Chương 139: Chapter 137 - Target Practice

Mira was right about one thing, Sasha was more than willing to help with his training. Thwap, thwap. Thump. Eli grunted as one of the blunted arrows connected with the top of his skull as he ducked behind a low stone wall bordering the road as the caravan passed through a section of rolling fields. Mira had been pleased that he had been keeping up with her conditioning exercises, but had been disappointed that he had been reluctant to ask for help with some of the other routines she had prescribed.

She had given him a frown when the caravan had been preparing to leave in the morning, " Mr Mercer I would be surprised if one of the patrolmen would be unwilling to assist, from what I can see you seem to be well liked?"" I know that, it's just a little awkward to ask someone to pelt me with rocks." She had smirked, " I suspect it's far easier than you would expect, you just need to find the right assistant."

Cackling laughter coming from the top of a nearby wagon followed by a shout from a giggling Sasha, " You know if you wanted a haircut you just needed to ask!" Eli grunted as he wiped the sweat from his brow. His morning run around the column had gone from relaxing to being hunted for sport. A small smile slipped across his face, can't say I'm not having fun. According to Mira it made for excellent training.

His reflexes were being tested, his increased Strength and Dexterity were pushed to their limits, and since he was currently forbidden from using [Displacement] defensively, even his Vitality was getting a workout. Eli felt a small rivulet of warm energy trickle upwards, a dozen or so points streaming out of his health pool to heal the bruise that had been left behind as he ducked lower. It's efficient, I'll give her that, just wish it didn't suck so much, couldn't she have picked someone with worse aim?

Flattening himself to the ground, Eli kipped up into a sprinter's pose before launching forward at full speed for the far end of the column. Whistling sounds could be heard as a steady stream of blunted wooden arrows began flitting through the air around him, at least Sasha was using training arrows instead of warshot, his feet pounding the earth below as he poured on the speed, straining to get clear.

The rules were simple, she was to stick to the wagons in the center of the column, although she could traverse them freely to find the best perch, and she was to aim for killing shots while avoiding serious injury wherever possible. Sasha had taken to the challenge with relish. Apparently the upcoming stretch of road was sparsely wooded and without any chance to leave the road and hunt for game she had been bored to tears.

As he rounded the curve ahead and passed the last of the cargo wagons, he heard a shout from behind, " I'm trying for 3 hits on the next pass you better be ready!" Eli chuckled as he slowed from a sprint to a run, catching his breath as he hit the open stretch before the forward section of the column where one of the companies from Darian's battalion was leading the formation. He was still able to relax and stretch his legs for at least a little bit, even if the center had turned into a shooting gallery.

Darian's men had grown accustomed to his daily meanderings a couple days out from the estate. The murmurs eventually turned to cheery waves and the occasional greetings, he suspected that Tia's charm offensive had a bit to do with that, the little lizard was determined to make sure everyone liked her. Probably a scheme to get more treats. What was that brother?" Nothing…" The sounds of good natured bickering up ahead brought a smile to Eli's face.

Ever the enterprising merchant, Old Graff had hung a chalk board from the side of his wagon and was currently taking bets on the morning entertainment. Eli smirked when he spotted Evelynn, the younger Hostler sister, working the board for Graff as she took down fresh bets and updated odds as coins changed hands. Don't even need to ask who tipped him off… Eli gave them a wave as he passed, " Put me down for 5 bronze for a no hit run on the next pass!"

Evie giggled and shouted after him, " If you want to just toss your coins in the gutter you can just give them to me instead!" A ripple of laughter came from a couple of the nearby soldiers who were in earshot, and Eli grinned as he loped towards the front, savoring the warm breeze and the clean air of the countryside. As he drew close to the last two wagons at the front of the formation, the wagons from Astra's patrol, when he spotted a couple of familiar figures seated on top.

He slowed as he grew close, and clambered up the back of the vehicle to join Astra and Mira on top. He still found it unusual to see Mira without her armor. Aside from the first day they had met, he could scarcely remember another time she had not worn it, the intricately etched metal plates seeming as much a part of her as her own skin. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Without the bulk of all that steel she seemed smaller, no one would ever describe her as soft or frail, but she was undeniably more human. It was easier to remember that beneath the titles, impossible strength, and magic that bordered on the absurd, she was simply a woman recovering from her injuries rather than some towering figure of legend, no matter how deserved her reputation was.

Astra had carefully stripped the last of the bandages from Mira's arms and was helping her wash her wounds before reapplying the fresh clean set. Swollen lines of red and black traced jagged paths up her arms, deep channels cut into the flesh that were scabbed over, but still weeping from the edges. He sat without a word, grabbing a cloth from the bowl of water, wringing the excess water before starting on the other arm across from Astra. They worked in silence for a few minutes before he spoke."

So what's the prognosis? Do they think you'll heal?" Mira arched her brow in his direction, " Come again? I think there may have been an error in the translation?" She shifted the arm he was working on, the dense muscle flexing beneath his hands. The damage was all the more shocking given the unnatural firmness beneath her skin, despite its softness, it felt strangely unyielding, " If you are asking about my condition, then rest assured I will heal given enough time. It is in my nature to heal swiftly."

Mira sighed, " The deeper damage is the more pressing issue. The heavy flow overloaded my channels and the healers suspect it will take quite a while, months at the least, to heal fully, although once they recover I should be able to repair any lingering damage to my flesh easily enough on my own." Eli shifted uneasily as he continued working, " So will you be able to cast without using your channels?"" … No. At least not how you would know it, but never fear."

He glanced up from his work as she smirked down at him, " The dregs of power I can marshall, shall be sufficient to outclass anything you can muster. The lessons will continue apace." He chuckled, " Not what I was worried about, but good to know." He dropped the rag back into the water bowl, pinning one corner under his boot to wring it out one handed once more.

His head was ducked down as he wrangled with the rag so he missed the glance Astra gave Mira before tipping her head towards the stump of his left arm and the nod she received in return." Recovery tends to be more of a given the farther you tread along the Path, I would much rather discuss your injury. Even if I had no assistance I can recover on my own, you on the other hand Mr Mercer can not, and that is something we will have to remedy."

Eli's hand paused as he furrowed his brow, his gaze flicking up to Mira, over to Astra before turning back to Mira, " Wait, what?" She gave him a stern look, " What kind of instructor would I be if I allowed my pupil to remain crippled?" He sat back and stared at her for a moment in confusion, " Hold on, that's a thing here?" Mira nodded towards Astra who waved over Mason who was riding alongside the wagon.

At a signal from her, he traced his hands through a complicated spellform, and a swirling air current surrounded them, the dull roar of the wind drowning out the ambient sounds of the road." Please convey my thanks to Mr Mason at your convenience my Lady. Given my condition I expect I will have need of his services fairly often in the foreseeable future." She turned back to Eli, " I gather limb regeneration was not a common therapy in your world?"

He shook his head, " No, it was not common because it simply didn't exist. If you lost a hand a prosthetic replacement was your best chance, otherwise you would just do without. There were some promising robotic replacements in the works when I left but they were still in the research stage I think." Mira pinched her brow, " Then why in the realm would you risk such an injury if you thought there was no recovery??" Eli shrugged, " It was me or Astra and that's an easy choice."

Mira glanced at Astra for a moment as she gave an embarrassed but unapologetic shrug before looking back at him with a quiet groan, " Ancients above, you two will be the death of me. It seems when it comes to choosing students I have a type…"" Very well. For your edification regeneration is possible in this realm, albeit it is an exceedingly rare skill, and as such the practitioners can demand a rather tidy sum for their services.

Finding a healer who can apply a high level method to lower tiers further increases the difficulty of the task, since most of them cater to high level combatants, but there are a few promising persons we should be able to seek out once we reach Emberholdt." Her stern visage softened slightly, " My Lady has informed me of much of what I had missed over the past few days, and for what it is worth in my absence you have performed admirably.

However, as much as your courage is a credit to your character, your reckless disregard for your own safety is a detriment to your success." Eli grimaced as Mira shook her head, "This is not your fault, Mr Mercer. You are still young and inexperienced, not yet wise in the ways of the world, and that will come with time and effort.

Choosing to come to the aid of a people who are not your own, and are practically strangers to you is admirable," her eyes flicked over towards Astra before glancing back to him, " even if you are a little more invested in some of them." She hummed as she leaned forward, " How many times have you nearly died or suffered grievous injury, hmm?"" And of those… how many could have been prevented with forethought, preparation, or knowledge?"

Eli opened his mouth to answer before pausing in thought and quietly closing it again." Courage without preparation is little more than a gamble." Mira ignored Astra's protests as she thumped a fist on the roof of the wagon beneath them before returning it back to her to continue wrapping in bandages, " And that is something we can remedy Mr Mercer, and remedy it we shall."" Now. While we have a private moment, tell me a little bit more about your new class…

the one from the evolution I distinctly remember instructing you not to undergo while I was away." Eli winced as he laughed, " Hey I was under a lot of pressure! The whole story or just the highlights?" Mira smiled, " The full tale if you please, I have no other business at the moment." He chuckled before speaking in a falsetto, " Oh no, Sasha will be so disappointed…"" So I came too in the woods and it was dark…"