For two long weeks, the group struggled to navigate the dense terrain, searching for the location Sandra’s scouts had reported.
During those two weeks, rather than dwelling on her defeat, Mariana began observing Zane’s training. She even asked him why he constantly wore weight bracelets when he was already so strong but Zane found her continuous questions annoying, especially as she kept asking how he had gotten so powerful and how she could reach that level too.
Maria and Joshua, on the other hand, spent the journey catching up. Back in the capital, they rarely had the chance to speak because they served in different squads.
Despite not encountering any monsters along the way, the journey brought all four of them closer together.
"Hey, Mariana," Zane asked one afternoon while they walked. "When we fought, what kind of power were you using during your attacks?" The question had been bothering him since their duel.
"That was Aura," she replied.
"Why are you asking when you were using it too?" she added, glancing at him with a puzzled look.
"What? I can use Aura? I’ve never used it before, I don’t even know what it is."
Mariana sighed. "You used it almost the entire time we were fighting."
"So being strong doesn’t mean you know everything, huh?" she teased. "How have you been fighting all this time without knowing?"
"Mmm... I thought I was only using Mana."
"Hey guys, why don’t we take a break?" Maria called out from behind. "We’ve been walking for hours."
"That works," Joshua said from the front. "It’s getting dark anyway."
They set up camp for the night, and as the campfire crackled, Mariana resumed explaining the world’s power systems to Zane.
"You know you’ve been casting spells without fully understanding how energy works, right?" Mariana asked.
"What do you mean?" Zane asked, looking confused. "I’ve been casting spells for years."
Mariana sighed softly. "Let’s start with the basic laws of power in this world. First, there’s Mana, which almost everyone possesses to some degree. Then there’s Aura, which physical fighters and knights use. And finally, magic circles, which mages use." Get faster updates on g.com.
"What’s the difference?" Zane asked, staring at his palms.
"Aura comes from within your own physical body," Mariana explained, standing up to demonstrate. "It derives from your life force, physical stamina, martial training, and pure willpower. A fighter condenses their inner energy and pushes it outward to coat their body or weapon just like you did when my attacks couldn’t leave a mark on you."
"Wait... that was Aura?" Zane asked.
"It was. Yours functioned like a defensive technique, but it was fueled by Aura."
Zane leaned back, pondering. So that’s why my sister told me I had to figure it out on my own...
"Aura can also be used for Body Enhancement boosting your speed, strength, and reflexes far beyond normal human limits," Mariana continued. "Don’t tell me you were doing all of that without knowing what it was?"
"I really didn’t know," Zane admitted.
"How is that even possible?" Joshua asked, walking over and handing them two steaming cups of tea.
"Zane was self-taught for most of his life until his sister started guiding him," Maria explained as she sat down near the fire.
"Who is his sister?" Joshua asked, curious.
"That’s none of your business," Zane replied coldly.
"Easy there, kid," Joshua chuckled, holding his hands up. "It’s not like I’m your enemy."
"Traveling together doesn’t mean we share personal information," Zane said flatly.
Maria and Mariana both nodded in agreement.
"Fair enough," Joshua said, taking a sip of his tea.
"You can continue, Mariana," Zane said.
"Right. Then there’s Weapon Coating," Mariana said. "You project sharp energy around your sword or weapon to slice through steel, stone, or magic barrier defenses."
"If she had used full weapon coating during your duel, you would have needed to take it seriously," Maria noted casually.
"The second power source is Mana," Mariana continued. "Unlike Aura, Mana comes from the environment around us. It’s ambient energy flowing through nature and the atmosphere. Mages draw it in to affect the environment or discharge raw elemental energy like your Wind Spikes."
"So that’s why my Mana core expands every time I cultivate," Zane muttered. Get faster updates on g.com.
Joshua stopped mid-sip, his eyes widening. "What do you mean ’expands’? Every time you cultivate?"
"Huh? Is that not supposed to happen?" Zane asked.
"You can expand your core over years of hard work, but expanding it every single time you meditate? That’s absurd," Joshua said, shaking his head.
"Well, that’s Zane for you," Maria laughed softly.
"Finally, there are Magic Circles," Mariana concluded. "Mages construct them in their minds or through chants to structure Mana into complex spells. The Mana acts as the fuel, while the circle acts as the blueprint."
"What about divine magic?" Zane asked.
"That comes from awakening a Holy class," Mariana explained. "Those individuals tap into a rare energy source known as a Holy Vessel."
A Holy Vessel... Zane thought to himself. That means I can learn divine magic using my class abilities.
With their lesson finished, the group turned in for the night to get some rest.
The next morning, they packed up camp and resumed their search. But after several hours of walking through the dense forest, Maria and Zane stopped, noticing something strange about the trees around them.
"Wait," Maria said, narrowing her eyes at a notched tree trunk. "We’ve been here before. We’re walking in circles."
"Yeah, I noticed it too," Zane said, scanning the dense fog creeping through the woods. "It’s either a spatial illusion or a localized barrier."
"So what do we do to get out of here?" Mariana asked, her hand instinctively tightening on her sword hilt.
Zane reached behind his shoulder, his fingers wrapping around the thick cloth bindings of the massive blade on his back. A quiet smirk pulled at the corner of his lips.
"Well, you’ve been dying to know about this sword, right Mariana ?" Zane said, unwinding the heavy wraps. "How about I show you what it can do at just two percent?"
Mariana’s breath hitched as Zane drew the blade and casually swung it through the empty air.
BOOM!
A shockwave of sheer force ripped through the forest. The space in front of them shattered like glass, obliterating the illusion in a single stroke. As the shattered illusion dissolved, the true landscape was revealed, and the group froze, unable to process the terrifying sight that lay before them.