n

n

nDue to this Zamia told Eldrian to start with Volida and Velona Pagetou, while she would try and get her hands on the spell modules.

nOn the other side of the glade, Cephaphyr was being instructed by his dad.

n'Come now Ceph, change form.' Agamemas said, trying his best to now teach Ceph everything he would need to know when heading out. For the most part, they had neglected to train him for war, having hoped that peace would prevail and the prophecies would be false.

nTheir hope had blinded them, and their parental instincts to try and keep their child out of any danger had added to this blindness.

n'But why? It is so uncomfortable, and it makes me squishy!' Cephaphyr argued, the biggest reason he disliked turning into his elven form was due to how easy it became to hurt himself. His alicorn body was strong and resilient, his elven form not so much.

n'You need to learn how to be comfortable in it. Our form isn't one great at combat.. While it is far harder to be hurt, you won't be able to win.'

n'Having no hands nor even claws are massive disadvantages. All we can rely on are our wings and magic, but against others of similar strength this isn't enough. Our bodies will also not be able to protect us then.'

nAgamemas did his best to be patient, but Ceph couldn't stand the queer feeling of being in his other form. It didn't feel right, not one bit.

n...

nA month passed during which Eldrian had continued to train as hard as he could while constantly staying in contact with Elizabeth and the others to ensure Taurus was still doing well.

nThe situation at Kynigo and specifically Pyknos Forest had entered a calm peaceful state. The undead no longer tried to attack and slowly the army was also moving out. Leaving just enough people to ensure no sneak attack would work.

nOn the opposite side of the kingdom, things were not nearly as good. Herglem's walls had been breached twice. The centaurs had managed to fend off the attacks thanks to rallying out from the other gates and using the magic tower to destroy the monsters wherever they might cluster.

nStill, their losses were immense. More and more they had to pull soldiers from other cities, leaving them vulnerable. But they couldn't allow the orcs to conquer Herglem, as that would open a path to most of the rest of the kingdom.

nElizabeth and the rest have also recently started thinking of going back to Herglem, but from what they heard from the members who were still there, they realized they would just end up dying.

nAs such, even though they could teleport, they didn't go.

nWith regard to the player base as a whole, there were now 20 people in Tier 4. With over a hundred having added their insights in feeling mana. Yet, outside of Erik, it didn't seem anyone else actually managed to take control of their mana. But everyone was slowly improving and it wouldn't take much longer.

n

"Right, that's it,

" Zamia said as Eldrian suddenly changed the air blade he had sent towards her into a spear. Focusing most of the pressure at the tip, but massively decreasing the area covered. Zamia just waved her hand and caused it to dissipate.

n

"Good, your control has reached a good enough level. You should now be able to continue improving on your own. So... Onto the next part of your training.

"

nHearing this, Eldrian groaned. Nearly two months now of constant training, and while his improvement was massive. He felt that he needed to get back on the battlefield. Yet, he knew that even now he was not strong enough.

nHe felt confident in facing a normal Tier 5 with how flexible his spells were, but not a special Tier 5 like higher undead. The sheer difference in strength and speed would simply be his end. No amount of fancy tricks would change that.

nWhat he had practiced and learned through this month was more of the same. Improving his control of mana when casting spells. Learning how to have it not be affected by the environment, and how to shape it outside of the intention of the spell.

n

"Stop moping, we have only focused on spell control. But a fight isn't just decided in spells, we now have to get you to actually be able to make use of what you learned under stress.

"

n

"We're going to spar?

" Eldrian asked in disbelief, knowing it would be impossible for him to do anything to Zamia.

n

"No, you are going to spar with Cephaphyr.

"

n

"Wait, what!?

"

n

"Ceph dear!

" Zamia shouted, a few minutes later a small child only as tall as Eldrian's waist came forward. Like his mother and father, in his elven form he had pure white skin. However, his hair was pitch black with green highlights. His eyes were the same color as his highlights, and on his back was a small pair of bright green wings.

nEldrian looked at the child in disbelief,

"Is that really Cephaphyr?

"

n

"It-its me.

" The little boy replied, still uncomfortable talking but super glad that he finally understood the weird sounds everyone made. Or at least what the humans, elves, and dryads he had met made.

n

"Zamia...

" Eldrian turned to the elven lady in disbelief,

"How do you plan on having us spar?

"

n

"Right, you will only spar with magic. Cephaphyr had always been forbidden from improving his magical powers due to the fears of the others. Now, we know what the prophecy actually means and have decided to ignore their fears.

"

n

"However, he isn't used to fighting with magic. He isn't used to fighting at all, and you instead need to learn how to adapt.

"

nWith that, Zamia stepped back and joined her husband who had followed behind Cephaphyr. Smiling, he ensured her that Ceph wouldn't disappoint.

n

"Right...

" Eldrian sighed and turned to the little boy with black and green hair.

"Ceph, are you ready?

"

nNodding, Cephaphyr's eyes shone with determination. Hoping to prove himself today.

n

"Start!

" Eldrian shouted and immediately started summoning an ice shield about a centimeter thick and as large as his torso. This was a derivative of the Tier 3 Frost Needle, but it took him slightly over a second to have it form.

nThis was far too long, Ceph simply sent a wind ball at it. The ball shattered it with ease and sent Eldrian flying. Leaving a massive bruise on his chest.

nNaturally, Eldrian wasn't in his armor. He was regretting it now as he found that hit had nearly knocked him out.

n

"Sorry, I am so sorry. I thought it-

" Cephaphyr hurried to Eldrian's side and quickly started healing him. Making the elf feel useless. When a child who appeared around the age of 10 could defeat him in one spell. He had no words to defend himself.

n

"It's alright,

" Eldrian said, seeing that Cephaphyr was truly worried.

"I just didn't expect your spell to be that strong.

"

nNaturally, Eldrian knew why it was so strong. Earlier, he had formed a spear from a wind blade. That was because he was incapable of fully compressing the wind to form a ball or bullet. Ceph, however, had cast it with the ease that Eldrian would breathe with, making him realize the stark contrast between them.

n