"Move! Keep the pace!"
Sheela barks as Hikari runs around the arena.
Her sword and harvest sack full of sand were strapped to her back with the rope she found in the Wyvern Peaks.
Running on the sandy surface was several times harder than the flat path around the RazenHeir estate.
Her bare feet made craters in the sand where she stomped her giant muscular feet, causing her weight to slide to either side with every step.
Stomp. Stomp.
Hikari almost fell face-flat into the sand if she hadn't taken the next step in time, just as the sand below her caved in, shifting her weight forward.
"Steady! Steady! Keep circulating your mana just like we practiced. It'll come back to you."
Hikari tries.
She just practiced it a week ago.
She remembers the movements in her mind, but the memory in her muscles seemed to have vanished into thin air.
"Stop! Keep circulating your mana!"
Hikari catches her breath.
As she wipes her sweat, she feels Sheela's mana spreading throughout the sand arena.
She senses the movements through the sand.
She follows.
The sand around her feet swirls in response.
She feels it gather below her in a denser clump to support her weight.
"Focus as you rest. You're getting it!"
Hikari tries.
Three sessions of ten rounds each.
It was already more punishing than her normal morning run back at the estate, and yet it seems like the sand bender has more in store for her.
Hikari focuses.
More and more sand gathers below her, until her feet no longer sink into it.
She raises her heel and rotates her ankles to relieve some of the strain built up from running on the unforgiving sand.
The sand supports her weight as she anchors it all on her other foot.
She feels fine.
Fine enough to go another ten rounds.
The strain was not as bad as she thought, given the intensity of the workout.
The magical cloth wrappings Sheela wrapped around her foot and lower leg squeezed her calf muscles just like her salamander armour.
Its affinity with the sand below seemed to prevent the sand from sliding and caving too much.
The caving and sliding draw excess energy from her to keep her balance, which causes strain on her muscles.
She switches.
The sand held firm.
"Good! Good! As expected of my student! Now walk slowly! Let the bindings guide you."
Hikari's weight sinks into the sand as she takes a step forward.
She feels her mana move.
The wrappings on her lower legs respond to her.
The sand below responds, supporting her foot and pushing it up until level with the ground like a springboard.
Step. Step.
It was coming back to her.
The bindings resonate with the sand.
Step. Step.
Sheela kept channeling her mana.
Hikari follows her movements.
Step. Step.
Steady steps.
After the first round, Hikari's wobbling has been reduced to a minimum.
Step. Step.
Second round.
Third round.
She notices the sand move even before her foot lands.
"Good! Good! Now pick up the pace. But just a little."
Step. Step. Step. Step.
With the increased pace, Hikari feels the sliding and caving return.
She tones it down just a little.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
One round, two rounds, three rounds.
She picks up the pace by a tiny notch.
Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.
The feeling was coming back to her.
Bit by bit, she feels more and more like walking on level ground.
"Yep, you got it!"
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Hikari reaches the starting point again.
"Alright! Time for a break!"
Hikari drops her sword and harvest sack.
Shoulder rotations to brush out some of the strain.
A luxury she only has in the training grounds.
Boom.
A wave of sand was kicked up as her bottoms hit the arena.
She leaned backwards, straightening her legs and leaning on her arms for support.
Her shirt was soaked through.
Her heart was pumping.
But she felt good.
Running on the sand was an excellent workout to get used to her new size.
"Now let's see how your wrappings are holding up."
Sheela knelt in front of her soles.
"Urk! Your feet stink!"
Hikari scratched her cheek in embarrassment.
Sheela conjured a mini sand tornado and scrubbed Hikari's sand-caked soles.
She removed the sweat-soaked wrappings.
Squeeze. The excess moisture disappeared into the sand.
She held it in both hands and examined the runes.
The wrappings that she gave Hikari were large enough for her torso.
The sand bender channels, replenishing the magic stored in the runes, and wraps it back onto Hikari's lower leg.
"There, now you try recharging it."
"Hmm."
Sheela places one palm on each of Hikari's soles.
"I'll guide you. It's the same as when you channel your flames through your sword. Or something like that."
Hikari follows her movements.
It's a more complex set.
The wrappings contained runes that would support more advanced techniques than what Sheela had taught her so far.
"There! Now stand up and try walking."
Step. Step.
It felt even better.
She felt the sand following her as she walked.
"He. It's good, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Isn't your master great? Tell me how great I am."
"Master Sheela."
"Again!"
"Master Sheela."
"Alright. Alright. That's enough. Break's over."
Sheela slides through the sand to the other end of the arena.
Neat.
Hikari thought.
She wondered how long before she could do that.
"Master?"
"Pick up your sword."
Hikari picked up her sword and took a stance.
She was confused as to why Sheela, whom she had yet to see with a sword, would ask her to wield hers.
"You still got to fight in case things go south for the queen wyvern raid, don't ya. Or something like that. So why don't I help you with some sword training?"
"Sword training?"
Sheela clenches her fist.
A ball of sand rose from the arena, coalescing into a boulder.
"Block this."
A push of her palm.
The boulder flies towards Hikari, startling her.
But with her quick reflexes ingrained in her muscles, she hit the boulder with her sword, smashing it into pieces.
Hikari dusts off the crumbs.
Though she blocked it, her movements felt off.
Another boulder came flying at her.
Swing.
The boulder was smashed into pieces.
"Good! You're getting used to it. How about a little challenge? I've been itching for you to come back so we can have another go."
"Challenge?"
"Yep! That'll make our training a bit more spicy. I'm going to get you back for the last round. Don't worry, I'll teach ya how to bury your body in the sand."
Hikari scratches her cheek.
"I'm kidding. That wouldn't have been fair. You have just had a growth spurt, and you have yet to train enough. But hey, you seemed to enjoy messing with me, so I'll put it up as a reward. But only if you can catch every one of my boulders."
"Yes, master sheela."
Hikari takes a stance.
Sword in one hand for flexibility.
She needs to catch fast moving boulders with it.
One foot in front of the other for more stability.
Sheela stomps her foot, conjuring several floating boulders behind her.
A pair of pillars appears on either side of Hikari, forming a goal post.
"It only counts as a miss if it lands within the goal post."
"Yes, master sheela."
Hikari swings her sword in a rotary motion, warming up her wrist.
The sword is heavy enough to sprain her hand if she's not careful.
"Ready or not, here I come."
A single boulder flies at her.
Hikari was ready for it.
A flick of her hand, switching the sword to a backhand.
She held up the sword and let the boulder smash right into the broad side of the blade.
"Ho! I guess you're pretty good with the sword, aren't you?"
Sheela picked up the pace.
The boulders came flying one by one.
Using the smallest movement to place her sword in the way of the incoming boulders, Hikari was able to catch each one.
"He. That was just a warm-up. Now let me see how fast your reflexes are."
Hikari stomped the ground, testing if the sand would support her movements.
She felt the wrapping around her foot respond to her movements.
The sand around her responded.
"Time to take it up a notch."
Sheela hurls a boulder, aiming at the edge of the pillar on Hikari's right.
Hikari switches her sword from a backhand to a normal grip.
She stumbles, losing her grip for a moment and almost dropping her sword.
The boulder smashes into the tip of her sword just as she catches the handle.
"Lucky you! Better get that trick of yours together, or you won't be able to catch the next one."
Hikari practices flipping the sword back and forth.
It was a technique she thought she had mastered from years of holding the sword.
Sheela pauses to give her space.
A few flips were all it took for it to return to her.
The boulder honed in on the left pillar.
Backhand.
Hikari turns to the left and extends her sword.
The boulder hits the tip.
Right.
Hikari turns around.
The boulder breaks against the tip of her sword.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
"Herda's tits. You're really good at moving that large body of yours. He, maybe your master has something to learn from you too."
Left. Right. Right. Left. Center. Left.
Sheela mixes up the rhythm.
Hikari reacts quickly.
"He, I guess that's not going to catch you off guard."
Hikari swings her sword in a rotary motion.
She was enjoying this as much as Sheela was.
This was definitely a lot more fun than the boring, repetitive drills she had always done.
Sheela stomps her foot.
Hikari watches.
She could sense the sandbender channeling her mana.
Stronger.
Masses of sand around her gather in front of her.
A large boulder, many times the size of the ones that Hikari had caught so far, formed.
It was the size of Hikari's chest.
"Let's see if that sword of yours can smash this."
The wrappings on Sheela's arms ringed.
With a thrust of both arms, she pushed the boulder barreling down towards Hikari.
Stomp.
Hikari bent her knees and lowered her center of weight.
Both hands on the sword.
Handle at her neck level.
Tip pointed at the boulder in a thrusting stance.
The mass of stone enters her slashing range.
She steps forward directly into its path.
The tip of her sword drills into the boulder.
It shatters into pieces.
"He! So even that is a piece of cake for ya, eh?"
Stomp.
The sand bender stomps the ground.
Conjuring arrays of dozens of boulders floating behind her.
Hikari takes her stance, bracing herself for what looked like a hailstorm.
"Eh, what is this?"
Another sandbender jumps into the arena and slides towards her.
Sheela powers down; the boulders disappear into the sand.
The normal-sized sandbender, reaching up to her hip height, whispered something to her.
"Aww… man! Grandfather found out. Ah, screw him."
The normal-sized sandbender protested.
"Yeah. Yeah. I know. I know. Everyone not participating in a raid has to be evacuated."
Sheela pouts.
"Hey, I can defend myself, ya know. "
The normal-sized sandbender kept protesting.
"Fine. Fine. I'll go back to Escher. What a kill-joy."
Sheela slides over to Hikari.
"Hey, when all of this is over, come to Escher. I got an even bigger arena there."
"Yes, Master Sheela."
The sandbender smiles.
"Oh, and make sure that pip-squeak brother comes back alive. He's not bulletproofed like we are."
"Yes, Master Sheela."
"Alright, chow!"
Sheela turns around, getting ready to slide out of the arena.
"Master Sheela."
"Ya?"
She turns around to see Hikari scratching her cheek.
"My reward."
"Eh?"
Sheela was stumped for a moment.
Hikari blinks at her.
Sheela's face turns red as the memory comes back to her.
She places both hands over her big mouth.
She looks at Hikari's expectant eyes.
"Ah! Fine. Your master is a woman of her word."
Sheela lowers her body into the sand.
Hikari's kneecaps came into her view.
Her calves. Her toes caked in sand.
Thud.
Hikari placed her foot right in front of Sheela's face.
Her toes an inch away from her nose.
"Urk… your feet smell."
Giggles from above.
Grains of sand flick against Sheela's face as Hikari wriggles her toes excitedly.
"Smell."