“Grh.”


    I channeled my mana into the two Megalithic Ward of the Waters, increasing their sizes and weight. I let out a grunt as the pressure on my body increased. The log I bound my shields complained due to the immense weight it had to support. I took a deep breath before pressing it over my head. I could use one of Megalithic Ward of the Waters with one hand effectively during combat with the help of mana but lifting two of them gigantified and coupled with the weight of the log put a lot of strain on my body. Sweat burned my eyes before dripping down to the ground from my chin.


    G?kb?rü, who was lying on the log yawned as I slowly lowered my body to the ground while the log still pressed overhead. As I went lower my core worked overtime to balance me. Despite the log being shaped by Elandris according to my instructions with magic, it wasn’t the same as a barbell and the weird shape of my shields didn’t help either. Well, beggars can’t be choosers. Increased difficulty also yielded better results.


    “1, 2, 3,…, 9, 10!”


    I dropped the log onto the ground. Because of my rather loud handling, G?kb?rü who was lazing around flew into the air, staying airborne before being caught by me. He let out an angry growl, clearly not happy that his rest was disturbed. I didn’t answer him as I was too busy breathing through my ass because of exertion. I quickly took my breathing under control as I knew better than breathing wildly without any control. I took deep and less frequent breaths despite my body screaming for me to do the opposite. Before long I felt better.


    While I wished that I could attribute my quick recovery to my high Vitality and recovery skills, I owed some of it to Mother Tree. With Nidhogg out of the picture, Mother Tree regained her energy rapidly and I was able to see what she looked like in her prime. The boost she gave out was immense. With us being in center of her, I was able to reap the benefits of it.


    “I don’t understand why you guys don’t abuse this. You recover incredibly quickly here. You can probably do 5 hours of heavy training every day without suffering any ill effects.”


    I called out to Elandris who was preparing to shoot an arrow to a distant target. He let go of the string, hitting the target in the middle. I took a sip out of my water to quench my thirst. It was laced with some kind of honey to both taste it and fasten recovery. It served both of those purposes well.


    “Because not everyone is as insane as you.”


    Lily answered before throwing a dried fruit into his mouth.


    “I am only a little bit insane.”


    Lily raised his eyebrow hearing my answer. I ignored him and picked up the log.


    “You should train too. This place is excellent for it. If you increase your Vitality you won’t have to be carried after every fight.”


    Lily looked frustrated and for a second I thought I convinced him to train.


    “I can’t believe you threw me to your shoulder like a dirty rug! You should have carried me princess style.”


    I let out a tired sigh. Of course, that’s what he was angry with.


    “Firstly, you are not a princess. Secondly, I am not a knight. Thirdly, if you train a little I might carry princess style next time you collapse.”


    I offered him a deal as I balanced the log on my chest.


    “Promise me you’ll give me some kisses tongue included after it and I might consider it.”


    I scoffed at his counteroffer.


    “Keep dreaming.”


    I channeled my mana into the shields to increase their weight once more. Despite the size of the log, I was able to see Lily smirk.


    “Well, it''s not like it didn’t happen before.”


    I coughed, nearly losing my balance and falling with the log.


    “Lily is partially right, Poyraz. Not everyone has the same level of conviction and recovery capabilities as you. I am not sure if I could keep up with you if we trained together.”


    Elandris finally joined the conversation. Looking at his hands, I guessed that he was busy with retrieving his arrows before he could answer me.


    “But that''s not an excuse for not training at all. Especially since it was clear that he lacked stamina in the previous fight.”


    With a rapid jerk, I pressed the log upwards. As I gritted my teeth due to strain, I saw Elandris nod.


    "Poyraz is also right, Lily. It may be a difficult reality to accept, but it''s crucial to acknowledge that your physical capabilities, aside from your Agility, are lacking. As a Derivative Elementalist, this limitation will significantly impact your potential."


    Elandris affirmed, his tone carrying a weight of truth. I laughed slyly as I got Elandris on my side but Elandris’s words also stirred a curiosity since I hadn’t heard anything about what he talked about.


    “What is that?”


    I asked as I pressed the log upwards once more. Elandris took a deep breath.


    "There are two distinct paths for Elementalists: Incarnation and Derivative. I practice Incarnation as you saw before, where I forge a bond with an elemental spirit and summon them from their realm to mine. It''s the more conventional approach, favored for its simplicity and the spirits'' eagerness to explore other planes. However, as a Derivative Elementalist, you draw upon the power of the spirit you''ve contacted, channeling it directly into your own being."


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.He elucidated. I stared daggers at Lily who nonchalantly threw another fruit into his mouth before standing up in a single move from the lying position.


    “Fine, fine. I’ll sweat a little. But not your way. Last time you forced me to train, I couldn’t go upstairs for a week.”


    I smiled as I finished my set and put down the log once again. I could see Lily practice against wooden golems from the edge of my vision. Those golems weren’t very strong but they regenerated constantly so they made good punching bags. While I would prefered if he trained harder it was a victory nevertheless. It was rare to see him yield to the idea of physical exertion, but I knew it was necessary for his growth as a fighter, especially in this world.


    It was true that one could achieve great feats back on Earth by training. However, we were still flesh and blood. Even with super soldier enhancements and power armor, an anti-armor bullet to the head or one strong bio-missile would make everything one worked for null as they would die instantly. However, in this world, we had mana and magical skills. The heights we could achieve were higher which motivated me to work harder. I poked G?kb?rü with my foot.


    “Come on, you have to train as well. I don’t care if you are a mythical beast or not, you can’t just eat and sleep all day.”


    G?kb?rü lifted his head off the ground before letting out a long, disgruntled howl. I crossed my arms, not impressed by his little tantrum.


    “Your control over ice is not good. You are just putting massive amounts of mana to create massive ice structures. We are going to work on finer control today.”


    I projected my spear as I was able to absorb it after using its options and got some distance between me and him.


    “Send thin ice spears to me. I will block them. Start with 1 then increase the number.”


    G?kb?rü rose and projected a single ice spear. It was thicker and cruder than what I envisioned. He also only managed to create one after a short delay. For most people that wouldn’t even be noticeable but it made me click my tongue. Well, this was just the start so it was normal that he wasn’t on a level I wanted him to be. I tightened my grip as I got ready to split it into two before it could reach to me.


    To my disappointment, ice spear didn’t even come close to me. It missed me completely, nearly piercing Lily’s leg.


    “What the fuck was that you fleabag? You want to kill me or what?”


    “Bark! Bark!”


    With a sigh, stepped forward to stop them from the verbal sparring they got into surprisingly quick.


    “Knock it off both of you.”


    The next attempts went better. They could have pierced my body if I didn’t shatter them with my spear. Ice shards and water started to pool around me as I ordered G?kb?rü to increase the number of spears. 2 at the same time was manageable for him, so three with decreased accuracy but his aim worsened as the number went up. For example when he fired 5 spears, two of them barely missed me while the remaining three didn’t even come close to me.


    “It is okay. Recover your mana and we’ll try out your new skill. What was it called? Lightning Clad?”


    (Lightning Clad: By channeling elemental energy, the User cloaks themselves in crackling lightning, enhancing their physical strikes and defenses as well as heightened resistance to electrical attacks. The lightning aura also grants a chance to shock or stun enemies upon physical contact.)


    G?kb?rü nodded, his determination evident as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate. I watched intently as a faint, blue aura began to form around him, crackling with electricity. With each passing moment, the aura grew stronger, until it enveloped him completely in a dazzling display of lightning.


    “Light blue.”


    Unlike natural lightning, it wasn’t white. It reminded me of Blanche’s lightning. Considering how their “origin” was the same it wasn’t that surprising. He was more confident with this as he began to move, his movements fluid and graceful as he danced around the training area.


    “Heh. I couldn’t guess you are the same lazy fleabag who slept all day.”


    Lily stopped to observe G?kb?rü. He growled and let out a spark while he passed Lily. With a sigh, I spun my weapon.


    “Stop messing with Lily and focus on your training.”


    With a fierce growl, he lunged towards me with his entire body, his claws crackling with blue lightning. I blocked his attack with my spear as a tingling sensation ran across my arms. Since I didn’t use mana to reinforce my body he managed to push me back with the force of his attack which was impressive by itself as he didn’t even weigh a tenth of me. Seeing that his attack was blocked he bounced off me, flipping in the air as he retreated.


    “Too flashy.”


    I stepped forward, grabbing him by the nape of his neck before he could land. Electricity burned my hand as I lifted him to my eye level.


    “Your charge was too straightforward and your retreat was too flashy. I won’t be always there to create a distraction for you to move.”


    I let him on the ground as the lightning was really damaging me. As I shook my hand in pain, Methild entered the training room. She directly looked at me, making me realize that I was wearing only shorts and covered with sweat. Methild''s gaze lingered on me for a moment.


    “Your healing capabilities are impressive.”


    I looked down at my body. Scars caused by the sneak attack I received were healed fully.