Chapter 22- Quality is more Important than Quantity

Hours passed, and Dubs continuously attempted to gain control over the magical particles he had gathered.

Unable to gather any more than the 6 particles he had initially gathered, he instead began trying to manipulate their orbitals around the central point

Little by little, he was able to shift the courses of each different particle. He eventually became so good at it that he was able to completely freeze the particle in space, and even reverse its direction if he wanted to.

"Hoh? I'm impressed, Dubs. You may not be able to control a large amount of particles yet, but you have complete control over the few you can gather after just a small amount of practice.", Dubs other self proclaimed.

Dubs silently nodded, and continued practicing.

"The interesting part is the fact that you can control each element evenly. As you heard from Peter when he was evaluating Drodus, it is rare for a given person to be able to control even 2 classes of magic. To control all 6 is beyond imagination!", Dubs other self exclaimed.

Dubs frowned in disagreement, and stated "No, that will only make me a jack of all trades, and a master of none. I must strive to master at least one of the classes. If possible, I should try to master all of them!"

"Always so serious Dubs. Never willing to give yourself any credit. That's fine by me, it will motivate you to work harder. Don't disappoint me, Dubs..." The voice became quieter and quieter until it no longer spoke.

Dubs continued to practice for the rest of the day. After a few hours had passed, he had trained to the point where he could freely move the particles around the room at range.

Standing 30 feet away, Dubs approached the straw test dummies. After hours of practice, he only needed one hand to gather the 6 particles. With the upwards flick of his hand, they appeared in their orbitals and Dubs sent them all spiraling towards the dummy.

The particles formed a circle, and Dubs extended the 5 fingers on his hand to form an open palm. The radius of the circular path the particles rotated about increased at a constant rate, until Dubs retracted his fingers.

The rotating circle of particles translated over to above the head of the dummy, and Dubs lowered his hand. The ring descended on the dummy like a necklace being placed on someones head, and Dubs lifted his hand back to the original position.

Dubs then closed his fingers into the shape of a fist, and the radius of the swirling circle decreased, slowly approaching the neck of the dummy, as if trying to strangle it.

When the particles reached the neck of the dummy, they began to saw away at the wooden neck like a chainsaw, until they all converged on the central point.

The head of the dummy was sent flying, and hit the back wall with a "pshh" as the straw fluffed and then fell to the ground. The wooden neck hit the ground with a "clank!", and Dubs smiled.

Dubs eyes turned slightly bloodthirsty, and he began giggling to himself in silent.

When Dubs had finished his laughing fit, Drodus approached him quietly.

Drodus had seen Dubs laughing like this a few times now, and was no longer as phased by it. Instead, he simply waited patiently for Dubs to finish before he went near him.

"Dubs... what on earth was that? How did you sent that dummy's head flying just now? I couldn't even see anything. Were you using air magic, so that the particles were clear, or some sort of stealth technique that left an afterimage?"

Dubs eyes remained bloodshot as they darted over towards Drodus. In an instant, Dubs had put his hand around Drodus and began speaking like a madman,

"Drodus, my good friend. There are some things that you don't need to know. Just know that I am training hard, and reaping the benefits of my training.", Dubs crackled.

Coming to his senses, Dubs eyes once again became normal, and his memory became hazy. His other self had not taken over him- if that were the case then his eyes would have rolled back into his head.

"Ah! It seems I've figured out how to control a small amount of magic!" Dubs peacefully exclaimed, taking his arm off Drodus, who's face was filled with fear.

"Take a look, my friend!"

Dubs then held up his hand and the six particles flew around in circles, and Drodus calmed himself.

Drodus began to think to himself. "I don't know whats going on with Dubs, but I don't feel that he is a bad person. He probably is just bad at communication. However, I cant believe it! These magical particles are so small that I can't even see them from a distance, and yet he used them to decapitate the head of that dummy, from range too!"

Drodus, surprised, congratulated Dubs. "Great job, Dubs! You probably have already surpassed me in attack power, despite the fact that I am able to control a ball of magic many times greater than what you can control!"

Dubs flicked his hand down and the particles dissipated.

Drodus walked away, and continued his own practices.

The day was nearing its end, and Peter began to call up all the recruits.

"Alright, everyone! Training is over for the day. From here on out, here is how things will work. You all are soldiers of the resistance, under the guise of mercenaries in the guild. It is your own duty to make yourself stronger, so train at your own discretion. When you feel that you have trained sufficiently in basic skills and no longer know what you should focus on, you will report to me for advising. Understood?", Peter asked.

"Yes, Lieutenant!" The squad replied, lined up.

"You are all dismissed!", Peter relayed.

The squad headed out towards the dining hall. After a long day of training, the other four made small talk in the hallway, and Dubs kept his distance.

"I feel that we all did well today and improved our skills!", Enferia proclaimed.

"I feel the same way. Soon enough we will be a formidable squad. When do you think we be able to take on our first mission?" Tirian asked.

"Hopefully within a week. I cant wait to test out my skills.", Samuel boasted.

Dubs followed at a distance and got some food when he came to the dining hall. Beef stew with potatoes was being served, and Dubs sat alone and began to eat in peace.

The stew was mediocre at best, but compared to the injected nutrients he experienced during his days as a test subject, this was like a taste of heaven itself.

The four members of his squad were sitting at a different table, and Dubs other self began to speak to him.

"It's only natural that you would be inclined to be away from them. You are vitally different. Nobody here understands what you've gone through."

Dubs nodded in agreement, but didn't appear to be hateful or angry. "I must take care of myself. Reliance on comrades is nothing less than weakness. I have no intention of making friends, for that would only mean the duty to risk myself in order to protect them." Dubs coldly whispered.

"Oooh scary." The voice replied. "I agree with you there. The less people you become attached to, the less consequences there are if I disturb them. HAHA!"

Dubs continued slowly chewing his stew, when all of a sudden another plate appeared next to his. Looking up, he saw Lilith, wearing a nice suit of leather armor. Her black hair had been combed and well groomed, and she regained the elegance of a noble.

She sat next to Dubs quietly, avoiding eye contact. The two sat and ate in silence.

"Was there something you needed?", Dubs asked.

Lilith twirled her hair and replied softly. "I... are you alright? How has this first day of training been? Have you kept things under control?"

Dubs laughed loudly. "Ahhh there is no need to worry about me! I'm doing great so far with my progress in training. Everything is going according to plan. And yourself? I see that you've gotten some new gear. What have you been up to today?"

Lilith let out a sigh of relief seeing that Dubs could be so cheerful, even when being isolated and unstable. She perked herself up and answered.

"I have been doing basic physical training all day. It has been rough, but I will persevere in making myself stronger. My affinity lies in light magic, so soon enough I will begin to train in healing skills."

Dubs nodded. "Very good! If I am in a pinch, I hope that one day I will be able to rely on you to heal me."

Dubs inner self laughed hysterically inside his mind. "Pfffftt!! All that talk about being independent and the second you talk to someone you're already contradicting yourself." Dubs waved for his inner voice to shut up.

"At any rate, I have been working on my magical control today. Tomorrow I will begin physical training. I hope to see you again." Dubs trailed off after finishing his meal and returned to his dorm.

He began to speak to his other self once he was alone again. "In time I will master light magic and healing abilities, should the need for them arise. For now, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to place a little bit of trust in my comrades. My first priority, however, is to not get hurt in the first place."

Dubs other self let out a sigh but agreed. "Alright, you're not wrong there."

Dubs returned to his room and began lying in his bed. He took his fathers dagger and began to twirl it around, getting used to the weight and size. "Tomorrow I figure you out.", he ominously mumbled.

Now that Dubs had gained some control over magical skills, he could feel a vast amount of darkness energy within the dagger. Without a doubt, it had been used to kill many people, and powerful dark magic users at that.

Placing the dagger down, Dubs began to close his eyes. Right before he fell asleep, his inner self rasped a final statement.

"Always remember though, Dubs. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."