Chapter 17: 16 – Who?

The walk back home went as silently as the walk to town. Reaching the cottage, John left the bag with the stuff he bought in his room, picked up the shortswords and went outside where Dene waited for him.

“Begin.” Spoke Dene.

John didn't immediately attack. With weapons in hands, he walked around her, trying to find the best chance to strike. Rushing straight at her would be the worst decision, as he lost both in strength and agility. 

He could already equal her in fighting techniques, therefore Dene began to use more of her strength to compensate. Now that she taught him all of her techniques, she wanted him to get used to fighting enemies above his level.

He had already made a full round when he finally attacked. Aiming at her torso, John pierced forward with the shortsword.

Dene deflected, causing it to harmlessly pass just a few centimeters from her arm. At the same motion, she slashed with her other weapon to which her son also deflected, albeit not as easily.

After this short clash, both jumped back, once again widening the distance. 

 

John’s next attack was a horizontal slash from right to left, which forced her to dodge back. He jumped forward to continue the attack, this time slashing with both weapons from left to right.

Unable to dodge again, Dene deflected both weapons, which caused her to lose her balance.

‘Now!’ John tried to take advantage of the opening and once again rushed forward.

But instead of trying to regain her balance, Dene actually followed the motion, turning a 180 on one leg, and kicked back with the other.

John was caught by surprise, receiving a kick to the diaphragm and getting the air blown out of his lungs.

Making use of the blowback, Dene made a roll, landed back on her feet and turned another 180, rushing straight to John, all in a fluid motion.

He still hadn't recovered from the blow and so wasn't able to avoid the next attack, getting knocked to the ground.

“Again.” Dene spoke, walking back to her initial position. 

John took a few moments to catch his breath, then got up to continue the fight. This was just his first defeat this session.

They paused for lunch around noon, then resumed after a short break. Their fight continued until sunset when they stopped the combat training for the day. 

John washed himself, put on clean clothes and was about to have dinner when he remembered something. The bag with the stuff he bought earlier today.

First the bandage roll. As a soldier in his past life, and also after experiencing this world’s combat, he knew how easy it was to get injured during a fight. If he was in the wild again, with no access to healers, those bandages would do for some first aid. 

Second the books. In his memories, there was simply too little information about this world. Although his mother taught him everything she knew about the kingdom, it was still too little as she herself was a foreigner.

Therefore, he bought one book of maps, detailing the dukedom’s geography, along with two books about the history of various noble houses.

Third, the hand mirror that he was now holding. It was just a simple, slightly dirty mirror with a wood frame, but it was good enough for John as he just wanted to know his own appearance.

Looking at his own reflection, there was a surprise. He was already aware that his face would be of a child and that his head would be shaved, but his eyes… they were hazel - A mix of brown and green.

‘That’s not right. Southerners are supposed to have brown eyes. That's the case for my mother, and also the slave I saw earlier today. Furthermore…’ John looked at the skin at the back of his hand. ‘It’s a light brown color, while my Mother’s is a dark brown.’

He knew that these differences could only have come from his father, which caused a question to appear in his mind.

‘Who is my Father?’

All of his life in this world, John never knew who the man was, as Dene made sure his focus was on training.

But now, unable to hold his curiosity, he decided to ask her after tonight’s lesson.

John left the mirror in his room and entered the kitchen for dinner.

The meal consisted of a stew, some chicken and fruits for dessert, same as always.

After dining, they put the dishes away then headed to johns room for his lesson.

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“Now, do you remember the incantation for the [Shadow Cover]?” Dene asked.

“Yes. It’s...” John recited the whole incantation for the spell.

“Good. recite it again, but this time close your eyes and try to feel how the mana moves with as you utter the words. Keep doing it until you’re able to feel it.”

“[Shadow Cover] allows one to blend with the shadows, so you’ll want the mana to cover you from the light, therefore it’s name.”

John did as he was told, reciting the spell again and again. By the fifth time, he managed to feel something, like he could guide the mana to surround his whole body.

He recited the spell again, trying to find the same feeling as before.

‘Like this, cover me from the light.’

When he opened his eyes, Dene was displaying one of her rare smiles. “Congratulations.”

John looked down at his own body, and it was a much darker color, including his clothes. Although counterproductive in a bright setting, this would definitely be useful in the dark of night.

“That’s it? It’s already over?” John asked, slightly confused. He simply began to recite the spell and followed the feeling he had on how to guide the mana, and when he came to his senses, the spell was already cast.

“That’s right. I mentioned to you the incantation’s function, it’s used as a form of self-hypnosis. Before becoming a Mage, nothing would ever happen if you recited it. But now that you’re able to manipulate mana, it’ll be different.”

“So, I just need to start reciting the spell?”

“That, and to know how the mana moves according to the spell. [Shadow Cover] is among the simpler ones, so you were able to cast it just by feeling how the mana should move through the incantation. More advanced spells will require much more practice.”

“Also,” Dene continued her instruction. “There’s the matter of affinity. The higher your affinity with an element, the easier it is to cast its spells. We all have different affinities to different elements, depending on our blood. The Yao tribe always had good affinity with the Darkness element, while everyone from the desert tribes tends to be above average with the Fire element.”

“Affinities are usually inherited from the parents, but that’s not always the case. For example, it’s possible for a man aligned with the Earth element, and a woman aligned with the element of Water to give birth to a child mostly aligned with the Lightning element. Even the levels of affinity may wildly differ.” 

“Therefore, the most accurate way to gauge it is through an elemental tablet. Unfortunately, only nobles are able to have it. Without it, one must try different element spells and guess which one is easier to cast. Now, look”

Dene began to recite a different incantation. 

[Flaming hands!] 

When done, she put her hands up and they were on fire.

“This is a Fire element spell, on the same level as [Shadow Cover]. As my affinity with Fire isn't as good as with Darkness, I’m not able to ignore its incantation, even though I’m an Archmage. If I try, the spell may backfire and hurt me.”

“Is that why you took me to the healer, instead of healing me yourself?”

“That’s right. Healing is exclusive to Water or Light element, both of which are opposite to the ones I have an affinity with. But I’ll teach you about this in another lesson. For today, try practicing other simple spells then go to sleep.”

She got up from her seat and already had her hand on the door handle when John spoke.

“Mom, can I ask you something?”

“Hum, What is it?” Dene asked back, turning her head towards her son.

“Who is my Father?”

Dene felt her blood go cold. She stood still without speaking for an uncomfortably long time.

John was about to break the silence, but his mother did it first.

“Haaaa… I always hoped this day wouldn't come, but you’re a man now, so you have the right to know.” Dene took her hand away from the door handle and got back to the chair.

“If you wanna know who your father is, first you must know how I left the desert and ended up here...”

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