They were not done with basics for that day. Yesterday was filled with boring lessons of virya manipulation, going more in depth about techniques, and a bunch of technical talk between Toflann and Liam that Jack opted to meditate during those times instead. Today, to Jack’s minor luck, was filled with a mix of practice and lectures. The lack of knowledge Jack had was astounding. It was a surprise to both Liam and Toflann that Jack could even manipulate Virya, let alone be decent in his control of it.

  Toflann had to go over the different techniques and what they revolve around. Jack had a good grasp on the Controller technique, which allows him to control the existing wind virya around him. However, he had no clue what the other techniques do.

  Toflann explained how Armament depended on items they forged in their souls using materials beasts dropped and the energy they provided.

  He also explained how Enhancers used virya to quite literally enhance their bodies using different methods depending on their element. What Jack struggled to grasp was the difference between Controller and Weaver.

  “I still don’t understand it. Wouldn’t it be a Weaver technique if I were able to use wind to shoot a wind blade?”

  Toflann shook his head. “I do not know how many times I can repeat the same thing just for you not to understand.”

  “Maybe say it a different way? My father always told me that to do the same thing over and over again and to expect different results is insanity.”

  Toflann’s eyes slightly twitched at that. “Perhaps I must treat you like a new born than a sentient being. While both a Controller and Weaver of wind can manipulate wind virya to shoot a wind blade, the method in which they do it is vastly different. Controllers are manipulating the existing air to fire a wind blade. Weavers, however, can use the wind virya straight from their reservoir to fire wind blades at a higher virya cost.”

  “It would also be prudent to take note that Controllers can fire a wind blade from any direction within their control radius while Weavers can only fire a wind blade starting from where their bodies are.” Liam chimed in.

  Toflann nodded at Liam. “So wouldn’t that mean Controllers are better than Weavers?” Jack asked.

  Toflann shook his head at Jack. “Incorrect. Let’s say, for example, two Forged souls are fighting in an area with no water, and those two Forged souls specialize in water. A Controller would be at a disadvantage because there is no water to control, but the Weaver would be able to use water skills using his own reservoir to create water.”

  Jack nodded his head as if he finally understood until Liam spoke.

  “But, if the Controller can control water - then wouldn’t that mean the water the Weaver cast would be used against him?”

  Toflann’s lips curled into a smirk. At least that’s what Jack thought that was. It was hard to tell facial expressions with Annoids.

  “Liam has a point. If the element the Controller can control is water, then any water in his vicinity would be under his control. That would just mean I’m correct in saying Controllers are better than Weavers.” Jack threw his hands out animatedly.

  Toflann’s smirk never left his face. “Incorrect. I do wish we had another of the same element as one of us to do a demonstration, but we do not have that luxury. While you would be correct if you went based on the knowledge you have of these two techniques, you are wrong because of one aspect. Intent.”

  Liam quirked his head to the side in question while Jack squinted at Toflann, though no one asked any questions, allowing Toflann to continue.

  “Controllers would be the most powerful technique of the 4 available, but intent prevents that from being true. Every skill used, no matter the element, has the soul’s intent embedded in the skill. Since the intent is in the skill, it would be hard, if not impossible, for a Controller to override a skill of the same element.”

  “What is i-” Jack started to ask, but was cut off by Toflann.

  “Intent. Intent is purpose. Intent is your resolve. Intent is for whom and why the virya is being used. Every skill used has intent, which generally tends to be the reason the skill exists. A wind blade is made to hurt, so the intent is to hurt. Water users generally have healing skills, and their intent is to heal. But more on intent later when you are more adept in your skills.”

  Liam spoke up after Toflann was done explaining. “I know I cannot advance due to my being a Forged Soul, but do you think you could spare me extra time to learn more about Intent? I have never heard of that in regards to virya manipulation before, but it seems it would be useful to learn.”

  Toflann nodded his head in agreement. “More than you know. I will set time aside to teach you till the blood moon arrives.”

  “Wait, - ” Jack seemed confused. “- in that same scenario, how would the controller fight if there is no water to control?”

  Toflann looked at Jack as if he had asked a stupid question, then clarity hit him. “Oh, I forgot you were a Seedling. Typically, Seedlings don’t fight. I would assume they would bring a container that has their element for them to control. But Forged souls would be able to use two techniques. Either it be Armament or Weaver, they would be able to form skills using their techniques to make up for what the Controller technique would lack.” Toflann cracked his neck.

  “Well enough lectures. Let’s go find a beast for you to fight. If you are going to make it to Forge, you’re going to need the energy to expand that soul of yours.” Jack nearly jumped with excitement.

  All that excitement drained from Jack as Toflann tossed a Spiker down in front of Jack. It tried to launch itself at Jack, but was stopped by an ice cage that formed around it. Did Toflann think this was funny? He knew about his animosity towards Spikers and now Jack is expected to fight it. He gave Toflann a frown.

  “I thought I was going to fight a beast worthy of me. Not this rodent.”

  Toflann tilted his head to the side, his horn gouging a tree close by like it was butter. “This is a beast worthy of you. You have not defeated one, and you want to fight a tiered beast? Don’t be foolish. You barely know how to control virya.”

  “Then how do you expect me to kill this with no skill?” Jack asked as he waved his arms wildly at the Spiker.

  Toflann pulled one of his kitchen knives from thin air and tossed it into the ground, point first, next to Jack.

  “You will use your control of wind to give you the advantage of speed and positioning to kill this beast using your combat skills. It is obvious you lacked the knowledge of virya manipulation, but now I need to see what you are capable of in order to know where to start teaching you from there.”

  Jack rolled his eyes. But Jack knew Toflann made a lot of sense. No point in starting from the beginning if he was already skilled in combat. Jack grabbed the kitchen knife from the ground, that Jack originally thought would have been large daggers in his hands, but now that he held it, it was more of a wide short sword. It was an unwieldy weapon, but he would manage. How would it work with the Flygon fighting style? Well, he would just have to find out.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Toflann and Liam stepped to the side as Jack took his distance away from the feral Spiker and got into his fighting stance. He held his left arm up and his right hand holding the knife like a human. Though the knife was too heavy for him to properly hold it up all the way.

  “You don’t have anything lighter?” Jack asked as he tried to bring the knife up with one hand.

  “I did not account for small children coming to me for training. Work with what you have. The world is not so kind for it to be convenient all the time.”

  Jack threw his hands in the air. “Then how am I to fight this without being able to use the combat arts I learned?”

  “Adapt.”

  The ice cage around the Spiker dissipated. The Spiker wasted no time going right after Jack with its spikes extended outwards. Jack grunted in frustration, but that didn’t stop Jack from acting. His experiences of being beaten down and outclassed were done. He was tired of losing. But also Toflann wouldn’t let the Spiker kill him. Right?

  Jack dropped low to the ground and gripped the oversized kitchen knife in both his hands and used a boost of wind underneath him to match the Spiker’s launch. Jack whipped the knife upwards to hit the Spiker mid-air, only to be met with a resounding clang.

  The force was enough to launch Jack and the Spiker back. Jack flipped in the air, almost crashing down to the ground, but controlled the air around him to slow his fall. His control over the wind was already decent for his level, but he could only control so much.

  Jack skidded across the ground on his feet and looked ahead. The Spiker crashed into the ground and rolled until it stopped. It turned around with a growl and started running towards Jack.

  “I didn’t even hurt it?” He thought since the blow blew both of them back, the Spiker would have at least gotten hurt.

  It’s just a null beast! How? Then the thought struck him. Beasts were different from sentient souls. Souls like him have to forge their bodies and souls, but beasts are physically adept as a null already and get stronger as they climb the tiers. The way they used virya was different, too. He wasn’t too sure how, but he knew it was more efficient than other souls.

  Jack and the Spiker exchanged several blows, but the Spiker was showing no signs of tiring. Jack, however, was tiring quickly. Jack simply didn’t have the stamina to keep up or the strength to make a dent. Running at each other and exchanging blows isn’t going anywhere. At this point, it just feels like I’m on the defensive. I need more power. Jack would’ve face-palmed himself if he hadn’t been holding on to the knife. Jack grinned. The Spiker shot spikes out at Jack, causing alarm. It’s going for range? That’ll make killing it a bit difficult.

  Jack ran towards the spikes instead of dodging. Jack may have lacked in his studies and skipped on a few combat lessons with his tutors back home, but that didn’t mean his connection to the wind was lacking. When Jack found out he was a controller of wind just like how his father started, he did nothing but practice his control. It came to the point he was able to sense anything within his radius.

  He had to use wind to push some spikes either to the left or right of him to narrowly dodge the spikes. As he ran, he barely dodged spike after spike that neared 3 feet from him. Eventually, he reached his target. The Spiker readied its spikes as it hurled itself at Jack. Jack smiled. His knife was already raised and on the path towards the rodent. The only difference this time from before was the excessive wind he used to push his blade forward. The Spiker flew past Jack, and all he heard was two thuds. He turned around to see the Spiker split completely in half. He turned to Toflann and Liam to give them his smug smile.

  Until his vision turned black.

  The torches on the wall of the chambers burned white as they lit up even the dark corners of the room. Shelves lined the walls of the chamber with no books to fill them. If Olaf were not stuck in this prison, books of knowledge and lost histories would fill his shelves. But he was stuck in this prison whether he liked it or not. He could not control that. What he could control was the little things like adding pointless shelves to his chambers. It made it seem more like home.

  Regardless of how empty they are. Olaf sat in contemplation with many questions and no answers. Why and how are humans here in Nablar? What could Toflann possibly want with them? And why were they children? In all the years Olaf has been in Nablar, nothing peculiar like this has happened. Sure, he had found resources in this prison that would have been a 1 in a million chance of finding in the Animal Realm and found relics of unimaginable power, no matter how useless they were. But never has he come across reports or evidence of humans setting foot in Nablar. So why now?

  Olaf contemplated confronting Toflann about killing his men and what he plans to do with the humans, but he really did not want to. He would never admit it to his men or even out loud, but he was scared of Toflann. Even though Annoids were reduced to Forged souls here, the step in the cycle an Annoid reaches is not fully reduced. Sure, there was a lot of technique and skills a soul could not use, but the soul is still expanded, allowing different strengths and endurance, which vary from person to person.

  Growing up, Olaf had heard stories of a minotaur named Toflann who was long scrubbed from the history books, but rumors of him still spread like wildfire. Like the boogey man was to humans, Toflann was to Annoids. He never believed the stories until he unfortunately ended up in Nablar and met the Red Blizzard himself. He was sure Toflann was a small fraction of what he once was, but that did not stop Olaf from staying absolutely out of his way.

  But he was the Alpha of the Annoids who followed him here in Nablar. Without his tribe of misfits and criminals, he would not be able to survive on his own. And if he does not confront Toflann in some capacity, the Annoids here would eventually rebel, thinking he was weak. Toflann may eclipse Olaf in strength, but by no means was Olaf weak. He would destroy any rebellion that dared challenge him, but he needed the people. He sighed and shook his head, but perked up in alarm as an Annoid sat in the chair across Olaf’s desk.

  The ground rumbled as Olaf stood ready to kill the Annoid that sat before him. The Annoid sat lazily with his hooves propped up on the desk and his hands crossed behind his head. Brown fur covered most of his body, leaving his chest bare to show a set of abs. His head was of elk with antlers that angled up in different branches and reached wide.

  Just how did he appear in front of me with no alert to my senses? It was almost as if he formed from the air itself.

  “You have 5 seconds to tell me who you are.” Olaf demanded.

  “Calm your power, Olaf. You couldn’t even hurt me if you tried.” The mysterious Annoid lazily said.

  “5.”

  Olaf counted the seconds in his head as the elk spoke and reached 5 a few seconds sooner than he counted. Stones jutted up in all directions towards the Elk Annoid, but he made no move to dodge or retaliate. Instead, he watched the spikes with the expression of an Annoid would look at a bug. As the spikes neared the elk, the spikes turned to dust as if there was an invisible barrier. This was impossible. He had a domain, but no Annoid could step foot in here without their cultivation cycle being reduced to a Forged soul who could use only 2 techniques. To have a domain would mean he is currently a Sage and unrestricted. How?

  “Sit.” Olaf was compelled. There was no fighting a Sage. A Sage who could somehow bypass the restrictions no less.

  “There is a human in Nablar you might be interested in.”

  "The only thing I'm interested in is how you are not restricted to Forge."

  The elk Annoid dropped his legs from the table and leaned forward so his elbows laid on the table so he could hold his head up.

  "Even if it meant your freedom?"

  Olaf leaned in. "Explain."

  "You already know that a Seedling only has the potential to escape this prison, but its nearly impossible because Seedlings just don't appear in this hell hole. But today it happened. He is your get out of jail free card." The elk Annoid leaned back and smiled.

  "I'm assuming you're talking about the human that Toflann has already taken captive. I would not risk my life to get that child. I wouldn't be able to escape if I'm dead anyways."

  "That old coot?" The elk Annoid laughed and shooed the thought away. "I can restore one cycle to you, giving you a big advantage. Take a few of your buddies and he won't survive. Then you can get the Seedling human and escape! I'm sure you know the details once you get him."

  "How would you even do that? And why tell me any of this? Why help me?" Olaf balled his fist. He would rather force the answer out of him, but knew that was entirely stupid.

  "Leave the how to me. As to why? Well let's just say our goals currently mutually align."

  "Fine. Restore me to the next cycle and then I'll go along with the plan."

  The elk Annoid grinned show casing double rows of pristine serrated teeth.

  Olaf shuddered. Elk does not have teeth like that.