Rocky - 49
"Nah. My clothes are actually kinda special too. They don't let things fall off easily."
"Ooo! Is it from the same continent as that pouch?" Marc asked excitedly.
Juro shook his head.
"Nah, it isn't. But I had it custom-made, so it's special for me. Hehe."
Marc nodded, "Ooo."
Juro then clapped his hands together.
"Anyways, alright now. Let's all go to the middle. We'll begin the training!"
..
Marc excitedly made his way toward the middle of the training ground, with Bell following close behind. The two sisters remained by the bench, watching them with excitement.
Once they reached the center, Bell and Marc stood ready, waiting for Juro's next instructions.
Juro looked at the two of them with a smile.
"Sides."
The moment he said it, mana suddenly blasted toward them from both sides.
Marc immediately ducked, while Bell quickly leaned his head backward. The blasts passed harmlessly by them.
Marc straightened up and looked at his hands, a proud grin spreading across his face.
"Woah... I improved at dodging, Teacher Juro!"
Juro smiled.
"Don't get too excited yet. For this training, you two will try to attack me at the same time. If you manage to land one clean attack or hit on me, whether it's physical or magic, you two win."
Marc practically started bouncing with excitement.
"Realllyyy?! Bell, we get to fight together with Teacher Juro!"
Bell chuckled at Marc's reaction.
"Alright, Marc. Let's do our best."
"Yeah!"
Marc suddenly paused.
"Wait... when does it start?"
Juro gave them a mischievous smile.
"Now."
Two larger mana blasts suddenly came surging from behind them.
"Eh!?"
Marc quickly spun around. He surged mana into his arms and raised them in front of his face just as the blast slammed into him.
Bell, however, noticed the incoming attack almost immediately.
Rather than dodge, he extended a finger toward it and fired a single mana bullet.
The mana bullet collided with the incoming blast.
BOOM!
The two attacks dispersed against each other.
Bell immediately turned around and leapt toward Juro, throwing an uppercut.
"Hoh."
Juro casually stepped backward, allowing Bell's fist to pass harmlessly beneath him.
But Bell wasn't finished.
He twisted his body and followed with a kick.
Juro raised one finger and stopped Bell's kick effortlessly.
Then he felt it.
A strong surge of mana.
Juro glanced downward and noticed Marc standing nearby, mana rapidly gathering around his right fist.
"Nice, Marc!" Bell exclaimed as he landed back on the ground.
Marc smiled and drove his fist straight toward Juro's stomach.
Juro smiled.
"Megen."
A translucent blue shield instantly appeared in front of his stomach.
Marc's fist continued forward.
BOOM!
The impact echoed throughout the training ground.
"Wow..." both Noria and Brea exclaimed.
"Awww, so closeee!" Marc complained as his punch was stopped by the shield.
Juro smirked.
But then his expression shifted slightly.
A tiny crack had appeared on the shield, right where Marc's fist had struck.
"...Interesting."
Before Juro could fully process it, a kick was already heading straight toward his face.
Bell's left foot.
Juro's eyes quickly shifted toward the incoming attack. He caught Bell's leg just before it could connect.
Bell smirked.
Juro's attention immediately shifted to Bell's hands.
Both palms were pointed directly at him.
Mana was gathering between them.
Juro's eyes widened slightly.
"He's preparing a mana blast..."
Bell released it.
The blast shot straight toward Juro's face.
Juro smirked and raised his free hand, preparing to block it.
But just as Juro was about to raise his other hand, he suddenly felt a tug.
He glanced down.
Marc had flowed mana from his hands and transformed it into a mana hand that had wrapped around Juro's wrist, holding his arm in place.
Bell immediately took advantage of the opening.
He pointed his index finger toward Juro and fired a mana bullet directly behind the incoming mana blast.
Juro was genuinely impressed by the kids' quick thinking.
"They're actually coordinating their attacks."
Even so, he still felt far too relaxed.
With another casual motion of his mouth, he cast his magic.
"Megen."
A translucent blue barrier appeared in front of Juro's face just as the mana blast and mana bullet struck it.
BOOM!
Both attacks were stopped.
"Awwww, c'monnnn! I thought we had him!" Marc exclaimed.
Juro laughed.
"Ahaha! Now, shouldn't it be my turn to make a move?"
The hand holding Bell's leg suddenly moved.
Juro swung Bell away and threw him toward the wall.
"Bell!"
"There's no time to worry about Bell! Worry about yourself!" Juro said as he forcefully pulled his other arm, dragging Marc toward him.
Juro's free hand immediately came forward with a punch.
Marc quickly dispersed the mana hand and instead surged mana through his arms, raising them to block.
THUD!
Even though Marc managed to block the punch, the impact was strong enough to send him stumbling backward.
Meanwhile, Bell was already heading toward the wall.
He quickly flipped his body and used the momentum from being thrown to his advantage. Mana surged into his legs, and the moment his shoes touched the wall, he pushed off with tremendous force.
Bell shot back toward Juro.
"Grothia tis rok."
Juro's eyes widened slightly.
Bell's right fist became covered in dense, hardened rock, transforming into a powerful rocky fist.
"Hoh..he knows that magic.."
Juro caught the incoming fist with one hand.
He smirked.
"Pretty impressive magic you've got."
Bell's rocky fist remained firmly in Juro's grasp.
Juro then drew back his other hand and threw a punch straight toward Bell's face.
Bell reacted immediately.
"Megen."
A translucent blue barrier formed in front of his face.
CRACK!
Juro's punch struck the barrier hard enough to fracture it.
Bell quickly cast it again.
"Megen."
A second layer formed over the first.
Juro's eyes lit up with genuine approval.
"Hoh. Nice thinking."
Using the hand that was holding Bell's rocky fist, Juro suddenly lifted him up high.
Bell's eyes widened.
Juro slammed him into the ground.
BOOM!
"Bell!?" Marc, Noria, and Brea all exclaimed in worry.
The rocky fist disappeared as Bell landed on the ground. He remained there for a moment before giving them a slightly dissatisfied look.
"I'm fine..."
Juro laughed.
"Ahaha! Don't worry! Our bodies are naturally stronger than most people think, especially these kids."
Marc looked down at his own hands.
He remembered Bell's magic with the fist from earlier.
"So that's what Bell can do..."
For a moment, Marc felt a little disappointed that he had only been able to watch.
But as he thought about it, he realized something.
He had been learning.
Marc took a deep breath.
Mana began surging from his body.
His eyes slowly became engulfed in mana, while the same clear mana flowed through his hands and continued pouring from his body.
Juro immediately felt the sudden increase in mana.
He turned toward Marc.
"Hoh. Are you getting fired up since you're using your form, Zen, right?"
Marc smiled.
"You betcha!"
The moment he finished speaking, Marc launched himself forward.
His body accelerated with incredible speed.
Through Zen, whose actual name was Pure Eyes, Marc's physical capabilities were enhanced by a mixture of pure mana and normal mana, allowing him to move faster and strike harder than he normally could.
Marc clenched his fist and drove it straight toward Juro's face.
Juro quickly dodged.
But Marc immediately turned his body and followed with a swift kick.
Juro caught it with his right hand.
Another kick came from the opposite side.
Juro blocked that one with his left hand.
Marc didn't stop.
Instead, he smirked.
Juro was holding both of his legs in place, but Marc used that against him. He quickly curled his body forward, bringing his fist toward Juro.
Mana engulfed his hand.
Then hardened.
Rock formed around his fist, transforming it into a sturdy rocky fist.
Juro's expression shifted.
"Hah... this kid."
Bell, still lying on the ground, looked at Marc and couldn't help but exclaim as well.
"Hah... this kid."
Juro smiled.
Even with Marc's rocky fist heading straight toward his face, he still looked completely relaxed.
He opened his mouth and began casting the same magic again.
"Meg—"
"—?!"
A thick mana hand suddenly covered his mouth.
Juro's eyes shifted downward.
Bell was still lying on the ground, but one of his hands was extended toward Juro. Mana flowed from it, transforming into a thick mana hand that had wrapped around Juro's mouth.
"Get him, Marc!" Bell exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Marc shouted as his rocky fist continued closing in on Juro's face.
Juro smiled behind the mana hand.
Then—
BOOM!
A powerful force of mana erupted from his body.
The mana hand covering his mouth was violently repelled, while Marc's incoming punch was pushed back as well. The force was so strong that it shattered the rocks covering Marc's fist.
Juro released Marc's legs.
Marc dropped back onto the ground, staring at his now-bare fist in disbelief.
"Woah... what was that?!"
"Heh. Just a really strong mana output." Juro answered proudly.
"Mana output?" Marc asked.
"Basically, it's just releasing a strong amount of mana around your whole body. If the output is strong enough, it can cause a repelling effect like that."
Juro crossed his arms with a smug smile.
"It's pretty expensive on mana to use, though."
He paused.
"Cool, aren't I?"
Bell slowly got back to his feet, dusting himself off. His expression remained completely blank as he stared at Juro's self-satisfied face.
"Boooo."
"Eh?!"
Brea exclaimed, pointing at Juro.
"Mister Juro is playing unfairly! You're using magic, mana magic, and you're an adult!"
Noria nodded firmly beside her.
"Mhm, mhm!"
"Ehhhh, but..."
Bell joined in.
"Yeah, that's right. I thought you were really powerful, but I guess not."
He casually shrugged.
Juro's expression froze.
"( ` ᴖ ´ ꐦ ) ..."
"Eugh... finee! Fineee!"
He threw his hands up in defeat.
"I'll only use one magic, and that's Megen! Nothing else. No mana magic either!"
Bell looked toward the two princesses and gave them both a thumbs-up.
Noria and Brea chuckled.
Their plan had worked.
Marc also chuckled before Bell called out to him.
"Marc, you ready?"
Marc smiled and nodded.
"Yeah!"
"Alright. You go on ahead and keep him busy. I'll follow up with something after."
Marc nodded.
Mana immediately surged into his legs.
He pushed himself forward, accelerating toward Juro at incredible speed.
Juro grinned as he watched Marc charge toward him.
"Hoh! That's right. Let's continue!"
He cracked his knuckles.
Meanwhile, Bell watched carefully from behind.
"Even though I sounded confident, I can't recklessly use mana magic. That would drain my mana too quickly..."
His eyes followed Marc's movements.
"I'll just have to think of some other way."
...
....
["Grothia tis rok." is one of the common offensive magic that was already invented before The Greatest Mage was born.
Grothia tis rok is used when the caster wants either one of their fists to become covered in dense rocks, increasing both the fist's sturdiness and attack power.
It is a common magic, yet still an effective one when performed well. ]