51 Chapter 51: Let the Training Commence

Tsugi woke up and stretched. His body no longer ached and felt light, now that he finally slept through the night.

Tsugi went downstairs and a stick flew at him, his quick reflexes allowed him to catch it before it smacked him in the face. He lowered his hand and looked up at Yamo's grinning face. "Eat and then meet me out back." Yamo went through the kitchen and out the back door. The table was already set with a plate of food that was covered with a napkin.

He quickly ate and cleaned up after himself before exiting to the back. The yard wasn't that big, but it was pretty decent sized. Yamo stood in the middle and swung his stick through the air before gesturing Tsugi to head over.

"Alright, let's start with the basics." He went through each step, which bored Tsugi. "I know it's boring." Yamo could read the expression on Tsugi's face. "It's the foundation to everything. Don't let emotions overcome you. If they control you, that's when you will mess up, and the tiniest moment could mean life or death, in the wrong situations."

After lunch Yamo pulled Tsugi over to sit on the couch by the fire.

"So, tell me about your skills at the dungeon." Yamo sat quietly and listened intently as Tsugi explained about his dark magic. "Oh. Then that means you shouldn't be using that magic then." Tsugi nodded in agreement. "What about the hallucination thing? If you use that, and use your dark magic in there, how would that work? Or would it even work?"

"Uh…I don't know. That was the first time I've ever used my dark magic to pull a soul from the other side."

"Oh I see." Yamo nodded. "Then let's give it a try. You can perform the hallucination magic on yourself and try to pull out the soul. I'll stay here and if I see you pulling it out here, I'll let you know."

"I don't know, I'm still not very good with the hallucination magic."

"It's alright, it's just yourself, so no one else will be there to break it. For now, we're just trying to see if this will work or not. If it works, then you should only use it during hallucinations. If not, then only use it when absolutely necessary."

Tsugi nodded and closed his eyes. He drew his world around him before reaching into his dark magic. Once again the portal appeared in front of him and he stepped through it. Although it was still dark, he could tell by the feeling that it was a different location from the previous one. Almost immediately, he felt a pull on his chest, and something appeared in front of him. Tsugi could tell by the energy that it was the same one from before. No words were spoken, but the energy around it told Tsugi it had said, 'you summoned me, master?'

Tsugi nodded and walked back out of the portal. He pulled the great-sword out of the portal and he felt a touch on his shoulder, snapping him out of the hallucination.

Still not quite lucid, he wobbled a little and saw Yamo kneeling in front of him, with both hands on Tsugi's shoulders. "Enron?" Yamo's voice sounded very far away for him, even though he was right there. "Enron?" The voice came closer. "Enron?" Tsugi finally snapped out of it and looked Yamo in the face.

"What? Did something happen?" Tsugi said groggily. Yamo looked down. Tsugi followed his line of sight and saw that he held the great-sword in his hand. Yamo reached to touch the purple haze. "Don't touch it!" Tsugi yelled and pulled the sword away.

"Sorry, I was just curious." Yamo slowly pulled his hand away but locked his eyes on it, studying it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. It'll burn you if you touch it."

"I see. Am I allowed to hold it?" Yamo had the pleading eyes of a puppy begging for food.

"I don't know." Tsugi was hesitant, but he pulled the hilt toward Yamo and handed it to him. Yamo grasped the hilt and lifted the sword. He was admiring the build and look of it, when it suddenly dissipated into thin air.

"Aww. That sucks." Yamo pouted for a second before grinning at Tsugi. "That was amazing." Tsugi felt the portal close and his energy returned to him, calmly surrounding his body. Yamo cleared his throat and shook his head in a daze. "Sorry, I always find skills to be amazing, but…now we know, don't bring it out, unless absolutely necessary." He sat back and folded his arms across his chest, nodding in affirmation to himself.

"Now." Yamo opened his eyes. "Let's work on that hallucination of yours, huh. You perform it on both of us, and I will try and see if I can detect if it's real or not. This is my home, so it will make it harder for you, but it will also work on your attention to detail and point out where you're lacking."

Tsugi nodded and they started training in his hallucination magic. Almost immediately, Yamo was able to find a flaw in the shadowing. When it was done again and again, it was: the floorboards; then it was the number of books on the shelf; the smell; the ceiling; the table and the list went on and on. For four hours they worked on it again and again, but Tsugi constantly failed again and again.

"UGH!" Tsugi was exhausted and irritated that he kept getting everything wrong.

"Don't be upset. Remember, this is my house, so I should know everything about it. It's alright, you'll get better."

"Where's Volgan and Fay? I haven't seen them all day?" Tsugi collapsed to the ground and laid on his back.

"They're at work." Yamo walked to the table and poured himself a goblet of water. "Gah! I'm so forgetful." He palmed his head and turned to face Tsugi. "We are all instructors at the orphanage too. Fay in the morning, then Volgan in the afternoon and then I go in the evening. Speaking of which, I need to get going." Yamo quickly finished his goblet and grabbed his cloak off the rack. "Make yourself at home. The other two should be back shortly. Also, that's how training will go most days from now on. You will train with Volgan in the morning, me in the afternoon and Fay in the evening."

'Fay? Isn't she just a maid?' He shrugged his shoulders, maybe she too had special skills.

Tsugi took the goblet and went to clean it. He then proceeded to clean the house, by wiping the already clean surfaces.

'It looked like they wanted to keep this place clean, so even though it looks clean, there could already be dust settling.' Tsugi thought to himself and joyfully cleaned the house.

He had forgotten all about Keryth, where Ruzo waited patiently for him to return.

"Young Master Enron." Fay walked into the kitchen and bowed her head slightly. "Grab your weapon and meet me downstairs."

Tsugi nodded and did as she asked. When he approached the folding wall, it was left open for him. He made it to the bottom and found Fay standing there, waiting patiently.

"Sorry, did I take too long." Tsugi bowed his head.

"Not at all. Follow me." She led him down the hallway and through a different set of doors. It almost seemed like it was a magical world down there. The door that they went through, seemed to have led them somewhere outside. There were flat grasslands, forests, and the sky was bright blue with the sun still up. Tsugi glanced around with his jaw wide open, amazed that there was a place like this underground, or if they had teleported somewhere else instead.

"I've been told that you are good at using chained weapons." She stopped and turned around, to see Tsugi nod. "Let's see." She faced him and opened her palm, a stream of water shot out of her hand and froze into a shimmering icicle. "Well? Get your weapon ready. Let's see how you defend." She launched the icicle straight toward Tsugi. To his surprise, it was fast, he barely moved out of the way and felt a cold slice against his cheek.

She continued to launch icicles both big and small, faster than bullets. Tsugi dodged them as fast as he could, running around the field. He held the weapon by the chain and swung it around himself to shatter the icicles to pieces.

Fay finally stopped after an hour of making Tsugi run around. "Your movements are too predictable."

"Well, then how am I supposed to move, when you keep attacking? Aren't I just supposed to defend?"

"I keep attacking because I know exactly how you're going to move. Be creative, think of different places you can go, or how to stop me from attacking. Or were you planning to run your entire life?"

That had been Tsugi's entire life so far. He had just been running.

"Let's try it again. This time, think of moving so I can't predict what you are trying to do. But don't get complacent and leave yourself open."