Chapter 71   - Determination and Foolishness

Stepping outside the comfortable temperature of the alchemist’s house, cold gusts of air and a dark layer of clouds welcomed him. The rain and lightning seemed to have calmed down for the time being. The winds and sea had not. Still raging and whistling with wild abandon.

Waiting for the potion to take effect, Kai stared at murky waves that crashed on the shore.

Maybe Dora had a point, this is stupid…

Yes, it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience. A new collection of bruises and cuts were a certainty when the waves tossed his body back and forth against the shoreline, but it was necessary. The Guide rewarded new and challenging experiences.

If he stopped pushing himself to avoid a little discomfort, he would never catch up to anyone. This was a calculated risk. A price he had to pay if he wanted to make up for his lacking starting point.

Without giving his thoughts another chance to make his determination waver, Kai ran up to the sea, timing his jump with a retreating wave. The most dangerous area was close to shore, where the water was shallow, and he risked getting tossed against the seafloor.

Empowered by his mana, his body flew over the coming wave and plunged into the frigid waters. He dove deeper to avoid the swirling waves on the surface. A single thought was spared to make sure his Water mana remained out of his mana veins and readily available.

Everything is going swimmingly.

Kai smiled keeping his lips sealed, the stupid pun helping him cope with the situation. Underwater, the world appeared calm and silent. If it wasn’t for the freezing waters, it would have almost been a pleasant experience.

Eventually, he had to resurface. The whistling of winds and churning waters shattered the illusory peace. Checking how far he was from shore, he found the distance acceptable. Without wasting time, he dove again and began Swimming along the bay.

Sliding under the waves, Kai only resurfaced once per minute to take a breath of air. Swimming in these conditions was easier than he thought. The sea tried to push him off course, but using his mana enhancing, he easily resisted the currents.

His previous experience taught him he needed to be careful of how he managed his reserves. Simply throwing mana at the problem would leave him exhausted in no time. There was no way of knowing how long it would take to reach the 100th level. His best shot was to last as long as possible. It wasn’t his first time trying to improve the efficiency of Swimming and Empower, but the pressure of the situation helped him focus and refine his abilities. All his thoughts were directed to that single intention with no room for sloppy mistakes.

When he was confident, he had achieved the limit given his current skill level, he passed to the next step: integrating Water mana. He had already tested the spell the previous day. His conditions had not been as precarious, but it would work the same if he maintained his calm.

Gathering two beads of attuned mana in his hands, Kai focused on his desired outcome. When the image and intention were clear in his mind, he let go. Immediately he could feel the difference, his arms cleaved through the water finding little more resistance than moving through air.

His body easily sped beneath the waves with little effort. It was even easier than swimming in normal conditions. It was a pity the enhancement wore off far too quickly. After experiencing the feeling of no resistance, the water felt much denser.

Excited for his success, Kai repeated his casting using a larger share of his Water mana. This time applying the spell to his whole body. His speed exponentially increased, and the currents and waves that had given him so much trouble, harmlessly parted around him.

A new idea sprung up in his mind.

I need to try that.

Kai dove deeper before pushing more mana into Empower and Swimming and speeding upwards. When he broke the surface, his momentum continued to carry him forward for several meters into the air. Paradoxically, he felt more resistance outside the sea, his Water spell giving him no protection against the harsh winds. That little discomfort couldn’t detract from the feeling of freedom and euphoria. Kai was sure any dolphin watching would look down in shame.

Wait for me, Flipper. I’m coming for you.

As he reached the summit of his arc, for an instant he was weightless, then gravity reasserted its dominance. Kai observed the dark churning waters below him getting closer and braced for impact. Battered by the winds, it wasn’t easy to maintain the perfect posture. It was far from a graceful dive, but he didn’t hurt his body, not enough to overshadow his glee anyway.

Okay, that was stupid, but oh so worth it.

The temptation to do it again was strong, but a glance at his mana reserve mercilessly killed the whim. He had burned through a fifth of his elemental stockpile in a couple minutes. He could justify it one time as a unique experience, but not more.

He was already at his second lap of the bay, but there was no blinking notification in the corner of his vision. With his mana dwindling lower every second, he needed to increase the challenge.

Staying under the surface and far from shore had worked too well. It wasn’t too different from Swimming in normal circumstances, except for the bigger mana expenditure. If he wanted to take advantage of the rough sea, he couldn’t avoid all the complications.

This is going to suck. I know it.

With the timer on his energies ticking down, Kai opted to swim amidst the waves and winds near the surface. Moving his arms partly through the air was easier, but the benefits ended there. No matter what he did, his body was tossed up and down with the rising and falling waves. Opposing their motion would leave him with no mana in minutes. The only option was to let himself get tossed around and use bursts of mana in critical moments, being careful to time his breaths so they didn’t coincide with a coming wave.

Pushing the limits of what his focus could accomplish, he juggled between controlling his body and mana, but he had not gained 99 levels of Swimming through luck. After countless hours spent in the sea, his muscles knew what to do. Efficiently applying mana to Swimming and Empower as he was tossed in unpredictable ways wasn’t as easy, but he had a lot of experience with that too.

Water spells were the real problem. He had improved greatly in the last few months and learned to cast them while he swam—in normal conditions. Before now he had been confident that was enough. He didn’t know how to put into words how wrong he had been.

Visualizing clear and precise intentions, as I’m trying not to drown, is just slightly harder than I thought. Why didn’t anybody tell me?

Activating Meditation was a pipe dream in these conditions. His eyes impatiently checked the corner of his view, but there was no sign of any notification yet. His brain was as exhausted as his body as it scrambled between too many tasks. His mana was nearing the 50% threshold for the second time on the same day.

Taking advantage of a moment of peace between two large waves, Kai released his Water spell. His limbs got a brief respite as the fury of the sea stopped affecting them. He had drifted too close to shore, and he could see at least three cuts on his arms from tiny rocks stirred by the waves. The rest of his body was too numb to judge.

Come on! Is this still not enough? Give me that damn level!

His spell ran out sooner than he expected due to his sloppy casting. Caught unprepared, Kai couldn’t avoid a falling wave that crashed his body on the nearby seafloor. More tiny cuts marred his back. He swallowed a mouthful of seawater and endured the beating, protecting his head with his arms. As he felt the sea begin to retract, he kicked the seafloor to get as much distance as he could before the next wave.

Every inch of his body hurt, not even his brain was spared as it was assaulted by a growing headache. The only thing he knew for sure was the lack of any notification. His unattuned mana had gone below the threshold, but he had a few specks of Water mana left. Somehow, he had not lost control of them through the whole ordeal.

In a brief standstill beneath the surface, Kai felt at peace. He had given all he had and then some.

Just one last spell.

Infusing his desires into the flowing blue motes, Kai set it free. The crashing wave washed over him, his body barely moving. The sea retracted, but he remained unaffected.

Maybe I should have used this spell to get out of the sea…

Oh, well. Too late for that.

The spell broke and the pressure of the water reasserted itself. He had nothing left to give, but the sea never grew tired. A blinking light finally appeared. Kai had no strength left to even curse the Guide.

Hopefully, Elijah will fish me out in a timely manner.

Floating to the surface, he took one last breath and stared at the coming wave. Then he covered his head with his arms and contracted his muscles to brace for impact.

I should give Dora’s advice more credit. Maybe it would not have been that bad spending a few mo—

Something hit him, but it wasn’t what he expected. Hesitantly opening his eyes, he noticed his body was glowing, suspended in the waters. Weightless, better than any of his spells could ever have accomplished.

The glow rapidly faded away. He had gained one more moment of respite, but the sea was implacable.

That’s weird…

His body was tossed against the shore, and everything blacked out.

~~~

The water flowed over his cape of shadows without leaving a trace. Elijah observed the brat coming out of Dora’s house with a determined expression. He stared at the sea like it was his mortal enemy. Then he charged and jumped in.

He rolled his eyes. That boy never took anything seriously.

Judging from Dora’s angry mutterings, it was better if he cooked his own meals for a while. To be fair, he had not expected Kai would go through with it when he proposed the idea. Not the second time, at least.

If nothing else, he had to give it to him: he was a determined kid.

Right then the child sprung up out of the waves, soaring in a long arc through the air and screaming like a madman. Elijah observed the child’s expression going from euphoric to worried as he crashed back into the sea.

…

Maybe it’s not determination but stupidity… I should inquire if he had been dropped on the head as a child.

For the grace of the gods, the dimwit didn’t repeat his actions. It looked like the boy was starting to take this opportunity more seriously. He could see how he tried to control the mana flowing through his skills. Maybe he wasn’t totally hopeless.

Not long after Elijah grimaced again. For the first time in his life, he wished he had been born with no affinity with Water, just so he could avoid watching the child’s atrocious control.

It was true that it had only been a few months, that the kid had no Water Magic skill, and that his grade was only early Orange, but…

I guess it’s acceptable. If barely. But he’s still atrocious with Shadow magic.

Breathing the thin mana of the estate, Elijah contemplated his life choices as the brat played in the sea. It wasn’t the first time, and he was sure it would not be the last. How much longer would he have to wait before he could go home and reclaim what was rightfully his?

Finally, the boy seemed to be nearing his limits.

Elijah stepped closer to the shore, waiting for him to give up. It looked like he had failed. What kind of teacher would he be if he didn’t offer some words of advice? A sentence should be enough to rile him up and help him get over the failure. A frown appeared on his face.

Why wasn’t he giving up already?

His movements had grown weaker and his normally bright mana veins were smoldering at best. The kid showed no intention of getting out of the water. Casting one spell, and then another, till not a speck of blue mana was left in his body.

Great, now I'll need to give him a day of rest for repeated mana overuse. Dora is not going to let me hear the end of it.

Right as he was about to get the boy out of the water, a pulse spread from the sea rippling through reality. Mostly mana, but it was mixed with something else too. He couldn’t quite grasp it. When the child started glowing and his mind began to piece together what was going on.

There was only one possibility that made sense, but it was ridiculous. He could understand it happening one time, but twice? And without even the need for an oath this time.

“Hurry up, what are you waiting for?” Dora's voice called from inside. She must have noticed the pulse too. A moment later, the door to her residence was thrust wide open.

Realizing he had forgotten to fish out the kid in his stupor, Elijah hurried to comply.

I’ll have to cook for myself for a month.

With a single step, he appeared before the boy. A surge of mana pushed the sea back for a dozen meters. Kai laid on the sand unconscious. A quick scan confirmed he was as fine as he could be—considering his circumstances. Dozens of small cuts covered his body, but they were all surface wounds, barely skin deep.

Dora scooped up the boy, glaring at him disapprovingly. Before he could say anything, she had disappeared back into her house.

Let’s do two months just to be sure…

Turning around to vacate the area before the sea came back, he noticed Virya smiling at him from behind the window of the mansion.

Maybe she had been right in taking the kid in. If nothing else, things never got boring.