Chapter 311: E in Experimentation (2/2)
Mike tapped her shoulder with a quick wash of Healing Magic, easily repairing all of the minor injuries she'd suffered and replenishing her stamina in the process. ”See? How long do you think that kind of improvement would have taken if you were just practicing in the usual way?”
Hissing through gritted teeth, ”Weeks...months...probably.”
”Exactly, you made a month's worth of progress in less than an hour. Did you think that kind of efficiency doesn't have a cost? If you want to get stronger quickly, you'll have to suffer for it.” He shot back, a little harshly.
She continued to glare at him for a few seconds, before sighing deeply. ”I get that, but...I...I don't know...I assumed you had some kind of secret shortcut to getting stronger.”
He scratched the back of his head, ”I can see why you'd think that, but I'm kind of a special case. My class and a few of my titles allow me to train faster, and my luck helps me to make breakthroughs in critical situations. In exchange I often end up in dangerous situations and get to experience some things that would probably be mentally crippling if not for my enhanced willpower.”
Sera stared at him silently, disbelief obvious on her face.
”Look, I've nearly died a bunch of times over the last few months, and in the process, I've learned several things I would rather not have. Like the fact that suffocating is very painful, being slowly crushed while you are powerless to do anything about can be maddening, and being burned alive is probably the worst kind of pain a human is capable of experiencing.”
He found himself staring into the distance unconsciously, and forcibly relaxed the tension in his face, ”Of course that's not even mentioning having to watch the people around me suffer simply because they happened to be geographically near me when a powerful enemy shows up. That...sucks.”
Glancing back at the Oracle, he noticed that she was now grimacing.
”Ah, sorry. I got a little carried away.” He said while heaving a sigh. ”The point I was trying to make is that, even though improvement has been easier for me than it has been for most, that speed is not without consequences in and of itself. That being said, the secrets for my growth are not something I can really share, anyway. The best I can really do is help you take advantage of the shortcuts already built into the system.”
”I get it.” Sera replied quietly, before crossing her arms and looking away. ”Alright, you are forgiven for now, but I insist that from here on out we talk over any training plans before you throw me into them. I wouldn't have been angry in the first place if I knew what you were getting me into.”
He winced, ”Fair enough. I'll do that next time.”
”So, where do we go from here? You have something else in mind, right?”
”Well, I was planning on letting you take a break…”
”I'm already back in fighting shape, and we only have a few more hours before the demi-realm pushes us out again. Let's make the most of it and keep going.”
”Well, if that's how you feel, I did have an idea for helping you to improve that short range future sight thing you do.”
”Oh?” She asked, sounding interested. ”I haven't been able to improve my Precognition skill since I got it. Hells, I haven't even figured out how to control it yet.”
”Well, I was thinking that you might be subconsciously shying back from using it due to how painful your visions have historically been. In order to overcome that, I believe that we have to force you to rely on it.”
After a few seconds digesting that, she nodded. ”What did you have in mind?”
Mike mumbled a quick chant, summoning a small globe of utter darkness in his hand. As soon as it appeared, it began to grow rapidly in size, swiftly washing over the pair of them and expanding until it reached the outer limits of the walls he'd thrown up. Inside the globe was pitch black.
While he was still able to see thanks to his ring, he could tell that Sera was completely blind.
”My idea is this, if you have to fight in an environment where you can't see your enemies, you will be forced to rely on your other senses, to include your precognition.”
”I understand what you are thinking in principle,” she commented dryly, ”but seeing the future usually involves actually seeing.”
”Just humor me, alright? Worst case scenario, you can't do it, and we will move onto something else.”
”Fine. So what am I fighting? Some kind of shadow monster that consumes souls and will slowly drain the life energy of those nearby?”
”Hmm...that might not be a bad idea…”
”I was joking…” She murmured in a slightly subdued voice.
”I figured, but I suppose we can leave that particular enemy for later. Instead, I want you to defend yourself against these guys.” He replied while summoning a trio of creatures.
There were a few moments of silence before she finally commented. ”...You know I can't see anything at the moment, right?”
”Of course I do...ahem...Anyway, I've summoned three air elementals. In case you aren't aware, they are basically creatures made of solidified wind. Ordinarily, they are practically invisible and near perfectly silent, but when agitated, they make a noise that resembles a strong breeze. Since they aren't particularly strong, I figured that they would be good practice to start with before we move onto something more difficult. What do you say?”
She took a deep breath before taking a fighting stance. ”Alright, bring it.”