Day 30

Yuki let out a soft breath as her arms moved through the air, slow but purposeful. Her feet slid on the ground as they moved in time with her arms. Her body twisted and turned with them. Then she froze, her body locking into a pose. 

‘Next.’

She shifted her body into another stance, her movements achingly sluggish. Her muscles contracted and expanded as they exerted their strength to hold these movements. Such a slow dance, yet it worked every part of her body.

‘Next.’

She went through form after form, each at the same painstaking pace. Time, she didn’t keep track of. All that mattered was her motions and that she did them all perfectly. 

When she returned to the stance she had started in, she went through the entire sequence again. This time, she let her mana flow about her body, her limbs strengthening though she still restrained them. Her skin tingled from the sensation of latent power simmering right beneath it. 

Then the form ended and she was again in her ready position.

‘Now. Time for the real practice.’

The first element she called upon was that of ice. She pictured its smoothness as she moved around and its piercing cold as she struck out with slow attacks. The mana within her grew chilly, filling her cool air and dropping her inner temperatures. Normally, such a drop would spell danger, but the icy mana only helped her. 

Her movements slowed even further as the ice made its way through her body. She felt her skin harden as well. If someone was to touch her right now, it would have felt like touching a frozen corpse. But when she attacked the air, her fist and feet struck out with razor precision and speed only to freeze too suddenly in the air as if no momentum was in that attack despite its blinding speed.

Then that cold was replaced by a smoldering heat as Yuki shifted her visions to one of flames instead of ice. Energy flooded her body as the fire within her ached to be unleashed, but she held it back, maintaining her slow and deliberate motions. However, she couldn’t hold it completely back. The recklessness of the flames came through in her movements, her strikes becoming fierce yet brash, a certain unruliness to them. 

After that came the serenity of nature itself. Her arms flowed like grass blades in the wind. The world slowed down again, a feeling of peace and calm carrying her as she slowly danced through the meadow. Nature didn’t rush, it went at its own pace, overcoming any barriers placed in its way. 

As Yuki cycled through the elements that ran through her body, the forms she went through shifted with each change. From jagged and stiff poses to flowing motions, her body twisted and contorted as an unheard rhythm moved her. 

Then came the earth. Her feet felt firmer on the earth, her body somehow sturdier. This time, she let herself loose, not holding back an ounce. As her fist flew and her feet kicked, she moved the earth with her. Wherever she stepped, the ground shook. Where she punched, boulders flew. At her command, walls rose to disrupt imaginary enemies, spikes erupted to pierce them, and chains appeared from the dust in the sky.

She navigated the chaos around her with elegant poise, directing it like a conductor. While all that was going on, her body went through changes as well as earthen mana fused with her. Her skin hardened to an odd stone like texture that still could flex as easily as normal skin. Her bones were laced with metal, making them tougher than any normal bone. 

She kept it up until her body began to tire and her mana began to dwindle. With a thought, she cut off the flow of mana and dispelled the aura about her. The objects she summoned crumbled and her body returned back to normal. She noticed the sweat pouring down for the first time. With her shirt, she wiped the droplets away from her face. 

“Oh my,” Yuki heard Sophie say. She glanced over towards the direction of the voice and found her. She was staring at Yuki, not at her face though. Sophie’s eyes were locked onto Yuki’s exposed midriff. 

“What?” Yuki said, a small smile on her lips. 

“Your abs are something,” Sophie laughed, though her eyes didn’t budge. “If this was a different time and I had an actual body…”

“You have something for midriffs?” Yuki asked, raising a brow. Sophie smirked.

“Maybe. Working hard, I see.”

“Of course. Let me take a little break before we go back to training,” Yuki said. 

“Go ahead. I’ve been watching for a bit. You deserve a break.” 

Yuki nodded and slid out of her shirt to let her body cool off faster, using the shirt to wipe away sweat from other areas. When she looked back at Sophie, she found Sophie’s nose had pinkened a bit. 

“Now you’re just teasing me,” Sophie said.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Yuki apologised. “I can put my shirt back on if it’s bothering you.”

“It’s fine,” she giggled. “Why would I want you to put your shirt back on? I just told  you what I liked. I’m not exactly one to be scandalized by such things. If anything, do it everyday.”

Yuki laughed and took her word for it, tossing her shirt aside. It disappeared into the air. Then she began to stretch a bit in place and do light exercises to prevent herself from cramping. Though she was in her mana dimension and could will away the pain, it would still hurt for the first few moments. 

“About your fighting techniques,” Sophie said, her tone serious now. Yuki turned her head to listen to what she was about to say. “You’ve progressed to a point in your earth integration to try some more advanced and risky techniques.”

“Oh? Really?” Yuki said, her interest piqued. “What kind of techniques?”

“Things that I can do. You know how you’ve seen those annoying people that you can’t strike because their body is literally made out of air?” Sophie asked. Yuki nodded. “Well, there are techniques where you can give them a taste of their own medicine.”

Yuki liked the sound of that.

“You can also enhance your healing to a point that it’s almost cheating,” she continued. “Imagine this. You have your arms lopped off. Your enemy is laughing at their inevitable victory. But then dirt comes up from the ground and you regrow a new arm as if nothing was ever missing.”

Yuki imagined it. She couldn’t quite understand how that would work.

“That sounds too good to be true,” Yuki said.

“I know, right?” Sophie replied. “But it’s real. I’ve used it many times. It’s not terribly unique. Most elemental masters could do it for their respective elements, but earth has the added benefit of being almost everywhere. Fire, lightning, and wind masters have it tough though.”

“Why?”

“This only works for elements that have physical forms. You can’t exactly form an arm out of air, flames, or electricity.”

“Oh. So those that can manipulate physical things have an advantage then.”

“Yes in terms of healing,” Sophie nodded. “However, since they control non-material things, their bodies can become like such meaning they wouldn’t get hurt as often.”

“It all balances out then,” Yuki said. Then she paused. “Well, for some. You can’t exactly slice or punch water.”

“No, but you can freeze it. A direct elemental counter would prevail in that case. Other than that, most of the elements have their own advantages. But earth, on the other hand is a bit more flexible.”

“You said that I could do something like what Wind Elementals do?”

“Exactly,” Sophie said. “It’s not exactly like them as you are manipulating a materialistic element, but it’s pretty close. Think about the smallest thing you could control using the earth.”

That was easy. Yuki just did it to create chains.

“Dust,” she said.

“Yup. Dust. By turning our bodies into a giant sack of dust, we can basically do a knockoff version of what those non materialistic elements do.”

“Would that be susceptible to water as well?”

“Yes,” Sophie nodded, but then put a finger up. “However, if someone was using water, we wouldn’t be using that technique in the first place. Besides, you have more options than anyone else in the world when it comes to combat. I’m just giving you some of them.”

“True. Are you going to be teaching me how to do those things then?” Yuki asked. She sat down on the grass floor, the sweat on her finally drying.

“Of course. Why would I talk about them if I wasn’t?” Sophie said with a small laugh. “However, your earth magic isn’t quite there yet to do these things. Combat wise, you seem ready though.”

“How would one learn those type of techniques, though?” Yuki said. “Do they just chop off limbs to see if they can grow them back?”

“No, no, of course not,” Sophie said. “You start with cuts and see if you can heal them using the earth. Then you escalate from there. This entire thing is just essentially an upgraded form of your earthen core, but instead of just mitigating damage from the earth, you’re absorbing it. Then the next step is you become it. You’re close. Very close.”

“Then I guess we should get to work then,” Yuki said. She hopped to her feet and stretched her arms up. “Knowing those things would give me a good leg up.”

She stopped talking when she noticed Sophie gazing once again at her midriff. Her blatant stare made Yuki slightly embarrassed. Not even Erica was so obvious with her likes. 

“Erm,” Yuki said, clearing her throat as she felt her cheeks warm. “Sophie?”

“Yeah, we should get to work,” Sophie nodded, pulling her head up. Then she scratched her chin. “Um. I’m a bit curious, so…” 

Yuki tilted her head, not quite sure what Sophie was talking about. Then Sophie walked up to her and slid her cool hand along Yuki’s belly. The sensation sent waves of warmth through her as she stifled a small gasp.

“Sorry, I just wanted to know how they felt,” Sophie muttered. Her hand stayed there for a moment more before she removed it. “If only I wasn’t just a spirit.”

“Sophie, you know you’re like eight hundred years older than me,” Yuki said, her soft and lilting. She realized her voice sounded flirtier than she had intended. 

“That just means I have experience,” Sophie winked. “You’re of age anyway in both mental state and age. Hell, you’re smarter than so many people I know. Smart and pretty. People would kill for you, you know?”

“You seem to have changed around me recently,” Yuki commented. 

“What? You don’t like it?” Sophie said with an exaggerated pout.

“No. I was just wondering why.”

“Hmm. Well, for one, I found out you're a dragon. I like dragons, since, well, I am one. Second, you’ve been the most company I’ve had in almost centuries,” she said, poking Yuki’s stomach. “Of course I’ll become softer and looser around you.”

“Oh. I see. I didn't know you swung that way.”

"If you ever meet more dragons, you'll understand really quickly," she smiled. "Especially if you find our homes."

“But enough of that. I’m just a spirit, so I’m not going to get overcome by emotions  or anything like that,” Sophie said. “Back to you what you said. Let’s get to work.”

“Yes,” Yuki nodded, eager to change the subject. “Let’s.”