Struggle

Several hours had passed since the end of Amorana’s Trial. After eating, the three resumed their journey and chose the path back to Kaloustia. Along the way, Arian and Zinarphil examined how to use the elements—specifically how Arian utilized the wind element.

«Alright, see Arian: as you yourself said, using any element requires a specific concentration and density of mana. But the more important condition is whether your mana veins attract that element or not!»

«In fact, to be more precise: mana in the environment isn't of only one form—it has different states. And each person, according to their mana core and veins, only absorbs the state that contains the required primary element.»

«But you—since you possess all elements—your mana veins are capable of absorbing all forms of mana!»

«Now I understand! It makes sense—if concentration and density were the main factors, then Mana Users of fire or earth elements wouldn’t be able to use magic quickly! Right?»

«Well done. I don’t want to teach you much myself since at school, professors will teach you about mana and magic better than I can. But let’s change our training for the remaining time!»

«How? Don’t tell me you’re going to toss me somewhere again and run off by yourself?!»

Zinarphil displayed his devilish smile again and revealed his white teeth—which was enough for Arian to realize the difficulty of this training!
«Alright, using mana—even for body protection—is forbidden!»

One sentence. Only this one sentence weakened Arian’s legs. From sheer shock, he didn’t know what to say. In a world where even plants use mana, its use had been forbidden for him.

«Master, did you hit your head?! What do you mean ‘using mana is forbidden’?!»

«I didn’t say anything extreme, child! Just don’t use mana—that’s all!» Zinarphil shook his robe to remove the sand particles clinging to it.

«Look, Arian: it’s true mana is a vital part of the world, but it’s not eternal. In battle, you might face mana depletion at any moment—and then you’re finished!»

«As a mage, I provide support from the rear during battles. Thus, my fatigue stems only from mana consumption—not physical exertion. But you? You’re an enhancer specialized in close combat. You’ll appear on the front lines. You’ll be exhausted both physically and magically. That’s why you must strengthen your body!»

"Master, you're right, but I can't even defend myself without mana! And besides, isn't this a time of peace? What war are we talking about?"

Zinarphil paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and looked at Aryan's pure face. His eyes had much to say, but it was too early for Aryan to hear and understand.

"I know you can, but I didn't say you were going to war. The training from now on includes running, weightlifting, and crawling! And son, remember that everything in this world is temporary! It's the world's great powers who decide what should and shouldn't be."

"« If that's all it is, then it's nothing... why are you laughing like that? » 

« Well, you'll find out later. I gave you a rest today, but the training starts tomorrow! Leaving you aside, we get to this little one! Shadwolf, come here, let me examine you first. Mmmm, it's clear you've absorbed a lot of mana from Aryan, and as usual, according to your race, your primary element is earth, and you can learn a lot of things!... Well, you need to eat more to get stronger, so you have to go hunting! »

 « What do you mean, Master! Can magical creatures get stronger by hunting? I wish I was a wolf too. »"

The three of them talked a lot during the trip. The next morning, Aryan had started his new exercises. Initially, he would just run normally, carry Shadowolf on his back and do squats, or maybe climb a tree or a hill.

But after a few months, Zinarphil started training Aryan using gravity magic, and poor Aryan had to climb trees or rocks that were in his path! Eventually, these exercises came to an end.

"Master, what should I do today?"

"Let me see...ummm, today is fight day. It's been four months, and in these four months, you've only used mana at night to increase your core level, which, of course, is still stuck in the red, but it's still good for your age!"

"Awesome, finally I won't be climbing the walls. Okay, but who am I going to fight?"

 "Me!" He moved away from Aryan and took a fighting stance, his right leg slightly back and ready, he could attack the boy at any moment. 

"What!!!! Are you kidding me?"

 Before Aryan could finish speaking, Zinarphil lunged at him, shattering the air with just a simple punch that landed on Aryan's forehead.

 "Lesson number one: The enemy isn't as stupid as you are to give you a chance to attack and think." 

"No Shadwolf, don't come forward."

 After constantly stumbling, Aryan finally stood up and ordered Shadwolf, who was ready to attack, to back down.

 "Lesson number two: The enemy isn't just in front of you!" In a split second, a kick landed on Aryan's side, sending him flying into the sky.

 "Don't be mistaken, Master."

 Aryan had used the substitution technique and replaced himself with a large piece of rock before Zinarphil attacked, although due to his slowness, the sound of bone breaking echoed in the space, and two of his ribs were crushed.

"Well, well, a replacement art user! Effective use of the wind element, hmm, so all those sleepless nights were just to disobey my orders, huh? I'll show you now!"

Arian was focused. He had undergone many behavioral changes in the past four months and was no longer that always whining kid; a bit of seriousness had been added to him.

He took a deep breath and increased the flow of mana in his leg veins. Thanks to his training, he now has more prepared muscles, and with only a small amount of mana injected into the muscles themselves, his movement has become much faster. Quickly, he closes the distance between himself and Zinarphil and throws a firm punch towards Zinarphil, but he deflects the punch with ease. Of course, the power the punch had and the pressure it exerted caused her coiled white hair to move in the sky.

"«Good punch, but still weak, kid. Your mana transfer is still slow, which is fine because you haven't had serious training in this area.»

 «I know, because you won't let me! But this is just the beginning, I'm coming for you.» 

Arian's fist was still in Zinarphil hands. With a small jump and arching his body, he delivered a hammer kick towards her side, but he was more aware than that. Before Arian's kick could hit, he threw him off with the same hand he was holding, causing Arian to lose his balance and fall. He got up again, but this time, unlike before, he didn't attack explosively, but moved slowly towards Zinarphil, gathering all his mana into his fists with every step he took."

"Okay, like before, increase the compression this time, more, more, more, even more... Feel the heat and get the wind flowing, hurry!"

Aryan's fists tensed the space around him. A warm current of wind formed around his hands; he had combined the elements of wind and fire.

Zinarphil, inside, didn't know what to do from surprise. Combining elements is something you can only use when the level of your mana core has reached at least blue.

"This boy is getting stranger every day, producing warm wind!? Just imagine what he'll do when his core gets stronger!"

Aryan gathered all his mana into the punches he hurled at her, and with the help of the hot wind he created, the speed and power of his blows increased. Zinarphil was eventually forced to step back to deflect the blows, as he didn't want his clothes to burn from the heat of the wind. In the process, he lost his balance, and Aryan's fist struck his cheek.

"Well done, boy, you won! But when did you learn to use the elements in combination?"

Aryan was overjoyed; he had defeated his master. Of course, he knew that Zinarphil had taken it easy on him, otherwise he would be picking up his corpse from the ground right now.

"Well, to be honest, I was only counting on the condition that warming the environment would create wind, but I didn't think I'd unintentionally use the wind element in the constant flow."

 "You know, you didn't understand anything, which I understand! Anyway, you'll understand the main point later, now go get ready because it's time to move! By the way, where's Shadwolf?"

 "I don't know, he said he was going hunting, but he's not far, he's around here. Let me call him now." 

After Shadwolf arrived, they set off again, and after 6 months, on Aryan's ninth birthday, the sound of carriages on the street pavement once again evoked that feeling from two years ago. 

"The capital of Kaloustia, I'm back."

I apologize for the translation issues.