CHAPTER 52: RENOVATIONS AND TRAINING (2)

"Now, for your training, since you read more parts of the book than me, from now on, you will write another version of the book for me. One that I can read. In exchange, I will teach all the techniques, scripts, and tricks I already know. That way, we will both learn. For your physical training, Selene said-"

"I have two questions."

"Hm... okay go on."

"First. Yesterday, I am pretty sure Selene called you her husband. Why is that? Second. How did you know I can read the book?"

"I know you can read the book because I saw your eyes when you were reading. I know the eyes of somebody who understand what he is seeing or not. As for Selene, yes, she is my wife, although not official. Ten years after I lost Jeanne, I met her during my mercenary days. We fell in love and had a daughter together, Silviane. But she was killed by Kalok because she didn't want to marry the bastard. If I remember correctly, I was thirty-five and she was twenty-eight at the time. When she got killed, I chased Kalok up to Floras only to discover that he was a noble, so I decided to stay there, planning my revenge. Until you came and did what I could do for more than thirty years."

"And that's why you helped me."

Excafol looks sad while talking. He was not a fortunate man, his first wife died with their baby, the daughter he had with the second one got killed. And yet, he is still here, alive, trying to help me. I know I have my own circumstances but, I feel so bad for him. I wonder if I could keep it together if I were him.

"Anyways, I was saying, for your training, you will start tonight by writing the first twenty pages of the book before sleeping. Selene said you will start by running around for at least one hour every day. Every time she comes, she will check and increases the time if necessary. After that, I will teach you the basics of Angas and you will also apply the concepts explained in the book. You better do your best to always finish in time or you won't have time to hunt your food."

That night, I wrote the pages with my stomach grumbling horribly. And the smell of the meat Excafol ate didn't help at all.

The next day, early in the morning, there is still a fog outside when Excafol wakes me up to start my morning run. I just go around the forest running like an idiot. I don't really know where I am going or where is the house so I try to stay near. After forty minutes, I try to follow back my steps to the house but, I can't find it. It takes me two hours, in the end, to go back to the house. Once there, Excafol doesn't even let me place a word.

"You are late. The first exercise I advise to use Angas is wood transformation. Wood is really convenient because it transfers energy more easily than other things like iron or steel and so on. In other terms, it will be easier to change it by injecting energy through your Angas. Normally, you would try to focus on the elemental Angas you have."

Excafol creates another one of those shiny balls and sends it in the air. It explodes loudly together with a smoke cloud.

"But, you have them all so you first need to assess which you feel comfortable at and from there, build a solid base to learn the others. Now, take the log right there and try to inject energy into it. If you want to inject fire, you must think about how you want the log to be hot, for water, you think that you want the log to grow leaves. Earth will make the log harder. Wind will cut it, lightning will make it explode, and light will make it shine."

"And for darkness?"

"For darkness, well I don't know. You will have to learn that one on your own."

I take the log and hold it with both hands while sitting on the ground. I try to concentrate but I all feel and hear is my stomach grumbling. He said that fire will make it hotter, so it should just burn it. I try to visualize the log burning in my hands, I imagine it burning so much it would turn to charcoal. Then, I feel something hot in my hands, I become hotter and hotter. I did it!!! When I open my eyes, all I see is the log, completely normal, in front of me. Was I dreaming then?

"Well, at least, you have managed to feel something." What is Excafol talking about? The log is still the same.

"Why do you say that?"

"Look at your hands." When I look at my hands, they are red. Redder than how they should be at least and glowing slightly. What is that? Since I can't feel things, I don't know what sensation I should feel right now.

"That's the first step, you have managed to manifest your energy through the attribute of fire. And you did it during your first day of training. Most talented people managed to do that after at least two weeks. You really have potential. Okay, try other elemental attributes now."