The next day, Markus awoke with red puffy eyes. He felt… better.
That was not to say he gave up on carrying the guilt and remorse. But he at least began to accept the facts and move forward- even if only slightly.
He got ready, was served breakfast to his room by a servant even- a young woman in a maid outfit who identified herself a Noe. As it turned out, he now had a personal servant.
'I guess there are levels to this- I serve the Queen. Noe serves me- I wonder if there's anyone even lower? Oh well- not like I have time to concern myself with it- I didn't feel it yesterday but today I sure do- using whirlwind is both exhausting physically and mentally… how the hell do masters call upon it themselves?
Surely it gets easier… then how easy would it be for a wind lord? Imagine if every single attack becomes whirlwind— the Lord would practically be a deity with that kind of power!
Sure as hell hope the Queen doesn't make me fight one…' Markus let his thoughts flow and ramble as he ate breakfast.
Once he finished and left the room, Noe passed on a message.
The young girl was around Markus' age. Clearly she was lowborn, from her black mundane hair, thin frame and dull features, she did not come from a special background.
On the other hand, it was because she was nobody that she could be entrusted with service. She knew nothing and equally was loyal to no-one except the Queen. Therefore she would not secretly report to anyone- not that she could anyway with the tight security around both the palace and Markus Windwave.
"Lord Ballion asks you attend his office once you are ready. I will lead the way should your lordship permit it." She said with a 45 degree bow.
"Uhm- sure… but I'm not a Lord…" Markus said, feeling quite awkward at the notion of being a Lord considering he was an orphan and had black hair just like Noe.
"M'lord- only lords are given maids as attendants." She said still bowing.
"… but I'm not- Nevermind- just call me Markus when there's no one around- it will creep me out less. That's an order?" Markus said
"As you command." She said, standing straight and leading the way to Enrique's office.
After a few winding halls, they eventually reached his office. Attended by two guards.
Noe walked forward and knocked at the door.
"Come in." Enrique said from inside.
Noe walked in and held the door open for Markus. After he walked in, she walked out and closed the door behind her.
"Young Lord Markus- you seem to be in better health. I am glad." He said from behind his desk.
It seemed everyone in this nation had their offices the same- however, unlike Elizabeth's office, Enrique's office had windows. However his blinds were drawn shut so he had the lights on.
"What is going on— why is everyone calling me Lord!" Markus exclaimed
"You have proven yourself, Markus. Quite quickly and frankly speaking I do not trust you— but I trust in the plan of our Queen. I trust in her. Therefore, I have… adjusted some things to reflect your status as her protege." Enrique said
"What about… becoming an expert by the end of next year..?" He asked
"You should still try. There are thing awaiting you. But the Queen will order your execution. Instead, she will assign you a mission. If you are an expert, it will be a mission which you can handle comfortably. If you are not…" he explained
"Then I will die…" he said, reflecting on his timeline
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. You might be lucky or she may be in a good mood to assist you- but do you want to gamble your life on it?" Enrique asked
"No… I will become an expert." Markus said with conviction.
"Good. Then go find Jessica in the training hall. You will continue your advancement with her for the next couple of months." He said, dismissing Markus
Markus left.
Outside the office, he told Noe he'd be going to train and that she could do whatever she wanted as he'd not need an attendant there.
"My lord- I need to accompany you everywhere." She said
"Fine… let's get moving." He said
'Naturally she needs to accompany you- how else will the Queen know of everything you do. After the two masters had their egos and disagreements among them- she cannot leave reporting just to them. She needs a neutral source to compare. A cunning approach indeed.' Anax thought, silently observing the situation but not sharing his thoughts to Markus.
The young man wouldn't listen to them anyway.
Once Markus returned to the training hall. Jessica continued to teach him about whirlwind.
"First I want you to release another whirlwind blast." She commanded
Markus let his essence flow, get consumed by whirlwind particles and in its frail connection, he converged it and released a powerful blast which shook the entire area.
However… there was something he forgot. Someone.
Noe was standing next to Jessica… but Noe was a mundane human. She had not awakened her essence and likely never would. Therefore, when Markus released an extremely potent whirlwind blast, she took on the auxiliary impact and effect.
Jessica could have protected her easily. Could've stopped the blast. Could've told her to back away to the observation room. But she did not. This would be a lesson taught in blood.
Markus' whirlwind blast sent her flying back with exceptional force- like a ragdoll thrown against the wall- Noe suffered critical harm from the impact.
Breaking several bones and suffering internal organ whiplash, she vomited blood and was on the verge of death.
Markus' eyes widened as he sensed her fly back. He rushed to her side immediately after realising what happened.
"NOE! I'm so sorry— are you okay! Wha- Ofcourse you're not! Master Jessica— help!" He shouted off the top of his lungs.
Jessica slowly walked over and did nothing.
"Medic." She called.
Several water users dressed in white with red crosses on their clothes rushed in. They saw the casualty and immediately acted, taking care to move Markus away so they could focus on first aid.
"Is she going to be okay— shit— I didn't…" Markus rambled in terror.
"You didn't think. Ever since you have awakened, you've been surrounded by awakened people. Some even elites- but mostly stage twos and threes. Even a stage one- can try to withstand the impact of an expert or below. Their essence- as raw and unrefined as it is, will do its best to protect them. Do you know how essence awakens?" She asked
"Wha- how is that—" Markus tried to argue
"Essence is awakened by the most primal thing- fear. To fight against it, essence is used as both the sword and shield. The weapon and armour- used by an individual to struggle against their own death. But not everyone can awaken it. Not because they do not fear. Everyone has fear. But rather because they do not have what it takes to overcome their fear nor do they have the will to struggle against death." She said
"So what! How is that helping in this!" He asked
"It's quite simple you see. Mundane people are fragile around us. Therefore, everything that you do, has to be done with consideration of your environment. Not only the area itself but the people within it. Otherwise there are unintended consequences to your actions. Do you understand?" She asked
"So I should never use powerful attacks around people?" Markus asked
"Yes. But it is more than that. Create a barrier around people. Tell them to distance themselves from the area. Or at least make sure they are behind you rather than to the side." She said, listing a few examples
"I… understand…" he said, with a quiet tone looking down at Noe.
Despite great efforts, Noe's condition did not immediately improve. That was not a bad thing however.
"Why is she not getting better!" Markus shouted
"The power of whirlwind is more layered than regular wind. Not only is it more potent, but after a successful impact, micro-wind slashes enter the target's body… and begin to shred a person from the inside out. And once an attack becomes internal…" she said, leaving him to finish the rest.
"The target is doomed…" Markus finished
"Essentially. The only counter is a high affinity to the wind. If you use whirlwind on someone of the same rank or lower, they will suffer incredible harm. Alternatively if the are of a higher rank- but only one degree, the damage may still be significant, especially accumulated. Unless, of course, it is at the elite and master boundary." She said, leading the discussion away from Noe and to something educative for Markus to know.
"Is it really that big of a change?" Markus asked
"The change is like… the potency of a sea and an ocean. Many dare to challenge the seas… but only a few, incredibly foolish or incredibly powerful, dare to thread an ocean. To put it otherwise, a group of 50 elites could overtake several cities quite easily- or altogether destroy them. A group of 50 masters could overtake an entire region of the continent." Jessica said, calm and composed.
"What would happen… if a Lord wanted to take over an area? How large would it be?" He asked, purely out of curiosity
"… a completely matured Lord? Assuming there is not an equally mighty powerhouse, an entire continent would eventually fall. Alas- no Lord ever has tried to do it really is hard to say for sure. But put it another way- an elite dares to challenge a master and hope they can survive. A master knows their limits." She said with a somber tone
"What does that mean?" He asked instantly
"If a master is like an ocean of water- the Lord of their element is the tidal force which has supreme power and authority over that element. The second Leviathanlord faced an assassination attempt- do you know what happened?" She asked, seemingly recalling a distant memory
"No..? Should I?" He asked
"The southern region was half underwater because he drowned all assailants. It would be almost impossible to drown a master in the water… but he used exceptional mean. He raised a tsunami and swept them all in. Then using his authority he increased the very water pressure and made it equivalent to abyssal depths- crushing the bodies of everyone inside and the very land they stood on. It was the greatest massacre in our known history." She said, looking at Markus
"Beside the massacre on us imperial vessels you mean—" he said with a clenched jaw
"Yes. Although I suppose a massacre is a one off event. What we are doing to imperial vessels is essentially genocide. So technically you have it worse." She said, indifferent at the admission.
Eventually the doctors prevailed over Markus' strike. Since she only took on the impact, the whirlwind did not aim to kill her instantly but merely did its nature- wreaking chaos in an uncontrolled manner.
Therefore Noe was successfully kept alive but had to be taken away for recovery.
"With that out of the way. Let's focus on your next step. A blade of whirlwind. We should maybe start with whirlwind bullets but alas- you can practice that later." She said
"So what now?" Markus asked
"Same process really. Release your essence. Let it merge with whirlwind and accept the loss of control. But instead of crudely slamming it together to produce a blast, shape the essence to be like that of a sword. Princess Trissilia reported you could create a crude sword." Jessica said
"… I guess I can try." He said
Markus was now familiar with the process. What he was unfamiliar with however, was shaping whirlwind.
He could hardly shape his own wind instantly- so when he converged the whirlwind essence… it seemed to begin to work for whatever reason.
And eventually- he failed.
Whirlwind rejected his crude manipulation. Refusing to obey- it broke loose.
It broke loose on its own caster.
Markus got a taste of his own medicine when the sword blew up. As whirlwind clashed against himself, tearing through his passive shell and entering his body.
"MEDICS!" Jessica shouted
Markus instantly felt the pain and anguish as whirlwind tore into him.
His muscle fibres felt like they were being torn. His organs suffered terrible blows, causing internal bleeding. Worse yet, since he had intended to create a deadly weapon, the whirlwind intended to cause great harm. So not only did it wreak havoc passively, it coursed through his entire body to cause harm actively.
Jessica struck him too, destroying his shell completely as to allow the medics to attend to him without interference or resistance.
All in all, it was a disastrous first attempt.