TBATE : A Lunatic Monster

Chapter 8 : The Boy of Lightning

The preparations for a three week long journey to Xyrus city are completed. A journey on a carriage pulled by a couple of turmounts through the Grand Mountains.

Turmounts are mana beasts resembling horses from my past world. Since they have been domesticated for a long time, they have a low threat level. Turmounts have a natural affinity towards Earth magic, so they can also be used to traverse muddy terrains.

On the topic of Xyrus city, I recall reading that it is a floating city housing the most prestigious mage academy. We are moving there because Reynolds has managed to get a job in Xyrus city using his connections.

I wonder how a city can be kept afloat using magic. They could be using gravity magic but the amount of mana required to float such a huge mass high above the ground for even a second or so would be tremendous.

To supply such a huge amount of mana continuosly should be impossible for humans according to the knowledge I have gained about this world till now. Not to mention that wasting precious mana reserves for such an impractical purpose would be quite stupid.

"Come out Arthur! The Twin Horns are here!" Reynolds shouted from outside.

I wore my bag, which contained my clothes and some books. I strapped my wooden sword to my waist and put on my shoes. As I stepped outside, I was greeted by the sight of Twin Horns.

Adam knelt to my level and gave me a high-five. "How have you been doing, the boy of lightning?"

After my awakening incident, the people of Ashber started calling me, 'The Child of Lightning' or 'The Boy who survived Lightning'. I suppose it was Reynolds who told Adam about that.

Durden came up to me next and patted my head. "You have grown taller." He had a gentle smile on his face.

The next person to greet me was Jasmine. Apparently, her greeting is a slight nod and humming.

Looking around, I saw Angela and Helen talking with Alice. They were gushing at how cute Eleanor was.

I walked to the carriage and hopped to the back of it. After our party finished loading in all of our travel necessities, we started moving.

"Let the journey begin!" Adam shouted from in front of the carriage.

***

By nightfall, we stopped our carriage and made camp near a small clister of boulders. There was a lot of scrap wood from fallen branches nearby to use for campfire.

The Twin Horns and Eleanor's parents were engaged in some sort of conversation, which I wasn't the least bit interested in. I tuned off their useless chatter and simply gazed towards the campfire.

In my previous world, this phenomenon could be explained by the concept of combustion. Oxygen reacts with organic fuel to produce carbon dioxide and water vapour. Heat and light emergy is released in this process.

In the world of magic however, it must be different. Combustion should involve the usage of fire magic somehow.

"Hey kid, wanna spar?"

"Move aside. You are blocking my vision of the fire."

***

Since Adam was so persistent, I agreed to have a little 'friendly' spar. No competition is friendly. If I do something, I put all of my mind into it. Victory is the only acceptable outcome.

I grabbed the wooden sword strapped to my waist and took a defensive stance. Adam stood with his spear in hand, about 10 steps away from me. On my left were everyone else, watching us.

In a swift motion, Adam's spear rotated and the sharp end dug its way into the ground. I could only follow the afterimage of the blue sheen his blade was covered in. A moment later Adam caught a tree branch that fell from the tree above him.

"I will use this as a makeshift spear so you don't get hurt."

I deduced two things from the exhibition just now. Firstly, his speed was impressive. His movements would be difficult to follow if he used the same speed on me. Although with Lightning Impulse, his speed would be snail's pace to me. Only if I knew how to consciously activate it, I could rely on it. Currently, it was an uncontrollable and unpredictable weapon in my arsenal.

Secondly, I noticed the blue sheen on his spear. Adam uses water magic. Equipped with am orange core, his mana pool should be considerably greater than my red core's.

I am at a disadvantage when it comes to both power and speed. I will have to rely on technique to win.

"Begin!" Helen announced the start of the duel.

Adam charged forward instantaneously, beginning with a diagonal slash. I did not move from my place and simply brought up my sword to block. Due to the collision of our weapons, I was pushed back a bit.

He continued with a forward thrust. I parried this attack. Concentrating my mana into specific muscles and joints, I countered with an explosive upward strike of my own. He jumped backwar-

It was a feint.

I used the momentum from my upward slash to raise my legs into the air and backflip. My legs brushed the tip of his nose. A narrow dodge.

"That was impressive for a young brat!"

What Adam failed to realise was that my objective wasn't kicking his face.

"Where did my branch go?"

Using precise leg movements I grabbed his makeshift spear between my feet mid-air.

*snap*

I crushed the branch beneath my foot. Lets see how Adam fares without his spear.

"Haha! I will get serious now." Adam said as a blue sheen enveloped his body and took a stance suitable for hand to hand combat.

So he wasn't using mana until now. He was holding back against me. I would have felt disrespected but I had to remind myself. I am not a King here yet.  In his perspective, I am simply a 5 year old kid. Holding back against me is considerate, not disrespectful.

I threw my sword at him, which he redirected with minimal movement of his wrists.

"Giving up your sword for free eh? Don't get cocky now, brat!" Adam taunted.

"I simply desire a fair duel." I said whilst adopting an appropriate battle stance.

Adam slowly inched the distance between us while I maintained my position. He started off with a kick.

The kick was aimed towards my left. I jumped out of its range and pushed the approaching leg to the right. I rotated his feet in such a way to lock his ankle. The shock from overextending his leg made him lose his balance. I capitalised on that window of opportunity.

I concentrated mana into my right leg and swept at his leg. Already unbalanced, my low sweep tipped him off and he fell backwards.

"Ahaha! Its your win." Adam chuckled as he posed surrender with his hands.

He was holding back considerably against me and I knew it. But a win is a win.