Chapter 9

The class had been a success for Arthur. Not only did he impress Myria, but he also got six flasks of potion using the cauldron content. It was a potion that helped increase the speed of how much one could absorb mana. Arthur could not regenerate mana, so for him, it was useless. But for Jane, who had a tournament to win was a blessing.

Myria took one flask of it for study. Arthur was okay with that, as she had been the one who gave all of the ingredients anyway.

“Here, take it,” Arthur said.

“No, I can’t accept it,” Jane said.

“Please? I made the potions, so it is fair that I decide what to do with them,”

“You need them more than me. Please, Jane?” Arthur said.

Jane did not want to accept that as a gift. Potions were expensive items, and if Arthur wanted to get some money for himself, then selling these flasks would do just that.

But, after many tries, Jane decided to accept it. Arthur was shoving the potions in her throat anyway.

The class ended, and Myria did not get into the details about being Arthur’s teacher. Maybe she wanted to study the final product before doing something like that, so Arthur could only wait.

All students sighed in relief after the class ended. They could now rest and do fun things. As for Arthur, he still had to face Wisa’s training, which would surely be difficult. But that was a price he had to pay if he wanted to get stronger.

Wisa’s class was over, and she and Arthur met in the hallway. Wisa, being a teacher at the academy, was very busy with various tasks. Therefore, she didn’t want to waste time and soon asked Arthur to follow her to the training place.

.

“Where are we going?” Arthur said.

“You’ll know when we’re there,” Wisa said and then looked at him laughing, “don’t worry, I won’t kill you. At least not now.”

That wasn’t very comforting to Arthur, but there was nothing he could do, so he just accepted the jokes coming from Wisa. Whether or not that was a joke, Arthur would soon find out.

They walked past much of the academy. Virtually all the students had curious looks when they saw Wisa walking side by side with a student. And it was not a regular student but the only man inside Frostpeak Academy.

“What are they going to do?” a student said in a sexual tone.

“Are you thinking nonsense? If Wisa finds out about this, you’re screwed.”

Wisa only needed to look in their direction for the students to shut up. They didn’t want to spoil their time at the academy by spreading gossip. Wisa was a harsh teacher, and if she wanted to, she could make any student’s life hell.

~~~~

The training location that Wisa chose was inside the forest. Arthur found that amusing as he had gone into the woods to try to practice swordsmanship. And in the end, that idea didn’t work out very well.

They arrived in an open part of the forest, which provided the necessary space for training.

Wisa looked seriously at Arthur, who was visibly nervous.

“Do you have any idea how to use a sword?” Wisa said.

“I’ve never used a sword before,” Arthur said.

The scene looked funny as Arthur said it with such pride as if he was beating his chest and telling the whole world that he was horrible with a sword.

“Teaching you is going to be more trouble than I thought. Well, do you remember the promise you made?” Wisa said.

Arthur knew the thing she was referring to, and so he said, “Of course. I’ll do my best not to dishonor your name. You can be sure I’ll do my best.”

Wisa liked those words. But in the end, what mattered were the actions. Anyone can talk and talk, but not all people show it.

“Good. So, please analyze my movements well, and try to replicate them,” said Wisa.

Since there weren’t many tools to aid in training, Wisa used a log as a makeshift training dummy. Shortly after that, she entered a stance with the sword point facing backward.

“This stance is called the back right. I think it’s the easiest stance for a beginner like you to learn. Now pay close attention,” Wisa said.

What she showed was a string of attacks. First, a slash comes from the right, then the left, and finishes with a piercing blow. It appeared to be a standard sequence of attacks, and Arthur thought it would be easy to replicate. Well, he was wrong.

“Now it’s your turn,” Wisa said.

Arthur went to the front of the training dummy and tried to do the same moves that Wisa had just done. And it was a disaster. Arthur couldn’t stay in the right form, and his attacks seemed to have no impact.

Wisa went up to him and showed him all the things he was doing wrong. First, he was barely bending his knees, which considerably lessened the power of impact. And on top of that, he wasn’t using the strength of his legs.

Arthur paid close attention to what she said, and by the end of the training session, he was able to at least stay in the correct stance.

His attacks still seemed to do little damage, but Wisa told him that it would still take some time to improve. And with that, the class ended.

Wisa promised that she would give Arthur two lessons a week. This was already a huge help that many people would kill for. Arthur knew that Wisa had several classes within the academy that she needed to teach, so her commitment to two classes a week was already impressive.

Arthur was walking alone through the forest when Lilia appeared out of nowhere giving him a scare.

“You got scared, did you?” Lilia said, laughing at Arthur’s reaction.

“But of course. We’re in the middle of nowhere. And what the hell are you doing here?” Arthur said.

“I live here. Well it’s a long story but I don’t live in the dorms anymore but in a cabin here in the middle of the woods. Want to go check it out? It’s not that far from here, I promise.”

“Sure, why not?”

~~~~

Why Lilia lived in the middle of the forest was unknown to Arthur, but that didn’t make him afraid. It was obvious that if Lilia had done something terrible, she would have been kicked out of the academy.

“How long have you lived here?”

“Since freshman year here at the academy. I moved here halfway through last year,” Lilia said.

“Plenty of time. Aren’t you afraid to be alone here?” Arthur said.

“Of course not. I’m a powerful mage, remember?” Lilia smiled.

Sometimes Arthur seemed to forget that this world was different from where he came from. Here being alone in a forest was not a problem for those who were strong.

“Ta-da. We’re here.”

Lilia’s house was a small house made of wood. It had some rare windows, and Arthur could notice several books and even a cauldron inside the house. What stood out the most was the huge garden outside with many beautiful flowers, many that Arthur had never seen in his life.

“It’s a little simple, but it’s a quiet place. It’s great to live away from that messy dorm room,” Lilia said.

“I agree with you on that part. That dorm is noisy.”

“Well, come take a look inside,” Lilia said.

The interior of the cabin was exactly as Arthur had imagined it would be. Simple wooden furniture, and many books related to magic. Seeing a cauldron inside the house, Arthur couldn’t help but ask if Lilia liked alchemy, and discovered that in fact, it was one of his favorite subjects.

“I hear you impressed our teacher Myria on your first day of school. I remember on my first day I could barely name the ingredients, let alone make a potion,” Lilia said.

Now that Arthur thought about it, Lilia, who was in her second year, was just starting to learn alchemy. In that regard, maybe they weren’t very far from each other.

“It wasn’t a big deal. I think it was just luck,” Arthur said.

Of course, Lilia doesn’t fall for this lucky bullshit. No luck in the world made anyone create a potion in her first class.

“Well, Arthur. I was wondering if you could help me create a potion? I can repay you in many ways,” Lilia said.

Arthur knew what ways were going through Lilia’s mind, and of course, he agreed to help her. Though he had no idea how a rookie like him could help.

“I want to create the same potion you made today. I’ve already got the ingredients for a try. Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready, Lilia.”

Arthur wanted to practice anyway, so that was an opportunity he could not miss.