Another Training Arc?

We finally arrived at Naima’s house. Since we weren’t training in real combat, Naima figured it was best to practice indoors, in the comfort of her own home.

Since we only had one day of training on controlling my mana, we had to make the most of every second. The sisters’ mom wasn’t home.

Naima took the opportunity to guide us to the living room. She suggested, “We should open up the room a little more.”

Amada and Anojin were not participating in the training. Instead, they volunteered to move the furniture around, giving us plenty of open space. Naima encouraged me to grab a blanket to use as a comforter. I rested the Tri-Carver on the floor behind me as I sat down in the center of the room.

Once we set up our area, Naima informed us, “Alright Takumi, let’s begin the lesson. For starters, have you ever meditated before?”

“Meditation? Like prayer?”

“Yes, something like that.”

“I have once… when I was little.”

“Great, let’s start with that.”

Naima and Hinabe led by example. The sisters sat in a crisscross pose, shutting their eyes, bowing their heads, and clasping their hands in prayer. I followed their lead and closed my eyes. I sat there mindlessly with my eyes shut, forgetting what to do.

Naima sensed me struggling and explained the reasoning for meditating. “Mana control is all about being one with your body. You must enhance your senses. Just breathe in and relax. Try to enter your mind and allow yourself to feel everything. Every part, every nerve, every atom of your body.”

Hinabe added, “For example, try to feel the mana flowing in your body.”

Hinabe and I opened our eyes as she demonstrated her mana control. “Once you feel it, try to move the mana in your body into a concentrated area like your hand.”

The mana concentrated in Hinabe’s hand visibly glowed a bright blue, like when she used her healing magic. “If it helps, just feel like you're extending yourself towards your hand.”

I grasped a better understanding of how it worked after her example. Now it was just a matter of putting it into practice.

I shut my eyes once more and controlled my breathing. I cleared my thoughts and entered a state of peace. I focused my senses to feel the limbs, then the blood flowing in my body.

I was struggling at first. Feeling something was one thing, but moving it around was the hard part.

…

For the next several hours, I meditated with the sisters. Hinabe was excellent at reading mana. Whenever the balance of the mana in my body was disturbed, she would alert me to try again. That assistance was only available for the first 20 minutes of training before Hinabe fell asleep.

Anojin and Amada were restless, lying on the ground staring at the wall and exploring their surroundings, as we trained. They'd already mastered controlling their mana, so joining in would be pointless.

I began to gradually learn to control my mana in the first two hours. Naima eventually forced me to maintain my mana in different scenarios. It was easy to get distracted during battle, so adapting to the environment was crucial when staying composed.

I eventually learned the basics of controlling my mana. The sisters acknowledged my process and said I was ready for the next step.

For the remaining amount of time, Naima guided us to several locations throughout the village. We decided to enjoy our time in the town while including some training in between.

We first visited the local hot springs. It was a private place, and we separated into our gender-only rooms. Anojin swam around the large hot tub while I meditated inside, leaning against the wall.

After a calming session in the springs, we travelled to a farm. The sounds of the animals were a perfect way to train.

Following that, we visited a local park. I sat in the center of the playground, with a crowd of elves surrounding me in confusion. The citizens following us also helped immensely with distractions, allowing me to practice focusing on my mana.

And so on, as we visited other locations in Dryd Village.

Even during nighttime, I had to train as much as I could until I fell asleep. Hinabe’s mother helped put out some futons for us to use in the living room. I meditated through Amada’s snoring.

Her obnoxious snoring was the real challenge. That might have been the most challenging part of the training.

…

The day of reckoning finally came.

I woke up out of my futon feeling accomplished. I sensed my mind had grown after that one-day training session. I knew that was what I said after my last session, but this time felt… different.

I had no idea exactly when Captain Yuro would show himself again in the village, so I had time to brainstorm my next plan.

I picked myself up from the floor and glanced at the Tri-Carver nearby. As my eyes drifted off to the weapon for a moment, they shifted toward my hands. I understood the basics of controlling my mana. The real question was: Was I ready to truly utilize the Tri-Carver to its full potential?

The others would later wake up. Once everyone fixed their beds and finished cleaning themselves up, we headed out the front door with our weapons in hand. A wave of confidence washed over us. There was no sense of hesitation in our poker-faced expressions. This was the most serious we had ever been.

We strolled towards the center of the village. We never agreed on where our rematch would be located. I figured the demon would return to the same spot.

“Takumi, remember what you learned,” advised Naima, hinting at the Tri-Carver. “Think of yourself as extending your mana into the blade.”

I began to stare intensely at the sword, reflecting on my newly acquired knowledge.

Anojin gave a half-hearted chuckle, uninterested in my progress. “Ha, hopefully this time you can put up an actual fight against that demon.”

I acknowledged his attempt to provoke me. However, I nervously chuckled, trying not to get distracted. “I guess we will just have to wait and see.”

We arrived at the scene and were startled by the crowd of elves. The size tripled compared to last time. It looked like the entire village came to see this rematch. The elves quickly became my hype men, chanting my name with cheers.

“Woo! Go, Mr. Satori!”

Their chants inflated my ego to the sky. All of this positive energy gave me the right amount of motivation.

I decided to give the fans a little speech regarding my plans. “Thank you, everyone! I will stop Yuro from destroying this amazing village! It would be greatly appreciated if you guys could help me in stopping that demon.”

The village roared with celebration. Despite having no chance against Captain Yuro, they believed they stood a chance at victory with me in their corner.

“Woo!” The cheering continued until a strong, evil, yet familiar presence arrived from the sky. The village was silent as we focused our attention on the captain of the demon lord’s army. Yuro came back with a massive grin on his face, like he'd been waiting for this moment.

The tension grew really serious. It felt like this was the moment that the fate of the world would be decided.

…