Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (hardest books to read txt) 📕

power level. While the concept of storing mana in a vessel for later use was new to me, it had a certain elegance that felt obvious in retrospect. Could I implement something like that with my sword? Is there a maximum capacity for mana in a certain object? Maybe it’s dependent on the elemental makeup, where specific structures have a higher capability to—

The silence around me finally registered in my head, and I realized I had been sitting quietly with my thoughts for far too long. “Wait, what?” I asked as I internalized the second half of her sentence. “The what systems?”

Val leaned forward and flipped the shield over in my lap. The back was a slightly concave sheet of silvered metal inlaid with hollow steel tracks. They ran across the shield in two directions, lengthwise and widthwise, and crossed at the center where an intricate arm strap system currently sat. Small levers and buttons jutted out from the handhold, presumably the control center for whatever function the gear tracks served.

Lia leaned over from her spot opposite me to inspect the shield, poking and prodding at various bits of machinery with her face only inches from its surface. “Wooow,” she whispered in amazement. “What does it all...do, exactly?”

“To put it simply, this system allows me to rotate and extend my grip on the shield. It has numerous applications in combat scenarios, and makes wearing it much more comfortable as well,” Val explained, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.

I took a few more moments to marvel at the engineering work, then carefully handed the artifact back to her. “I’d like to see that in action sometime,” I said with a grin. “You know, there’s no better way to get to know someone than a good spar. I can’t trust that you’ll have my back in a fight unless I know what you can do with that thing. Plus, it’ll finally give us a chance to see the famous ‘King’s Shield’ in action.” I turned to Lia and waggled my eyebrows. “You’d like to see that, wouldn’t you Lia?”

“Oh, definitely!” she replied excitedly. “And I want a turn, too! I’ve only ever trained with Lux, so I think it would be really helpful to practice with someone else for a change.”

I turned back to Val to gauge her reaction to the idea, and was shocked to find a small smile on her face. “Perhaps that is something that could be arranged. I must admit, I have been quite curious as to your combat abilities as well, Lux. The reports on the topic were…” she paused, searching for a word as an amused grin curled her lips further, “inconsistent, to say the least.”

“I suppose it’s settled then,” I said with a clap of my hands. “We’ll stop the wagon early tonight and get to know each other a little better.”

With all of us in agreement, we fell back into our usual travelling tasks. Val turned her attention back to driving the wagon, and I took Lia to the opposite end to begin our training for the day. The session began with Lia as the instructor for a change; after I failed to locate the correct rations for breakfast from a clearly marked crate earlier that morning, she had insisted on teaching me the written language of Kaldan. Using the few books she had packed in her belongings, she introduced me to the Kaldanic alphabet. I was relieved to find it was a phonetic system, and set about memorizing the symbols as best I could.

After a brief lunch, we spent the rest of our afternoon in magic training. We started with our usual meditations to practice mana control and to push the boundaries of our Detection magic. I always found the task to be an exciting challenge; whether it was reaching farther than I had before or maintaining the ability for a longer period of time, there was always a limit to push beyond. I wasn’t sure if Lia shared in the passion with me, but she never complained about the activity, even when I pushed her harder than I probably should have.

The other aspects of our training were harder to perform in the back of the wagon. Though I grew to trust Val the longer we traveled together, I held firm in my belief that she couldn’t be allowed to learn how our magic worked. The thought of teaching a lesson in hushed tones that Val would most likely still be able to hear seemed silly and inefficient to me, so I resorted to a simpler method.

Using the rings I had commissioned as a textbook, I taught Lia the Alderean runes one symbol at a time. I would point to a particular inscription on my ring and give her the one word meaning, then draw out the symbol with my finger on her upturned palm. In turn, she would find the same symbol on her ring, repeat the name, and attempt to recreate the design in my palm. It was a tedious and repetitive activity, but I hoped it would prove effective despite our limiting circumstances.

When Val pulled the wagon off the road at the end of our day of travel, Lia and I leapt from the back before it came to a full stop, both of us desperate to get away from our formal lessons. I flopped down into the soft grass with a relieved sigh and stared up at the sky, a cloudless blue tinted with sunset orange. There was an electric tingle of anticipation that ran along my arms and legs as I thought ahead to my match with Val. I had been curious if her skills matched her reputation since I first met her, and I finally had the chance to find out.

“So, are you ready to get started?” I called out when I heard her approach after tending to the horse.

“I thought it would be prudent to set up our camp now, while we still have the sun.”

“No, no,