Chapter 53: Enter Fenric
"Yes, Llarm! You’re getting it!" Lucy shouted across the courtyard, his voice carrying over the rustle of morning wind and chirping birds.
The trio—Gindu, Eri, and Llarm—sat cross—legged on the grass, eyes closed, hands resting on their knees, each probing the quiet depths of their own mana. Golden sunlight bathed the field in a warm hue, casting long shadows behind their still forms.
For the past three months, Lucy had been drilling them on the fundamentals of mana circulation. Thanks to his god-blessed ability, what had taken him an hour was taking them weeks. Still, he couldn’t blame them.
’They don’t have a magic cheat code wired into their brains,’ he reminded himself.
Lucy winced slightly, memories of his initiation flooding back—the blinding headache, the pressure of arcane knowledge crashing into his skull like a tidal wave.
’These lucky bastards won’t even feel a thing, he thought, half-jealous.
Llarm’s eyes snapped open. He stood, brushing grass from his uniform. His blonde hair was tied back with a simple cord, and his emerald eyes caught the sun like polished gemstones.
"I think I’ve got it," Llarm said, turning his palms upward, as though testing the air itself. "It’s slow—really slow—but it’s there."
Lucy grinned. "That’s how it starts. Give it a couple more months and you’ll feel like a whole new man."
From nearby, Gindu’s eyes flew open. "How could I let the yellow wyrmling beat me?!" he roared, fists clenched in mock despair.
Even Eri, usually the picture of calm detachment, opened one eye and frowned. Her brow furrowed in concentration, lips pressed in a tight, annoyed line.