Chương 118: Chapter 115. Close to the wall

Nate watched the training below with sharp attention, his body settled comfortably on the thick branch of a large tree that overlooked the clearing. From up there, he had a clear view of everything, and for once, he didn't feel like he was the one being punished. Back when he had lived in Valers, mages and spellswords had been a common enough sight. The capital was filled with them, and stories about their battles were everywhere, but actually seeing them in action had been a different matter.

Most of the time, a sword or a spear was enough to kill a man. There had been no need for flashy spells in the alleys or the outskirts where he had spent most of his time. And the arena fights, the ones that lit up the sky every week, had always been out of his reach. He had heard about them, imagined them, but never seen one himself. Now, he had a better seat than he could have ever asked for. Below him, two mana users were fighting. Though calling it a fight felt generous. It was closer to a beating.

Nate didn't complain about that. Rayne had beaten him enough over the last two weeks, and as far as he was concerned, the man deserved a bit of it back. Casper stood across from Rayne, her posture steady as she flung one fireball after another. The spells formed quickly in her hands, glowing bright before shooting forward in sharp arcs. They slammed into Rayne without pause.

Each one hit him straight on, mostly aimed at his upper body and face, and every time, those strange threads of mana appeared, weaving themselves together just in time to block the impact. But even then, the threads weren't perfect and the flames were too hot for them. Nate could see it clearly from above. The threads would take the hit, hold for a moment, and then blacken slightly as the flames licked over them before fading.

Almost instantly, new threads would replace the damaged ones, weaving themselves back into place as Rayne tried to keep up. Nate's grip tightened slightly on the branch as he watched. His own blade hadn't been able to do much against those threads. Yet here, under Casper's flames, they burned far more easily. It wasn't enough to break through completely, but it was enough to matter, and he was sure that Casper was holding back a bit.

And the moment Rayne focused on reinforcing his defense, she was already moving again. Another spell matrix formed in her hand, far more complex than the simple fireballs she had been throwing till now. Then, in the next instant, smoke poured out from her fingers. It spread rapidly, thick white clouds rolling across the clearing and swallowing everything in sight within seconds. The ground, the trees, Rayne himself, all of it disappeared behind the haze.

Kesh, who was sitting on a lower branch just beneath Nate, let out a small gasp. Nate glanced down at him, noticing the way his eyes were fixed on the scene below, wide with focus and slight fear.

"You do know she's not actually going to kill him," he said. Kesh didn't look away.

"I don't know," he replied almost immediately.

"Throwing flames at someone's face sounds pretty serious to me." Nate snorted lightly at that, shifting slightly on his branch.

"If anyone did that to me," Kesh continued, his tone completely serious, "I would assume they were trying to kill me." Nate grunted at that, knowing Kesh wasn't wrong. Maybe it wasn't flames in his case, but he had seen enough people throw firestones in fights to know how things worked. They weren't always meant to kill, but they were certainly meant to blind the other. And when something like that came flying at your face, you didn't stop to think about intent.

It had happened to Nate more than once, and every single time, he had taken it as someone trying to end his life. His gaze shifted back to the clearing. The white smoke still lingered, blocking most of the view, but there were glimpses here and there. Casper moved in and out of it, her figure appearing for a moment before vanishing again as she cast another spell.

The bursts of light from her magic barely cleared the haze, but they were enough to give him fragments of what was happening inside, and then there were the sounds. Rayne's grunts carried through the smoke, each one louder than the last one. Unfortunately for him, Casper didn't care about pain. She was trying to teach him how to use both of his mana skills at the same time, but from the outside, it didn't look like teaching. It looked like punishment, and it would continue until he got better at it.

Nate shifted slightly on the branch, his attention still fixed on the scene, but his thoughts began to drift to his days as a kid back when he wanted to be more than just another powerless thief in the slums. He hadn't thought about that in years. Survival had taken up too much space for dreams. But now, watching the two of them work their magic like it was natural, those thoughts came back whether he wanted them to or not. Finally, he glanced down at Kesh.

"Hey," he said.

"What do you think? Will we ever be able to do what they're doing?" Kesh finally looked up at him, his expression shifting slightly.

"Of course not," he said without hesitation.

"They're mana users. Chosen of the gods. We're just commoners. Do you really want to be a spellsword or a mage?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Nate's eyes sharpened slightly at that.

"You don't?" he asked. Kesh hesitated this time.

"I do," he admitted after a moment.

"But I don't know." He looked back toward the smoke, his gaze unfocused.

"It feels like if I actually hoped for it, I'd just be disappointed. Like it's not meant for people like us." His eyes flicked toward where Rayne was.

"Rayne only became one because he still has noble blood, no matter what people say, and Casper…" He trailed off for a second before shrugging lightly.

"I don't know about her," he said.

"But she's probably some kind of lower noble too. She's really pretty after all. You barely see such skin in village girls, and I have experienced my fair share of them." Nate almost chuckled hearing that before seeing that Kesh was completely serious. He hadn't expected him to be someone experienced with girls. The boy didn't carry himself like that, and there was no smugness in his voice, no attempt to boast or exaggerate. If anything, he had said it in the same simple tone he used for everything else.

Nate huffed quietly, wondering if village girls were just that easy. The thought lingered for a moment before he pushed it aside and looked back toward the clearing. The fight had already ended. Somehow, in the middle of their conversation, he had missed it. Rayne was sitting on the ground now, while Casper stood in front of him with a fireball in her palm. The glow lit up her face before she casually dismissed it, the flames dispersing into nothing as if they had never been there.

Then the two of them began talking, their voices too low to reach where Nate sat. He watched them for a few seconds, trying to read their expressions, but it didn't help much. Even if he could hear them, he doubted he would understand half of what they were saying. The whole mana thing sounded like a different language at times. Still, as he looked at them, moving and speaking like it was natural, the thought came back again. Could he ever be like them?

His mind answered immediately in a "No", but something deeper inside pushed back just slightly, telling him that maybe… one day, it could be a mage or a spellsword. Nate let out a quiet breath. He knew what that feeling was—Delusion. Shaking his head lightly, he pushed the thought away and began climbing down from the tree. The army would be moving again soon, and there was no point sitting around thinking about things that didn't matter. Besides, there were other priorities. Like the cooks.

A faint grin tugged at his lips as he dropped to the ground, already thinking about which one he would try his luck with today. But as he stepped away, his gaze shifted back one last time, landing on Rayne. Another thought crossed his mind. How close was he to the first wall? He guessed he would find out once they reached Haven City's church.

Rayne felt like just laying on the grass and not moving at all. His whole body felt heavy, the constant strain from trying to use both mana skills at the same time still lingering in him. His mana reserves were low, his mind tired, and for a moment, he just wanted to close his eyes and rest. But Casper didn't stop. She kept talking, going over everything he had done wrong while he simply sat there, staring up at the sky and listening. Everything she said was valuable.

It was like having his own personal tutor, but what he needed to fix was simple—Mana control. It wasn't something he could learn by fighting monsters and stealing their skills or stats. He had no option, but to train till he got the [Mana Manipulation] skill. Then, maybe it would be easier.

"Like I said," Casper said again, her tone calm but firm, "your [Weaver's Protection] is actually very strong." Rayne shifted his head slightly to look at her.

"But you need to be able to get the threads out faster," she continued.

"And bind them around your body quicker. Right now, it's too slow. An enemy can easily take advantage of that delay." Rayne frowned faintly, knowing she was right. It was taking him nearly ten seconds to properly bind them even around his arms.

"And you also aren't able to properly call them out while running," Casper went on.

"Your focus breaks, and that makes your defense inconsistent." That had already happened more than a few times. As it turned out, weaving the threads together while standing still was one thing, but doing it while moving was entirely different. Every time Rayne tried to run and call them out at the same time, something slipped. Either the threads came out too late, or they didn't bind properly, leaving gaps that could easily be exploited. With [Death Strike], it had been simple.

All he had to do was push mana out and let the skill take shape, but this was different. [Weaver's Protection] needed structure, control, and precision, and he didn't have enough of any of those yet. Rayne let out a slow breath before speaking.

"I'll try to work more on the mana exercises you taught me tonight. * Casper gave a small nod.

"Do that," she replied.

"And keep trying to use both your mana skills at the same time. Sooner or later, you'll get used to it." Her gaze shifted around the clearing briefly before she added, "We should head back. The army will be moving soon." Rayne nodded, pushing himself up slowly. There was a slight strain in his shoulders as he stood, but beyond that, he didn't feel much pain. His [Pain Tolerance] had grown enough to dull most of it, and even though Casper's fireballs had been strong, his threads had made sure there were no burns.

The two of them began walking toward the trees that led to the dirt path around which the army rested. For a while, neither of them spoke. Then, just as they were about to step onto the dirt path, Casper suddenly turned toward him.

"By the way," she said, "you are going over everything the truthsayers might ask you, right?" Rayne slowed slightly at that, glancing at her.

"I've been going over the probable people that might sit in the trial," he replied.

"Captain Edran has been helping me with that." Casper shook her head immediately.

"No," she said.

"That's not enough." Rayne frowned faintly.

"What do you mean?"

"You need to go over everything the army knows about you as well," she said, her tone serious now.

"Not just what happened with Fredrick or who might be present." Rayne stayed silent, listening.

"They won't just talk about Fredrick," Casper continued.

"They'll know what you've said before, what others have seen, and they might even bring people from your squad to give them information. If you've lied about anything, even something small, it can be used against you." Rayne steps slowed.

"You need to make sure there's nothing like that," she finished. After saying that, she didn't wait for a response. She simply turned and continued walking through the trees, stepping onto the dirt path without another word. Rayne didn't follow immediately. He stopped where he was. His mind, which had been calm just moments ago, suddenly felt anything but that. Thoughts began to rise, one after another, things he had said, things he had hidden, things he hadn't even considered important before.

All of it, and then he realised just how many lies he had told to others, and then a question bubbled up. What was he going to do about them?

Read 50 chapters ahead Join the discord server HERE.