Meeting Vivian Again

Raymond looked up at the sky, his hands itching to summon the clouds and manifest lightning.

Having decided to go through with his wish, he channelled his mana towards the place between his eyebrows. The drop grew thicker and the clouds started to move towards him from a far distance in the sky.

Raymond was ecstatic by the result of his experimentation. It was not what he had in mind when he came to train today but he welcomed these new changes with open arms.

His longtime dream of performing magical feats was coming true in front of his eyes as he concentrated on gathering the clouds above his head.

"Cough! Dammit!" Raymond grimaced as the familiar feeling of Mana Exhaustion hit him. It had been a while since he was going through this but surprisingly the feeling of nausea and retching wasn't so prominent this time.

Raymond didn't feel like puking his guts out. But that was the only good thing as he noticed the clouds drifting away from each other.

The mana gathered between his eyebrows had vanished already and Raymond was left disappointed.

"Sigh, I need to fix this stupid core…" Raymond mumbled and jumped down from the tree. Calling to his pendant, a brownish pill appeared on his hand.

It was the Mana Replenishing Pill.

Raymond popped the pill into his mouth and sat on the ground, waiting for his mana to recover. It was painfully slow, Raymond discovered much to his chagrin. He might as well properly cultivate for a day to fully replenish his mana rather than take these pills.

Were the pills ineffective for others as well?

He needed to ask Lyla and Jasmine but he had a hunch that it was only him and the reason was again his broken core. He needed an entire day's worth of meditation and circulation to fill the bottom of his core that held the few drops of refined mana.

-Crunch!

Raymond heard the sounds of someone stepping on the twigs and turned towards his left.

"Oh, it's the human!" Vivian addressed him calmly as if it was only natural to find someone sitting in the middle of the forest, early in the morning.

"And it's the elf from the guild," Raymond got up from the ground and dusted himself off. "What are you doing in the forest?"

"My esteemed self lives here! Those meagre wooden abodes that adorn the village fail to match the grandeur befitting one of my exalted stature," Vivian, with an air of regality, puffed her chest and proclaimed with a dramatic flair.

"What? Do you have a palace built inside the forest or something like that?" Raymond had climbed the highest tree in the vicinity and hadn't seen any sky-high buildings or mansions nearby.

"Something along those lines," Vivian replied and looked around her. "But hold, human, I must inquire: What has become of the mist? Why does this realm now lack the ethereal touch of moisture that once graced its very essence?" Her voice carried a tinge of curiosity.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Raymond lied through his teeth. "It's hard to understand what you're saying sometimes. Care to repeat that question?"

"My apologies, I seldom find myself in the company of lesser beings who cannot fathom my words," Vivian remarked, her tone adjusting to a more natural cadence.

"Oi, oi, did you just call me an idiot?" Raymond's face darkened.

"Apologies if my words sounded offensive," Vivian bowed.

"Tch, I can't even tell if you're being serious or not," Raymond muttered under his breath. "Apology accepted but you should talk normally when speaking with humans, you know. Elves might be used to your way of talking but we are not. Even human royalties don't talk that exaggeratedly!"

"I see…you've given me much to think about," Vivian nodded. "But I must inquire about this place. It seems strangely devoid of any moisture. Do you have any insights into this peculiar phenomenon?" Her voice was laced with a tinge of unease, Raymond noticed.

"Any and all anomalies in the forest is a sign of oncoming trouble," Vivian walked around the clearing and found the powdered mix of rock and tree dust. "How intriguing!" She squatted and scooped up some of it in her palms.

"There used to be a boulder and trees here," She observed.

"Is that so…" Raymond had no intention to explain what happened here. "Then, there must be something dangerous lurking around in these woods! How about we go back?"

"A wise suggestion, Human!" Vivian stood up. "I am in a hurry to reach the guild. My minion Luna must be awaiting my arrival."

-Fwoosh!

Wind surged erratically as Vivian disappeared from the spot. Her speed seemed to be on par with Lyla when she was suppressing her cultivation to Martial King level.

"I guess she has an affinity with the Wind," Raymond shrugged and walked back to the village, unhurriedly. No matter how early Vivian was, she wouldn't get to take all the missions today.

"I should have the same affinity if I manage to cultivate till the Martial Master realm," Raymond surmised.

His entire family was made up of wind users. His father was especially a famous spear user who could cut down magical spells using his mastery of spear arts and control over his Wind element in combination.

"Maybe I should pay more attention to Vivian. She seems to be following the same path as my father!" Raymond decided. "I could even get some tips on how to use wind spells from her."

———

"Oh, this is the highest paying mission for the day?" Raymond grimaced at the reward for completing the mission.

It was only ten gold coins and two of them would go to the guild as a commission.

"Well, some days it happens," Luna shrugged. "It's not like I have any control over it."

"Sigh, I hope tomorrow will be different," Raymond mumbled.

"No guarantees! It depends on your luck," Luna quickly dismissed the trio and went back to perusing some documents related to the guild.

'I might have to look for other ways to make money.'

Raymond thought as he exited the guild with Lyla and Jasmine in tow and went to have breakfast in a nearby tavern.

"Boss, give me three bowls of Garden Oats!" Raymond ordered taking a seat near a table and looking through the menu. A Wholesome oatmeal infused with wildflower honey, topped with freshly picked berries, toasted nuts, and a sprinkle of earthy spices, caught his eyes.

Elves had many such delicacies which were lacking in meat but rich in plant based contents. Raymond didn't mind though, he didn't care what he ate as long as it was edible.

"Jasmine, how is your cultivation going? When do you think you can reach the next realm?" Raymond asked her, who was sitting in the opposite seat. Surprisingly, she hadn't raised any complaints when Lyla occupied the seat by his side.

"Master, I can increase and decrease the speed of any physical object by using gravity. And its range has increased by a lot." Jasmine chirped, excitedly. "Oh, and check this out, Master!"

Pressing her lips together in concentration, Jasmine picked up a wooden spoon on the table and wrapped it up in her energy. Slowly, the open bowl part of the spoon started to morph into a flat surface.

"I can change the shape of small objects like this!" Jasmine showed the flattened spoon to him and Lyla.

"Not bad, that is impressive!" A hoarse voice called out in praise and Jasmine felt that the voice was familiar. "That too for someone who has received no proper training on using her element!"