////Visiting The Argonsville Training Center////

Noble titles aren't just handed out like candy to anybody. Most noble titles are earned through merits: lending aid during crisis, subjugating particularly dangerous animals that could evolve to become even more terrifying, just anything that counts as contributing to the kingdom.

There are also other ways to gain titles in this world. Particularly through other means, such as buying the land owned by the one who once owned it, transferring the title to another family, or, sometimes people are granted "Honorary" noble titles. This allows the one granted the status to still be known as nobility, but is not required to manage a plot of land like most do.

These are usually gifted out to travelers who lent their strength to the country and are awarded for their deed.

Now, this was what we were aiming for. Being given land and having to manage it would only hurt us sooner or later. Honorary titles, on the other hand, will allow me, rather, Lena, to attend the Royal Academy.

Meanwhile, I'll be staying here, helping out Lena gather information about our first target, which, conveniently enough, there's only one disciple of the False Wind God, or at least that's what Jandru said.

The next day.

Lena and I, with permission from our parents, were allowed to go to the Argon Training Center, A.T.C for short. It's a place located in the East district of Argonsville, the city we currently live in.

The A.T.C has a unique approach to training one's magic powers and testing their capabilities. After paying for the membership, (which is a lot similar to a gym membership by the way) clients are given a Virtual Test Gear, or V.T.G for short.

The V.T.G is a device, similar in shape to a VR headset in my old world, only much more futuristic looking. It transfers the person's consciousness into the Training Facility, where clients are allowed to test out their abilities using various equipment. Equipment ranges from dummies that allow one to test their newfound magic on them, and see the effects, without having to harm someone. A convenient piece of work.

Currently, that's where Lena and I are heading right now. With Lena pushing my wheelchair, I get to relax and bask in the sunlight as we move. It might seem like I'm treating Lena like a slave, but what can I do? I most certainly don't think of her that way, and it seems like she enjoys this. I can see her pushing my wheelchair with a smile on her face.

As we move along, some shops catch my eye. One is the local equipment shop, Kenny's. It sells a wide variety of equipment that people say enhance their magical abilities, some have the purpose of defending against attacks easier, or even artifacts that have no help in battle whatsoever, but its main purpose is rather to change someone's appearance in a certain way, like the hair dye artifact. As its name says, it allows the user to change the color of their hair, depending on the color of the product bought, of course. The way to use it is to spray a certain type of ointment on one's scalp, and within a few hours, the hair color changes. Might be useful whenever we go on a stealth mission, or just to assume a different person or identity.

Kenny's, though, was primarily known for its battle equipment, not cosmetics. I'll be sure to ask Lena to take us there on our way back home to meet with the shop owner Kenny himself.

Foogle (Google in this world) says that the A.T.C is right around this street, so... oh my god. That looks pretty neat.

The A.T.C wasn't actually big, as its rooms were underground, to allow for optimal experience, as external disturbances, such as loud noises could disrupt the client and accidentally release them from the V.T.G while in the middle of training.

Now that we had arrived, we were greeted by the receptionist once we went in, and paid the minimum fee of around 40$ for the monthly membership for both of us.

After paying, we were led to the rooms underground. The rooms themselves weren't too fancy, but they had beds on them, which allowed people to lie down and enter that way with the V.T.G on.

After reaching the room, which, by the way, was one with 2 beds, we were advised by the staff to not make too much noise, almost like he was warning us not to have sex. Bro, can't you see this little kid in front of you? Wouldn't it be more probable to believe that the taller lady beside me was my older sister? No? Well, fuck you.

The two beds were separated by a nightstand which doubled as a table where the V.T.Gs could be placed after usage.

Preparing to log in, Lena placed me on my bed and helped me fix the headset, before turning it on. My consciousness soon faded.

"Welcome, Mr. Kenneth."

A manly, stoic A. I voice greeted me upon entering. The room that I was in looked like I was in space, minus the zero gravity, as I could walk easily.

"Please adjust the settings of the environment to fit your liking."

Environment: Outer Space (Current)

Choices: Hilltown Meadow, Andreau Peak, Colata Beach, Plorian River, Hudra World Tree, Mushroom Forest, The Great Rehet Crater...

What the hell is this? All the choices are either historical landmarks or places for sightseeing.

Not knowing much about all of these, I decided to choose the one I was the most knowledgeable about, the Hudra World Tree.

Immediately, the scenery changes, and soon the dark outer space is replaced by the sight of a gigantic tree, reaching up to the heavens.

This was the Hudra World Tree. Many historical books call it the "Heaven Tree", or the "Eternal Tree", with one being called that because, with the naked eye, it almost looks as if it reaches the heavens. The other name is because of a particularly old tale, telling the story of Andrius, the first elf, who reunited the nonhuman races, and urged them to live peacefully among each other. Before dying, he planted the seed of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and is believed that his soul rests in it, and the older it gets, the stronger it is. It bears fruit all year around, and many species of birds nestle on it's branches.

I feast my eyes on the sight before my eyes. Artists in my world would probably kill to look at this for at least a few seconds. Enamored by it's beauty, I was removed from my state upon hearing the voice of the manly A.I from earlier, asking me to adjust more settings if needed.

Set The Time: (00:00)

I tinkered with the time of the clock, and upon reaching certain times, the sky would change color. I found that sunsets looked the best with this scenario, and so I changed the time to (17:30).

Many more options were layed out in front of me, but I stuck with this as I didn't want to spend too much time setting things up. After finishing up, I was sent into the world, right in a village named Greensleaf.

Huh. Neat. Just remembered that this isn't real life but virtual reality, so I can actually stand up here like a normal person.

I take a few steps around and try to get used to moving.

A few seconds later, the figure of Lena appears out of thin air. Instinctively she comes over to me to carry me, but is shocked by the fact I can stand.

I remind her that this is virtual reality and that illnesses aren't a thing here.

Calming down, she plops down beside me and watches me fiddle with the settings.

"What should we do first little brother? Should we start now?"

"Give me a moment. Let's try out our individual magic first before moving on to our team coordination. I won't be there physically like right now but you'll still hear my voice in your head."

"Okay, so let's start. A.I, initiate basic dummy procedures."

"Initiating." (The voice replies.)

10 humanoid looking dummies are spawned in front of us.

"You try your spells first, big sis."

"Uh, okay. Sunlight Flash!" She raises her right hand to form a sort of "C" with her thumb and 4 other fingers. In the middle a ball of light is forming rapidly. After approximately 1.4 seconds, the ball explodes.

The surrounding area is hit with a blinding light, but it doesn't seem like Lena is blinded, as she doesn't even blink during the whole process.

After a few seconds, information about the skill used was displayed on a floating holographic screen.

Skill Used: Sunlight Flash Time To Activate: 1.4 seconds Number Of Dummies Affected: 10 (Duration: 3.76 seconds)

Pretty good. 1.4 seconds of charging for a spell that can blind twice as long as it's chant time. I urged Lena to try out other spells.

"Here goes. Light Beam!" Lena concentrates, and adjusts her right hand to point at a dummy. After a brief chant, a bright beam of light is emitted from her hand. The beam is about the size of an adult's fist, width-wise, of course.

"Big sis, try not aiming it on a dummy, just somewhere else. I wanna see how far it can go."

She does so, and chants again. This time when the spell is released, she aims it directly at around a 120 degree angle at the sky. The beam continues to go for a good amount of distance, until it can't extend any more.

After a few seconds, the same holographic screen is shown again, this time with different info.

Skill Used: Light Beam Time To Activate: 2.2 seconds Number Of Dummies Affected: 1 (Duration: 5.6 seconds)

Additional Info: The beam goes on for a maximum distance of 21 meters, before being unable to extend any further. The advantage of this skill is that the distance that the light beam can extend is reached almost instantly, making it hard for opponents to dodge it. The downside is it's somewhat longer chant time. 2 seconds is enough for a skilled enemy to close the distance, and unleash a powerful attack. Do exercise with caution when using this.

Couldn't have said it any better myself. This time the screen had additional info and feedback to say about the spell that Lena cast.

I ask her to cast any other spell if she has more. She replies that she still has one more.

"Blink!"

The moment she says that, Lena is instantly moved quite a distance from where she last was. She explains to me that she can also control the range of how far she can teleport.

Skill Used: Blink Time To Activate: 0.2 seconds Number Of Dummies Affected: 0 (Spell Used On User)

Additional Info: A movement spell, Blink is a light based spell used to reposition or change locations by blinking to the selected spot. The range of the spell can be changed according to the distance intended by the caster. Currently, the maximum distance Ms. Lena can cover is 30 meters.

"Your turn little bro. I want to see your spells next."

"Sure. A.I, remove 9 dummies and place the remaining one 10 meters directly in front."

"Command. Accepted. Terminating 9 dummies."

The dummies disintegrate in the air and the last one is teleported in front of Lena.

"Okay. Let's try this out first. Mind Link!"

My consciousness is instantly sapped away and my body falls to the ground. Lena runs to me but I stop her once I realise I've entered her mind.

It's weird. I can't see anything around me, but I can somehow perceive the world. The dummy in front of me shows up as a blank target.

Skill Used: Mind Link Time To Activate: 0.7 seconds Number Of Dummies Affected: 0 (Duration: Until mana runs out)

Additional Info: With Mr. Kenneth's current mana level, he has a maximum time limit of 4 hours before the spell begins to damage him. It is advised to stop using the skill after 3 and a half hours, or risk side effects. These may include: Forced Removal from Mind Link, Temporary Headache, Nausea, Blurred Vision, and Anemia. The advantages of this spell is that it can be cast on a friend, allowing it to be used before battle. The range of this spell can go very far, with a maximum range of 7 km at Mr. Kenneth's current level. The cons are: the caster is temporarily prone to attacks during the Mind Link. It is advised to use this spell in a safe place.

Neat. The only problem I had with it was that the spell itself could actually run for 4 hours, but that's only provided that I don't use any mana costly spells during the time I'm inside. Being prone to attacks isn't much of a problem. I'll always be at home, feigning sleep while actually helping Lena.

"Whoa.. is that you little brother?"

"Uh. Yeah. Let's test out our team coordination. A.I, initiate basic dummy attacks."

"Initiating."

"Be careful, they're coming!"

Lena hastily dodges back as one dummy, armed with a spear, thrusts it's weapon towards her. Another one is scrambling to where it predicts Lena will end up after her dodge.

"Behind you sis!"

I warn her of the dummy preparing an attack, and she begins to cast Sunlight Flash. Bringing her hand into the sky in a "C" shape, she chants the spell, and a bright light flashes.

The Dummies are temporarily blinded. They mimic the usual behaviours of humans if they ever get blinded, and bring their hands to their eyes.

This signals that they're currently unable to retaliate against any attacks, so I urge Lena to charge forward and attack a few.

She leaps forward, and brings her fist to one dummy's face, and sends it flying backwards. I assist her by using another one of my spells, Confusion, to momentarily haywire their hand to arm coordination.

The dummies that are still blinded begin to lose control of their bodies and find it difficult to move their limbs, giving Lena enough time to beat down 2 other dummies. That's 3 down in one swoop. 7 remaining.

This time, I Enrage the dummies. They lose control over their emotions, and attack more recklessly, without caring for defense. And just as I cast the spell, all the dummies begin to rush towards Lena.

"Their guards are down! Focus on counterattacking!" I tell Lena.

As they rush towards Lena in an attempt to surround her, she Blinks behind the 7 of them, just as they were about to reach her, and they slam into each other. Lena prepares her final attack, Light Beam, and aims it at the pile of dummies.

"Light Beam!" The bright beam of light extends almost instantly towards the dummies, and destroy each of them one by one.

After a few seconds, the last remaining dummy disintegrates, and the voice of the A.I announces our victory.

"Yay! We did it little bro!" She picks up my body as soon as I return from Mind Link, and swings me around.

Battle Results

Dummies Defeated: 10/10 Skills Used: Mind Link (Preemptive), Sunlight Flash, Blink, Light Beam, Confusion, Enrage

Additional Info: Teamwork was splendid. The coordination between Mr. Kenneth and Ms. Lena allowed them to execute the subjugation of all 10 dummies almost perfectly. Flaws found: This plan won't always work. There are people who have resistances to Mental Magic, so the use of Confusion and Enrage to assist Ms. Lena won't always work.

He's right. I've heard from Jandru that there are people who have resistances to various magic. Heat/Burn Resistance to Fire, Cold Resistance to Ice, and so on. There will be times when my assistance won't be of much help during fights because of this. I need to train much harder to be able to bypass Mental Resistance.

After celebrating our victory, Lena and I log out from the V.T.G, we stayed there, laying down on the bed to rest for a few minutes before leaving.

With the staff bidding us goodbye, we head towards Kenny's, the equipment shop from earlier, and prepare some money to buy various artifacts