For the first session, both Mio and Koji focused on improving Shiro’s handling with the sword, such as what she should or should not do in certain situations. Its strengths and little tricks when it comes to fighting against her opponents.
One of the tricks is to use the extended hilt of her sword to block if her reactions were accurate since it opens up opponents for a downward cleave should she perform it correctly.
However, the success rate of this was low if one couldn’t accurately see where the enemy’s sword was striking. But for Shiro, it didn’t take too long to learn and both Mio and Koji were surprised by her learning speed.
Practising the technique for a little longer, the three of them exited the digital world as they had spent hours inside.
“I’ll go look for little Yin since it’s almost time for dinner.” Mio smiled as Shiro nodded.
“I’ll come with you since I need to look for teach. After all, he wanted another teaching session with me.��� Shiro said while giving her body a stretch. Staying inside the simulators for long periods of time does make her body a little stiff.
Making their way towards the largest training hall in the compound, Shiro could already feel the large amounts of mana being radiated by her previous teacher and knew that Aarim, Silvia and Yin must be having the time of their lives.
Remembering that Yin had been rather mischievous recently, Shiro had a grin on her face as she turned to Mio.
“Why don’t we wait a little longer. Teach seems to be on the most important step of the lesson.” Shiro suggested with a small chuckle.
“Hmm…. Maybe. I’ll go set up some ingredients for when they finish then.” Mio tilted her head before nodding.
However, just as she said this, a portal opened up and Stanley walked through.
“No need. I’ve just finished now. Their control is pretty lacking except for Aarim but overall they’re above average.” Stanley said before looking at Shiro who was a little annoyed but shrugged it off.
“So where are they?” Shiro asked as she couldn’t sense them in the training hall anymore.
“I’ve already sent them back to their rooms. They’re pretty tired so they’re resting up now. Setting them aside, come with me. We’re going to have our lesson now.” Stanley said as a portal opened up in front of them.
“Good luck darling.” Mio waved her hand with a smile.
“Mn.” Nodding her head, Shiro stepped through the portal.
Once the light faded away, she noticed that they were not in the training hall but rather on top of a snowy mountain.
“Where are we?” Shiro asked.
Looking around her, she could see clouds stretching to the horizon as the top of the mountain seemed to be cut off from the rest of the world.
“This place has no name. I came across this during one of my journeys and noticed the mana density in this place is higher than any place I’ve seen. The clouds that you see are in fact highly condensed clumps of mana.” Stanley replied.
“Well damn. That’s a lot of mana isn’t it? In terms of location on the map, where abouts are we?” Shiro raised her eyebrow.
“Far into the uncharted territory. If I had to explain the rough location then probably something along the lines of the extreme north.” Stanley replied.
“Anyways, our lesson will begin here.”
“Ok, what are we going to do?” Shiro asked while memorising this scenery since it was rather impressive.
“It’s a simple test, I want you to break through one of my spells with your own and I’ll measure your achievements according to what I see. I’ll think of your training after you do so.” Stanley said with a smile.
“Sure thing, Teach.” Shiro nodded with a grin and cracked her neck.
Seeing that Shiro was ready, Stanley raised his hands as runes started to swirl around him.
Absorbing the ambient mana from the clouds that surround them, the runes seemed to glow with purple hue as they formed the layers which represented the tier of the spell.
Tier 1… Tier 2… Tier 3…
This continued until tier 5. However, to Shiro’s surprise, the runes didn’t stop there.
Flicking for a slight moment, the runes seemed to conjure up their last ounce of strength and the layer was formed.
Tier 6.
Looking at her old teacher with shock, Shiro was surprised that he had achieved tier 6 magic. Even though it was going to be common in the new age, for someone to achieve it now was still impressive.
“I came across tier 6 magic in my journey and despite my experiences with this, it seems like it’s still rather difficult to conjure up quickly unlike my other spells. The main goal for the lesson between us is for me to pass on this knowledge to you.” Stanley said as his face seemed a little strained.
“Now try your best to break through this and I’ll begin the lesson.”
Seeing her teacher’s earnest face, Shiro felt a little awkward since she had already achieved tier 6 and could conjure it up rather quickly as long as it was something to do with her Nanomancer class. She was still struggling on the elemental ones but since she had experience with tier 6 already, it shouldn’t be too hard for her to achieve the same effect.
“Erm… Teach?” Shiro called out hesitantly.
“Mn? What is it?”
“I… may or may not have also come across tier 6 magic in my journey around the world. I can’t form it properly yet but I had some old records on it.” Shiro said as she crafted an old book with some of her knowledge on tier 6 magic with nanobots. Making sure that they emanate the same feeling of old paper, she handed it over to her teacher.
Flipping through the book carefully, Stanley read the details with an amazed expression.
After a short moment, he sighed and shook his head.
“How embarrassing. I wanted to teach you about this but it seems like you’ve obtained more information than I have. Can I borrow this for a little while so that I can study it?” Stanley asked as Shiro nodded her head.
“Of course. You can use it as long as you want.” Shiro nodded with a smile.
After all, this was her teacher who had taught her when she was young.
“Don’t worry, I won’t take it forever. As payment, I’ll give you this item.” Stanley said as he reached out into his inventory.
“Ah no need. Think of it as payment for the past instead.” Shiro said but Stanley shook his head.
“I was planning to give this to your father but since you are studying the blade, you might as well have it. Here, I’m not a fan of blades but this should help you out.” Stanley smiled handing her a small crystal dagger.
[Dagger of Divine Insight – Rainbow]
This dagger will transport the user to a divine space, allowing them to study the techniques used by gods who wielded the sword. The user is guaranteed to obtain one skill/technique.
Looking at the dagger with shock, Shiro couldn’t believe that he just handed her a Rainbow grade item. After all, this was the stuff of legends that she hadn’t even seen in her past life.
Plus, this could guarantee a skill which meant that Stanley could use it to protect himself better.
“But I-”
“It’s fine. The value of knowledge on tier 6 magic far out weights the value of this dagger in my eyes.” Stanley chuckled.
“Now, strike at my spell so that I may see your prowess.”
Looking at the dagger once more, Shiro nodded and stored it away in the inventory.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled out her bow that she had not used in a long time.
Making some distance between them, Shiro narrowed her eyes.
“Be careful Teach!” Shiro warned, drawing back her bow string.
Activating her Encroaching Darkness skill, her Sigil of Night’s passive skill was activated, doubling her stats as long as it is night.
Firing the first arrow into the air, Shiro snapped her finger and opened up a giant portal.
Looking up with mild surprise, Stanley could sense a huge amount of mana being gathered towards Shiro’s bow as stars shimmered in the sky.
Stacking her skills together, Shiro activated her Force of Elements and morphed it into the shape of an arrow and notched it on her bow.
With her Skill Scholar activated, she could understand her skills and control them to match her needs. This meant that her next arrow was a culmination of her entire stat board. After all, she wanted to show her teacher how much she’s improved since they’ve last met.
Feeling the pressure that was being emitted by Shiro’s arrow the longer she charged it, Stanley looked at her with disbelief.
The fusion of elements in the arrow, the control of mana, the efficiency of her skills along with the densely packed runes that he could see increasing the power of her next attack.
“You are indeed the best student I’ve ever had.” Stanley muttered with a soft smile and watched as Shiro fired her arrow.
