"[You are surprisingly bad at this]," Maban commented.
"Fuck!" Khan cursed as he stomped his right foot. "[Stop messing things up]!"
"[Don't blame your leg]," Maban scolded. "[The issue is in your approach]."
"[I know. I know]," Khan casually dismissed that line. He would never take Maban's advice lightly, but he had already heard those same words too many times.
Maban and Khan were still in the training hall. Maban sat next to a wall while Khan was near the center of the place. The former oversaw the training, while the latter showed nothing but failures.
Khan understood the theory behind Maban's technique but couldn't replicate it for different reasons. Some procedures went against the very teachings of the Lightning-demon style, while others directly opposed everything he had learnt before reaching Milia 222.
Maban couldn't teach Nele's arts to Khan. That topic was too complex for a novice, so he had limited his first lesson to a mere enhancement that could virtually work on any technique as long as performed properly.
The enhancement relied on something Jenna had explained to Khan while they were on the third asteroid. The Nele used that method in the absence of mana. They surrounded themselves in a fake environment to gain access to their normal techniques, and Khan had to create something similar around his legs.
Covering his legs in layers of mana wasn't too much of a problem. The Niqols' arts had made Khan able to perform something similar long ago. However, he couldn't simply throw energy there. He had already tried and failed.
The Niqols' arts wanted Khan to take control of the mana around him so that he could move and alter it freely. Yet, that approach made the energy heavy, turning it into a hindrance rather than an enhancement.
Khan could still force himself to sprint while retaining control of that mana, but the action wouldn't amount to anything. The energy around his legs would only slow him down.
The Nele's arts solved that issue with their overall lack of weight, but Khan had yet to master their basics. He could ask the mana to envelop his legs, but he struggled to voice clear requests that could help his sprint.
Moreover, the Lightning-demon style wanted explosive power. Even the softest steps required sharp gestures that could easily disperse the light mana around the legs.
Khan's situation was incredibly peculiar. His martial art was human, his knowledge of mana was mostly Niqols, and the technique required Nele's arts. He was in the middle of conflicting fields, methods, and approaches, and he had to find a common point to make them work together.
‘Help my legs,' Khan thought as he closed his eyes and released a faint trace of mana into the environment.
The purple-red mana entered the symphony without destroying it, and slow reactions immediately happened as it dispersed. Synthetic energy flowed toward Khan's legs and enveloped them inside an invisible membrane that didn't carry any specific nature.
Khan moved carefully. He bent his legs and managed the mana inside them to perform his usual sprints. The technique succeeded, but the invisible membrane shattered before it had the chance to add any effect.
Another curse tried to come out of Khan's mouth, but he forced himself to remain calm. He was getting better, but that only revealed more flaws. The membrane's nature was a clear example of that. The synthetic mana didn't know what it was supposed to do since Khan was in the same situation.
"[How many times do I have to tell you]?" Maban exclaimed after witnessing another failed execution. "[The mana must work like additional layers of muscles. Merely stuffing it around your legs won't produce any result]."
Khan already knew that, but his knowledge had limits. Maban had his own idea of muscles, while Khan had yet to find one that could work for him.
‘Do I need to replicate my legs anatomically or just figuratively?' Khan wondered. ‘Should I even try to replicate them in the first place?'
Those doubts couldn't have solutions since a steep wall divided Maban and Khan's mindsets. The two could use the same words, but they would have different meanings inside their minds.
"[Can you show me how you do it]?" Khan eventually requested.
"[My martial art is different from yours]," Maban stated. "[Trying to copy me will only hurt your training]."
"[I need a visual example]," Khan continued. "[I'm quite lost here]."
Maban thought about the matter for a second before nodding and leaving the wall to stand up. Mana immediately left his figure and dispersed into the symphony to send requests, and Khan focused as much as possible to avoid missing details.
The synthetic mana moved while Maban put his weight on his toes and lifted his heels. He was slowing down his gestures on purpose to help Khan out, and the latter noticed how the technique felt a bit odd.
That stance couldn't possibly express much momentum. Everything about Maban was already tense and straight. He had no practical way to push himself forward, but Khan remained silent to study the scene.
The synthetic mana remained invisible, but Khan saw new shades appearing through his sensitivity. The energy that flowed toward Maban's legs replicated the natural influence they expressed during that stance and seemingly widened their size.
Maban was doing exactly what he had tried to teach to Khan. The synthetic mana was adding mass to his legs, but the process didn't focus on flesh or gestures. The synthetic mana was simply ready to echo the technique.
Maban let himself fall forward at that point. His toes remained his only connection to the floor, and his stretched feet made him unable to add any more strength.
However, Maban's feet suddenly trembled, and his whole figure slid forward. He was on the verge of falling, but an invisible force pushed his body and made him cover a long path in a single second.
Maban didn't speak after he planted his heels on the floor to stop himself. His eyes went on Khan, who was using every inch of his brain to study him. Words wouldn't be able to reach him in that state, so Maban didn't waste his breath.
Khan uncovered secrets of Maban's martial art during the inspection. The technique had high execution barriers, and the speed it generated didn't make sense. That momentum came from the synthetic mana. Maban simply wore a stance that could allow him to slide on it.
The enhancement had been impossible to notice even with Maban slowing down his execution, but Khan didn't need to divide the two procedures. One reflected the other, so he had seen what he needed to see.
‘This is troublesome,' Khan thought as he sat cross-legged on the floor.
Maban had made the synthetic mana express his movement technique, but Khan couldn't use the same method. Maban's martial art was in line with the Nele's approach, while the Lightning-demon style remained very human.
‘It might be possible to do something similar,' Khan concluded, ‘But not at my current level. I definitely can't apply it to all my sprints. Maybe I should focus on one of them and add variations as I improve.'
The idea made sense, so Khan quickly moved to the next part of his plan. He needed to pick the sprint to enhance, but he required Maban's help for that.
"[Maban, how do Nele develop martial arts]?" Khan asked while raising his gaze toward Maban, who had remained still until now.
"[Do you want to become a Nele now]?" Maban mocked through his stern tone.
"[You couldn't have possibly retained your knowledge during your slavery]," Khan continued. "[Milia 222 is a diverse environment with countless opportunities, but your martial art was in line with your approach to mana. Did the Nele develop it after their escape]?"
Slavery was a sensitive topic for the Nele, but Maban could remain calm since he acknowledged Khan's complete lack of malice. He was simply curious.
As for the martial arts, they were a secret topic that no outsider was supposed to learn. However, Maban had already accepted Khan, so keeping him in the dark didn't make much sense.
"[You are correct]," Maban announced. "[My species lost a lot during the slavery, including the records of our martial arts. Still, we evolved past that. Our approach is more personal now]."
"[Personal how]?" Khan wondered.
Maban remained silent for a second before spreading his arms and closing his eyes. Traces of mana left his body to fuse with the symphony, but Khan noticed something different in that energy compared to before or the general theory of the Nele's arts.
"[Mana is more than energy]," Maban explained. "[We can learn a lot by just observing its behavior. Its nature is almost instinctive, and it carries deep knowledge for those willing to listen]."
Khan took a while to realize what Maban had done differently. The mana sent into the symphony had been lighter than usual. There almost wasn't enough of it to carry requests.
Nevertheless, the synthetic mana reacted anyway. Seemingly random waves of energy flew toward Maban and attempted to push him around. They shattered before they could achieve anything, but Maban soon began to help them out.
Some waves converged toward the arms, so Maban moved them forward until the mana stopped targeting them. Other chunks of energy landed on his lower back, and he stretched himself to appease them.
The process wasn't intuitive, but Khan had already seen a slower version of the sprint, so he could find similarities. The mana was putting Maban into a specific stance. It was teaching him part of a martial art.
"[Is this enough]?" Maban eventually asked, and Khan didn't hesitate to nod.
"[The fake mana has limits with this practice]," Maban revealed as he abandoned his stance and relaxed his limbs. "[Even creating our roots is hard here]."
‘So, they do create them,' Khan confirmed in his mind.
"[I think it's enough for today]," Maban continued. "[You need time to recover and grow used to our arts. Also, I suspect you have a lot of thinking to do]."
Khan could only nod again. He had to review his techniques and decide how to proceed. Maban's enhancement was something he wanted to master in a short period, but he couldn't neglect everything else for that goal.
"[Let's go]," Maban ordered as he approached the training area's entrance. "[Eat with me]."
Khan didn't hesitate to stand up and follow Maban. The two returned in the open and walked until they reached a relatively crowded area of the district. It was lunchtime, so many Nele had gathered to enjoy their meals together, but Maban led Khan to an isolated spot that offered some cover from prying ears.
A Nele quickly brought fuming bowls to the two, and Khan noticed how he didn't need intermediaries to pick them up at that time. He didn't know if Maban had that effect on his species, but he liked to think that everyone had started to accept him.
"[I can't see Jenna]," Khan commented while wolfing down his soup. "[Is she busy with the hunting season]?"
"[No, she has a more important task to handle]," Maban explained. "[It rare for us to have someone with her talent here. She isn't a specialist, but her understanding of mana makes her perfect for the various plants]."
"[Plants]?" Khan repeated. "[Like Caja did on the third asteroid]?"
Maban stopped eating to show a surprised face, and his words matched that expression. "[Did Caja show you her role on the hidden dome]?"
"[I happened to pass by while she was busy affecting the environment]," Khan played it nice.
"[I see]," Maban stated in an unconvincing tone.
The procedure was taxing for Caja, but she was a fourth-level warrior. She would have sensed Khan coming. The fact that she had kept her technique active meant that she trusted Khan with that information.
"[How long will she need]?" Khan changed the topic.
"[Probably the entire day]," Maban revealed. "[Even two if she finds problems. You can visit her, but I think you would distract her]."
"[I'll refrain from going to her]," Khan promised.
Silence fell between the two, but nothing about it felt awkward. Maban and Khan emptied their bowls and placed them at their side before losing themselves in the scenery.
"[The material you are looking for]," Maban eventually broke the silence. "[What is it]?"
"[Do you know] chameleons?" Khan asked as his eyes lit up.
"[Never heard the word]," Maban admitted.
"[I can give you more details later]," Khan declared, "[But I think it's better to focus on something else. The Bise deliver this material here, and someone, probably humans, buys it from them]."
Maban fell silent as he processed the information. Khan didn't give him much, but there was a vague foundation to exploit, especially with assets at hand.
"[You don't see Bise smugglers every day]," Maban revealed, "[But they aren't rare. Yet, adding human buyers might shrink the field by a lot]."
"[I thought you wouldn't split your forces for me]," Khan reminded.
"[I won't]," Maban confirmed. "[However, with the hunting season going, we are forced to keep an eye on the entirety of Lower Level 3. Adding this small detail to those deployed through the dock isn't a problem]."
"[Thank you]," Khan honestly voiced.
"[Don't get your expectations too high]," Maban stated. "[You aren't the priority around here. I'll just tell the others to pay some additional attention to your matters]."
"[It's the best achievement so far]," Khan chuckled.
"[That's how Milia 222 works]," Maban exclaimed as he picked up the two bowls and stood up. "[I have other errands to handle. You don't need me, right]?"
"[I'm fine]," Khan replied, and Maban nodded before turning to leave toward more peripheral areas of the district.
Khan watched Maban vanish in the distance before lifting his gaze. The ceiling was odd and clunky, but it remained quite cool and mesmerizing. Still, Khan barely looked at it as thoughts ran through his mind.
Maban's presence was truly unnecessary now. He could act as a supervisor, but Khan would never waste his time like that, especially since he already knew how to fix his problems.
Khan didn't only need to choose a specific sprint. He also had to improve his foundation as a whole. Maban's teachings were clear. Khan had to practice until establishing a conversation with the mana became as natural as breathing.
‘I could spend the afternoon inside the training hall,' Khan considered before rejecting that tempting plan. He had something far more interesting in mind. It was time to see the Tors again.
