The clash of our training swords echoed down the grassy hill. I usually had an easy victory over Kuro whenever we sparred, but his sister was an entirely different caliber. Her strikes were fast, strong and gracious, with no unnecessary movements or hesitations to be found.

  It was like an endless stream of flowing water, clashing against my defenses and grinding them down like a rock in the raging current of a river. Layla had picked one of the hills right next to the village as the spot for our training, mostly because it was quiet and secluded, and protected us from prying eyes. I was relieved that Layla had agreed to train the three of us in basic combat to prepare us for our upcoming journey. As the third strongest adventurer in the kingdom, she could teach us many things, even in the limited time we had.

  Layla’s sword whistled through the air in a downward arc. I barely dodged in time, the blade grazing past my shoulder.

  “Focus Ryu,”she said, her voice sharp. “Whatever you’re thinking about is not important right now. Forget everything and just focus on me and my sword.”

  Before I could answer, she already took her next swing at me and grazed my cheek with the tip of the training blade. Even though it was made out of wood, the tip was sharp enough to penetrate my skin and draw a trickle of blood. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the hundreds of thoughts in my head. I had to take this seriously, she was completely right. I raised my training blade and took the initiative, attacking her with a quick stab followed by an upward slash. She dodged the stab and blocked the slash with ease, leaving me in an open and vulnerable position.

  Before I could recover, Layla's boot struck my chest, sending me to the ground. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, and I groaned, clutching my chest. She extended a hand, her wooden sword discarded on the ground, a silent signal that the sparring session was over. I gladly accepted the hand she offered me and rammed my own blade into the ground before taking a minute to admire the view from the top of the hill.

  It had already been a few hours since Shizuka came back and told us about what happened to her mother. Shortly after we managed to calm her down a bit, Layla and Kiyara told us to pack some important things and follow them. They led us to the top of this hill and made us gather wood and stones for a campfire. That was the moment our training had officially begun. I had spent the whole afternoon and evening sparring with Layla, while the other two got some practical training in magic from Kiyara. Deeply lost in thoughts, Layla’s firm voice startled me.

  “Let’s go back to the camp. I’m sure the others have already put down the tent.”

  I nodded and followed along as we made our way through the uneven and rocky terrain. My body was tired and heavy, but a surge of energy filled me as soon as I saw the fire in the distance. Our training spot was a thirty minute walk away from the campsite we picked, making the way back pretty hard after a long training session. The day had been relatively warm, so the ground wasn’t as wet and moist as it had been yesterday. Ten minutes before we arrived at camp, the fire went out. The others must have already been asleep. When we finally arrived, I saw that the others were in the tent, sleeping peacefully.

  “Ryu, It’s time for your last lesson for today. For an adventurer, having a basic understanding of magic is absolutely crucial. That’s why I want you to light a fire using only magic. Focus on what you want to do and get a feeling of the mana flowing through your body.”

  Magic wasn't new to me, I'd tried it before, though only on small things like a candle. But lighting a fire with nothing but mana? That was a whole different challenge. I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth inside me, letting it flow through my veins and into the wood.

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  “Okay, I’ll try my best!”

  I closed my eyes and focused on the warm energy flowing through my body. If this was a stressful situation, I’d probably need a spell to channel the mana, but in this case, I could actually concentrate and make do with my mind alone. I tried to imagine a flame in my mind and let my mana flood out into the wood in the stone ring. There were still embers from the last fire, which made it a lot easier. I focused on those embers and tried to amplify their heat to make the wood burn. I opened my eyes and extended my hands and palms towards the wood. I concentrated harder and let more mana flow out of my body. The mana flowing out of my body was like an extension of my limbs and my senses. As soon as I felt the embers, I channeled everything I had into them until they started glowing brighter, eventually lighting the wood on fire.

  A wave of dizziness hit me, my legs giving out beneath me. Before I hit the ground, I felt Layla's arms catch me, guiding me down gently. She rested my head on something soft and I could feel the warmth of her hand brushing the hair out of my face.

  “Good job, you did it on your first try. I’m actually impressed. You look like you’re about to pass out though.”

  Oh, I would’ve definitely loved to pass out now.

  “No, I’m fine. I’m feeling pretty bad though.”

  My tongue was heavy, and I wasn’t sure if what I wanted to say actually came out of my mouth. The way I was feeling, something like “mpfh-munfh” might have also come out. Layla giggled, but it wasn’t mocking in any way.

  “That is perfectly normal. It happens when you use most of your body’s mana capacity in a short time. Once you get used to using magic, your mana pool will grow and you will have less problems with mana sickness.”

  I tried to sit up, but she pushed me back down. I just now realized that my head had been resting on her lap the entire time.

  “You need to rest, just try to relax. Once the nausea has subsided, you can sit up.”

  I hoped that she wouldn’t see me blush in the orange-red light and the dancing shadows of the fire. I just laid there, my head resting on her lap with her fingers stroking through my hair. If I didn’t have such a deeply rooted respect for her, this might have felt romantic. I was really grateful that she sparred with me, even though she had crushed my dreams of being equal to her by doing so. During all the time I had spent training, trying to catch up to her, I had forgotten that she had gotten stronger as well. I wanted to thank her for training us, and for giving us the opportunity to get to the capital city with the travelling merchants, but my tongue was too heavy to say anything. It felt like a lump of lead, sewed into the inside of my mouth. I would get my chance to thank her properly later, so I just stared into the dancing flame and tried to get my mind to rest for now. From the inside of the tent, I could hear someone stir in their sleep. According to the troubled noises they made, it had to be Shizuka. She had been going through a lot lately. First the shock of being attacked, and then having her mother kidnapped…

  Kuro and I would help her find her mother for sure. She would have done the same for us after all. That was what it meant to be friends. To stick together, in good and bad times.

  “Layla, how can I become strong like you?”

  The words left my mouth without me realizing. The way Layla looked at me, something inaudible just left my mouth. I was actually glad that she didn’t understand me. I didn’t want her to know that she was my hero, the one that I had admired ever since I met her.

  “Nothing, forget about it.”

  Once again, something muffled and inaudible left my mouth. It didn’t matter anyway. We spent some more time at the fire together and Layla told me some stories from back when she was a rookie adventurer. Her stories sounded so exciting, I couldn’t help but feel warmth in my entire body when I thought about my own adventure life. I couldn’t remember clearly, but I fell asleep on her lap at some point. I woke up again when she wrapped the sleeping bag and a blanket around me.

  The moonlight was caught in Layla's white hair, giving it an almost eternal glow. In that moment she didn't just look like a warrior, she looked like something out of a legend. She had saved me once and now she was shaping me into something stronger. I couldn’t await the day when I would finally surpass her. My whole body trembled in anticipation, until I finally fell asleep and set foot into the realm of dreams.