An Average Day (2)

"...Would you look at that. You have gotten stronger, Tain." Elena complimented him.

Tain had stretched his sword outward, just far enough to block Elena's downward slash, and withstood the impact by using his blade as a medium. But, that didn't mean he came out unscathed. Nearly all of the bones situated underneath the fiber of muscles inside of his arms were fractured. To top it off, the blade he held also had a gap formed from the area it clashed against Elena's blade.

Nevertheless, it was common for Tain to be left immobilised just a few minutes after his swordsmanship lesson had begun. The occurrences of Tain passing out every time his swordsmanship lessons came to an end happens quite frequently.

"But, Tain."

"Yes?"

"We are on the battlefield, remember?" Elena said with a gentle smile across her face.

"Oh...w-" Before Tain could finish his sentence, he was sent flying backwards. A shoe mark was imprinted onto his once spotless—shiny almost—white shirt.

Once he had descended back onto the ground, a long groan escaped from his throat.

Although Elena had clearly told him multiple times in the past—that he was required to imagine himself marching towards his enemies on the battlefield whenever he faced her—he was negligent, slipshod, and never took her words to heart.

After all, the worst thing that had transpired to him was the death of his parents. Not once had the thought of fighting on the battlefield passed by his mind. Hence the reason for his careless attitude regarding wars, battles—anything that correlates to combat really.

Clutching his stomach, Tain slowly rised up from the ground. A burning sensation could be felt on his stomach—leaving him panting and gasping for air.

After taking a few seconds to collect himself, Tain—readjusting his position—was now prepared to start his counterattack. Tightening the grip around his blade, Tain hurriedly dashed towards Elena.

A cool breeze blew through the air—ruffling the strands of hair on his head.

'One second. Two second.' Tain stopped in his tracks after closing the gap between him and Elena within that short period of time.

Twirling his entire body—added with the momentum of his sprint and the mass of his bodyweight, Tain swung his sword viciously to Elena's right side.

Their sword clashed against one another, as a loud booming sound propelled him up into the air. Elena on the other hand, was unfazed—though a small crack did form on one side of her broadsword.

Tain couldn't help but to smirk while in the air, as he succeeded in tarnishing her once invincible facade. Closing his eyes, he patiently waited for his body to descend back onto the ground. He predicted that maybe this time around—most of his ribcages would shatter. But something he never anticipated occurred instead.

As his body rapidly accelerated during the duration when he was plummeting onto the ground—a warm—oddly familiar sensation enveloped his entire body, like a mother cradling her baby.

Opening his eyes slightly, Tain saw a faint orange aura encircling his entire figure. The aura gradually decelerated Tain's fall—until he could safely land on the concrete ground.

Bewildered by what had just ensued—he shook his head rapidly—trying to reach a reasonable conclusion of what he had witnessed.

"It's my aura." A voice answered the speculations he had.

Directing his attention towards the direction of the voice—he saw Elena approaching him at a steady pace. Ah, that's right. He had almost forgotten what kind of world he had reincarnated into.

Aura—a materialisation of mana that can only developed in certain individuals through a chain of emotional events, via traumatic. Aura is commonly used among close-quarter combatants—as they are usually used for defensive purposes. The colour, or nature of aura are unknown—but it is theorised that depending on one's mood—their aura can be used both for defensive, and offensive purposes.

Elena was astonished by Tain's reaction, as she had never anticipated for him to be so clueless about the concept of aura. While Tain knew about mana, there are barely any humans who have the ability to cast magic spells without any prior knowledge or practice, much less control their aura to the extent they can separate it away from their body.

Thus, seeing the use of aura in person—both amazed and bemused him at the same time.

Tain stared at his teacher with admiration in his eyes. To him, she was like the walking example of a textbook knight from the fairytales he had been told by his mother.

Seeing the admiration and respect Tain had for her, a smile couldn't help but to form on her face. Bending her body, she stretched her hand outwards, and offered to help him stand up.

"Thank you." he said as Elena tugged him off the ground.

"Now then—" The admiration he had for Elena progressively decreased after hearing the sentences he—not even for a moment—desired to hear escaping from her lips. "—Let's continue."

...

A few minutes had passed prior to the torturous time he spent sparring with Elena. His entire body shivered as he recalled the scenes of Elena approaching him gracefully—with a big smile etched onto her face—while swinging her blade like a madman.

Currently, Tain is present inside of large, circular, porcelain tub, situated in the middle of a spacious, rectangular bathroom. The tub is large enough hold at least 5 to 6 adults at once, while still having enough space for 2 to 3 children to comfortably fit inside the tub.

Submerging his body into the warm water, Tain could feel his fatigue gradually evaporating into the air—mixing with the steam that clouded his vision.

Letting out a sigh, Tain enjoyed the sensation of the warm water brushing against his bare skin.

'Ahh... this is it.' he thought. His mind began to wander elsewhere, leaving his body to rejuvenate in the tub.

...

After the rejuvenating bath he took, Tain was now lying down on his cold, comfy bed. His eyelids gradually closing ever so slightly—prepared to enter the dream land once more.

Knock! Knock!

Regrettably for Tain, it seems that his long anticipated slumber had to be postponed.

Grumbling under his breath, he said "You may enter." with a hint of irritation, and a frown on his face.

His doors opened, and a maid—more specifically, Lisa—entered the room.

"The Madam wishes to see you, young master."

His frown immediately vanished, as if it was never there, and was instead replaced with a big smile. The thing he enjoyed the most out of everything else this world could offer to him, would be spending time with his mother.

Jumping out of the bed, he excitedly sprint to his mother's chamber, like an hyperactive child reuniting with their parents after getting separated.

The servants had a smile etched onto their faces upon seeing their young master running across the hallways with an ecstatic look on his face.

Soon, Tain found himself facing a large, white colored, ballroom door—with intricate designs carved into the doorframe. Gulping nervously, he pushed the doors open.

He was greeted with the sight of his ever so loving mother—sitting quietly in her wheelchair—besides her extravagant queen-sized bed. She smiled gently and said "Nice to see you, Tain." in a soft, soothing voice.

...