INFINITE- 21
Juro, still trembling, pulled out the white cloth and handed it to Marc.
Marc took it and wiped his face.
The warmth spread instantly.
The water disappeared almost as quickly as it had soaked in, leaving his skin dry, though his hair and clothes remained damp.
He handed the cloth back.
Juro straightened his posture, forcing himself to regain composure.
"Ehem…"
----------------------
Juro took the cloth before letting out a satisfied breath.
"Congrats to the both of you for learning the spell."
For a brief moment, Juro thought Marc might feel discouraged after seeing Bell perform it so flawlessly. He cleared his throat, already preparing a few comforting words in his head.
But the instant his gaze landed on Marc, his eyes subtly widened.
There was no sadness on Marc's face.
No frustration.
His eyes were burning with determination and excitement instead, like the experience only made him want to improve even more.
Marc noticed Juro staring at him.
"Hm? Teacher Juro?"
Juro snapped out of it.
"Ah… ahahaha, yeah. I knew you wouldn't get down over something like that, hehe."
He placed a hand on Marc's head before lightly ruffling his hair.
"Hehe, you did well there, kid."
Marc grinned brightly.
"I'll do even better next time! I'll be able to do something like what Bell did!"
As those words left his mouth, Bell subtly smiled to himself.
"Yeah… I'm sure you will."
Marc then looked back at Juro.
"So, training's over?"
Juro lightly shook his head.
"Nope. You two are gonna keep doing this until you're fully used to it."
The moment Marc heard that, his eyes instantly sparkled again.
"Okay, Teacher Juro! I'll work hard on it!"
Excitement rushed through him once more as he quickly ran back toward an open spot before drawing the spell in front of him again without hesitation.
Juro chuckled softly while watching him. Seeing someone this excited about learning magic honestly amused him.
A moment later, Bell stepped beside him.
"Is there a way to increase the speed of the spell? Since I technically already mastered the normal one."
Juro raised an eyebrow before a smirk spread across his face.
"Oh? Such confidence, huh? Hehe, I like it." He crossed his arms briefly before continuing, "Well, there are some modifications you can add to increase both the speed and power of the spell. Want me to teach you?"
Bell nodded.
Juro crouched down and began drawing several additional symbols beside the original spell formula, explaining each modification as he wrote them into the dirt.
Meanwhile, Bell quietly watched him.
"Well… I already know all of the modifications and symbols that increase the speed of the spell."
"I just didn't want to look suspicious by suddenly knowing more advanced spell structures…"
After finishing the final symbol, Juro glanced back at him.
"You got that, Bell?"
Bell nodded before turning around and walking back toward the open field.
Juro watched him leave, still slightly stunned.
"Wow… that kid really is a genius among geniuses. He followed my explanations that quickly…?"
His gaze then shifted toward Marc, who was still desperately dodging the water balls flying around him.
A smile slowly formed on his face.
"That kid's one of a kind too."
Meanwhile, Bell stopped in the middle of the field and quietly stared at his own hands for a brief moment.
"I'm weak…"
His expression darkened slightly.
"I'm still incomprehensibly weak…"
The memory from earlier replayed inside his head.
The water ball rushing toward him at point-blank range.
The narrow dodge.
The water feeling across his cheek.
Bell slowly clenched his fists.
"Back then, when I faced that spell head-on, I barely managed to dodge it… it still grazed my cheek…"
His grip tightened further.
"My eyes reacted."
"My mind reacted."
"But my body couldn't keep up immediately…"
That frustrated him the most.
No matter how fast his thoughts were, it meant nothing if his body lagged behind during actual combat.
"I still need to train more…"
His gaze shifted toward the spell formula drawn onto the ground.
"That's why I wanted to sound like I asked Juro to teach me the spell modifications."
"I need to increase the difficulty for myself."
Bell took a slow breath before exhaling quietly. His fists loosened as he pointed out a finger and began drawing one of the modifications onto the spell formation.
A speed-enhancing symbol.
One that would make the water balls launch at twice their normal speed.
After finishing the final line, Bell stepped back six steps.
The instant he stopped moving.
The spell glowed.
A water ball burst forward.
Bell tilted his body and dodged it relatively easily, but the moment it passed him, the water ball suddenly accelerated while curving sharply back toward his blind spot.
At the same time.
Another water ball shot out from the spell.
Bell's eyes sharpened.
He twisted sideways, narrowly slipping past the second attack before repositioning himself just enough to force the two water balls into each other.
Boom.
Water exploded into the air.
But the spell didn't stop.
Another water ball fired out.
Bell dodged again.
Another followed immediately after.
He dodged once more, guiding both attacks into colliding with each other again.
The pace kept increasing.
Bell stepped two steps closer toward the spell formation itself.
The moment another water ball launched toward him, he shifted aside.
Another came instantly after.
He ducked beneath it.
Another.
He spun past it.
Another.
He tilted his head.
The field gradually filled with splashes of scattered water as attack after attack chased after him relentlessly.
Sweat slowly formed across Bell's face, yet despite that, he felt oddly satisfied.
At least now, his body was being pushed properly.
From a short distance away, Marc watched everything with wide eyes.
"Woaaa…"
But before he could keep staring, a water ball suddenly shot straight toward his face.
Marc panicked and hurriedly threw himself aside.
"W-woahhh! That was close!" He quickly stood back up before shaking his head. "Alright, let's focus on our own training!"
Juro watched the two of them continue their training, sweat dripping down their faces as they pushed themselves without complaint. The breeze brushed past the open field, carrying the scent of grass beneath the bright blue sky.
He let out a quiet sigh, a subtle smile forming on his face as he looked up.
"I might actually have fun teaching these kids…"
Several hours passed.
By the end of the training, Marc's clothes were completely soaked, clinging to his body from head to toe, while Bell remained relatively dry despite the strain written across his face.
Juro couldn't help laughing at the sight.
He raised his left hand toward Marc, palm open. A steady flow of mana poured out from it, swirling softly through the air. Marc tilted his head in confusion at first, but moments later, the mana transformed into streams of warm air.
The temperature around him slowly rose.
Marc's wet clothes began drying rapidly as the heated wind wrapped around his body.
"Wooooah…" Marc stared at himself in amazement. "Mana magic can even control temperature?!"
Juro grinned proudly.
"Of course it can. Magic's a lot more versatile than you think."
Once Marc had fully dried off, the three of them headed back toward the village and returned to the inn.
..
…
The moment they entered the room, Marc immediately threw himself face-first onto the bed.
"Aughhh… I'm dead…"
Bell, meanwhile, quietly leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, arms crossed as he caught his breath.
Juro looked at the two of them and smiled faintly.
"They really worked hard today."
He clapped his hands once.
"Alright, you two get some rest. I'm gonna head downstairs for a bit. I'll call you when lunch is ready."
Marc replied with his face still buried in the bed.
"Okayyyy…"
Juro chuckled before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
The moment the door shut, Bell slowly slid down the wall and sat on the floor, leaning his head back with visible exhaustion.
"Hah… I can't believe I got pushed this far from a simple spell…"
His gaze shifted toward Marc, who still looked completely drained on the bed.
"He's improving really fast… That kid's definitely going to become even more powerful."
Bell closed his eyes for a moment, taking advantage of the silence to rest.
A few minutes later.
Grrrrrrr…
….
A loud grumbling sound echoed through the room.
Marc spoke without lifting his face from the bed.
"Bell… are you awake…?"
Bell replied calmly, eyes still closed.
"Yeah."
"I'm getting kinda hungry… all that training for hours completely emptied my stomach…"
Bell slowly opened his eyes.
"Alright, fine. Let's head downstairs and check."
Just as Bell stood up and Marc forced himself off the bed, the door suddenly opened.
Juro stood there with a grin.
"Ooo, you two are awake. Good timing. Come downstairs already, let's get something to eat."
Bell and Marc followed behind him down the stairs.
Once they reached the inn's dining area, they took their seats at one of the wooden tables. A lady soon approached and served each of them a plate of fried rice topped with sliced beef.
Marc's exhausted eyes instantly lit up.
"Wooooaaaa…"
Juro grinned.
"Hehe… that's not all."
A few moments later, the lady returned carrying another large tray. She placed several plates of chopped grilled pork onto the table along with a bowl of the inn's special gravy and three sunny-side-up eggs.
The rich aroma immediately spread through the air.
Marc completely froze.
His mouth slowly hung open while his eyes locked onto the food like his soul had just left his body.
Bell glanced at him for a moment before looking back at Juro.
Marc quickly turned his head toward him.
Juro burst out laughing.
"Alright, alright. Go ahead already."
Marc's face brightened instantly.
Without wasting another second, he grabbed the utensils and began absolutely devouring the food.
Bell, however, paused before eating.
"What's with all this?" he asked. "Did you spend a lot again?"
Juro smirked and raised a finger, shaking it side to side.
"Ts ts ts… nope."
Bell stared at him with a flat expression.
"( ￣-￣).."
Juro puffed his chest proudly.
"Remember the times I've been helping around the inn? Well, the owners gave us a huge discount because of my good deeds. Heh."
Bell finally picked up his utensils.
"Well, as long as you didn't immediately waste all your coins."
He then started eating as well.
Juro smiled faintly.
Watching the two of them eat so happily made something warm stir inside his chest. The noisy atmosphere, the casual conversations, the sight of exhausted kids stuffing their mouths after training.
It felt strangely nostalgic.
Juro quietly joined in and started eating too.
A few seconds later.
"HEYYYY! That's my sunny-side-up! We each get one!!!"
…
..
Several minutes passed, and eventually the table was left nearly empty.
Marc leaned back in his chair with a completely satisfied expression, one hand over his stomach.
"Huhuhu… that was such a good lunch… I'm sooo full…"
Meanwhile, Bell calmly sat there using a toothpick.
Marc suddenly remembered something and turned toward Juro.
"Hey, Teacher Juro… did you teach Bell another spell? Why were his water balls coming out super fast earlier?"
Juro smiled at Marc's curiosity.
"Well, I didn't exactly teach him a whole new spell. I just explained some modifications he could do to increase the difficulty of the training."
Marc's eyes sparkled with amazement.
"Ooooo… that's amazing. I wanna become as amazing as the two of you someday."
Bell and Juro looked at each other briefly before smiling.
"You will be."
Marc smiled back warmly, feeling oddly cozy hearing those words from both of them.
…
..
After resting for a bit, Marc suddenly spoke again.
"So… are we going back to training, Teacher Juro?"
Juro leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin dramatically.
"Hmmm… I mean, that would be the reasonable thing to do…"
Marc immediately nodded excitedly.
"Yeah! And I wanna master the spell properly too so I can learn modifications like Bell."
Juro laughed softly and finally gave in.
"Fine, fine. Hahaha… you're probably one of the few people in the world who actually enjoys training."
Marc grinned proudly.
"Hehe. I'm learning more and more about magic while training, so of course I'm excited."
He then turned toward Bell.
"Right, Bell?"
Bell smiled faintly.
"Yeah. I still need to train and improve myself too."