Xinyan looked up.

Her eyes widened.

Even though everyone else had kneeled down, even the belligerent mercenaries, Elendril still stood standing.

His face was pale, and sweat streamed down his face, but he was still standing.

Xinyan could not believe what she was seeing. 

This was a level 4 they were talking about!

She glanced at the NPC. 

It was the beautiful woman who had led the knights.

She was Level 201... a Rank A NPC!

Xinyan's mind swirled in confusion. 

How was Elendril still standing?!

To be able to surpass even the fear debuff from a 5 rank difference... life really was unfair!

"I... am Elendril."

A sparkle appeared in her eyes.

"Elendril, you say."

Elendril stiffly nodded.

"Yes... paladin."

"Interesting, interesting! Would you like to join my paladin squad?"

Her voice suddenly shifted from being cold and aloof to being very friendly.

It cut through the tension in the air like magic!

Xinyan could feel herself unconsciously relaxing, even with the pressure still on her!

Elendril began to take deep breaths as his face paled even more than before.

"Thank you for the... offer, paladin... But I think... I'll join my father... in Chronosum first."

She frowned.

Xinyan could feel disappointment well in her as well.

It was directed towards Elendril, who refused the lady's offer!

"Very well. My name is Celeste. May we meet again!"

Clop! Clop!

Celeste rode away.

Once the knights moved away, Xinyan finally felt like she could breathe again.

She looked at Elendril. 

Even though his face was pale, he still stood tall and firm as before.

He turned around.

"Are the two of you alright?"

Xinyan looked towards Yang Mi.

Other than the sweat that had drenched the both of their bodies, they were still okay.

Rather, the impact had been much more mental.

Xinyan suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion pass through her.

As she stood up, she suddenly swayed on her feet.

Before she could fall back, Elendril suddenly caught her by her waist.

He leaned in close and asked.

"Are you alright?"

Xinyan noticed how close his face was to hers.

Badump! Badump!

Her eyes dilated.

She felt her face flame up.

"Ahahaha, no, I'm fine!"

She stammered.

She noticed he smelled very nice.

His face up close to her, she noticed again just how jade-like his face was, and the eyes.

The sweat gleamed on his perfect face, highlighting his eyes.

His eyes were like a deep lake that drew her in until she couldn't think anymore.

He moved away.

Badump! Badump!

Xinyan put a hand over her heart.

She could still feel it beating very rapidly.

She took several seconds to calm her down, then followed Yang Mi and Elendril.

She filed the numerous questions she had for later.

She suddenly felt Yang Mi put a hand on her shoulder. 

Yang Mi sighed and put more pressure on Xinyan. 

They began to sway as they walked, looking like two drunken girls.

"Xinyan~~ I get that he's a very handsome NPC, but come on! You're making me feel like a voyeur! Imagine what the viewers will think when their favorite is suddenly picked up by a handsome man, let alone an NPC!"

Xinyan smiled and shook her head.

"No, no! I'm fine now, look! Don't worry, there's no way I'll fall for pixels!"

Xinyan turned and showed Yang Mi her smiling face.

Yang Mi stared with suspicion. 

"Liar! Your face is still beet red!"

Yang Mi shook her fist at Xinyan. 

"I know that I usually let you to the lore gathering because of your pretty face, but you're not supposed to make a fantasy game into romance!"

"Hey! I am not!"

Elendril turned around.

"Come on, hurry up. Let's begin part of the training before the monster wave comes."

-----(:)-----

In the forest, Elendril stood before the two of them. He held his hands behind his back, like a military instructor.

Flutter!

In the soft breeze, his dappled cloak fluttered in the wind, blurring his silhouette. 

The three of them had found a large clearing, around 20 meters wide. 

Xinyan could not understand what he did, but she had trouble just focusing on him! 

Every time she tried to focus on him, his body seemed like it melded into the forest.

It was as if his body screamed, ignore me!

"Okay, you two. I'm going to start teaching the movement technique to you now. But first, you should know some limitations. First of all, this part of the technique is designed for mortals, so that means it is also tailored towards them. Because there is a limit to the strength and endurance you can have to the system, using this technique without it requires a. lot from the body."

Elendril angled his body to the right and slowly began to move his feet. 

Xinyan stared at his feet intently. 

They dexterously moved through the foliage, gently pushing away the leaves and branches that stood in the way, before pressing down.

He slowly began to move throughout the clearing.

"Because I only learned the part for mortals without the system, I can only move forward. Using this technique, you can't make very sharp turns. Of course it varies with each person. My brother was way too dextrous, so he could always get away with sharp turns, but I couldn't." 

He began to move faster now. 

However, as Xinyan tried to focus on his blurring feet, she noticed that the speed of his feet movement had not actually changed.

Instead, he seemed to be... floating???

"To begin, you need to develop a connection to the forest. You can do this by feeling the mana of the forest, its life, and observe how it lives. Then, try and assimilate yourself to it. This way, your presence becomes that of the forest's presence."

As Elendril spoke, Xinyan realized that she could no longer see him!

His voice seemed to resonate from the forest itself. 

Swoosh! Swoosh!

She could only hear wind blowing through her ears. 

Xinyan tried to look around.

However, even though his voice indicated that he was still in the clearing, she couldn't see him!

Yang Mi was confused. 

"What do you mean by feel the forest?"

"Hold on, let me stop first."

Whoosh!

A dark shadow lit by the bright morning sun appeared before them. 

Skid!

A dirt spray showered the two girls.

Cough! Cough!

Yang Mi accidentally swallowed some dirt and started to cough. 

Elendril walked forward, asking,

"Are you alright?"

Yang Mi waved him off.

"I'll be fine, Cough, it's fine."

"Alright then."

He clapped his hands together. 

"Do you know how to feel mana?"

They shook their heads.

"Hmm. Well, let's do this. Xinyan, Yang Mi, please sit down whatever way is best for you, like you're going to meditate."

They sat down.

"Mana flows through your body constantly. However, it's hard for you to feel it for the first time. My dad had a great way to deal with that! He said to imagine mana flowing through your body, through each of your limbs, torso, and head, like a wild river. It doesn't really matter how exactly it flows in your imagination, just that it flows."

Xinyan was confused, but she tried anyhow.

Closing her eyes, she imagined as if a little river flowed through her. 

It reminded her a lot of those wuxia novels she used to read. 

So, she happily indulged herself and imagined 12 meridian points where the mana flowed, acting as gates.

In and out the imaginary mana flowed through the gates, swirling around her body.

"Next, make the mana become real, and feel it."

Xinyan was so shocked she stopped and opened her eyes. 

She stared at him in disbelief.

She was supposed to just... make the mana real?

Without knowing what it felt like?

He might as well ask them to transform into Ultraman!

"Wait, are you joking?"

Yang Mi asked.

Elendril maintained his straight face, and said,

"Nope! How else would you do it? Anyways, you'll know you've done it when you can gather mana in your hand. I'll let you know when you did it."

Xinyan and Yang Mi looked at each other in distress.

She closed her eyes again. 

Inside her body, she tried to imagine the mana becoming a genuine river within her, flowing through the meridians. 

She tried to pull it and coagulate it into her hand.

However, upon opening her eyes, and looking at Elendril, he shook his head.

She had failed!

Xinyan closed her eyes again to rack her head for ways to do it.

Elendril found a nice rock and sat on it. 

As he stared at the two girls who were now training to sense their mana, he felt a twinge of disappointment. 

"It's been almost ten minutes now... I wonder why they haven't managed it yet."

He murmured.

"Well, at least Yang Mi should learn quickly. She's a magician after all."

He waited another half hour, but they had yet to sense the coagulate the mana.

Tired of waiting, he pulled Sylvanax out of his pouch and injected mana into her.

Coo!

"Sylvanax, keep watch around the clearing, alright? Let me know if anybody comes. Wake me up when the sun reaches the zenith."

Elendril took the opportunity to lie down and sleep.