"I'll become the strongest!" Shouted a young boy, relaxing on a field of plain grass and watching the skies. "Don't be silly, you're not even close to father's level," Another boy scoffed and laughed. "Hmph. Remember, I'm his son and I should get a better chance at it!"
Vigorous and healthy their relationships were, the brotherhood that couldn't be separated.
"Keep telling yourself that. An idiot like you who loves stirring troubles, just why become the strongest?" His friend asked.
The boy's answers left his friend flabbergasted. "Haha... You're so full of dreams, aren't you..."
"...Sora?"
"..." Eyes opened, visions released, Sora woke up from his slumber and the long forgotten memory. He was asleep on the branch of tree... Naked.
"Darn... I drifted off too long... My back hurts." Sora landed back to the ground with his thing dangling, feeling the breeze. "Might as well grab something to wear, I'm gonna catch a cold." Sora walked off to find something to eat and to wear.
Addicted to gambling, Sora lost all of his money and clothes, and pride. It was another normal tuesday for him, but his shameless behavior made a really bad impression for the villagers. As promised, Sora became their guardian angel. However, after getting Akira's share, Sora was left to waste being broke.
Even with his immense addict to gambling, he couldn't afford to give weight to the villagers.
"I should check on the villagers to check what's up."
Sora, standing outside the village, watched as a letter arrived for Akira's home. The villagers were overjoyed with the generous monthly gifts Akira sent. His extraordinary success had ignited a spark within them. Their work ethic had sharpened, their financial worries eased, and the village's children were now inspired to follow in his footsteps.
"If he can do it, so can we," the villagers murmured to themselves.
A sense of relief washed over Sora. "I suppose there's nothing to fear," he muttered, a smile playing on his lips.
Later, as Sora wandered through the tranquil forest, he stumbled upon a blonde girl diligently practicing her water magic. Trees toppled, the ground cracked, and even pebbles were scattered as she exerted herself.
"Heyya, little lady. Who're y-" Sora's words were cut with a massive splash of water.
"KYAAAA STAY AWAY FROM ME, PERVERT!" She blew him away with a very powerful water magic that tossed him like a ragdoll. After all, it was because he was naked.
"C-Calm down... Agh... Darn, that kinda hurts. I'm not here to flash you, I swear!" Sora apologized as his back ached more.
"Yeah right. What kind of old man who wears nothing in the forest!? For all I know, you're just an exhibitionist pervert! Drop dead!" Casting another spell, she charged her water magic.
"Wait wait wait! I just lost a gamble! Give this old guy a break! No wait, I'm 34! I'm not old!" Sora immediately bowed to not make her shoot her terrifying water magic. "Wait... Aren't you... Akira's teacher?" The random girl who beaten Sora to a pulp was none other than Julia.
"Sure am... You must be Julia then... Sorry I sca-" He was splashed again. "Wear something on!" Julia madly blushed. Though, it wasn't her first time being flashed.
Minutes later, Sora was given clothes by Julia. It was her grandfather so it fit him well. "Can't say I'm grateful, sorry to bother you." Sora sheepishly laughed. "If you ever go naked in front of me again, you're dead meat, old man." Julia's glare darkened.
"Again... I'm not old..."
"Anyway, what're you up to in a place like this? Trying to beat someone in a battle? Well let me tell you, little lady... Gambling can ruin you." Sora was the one to talk.
"Who said I'm gambling!?"
"Just talking from experience."
"I'm training here so I can help with the village. Without Akira around, there's no one defending the village." Julia confessed her true intention. "I'm still here..." Sora sighed.
"Ahem, an attack mage, eh? You have quite the potential, little lady. Need a mentor for that?" Sora offered. "No way," Julia refused.
"Akira told me everything about you. You're lazy, clumsy, much more of an idiot than him, and a waste of money." Those words stabbed Sora like a sharp knife. "Ouch, no need to be so blunt..."
"You're disregarding my teachings... The most effective training is to know better yourself than relying on a person. Say, little lady... Mind showing me what skills you own?" Sora asked with a serious tone.
"Water Cannon?" Julia and her confused expression answered.
"I see... That means you're an attack mage with water capabilities. You see, you don't need to rely on skills. Skills are just a bonus thing for greater control and excelled for conventional purposes. Supposedly, skills shouldn't exist because of how complex system is, but it is what it is." Sora explained while sitting down, taking a break with his back aching again.
Throughout Sora's first lesson to Julia's, she listened carefully, comprehending what Sora said. "So, you mean skills meant nothing all this time?" Julia queried.
"Not particularly correct. Skills aren't as mandatory as you might think, it's just a bonus set. Bunch of randomness in a system is yet to be unraveled, the thing you first need to understand is..." Sora's eyes closed as he was about to reveal the truth.
"Systems are made by someone not from the Celestials..." Sora spoke in a serious tone, "If you think about it, there's no history books about Celestials creating anything besides elemental nature. It's a theory, but my point still stands."
"Forget my statements. Why don't I show you the ropes? I'm serious this time."
"Why should I trust you? Are you gonna make me pay once every four weeks?"
"Akira told you that, huh? Can't blame him. I was stripped out of cash and it called for drastic measures. Besides, I taught him a lot of things that he didn't share you about. One of it is to harness natural energy." Sora spiked Julia's attention.
"Natural energy? Are you making this up?" Julia raised her brows in skeptical expression. "Not at all, I gave up on teaching him cause the fundamentals were too hard to grasp for his little brain, but you seem smart to me so why not?"
"Okay then... What's this natural energy?" Julia's attention was pulled like a magnet.
As Sora described, Natural Energy came from the environment. When it came to the person's body, it was a use of either lifeforce or mana. In the recent events, Kazoru was adept to this skill.
Natural Energy came from two sources, the life of the environment and from an entity. Sora confessed that he hadn't mastered the divine one yet, but when it came to the expertise, he was clearly on his own league.
Julia could fully grasp in understatement of this. Sora added, if she were to mix her own magic powers with anything in nature-like energy, the immense force could strike up to about 10 times the power. The massive amplification could vary depending on how much Natural Energy they could gain.
If too much, could result a mana overload that could cause a destructive explosion that could harm anyone within range.
Sora let out his wand and showered her with a knock-out of surprises using a demonstration. Sora amplified his Wind Blade by blending natural energy to make it more intense and calm. Julia's eyes could not see its intense power, but she could feel that the Wind Blade was significantly stronger.
The wind was calm yet fierce, brimming with powerful energy.
"Now, let me show you the basic," Sora resumed, the training commenced.