032 | You?

My name is Asher.

Following the Captain of the Knights wasn't a difficult task at all. At least it wasn't for me. The Captain was moving fast and it took some effort for the other two to keep up with me.

"Lisha. Mutt. Can you continue?"

The sounds of gasping for air were audible behind me as we were dashing on top of the roofs of Yanalia.

"Y-yeah!"

"For now!"

I smirked, "Don't overdo yourselves."

I led the two over to a tall building. A watchtower of some sort that stands above all other buildings in its vicinity. We jumped onto the roof of the tallest house adjacent to the tower and turned our heads up.

"How do we get up there, Asher?"

"Are you stupid, mutt?"

I sighed, "Just jump. Surely you're capable of such a feat?"

Rudif was a little shaken when I simply told him to jump. He tried muttering out some words but he just turned into a mess of stutters.

I grabbed Lisha's waist and pulled her closer. To my surprise, she didn't reject me at all.

"Well, I'll see you at the top. Good luck, mutt."

"A-A-Asher wait-"

There was no waiting and upon my launch, Lisha and I soared up high into the sky until we landed on top of the platform of the watchtower.

She didn't scream on the way but her jaw dropped and when I let her down slowly, she just looked at me, expecting me to say something.

"Yes?"

Her face suddenly reddened but Lisha shook her head and her expression returned to normal.

"N-nothing."

"Rudif should be arriving any moment-"

Coincidentally he did. Albeit, not fully. He managed to grab the side of the wooden platform we stood on. Rudif dangled at the edge.

"Help??"

I shook my head slowly with a grin.

"You can do it, mutt."

Rudif grunted, grabbed the edge with his other hand, and mustered his strength to pull himself up.

"I thought I couldn't do it..."

I patted Rudif on the shoulder.

"What you don't realize is how much you can truly accomplish. Don't underestimate yourself."

He nodded cheerfully, "Got it! I'm so much stronger than you!"

"Now let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Heh, I'm just joking."

You better be joking, mutt. Or else I'll turn you from personal transportation to a personal punching bag. Although, the mutt is TECHNICALLY filling both roles.

I glanced at him with a hint of bloodlust that's only directed at Rudif. He flinched and scratched his head while laughing it off.

"Haha, sooo~", Rudif looked around, "How do we see them now?"

I walked over to the edge of the platform and pointed to an area outside the kingdom's walls.

"There. Do you see?"

Lisha and Rudif both leaned over the edge and squinted their eyes.

They looked at me and shook their heads.

I sighed, "I guess it's too early to have such advanced vision. Here, take that backpack off."

Rudif quickly took off the backpack. I saw that the rabbit was doing completely fine.

We did let it out to run around when we were in the AU's lodges, I guess she's sleeping now that she got her exercise. I opened a smaller pocket and took out one small white orb.

"Both of you put some mana inside this orb."

"I forgot about this thing!"

Rudif happily obliged and put a small bit of his mana into the orb. It lit up slightly.

"I don't know how to control my mana just yet..."

"That's okay, Lisha. Just put your finger on it and you'll feel that it wants to take some energy from you. Just follow the flow slowly."

She nodded and did as she was told. The orb lit up a tiny bit more. She opened her eyes and her face was full of delight.

"I did it!"

I nodded. I filled the orb with some of my mana and I threw it in the direction of where I sensed a strong presence.

This magic orb was capable of expanding your point of view. It's one use and the magical orb perishes after the mana inside of it is used up. Patricia told me about the tools that people from the Sorcerer's Guild typically use. This was one of them.

Upon traveling for a while, the magic orb would stop when the individual wills it to stop. In this case, I made sure to fill the orb with my mana last so that the amount of mana I put in would overpower Rudif's and Lisha's.

I made sure to throw it so that all of us would be able to see clearly. Just from my naked vision, it seems they were already fighting. I hope the Draconian doesn't die that easily. I stopped the magic orb when it started to fall down. It paused in the air and faded until it was semi-transparent.

"Close your eyes. Relax. Then try to imagine a connection with the mana you poured into that orb."

Lisha glanced at her side and saw Rudif already doing it. She nodded and closed her eyes as well. Judging from her smile moments after, she must have succeeded. Lisha isn't normal to be able to do this on her first try. She's gifted.

I closed my eyes and joined the show.

The three of us watched as Alp, the Draconian kid, fought against the Inspector. He was simply outclassed by the Inspector until the Captain of the Knights eventually came.

His fight against the Inspector wasn't much different as the Inspector was showing no signs of breaking a sweat.

The Captain of the Knights had techniques leagues above what Alp could muster, even in his transformed state. Despite that, the Inspector didn't budge.

Although, it's quite remarkable to say that this man is a bit closer to reaching the next level of Raw Energy than I am. How interesting, especially in a nation such as this. Perhaps his admiration for ONLY Raw Energy allowed him to reach such heights.

The Captain surprised us when he got back up after being knocked unconscious. This moment just proved to me that it was his sheer willpower that allowed him to progress this far with Raw Energy.

There was nothing else to see and the magic orb perished.

"He's quite interesting."

"Why are you smiling like that, Asher?", Rudif had asked curiously.

Lisha tugged my sleeve, "...What are you planning?"

"Nothing. I just saw someone talented that encountered a wall."

"What does that mean? Are you talking about Captain Waryun? Is it about his Raw Energy? He has surprisingly a lot coming from a human in Yanalia."

Looks like even Rudif noticed. I raised quite the dog.

"Precisely. He's faced something troublesome. We'll see if that's where his talent truly lies. Just a step behind true mastery over Raw Energy."

Lisha approached me with a shy expression.

"Could you teach me that?"

"Teach you?"

She nodded and pointed towards the area where Waryun fought with the Inspector.

"Can you teach me Internal, I mean- Raw Energy?"

I smiled, "You can already use it. Why ask me?"

Lisha seemed surprised at what I just said, "I-I don't know how to call upon it. It's different here."

Here?

"Just believe in your own abilities. I don't think you'll have any trouble doing that."

"I place confidence in my strength but...Raw Energy doesn't manifest. It's strange and feels familiar but distant. I don't know how to put my finger on it."

Familiar but distant? She's quite odd.

"Lisha. Who are you."

She was a bit perplexed by this question that came out of nowhere, as would anyone.

Even the mutt was confused, "Asher? What do you mean by that? She's just some foreign noble-"

"Quiet, mutt. I know that."

"What do you mean by that question?"

"Where do you come from. Your skills are remarkable considering your age. Excluding me, you're peerless amongst anyone your age."

"Of course, I'm just that talented."

"No. There's something else. When I first saw you fighting against the bandits hired to kill you, I heard you mention Internal Energy."

"That's what we call Raw Energy back at home."

Home? Distant but familiar? Maturity well beyond her age? Exceptional skills that take years to master?

I closed my eyes to concentrate on visualizing.

This process takes a good minute and as the mutt and Lisha kept asking if I was alright, I simply ignored them.

The vibrant green grass is so full of life. The golden fields of wheat under a warm sun. The trees and the leaves that fall down. Animal life is so abundant in nature. The wings of a great bird that soars through the skies.

Everything. Slows. Down.

"Stop."

I used Barrier Magic to erect a small zone that was just large enough to contain Lisha and me. Time was completely stopped and no one can bother our conversation unless the barrier is broken from outside.

Only the permitted can move inside my spell.

"W-what is this? Why is Rudif's mouth open? Is he frozen?"

"You're inside a barrier. I had to cast Time Magic."

"Time Magic?! Only Sorcerer's of incredible mastery are able to conjure time spells!"

"Time is paused. Unless Rudif breaks the barrier outside, we can take as long as want in here and he wouldn't even notice."

"W-why did you do this?"

"Lisha. I'll ask again. Who are you?"

She let out a sigh. Perhaps it was the right decision to use Time Magic.

Though, I don't have very long before my mana depletes. Being able to control something as powerful as time itself comes at an expensive cost.

Lisha looked at me and tilted her head.

Her platinum black hair fluttered upwards slightly as if a small gust of wind blew by. Something that couldn't occur when time doesn't flow. Her blue eyes slowly transitioned into a pair of faint glowing light-pink eyes.

I felt as if a hand clenched my throat as I was suddenly repelled backward to the edge of my barrier. I was dragged upwards against my own barrier. The grip on my throat was powerful, but it seemed like it wasn't at its full strength.

"So you finally reveal your true self? Lisha?"

"Lisha? That's just my alias in this world. I was told that you would be the one...I did not think you would pry so much into my life."

"You were told?"

I think I see what happened. I want to free myself but I don't understand the power that Lisha is using. It's definitely not magic. I felt my body tensing up, looks like Lisha applied more force.

I smiled. It's been ages since I've met someone of this caliber. Someone who I had to fight with caution, putting my very life on the line.

"So, who are you, Lisha?"

"To think you would be so kind to conjure a barrier for the two of us. In my previous world, I am known as Usha, the Demon Queen of Destruction."