Pov: Eirian
Dusting myself as I got up from the ground, Leuan walked away from us. "That is enough, now, since you all were not able to land an attack, you all get to run for the rest of the afternoon." Leuan walked past us, "Meet me outside the training ground, we are taking a scenic route." Cedric followed him, putting on his coat once again.
As I turned to the others, Eira sat on the ground, "That sucks, we were so close!" She let out.
"No, we weren't. If he really wanted to, he could have dodged it; he was just toying with us if anything." Ael replied, getting up from the floor. "How the heck are we supposed to hit him with such a big gap in power?"
"We have a lot ahead of us, don't we?" I said, looking down at my fist, clenching it.
The next day, my body felt sore from all the running I had done the day before. Gathered back at the training ground, we were all lined up. Leuan was standing in front of his finished, sipping his bottle of liquor. "You know what is wrong with you all?"
We stood there in silence, Ael to my left, Eira to my right. "You all aren't using Numen to its fullest power." I furrowed my brow. "Not sure if you all haven't realized, which I will assume so since I am going to be nice here, but you all are lacking the ability to comprehend how much Numen can do for you." After pacing around for a bit, Leuan stopped standing directly in front of me. "Eirian, step up."
I bit the inside of my cheek. Upon hearing this, I hesitate for a moment before doing so. "I want you to hit me." Leuan let out.
"Huh?" I said, confused.
"You heard me hit me. I won't use any abilities or whatnot." He stood up straight, leaving his stomach open. After staring for a brief moment, he seemed to get impatient, "Come on, I said, hit me."
"O-okay?" I said, reeling back my fist, when I did, I clenched it tight and delivered a strong blow into his stomach, but instead of him getting hurt, I was the one in pain. Jumping, I placed my hand between my knees and hopped. "What was that?"
"Enhancement." He smirked, glancing at me, then at the others. "By using my numen, I can focus it on certain points in my body to either reinforce it or allow me to hit stronger attacks." He lingered for a moment, "Although, you all wouldn't be able to hold it as long as I would, seeing as your Numen reserves are low, but it is still a good skill to learn. When you become a higher rank, you will be able to hold it for longer."
As I stopped hopping around, I turned my head as he peered over me. Ael, behind me, spoke up. He still kept an upright posture, and any of that playful nature he had couldn't be seen. "Speaking on that note, how do we rank up?"
"Yeah? Is it done by killing different monsters or something? Like that corruption beast we fought." Eira followed up.
"Right, I keep forgetting you all don't know anything." He placed his hand on his chin. "To put it simply, you pray. As you get closer to the God of Numen, you are able to rank up."
"Seems reasonable enough," Ael replied, "It's how we made our pacts, why not the same for ranking up."
"Exactly," Leuan replied.
"Question: How did you become so strong? What made it so different from you compared to everyone else?" I asked, hoping to hear how I could fast-track being stronger.
He stared me down for a moment as silence filled the room.
'Should I not have asked?' I could feel a ball fill up in my throat.
As he tilted his head, he hummed for a moment, "That is because of my deep connection to the goddess from the start. The ability to hear her." He continued, "Although I only heard her voice once, I still remember her voice."
"So that is why hearing the goddess's voice was so important; Not only because the strongest has heard her voice, but because it's an indication that we are able to achieve a high rank fast." The words left from Eira's lips.
"It's only a theory, but yes, the whole pact is rooted in our connection to her."
"You... haven't talked to the goddess after that?" I questioned, recalling my sanctuary.
"No, although I am grateful to have even heard her before I died. Many never even get to make a pact with her." His eyes strayed off.
'So, it is normal.' I started to get lost in thought, 'Me not being able to talk with Fey yesterday, it was completely normal. Honesty, I started to get worried.'
"You said many people don't even get to make pacts with Fey. How rare is it?" Eira asked.
"Lots of questions, huh?" He looked up to the right, still facing us. "One in a thousand, and that is generous. It's not only that a select few can make a pact with her, but it's the fact that not many want to. As you all know, you have to give your life for something. Other than that, she is praised highly by many." He took another chug from his liquor, "Anyways, it's time to get back to your training."
"Your task is to destroy this rock as you enhance your hand with Numen. You have until the end of today to do so. If you don't, more laps for you all." Leuan laughed as he walked to sit at the bench near one of the walls.
"Eirian, are you okay?" Eira asked to the side of me, leaning forward a bit.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I let out.
"Well, your eyebrow is twitching." Ael pointed out.
"Well, of course it is! That man is enjoying us failing at everything!" I yelled out, but not so loud as to have Leuan hear us.
Ael laughed in amusement at my reaction. "Well, this isn't anything new to us; this was how the academy was after all."
"I guess…" I replied. Walking up to the rock on the floor, I stood above it. 'How do I even use my Numen? I know how to use my miracles and class abilities, but not Numen.' I looked at the rock as I lingered over the thought. "When it came to light's edge, I could feel a quick flow of something. Might that be it?" I let out under my breath.
Thinking this might be the answer, I tried to replicate that same sensation. Closing my eyes, I thought of all the moments before when I called upon Light's Edge. When I think, I feel the same sensation as before, I drove my hand into the rock.
"Ouch!" I let out in pain.
Ael stood there laughing, "Doesn't seem like you did it right."
I turned towards him as another voice off to the side laughed. "Just as I thought," Leuan said, chuckling in a deep manner. "We are going to be here all day."
After a few tries of trying to sense my Numen, I lay flat on the ground, tired. Eira and Ael are off to the side, sitting on the ground, sweating. As the sun changed hue, the day was almost over. None of us was getting close to being able to reinforce my body.
"Come on, is that really all you can manage?" Leuan taunted us as he leaned against a wall. "I here I thought this was the least you could manage." As he tried to take another sip, he stopped for a moment and peered into the bottle. "I even ran out of booze."
I turned to Ael, who was just as tired as I was, "Not as easy as you thought, is it?"
"Shut up," Ael replied as Eira laughed to the side, tiredly.
As I got up, I struggled for a moment until I was back on my two feet. In front of me, Cedric gave me a towel to wipe off my sweat. "Don't take it too hard; most people take a few weeks to learn this technique."
'And he wants us to do it in a day?' I turned to look at Leuan, "How long did it take him?"
"It's probably not best if I answer that." Cedric's eyes didn't meet mine. As I stared him down, he began to look uncomfortable, "...About less than a day."
'You've got to be joking with me.' I thought, 'No wonder he is taunting us, he is comparing us to a literal prodigy.'
Sighing, I get up to the rock in front of us one more time.
"Oh, you're still trying?" Leuan taunted me.
"Ignore him, ignore him," I said under my breath as not to let his antics get to my head.
Staring down at the rock, I began to focus one more time. When I did, I began to feel a slight divine sensation in my stomach, as if water were flowing through me. I've already begun to feel as much before, but I was never able to get past it. Controlling my breath, I tried to guide it to my hand, and I could feel a burst of energy. Sensing this, I push my hand through the rock, sending it flying into pieces.
"I did it!" I let out. "I did it!" I said once more as I lost focus, stopping the reinforcement of my Numen.
"Finally." Leuan walked up. "Took you long enough." He smiled, just for it to fade as he turned to look at the others. "You may go and rest, seeing as you accomplished this much. The others, you all owe me laps."
As Leuan walked back out to where they would meet for the laps, I looked at Ael, "Good luck with that." Then laughed, walking away.