“What do you think of staying here for a few more days?” Ferdinand asked Theo, they were just finishing their morning routine both resting on the grass, Theo looked up at Ferdinand, “I think that's a great idea, we should be able to relax for a while” Theo said with a grin.

“This will also give Everette a bit more time to cool off,” Ferdinand said jokingly.

Theo´s instincts had grown by leaps and bounds, Ferdinand would still not go all out when sparring with Theo, but he no longer had to completely suppress his strength when facing him.

Whenever they sparred it was always Theo who ended up on the floor panting for breath, Theo would use a combination of Flowerwind Stance and infusing himself with Mana, Theo was now able to last far longer than before and his mastery of the FlowerWind Stance was becoming evident, his control and efficiency in its use had largely improved but he had yet to land a single strike on Ferdinand.

Theo wanted to try out Time-Step on Ferdinand, but he was afraid of how he would react, all of Theos abilities and skills he´d learned from Ferdinand, if he would suddenly use Time-Step on him he might discern that Theo was hiding something.

For conditioning the rest of the squad would sometimes join them or they would do their own or just skip it, for training everyone would join, Ferdinand would do a great job in teaching them, he would do 1 on 1 session and teach individually.

Ferdinand's capabilities were clear, his knowledge was great, and he was able to pinpoint and guide a very diverse group, they had water, earth, ice a brawler, and a relatively newly awakened trainee, yet he advise all of them.

Generally speaking nobles and highborn must know all types of fighters and magic, as knowledge is power, so from an early age they are taught all of the basics, and depending on their abilities they focus on certain types because Ferdinand is a Fire Elemental, he has extensive knowledge on water, ice, and wind magic because they are strong against him he must have the information on them, to have the best chance at beating them.

Because Theo had no elemental magic he would also spar against Orlan often, as they were both fighters that heavily relied on their weapons, it was easier to have them fight between themselves, leaving Ferdinand to spar against the other elementals.

Oddly enough, even though Orlan was technically a higher stage than Theo, Orlan was at a slight disadvantage, as Theo had been training almost exclusively with Ferdinand, he had grown at an incredibly fast pace, and he was used to facing a much quicker opponent, whereas Orlan was a crude brawler that liked to rush and overpower.

When facing him Theo would mostly infuse his hands and legs with mana, for the speed and strength to withstand the brawlers' heavy hits, as a brawler Orlan had iron gauntlets covering his fists, which provided grand power and strength, he could easily smash to bit a boulder roughly the size of a person.

Theo would fight smart, biding his time and withstanding the hits Orlan would land, after sparring a couple of times Theo had understood Orlans fighting style, or lack thereof, when Theo felt Orlan was beginning to tire from his attacks, Theo went on the offensive, unlike Orlan who would just attack until he could overpower, Theo understood that the most effective way of fighting is to understand your opponent and know when to strike, to just use your strongest abilities or attacks ferociously means nothing if your opponent can evade or counter attack.

Theo began a 3 combo from the FlowerWind Stance, he focused on unbalancing Orlan, attacked to push Orlan back, and focused on his footwork, Orlan was beginning to stagger and when he lost his footing Theo did a quick cast Arc Slice, at that point, it didn't take a lot of power but just the right amount at the right moment as Orlan was sent flying back.

Theo had learned to quick cast which meant he didn't need to cast a mana circle, he could just cast instantly, this type of casting was the most efficient and the hardest to master, the higher the tier level of the spell the harder and longer it would take for one to be able to do this.

After defeating Orlan, Nick asked Theo if he would spar with him, Theo agreed, even after sparring with Orlan he didn't feel tired at all.

As they prepared, the rest of the squad were spectating their sparring session, they hadn't seen Nick in action except for in the dungeons frontlines as a tanker, Ferdinand was intrigued about the outcome, Nick as an Earth element would have the upper hand against Theo. 

Theo and Nick were standing opposite each other 12 feet apart, they both nodded and began their sparring session, they begin, Nick went on the defensive casting an enhancing spell where he reinforces himself with rock, Theo rushed ahead with his daggers branded, he has yet to try out his newest dagger, he still uses Ray´s and the one he made himself.

Theo goes on an onslaught, attacking mercilessly at Nick, but none of these attacks are fruitful Nick´s defensive capabilities are beyond what Theo had expected.

Theo was only using normal thrust and cuts, testing out what Nick was capable of doing, so far he was impressed by the rock suit that covered Nick head to toe, after hitting him a couple of times, Theo could see a few things, wherever he hit it cracked the suit and then more rock would appear to cover the cracks but it would take a couple of seconds to fix.

Theo then decided to try something, he did a quick cast of Arc Slice 3 times in a row, hitting hit strait across his chest, Nick would cover himself with his arms to take most of the blunt force, Theo was expecting this as he attacked the same way all three times, the fact that Nick would try and protect himself even with the suit meant it could be broken, it wasn't indestructible.

After the 3rd Arc Slice the suit covering Nick's arms cracked completely, bearing his arms, Theo suspected that with enough attacks his suit would crumble sooner or later, he couldn't fix his armor as fast as Theo would hit him, and again and again, it would weaken it.

It was a battle for who would last longer, Nick's defense or Theos attacks, just as Theo was feeling happy with himself a slab of rock appeared under him, hitting him and making him fly back.

Theo landed 6 feet away from Nick, he was caught off guard and rather surprised at such a hit, but he felt exhilarated, he decided to try something else, using FlowerWind Stance to breach the gap and attack, he was now attacking relentlessly again, all over Nick, hitting his back, head, torso, and legs, going all around him, trying to hit the same spots every time and looking for signs of rock slabs growing from the ground.

Ferdinand was very impressed by Theo, his instinct was incredible, he refrained from giving him any advice or information on Earth elements to see how he would go about this sparring session, he probed the situation and then went with his gut and followed suit.

After Theo kept striking the rock suit began to crumple, Theos attacks were too many and too fast, Nick didn't have time to fix his defense and attack him at the same time, every time he cast a rock slab, Theo would see the signs before and evade it, even when Nick felt he could predict his movements, Theo would turn the other way quickly, not stopping.

Nick could only hold so much, and in the end, Theo proved to have a bigger mana core and more stamina than him, Nick knelt he released his rock suit, “I give, you win” Nick said while panting, Theo helped him up “Thank you, I learned a lot” Theo said.

Theo had now won 2 spars in a row and still wasn't tired, “Would you like to spar now?” Theo asked Amber, he was very curious about Ice elements.

Amber looked at Ferdinand as if asking if she should be given the fact he had sparred with two people already, Ferdinand nodded giving the go-ahead.

Now Amber and Theo were standing opposite each other, Theo was very curious, he had only seen Amber use her Ice magic to immobilize and slow down enemies, and he wanted to see it uses in a more offense-like manner.

As the spar started, Amber immediately used Ice Root, Theo felt a chilling sensation it was cool at first but then it felt hot, it started burning his skin as both his feet were bound by an ice block, Amber then did something he hadn't seen her do before, she created an ice spear, she then threw it straight across, it was a beautiful azure color long spear, Theo was mesmerized by it, Amber was not holding anything back.

As the spear was getting closer and closer Theo´s newfound instincts finally kicked in, he destroyed one of the ice blocks with his dagger's hilt, the spear had been aimed right at his chest, he kneeled forward as the spear just went over his right shoulder, but as soon as Theo had saved himself from one, Amber used Ice root a second time trapping him once again, as she began casting another ice spear.

Theo was in trouble, he was a close combat type of fighter, but Amber was neutralizing him and not letting up, Theo was also now feeling some of the repercussions of his last spar with Nick, after getting hit with that slab of rock and landing hard his body was feeling the strain.

Although the situation was moving against Theo he wasn't scared or frustrated he felt excited by the challenge, he was having fun, he proceeded by smashing both of the ice blocks holding him in place, dodged another ice spear, and started running, he ran for a few meters back and stopped, whenever Amber ran towards him, he also ran back, trying to keep the distance between them.

When they were fighting back in the dungeon he noticed that Amber had to keep a certain distance from the monsters she was fighting, he tried his theory by keeping the distance between them, but so far she hadn't been able to use Ice Root.

“Guess your spell can only reach so far, what do you plan to do now?” Theo asked mockingly, he was rather enjoying himself.

“I still have a few surprises,” Amber said smiling, she was also enjoying this.

When Amber would spar against Flynn she´d always win since she had the advantage against him, now she was excited, at first she thought it would still be her win in the end, but Theo was proving to be resourceful and difficult to deal with.

Amber then stopped running to him she took a stance, extended her arm, and prepared to cast a spell, so far she had only used two spells, Ice Root which is a tier 2 spell, and Ice Spear a tier 3 spell, it was her favorite combo, but she also had a way of dealing with someone that wasn't in range.

Theo was curious as he hadn't seen her use any other spells before, so he just stood there preparing for whatever came next, then out of the palm of Amber's hand tiny ice shards that looked like the tips of arrows began materializing.

Theo wanted to see if they were to fly all at him or one at a time wondering how much mana this spell would take to cast, after about 7 ice shards had appeared, they flew straight at him, all 7 of them, Theo dodged but just then another 5 or 6 ice shards were going for him, he dodged again and another pack of ice shards was already on him.

Amber's spell Ice Shard was a tier 2 spell, it was a continuous casting spell, meaning Amber could keep bombarding him with Ice Shard for however long she want as long as she had enough mana, it was a relentless attack.

The ice shards were incredibly fast projectiles, their speed was enough to catch off guard just about anyone, Theo was just running around but keeping his distance, if Amber was able to cast her Ice Root just once it would be bad for Theo.

Theo decided to try something, he began charging an Arc Slice, and as soon as another batch of Ice Shards was on him he released Arc Slice destroying the Ice Shards coming for him, by doing this he created a misty fog, giving him some cover, this gave him an idea.

Amber wasn't letting up she had enough mana to keep casting without worry, as she kept throwing ice shards at Theo, he once again charged Arc Slice and released it creating another misty fog, he used this to cover himself as he cast Time Step, he had 10 seconds to get to where Amber was and turn things to close combat.

Amber suddenly saw Theo bolt across the field, he was incredibly fast, and she had no time to react, she kept casting Ice Shard right at him, throwing everything she had, but Theo was able to evade every single one, in a matter of seconds he was already on her, She had stopped casting Ice Shard and created an Ice Spear.

The two were now going at each other in close combat, Theo was using FlowerWind Stance, and Amber was trying to defend herself, Time Step had run out and Theo was now just using his fighting skills to test against Amber. 

Theo infused himself with mana, going all out, Amber was now at a disadvantage, Theo could tell she didn't practice her close combat skills often, she would stumble and defend awkwardly, Theo struck at the spear with full force, shattering it, Amber landed on her behind looking up at Theo she then surrendered.

“Did you have much mana left?” Theo asked Amber as he helped her up, “I was about halfway” Amber said snarkily as she smiled at him.

“Maybe next time I'll show you some different moves,” Amber said while batting her eyes at him and holding on to Theo's hand a few seconds longer.

“Um, sure we can do spar some more tomorrow,” Theo said nervously, Amber was two years older than him and just now he felt extremely embarrassed as his ears were bright red now.

“Ok, that's enough for today, let us go get some supper,” Ferdinand said, everyone began to leave, “Here, this is for you,” Ferdinand told Theo as he handed him some parchment.

“What is it?” Theo asked, “It´s another spell I think it will work very well for you,” Ferdinand said as he left.

Theo unfolded the parchment and began reading, it was a buffing spell called Dual Dagger Rush, it was a tier 3 spell that increases strength and enhances attacks with a dagger or blade by 25% for 30 seconds and cost 900 mana, tier 3.

“That's a great new skill for you, would you like to come in to learn it, Theodore?” Prim asked him, “Yes please” He answered.

Theo was transported into Prim´s domain, where he began learning his new spell.