The following morning, Morgan and Freyja were eating breakfast outside while Duran and Martel prepared to spar.

“Is it necessary for them to fight, even if it is only a mock fight?” Freyja asked Duran.

“I want to gauge him for myself and use that information to decide the best method of training.”

“It’s okay. I would like this as well.” Martel replied.

The two of them were about 6 feet apart and held wooden bastard-swords. However, no one present could identify the stance which Martel took. His feet were perpendicular to each other, and his posture was also unusual. Instead of holding the sword with both hands, his left-hand lay completely limp, which exposed his left side.

At the start, Duran rushed Martel. He quickly made an overhead slash toward Martel’s left shoulder.

Martel thrust his left elbow backward, which propelled his body sideways while he intercepted Duran’s blade near his blade’s hilt. The sounds of grinding wood reverberated as he guided Duran’s blade down and past where his left shoulder previously was. The next instant, Martel lunged forward and stabbed Duran’s shoulder using his momentum.

“Wha?” Morgan couldn’t help but make a strange sound. Freyja’s eyes went wide, and the few soldiers that came to watch are speechless, including Duran.

After a short pause, Duran began to laugh. “Hahaha, what an interesting move. I never would’ve expected you to land a blow on me, not to mention at the very beginning.”

“True, but in a real fight you would be wearing armor so I’d have to aim for the slot.”

“If you knew how to use your Ki, that would’ve been a grievous wound. You implied that you had no combat experience.” Duran said as he eyed Martel with a trace of suspicion.

“I don’t... I do have a little fighting experience. Also, back in my world, there is a sport called fencing. It’s basically something along the lines of a gentleman’s sword fight utilized in duels. Since then my world has exceeded the sword, it is left as a sport by some.”

“I believe you to be too modest. I have been called a genius with the sword, yet you managed to land a blow.”

“Well… If you had attacked anywhere but there, I probably wouldn’t have been able to block much less counter. You are definitely stronger and faster than me, so I decided to guide your sword.”

“You intentionally left your left side open and batted me into attacking it,” Duran replied with a nod.

Martel nodded back. “Yes. I was well known for my quick parry-riposte. Seeing as you are stronger than me, I baited you into attacking my left so I can play on my strengths, though my speed was faster than normal.”

“You certainly have the mind of a warrior to find the advantage. As to your speed, I imagine it is because of your Ki. Ki naturally enhances the body, and if you truly didn’t have it before, your body should be stronger just by possessing it now.”

“Come to think of it, he does seem to have some experience with martial arts as well,” Freyja said under her breath.

“What are you talking about?” Morgan asked.

“N–nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Morgan couldn’t help but notice Freyja’s slightly reddening cheeks.

“Oh my, I was wondering what all the fuss was.” A voice from behind the two young ladies said.

“Sarah,” Freyja said as she greeted her sister-in-law with a smile and a hug. “Are you feeling alright?”

Sarah gently rubbed her swollen belly. “Yes, this little one is still a couple of months from being born. More importantly, I wanted to watch Duran train this Hero.”

“Well, he’s been full of surprises ever since coming here. They seem to be ready to continue.”

“I must ask for your forgiveness Martel as I am now going to get serious,” Duran said as he took a stance. His body started to emit Ki.

“You probably shouldn’t have come here, Sarah, it seems my brother can’t help but show off in front of you,” Morgan said in a condescending tone. Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

Upon feeling the Ki, Martel made a quick jump backward. “That’s some scary pressure you’re giving off.”

“Oh? Even without Ki training, you not only felt but reacted to it. This is going to be more fun than I expected.”

They start fighting, slowly at first. Martel never ceased his movement to prevent Duran from gaining the upper hand, which showed a high degree of fighting movement knowledge.

“This is surprising,” Sarah says. “I would not have expected him to last so long against Duran.”

Freyja nodded her head. “I agree. Even though Duran is going easy, Martel is still holding his ground.”

“Humph, I don’t know what you two are talking about, there’s nothing special about that pervert.”

*Wack!* With a sharp sound, Martel’s wooden sword went spinning off out of his hand to the side.

“Excellent,” Duran said. “In less than half a year, I may not be able to go easy on you.”

“I hope I can live up to your expectations,” Martel said with a smile as the two of them moved to join the ladies.

...

Later that afternoon, Martel listened to Duran about Ki.

“Firstly let me explain in a little more detail what Ki is. Your body has what we refer to as a Ki Core. This Core is a representation of your life force, and the Ki Flame comes from it. The more Ki you have, and the larger your Ki flame is. We refer to it as a Ki Flame because it looks like a flame. In reality, it is simply the dense Ki extruding from the Core before going to the rest of the body. It then leaves from certain areas of the body.”

“What makes a strong Core?”

“Having a stronger Core is a bit of a misnomer as the Core seems to have little to do with the amount of Ki available, which denotes an individual’s strength. In that regard, Bloodlines and training can help increase the amount of Ki a person has.

“As I explained, the two fundamental principles of Ki utilization are Confine and Release. These actions control the amount of Ki coming out of the Core by directly controlling it. Rigorous training over many years is required to increase the amount of Ki one has. Training your body also gives a similar effect. Given the size of your Ki flame, I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

“How do you know the size of a Ki flame? Can you see it?”

“That will be a good place to start. You can focus your Ki to certain parts of your body to increase their effectiveness. This is extremely easy for those with manipulator Ki. By focusing the Ki into my eyes, I can see yours. Why don’t you try this now.”

Martel imagined his body’s energy flowing into his eyes. As a slowly opened them, he saw a blue light that emanated from Duran. In his chest, where his heart should be, there was something that appeared to be flickering like a flame.

“I see a blue light, and it appears to be leaving your body from your wrists, ankles, and the back of your neck.”

Duran looked shocked. “This is the first time you’ve ever tried this, right?” He asked to which Martel nodded in confirmation. “I thought you were quick on the uptake, but this is ridiculous. Even without manipulation type Ki, it took me a full six months before I could see Ki at all. Though admittedly perhaps the amount of Ki you have is helping you. At any rate, I am now going to explain how to train your Ki. To Confine, imagine the energy of your body focused towards the center of your chest. To Release, do the reverse. I would suggest doing this for a week before moving on to the specialist training. To reinforce, you have to prevent the Ki from leaving your body and build it up. Later you will learn to do this externally.

“The amount of Ki you build up and your ability to compress it directly impacts its strength as it increases your defense and attack. However, you must be wary as too much Ki buildup can cause damage to your body. To manipulate the easiest method is to focus the Ki into one part of your body. At a more advanced level, you can shape the Ki slightly outside the body in certain patterns to practice control. You can also attempt to put your Ki into items which will temporarily strengthen them. To emit, build up your Ki in a part of your body and fire it.”

“So, it’s more like self-training?”

“Yes, Ki is influenced by your will, which is different from person to person. While there is a generalized training regimen, the specifics are down to the person.”

For the rest of the day, Duran observed Martel’s training.

End of Day -321

“Tell me… Why am I the one who has to train you in using Magic?” Morgan said to Martel in a huff.

“Because Grandma is busy and she nominated you?” Martel asked back sarcastically.

“Fine fine. Magic is to the mind what Ki is to the body. You use your emotional strength as the fuel to cast Magic. Should you cast too much Magic, you will become mentally tired and possibly faint. There is no known way to measure one’s emotional capacity, so you need to find your limits. Now then, the trick is to imagine what you want. While imagination and intent are enough to trigger it, it is good practice to say the word so that you can more easily concentrate on your Magic. For example, flame.”

A flame appeared in her hand, much like the first time they had met.

Martel concentrated and the image of a flame and spoke. “Flame.” A little flame came from his hand.

“Wuh? How? On the first try?”

“I seem to be experiencing déjà vu,” Martel said with a chuckle before turning to a target about 20 feet from them. “Fireball.” A stronger flame appeared in his hand, which he threw it like a baseball.” *Whack.* “Huh, this is quite convenient.”

“Y-y-y-you! Are you trying to make a fool out of me! You’ve done this before haven’t you!”

“No? The concept is pretty simple, and I can visualize things very easily. I guess testing my limits and how far I can take this is yet to be discovered.”

“Well whatever, I guess you don’t need me.” She says as she starts to walk away.

“Wait, are those the only factors in magic.”

Morgan stopped for a moment before she turned back to him. “Knowledge and specification are also important. The more you understand what you are doing, the more efficient the Magic. Let’s use healing magic as an example. If you imagine healing the person, it is far less efficient then imagine healing the cut.”

“I understand,” Martel said with a nod. “Wait, where are you going?” He asked as Morgan had turned back around.

“You don’t need me here.”

“At least observe me, so I don’t do anything dangerous at least.”

Morgan turned and looked at Martel disapprovingly.

Martel tried to make as pleasant a smile as possible. “Please?”

*sigh* “Fine.”

For the next couple hours, Morgan expression remained irritated as Martel slowly practiced Magic.

...

After spending some time practicing Magic, Martel waited to meet the person who was supposed to be his researcher.

[If she is as good as they claim, it will be quite helpful. Information is almost always a crucial thing. Given that I know nothing about this world makes it all the more important. If I didn’t have my hands full with training, I would probably do it myself, given how much of a history and myth freak I am. If not that I should spend my time elsewhere, I would love to see the differences between this world and legend.] Martel thought as he waited.

“Hello, Hero Martel. I am Stephanie, and I am the manager of the royal library. I understand you wish to talk to me about research materials.”

After he gave her a quick look, Martel couldn’t help but be surprised by her appearance. She appeared to be even younger than him. Her hair was tied and disheveled, and she had round glasses which were out of place given the apparent period of this world. In her arms was something similar to a clipboard that had an unlit candle and a container for ink.

“Yes, that is correct. I want you to thoroughly research and compile information on the topics I’m about to tell you. I expect a full report two months from now. Please also try to collaborate with other libraries, including those outside the kingdom, as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

“I want an accurate retelling of the first time that darkness came to this land, an event that I told occurred approximately 2000 years ago. I want as much information on the following terms as possible: Excalibur, Freyja, Spirit Kings, and anything that would be considered a legend like armor or weapons. If possible, I would like census reports, death rates, economic reports, and any other relevant reports on Roxburghshire and Camelot starting ten years before the war unofficially started. I will contact you should I need anything else.”

“I understand. I shall get started right away.”

After the information was written down, she made a polite gesture and quickly left Martel alone.

[Now then, all that’s left to do is train and wait.]

End of Day -320

Martel, Freyja, and Grandma stood in the bedroom where Martel had teleported into Eight days earlier. The room now had the addition of two twin tables side by side with a circle drawn upon them.

“I am ready to begin the transfer when you are.” Grandma said.

“I wasn’t expecting these to be made-to-order,” Martel replied before he wrote down some things before he added it to an envelope.

“What are you sending?” Freyja asked.

“A letter explaining how this works and confirming things, requesting support and information, etc.”

“I’m ready to begin the blind transfer,” Grandma said. With a nod, Martel watched as Grandma started to concentrate. Suddenly, one of the tables disappeared. “I believe it was a success. I can still sense the marker, and it doesn’t feel too far away though the table is not here.”

“Very well, let’s meet here again this time tomorrow.”

End of Day -317

The day after, the three of them reconvened, and Grandma teleported the contents over.

[Let’s hope that they listened and didn’t put anything living on it.] Martel thought of the disturbing possibility.

After the Magic completed, three letters and a radio appeared on the table.

“What’s that?” Freyja asked as she pointed to the radio.

Martel couldn’t help but hesitate to answer. “Will the two of you keep completely quiet about this?” He asked to which they both nodded their heads in affirmation. “It’s a communication device. My world doesn’t have Magic, so its focus has been in creating tools to help improve living.”

“Oh? Can you send things over here to help us?”

“I am highly against it. I believe it to be necessary to let a culture grow as much as possible on its own, especially when it is as successful as yours is. Unless there’s an emergency, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I see,” Freyja replied a little dissatisfied.

“Think of it this way as well, you come into contact with an advanced nation and ally yourselves with them. How do you think other nations will take it?”

“They would see it as a threat.”

“Correct. Basically, from what I’ve seen so far, the average Ki user and Magician is about as useful as an ordinary soldier from my world.”

“That… Is a little terrifying.”

“On top of that, I can’t promise that someone won’t do things for nefarious purposes. Like, for example, trying to get you dependent on them for something which, as a result, gives them power over you. Ultimately, I feel that minimal contact is for the best. The only reason why I’m doing this in the first place is to increase my efficiency.”

Freyja nodded her head. “I understand, it’s like a child playing with fire. I will defer to your judgment on this matter.”

Martel turned on the radio and heard only static, so he left it on while he read the letters.

“Would you mind telling what the contents of these letters are?” Freyja asked, unable to hide her curiosity upon seeing the foreign material.

“The first is a letter from my Aunt asking if I’m alright, can I come home, etc.”

“Oh? So you have a family missing you.”

“Yeah, but her concern is more out of a formality as we aren’t close. While I didn’t come here of my own will, I’m staying. I wouldn’t mind becoming stronger. Anyway, the second letter was from an organization in my government that responds to those in my situation. The third was from a CEO, or business owner, that I know who apparently was interested in buying information or things that they find valuable. I did find some interesting information.”

“Like what?”

“When the table appeared, only four days had passed since my disappearance.”

“But you have been here for eight days.”

“Yes, so it seems that every two days here is equivalent to one in my world. The flow of time is different.”

“I… I see.”

“Well, with this in mind. Grandma, are there any methods for longevity?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Your Ki flame still hasn’t stabilized and is already more than three times larger than the average person. At this rate you’ll be in good health by the time you are 80 and, if you keep improving your Ki, I would not be surprised if you reach 120.”

“I see. At any rate, how often can you do this, Grandma?”

“I think more than twice a day would be bad for my health.”

“Understood. Well then, I’m going to make a list of things that I would like. Expect it tomorrow.”

End of Day -316

Over the next couple of days, a couple of unidentifiable items were secretly stashed within part of the mansion.