Despite my high expectations for Sarah, I couldn’t help but be amazed by her fighting prowess. She was fast, skillful and she knew how to leverage her reach. During our sparring session, the only reason I managed to get a few blows past her guard was because she wanted me to. Regardless of my increased agility and dexterity I posed little threat to her when it came to unarmed combat.

The sparring was so one sided she leisurely gave me pointers during our training, for which I was very grateful. I managed to gain one point in agility during our training, and I felt so elated that I didn’t even care about the kick to the face I got while distracted by the system’s message.

[You have increased your Agility.]

My agility had been high enough at seven that I wondered if I could still increase it by training. I certainly didn’t expect it to increase so soon, now that I had eight of it. Maybe because I was training with Sarah who was stronger than me when it came to unarmed combat? Did it matter at all that we chose this specific fighting style? Questions for Chen. Although, I doubted he would have the answers.

We continued our sparring session for another half hour. Which would be absurd for me two days ago, but with my increased vitality came a huge pool of stamina and energy. Sarah was the same, if not even better. I don’t think she had more vitality than me, but she was more efficient with how she spent her energy. It comes with experience, I guess.

Eventually the time was up and I felt drained. Sweat pooled on my forehead as I leaned forward on the window sill. The waves were usually short lived, intense stunts. We fought for ten or fifteen minutes at most. This single spar session lasted for forty eight minutes with one minute break every five. Even belt fights in UFC last only five rounds of five minutes. I wanted to congratulate myself for it, but I didn’t have the energy to do so.

“Hard to believe you never fought professionally. Such a wasted talent.”

“Hardly.” I said between gasps of air. “I suspect I can only last for so long because of the system’s boost. Plus, I was hardly a challenge for you.”

“Right, yeah. Forgot about that for a moment. I have plenty of experience, Leo. It’s not a fair comparison.”

“I know, but it put things in perspective. And you are even fighting me while hurt.”

“Hurt, what do you mean?” Sarah looked at me genuinely puzzled.

“During the fight on the upper floor, I remember you got hurt by one of the hatchlings. It poisoned you, right?”

“Ooh. That. Nah, I was fine by the time we went down.”

That makes sense, considering how she fought against the big spider.

“That’s a relief. If that wasn’t you at full power, I am afraid I would be discouraged even with my spear skills.” I got a chuckle out of Sarah with that one.

“Alright, funny guy. Ready to spar with our weapons this time?”

“Are you serious? Sarah, I am exhausted.”

“Oh, please. My master used to say that when you feel exhausted, you have only given sixty percent of your energy. Training only really starts when you are feeling like that. C’mon, don’t be a pussy.”

“Alright, alright.” I said as I reached for my spear resting on the wall near me. Sarah picked up her sword from somewhere on the floor and assumed a combat stance.

“En guarde!”

“I… don’t think that is a fencing sword, Sarah.”

“Just go with the flow, dude.” She said with a straight face. “En guarde!”

I assumed my fighting stance, but refused to join in her call for arms.

We decided to start with slow and measured strikes. We both had no protective gear at the moment, Sarah was using some loose clothes for training and I had my tattered resistant apparel, which I doubted would be any help against her sword.

As we got acclimated to the matchup, we started to pick up the speed. It was amazing how my brain just knew what to do, how to challenge her sword without threatening her life. I expected she was feeling something similar as we were both guided by our newfound instinct. The feeling was almost intoxicating as we executed fluid motions and movements in synchrony. There was nothing flashy, mostly just simple and curt movements involving one or two steps. 

Differently from last bout, we were much more balanced this time. I would even go as far as to say that I had a slight edge. Mostly due to my weapon, the longer reach of the spear allowed me much more freedom in the way I could approach the fight. Not that Sarah’s sword was weak, not by any means, but a longer reach in a fight was a significant advantage, especially if our skill levels were similar.

Unfortunately, by the time we finished our, hopefully, last sparring session neither of us had gained any stats or skill increase. I knew it was a bit naive of me to expect another skill increase, but I couldn’t help myself from being a little disappointed. I tried to find comfort in Sarah’s words earlier. We were already evolving at such a ridiculous pace, I shouldn’t be feeling down. It was actually a bit of a dick move from me to be feeling down.

“Sarah, just before the wave you said something curious.” I turned to my sparring partner as she sheathed her sword. “You said you could feel the start of the wave through magic. Have you invested points in magic?”

“Hm. Not really, but I do have a point in magic.” She spoke offhandedly.

“What? How so? Do you know how to train magic?”

“Yeah, but before you ask anything else.” Sarah stopped me before I could interject. “You need to speak with Ani about that. I just barely started to understand it.”

I looked at Ani, still in her meditative position. Eyes close, legs crossed in a lotus position and completely still. I could barely tell her chest moving as she breathed.

“Go on.” Sarah gave me a little push in the back. “She won’t bite you. I think.” I glanced at Sarah’s smirk.

I moved closer to Ani so we could speak. I was a little apprehensive about bothering her meditation, but she had been at it for hours now, surely she wouldn’t mind a little pause to… help me. When I was only two steps away, Ani opened her eyes.

“Hello, Leo.”

“Hi, Ani.” I tried my best not to be awkward. I had come to learn that Ani could be a little off putting.

“May I sit?” - “Do you want to sit?”

We chuckled as our timing was perfectly in sync.

“You go first.” She said as I sat down an arm’s length away while we faced each other.

“I want to learn magic.” Ani’s face turned slightly as she stared at me puzzled.

“Do you want to learn what magic is or how to use magic?”

“Both?” I frowned. “Why do you seem surprised?”

“Nothing, it’s just not something I expected from you.”

“I didn’t expect you to know me enough to have expectations.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply I do.” Ani instantly blushed and looked away.

“No, no. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that we haven’t spent much time together. Sorry if I came off as rude, that’s not how I meant it.” I hurriedly spoke, exaggeratedly gesticulating. I felt a little silly.

“Would you like that?”

“Would I like that? What do you mean?”

“For us to spend more time together. Would you like that?”

I paused at that. I was completely taken by surprise and I didn’t know how to respond. Before I had the time to properly think of an answer, or because I took the time to think about it, Ani took upon herself to stomp the question.

“Forget that I asked that. I don’t know what came over me to ask such a thing. Just… forget it, okay? Please.” With a deep breath and a sigh, she continued. “You want to learn about magic, right? I can do that. It will take a couple hours, do you have that time to spare?”

I nodded while trying my best to respect her request. I was starting to understand she was someone with difficulties in social relationships and that she felt something for me. The what and why were a separate issue that I did my best not to think about at the moment. She was pretty and I had very little reason to be closed to anything, but it was a weird situation to be in when someone had feelings you didn’t share.

“Have you spent a point in the magic attribute?” Ani’s question distracted me from my inner thoughts.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Ok. That will complicate things, but it’s not a huge problem.” Ani fixed her posture by relaxing her legs. “This place we are in right now is permeated with magic. You can consider it like air. And just like air, if the current is strong enough you can perceive it. In the absence of such a phenomenon, you can develop your senses to perceive it even if it’s still.”

“If it’s like air, then that’s how Sarah knew the wave was about to start? Is the red beam a manifestation of magic and it creates a strong current?”

“Not really. It’s not pure magic essence, but a product of it. What the red beam does is that it increases the magic density of this environment, what Sarah felt was the first waves of such change.”

“Does it increase the magic density for the creatures or because of the creatures?”

“For the creatures. They can only exist in an environment with a certain density of magic, like us. We can only breathe with a certain amount of oxygen density in the air.”

“That’s fascinating. How do you know all that? Is your intuition that accurate?”

“I wish.” She smiled faintly. “I… had a dream.”

“A dream? Like a dream of the future?”

“No… It’s more complicated than that.” Ani paused and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, I could see the resolution in them. “I have someone I keep dreaming about and he is like a tutor or a guide. I don’t know who he is, but he is willing to answer some of my questions, so I don’t complain.”

“That’s… very useful.”

“Indeed. I have been dreaming about him for the last five years and he has been somewhat preparing me for this. At first I didn’t believe him, but eventually I did a few things just because they weren’t that hard. I prepared my backpack.” She patted the huge camping bag beside her. “And I trained in magic.”

“You trained in magic on earth?”

“No. I trained in the method of training magic, that would be a better way to say it. Which is meditating in a specific way.”

“That’s what you have been doing all this time?”

“Yes. I am not good with all the physical fighting. Although I am training my body as best as I can. Miss Sarah has been a dear helping me.” Ani spoke with a glance towards Sarah who was now talking with Noah.

“If you don’t mind me asking. How high is your magic stat?”

“I don’t mind at all. It’s five.”

“FIVE?” I spoke somewhat loud. “Sorry. Five? Isn’t that way too high for the time we have been here?”

“Maybe.” Ani giggled. “I did train the meditation method before coming here, and also, you shouldn’t assume I started with zero.”

“How much did you start with?”

“One. It’s not much, but it’s very important. The first point is harder than the second. It took Sarah three days of meditation to gain it.”

“I can see it being so. It would be like learning to use an entire new limb, right?”

“It’s harder than an extra arm, more like a new sensory organ.”

“That sounds extremely complicated.” I felt a little dejected.

“Don’t worry.” Ani leaned in and almost whispered. “Sarah is a complete blockhead and did it. I am sure you will do fine.” She finished with a smile. She had thin pinkish lips with perfect teeth. I can’t deny I stared a bit too long.

“Is there something on my teeth?” Ani asked as she deftly covered her mouth and stretched another arm towards her backpack.

“No. It’s just that you have a beautiful smile.”

Ani blushed and I just smiled softly. Or so I tried.

“Right. How do I meditate to learn magic?” I changed subject before Ani got an extra shade of red.

“Hm? Oh, right. Yes, meditating.” She stammered a bit, but recovered rather quickly. I controlled myself not to chuckle and make it worse. “You can’t really learn the way I did since I had a natural disposition towards it. But I can help you ‘cheat’ your way into learning.”

Ani asked me to sit down comfortably and turn my back to her. While I did so, she explained that she had enough control of magic that she could send pulses of it through her palms. Much like blowing air through hand waving, but more ethereal. Ani would sit down behind me with her palms on my back while she pulsated magic essence in waves of different intensity. My job was to feel these waves. She hinted that it would probably feel like a tingling sensation, and if she sent a strong enough pulse I could even shiver. There was no harm in it, she assured me. I trusted her.

Following her instructions I performed a few breathing exercises to help me calm down. I had learned how to meditate in my dojo a few years back, but I reluctantly admitted that I hadn’t practiced it in years since I joined college. With the help of her instructions it didn’t take long for me to remember the feeling and fall into a relaxed instance.

When her hands touched my back I lost the meditative trance. Even through the thick cloth I couldn’t help but to imagine her touch and I had to make a conscious effort to tune out of more… carnal trends in my mind. I was extremely glad she was sitting behind me and not in front.

Through breathing exercises and sheer force of will I managed to tune out of distractions. I can’t be sure how long we sat in that position trying to feel whatever magic felt like. I just couldn’t. I didn’t feel anything different, with the exception of the odd shiver. Eventually, Ani pulled her hands off my back. I turned to face her, but caught the words I wanted to say in my mouth. She was slightly pale, very sweaty and she had this glassy look of someone who just ran a marathon.

“Are you alright? Ani?” I immediately stood up and fussed over her.

“I- I am fine. I just overdid it a little. How did it go? Did you feel anything?”

“No, I am sorry.” I said with no small amount of guilt.

“Don’t worry. You will, eventually. This is also training for me, so it’s not like I am not benefitting from this as well.” She tried to stand up but faltered. “Sorry, can I bother you to get me some water?”

“Absolutely, don’t even mention it.” I hastily brought a bottle of water that was conveniently sitting closely. Ani drank half of it in large gulps.

“Are you really ok? Can I do something?”

“It’s fine, I am really fine. I just overdid it a little.”

“A little?”

“Maybe more than a little, but I will be fine, really. I even gained one point in magic. I have six now!” She spoke in a forced cheerful tone. I frowned but smiled at her tenacity.

“I guess congratulations are in order. Congratulations, Ani.”

“Thank you, Leo.”

We both chuckled for no reason at all.

“So, when can I expect to see you throwing lightning out of your finger tips or a fireball from your palm?”

“Hahaha. I can’t do anything like that. It takes ten points to be able to do anything marginally useful with magic without abilities.”

“Abilities?”

“Oy, mate. Are you done? We need to go back, the meeting will start in fifteen minutes.” Noah intruded in our conversation from the other side of the room. He sat in a corner alone and Sarah was nowhere to be seen.

“Meeting? What meeting?”

“The daily meeting? Bloody hell mate, you really don’t care about it?”

“Oh, shit. I completely forgot! Has it been that long already?”

“Yeah. I’ve been done with my training for hours now. Sarah even started on a second session!” I turned to Ani with undisguised astonishment.

“How long did we meditate?”

“I am not sure, Leo. Probably a few hours.”

“I… didn’t feel the time at all.” As if nailing the point home, my stomach made a complaint loud and clear.

‘I haven’t eaten anything all day.’

“Sorry Ani. I gotta go attend this meeting, especially now that John is out of commission.”

“Ok, I understand. Just-” Ani stopped mid sentence.

“Just?”

“It’s a silly thing, don’t worry.”

“Hm. We will meet again, right? Later today? Tomorrow before the wave?” Ani was silent for a couple seconds before answering.

“Tomorrow. We will meet you early, one hour before the wave.”

“Alright. Looking forward to seeing you then.”

I smiled and she smiled back sheepishly. She was very cute indeed. Maybe I shouldn’t be so reactive and take some initiative. Maybe. The fact that she knew a lot more than she was letting on still worried me, even though I didn’t think she had bad intentions. But did I really know?

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