Celestial Resonance: A Symphony of Love and War

Chapter 9: Ignatius' Awakening

The party investigating the northern part of the forest, led by Aikaru, a great knight and the left hand of mage Kairavan, arrives near the base. The adventurers divided themselves into teams of three to explore the forest and uncover the secret behind the unusual mana sensed by Maitorin. Aikaru led the northern party, the royal healer Maikara led the west, Takuraj and his party members handled the east, and Kairavan himself led the southern party.

"See, it was so easy. You were scared earlier about safety. Kairavan might sound rough, but he's a softie inside. He told me to guide you on this journey," says Aikaru with a friendly smile.

"It was an honor to work under you on my first big adventure. We faced many monsters, but it feels like both of us subordinates did nothing much in this mission. You handled most of it alone," says the new guy.

"Look, everyone on this team is highly qualified to be here. That's why you were chosen. You just lack some knowledge, which won't be an issue in the future. So give yourself some credit too. You're a famous adventurer in the port city Verdant, who helped many to cross the forest on their way to the capital. You're the reason for the decrease in casualties during the journey," says Aikaru.

"That's a lot for me. Thank you, sir, for your appreciation. I think the others returned to the base earlier," says the new guy.

"Oh no, I hate to be the last one on the list," says Aikaru with a downcast face.

"But they would be surprised by the number of monsters we hunted and the items we collected," says the new guy.

"That's true," says Aikaru with renewed hope.

They finally reach the base camp. The parties led by Kairavan and Maikara had already returned, bringing back as many items as Aikaru's team obtained from hunting monsters.

The items they collected fell into three categories. The first category is magic stones used for magical enhancement. The second category is horns, crystals, or shells of some monsters used for high-level weapons, which can be made even more powerful with the inclusion of magic stones. The third and rarest category consists of herbs that grow in the deep forests where some monsters reside.

"Hi sir, I found nothing important in my search operation," says Aikaru to Kairavan.

"Nothing? That would be a lie. You gathered plenty of treasure during the search. I can't remember the last time we saw so many monsters in one area," says Kairavan in a deep, harsh voice.

"We couldn't sleep at all last night. We had to fight monsters constantly. It's almost midday, and I'm very tired. We even had to leave a few items in the forest on our way out," says Royal Healer Mikara.

"I am tired too. I will take a nap now," says Aikaru.

"All of you, keep the items in the treasure box inside the ship and take a rest. I will wait here until Takuraj and his team return," orders Kairavan.

"You don't need to wait any longer for us," says Takuraj, reaching the base at that moment from the deep forest with twice as many items as the other parties, surprising everyone.

Takuraj seems happier than before as he gathered more items than he imagined. His hunger for fighting was satisfied, and he no longer cared much about payment from the royal palace. He is thankful toward Kairavan for this.

Meanwhile, outside the city, on the training ground, the four adventurers are ready for their match against Arya. Lily boosts their magic abilities, and the adventurers take up attacking poses. They look more serious than they ever have in their entire lives.

Yurina runs very fast with her special punch move. No human can withstand her punch; no single opponent has ever won a match against her in a head-to-head fight. She is almost there and ready to punch, the boost from Lily making it even more deadly. One punch, and Arya would be gone. She throws the punch at him, but Arya just shifts his position slightly at the last moment, causing Yurina to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

This makes her very mad. She stands up and runs back to Arya, throwing punches at him, but is unable to land any because of his last-moment movements. She throws seven punches into the air, none of them landing on him.

Seeing the opportunity, Ignatius is about to shoot his fire with surprise. If only his aim were any better, he could end it in a moment.

Arya moves a good distance away from Yurina, creating the perfect opportunity for Ignatius. He aims at Arya and shoots, but fails to hit his target.

Kaitoshan chants his spell to attack Arya with basic magic, while Lily boosts his power, but the attack has little effect. They start to lose hope.

"Are you giving up this easily without trying fully?" asks Arya.

"Get up on your feet and try to just touch me, and the whole team will be declared the winners," says Arya, trying to motivate them.

"Alright! Let's do it. I have full faith in my team," shouts Kaitoshan.

They all start running towards Arya, using their attacking skills and magic, but Arya remains invincible.

"Now die!" shouts Yurina, almost reaching Arya and jumping towards him with her punches, but she hits the ground instead and falls after using her special punch.

"Now it's your chance, Ignatius. Try your best to land a hit on me," says Arya, pointing towards Ignatius, who is standing beside Yurina.

"Don't think about me, just shoot. I have full faith in you, you can aim perfectly," shouts Yurina to Ignatius.

Ignatius stands at some distance, feeling nervous. He is the only one still standing; everyone else has given up. He is their last hope. If Arya weren't standing beside Yurina, he could take the chance, but he doesn't want to risk hurting her. If he does nothing, Yurina's knightly pride will be hurt, but if he tries and fails, she might be injured.

"What would Dad do in this situation? How does his aim work?" Ignatius thinks, closing his eyes and recalling his father's teachings.

Flashback:

It was six years ago, in the quiet village of Ignista. It was a normal morning, and life was slow as it usually was at this time of year. The village chief, Ugnis, an amazing fire mage, was teaching the village kids about the use of fire magic. The little 10-year-old Ignatius watched his dad's teaching intently.

"Look at me carefully. First, invoke Agni, the god of fire. Then feel the fire in your blood, inside your veins, and in your breath. Point your palms in the air and imagine a point of fire in the air above your target. Next, visualize the magic circle above the target and charge it with your fire energy. Soon the magic circle will become visible. You can aim it at a specific point on your target by adjusting the angle of your palms, which will control the firing point of the magic circle. Finally, shoot," explained Ugnis to his students while demonstrating a massive fire blast aimed precisely at a target.

End of Flashback:

"Okay, now I get it," whispered Ignatius.

He points his palms above Arya in the air, and the magic circle appears. He then adjusts the angle of his hands, imagining fire flowing through every vein in his body, charging the circle from the center of his palms. He shoots, and now it's aimed precisely at Arya. Arya moves to avoid the attack. Wherever Arya moves, Ignatius directs his attacks, but he can't match Arya's speed. This continues until Ignatius drains all his energy and collapses to the ground. Arya claps in praise of the adventurers.

"That was a good start. Now that you all know your limitations, our training will focus on surpassing those limits and improving your skills physically, mentally, and spiritually. I could have let you win, but that would have built false pride, which won't help you survive real battles. Understand yourselves and your limitations first, then surpass them," says Arya with a smile.

"Yes, we understand that we need to improve a lot. None of us were able to beat you, even when you weren't using magic or attacking. We realize how important physical strength is as well," says Yurina.

"We all accept you as our master. Teach us how to master our skills," says everyone in unison.