Chapter 91 - Sparring (3)
Elijah quickly changed clothes and took Nerun towards another part in the Martial Temple. Elijah's quarters were actually located in the most luxurious (in terms of the military) part, and there were three huge areas located here that belonged to the three Dragon Generals. The places were quite big, with a grand courtyard that served as a training area which had a big formation that allowed the Generals to practice their moves in utmost secrecy. They also had several servants which tended to their very needs and they were given plenty of resources for their training.
The place Elijah took Nerun was actually right next to his own place. Nerun quickly understood that Elijah was taking him to see another Dragon General. Those very legends he had heard about as a kid, and right now, his very own brother was one, and he was about to meet another, and he could not help but sigh at the the twists and turns of life.
When Nerun entered the quarters, it would be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous. After all, he was about to meet one of the most powerful men in the World.
Nerun and Elijah saw an elegant interior, filled with art and paints. There were also several pieces of calligraphy and poetry hung up.
"How do you like my collection? This painting here came from a painter from four hundred years ago from Rhodnius. This one piece of calligraphy was from a poet from Avi-Cena. I have loved the arts and the human spirit since my younger days, however I'm afraid I was neither talented nor gifted in them, therefore I had to go for second best, which was becoming an adept." joked a jovial looking old man, with long black hair, and a black pointy beard that went all the way to his chest. His eyes were affable, and it was quite difficult to be angry with a man with such politeness and demeanor.
When Nerun saw Rafal Sen Buran for the first time, he thought he was looking at a giant man more than a hundred meters tall made entirely out of stone, grass and wood, as if the very spirit of the Earth was before him. He quickly recovered though, and after looking at the Dragon General, the previous scene seemed to have been nothing but a dream.
"Oh… Interesting. Did you see it boy?" asked the man with the same kind expression.
"See… I saw a stone giant", blurted Nerun unconsciously. Elijah kept looking at Nerun and was a bit amused but kept quiet. One of the effects he wanted to achieve had already happened, and he was quite happy about it.
"So you saw… Your mental palace is already opened, I can tell. What's more, you have accumulated Mana in your body, a very pure and quite vigorous Mana I might add, and your connection to the Natural Energy of Heaven and Earth is astounding. The Spirit that serves me tells me that he feels you are quite special…" as Rafal looked at Nerun he was getting more and mored interested in this young boy that Elijah had brought over. He had not asked why he had brought someone to meet him, but now, he was a bit interested.
"That being said, you seem to have two Heavenly Gates open. But the amount of mana in your body is quite low. Even though it's pure it's obvious that with this quantity the power of your Magick can not be up to par… Why? But… What is this? Two Core Meridians open as well… Qi and Mana." frowned Rafal as if he was evaluating this paradox.
Nerun was flabbergasted. In front of this old man, he seemed to have no secrets whatsoever, and he did not like that kind of feeling at all. However he noticed that Elijah was quite calm, which also calmed Nerun because he knew that his brother would never hurt him.
"Lord Rafal, thank you so much for receiving us. This is the path that my brother has decided to walk. He has always been quite talented in both the Path of the Warrior and the Path of the Adept. Due to an unforeseen circumstance he managed to cultivate both paths at the same time, forming the balance you see. His total levels of Qi and Mana are 11, however both powers are acting in conjunction in his body allowing him to have the results you see in front of you." said Elijah. He was interested to hear Rafal's opinion, since he was much more experienced than himself, and he would be able to tell more about the feasibility of this path.
"I call it the path of the Magick Warrior", said Nerun a bit proud of himself.
Rafal got pensive for a moment, and kept checking Nerun from time to time. Eventually he sighed, "I don't know what to tell you Elijah. It's not like this path has not been tried before, but you know yourself that it is a dead end. The so called Magick Warriors had many problems using their strength. I know of one, a true genius I might add, that managed to get to level 20 in both paths, but he could never go beyond that.The use of the power was far from seamless, and he tried to use both systems, but never could master any of them. Even though your brother has managed to achieve these results at such a young age, I'm afraid that he would suffer from these same issues as the rest of his predecessors."
Rafal was not completely against the idea of the path of the Magick Warrior, but experience had shown that such a path was not only difficult, but more than likely impossible, as if EON himself had put a barrier so that no man could cross it.
"It's a shame. His mana talent is enormous, I'm quite sure he could have made an excellent Adept, maybe to the level of a Magic Emperor, or even a Sage. Tell you what. We could try to ask His Majesty to perform a ritual to cleanse his body and leave him with no energy whatsoever, so he could cultivate again. I would love for him to become an Adept, but even becoming a Warrior would be better." said Rafal with sincere counsel. The ritual he had spoken was actually quite difficult and demanding from the casters, and it actually needed three legendary experts to expend power, time and precious resources. The fact that he was even willing to do so for Nerun who he had just met, spoke of the magnanimity of Rafal, and the fact that he had not asked for anything in return. His was a true love for talent.
Elijah actually expected to hear this, but he was not disgruntled, nor disappointed, instead he needed to shock Rafal even more.
"Lord Rafal, I understand your concerns, and I also had them when I saw my brother after our 6 years of separation. However, after talking to him, and sparring with him, I can tell that my brother's path is different from the ones I had read about in the Military Archives. I limited my strength to that of a Grandmaster and later a Praetorian, and I did not manage to gain any advantage at all. I was even on the back pedal on several occasions. And trust me, I did not go easy on my little brother, since I don't intend to jeopardize his future for a whimsical path" said Elijah seriously.
When Rafal heard that, his deep eyes started to look at Nerun even more intently. "Really. I would like to take that to the test. Come with me to the courtyard." Rafal took them the back area, which was quite similar to the one on Elijah's quarters.
This was exactly the effect that Elijah wanted to cause, since he was certain that Lord Rafal would not be able to resist the itch. He then whispered to Nerun. "You need to grab this chance. I want you to go at 120 percent of your power in this fight."
Nerun quickly understood his brother's intentions. He would need to undergo another session of sparring, and he wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry, but he understood that he needed to give it his all. He knew that his Big Brother had his best interest in mind, and that this was also an opportunity to receive pointers from a true Expert in the World. Millions would dream and kill for this opportunity, and he was not about to waste it.
When they got to the training area, Rafal got to the center of it and waited for Nerun who stopped 30 meters away from him. "Since your brother told me how he sparred with you, I will also do the same. I don't know if you had experience fighting an Adept before, but let me tell you it can be quite different than fighting a Warrior and if you're not used to them, you could lose badly. I will only use the power of a Great Mana Adept, as well as the spells that are only in the meridians associated with my first two heavenly gates."
Having said that, his kind face transformed. Nerun thought he was not fighting a man but a force of nature, as if the Will of the World itself was trying to smother him.
"Δόρυ γης - /Dóry gis/" (Earth Spear).
The natural energy converged right next to Lord Rafal's hand and formed a stone spike close to 2 meters long and it flew towards Nerun at great speeds. Nerun quickly bended his body backwards and avoided the spear, while turning over and with his hands he threw himself over Rafal.
The Titan slided backwards, while muttering several worlds and making signs with his hands. close to a hundred stones rose from the ground and started flying towards Nerun.
"Πέτρινη βροχή - /Pétrini vrochí/" (Stone Rain).
Nerun quickly used the second form of the Free Flowing Fist, and parried the myriad of attacks made by the stone, while Rafal simply started preparing another spell. Nerun quickly noticed that getting close to Rafal was quite strenuous, and he noticed that an Adept way of fighting consisted mainly in staying far from this opponent while bombarding his enemy with spells.
Magick spells could be used in a quite versatile manner, and different Adepts used them in different ways. Some elected to stay put while making sure to erect barriers and create an invincible position for spell casting. However, this type of Adepts were actually the weaker ones, and the more expert ones would also have movement techniques and spells that allowed them free reign and control over the battlefield. Rafal, of course, was a true Master in every sense of the world, and even if he limited his power to that of a Great Mana Adept, Nerun was having a hard time fighting him, especially given his limited experience.
However, Nerun was not discouraged and started to close the distance towards Rafal, however he quickly noticed that the ground itself seemed to be moving and helping the Titan move as if he was sliding, and made it more difficult for Nerun to get close. Nerun, then felt an unusual tremor underneath, and he did not hesitate to jump with all his strength several meters high into the air.
A grand spike of up to three meters high appeared in the ground and nearly impaled Nerun.
"Η γη ανεβαίνει - /I gi anevaínei/" (Earth rises).
While Nerun was in mid air, he quickly commanded the Natural Energy to condense around his right hand and a five fireballs appeared in each of his fingers.
"Χέρι φωτιάς - /Chéri fotiás/" (Fire hand).
The five fireballs went towards Rafal's position who touched the ground with his hands, and a stone wall quickly rose and stopped the fireballs. This was another use of the same spell that Rafal used before, "Earth Rises".
- BOOOOOOM! -
Gravel started to fly everywhere and Nerun took advantage of this to get close to Rafal and start to attack him. However the gravel that had flown away quickly moved back and condensed itself into two stone plates, each one half a meter long which followed Rafal's hand movements.
As Nerun attacked fiercely with the Free Flowing Fist, Rafal used his stone plates to keep Nerun away. While he was successful, he was astonished, since he quickly noticed that the stone plates were quickly being eroded and Nerun's hands, while delicate looking, were powerful enough to shatter the stone easily, and was even eroding the mana infused in them.
Rafal started to get more and more into the spar, and after moving sideways to avoid Nerun's approach he started to use one more spell. A large amount of stone and earth started to rise from the ground and condensed itself into a grand stone Hand close to two meters in diameter that floated in front of Rafal while he assumed a sideways position with one hand in front and another in the back. There was an unusual and ethereal glow around his forward hand and the stone hand in the air mimicked his every move.
"Χέρι του Τιτάνα - /Chéri tou Titána/"
"This is my most powerful move while using this level of power. Show me what you can do boy." said Rafal with a smile on his face. There seemed to be some enjoyment in his voice, and he was truly savoring this spar with a junior. Even though they had not made many exchanges, each move made by Nerun showed Rafal that the boy had quite a vigorous and ingenious mind, and little by little he was getting rid of the sense of inexperience when facing an Adept. This was tantamount to a true battle genius. Also, Rafal noticed that the so-called weakness of energy in Nerun seemed to be non-existent as every attack was filled with power, ferocity, control and finesse.