Chapter 40 Strongest Spell

I woke up the next morning, and then began to work on my exercises. It would once again take a long time, but today was Astra's day to make food. As such, I don't have to worry about it. I will have to worry about it tomorrow though, meaning I should make some heavier weights today. We also still need to go hunting, and dismantle yesterday's hunt. I guess I could let Astra and Ana hunt, while I dismantle, and work on my weights. I'll ask once we finish breakfast.

"Sylvain, breakfast is ready," Astra soon calls me from the kitchen.

"Okay, I'll be out soon." I replied. "Just let me finish my training."

"Okay," was the response I heard. After that, there was nothing, so I continued my training. I soon finished, and went outside to eat breakfast. Like yesterday, they had already finished their food, while mine was still on a plate. I quickly ate the food on the plate, and then handed it to Astra. She promptly went to wash them. Ana and I sat there in silence. I didn't have anything to talk to her about, and neither did she. Soon, Astra came back from washing the dishes.

"So what are our plans for today?" I ask to try to start the discussion.

"We'll need to hunt still, since we haven't gotten 7 weeks worth of food," Astra said.

"Don't forget that the 7 weeks worth of food is only for Sylvi," Ana says. "We will still need to hunt more for us."

"You're right about that," Astra replies. "That means we will have to hunt for longer."

"We will also have to dismantle our previous hunt," I then say.

"You are right," Ana says. "There is just so much to do, and so little time to do them."

"Why don't you guys do the hunt," I then tried to suggest what I was thinking about during my training. "While you are hunting, I'll dismantle yesterday's hunt."

"Okay." "That's fine."

I was momentarily shocked by their words. I thought for sure that Astra would have wanted to do the dismantling. I also didn't expect Ana to just immediately agree with me. I was prepared to persuade them if they said no, but now all those arguments are useless. Well, at least I got what I wanted.

"Okay, since that's decided, I'll go start dismantling," I said before quickly leaving the room. I went to the dismantling/storage area. Once there, I found that all the demonic beasts had already been taken out of the magic bag. The magic bag was also placed by the pile of demonic beasts. I remembered Astra saying she would just put the bag on the dismantling desk. I didn't expect her to empty the bag first. Astra also followed me to the dismantling/storage room. She retrieved the magic bag, before exiting. Once she left, I began to work on the dismantling.

"O spell of wind, form from my hands a sharp dagger that follows my movements to dismember my enemies. O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."

I chanted my reinforcement spell, and my dismantling dagger. The dismantling dagger was needed to dismantle the bodies, while the reinforcement spell would help quicken the process. My mind had already split up into the 4 tasks of channeling both spells, dismantling the bodies, and thinking of magic circles. Only after my mind was split up into doing these tasks did I actually start the dismantling process.

I placed a body onto my desk. Once it was there, I looked for the wounds that had killed it. Most of them were aimed at universal weak spots, so the head, heart, or lungs. This made finding the wounds easier. Once I found the wounds, I would then separate the skin and fur from the meat. Once I had finished separating them, I would set the skin and fur to the side. The skin and fur would come out as one piece, since creating a new wound to dismantle from was too time consuming. My dismantling skills were good enough to do such an action, and since it saved time, of course I would do it.

With the fur and the meat separated, I then worked on separating the meat from the bones. I would make long cuts where the bones were, and then take them out from those long cuts. I would find the bones, by feeling the meat, squishing it to search for hard areas within. This method of dismantling was very quick and efficient, as the bones would come out with minimal meat sticking to it. Of course, this entire process was very quick because the blood had already been drained. Astra really did a lot of work yesterday, even though she didn't have to.

I continued doing this until all of the demonic beast's bodies had been dismantled. I had made piles of skin and fur, meat, and bones. With that, it was easier to place the pieces in the storage room. I then began to move everything to their designated spot in the storage room. I had already stopped channeling my dismantling dagger, and kept the remaing mind space for future use. I still kept channeling my reinforcement spell, as that would make sorting things easier. It didn't take long for me to finish storing everything.

With everything stored, I decided to head outside so I could see the time. I poked out, but the sun wasn't high in the sky. This meant that I hadn't taken long to dismantle the demonic beasts. I should have at least known that it wasn't lunch, since my stomach didn't rumble. Well, since I finished dismantling, and there seems to be plenty of time till lunch, I could now work on my stronger weights. These stronger weights would need to be made of stone. After all, we have no metals to make them from. I went to my room to get the stone from the wall. I just decided to try a random wall. I doubt I'll carve myself into another cave.

"O spell of wind form from my hands a mighty blade that follows my movements to destroy my enemies."

I chanted my spell sword, and then plunged it into a wall. I then began to move it in a circle, just like last time. Once that was done, I stopped channeling the spell sword. While this was happening, my reinforcement spell was still active, as that made the entire process easier. Once that was done, I then began to focus the reinforcement spell on my hands, to provide them with a greater strength. It was just like when I focused the reinforcement spell on my legs to give me a greater speed.

With this greater strength, I began to pull the rock from out of the wall. I actually had to pull pretty hard, which meant that it was connected to the cave. This also meant that I wasn't accidentally breaking into another part of the cave. This is great, since I really didn't want another cave to explore. We still haven't finished exploring the one I had recently found, and adding another would just be too much.

With my strength, I was able to force the rock I had cut out. The ends where it was still connected with the cave had become sharp, but I didn't really need them. In fact, the stone I have might be too big. I'm sure that I will be able to make all the weights I need with this big chunk. However, I will have a lot of extra stones if I only made 4 weights. I eventually decided to just turn the entire chunk into weights. It wasn't a loss for me, as I could wear them to increase the training intensity, or even give them to Ana and Astra to help them train. Of course, the ones given to Ana and Astra needed to be customized to fit them, but that could be done later.

With that decided, I began to make the weights. I used a similar process as when I made the wooden weights. I just hollowed out the inside of the weight, making sure that there was enough space for my arm or leg to fit in. Once that was done, I smoothed it out, so my arm would fit inside comfortably, and so the weight of the weights would be evenly distributed, so I could keep my balance. After that was done, I split it down one side. Then, I gathered some leather that we had in storage so I could make the adjustable strap.

I repeated this process until I had used up all of the stone that I had removed from the wall. I was able to make 13 stone weights from the stone. I immediately placed 1 on each of my limbs, leaving 9 weights unused. I could give some to Ana and Astra, but it wouldn't really help them. These weights were made with my form in mind, so it would only be helpful to them if they turned into their human forms. Even then, I'm not sure if they can grow stronger through training. Sure, since I can, they should be able to, but I don't know if that is the case for demonic beasts. We'll just see what happens.

I finished making the weights, and went outside to see what time it was. However, my stomach rumbled at that exact moment, signifying lunch. I decided to quickly grill some meat for myself. After all, I didn't know if Astra and Ana would come back for lunch. If they do great, but I don't know if they will. Also, I don't feel like waiting for food, especially when my stomach is rumbling. So, I just grilled up a piece of meat. With the heating magic circle, I was able to do so quickly, but I only made enough for me, as I didn't know if they were coming back.

Once I had finished cooking, I began to eat the food. I soon finished the food, but Astra and Ana hadn't shown up. They will come back by the end of the day. They also are strong and smart enough to survive in the forest, so I am not worried about them. However, it is kind of boring being here all alone. Especially since I have finished all of my tasks. Dismantling is done, and I had finished creating my own weights, which actually worked amazingly well. They forced me to use more power for simple tasks, and I could already tell that they would be very effective at increasing my training intensity.

However, there is nothing for me to do, and no one to talk to. I could go into my room, and research magic circles, but I feel I would just be disappointed if I do so. After all, one part of my brain has been thinking about this for a while now, and there have been no results. I could try to make a new spell, but I can't think of any new spells to create. I feel like I have spells for every situation. Sure, my detection spell needs work, but it does get the job done. I also have no idea how I will improve it. I can't even practice using one spell through our mana links, as that would use up Astra and Ana's mana.

Thinking back, I realized that I could have used our mana links to find Astra and Ana when we were separated. After all, the connection does give us a general location of each other, and this works even with the hiding spell active. As such, I didn't need to use the detection spell to find them. In fact, we can probably use this connection to find each other, without needing a leaf. I guess I've been thinking of the links as a way to transfer mana, and, as a result, haven't been using them to their full potential.

Anyways back on track. I can't use our mana now as that will interrupt their mana flow, which would be really detrimental in a battle. So, I really have nothing to do, except wait for their return so I can dismantle their hunt. I went into my room to wait. I didn't wait long though, as I remembered my resolve. I remembered the resolve I had to protect his new family, and now I was growing complacent. I wasn't even strong enough to feasibly beat the king or the queen. I shouldn't be squandering this time, and should be using it to train.

Regaining my resolve, I decided to try my strongest spell out. The spell that got me the recognition of the king, and also left me bedridden for weeks. I don't know exactly what the spell can do, but since it got the recognition of the king it should be strong. If I am able to cast it without any pain, then I should have enough power to protect my family. I also need to do it in conjunction with my reinforcement spell, as that was what actually got the recognition of the king.

"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."

I chanted my reinforcement spell first, but hesitated on the other one. I still remembered the pain that I had felt when I used it. It was a very painful experience that was still engraved within me. The burning of my body from the fire elements, the chaos within my body from my mana going out of control, and the horrible mental pain caused from trying to keep the chaotic mana under control. However, I need to make sure that I can use this spell. As such, I chanted it.

"O spell of fire, combine with the wind as a mighty blade of water that follows my movements to destroy my enemies."

The sword once again began to form in front of me. It looked exactly like I remembered it. A completely red sword with traces of blue and green flowing inside it. I reached out my hand, and grabbed it. There was some pain, but it wasn't as bad as I remember it. I couldn't feel any heat when I grabbed it. Also, while my mana was chaotic, trying to stop the spell, I could control it easier. I wanted to think of why this is, but I could feel my mana draining at an insane rate, trying to keep the chaos under control. I also realized that Ana and Astra probably felt a huge chunk of their mana leaving them. I hope they weren't in an intense battle.

I couldn't think of this for long, as my mana was rapidly growing more chaotic, causing me to use more mana to suppress it. I just swung the sword at the wall, and then canceled the spell after I finished my strike. However, that one strike took 40% of my mana. I would have to assume that Ana and Astra lost 60% of their mana. While I would have to use a larger amount of mana to get through the distance, they do have a greater amount of mana than me, so 60% is an accurate guess. While this is a lot of mana gone from them, they should have more than enough to flee, if they were fighting. Also, since I used this spell, they would come back to the base. After all, they both know I wouldn't use their mana unless I really needed to.

I felt a little bad for ruining their hunt, but I felt like this needed to be done. I needed to know if I could handle this spell, and what kind of damage this spell could do. I could now handle this spell, but from the amount of mana I lost, I could only use it to strike twice. I then looked over at where I cut. I had thought that I hadn't cut anything, as when I swung, I had felt no resistance. However, I could see a long, thin gash in the wall. It followed the trajectory of my swing perfectly, and I could even feel some heat emanating from it.

This is very insane, and I could now understand why it got the recognition of the king. This spell actually cut through the rock of the cave effortlessly. The rocks in the Forest of Calamity are naturally imbued with mana. As such, they are stronger and harder than normal rocks. In fact, their hardness should be comparable to steel. However, my spell was able to effortlessly cut through them. If it can cut through this hard rock, then it can practically cut through anything. Armor and demonic beats fur won't be able to protect from this spell.

However, even though it is extremely powerful, it costs too much mana. I would at max be able to use it twice. However, most of the time I would only be able to use it once, since I don't have a great grasp in using one element through our mana links. This would severely limit the elemental mana that I need from Astra and Ana, especially if they are far away from me. I also can't keep the spell up for long, since my own mana would become chaotic. I'm guessing my multitasking skill has helped out here, but the spell would still become chaotic after a while. I would have to get to 5 tasks. 1 for the reinforcement spell, 1 for the wind mana, 1 for the fire mana, 1 for the water mana, and then the last to suppress the chaos.

After I do all of this, I should be able to keep this spell up infinitely. After all, it doesn't need me to constantly channel mana, since it is based on the spell sword, which doesn't need to channel mana. It only needs that first amount to activate the spell, and my mental force to keep it together. I've just been using mana to supplement my lacking mental force. It could possibly get even stronger if I am able or do 6 tasks, since I could then use my mana drain spell with it. That would definitely increase its power, but will have to wait for a while. Astra and Ana then came in from the cave entrance. They came in at a high speed looking around anxiously. They vigilantly scanned the area, and upon seeing only me, cried while embracing me. They were in their fox forms, so I petted them while they were crying.

"It's fine, I'm okay," I said as I petted them.

It took a little bit of time, but they eventually calmed down. I could see some injuries on them. I most likely distracted them when I used mana through our mana links. This is what most likely led to their injuries, as nothing in this forest should be able to threaten them.

"Let's clean you guys up first," I said as I carried them to the underground river. Even though their human forms have a similar height to mine, their fox forms are much smaller. In fact, they can sit on my shoulder in their fox forms. They also weigh less in their fox forms, and with my training, it was easy to carry them. I'm not entirely sure, but I think I remember hearing they can change the size of their human forms, but I'm not sure if that extends to their fox forms. Either way, it doesn't matter.

I carry them to the river, and then begin to wash them. I use plenty of water, and thoroughly get out any blood I can find. Once that was done, I began to brush my fingers through their fur. I definitely need to make an actual brush so I can brush their fur. Even more so now, since I promised I would help them brush their tails. I'll have to make the brush later, along with all the other things I need to do. After the first washing session, their tears had dried, and they began to ask me questions.

"Why did you use our mana sylvi?" Ana asked first. Astra didn't ask anything, but she also wanted to know.

"Remember when the king came, and I had to do two trials to allow the both of you to stay?" I ask in response.

"Of course." "I won't forget that."

"Well, I tried out the spell again," I said. I had already told them about the spell beforehand. As such, they know what I am talking about. They also know the effects that it had on me last time.

"Weren't you bedridden for weeks after using it?" Ana asks once she has finished comprehending what I said. "Why would you try out that spell?"

Astra nodded vigorously to Ana's questions. I was clearly going to have to answer them.

"I wanted to see what my strongest strength would be like," I replied. "Besides, this spell got recognition from the king, yet I had never seen it before. I needed to test it out."

"What if you were bedridden again?" Astra asks. "We still have that other cave area to explore, so you shouldn't be taking any risks."

"Well, what is done is done," I reply. "I won't take similar risks in the future, and first discuss things like this with the both of you. Let's move on from this, and start dismantling bodies."

"Fine." "Okay." The both of them responded, yet they seemed disgruntled. It seems like they really hated what I did. I still feel like it was worth it though, since I now know how strong that spell is. As I was thinking this, I went down to the dismantling/storage area with Astra. She had the magic bag, and began to unload its contents on the floor.

"Do you want to let out the blood, or just dismantle it as it is?" I asked after everything was taken out. It wasn't as much as we got yesterday, but that is to be expected. They don't have me to guide them, nor do they have my help in combat. They also don't have as much time as we had yesterday. While they could make up for the guidance, the other two factors can't be made up for, so there were significantly less bodies.

"Let's let out the blood," Astra says after thinking about it for a while.

I don't question her, and immediately begin to let out the blood. Soon, I had finished placing all the bodies in a way in which their blood would naturally flow out. It would also flow down towards the underground river, and then be swept away with the current. It didn't take to long to do all that. After all, there were less bodies than yesterday, and the both of us were working on this thing together.

There was nothing else for me to do so I said, "call me for dinner."

Once I said that, I left and headed to my room. I didn't even wait for a response. Once inside my room, I immediately began to train my multitasking skill, and my use of only one element through our mana links. Of course, one part of my mind was still reserved for studying magic circles. I trained until I was called out to dinner. I felt like I had made major progress in my use of only one element through our mana links. I was now able to control another element while I still had 85% of my mana.

I quit my training, and then walked out into the kitchen. Astra and Ana were already there, and had already started to eat. I joined them, and also began to eat the food prepared. Astra made the food, and while not as good as Ana's, her food was still amazing. I quickly ate it all, and then went to bed.