Auel lowered his stance and across from him, Erin raised her staff
In the next instant, Auel moved, circling around her in a wide arc
With a gentle voice "Fireballs"
Fireballs shot directly to Auel, but he slipped past them with minimal movement, barely shifting his feet
"Focus" Auel said calmly as he dashed straight at Erin
In a shock Erin cast another fireball, but Auel avoided them just as easily
In a blink, he was right in front of her and flicked her forehead with his finger
"Ack!"
Erin flinched as Auel jumped back
"Stay focus on your aim," Auel said "don't hesitate. You won't improve if you're afraid to hit me"
"Y-yes"
"Now, get ready"
Then Auel dash again, circling around Erin once more
This time, Erin adjusted and shot more fireballs with better accuracy
Auel dodged most of them, but blocked a few with his blade. He stopped briefly, releasing the stored energy from his scabbard into the sky, flames bursting upward
He sheathed his blade and immediately dash forward
"Lightning bolt"
A crack of lightning surged toward him, but he easily blocked the attack again with his blade
"Water shot"
A pressurized stream followed, Auel dodged it
He kept on dashing forward
"Wind gale"
A sudden burst of wind slammed into him, halting his advance and pushing him back
"Freeze"
Auel noticed the incantation and looked at his feet. His foots stepped on the water created by the water shot
Too late
The water froze instantly, locking him in place
A spark of lightning sparked to him, he raised his blade, barely managing to block it
He released the stored power to the sky first and broke the ice with his scabbard
He broke free and rushed forward again, right into range
"Earth Wall"
The ground trembled, A wall of earth shot up between them
Auel clicked his tongue and dashed to the side
his hand already prepared to flick her forehead again
But Erin was ready, she rose her staff
"Fireballs"
The attack came from point-blank range
He could block two of the fireballs but the third hit him directly and pushed him back
"Auel!" Erin rushed forward "A-are you alright?"
He put down the fire with water magic
"Yeah, I'm fine"
"I-I'm sorry"
"No, I said it's fine, that was good"
She immediately heals his wound
She's doing great, she can already think ahead. But it still not enough, fighting against something like the wolf, her spell wouldn't do much. The wind wouldn't budge the wolf, and the ice wouldn't hold. It's better improve her aim first
"Do you still have mana?" he asked
"I-I think I still got plenty"
"So, do you want to continue?"
"Yes"
They stood up and continue on training
By the time the sun stood high overhead, sudden growl came from Erin
"Ah… I-I'm sorry" Erin froze, then covered her stomach, face turning red
"It's fine" Auel said with heavy breath "Let's take a break for today, also it's already lunch time"
"Y-yes"
They made their way back to the city
"You're improving faster than I expected" Auel said
"N-no… it's nothing special"
"It's true" he glanced at her "Your aim keeps getting better, and somehow you still looked fine after using a lot of magic"
He paused for a second "Just how much mana do you have?"
"I also don't know. But my mom said that I'm special than any other kids in my village"
"You said that your parents taught you magic and said that you are a gifted kid with a lot of mana, but why they didn't teach you any high-tier magic?"
"I-I don't know, they said that high-tier magic is useless, instead they taught me other magic rather than high-tier magic"
Auel frowned slightly
"I mean they're not completely wrong," He admitted "With your mana, you can keep casting any low-tier magic consistently, but if we learned from the fight against the wolf, low-tier magic is kinda useless again a stronger enemy even if you combine them together"
Erin nodded quietly
They kept walk and entered the city market The market was crowded and busy as always; there are a lot of people selling their foods or even equipment for adventurers
"So, what do you want?" Auel asked
"Maybe some bread" Erin Replied "W-what about you?"
"I think I'll skip, I'll eat later"
They continued strolling around the market
Suddenly
Thud
Erin bumped into someone, a man stumbled and his cane slipping from his hand
"A-ah… I'm sorry" Erin quickly helped him up
Auel picked up his cane and gave it to him "It's yours, right?"
With both eyes closed the man reached out, searching Auel's hand and grabbed his cane
"Oh yes, thanks"
"I-I'm really sorry… I'm not focus on looking at my way" Erin kept bowing her head
"It's fine" The man said lightly "this kind of things happens a lot to me"
A sudden growl came again from Erin; she couldn't handle the embarrassment and cover her face "I-I'm sorry"
The man chuckled "You seem hungry, would you like to come to my place? I can prepare something"
"No, no, it's fine. I-I don't want to trouble you," said Erin
"It's no trouble" he smiled "It's been a while since I had guests"
Erin couldn't answer and look at Auel, but he said nothing and just nodded his head
"O-ok"
"Thank you, then follow me"
Then the man walked ahead while tapping his cane softly against the ground
Auel looked at him, a thin man with a short dark-brown hair and have slightly higher figure than him
"By the way, we haven't introduced our self, my name is Loran, what about you guys?"
"I-I'm Erin"
"Auel"
"Hmmm… What a nice name" Loran smiled "How long have you guys been an adventurer?"
"W-wait, how do you know we are adventurers?" Erin asked
"I can hear Auel's sword is clicking" Loran replied casually "your sword doesn't fit perfectly in its sheath, so I'm guessing that you two are adventurer's, right?"
"Yes, I've been an adventurer about a year"
"I-I just started"
"Hmmm… Interesting"
They finally arrived at Loran's house, a modest house, he led them into his house, guiding them to a living room
Auel and Erin sat on the couch while Loran sat on the chair while resting his cane on the back of the chair
"So, what do you guys want to eat?" he asked
"I'll eat anything" Erin said
"I'll skip the food. Tea is enough for me" Auel added
"Of course, Laura" Loran called
Sometime after that, footsteps approached
A young girl with a brown long hair opened the door
"Yes, why did you call?" she asked "Who are these people?"
"They are guest, could you take some food and bring it here, and also 3 glasses of tea please?"
"Yes, hang on"
The girl then closed the door and prepared the food
"Who is she?" Auel asked
"She is Laura, she is just like you" Loran said while pointing at Erin, slightly missed
"M-me?"
"Yes, she is a magic caster" Loran said "but she isn't really good at controlling her mana, that's the main reason why I invited you guys"
Laura opened the door, and quickly served the food and tea
"If you need something else, just call me, ok?"
Loran nodded, then Laura left the room
"What do you mean by that?" Auel asked
"I wanted to give you a request"
"A request?"
"Yes, I thought it going to be a hassle if I came to the adventurer guild and create this quest. You know, went to the adventurer guild signing paper, and I don't like crowded places. But then I stumbled upon you guys, so I think it's a great time to offer a request"
"What kind of request are you talking about?"
"I want you to teach Laura how to use magic"
Erin stiffened
"B-but I'm unable to use any high-tier magic"
"It's fine" Loran said calmly "I've been thinking to teach her how to use healing magic. so even if you don't know a high-tier magic it's fine"
"B-but the way I learned magic is kinda strange, so I-I don't think I can"
"Strange? What do you mean?"
She couldn't explain it, instead she looked at Auel
"She told me that she learned magic without knowing anything about Gaia"
"? What do you mean by that?"
"Y-yes, I don't know how to explain it, but my parents never told me anything about Gaia. And I just know about Gaia today"
Loran leaned back slightly
"Hmmm… That's unusual. From what I know there are only 2 common ways to learn magic, either through Gaia or using holy magic"
He paused
"People said there are the 3rd ways to learn magic, but nobody can proof that"
Loran then stood up and walked to a bookshelf, his fingers slowly scanning and tracing for each book
After a moment, he pulled one out then he placed it on the table and sat down
"Here, you can use this book to help her. You can even take it for yourself"
"W-what, but this book looks expensive"
Loran laughed "It's fine, I can't even read the book anymore, and Laura is kind of person who doesn't like reading book"
"A-are you sure? Thanks" Erin took the book and read the book slowly
Auel looked at the book and looked at the shelf "You said that you can't read them but why does your shelf full of books? And judging by the cover, they look expensive"
"Hmmm… I was not born blind; I'm used to be able to see. But an accident happens and I got blind"
"What kind of accident?"