Chapter 35: I’m a Shaman, not a Warrior!

Training was brutal, not because Kanan was experiencing it, but because all of the warriors were laughing at the trainees who were convulsing on the ground after going through spirit energy reflux.

"Haha! That’s it, try and crawl away!"

"Maybe next time, you wont be so eager to use your ability without proper training."

"Man, I remember when that happened to us, good times."

"It’s a running joke now." Selin clarified. "We sometimes train our newbies the wrong way on purpose just to have them go through this."

"So cruel," Kanan muttered

"Such is the world."

"You said that it’s possible to expierence this multiple times. How else would this happen to a person after they train properly?"

"By using your power after you have used up all of your spirit reserves. The spirit energy in your body, while it can grow, isn’t unlimited. You need time to rest so it can regenerate back to its normal amount."

"I see."

"The Chief informed me to train you with the newbies, so you’ll be coming here every day. We work out our bodies, then our abilities. After a bit of rest, we spar. First, you’ll use wooden weapons, then real weapons once you’re ready. After that, we spar using abilities only. Finally, we go and hunt monsters."

Kanan remembered going after the Spirit Tiger with Terin, and it didn’t bring back good memories, besides the spirit pool.

Taking on creatures like that was the norm for warriors, and unfortunately, Kanan couldn’t use his Blessing as an excuse to not participate, especially since the Chief ordered him to.

"So I’m guessing that I will have to build my body up first." Kanan assumed.

"Not necessarily. You’ve always been fit, in shape. So, the time needed to get your body right would be less than the others. You have muscle and are of a good size for your age. The only thing I think you would need to continue is building your stamina and maybe your strength. Other than that, we can start training your abilities."

There was a secret celebration inside Kanan’s head. He had no problems building up his body, but doing so would take away from the time he could be building his power. There was only so much sunlight in a day, and rest was needed.

Luckily, the spirit spring boost he got would help with that.

"Now, sit," Selin demanded

Kanan followed the instructions.

"Channel your power once more, as you did earlier. But this time, spread it throughout your whole body, not just one part."

"You’re not going to make me go through Spirit Energy Reflux again, are you?" He could feel his throat closing up from pain and fear.

"No, not today. I’m going to teach you how to properly utilize your ability."

"A-Alright." An inhale and exhale later, Kanan did as Selin instructed.

Energy raced through his veins and flooded every part of his body. The power flooded his heart, his brain, his eyes, his ears, his arms, and his legs. It was everywhere, and his body vibrated with joy.

That warm feeling from before was back, but this time, there was no tingling sensation, just a smooth, calm, warm flow of energy akin to letting a warm bucket of water flow down your body.

"Good." Selin acknowledged. She was impressed by the speed of Kanan’s energy flow, but that was just the first part.

"Now, try to stop what I’m doing."

"What do you—" A violent wave of energy flooded Kanan’s body as Selin’s hand touched his back. Blood rushed out of his nose, and he gritted his teeth from the pain.

"Fight it, Kanan. Push me out. When we fight, our opponent’s energy can get into our bodies. This breaks our energy flow, our concentration, and it can lead to Spirit Energy Reflux. You need to build up a solid defense against such things. So push me out."

Selin was way more expierenced with her ability than Kanan was, so it was easier said than done, but not impossible.

The hole in Kanan’s energy made by Selin came from his back, so he focused his energy at that exact spot. He reversed the flow of his energy, concentrating it at his back to push Selin out, but it wasn’t enough.

She was too powerful, too expierenced, and knew how to counter what he was doing.

Instead, Kanan thought of something else. If he couldn’t push her out, he would let her in, then flush everything out with his own power.

Once again, he reversed the flow of energy, allowing Selin’s power to surge into his body. This time, however, he guided her energy through his own energy paths, directing it into the palms of both hands. In a single, fluid motion, he unleashed it. Two beams of radiant energy erupted skyward, and as they burst free, the overwhelming force scorched Kanan’s palms, leaving them singed from the immense power he had just released.

"Nnnghh! Harghh! Haah!" Burns could be healed, and pain was temporary. Still, Kanan was proud of what he had done.

Selin was too, though she didn’t like what he did. The other warriors had wide eyes after watching what had just happened, and the people in the village must have been confused about why an explosion had just appeared in the sky.

"First, I want to say good job. You were able to expel your energy." Selin was truly impressed. After all, he did what he was ordered to do on the first try.

"T-Thank—"

"However, never do what you did ever again."

"W-What?"

"The purpose of this exercise is to have you learn how to protect yourself from foreign energy, not let it enter your body."

Kanan didn’t understand. "But it was already in my body. I expelled it as you told me to."

"Sure." Selin wasn’t denying that. "But you could have caused more harm to yourself doing it the way you did. There are three methods of negating a foreign energy. The first way is to create a small protective shield of your own energy to prevent others from entering your body."

Kanan assumed as much.

"The second, if the energy bypasses the first, is to trap the foreign energy in your own, then expel it through where it came from. And the last is what you had just done. The issue with this last method is that the energy, if stronger than your own, will eat you from the inside."

This sheds light on why Selin did not approve of Kanan’s method. It was practically akin to killing himself.

"I see. If I were facing an enemy, their energy would have hurt me."

"Correct. Luckily, I lowered my power so much that you didn’t get hurt. Honestly, it’s good that you did this first so you can understand its dangers."

Kanan was glad too. He felt it, experienced it, and now knew not to do it again.

"So, we’ll try it again. This time, use one of the first two methods, both if possible."

"Understood."