Magical Training (Part 4)

[POV AQUILES VIRIDIUM – YEAR 271]

"Then, how much? How long until you teach me everything?" Aquiles asked with a keen look.

"If I take into account your learning speed and that I still plan to teach you how to enter the bodies of animals, then around 5 years," Luna spoke while assessing Aquiles' reaction. He had remained impassive as he pondered inwardly.

"If I stay here for five years, I'll still have 22 years to form my army before King Robert Baratheon comes north. That should be enough time, and this is a unique opportunity to learn magic from a Child of the Forest," Aquiles thought as he remained silent, and after making his decision, he spoke: "If it's just five years, I'm willing to stay."

"Great, I'll teach you everything, don't worry," Luna exclaimed confidently, but mentally added: "Except for the three forbidden spells."

...

As Aquiles trained, time passed, and soon more days went by; then weeks, and then months. Soon, a whole year had passed since Aquiles came to the waterfall. Another year passed, and then another, until finally, the five years of training were about to be completed.

In this last year, Aquiles' mana reservoir and mana regeneration speed had grown so much that he could maintain the Golden Eyes active without depletion. His mana recovery speed per second had become superior to the cost per second of keeping the Golden Eyes active. Furthermore, his elemental spells and knowledge of runes had also evolved enormously. There were few elements that Aquiles did not master perfectly. Luna also taught him to Warg into animals.

Although able to Warg into animals and control them, Aquiles did not like to do so. He didn't like it because once, he Warged into a bird. While flying through the skies, he was suddenly attacked by an eagle and killed. Aquiles still remembered the pain, the screams he let out when he felt the eagle's sharp beak plunging into his belly and pulling out his entrails. After being killed as a bird, Aquiles returned to his body immediately, but the pain and sensation were still fresh in his mind.

Aquiles had not only progressed in Elemental Magic but also in nature control magic, managing to manipulate the nature around him with his mana. Now, Aquiles stood in the center of the forest, and the trees, vines, and even the grass around him were being controlled by him, twisting and turning as he tried to capture Luna, who was attempting to hit him.

Dodging a vine controlled by Aquiles, Luna saw an opening forming ahead and advanced to strike Aquiles and end the fight. They had been fighting for over half an hour, and she was starting to get tired. As she advanced through the gap that had formed, the grass beneath her feet gave way, revealing a circular hole deep enough to cover her leg up to the knee.

"Well thought out. You left the path open to lure me into it and created a trap. But it's still not enough!" Luna thought, using magic to step on the air before her foot entered the hole. Then she began to run, stepping on the air, step after step toward Aquiles.

Aquiles's eyes widened at the sight. Surprise was all that was in them. He was so surprised that he didn't even think to counterattack with his magic. Thus, Luna quickly approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You lost!" Luna affirmed with a smile.

"What kind of sneaky magic was that? And why didn't you teach me?" Aquiles inquired, and the surprised expression on his face turned into one of doubt.

"This magic is a variant of the magic used for gliding. As for why I didn't teach you, it's because I only developed it a few days ago. Later, I will teach you. It's not so difficult; it just requires compressing the air until it becomes dense enough to be stepped on. Once you learn to do that, it will be easy." Luna explained as Aquiles stopped using magic, and the nature around them ceased to move.

"It seems I didn't pass your test." Aquiles stated, crestfallen, as he shook his head slightly in disappointment.

"No, you passed your final test!" Luna admitted.

Aquiles lifted his head, looking at Luna. "I passed? But I lost the fight." Aquiles countered with a confused expression.

"You didn't need to win, just to endure in a fight against me for 10 minutes, but you endured for over half an hour. That's already enough." Luna affirmed, smiling gently at Aquiles.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me in the past 5 years, Master!" Aquiles sincerely thanked, bowing at a 90-degree angle towards Luna with total respect in his voice and expression.

Luna touched Aquiles's shoulders gently. "Rise, it's time to go back." With these words, Aquiles and Luna left the forest, walking and discussing the magic of walking in the air. Luna called the magic 'Walk in The Wind' as she taught it to Aquiles. Thanks to everything he had learned in the past 5 years, Aquiles only took 2 days to master 'Walk in The Wind' and as there was nothing more to learn, it was time to depart.

"You leave tomorrow, don't you?" Luna inquired as she watched Aquiles grilling a fish caught from the waterfall with fire magic.

"Yes, tomorrow marks exactly 5 years since I started training. I'll leave as soon as the sun rises!" Aquiles spoke, his voice firm, but his determination not so much. The 5 years in that place were good years, and he was slightly hesitant to leave.

Luna moved her hands inside her garments and pulled out a small bag made of a green material that Aquiles didn't know what it was. But as he looked at it with his Golden Eyes, he was surprised by the amount of mana concentrated within it. Luna extended the moss bag to Aquiles and said: "This is a parting gift."

Aquiles took the green bag and reached inside to see what was there. He saw that they were seeds, and these seeds were so imbued with mana that Aquiles was forced to deactivate his Golden Eyes due to how bright they were.

"You mentioned that the place you're going to is arid, where few plants grow. Well, I can assure you that even a single one of these seeds can help you change that."

"What kind of seeds are these? I've never seen seeds like this." Aquiles inquired with doubt as he rolled one of the seeds between his index finger and thumb.

"They're not fruit-bearing seeds, they're mana seeds. They don't yield any trees, fruits, or the like. They serve to make the soil fertile, ridiculously fertile. Plant one every 100 km apart from each other, then you can plant whatever you want in the soil, and it will grow!" Luna affirmed with pride and absolute confidence.

Aquiles felt a deep sense of gratitude welling up in his heart. "Thank you!" Aquiles said as he placed the seed back into the green bag and then quickly hung it beside his pouch of gold.

"Since you're leaving in the morning, I think I should depart as well. I must join my mother and brothers to help reinforce the spells on the wall," Luna said as she rose to her feet. "Goodbye, Aquiles."

"Until we meet again, master," Aquiles spoke with respect as Luna departed toward the forest. After Luna disappeared into the woods, Aquiles gazed at the fire for a few moments, a mixture of emotions flooding his heart as he reminisced about the past 5 years; he hadn't even left the forest yet, but he already felt a sense of longing.

The next day, as dawn broke, Aquiles looked at the wall and saw all the numbers he had written since arriving at the place; that was his way of marking the passage of time. Following tradition, Aquiles picked up the transparent, shining stone he had found on the first day he discovered the cave and began to scratch a number on the wall.

"It's time to leave this place..." Thought Aquiles, feeling a twinge of sadness after finishing scratching the number 1,825 on the wall. Then, he exited the cave and used his magic to create a wall of earth that completely sealed the cave entrance. Aquiles didn't want anyone to find his home. Besides being his home, in the future, it could become a potential diamond and gemstone mine if the stone in his pocket was indeed a diamond.

Aquiles then mounted his horse and set off. He planned to return to the road and head to White Harbor, and from White Harbor, straight to Braavos. In the five years he spent training, he had thought about many things, including the consequences of his presence. Therefore, to keep the future as close as possible to what he knew, Aquiles decided to stay as far away from Westeros as possible until the day Robert Baratheon went north, and only then would he begin to intervene.