Markus slept from dusk to dawn. Sleep was never this great. He woke up with the sun in the sky, dreading to look at the time and calculate how much he'd have to swim.
He cracked an eyelid and looked around. 7:28am.
88 minutes… 880 minutes. Over 14 hours of swimming…
'Chances I swim away?' He thought to himself
"Think twice kid. She might boil the river dry with you in it. Don't think you can get away from an elite. You might have stamina and some speed but if you were to run, she wouldn't just chase." The voice told him.
'Figures…' Markus said, deflated as he got out of bed to see Bailey relaxing at the table, having breakfast and reading a book.
"Uhh- Instructor Nuune?"
"Markus, good morning. Grab yourself some breakfast and take a seat." She said, not looking away from her book.
"… okay…" he said, concerned about her casualness.
He got himself a sandwich and a glass of water. As he ate? Bailey glanced over, still reading her book but she began to say a few things.
"Today I let you slide with sleeping in. Today you will begin essence manipulation lessons. I've been shaping you to be able to handle your essence reserves over the last two months but now you need to learn to actually use them. A strong body lets you handle it- and avoid being sent flying back by your own attacks." She said, taking a sip of coffee.
"How is running and swimming going to help me resist th wind?" Markus asked, confused.
"It's not- but it let your essence point to develop. Moreover, as a wind user, you are swifter than a stone user because you release wind essence with your movements. You do it passively and it comes very little, but you can learn to do it actively and whilst it will consume some essence, you will move at impressive speed."
"How fast!" Markus exclaimed, curious.
"Well… quite fast. Fast enough to keep up with me probably. But you won't move like a Windbourne. Those white haired freaks have a literal genetic advantage." Bailey said, mockingly.
"A what?" Markus asked
"Your headmistress is one of them. They can channel the wind in ways other wind users cannot. They create these… channels of wind passively and when they step into it, their entire body flows through the wind at inhuman speed. Even I can hardly keep up with tracking them." Bailey said, shaking her head at the speedy freaks.
"What makes them so special-" Markus pouted
"They're related to the ducal family or are in the ducal family, who have a bond with the greater spirit of Whirlwind. Therefore, any Windbourne who inherits the white hair will likely inherit their blood art."
"Blood art?"
"Uhhh- like— a technique tied to a bloodline. Anyway- it's called the Wind's Path. I'm only telling you because you will face one sooner or later- it's better for you to be aware or else if it's a death match you won't know what hit you."
"That's… reassuring. So how do you fight a Windbourne? If I'm not going to be as fast then—"
"You're going to have more stamina than them. The problem with blood arts is that they are very taxing on the body. Even as elites they have to be used tactically."
"What about a master?"
"Kid- if I were to fight a master Windbourne I'd probably die. Not to say that the master will make it out alive, but let's just say at the master level, the power and capabilities of individuals at that rank exceed human comprehension. Anyway- it's no use dreaming about those ranks when you can't even use your essence properly, the next challenge." Bailey said, as she put her book down and stood up.
Markus finished up, cleaned up and changed into his combat suit which he had been wearing. A simple black stretchy material with mysterious protective capabilities.
They went outside and Bailey led Markus about halfway to the treeline, giving them plenty of clearance all around.
"Now, we will focus on your essence manipulation. Essence is like the water in a vessel yes, but this water can become a deadly weapon. Watch." Bailey said as she extended her right arm downward.
A red mist flowed from her palm and it formed the shape of a stick. Then it solidified and took shape, becoming a tangible longsword.
"Shoot at me with a wind bullet." Bailey said as she took a cutting stance. Her right foot and hand forward, her left foot a step back and her left hand behind her back.
Markus took a step back.
"Are you sure..?" Markus said, unsure of what would happen.
"You have a lot of essence but your quality and use is poor. Nothing will happe–" Bailey said before a bullet whizzed toward her.
She deflected the bullet effortlessly.
"woah - you actually blocked something that fast!" Markus exclaimed.
"You little– anyway. As you saw, a weapon created by essence can be used to fight against other essence constructions. A simpler way would've been to create a layer of essence around my arm and slap your bullet but you need to create weapons too- or rather you will, eventually…" Bailey said.
"So what do I do?" Markus said, looking at his hands.
"For now sit. Focus on your breathing.'' Bailey commanded.
Markus sat down and focused. His chest expanded and shrunk.
"Now I want you to release some essence." Bailey said.
"From where?" he asked.
"Everywhere. Imagine your essence flowing from your chest into every part of your body- every muscle that ached after you swam. And then when its everywhere, I want you to breathe out slowly." Bailey softly guided him.
As he did, he felt his body stiffen, then relax and soften as he breathed out.
As his body relaxed, essence oozed out. Every single point of release in his body functioned.
"Excellent, your body has fully adapted. Get up and use a wind blast, only this time, let essence flow all throughout before releasing it from your fist." Bailey told him. She took a step back.
Markus felt it all surge and flood his body, only this time he did not feel as stiff, but rather he felt powerful. His fist cut the air and with an explosive wind, a crater appeared in front of Markus, this time even bigger, 4 metres wide, 10 metres long and 1.5 metres deep. Most importantly, his body had not moved an inch.
"How does it feel to finally be able to have the most basic control over essence?" Bailey asked with a smirk