Chapter 33 - Fueling Sai’s Spirit [Part 3]

"How many times do I have to tell you, that mana control is all about mental control, keeping your emotions and thoughts in check." Madam Tsukios's voice entered my ears softly as she teasingly pressed her bust into my back.

Her words contradicted her actions as she kept giving me reasons to have my mind derail from the path of focus.

I took a deep breath allowing the chill air to permeate my lungs and energize the blood flowing through my veins. My pulse increased with each beat as I slowly released my breath to take in another breath.

I tried to focus my mental fortitude on the sword I held in my left hand, gently channeling my mana into its hilt and then onto the blade.

The point of the blade began to vibrate violently as my mana coated it in a thing translucent golden hue.

I then felt a finger trace along my spine sending chill all over my body. Forcing lust-filled thoughts from my mind I tried to maintain my aura which was more difficult than it sounded.

My mana began to wobble and quiver each time a stray thought invaded my focus, I dispersed the aura sword and then stabbed the blade into the ground before wiping the sweat from my face with my hand.

"It's been two days since we started this training and you're improving greatly." A hand reached out and gently wiped my face with a small towel.

"When a warrior has reached enlightenment, their mana gets enhanced in purity which expels all impurities from their bodies allowing them to have better control over their mana and access to more mana at a time." Madam Tsukio's hand then rested on my Chest with the towel still within her grasp.

Her usual teasing had faded somewhat, and for a brief moment, a shadow of sadness seemed to envelop her before it was whisked away by the breeze.

I felt the urge to say something comforting, but the right words eluded me. Despite sharing daily training sessions, she rarely speaks about herself, always hiding behind that teasing smile.

Sometimes, I notice subtle shifts in her mood that occur after certain remarks, as if something from her past has come rushing back to her thoughts.

I often reflect on how long we've been training together and think about how sharing a bit of my own story might help bridge that gap between us. Yet, the right moment to open up has yet to reveal itself.

Witnessing these fleeting glimpses of vulnerability in her began to have a poignant effect on me. The more time I spend with her, the more I feel a burning desire to strengthen myself—to reach a level where she might feel comfortable enough to share her burdens with me.

I pushed my arm into the sleeve of the Yukata i was given after my usual pants got ruined by the impurities expelled from my body.

I now had a black yukata with red streaks forming geometric patterns randomly across the surface of the fabric, I chose this yukata along with three others of similar colors but different patterns simply because of the colors. Black is my favorite shade and any dark red akin to Burgundy is my favorite color.

I looked at Madam Tsukio as she distanced herself from me with her usual cheerful demeanor returning to cloak the deeper emotional wounds she contained.

"I've asked Sara this before and never gotten a proper answer but are you guys the only remaining members of the cloud-kin?"

Madam Tsukio looked up at me with a curious expression, it was obvious that she didn't expect me to ask such a question.

"What she told me is of the past about, your god and the elders and stuff but I've yet to see you guys with anyone else of your clan…"

I raised my hand on instinct trying to defend myself from suspicion.

"A guy with a mysterious past and deep wounds emotionally and physically, a mental fortitude that shows you're used to living a hard life, curiosity and willingness to learn that shows your youth along with resistance and control that tell the world 'hey am a virgin'… you're a very attractive guy who doesn't know how to make use of all your assets, a woman won't fall for a man who asks too many questions."

Madam Tsukio's tone was no longer playful but it wasn't stern either, it still had an air of teasing as she complimented me but it was far from her usual.

"Seeing how you move on a usual I can see that you weren't ambidextrous and you were more used to doing everything with you're right hand so it will take some time before you can fully operate with your left hand. You will have to train your body to rewrite your body instincts and use your left more."

She folded the towel she just used to wipe my face and then stuffed it into her cleavage which drew my attention to the marvel that was her bust.

In the next instant, she was standing directly in front of me with her fist aiming straight at my face from point-blank range.

My body instinct reacted on instance and I deflected her punch by using the palm of my hand.

I had barely managed to block it as my body was truly accustomed to left only.

I stepped back as she followed up with a kick, the force and speed of her kick dug a small line into the ground which made me realize she had enhanced her body with her mana.

"Not bad, you're quite quick, let's keep going I'll add a bit of rune magic in, low-level runes though nothing to actually hurt you."

She then charged at me again and my passive skill Hand to Hand combat ignited at a chance to showcase its might.

I got into a simple martial arts stance reminiscent of the ones I trained with as a child. I grabbed onto her arm as she swung at me and pulled her to my right side to use my elbow and pin her, this attempt back fired as maneuvered her body with a degree of flexibility I didn't expect and tried to sweep me off my foot.

I released her and flipped into the air but my body instant grew heavier mid-air and i fell on my back now facing the sky.

"Weight manipulation a zero-tier rune spell." she spoke as she approached me now standing over me with a teasing smile plastered ass over her face as if the mock me.

"I drew it on your leg to moment i went to sweep you off your feet, get up lets keep going." she then extended her arm to me.