"What do I think of her?" Raiden rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Not much, since she is such a neutral and calm instructor."

"I am talking about her appearance," Iri insisted.

"Why the sudden interest?" Raiden showed a small smile. "I think you have potential too, big sis."

"Flattery, empty words," Iri said. "You have been caught in the act."

Iri was growing increasingly jealous, yearning to monopolize her little brother Raiden’s attention. Her feelings were complex, a mixture of protective affection and a desire to remain one of the most important people in his life. Raiden was someone she had always been close to, and she found peace and happiness in their unique bond.

However, as Raiden began to interact more with other women in the village, Iri felt a pang of jealousy. Each time she saw him laughing, talking, or even just spending time with someone else, it troubled her deeply. She couldn’t help but feel that she was losing a part of him, that their bond was being weakened.

Raiden, perceptive and attuned to his sister’s emotions, noticed her discomfort. He was aware of her need for his attention and the subtle ways she expressed her unease when he diverted his focus. This awareness put him in a delicate position. He valued his sister deeply and didn’t want to cause her distress, but he also didn’t want to limit his interactions with others.

"Putting that aside, Father and Mother sure are busy since they rarely show up now," Raiden said.

"Do you want to bother them a bit to make them stop ignoring us," Iri smirked.

"And you wonder why Father keeps treating you like a child," Raiden said.

"It was a joke... no one in this family has any good sense of humor," Iri said after a long sigh.

Around two weeks after they started their journey, the group began to see some battalions of soldiers moving from towns to villages and toward the North, it looked like they were preparing as well for a pretty important battle. Raiden easily could count around five thousand soldiers moving in the same direction. They didn’t interact with each other, but he could tell that some of them looked suspicious of them.

For some reason, probably because of his sealed memories, Raiden felt that the elves were supposed to be pretty prideful and smug. So, it made sense that they would feel troubled by the reinforcements coming from the village.

Raiden had always been curious about the elves and dwarves, intrigued by their unique cultures and abilities. He wanted to engage in conversations with them, eager to learn and understand more about their ways. However, this curiosity was short-lived. Within a few days, his thoughts about the elves and dwarves vanished.

The reason for this shift was simple: Raiden had just completed his training and mastered the technique to control his energy through his elbows and wrists. This achievement demanded his full attention and focus, pushing aside any distractions. The mastery of this technique was a significant milestone for him, requiring intense concentration and practice. As a result, his fascination with the elves and dwarves took a backseat, overshadowed by the exhilaration and dedication to his newfound skill.

(You learned the skill: Lightning Spear.)

(Lightning Spear: The "Lightning Spear" technique is a highly advanced skill designed for elite spear users. This technique focuses on drastically increasing both the attack speed and the block chance of the wielder, making them a formidable opponent in both offense and defense. Increases attack speed by five percent per level and block chance of five percent per level. Differences in dexterity can decrease or increase the blocking chance. Cost: 10 MP per second. )

Raiden couldn’t help but smile when he learned the skill... he immediately thought of making it level up a lot, but he avoided that since it would make him look suspicious.

"The effects look quite impressive... with a five percent boost in attack speed, at level ten, I will be fifty percent faster already?" Raiden thought while furrowing his eyebrows. "It seems too good to be true for my first skill."

Still, considering that most skills needed energy to be improved when they are being used, perhaps that was fine... and made sense too. Regardless, Raiden had to improve the technique to make it work with his legs as well. The next step should be to try to use them with his arms and legs at the same time, but he decided to focus solely on his legs for the time being.

"Did something happen? Your aura changed a bit," Iri suddenly said.

"My aura?" Raiden furrowed his eyebrows.

"Don’t answer a question with another question... I didn’t only train on the path of healing, you know," Iri explained.

That made sense... besides, the perception was a part of the parameters of everyone, so maybe that could have made Iri notice Raiden’s success with his training. Confirming her guess was probably for the best, but soon her attention changed, and then she began to sniff something in the air.

"... It smells like smoke," Iri said while furrowing her eyebrows. "Something is burning."

Just as Iri had sensed, the group began to pick up the pace. They moved swiftly, driven by a shared urgency. After crossing a series of hills, they finally reached a vantage point where they could see the sea stretching out before them. In the distance, a port was on fire, thick plumes of smoke rising into the sky.

The sight of the burning port triggered an immediate reaction from the group, readying themselves to dash towards it to offer help or investigate the cause. However, before they could make a move, Lenore’s voice cut through the tension.

"Hold on!" Lenore shouted, her tone authoritative and urgent. "Maintain your formation and advance in order. The enemies are no longer around, but we can’t add to the chaos!"

The formation was tightening, and then the group began to march with more calm... it was impressive that Lenore could do that much with just a few words. Ordering a group of five thousand people like that wasn’t easy.

Regardless, soon, the group was able to see some of the inhabitants of the port and the workers, as well as leaving some hideouts. They looked startled when they saw Lenore and the others, but soon they recognized the reinforcements.

"Stay close to me," Iri declared with a serious expression. "You need to learn some first aid procedures and it is better to learn by watching and doing."

As the group cautiously approached the port, the distant sounds of crackling flames were soon joined by more harrowing noises. They began to hear the screams and grunts of pain from the survivors of the attack. The cries echoed through the smoky air, a grim sign of the recent attack.

Upon entering the devastated area, the group encountered a scene of chaos and destruction. People were scattered across the ground, their bodies marked with severe wounds. Some had arrows protruding from their limbs or torsos, remnants of a brutal assault. Others were half-buried under fallen buildings, trapped and injured, their desperate pleas for help adding to the cacophony of suffering.

The group moved quickly, their initial shock giving way to action as they began to assist the wounded and assess the dire situation. The veterans created a perimeter over the area, while the young ones received orders to help assist the wounded.

Raiden followed Iri as she looked around for the most wounded people... healing skills were quite rare, so she could save some lives there. Soon enough, she found an elf with both legs smashed against a huge wall which was bleeding out. She raised the wall with a single hand and quickly freed the man before starting to close the wound in his legs.

Raiden was quite surprised... he wasn’t sure if he could do that much with his two arms, much less with one. Before long, the wounded legs began to bleed a lot less than before, and then Iri told Raiden to look for water and clean pieces of cloth. He easily found them with some people carrying them on boxes and then returned to his sister’s side.

"Cover his mouth from behind and hold him tight. This is going to hurt a bit," Iri said. "Letting him convulse will be a problem."

Raiden didn’t hesitate and moved behind the man before almost putting him in a lock with his two arms. The man knew that it had to be done; he was resisting the pain now, but it would be worse soon enough. Eventually, Iri began to clean the wound, and the men began to shake. The man began to shake, but since he was wounded and tired, Raiden easily held him back until Iri ended the procedure and bandaged him.