Hito caressed his cheek. "Wow, that hurt."
His staff hit him on the head, and even though it was a weapon, it showed disappointment.
"Ow! What was that for?" he spoke as he rubbed his head and turned towards the staff.
Astra looked at them, a bit shocked. "They can talk to each other?"
Hito got back to his feet and grabbed his staff. His eyes locked onto Astra. "Let's end this."
A blue glow surrounded Hito. 'Mana concentration.'
His mana became darker and could be felt more.
After seeing that Astra didn't cower, he rather brought all his aura towards his sword. 'I didn't try this before, but this is the only way I can beat him.'
Both of them blew some air out and ran towards each other. Astra held his sword in two hands while Hito formed a water drill on top of his staff.
Hito moved his staff towards Astra's abdomen while he moved his sword to make it flat and deflect the blow.
Hito continued to move fast. He left his wand and covered his hand in mana, then he held Astra's sword in place.
Astra still moved his sword up so he could see Hito, but in front of him, Hito was going for a punch.
"Same tactic again."
Astra left one of his hands from his sword and blocked the blow.
Hito grinned. 'He fell for it.'
He turned his head in the direction of Astra's face. Both of them locked their eyes on each other.
A sound came from Hito's mouth.
'What's that sound?' Astra felt cautious.
In an instant, Hito spat out a water needle from his mouth.
Astra saw it coming and went to dodge, but unfortunately for him, the needle slightly scratched his cheek, making blood flow down.
Astra left his aura, making his wooden sword crumble from the pressure of the whole fight, while Hito made his staff rest back into his soul.
Then Astra fell. His hands were supporting his body, making him sit. He then wiped the blood from his cheek and looked up at Hito.
"Wow, you are strong." He fell back, sleeping on the ground as he stretched out his hands.
Hito smiled. "That was fun."
Astra sat back up. "By the way, what did you do there?"
Hito looked confused.
"You know, the time your mana became somewhat denser and darker."
Hito's face showed that he understood. "I concentrated my mana."
Astra's face was confused, and Hito noticed it. He sighed and made a fist with his index finger pointing up. "Concentrating your invisible power makes it stronger and sturdier. It's a big difference compared to loosely letting your invisible power flow."
"To concentrate your mana, sit in a meditating position, then let your mana flow through your body."
He then strolled back and forth.
"After you do that, try feeling every single movement of your aura, and then try moving it at will. And after you do it for a while, you can concentrate on it."
Astra got back to his feet. "Thanks for the lesson. Next time we fight, I swear it will be a closer match."
Hito turned away and started to walk. "Well, I can't wait for it."
Astra stood still as he saw Hito's silhouette leave the area.
'He's really strong.' He looked at his palm and clenched it.
"If I want to be the valour, he is my strongest opponent."
.....
Astra sat on the wooden flooring of his room. He recalled everything Hito told him.
He bent his knees and formed a circle using all his fingers and placed it near his stomach. He sat in a meditating pose.
'Ok, now it's time for the main part.'
He then tried to let aura flow through his body.
'I can't release my aura,' he spoke in a tired voice.
His eyelids got heavier and heavier, and after some time, he couldn't fight it.
And just fell asleep on the floor.
....
Astra sat in class while listening to the professor. His back was aching and in pain.
Sara turned back and spoke, "Astra, meet me after class today. I have to tell you something."
Everyone in the class turned their gaze towards the white-haired teen.
Astra nodded. 'Did I do something wrong?'
Professor Sara continued with her lecture.
.....
Everyone left the class, leaving only Professor Sara and Astra in the class.
Astra stood up and went to the front of the class where the professor was standing.
"Why did you call me, ma'am?"
She leaned on the table, and as she did, her breast jiggled a bit, making Astra blush a bit.
"Ok, I heard from Richard that you have awakened." She remembered the conversation she had.
In the teacher's lounge,
Richard walked up to her and spoke.
"That kid has bloomed."
"Bloom?"
"Yes, he has bloomed."
"You mean awakened?" Her eyes were disappointed with his way of speech.
After that, she asked him who and the details of how he awakened.
....
Astra nodded his head. "Yes, Professor, I awakened during the class selection, and since then, I used it 3 more times."
Prof. Sara made an understanding face. "OK, OK. Well, if you need any advice about it, come to me and don't use your aura for some time."
"What! Why not?"
"If you continue using it, your body may disintegrate. To use it casually, you have to train your body more." She then poked his chest to see how strong it was.
"I will give you a one-month plan to improve your body. Listen to that routine, and you can then use aura more casually, but not always."
"Thank you, Professor."
"No need to thank me. It's my job as a professor," she spoke while waving her hand near her face.
"Well, if that's it, I'll take my leave, and I'll keep everything you told me in my mind."
He then left the class and walked through the hallway. He went to the cafeteria as it was time for lunch.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Astra continued his day like usual. He heard the normal rumors about him.
People would think it hurt him, but as a child, he learned to faze them out and ignore it.
He skipped his training today and went directly to his bed.
"I feel bad skipping training, but I'll listen to Professor Sara. She spoke in a voice of experience—it even made me feel bad that I train a lot."
He comfortably sank into his bed.
"I expected this life to be fun, but it's so boring. I miss Corvin."
He then slept as he kept on thinking about a lot of things.
The next week was uneventful. He got his workout from the professor and started working on it.
And now the next thing he had was to go to the museum.