219. The Electrifying Session by Willhelm Mae Arden
Willhelm stood on the massive platform atop the lone plateau, his hands folded behind his back with an air of nobility. A satisfied smile graced his lips.
He tested his foot on the self-mending concrete plates, feeling their sturdiness. The Stellius of Capricorn had performed their service precisely to his requirements. Above, an elastic canopy stretched tight to tall metal spotlight poles at each corner, providing a welcome shade from the hot weather.
The simplistic structure had only the necessary features, perfect for its use as a semi-open-air training ground.
A female Wildren in a white, light-arc dress approached him. “So… Lunarius Willhelm, I hope it’s up to your standard. Hehehe.” She giggled, shuffling in her hoof-like shoes.
The lady stood a few heads shorter than a tall elf.
“Much gratitude, Stellius Lampi. My sincerest apologies for requesting your assistance at such a dire time,” Willhelm smiled amicably.
Lampi shook her head. “Any time for my master’s friend!”
“Speaking of which, I do have something for you,” he said, lifting a finger towards her.
Lampi watched him, blinking her light brown eyes, round and adorable like a doe’s. Her light pink hair was braided into a single tail that brushed her thighs.
“Here, please take this as a gift,” Willhelm said, opening his palm to reveal a twig tied with a golden ribbon.
“Umm… What’s that?” Lampi scratched one of her coiled horns with an arc quill — a different choice of drawing tool from her master, Canis, who preferred a flat pencil.
“Huh? This is one of the sweet twigs from Longyuan!” Willhelm’s tone dripped with an overwhelming eagerness as he gestured for the reluctant Stellius to take it.
“No? I don’t want a twig. What would I do with it?” Lampi questioned with genuine ignorance, carefully storing her quill in a velvet case that hung from a silver chain on her belt, alongside her drawing scroll.
“Pardon my presumptuousness. I thought the goat Wildren loved to chew on twigs…” Willhelm clarified, his smile faltering.
Just as he was about to retract his hand, Lampi snatched the twig and brought it to eye level. “You’re sure I can eat this?”
“Positive, my dear,” Willhelm reassured with his velvet tone, a flash of a smile returning to his face.
The wind howled overhead, prompting Willhelm to clasp his wide-brimmed hat. A sleek vessel whirred nearby, its arcanite energy humming as the thrusters dimmed for its landing protocol. It was parked on the empty dirt near the training platform.
“There they are. My esteemed disciples!” Willhelm exclaimed with a delightful smile.
“Disciples? But you’ve never taught anyone before,” Lampi stared at him wildly, the sweet twig finding its way into her mouth. A burst of sweetness surprised her, and she continued to chew.
“Hehehe… I suppose I’m a little nervous about that,” Willhelm admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “They are already amazing scholars, so I’m hoping to simply be able to show them the way.”
“Nom… nom… Oh, I see,” Lampi mumbled, wobbling her horned head.
The engine’s noise faded as a side door slid open. Zetius was the first to set foot on the ground, dressed in a side-zipped jacket and long, generously cut trousers in ornate white with gold embroidery.
Following behind were Aurelia, Friederich, and Astrid. They were dressed in a theme today; Aurelia in a tunic with long sleeves, Friederich in a white tee and long jumpers, and Astrid in her thigh-high sport attire.
“Whoa! Lunarius, did you make this training platform just for us?!” Aurelia exclaimed once she met Willhelm at the platform’s edge.
He shook his head. “Rightfully, it is the masterwork of the Stellius mage here.” He gestured with an open palm toward the nibbling goat Wildren.
“Oh! Nice to meet you all! I’m Lampi Capella!” she let out a boisterous gasp, waving a hand high in the air.
“Hi, Lampi!” they all returned with friendly smiles. Aurelia rushed to personally shake her hands with showing her with 3-minute lavish praise.
“Pleasure is all mine, Princess!” Lampi chuckled, flattered.
“Alright! Let’s begin our session!” Willhelm bellowed, puffing his chest with pride.
After a few warm-ups and a nice pep talk, Willhelm assigned Astrid to assist the group with dual-casting techniques, while he asked Zetius to stay behind for some special training.
“Okay, with me, this way,” Astrid directed the others.
They found floor chairs arranged on the concrete plates, each a metre apart, all facing the monotonic blue sky.
“Have you guys ever done a calligraphy class?” Astrid asked, crossing her arms.
Confused, Aurelia exchanged an odd look with Friederich. “What’s that supposed to do with dual casting?”
Astrid chuckled deep in her throat. “It’s just a way to practise your brain to do two tasks simultaneously. We’re starting with baby steps here.” She gestured for them to take a seat.
“I have two symbols here,” Astrid instructed, opening her palms. Two fire butterflies emerged, weaving through the air to form a complex glyph each. “And you will draw them with your arcane.”
“Doesn’t seem that challenging,” Aurelia blurted, tucking her hands under her armpits.
“I see,” Friederich nodded once before starting to follow the instructions. He weaved his long fingers, slow and precise, until glowing glyphs mimicked Astrid’s example.
“Huh, see?” Aurelia smirked condescendingly. “Even Fried can do it.”
“Yes, he seems competent,” Astrid nodded with a sly grin, then showed them a stopwatch beaming from the ring on her finger. “That took one minute and three seconds. You'll be dead before you can complete your spell.”
“Wait? We have to go fast too? How fast are we talking?” Aurelia babbled, her eyes widening.
“As fast as you can. My best record is a bit under one second,” Astrid replied with a smug look.
Aurelia snapped her gaze to her guardian for his opinion, and Friederich exhaled softly. “Astrid is right. We need to practise this technique until it’s swift.”
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“Well, Princess, you try,” Astrid gestured with her palm up.
“Alright.” Aurelia clapped her cheeks to rouse her energy, her back straightening. Palms open, the fire butterflies began to dance in the air.
“Five seconds…” Astrid bellowed, crossing her arms.
A bead of sweat formed on Aurelia's forehead as she rushed. Only a few of the many lines required to form the complex glyphs were drawn.
“Ten seconds,” Astrid’s smile widened, revealing her teeth.
Aurelia rushed, and her left hand slipped, causing the glyph to shatter. “Damn it!”
“Easier said than done, huh, Princess?” Astrid quipped.
“Start slow, Aurelia,” Friederich encouraged her. “Once you get your first few times right, it won’t be as hard.”
“Right!” Aurelia nodded, her eyes shimmering with resoluteness.
Soon, the disciples were eagerly practising the dual-casting technique while Astrid delivered a long lecture on how to divide the brain to form two spells simultaneously, while keeping the two concepts mutually exclusive in the mind.
At the centre of the platform stood two tall individuals, confronting one another. The hot, humid wind brushed past, fluttering their hair and clothes.
“So, I’m not learning dual cast today?” Zetius probed, watching Astrid’s lecture from a distance. Her deep, boisterous tone echoed across the platform.
“Not quite yet,” Willhelm replied, touching his chin. He signalled to Lampi, who was still chewing on the sweet twig on a stone bench.
“Sure!” Lampi shouted back before lifting her fingers to the sky and chanting, “Kinesis!”
The ground trembled as thick concrete plates shifted, rising to form a tall fence that enclosed the duelling area.
“What’s going on?” Cubie poked her body out from Zetius’s sternum, her voice drowsy.
“One of his games, I guess,” Zetius stated.
“All done! Is it too cramped?” Lampi shouted, her tone dripping with high spirits.
“It’s excellent, my dear,” Willhelm bowed low theatrically.
Zetius rested a hand on his waist. “So, you’re going to spar with me, hmm?”
Willhelm’s eyes narrowed, his smile unfaltering. “Bingo!” He materialised a long staff and summoned two copper armbraces, offering one to Zetius.
Zetius caught it and snapped it onto his forearm, inspecting its sleek design. “So this works like the gladiator helm.”
“Precisely. Just a precaution!” Willhelm wiggled his index finger.
“Very well.” Zetius felt his heart thump in his chest; the fire of the fighter in him flared up.
“Zetius! I’ll cheer you on from afar!” Cubie chirped and took off into the sky.
Zetius fell into a guard stance, his knees bent. While Willhelm glanced at the goat-Wildren. “Lampi, would you kindly?”
She nodded. Looking left and right, she lifted her hand and chopped it downward. “Fighto!”
Immediately, Willhelm tossed his staff into the air, where it began to spin.
At the same time, Zetius formed a triangle with his palms. “Empyrion~Inferno!”
A massive beam of fire shot out, the shockwave tearing through the air.
With a simple step forward, Willhelm lifted two fingers and deflected the inferno’s trajectory, sending it harmlessly into the sky.
“How about this!” Zetius’s palms snapping backward, he propelled himself forward, closing the distance in a second.
His limbs now covered in aggressive fire, he swept low at his opponent’s legs.
Willhelm chuckled and leapt just in time.
Zetius grunted, following up with a twisted punch.
Willhelm extended his palm and twisted it just before the collision.
“Huh?” Zetius gasped, his body spinning with the misdirected momentum. His reflexes took over; hands extended, conjuring a blast.
Willhelm’s flame-wreathed palm swatted at Zetius’s face.
A cone of fire erupted from Zetius’s hand.
The attack struck the air.
Zetius evaded, throwing himself into a roll across the ground, his peripheral vision catching the flash of an incoming boot.
Legs sprang, and Zetius narrowly missed it.
Willhelm’s boots stomped on the concrete, crater erupted.
“He’s too fast!” Zetius hissed, landing safely a few metres away. “So this is the power of a Lunarius!”
In a show of humility, Willhelm folded his hands behind his back, his torso leaning forward. Then he bolted, delivering a majestic spinning kick.
Left, then right.
“Nnng!” Zetius crossed his arms to block, each hit sending him staggering backward.
In the brief window as Willhelm spun, Zetius formed another triangle and shot a massive inferno out.
His foe turned elegantly and kicked upward. The blast crashed against an unseen force and bent as if it were his own spell.
“Again!?” Zetius muttered; his arms felt sluggish from his early exertion.
“Hm…” Willhelm watched from down his nose as he unhurriedly descended through the air. His eyes glinted.
“NOW…” Electric blue energy began to arc in Zetius’s hands.
Zetius bit down on his molar hard. The power surged through his veins. “Astrapyion!” he roared.
WHRRMAM!
Suddenly, a devastating electrical storm erupted, lashing out in every direction. The ground sizzled, and white smoke billowed as the sting of oxidising ozone pierced their noses.
“Lightning power?!” Lampi breathed out, springing to her feet. A sound of wonder escaped her lips.
Square shoulder, Willhelm lifted both palms, a semi-translucent barrier shimmering before him like a rippling rainbow. His lips formed a condescending grin.
Then, white cracks spiderwebbed across the shield. It snapped, crumbling before his eyes.
Willhelm flinched, shattering his calm facade.
Zetius flashed in front of him. His monolid eyes bulged, his teeth bared in a growl.
“ASTRAPYION!”
The smouldering fist slammed into his chest. The burst of lightning threw Willhelm tens of metres back, and he crashed into the concrete wall.
BOOOM!
Bits of rock and dust spilled outward.
With haste, Zetius yanked Willhelm’s collar, his other fist pulled back for the final blow.
Willhelm smirked, grabbing Zetius’s hand. “Behind you…”
Zetius froze. His eyes twitched as he felt the intense radiation on his neck; a massive maelstrom of flames, gathered at the tip of the spinning staff, now shone like a miniature sun.
Don’t tell me… he’s been…
Willhelm had been collecting the energy from Zetius's own attacks since the beginning. A sly smirk adorned his lips as he whispered, “Empyrion~Solar Flare!”
“Phoros!” Zetius countered, just before his world turned white.
The pain on his skin was excruciating, a fierce ringing consuming his ears.
“Ah?!” Zetius gasped, scrambling on the ground as the heat ceased and a cool backwind blew past. “What… what’s going on?” He looked up, blinking fast.
The Lunarius stood poised with his staff in hand, its arcanite harnesser chiming, now brimming with the captured energy.
“Splendid! Truly impressive! I never thought I would have to trigger the solar flare!” Willhelm exclaimed with pure ecstasy, tapping the end of the staff on the floor.
As the pain slowly subsided, Zetius watched his armbrace crumble into a million sparks. “Oh… man…”
Lampi shuffled her legs, rushing to his side. Her palm opened wide. “Iasis!”
The healing spell soothed his aching body. Still half-dazed, Zetius sat up and nodded. “T~Thank you.”
“For a moment there, I thought you two were trying to kill one another! Oh no! Your hands still—”
“It’s normal, Lampi,” Zetius flexed his fingers experimentally. The crimson-red skin wasn’t just for show; the toll of his power was evident in the self-inflicted pain.
“Please, let me cast my spell again!” Lampi insisted as she leaned over.
But Zetius just shook his head. He knew only a higher-tier essence could heal.
“Since we both master fire as our element, I had to place my advantage in manipulation,” Willhelm explained, extending a hand to Zetius.
“That… that’s really amazing, Lunarius.” Zetius took his arm and hoisted himself off the ground.
Willhelm sighed and lifted his staff to eye level. “Though… I wouldn’t have had to use such a tedious strategy if I still had the Phoenix Sceptre.” Regret flickered in his eyes.
“Master Ignius took it from you?” Zetius queried, tilting his head, his brow furrowed.
“Yep… I thought he’d take it from a corpse. Apparently, he spared me for a reason I can’t comprehend,” Willhelm shrugged, a slight change in his tone as his gaze grew distant.
Lost for words, Zetius exchanged an awkward glance with Lampi.
Willhelm dismissed his staff and armbrace. “Enough about me.” He pointed at Zetius’s injured hands. “Let’s talk about that other power of yours!” His tone brimmed with fresh excitement.