed.

"And you?" asked Gwyn.

"Nothing," I replied.

"Are you sure? It's free," Ethan chimed in.

"There would be no point—he can't learn spells through talisman," Maya explained.

"Huh! What do you mean?" Gwyn asked, puzzled.

"My spell series won't let me," I said.

"Oh! Seriously, what's the name of the series? It must be crazy powerful," Gwyn speculated.

"I'm not so sure about that; it's pretty useless. I can't even use Mana Sense," I admitted.

"If a series has such a huge and specific restriction, that effort has to be going somewhere," Gwyn mused. "But if that's the case, you can just learn the spells manually."

"What do you mean?" I asked, intrigued.

"Imprint talismans just copy the mana memory of a specific spell and feed it into a person's core so it's registered as a spell. Learning that spell manually is possible if you can figure out the mechanics. After all, Mana Sense, Plus Step, and Plus Jump are all pure type magic."

"It's also how new Imprint Talismans are made—they just copy the mana memory into the card. All Talisman spells are initially Innate or custom spells. Although, if the person's core is incapable of it, you can't learn it."

I was surprised at the amount of knowledge she had about this. I knew a lot about Raize, but it was like she was speaking an entirely different language for a little while.

"However, since almost everyone alive right now learned Mana Sense, Plus Step, and Plus Jump through talismans, I don't think you'd find anyone who can help you. It's just something you can try."

I thought over her words, each one sinking in. If she was right, I wasn't hopeless and instead had to just put in more work, which meant that I would have to use more mana trying to figure it out. Which meant I would advance through the classes faster.

"Gwyn, thanks for the advice," I responded with a smile.