Soul of a Human

While the two boys got ready for their first duel, the human suggested using this arrangement to evolve a few techniques in real fight situations.

°You know how you keep the body enhancement going right now, and I'm taking over the fighting?° The human started.

°Yes, of course.° Mor answered.

°I think we could cut down on the magic cost if we timed adding energy at the perfect moment, meaning evolving your body enhancement to an instantaneous spell. This would allow you to fight without my help. Once you commit to your attack, you boost it with magic.° The human explained.

°Why are you saying that? I thought you liked to fight?° Mor asked.

°Yeah, but wouldn't that be cool? Also, this would mean we would open up the possibility of more magic combat combos. You could be the ultimate magic fighter.° The human stated.

°You mean I should only use body enhancement while striking?° Mor asked.

°Yup, from the strike point to the hit. Then, stop the energy.° The human explained.

Mor thought about it and nodded. It was worth a try, and while Mor was contemplating, Jorgen had already prepared his training weapon, a greatsword, just like his father.

°Should we try something else? I mean, we have the chance to test some weapons.° Mor asked, and the human agreed excitedly.

After Mor had chosen, the matchup was greatsword against greatsword. But while Jorgan could hold the big weapon steady, it was a bit too heavy for Mor, and he had to set the tip on the ground.

"Ready?" Jorgen asked, concerned.

"Yes," Mor answered.

"Sure, you don't want to take another weapon?" The Ice-kin boy asked.

"No, it will be fine. You wanted me to use magic, and I want to try some things." The Soul-kin boy replied.

Jorgen shrugged, then signaled for the start of the fight.

Mor got ready for a charge that didn't come. Instead, Jorgen watched him, sword on guard, waiting for him to make the first move. At this, Mor used his magic to strengthen his swing, trying to get the timing right and only using the minimum required magic. The first try failed to let Mor wield the sword, and it looked more like the sword wielded him. He had overestimated the needed magical burst and made a wide swing that completely missed his opponent, who used the opening.

The greatsword strike came hard and fast, forcing the human to take over movement and Mor to supply a constant energy supply, making Mor's sword move unbelievably fast and parrying the strong attack of Jorgen.

Jorgen was surprised at the explosive speed after the first clumsy strike and retreated to a safe distance.

°Knowing how much power you need for each strike is hard! It's far easier to supply a constant basic output and add if more is required.° Mor complained.

°But it is possible! Meaning, we can train and master it!° The human said.

Mor started the next attack with a big overhead swing, stepping forward to close the distance and supplying a burst of power on the upswing until the blade had enough speed to come down the other side with the help of gravity.

Jorgen nimbly dodged that telegraphed attack with a quick step to one side and attacked with a big horizontal swing as Mor's sword crashed into the dirt. However, Mor had enough awareness to duck below the swing and copy the horizontal attack from his squatting position, letting the sword describe a circle as he got back on his feet, again trying to use only enough power to get the momentum of the sword going.

But Mor had miscalculated again, and the momentum and weight of the sword made him spin twice before the heavy weapon flew out of his hands. In turn, this made him tumble to the ground, confusing Jorgen for a second, after which he then asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, sorry. I'm working on something new, and it will take a bit to get the hang of it." Mor replied.

"Well, it looks very clumsy. What are you trying?" The Ice-kin boy asked.

"I'm using body strengthening magic, but I must constantly supply and concentrate to keep it going." Mor picked back up his sword and demonstrated a few fast swings, courtesy of the human. "Like this. But it wastes a lot of power, and I don't have that much, so I need to get creative and lower my demand as much as possible."

"I see, so you only want to strengthen the important moments. Where you would need the most power to move your weapon and then let momentum carry it." Jorgen said, and Mor nodded.

"Yes, but finding the right amount of power is tough. I will need to train that to feel it better." Mor explained.

"I can guess, but it sounds awesome if it works! Do you think someone like me could do it?" Jorgen asked, and Mor thought.

"I don't know. As far as I know from my talks with Lize, you Ice-kin can't use magic. At least not in the sense we Soul-kin do. You only strengthen your weapon by pulling magic from your surroundings."

"Yes," Jorgen said, a bit disappointed.

"But, it is worth a try. Lize successfully taught me your strengthening technique so we could try to "adapt" it. I mean, I try many things, many of which are deemed impossible, and everyone is always surprised that it isn't impossible at all. I think it's often a restriction of a tradition or an outdated view on things that are making those things impossible." Mor stated.

"So you think it might be possible?" The Ice-kin asked excitedly, and Mor nodded.

"The problem will be getting the magic into your body, not your weapon. Also, you don't have the Soul-kin reservoir, so you can't keep it. Meaning you need to gather and use the magic energy almost simultaneously. It will be very hard."

For Jorgen, this was no deterrent at all. Such a technique would catapult him to the strongest Ice-kin warrior, and if he had to train with a strange Soul to achieve it, which he had already planned, then so be it.

"Then how about we just practice those things, and when we both mastered the techniques, we incorporate them into duels to get fighting experience?" Jorgen asked, and Mor agreed.

For the next few days, they tried to get their respective technique down, Mor trying to explain how to guide the energy to where you want it. Showing his Soul-kin techniques off, which were of little help to the Ice-kin boy, it was simply too different how the two kin used magic, but at least Jorgen saw how it should look.

Their regular training also caught the attention of Elly, who felt terrible for skipping training and had instead been pursuing her "boyfriend" before Mor showed up.

Now that the idiot didn't want to speak with her, she decided it was an excellent time to pick it back up. Like Lize, she preferred a bow, and while they were taking breaks, Jorgen would often try to talk to her. So naturally, she wanted to know why he wanted to learn some strange Soul-technique.

"My father said I have a great future as Thor's secondhand man. But honestly, I don't want that. I want to surpass my father and Thor and become my own man. If I get that technique down, it will make me the greatest striker the Ice-kin have ever seen, and maybe I can kill a monstrosity on my own." Jorgen had explained.

"Really? My dad always said Thor was a lousy leader. He might be a good fighter, but well… I didn't want to believe him, and here I am," she mumbled. "Anyway, it sounds like there's more to it. Nobody wants to face a monstrosity on his own."

"Yes, those things are scary," Mor added, shuddering at the memory of the gobbler bearing down on him.

"It's for my mum. She was a striker like my father, and that's how they met each other, but after a howler got her arm, she had to retire. Now, she always stays home. But sometimes, I see her taking up her old weapon, unable to wield it. I want to bring her the head of such a howler someday and show her that she raised me into a strong man. Also, I think if I can do that, I may be able to impress a special lady." Jorgen explained.

Mor nodded at the explanation and added, "Then we better get that technique down before I leave in four days. Otherwise, you need to work on your own until I return."

Elly, in turn, smiled. "You know what? Let's make a promise. When we're of age for our first hunt, we find a fourth member and get a howler. I'm scouting. My dad wants to make Mor a taunter, and you're our first striker."

"I'm in!" Mor said without any prompting from the human.

°And here I wanted to ask you to accept that. It would be a perfect challenge to test your future skills.°

"You know, a howler is very dangerous, and normally nothing for a first hunt?" Jorgen asked.

"Are you scared?" Elly said.

"No, only realistic." He replied.

"Aww, cute. Then let's make another promise. We're training as hard as we can until then if we kill a howler. I will try a relationship with you." Elly stated.

Jorgen went beat red and stammered something incoherent.

"Really?" the girl asked, rolling her eyes. "I'm a future scout. My whole role is to be attentive. Of course, I noticed, and you're cute enough, but I want a hardworking and strong man."

Mor chuckled at the boy's embarrassed behavior.

°You don't have any right to laugh at him! You're the fucking same! Mister "embarrassed, because two girls had a sleepover at his place".° The human teased, which was enough to make Mor shut up and also turn red.

"And why are you now turning embarrassed?" Elly asked.

"I remembered something," Mor answered honestly, but soon, the three of them couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

"Well?" Elly asked Jorgen after they had calmed down a bit.

"I'm in!" The boy answered.