Chapter 86 - training with luna
After breakfast, the Empress, Mom, Astrid, and Isabella left together, leaving Amy, Elena, Luna, and me behind.
Amy was the first to break the silence.
"Alright, let’s go."
"What are you standing there for?"
She looked at me with a mischievous grin.
"What?"
"Did seeing your fiancée leave you completely stunned?"
I glared at her.
"Don’t you have anything better to do than tease me?"
Amy’s grin only widened.
"No."
I placed a hand on my forehead and let out a helpless sigh.
Elena and Luna watched our interaction quietly before Elena smiled.
"Come on."
"We’ll lead the way."
The four of us headed toward the training grounds together.
The moment we entered, Amy suddenly placed both hands on my back and shoved me toward Luna.
Without looking back, she walked over to Elena.
"I’m going to train with Elena."
"You go train with Luna."
The grin on her face never disappeared.
I almost stumbled from the unexpected push, but quickly regained my balance.
When I looked up...
Luna was already standing in front of me.
Her long silver-white hair reached all the way to her waist, gently swaying with every movement. Her sapphire-blue eyes were calm and clear, and her delicate features gave her an almost ethereal beauty. Unlike her cheerful older sister, Elena, Luna rarely spoke unless necessary. Even while standing silently, she carried herself with an elegant and refined aura befitting an imperial princess.
An awkward silence settled between us.
I cleared my throat.
"So..."
"How about we train together?"
"As for the engagement..."
"I really didn’t know anything about it until today."
"It’s completely your decision whether you accept it or not."
"I don’t mind either way."
I smiled gently before extending my hand.
"So..."
"How about we become friends first?"
Luna quietly looked at me for a few moments.
Then she reached out and shook my hand.
"...Alright."
After a brief pause, she asked,
"So..."
"What should I call you from now on?"
I smiled.
"Just call me Gray."
She gave a small nod.
"Then..."
"You can call me Luna."
I nodded happily.
"So..."
"What kind of training have you been focusing on recently?"
She thought for a moment before answering.
"Nothing special."
"I’ve already finished practicing the basics."
"So lately I’ve been trying to improve my swordsmanship and create better spells."
I nodded.
"Do you have a perception skill?"
"It’s incredibly useful."
"It helped me improve almost all of my spells."
She nodded.
"Mother taught me one."
"It has been very helpful."
The remaining awkwardness between us completely disappeared.
I smiled.
"Then how about we first familiarize ourselves with each other’s spells?"
"It’ll make training together much more effective."
She nodded before asking,
"Can you teach me some Ice Magic?"
"After all..."
"Your family is famous for its Ice Affinity."
I scratched my head awkwardly.
"I don’t really know much about how the outside world views my family."
"I’ve never been interested in politics or noble affairs."
"So I’ve never paid much attention to those things."
Then I continued,
"As for Ice Magic..."
"I know quite a few useful spells."
"But I rarely use only one element."
"I usually combine my affinities to create stronger or more versatile spells."
"So some of them probably won’t work for you."
Luna nodded.
She had already witnessed it herself during our spar.
Every Ice Spear I launched had been infused with Darkness, and many of them had been teleported through Space.
Then I suddenly asked,
"Have you ever tried combining Ice and Light?"
She nodded.
"I’ve thought about it before..."
"But I couldn’t think of many practical uses."
I smiled.
"That’s only because you haven’t discovered them yet."
"There isn’t any combination that’s completely useless."
She quietly listened.
"Don’t think every spell has to be used for attacking."
"Imagine you’re fighting someone who hides behind a wall of darkness."
"A normal Ice Spear won’t help much."
"And a simple Light Spear won’t necessarily deal enough damage."
"But if you combine the two..."
"You’ll create a spell with the properties of both elements."
"The result will be completely different."
I continued,
"You can even use Ice as a reflective medium to strengthen Light."
"Or create blinding effects."
"The possible combinations are almost endless."
"You just need to think differently."
Luna slowly fell into deep thought.
After a while, she nodded.
"Can you show me your spells?"
I smiled.
"Of course."
I began demonstrating them one after another.
Dark Bullet.
Ice Spear.
Dark Ice Spear.
Gravity Bullet.
Several other spells followed.
Then I suddenly slapped my forehead.
"Oh."
"I almost forgot."
"My next spell uses Darkness..."
"But I think you can create a similar version with Light."
I formed a small crystal of ice in my palm.
"This should actually be much larger."
"I’m only making it this size for demonstration."
Luna nodded attentively.
I slowly filled the crystal with Darkness Mana.
More.
And more.
The next instant—
Boom!
The crystal exploded, scattering countless tiny ice fragments in every direction.
"The explosion spreads the darkness everywhere."
"I used a larger version of this during my first dungeon."
"It wiped out more than sixty spiders."
Luna’s eyes immediately brightened with interest.
She copied my actions.
A crystal formed in her palm.
Instead of Darkness...
She filled it with Light.
Moments later—
Boom!
The crystal exploded as well.
Brilliant light spread throughout the area.
The entire training ground became dazzlingly bright for an instant.
I blinked in surprise.
"It worked..."
"And it even has a blinding effect."
Luna looked at the lingering light with genuine excitement.
"It does..."
I smiled.
"I think you’ll be able to improve it even further."
After waiting for the light to fade, I continued,
"That’s everything I can safely demonstrate."
"I also have a few Space-based attacks."
"Like Space Bullet and Space Slash."
"They’re incredibly powerful..."
"But I still can’t control them properly."
"So I don’t use them unless I absolutely have to."
Luna nodded in understanding.
Then I smiled.
"My turn."
"Show me your spells."
She nodded.
Without hesitation, she began demonstrating everything she had learned.
Light Spear.
Light Bullet.
A Flash Spell that temporarily blinded opponents.
Various Ice techniques.
One spell immediately caught my attention.
She created an entire sword from solid ice.
I had never considered doing something like that.
Probably because I always had Eclipse with me.
Still...
It was an incredibly practical spell.
One after another, Luna demonstrated the rest of her Ice and Light techniques.
Naturally, she didn’t show any healing spells.
After all...
No one here was injured.
By the time she finished, I couldn’t help nodding in approval.
She knew far more spells than I had expected.