Vol. II Chapter IV: Training

Lucius took a deep breath. His voice was rough as he came back to the present. 

He stared down at his hands.

“…And ever since I met Melissa, jumped through all these portals... transformed into a satyr and back again.... I’ve felt like something inside me has changed.” 

He rubbed his fingers together. 

“And now, since we arrived here, that feeling grew even stronger. I can’t really explain it…”

Aelmir, who had recovered from his initial shock and grief over his ruined cellar, stepped closer again, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

“Let me see your hands, boy.”

The old man slid the magnifying lens over his eye and carefully examined Lucius’ fingers. 

Then he rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a small pouch, and sprinkled a fine, shimmering powder over Lucius’ palms.

“Animor revelathir!” he murmured.

Lucius’ hands began to glow with a vivid purple light, reflected in Aelmir’s magnifying glass.

“Fascinating…” the old man whispered. 

“It seems as though your magical potential has increased exponentially with each interaction between these worlds!”

Marcthain leaned back in his chair, deep lines etched across his forehead.

“Well… that explains quite a lot. But it also raises a hundred new questions."

Lucius opened his mouth to answer, but Marcthain cut him off immediately with a raised hand.

“Let’s save that for next time. What matters now is this: you’re sitting on a massive amount of destructive potential. And right now, we could really use that.”

He rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then his expression sharpened.

“Change of plans.”

He fixed Lucius with a focused stare.

“Lucius, you’ll stay here with Aelmir for the rest of the day and learn as much as you possibly can. Tomorrow at sunrise, I want you on the training grounds at the castell. That’s the big building with the two towers.”

Lucius blinked. Part of him wanted to argue that he’d never asked for any of this, that he wasn’t some tool to be trained and used.

But another part, a strange part deep inside, burned with curiosity.

“Uh… okay,” he managed to say, while Aelmir was still fussing over his glowing hands.

Marcthain headed for the stairs, pausing to look back at him one last time.

“…And bring your wild companion with you next time. Let’s see if she’s really as good at fighting as she claims to be.”

The next few hours, Lucius spent learning the very basics of magic.

Aelmir first made him practice reciting short spell formulas.

Over and over, Lucius had to repeat the words until his teacher was finally satisfied and some of them sounded like downright tongue-twisters. 

Between practice rounds, Lucius scribbled frantic notes on scraps of paper so he could rehearse the proper pronunciation later.

At one point, Aelmir decided to put on a little demonstration. 

He dripped some essence onto a piece of charcoal and spoke:

“Animor creag lapidorath!”

Before Lucius’ eyes, the lump of coal swelled and transformed into a small golem, which immediately began tidying up the wreckage in the cellar on Aelmir’s command.

“I want to learn that too!” Lucius said excitedly.

But the old man snapped at him sternly.

“Haven’t you caused enough destruction already?” he scolded, pointing an accusing finger at the still devastated cellar. 

“First you learn the basics. What good is all your magical potential if you can’t even pronounce the spells and fail in conjuring them?”

After a while, Lucius’ brain felt like mush. 

He slumped down onto a small wooden stool, exhausted, outside, dusk was already falling. 

“Alright, I think that’s enough for today,” Aelmir finally declared.

And so, Lucius made his way back to the inn.

When he reached the tavern, it was already dark.

It was loud and crowded with guests, and the waitresses were busy with work.

Back in their room, Melissa lay sprawled across the bed, half of her upper body dangling over the edge, her hooves still on the mattress. 

She was half asleep, holding an empty mug of ale in her hand.

On the wooden table at the end of the room lay several loaves of bread, chunks of sausage and cheese, or what remained of them.

“Where did all this food come from?” Lucius asked, confused. 

After all, he hadn’t brought anything back himself, still having no gold to spend. 

I hope she didn’t steal anything.

Melissa yawned, rubbing her eyes as she struggled to wake up.

“That human guy dropped it off earlier… what was his name again?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Marcthain?” Lucius guessed.

“Yeah, that’s the one! He was rambling something about a training.”

She gave Lucius a sly look, her amber eyes glinting wickedly.

“So… tell me. Can I finally call you my little wizard now?”

Lucius flashed a playful grin.

“I’m at least… on my way there.”

His gaze slid over her fur-covered thighs. 

At that moment, the mug slipped from Melissa’s slack fingers and clattered noisily across the floor.

She stretched with a low moan, her tail flicking against the bedframe.

“On your way there?” she repeated in a voice still thick with sleep and ale, but there was a dangerous, teasing spark in it.

In one swift, fluid motion, she rolled over, leapt off the bed, and landed on the wooden floor with the soft thud of her hooves.

Lucius’ hands found their way to her hips, feeling the warmth of her fur under his fingers. 

Melissa’s claws curled lightly into his shoulders, tugging him closer until her breath, sweet with ale, brushed his lips.

Suddenly, with surprising strength, she pushed him back against the table, her amber eyes blazing.

“…Then show me what you’ve learned, little wizard,” she murmured, and before he could answer, she kissed him.

And in that moment, everything else fell away. 

All that remained in the silence of the room was the creaking of wood beneath them and the ragged sounds of their breathing.

The next morning, it was a struggle for both of them to crawl out of bed.

All the stress of the past days had finally caught up with them, but new challenges were already waiting. 

Despite every temptation to simply run away, they somehow managed to drag themselves to the training grounds, though it took quite a bit of convincing from Lucius to get Melissa there.

“You’re late,” Marcthain noted, arms crossed, glaring sternly. He wore a heavy chainmail armor now, making him look even more intimidating than in the simple cloak he’d worn the day before.

“We, uh…”

But before Lucius could even explain, something shot toward him with explosive speed and raw animal strength. 

Claws slashed past his face, and he barely managed to dive aside. 

Blood dripped down his cheek from a scratch he hadn’t been able to avoid.

For a split second, he thought it was Melissa, but she stood right beside him, equally stunned, glaring furiously at the attacker who landed several meters away, crouched low on all fours.

“Your reflexes are decent. That’s a good start!”

It was Liviana, the waitress from the inn. 

She wore a tight-fitting outfit of shorts and a vest, her tail flicking back and forth, catlike ears twitching atop her head.

Lucius wiped the blood from his cheek and stared in shock at Marcthain, who still stood there like a stone statue, his stern expression unchanged.

“What the hell is your problem?!” yelled Melissa, already transforming into her beast form, ready to charge.

But before she could launch herself at Liviana, a fireball slammed into the ground beside her, sending her flying and singeing the fur at the tip of her tail.

“Melissa!” Lucius shouted.

Behind them, perched atop the jagged stone wall surrounding the training yard, stood a young halfling, barely the size of a human child, yet crackling with wild magic. 

His round face, flushed red from the fire’s glow, was framed by unruly blonde curls tumbling over his forehead. 

Bright, curious eyes gleamed, reflecting the dancing flames he held in his small hands.

“What is this supposed to mean?!” Lucius shouted, demanding at Marcthain.

Marcthain simply replied, “I already told you, your training starts today. You already know Liviana. And over there is Tagunel. They’ll be your sparring partners.”

Are you kidding me? They nearly killed us! I didn’t sign up for anything like that!

Tagunel wore a green-brown robe with wide sleeves and a long dark cloak. Around his torso was a belt crammed with small vials of colorful essences.

Sparks flared as he downed another essence and, with fierce determination, unleashed another fire spell.

“Ignar suain incendia!”

Melissa dodged the fireball and leapt up onto the wall, charging straight for the halfling with a furious gleam in her eyes.

“Training, huh? If that’s how you want it, then I’m not holding back!” she shouted, her grin showing she was actually starting to enjoy the challenge.

But before she could reach her target, Tagunel gulped down another essence in a lightning-fast motion and shouted, “Scath draiocht cruthaigh simulac!”

In an instant, his body split into four identical halflings, each dashing in a different direction.

Melissa lunged after one of them, but her claws only tore through thin air as the illusion vanished.

“Damn it!” she snarled, just as another fireball nearly scorched her hooves.

Meanwhile, Liviana was back on the offensive, darting toward Lucius with feline agility. 

All he could do for the moment was run for his life, dodging her rapid swipes as best he could.

“What kind of training is this if I can’t even defend myself?!” Lucius shouted in exasperation.

Without a word, Marcthain tossed him a wooden practice sword, which landed in the sandy dirt at Lucius’ feet. 

Lucius stared at it in disbelief, until Liviana’s renewed assault left him no choice but to snatch it up and brace himself against her claws.

“Even as a mage, you can’t always rely on your formulas alone. Physical skill matters just as much!” Marcthain called out, sounding like a drill instructor.

Then he turned to Melissa, who was still having a hard time dealing with Tagunel’s magical attacks.

“Your strength and speed are formidable weapons… but there are opponents out there where brute force won’t be enough. You have to learn how to make the right decisions in battle!”

And with those words, the mission for the day was perfectly clear and the following hours were set.

Melissa kept rampaging across the training ground, her hooves kicking up fountains of sand as she tried to catch Tagunel, who kept her at bay with a barrage of spells and bursts of flames. 

Even when she managed to grab hold of him, her attack would vanish into a cloud of smoke, followed by mischievous laughter echoing from a different corner.

Meanwhile, Lucius dashed back and forth across the field, gasping for breath, while Liviana pounced at him again and again with feline persistence. 

She knocked him to the ground, peppered him with shallow scratches, or tried to slap the wooden sword out of his hands. 

Every time Liviana lunged, Lucius’ body moved before his brain caught up.

Sweat stung his eyes, blood throbbed in his scraped knuckles.

Think, Lucius… think! 

But all he could do was swing wildly and try not to get hurt.

Marcthain stood at the edge of the field, arms crossed, watching everything with a stern gaze. 

Now and then, he stepped in, barking sharp commands or correcting mistakes.

Only when the midday sun was casting its golden rays over the training ground’s stone walls did Marcthain finally call a halt.

“That’s enough for now!” he bellowed.

They collapsed into the sand, exhausted. Lucius was gasping for air, his shirt soaked through with sweat.

Melissa wiped blood and dust from her lips, yet her amber eyes were glittering dangerously.

“Enough… I need food… and wine…” she panted. “That dwarf… he’s got some serious tricks up his sleeve…”

Tagunel, leaning heavily against the wall and breathing hard, scowled. 

“I’m not a dwarf!”

Liviana flopped down beside Lucius, stretched out her legs, and licked her hand once before smoothing down her cat ears.

“Don’t worry,” she said to Lucius. “Mar’s like that with everyone at first. He just wants to see if you’ve got what it takes. Besides… chasing you around is kinda fun.”

Marcthain eventually returned from inside the barracks, carrying a wooden tray stacked with simple bowls of stew and slices of bread.

“Here. Eat. All this training’s useless if you’ve got no strength left.”

Liviana snatched a slice of bread, took a hearty bite, and spoke with her mouth half full. 

“He’s right, but we’ve still got a lot of training ahead before the mission starts.”

Lucius paused, confused. 

“Mission? What mission?”

The commander hesitated for a moment, as though weighing how much he should reveal.

“We’ll talk about that tomorrow,” he finally said curtly.

“What matters now is that you all learn to coordinate your fighting styles. When the time comes, you’ll be working together as a team.”

Melissa and Lucius exchanged puzzled looks.

If we are being trained this hard, this mission Marcthain kept hinting at couldn’t be anything simple. 

They glanced over at Liviana and Tagunel, who were already waving at them as if they’d known all along.

And for the first time, the thought occurred to him.

What if I can’t do this?

But what awaited them, they could only begin to guess.