He laughed and gave me a pat on the back, looking back at my other two sparring partners. 

"Learn how to fight together and recognize and adapt to your weaknesses," Avan says as he hops off the horse like creatures. "In fact, let me observe."

"Fantastic idea, keeps the kiddos safe too," dad replied, making his way out of the carriage.

We all followed his lead and got off, the adults looking around and chatting while Avan led us into the forest. Lucy and Robin both looked nervous, but they had this look of determination I haven't seen before. I guess the confidence you'd receive after knowing how strong you are can bring you out of anything. 

"We have about 2 hours, let's do some hunting so we can eat and fuel back up," Avan said, taking the role of a leader as he led us deeper into the forest. "Stay close by and observe your surroundings."

Looking around the forest had this ominous feel to it. With each step I took, I felt more and more uneasy, unsure of what lurked in the trees. There were bugs all around us, with the trees reaching high. It was gorgeous with much of the ground cleared away, probably due to other people coming in and training or hunting. 

"Sir, what kind of beasts stay here?" Robin asked, walking up closer to me and Lucy. 

"The most we'll come across are rabbits, deers and other small critters. We could come across an orc, but that's very unlikely," Avan replied, looking on up ahead. 

Robin walked up even closer to us, practically holding on to our clothes. Even if she was strong, her fearful and timid nature took a hold of her. Taking a glance at Robin's face, it was clear that she was afraid, her mouth formed into a sort of frown. Lucy took a glance at her too and grabbed her hand, letting her know it was going to be ok.

We came to a stop when Avan gestured us to not move, pointing a few meters towards the right. There were slight movements in a push in that direction, when what appeared out of it was what looked like a brown rabbit. After it popped out, 2 more followed its lead and were in the open, oblivious to their surroundings. 

"Right there, the 3 rabbits. That might be enough to feed all of us if we can find some mushrooms." 

Avan looked back at us and pointed at Robin. "Let's see what you got."

Robin looked flustered and started scrambling around. 

"M-me? I-I don't know if I c-can do this.." she replied, looking down. 

"Sure you can, and this is a perfect time to teach you three one of the most basic Mana Art skills that every mage must know, Signature Reading." Avan looked back at the rabbits and then back to us. 

"Signature reading? What's that?" Lucy replied, eyes glowing with anticipation. 

"Signature reading is when a mage can sense the presence of another life form. It helps with focusing on a specific target, as well as identifying how strong they are," Avan answered as he scooted closer towards us. "Robin, are you ready?"

Robin looked up and looked at both me and Lucy, then back at Avan. She nodded, a wave of determination washing over.

"Perfect, this is what you'll need to do." Avan looked at the rabbits and brought Robin closer to him, holding out her hand. "Focus on those rabbits and try to channel your mana into your eyes."

Robin nodded once more and glared at the rabbits. She seemed to struggle for a few seconds, but then it seemed like it clicked. 

"I-I see something.. white?" She spoke out, looking astonished.

"That white thing you see is called nana. All living things contain mana, but signature reading shows us how much they have. The more mana something has, the more our eyes get strained." Avan replied, now looking at us. "Both of you, try the same thing."

Glancing at Lucy, we nodded and did as he told, focusing on the animals infront of us. I squinted my eyes, trying to move the flow of mana towards my retinas until color began to dull out. It was then that I noticed the white aura subtlely dance around them. It was barely noticeable, but when I focused on the rabbits a bit more I felt my attention gradually draw into them. 

"Wow, it's almost like they are giving off that white glow," Lucy exclaimed with a big smile. 

"Precisely. Now, Robin, show us what you can do," Avan replied as he gave Robin a soft pat on the back. "Remember, focus."

A soft breeze surrounded Robin's stretched out palm as she started to focus. When the breeze got stronger, she let the wind fly across the distance, taking the shape of a crescent moon, barely hitting the rabbit on the far right. As it hit the rabbit, it slumped to the ground, letting out a painful screech, causing the other two to flee and run back into the bushes. 

"Nice shot!" Lucy hollered, running up to Robin and giving her a hug. "It looks like that signature reading stuff helped you with your aim!"

Robin overwhelmed with joy, hugged Lucy back with a wide grin. "I hit it!"

Avan gave her an applaud and got up. 

"Good hit, your wind was just strong enough to kill it with the impact. Focus on the shape of your attack next time, just that alone won't be enough to kill anything bigger." 

Robin looked at Avan and nodded. "Y-yes sir!"

Just then, a loud crash was heard up ahead of us. 

"What was that?" I asked, looking around with signature reading.

"It seems to be coming from the trees up ahead, stay alert," Avan replied, extending his hand infront of Robin and Lucy. 

With all of our attention to where the rabbit was hit, a large creature walked into the scene, holding a club almost as big as Avan. 

Avan, not detering his eyes away from it, began to smile. His eyes seemingly lit up as he began to speak to us. 

"Who wants to go next?"