Chapter 11: Mana Coating

"Mana Coating?" Lars said, puzzled.

Russell smiled. "But before that, a bit of exposition."

His smile that had so often inhibited his face turned sour. "My magic was regarded as disgraceful within my family. It was a genetic mutation of my mother's Sand Magic. My brilliant younger brother got White Sand Magic, and he was immediately glorified within the family as the greatest mage in generations. And I… got Dust Magic." He raised his hand, dust from the air circulating around it. "Now, don't get me wrong, Dust Magic is cool, but my mind wasn't creative enough to use it to its full potential. So instead of focusing on my weak points, I worked on my strengths, and that helped me get better at my weak points. Fighting with a weapon arguably made me more creative than I could have ever been fighting without one."

Russell brought out his weapon - a beautiful silver rapier. It gleamed in the sun's orange light. "While our weapon types aren't naturally similar, I think that my overall approach could help you too, Lars. You and me- we're both not so different. But you, believe it or not, have more latent attack power than me. You're probably more creative than me!" He spread his arms out wide.

"Reap the benefits of your magic, the tools given to you, and use them to their fullest potential!"

Lars nodded, inspired by the motivational speaker that was Russell Vance.

"You first of all need to understand your weapon. What is it? How does it work? And for me, the best way to do that is play around with it," Russell said, pointing his sword at Lars. "Come at me, you damn newbie."

Lars raised his blade, the feeling still unnatural to him. He ran at Russell, swinging the blade, that beautiful whistling sound ringing out into the air. Russell met it gracefully with his own rapier.

"No matter my complicated history with my family, I am still nobility," he said with a cheeky grin on his face. "And nobles fight with style!"

Lars grinned, leaping back from the clash and twirling his weapon round to get a more favourable grip for his next series of attacks. He slashed upwards, catching Russell off guard. They both released a flurry of attacks, matching each other almost perfectly. Their fighting styles were so different, yet they were almost completely in sync. Lars stabbed at Russell, Lars dodged. Russell did the same to Lars, who also dodged. Lars slammed the hilt of the polearm into Russell, who skidded back.

"Dust Magic: Blinding Slash!" Russell yelled, sending a rend of condensed dust straight towards Lars, who reacted quickly, thrusting two fingers upwards.

"Mind Magic: Infinite Thought Shield!" The invisible barrier stopped the dust slash, it exploding into a dust cloud around Lars.

"The thing about dust… it's everywhere. It gets everywhere," Russell said, with the air of a wise scholar. "What is dust, other than dirt which we refuse to define? Matter which we can't be asked to quantify? Let me give you a science lesson. It generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind. One such source is dead skin cells. In essence… I'm syphoning dust from you right now."

He thrust his rapier towards Lars, releasing another cloud of dust, which this time, paused and converged around Lars in a ring. Lars slammed his blade into the ground, imbuing it with his mana.

"Mind Magic: Grand Catharsis!" Lars yelled, releasing an almighty shockwave that pushed Russell away significantly. He flipped, gracefully landing on his feet, making almost no sound.

Almost instinctively, Lars grabbed the top of the handle. He slid it, revealing a smaller, detachable blade. Russell smiled.

"Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" he said. A light brown layer of mana appeared over his blade.

So that's Mana Coating, Lars said. Looks like Mana Skin, but for weapons.

Lars changed his stance. His blade was in a front hand grip, and the handle was in the backhand, both sides evenly weighted. "This is the most balanced way I can currently fight. So come at me, Russell!"

Russell obliged, rushing at the mind mage, who blocked with the handle and retaliated with another upwards swing. Lars reattached the blade and raised it, in a manner reminiscent of a certain Black Bulls captain to Russell. He smiled, getting ready to counter with his own charged attack.

"Mind Magic: Neural Rapture!"

"Dust Magic: One Million Particle Scatter!"

…

Lars and Russell stood apart from each other, their clothes tattered, both bleeding lightly, both feeling the thrill of the battle. They had sparred all throughout the evening and well into the night, and looked at one another with equally crazed grins.

"It's getting late," Russell panted. "Sure you don't wanna call it quits, newbie?"

"I…could keep going… all night, yer oldhead…" Lars replied. He did, in fact, not look like he could keep going all night.

"I'm not that older than you, Lars! I'm only 24!"

"You're basically at retirement age already," Lars snickered.

"DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MANA COATING OR NOT?"

Lars promptly shut up. Russell, who was slightly flustered at being called an old man, continued.

"Mana Coating is a way to reinforce your weapons. The higher your mana is," and Lars's face fell upon hearing that, "or whatever quantifies your magic," Lars sighed in relief, and then continued listening, "the stronger your Mana Coating usually is. In essence, it's just adding another layer of mana to your weapon."

Russell demonstrated. "This also means that you can use mana imbued weapon attacks, like my One Million Particle Scatter, or Captain Yami's Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash."

Lars nodded. "That's what I've been doing already, right?"

"Right," Russell replied. In those moments, what did you feel?"

Lars thought hard for a moment, then gave his answer confidently.

"I felt like the blade was an extension of my body, of my magic," Lars said. "Almost like I was the naginata. What happened when I was using those attacks… It felt natural. Like it was meant to be that way."

"Deep. Anyways, try to replicate that feeling, but this time, control it. Extend your mana throughout the weapon. Strengthen it with your resolve. That is when you can use Mana Coating. Find your centre, Lars."

Lars focused, letting all his worries, his feelings, ebb away like raindrops down a window. He held his naginata behind him, standing tall in a battle stance. Suddenly, mana began to surround his weapon with a faint hum. It leaped off in wisps, giving the polearm an overall pink aura.

"You got the hang of it, dude! But will it be enough to go toe to toe with me? Let's continue," Russell smiled, readying his weapon.

…

By the time day came, Russell and Lars were STILL facing off. Lars had thought up 3 new spells, and Russell…

Well, let's just say creativity is endless.

As the first rays of dawn stretched across the sky, the beach was an absolute battlefield. The once pristine sands were now riddled with craters, and the palm trees that lined the shore had been reduced to splinters. Lars and Russell stood at the centre of it all, panting heavily, their weapons still drawn, eyes locked in fierce determination.

Lars's naginata, now shimmering with the faint pink aura of his newly mastered Mana Coating, twitched slightly in his hand. He'd come far during the night, his attacks now sharper, more precise, more deadly. Meanwhile, Russell stood firm, his rapier glowing with a light brown hue, a reflection of his Dust Magic. His eyes gleamed with pride.

"You've improved, Lars," Russell said, his breath heavy but his voice filled with respect. "You've got the hang of Mana Coating quicker than I expected."

Lars wiped the sweat from his brow, chuckling weakly. "Maybe I just had a good teacher," he replied with a sly grin.

Russell raised an eyebrow. "Was that a compliment, or—?"

Before he could finish, the air shimmered around them, and both of them tensed, raising their weapons in unison. Out of thin air, a swirling vortex of colour appeared, and from it stepped Dorothy Unsworth, the captain of the Coral Peacocks. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head as if she had just woken up from a long nap.

"Good morning, boys," she said in her usual dreamy tone, barely noticing the wrecked beach around her.

Lars and Russell exchanged glances, both lowering their weapons. "Captain!" Lars blurted out, wiping the remaining dirt from his clothes and standing up straight. Russell did the same, though with a bit more composure.

Dorothy blinked at them slowly, her violet eyes scanning the beach, and then she smiled, as if seeing the destruction for the first time. "Looks like you two have been busy."

"Uh, yeah. Just a little sparring session," Lars said, his tone a little sheepish.

Russell scratched the back of his neck. "We got a bit carried away."

Dorothy waved her hand dismissively, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. "No need to explain. Actually, I'm here because I have a new mission for you both. One that requires some serious firepower." She paused, her gaze flickering between the two mages. "We're teaming up with the Silver Eagles."

Lars's eyes widened in surprise. "The Silver Eagles? Isn't that kind of unusual?"

Russell folded his arms, his brow furrowing. "Yeah, Captain. The Eagles aren't exactly known for cooperating with other squads."

Dorothy smiled, unbothered by the remark. "It's true, they're a little uptight, but this mission calls for unity. There's a dungeon that's just been discovered on the border of the Forsaken Realm and the Clover Kingdom. We've been assigned to investigate it, along with a team from the Silver Eagles."

Lars felt a surge of excitement pulse through him. Dungeons were a rare and dangerous occurrence, often filled with traps, ancient magic, and untold treasure. But more than the loot, dungeons were an opportunity to prove one's strength, and after his training with Russell, he was eager to put his newfound skills to the test.

"Sounds like a big deal," Lars said, unable to hide his enthusiasm. "Do we know who from the Silver Eagles we're working with?"

Dorothy's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Oh, I think you'll recognize a few of them. You're going to be working with Frida Mertens, Lars. I believe you know her? You must do, considering she's your sister."

Lars froze at the mention of his sister. His excitement drained away and was replaced with a mix of dread and anxiety. Frida Mertens, his slightly psychotic older sister, was one of the Silver Eagles' most prominent members. Their relationship was... complicated, as you might already know. She could make his life hell on that mission.

Dorothy, oblivious to this, continued. "With you two will be going Kirsch, Lilian and Sharya. The Silver Eagles will be bringing 5 people so it's important that we do as well."

Russell, noticing Lars's sudden discomfort, raised an eyebrow. "You alright, Lars?"

Lars forced a smile, trying to shrug it off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…."

Dorothy tilted her head, now clearly sensing the tension, but she didn't press further. "Well, I'm sure you'll sort out whatever family issues there are. But remember, this dungeon mission is dangerous. The Magic Knights are expecting the best from you both."

Russell, ever the optimist, grinned and patted Lars on the back. "No worries, Captain. We'll crush it. Lars here just mastered Mana Coating, so we're ready for anything."

Lars appreciated Russell's confidence, but his mind was now preoccupied with the thought of Frida. Still, he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'll handle it."

Dorothy clapped her hands softly. "Great! The mission starts tomorrow. Meet the Silver Eagles at dawn at the edge of the Common Realm. And try not to destroy anything on the way there."

With that, she gave them a sleepy smile, waved her hand, and in a swirl of vibrant colours, disappeared back into her Dream Magic's void.

Lars sighed heavily, looking out at the rising sun. "Frida, huh? This is gonna be interesting…"

Russell shrugged, spinning his rapier lazily in his hand. "Look on the bright side. You get to show her how much you've grown. And we get to explore a dungeon. What's not to love?"

Lars smiled faintly, though his heart was still heavy with the thought of his sister. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Time to show her I'm not the same little brother she used to know."

The two mages sheathed their weapons, mentally preparing for the next challenge ahead.

Tomorrow, they'd face the dungeon—and Lars his past.

"One more thing," the Coral Peacocks captain said, coming out of absolutely nowhere. Russell fell on his arse, clearly quite shocked by her sudden appearance. Dorothy grinned, noticing this and continuing.

"You'll be required to pair up with a member of the Silver Eagles, so pick who you do wisely!"

Lars's heart sank.

Great. Just great.