Grass crunched under Aaron's feet, as he followed behind Elisedd. We'd moved deeper into the forest by now, to the point where there was only smatterings of sunlight peaking through the canopy of leaves.

  Around us towered thick trees, their trunks making lining out paths in the forest. The earthy scent of pine, soil and greenery had intensified here.

  Elisedd and Aaron were completely at home here, striding along without a care. They stepped over roots, branches, muddy soil and loose dirt, without even thinking about it.

  I expected that from an elf like Elisedd, but I guess Aaron was just as experienced with rough terrain.

  This time, I wasn't walking by myself, since Aaron had decided it'd be too difficult for me.

  … Hah, I still don't like this. It makes me feel even weaker than I already am.

  “Notice anything, Cae?”

  Huh? Oh, he's asking me. Why's he doing that?

  Uh, alright, let's see here.

  I began shifting my gaze over our surroundings, carefully combing through the forestry around us.

  “Um, there's a lot of stomped grass over there, like a pretty meandering trail of it, dad. Also, that tree over there is really scratched up, almost has its bark torn off too.”

  After I finished, I looked at Aaron with an expression I hoped conveyed a nervous ‘is that right?’ expression.

  That was about all I could notice, since I wasn't much of a hunter.

  “Good job, Cae! That's right, these are all markings of a beast!” said Aaron, having already shifted into lecture mode.

  “Make sure you remember that scratch pattern on the tree over there. It's made by an Axehead Shingder’s horn.”

  “Only these ones have this pattern. It's the best way to identify one.”

  So an Axehead has that big of a horn then? Must be sharp too.

  Alright, good to know.

  “When we come upon it, I want you to properly see what we're doing, okay? You'll need it—”

  “Be quiet for a moment, Aaron, no matter how difficult you find it.”

  “Excuse me? Can you not interrupt me when I'm talking, and also, I can be plenty quiet—”

  “Both you and I know that's false, Aaron. Regardless, I think we've found our mark.”

  “We have? Where is it, Mr. Elis?”

  As soon as I'd said that, Aaron jumped backwards, dodging the tree that had just been brought down in front of him.

  “It's right there, young Caelum,” said Elisedd, pointing ahead with a smile on his face.

  I followed his finger, and there it was. A towering beast, twice as wide as a rhino and just as tall. As soon as it took a step, the ground beneath sank.

  The first thing I noticed was its eyes, a bright orange with a pupil as large as my fist. It stood on four legs as thick as tree trunks and had a heavy brown coat of fur covering its entire body.

  It huffed and chuffed, a heady wet sound, revealing teeth both sharp and flat in its maw.

  From the top its head sprouted its most defining feature. A large white horn, with a thick base that rose into a narrow edge.

  One side was sharpened, while the other was straight and solid, just like the blade of an axe. It was probably from this unique horn that the Axehead derived its name.

  As I was now, staring it in the eye sent a chill running down my spine.

  And, that's all, is it?

  Of course, despite it being able to turn me into paste with a single stomp, it wasn't all too scary to look at, in my opinion. What scared me was mostly its ability to turn me into paste, really.

  Nothing at all compared to Outlands beasts of Earth. Those things were scary and horrifying to look at.

  Good for me then. The less I saw of things like that, the better.

  Urgh, just thinking of it is horrible.

  “Right then. Cae, I'll be putting you on this branch right here. Sit tight, and get a good look at us, okay?”

  Wow, that sounds extremely dangerous.

  Then again, not like I had any other options this far in, but I should probably still say something.

  “What if it comes over here, dad? Won't I get hurt then?”

  “Nah, don't worry about it. I'll lead it away and keep its attention on me.” He said, smiling like what he said was perfectly reasonable and viable and not extremely dependent on chance.

  “Okaay! Get that guy!”

  Not like I can stop them now.

  Aaron then proceeded to place me on a thick tree branch, and drew his sword from its sheath.

  It was a truly massive thing, and I wondered more than once how he used it so comfortably.

  He and Elisedd glanced at each other for a moment, and with a faint smile, Aaron leaped forward and slashed the Axehead's thigh.

  Immediately, a spurt of vibrant red blood shot out and painted the grass a deep crimson.

  “RAGHHH!”

  It screamed out, before rushing towards Aaron, horn first.

  Right then, an arrow came flying in, hitting it in the thigh once more. Its knee buckled, before it continued charging at Aaron.

  Aaron braced himself and took its charge head on, using his free hand to grab its face, specifically a duller outgrowth of bone by its horn.

  His feet skidded back leaving tracks in the ground, but he managed to halt its momentum completely.

  The earth where his feet had been was completely split.

  With a deep inhale, the air around him surged and frayed, and he swung his sword, the flat side this time, on the Shingder's head.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  It stumbled on its feet, clearly dazed.

  Seeing the opportunity, Aaron slashed its legs even more, cutting through all of them.

  Unable to take the onslaught, the creature's legs gave in and it collapsed.

  Hmm, he's only slashing its legs and ignoring the body.

  This Axehead probably has weak legs, and tougher hide on its body then. Probably resists cuts?

  “Now, Elis!” yelled Aaron, stepping aside.

  Curiously, the blades of grass beneath his feet had been torn to shreds, which I felt was a bit odd.

  “Right!”

  I looked over to where Elis was standing, just by the tree I was on, and saw him pulling his bowstring back.

  Alright, how's he going to do this?

  I stared at him with utmost focus, trying to see just where he'd pull an arrow out of.

  Instead of what I expected, like him pulling an arrow from an invisible quiver behind him, he just inhaled deeply.

  With that inhale, the carving on his bow briefly lit up and I could feel the air around us thinning.

  With that, soil rose from the ground and formed an arrow of earth that notched into his bow.

  He can just do that? Make arrows by using magic?

  Damn, that's... amazing!

  He then exhaled, and let it loose. It flew out, as fast as a bullet, and pierced into the Axehead's hide.

  He stepped aside to adjust his position, the grass that had been beneath his feet also broken.

  Then, another earthen arrow formed and shot out, just like the first.

  Elisedd shot arrow after arrow, each hitting a specific location across the animal's body.

  With each shot, I could clearly see that he was inhaling and exhaling in a set pattern.

  By the time it had stopped even twitching and was fully dead, it looked like an upscaled porcupine. I counted more than two dozen arrows in it.

  I'm pretty sure he made those out of mana...

  How did he shoot so many then? His mana should've have run out, shouldn't it?

  I should ask. They're done with the hunt now, so there shouldn't be a problem.

  “Mr. Elis! How did you do that!?”

  He turned to look at me, a confused, closed-eye smile on his face.

  “What do you mean, Caelum? How did I do what?”

  “Those arrows! You made them using magic, right? How'd you make so many?”

  “That's a silly question, Caelum. I utilised my mana, of course.”

  “I know that! I meant, like, how did you not run out of mana?"

  "Isn't that, like, tons and tons of arrows?! Shouldn't that have drained you completely!?”

  Come on, answer already. This act is getting annoying to keep up.

  “Oh, that's what you're questioning? I would’ve thought you'd ask about my technique. Then again, I presume you wouldn’t know of such a thing,” Elisedd said. “It's quite simple, really. I just absorbed back an amount equal to what I used up.”

  Absorbed? From where?

  Suddenly, I remembered a passage from that magical introduction book I'd read.

  … Mana exists all around us. Both inside our beings, and outside in nature as well…

  Oh, environmental mana! How did I forget?!!

  Aaron was doing the same thing when he was slashing up the Axehead!

  It was then, at that moment, that a thought came to me.

  Wait.

  If they can replenish mana by absorbing it from the environment, can't I do it as well?

  I hadn't seen anything that suggested an Unawakened couldn't do it? I'm pretty sure Awakening was only about using magic and spells, not absorption.

  No reason to think absorbing would also be locked to Awakening, right?

  I gripped the branch I was sitting on even tighter, not wanting to accidentally make myself fall off in my excitement.

  Alright, I have to try this. But, first, I need to understand how to do it.

  I looked at Elisedd again, who was still standing there smiling at me.

  “So, um, Mr. Elis? How do you do that?”

  “My, aren't you a curious child?” He said, with an odd smile on his face.

  Oh, yikes. Looks like I'm pushing too hard.

  “Nothing like your father. I honestly don't know how he even got to where he is, with how repulsed he seemed to be from study.”

  His face returned to his normal smile after, though I still felt like I'd brushed a bit too close to the sun.

  Yeah, looks like I'll have to hold back on the questions for a while.

  “Ahem, well, it's nothing too complex. Most of it happens naturally after you Awaken. But, as for active absorption, it's just a matter of aligning your breaths with your mana circulation.” He paused for a moment, then continued.

  “Essentially, you have to inhale deeply at the exact moment your mana flows outward. That'll draw in mana.”

  “After that, you'll hold it for as long as you can. By the time exhalation occurs, it'll have been fully drawn in and stored, ready to be used. That's about the basics.”

  Ah, so I have to consciously sync up my breathing with my internal circulation.

  I've just been doing regular meditative breathing all this while.

  “Though what me and your father can do is a bit more complex than that. Mine is especially refined. Enough that I can even do so while—”

  “Elis! Get over here and help me tie this thing up!”

  Aww, I wanted to know what his advanced version could do.

  “Well, that's about it. I have to help your father now, but if you want to know anymore, I would recommend waiting until your Awakening.”

  Elisedd's smile narrowed along with his eyes.

  “Not much use for a child your age now, is it?”

  Yeah, he's definitely suspicious of me. Definitely have to pull back on my questions.

  “Um, Mr. Elis? Could you get me down now? That thing's dead, right?”

  “Oh, of course. I'll get you down right now.”

  With that, he reached up and easily brought me down, like I didn't weigh anything at all to him, which… still felt really patronising.

  As I settled onto my feet, I could see Aaron trying in vain to tie the Axehead with some rope he'd brought out from somewhere.

  “Auroeus damn it! This thing's heavy as shit! Elis, get over here already!”

  “I'm coming, I'm coming! Don't strain your throat by yelling like a Howlerbeast!”

  As he worked, the arrows Elisedd had shot slowly began to crumble into dust and mix back into the ground.

  Man, the more of magic I see, the more absurd it seems.

  First an eight year old breaking apart wooden dummies with her bare hands, and now a grown man being able to just shove around thousands of kilos like it was nothing.

  I really have to Awaken, and quick.

  …

  “Hey, dad?”

  Aaron looked back at me, as both of us sat by the dining table waiting for dinner. He and Elisedd had already delivered the Axehead to the butcher, so we were back at home now.

  “Yeah, Cae?”

  “Why'd you suddenly decide to go hunting today, and how'd you know that Shin-thing would be there?”

  “Well, it wasn't really a hunt. It was actually more of an extermination request. That thing, the Axehead Shingder, had migrated here, and had been harassing the locals.”

  Oh, so it was an invasive thing. Makes sense. It looked a bit too heavily furred for such a humid place.

  “Really? Why'd it come here?”

  Aaron paused for a bit, as if thinking of what to say.

  “Ah, who knows?"

  "Those things are normally on the elk’s side of the range, and that place has been all kinds of weird lately. Big things like that don't migrate easily. ”

  “Elk?”

  “Oh, sorry, you probably wouldn't know, huh? It's just an informal name for the Svyatozimens. Svyatozima’s the country on the other side of the mountains by the way.”

  Hmm, so Svyatozima's been weird lately, has it? First the blizzard, and now large animals migrating? Is it related?

  Very interesting.

  “Oh, okay. So, dad, who gave you the request?”

  “The hunters. They stay in the forest most of the year, so having that thing around puts a dent in their catches.”

  Right, yeah, that makes sense.

  “So, anything else? The hunt, maybe? How'd you feel about it? Anything?”

  “Well, since you're asking, I am curious about something else, dad.”

  “Yeah? Go ahead.”

  “I noticed when you hit that thing on the head with your sword, you took a deep breath before doing that!”

  “Oh that? That was just reinforcement. I just sent some mana to my legs.”

  Sent to his legs? That was almost instantaneous though?

  How could that happen?

  I mean, mana flows outward from the core and to the rest of the body, right?

  Maybe it's ‘cause he's Awakened, therefore has faster mana circulation than me?

  Elisedd did mention storing mana. Maybe Awakened magic users have mana stored all over their body?

  Ah, now I'm really curious.

  I definitely have to Awaken soon.

  “Also, also, the grass around your feet got completely destroyed after! What was that?!”

  “The grass probably broke from me stepping on it too hard. Nothing much.”

  So warriors do reinforcement on their body. Probably what makes him so strong.

  And, it must be less expensive mana wise than Elisedd's arrows, since he didn't mention doing any recharging.

  “Wow. You can do that? That's so cool dad!”

  “Heh, I know right?” He said, rubbing his nose proudly.

  He then leaned back in his chair, and looked around for a bit, as if wondering what else to say.

  Should I continue the conversation? What else can I bring up, though?

  “So, uh, Cae. What do you think we start some physical training for you, yeah?”

  Isn't that sudden?

  “You're three, right? I started at three. It's normal. Perfectly normal. Totally normal. Don't worry, it'll just be the basics okay? Super basic. Totally basic. We'll scale up as you go. As you age, yeah?”

  Wow, he belted all that out in three seconds. I don't think he took a single breath.

  “...Sure?”

  “Yeah! Alright, we'll start tomorrow morning!”

  … It'll be fine.

  Surely.

  Totally.

  …

  I carefully closed my door, taking care not to make even the slightest noise. It was midday, and Grace was definitely cleaning now, so I'd rather her not oversee me.

  Phew, alright. Time to test this out.

  I sat down on the floor, crossed my legs over one another, and then closed my eyes, my mana vessels appearing in front of my eyes.

  My core was pumping out mana, as it always did. That mana flowed through my central vessel, then branched out into the minor vessels of my upper body.

  From there, they flowed outwards, slowly making their way down.

  Despite my lack of progress, I'd still kept up my training, and because of that, this halfway mana cycle happened all on its own now.

  Okay, Elisedd talked about aligning my breathing with the outward flow, so I'll just have to do that.

  Alright, this cycle’s done, and another about to start. Let me get ready.

  The river of mana flowed out of my core, and as soon as it did, I inhaled sharply and deeply, and took in air until it hurt to do so. After that, I held my breath for as long as I could.

  Then, I felt it.

  Mana.

  Flowing into me.

  Heady and thick, completely unlike my internal reserves.

  Yes!

  Let's go!

  Okay, okay. I've done everything Elisedd said, so now I shouldn't have any capacity issues.

  “...haaaah” I exhaled, and with the release of that CO2, I pushed my mana forward.

  It rushed down my torso, passed through my hips, and then reached my thighs.

  It passed through the very upper edge of my thighs, and then, pushed even further.

  Most of it had already melted into my flesh now just as it had before, but this time I knew there was more to go.

  Alriiiight!

  Come on!

  And then, just as it progressed beyond my previous best, I realised that I was out.

  That's it?

  No, don't think of it like that. It's still more than I'd achieved in months.

  Still, I feel it should've been a bit more.

  Did I do something wrong?

  Maybe my timing was off? Elisedd did specifically mention flowing outward.

  Let me try again.

  I waited for the cycle that had started to finish. Interestingly, it went back to the previous distance it could cover. Most likely because I hadn't tried to absorb any mana this time.

  It finished, and then started again. This time, instead of inhaling when the initial clump of mana came out, I did so when it flowed outwards into the branch vessels.

  And this time, it was definitely more useful.

  I felt the same pouring sensation again, only this time it was far more substantial. A proper stream compared to the drops I'd had before.

  Observing my mana vessels more carefully this time, I could actually see the amount I'd absorbed.

  It followed behind the initial clump, and by the time that one had run out, I had the second one to use.

  With it, I managed to make it fully reach the soles of my feet before I lost control of it. All of a sudden, my feet felt heavier. More grounded.

  Haha!

  Fucking Finally!

  Take that, you damn bottleneck! Trying to hold me back!

  I laughed, as loudly as I could without disturbing anyone, which made it more of a giggle.

  Still, I felt light, like I'd had a weight taken off my shoulders. It was a good feeling, one I'd hardly felt since I'd found out this was another world.

  Cracking my neck, eyes still closed, I immediately launched back into training, trying to make my timing even more precise. Each new cycle was different, as I tried out different timings each time.

  Sometimes I absorbed less, and at other times, it was more. I was sure that, eventually, I'll be able to pull off even more.

  …crackle.

  All of a sudden, I felt a brief surge of heat. It wasn't painful, and it didn't last any longer than a second, but it definitely did happen.

  It had raced through my body, and had felt oddly pleasant. I actually felt less tired after.

  Well, isn't this different? Is this from having external mana in my body?

  It doesn't seem like it's harmful. Hell, it's even somewhat beneficial.

  That can't have been too bad, right? And even it was, not like I could do much without knowing what was going on.

  So, I continued on with my training, putting this new thing on the back burner.

  After all, I have months of progress to catch up.