He was on his way out the castle and stepping into the courtyard when he saw Hal again. The short man was leading a training class, teaching people how to use spears on some metal training dummies that were formed in various different monstrous and humanoid shapes. He perked up when he spotted Liam and gestured for someone else to take over so he could go and speak to the budding shaman.

  "Finally had enough of being cooped up in that Rift room?"

  The man asked as he briskly walked over.

  "Yeah, only so much to learn repeating the same thing over and over. Hitting something is much more informative."

  Was Liam's reply.

  "You know you could join us if you want, we have all kinds of weapons if you want to try any of them out."

  "Thank you for the offer, but I wouldn't be able to use any if I tried. My Path doesn't seem to agree with metals."

  "Ah, the axe makes a lot more sense then. Whatever its made out of its definitely not metallic. Anyways, the offer still stands should you ever want it. I'm sure we could source something wood or stone for you."

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Again thank you, but I think I want to just go out and hit something that'll fight back. You know?"

  "Oh well, to each their own. Happy hunting!"

  And with that, the man rejoined the others in practicing, leading by example again and giving words of encouragement and tips to those that needed them.

  Liam smiled, he liked the man. Still, he couldn't take part in the activities had he even wanted to. His Strength, plus the damage bonus from his Merged Spirit meant that despite being able to hold back a significant amount, it wouldn't be enough to avoid anialating any of the metal statues arrayed around the yard, an outcome that lacked the challenge needed for him to enjoy it.

  He was let through the gate after the guards on either side took a look at Hal, who nodded and waved Liam through. By the time he was on the other side of the walls his axe's new Elemental Energy storage was starting to get full so he vented some of the Fire Mana stored within it to make space in the main storage.

  The lecture hadn't touched on Mana at all, but the similar properties between it and the weapon's other energy had allowed him to make some progress towards taming it. It was much easier to learn to control than it's Elemental counterpart and he was already getting the hand of moving it around and shaping it. The only issue was that he still lacked the means or method to manifest it as real, tangible Fire. He knew it was possible after his battle with the Phyris Clan but the ability seemed to elude him.

  He toyed with the excess that was vented off as he traveled further and further afield. The Elementals had been thorough in their cleansing of the nearby area, so he had to go quite far until he saw a potential enemy. Of course, he refused to go back to the graveyard to both mentally distance himself from his first day there and seek out an enemy that would actually challenge him, something he knew none of the undead would do.

  Eventually, he came across the edge of the cleared out zone. The houses cleared and he started seeing beasts roaming about on the horizon. Just as he was about to head off towards what looked to be a lion sized house cat with electricity crackling off its fur, a small elemental made of floating rocks popped up out of the ground not too far from him and waved to get his attention.

  What was this about?