Flamelord and Renose Collab (Part 5)

"Thanks," Thomas replied gratefully, smiling a bit at the praise, before turning to the final two lessons that he had to learn. actually three, he supposed, though he was iffy on if the last one was actually Runic or not. Call it a result of phrasing. He turned to the next task at hand then, trying to remember what it was that Serin had demonstrated before that he would get to know now.

"Alright." The next task then. He closed his eyes, thought, imagined, put more effort into this than he had into absorbing spells, since he had to generate it this time rather than take it. And he was going to put all the effort he could into it. It was another willful effort to not do what he usually did, to rely on his will rather than the routines, the process he had learned previously for harnessing the magic inside him and using it. Not shaping it, but calling on it in the first place, that was difficult. At last he got it though and lashed out, A ball of flame in his hand glowing before it flew out, splitting into four burning comets that would come at Serin from different directions, to increase the chance that one would get through. He was supposed to try, after all.

Serin waited with baited anticipation to see what Thomas would do. To his pleasant surprise, that quickly became unpleasant, Serin witnessed as the boy created a fire spell, but not in the conventional sense. He had made it split into four other bursts of flame that came at Serin. This was good as it allowed Serin to demonstrate the full potential of Runic. Instead of dodging or even moving to block them with his sword he stayed still, all four burning projectiles slamming into the Red Wizard. They seemed to hit something else other than Serin though when they slammed into him, the magic then flowing up from where they hit him into his sword before he absorbed the Mana from his sword, letting out a small exhale as he did so. 

"Phew. You really got the hang of it. I could feel your will and power in that spell this time, and let me tell you it was much harder to absorb than the first little fireball you threw at me. Given enough time and practice you may soon be capable of throwing spells at me that I have no chance of absorbing. That, Thomas, is how much more powerful and innovative your magic becomes when you put the force of your will into it. But for now, let us talk about Runic. What you witnessed was a Complete Runic. As I mentioned before your magic is an extension of your will, your sword an extension of your body. With your capability of quickly forming Runic inside of your sword you are capable of making your sword an extension of your will. Complete Runic takes that to the next level. As your sword is an extension of your body, Runic makes it an extension of your will. Naturally since the sword and body are also connected, you can take the Runic in your sword and wrap it around your body". 

Serin sheathed his sword, taking a moment to quickly recall how he explained it to Oner before since it just came so naturally to the Red Wizard. "To do this, focus like you did when you first performed Runic. Only this time, relay the connection of your magic to your body as well. Wrap it around your body slowly, like a second skin. Your sword and the magic within becomes connected to the outside of your body as well, making your entire being linked with your magic with all of it being connected by your very will". Serin then stopped his explanation, looking at Thomas to see how well he did this next task. 

Okay, not quite what he had been expecting, but Thomas did have the satisfaction of guessing that what serin would do next had to do with that apparent Barrier he had put up around himself during his first demonstration. He grinned at the further praise, glad to be getting stronger though he would need to make sure he didn't slip outside of this practice, since they were on the move quite a lot and he would have to try and remember not to fall back into old habits. Hopefully he was up to the task. 

He nodded in understanding, a logical conclusion that the will that let you absorb magic with your sword could do the same for your entire body. He closed his eyes and did as instructed then, focusing on that invisible layer above the sword and stretching it to cover his entire body, though his face twisted with some effort in the process, working his mind to do whatr needed to be done. Perhaps this was easier though, with his natural understanding of the flow of Mana through the body, giving him a basis in which to translate that to something even more imperceptible such as willpower. when he thought he had it done, he nodded to Serin.

Serin watched as Thomas once again seemed to get it. "Good. Let me warn you though that there is one downside to the barrier around your body. While it allows you to still trap magic that hits your body in your sword and absorb it, the Runic around your body isn't as strong as the Runic in your sword. I am sure with practice and time you will be able to overcome this limitation just as I did. Just keep in mind that it is better to block spells with your sword to be able to absorb more of its power, but nonetheless you will still be able to absorb a bit of a spell with your body as well. As you grow in strength you will also find that you are capable of absorbing more powerful spells as well. And even if you are not capable of fully absorbing a really powerful spell, it is better to absorb some of it then it is to get hit by all of it". 

He then looked at Thomas for a few moments, making sure his Runic was up to par still even after his explanation as he took a stance, letting Thomas do whatever adjustments he needed to do before getting ready. "Ill be aiming to hit you fully. Block what you can while keeping this Complete Runic up. In time putting up a Complete Runic will become as natural as blinking or breathing. But for now... try to endure this practice first". With that Serin began quickly moving around, sending combined spells, regular spells, and even spells that were unconvential to normal mages all at Thomas. 

He didn't do it at one standard pace either, during this entire time he kept moving quickly on his feet with surprising agility, hoping to increase Thomas' reflexes and sword blocking skills as well. There were also spells that Thomas didn't know throwin into the mix. Water and Aero. At first during this session they were by themselves, but as things progressed Serin made Thomas work even harder by combining them with spells that Thomas did know or even shooting out small blasts of water wrapped in a small twister of air to give it a sort of large air-water bullet feel. 

Again, like last time, there would only be short breaks for Serin to recharge his mana before continuing. Thomas would also notice that Serin was putting a little more strength and speed into all of his spells this time then he did last time. They were not the strength of Level 3 spells, but they certainly were above the strength of Level 2 spells, so Thomas would have to spend extra effort absorbing the extra amount of power as well. This was supposed to be the final lesson in Runic after all, Serin hoping that Thomas would realize him being able to absorb spells unfamiliar or unknown to him being the other lesson Serin was going to teach him as well, wanting Thomas to realize that the enemy may use powers or magic unknown to Thomas and that he would have to be able to grasp those as quickly as he could any other spell. 

Thomas's brow furrowed as Serin explained the downside of this Complete Runic, one that didn't make real sense to him. Yeah, he could understand it being weaker in terms of the area covered, but since your body was the actual source of your mana and your will, why wouldn't that be stronger than the sword part? Unless it did have to do with the extra area covered stretching your attention and such further than just the sword would. But that didn't explain why it was stronger around the sword than the rest of your body when it was being done. He felt like he should ask, but there was also a part of him that wanted to figure it out himself, and so refused to do that. And it wasn't his other self, but rather the part of him that refused to ask for help, the prideful part of him that thought he could do it himself without assistance.

"Alright," he replied, settling into that fighting stance before the exercise began again. And nearly immediately he could feel it was harder, not just in the strength and variety of the spells used, though that wasn't a cakewalk as it was, but the effort needed to keep Runic up while keeping track of incoming spells and using the sword. He did miss some, things that kinda sorta hurt when they landed. But he could, and did, heal himself during the short breaks that came while he got his breath back, figuring this would be his workout for today. and with the continued use he began to get more used to the spells he didn't know, increased familiarity with the underlying elements and basics of them that he could tether to for when he was trying to negate them. Not that he needed to be taught that the enemy might use spells he didn't know. 

So he worked, as hard as he could, to impress himself and get the most out of the short time he had, to make up for the apparent lack of training he had had in his past as much as he could. And though he was far from perfect, he would go as long as Serin did.