Chapter 7: Knowledge! understanding! And action

"Do you need a hug to help reduce the strain?"

Finn gritted his teeth in resentment at Estes beguiling commentary. He needed all his concentration at that moment.

It had been only two days since Estes had begun training him, and those few days of his life, he could very much say, were the worst.

Twenty pushups.

Twenty squats.

A hike!

Twenty sit-ups!

With a considerable amount of breaks in between them.

Worst of all was not the training itself, but the teasing.

It was like all the jokes Estes could muster were laced with intimacy, and even if many wouldn’t think that was a punishment, concentrating under that kind of pressure had its demerits.

Finally, after the twentieth push-up, Finn fell to his side, breathing heavily, his body drenched in sweat.

Estes, who sat closely beside him on the grass, smiled with a hand pressed lightly to her cheek as she stared at Finn like he was some sort of national treasure.

"...What?" Finn said between heavy breaths.

"Nothing." Estes’ lips curled. "You impress me, Finn Vaywill. You managed to persevere through the horrendous exercise drills even with your body out of shape. You deserve a reward."

"No... Sex..." Finn replied bluntly.

At this, Estes chuckled naughtily.

"You have passed your first training regime, and you have successfully awakened what I call Spirit Will."

Finn furrowed his brows warily, questioning what Estes meant.

But before he could say a word, a strange blue holographic screen formed before his eyes.

[Estes has shared a dashboard with you.]

’Dashboard?’ Finn thought, his face teeming with curiosity and questions he was dying to ask.

Still, before he could do so, another notification screen appeared before him.

[Rank: Unranked]

[You have successfully unlocked Spirit Will]

[Spirit Will: 1/10]

Finn grew more anxious the further he read, and then finally asked, "What’s all this?"

Estes leaned forward. "This is what we guardians see when we get attached to our incarnate."

"Incarnate?"

"That’s what we call you and the other humans with a guardian," Estes replied immediately. "I simply shared that screen with you."

Finn nodded, understanding what she meant. Yet he remained wary.

’All guardians have a rank and a limit to what they can do, but I have never heard of a guardian sharing a holographic screen. To hell, I haven’t even heard of a humanoid one that talks!’

Finn had either hit the jackpot here or was dealing with a ticking time bomb preparing to explode in his face.

Whichever it was, he was rather excited by the fact that he was making considerable progress and would probably catch up to his peers in this lifetime.

"I’ll explain all you are seeing now," Estes began, stretching out three fingers to Finn and pausing for a moment before she continued.

"Your rank remains unranked until you grow as a swordsman. I’ll come back to explain more on this when I am done with the other two." She lowered a finger.

"Spirit Will is the heart of a swordsman. For a mage, their equivalent is called Mana Will. This is the core of your power, and it can be grown by either constant training and understanding of your abilities, or by killing and absorbing Beast Wills from the Corrupted."

She dropped another finger. "Which now brings me back to your rank. If you can increase your Spirit Will to ten, you will undergo your first Evolution."

"My first evolution?" Finn sat up. "What does that mean?"

Estes shrugged. "I don’t know. I am your guardian, not your doctor. You’ll figure it out when that comes up."

Finn frowned. "How convenient."

Estes chuckled, leaning further and patting Finn on the head. After that, she rose up and gestured for Finn to do the same.

"Tomorrow is the day the academy comes to pick you up. Not much can actually be achieved in two days, so you are still far behind in power compared to others," Estes said, expecting Finn’s face to grow dim with disappointment.

However, it didn’t. He didn’t seem the least bit frustrated or bothered by the fact that he hadn’t made much progress.

Instead, he wore that bright, optimistic smile.

’They are really alike in more ways than one...’ she thought, her lips curling even further.

Finn backed off a little in irritation. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Estes chuckled. "Man! I can’t wait for you to grow older! I can’t wait to eat you up." She spoke with so much energy and enthusiasm that Finn felt his heart skip a beat.

"I am fifteen, Estes." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"That’s why I mentioned growing older. After all, I have a lot of time to mold you into a great strong man that can handle a woman, hmmmm." She bit her lip slightly, rubbing her hands together full of intent.

Finn rubbed his temples frustratingly. ’Is it really too late to take that dog?’

"Okay then, let’s see how far you have come, Finn," Estes said in a much more serious tone. "Summon a sword."

Finn wasted no time. He raised his hand, imitating Estes’ stance and grasp to the best of his memory.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was steady.

A moment later, a wave of blue lights began to weave themselves into reality, forming the crude blade of Finn’s longsword firmly held in his grasp.

Finn’s eyes widened slightly as the sword in his hand felt strange.

Something about it was different. Unlike the times he had held his useless sword before ever acquiring Estes, this sword had a distinct feel to it—one Finn could not quite put his finger on.

Up until Estes decided to point out the obvious.

"It’s lighter, isn’t it?"

Finn’s gaze brightened. It was. It really was... The longsword which he had found difficult to hold up for long just two days ago now felt like carrying nothing at all.

It was as though the sword had become a part of him—or maybe it was the other way around.

He had become the sword.

"The most powerful thing in this world is knowledge. You grew stronger and gained Spirit Will because your knowledge of the sword increased," Estes began. "Just like the sword, you sharpen yourself with rigorous means. Exercising the human body could be equivalent to sharpening the blade of a sword with a whetstone."

"Knowledge! Understanding! And courage to take action—that’s all you need to grow stronger—" Estes yawned right after the explanation.

Then she spoke again. "Practice swinging the sword a few times."

Finn hesitated, his gaze fixed on the tip of the sword. Usually, he was unable to readily move his blade without straining himself to death.

Would just that little training really make him any better?

He wondered, but shortly after began to cleave at the air. At first, his strikes were unsure and wavering.

However, after the first few swings, something was off...

The sword felt lighter.

His movements were faster, as though its weight had suddenly vanished.

Estes’ lips curled at this. "That is the power of Spirit Will. Just like mages draw from Mana Will, you are drawing from yours. It allows you to enhance your physical body."

Finn paused for a moment, evidently grinning as he stared at his sword in admiration before looking back at Estes. "So that was how you were moving so fast when you practiced with the sword."

Estes nodded slowly. "It’s still very weak compared to what I displayed, but for your level, I’m really proud, Finn. You never once disappoint me as a student."

Finn shifted backwards at her commentary. ’Slutty guardian,’ he insulted within.

Estes yawned once again. "Well, I’ll be off to sleep. I suggest you train a bit more before returning back to get the feeling of your Spirit Will. Wake me only if you need something... extravagant."

She winked, offering the last part to Finn.

A gesture that was met with the cold, irritated demeanor of the young man.

’uhhhh, I still stand on my dog offer?’

Soon after, Estes’ figure crumbled into smoke and returned into the Ancient sword, leaving Finn in the silence of his thoughts.

Or rather, in the silence of his training, as Finn took his stance once again and continued to express his newly found strength, slashing at the air.

***Author’s note***

A review a day can keep the doctor away.

Let’s get to ten reviews and 100 power stones.