A/N: Hey guys! I'm back!
It's been a long journey with my other ff, but it's finally done (like the entire thing is finished), and I'll be returning to work on this ff, my main ff, full time!
It's great to be back, and I can't wait to start writing about Asher's story again. The first few chapters of the new arc will be relatively slow-paced compared to the exciting last moments of the Tournament Arc. Still, it'll be important to the foundation of Asher's abilities. If you couldn't guess, it's the training sub-arc.
In any case, that's enough out of me. (These long A/N's are probably annoying, lol)
Happy reading!
Asher POV
[A little under four years ago]
After the tournament, I began training immediately. It became more apparent than ever to both my teachers and me that my current situation was dangerous.
Even the tiniest bit of overexertion was fatal. So, my teachers, Virion and Alea plus Aya now, were just more augmenting training but focused on controlling the internal flow of mana. This was supposed to be preparation for conjuring, but... I had different plans.
*
"I'd like to do some independent training."
"Pft—"
Virion almost choked on the tea.
"Independent?"
Alea asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah. I have a few things I want to try right now. If they don't work out, we can figure them out when I come back."
"I see..."
Alea nodded, her words trailing off before her brows furrowed.
"Hold up, come back?"
"Yep, I'm going to complete my Asceticism Journey."
—Tang
Merial, who had just come into the room with Alduin, dropped the tray she was holding.
"...Asceticism Journey?"
Alduin spoke in disbelief as a maid quickly picked up the tray.
Their shock was understandable. An Asceticism Journey was the final step a Royal Guard would take to become a Royal Knight. It was a strenuous ordeal that required one to venture into the forest for an entire year and grow, fighting mana beasts and cultivating their strength while abstaining from the pleasures of the world. The name defined itself almost perfectly.
"Already? You're not even 10!"
Alduin tried to reason with me.
"The only requirement to begin one's Asceticism Journey is to be a Royal Guard and be an orange core."
"Yes! That's another..."
The elvish king trailed off.
"...You couldn't have."
"But I have."
Yup, that's right. I broke into the orange core just the night before because of this very reason. Also, I was promoted to Royal Guard after winning the tournament.
"Father?"
Left speechless, Alduin called out to his father.
Virion, who had seemingly come to a conclusion, spoke as he held down a burp.
"I say do it. Alea?"
"...As worried as I am, it's honestly better to get it over with as soon as possible."
"Mhm."
"Even you Ay—"
Alduin paused mid-sentence. We turned to the voice that came out of nowhere. The perpetrator, Aya, bat her eyes innocently.
"...Anyways. I'll be gone for a year to wander the forest."
I decided to ignore it.
"But how did you breakthrough so quickly? It's only been a couple of months."
"I can do it whenever."
"What?"
They ogled at me.
Feeling a strange sense of nudity, I quickly explained.
"...The requirement for a mage to advance into the next stage is to absorb mana which rids the impurities in one's core. In my case, I'm constantly absorbing mana and processing it. Though I do leak it, the fact that my mana core's impurities are constantly being purged, regardless of how slow, while I live my day-to-day life means—"
"That the rate at which your mana core could be purified would be tremendous if you actually meditated and tried."
"Precisely."
Virion was correct. Suppose I actually meditated and tried to break through into the next stage. In that case, I could hypothetically breakthrough to the white core at any time. Thus was the power of my super-speed absorption, of course, refining being a different matter, but even that seemed to be beyond the average.
Basically, the only thing that held me back was the limitations of my physical body.
I was pretty sure that my body (or my core, for that matter) couldn't handle that many breakthroughs in rapid succession.
And this wasn't just speculation. Sophus said so himself:
—While I do not know precisely what would happen since there are no written records, the act of breaking through into the next stage is highly reflective of its visual process. When one breaks into the next stage, "cracks" are visible on the surface of the core. That is the previous layer of the core, breaking off. In that sense, this procedure is similar to a snake's molting.
He pulled out a piece of paper and sketched out what he was talking about.
—A layer must be present under the layer that's breaking off for the following core stage to successfully "breakthrough."
He drew a detailed diagram of this phenomenon.
—So, a rapid series of breakthroughs with undeveloped could result in the core simply disappearing.
"How terrifying."
Aya muttered, but her smiling face betrayed what she was saying.
"In any case, if you're going to do it when are you leaving?"
I pondered for a moment.
"My birthday?"
It was indeed that time of year in around a week.
"...You sure?"
"Yeah. Then we can celebrate when I return."
"...8 year old birthday plus Asceticism Journey completion celebration, huh? Well, that sounds rather grand."
"What do you want for your present then?"
"For this birthday or—"
"This one, obviously."
"Military-grade trail mix?"
"..."
"Pft."
"Oh, shut up! It was just a mistake I made once! Once!"
"That mistake was forever ingrained into my memory."
I dramatically wiped a fake tear.
"Oi!"
"Hahahaha!"
After that, we drifted into idle chatter, talking about various things. I had to admit, it was a pleasant feeling.
It was different than what I felt with my friends.
It was similar, but not at the same time.
I smiled earnestly as I laughed along.
To put it simply, it was a feeling of family.
**
[A week later] (A/N: Oh my, who would've thought? Another time skip!)
Dressed in a brown hooded poncho, black elvish robes, and pants, as well as a brown sling bag, I was looking rather snazzy.
Also, complying with Alea's wishes, my hair had started growing out again, but, as only around three months had passed, it was closer to just being longish rather than long.
I stood at the city entrance, enjoying the pleasant autumn breeze, basking in the early morning sunlight.
"Aren't you guys gonna wish me a happy birthday?"
I quipped as I turned.
"It's hard to get into the mood when you lot are on the verge of crying."
I made a dissatisfied face at the condition of my farewell givers.
Alea looked like she was holding in a ton of tears; Virion was turned away, seemingly appreciating the view of nature with a serene face... nope. Never mind, there was a tear running down his face.
"Hey Viri—"
"Be quiet, Asher."
He suddenly spoke, a mysterious, dramatic shading overlaying his figure.
"These are manly tears."
A star bounced off me.
"Ok."
As for the royal couple, Alduin was surprisingly holding himself together with a stoic face (excluding his trembling lip), and Merial lightly grabbed onto the hem of her husband's robes.
I found it strange.
Sure, I had known these people my whole life (in this world) and would probably continue to know them as time went on, but seeing people so affected by my leave touched me in a foreign way.
As you can see, I wasn't used to goodbyes, much less heartfelt ones like these.
It just wasn't a thing me and my friends I ever did. We didn't really say thank you or sorry or any proper greetings. We just met and left, laughed off insults, and gave our gratitude through our smiles.
In fact, the first time I saw this sort of thing was before I died.
...
I'd love to get emotional just like these wonderful people in front of me but, I was kind of in a... predicament.
"We're kinda having a moment here, so do you mind not glaring at me..."
I scratched the back of my head.
"...Princess?"
The princess of the Kingdom of Elenoir was currently giving me a fiery death glare. After not letting up, I decided it was time to go. Any longer, and Alduin's lower lip might just have a seizure.
"Well, I'll be going then."
"Ah, wait!"
"?"
"Birthday present!"
"Oh."
I almost forgot about that.
Virion quickly rummaged through his robes.
"..."
But, after an awkward amount of time, instead of giving me a present, he mumbled something, and the group started frantically speaking in hushed whispers.
They couldn't have...
"...Um, so, Asher."
...No way.
"We kind of..."
It's impossible!
"Lost my present but accidentally happened to find it when I start freaking out?"
—Tak
The sound of something hitting the floor echoed.
I fist pumped and muttered, "bullseye."
"H-how'd you know!?"
"I know everything."
I chuckled.
"Whew, you suck."
Alea handed me my present with a distasteful expression to which I gladly received.
"So, what is it? A box?"
It was an odd metal rod, too long to be a sword's handle but way too short to be a staff. Some weird middle ground.
"It's a conduit."
Virion spoke with a proud expression.
"Conduit? As in for conjuring?"
"Yep. We want you to use it during your training... Why don't you try it?"
I eyed him suspiciously but decided to comply.
Filling the rod with some spare mana, I stared at it, curious at its reaction.
"Woah!"
Then, suddenly, white light flooded out from the ends of the rod, kind of like a dual-ended flashlight.
"Keke, surprised?"
"Y-yeah."
He snickered and began explaining it.
"If you concentrate enough, you can form shapes you want with the mana that spills out from it."
Virion looked me in the eye.
"The reason why we decided to give you this is because you've hit the limit with your swordsmanship."
"Couldn't you mince the words a little?"
"Who're you talking to?"
"A doting grandpa who loves all children except me?"
Virion deadpanned.
"In any case..."
The elves behind him chuckled lightly.
"...I want you to train versatility with weaponry. This artifact will help you create any weapon you can imagine. Your strength is combat, not skill."
I held the unassuming dark metal rod closer.
"Thanks."
I smiled.
"All of you."
After exchanging smiles, I turned to leave.
"Well, I'll see you all in a year, so... see you!"
It was a lame goodbye, but it was what it was. No one could get much better than that from me. Goodbye's suck and I'm going to see them in a year anyway.
"?"
However, as I was about to run off into the forest, I felt a sudden tug on the hem of my poncho.
"Princess?"
It was Tessia Eralith.
"..."
"Hello?"
She was simply standing there, beet red.
"Um... if you don't have anything, could you let go? I kinda wanna become a Royal Knight."
"Eh? Ah, wait!"
"..."
I stared at her incredulously.
"Um... I just..."
Go on...
"Thought... your..."
Her voice trailed off quieter and quieter, and I needed to strain my ears to make out what she was saying.
"...last battle was cool."
"...Pft, puhahaha!"
I burst out laughing.
"W-what!? What is it!?"
Her face flushed an even deeper shade of red.
I spoke between giggles.
"Kek, you could just say that, you know? Have some confidence!"
I pat the princess on the shoulders.
"W-well I—"
"I'm sure you'll become someone great, well, not greater than me, but you get the point."
Smiling confidently, I spoke with charisma of the same level.
"As long as you work hard, you'll be strong enough to be able to fight alongside your precious, so just keep training."
I turned to leave for real this time.
"Sorry I couldn't say bye in a better way, but this is farewell, and I bid thee all adieu!"
With a seemingly incongruent mischievous grin, I dashed off.
*
3rd Person POV
Tessia Eralith stood with a confused expression.
'Precious? What's that supposed to mean?'
"Your highness?"
The young princess turned around and saw Prime Candidate Alea, though with slightly reddened eyes, smiling as she spoke to her gently.
"You have something in your hair."
"Huh?"
Tessia fiddled around with her hair and then touched something that didn't feel like the rest of her head.
"Paper?"
She opened it.
[Precious = A.L.]
"A.L.?"
She stared at it inquisitively. While it gave a definition, it didn't really clear anything up.
Meanwhile, Virion was over in the back, losing his shit and muttering, "a mad lad, what a mad lad," between gasps. Silently, of course.
"Al?"
Tessia, unaware of her grandpa's reaction, was still figuring it out.
"A dot L dot? Does that mean they're initials? So it's not a name...?"
She squinted.
Merial, feeling a sudden rush of pity for her daughter, leaned down slightly and spoke into her ear.
Tessia's facial expression sank faster than a bad ship.
"That little—!"
Tessiaroared with a scarlet face, but Asher was already long gone, the only evidenceof his existence being his still audible cackle.
A/N: Can't wait to start writing about his training!
Just to note, training will be done via time skip in the same style I used before, but it'll be slower and most likely span two or more chapters. I'm not sure yet.
Also, I said it before, but I'll say it again: I'm happy to be back.
Thanks for reading!
Rua