Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride

Book 2: My Lord Saves the Citizens - Chapter 59

Aldric walked into the middle of the hall and then, standing there, took in a deep breath. On the large screen on one of the four walls, Vicky appeared.

My lord.

"Vicky," he said. "I've read the basics of magic and have learned to summon circles and the magic elements. Let's start the official training."

Indeed, my lord, Vicky stated. How remarkable of you to have done that in just a few days.

"Remarkable?" Aldric said. "Is that so? I assume this is normal for every individual."

Not so, my lord. So far, there is only one other person that I know of who can master such a feat.

Aldric raised a brow, although he suspected who it was. He said, "Tell me, who is it?"

Vicky chuckled. Who else but your lady wife, my lord?

"But of course," he said.

A hum echoed across the hall and fifty dummies in human form materialized on the other side.

Vicky said, Shall we start off with fire magic?

Aldric nodded and summoned his magic. Instantly, a glowing circle appeared before him and he said, "Fireball!"

A glowing fireball shot out of the circle and went flying toward the target where the dummy then burst into flames. Despite being spot-on for his first try, Aldric was not pleased. He wanted the speed between the summoning of each fireball and the speed at which the fireball was traveling to be faster. To do that, however, a higher mana was needed, and of course, it also needed a lot of practice. Hence, Aldric practiced, summoning one fireball after another consecutively, aiming at one dummy after another. Once the line was cleared, a new set of dummies materialized, and Aldric started again, throwing fireballs nonstop. He continued with the simple fireball for thirty minutes before moving on to a simple ice arrow for the next thirty minutes, and then windblast and lightning strike. When two hours passed and his magic training time was over for the day, his mana had depleted quite significantly. If he was a normal individual with mana level anywhere between fifty and one hundred, he'd be a dead man. Luckily, he was not, and he was indeed glad, for he could train much longer without sustaining any penalty.

A session of magic training should be followed by at least a thirty-minute meditation to replenish and increase mana capacity, according to Vicky. Hence, Aldric sat down cross-legged on the cool stone floor and closed his eyes as he cleared his mind. Instantly, he felt the flow of mana around him in the air, swirling and dancing, a sense of the glow of dust particles seeping into him through his breathing and skin, filling his body with its magic.

When he opened his eyes again, he asked, "Vicky, how's my mana?"

Vicky appeared on the screen again. Two thousand. You have increased your capacity yet again since yesterday, my lord.

"Thank you," he said, and was about to end the session when he paused. He was damn curious and couldn't help but ask, "Vicky, what's... kung fu?"

Kung fu? Are you interested in this martial art, my lord?

He said, "I believe the children watched a movie on the television about it."

Ah, yes. In my lady's world, kung fu, or wushu, is a form of martial arts that originated in a land called China where my lady's ancestors from her paternal side came from. It is a form of hard and soft martial arts and used in self-defense, hunting, and military training in ancient China.

"Military training?" Aldric asked.

Indeed, my lord. Would you like to learn more about Chinese martial arts?

"Yes," Aldric said. "Are there ways to incorporate wushu with our current way of fighting and the use of magic?"

Yes, my lord. In another world some distance from this one, this type of martial arts is used with magic by the mages. Of course, in their world, magic is summoned through chi, not mana.

"Chi?" Aldric asked. "Can you explain further?"

Indeed, my lord. Chi is the breath of life force within one's body while mana is from the environment. In this world, all individuals except for monsters have the capacity to store mana, hence, once depleted, it can be replenished from the environment. Of course, unless it is depleted completely, thus destroying the mana vein and the body in the process. Chi, on other hand, already exists in one's body, although only ones who are blessed.

Aldric frowned. "Is there a deity with the blessing of this chi?"

On the screen, Vicky nodded. Yes, my lord.

"I surmise then that we Templeton do not have that blessing?" Aldric asked.

Vicky smirked. What made you think that?

Aldric raised a brow. "You stated there is a deity with that blessing, and according to my status card, I have seen none that could indicate a chi blessing."

Vicky said, Chi blessing is but a minor blessing. It is more of a part and parcel, an additional blessing, with certain deities, that comes with the main blessings. Any deities with blessings that is related to destruction will also bless an individual with a chi core as well.

"I see," Aldric said. "Then Isaris..."

Indeed, my lord. As well as Zuesis, the God of Chaos; Ziren, the God of Light Magic; Albris, the God of Dark Magic; Ydur, the God of Necromancy; Shyrus, the God of Monster Taming; and all the elemental magic ones. Of course, having more than one deity under this destruction criteria means your chi core will be much stronger than those with one.

So, this chi core, he had one, and because he had two deities blessing him, Isaris and Zuesis, his was already much stronger than most.

He asked, "Must one activate or open this chi core as one does with the mana vein?"

Yes, my lord. It is also needed to be done very carefully as both mana core and chi core in a blessed individual coexist within one core, much like that of a yin and yang symbol.

"A yin and yang symbol?"

Beside Vicky, a yin and yang symbol, a round circle with black and white crossing over each other and small dots of black within the white and white within the black, appeared.

This is a yin and yang symbol. For both mana and chi to coexist, there needs to be a balance; otherwise, the core will burst. However, while only the mana side activated, there is no concern for that as mana is considered stable. Chi, however, is volatile, and mismanagement could lead to deadly consequences. In the jianghu world, martial artists spent decades cultivating their chi, and those who reached the peak as to be called a grandmaster can become immortal and ascend as a higher being.

"Is that so?" Aldric said. Grandmaster. Immortal. A higher being. He didn't know something like that existed.

Will you be activating your chi core, my lord?

"In time," he said. "For now, I will concentrate on increasing my mana capacity and learning elementals magic I'm blessed with. Although I would like to learn the theory of wushu and chi."

Of course.

"We'll end the session for today, and thank you, Vicky."

You're welcome, my lord.

With that, Aldric headed out the door, and the magic training room's light automatically turned out.