The two warlocks talked to each other and after a few seconds, the green light construct ran back to the camp.

Mack saw this but could not understand what was happening, so, he stood there.

Ten awkward and long minutes later the green light construct came back and gave the powerful warlock a small device.

Mack looked at it, and a message popped out in his vision.

(Portable tactical drawing table, common grade, made by Cube Inc)

‘Clever! Very Clever! This will make things easier’ .

Now they could communicate somehow. But Mack still didn’t know why they were doing all this.

That powerful warlock drew some runes using his fingers on the device and showed to Mack.

# What’s your name? #

“Mack”

Hearing Mack’s name the warlock made a weird face but moved his fingers to draw more runes on the device, but this time took way longer and after almost 2 minutes, he showed the board to Mack.

# My name is Raz and this by my side is my apprentice. I need someone to train with him by night as a sparring partner. To repay you, I will also teach you. But I will only teach you the second stage. Are you up for the challenge? #

‘Second stage?’

Mack thought hard about it, but not if he should accept or not. But about the implications of that ‘second stage’ he read on the board.

“Please be my Master. If in a hundred days I can’t kill a mage I will kill myself”

Said Mack, dropping onto one of his knees while talking.

Raz looked at Mack for a long time but did not respond. He then talked with the green light construct and looked back at Mack.

Raz hesitated a bit, but in the end, grabbed his board, drew a few runes, and showed them back to Mack.

# I will teach you to my best. Mack. My second and last disciple. #

Raz approached Mack and raised it from the ground with his arm.

After helping mack to stood up he grabbed Mack’s waist belt.

He looked into Mack’s eyes for long three seconds and then moved his gave to the belt on Mack’s waist.

‘What know? Did I translate it wrong?!’

Raz grabbed his dagger with the other hand and started drawing a rune on Mack’s belt.

Mack looked down but could not read it. It was not a word he knew, probably a symbol of something.

Mack looked at the belt in Raz and saw several symbols there too. Five symbols on one side and one alone on the other.

Mack looked at the green light construct and saw he had only two symbols carved. One on each side.

Raz carved one rune at each side of Mack’s belt too. The exact ones in the green light construct belt.

The belts seemed to be more than a tool to just hold the sword. Mack guessed it was one of their traditions.

Raz moved back and showed a board with runes.

# Now we are officially a master and disciple. #

“When do we start?”

Said Mack, eager to finally have some real training with a proper master.

# We will start now #

Read Mack on the board that Raz showed him.

“Wait! Before that. I have some doubts. You told me about the second stage. But what is the first one? I never learned that.”

# You never learned? But how could you go against those acolytes today without reinforcing your body with Essence?#

“Reinforce the body? I never did that.”

Said Mack, remembering that gate where his body got stronger with the self-mutilation training.

“I don’t know how to reinforce the body. But my body went thru some strange thing that made me this strong.”

Raz looked at Mack not believing what he was hearing.

# Stay still and don’t move. #

He approached Mack with a dagger in hand and stabbed Mack until the blade reached the bones of Mack’s right arm.

“That hurts.”

Said Mack, feeling annoyed. He was already used to feel much more pain than that.

# You did not manipulate Essence now? #

“I don’t know how to do it. I never had a master before.”

Raz not knowing how to react kept glaring at Mack. His expression a mix of disbelief and awe.

# If you are saying the truth, then I can teach you. #

“What would I gain lying about that?”

# True. There is nothing to gain. #

“So?”

Raz looked deep into Mack’s eyes, but in the end, he already accepted him as an apprentice, there was not much of a change. He would teach him, just, more than he expected.

#What do you know? I mean. From where should I start?#

“Well. I know essence exists. And my gates were destroyed too.”

# So, you know nothing? #

“As I said, I never had a master.”

Raz took a deep sigh. Like a tired old man like him would do. First a battle. Now he had to teach this new disciple from the scratch. When would he have time to progress his own arts?

Raz looked at the board thinking about where he should start. Then remembering his own teacher and how he used to learn, he started to draw a few runes on the board.

# To begin. There are five basic stages in Essence Manipulation. #

Mack read that and nodded with his head. He didn’t have a clue what those stages were.

# First Stage. Is to pull the essence around you and use it in your body to reinforce your muscles or bones during a short time #

“Ok”

# Second Stage. Is to use that same essence and transfer it to any given object that you have physical contact with and reinforce them. Like your sword, clothes, or daggers. #

# Third Stage. Is to pull the essence around you to your body and channel it to outside of your body. Like the wind that follows your punch when you hit something. #

‘Oh like a kamehameha! that’s cool!’

Thought Mack, remembering one of his favorites animes when he was young.

# Fourth Stage. Is to manipulate Essence around you so it did not need to pass thru your body but it directly congregate in a specific place or object. Like I did in the battle today to stop those mages from advancing. #

“So that snap of fingers was that?”

#No. That is an Essence Manipulation Art. I’m talking about the air getting denser around the mages before I used that Art. #

“What is an Art?”

Raz looked at the inpatient Mack and said for him to wait with a hand gesture. First, he needed to explain the five basic stages.