It was rough. The rugged and bumpy terrain made it hard to walk. Her metal-plated boots didn't make it any easier. As if the weight of her armor wasn't enough, the Traveler walked even faster as time went on. The terrain seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever, and Elise was sure he was purposely walking on the hardest terrain possible.
They walked quietly for quite a while, but the mountain was not getting any closer. She had even stopped hearing the rumbling noises of the environment due to the buzzing in her head from exhaustion. At their first break, Elise thought she was going to drop dead for sure. The Traveler sat on a rock, waiting for her to catch her breath. When she finally got herself together, he suddenly shouted.
"A HUNDRED PUSH-UPS, A HUNDRED CRUNCHES, A HUNDRED SQUATS. NOW!"
Was he out of his mind? It was impossible in her current condition. Even without the armor, Elise was not sure she could perform those moves a hundred times under this gravity. She looked at the Traveler with bewildered eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. Why don't you start with the push-ups? You are already lying face down; you are halfway there." He pointed the sword in its scabbard at Elise and swung it at the rock next to him. The sword hit the rock with a loud slap. "NOW!" he shouted.
Her eyes widened in shock. Her sword, her only friend. What was he thinking? "Please don't!"
"Then move your ass!" He prepared to swing the sword again, once again wearing that wicked smile.
That caring middle-aged man was gone. To Elise, he was the definition of evil right now. "Okay, okay. Just stop!" She forced her body to move and started the push-ups. But a hundred times! It was impossible! Was he trying to kill her?
Elise had done body training with her sword master before. Her body was not in bad shape, especially for a young lady of her age, but this was way too much even for her. She forced every muscle in her body, but barely managed ten reps. Her arms couldn't handle more, and she collapsed immediately after.
"Good work! Catch your breath, then continue with the crunches."
"But you said a hundred."
"Ho ho, so you still have enough energy for more. Start the crunches now, then." That wicked smile again. Yes, Elise was sure now. He was definitely an incarnation of pure evil, trying to kill her slowly and painfully.
With every bit of strength, she barely managed to force out ten reps for both the crunches and squats. She was about to give up after the seventh squat, but a little 'encouragement' from the Traveler in the form of her sword got her ramped up again.
"Let's rest a bit." He reached inside his layers of clothing and threw her a bottle of water. "Don't forget to stay hydrated. Drink it slowly."
What useful equipment, Elise thought about his strange clothing. It was funny she could think something like that in her condition. Her curiosity took control sometimes, a little side effect of her Blessing.
He let her rest a bit more than usual. She lay on the ground motionless, trying to breathe in a certain rhythm to normalize her heartbeat. Her old master had taught her this. It was a battle technique used to recover as fast as possible in order to keep fighting.
"It is lucky you knew those moves. Also, the way you are trying to recover right now. But it isn't enough." He raised his empty hand and drew a circle in the air with his index finger. A white, glowing ring formed. "This Realm has a lot of raw Energy roaming freely; that is exactly why I chose this place. You said you can learn fast, right? Let's start with something basic, then. I want you to close off every other sense to feel the Energy around you. You are already adapted to it by your 'Blessing', kind of, so it should be easy enough."
Another thing to learn, even while she couldn't feel her body. Well, that could be an advantage; he had told her to close off all her senses. Her body was completely numb, her vision was blurred, and her ears buzzed. Maybe this was the perfect time to try. Elise closed her eyes and focused. She tried to recall what she had read about mana back home.
"The properties of Energy can differ between Realms. Try to forget the things you learned back then." Well, that was it for her plan. "But don't worry, it shouldn't be that hard. The Energy around here is mostly raw, and quite dense, too." She did not have much experience, but she remembered the feeling it left in her hand and tried to replicate it in her surroundings.
She focused again and tried as he said. It really was there. A lot of it, in fact. She was shocked by how easy it was to feel. How had she not noticed it before? The Energy was like a naughty child, whirling and waving without stopping once, colliding and interacting with itself. It was not something that could be seen, heard, or felt by touch, so it was hard to explain. It was more like an entirely new sense. She could feel about an arm's length around herself without even looking.
"I can feel it!" The first steps toward a new horizon were always exciting.
"Well done. Now, try to draw it inside your body. Command it to bend to your will. It should be easier if you imagine the way it moves toward you. You can also think of it as breathing."
"Wait. Is that why the magicians in my country use incantations and hand gestures? To make it easier to command and imagine?"
"Exactly! It is not unique to your Realm; they do that in most places."
"Then, should I do them too?"
"No."
"But you said it makes it easier."
"Well, a slight hand gesture wouldn't hurt at the beginning, but if you get too used to it, it could quickly become a hindrance. Imagine trying to speak an incantation or make a specific hand movement in a tight spot. That is the main reason most Energy users end up dead against a close combatant."
He had a point. The hard way it was, then. She concentrated as much as she could, but every time she thought she managed to grasp it, the Energy found a way to slip away.
She was exhausted from her training, which made her even more frustrated. Elise tried to breathe it in as the Traveler had said, inhaling it along with a deep breath. This was the only way she hadn't tried.
As she inhaled, the Energy rushed inside her chest with her breath and filled her lungs. It was not refreshing like a normal breath; instead, it felt like she was burning from the inside.
That feeling remained only for a moment. Afterward, Elise noticed her muscles were not as sore, and her exhaustion was mostly gone. It refreshed her body to the point where she could move again without pain.
"I made it!" She looked at the Traveler with glowing eyes.
"Well done! You did better than I anticipated. I expected you to only feel it at first, but you managed to absorb it through your mouth." A slight smile appeared on his face, resembling the one her father gave when he was proud of her. "It isn't ideal to absorb through the mouth, but it is a start. You look rested enough. Let's keep moving."
It was a totally different and fascinating experience for Elise. "I feel so refreshed! Why does it work like that?"
"I wasn't going to go this deep into the topic yet, but since you asked." He dropped down from his rock and gestured for her to get up. "The human body has ways to turn matter, mostly food, into a variation of Energy to use, and raw Energy tends to synchronize with its surroundings, with exceptions, of course."
"So, when I draw it in, it converts into the Energy my body needs. Am I right?" she asked, overflowing with excitement.
"Partially, yes. We'll get into these topics later in much more detail. We still have a long way to go; let's focus on our current objective." The Traveler had already started walking.
Her excitement quickly turned to dread as she walked. Just like that, they continued their journey toward the smoking volcano.