"Hey, Boss, do you know Sand Arrow?" Kyle asked.
"I know what it is, but I have never learned it," Theodor said. "I was responsible for resource acquisition and military research. It was my job to know about all of the techniques."
"What does it do?" Kyle asked. "I noticed that the others had a surprisingly easy time to get past the enemy's defenses."
"It mimics properties of Skysand," Theodor answered. "The arrow turns into sticky and corrosive sand. The sand sucks the Ether out of anything it touches and denatures it, eliminating its properties."
"It mimics Skysand?" Kyle repeated in surprise. "We have techniques that can do that?"
"You don't. The Kingdom does," Theodor answered. "How can you make a replica of fire if you don't know how fire works?"
"Ah, you mean nobody else can make a replica of Skysand since they don't know how Skysand works?" Kyle asked.
"Yes, that's what I just said. How nice of you to explain my own explanation back to me," Theodor said with annoyance and disgust.
"I was just making sure that I understood it correctly," Kyle said with a roll of his eyes.
Theodor just snorted.
"Hey, Boss, how hard is Sand Arrow to learn?" Kyle asked.
"It's meant for Early Fighters and stronger. If you're exceptional, you can also learn it as an Initial Fighter. Another reason why your friend can't possibly be a Knight."
Theodor snorted again. "He's made you believe that learning how to harness the power of Skysand is something even weak Adepts can do. How any of you believed that is beyond me."
"Yes, yes," Kyle said. "I get it. We're dumb."
Theodor didn't say anything.
"Anyway, back to the original topic," Kyle said. "Can I get stronger?"
"Not in your disguise," Theodor said.
"What about my actual power?" Kyle asked.
"There are many ways to improve your true power," Theodor said. "You have four strengthened Aspects of Power, and you are only really making use of two of them."
"Hey, I'm also making use of my Center," Kyle said.
"That is one part," Theodor said. "You make use of your Center in conjunction with physical techniques. What about making use of your Center in conjunction with Spells? What about using your Center with your Soul?"
"Spells?" Kyle asked as an unwilling expression appeared on his face.
"Yes, Spells," Theodor repeated with annoyance.
"But why do I need Spells? Every Spell I cast is a hammer smash I do not make," Kyle said.
"You don't need all Spells, you imbecile!" Theodor shouted. "You only need the ones that are useful."
"Like?" Kyle asked.
"Wind's Speed, Fire's Power, Metal's Tempering, Wind Shift, Fire Block, Metal Hand, just to name a few," Theodor said with annoyance.
"And what do they do?" Kyle asked.
"The first three are temporary enchantments. Wind's Speed makes you faster. Fire's power makes you stronger. Metal's Tempering increases the attributes of your equipment."
"When you're about to enter a fight, you cast the three of them. With everything added together, you will be 50% to 100% stronger!"
"Buffs?" Kyle asked.
"What abomination of neologism has been granted permission to escape your mouth now?" Theodor asked in annoyance. "They are temporary enchantments, not whatever you just said!"
'They're totally buffs!' Kyle thought. 'I could buff myself!'
"Hey, are there people who specialize in these kinds of Spells?" Kyle asked.
"It is an unusual specialization due to its limited use, but it does exist," Theodor answered. "People specializing in this field are almost helpless on their own, and no tournament team would be willing to sacrifice an entire slot for someone like that."
"Because of that, Sorcerers specializing in this field are rare and only exist in the royal army."
'I played RPGs before. Pretty sure Priests can also buff,' Kyle thought.
"Hey, can Priests also do that?" Kyle asked.
"Yes. In fact, that is their primary purpose," Theodor said.
"Are they different from Sorcerers specializing in temporary enchantments?"
"Very different," Theodor said. "Priests do not have an improved mind, which means the efficiency and impact of their enchantments are much lower."
"Yet, due to their improved Soul, Priests can unleash several temporary Enchantments from a distance upon several people at once. A Sorcerer needs to touch their target for a while and can only enhance one target at a time, while a Priest can enhance tens of targets at the same time from several meters away."
"Sorcerers specializing in temporary enchantments are useless during an ambush since they don't have the time to cast their enchantments on everyone. Priests can immediately enchant everyone around them," Theodor explained.
"Priests sound way better," Kyle answered.
"In a way, they are," Theodor answered. "They are much more flexible, but that is to be expected. A Priest's primary purpose is to enchant their comrades while also recovering their Ether. If they were not outstanding in that regard, there would be no reason for their existence."
"Temporary enchantments are just one aspect in which Sorcerers dabble, while it represents almost the entirety of priesthood."
"You are comparing a Fighter that specializes in hunting with a professional hunter. The professional hunter will be better at hunting since that is their entire life, but the Fighter could also do many other things."
"Okay," Kyle said. "And you want me to learn these temporary enchantments?"
"You asked for a way to become stronger. I have provided one."
Kyle furrowed his brows.
Casting Spells.
Eeeeewww!
Boring!
He never wanted to learn how to cast Spells.
However, Kyle had changed a lot.
He took a deep breath.
"Alright, fine! I'm going to learn how to mumble magic words!"
When he had still been training with Nervon, he had complained about how hard it was.
Back then, Nervon and Theodor needed to constantly push him due to his lack of discipline.
His lack of discipline had also been the reason why he hadn't been able to conjure Metal Ether back then.
But, by now, Kyle had been here for about 18 months.
During these 18 months, he had worked every single day.
He had gotten used to work, and Theodor didn't even need to tell him to work anymore.
Kyle was doing everything on his own.
Is Spellcasting boring?
Yes.
Does Kyle want to do it?
No.
But he will do it anyway.
It was something he needed.
It was a task that had to be done.
It was work.
And he would finish his work.
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