Three days had passed since Theo faced the five orcs under Celia's harsh tutelage. Three days that were not much different from the previous two weeks, a mix of arduous physical training, mana meditation to the point of exhaustion, and desperate attempts to grasp the complex concepts Celia coldly threw at him, as if they were self-evident truths.
There was no time for grief, or rather, Celia did not allow him to have it. Pain and sorrow were fuel, fuel that must be directed towards one goal, power.
Dawn was painting the sky in shades of grey and purple as Theo practiced his movements in a small clearing among the trees. These were not combat drills in the traditional sense, but rather a slow, disciplined dance. He was training in "flow," as Celia called it, the seamless transition between standing, crouching, dodging, and jumping, while maintaining a low center of gravity and a continuous flow of mana through his body, not to cast a spell, but to enhance his movements, to be ready to explode at any moment.
Celia sat on a nearby rock, her eyes closed, but Theo knew she was watching him with all her senses, feeling every tremor in his mana flow, every hesitation in his movements.
"Too slow." Her voice came suddenly, calm but cutting. "And your mana flow is choppy, you're thinking about the next movement, not making it happen naturally. Mana should be like a river, flowing continuously, nourishing every part of you, not like stagnant puddles you draw from when needed."
Theo opened his eyes, feeling the familiar frustration rising. He looked at Celia with questioning eyes, then gestured with his hands in a movement expressing his effort and the difficulty of the task.
"Trying isn't enough." Celia interrupted him. "Understanding is the foundation. Do you understand why mana must flow continuously?"
Theo shook his head, Celia had explained it to him many times, but the application was much harder.
"Mana is not just energy you summon to cast spells." Celia began to explain again with icy patience. "It is part of the fabric of this world, and it flows in you and in everything around you. When you maintain a continuous internal flow, even if it's light, you are preparing your body and mind to respond faster. The transition from defense to offense, from movement to spellcasting, becomes smoother and more efficient. It also allows you to feel external flows better, to feel your opponent's mana, their intentions."
She pointed her hand at a nearby tree. "Look at this tree. Mana flows in it continuously, from the roots to the leaves, even if it's not actively photosynthesizing. This continuous flow is what keeps it alive, ready to grow, ready to defend itself against diseases or pests. Be like the tree in your basic flow."
Theo nodded, trying to absorb the analogy. Continuous flow, constant readiness.
"Today, we will focus on applying this concept." Celia said as she rose. "There's a group of orcs about two kilometers northwest, six of them this time. Your mission is not just to eliminate them, but to maintain a continuous mana flow throughout the approach and confrontation. I want to feel this flow in you, even when you're not directly casting a spell."
Six orcs. This was a bigger challenge than the previous time. Theo felt a little tension, but he quickly suppressed the feeling. He had to succeed.
"Remember yesterday's lessons." Celia added. "Efficiency, precision, exploiting the environment, and most importantly, continuous flow. I don't want to see any wasted movements or wasted mana."
Theo set off, and this time, he focused not only on silent movement and blending with the shadows, but on maintaining that faint current of mana flowing through his body. He felt it as a faint warmth, a whisper of energy beneath his skin. It required extra focus, but he tried to make it natural, like breathing.
He moved through the forest, his senses alert, feeling the mana in his surroundings a little more clearly thanks to the internal flow. He sensed the presence of the six orcs before he saw them, their signatures were stronger and more chaotic than the goblins', like a low rumble.
They were in a slightly more open area, arguing about something, perhaps prey or spoils from a previous raid. They hadn't noticed his approach yet.
"The flow is good." Celia whispered into his mind. "But it's still a little tense. Relax. Let it become a part of you."
Theo took a deep breath, and tried to relax into the flow. He chose his first target, an orc standing at the edge of the group, partially turned away from him. He decided to start with "Shadow Step," but this time, he tried to feed it directly from the continuous flow instead of drawing a separate burst of mana, and he felt the difference, the movement was smoother, less energy-consuming.
He approached quickly, his dagger in his right hand ready. He didn't use fire or darkness as a direct attack at first, he wanted to test the effectiveness of movement and precision first.
He arrived behind the orc, which began to turn, perhaps sensing something, but Theo didn't give it a chance, and the dagger accurately plunged into the gap between its leather helmet and shoulder guard, targeting an artery, with a clean and fatal movement.
"Very good." Celia commented. "High efficiency, excellent exploitation of the moment, continue."
The fall of the first orc caught the attention of the rest. They turned with a roar, their small eyes filled with anger and confusion. Five orcs now, rushing towards him.
Theo retreated, not out of fear, but to create distance and proactively use the environment. There was a scattered group of rocks and trees with prominent roots. He jumped over a tree root, using the continuous flow to enhance his leap, and landed behind a large rock.
Two orcs rushed directly towards him, while the other three tried to circle the rock.
"Separate them!" Celia reminded him.
Theo focused on the two rushing towards him. When they approached the rock, he used "Drain Touch" on his left dagger, but he didn't attack directly. Instead, he quickly swiped the dagger through the air in front of the nearest orc, not to hit it, but to create a slight disturbance in the mana flow in front of it, exploiting the concept of disrupting the opponent's flow that Celia had mentioned.
It wasn't a big effect, but it was enough to make the orc hesitate for a moment, blinking in confusion. In that moment, Theo lunged from behind the rock, targeting the second orc. He used a simple combination of fire and darkness, a small flame towards the eye, and a dark push towards the throat, followed by a quick dagger stab to the chest.
The second orc fell.
The first orc, who had hesitated for a moment, now attacked in anger, its massive club rising in the air.
Theo dodged the blow, using "Shadow Step" to slip to its side, this time, he didn't aim for a fatal spot immediately. He remembered Celia's words about weakening the opponent, and delivered a quick stab towards the tendons in the orc's ankle, using the continuous flow to increase the force of the stab.
The orc roared in pain and stumbled, its movement noticeably slower.
"Good." Celia whispered. "Movement disruption is effective. Now, deal with the others before they surround you."
The other three orcs had almost circled the rock. They didn't attack as a single unit, but were jostling slightly, their rivalry showing even in combat.
Theo exploited this chaos and lunged towards the closest one of them, but he didn't attack it directly. Instead, he jumped onto a smaller rock, and used it as a pivot point to jump towards the slightly further orc, changing the direction of his attack unexpectedly.
"Good use of terrain and surprise." Celia commented.
Theo landed lightly behind the third orc, and delivered a powerful stab towards its kidney, another weak point.
Two remained standing fully, in addition to the orc injured in its ankle who was trying to get up.
Theo decided to try something more complex. He focused, trying to maintain the continuous flow, and began to draw fire and dark mana together, not in his hands, but around his daggers. It wasn't a full "Flame of Destruction," but a shimmering aura of shadows and small flames dancing around the metal.
"Better focus." Celia noted. "But the mana is unstable, be careful."
He lunged towards one of the standing orcs, barely dodging a club blow, and felt the air displace him. He reacted quickly, his mana-shrouded dagger wounding the orc's arm. It wasn't a deep wound, but the orc screamed not only from pain, but from the strange sensation of burning and corrosion at the same time.
The mana-injured orc took a step back, hesitant.
Theo used this opportunity to finish off the orc injured in its ankle, who had begun to get up. A quick stab to the neck ended its suffering.
Now two remained, the orc injured by his mana, and the last relatively unharmed orc.
The two attacked together, Theo dodged the uninjured orc's blow, but he couldn't completely avoid the mana-injured orc's blow. The club hit his side, and he felt a sharp pain in his ribs, he almost lost his focus on the mana around his daggers.
"Don't lose focus under pain!" Celia reprimanded him in his mind. "Use pain as fuel, not as an obstacle!"
Theo forced himself to focus, ignored the pain and lunged towards the uninjured orc, the mana around his daggers dancing more violently, he didn't try to stab precisely this time, but quickly swept both daggers across the orc's chest and abdomen, leaving superficial but burning and dark wounds.
The orc screamed and retreated, hitting its chest in an attempt to extinguish the strange black flames.
Theo quickly turned towards the other orc, who was preparing for a new attack. He used "Shadow Step" to approach quickly, then jumped, using the orc's knee as a pivot point to gain height, and delivered a powerful stab with the other dagger towards the orc's eye.
The fifth orc fell.
The last orc remained, still trying to deal with the burning and dark wounds, it was weak and disoriented.
Theo approached it cautiously, and quickly and efficiently ended its life.
Theo stood amidst the six corpses, panting heavily, the pain in his side throbbing intensely. The battle was much harder, not only because of the extra number, but because of his attempt to apply new concepts and maintain focus.
Celia landed in front of him again, her gaze scrutinizing, her face as expressionless as usual.
"Significant progress." She finally said. "Your mana flow was much better, though it still needs refinement, your use of the environment was more proactive, disrupting the opponent's movement was a good tactic, and attempting to shroud your daggers in mana was a bold move, though unstable and needing more control."
She pointed to his side. "But you got hit. Why?"
Theo gestured towards the orcs with a motion expressing the difficulty of dodging both attacks simultaneously, then shrugged in acknowledgment of the mistake.
"Mistake." Celia said sharply. "You could have. If your reading of the battle flow was better, you would have anticipated the dual attack and retreated an extra step to create distance or used the shadows to distract one of them for a moment. You are still reacting to what is directly in front of you, not reading the full picture of the battle."
She paused for a moment, then said, "These orcs belong to the 'Bloodfang' tribe. You can tell by the primitive red tattoos on their arms." She pointed to one of the dead orcs. "Orc tribes are not just savage hordes, Theo. Each has its customs, strengths, and weaknesses. 'Bloodfang' are known for their brutality and physical strength, but they lack discipline and tactics. Other tribes, like 'Black Shadow,' are more cunning and organized, using ambushes and poisons. Knowing your enemy is an essential part of survival."
Theo nodded, this was the first specific information about orcs Celia had given him, he felt that this was part of the lesson too.
"This land we are walking on now," Celia continued, looking around at the ancient forest, "was once part of the lost kingdom of Ilandar. A kingdom where magic and knowledge flourished a thousand years ago, before it fell in a catastrophic war against... something else." She deliberately left the end of the sentence vague.
Theo raised his eyebrows in a questioning gesture, as he had never heard of this kingdom before.
"Traces of that kingdom still exist, buried underground or hidden in forgotten places." Celia said. "And the monsters we face, some have always existed, and others are the result of that ancient war or magic that went out of control. Understanding history is not a luxury, Theo, it is a tool for survival. It helps you understand the nature of the threats you face, and perhaps... find ways to defeat them."
She looked directly at Theo, her face still expressionless. "We will continue north. There are ancient ruins I want to show you, and along the way, you will train more, and learn more."
Theo nodded, the pain in his side reminding him of the price of each lesson. He picked up his daggers, and began to collect anything useful from the orc corpses, as Celia had previously instructed him.