"I want you to show me your strength, show me with an attack what you are capable of doing," he said in a soft but challenging voice, one could even say arrogant.
If anything, it was that Jane trusted in her strength, or at least she trusted in her strength to beat me up.
I raised my katana to make a vertical slash, I made sure to have my stance low and well positioned, to make a strong cut and I even used magic to propel the katana.
With one hand, she held her own katana, completely absorbing the blow I delivered without even flinching. For the first time since I'd known her, she looked me in the eyes, those blood-red eyes, as deep as the abyss itself. Her eyes matched the blade of her katana. I'd never seen a katana like that before; not only was the hilt red, the blade itself was made of white metal, but it seemed stained with drops of blood around the edge.
With the fire god, I ignored the gap. The gap in strength between us—no, the gap in strength between me and any magical opponent—was quite vast. Even Azumi had complex techniques to defeat her enemies, but I didn't have that level of technique yet. Jane was far above me; after all, she's the one who's going to train me.
—You're either too brave or too stupid, I'm not sure. With that strength, you can't even beat me.
When she speaks, looking you in the eye, it's terrifying, even for someone like me. She looked like a beast staring at its prey.
"Let's say I'm both. Does that change anything? I still have to kill a god," I asked.
His answer was as cold as his gaze.
"At this rate, you're going to lose your life in the next encounter. No, you won't even be able to avoid getting hurt under my sword." She stepped away, no longer looking me in the eye.
"I'm a soldier. Every time I fight, I put my life on the line. Although I long for a future, a soldier can't protect or seize anything unless he puts his own life on the line. So, in any case, I'm counting on you. Show me the way, and I'll stake my life on it. The way to kill a god."
When I returned her gaze in the same way, she stopped staring at me and returned to her usual blank stare. She still remains an enigma.
"There are only two reasons why he didn't burn you to ashes or cut off your head." She closed her eyes and stared thoughtfully at the ground.
-Which is it?
"He's weak, he's an extremely weak god, but he's still a god." She smiled painfully, covering her eyes.
Weak? There must be some mistake. The man I faced was truly a monster.
—I fought him, his strength is tremendous; besides, fire is difficult to deal with.
"That's because you barely know how to navigate the world of magic. You prepare your soldiers yourself before battle; you were barely able to properly wield a weapon; you had no chance of winning."
—Azumi taught me what she knew. —I stood up for my former teacher.
—The Neko were once spectacular at handling magic, but they fell far behind when the age of the gods arrived. In a fight between magic users, you rarely see anyone improve their strength; you tire very quickly, so the Neko decided to create lethal spells, along with quite high skill; however, a god has enough magic to do so for days. The fact that she couldn't defeat the god is because her race really did fall too far behind in time. They're now a tribe or a small clan; they were an empire.
"Azumi told me about that." I nodded.
—Adam was extremely strong; he was at a very high level, a level that very few people alive can even remember.
"How strong was it?" I let my curiosity get the better of me.
"He could move at speeds the average eye couldn't reach. He could strike so hard that a shockwave rippled across the field with each attack. He had attacks that could wipe out entire cities. The bastard could see everything on the battlefield. Not only that, he could bend the earth to his will. The god of fire, on the other hand, could only create fire." She stretched her hand slightly and raised her palm; a small flame emerged from it, as if from a lighter.
—So, if I train water attacks, I should be able to win, right?
"It's so weak, in fact, that it might be the easiest way to win, but he'd only have to put in a little more effort to advance to the next stage of elemental control; instead, I'll teach you one of the most powerful branches of magic, draconic magic." She smiled haughtily, frowning.
"Rama? And Dragonica?" I asked.
—Let me, I'll show you.
She spun around, katana in hand, and swung it down at the ground at a speed she didn't think anyone could match. She shot out from behind the wall, a red trail that looked like red lightning emanating from her. She began slashing with the katana like a dance, using the force of her movements to stay glued to the wall. Her katana emanated that red lightning, its speed increasing over time. Just as she was about to hit the ground, she leaped up and was at my level in less than a blink of an eye, but the trails got ahead of her, forming four fangs that bit into the air, erupting in a waste of energy, causing the air around her to whip around.
With her feet she drew a circle with inscriptions, called a rune, it was as if a colored fire were drawing in the middle of the air.
"This technique not only has a highly dangerous power, it allows you to cancel any type of magical attack, as long as your technique and strength are superior. The God of Fire, that name is garbage, only has that name because he only knows how to use fire techniques. Together, you and I using this technique, he won't stand a chance." Jane seemed happy to be able to show off her techniques.
Ashley, who had remained silent the whole time, was actually busy cleaning her rifle.
"Honestly, it's impressive," Ashley said.
That made Jane puff up, although she didn't show it that much, to be fair, she didn't even brag about it.
"The first thing you have to learn, before you delve into that branch of magic and understand what the hell a branch is, is to be able to truly improve your body. To do that, you have to really perfect your control of magic, build more muscle, and learn to use your magic to enhance your movements," Jane explained.
"How do I get to that level?" I asked.
—So far, you should only have reached instinct, but you must feel it at a much higher level. To do that, you have to do the following exercise: accelerate your pulse, but not simply by squeezing your heart with magic; that will only cause your death. I want you to run, so that your heart wants to jump out of your chest. While you do that, you have to concentrate on that organ. I don't just want you to feel it with magic; you're already capable of that. I want you to be able to feel every damn vein in your heart. That's where you'll improve your heart. As a tip: feel the feeling.
I nodded, though confused, and started running. Jane sat next to Ashley, sharpening her sword, while keeping an eye on me.
While running, I had a chance to see the city. Throughout the city, it sounded like there was a power, with shouts and music everywhere. Even though they had to make do with food, they were happy and stuck together. I suppose since they were all slaves a few minutes ago, it's as if you were in the epitome of literary and fantasy communism, where everyone is equal and, therefore, happy.
Since the point was to get my heart pumping, I didn't breathe properly and let myself hyperventilate, causing exactly what I needed.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach for something so small. It felt like the energy was too great to pass through the tiny veins of my heart. Jane's words echoed in my head: "Feel the feeling." I focused on the feeling itself. It was like when the air from a fan hits your hands and you could control the direction of the air, but in this case, that "air" is magic. Then I understood. I managed to give it shape, and one by one it tried to travel through my veins. But I couldn't. So many hours passed that Ashley had to leave to do some administrative work, and several soldiers came up to give me reports on the situation. Nothing really important, but I was notified that one of the spies had found an opportunity, an opening. There was still a week until that, and thinking I would finish today, I left it for later.
Although I didn't rest, it wasn't that I didn't want to eat; it was that we only had enough for one meal a day. Jane, who got her food from who knows where, enjoyed grapes. She had been talking to Ashley; they seemed to get along very well, but once she was alone, she simply enjoyed the views of the wasteland that the wall itself overlooked. She didn't see the soldiers training, digging trenches, running, or being tortured in any way Mason could think of; she simply stared up at the sky, her gaze lost in space.
I, on the other hand, every time I tried to feel those tiny veins in my heart, not only did they burn and I felt like I was going to have a damn heart attack, but I also felt like my energy wasn't enough to get through, even if I had made it smaller. However, now I could feel it, and that made me remember Jane's words once again. But before I could even make one more attempt, I collapsed. I was too exhausted, and my body immediately gasped for air. Jane approached me.
"You're already too tired. Are you sure you want to continue today?" She pointed toward the darkening sky.
Indeed, I had spent hours running. My body already felt numb, and my fingers ached. I had pushed my body to its physical limits; I had felt a headache and shortness of breath all day, but the adrenaline and determination to reach my goal kept me focused.
It was on the ground where I truly questioned whether I was even capable. My body complained and begged for rest. In my mind, images of my former companions replayed, but not only that, my own words, my promises, were repeated. With my legs shaking and still not much air in my lungs, I stood up, even though the headache prevented me from thinking properly. It wasn't time to rest; I had a god to kill.
I started running again, this time my heart rate was slower and heavier, but it didn't matter as long as my heart was beating, I focused on that feeling, little by little I didn't feel like it was me directing an energy that came out of my chest or my hands, it was an energy that I could shape and make flow to my liking, I felt it similar to that wind in the hands that I mentioned before, however, it felt a little different from the wind, in that moment I did it, I felt it flow very easily, I could stop it, I could shape it, I could move it, I could even change its temperature, and feel what was around it.
When I felt my heart, I understood, and as if it were a machine, I made it work better. My heart began to hurt as strongly as always, but I focused on why it hurt: the elasticity and strength of the muscle tissue. I filled holes in the tissue and made it bigger without preventing my blood from clogging. For a moment, I felt like my heart was only working with magic and that if I decided to stop applying it, it would stop beating. At the same time, I felt it was overflowing with more magic than ever. I did the same with my lungs and their tissue, allowing me to breathe better in time with my heart. In a short time, I noticed that all the pain in my body was gone. My heart no longer hurt because it was beating fast. In fact, it was beating very slowly, but it was beating with such force that I had to get used to it and improve my entire body to work with such a fast blood flow.
Then I understood, I improved my muscles, or you could say I sculpted them, and although I already had good muscles from exercise, I was able to make them bigger, more compact, more perfect, to house much more energy in them.
I approached Jane.
—I think I did it, I want another try.
Jane nodded, stood up, and unsheathed her katana. I created mine with magic, this time making it stronger, more compact. I took the katana in my hands and, with my magic, slashed once more with all my might. This time, Jane had to use both hands, and her body was dragged backward.
"You're impressive, it took me years to master this," Jane said in surprise.
"I know I still have a long way to go, but I won't let my body rest until I get the results," I replied.
"I'll teach you the Draconic style then. First, I want you to concentrate all your magic, gather it to the point where everyone can see it." She extended her palm, and a red ball of energy that looked like crystal appeared, growing larger over time until it reached a size similar to a seer's crystal ball.
Even though I used all my energy, I couldn't do it, not because I couldn't compact it, I lacked magic.
Three days passed. Jane told me to keep trying, that the more I did, the more I cultivated my magic, and thanks to that, I would be able to achieve my goal.
Mason was putting the recruits through an ordeal and had to add a lot more practice. Previously, he trained only hardened veterans in Pyrrhic combat; they had been forged by the deaths of their fellow combatants.
But now we were training an army without veterans and that came with its problems, although fortunately they were much fewer than I expected, since we were the ones who saved them, they had a respect for their superiors that was enviable by any army.
Thanks to that, Mason could unleash the most psychopathic training he could think of. I think it was lucky that just a few days ago I sent the mortar plans for their construction; I'm pretty sure Mason would have practiced the boys' mortar aim.
He made them run for more than twelve hours carrying ammunition crates. During that marathon, he also made them climb up and down the wall, but not specifically by taking the stairs. To keep their morale high, he made them sing. Thanks to this and their own suffering, they knew they had to forge their strength with sweat and blood.
I, of course, had to do my part in this last aspect and create a connection with those who would be my future brothers in arms.
From the wall I shouted to the soldiers who were trotting rhythmically.
—Boys, I remind you that what you have lived through as slaves will be ten times easier than the ordeal of the battlefield! We are living in a savage world dominated by a being who calls himself god! Let us deny the genocidaire any more blood on his hands, let us shoot one by one with a bullet forged with our hatred directly, our Kingdom has already bled dry! From the beginning we have endured this tyranny and now we will end it by uniting in anger! Let us strike so hard that in the history books they will have to write the letter in blood and fire out of respect! They left us to rot and pushed our souls towards despair! Cling to the darkness, boys, cling to hatred, crush your muscles and create new ones using their ashes! If we have already fallen into darkness, let us all go together to fight in its depths, do not fear death! After all, death gave us the advantage by gifting us a life! —I shouted my speech, unaware that my own soldiers were listening. They, in unison, stood up straight and paid me their respects.
The recruits increased their pace to their limit and Mason already knew what to do, he wasn't going to let them slow down from that pace from now on.
"You're good at speeches," Jane commented.
"You haven't seen everything about him yet," Ashley smiled arrogantly. She usually went up to the wall with me and left after an hour and a half to attend to her duties.
"This battle was too easy. They didn't expect an attack and a defense worthy of an army. This war has barely begun. We have food problems and we can't provide jobs without it."
—The reconnaissance patrol should be returning with news; also, one of my spies should be back shortly with news from the neighboring empire.
The forest where we had started had access only to a sea heavily guarded by neighboring empires. The volcano was located near a reef north of the forest. We were trapped by this very city; now, around us were more cities from our empire taken by the tyrant, but to the east we had direct contact with a neighboring empire that was not allied with our enemy. Ashley, demonstrating why she was my right-hand man, preempted my order and sent one of her trained spies to the neighboring empire to establish communications.
The problem was that without even telegrams, our communication took too long, even though three days had passed since the capture of the city and my new training, we received no response from the spy.
Sabimbi was in charge of the maze of trenches and defenses; he had been given that position after seeing his performance on the volcano.
I hadn't had time to speak properly yet, and I regretted it greatly.
"The volcano factories are working with everything they have, but they failed to make the tank engine; apparently, the precision of the piston chamber parts wasn't correct, causing an explosion that resulted in the total loss of the prototype. The master craftsmen apologize, but say they'll be able to meet expectations," Ashley said, holding a report.
—It was to be expected, fortunately it was only a minor misfortune.
"Are you okay?" Ashley asked.
Jane, who was lost in thought, listened. I, on the other hand, didn't understand her question.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
—Be… your hands, —he answered.
I looked at my hands. I didn't feel the pain I'd caused myself. I reflexively clenched my fists, my whole body tense. Yes, I'd been upset, though the correct word was fear. I burst out laughing at my own weakness. Yes, I'd become too weak.
I lost my cool and the act I had built with cotton bricks quickly collapsed.
"Sean?" Ashley's look on my face was one of terror.
Of course, her reaction was completely normal. I was laughing nonstop, while my body showed signs of being seriously injured. The mental wounds were open, and she knew it, but she didn't know how much I had managed to keep them out of my way.
"Fear... I'm afraid, Ashley. I just remembered I have to kill a god with an army armed with ideals." I finally managed to stop laughing. "This is going to be won, but I'm afraid I got too confident. Tell Mason to train them even if their lives are in danger. I'm leaving you in charge of perimeter control. We have to hit hard. I don't have time to train."
"Are you going to stop training?" Jane asked.
"I just have to do it faster." Without wasting any more time, I reinforced my body with magic and used the determination this adrenaline rush had given me.
Blood was still oozing from my hand, and I screamed out loud in reflex from the pressure I was exerting. I even felt short of breath, which was odd because I had already improved my lungs, but I didn't pay much attention to it.
A small flash began to emit from the palm of my hand, accompanied by small electrical bursts. My fingers were so tense they hurt like cramps. The ball of energy finally began to form, although it looked very unstable.
I wanted to celebrate my achievement, but I felt all my magic drain from me. My body went into shock as it suddenly stopped improving. My body quickly gave way, and I fell to my knees. The ball of energy collapsed, dispersing its energy in a shockwave strong enough to cause fear of harm.
My hand, of course, had been damaged. I had no idea how I wasn't left with a cripple; some of the skin on my hand was completely gone.
—I guess part of that is my fault as a teacher.
I couldn't answer him, my body was still dying from the lack of oxygen.
"I told you in part, this training requires a user with a lot of magic. You were supposed to do it gradually, but instead you used every bit of magic you had to do it. The only really good thing is that now you know what your limit is," Jane emphasized.
"I feel empty," I whispered.
My body felt heavy and I was short of breath.
—Only a god could continue fighting in the state you're in; you've exhausted every bit of magic you had left, so it'll take a while for you to recover.
You can't rest.I understand… Get up. I can't. Are you going to let us down?
I stood up as my whole body complained.
— Teach me.
—I teach you magic and you don't have it, you have no choice but—I interrupted her, pointing at her katana—Do you want to practice? You don't have enough strength, you don't even have the necessary concentration.
I picked up one of the katanas on the ground that I had left behind, my body trembling sporadically.
"If I can do this, I can do more." And even though I said those words myself, I doubted I could.
You have to do it.
She drew her katana and assumed a fighting stance, my blood staining the hilt of my own katana red.
I started the attack, like a boxer I launched myself ignoring what my body was telling me, as long as I could move I would fight, but my attacks were easily blocked, again I felt like I was hitting a wall.
"Your defenses are very low," Jane pointed out.
Jane, in the exchange of blows, subtly cut me with the katana, if this were a fight, she would have killed me.
What are you doing? Try hard.
I increased my speed. Jane's technique seemed perfect to me; her movements were precise, and as we traded blows, the cuts on my body appeared one after another.
She throws a vertical slash and using my katana, I slide to quickly approach her, despite having the positioning advantage, she hits me with her fist and kicks me hard, making me fall on my back.
My body no longer responded to me, it didn't move.
Don't rest.
I got up once more, and that's how the next few hours went. She beat me up, beating me up, and it could hardly be called training, but I was learning from every mistake.
At one point, I quickly performed a series of slashes that she blocked without much trouble. I attacked from below, and she quickly counterattacked, trying to step on me, but I dodged by stabbing my katana into the ground and using it to propel myself forward, kicking her legs back. She simply stepped back a bit; it had taken me too long and hadn't been effective, but I didn't give up. Wasting no time, I launched another attack that nearly grazed her; she simply stepped forward, allowing her to strike me with the handle of her katana.
I got back up, but my vision went dark and I lost control of what was happening to my body.
I opened my eyes, feeling very rested; it was nighttime. I got up and looked around. Ashley was holding a small lantern while writing something. Jane was sharpening her katana.
"You've been unconscious for six hours. The messenger I sent has arrived. We have a meeting with a noble from the neighboring empire tomorrow. There's a lot of defensive activity on the part of our enemy, but it seems they're waiting for our moves. We've also received information that they're buying a lot of mercenaries, so we can expect a fairly fierce fight." Her tone of voice was cold; she was a little annoyed.
-I understand.
—We don't have enough food for three more days, and the food shipment coming from the forest base barely adds enough food to complete one meal a day.
"If I can sell the metal for food, we'll dodge this bullet. The problem is if I don't manage to do it in time, but beyond that, I have no idea how to hold this city, and in our position, we can't march as a horde."
"I explained the steps I took to avoid trouble. I set up hunting parties to give the students a chance to support themselves. I had to build a governmental system based on our military, and while it's useful in terms of loyalty, it leaves us with a simple problem. You and I are the only ones who can do anything to sustain this empire. You know a lot about warfare, but you're far behind in government, so it all falls on me."
"I've always had people capable of taking care of it; maintaining cities has never been my problem." I began to stretch my body.
—Don't worry about that, focus on the military. To avoid paperwork, there are simply fewer laws and edicts than normal. By building a military police force under the command of trusted soldiers, we can maintain order without problems of corruption. I've built a monetary system based on food; paper money is equivalent to food. To avoid paperwork, the only real record we have is how many bills we've released and their registration number; everything else works by word of mouth; we can't have a bureaucratic office.
"Thank you, Ashley. I'm really not sure what I'd do without you. We must work hard to prepare ourselves as much as possible and be able to fight with everything we have." I picked up my katana. "Let's continue, Jane. I'm sorry for losing my cool. I learned a lot about my weaknesses during our fight. Please teach me."
Jane stood up and drew her katana without saying a word.
"If you overtrain, it'll be counterproductive to your body. Stop!" Ashley scolded me.
—My body no longer has the same limits as a human body, and although I myself don't know those limits, if I don't train, I'm still destined to lose.
—At this rate, you'll die. You have to go back to being cold and calculating. If you let your emotions rule you, you won't be able to make the best decisions when it comes to taking action.
"I just do the best I can," I said, smiling.
—But we are also people.
—Not right now.
Of course the training lowered its intensity, but that was because I was learning new moves with Jane's katana and correcting the mistakes she pointed out.
I stayed up all night training until it was time to leave.