"Found it!" Aurelius yelled with a wave of his hand as he took his duffel bag off the ground and dusted it off a bit.
Anwar hadn't bothered to help in the search and walked over nonchalantly before gesturing their next direction. "Let's go then. Or do you have some other treasures hidden here?"
"Oh, come on. Hiding my bag is the best option when on a temporary visit."
"Your bag is far more likely to be taken from here than off of you, so I wouldn't waste my time with such things."
"But what if I like forget it or something?"
Anwar rubbed his temples and shook his head a little as he walked past Aurelius. "Ah, never mind. Let's just get moving."
***
"We can stop here for a while," Anwar said, hopping onto an unusually large boulder with feather-like movements. "We'll continue moving again in an hour."
"What about food?" Aurelius asked after sitting with his back to a tree and setting his duffel bag beside himself.
"We'll hunt later," Anwar said.
"You eat once a day? Now I know why you're so skinny."
Anwar waved his hand. "You can go ahead and hunt if you want."
Aurelius gave a thumbs up and stood up, about to get right to it.
However, Anwar spoke again, and Aurelius stopped in his tracks. "I was just thinking this would be a good time to teach you, but I do what you want."
Not even a second had gone by before Aurelius was back to sitting. "Uh, forget eating. Who likes food anyway?" Aurelius said with an overexaggerated shrug.
Anwar gave a slight raise of his eyebrows and began the lesson. "First up, could you make it clear what terms you use when it comes to essence?"
Aurelius nodded. "Okay, so there's close-range combat essence usage," Aurelius said, putting up one finger.
"Compression," Anwar commented his own term for it.
"Long-range combat essence usage." Aurelius put up another finger.
"Lengthened compression."
"Enhancement."
"Hmm." Anwar nodded.
"Reinforcement."
Anwar nodded again.
Aurelius was starting to think there were no more differences.
"And then there's defensive essence usage."
If Anwar had been drinking just now, all of it surely would have flown out as he burst out. "What?!"
Aurelius was pretty sure he saw some snot fly out of Anwar's nose.
"What's wrong?" Aurelius asked, his brows furrowed.
"Defensive!? What kind of pacifist was this Gabriel? What the..." Anwar wrapped his head in his arms.
"Eh, what's the problem with defensive essence usage?" Aurelius asked, his voice coming out as a kind of whine.
Anwar lifted his head and yelled, "Are you telling me you've only been using materialization for shields? It's not just for defensive things. You can make anything with materialization! That's the most important of all forms of essence."
"Huh?" Aurelius' face dropped. "Are you serious?"
"Well, it's widely disputed what's the most useful, but..." Anwar sighed. "Why am I getting this worked up? It's not like I'm the one who got screwed over. Your teacher is a scumbag, though."
Aurelius would've defended Gabriel like he always did, but this time he was blind-sighted. Had he really been lied to about something so important? Why?
"Having you enter the world with such shitty guidance is a war crime," Anwar remarked.
'Oh, It's...' Aurelius buried his face in his hands.
"It's not that."
"Huh?"
"I said it's not that." Aurelius raised his head. "He did it because he thought I wouldn't enter the real world. I was never supposed to be here."
"What do you mean? Why did you leave? Is it because of your mother?" Anwar asked, some emotion in his voice.
Aurelius shook his head before saying with some trouble, "My mother's fine. I left because I wanted to. I want to get stronger and gather some wealth."
"You—" Anwar raised a hand and was about to say something, but Aurelius continued on speaking.
"Then I can give her the life she deserves," Aurelius said before his troubled expression changed into just a frown. "The life my father should have given her. She's 42-years-old. She should be able to enjoy her remaining years to their fullest. But if I'm there, I won't be able to provide it for her. That's why I had to go. I want to earn enough wealth to give her everything she wants because that's what she deserves."
Anwar slowly lowered his hand. "Ah, alright. I get it. But this Gabriel, how long did he teach you?"
"He taught me for a few months while I was 12."
Anwar leaned closer with raised brows. "Really?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
Anwar leaned his head back and sighed. "No, nothing. Just... I guess I get it. It's much easier to hurt yourself and others with materialization than with other forms of essence usage. Even the purely combat-oriented ones. So don't worry, you didn't get screwed."
"Oh, okay." Aurelius nodded slowly with his mouth open.
"Well, that aside." Anwar flicked his wrist. "Maybe it's best if we just focus on motionless magic for now. So let's get to it."
***
"Think of the feeling the setup gives you and recreate it without it. Act like it's there, and if you're a slick enough actor, your body will believe your mind," Anwar explained, as Aurelius breathed deeply with his eyes closed.
He wasn't sure why Anwar had chosen this spot for training that required so much concentration, but the constant, crashing noise of the waterfall wasn't helping.
It was their second stop, and it was just now that they had moved from theory to practice. Aurelius had waited for a long time for it to begin, but when it did, he wanted to be doing anything else.
He had never had trouble with essence. Gabriel had always said he was the fastest learner he had ever seen. Supposedly, even his own father hadn't been able to learn things so quickly. Aurelius had always thought that Gabriel had lied when he said that. Now he was sure of it.
'My father would never have struggled like this,' he thought.
Then he fell over, caused by a push from his side.
"Stop thinking about other stuff and concentrate," Anwar said, retracting his foot, which he had pushed Aurelius over with.
"I was concentrating," Aurelius said, sounding unprecedentedly irritated even to his own ears.
"Go on then. Do it."
Aurelius sighed in order to stop himself from snapping again. "I'm trying."
***
"Yeah, let's just go to sleep," Anwar said coldly and walked away.
Aurelius gnashed his teeth and slowly opened his eyes for the first time in hours. In front, there was a huge cliff from which water flowed into the circular pond below.
Aurelius looked to his sides, surrounded by trees, rocks and darkness. Then his gaze turned down at his crossed legs before he slammed his hands on the ground again and again, hoping to feel some essence flow and strengthen his hands.
But all he ended up with were wrists covered in dirt and blood.
Not even a spark of essence had flown through his body that day, excluding the time spent traveling. It was humiliating.
Aurelius took a few deep breaths through his nose after assaulting the ground and jumped to his feet. He then started taking strides after Anwar.
Eventually, he arrived at the place where their bags lay. In front of the campfire, Anwar had just started. Anwar was lying with his back to a broad tree, arms crossed and eyes closed.
He hadn't seemed to have noticed Aurelius' arrival, so it was up to him to make his presence known. He stomped his way to the campfire, surrounded by fist-sized rocks, and raised his foot.
"I know you're angry," Anwar said, startling Aurelius. He then opened his eyes but stayed completely still otherwise. "But don't even think about it."
Aurelius retracted his foot and took a few steps back.
"Good. Now, I think I have to apologize," Anwar said, a smile growing onto his lips. "I've just wanted to do that to somebody ever since I was a child, you know."
"Huh?" Aurelius said, confused about what to feel.
Anwar's smile only grew. "That was the way my father taught me the first time. God, I felt like shit that day."
Aurelius' anger was gone. Only confusion and a mix of other unidentifiable emotions remained. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, when you try something very hard in harsh conditions, it becomes easier to do normally. But I may have taken it a bit too far. Sorry about that," Anwar said with a smile as wide as it could get and a glint in his eyes.
Aurelius had the look of "my whole life has been a lie". It didn't stop Anwar's amusement, however. On the contrary, he just burst out laughing.
Aurelius stood still like a zombie while his nostalgia-ridden partner laughed like a drain.
Eventually, Aurelius' own laughter joined the echoes around the forest.
"Found it!" Aurelius yelled with a wave of his hand as he took his duffel bag off the ground and dusted it off a bit.
Anwar hadn't bothered to help in the search and walked over nonchalantly before gesturing their next direction. "Let's go then. Or do you have some other treasures hidden here?"
"Oh, come on. Hiding my bag is the best option when on a temporary visit."
"Your bag is far more likely to be taken from here than off of you, so I wouldn't waste my time with such things."
"But what if I like forget it or something?"
Anwar rubbed his temples and shook his head a little as he walked past Aurelius. "Ah, never mind. Let's just get moving."
***
"We can stop here for a while," Anwar said, hopping onto an unusually large boulder with feather-like movements. "We'll continue moving again in an hour."
"What about food?" Aurelius asked after sitting with his back to a tree and setting his duffel bag beside himself.
"We'll hunt later," Anwar said.
"You eat once a day? Now I know why you're so skinny."
Anwar waved his hand. "You can go ahead and hunt if you want."
Aurelius gave a thumbs up and stood up, about to get right to it.
However, Anwar spoke again, and Aurelius stopped in his tracks. "I was just thinking this would be a good time to teach you, but I do what you want."
Not even a second had gone by before Aurelius was back to sitting. "Uh, forget eating. Who likes food anyway?" Aurelius said with an overexaggerated shrug.
Anwar gave a slight raise of his eyebrows and began the lesson. "First up, could you make it clear what terms you use when it comes to essence?"
Aurelius nodded. "Okay, so there's close-range combat essence usage," Aurelius said, putting up one finger.
"Compression," Anwar commented his own term for it.
"Long-range combat essence usage." Aurelius put up another finger.
"Lengthened compression."
"Enhancement."
"Hmm." Anwar nodded.
"Reinforcement."
Anwar nodded again.
Aurelius was starting to think there were no more differences.
"And then there's defensive essence usage."
If Anwar had been drinking just now, all of it surely would have flown out as he burst out. "What?!"
Aurelius was pretty sure he saw some snot fly out of Anwar's nose.
"What's wrong?" Aurelius asked, his brows furrowed.
"Defensive!? What kind of pacifist was this Gabriel? What the..." Anwar wrapped his head in his arms.
"Eh, what's the problem with defensive essence usage?" Aurelius asked, his voice coming out as a kind of whine.
Anwar lifted his head and yelled, "Are you telling me you've only been using materialization for shields? It's not just for defensive things. You can make anything with materialization! That's the most important of all forms of essence."
"Huh?" Aurelius' face dropped. "Are you serious?"
"Well, it's widely disputed what's the most useful, but..." Anwar sighed. "Why am I getting this worked up? It's not like I'm the one who got screwed over. Your teacher is a scumbag, though."
Aurelius would've defended Gabriel like he always did, but this time he was blind-sighted. Had he really been lied to about something so important? Why?
"Having you enter the world with such shitty guidance is a war crime," Anwar remarked.
'Oh, It's...' Aurelius buried his face in his hands.
"It's not that."
"Huh?"
"I said it's not that." Aurelius raised his head. "He did it because he thought I wouldn't enter the real world. I was never supposed to be here."
"What do you mean? Why did you leave? Is it because of your mother?" Anwar asked, some emotion in his voice.
Aurelius shook his head before saying with some trouble, "My mother's fine. I left because I wanted to. I want to get stronger and gather some wealth."
"You—" Anwar raised a hand and was about to say something, but Aurelius continued on speaking.
"Then I can give her the life she deserves," Aurelius said before his troubled expression changed into just a frown. "The life my father should have given her. She's 42-years-old. She should be able to enjoy her remaining years to their fullest. But if I'm there, I won't be able to provide it for her. That's why I had to go. I want to earn enough wealth to give her everything she wants because that's what she deserves."
Anwar slowly lowered his hand. "Ah, alright. I get it. But this Gabriel, how long did he teach you?"
"He taught me for a few months while I was 12."
Anwar leaned closer with raised brows. "Really?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
Anwar leaned his head back and sighed. "No, nothing. Just... I guess I get it. It's much easier to hurt yourself and others with materialization than with other forms of essence usage. Even the purely combat-oriented ones. So don't worry, you didn't get screwed."
"Oh, okay." Aurelius nodded slowly with his mouth open.
"Well, that aside." Anwar flicked his wrist. "Maybe it's best if we just focus on motionless magic for now. So let's get to it."
***
"Think of the feeling the setup gives you and recreate it without it. Act like it's there, and if you're a slick enough actor, your body will believe your mind," Anwar explained, as Aurelius breathed deeply with his eyes closed.
He wasn't sure why Anwar had chosen this spot for training that required so much concentration, but the constant, crashing noise of the waterfall wasn't helping.
It was their second stop, and it was just now that they had moved from theory to practice. Aurelius had waited for a long time for it to begin, but when it did, he wanted to be doing anything else.
He had never had trouble with essence. Gabriel had always said he was the fastest learner he had ever seen. Supposedly, even his own father hadn't been able to learn things so quickly. Aurelius had always thought that Gabriel had lied when he said that. Now he was sure of it.
'My father would never have struggled like this,' he thought.
Then he fell over, caused by a push from his side.
"Stop thinking about other stuff and concentrate," Anwar said, retracting his foot, which he had pushed Aurelius over with.
"I was concentrating," Aurelius said, sounding unprecedentedly irritated even to his own ears.
"Go on then. Do it."
Aurelius sighed in order to stop himself from snapping again. "I'm trying."
***
"Yeah, let's just go to sleep," Anwar said coldly and walked away.
Aurelius gnashed his teeth and slowly opened his eyes for the first time in hours. In front, there was a huge cliff from which water flowed into the circular pond below.
Aurelius looked to his sides, surrounded by trees, rocks and darkness. Then his gaze turned down at his crossed legs before he slammed his hands on the ground again and again, hoping to feel some essence flow and strengthen his hands.
But all he ended up with were wrists covered in dirt and blood.
Not even a spark of essence had flown through his body that day, excluding the time spent traveling. It was humiliating.
Aurelius took a few deep breaths through his nose after assaulting the ground and jumped to his feet. He then started taking strides after Anwar.
Eventually, he arrived at the place where their bags lay. In front of the campfire, Anwar had just started. Anwar was lying with his back to a broad tree, arms crossed and eyes closed.
He hadn't seemed to have noticed Aurelius' arrival, so it was up to him to make his presence known. He stomped his way to the campfire, surrounded by fist-sized rocks, and raised his foot.
"I know you're angry," Anwar said, startling Aurelius. He then opened his eyes but stayed completely still otherwise. "But don't even think about it."
Aurelius retracted his foot and took a few steps back.
"Good. Now, I think I have to apologize," Anwar said, a smile growing onto his lips. "I've just wanted to do that to somebody ever since I was a child, you know."
"Huh?" Aurelius said, confused about what to feel.
Anwar's smile only grew. "That was the way my father taught me the first time. God, I felt like shit that day."
Aurelius' anger was gone. Only confusion and a mix of other unidentifiable emotions remained. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, when you try something very hard in harsh conditions, it becomes easier to do normally. But I may have taken it a bit too far. Sorry about that," Anwar said with a smile as wide as it could get and a glint in his eyes.
Aurelius had the look of "my whole life has been a lie". It didn't stop Anwar's amusement, however. On the contrary, he just burst out laughing.
Aurelius stood still like a zombie while his nostalgia-ridden partner laughed like a drain.
Eventually, Aurelius' own laughter joined the echoes around the forest.
