Chapter 9 - A Bad Teacher

The day passed quickly and night fell. In a clearing between hills, a fire was lit, and soon Sief approached with wooden skewers holding pieces of meat and vegetables. 

"This time you preferred to wait until night... that's different..." He commented, positioning the skewers near the fire. 

"Different is your demeanor suddenly becoming more gentle," Edgar said with a slight smile, clapping his hands after lighting the fire. "Does that mean you were still upset with me for taking the sword?" 

"In a way, but it doesn't matter anymore. At least with this, I'll be able to reach my sister more quickly, but still..." He furrowed his brow and straightened up, looking at the sword. "Why did you keep it? I mean, it was with a monster and it looks rusty, none of the monsters you killed today were by cutting..." 

Sief recalled other fights they had during the day, and Edgar looked at the sword on his back with a slight smile until he spoke again. 

"Some monsters carry weapons with them, the best examples are goblins, but they are useless weapons that no human can use," he drew his blade to the fire and said. "But it's different with hobgoblins, besides, it's not just the sharpness that makes a weapon potent, after all, they also have absorbed mana." 

"How does that make sense? Weapons don't awaken," Sief sat in front of the fire and stared at the pieces of meat. "You said your ability can also fortify your weapon, but..." 

"Weapons don't awaken, that's obvious, but there are blacksmiths who use magic ores to create weapons, thanks to this they have more affinity, a better example of this are scepters and wands. But this one here is also great," he returned the sword to his back and leaned against the tree. "To use my ability, I draw traces with my mana all over my body or at least in the area where I'm going to use it, speeding up the mana flow obviously it will leak, but if I add its purpose to enhance my body, it doesn't leak and does what it has to do." 

Listening to the explanation about the swordsman's abilities, Sief listened attentively and soon showed curiosity saying. 

"It seems pretty simple to me... of course, ignoring the part of dealing with mana that I don't even know where it is in my body..." He looked back at the weapon and said. "Do you do the same with your weapon?" 

"To use an ability you need to visualize and practice, after all, you don't have time to stop and think about something in battle, it has to be natural and becomes stronger as you use it against monsters," he shrugged, still smiling and said. "After all, part of visualization is knowing what it does and seeing it in action solidifies the image of that ability in your mind, as you use it you evolve, so even a basic ability like mine can become strong. The same goes for weapons, I imagine the aspect I desire and mana shapes it... but even if I say so, the monsters around here are too weak for me to show you in practice." 

"They're weak... right?..." 

Edgar smiled wider when he heard the boy's final statement, then extending his arm to the skewer and turning it carefully while Sief pondered. 

"Apparently he was facing monsters when the break occurred, if the monsters around here are weak... I wonder where he was hunting to practice..." He also turned his skewer and concluded. "And I wonder, for what..." 

"I think it's ready." Edgar squeezed the meat with his fingers and took a bite with a smile, blowing on the hot air and enthusiastically saying, "That's what I'm talking about, meat!" 

Still looking uncertain, Sief took his meat skewer and blew on it vigorously before taking a bite. 

As he chewed, the flavor of the meat came through strongly, and he took a bite of a vegetable, blending the flavors together. He fell silent, savoring the intensifying flavors. 

Sief smiled faintly, enjoying all those flavors, while Edgar silently observed. After Sief finished eating, the swordsman spoke. 

"I saw your attributes and then watched you fight to make sure which abilities would be ideal for you." Edgar took the remaining vegetables and meat, stuffing them into his mouth and speaking with a full cheek. "But you need to have in mind the ability you want. As I said, there's a step-by-step process you need to follow to make it more effective." 

"I already have an idea," Sief said, nibbling on the skewer before looking at Edgar with a sheepish smile. "But the way you explained it makes it sound really easy... are you sure it's that straightforward?" 

"Why don't you give it a try then, smartass?" Edgar smiled lightly, leaning back against the tree with both arms behind his head. "There are a few ways you can use your energy. What I learned was feeling the mana and channeling it, but that alone doesn't make an ability. You need to visualize its effect, which gets refined as you use it." 

Sief listened attentively and stopped nibbling on the skewer, pointing it at the ground and writing in the dirt. 

"Okay, feel, channel, visualize?" He rested the skewer against his chin. "I don't know how you figured this out on your own... I've only seen mana used in legends of what magicians can do... but how did you think you could do it too?" 

"Well, I've actually spoken to a few adventurers who passed through the village, either on their way to Dokkel or just to explore the area. But most of them were a bit less of beginners than I was, so I had to figure things out along the way." Edgar shrugged again with a faint smile and tossed his skewer into the fire. "Didn't know you could write, though. Ever thought about reading a book?" 

"The woman who cared for me taught both me and my sister. When we learned, she gave us a fairy tale that told the origin of monsters... but only my sister got attached to it." Sief smiled and also tossed his skewer into the fire. "Besides, books aren't cheap or edible. Couldn't spend money on what I thought were just fairy tales." 

Edgar listened attentively and scratched his chin. 

"Well, how about practicing a bit?" He smiled again, putting both arms behind his head. "I can see at least one way, but it's the best I can do. Creating an ability for an assassin definitely isn't my forte." 

"Alright, I can't rely entirely on help either," Sief said, standing up with a smile and drawing his dagger, holding it up and pointing it forward. But then he frowned slightly and said, "Talking... seems a lot easier... how exactly do I feel the mana?" 

"I thought you were the personification of talent who wouldn't need any help." Edgar also stood up with a smile, wielding his sword. He then touched his abdomen and continued, "Your entire body has mana, but where it largely concentrates is here... Close your eyes and you'll feel it too. Oh, and clear your mind, don't worry about how long it will take." 

Sief listened attentively and then looked at his dagger, remaining silent for a few moments. Slowly, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax. 

Edgar looked slightly surprised but smiled gently, sitting back against the tree once more. 

Once again, Sief found himself amidst emptiness and gradually became aware of his surroundings—the crackling of the fire, the wind rustling the leaves and grass, but mostly his own breath. 

Even after some moments, he sensed nothing. There was no significant change, and he even felt discomfort from being in that state. 

Suddenly, a gentle warmth enveloped his stomach, and as Sief focused, he perceived it like a nearly transparent white flame taking on the form of a human body. 

With his eyes closed, Sief lowered his head and felt as if he could see himself even in this form. Mana permeated his entire body and the surroundings, albeit in much smaller quantities compared to his own body. This revelation made him furrow his brow in slight surprise, while Edgar's smile widened slightly as he observed. 

'Alright... I'm feeling it... now I need to... channel it...' 

He raised his hand where the dagger was, but despite feeling it, he could only sense its presence with his eyes closed. 

'Make... traces...' 

Although he visualized it, Sief furrowed his brow even more as he tried to imagine traces forming from his arm to the dagger. However, the white flame didn't move, prompting him to tense his abdomen in an attempt to move it, yet still without success. 

Edgar continued to smile, and after a few moments, Sief lowered his head, panting, and placed his hands on his knees as he recovered. 

Seeing this, Edgar chuckled and remarked, "Forgot to breathe, didn't you?" 

Sief still couldn't speak and breathed heavily. Allowing him to recover, Edgar stretched his arms upward, leaning back and finally saying, "Don't rush it. With what I've taught you, you can already develop an ability; it just takes practice." He leaned on the ground and lay on his side facing Sief. "But if you want to keep practicing, I won't stop you. Just remember, we're leaving early tomorrow morning, and I won't be giving any more hints." 

"Okay..." Sief replied, still with his head down, seeming to recover. He nodded and added, "You can sleep." 

The swordsman gave an even more cheerful smile, then quickly gave Sief a thumbs-up as a sign of encouragement before turning over and resting his head on his arm. 

In a few moments, Sief heard a soft snore, furrowing his brow as he lifted his head, thinking, 'He... fell asleep?'