Girls' Training

It was around noon the next day...

Gerald spent the previous day in a daze after coming to the conclusion that his magic was, in fact, growing easier to control, with simple killing.

It was the only logical explanation he currently had. Nothing else came even close.

Although, after thinking about it through the night, he realized that knowing it didn't actually help him in any way. He had about 160 MP at his disposal and even after using it all at once, he was still able to keep going.

A rough estimate gave him a limit somewhere over 200 MP. So, even if he could increase the ease with which he used magic even further, it would make no difference, as he was still quite far away from reaching the current limit.

Besides, who knew if this advancement could possibly have some negative side effects? As such, he decided not to think about it anymore and went on with his daily business.

Clang! Pang! Pow!

Sounds of metal-on-metal collisions traveled to his ears, coming from the backyard.

"Come! Strike me!"

Clang!

"…Okay, now do it from the left! No, the other left!"

Curiously, Gerald came to take a look to see what was going on. Xilia was currently giving Sera some directions in the middle of a fight.

"Strike harder! Keep those legs moving, don't stand still! No, don't just swing your sword randomly! Try to think about where you are attacking!"

Huff, huff!

Sera breathed hard and sweat dripped from her forehead. While making a groan she swung her sword with both hands, only to get deflected in the middle of her swing by Xilia.

"No, no, no! Strike faster, aim for my blind spots! Come on, try again!" With words of encouragement, Xilia reminded Gerald of a typical bad coach who only knew how to criticize.

"Having fun?" Gerald chuckled after coming closer. Both combatants immediately stopped their training.

"Huff, oh hey Gerald!" Xilia wiped her face with a piece of cloth and greeted him. "Sebas brought a few dummies this morning but we didn't know where to put them, so we stored them in the gardening shed for now."

"Right, that's fine… You can place them wherever, it doesn't matter to me," he replied. "How is the training going, did you just start recently?"

Xilia sighed and pointed at Sera, "Actually, we have been at it for more than two hours already and… It pains me to say it, but… She has no talent for swordsmanship at all!"

"Hey!" Sera loudly interjected, "You are the one that can't teach properly! You are just yelling random words, how do you expect me to follow them?"

"It's not my fault if you get so easily distracted by every little thing. In a fight, every second counts! A moment of carelessness can easily lead to death!" Xilia swiftly rebutted her claims. As a Dark Elf, how could she admit to being an incompetent teacher?

Gerald pinched his glabella and voiced his displeasure, "Stop, just stop! This is supposed to be a training session, not a shouting match! Also, why did you go for a duel right from the get-go? Shouldn't you start with the basics first?"

"She is too distracted, she can't follow my directions at all!" Xilia directed the blame to Sera.

"What?! You are the one that is jumping all over the place with no plan in mind! How is this my fault?"

Gerald felt his blood pressure rising fast and his face became red in anger.

"Okay, enough!" he shouted. "You!" He pointed at Xilia, "Stop acting arrogantly just because you got some skills. Start with the basics first and no duels for at least the first week, got it?!"

Sera laughed and pointed with her finger, "Haha, serves you right!"

"You as well!" Gerald shouted at Sera, "I will not tolerate any bickering among you two. If you have any problems, talk them out like civilized people!"

Blowing off some steam, he slowly cooled down and spoke with a softer voice, "Go get those dummies and set them down here, in the backyard. But before that, each one of you, drink one of these!"

He extended his hand and on his palm were two small vials of yellowish liquid.

"What is it?" Sera questioned doubtfully after taking a closer look.

Similarly, Xilia also turned to him with a questioning gaze.

"It's something I created to help you calm down and concentrate, it's called a Potion of Focus. You don't have to worry, it has no negative side effects and it will only last for a few hours." Herald explained as a matter of fact.

"Potion of Focus? I have never heard of it before…" Xilia said with a frown. Her uncle was a knowledgeable person, but he never mentioned anything like this. And this guy just casually made it?

"Don't bother thinking about it, it's not something that exists in this kingdom," Gerald spoke after seeing her pensive frown.

"Then…?" Unwilling to drink it or say anything bad, Sera could only swallow her words.

Seeing them hesitate, Gerald's displeasure slowly grew, "Just drink it! I already had a taste yesterday, I guarantee you won't suffer from it."

"Um, alright…"

The girls uncorked the vials and drank what was inside. The taste wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't bad either.

"Okay, now go get those dummies and bring them out!"

As ordered, they went to the gardening shed and brought out a few human-shaped wooden dummies. They just fixed them in the ground, when they slowly started feeling unusual.

"…Woah, I feel…weird!" Sera stared at her hands with wide-opened eyes. She then started touching herself all over the face.

Xilia on the other hand closed her eyes and stood straight and firm, like a statue. After a minute, she slowly opened her eyes. "I… It's like the fog has lifted from my mind…" she quietly whispered. The tense feeling she felt before was completely gone and surreal tranquility washed over her.

After watching them for a while, a peculiar thought was born in Gerald's mind, 'This- Why do I feel like they are acting as if they are high?'

But the unusual behavior quickly subsided and they returned to their normal state. They were just much calmer and more composed.

Gerald observed them for while from afar and then nodded in satisfaction and left.

It seemed like the potion helped them become more in tune with their mind and so, Xilia stopped acting irrational and actually began teaching Sera the basics of swordsmanship.

On the other hand, Sera listened to every word she said and executed the moves exactly as she was told. An outside observer would think they trained together for years to work in such harmony.

Striking the dummy, moving her legs swiftly and with accuracy, Sera was quickly and observably getting better at it.

While the girls were still training, Gerald made use of the free time and went on a walk trough the city.

His target was the Auction House as he required more of God's Blood for his personal consumption.

The attendant at the front desk immediately recognized him and wasted no time as he began to fawn over the other party, "Young Sir, welcome! Our boss, Lady Emily, told us to serve you well. If Sir has any requests please don't be afraid to speak up!"

He was putting on his warmest smile and his tone was respectful and kind.

Gerald did not pay his actions any mind and simply said, "I need to speak with your boss."

"With boss?" The attendant seemed to be put in a difficult situation.

"What's wrong, am I not allowed?" Gerald frowned.

"No, no, no…" The attendant quickly shook his head and hands, "It's just that Lady Emily went to visit… Err, well, uh, she is not here!"

Gerald rolled his eyes, "Then, can I speak with Arthur?" It's not like he specifically required Emily for his problem. The owner of this place would probably be even better at helping him.

"The owner? Well…" The attendant hesitated.

"What? Is he gone too? Then forget it, I'll come some other time!"