8 The Beginning of his path

Sigurd felt from the moment he touched the large black sword with six heavy rings that this sword was something he should wield, how the comfort of the grip and its weight felt perfect in his hand.

'Someone created this sword specifically for me. I was born to wield it.'

Smooth with a sleek surface, the black blade cut through the air as he practised. The distant monsters were unaware of his presence.

"Mammon, the devil of greed. Mammon, sword of greed."

He could sense the sword vibrating with delight when he called its name, the feeling comforting as it increased the circulation of the energy inside his body.

'Let's complete my task and return. I want to learn how to become stronger.'

While staring at the monsters below, Sigurd muttered under his breath as if whispering sweet words to a lover.

"Mammon."

The energy inside his body gushed out towards the sword's blade.

Shoo!

An emerald flame erupted from the sword's blade, a feeling of his body emptying a small portion of his energy. Sigurd felt the low hum and vibration as the fire danced along the surface and blade, only avoiding the six other rings.

That was when he noticed a seventh ring, but it was on the pommel, not the blade, now glowing with a beautiful green flame.

"Seven devils, seven rings... A coincidence?"

Sigurd shook his head, remembering his task of draining himself to the limit before returning and practising the spell of alterations. He would focus on Lanza and Radius. 

There was resistance to changing his spell name just to suit the witches; in fact, some feeling in his chest resisted, and whispers in the wind also told him not to. 

A brilliant surge of magic flared inside him, choosing to keep his name. 

With a smile, he stepped forward, the thick strands of energy swirling in his empty left palm, forming a small sphere of black and green energy. While gripping the pommel of Mammon tightly, he focused his mind and aimed at the monsters below.

"Five horn rabbits. I don't wish to use Maxima, but is there a way to make my beam more flexible?"

He practised without using Maxima to avoid them ruining their bodies. Instead, he used the same feeling when he cast the Noctra beam. However, he tried to control the increasing energy flow with more control, slowly, as if to control each singular unit of energy. 

The orb of dark energy grew, stretching out thin threads like tree branches growing before shrinking, latching onto the thick strands of energy before coiling around his fingertips.

Sigurd could feel the strands becoming stronger and harder to control as he strained the magic inside him.

'I can do this... even if my blood feels boiling, my bones ache and muscles tear!'

He ground his teeth as he strained himself further, forcing more energy to gather into each finger, straining to limit the power of each strand, forming a ball of pulsing magic, a single drop of sweat falling down his forehead.

"Break!"

Shoo!

"Noctra Burst!"

His command unleashed the five orbs as emerald beams shot out, thin strands of magic wrapping around them like vines.

The beams curved like five green snakes as they flew towards the unaware monsters, curving towards the closest horn rabbits.

The first impact sent the monster tumbling forward before the five streams of energy wrapped around its throat and sliced off its head. The beams continued to curve, piercing into the next rabbit before the rest sensed danger and leapt away.

The beams chased after them while Sigurd frowned as he controlled each snake-like beam.

'I need to release more energy. Otherwise, I cannot follow the monsters.'

He released the restraints slightly, allowing the beams to gain speed and width as they grew larger and thicker.

Sadly, the rabbits were fast, but with their increased size, the beams were faster, catching up to the second monster, which tried to leap away, which sealed its fate when the snake pierced its spine and severed the connection to its legs.

Sigurd clicked his tongue and released his grasp, causing Mammon to vibrate, almost glowing as the emerald beams slowly retracted back inside his body, causing him to become stunned. 

'More than half the magic has returned!?'

He dashed forward, feeling empowered, killing the first rabbit cleanly while the others suffered some damage.

Sigurd focused on the last two horn rabbits, ensuring they were dead as the strange feeling of something entering him happened again; this time, he felt the sensation four times. 'So it's not guaranteed to happen, or maybe the rabbits were too weak?'

Once confirming the rabbits were dead, he sat, skinned, prepared, and bagged them in the simple backpack they gave him on the way out. It seemed to keep things fresh.

"I like how it works, but how can I mix magic and swordplay more effectively... The beam takes too much concentration. Is there a way to use magic in close range rapidly?"

He practised swinging Mammon, testing different stances and forms while muttering to himself and searching for Monstro Deer.

No matter how hard he tried to imagine, there was no image he could create, and thus, he began dashing, wanting to remove his feelings of frustration to keep a rational mind.

'Focus, first I should practise basics. One step at a time, Sigurd.'

After running for about half an hour, Sigurd spotted a Monstro Deer eating grass before approaching slowly, holding Mammon tightly with both hands behind his back, ready to attack at any moment.

When within range, he stopped and observed the creature as it ate, memorising its movements as it lifted its head to inspect before bending back to eat.

It reminded Sigurd of a cow and how relaxed it appeared.

'If I approach from behind, I might get attacked; however, If I approach from the front, it will see me.'

Sigurd had Mammon pointed forward as he circled, staying as far away as possible to remain undetected while preparing to dash forward.

The deer remained unaware as he moved closer and closer until within a reasonable distance.

"Now!"

Sigurd dashed forward, swinging his sword sideways as the Monstro Deer lifted its head to check the area before spotting Sigurd, but it was too late.

Because of his stress and thoughts about how to fight the deer, most of his magical energy poured into his arms and legs, increasing his speed by double the normal speed.

His sword cut through the deer's neck easily, as if slicing through butter, before landing softly on his feet. He spun Mammon before thrusting forward and stabbing the deer in its heart, causing it to fall over, unable to survive.

'What did I just do? I could feel that strange essence being swallowed into my body before it died!'

He felt like Mammon devoured the creature's magic, stealing it for himself from the moment he penetrated the deer's heart.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, his body stumbled, almost falling onto the body of the Monstro Deer. His eyes became blurry before a pair of hands grabbed his waist.

"Silly apprentice, trying to run before you can walk... To empower your physical body with magic is a process we take step by step, over many years, using small amounts to temper out bones, muscles, skin and veins with our magic."

"Otherwise, the Agmar and church knights would kill us with ease... But you did well."

"Ugh...I...." Sigurd couldn't speak as he became dizzy.

"My little apprentice, don't panic. You are experiencing a mana high. I will take you back to rest. Don't worry. You performed my request perfectly."

Medea didn't judge him. Her face was quite cold, but she gave a little smirk before stepping onto her staff, which hovered slightly off the ground.

"Worry not; I will teach you everything you desire."

He felt like she seemed happier, her eyes more vibrant than before as they flew back towards the village through the beautiful red sky.