Sitting against a tree at the garrison, basked by its shade, Nicholas hummed pleasantly as he intricately moved his pencil against his sketchpad. With each movement of his hands, the current drawing he was working on became more developed, showing his beautiful artistic skill. Hearing the birds chirping, the leaves rustling in the wind, and the sound of his pencil all brought him a sense of serenity, making him feel relaxed.

  However, another sound was emitting around Nicholas, which some would find distracting, but Nicholas wasn't bothered by it at all. Hearing metal clash against metal and magic being released, Nicholas looked up at the two figures before him and smiled.

  Elianna had a determined expression as she quickly dashed across the garrison's lush green grass. Wrapped in her mana guard, Elianna moved with ease as she moved around her opponent, who was just standing there, eyeing Elianna confidently.

  Lucian's eyes were locked on his daughter as he stood in place, only pivoting to keep his daughter in front of him as she dashed around him. Grasping his golden longsword with both hands and wrapped in his mana guard, he carefully watched her movements, waiting for her to strike.

  Elianna's eyes narrowed on her father, seeing she would not be able to gain an advantage by getting behind him using her current technique. So, she decided to kick it up a notch. Coating her body with wind magic, she used the wind to propel herself, moving considerably faster.

  Lucian's eyes widened ever so slightly, seeing his daughter become faster, and he quickly discarded his current technique. He knew he could never continue keeping her in front of him by pivoting at his current pace. He would eventually become dizzy, and his daughter would gain the advantage. So, he decided to go for the offensive option.

  Lucian let go of his sword with his left hand, raised his fist into the air, and coated it in a swirl of wind magic. Augmenting his arm, Lucian slammed his fist on the ground, sending out a shockwave of wind in all directions.

  Elianna's eyes widened at the sudden attack before narrowing with conviction. She quickly pushed her wind magic to her feet and jumped up, pushing the wind out from her soles to move higher into the air.

  As Elianna safely jumped into the air, Nicholas was focused on his current sketch and didn't even notice the wind shockwave until it lightly slammed into him. Nicholas was slightly pushed back into the tree, losing his grip on his sketchpad, which fell onto his lap, and his hair blew all over the place. Nicholas sat there, stunned and blinking for a few moments before he narrowed his eyes and sighed. "Typical."

  Fixing his hair, Nicholas picked up his sketchpad and continued drawing.

  While Nicholas was dealing with his own problems, Elianna narrowed her eyes on her father as she jumped into the air. She watched as her father got into an attack stance, preparing to dash forward to where Elianna was expected to land. However, Elianna had other ideas. Maneuvering herself in the air, Elianna faced her father and pushed wind magic out from her feet, propelling toward her father like a lawn dart.

  Lucian's eyes widened in surprise at Elianna's sudden attack, but also felt a little worried. While it was definitely an unexpected move on her part that could catch her adversary off guard, Lucian was concerned that Elianna would crash into the ground from her momentum and get hurt. But he also knew he needed to have confidence in his daughter and believe in her skill. So, he discarded his current offensive stance and took a more defensive approach.

  Elianna closed in on her father, easily coating her sword in water magic. She had been initially surprised at how easily she could push her magic into her current sword. It was like her sword answered her very will. Not to mention how light it was, increasing her movement and attack speed and preventing her arm from getting tired. There was also the curious fact that even though the mana gem on her current sword was as big as her previous one, this sword seemed to amplify her magic more, resulting in her using less magic than before. Elianna was curious as to why that was but didn't question it, as she was just so happy with her new weapon.

  Elianna grasped her sword with both hands as she kicked in the air, maneuvering her body with magic so she was now upright. She raised her sword above her head and swung it down toward her father with all her might. She knew she could go all out against her father since he could handle it, seeing that he was a 9th-level magic user. However, she also knew that meant he was holding back against her a lot, which she didn't mind. She was just happy to be able to spar with him again.

  Lucian smiled, seeing his daughter's skillful movement and how far she had come in her swordsmanship and fighting style. He truly missed the days in which he could train with his daughter every day, so he was making sure they both had fun today.

  Coating his sword in fire magic, Lucain raised his longsword just in time to block Elianna's strike. A shockwave and a cloud of steam exploded from their clash, and Elianna was knocked back. Lucian quickly got into a defensive stance with his sword pointed down and pushed wind magic out from around him like a dome, clearing the steam. With his vision clear, he watched as his daughter safely landed before him, skidding to a halt before taking an offensive stance.

  Lucian watched as Elianna leaned to the right, and Lucian prepared to pivot, thinking she was going to dash off again. However, her next movement caught him by surprise as she shifted her left foot forward. Ice magic swirled around her foot before shooting out toward him, leaving a spiked icy trail in its wake. Lucian quickly took a few steps back, but it was too late. The ice quickly surrounded both his legs and the tip of his sword, freezing him and his weapon in place.

  Lucian smirked, thinking it was a good technique. However, she failed to consider one thing. Looking back at his daughter, he watched as she quickly dashed toward him using her augmented strength, with a look of victory in her eyes. He knew that she thought she had him trapped, and her overconfidence was clouding her judgment.

  Elianna's lips curved slightly, thinking she had her father in a corner. Grasping the hilt of her sword with both hands, she coated her sword in ice magic and prepared herself for a horizontal strike. As she closed in on him, she swung her sword, aiming for his side, thinking she had won. But not even a second later, her eyes widened in horror.

  Fire magic burst out from Lucian, coating his entire body and his weapon, melting the ice around him. Moving quickly and precisely, he swung his sword up vertically, clashing his blade against his daughters with his augmented strength. A blast of steam exploded from the collision, and Elianna lost the grip of her sword, which went flying to the side.

  Lucian quickly sidestepped, moving out of the way as Elianna stumbled forward before falling to her hands and knees. Lucian sighed as he dismissed his fire magic and his mana guard and stored his sword in his spatial ring. He calmly walked over to Elianna's sword and picked it up.

  Elianna breathed heavily, remaining on her hands and knees, as she stared at the lush green grass beneath her in disbelief. She had been so sure she was going to win this time, but she had lost at the last second. The excitement she had felt mere moments before was gone, replaced by dejectedness.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  With a deep sigh, Elianna got to her feet, brushing her hands and knees off as she deactivated her mana guard. Hearing her father approach from behind her, Elianna spoke in a low voice, "Where did I go wrong?"

  Lucian was quiet for a moment, seeing his daughter was feeling down. Thinking of the right words, he calmly said, "It's okay to be confident in our skills and abilities. But sometimes, overconfidence can be our undoing."

  Elianna's brows furrowed. She turned to look at him, "Huh? I lost because of overconfidence?"

  Lucian nodded, "Indeed. I could see it in your eyes. You thought you had me trapped, and you went for the obvious strike." Lucian smiled as he comfortingly placed his hand on her shoulder, "It's why we always need to be wary of our opponent. Even a trapped animal can be deadly if not treated with caution."

  Elianna's eyes fell, contemplating her father's words, "So, never let your guard down, even in the face of victory."

  "Correct," Lucian said and held out Elianna's sword to her.

  Elianna nodded, took the sword by its handle, and smiled at her father. "I understand." Her smile turned into a smirk as she said, "So, do you want to go again? I'm sure I can beat you this time."

  Lucian chuckled, "You think so, huh? You sure you're not being overconfident?"

  Elianna shook her head, "Nope. I'm su-" Her voice trailed off as she noticed the figure approaching them from the headquarters building. Elianna frowned, looked to the side, and sighed, "Never mind. You're about to be busy again."

  Lucian's brows furrowed at his daughter's change of demeanor and her words. Hearing footfalls behind him, Lucian turned around, and he realized what she meant as he observed Maurus approaching them.

  Lucian sighed, "What is it, Maurus."

  "Gavaria," Maurus said, his eyes flicking between Elianna and Lucian. "Their rangers returned, and they sent us a report."

  Lucian's eyes fell, knowing this was something that couldn't wait. With a saddened expression, he looked at Elianna, "I-"

  "I know," Elianna said, looking to the side. She was motionless and silent for a moment before she looked at her father with a forced smile. "It's okay, I understand."

  Lucian eyed his daughter before he sighed, knowing she didn't want to show him how sad she was that he had to leave. He gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead, "See you later."

  Elianna nodded and watched as her father turned and walked off with Maurus. She maintained her smile as she watched her father ascend the headquarters building steps. However, once he was gone and inside the building, her frown returned, and she let out a somber sigh.

  Elianna waved her sword lazily and dejectedly a few times, wishing her father didn't have to be pulled away. With a mental sigh, she looked toward Nicholas to see if he was still drawing.

  As Elianna's eyes settled on Nicholas, she watched as he glanced at her before looking at his sketchpad. A few moments went by before Nicholas glanced at her again, then looked back at his sketchpad and continued drawing. Elianna's eyes narrowed on him suspiciously, watching him for a few moments as his eyes darted between her and the sketchpad.

  Storing the sword in her dimensional ring, Elianna began to approach Nicholas and asked, "What are you doing?"

  Nicholas' eyes shot to Elianna, seeing her approach, and froze. His eyes flicked to his sketchpad again before clearing his throat and closing the sketchpad. He smiled and looked at her, "Oh, nothing. Just drawing."

  Elianna stopped, standing in front of Nicholas, looking at him curiously, "What are you drawing?"

  Nicholas shrugged, "Eh, nothing really. Just stuff."

  Elianna raised a brow, "Just stuff?" She looked at the sketchpad, then back to him. "Can I see it?"

  "No," Nicholas said, faster than he meant to, which caught Elianna's attention. Nicholas quickly smiled, "It's just that it's not finished yet."

  Elianna eyed him for a moment, "I don't mind."

  Nicholas shook his head, "An artist never reveals his work until it's done."

  Elianna fell silent, staring at Nicholas as he smiled at her. Eventually, she just shrugged, "If you say so."

  Nicholas watched as Elianna walked over and took a seat beside him. He smiled, watching as she leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes, "Nice job with your practice today."

  Elianna's soft-looking lips curved, "Thanks."

  Elianna's eyes opened ever so slightly, and her gaze flicked to the sketchpad in Nicholas' lap. She heard him say something but paid him no mind.

  Nicholas looked at Elianna curiously, wondering if she had heard his question. He was about to ask again but went wide-eyed and yelped as she lunged at him.

  Elianna laughed playfully as she landed on top of Nicholas, reaching for the sketchpad. He let out a lighthearted yelp as he raised his arm above his head, keeping the sketchpad out of her reach.

  Elianna laughed happily as she crawled on top of Nicholas, reaching for the sketchpad, "Just let me see it!!"

  Nicholas had a wide, joyful smile on his face as he laughed, "No!"

  They both continued to struggle for the sketchpad, with Elianna on top of Nicholas, their bodies intertwined, both laughing gleefully.

  "I just wanna see it!"

  "No, you can't!"

  "Pretty please!"

  "No!"

  "Pretty please, with a cherry on top!"

  "N-"

  "What are you two doing?"

  Nicholas and Elianna froze, their faces inches away from each other. Slowly and simultaneously, they looked toward the voice, seeing Freya standing there with a wide grin.

  Freya chuckled slightly and said in a light voice, "Are we disturbing you?"

  Elianna and Nicholas slowly looked back at each other, only now processing how close they were. Both of their faces turned apple red, noticing how they could feel each other's breath and feel their body heat through their clothing as their bodies were pressed against each other.

  Elianna's heart nearly skipped a beat, and she quickly pushed herself off Nicholas.

  Nicholas quickly sat up, composing himself, and shot his aunt a shaky smile, "Uh, Aunt Freya! You're back!"

  Freya hid her comical smile and nodded, "I am."

  Nicholas' eyes flicked behind his aunt, and his brows raised, seeing a familiar figure with teal hair, "Zera?"

  Zera smiled and gave Nicholas a wave, "Hello." Her eyes flicked to Elianna, and she smirked. "Hello to you too, Elianna."

  Elianna's face turned warm, and her blush deepened, "H-hello."

  Looking at Nicholas, Freya gestured to Zera, "I asked her to come by and begin training with you since you will be sixteen soon."

  Nicholas looked confused before he smiled excitedly, "So, you're going to let me do field training like Celine did?!"

  Freya smiled and nodded, "Yep."

  Elianna's stomach dropped upon hearing that. She knew what the field training meant since Celine had already done it. It meant that Nicholas would be leaving with Zera for almost a year to gain training experience in the wilds.

  Freya continued, "So, Zera is going to be coming by frequently, so you two can train together. This way, you two can get used to working together."

  Nicholas nodded excitedly, "Cool! When do we start?!"

  Zera smiled, "Right now. We can head over to the first battalion building and begin."

  Nicholas's eyes widened, and he hurriedly placed his sketchpad and pencils into the carrier that Elianna bought him.

  Elianna smiled softly as she watched Nicholas use the bag she had given him. She was glad he liked it. She watched as he stored the bag in his spatial ring and stood up.

  Nicholas looked at Elianna and curiously asked, "Wanna come and watch?"

  Elianna nodded slightly, "Sure."

  Elianna followed the three of them over to the first battalion area before walking over to the treeline and taking a seat. She watched as Freya wished both of them luck before heading toward the building as she had things to do.

  Zera looked at Nicholas and smiled, "So, Freya was filling me in on your progress. She said you have a great concept of basic magic. But how is your combo magic?"

  "It's good," Nicholas said. "Still could use some work."

  Zera nodded and took a step back, "Okay, give me a demonstration."

  Zera took her wand out of her spatial ring and flicked her wrist. Earth magic swirled a few feet away from them before forming three earthen target dummies.

  Nicholas nodded and took his staff out of his spatial ring. He looked toward the earth-made dummies and raised his staff into the air. Ice and lightning magic swirled around each other before forming a lightning-coated icicle the size of a short sword. Lightning seemed to coil around the icicle and radiate electricity inside of it.

  Nicholas tilted his staff slightly, and the icicle flew forward and landed on the grassy floor in front of the target dummies. Three pulses of electricity shot out from the icicle, washing over the dummies before exploding in shards of lightning-coated ice shards.

  Elianna looked at Nicholas and smiled, seeing how happy he was at his successful spell attempt. She knew he had been practicing hard on his magical skills, and it was good to see how his talents had developed.

  However, as Nicholas continued to talk to Zera, Elianna's smile faded, and she brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. While she was glad that Nicholas was excited that he got to experience a new kind of training, she couldn't help but feel sad. After all, with Nicholas gone, she would be alone again.

  Elianna sighed, hating the thought and feeling. So, she continued to smile, wanting to show how happy she was for him.