After activating the barrier, the old man casually returned to feeding the little fox by pulling out another rocking chair from somewhere. Liam was about to ask how he should train when suddenly another figure burst out from the teleportation portal.
It was none other than the elven King.
"Father! What are you doing? He is a human being! How could you bring him here? Even if he had helped us, this absolutely cannot be allowed. Already there is a lot of unrest because of the barbarians. Now this is only going to cause bigger unrest."
Seeing that the old elf was not hearing him, the King became more agitated. "Father! Even if we ignore all that, there is still the most important thing to consider! The price we would be paying is simply too much! The council decided that this is to be reserved for our sav-"
"That's ENOUGH. Not one more word. You will not question my decision, and you will not speak a word of this to anyone." The old elf finally responded. However, his words struck like thunder, rendering the other party speechless.
The elven King opened and closed his mouth simply, without uttering another word. There were all sorts of myriad expressions on his face, fear, anger, disbelief. However, the old elf once again went back to tickling and playing with Luna.
On the side, Liam was shocked but also a little relieved. He thought that the old elf was only a jerk to him, so it was consoling to see the dude treat even his own son, the King, in this way.
He silently watched the show. Both the 'NPC's in front of him were extremely high-leveled and powerful. This was not a conversation he could intervene in.
Rather, he was more interested in what price the guy was talking about. Unfortunately, he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence. But the fight was definitely not over yet.
Come on. Come on. Tear this old guy a new one. Liam silently cheered for him, but the elf shuddered before turning around and leaving in a huff. He really did not utter another word! What an obedient son!
And of course, the old elf once again went back to playing around with Luna as if nothing at all had happened.
Coo chi cooo coo chi coo
Liam cringed seeing the old, muscular guy act like a complete nutcase. Yup, this elf was definitely not right in the head.
"You are still standing idly?" Suddenly the elf's gruff voice sounded again, and Liam jolted to a seated position out of habit and started meditating.
"No. That's not what you will be doing. Any idiot can do what you are doing right now. So quit that nonsense and GET UP!"
Liam quickly stood up and the next second the old elf also stood up, his towering figure walking toward him.
Damn it! What is he going to do now? Liam couldn't help but become slightly nervous. But unexpectedly, the old guy stopped a few paces in front of him without coming all the way to punchable distance.
"Cute baby, can you come here? Allow this grandpa to teach you as well."
Kyu? Luna's ears perked up, and Liam's face twitched. The difference in the treatment was simply too painful. Regardless, he made sure to listen.
"While it is easy to gather mana when you are not doing much else, it is an entirely different matter when it comes to gathering mana while you are doing other things." The old guy lectured. "First try to gather and absorb mana while doing simple tasks like walking and moving your limbs."
Both Liam and Luna listened carefully and then looked at each other after the old guy was done.
"Kyu. Master, I don't understand anything. What is grandpa saying?" Luna made a pitiful face.
Liam smiled and nodded at her. "Just try your best."
Seeing this, the old elf scoffed in mockery, rolling his eyes.
Liam had long since decided to ignore the mannerisms of this elf. He brushed off the taunts and started trying to gather mana while executing a basic sword move.
Oh! He immediately realized that something was different. This was far more difficult to execute, just like the elf had mentioned.
Nodding, he was about to swing his sword another time when suddenly the fox next to him started jumping around and yelping in joy.
"Master! Masta! Look at me! I can do it! Kyuuuu! Luna can do it!"
Huh? Liam turned to see the little creature jumping around here and there. More importantly, there was a dense aura of mana surrounding her, as if she was a mana magnet.
With every jump the little fox did, mana fluctuated, and she was absorbing more of it. Not just that, she was also spitting out fire here and there, and mana was still surging.
What the hell kind of mana manipulation is this? Liam stared in bewilderment.
Here he was struggling to just make a simple movement while the other party was casually playing around? Where was the justice in this world?
"He He. Aren't you a genius? My cutie pie, sweetie pie num num num" The old elf picked up the fox and started tickling her belly.
"Hmph. Listen, brat. Spirit beasts are geniuses. They learn to do it naturally. A dull dud like you has to train. I suggest you get to work."
Liam's face twitched. It was too embarrassing to lag so far behind a baby beast, even if she was a spirit beast. He focused and tried to achieve the same thing.
For the next few hours, he continued to train diligently while the other two chilled and relaxed, the big one feeding the little one all sorts of items. Of course, every now and then, the little fox also helped Liam by showing him how it was done.
Finally, after six hours, there was some improvement. When Liam swung his sword again, he was able to absorb some mana as casually as if he was breathing.
"This is it. This is the feeling." He was overjoyed, but he kept his cool and continued to practice it a few times. He wanted to memorize the feeling.
However, all of a sudden, Liam felt something else. Something else was different.
For the next attack, instead of the normal sword slash, he executed a fire slash, and this time he both pulled in and pushed out the mana simultaneously.
And just like he had experienced before, he felt that something was different.
Liam immediately sat down crosslegged and tried to focus. He could feel that the change was in his mana core, so he tried to focus on that.
Not that his mana core itself had changed. It was more like… chains. He could feel some sort of invisible chains holding down his mana core. What were these chains?
Liam reached down and tried to rattle these chains. He willed for the chains to break and shatter. He shook them violently, but he was not able to break them loose. However, he did not give up. He gritted his teeth and continued trying.
And for the first time, the old elf noticed him. Hmmm? The guy lazily opened his one eye to actually look at Liam. Even a hint of awe could be seen on his face.
