Chapter 112 Three days of spending time
The sun had only just begun to rise, its golden light spilling gently across the open training grounds. The morning air was crisp and cool, carrying with it the quiet stillness of dawn before the world fully awakened.
In the center of the field stood two figures.
Steel flashed as Astrid and Emma clashed once again in their daily sparring.
Clang!
Their weapons collided with a sharp metallic echo that rang across the training ground.
Astrid slid her foot back slightly, steadying her stance as she assessed Emma's movements. A faint smirk formed on her lips.
"Huh… not bad," she muttered.
Without hesitation, Astrid lunged forward. Her sword cut through the air in a swift diagonal arc aimed directly at Emma's shoulder.
Emma reacted instantly.
Clang!
Her mace rose just in time to intercept the blade, sparks briefly scattering where steel met steel.
"Not bad yourself," Emma replied with a competitive grin. "Now try this!"
Using the momentum of the block, Emma twisted her body and swung her mace downward with tremendous force.
Whoosh!
The heavy weapon tore through the air like a falling hammer.
Astrid's eyes sharpened.
She lifted her sword and deflected the strike at an angle, redirecting the power of the blow. The impact still rattled her arm slightly, but before Emma could recover—
Thud!
Astrid's boot slammed forward, striking Emma squarely in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
Emma staggered backward several steps, sliding across the dirt as she quickly regained her footing. Without wasting a second, she created distance between them.
Her hand moved swiftly to her back. In a fluid motion, Emma drew a bow and nocked an arrow.
Twng!
The bowstring snapped forward arrow shot toward Astrid like a streak of silver lightning. But Astrid did not move instead, she calmly inhaled, her chest rising slowly as an ancient power gathered within her
"FUS RO DAH"
Her Thu'um erupted like thunder.
A violent shockwave burst outward from Astrid's body. The arrow was instantly caught in the invisible force and hurled away into the distance, spinning helplessly through the air before falling far from its target.
Emma froze for a moment before glaring at her.
"Hey! That's cheating! You said no Thu'um!"
Astrid scratched the back of her head with a sheepish laugh.
"Whoops… my bad. I forgot because I'm just too strong, hehe."
Emma's eyebrow twitched.
"Oh really?" she said with a forced smile. "Starting to get arrogant now?"
Before Astrid could respond Emma suddenly hurled her shield forward metal disk spun through the air like a whirling blade Astrid reacted instinctively.
Slash!
Her sword cut cleanly through the spinning shield, splitting it in half But the moment the shield broke apart Astrid's eyes widened Emma had been hiding behind it.
The shield had completely blocked Astrid's vision for a split second, and Emma used that moment perfectly.
Like a shadow bursting through the opening, Emma dashed forward. Emma's blade was already resting lightly against Astrid's neck.
"Got you!"
Emma smiled down at her.
"And that," she said calmly, "is what happens when you think you're stronger than your enemy… and lower your guard."
Astrid clicked her tongue in mild annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah…"
Emma suddenly raised both arms into the air with a triumphant cheer.
"So this makes it my fifth victory, right?"
Astrid slowly sat up and looked at her with a sarcastic grin.
"Five?" astrid chuckled. "That's still a lot less than twelve, isn't it? Hahaha!" Astrid laughed proudly, clearly enjoying Emma's reaction. Emma's victorious smile instantly vanished.
Her cheeks puffed up in frustration.
"Hey! Don't ruin my moment!"
At that moment, Gormlaith arrived and watched their sparring.
"Ha! Are you two just warming up?" she said confidently.
Emma glared at her with annoyance.
"Seriously? Didn't you see we've been sparring for two hours and you call that warming up?"
Gormlaith laughed dismissively.
"Ha! Two hours? That's a short time. If it were me, I'd last much longer than you."
She then glanced at Astrid, whose breathing remained calm compared to Emma's.
"Oho… at least the Dragonborn isn't exhausted like you, Emma! Hahaha!"
Emma frowned angrily.
"Did you come here just to mock us? How about you shut up and spar with me instead?"
Gormlaith stopped laughing and formed a serious smile. She let out a whistle.
"Wow… a little kitten wants to challenge a lion? Fine then. Come here, little kitten. Psh psh." Emma immediately drew her dual swords, while Gormlaith pulled out her longsword. Their sparring began fiercely. Meanwhile, Astrid quietly watched them, treating the fight like a lesson she could learn from.
The match didn't last very long Emma was completely overwhelmed.
With a powerful punch from Gormlaith, Emma was sent flying backward.
"Ugh… damn it," Emma groaned.
Gormlaith burst into loud laughter.
"HAHAHA! A little kitten will always be a little kitten! Hahaha!"
Emma glared at her.
"Ugh! That's only because I just finished sparring with Astrid. That's why I lost so easily!"
Gormlaith chuckled and gave her advice.
"On the battlefield, the enemy won't wait for you to be in perfect condition. So don't make excuses like that."
Emma fell silent. She couldn't deny that the advice made sense. Then Gormlaith turned her gaze toward Astrid."What about you, Dragonborn? Want to spar with me?"
Astrid grabbed her sword and shield with an eager smile.
"Of course. Let's go!"
They began sparring. This time, Astrid didn't use Thu'um to keep things fair.
They fought for quite a while until Astrid eventually became exhausted.
The Second Day
Astrid visited Feldir's library.
"Hey Feldir, I came by to spend some time here. Is that okay?"
Feldir stroked his white beard and smiled.
"Of course. Come in, Dragonborn. How could I refuse a comrade-in-arms?"
Astrid looked around at the many books stored in the room.
"Do you have any books that could keep me busy?"
Feldir looked at her thoughtfully.
"Hm… the books here are ones I wrote myself while staying in CHIM. So I'm not sure if you'll find them interesting."
Astrid nodded.
"I want to read about magic."
Feldir frowned slightly.
"You want to use magic? Aren't you already an expert with sword and shield?"
Astrid continued staring at the books as she answered.
"Hm… I may not be talented in magic, but at least I should understand it. That way I can recognize my enemies' spells and know how to deal with them."
Feldir chuckled softly.
"Ah… very wise."
He then said,
"In that case, I'll give you some spellbooks."
He went to the back of the room and returned carrying a large pile of books. There were so many that he struggled to carry them.
"Ah, here they are."
He dropped them onto the floor with a loud thud due to the sheer number stacked together.
Astrid stared at the pile in shock.
"That's way too many… There's no way I can read all of these in one day. Do you have any recommendations?"
Feldir asked,
"Hm… what type do you prefer? Illusion, Alteration, Destruction—"
Before he could finish, Astrid looked dizzy just hearing the list and quickly interrupted him.
"Umm… actually, I can already use the Flame spell. If you have a book related to that, you can give it to me."
Feldir smiled.
"Ah, then Destruction magic it is. And you said Flame, hm? That's the lowest-level spell, but the fact that you've mastered it already is impressive. So how about we increase that mastery?"
He then picked up a spellbook.
"This one: Firebolt."
He handed it to Astrid.
"You don't need to force yourself to master it immediately. Just read it and understand it. Don't feel stressed if it's difficult. Take it slowly."
Astrid nodded.
"Alright, I'll borrow this book. Thank you very much, Feldir."
She then returned to Emma's house and began reading the book carefully.
For the next several hours, Astrid focused entirely on reading. Sometimes it took her nearly an hour just to understand a single section. Occasionally she stepped outside Emma's house to get some fresh air before returning to read again.
Whenever she encountered something she didn't understand, she went back to Feldir to ask questions.
Gradually, she became more and more interested in the study of magic.
The Third Day
Astrid spent most of the day in Emma's yard, trying to master the Firebolt spell however, she failed many times.
Time passed quickly. Just as the day was nearing its end, Astrid finally succeeded.
Her face lit up with excitement.
"HAHAHA!!! I FINALLY DID IT!!!" She cast Firebolt again, launching the blazing projectile perfectly. "I thought I had no talent for magic… but I actually did it! Yes!!!"
Emma watched Astrid celebrating and said,
"Wow… you've been getting stronger lately."
Astrid didn't even hear Emma speaking. Instead, she was already thinking about the good news she would tell Alex.
Because tomorrow Alex would finally wake up.