Three days had passed since Yuri began his training. They would head to the deserted beach first thing in the morning and continue their duels late into the night. As a result—
“I won’t eat meat ever again...only veggies for me...” Athena was crouched and cowering on the sand.
“Good for you,” Fram sighed, “you’ll be the Beast Tribe’s first-ever vegetarian.”
“You can only say that because you didn’t see it up close! The blood went skadoosh! The flesh went kersplat, and the bones went kerchunk!”
“I’m sorry... I tend to go too far when my switch is flipped...” Yuri apologized, only for Athena to sullenly turn her head the other way.
“No, no, no! Your Big Sis won’t forgive you!”
“Err... Then I won’t protest when you suddenly jump on me.”
“Okay, Big Sis always forgives! Let’s have some meat today!”
“She’s so easy I’m growing worried for her future.”
“I have to agree...”
“Yay! I can hug Yuri now!”
With Athena’s mood recovered, Fram clapped her hands together to change the subject.
“So Yuri, do you think you understand the Beast Tribe’s Tribe Skill now?”
“Tentatively, I’d say. At the very least, I’m now able to hold back the output, and I think I’ve grasped the knack well enough that it just barely won’t destroy my body.”
“I think so too. Yesterday, he used it without too much damage, and he didn’t have to hurt himself to invoke it anymore!”
“Good. Just using Tribe Skills is already an excess burden on your body. If you have to hurt yourself every time just to activate them, you’ll only be able to fight short-term battles.” After summing up the results of the past three days, Fram turned back to him. “Then next, let me teach you the Spirit Tribe’s skill.”
“Thank you! I’m counting on you!” As per usual, Yuri took his cue to hold up his Proof.
“Now then, the spirit subspecies you take after is the moon spirits, correct?” Fram indifferently confirmed in the midst of the world’s color shift.
“Yes. But, when I tried to look into them, I couldn’t find any information.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. Moon spirits are so rare I have never seen one myself.”
“So even you’ve never encountered one?”
“To be quite blunt, they’re on the verge of extinction. The fact that the Eniastar house managed not only to form connections with them, but to bang one to preserve their mix-blood lineage, strikes me with fear and awe.”
“Fram, as a young woman, how about you choose your words...”
“Hey, hey, Fram, what does bang mean?” Athena asked from the outfield.
“When a man and woman do this and that and all sorts of things to make a baby.”
“Hey, how about we put a wrap on that topic!”
After covering Fram’s mouth with both hands, Yuri got the conversation back on track.
“The Eniastar House has been around since the founding of the duel city. Our family tree stretches way back, and we’ve taken in various members over the years.”
“If you’re that old, it’s possible you exchanged a contract with a moon spirit back when they were still numerous. I heard your house researches mix-bloods, but do you also do research on other tribes?”
“Yes. I read many of my father’s books to work out countermeasures while I was training...but the documents on my own traits are too old and vague, and everything apart from the elf traits I got from my mother are an unknown to me.”
“In that case...I should start by explaining about moon spirits,” Fram said, as she flopped down on the spot and began her lesson.
“Moon spirits are a race of spirits that govern life and sanity. Their Creation allows them to place status conditions on enemies, to influence the body through means of the mind. Or so I’ve heard.”
“That’s...umm, what exactly does that mean?”
“To put it simply, it is a strong suggestion,” Fram said, pointing at her own eyes. “For example, if you place a mental suggestion, ‘your eyes cannot see,’ the enemy really will become unable to see. To take it a step further, if you suggest, ‘your lungs cannot breathe,’ the enemy will stop breathing and die.”
“...Isn’t that a little too strong?”
“It’s strong, but it highly depends on the enemy’s mental state, which makes it rather impractical and unreliable. They’re also good at healing magic, and honestly, they aren’t too suited as duelists, but...”
After she said that much, Fram put a hand to her chin and thought. “It might be the perfect tribe trait for a mix-blood like you.”
“For me?”
“Yes. You hurt yourself whenever you use Tribe Skills, but a moon spirit’s Creation might be able to heal some of your wounds and let you reuse them. Similarly, you’ll be able to use self-suggestion to strengthen your body.”
Fram paused, did some more thinking, then continued, “The Spirit Tribe fundamentally can’t fight in close quarters, so physical strengthening is usually pointless, but...if a mix-blood’s physical makeup is the same as the Human Tribe, body strengthening and healing magic should be perfectly applicable.”
“What happens if Yuri uses magic in the first place?” Athena asked from outside. “The Beast Tribe’s Release has a terrible effect on his body, but will magic be fine?”
“Hmm... I actually studied up a bit on magic, but I gave up on it when I figured out I didn’t have an output high enough for offense.”
“The Human Tribe’s mana capacity is pitifully average, a little support and healing will be the limit. For now, we can just try it out and see what happens.”
“Is it just me, or are you getting rougher with your treatment of me...”
“Does it really matter if a human who laughs as his body is converted into a lump of meat is treated somewhat roughly?”
A smirk on her lips, Fram lightly patted the sand off her clothes as she stood.
“If you learned magic, you should already know how to do it. Show me.”
“Yes! Under—”
His spirited reply was cut short as an impact raced through his chest; a sharp pillar of ice stuck straight through his heart.
“There. You’ll die if you don’t heal yourself fast enough. Ready, set, go.”
“Fram’s a demon!?”
“There’s no telling when you’ll bear a fatal wound in real combat. We’re better off learning how fast he can heal himself, and whether or not he can evade death.”
“Even so, that’s way too little mercy! Your Big Sis doesn’t approve of this!”
While Athena was making a ruckus outside the Field, Yuri stared at the hole in his chest. He concentrated all his attention toward it. Imagining the mana within him as the flow of his blood, he tried desperately to grasp its sensation as a bodily sense.
“—Creation.”
Came his panicked cry, and the change soon graced his body. The large hole in his chest closed up in the blink of an eye, the wound repaired.
The scene caused Fram’s eyes to widen in admiration. “I’m shocked... Even if the moon spirits excel at healing, to instantly close even a fatal wound...”
“Fram! Yuri’s acting strange! Hurry and look at him!”
Immediately after Athena’s scream, Yuri slowly collapsed to the ground.
He firmly clutched his chest to contain the absurd beat of his heart, but contrary to his own will, it continued to pulsate wildly as an off-sensation raced all across his body.
“...An excessive use of magic is causing acute manaloss syndrome. Mana is circulated in the bloodstream, so a sudden loss will cause the body to overcompensate, sending his heart into overdrive.”
“Err, umm... What does that mean!?”
“To put it simply, his body is in a frenzy. Far too much oxygen is being sent to his brain, his consciousness is going berserk, his field of vision is contracting...perhaps he has other symptoms as well.”
“Stop calmly analyzing and do something about it!!”
“Quiet down. The Spirit Tribe reacts the same way the first time they use magic,” she sharply replied, before taking a seat next to Yuri. She held up his head in her arms and pressed it against her own chest.
“Yuri, listen to the sound of my heart.” She cradled him and spoke in a soft, gentle tone. “Remember how your heart is supposed to move, imagine the mana leaving your body with each breath. Calm down...release the excess and your body will be at ease.”
Fram combed Yuri’s hair as she would to soothe a child, patting his back at a set rhythm. After she had repeated that for a while—Yuri took in a conspicuously deep breath. He burst into a coughing fit, all the while shaking his head to clear away his hazy consciousness.
“Hac, hac—this...is a lot harsher than simple pain...”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. You can put up with pain, but not being able to do anything about the changes in your body is scarier than you could imagine. If you were anyone else, I would not have done that.”
“Even if you were going to do it, I’d have liked a word of warning...!”
“If you don’t learn it firsthand, you’ll do something reckless again. Magic is powerful and convenient, but it is an art that comes with danger. I thought you should learn that before doing anything else.”
She rested Yuri’s head on her lap, slowly stroking his head to drive in her cautionary words. “After a short break, we’ll break in your body to the sensation of mana and expand the scope of your healing.”