A lesson

With a 'clang', Theodore fell on the ground. Except for Naomi, everyone was panting heavily. On the other side, Sylph was chanting high tier magic on Aeneas who was standing aloof in the bushes. A loud band was heard afterward but to no one's surprise, he walked out of the dusty clouds unscathed. "What are they? That's no human strength. Vivian spoke with a heavy expression. But before anyone could reply, a shadow swiftly appeared before her and pounced with two daggers. Daggers were no weapon for a paladin yet Nuae was handling it as if it wasn't a weapon but his own arms. A few lightning-fast slashes and a loud bang! She was thrown a few feet back with bruises all over. As it happened, Theodore and Catherine charged on him from either side, only to bump into each other as he swiftly moved his body from his former place in a split second while pulling both of them causing them to bump into each other. "Such a brainless charge will get you only this far kids." He jumped back but this time a well-trained Paladin was waiting for him. In that moment he felt her cold swords over his neck, but just as she thought it was over, he twisted his body mid-air and jumped. Yeah jumped mid-air using barrier magic as a stepping stone and landed behind her. Wasting no moment he stepped forward to land a slash, but fortunately her instincts, she leaned and rolled forward avoiding it. "What was that?" She asked with a scared look. She had clearly seen a lot of styles but twisting and jumping mid-air was something completely new, even for her. She had never seen any person being able to control his mana to chant while fighting at the same time. As this happened here Aeneas walked towards them as he carried Sylph on his shoulder who had exhausted her powers. "You have skills, girl. Only if those three could fight like you…" Before Aeneas could complete a wooden branch came in flying and hit him in the face. "Shut it! Hmph! We can still go on. No one said we were done." Vivian walked in with an angry expression. "And what's his deal. I thought he was a Paladin. Aren't Paladins supposed to be using swords? That's totally unfair!" She complained as she continued walking towards Nuae who was standing with a shocked expression. He had just witnessed her strength in a fight and yet she dominated Aeneas like he was nothing. "Missy, in war no one's going to tell you his/her class before attacking so always be prepared for everything." He replied while putting away his daggers.

Everyone was exhausted after today's training session. His putting away his dagger meant today's session was over. Catherine and Theodore had taken some really big blows, while Vivian was still looking fine but only she knew that she had taken some serious blows as well. Naomi was the only one with some strength left. "That's a paladin class for you. God, I'm so jealous of you now." Catherine said so looking at Naomi with an awkward smile. Hearing this she replied with a slight smile. "Yeah, her class is one thing but her skills are a rank above all you loads." Aeneas who was lying after receiving that hit spoke so while standing up. He then helped Sylph to get up as well. What he said was true. They all lacked a lot. After an hour of resting, Vivian asked Naomi if she wanted to join her while visiting a nearby town. She wanted to take a stroll through the town looking for some essential stuff. As they planned so Theodore and Catherine left to set up traps for food and try to hunt some as well. Nuae would help Theodore as Aeneas was on guard. He clearly didn't like that idea and begged Vivian to let him join him only to receive a sharp glare, so he had to stay and guard the place along with Sylph who was still exhausted.

After carefully hiding their identity Vivian and Naomi arrived at the entrance of the village. It was a pretty big village compared to small establishments. They had to pay two bronze coins, one for each at the entrance. Looking around it looked like the village was being monitored by some knowledgeable folks, it had good security, streets were clean, there were a lot of people around and a lot of shops were to be seen as well. Overall it could be considered as a town and pretty good at that. They both went straight to the market to see if they could find something good. They were in the food market now as Naomi dragged Vivian when she saw an interesting fruit. And after a while, they both were walking through the market while eating different foods. They were enjoying meatballs at a time and next time they were stuffing their mouth with cheesy buns. Ever since they left Ephesus, they had no luxury of eating something like this and at cheap prices. For Naomi, the wait was even longer. After strolling for a while they were standing next to a shop that was selling crape. "What is this, it is so good and cold? I've never had such a thing." Naomi couldn't hold it in. "Right? It's so good! I haven't had one in a long time as well. It's called crape. With creamy and cold stuffing, it's the best you can ask for." Vivian was acting as a guide. Looking at both of them a young girl standing in the queue couldn't help but walk towards them in awe. "You are so beautiful!" Hearing this complement they both felt a slight blush. Vivian got on her knees to reply to that young child who was wearing a pink frock with a shiny ribbon over her head tying her loose hairs. Looking at her delicate figure she touched her cheeks and pulled them. "Awe, you are an even more beautiful little one. I'm sure you'd grow up to be even more beautiful than both of us." Saying this she got us and left as they both waved that young girl goodbye. "Here, this is for you." A girl walked to Eleanor and handed a flower. She patted her head and left chanting a small good-luck spell for her, as she moved on following both girls.