Whatever It Takes!

Two years passed quickly for the young boy, who spent day after day training until he couldn't move his arms anymore. Each morning began with a terrifying nightmare of the memories of the terror that cost him everything.

Eternus had grown taller and more muscular than before, surprisingly for a 12-year-old boy. His dense brown hair had grown longer, but his eyes remained as empty and hollow as before...

However, his appearance was not the only thing that had improved in this span of time. Eternus had improved significantly in his combat prowess as well, his moves were refined and his reflexes honed to a razor-sharp level.

Just like any other morning, Eternus woke up with his heart pounding and clothes soaked with sweat.

"Another one…" he sighed, reminiscing about the dreadful nightmare he woke up from once again.

Vankolv entered his room with breakfast and Eternus left for his daily training with Inura after a while.

In the training area, Inura and Eternus stood in front of each other, ready for their daily spar.

"What happened, boy? You seem troubled about something… Did you not sleep well?" He rubbed his chin and continued, "Usually, you are much more energetic while facing off with me…" Inura asked Eternus after noticing his unusual pondering inside the battlefield.

Eternus remained quiet for a moment and then sheathed his sword back into its scabbard,

"There is no point in sparring with you anymore…" He said in an oddly confident tone.

Those words struck an explosive surprise at Inura as well as Vankolv.

"What do you mean? Don't you want to get stronger anymore?" Inura asked playing with his shortly cut beard on the chin.

Confident yet calm, Eternus explained, "It's true that I want to get stronger… and I will leave after beating you… But there is no point in fighting because… I think I can beat you if you don't use Mana." Eternus paused and continued his blunt reasoning, "So there is no point in training the sword with you anymore, You barely bruised me yesterday…" He looked up at him with a mocking gaze, "You're growing old, Inura... It's better for me to focus on my magic now."

Inura didn't usually feel anything when Eternus threw out insults like that… But this time was different, Inura felt his ego shatter into pieces because he knew deep down that it was true… The fear of growing old made him angry.

"You brat! I can beat you without using magic!" He gripped his Sword for a demonstration to back his words.

He leaped towards Eternus and in the instant when the edge of his blade was just about to connect with Eternus's face… The boy drew out his own sword and blocked Inura's strike in the nick of time. The clang of the swords colliding echoed in Inura's ears as he realized the truth and finally stepped back.

"Very well…" He sighed with a hint of shame, "Seems like the time for your departure is not too far after all." He said while something cooked inside his clever mind.

"It never was too far… I can already circulate mana in my body and release a bit of aura." Eternus replied coldly, "The only thing left for me is to learn how to accumulate it!"

Inura nodded and pointed at Vankolv,

"Alright Vankolv, teach him this technique he asks for." Waving his hand in a nonchalant manner, he began walking away.

Vankolv shrugged and responded in a teasing manner, "I thought you told me that my job was to only observe and aid the boy... Why don't you do it yourself?"

Not bothering to argue, Inura folded his sleeves and prepared to demonstrate.

Vankolv stood nearby in his usual pose; upright with one hand holding his staff and the other one buried in his white shaggy beard.

"Take it easy, child. This is only an exercise for you." He said to Eternus, pointing at the Boy's extreme focus.

Inura interrupted in the middle of Vankolv's advice, "Don't listen to that old man. You'll need everything you have if you want to have the slightest chance of beating me…"

Eternus took heed of Inura's words because they made more sense to him and ignored Vankolv's advice.

"I don't care how far I have to push myself… I will get strong!" Eternus's eyes were as sharp and determined as the blade he wielded as he said those words.

Inura smiled sharply after getting back at Vankolv for his little tease and came into the open space where he could be observed perfectly.

He opened his arms wide and took in the deepest breath, releasing a gust, "First you must feel your Mana core and light it up like a flame! Feel those channels and the Mana flowing through your body… and then simply concentrate to direct the flow of Mana to wherever you want." He explained as clearly as he could.

Eternus struggled to fully grasp the concept through words alone as he scratched his head with an eyebrow raised.

Inura noticed his confusion and sighed.

"I will show you this only one time… Remember, the key is to control the circulation of your Mana." He seriously warned Eternus, "If you don't get it right the first time, then forget about it."

He positioned himself in front of a huge boulder just lying nearby. "Now watch this, Champion of Light!"

"Tch... Champion." Eternus snorted.

Inura concentrated for a moment, his core lit up and his body emitted a Crimson Aura.

He said with a somewhat balanced tone, "I am circulating Mana through my entire body. The aura you see around me is simply the Mana leaking out."

Eternus could see the red vapor surrounding Inura's body and rising vigorously like majestic flames. His fascination grew and his focus intensified further.

"Now observe as I condense my Aura into my right arm." Inura told him, moving on to the next step, the Aura which surrounded his whole body began to retract towards his right arm which grew brighter and brighter.

He continued, "Do you see this glow in my arm? This is what happens when you condense and accumulate Mana." Moments later it seemed as though his arm was on fire thanks to his Crimson Flame affinity.

He took another deep breath and balled his glowing hand into a fist and struck the boulder with a simple punch,

"HUPPP!!!" Destroying the giant rock into countless pebbles that shot and scattered all over.

Eternus was surprised by this impossible demonstration of strength he just witnessed and instead of falling into despair, determination flickered in his mind.

'If I am able to manipulate Mana like that, It will be a big step far away from my current weakness.' The ambitious Boy thought inwardly.

"Your turn." He pointed at Eternus, "Just focus on your core, concentrate, and let it flow out and burn like the Eternal flame!" Inura said while dusting the dirt off his arm.

"Remember, this is the last time I'm showing you…" He reminded Eternus once again, "You can never beat me without learning this."

Eternus came forward into the open area. 'I must focus.' He said inwardly to himself as he stood in the center.

He closed his eyes and after a moment of intense concentration, he felt something warm in his chest, something sharp and powerful.

'Circulate Mana through my body'

He concentrated harder and after a while, his body released a faint Golden vapor.

Inura commented upon noticing the faint aura, "So he can release aura after all..."

'And now, the next step!' Eternus said inwardly, excited about his own potential ability.

He held his arm in front of him and tightly grasped it with his other hand. Similar to blood flowing through his veins all over his arm he felt a strength that kept on increasing without rest as he concentrated further to direct the flow. But the more Mana he pushed into his arm, the harder it was to control.

'My hand feels strong, but not strong enough… I need more Mana' Eternus showed dissatisfaction and pushed even more Mana into his arm but to not much avail.

Inura screamed from behind with those words of encouragement, "Remember your ambition! The reason you're doing all this." He narrowed his gaze as he continued, "Remember all that you have lost and why you're going through all this! Push through, BOY!!!"

"What is my ambition?..." Eternus wondered for a moment and then came to the answer on his own, "I know... To be strong... My weakness, this curse, and all that I lost..." Sadness showed in his eyes as he continued, " Mother, father... my old life, my smile." Remembering everything terrible that had happened to him made his heart feel heavy, effecting his Mana core in a peculiar way.

"I will be strong... WHATEVER IT TAKES!!!" He screamed out loud.

As the emotions in his heart intensified, his core overflowed with Mana.

Just as a tear escaped from his eye and touched the very ground below… A few sparks of Black flickered in his arm, and then suddenly in the moment of suspending silence, an enormous amount of aura boomed out of his body, accumulating in his arm.

The sight of it was majestic but at the same time terrifying. It was a forced mixture of Good and Evil; Tranquil and peaceful at the center, yet surrounded by claws of Darkness.

This maddening outburst of aura from a 12-year-old flabbergasted Inura and Vankolv. Their jaws dropped to the ground as the Boy's powerful aura fluctuated the air around him.

Even more surprising than this was the fact that Eternus did not break his focus. His attention was dead-set on pulling off that move Inura just showed him.

"No, this is too much!" Vankolv held the smirking general's arm, "Stop him, Inura!! He'll die!" Vankolv screamed at Inura while shaking his arm vigorously.

Inura simply smirked and yanked off the old man with his eyes still observing the boy.

"He won't die…" said Inura contently.

Vankolv knew that this accumulated power was too much to handle for him, he yelled from the ground, "Eternus! Listen to me!! You've accumulated too much Mana!! Your hand will explode if you don't let it out somewhere NOW!!!"

Eternus heard Vankolv's cry and understood very well because he felt the same.

"My hand… it feels like it is about to explode!" He realized the pain peeking through his strong determination.

Not finding time to aim at a tree or boulder, Eternus struck the earth beneath his feet and caused a giant explosion of unbalanced energy, creating an enormous crater that engulfed the whole yard.

As he held his ground from the shockwave, Inura's eyes popped out with surprise as he watched the boy kneeling and panting in the crater with his arm badly bruised and the fabric of his shirt shredded, revealing half of his upper body.

'This brat… He might actually kill me someday, I need to be careful' He wondered with a drop of sweat drifting on his forehead.

Inura approached Eternus with his chest puffed up with pride, "So you pulled it off after all, eh? I wouldn't be surprised if they start calling you the Champion of Monsters… hahaha!"

He looked at his arm and continued, "You did everything fine, the only problem was that you released all of it at once and a part of your strike took effect on your arm too." He pointed at his severely bruised arm and ripped-off sleeve, "You were lucky to release it on the ground otherwise this could've gotten worse."

Vankolv came forward as well to check on the Boy, "Young Champion, your Mana is too powerful and there is a lot we don't know… Giving in to your emotions like that can be a fatal mistake. So be careful!..." He advised compassionately with genuine worry.

"I know that!" Eternus emptily responded with a hint of annoyance and immediately fainted after saying that.

Vankolv reached out to Eternus and emptied three vials of Healing potions consecutively into the Boy's mouth implying that the damage could have been devastating.

After a while of staying unconscious in his room, Eternus woke up and found his two teachers the same way he found them when he first woke up in that hut.

As usual, Inura was the first to run his mouth.

"In the short time of two years, you've learned how to read, count, and use magic… You've mastered almost everything we could teach you. I would expect nothing less from you." He continued with greedy eyes. "But you must not forget who you owe it all to…"

Eternus did not understand what he meant by his last sentence and ignored it, not bothering to even ask.

Inura stood up and continued talking once again, "For the first time in two years, I will allow you to rest… Rest whatever you can, because tomorrow is your final exam." Eternus looked strangely as Inura spoke, "Our final battle will decide whether you stay or leave this place."

Inura then left the room, bearing a sinister smirk on his face.

Vankolv stayed for a moment as if he was trying to say something to him, but a fear of something hindered his resolve.

"Is something wrong, Mage Vankolv?" Eternus asked him after he noticed tension amassing on his wrinkled face.

"No, it's nothing… I wish you good luck for tomorrow." Vanolv replied and silently left the room.

Eternus was now left wondering to himself, 'Still as strange as ever, he's never even made eye contact with me ever since I got here… He used to be quite cheerful back home. I wonder what happened to him."

Back in his own room, Vankolv pondered deeply while sitting on his desk.

Eternus's unbreakable determination had sparked an old flame of dignity in Vankolv's old heart.

"I will get you through this, Champion. I will save you, even if it costs me my life." Vankolv spoke to himself, plotting something.

"Whatever it takes..." He mumbled as he rested his head on the desk and fell asleep.