Ittindi had expected the worse when he arrived to his new duty station in the north. However, he found that his team didn’t have any problems listening to his orders. While it had been mentioned in a couple of the leadership meetings he had been a part of, Ittindi still wasn’t allowed to spar with the other corporals. It seemed that his strength was ranked at around a captain’s level, now he understood the faces they had made at his test results. He wondered how long before he found himself a sergeant, Ittindi still hadn’t heard rumors of that strange merchant. Should he buy the gun as soon as he makes rank or continue saving? He’d sit up from the humongous tree he had been taking a break under. The sun was somewhere out there, but beneath the canopy of the deep green it was hard to make out. Though the rays seemed to reflect off enough that the lush green landscape teemed with life unlike anything Ittindi had ever seen. While he hated how dirty nature was, its beauty always seemed to outweigh it. He was out in a long-sleeved t shirt, with a pair of harem pants and low-cut black hiking boots. His hair tied back in a ponytail he was ready to start his training.

An unfortunate side effect of his power, he didn’t have anyone at the outpost that wanted to train with him. It was similar in Era, but at least his Young Master had been there, he was by there guild hall he wondered if he should look him up. For now, he wanted to clear his mind with training, Ittindi would start to warm up his body.

He preferred to keep it simple when doing his dynamic warm up, he even swore it helped with his spellcasting. That was blasphemy amongst other sorcerers, thinking that intelligence was the only factor in casting. Ittindi would start with deep lunges while alternating his legs and moving forward. He had marked the spot he needed to make it too with a line of small rocks. Once he reached it he’d change his exercise to high knees. He’d continue this pattern doing a couple exercises to warm up when he heard someone a little distance out. Ittindi curious if it was an animal or person would start to move towards the noise.

WC: 395

Nearby, a Dragon Slayer was already there with his own space for training. Although usually he would train his spells alone. He would never ask others to help him. He just got used to do it that way. Besides, these werent new spells he was working on. But spells of old that he forsaken and lost to time and memory. He was merely remembering and relearning spells. Alexandre got to remember and relearn some weaker ones that were of D and C ranks, but now he wanted to get back to remastering the B rank spells he had. He needed a good offensive spell and he had just the one in mind to retrain once more.

Glacial Lance was a spell he had used in the past and now he wanted to see if he can redo it. But first he needed to remember the steps to it. He had the mana, but what was the trigger gesture. He'd look at the palm of his hand as he would think back how did he do it.
As a young highwayman and adventurer, he got in all sorts of shenanigans, illegal ones considering he was a highwayman. But how did it go away.
He knew he'd conjure up a lance and throw it at the target for damage. But what did he do? Well, to retrace the past, he needed to think, what would he normally do. Upon a bit of thinking and pondering he remembered.

He opened the palm of his hand as a cyan magic circle appears and manifests a lance made of frost, he'd look at a target and throw the weapon to deal damage.

Upon doing that he'd stop and think more, analyzing the deed and the performance of the spell
"No no. Still too weak. It needs more power put in it" he told himself as he evaluated his performance.


318

Ittindi was no ninja, as he stalked through the woods, the sound of branches cracking under his feet and through his arms echoed through the forest. Ittindi felt bad breaking so many parts of nature’s beauty, the branches would regrow, and the things he stamped on would become recycled in life’s long process. The green forest seemed to weep as he finally came across an enclosing that had another in it. He witnessed the man create an ice spike of large proportions and hurl it straight at a target. The thud of impact quieted the rest of the forest for a brief moment. Ittindi would take that moment to appear, emerging from the surrounding forest to the east of Alexandre. He’d speak fast not wanting to scare the man, his ankh easily seen on his tongue as he spoke.

”Greetings good mage, I see I’m not the only one training out in this beautiful forest. Does nature inspire your magic as well? I’m Ittindi by the way, Ittindi Amali, I can leave if you prefer privacy. Otherwise I was going to ask if you’d want to collaborate on training.”

Ittindi found it easiest to get straight to the point when dealing with strangers. They seemed to appreciate it more, Ittindi didn’t have the tongue to try and deceive others outwardly, he prefers to keep his lies small or hidden. He did find it easier to train with others, then by himself it was irresponsible for him to assume a random mage in the forest would be a capable partner. That just meant he’d need to take it easy, not practice his more advanced spells until he got a feel for his partner. That was assuming the man would want to train at all with Ittindi, he still had his area not to far from here. Even if he couldn’t find it Ittindi could wander until he found another clearing to practice his own magic at.

Either way, Ittindi was already thinking about the first spell he needed to practice. He had watched another Rune Knight employ a similar spell albeit with darkness instead of nature magic. The idea was to wrap yourself in your magic to defend against others, it provided a full body shield, and served to protect valuable artifacts. You never knew when someone decided that it’d be easier to dispose of artifacts before the mage, Ittindi already had an idea for his version. The first would be multilayering the threads in different thickness and hardness. The inside of course would feel like a high thread count sheet, no need to discomfort himself. Imagining the layers in his mind was already giving Ittindi a headache, and he needed to be able to do this as a reaction. He could already see why it was considered a more advanced defensive spell.

WC: 472
TWC: 867

Hearing the rumbling of nature, he dimissed it at first, until he heard a voice. Looking there, he would spot a Rune Knight talking to him and even asking him to train with him and collaborate. He was a polite chap
"Greetings Rune Knight, I am Alexandre Serrurier of Paradise Dawn.As for nature inspiring me? Well... I am a Glacial Dragon Slayer, so I dont know if nature has much to do with me"
But then theres also him answering the mans question. Normally he'd want to work alone, but if he was to enter a new chapter in his life, he needed to accept the changes that come along the way
"As for your offer. I do accept. Though I have never really worked with people like this. So pardon me if I am out of the line"

He spoke politely to Ittindi, he may have not matched the mans tone to a complete T when it comes to politeness, as he was still roigh around the edges a bit. But nevertheless, he could not forget some of his more noble roots per say. He might have been a highwayman, but he did have a period of grace where he was able to be a married man to a beautiful noblewoman. He did pick up some of that good etiquette and finesse. Which sadly had to go to waste when he lost it all again and ended up here.
Still though, if someone treated him with respect, he would do the same back to them

"How do you wish to do this, Ittindi?" he asked the Rune Knight to see what spell he had planned to train. Alexandre still wished to work on his offensive spell and he wondered what Ittindi had to train and how can they possibly train together? Would they clash? Give eachother feedback? He had to admit, spell training with another human being was new to him. Usually it was just him alone. Though having someone else was a breath of fresh air. He wondered if he can ask someone at the guild to help him train some other spells, for now he will focus on this one that he needs to master once all. Because sadly enough, years he spent in prison before did cause him to forget some spells and lose his touch.

392|710

As the man casually mentioned that he held one of the world’s rarest magics Ittindi managed to maintain composure. This would be the second he’d ever met and just as the last they were very unassuming with their magic. If it wasn’t for Ittindi was already warmed up blood pumping, he’d have a billion questions about being a dragonslayer. Instead, he’d smile as the man accepted his offer and with quite good decorum. It was rare to meet another gentleman, but fate weaves weirdly that way, he certainly didn’t dress as well as he spoke. Perhaps he had a similar story to his Young Master, but again Ittindi wasn’t interested in any story besides the ballad of blasting. As he walked a good distance away from Sir Alexandre, they were 8 meters apart, but still in the same clearing he’d listen to Alexandre finish up by asking how they’d want to start.

”Very good Sir Alexandre, I need to work on a defensive spell and judging from that bit earlier I spied on, apologies about that, you have a couple spells to try and break it. I’m confident you shouldn’t be able to kill me with one or two spells, but do try your best to not prove me wrong.”

Ittindi would thrust his arms down, as silk started to weave around his body. Ittindi’s mind raced as he pushed out the thousands of thread strands that he’d have to weave to make his magical cocoon. He knew that the easiest way would be to have one thick sheet he augmented with his mana. That was wasteful of his skill and mana, Ittindi knew that by making complex weaves and patterns he could achieve a similar effect. However it also meant failing while he tried to find the unique pattern. At least the transformation felt better than it looked, as Ittindi was sure to make the inside layer a very high thread count silk thread. He had hopefully put enough into making the fibers on the outside interlaced in special disparity to disperse the impact of any spell. A level of weaving he had been working on for years, his attention to detail was one of the strengths that could augment his magic. Ittindi had heard of other thread magicians but none as capable as him offensively. He needed to work on the other side, his defense spells felt so unnatural even now as he expended his mana to keep his threads taught he felt as if he expended it wastefully.

WC: 421
TWC: 1,288

He didnt put much thought in the rarity of his magic as he seemingly had it his whole life, so he himself never thought about it being a big deal, plus considering he met at least 2 other dragon slayers beside himself, he also had a skewed idea on the rarity of Dragon Slayers. Now though, he asked Ittindi about how did he want to train a spell and what seemed perfect was that Alexandre was training an offensive spell and Ittindi a defencive. It was like a match made in heaven. Everything seemed perfect for both of them

"Yes, that I do. But just in case, if your spell doesnt go as planned, I will aim for your shoulder, I dont want to accidentally harm a Rune Knight during training. So are you ready?" he would ask the man.

But just right on cue Ittindi started doing his magic, weaving magical thread of some silky like material and it looked like what he was doing was like wrapping himself up in a magical cocoon. Alexandre gave the man time to do his spell, after all this was not combat where he needed to prevent a defencive measure before it was done. It was collaborative training, and he wanted to give a good impression of his guild to the Rune Knights.

So once Ittindi was done, Alexandre nodded and repeated his spell once more. He opened the palm of his hand as a cyan magic circle appears and manifests a lance made of frost, he'd look at his target, which was Ittindi in this case. And the Rune Knight, now that he was infront of the spell instead of rustling in the shadows could see that the weapon is much more intimidating looking and rather sharp, so this was no joke of a spell, which was then thrown at him to deal damage.
Now that Alexandre did this part and aimed for the shoulder of Ittindi, he hoped the mans spell would hold up. But he also hoped his own spell would do good as well. It was an unstoppable object versus immovable object debate. He wanted both to succeed even though he knew it wasnt technically possible.


369|1079

Alexandre nobility or honor was definitely there hidden beneath the renegade attire. As he offered to aim at Ittindi's shoulder just in case something in his spell were to go wrong, that was right before Ittindi encased himself. The silk felt durable, but the moment of truth was quickly approaching as Alexandre's cyan spell seal emerged. Quickly after a large sharp glacier appeared ready to slam straight into his shoulder.  Ittindi could see it through his silk cocoon as it raced towards him, he had faith in his weave.

 

Sadly his weave wasn't as strong as he thought. His weave had a element that was snagged by the glacier pulling it apart, while some of the impact was lessened from the weave it would ultimately prove to break through. Ittindi's shoulder was bleeding, not to heavily it was more superficial the bright red blood trickling down. Being inside the cocoon Ittindi did at least see where he could improve the weave for his next spell. It brought him back to the days in the yard with his Young Master. When they were both teenagers there were any days that he'd found himself sparing with the young master. While he preffered weapons, Ittindi has always preferred his fist and magic. There was no need to improve on perfection, and the combination was something he could use in any place without any materials.

 

”Hmm, it seems that I didn't to my weave quite right. I think this next one will be right, do you mind throwing another? Don't worry about any damages, I've been through much worse. Though I can understand you're hesitation I've seen Rune Knights lie as well.”

 

Ittindi thought back to how hard it was to even attain membership in the Rune Knights. He was still working on rising through the ranks, he hoped to be able to see Tōga as equals. Then he could start working on his service squad and estate.

 

But now it was time to attempt his defense again. This time when he had the webs weaving he did an interlaced cross pattern randomly throughout to strengthen the weaker points. That way regardless of where the glacier hit he should be protected this time. The inside of the cocoon had small specks of his bright red blood, it caused splotches in his otherwise see through cocoon. He waited a little scared but excited all the same he hadn't trained with someone in quite some time.

WC:410
TWC: 1,698

It was kind of funny that Ittindi had thoughts about him having hidden nobility or honour considering he did marry himself into a noble family. That ended rather bad, but perhaps there was still some leftover influence that Ittindi could pick up on, but not Alexandre himself. He did know about honour and chivalry. And while he wasnt always keen on showing it, this was one of the scenarios where he was. Just two men having mutual respect while training

He watched both of their spells perform and while he could feel himself giving mentally a pat on his own back for a job well done, there was still the issue he injured someone. And boy was he glad that he went for a shoulder and not for the center of chest. He didnt want to imagine what would've happened back in that scenario. He guessed or was rather proven that it was always beneficial to be cautious.

Ittindi also now examined himself and his wound. He made some observations where he made his mistake and wanted to repeat his own spell, asking the Dragon Slayer can he repeat his own, reassuring him that he will be fine
"I see. Well as you wish. I will also make sure to aim at the same area, I dont want you giving various wounds" Rune Knight or not, the guy was polite and he didnt want to harm him. So Alexandre thought, it was better to have one nasty wound, then multiple wounds all over. One wound just seemed easier to treat and heal

Now he waited for the Rune Knight to finish his spell once again, before making his own. Manifesting a lance made of ice that he would then right away throw at the Rune Knight. His aim was true as it went for the mans shoulder once more. He hoped that this time, the mans own spell succeeds as he didnt want to injure Ittindi further on than he did.

332|1411

Ittindi would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little nervous about being blasted by the same glacier as it approached his magic. However, his days in the Rune Knights as well as his time in that dark guild had taught him to maintain a façade of stoicism. This time the impact was stopped by the cocoon, how Ittindi had originally imagined it. He’d monitor the webs to make sure that they held their tensile strength, from the looks of it, the cocoon probably would have held against one more glacier. Which was perfect onto his next defensive one. He’d use what he learned here to master this quicker.

He'd burst from his cocoon, while casting his next spell creating the visual effect as if his cocoon was reforming into a small shield, 1x1 meter with the thickness being harder to make out from the silk. It had the same concept of absorbing damage, but this could be maintained on the move. Ittindi preferred forming it on his left forearm knowing that he planned on using his gun in his right once he reached rank. Examining his shield he could see it indeed had the same weave as his cocoon, except comfort wasn’t needed here instead all of the thread was weaved to absorb the impact and break off to lessen damage to his forearm attached. Looking up at  Alexandre Ittindi would speak,

”Well, I’m glad that worked out this time. If you don’t mind aim wherever you like I’ll try to block it with this shield next. I’m not sure if you have any other spells you want to train or not it’s ok if this is the last round you have in you as well Sir Alexandre.”

Ittindi wasn’t sure how much time or practice the man wanted, but he knew it was always polite to offer an out for those more nervous about social engagements. Sir Alex didn’t strike Ittindi as one of those people, but the decorum often dictated Ittindi’s behavior.

WC: 336
TWC: 2,034

He would curiously observe Ittindi and his magic. The man would burst from his cocoon, while casting his next spell creating a visual effect as if his cocoon was reforming into a small shield, of a sorts. Alexandre examined this shield from his distance and then he'd look at the Rune Knight himself who would speak. He was glad that his spell worked out that time, but this time to aim elsewhere as he tried to block it with the shield. Alexandre nodded and said "Very well. But dont fret about me. Today, I mostly focused on one spell. I'll another some other time. Anywho, be prepared" after all, this was to be their final round, so he focused on his own spell

He opened the palm of his hand as the cyan magic circle appeared and manifested thelance made of frost, he'd look at his target, in this case Ittindi, but more specifically the center of his chest or his sternum. Should be easy to block dead center, right? In any case, he would throw his glacial lance and then curiously look at the Rune Knight, to see how he holds up. Hoping for the best.

200|1611

As the lance summoned went straight center mass, Ittindi was glad to meet a man of such stature. He’d had hesitation on being stationed in the north, worried that he’d grow bored of his life as a Knight. Instead he had been greeted with new opportunities aplenty he’d like it here for sure, especially with such a beautiful forest to come too. Not to far from civilization either, he couldn’t stand how dirty he got during training something he’d have to focus on once this was done.

Ittindi would brace himself having his escutechon center mass and standing behind prepared for the impact, his left leg forward both legs slightly bend to help absorb the impact. Ittindi’s head was slightly angled down just in case things went bad, such as fragment shards, he wouldn’t want any serious damage to his face. It was one of the few things he cherished about his body. He was in luck as the shield absorbed the damage, though Ittindi was surprised how well it held up, almost pushing himself forwards by flinching into the blow. He would regain his balance instead of tripping forward. With that he felt that he had learned all he could about defensive spells. He’d look up at Sir Alexandre bowing slightly before speaking.

”It was quite a pleasure training with someone of your calibre Sir Alexandre, please let me know if you’re ever in need of assistance from the Rune Knights. I should be in this area for the foreseeable future. I bid you adieu.”

Ittindi content with his training, was finally ready for the best part of his day. Cleaning himself after a hard day’s work, and more importantly his new quarters. It was time to start preparing his troops for what laid ahead.
~Exit

WC: 296
TWC: 2,330