Training (2)

Eli lifts her elven bow, which has a smooth green texture with a customary appearance, but its essence is one of peace and refreshment. Astroth could tell with a glance that this bow had something extraordinary.

Eli picks an arrow from her quiver. The arrow and the quiver were made up of materials found in this forest. She aims the arrow on her bow and stretches the string. The moment she released the arrow, a fast air storm blew away about five steel bulls after piercing their bodies.

Astroth was interested in the elven bow and the technique Eli used. He asks how the bow is giving off a verdure vibe. Eli brags about her weapon and answers.

"This elven bow is the last artifact made from a world tree, and our ancestors passed it to us."

"The world tree is nature itself. That's why this bow makes us feel peaceful and fresh. It derives its powers from the world tree. I can increase the level of air and earth magic vigorously due to this bow. "

Eli's shoulders raised unconsciously, and her smile spread to her ears as she gave this explanation. Astroth chuckles faintly and observes her behavior. A pout appears on Eli's face when she noticed him chuckling.

Astroth scratches her cheeks and smiles awkwardly. He tries to divert her attention by showing off his newly learned spell.

"Now my turn ..right?"

He casts [solar beam] with his palm aimed at the steel bulls. A bright heat wave releases from his hand and evaporates all the area in its range.

Eli was stunned by Astroth's destructive magic, but she tries to hide her shock by feigning ignorance. Astroth pokes Eli to get some reaction to his magic, but she ignores all his provocations.

Astroth suggests Eli practice her magic in addition to archery. He emphasizes that magic is an elf's gift and that they are proficient at magic. So she should explore all the possible weapons she has in her arsenal.

Eli takes his advice seriously and concentrates mana around her. The mana starts to appear green as it becomes denser around Eli. She thinks of using level 1 magic and casts.

"Oh! The air around me gives me strength and blows away my enemies... [Air Strike]."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blows in an arc shape and cuts three to four steel bulls.

Astroth listens to Eli's chant and starts laughing. The chant is cringe-worthy, awkward, and useless to him.

"The hell was that chant !..." Hahaha...Why are you chanting when it's not needed? "

Eli was flushed and irritated.

"That's why I didn't want to use magic before you. We are taught magic using chant, and only a grand mage or archmage can perform chantless magic like you."

"You're the weird one. "

Astroth was befuddled by what Eli said to him. To Eli's knowledge, Astroth has been using magic since birth without chanting, which only a few individuals can perform after intensive training.

"Thanks for informing me. I should keep my chantless magic hidden from strangers. But I'll teach you chantless magic; it's not that complicated for low-level magic. Meanwhile, chantless magic is efficient for its use in war. "

Astroth explains to Eli that chantless magic requires concentration and a clear image of the result. If you can visualize your magic clearly, you can bet that the outcome will be better than your previous methods.

Eli uses the same magic [Air Strike], but this time the arc was much wider and sharper. It slit the Steel Bulls into two clean pieces. Eli was shocked at how much potential magic could hold in Astroth's method.

Both used a variety of magic: long range, short range, defensive, and offensive. Eli noticed that Astroth was practicing magic to fight both single and multiple enemies. He was also preparing Eli for her future confrontation with enemies.

"Ah! Now that we have practiced all the magic spells, I should check my raw strength and muscle power.", Astroth says while stretching his arms and other body parts.

"Huh, what are you aiming for now?" Eli questions his intention.

Astroth smirks at Eli and jumps in front of the remaining Steel Bulls. His impact on the earth shakes the surroundings and alerts the Steel Bulls.

The Steel Bulls glare at the enemy in front and aim their horns. They stand firmly and arch their necks to show off their largest profile to encourage Astroth to back off because they might be thinking Astroth is challenging them. When the steel bull does this, it is in a state of fight or flight and is at its most dangerous.

Astroth confirms himself as a threat by roaring at the Steel Bulls. They face a direct threat head-on, with their heads lowered, shoulders hunched, and necks curved to the side toward Astroth, a potential object of aggression.

To show the threat, they start pawing with their forefeet, sending dirt flying behind or over their back, as well as rubbing or horning the ground. Nevertheless, Astroth didn't show any signs of retreating.

The Steel Bulls charged toward him, aiming their horns. Astroth bends a bit and stomps the ground to face their charge head-on. He stretches his hands in preparation as if trying to grab the steel bulls on impact.

Eli observes this entire scenario and aims her bow to neutralize some steel bulls. She was worried due to Astroth's reckless act, but she could only kill a few steel bulls before the impact.

When viewed from above, the steel bulls looked like a massive army charging into a lone wolf.

In a moment, the steel bulls charged into the Astroth. The impact creates a shockwave throughout the entire environment. The running dust clouds came to a halt, making Eli unable to see anything.

Slowly, the dust clears, and Eli notices Astroth grabbing the horns of the leader of steel bulls. Astroth was slightly bent towards the steel bull to exert strength in his arms and legs. He was trying to stop the bulls by using his legs as a stopper.

The bull kept pushing Astroth backward, and he was sliding backward. Eli was afraid because the bulls would stomp on Astroth if he got pushed back.

Astaroth's nerves were visible on his face, and he let out a roar. He lifted the steel bull as he roared and threw it away. Before the lead bull composes itself, other steel bulls charge into the arena. He easily handled the other bulls and smashed them with his strength.

The lead steel bull growls at Astroth and powers forward, sending dirt backward. It slammed into him with greater force. Astroth confronts the bull head-on while grabbing its horns.

The bull tries to throw Astroth by swinging its head all over. Astroth firmly grips himself on the ground by using his tail. He lifted the bull once more and tossed it to the ground.

Astroth jumps on the back of the bull before it gains balance and grasps its horns firmly while sitting on the bull. The bull gains composure and fills with rage, sensing someone on top of it.

It jumps up and down, bucks, and starts kicking to throw away the lump of weight on its back. Astroth finds it challenging to balance himself. However, he didn't want to let go because of the amusement.

Astroth gets the idea that it's not possible to tame this animal. So before he falls only to get stomped by the aggressive bull, he slowly coils his tail around the neck of the beast.

He tightens his grip and chokes the bull to death. The other bulls couldn't figure out that their leader had died. So Astroth plucks the horns of the leader and roars at the other bulls.

The remaining steel bulls were frightened and ran away in different directions to save themselves from the mighty enemy.

Eli lands on the ground and confirms if Astroth was injured or not. However, Astroth says he is fine, and Eli yells at him about his reckless behavior.

"I always wanted to try a sport like bull riding. But it's quite difficult, and the bulls are very aggressive. "

Eli was unable to understand what Astroth was saying and thought he might have become crazy due to all the sparring. What is their next destination? She asks.

Astroth looked around. The surroundings were gloaming, and the sun was almost down.

"We'll rest tonight and leave for the dungeon tomorrow. Ah! We're having beef for dinner."

Astroth makes a slurping sound with his tongue and points towards the steel bull's corpse.

Eli stares at him and gives a deep sigh.

During the night, the two camp in a nearby cave and eat grilled beef before sleeping.