"Your leader may be a sleepy head but he knows how to teach others."
Lilian had long been over in the pointers she could ask from Aaron, she and he were resting while watching Spencer teach Eldon how to properly use his fire.
Aaron chuckled, "Well our leader is indeed a sleepy head. But Spencer knew how to teach others. He was also the one who would give us pointers, and despite his lazy attitude, he takes time to research new things."
"You are all kind, aren't you?" Lilian commented.
Aaron frowned, "Where did that come from?"
"You were being harsh with us in the beginning but that was only because you were thinking about our safety. And it seems we triggered something you dislike. But soon after, you all are very willing to help each of us... Well, I mean, except for her. Up to now, Kyle was still scared of her."
"Who are you talking about being scared?"
They turned when Kyle spoke beside them.
He was huffing, the work that Richard made him do was too much.
"Go on and approach her then if you are not," Lilian dared him.
Kyle cleared his throat, "Nevermind."
He scratched the back of his head before sitting down beside them.
"What did that mute man teach you?" Aaron inquired.
"Well, he..."
(Flashback)
"A sound ability. What is your background?" Richard asked when Kyle approached.
He was asking what they focus on for different abilities can be used in different ways.
"One of the to- A barrier family."
Patrick glanced at him but did not say anything.
"A barrier. That is good on its own, you can help your allies in attacking. But was there ever a time when your family tried being assassins?"
Kyle looked at him blankly.
"I see not."
Richard looked at Patrick.
"Can you make a water bubble?"
Patrick did as he was asked, but not knowing how big Richard wanted it to be, he simply created a bubble as big as a watermelon.
Richard squinted his eyes, with a smaller water ball, with a diameter of 1 centimeter, he flicked it to the water bubble.
*POP*
Richard slightly frowned, Patrick felt like he did something wrong.
"Here..."
Richard created a water ball of the same size as what Patrick created.
"Shoot it."
Patrick, though confused, did what Richard did a while ago.
He shot it with the same size that Richard had moments ago.
But instead of the bigger one popping, the smaller one got repelled, it bounced off from the surface of Richard's water bubble.
"Wha-"
Even Kyle was looking at it in astonishment.
"Water ability users cannot control only the amount and force it exerts. But they can also control the density of their water ability, to the point of it becoming elastic enough to repel strong attacks," Richard stated explaining.
Patrick poked at the water ball.
"Start with that, I suppose you know how to make use of the particle inside the water to increase its density."
Patrick gave him a salute.
To increase its strength, they'll have to adjust the particles.
Though they had focused on that, adjusting its particles to increase its elasticity was not the focus at all.
"Water ability isn't just for attacking. As compared to wind barriers which hinder one's vision or the sound barrier that helps one not to be protected but to attack instead. Water barrier helps protect while also allowing one to plan while watching how things are outside."
Patrick nodded his head eagerly, even bringing out a feathered pen and parchment to write down what Richard was saying.
He looks like a diligent student.
"Go on and do that."
Patrick went off to start his training while Richard faced Kyle once again.
"Now then, what I wanted you to do is apply to yourself the barrier you would always apply as a barrier to your allies."
Kyle did as he was told.
Richard observed him and silently nodded his head. This teenager does not only have a wide range of auditory perception but he was capable of applying barriers to the point of creating a surprise attack to an enemy with higher strength possible.
But...
"Move and try to attack me."
Kyle did as he was asked but his attack was easily interrupted by Richard.
He did these a few more times but to no avail.
"You can help your allies with it to boost their attack patterns but it is not helping you at all. You are not equally spreading your sound barrier. You are too focused on your foot that you are being negligent towards your arms. Or even the way you pull out your sword. When you apply the sound barrier to yourself, you have to make sure that all your movements are being kept silent. Do it again..."
Kyle did as he was told only to keep on failing.
"Can you feel the barrier on your body? I presume with your control, you can. You have to look into it even more intently, some sides should be thinner than the others."
Kyle looked at himself deeper and realized that the sound barrier in his legs was a lot denser than that on his arm expanding to his sword.
"Start there, control the density of your sound barrier. Allow it to be equally distributed to your body even to your weapon that you should consider to be a part of your body."
(End Of Flashback)
"Hmm, I see that his talkative side has been triggered by your enthusiasm for learning and becoming stronger," Aaron hummed.
Someone sat beside them while huffing, looking at him, it was Patrick, Richard had just stopped him as well in his training since nighttime arrived.
He was completely wet.
"What happened to you?" Lilian asked.
"Well the small water bubble I was trying to increase the density of, actually popped to the point of exploding."
"That means the water ball you are making is not a bubble at all. Its inside must have not been hollowed," Aaron commented.
Patrick sighed, when he watched Richard, he thought it was an easy task, who would have thought that it was even more difficult than increasing the strength and explosiveness of the water?
"Water may sound like it is a gentle ability. Fantasy stories even incorporate healing to them. But it was not as gentle as it seems. Because..."
Richard approached them and started speaking before looking up at a bird that flew by, in the outer area of the Dark Forest non-beast animals are still roaming around. Sometimes even becoming the food of the beasts inside.
Richard raised his hand and moved his hand into a grasping motion.
The bird that was flying suddenly stopped flapping its wings.
It even started curling while falling.
And once it was down the wings and the legs crumpled towards the body while it squirmed about.
Richard abruptly opened his hand and the bird that was squirming exploded.
The three teenagers beside him and Aaron, the one near Spencer and the one near Preshea, watched in horror at the sudden turn of events.
"It is a very vicious ability."
He looked back at those whom he was talking to.
"Most living beings have a high percentage of water in their bodies. The strong, vicious people would use this fact to massacre a lot of innocent ones."
He looked at Patrick, "I know you are very much excited about becoming stronger and learning more but you have to also understand that just as you can protect, you can also kill most mercilessly."
Patrick swallowed hard and looked back at the lump of flesh and splattered blood on the ground.
Then he looked back at Richard before nodding his head, "I understand. I will surely keep it in mind."
The lesson ended there.
And while the younger ones were sleeping together with Spencer, Luna, and Preshea.
Aaron walked towards the nearest river and found Richard splashing water on his face.
"As a fellow water ability user with a lot of potential and eagerness, you sure went beyond in teaching him the most crucial point of being a water ability user. To the point of even causing harm to you when you are not yet fully healed."
Richard looked back at him, wiping his mouth with the water remnants having a tinge of red.
"Controlling water on a living being, one must have high control over the water attribute, down to its smallest component. That is the only way to cause such an explosion. But you are injured, it must have caused quite some injury in your organs," he added.
"His potential can bring him to higher heights. As he goes up, he will meet such people who only have a habit of killing those who are weaker. It is better to show him and the rest the reality of this world."
Richard looked up in the night sky, "That we don't only have beasts or monsters or devils as our enemies. We also have those beasts in human clothing. If we want to teach them, I think that is the best and first lesson they should learn."
Aaron shook his head.
They have seen so much themselves, that is why, he knew why Richard was being like this.
"You are too kind, older brother."