Evolution

After training for a relatively short time, Leus became much better at controlling his body while blindfolded ...

He did that by following a simple strategy

'Only move when I have to, and always keep a map of my surroundings in my head'

The yard wasn't that big anyway, so it was somewhat easy for Leus to be aware of his exact location, and after many days of practice, he didn't have any problems with his movements.

'The difficult part is to be able to sense the changes in my surroundings'

'I can't see anything, and hearing is very difficult'

'I just have to focus on sensing the atmosphere'

But because being able to do that would take a while, Leus thought of an alternative method to train his Magic attacks

'I have to mark a spot then try to attack it'

So, Leus would mark the ground with his sword, then move randomly in different directions. After that, he'd try to focus and hit the marked spot with a spell.

He kept repeating that, and simultaneously, he concentrated on the Mana around him, trying to notice the slightest changes in it.

His main focus was on sensing the Mana's movements and its interactions with physical bodies ...

He'd move his hand in the air and focus on the Mana in that spot; what happened to it? To which direction does it disperse if his hand Moves in a specific direction, and so on.

As time passed, Leus came to realize something ...

'In the beginning, I thought that Mana is just like dust, spreading in random directions'

However ...

'It is as if there's a puzzle but with missing pieces ...'

'There certainly is a pattern for its movement'

The more Leus knew about what he wanted to learn, the easier it became for him to achieve his goal

Blaze confirmed that by saying

"Nothing is random. You'll be able to unlock an Abstract once you comprehend its principles and how they work.

The more you know about it, the more capable you become of doing it. And eventually, you'll master it."

As time passed, Leus got better at feeling his surroundings, and his senses sharpened a lot.

Sometimes he'd feel the movement late, and sometimes he'd get distracted and lose his focus, but regardless of the flaws, he was steadily improving ...

Quickly, a couple of weeks passed, then something changed ...

Leus began to feel a familiar feeling ...

'The same feeling before I evolved the last time'

Every time he trained, he'd feel that his Life Force was near a wall and it was pushing through it, attempting to break it apart.

This time, he decided to talk to Blaze about it ...

"Dad, I'm getting the same feeling as I felt the last time before I evolved"

That piqued Blaze's interest

"Really? This is pretty good. It means that you'll evolve soon"

He added with a smile

"You're already very close to unlocking your version of Domain, I guess that you'll evolve as soon as you unlock it, it's a strong abstract"

Leus had some questions to ask

"How does one evolve exactly? As far as I know, Mages don't unlock Domain, so how do they evolve?"

Blaze explained

"There are countless ways to evolve; some do it by training their bodies, some do it by training their magic, and some do it by unlocking Abstracts or Skills. Ultimately, it all comes down to becoming stronger."

"Hmmm ... what do you think is the best way?"

There's no best way per se; people simply do what they think is right, or more practically, what they can do, until they eventually face a bottleneck and can't progress forward anymore."

Blaze paused for a second, put his hand on his chin, and then continued

"In your case, things are a bit complicated.

I'm not sure what you'll get from evolving; if you were just a Knight, you'd become stronger and faster, and you'd gain more control over your weapon and mana, but since you're also a Mage, I have no clue what your evolution will bring.

All I know is that Mages can do more complex and fancier spells."

Leus wanted more details, so he asked

"What are abstracts? And what are skills?"

Blaze took a deep breath

'This kid asks all the tough questions ...'

He explained

"Generally speaking, the inherent difference between Abstracts and Skills is very vague.

However, there are key differences

1- Skills are directly related to your affinity, as far as I know, you can't have a Skill with an element that you're not attuned with.

2- Abstracts are related to your mastery over Mana, so you can have an Abstract of an Element that you're not attuned with, however, that comes at a cost; that is ...

3- Abstracts are weaker than Skills.

4- Some Abstracts are inherent abilities that consume no Mana but are parts of your being, like Domain and Ultra-Speed Regeneration for example"

Blaze quickly added

"That's the extent of my knowledge, there are many things that I don't know"

Leus nodded

"I see ..."

Leus was thinking about everything Blaze said so far

'Abstracts and Skills seem to be more useful than spells ...'

'It looks like it was the right decision to evolve by unlocking an Abstract rather than just training with the sword ...'

He glanced at Blaze

'Dad is indeed an expert ...'

'I guess I'll understand more about these things and how valuable they are once I unlock this Abstract'

The new information made Leus excited, and also, more determined.

And so, he resumed his training ...

A couple of days later, During Leus' training, he felt it ...

'It's about to happen'

He quickly told Blaze

"Dad, I think it'll happen anytime now"

Blaze's tone turned serious

"Very well. Don't worry about it, I'm here with you"

Leus nodded and continued training ...

Within moments, it began ...

Leus’ breathing quickened, shallow gasps escaping his lips as his chest tightened.

His limbs grew heavy, his body became too sluggish to move, until finally, his knees gave up, forcing him to collapse onto the cold grass.

He tried to steady himself, his mind racing to remain calm.

'I have been through this before ...'

He knew the symptoms all too well ...

‘It’s going to feel like I’m dying… then I’ll black out.’

Sadly though, being calm didn't reduce the pain ...

Standing beside him, Blaze watched with sharp eyes as the Mana from the atmosphere surged into Leus’ body.

It was a torrent, a lot faster than Blaze had ever seen before.

‘I think this is more violent than usual … but it should be okay ... I guess?’

Genuinely, he had no idea; He hadn’t witnessed many evolutions, and Leus, still so young, was far from the typical anyway.

As for Leus, he was on the floor, unable to register the world around him ...

The Mana wasn’t just filling him; it was overwhelming him, forcing itself into every fiber of his being, as if suffocating him from the inside.

His veins felt like they were on fire, his muscles twitching uncontrollably.

Then, as quickly as it had started, the Mana’s flow ceased.

The air around them stilled, leaving an eerie silence behind.

On the ground, Leus lay motionless, his body limp as he, once again, slipped into an Evolutionary Slumber ...