"Why are you so surprised? You're only being trained, not killed. Be grateful to my angelic-hearted Master who forbade us from killing weak humans like you," Aldis said, clicking his tongue in displeasure.
Rolan asked. "Does that mean the Singing Witch accepts us as her disciple?"
Aldis frowned. "Of course not."
"Then why did she ask all the Demon Generals to train us?" Helena asked.
"Of course, because you are weak. The weakest in this group are you two, and you can't even defend yourselves. It's impossible for you to keep relying on my Master and those two spirits to continuously save you. This forest holds many mysteries and is full of dangers on all sides, and my Master also has many enemies. It's not impossible that her enemies will appear at any moment- ... Well, one is right beside her now," Aldis said, the last sentence directed at Cayn.
Although they felt slightly offended by the term 'weak' directed at them by Aldis, Rolan and Helena couldn't argue, because what Aldis said was true.
Since the first time they arrived in this forest, they have been the biggest burden. First, when they met Kylos, if they hadn't been helped by Tsana at that moment, they might have died. Then, the second time was when they first met Aldis, where they were tied up in a very high tree, If only Cayn hadn't arrived in time, they might have been killed right then and there.
They couldn't do anything. Even though they were the two top students at the Roswell academy, they were nothing in this forest.
Rolan and Helena showed serious expressions. They wanted to become stronger, they didn't want to be called the top students at Roswell Academy if they couldn't even protect themselves.
"Alright, I don't like being called weak. I will become stronger and prove to the Singing Witch that I deserve to be her student," Rolan said.
Helena was the same. "I also don't like being called weak, because I will always become stronger."
Aldis smirked, then he said. "Master told me that Kylos made you run frantically while avoiding his spear of death. I was quite surprised when I heard that, because as far as I know..."
Aldis narrowed his eyes. "No one has ever escaped that spear."
Rolan and Helena swallowed hard, they suddenly remembered the moments when they were blindly chased by Kylos.
That truly increased their adrenaline.
Aldis continued. "Kylos's spear of death is known for its deadly accuracy. It's impossible for someone to avoid it, but you two... tsk tsk tsk, you actually have potential. I appreciate that, and you are lucky to have passed that short training from my brother Kylos. And now, it's my turn to train you."
Cold sweat trickled down Rolan and Helena's backs. They themselves had already seen Aldis's swordsmanship ability, and they were nothing in front of that creature.
What would it be like when he trained them?
"So, what are your names?" Aldis asked.
Rolan and Helena introduced themselves in turn.
"I am Rolan Gilbert."
Aldis raised an eyebrow when he heard Rolan's last name.
"And I am Helena Kamal."
Instantly Aldis's face darkened, then a sword appeared in his right hand.
His voice was deep and full of emphasis as he spoke. "No wonder my Master doesn't want to accept you as her disciple."
Suddenly, Aldis's body darted forward and swung his sword towards Rolan and Helena. Fortunately, their body reflexes were fast, and they immediately avoided the attack.
The attack created an invisible wind blade that split 3 trees in front of him.
Rolan and Helena were very surprised by the sudden attack, they felt something was wrong with Aldis's attack.
They felt an energy of hostility and vengeance from the creature, just like when he fought William and Cayn yesterday.
What was wrong with him? Why did his attitude change immediately after hearing them introduce their names?
Then, suddenly, a low chuckle was heard from Aldis, and gradually the laughter became loud.
Rolan and Helena looked at each other with astonished and tense faces. They truly didn't know what was happening and why Aldis's attitude became like that.
"Hahahahahaha... How funny." Aldis stopped laughing, but the aura of hostility around him did not subside at all. "No wonder my Master is reluctant to accept you as her students."
Helena asked. "What do you mean?"
Aldis stared at the two teenagers. "Gilbert and Kamal, huh. Two rotten surnames that stole everything from my Master."
Rolan and Helena became even more confused about what Aldis actually wanted to say. Why did Aldis say that the Gilbert and Kamal surnames were rotten surnames? What did they steal from the Singing Witch? Did their ancestors have a relationship with the Singing Witch in the past?
But actually, what made them most curious was about the Singing Witch herself.
What kind of creature was she really? And how long has she been alive? How strong was she really to be the Master of 5 Demon Generals?
It was truly confusing.
A murderous gleam appeared in Aldis's eyes as he stared at Rolan and Helena.
"Your ancestors also begged my Master to be taken as a student, and now their descendants are doing the same thing. Tell me, what else will you do to ruin my Master's life."
★★★
"Magic is the art of casting spells. The more beautiful the spell recitation, the stronger the magic. That is the concept of using magic in this world."
William sat quietly next to Zephyr and listened to the explanation of the gold-haired, sage-green-eyed boy.
Zephyr continued, according to what he remembered from Tsana's explanation when she first taught him about magic. "However, casting spells is also very complicated. One needs a beautiful voice, and there are various tones that must be used in a very detailed pattern. Sometimes the pattern is confusing, like a winding and branching road, making it difficult to choose which path is correct."
William nodded. "Generally, spells are also divided into 3 levels, from the lowest to the highest. The lowest level is the short spell; all mages can cast this spell because it is quite simple and easy to do. Then the intermediate level is the medium spell; it is quite complex, but some skilled mages are capable of doing it. And finally, the highest is the long spell, only a handful of mages can do it."
Then Zephyr continued. "But there is one even higher level of spell, and in history, only one person could do it. That spell is called the absolute superlative spell, which is a long spell produced from a very beautiful tone. That spell is cast by singing, and the only person who can cast a spell while singing is only one person: the Singing Witch."
William stared at Zephyr. "I'm curious, where do you know this story from? Didn't the Singing Witch herself forget her past?"
Zephyr smiled slightly. "My mother often told me about the Singing Witch when I was little. But every time I ask Master about this, she always says that she doesn't remember anything about her past. The nickname 'Singing Witch' was also only known after 100 years ago when a monster hunter saw her use that magic directly, before the monster hunter wrote about my Master and turned it into a book."
Zephyr looked at William. "Tell me, Sir William, I feel like a part of history is missing. My mother often told stories about how great the Singing Witch was in the past; even the whole world knew her name, but I can't find any history about her anywhere I look. My mother said she knows this story because her own teacher told it to her. You are a person who is also from the Master's past, along with Sir Cayn. I am sure you know something."
William frowned upon hearing Zephyr's statement about his mother. But he still answered. "I can't explain everything, but history has indeed changed. There should have been a major event that shook the world 800 years ago. But now I realize that some parts seem to be missing, and that event is not written in any history, and that is the history about the Zivilia Kingdom, this Forest, the Singing Witch, and my Master."
Zephyr nodded in understanding, so that answered all his questions.
Then, William suddenly asked. "By the way, who is your mother? And who is the teacher who told her this?"
Zephyr shook his head. "My mother never told me who her teacher was, as if it was a secret that she absolutely shouldn't tell. But, my mother is also a high-level wind spirit; her name is Zarsan."
Instantly, William's eyes widened when he heard that name, and a flash of the past immediately appeared in his memory. "Zar- san?"