Planning? What kind of plan? Asked Kaelum in his mind.
‘Your training and how we can actually resolve this situation… Also...’ Answered Tiela, the last part was barely a whisper.
Also what? Kaelum asked with his thoughts, he was excited about his prospective training, but her tone and the feeling through their bond gave off the feeling that she was worried.
‘Ever since we’ve been stuck together, I could feel a slight pull towards the princess’s direction from my soul, and when we got to her room it felt stronger.’ Tiela said after taking a deep breath.
‘Once a person gets into the higher realms of mage hood, they start training their souls, that's probably how I was even able to survive leaving my body and travelling through time.’ Tiela explained.
‘A mage can always feel a connection to their body or a pull in my case.’ Tiela said, which made sense to Kaelum.
What's wrong with that? he asked, not knowing why she was worried.
‘Over the past few days, the pull has lessened and today I don’t feel it at all.’ She admitted.
What could that mean? He asked
‘I’m not sure, I’m hoping it’s just because of the distance between us, but it may be because the connection has been severed.’ Tiela said.
Severed... Like the princess died?! He asked worriedly.
‘Usually, that would be the case. That only happens when a mage’s body dies, but we know that the princess isn’t dead. So it might be because my soul has become acclimated to your body… I might be stuck here.’ Tiela said
So we should leave immediately to find her then! Kaelum said, getting up as if he was about to leave on a journey to find the princess.
‘No, if my soul has become acclimated, then it’s already too late. Besides, we have no idea which city she left for and I doubt we could make the trip in time and with no funds, not to mention no means to defend ourselves in the wilds.’ Reasoned Tiela
So then… What are we supposed to do? What can we do? Kaelum asked.
Tiela said ‘We need a new plan, rather than just making contact with the princess, we need to gain her trust. Just in case I can’t merge with her, we still need to convince her to help us change the future.’
How? thought Kaelum, how were they possibly supposed to gain THE princess’s trust?
‘That’s one of the things I’ve been thinking about. Do you remember why the princess is touring in the first place?’ Tiela asked
He thought for a moment before answering, isn’t it in preparation for the grand tournament on the princess’s birthday next year?
‘Exactly, it’s a tradition that the champion of that tournament gets to request something from the host as a reward.’ She explained.
‘In recent times, the knight that wins will use their win to prove their worthiness and ask the host to become the host’s personal knight. In my original past, Aquila used her win to become my first personal knight.’ Said TIela fondly, thinking of her friend.
Understanding what she was insinuating, Kaelum asked You can’t be thinking I should try to win this tournament?
‘That’s exactly what I’m thinking.’ She said. He could feel an image of her smiling while she said it.
That’s crazy, what level even are the participants? Asked Kaelum
Tiela explained ‘The tournament is age limited to 30 and under. Powerwise, I’ve never seen a participant over the third tier.’
You want me to train to be able to fight third-tier mages in a single year?! I may not know a lot about knights, but even I know you can’t just jump tiers so quickly! Kaelum shouted in his mind, her plan sounded absurd.
‘It won’t be easy, but with my knowledge of the future and as I’m a high tier mage, it should be possible. Especially with your body’s advantage of accepting my mana, it makes it that much easier to teach you.’ She said.
‘Honestly, that part is a bit overpowered. Regardless, reaching the third tier quickly isn’t out of the picture for you, the first three tiers are mostly just filling your heart with mana anyways!’ She said the first part with a bit of envy.
Kaelum felt a bit of pride swell in his heart, he could feel through their bond and her words that she really did believe he could become a powerful knight. He didn’t have grand revenge or some mission to defeat a demon king motivating him, but he felt that the expectations of Karrow and his new master would carry him on to the highest of heights!
Tiela continued ‘That brings about the next point, your training regiment. If we want to achieve our goals, you’re going to have to train hard every day. Not only do we have to make up for a lack of time, but you’re also going to have to train that much harder just to match the crazy talent of everyone who is participating’
Excited about the training that would let him become a knight, Kaelum perked up and waited for her next words.
‘Right now, your job for the city works adequately enough for physical tempering, though it could be more efficient, it’s a good way to also earn a little bit of money.’ Said Tiela
She continued ‘But we’ll also start training you an hour before sunrise, that gives us a little more than six hours of training until you have to leave for work.’
Although Kaelum wasn’t excited about getting up that early, training sounded fun so he kept quiet and waited for Tiela to continue explaining his new training regiment.
‘Right, we’ll be doing a variety of training including combat style training. I’ve been trained in most weapon types, so you’ll learn the basics of every type, but choose one to focus on.’ Said Tiela
Why should I learn every weapon? that seems like a waste of time, especially since we only have a year. Kaelum asked.
‘Because, if you don’t understand what your opponent is going to do, how can you defend against it?’ Tiela asked.
That made sense to him. In Kaelum’s mind, a knight should obviously be carrying a sword and shield. So he voiced that he wanted to focus on the sword.
‘Well my main weapon was the lance, but you can focus on whatever, we’ll need to find you a manual for higher-level techniques though. The techniques I will teach you will be the basic Kassivirian family techniques of every weapon type.’ She said, ignoring how illegal teaching someone the royal family’s techniques was.
Tiela continued ‘We’ll have to get you a sparring partner eventually, but you need to get the basics down first. Your job won’t last forever and you’ll eventually need more money than it can provide. Becoming a powerful mage is a large investment.’
‘We’ll probably have to start hunting beasts outside of the city to keep up with the costs of training.’ Tiela thought aloud. Seemingly doing calculations in her head.
What do we need to buy? Kaelum asked nervously, he had only just started earning money and now his small fortune looked like it was going to be spent.
Tiela explained ‘Many things. Potions, weapons, armour, techniques, etc. Becoming a mage is extremely expensive, doubly so if you want to be a powerful mage.’
As Kaelum entered his home, Tiela said decisively ‘Alright, I have wasted enough time over these past few days. It's time to start training you seriously.'
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