n

n

nThe fork in Evan's hands was covered in a thin layer of ice in a second. The temperature around it quickly began to drop, which was also reflected in the water.

n

"AHAHAHAHAHA, as I see you don't like to wait. I think I should join.

" Zak took a small knife from the tray and in an instant he heated it to unbelievable temperatures.

nHe didn't stop there, however. Zak dipped the knife halfway into the water, and it boiled over in a second. This was in stark contrast to the icy water next to Evan.

nWhoosh.

nHe swung the knife sharply toward Evan, unleashing a wave of boiling water on him. The young man didn`t expect that, but he was able to react. Evan threw the fork straight toward the wave and plunged deep to the bottom.

nSplash.

nWater spilled all over the room, spreading its hot steam.

nEvan dived out of the water and looked with surprise at Zak, who was twirling the fork in his hands at that moment.

n

"Now I'll explain what this whole demonstration was for. Either way, though, I'm pleased. Watching your face was a lot of fun. AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

"

nWhile Zak was laughing, Evan pondered what had just happened.

n Evan was once again amazed at Commander Zak's abilities.

n

"Evan, listen to me carefully. Now I'm going to tell you about the

"Awareness

" of spells and how many stages it is divided into.

"

nThe young man immediately became serious. Everything about spells and magic was very important to him.

n

"But, first. Evan, tell me what people train for?

" Zak asked Evan such an unusual question.

nThe young man replied, without thinking a lot:

"In order to hone their skills in one thing or another.

"

nZak nodded satisfactorily:

"Well, you're right, but there's a nuance. For example: let`s take blacksmiths and blacksmithing. If a blacksmith has to forge swords all his life, he will be a master at it. But if he has to forge spears he will make it poorly, to say the least.

"

nZak took a sip and continued:

"That's what I'm trying to explain to you. By practicing a spell you increase your awareness of that spell.

"

nEvan wasn't too surprised by these words. It made sense that the more energy you put into a particular thing, the better you were at it.

nThe

"Awareness

" of spells is divided into five stages -

"Beginner

",

"Intermediate

",

"Medium

",

"High

" and

"Absolute.

"

n Evan was shocked by such a thing. He didn't think a person`s skill could be defined by any framework.

n

"Commander Zak, what stage is my

"Ice Veil

" at?

" It was the spell Evan had trained the most. So he was confident in himself. However, all he heard in response was a loud laugh from Zak.

n

"AHAHAHAHAHA, man, it's obvious. You haven't even made it to the

"Beginner

" yet.

" These words were like a bucket of cold water, poured over Evan's head, which cooled his ardor.

n

"But, no need to get upset. Margaret has told me of your progress. I can tell you're moving at a very good pace. And even though the first stage is called

"Beginner

", it's not as easy to reach as it may seem at first glance.

"

nFor two days, Margaret had been following Evan's progress and told Zak about his progress when he returned home. Margaret had known Zak for a very long time, so she could appreciate Evan's accomplishments quite well.

n

"Okay, I have another question, will I be able to reach the

"Beginner

" stage in at least one of my spells in a month?

"

nIn about thirty days, he would have a duel with another novice mage. Naturally, Evan wanted to win. It would be his first victory in the mage world.

nZak smirked and answered briefly,

"Yes.

"

nEvan didn't need more than that. He quickly climbed out of the water, looked at Commander Zak and said:

"I'm off to the training ground.

"

nZak didn't answer anything and just continued drinking and enjoying the hot water. He wanted to talk to Evan about

"Creation

" and

"Barriers

" at the way to the

"Void Liquid

" condensation, but seeing his fighting attitude he couldn't stop him.

n...

nBam. Bam. Bam.

nThe explosions and sword banging against hard, metal dummies could be heard on the training ground all night long. Because of Evan, half the servants didn't get enough sleep that night, but since Zak didn't mind, there was nothing to be done about it.

nAbout an hour before dawn, Evan collapsed without strength and remained lying on the cold ground. He nonstop used

"Magic Missile

" and

"Ice Veil

". And as soon as he ran out of mana, he started to

"Create

".

nHe hadn`t condensed a single drop of

"Void Liquid'. Because to do this, it was necessary that the gap between the external and internal shell of the

"Warp

" be completely filled with a manna.

nStep. Step. Step.

n

"Get up, boy, stop sleeping

" When the sun was high in the sky, Evan was awakened by Zak's loud voice.

nHe opened his eyes and reluctantly got up. He didn't look his best, but that didn't bother him.

nEvan looked at Zak and said with a slight smile on his face:

"We are going to start the day with a training?

"

nZak nodded:

"Yeah, just for starters you should eat.

"

nSaying this he pointed to a table nearby that already had several dishes and drinks on it.

nEvan silently made his way to the table and ate everything. He had expended an enormous amount of energy last night; he just needed a recharge.

nAfter eating breakfast, Evan took his sword from a nearby stand and prepared to spar with Zak.

nJust before it started, he noticed Margaret, who walked up to and sat at the table. She had a small basket in her hands.

n

"I'm not going to babysit you. So you're one hundred percent going to get hurt, but Margarita will quickly lead you into feelings.

"

nWhoosh.

nAfter these words, Zak pulled a simple sword from its sheath and attacked Evan.

nClang. Clang. Clang.

nCommander Zak attacked very quickly and his blows were serious. If Evan missed one of them, he would really get hurt.

nThough it was difficult, Evan blocked Zak's blows. After each lunge the commander made, the young man's hands trembled, but he still didn't back down.

n. After a couple of strokes, Evan's hands were already numb. However, he realized that Zak hadn't even begun to fight seriously yet.

nWhoosh.

n. Evan was focused so he saw that Zak's attack was only a feint and that the real punch was a left fist.

nThe young man didn't block Zak's massive fist. He was sure he would take a lot of damage. So he just did a roll and jumped back.

n

"Not bad, Evan, not bad. Learn from your mistakes, huh?

" Zak was pleased with Evan's actions.

n

nIt was worth realizing that they were not having a knight's duel where only sword strikes were allowed - that was nonsense from fairy tales.

nIn a real fight, no one would wait for you to make another lunge. Rather, the sand will be thrown into your eyes, after which you will be punched to the gut and be killed. It was the truth and it was what really happened. That was the truth and it was really going on.

nEvan didn't attack, so Zak did it. He got to the young man with one tug and he brought the blow right down on him. In the next moment, however, he did a strange action. Zak let go of his sword and struck Evan in the side with his left hand just like the last time.

n< Again?> Evan didn't understand why to do the same action and repeat his mistake.

nThe young man tried to dodge again, but...

n<А?>. In the next moment, the world before his eyes was turned upside down.

nZak knocked Evan down with one hard blow. There was no way Evan could have expected that.

nBam.

nIt wasn't over. While Evan was trying to figure out what had happened, Zak hit him hard with his right hand right in the stomach, sending him flying several meters away.

n