Chapter 2: Beginning down the path of the Spear
Duran rushed back home and immediately picked back up his makeshift spear and began training harder than he ever had previously. He sparred against an imaginary opponent, the spear gripped in both hands as he thrust forward at center mass.
His opponent deflected his thrust and rather than just trying to pull back, Duran followed the momentum into a spin as he duck under the counterattack. The spear spun in a wide circle catching the imaginary enemy across the chest, though he didn't stop as he continued the attack.
The spear whirled above his head but now crashed down vertically, he readjusted and thrust forward like he had before stabbing through the imaginary chest before collapsing to the ground breathless. He stared at the sky breathless just as he had just a few short hours before.
Like before his grandfather appeared beside him, staring down with concern at his grandson.
"What's got you so out of sorts, Duran?" Unlike before however though his grandfather was holding his old war spear in his hands, using it to hold himself up.
Duran gulped greedily for air as his body wracked with shudders from overwork.
"The adventurers told me I barely had any mana… they said I could never become an adventurer, but I'm going to prove them wrong!"
Duran struggled to his knees as he faced his grandfather with a dejected face.
"Your expression doesn't match your words." The old man teased Duran who stared up defiantly wiping off the depressed look.
"I just wanted to become strong like you and my parents, but I don't know how I can do that without mana, grandfather. I haven't given up though! I'll figure out someway to achieve my goal, you'll see."
The old man smiled down warmly at Duran as he came closer and held out the shaft of his war spear. It stood taller than him, making it at least twice as tall as Duran who grabbed it and was subsequently pulled to his feet. He stood on shaky aching legs before standing up straight and staring resolutely at his grandfather.
"Good. We'll begin your training in the morning. Your real training.. Before was just to satisfy your curiosity, but it seems this is more than just a childish whim."
He let go of the spear, leaving it in Duran's hands who held it tightly feeling the weight settle into his hands. He tried to raise it, but the weight was so much as to only allow it to raise a few inches from the ground before it sunk back to the dirt
"Haha, it's a bit to early to expect to be able to wield it. As for your question about mana, that's also solvable."
Duran had always thought his grandfather was wise, but now he seemed like the people he heard about from the stories.
"Everything in this world holds energy. We humans hold it and wield it in the form of mana. The beasts and even animals have it. The very ground and blades of grass beneath your feet posses it. All it takes is a mountain of determination to understand it."
"What does that have to do with the spear though?" Duran questioned with a tilt of his head, to which his grandfather just smiled.
"Hmmm, I wonder." He mused as he grabbed the spear back from Duran and promptly turned back to the house.
"Now go wash up and get ready for dinner, your real training begins tomorrow."
Duran stared at his grandfather's back as he thought over his words and looked at the wooden spear laying on the ground beside him. He bent down and picked up the spear holding horizontally in his hands as he stared at it intently.
"There's energy in everything." He echoed his grandfather's words and the weight of the spear seemed to grow heavier in his palms. Clenching his hands around the shaft he closed his eyes and breathed in deep trying to copy what he had seen his grandfather would do whenever he would cultivate his core.
He didn't feel anything, not even the faintest pulls of energy. Not that he would have know what said power would have even felt like. It was naive to think that he would just immediately access this energy that was supposedly akin to the mana that adventurers used to power their bodies and magic.
Little did he know that while his eyes were closed small bits of dust could be seen swirling softly around him in in waves. As soon as he opened his eyes the dust had already settled and he took off to the well beside the house and immediately began to wash himself off for dinner.
His grandfather had witnessed this all from the window and could only smile wryly as he began absently chopping the vegetables in front of him.
"He's a monster just like you were, Haver. It won't take him long to surpass me, he won't have the mana core to judge his progress. Though that might just benefit him as his progression will depend completely on his own dedication. We'll see if he can keep it up and surpass both of us."
"What's for dinner today, Grandpa?" Duran came into the room and sat at the table eagerly. His grandfather chuckled to himself as he turned around with 2 plates of food. One was noticeably larger in terms of portions and was placed in front of Duran who looked up in surprise.
"Don't look at me like that, how do you expect a kid with no mana to grow if he doesn't eat twice as much as his peers? Eat it all and then go to bed, consider this the start of your training."
Duran straightened up while grasping his fork and began to dig into the plate stacked high with veggies and meat they had been given by Marston. A glass filled with the juice of a fruit that grew abundantly in Marlow sat close by.
Duran dug in greedily and his grandfather smiled, even as he felt the pain in his chest. How he wished that it was just a pang of sadness, but his right leg wasn't the only injury he suffered in the war. This pain was the result of an attack injuring his core.
While it was possible to live without a core, for somehow of his advanced age it was too much to ask for. He was able to endure the pain and prolong his life by cultivating with the intent of repairing the core, but it wouldn't last forever.
He gripped his knife and fork a little tighter as a lump formed in his throat, but he pushed it down and began to eat his food as well.
The 2 sat in a pleasant silence as they enjoyed each other's presence.
~~~~~Chapter End~~~~~
Another chapter down. Next chapter will probably be a small timeskip/training montage. Hope you enjoyed. See you next time.
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