Strength Blessing

Roy had never expected to see Elf Rangers on the beach at this hour in the morning.

Waves crashed against the rocks, sending up countless sprays of water. Foam piled beneath the reefs as the tide gradually rose.

The Elf Rangers stood in the reef area Roy often visited, seemingly searching for traces of something.

As Roy ran past the beach, he saw the Elf Rangers arguing over the sea rocks where he had scraped away oysters, barnacles, and other shellfish:

"These traces... must have been left by the naga assassin... He lay in wait... among these reefs... waiting for an opportunity. Only when his target appeared at the docks... would he strike..."

The Rangers' voices drifted in and out amid the roar of the waves and the wind.

Roy could barely make out what they were saying.

It was only the words "naga assassin" carried on the sea breeze that caught Roy's attention.

"But these traces are already very old..."

"Perhaps he comes here often. If we keep watch here, we should be able to catch him. Even if we can't, we should at least be able to drive him back into the sea."

"Agreed."

Roy really wanted to head over to the reefs and watch the excitement...

But considering that he might draw the attention of those Elf Rangers and possibly invite unnecessary trouble, he merely thought about it.

He ran all the way to the Fish Market. The tide had just come in, and a Small Wooden Boat happened to be docking.

Roy spent three Kole to buy two fat, oily Blue Mackerel at the Fish Market. This kind of sea fish was delicious when pan-fried fresh with just a little salt and pepper.

On his way back with the fish, Roy saw Ms. Jillian standing on a large fishing boat, dragging a plump tuna out of the fish hold.

Her fish stall usually sold these large sea fish.

After transporting the tuna back to her stall, Ms. Jillian would break it down and cut the meat into palm-sized chunks. Elves loved buying fish prepared this way.

That tuna weighed three or four hundred pounds...

Roy had never known Ms. Jillian possessed such tremendous strength.

Roy was a regular at the Fish Market. As he passed one stall, the Old Elf who often bought the sea fish Roy caught called out to him:

"Roy, why haven't I seen you fishing lately?"

Roy stopped and answered, "I've been attending classes at Elf Academy for nearly a week now..."

"Oh, you should learn some things." The Old Elf nodded approvingly.

Seeing Roy stop, he added, "I was just worried you might go fishing by the sea. A naga assassin has appeared on the nearby beaches recently. He always shows up by the shore on rainy days, and four foreign sailors have already been killed. So whatever you do, don't go near the sea at night or in foggy weather."

As he spoke, the Old Elf made a throat-slitting gesture.

Roy had not expected to hear such news from the Old Elf.

"Naga assassin?"

The Old Elf pointed toward the beach by the reef area and said mysteriously, "Yeah. The Guard Squad Rangers have already found traces of him crawling along the shore, as well as scales hanging from branches and reefs."

"I'll be careful."

Roy said, then waved to the Old Elf with the fish in hand and left the Fish Market.

He jogged back to Brown Street along a small path by the docks.

The house was quiet. Ms. Belinda's lambskin boots still lay by the door, and Roy turned their toes outward.

He carried the fish into the kitchen, swiftly removed the innards, washed away the blood, and salted the fish for a while. During that time, Roy brewed a pot of tea.

By the time the fragrance from the frying pan drifted into the living room...

The smell of fried fish had probably awakened Ms. Belinda.

Belinda came out of the upstairs bedroom barefoot in her nightgown. Still groggy, she stood at the kitchen door, held Roy's head, kissed his forehead, then turned and went into the bathroom. Soon, the sound of running water came from within.

After bathing and changing into a silk long dress, Ms. Belinda sat waiting at the dining table with an art book in her hands.

Roy placed the fried fish and tea before her...

"My little Roy is wonderful. Thank you for preparing such a thoughtful breakfast."

Roy sat across from Ms. Belinda, picking out fish bones as he said:

"I heard staying up late often causes wrinkles. You should take care of yourself."

"Is that so?"

Ms. Belinda immediately rose in alarm and hurried to the mirror in the washroom, examining herself from side to side. Only after seeing that her face was still as radiant as ever did she relax.

After sitting back down at the table, Ms. Belinda asked Roy, "Do you want to go out together later?"

"I'm going for a run!" Roy quickly refused.

Going out with his mother was impossible.

When the neighbors on Brown Street saw them together, they would at least restrain themselves and merely joke that the two looked more like siblings.

Once they left Brown Street, elves who did not know Roy would naturally assume he was Ms. Belinda's attendant...

Roy left home early with his books in his arms. Because it had rained constantly these past few days, the water level of the Da Nei River had risen considerably.

At the street corner, Roy saw Sabrina waiting for the Long Carriage. Standing amid the crowd, her tall figure was particularly conspicuous.

Roy waved at her.

Although Sabrina saw him, she ignored him as usual.

Roy passed through the Lower District. The day's busy life had already begun there. Most shops were open, and street stalls were packed tightly together.

Many carts were piled high with all kinds of fruit.

The most eye-catching things on those carts were the pyramids made of fresh fruit.

Every piece of fruit looked incredibly tempting to Roy...

Roy dashed into Elf Academy, panting heavily, but all the soreness in his body had completely vanished...

The first class was still instructor Abbott. Nora's Elementary Martial Arts Training. The students were scattered around the Training Ground, and many were practicing the martial arts movements broken down yesterday.

Roy saw Klayr on the Training Ground and found that the bruises on his face had healed remarkably well. They were almost impossible to see.

The two gathered at the edge of the Training Ground and began discussing what would happen after school at noon.

Klayr asked hesitantly:

"Roy, if Steve and the others come looking for us again at noon, are we still going to fight them?"

Roy answered without hesitation:

"Of course. We keep fighting until he submits!"

Seeing Klayr wavering, Roy immediately urged him on. "If we chicken out now, Steve will keep us under his thumb at the academy. Think about it... We've only just enrolled. How much longer are we going to be here?"

Klayr seriously considered it before saying:

"Probably twenty years... Roy! You're right."

"You really plan to study at Elf Academy for twenty years... before graduating?"

Roy asked in surprise.

Klayr replied as though it were only natural:

"Yeah. After I graduate, I'm going to Buenos to continue my studies at the advanced Elf Academy."

"Well, your life plan is certainly far-reaching!"

Klayr did not think there was anything wrong with that. He pulled a bottle of green potion from his clothes and shoved it directly into Roy's hands. "Roy, I specifically brought Tree of Life Sap this time. Take it."

Roy wanted to refuse. This was much more expensive than a Life Potion.

"I haven't even drunk yesterday's Life Potion yet."

But Klayr casually waved a hand. "That thing isn't much use. Tree of Life Sap really does have great healing effects. My grandmother gave it to me when I got home yesterday. Take it! It's handed out for free, so it's not worth much anyway."

"..."

The class bell rang...

Instructor Abbott. Nora walked over from the direction of the Teaching Building. She was still wearing Light Leather Armor, with a bow on her back, a quiver and longsword at her waist. Her long hair flowed behind her, making her look valiant and heroic.

Steve hurried onto the Training Ground just before the bell stopped ringing.

There was not a single injury on his face, and he did not limp as he ran. Clearly, his injuries had healed as well.

But when he looked at Roy and Klayr, the fury in his eyes was nearly spilling out...

Klayr guiltily turned to glance at Roy.

Only when he saw Roy glaring back at Steve without the slightest courtesy did he find a little courage.

During martial arts training, they continued practicing the breakdown movements learned yesterday. This time, Roy could barely complete a set of movements, though he still could not link them together smoothly.

This made instructor Abbott. Nora, who had intended to have a good talk with Roy, stop in her tracks and decide to observe him a while longer.

His aptitude might be poor, but he made up for it with diligence...

After school at noon, Roy and Klayr arrived first at the narrow alley on the west side of the academy.

Seeing that Steve and his friends had not yet come, Klayr grew nervous and wanted to back out. He said to Roy, "Roy, why don't we leave? They haven't come anyway..."

At that moment, Roy stood before Klayr with a solemn expression and began slowing his breathing.

When a ball of light appeared in his hand, Klayr was too astonished to speak. He stared at the gentle glow as Roy drew rune after rune before him...

His movements were somewhat clumsy. He had great difficulty drawing half a divine pattern, but because he failed to continue the holy light in time at one of the turns, the half-finished divine pattern slipped away through his fingers like a handful of fine sand...

Roy sighed:

"Looks like it still won't work. With my current ability, I can only cast it three times. Whether it works or not, I have to try again..."

As he spoke, holy light appeared in Roy's palm once more. Having failed the first time, he was even more focused now.

Perhaps because the situation was urgent, Roy's concentration was exceptionally high.

He drew it all the way to the end in one breath. To Roy's surprise, the divine pattern was successfully completed in a single attempt.

The prayer was a little halting...

But when Roy spoke the final line of the prayer, the divine pattern before him did not dissipate. Instead, it transformed into a fist filled with sacred aura and instantly merged into Klayr's body.

"What was that?" Klayr asked in amazement.

"Strength Blessing. How does it feel? Don't you feel full of strength?" Roy asked expectantly.

"It feels all right. Is this magic?"

Roy hurriedly corrected him, "It's divine magic. I only just learned it, and I'd never succeeded before. I got lucky this time... Oh, I have one more chance!"