Early morning had arrived, and today, for once, he did not meet with Loys of Freigoud and Julius Venlan at the swordmasters' training ground. Cale had agreed to meet them north of the city on a large green meadow next to the river, which was located near the future trading town Herdel. With a somber expression on his face, he looked up the hill and remembered the conversation he had had with the group when they had passed the place. It hurt him a little to think of the four of them, even though he tried not to let it affect him.
"It's a beautiful place here, I must say", Julius said, letting his gaze wander over the open space. The grass was knee-high and dotted with wildflowers in shades of red and yellow. The sun rising in the distance helped make the meadow seem like the perfect place for a picnic.
"Absolutely. The residents have started to set up some stalls back there, so it's quite possible that a small trading town will develop there in the next few years", Cale replied, pointing to the hill on the other side of the river. There were no people around at the time, but he could still make out the buildings that had been erected, which would later be replaced by real houses.
"The town would definitely have a good starting position. Close to the river and on the direct route from Bellator to Altona. I assume you've been here before?"
"Yes", Cale replied dryly, folding his arms across his chest. He had deliberately sought out a place that was not too far from the capital, yet large and empty enough to allow them to duel in peace. The fact that the river was in the immediate vicinity was a plus point, which is why Cale ultimately chose this location. "Are you ready, Sir Freigoud?"
"I'm ready", Loys replied, who had spent what seemed like an eternity tying his horse to a suitable tree and removing his heavy uniform. Similar to Cale and Julius, he now stood barefoot on the meadow in only his thin shirt, looking back and forth between the swordmasters. "But why should we take off our clothes?"
"You'll understand why soon enough", Cale replied, giving Loys a satisfied smile.
The whole situation made him nervous, as he intended to openly show how confident he really was in handling mana. At the same time, however, he felt relieved by how open and curious Loys of Freigoud was towards him - while still remaining respectful. Something that he certainly didn't have to do in his position, as Cale was officially nothing more than a simple soldier.
"Let's drop the subject and get to our agreement."
"Of course", Loys replied, suddenly becoming much more serious. "We promise to inform you first about all relevant events in Sylve, even before they become public knowledge. In return, you agree to share your knowledge as a swordmaster with us. This includes not only techniques and fighting styles, but also strategies, training methods, and all the subtleties you have acquired over the years."
"I'm glad to hear that", Cale replied, suppressing his smirk.
Even though it appeared that Cale was getting the short end of the stick, he was extremely satisfied with the agreement. It gave him a significant information advantage regarding the events in Sylve and at the same time guaranteed him close contact with the royal house.
The secrets he planned to teach the two men were not nearly as hidden as they probably assumed. At least, Cale had never had any intention of deliberately withholding them. For a relatively small price, he had gained access to the heart of Sylve. The next step would be to gain influence.
"Even though I don't understand what you intend to do with this information."
"I absolutely cannot stand not knowing what is going on around me. And considering how dangerous Bellator has become, it is a priority for me to know what is going on."
"A strange way to show that you care about Ahri", Loys of Freigoud replied, which Cale did not comment on. The man was not only wrong in his statement, but miles away from the truth. "So, shall we finally get started?"
"Slow down, young horse. First, we need to clarify a few basics."
"Basics?", Loys and Julius repeated in unison.
"How good is your mana control?"
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"We are swordmasters, so I would say it's pretty good."
"As swordmasters, you simply use pure mana and channel it into your weapon, nothing more. Any child can do that."
"Now you're exaggerating", Julius Venlan interjected.
"Not at all. Channeling mana into weapons is one of the simplest forms of magic, no wonder real mages don't even want to call it magic. What I was talking about is real mana channeling, without a weapon."
Upon hearing this statement, Cale suppressed his mana within the next second and stretched out his hand to signal to the two men that they should follow him. With skeptical looks at each other, they also began to completely hide their mana, as if it were one of the easiest exercises in the world.
"And what are we doing...?", Loys of Freigoud asked impatiently, but fell silent when he felt Cale release his mana outside his body. Speechless, he stared at the blond-haired man, who crossed his arms in front of his chest with a smug grin on his face.
"That's what I meant by true mana control. Mana is not a bound object, as people mistakenly assume. You can position it at will if you know how..."
Now it was Cale who paused. His gaze landed on Julius Venlan, who was silently following his exercise and looking expectantly at Cale. With his mouth half open, he stared at the brown-haired, unassuming swordmaster, who had better mana control than many mages in Altona.
"How do you do that?", Loys asked, looking at his colleague with irritation.
"I don't know, I'm good at visualizing when someone shows me something", Julius explained calmly, which suddenly gave Cale goosebumps. The man from Pistori, whom he had always remembered as an ordinary official, did something Cale had never expected in his life.
"Impressive", Cale said in amazement, causing Julius to look at him in surprise.
"Is it?"
"Yes. Your control over mana is amazingly good, I have to give you that."
"Thank you... for the compliment?", Julius replied awkwardly. "And how does that relate to what you did back then in the fight against Sir Insing?"
"I use mana as a kind of armor", Cale replied, letting the mana completely envelop his body.
The only detail he kept secret at this point was the fact that he had resorted to his Igrikum at the time and not pure mana. Although he was still able to block attacks, pure mana was nowhere near as powerful as his real barriers. Skilled mages and swordmasters could still gain access, not to mention the attack of a dragon. Only his Igrikum was able to completely neutralize physical and magical attacks.
"Armor?"
"Yes, like a second skin that is able to stop attacks before they touch the actual skin", Cale continued, reaching for his sword at his waistband before slashing the blade with full force at his arm. Surprised, Loys of Freigoud took a step back, while Julius Venlan watched with wide eyes as even the sword bounced off his arm as if it was made out of stone.
"Fascinating", Julius murmured.
"And exhausting. It takes a lot of practice to not let a gap appear in your defense during such a direct attack, believe me. So take it slowly, or you'll end up cutting off your arm", Cale replied, lowering his sword to the ground before turning his gaze to Sir Freigoud, who apparently had never seen anything like this before. "And Sir Freigoud... you can start by learning to use your mana properly."
"That's incredible. How come I've never heard of this before?", Julius asked, while Loys desperately tried to separate his mana from his body.
"Probably because it's more of a mage's defense technique. You can also use it to create an invisible wall that blocks attacks", Cale explained, doing exactly what he had just announced. He created a wall between himself and Julius before hurling his sword at the mana in one swift motion. With a dull thud, the weapon crashed into the wall and fell vertically to the ground. It was impossible to tell with the naked eye what had interrupted its flight. "That's how they prevent anything from getting too close to them. After all, mages are usually ranged fighters, with a few exceptions, of course."
"And you... mix that up?"
"Simply put, yes. The forms of magic that mages use are not reserved for them alone. Swordsmen also have the ability to use this magic, even if they usually look more like High-Magician Rangar Castero."
"The second seat of the Magistrat?", Loys asked, his ears pricking up.
"He's a close combat fighter and uses his Igrikum to strengthen his own body. Nothing compared to what we as normal humans could achieve, of course", Cale explained calmly, bending down to pick up his sword while letting the wall drop. "We swordmasters tend to use it for things like strengthening our grip or increasing our jumping power. It's basically all the same type of magic, just applied in different ways."
"Then what distinguishes this magic from that of the dragons?", Julius Venlan asked his question aloud, causing Cale to flinch in surprise as he bent down.
Although his face was hidden, for a brief moment his eyes had become deadly serious. There was a misconception among humans that dragons were their enemies, and no one would dare to approach them voluntarily. But then why did Julius ask such a question? Was it just because Cale had mentioned to Loys a few weeks ago that he had encountered a dragon? Or did he simply assume that Cale was an intellectual man and knew something about it?
"What kind of question is that?", Cale replied, sitting up with a neutral expression on his face. He continued to hold his sword open in his hand as his gaze wandered to Julius Venlan. "Why are you bringing up such a dangerous topic?"
"I thought that since you know so much about mana, you might also know why dragons are so powerful and how to deal with them."
"Don't do that", Cale began in a warning tone. "Don't you ever think about messing with a dragon. You'll regret it very quickly... believe me."
"I would never dare", Julius Venlan said nervously, even though he tried not to show it.
Julius didn't understand what Cale was saying to him.
It wasn't that Cale was afraid of the dragons. Rather, it was Cale who wanted to avoid conflict between humans and dragons. Because if there was a confrontation with the dragons, Cale would inevitably have to intervene, and for no amount of money would he turn against the creatures he needed to eliminate the Thormods.
Not to mention the mercy of the goddess, who was more interested in the welfare of the dragons than in that of humans.