...
In the southern part of the Sol Empire's base operations, some soldiers can be seen undergoing rigorous training under the two beasts
The training pn was thought out carefully by none other than Lura, and had been delegated to Hikari
Part of this pn was having a rotational training. Training 25% each of the current soldiers that Sol Empire has on different hours, the others that aren't training actively is either stationed to patrol and guard one of the borders, or is given a rest for a quite period of time
This is to ensure that not only it enhances the military might overtime, but it also ensures the safety and security of the citizens
Adventurers that chose to stay in Sol Empire may also join in the training for free, given if they wanted to of course
Mashiro handled out the physical and melee combat activities, while Lura handled the magical and mid to long range combat activities
Hikari and the others handled out the administrational paperwork as well as they join in the training from time to time
It has been a week since the training pn had been active, but everything was going smoothly as anticipated
*CLANG!*
One of the men's sword flew from his hands
"Ah!- Uck?!"
Before he could even react, a fist was already in front of his face
"See? What I told you earlier?"
"..."
Mashiro then pulled away her fist, and raises her other hand, signalling the combat simution to halt
"Anticipate your enemies' moves. Not everything you see in front of you is what the enemy will do. An enemy can be unpredictable at times. You can be unpredictable at times. Always think ahead in battle because that will save your life in many situations"
"! Understood!"
A murmur can be heard in the distance
"Ever since that girl trained us, we've been getting beaten up..."
"But you cannot deny the fact that its helping us"
"Of course it does! She's a Demicat! Beasts capable of fighting thousands of powerful people!"
"But I have to say..."
"...?"
"...Are all Demicats this cute?"
"..."
The trio looked at Mashiro, to which Mashiro looked back
"?!"
Flustered, they looked away in an instant
"What are you guys standing in there for? Its your group's turn!"
"! Y-Yes!"
They said, fidgeting as they walked towards Mashiro
...
"Geez...is she really this strict towards them?"
...Yet she's so sweet around Leader...
She then looks over to the one's she's teaching
"..."
They still haven't gotten a hold of their mana control...but they're getting to it
The mages and some knights who had potential were taken in by me to harness their mana and utilize it to make it more efficient and powerful in battle...
...The problem with the mages right now is the usage of their mana as well as their control in their adapted element. Knights that had potential on the other hand, can cast basic enhancement on themselves, but cannot make it st longer for battle
"If they can't get pass this training first, then how would they able to enhance their spells?"
I said to myself, but then I got reminded of my past...
"..."
...If anything, I'm not the type to half-ass train them either
I cpped my hand to get their attention
"Alright! Mana Control is halted for today, switch to Mana Conservation"
"Understood!"
Unbeknownst to Lura, a murmur about her can be heard as well
"Hey...I gotta ask"
"What now? You're gonna ruin my concentration!"
"Just a small talk is fine isn't it?"
"..."
"Oh? Lemme in on that too!"
"*Sigh...* Just get on with it"
"How come a Lurachnid is working with a Demicat with no issues? Aren't Lurachnids an excluded species?"
"I don't know, and I don't care. Being able to be taught by one is a blessing in disguise by itself"
"That's true...they are known to be good at dark and illusion spells"
"That's one thing, but how come does someone like her know how each element works?"
"I'm more worried at why is someone like her doing around here"
"...Could it be-"
"Hey! I can hear you from here! If you have time to talk, then use it to concentrate more!"
"S-Sorry!"
They all said in unison...
...but that was a lie, I could not hear them from here, it was just that I saw them talking over there about something...
...
"Leader..."
We only see Leader at the Morning before we head on to Sol Empire, and at night after we're doing training
...but we really never know what Leader does while we're not around...
"I wonder what Leader's doing right now..."
I thought to myself, while doing my Extreme Mana Conservation alongside with them...
...
...
...
What the...?
After I was led to the deeper part of the cave, A huge glowing crystal can be seen with all of the mana flow connecting to it
"So this is the thing that's making the boulders turn into ores..."
Everything around the crystal was ores...different kinds of ores. One might even say that it looks like a pce full of treasures
Yet as bountiful as this cave is, its unusual that no one nor creatures can be seen
"What's this crystal doing over here?"
Does every cave have a crystal within them?
"..."
I take a closer look, hoping to be able to touch it
...
"...?"
As if the crystal responding to me, something can be seen within the crystal itself
"Is that..."
From a full blur, to a faint, someone can be seen residing within the crystal
"?!"
A girl, simir to Lura's figure, can be seen, resting in a cat like figure
Although I can see her faintly, the colour of her hair is just like the colour of the crystal...
...blue...
"How...why...is she inside this crystal...?"
I looked to the ends of the crystals, only then to be reminded of something
"! The mana flow!"
If the mana that's turning these boulders into ores is this crystal's doing, then that must mean all of it is coming from her!
Without any hesitation, I used Fatality skill to break her free from the crystal
...
...
...But it didn't work
"What...? Why can't I break the flow?"
I looked for the main flow of the mana, and hit it with Fatality skill once again
"..."
But my attempt was unsuccessful
"What's stopping me to break the main flow?"
I looked to the other flows that I can break, and even tried to simultaneously break them like what I did when I fought Hikari...
...but every attempt that I did failed with no leads
"...Why can't I break it...?"
I took a deep breath and look for other possibilities...
...until
"...?"
I noticed her moving, then opening her eyes slowly
"! Can you hear me?!"
"..."
She looked at me with a sad expression on her face. She reached her hand out towards the crystal afterwards, I instinctively did the same
"Hey...do you remember anything...?"
"..."
She looked around the pce, looking at herself, and then looked at me from head to toe
But didn't say anything
"I guess that's a no..."
She csped her hands together, seemingly doing something
"...?"
Suddenly, the mana flow around us were sending out more mana than before
"?! Don't do that!"
"...?"
Getting confused, she stopped abruptly
"That's going to suck all of your mana. You don't want that, do you?"
"..."
Thankfully, she stopped doing it, instead she just stared at me as I talk
"Just how did you end up inside this crystal? Inside this cave?"
"..."
Just from my question alone, her expression became heavier than it was before
"My bad...I didn't mean anything by that question"
Still...she knew what she was doing...
...Yet she didn't stop on doing it...
If I remember correctly, depleting mana doesn't cost you your life, but it does lessen the lifespan of the caster if he or she does it too often...
...If she's doing this for a long time now...
"..."
"...?"
Even if I ask her now, she won't gonna answer me...
...oh, that's right. How come my Spatial Awareness skill never detected her?
Is it because I didn't perceived her as a threat?
or is it something entirely else?
...
After a few seconds of me standing silent, she put her hand near her heart, and that part started to glow
All mana flow linked to the crystal suddenly sending out more mana than usual
"...!"
It was then that I realized
That I cannot break her free from the crystal
"...No wonder I can't break it..."
"...?"
"Its because you're the main flow"
...
