Limits

For a few days, Fox nagged me to have a spar. When I finally agreed, we went outside of the Imperial City. Deeper in the forest, Fox asked "Wanna make a bet?". I replied with a smile "Just because you broke through, it doesn't mean you can win. If I use my full strength, you are not my opponent". She replied "Then let's bet. Whoever wins, can ask the other person to do something once". I asked "And I can ask you to do anything?". She thought about it, and replied "Taking off my mask is out of the question".

I laughed, and said "It's no fun then. If I lose, you get to ask me to do anything you want. Yet I have restrictions placed upon me". She replied "I can't agree… I would, if I could". I shook my head, and replied "Sure, whatever. I don't plan on losing anyway. Come!". Fox took out her daggers, and disappeared. 'Hmm?' I thought. I couldn't sense her, nor track her.

'Her Aura evolved, even to the point, I can't feel her. In that case, let's try something', I thought and took out my mask. When I placed it on, I opened my eyes. Floating Orbs filled my view, but not only that. A faint shadow was moving around me. I smiled, and stood my ground. The faint shadow, was Fox. She approached slowly, and the slower she moved, the fainter the shadow became.

'Her stealth is better than mine at this stage. Although this isn't the Art of Stealth, because she uses her Aura, I'm still impressed' I thought. When she was very close to me, she suddenly attacked. I extended my right hand, and grabbed the shadow. When I released some of my ice power, Fox appeared in my hand and struggled. "S..s...stop…" she said. I stopped using my ice power, and let Fox go. I could hear her teeth chattering for a while, until the coldness passed. She picked herself up, and said "You are a monster. To think you would be able to find me still…".

I smiled, and said "Without my mask, you would be much more troublesome". She replied "You cheated!". I shook my head, and said "In what way? I was allowed to use my gear as well. Who said, I couldn't use any Formations? Wanna give it a try without my mask?". She replied "Let's do it then! This time, you will lose". I took my mask off, and said "Alright, come at me".

Fox disappeared again. I really couldn't track her, but that was not a problem. She just broke through, and didn't get adjusted to her new strength yet. I on the other hand, broke through a long time ago. I had time to practice with my Aura, and learn how to control it properly. I stood there motionless, and waited. Just as I suspected, Fox went after my back, as a dagger appeared on my neck. She said "You lost".

I replied "I don't think so. Try stabbing me". She replied confused "What? Just admit you lost!". I said again "Move your hand, and we will see". She tried moving her hand, but it didn't move. I said "I told you, you lost". After a while, her body could move again, and she exclaimed "What did you do?!". I replied "You don't even realise that my Aura entered your body. You see, my Aura is a bit special. In the time you were unable to move, I could kill you at least twenty times. Again, although you broke through to your Inner Limits, this doesn't mean you are on the same level as me".

Her dagger dropped, and she seemed to give up. After a while, she said "You could at least let me win once…". I laughed, and said "Yea, how about No? Don't feel down though. This is a lot of experience for you. If you want to ask me some things, go ahead. Oh, and I believe that you owe me two favours". She whispered "Bastard" under her breath, and asked "Alright, what do you want?".

When I thought about it, I didn't really want anything. 'Formations from her father would be good. We are in the Imperial City now… Maybe we can use that Falkon thing' I thought, and said "How about this. You pay for the tickets for that Falkon thing, and we go to see your father. I'd love some better Formations on my clothes". Fox replied "That Falkon thing is not a problem, but father is rather busy. He wouldn't be able to make any Formations for you quickly. If you don't mind waiting there for a few months… I guess we can go".

I dropped the idea. 'I'd rather spend that time on smithing, than waiting. Besides, I want to stay here, and make sure my sword is here too' I thought. I told Fox, that I will use those favours later, and that we should return now. She agreed, and we returned to the Imperial City.

We returned to our daily activities, and Fox seemed happier. She always hummed when tailoring inside the smithy, and sometimes giggled to herself. My only guess was that, she was happy to break through to her Inner Limits. Time passed, and my birthday arrived. They threw a small party for me, and all three gave me some gifts.

Paul's gift was kind of obvious. He gave me some smithing tools. The tools were very good, and made from Black Steel. In overall the quality was great, so I didn't complain. Elen, Paul's wife, gave me a book. The book was about Elysian Empire. I was surprised by that, but then I recalled that she worked in the Grand Library. Fox on the other hand, gave me a set of blacksmith's clothes. She even tried placing some Formations, but they didn't work. I didn't mind, these clothes were for my work anyway.

We celebrated my birthday with some food and drinks. When Paul and Elen saw Fox's "alive" mask, they were both stunned. Besides that weird moment of Fox's alive mask, the rest of the party was cheerful. In the evening, I couldn't fall asleep. I was too curious about the Elysian Empire, that I had to read the book.

The book was not the same, as those available for general public. Although quite thin, it contained much more knowledge. I also learned something that I would never imagine was possible. Elysians placed Formations on their bodies. As far as the Endrosian Empire was concerned, no one was able to achieve that. Only Elysians were able to do this. The Royals wanted to steal that knowledge from them, but ultimately, they were defeated. This prompted the production of Falkons.

When Royals saw the strength of the Elysian Empire, they could only stand in awe. These people were strong beyond belief. The Formations placed on their bodies made them to be like war machines. Elysian Empire was rather small, but the quality of their fighters, was better than the quantity of the Endrosian Empire.

Elysians were peaceful by nature, but when Endrosians invaded, they turned out to be a nightmare of a foe. Verion, the Emperor at that time, had to apologize personally in order to stop the war. 'My guess is that, he paid a much bigger price, compared to his dignity alone. Although the book doesn't mention that, I doubt Elysians would let it slide so easily' I thought. Elysians prohibited any Endrosians entering their land ever again. Elysians didn't need trade, or natural resources.

'The book doesn't state anything else about this. I can still extrapolate some things. If they didn't need trade or resources, this could only mean, Elysian Empire was very rich. This could've been another reason for invasion' I thought. They became isolated from the rest of the world, or rather from Endrosian Empire, and lived their lives in their own territory.

'I would love to visit them, but I guess it would be too dangerous. Who knows, if my plans succeed, I might be able to actually visit them' I thought. Only when I read the whole book, did I finally went to sleep. I only got a couple of hours worth of sleep, but it was worth it. I went to smithy in the morning, and returned to my daily activities. There was one difference though, I was now wearing the blacksmith's attire that Fox made for me.