8 Embrace your shadow
I followed Sanjo, he led me to a strange cave within the forest. "As a thief, I have hiding places everywhere" He said.
"Is this your base of operation?" I asked him.
"No, this is just a place I use for resting and training" He said. "First, I want to ask you something Isao."
"What is it?" I asked.
"What is your relation to that other boy?" Sanjo asked, I looked at him with a puzzled expression. "The white kid."
"Ah, yes. Ubel is my master" I answered.
"Master?" Sanjo looked confused.
"Yes, if he wants me to do something, I'll do it" I said with confidence.
"Even if it meant killing someone?" Sanjo looked at me smugly.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"If someone were to try and hurt your master, what would you do?" Sanjo asked.
"I would kill them, no matter who it is." I answered.
"Ho ho, is that so? Let's put that to the test then. Follow me" Sanjo packed up his gear and exited the cave.
I followed Sanjo to the forest, sometimes he would laugh along the way muttering something. After sneaking around for a while, Sanjo asked me something. "Isao, what is your opinion on bandits?"
"Bandits need to get exterminated" I said firmly.
"Is that so. Did you know I was a bandit once?" Sanjo said.
"You were?" I was surprised.
"Yep, but I still feel like the bandits are no good. Even if I used to be one" Sanjo said.
"What made you change your mind?" I asked.
"Well, once I was with my fellow bandits, I had a high position in the group due to my high skill. That day, we were on a raid. We were raiding a newly thriving town, everything was OK, until the boss ordered us to kill every single one of them. I objected, and because of that, I was chased out"
"What happened after that?" I asked.
"Well, after being thrown out. I found a town that didn't have a bounty on my head, and successfully entered the adventurers guild. I had skill in the art of thieving, so I made use of it. Making use of these abilities, I, with lightning speed, climbed to A-rank, and because of paragraph 2.1 in the adventurers law; My bounty was revoked. Making me a free man" Sanjo said.
After Sanjo's short life story, we encountered bandits. "Was this the reason you asked me what I thought about bandits?"
"Yep, that is exactly the reason, and you said we should exterminate them, so let's do it" Sanjo said.
After waiting for a short while, a pair of two bandits came close to us. "Now!" Sanjo whispered. Sanjo charged at one of them, killing him instantly. "GO!" he shouted to me. After being shouted at, I charged towards the bandit. He was overwhelmed, and after a split-second, I had penetrated his heart.
* * *
"Hmm, your choice of vital point isn't bad, but I prefer to slit their throats. That way, they can't scream when they die" Sanjo said, we had just managed to destroy a bandit camp, without being noticed, once. "Your abilities as a thief isn't lacking at all. So, since your ability is on point, let's train you in the use of the shadow arts."
"Excuse me, but what is the Shadow arts?" I asked.
"I hate to explain things, but it's important isn't it?" Sanjo said.
"Well, the shadow arts, is a type of magic, that isn't used the same way as attack magic- "
"What do you mean about 'attack magic'?" I interrupted.
Sanjo sighed and started to explain again "There are several types of magic. One is the attack variant, it is used as the main attack force of mages. Second is the support variant, it simply supports other people who are fighting often used by priests and wardens. Three is the enhancement variant, it is commonly used by soldiers to increase their defenses or blacksmiths to enchant their weapons. Fourth is the 'class variant', this one is a little tricky, it is magic that belongs to a special class. For example, the shadow arts."
"The shadow arts is a class variant?" I asked.
"Correct, you are learning fast. Anyways, we need to get some rest, raiding bandits is fun and all but it takes a lot out of you." Sanjo said and pointed towards a bed on the ground. "You can go sleep on that straw bed over there."
* * *
"It's time to start your training" Sanjo said.
"What are we going to do, mentor?" I said, we were currently in the mountain area, training by a waterfall.
"The shadow arts are a little tricky to master. Thus, this place" Sanjo said while taking off his black clothing.
"What's so special about this place?" I asked.
"Nothing, but there is something so charming about training near waterfalls" I could see mentor's eyes light up when he said this.
"What will we be doing first?" I asked him.
"Hmm, the first thing you have to do when trying to master this magic. Is to embrace your 'inner shadow', I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's the way I learnt it" Sanjo said.
"How do I meet my shadow?" I asked him.
"It's simple, concentrate. In a world like this, where horses fly though the air. Meeting your shadow shouldn't really be weird" It's the truth, why would something like that be weird?
* * *
After several weeks, I finally managed to make contact with my shadow. "Ehm, who are you?"
"I am you, just as you are me." My counterpart is really, philosophical.
"Well, you have come to meet me, may I ask why?" Shadow asked.
"I want to learn shadow arts" I answered.
"To serve master?" Shadow asked me right after I finished my sentence.
"Yes, to serve master" I answered again, a little more confident.
"As long as it for Ubel, I'll do anything" Shadow said.
Out of curiosity I asked, "Even kill someone?"
"Killing sounds like mercy to me." Shadow said while darkness started to burst out of him.
"It does?" Keeping my calm.
"Yep" Seems shadow wants to protect master as well.
"Well then, let's work together from now on" I said to shadow.
"Yep, I will be seeing you a lot" Shadow said as he slightly smiled at me.
I opened my eyes, only to hear the water hitting the rocks. The waterfall is loud. "So, how did it go?" Sanjo asked.
"We managed to find a common goal" I said.
"Good, good. You sound a little different than usual, which is proof that you had made peace with your shadow. Or been completely taken over" Sanjo said.
"Taken over?" I asked.
"Some people manage to anger their shadows, if that happens, the shadow will take over the mind and you will start acting hostile towards others, attacking them isn't unusual" Sanjo explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"Since, if I did, you might have been too afraid to face your shadow" Sanjo tried to explain himself.
"Scary stuff, this is" I said.
"Yep, and we are going to temper with it for a good while" Sanjo said.
"For how long?" I asked.
"Until you can finally control the shadows to fight, hide and serve you" That sounds really cool.
"Anyways, let's head back. It's getting dark." Sanjo said and started to walk down the mountain.
I followed shortly after.
A short list of training programs for our little trainers:
Ubel:
6:00 – 12:00, Studying of magic
12:30 – 15:00, magic practice
15:00 – 2:00, Theory study.
Physical days:
6:00 – 12:00, Strength training (Breaks included)
12:30 – 15:00, Combat technique training (Breaks included)
15:00 – 0:00, Theory study
0:00 - 3:00, Book studying.
(Note: Ubel needs less sleep than normal dark elves)
Isao:
6:00 – 14:00, Shadow arts training
14:00 – 19:00 Strength training
20:00 - 0:00 - Stealth training
Isao's schedule often includes subjugations, and tests during his training.
