Chapter 38: Spirit Bomb

Training for a week was more intense than Kanan had expected. Every day, he was subjected to brutal workouts, the horrible pain of Spirit Energy Reflux, picking up rocks that were way too heavy, and feeling his bones being broken for the first time while staying conscious.

It was horrible. Horrible, but worth every single second. There was a healer on standby for times like these, but that didn’t mean the trainees were given time to rest. Once healed, they were to get back to training immediately.

Waking up to train before the sun was even out and only returning home late in the evening every day drained Kanan more than he expected. He was used to long hunts or working for the whole day on the farm or something, but this was brutal.

Even the light training he did with the guards and warriors before his blessing ceremony was nothing compared to what he was currently going through.

"Fuckkk! By the time my training is complete, I don’t think there will be much of me left!" His legs were so tired that they felt like water, not being able to support his weight. It was as if the spirit spring blessing didn’t do anything at all.

His brain was so overworked that he couldn’t even think straight, and his energy was so exhausted that using it once more would cause Spirit Energy Reflux, something he wasn’t trying to go through again.

And since the warriors noticed that he was way better than normal, they made his training more intense.

"You’re holding out very well, Kanan. I’m impressed." Selin was the one who kept brutally training Kanan. Others did come to help him out, but she was the main one training him.

"Your peers aren’t holding up as well as you are, but that’s not because they’re weak. So you’re just that much more impressive. As expected of the Village Shaman."

"A-As the village shaman, I demand a break." It was a long shot, but anything was better than suffering.

"I shall heed your words," Selin spoke with respect and showed a clear difference in status.

Her response struck Kanan like cold water on a hot day, refreshing. His eyes lit up, strength returned to his body, and he slowly picked himself off the ground.

"After you finish your training, of course." The smug smile on Selin’s face was one that could crush dreams.

"Fuckkk!" Kanan collapsed once more

"Get up, rookie! Summon another one of those spirit balls!"

Kanan, now able to properly control and circulate his spirit energy, kept trying to recreate the orb of spirit energy he had tried to do when he first tested out his power.

It was difficult, but the more he learned and understood his power, the easier it became. At a certain point, moving one’s body became second nature; abilities were no different.

Energy raced its way up Kanan’s arm, concentrating into his palm. There was no tingling sensation, no pain, no drawbacks, just his now controllable power thanks to his brutal training.

A blue orb warped into existence, bubbling as Kanan tried his best to stabilize it with the little energy he had left in his body. The warping stopped, replaced by a smooth, round surface.

"Good job." Selin congratulated Kanan. "I don’t know how your power works, but if it’s anything like my own, then command your power, tell it what you want it to do."

Kanan thought about what he wanted the orb to do. It was pure spirit energy, so it could take any form he wanted. It wasn’t an element, so he didn’t need to abide by elemental laws. Nor was his power abstract like teleportation or telepathy.

’What if I make it explode?’ He wondered. The first time he tried to conjure his power, the energy exploded in his hand, so he wondered if he could make the spirit energy explode on its own.

’This orb blew up in my hand because my energy was unstable due to my lack of training. Therefore, if I make this orb unstable on purpose, then...’

Kanan altered the way his energy flowed into the orb, making it warp once again. This time, the energy started to glow, and the orb expanded.

"It works!" Quickly, he threw the orb into the air, and then a decent-sized explosion ensued, lighting up part of the sky in blue explosions.

Selin gazed at the sky and covered her face. She was impressed, very impressed. "An explosion? Not bad. Very creative."

"I just mimicked how I felt when I didn’t have control over my power. But after doing this, I feel like I can do more! I have so many ideas in my head now! This is pretty exciting!" Kanan channeled his power again. Unfortunately, he forgot that he was out of energy, so he accidentally triggered Spirit Energy Reflux and started spazzing out on the ground.

Selin busted out laughing at his sudden forgetfulness.

---

Two weeks had passed since Kanan started his training with the warriors. Over this time, his handle on his power grew significantly.

According to the system, his growth would be accelerated due to five reasons. The first was his blessing, being the Shaman. The second was his blood relation to Nemean. The third was because of his past life memories. The fourth was because of the system. The fifth was because of the Spirit Spring.

Kanan’s past life memories didn’t really surface unless he looked for them, so he would need to concentrate when he wanted to use them. Same soul, different mind. That’s how he saw it.

During the second week of training, the warriors had the trainees spar with one another using wooden weapons. In this specific training, they were allowed to use their power, something that they weren’t allowed to do before.

Standing in front of Kanan was a slender girl with a well-defined body. She was his age, participating in the same blessing ceremony as him.

Her ability was shadow control, a powerful ability for stealth. The perfect assassin.

Kanan had no idea what weapon he should choose. He wasn’t interested in a sword or a dagger. He liked bows, but they weren’t good for close quarters. So, he opted for a staff.

He didn’t choose blindly either. Over the past two weeks, Kanan had been brainstorming ways to utilize his ability in different ways, and he came up with an idea when it came to wielding weapons.

"Kanan versus Lopis. Are you ready?" Selin asked

Kanan, with his staff in hand, nodded.

Lopis, with two daggers, nodded as well.

"Fight!"