Wizard Runners

Chapter 9's

Aev resisted yawning. He hasn't slept at all at night

previously, instead of practicing the use of Fire Essence until dawn.

Now he could form a flame in his hand almost

instantly, and every time he did, a wide smile appeared on

her face.

To Aev's surprise, Mr. Joko did not punish him for

his persistence. Instead, he simply looked on with agreement.

“The more you practice your magic, the stronger it becomes

your strength,” said Mr. Joko, and Aev was too happy to follow the advice of men

that's.

In the middle of the morning, Aev once again waited for Fire

Essence to be replenished. As he walked beside the cart, he

look around them.

It had been a few days since he had last seen the signs

everyone else, and not a single farm or cottage could be seen in

the low hills that surround them.

Aev did not know which part of the Empire they were in

being – or, honestly, whether he knows which part of the Empire it is –

but it is clear that this region is more sparsely populated than they are

pass before.

“Where do we go?” he asked Mr. Joko,

not expecting an answer. He asked questions many times, and

every time, the answer is the same: “I will tell you when I

decided.”

To his surprise, this time Mr. Joko answered his question.

“We will visit my old friend.”

“An old friend?” Aev is surprised by the idea that Mr

Joko has friends, like normal people. “Is she also a witch?”

“Dia,” says Mr. Joko. “Yang strong, at the time.”

　

　

“When do we get there?” Aev asked, excited

thinking of meeting another witch.

“We must arrive in one or two months,” replied Mr. Joko.

“That length?” Aev wishes to spend some time outside,

but now it seems like he has to wait a little longer.

Mr. Joko stopped the train on the side of the road, then walked

to the nearby grasslands.

“There are two techniques you should learn first,”

said Mr. Joko. “One or two months should be long enough for you to

catch them,”

Aev raised an eyebrow. “Two techniques?”

Mr. Joko did not answer. Instead, he suddenly

extended arm. From his hand appeared a raging fireball that was fierce

soaring towards the big tree in the distance. When it hit, the whole tree

incinerated.

“Please teach me!” Aev said, wide-eyed.

“I think you might be interested,” said Mr. Joko while

smilingly. “This is a sloppy and wasteful technique, but it has some

usability.”

He went on to explain the technique to Aev,

demonstrated it a few times and left some burns

at the local view.

As Master Joko explained, Aev had to concentrate Fire

His essence, then forcefully chased him away at once, leading him away

from her.

Aev's first few attempts were unsuccessful. While

successfully producing a huge flame, the flame did not move the same

once, it instead subsided in his hands after a while.

　

　

He finally made it an hour later, but was disappointed

finding that unlike Master Joko's fireball, hers was much smaller

and it almost never flew a single step before disappearing in the air.

Even a little success is enough to

increased his confidence, and he made a few more attempts, just

stop when he ran out of Fire Essence.

Aev now understands what Mr. Joko meant when he

I say the technique is in vain. Every successful attempt consumes some

great Fire Essence in Aev's body, and only half a dozen fireballs were

managed to make it run out of energy.

“Excellent,” says Mr. Joko. “You're more talented than

what I expected,”

Aev felt a wave of pride. Mr. Joko is rare

giving compliments, which makes the people he gives even more

valuable.

“Next, I will show you the technique for

recover your Essence faster.”

Aev's interest was instantly triggered. At this time, every time Fire

His essence was depleted, he would need nearly half an hour to recover.

Mr. Joko spent the next hour explaining

the technique to Aev that made him circulate Essence in his body while

pulled him from his Realm.

It sounds simple, but Aev soon discovers that

it required him to control every aspect of his mind and body.

The technique reminded him of the sword technique he had

taught Master Joko, and relied on the controls he had learned from

the people he made were making slow progress.

　

　

After a few hours of work, Aev has cut the time

it needed to fill his Fire Essence in half. It's not as fast as that

he expected, but he was not disappointed – with just this, he could train

makes a fireball twice as fast.

———

The following weeks saw Aev use some of the

it was time to practice the two techniques that Master Joko had taught

to him.

As he walked beside the wagon, he would occasionally

sending small fireballs flying into the distance, then recovering Essence

using Master Joko's recovery technique.

He quickly improved in both skills, and he

it soon found itself able to send fireballs flying further and

His essence recovered faster.

Not long before each mile, a series of marks were charred

it appears on the vegetation beside the road.

Once, Aev burned a bush in a patch of forest, and

only a quick intervention by Mr. Joko saved the forest from burning.

Afterwards, Mr. Joko makes Aev direct the fireball into the

airborne.

Although Aev thinks that magic training will replace

training his sword, he discovered that he still had to train with the sword

twice a day. Only now, Aev had to use his sword only with

using his right hand, while at the same time using his right hand

left to use magic.

At first, trying to control magic and swords only

saw Aev fail on both. Only after a few weeks of training

being a little adept at combining the two, though not close enough to

get compliments from Guru Joko.

As they traveled, the scenery changed

every day. The hills grew taller and more rocky, and the trees

less frequent. There is still little sign of human activity, but with a steady, steady,

the dense trees paved the way for the vast grassland.

Almost two months after Aev first learned magic, the,

a faint line appeared in the distance. At first, he believed this was a hill

higher, but as they move closer, their height

increased, and on cloudless days he could see snow

cover their tops.

Filled with awe, Aev realizes that this is a mountain.

Aev had never seen a mountain before, and deep

in his imagination, the mountain was just a very high hill. Now after him

looking at them with his own eyes, he finally understood how vast it was

they are – even from tens of miles away, Aev can see them stretched

into the sky, through the clouds.

The thought of seeing the mountains up close made it

rejoiced.

One morning, Aev discovers that Mr. Joko has been dumped

derrin, his blonde uncle. His hair and eyes are black

again, and his face looked like he was in his fifties, if not

older.

“Once we enter the city, you should call me ‘Lord of Fire

Hati’,” said Mr. Joko.

“Master Fireheart?” Aev thought the name sounded ridiculous,

but he wisely shut his mouth.

“Now, for you ..” Mr. Joko waved his hand at Aev, he said,

and Aev can sense that Essence is flowing from Mr. Joko's hand in the direction

itself.

As Aev stood there, wondering if something

it has happened, Mr. Joko took out the small mirror he gave Aev.

When she looked in the mirror, she was surprised to find that

her blond hair had turned pitch-black. And not just that, eyes

his skin has changed as well.

He no longer looked like a pale Easterner and

blond. Instead, he now resembled someone from the West.

“Start now,” says Mr. Joko, “your name is Shun jhin . Ye

he was the son of a small merchant from the city of Ghonas, and you became my disciple

a year ago.”

“Shun jin” Aev repeats that name until it feels natural

on his lips