Mage And Wolf
Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Chapter 75

"I’ve got the Tea set, plus heavy cream. You don’t take sugar do you? I know some ladies like their tea sweet"

"No, this is perfect. Do you like green tea, black or spiced?"

"Tea can be spiced?" Elder Song looks intrigued. Chai Tea it is.

"Once this steeps, it’s best with cream, for a unique drinking experience."!

We spend the next many hours talking martial techniques and potential alternate uses, as I did with the flame sword spell. At some point food is brought and lanterns are lit, but we barely notice. Eventually though, it gets quiet outside and the lack of background noise snaps us from our conversation.

Elder Po and Elder Ming come inside and find the two of us in a pile of books, sitting on the floor with a tome on enhancing physical defense and a pair of teacups between us.

"Do you two have any idea what time it is?" Elder Po asks.

"No, but I can send for a disciple to tell us" Elder Song states matter of factly.

"I believe that question was rhetorical Elder. Now, if I activate the Iron Skin ability with my robes on, do you think it would change the robes, or just me under them, given that they’re an ability construct themselves?"

Elder Song is just about to answer when the book is slammed shut.

"You two have been in here for 19 hours. Elder Po has been looking for his disciple all morning" Elder Ming informs us.

"My apologies Elders. would you like some breakfast?"

"It’s nearly 11 in the morning."

"Lunch then?"

Elder Po looks frustrated with us.

"It’s time to learn the basics of the Shadowed Blade signature fighting style and the cloaking ability MY disciple" he begins.

Elder Song is about to mention that he taught me both, plus the Dragon Armor technique last night with a learning spell scroll he’d used in exchange for my entire limited supply of Chai Tea. Not all the spices used grow here. They didn’t know cinnamon or nutmeg.

"Certainly Master Po" I blurt out before Elder Song can say anything to get us in more trouble. The Librarian is a Mage type cultivator more interested in esoteric spells than combat.

I learned last night that mages can use energy in more complex ways than regular mystic cultivators, a great advantage for those who love knowledge. And that this world has Tiramisu cake. I’m definitely coming back here often.

"Now watch their exchange, it’s a ritual form of the Shadowed Blade style" there’s a pair of young Disciples, likely late teens but perhaps my age, having what looks like a sparring match with wooden knives. I know this one, the learning spell taught me it in great depth last night. A few seconds later one of the pair missteps and takes a hard blow to the wrist, bringing the instructor over to yell at him.

"Did you see the mistake?" Elder Po asks.

"His move should have been flip the blade to a backhand hold and raise to block, then forward for a downward strike to the clavicle."

Elder Ming looks at me suspiciously. "Song taught you didn’t he?"

"If I said no would you believe me?"

"Get in there and spar then. I expect great things of you young disciple."

I bow in to take in the winner, a young man about 5 foot 8. Average build, average face, totally forgettable. Perfect for an assassin. We start out slow, a little over normal human pace and increase a bit every move. By the 23rd move he’s having trouble keeping up. On 27 he stumbles. We go again, starting more quickly, and this time he falls behind by move 12.

"How are you so fast? I know my cultivation is higher, you’re still in the Fortification realm. But still I can’t keep up."

"I’m a physical cultivator, not a mystic. That’s all" I soothe his ego a bit. It’s not like I can tell him I’m a Lycan and given the difference in our cultivation speed I’m already faster than he’ll be ten years from now.

He seems mollified and another comes to take his place. This one is well above me, in the mid Condensation Realm. It’s hard to tell exactly when they’re more powerful than you.

But he’s definitely fast. By the beginning of the second rotation I’m struggling to keep up, minimizing every movement, removing any excess just to stay with the flow. Then his knife slips in his hand and he fumbles, giving me the match.

"Good round. If you rough up the handle a bit that shouldn’t happen again." He nods his acceptance and we both go to grab a towel and wipe the sweat away.

We’ve gathered a pretty good crowd, most of the training grounds is here now.

"Not bad my disciple. We will focus on building your cultivation faster, since you pick up physical skills so easily."

"Just one test first." he pushes a disciple who looks more than a bit apprehensive on the stage. "Both of you activate your cloaking ability. The first to land a solid strike on the other wins."

This is hardly fair.

We both focus our energy on ourselves, vanishing from eyesight, a simple trick of the light hitting your skin. At least once you know exactly how. However, I can still smell him and see the black energy around him.

I step sideways in my soft slippers, making no noise even to my own ears. He’s fumbling around, clearly unable to tell where I’ve gone. With slow, silent steps I get myself behind him and prepare to strike.

I toss a small throwing knife from one of the failed acolytes onto the floor in front of him and he looks down, bending at the waist. A swift kick to the backside sends him tumbling, breaking his concealment and making the Elders smile.

"See she does have a soft spot" Elder Ming says. "She could have kicked him in the tender bits"

"I say she just wanted to embarrass him" Elder Po insists.

"Maybe I just missed?" I phrase it as a question.

"No, you could clearly see him" Elder Ming shakes her head. "At our level we can see through it, and most look like bumbling fools. You kept your eyes on him the whole time you snuck around behind him"

Darn, busted.

"Enough horsing around, let’s get you back to your room and settled in to begin cultivating. I’ve got an artifact that should help you out." Elder Po has both hands on my shoulders, directing me towards a pagoda in the distance.

"See you later Elder Ming" I wave as I’m hauled off, making all the disciples on the training ground laugh.

"This is much nicer than Elder Song’s room, you should lend him your maid" I note as we enter.

The amount of power in here is stifling, it’s flowing into me so fast that my cultivation is becoming unstable. I have to put everything I have into absorbing energy and refining it into my body just to keep upright.

"Elder Song is not allowed maids at this time." Elder Po jokes. "He keeps locking them in by accident so he’s lost his privileges"

"Locks his door with a spell doesn’t he?"

Elder Po nods. "All the time. Even if he himself is still inside. Now sit and meditate until lunch arrives. I can sense your supressed cultivation is starting to adjust to this much more powerful world. It’s likely to be quite uncomfortable until it adjusts."