Chapter 73 Autumn Training [4] - Puppeteer

"That sounds extremely dumb..." Lloyd retorted

"Who's the darkness expert here? Me or you." Lachlan sneered.

"Well, before hearing that weird-ass explanation of yours, I would have most definitely said you, but now I am kind of worried that your mind might have snapped long before this dungeon raid." Lloyd looked at Lachlan with a stare that was filled with nothing but pure pity.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Kind of hard not to." Lloyd sighed before walking forward and placing his hand on Lachlan's shoulder.

"Don't worry buddy, we're going to get through this. I have hope." Lloyd smiled while giving Lachlan a thumbs up.

Lachlan, on the other hand, could not help but imagine what would happen if he were to punch Lloyd with all his strength, but before he could lose his temper, he took in a deep breath before nudging Lloyd's hand away.

"Tell me, if all there was to shadows happened to be that they are simply the absence of light, wouldn't you have better control over it?"

"..."

"While I myself am not a shadow user, I know many of those in my family who are shadow users, and therefore I know how to train you so I would like you to trust me on this."

Despite Lloyd's initial suspicions, Lachlan seemed mostly genuine. Of course, he wasn't there out of his own free will, but he seemed sincere about teaching Lloyd the ways of the shadows.

"Okay..." Lloyd replied before extending his hand that Lachlan quickly shook.

Lloyd found himself spending the next two hours sitting on the floor, cross-legged in the lotus position as he breathed in and out while listening to Lachlan's voice as it instructed him on how to communicate with his own shadow.

According to Lachlan, the more Lloyd understands the shadow element, the stronger the connection with his shadows will become.

"To understand the shadow element, you must first break down its properties. Anyone can understand words, but to truly comprehend an element, you have to have the ability to visualize the element and everything that makes it special."

"Now, break down the shadow element and explain how it works." Lachlan asked while circling the sitting Lloyd.

"The shadow element is slow. It's also mostly defensive for some reason. It becomes quite thick and murky when it comes into its physical form, and it is also quite slow when its not moving through dark areas."

"Why does it become faster when it enters dark areas?" Lachlan asked.

"I don't know?"

"Think about it. Shadows are living extensions of darkness... What happens when you drop a droplet of dirty water into a glass full of clean water..."

"..."

"I'm not going to give you the answer since doing so will lower your comprehension of the element." Lachlan states, making Lloyd furrow his brows.

'Well, now that he says it like that, it kind of makes sense. I think? Void walkers are known for their affinity with the void, which is also why I felt so at home when I went through those portals. I can compare void walkers to turtles. They can live on the surface, but it is much more comfortable in the water...

But I feel like this whole shadow thing isn't the same. From what I know, the Void Walker adapted to living and surviving in the void to the point where it changed their entire anatomy to where they could even manipulate it.

Of course, that is just the main scientific theory as to why Void Walkers had become who they are, but if it is true, the shadows having their own wills is the complete opposite of void walkers.' Lloyd widened his eyes slightly as a light bulb went off in his head.

'Shadows are literally born out of darkness rather than being an effect of prolonged exposure and eventual evolutionary developments. Shadows are products of us, living creatures, and therefore when it enters darkness again, it becomes one with it, as if it's almost infesting it. Of course, it will be fast when it's in itself.

All it lacks is the willpower and mana capacity to swallow entire chunks of darkness whole, becoming one with it while infesting it simultaneously.' Lloyd thought before opening his eyes, turning towards Lachlan, and explaining everything without skipping a beat.

​ Lachlan's eyes widened at the fact that Lloyd not only understood it in less than 10 minutes but had also found a way to imagine it himself, therefore increasing his comprehension of the element.

"Let's stick to that part of the the shadow element rather than going into other parts. Or, at least for now." Lachlan instructed.

Hours passed like this. Lloyd would meditate, both cultivating the shadow elemental particles around him while also trying to form a link with his own shadow, yet by the last hour of the training, he had felt like he had gotten nowhere.

"Its fine. You would have to be a complete monster to grasp everything I taught you today in less than a day. It will take a few weeks for you to even get the smallest semblance of a connection with your shadow, so don't sweat it too much." Lachlan waved off Lloyd's disappointment, but he did not finish there.

"Also, I need you to spar with me using your shadow abilities only. For the next hour, I'm going to give you a few tips and tricks wherever I can." Lachlan explained while Lloyd paled.

"Don't worry, I won't be beating the crap out of you the same way Hime and Felix did." Lachlan sighed while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

The next hour went exactly how Lachlan had explained. Lloyd activated his shadow abilities and attacked Lachlan with everything he had, yet the difference between both their commandments was so large that Lachlan didn't even have to use a single one of his abilities.

However, rather than a one-sided beating, Lachlan would mostly only defend, and whenever he did attack, he would land a soft blow onto Lloyd's body, making sure that the attack wouldn't hurt, but instead, it would tell Lloyd that there are places in his body that he isn't protecting properly.

Not only that, but Lachlan would stop Lloyd every few minutes to give him tips on controlling his shadows more efficiently.

"Try to move your shadow around rather than equally dispensing it around your body," Lachlan advised.

"I've tried that before. It doesn't work as well as you imagine." Lloyd retorted while cocking his fist back and shooting it towards Lachlan's chest, yet right before it could make it, Lachlan blocked it by putting his arms in an x shape over his chest.

"I'm assuming you gave up after trying only once." Lachlan sneered

"Shut up." Lloyd spat while spinning and throwing a kick at Lachlan's head, yet before it could reach him, Lachlan raised his arm and blocked it without moving an inch from where he stood.

Or so he thought.

The moment Lloyd's foot could contact with Lachlan's arm, Lloyd shifted his weight and kicked down.

*Boom*

Hitting the ground with a powerful kick, Lloyd kicked up a cloud of dust around Lachlan and him, making it much harder for Lachlan to see.

Lloyd, on the other hand, had an easy time moving around completely unnoticed.

He didn't need to breathe, nor did his footsteps make any noise.

Using [Presence Concealment], it was nearly impossible for him to be sensed, yet somehow, when Lloyd had gotten within a certain radius, he could feel Lachlan's eyes lock onto him.

When Lloyd realized he was being watched, he had already been too late.

*Whoosh*

Lachlan had already kicked off the ground, shooting straight toward Lloyd, yet Lloyd had already managed to evade the attack.

"Good reflexes." Lachlan commented while glaring at Lloyd.

"Thanks." Lloyd replied while panting slightly.

n0(????(e)lbi????.n(et

"Now, let's try this again." Lachlan said while stepping back and readying himself.

The next hour went by in the same way, but this time it was Lloyd dodging and evading every single one of Lachlan's attacks rather than it being the other way around. Lloyd assumed that this was Lachlan's way of teaching him how to use his shadows to evade attacks, and from the basic pattern that Lachlan was using, Lloyd was certain that it was just the start.

Lachlan's attacks increased in speed and power over time, making it harder and harder to avoid the attacks, yet at that point, Lloyd had gotten into the rhythm of dodging, allowing him to barely dodge by the skin of his teeth.

However, unbeknownst to both of them, a deeper change occurred. One that they were both completely blind to, yet it was already beginning to change the flow of that fight.

Slowly, without any of them realizing it, the shape of the shadow that shrouded Lloyd's body began to change.

Suddenly, without any real reason for it, Lloyd's punches had become more powerful and precise, while his dodges were becoming cold and almost calculating, as if Lloyd's body was purposefully waiting for the last second to dodge and put the enemy at a state of false security.

Lloyd's knuckles were harder, and his strength was multiplied.

The shadows would flicker as if they could see the attacks coming from a mile away, and they would vibrate in every time Lloyd would land a hit, yet somehow, none of them could see it.

"You're getting better." Lachlan stated with a tinge of surprise in his voice.

"You're getting worse." Lloyd laughed before transforming his hand into a shadowy claw and plunging it towards Lachlan with everything he had.

Yet, no matter how much Lloyd improved in such a short period of time, there was still one key difference between Lloyd and Lachlan...

Their commandment.

Lloyd's eyes widened for a moment as his claws froze right in front of Lachlan's chest, yet it all made sense when he took the chance to look at the object in Lachlan's hand.

A cross-like wooden object with strings attached to every wing. That's what Lachlan was holding in his hand, and there was only one class that Lloyd knew that used such a weapon...

"Son of a b*tch... You were a puppeteer this entire time!?"