Tenebris Renasci: A World of Magic and Gunpowder

The next day, Alexander completed the obstacle course within a minute.

Dashing through the wooden panels, jumping on the hurdles and onto the high wall. 

Leaping from the low wall, Alexander reached out for the ropes that hung and swung between him and the final obstacle.

Swinging through the ropes like a monkey through trees, he didn't waste a single second in reaching the final obstacle.

A jump ring.

Alexander extended out his feet as he brought his arms to his chest. 

He fell like a dart through the air.

Effortlessly sliding through the jump ring, landing on the ground with a roll.

As Alexander rose from the ground, Zara could be heard approaching from behind, her footsteps hurried.

It was a shock to Zara, as she didn't expect Alexander to progress so fast in such a short period of time. 

"W-woah." Zara stammered, blinking her six eyes in disbelief as she looked down at Alexander, who now stood with a determined expression. "That was… unexpected."

Alexander sighed as he turned towards Zara, "what's next?" He asked, his tone firm.

Zara raised an eyebrow as she looked down at Alexander, "what?" She asked.

Alexander gazed at Zara, a small smirk crossing his lips.

He realized that he shouldn't be surprised by Zara's reaction.

As it was obvious obviously didn't expect such a rapid turnaround, however, what she didn't know was that now Alexander began to build a better feel for his new ability.

That, alongside Zara's words of motivation, changed something within him.

He no longer felt sorry for himself, nor did he want to wallow in sorrow and despair.

He would focus everything, every emotion, every memory, and every breath, into achieving progress.

The advancement to a better, more complete state of being.

That was his goal.

"I said what's next." Alexander replied as he looked up at Zara, "I'm ready."

Zara blinked blankly for a moment, her eyes wide. 

She stood in a pause, her hands on her hip as her tail slowly swayed in curiosity.

After a moment of curious silence, a small smile crossed Zara's lips. "Heh…" she said with a soft exhale. "Strong will… strong… will."

Moving from the obstacle course, and onto one of the various hills that surrounded the area, Zara began to explain their next steps.

"You did well," Zara said with a nod as the duo stood atop a hill overlooking the village in the near distance. "Too well." 

Alexander turned to look over at Zara, "so?" He asked curiously. 

"So… we move past obstacles, and into sparing, where a real challenge begins," Zara answered. "That's… that's what's next."

Alexander slowly nodded, he was no stranger to sparing, and with his unblocked mana nodes, he was more than confident in his abilities. "When do we start?" 

Zara giggled softly as she turned to look at Alexander, her hands charged with black world energy/mana.

Alexander widened his eyes as he looked down at Zara's hands. 

A dark, smoke-like tail raised from her palms and into the air, alongside the scent of something otherworldly.

"Now," Zara said before pushing her mana-charged palms toward Alexander. 

Woah!

Alexander barely managed to charge his feet with mana and dodge Zara's strike. 

The wind of her mana blasting past his cheek sending a shiver down his spine.

Jumping back a good distance away from Zara, Alexander straightened himself up as he opened his mouth to angrily shout at Zara.

But before he spoke, he took a moment to reflect.

No, getting frustrated solves nothing, harness that frustration, and use it as fuel.

Alexander raised his fists in a defensive posture as he narrowed his eyes. "I don't know your aim, but I'll beat you," Alexander said sternly.

Zara smiled as she charged her hands and feet with dark mana. "You will try." She replied, before dashing towards Alexander.

Dirt kicked in the air as she blitzed him.

Alexander focused on Zara's approach, carefully calculating when to dodge. 

Fortunately for him, he could do this with relative ease thanks to his mana manipulation skills, slowing down his perception of time by just a small factor.

…now!

Seeing Zara's open palm strike in motion, Alexander lowered himself below her strike zone and dashed forward with his feet charged with mana. 

He quickly oriented himself behind Zara, moving to strike her back with an open strike palm charged with mana.

Zara giggled as she quickly turned around, her leg swinging backward and her foot charged with black mana.

Alexander, even though he had slowed his perception of time, was caught completely off guard. 

He could only watch with bated breath as Zara's foot connected with his abdomen.

The charge mana within her foot went from potential to kinetic energy, and Alexander was sent flying backward.

As Alexander helplessly tumbled through the air, he realized the purpose of this sudden sparring match.

It was to teach him that you could not only charge mana to propel yourself but against others as well. 

That makes sense…

Alexander slammed hard on his back, the impact snatching the breath from his lungs and leaving him gasping for air. 

"Gyaup." Alexander made a strange noise as he took a deep gasp, the pain radiating from his back began to spread.

As Alexander dealt with pain, Zara could be seen slowly walking towards him with a firm, yet still caring expression. "Get up… this is only the beginning." She said, charging her hands and feet with mana.

Alexander groaned as his body slowly began to heal itself.

He slowly picked himself up, using his hands to push himself off the ground. "That hurt, bad." Alexander said in a strained voice, "But…" 

Alexander pumped his fist as he shook his legs. "…not enough to keep me down."

Zara smirked as she lowered herself into a dashing position. "Good." She replied, before dashing towards Alexander, the wind twirling around her blurred body.

Alexander gritted his teeth as he prepared himself. 

Either he was going to succeed, or he was going to learn enough to become better for next time.

Here we go.