Chapter 183: Awakening
At the same time, near the lush Klein Mountain, beside a winding river bend, Jasmine gently retracted her hand from the water. Taking a deep breath, she slowly adjusted her center of gravity, as if freed from the constraints of gravity, and lightly fell into the water.
There were no splashes, no sounds of waves, only the continuously flowing river and Jasmine gradually sinking to the bottom.
As the training officially began, Fisher found a stone near the shore, leaned against it, and observed the situation in the river.
Xiatu was also captivated by Jasmine’s graceful movements as she entered the water. She stepped closer on her hooves, and in her eyes, a shadow was rapidly swirling upwards in the river.
The next moment, like a flower blooming in the water, Jasmine slowly surfaced, looking towards Fisher in the distance.
She wore a smile on her face; her proud softness was hidden beneath the water’s surface but she breathed freely and vigorously, looking much better than her restrained state on land.
Her gaze was fixed on Fisher, and after he nodded at her, she turned to look at Xiatu standing on the shore.
It seemed that Xiatu’s advice was useful. Fisher wasn’t particularly skilled at combat training, relying solely on theoretical methods to instruct Jasmine. He had even let her fall once, which didn’t sound very reliable.
After all, Fisher was merely a scholar, and he had been rightly reprimanded by Eil before.
“How does it feel to be in the water now?”
In response to Xiatu’s question, Jasmine submerged herself a little deeper and nodded, replying, “It feels very comfortable, much easier than on land.”
“That’s right! I just thought about it; training you on land might be somewhat similar to us training underwater, right? It’s normal to feel scared and uneasy like that.”
“Miss Xiatu, what should I do next?”
Upon hearing this, Xiatu didn’t answer but crossed her arms over her chest, pointing at the river in front of her and saying, “The secret for Centaurs to learn running and fighting lies in focus. When running, you need to focus on the path ahead; in combat, you need to focus on the enemy before you. I have experience teaching timid children like you; first, try running—no, swimming—at your fastest in the river.”
Jasmine nodded, somewhat understanding, then spun around in the water. As her head dove toward the riverbed, a long tail, much like a whale’s, splashed against the surface, creating a fan of water, and then with a flick, she swam swiftly towards the bottom.
The Whale Folk swim incredibly fast in the water. From the shore, Xiatu could only see a shadow darting around like an arrow beneath the water, weaving through underwater plants and stones, causing the gathered fish to scatter in fright.
The blue water flowed gently in Jasmine’s eyes as she watched a fish franticly thrashing in the mud, and she mischievously froze in place, watching the fish slowly escape from the mud.
When the fish, foolishly surveying the surroundings to check if Jasmine was gone, Jasmine suddenly lunged, scaring the fish away at lightning speed, crashing into several water plants and bewilderedly darting off, leaving Jasmine giggling quietly in her spot.
On the shore, Fisher watched the situation in the water and turned to Xiatu, asking, “Is this playful intensity enough? Our training time is quite short; we’ll be leaving in a few days. If she still can’t master combat by then, it could have adverse effects.”
“Don’t worry; Jasmine is different from the other Centaurs who need combat training. Other immature warriors not only require combat mindset training but also need to train their physicality, while Jasmine doesn’t need that. I can see the immense potential within her; what she needs is a way to unleash that potential.”
As she spoke, Xiatu wiggled her finger in front of Fisher confidently, saying, “Nervousness and restraint will only make her more repressed; only when she relaxes will she know who she really is, and that’s when she can unleash her full strength.”
Fisher nodded in understanding and returned to his spot on the stone.
Since he had handed over the guidance of training to Xiatu, he wouldn’t interfere with her methods. After addressing his doubts, he comfortably leaned against the stone, pulling out the invisible Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans to record Xiatu’s characteristics.
Although she was not yet bound to him, having some knowledge about this species would still count towards his progress; once bound, it might shoot up to over ten percent, just as it had when he researched Sorceresses.
However, was it a bit wrong to be recording data on Xiatu while Jasmine trained?
As previously mentioned, the research progress on the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans was quite strange. According to normal research, one would usually only reach over twenty percent; it felt like unless one delved deeply into Sub-Humans, there wouldn’t be any progress.
Too bad the Handbook had no intelligence; otherwise, Fisher might have scolded it.
He shook his head, temporarily focusing on his notes while entrusting the training to Xiatu.
After Jasmine had swum around several times, she slowly surfaced. As if she didn’t know fatigue, her body seemed invigorated by her earlier movements, and her tail, usually only swaying shyly, now danced playfully under the water, creating a whirlpool.
“Alright, Jasmine, now that you’re warmed up, let’s officially start your combat training. But before that, you need to tell me the specific problems you’re encountering so I can find ways to help you.”
“Understood!”
Jasmine straightened up in the water and shared her concerns about being scared of combat.
“Whenever I encounter something terrifying or an enemy, I feel so frightened that I want to hide, not wanting to fight at all. But if I try to evade, the Whale Folklore body suffers serious consequences, and that troubles me.”
“I see.”
Xiatu pondered and stroked her chin thoughtfully. Then, as if suddenly struck by inspiration, her eyes brightened, and she said to Jasmine, “How about we change our approach? Fisher must have always made you confront your fears through combat, but since that method doesn’t work well for you, we can try something different. Jasmine, I want you to cultivate your own emotions; that way, you won’t want to hide but will desire to solve your own problems.”
“My own emotions?”
Jasmine tilted her head, looking innocent and confused. Xiatu then put her hands on her hips and stood up, sneakily glancing at Fisher, who was sitting nearby and writing something down. The smile at the corner of her mouth grew as she slowly leaned towards a “sinister” expression.
She led the puzzled Jasmine a distance away before settling back down at the riverbank and whispering to her, “Now, let’s put the combat issue aside for a moment. I want to ask, what do you feel for Fisher?”
“F-f-feelings!?”
Caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic, Jasmine’s face turned crimson at the simple question, and her ears briskly flapped.
“Fisher is just my teacher; he is very kind, and his gaze towards Subhumans is gentle. He’s a human respected by Lord Ramastia, who respects life very much. I mean, Fisher is indeed a wonderful person, and I, I also have… a little, a tiny bit, of feelings for Fisher.”
“Oh? Just a little, huh?”
Xiatu cupped her face, unable to suppress her amused smirk, appearing as if she was eavesdropping on a juicy gossip and her ponytail swayed a bit, eager to hear what Jasmine would say next.
Jasmine’s eyes held a swirling blue current, spinning like a tempest, seemingly disoriented, and her hands flickered as she attempted to explain her previous words.
“Well, it’s not just a little. When I said a little, it’s actually, um, quite a lot.”
“Oh, quite a lot, huh?”
Jasmine felt both embarrassed and annoyed as Xiatu played with her words. She opened her mouth to stutter, but nothing coherent would come out. Clearly, she was still lingering on Xiatu’s earlier questions.
“D-don’t bully me, Miss Xiatu!”
In the end, Jasmine’s only defense was red-eyed and pitiful words in a futile attempt to make Xiatu stop. However, Xiatu had no intention of bullying her, so quickly changed the subject, tilting her head inquisitively, “But if it were Fisher, wouldn’t he be very popular with human girls?”
“Eh?”
“Think about it; despite my limited understanding of humanish matters, I probably know more than you, Jasmine. He’s a man that even Subhumans would admire, a scholar with principles and knowledge. Many ladies of Nali, or ones of higher status, would adore such a gentleman, right?”
Jasmine’s mouth was still agape, but this time her tail and long ears had stopped moving. The water beside her flowed quietly, yet the currents in her eyes reflected the brewing storm of emotions. There was no dark curse spreading, but a familiar sense of danger appeared at this moment.
Why? Following Xiatu’s lead, Jasmine suddenly thought of her friend Milica, the “Saintess of Cardu” Renee, whom she had only met once, and the inescapable nightmare that was Princess Elizabeth.
What if… what if Fisher chose another lady? What if his admiration for her beauty was merely polite talk and not genuine?
In that case, the only thing left would be to knock Fisher out and take him back to the sea!
But until the final moment, Jasmine would never do such a thing because she wasn’t a fool and certainly knew that wasn’t the right approach.
As her aura began to unwittingly escalate into an intimidating state, Xiatu stiffly backed away a bit and threw in the last spark, “So, Jasmine, if you remain stagnant, you could lose completely~”
Seeing it take effect, Xiatu continued to rev Jasmine up, “There’s an old saying: only by fighting can you win. Just consider all the difficulties you face as obstacles to being with Fisher. Whether it’s the ladies who want to get close to Fisher or enemies aiming to harm you or him, they all need to be eliminated.”
At that moment, the blue currents in Jasmine’s eyes swelled up like a collapsing volcano, ready to erupt at any moment. She took a deep breath and, when she opened her eyes again, they shone with transparency like the ocean, infused with darkness and boundless azure.
“I understand, Miss Xiatu.”
“Very good, now go back into the water and try to unleash your full power.”
Xiatu gave a thumbs up, and Jasmine spun in the water, vanishing from the surface, heading towards the river.
Xiatu walked towards Fisher while watching the undulating surface of the water. Since Fisher hadn’t overheard their whispered conversation, he looked up when Xiatu returned and asked her what they had discussed.
Just as Xiatu opened her mouth, she recalled Jasmine’s somewhat terrifying expression before diving beneath the water, uncertain if her response would be appropriate. However, since Fisher had requested Jasmine to quickly engage in combat…
In a way, this approach had been remarkably effective.
But the consequences that might arise afterward were not something Xiatu needed to worry about.
With this thought, Xiatu’s gaze became somewhat evasive as she fiddled with her ponytail and softly said, “The intricacies of combat, haha.”
“Is that for real?”
“Really.”
Before Xiatu could finish, Fisher had already sensed imminent danger. The Dragon Race’s physical prowess surged to its peak; his fur stood on end, instinctively turning towards the river.
“Boom!!”
The calm surface of the river erupted as if blasted by the most powerful explosives of Shivali, a water column approximately ten meters high shooting skyward. As a deep pit suddenly appeared on the riverbed, the immense force traveled across the water’s surface, nearly causing the entire river to lift off.
This astonishing power clearly originated from Jasmine in the water. Fisher could only see her blue hair flowing in the water, showing no sign of being tainted by a curse, meaning that Jasmine was currently in her true element.
The towering column of water gradually fell back to the ground due to gravity, turning into raindrops that splashed onto Xiatu and Fisher’s faces, sliding down until they dripped off their chin.
In the next second, they exchanged stunned glances, both reflecting bewilderment in each other’s eyes.
Just as Fisher was about to speak, Xiatu covered her ears and ran away.
“Ahhhh! Don’t look at me! I didn’t say anything! I didn’t say anything!”
The sound of hooves faded into the distance, leaving Fisher standing there, watching the Klein River begin to flow again. He was just about to check on Jasmine when a crumpled paper plane slowly floated towards him from the horizon.
Noticing the shadow of the plane, Fisher reached out and caught it in his hand. Inside was golden paper, indicating that this letter was sent by Elizabeth.
On the tranquil water’s surface, Jasmine, wearing a happy smile, slowly emerged, having truly tapped into her powers for the first time. She showed up immediately, wanting to report her progress to Fisher, only to find him bent over, unfolding a letter.
The letter generally expressed that Elizabeth was aware of the situation with Fisher and subtly hinted that although Lunsis would be captured by Dexter over the weekend, considering Dexter’s emphasis on brotherly bonds, it would be unlikely for him to use harsh methods to pry secrets from him. Thus, to truly bring down Blake, definitive evidence would be necessary.
According to Elizabeth, Dexter wanted to take action against Blake, but without solid evidence, such actions would only serve as minor lessons, while Fisher’s evidence was the “deadly blade.”
Elizabeth’s letter also mentioned that Fisher still needed to assist Anna in destroying the relics threatening her life or obtaining other evidence to completely eliminate Blake’s influence.
At the end of the letter, Elizabeth repeatedly urged Fisher to be cautious of his safety, as her army would surround the Healing Room over the weekend, and if there was any danger, he should abort his actions immediately.
After reading, Fisher tucked the letter away, and while pondering Elizabeth’s message, he suddenly saw Jasmine looking at him playfully from the water. How could anyone liken this harmless, adorable girl to the humanoid steam engine that just blasted out a ten-meter-high water column?
Strangely enough, if someone else had been in Fisher’s place, they might not have known what Jasmine was thinking as she gazed at him like that. But having spent time with her, Fisher immediately guessed her thoughts.
He slowly walked to the riverbank, and Jasmine, swaying her tail, swam up to him, watching as he squatted down and extended his hand toward her.
Originally, he meant to offer her a handshake, but Jasmine blinked playfully at him and then submerged only to re-emerge with her little head automatically resting in his hand, inviting his touch on her head.
Fisher, momentarily taken aback, gently rubbed her head and smiled, saying, “Well done, Jasmine. You’ve made great strides.”
Indeed, Jasmine had been silently watching Fisher for a long time, not saying a word, simply seeking his praise. Perhaps she wanted her teacher to acknowledge her progress and excellence, or maybe she just wanted his gaze to linger on her a little longer. Who could say?
Regardless, Jasmine simply smiled foolishly, her tail splashing a bit of water on the river surface.
“Hehe.”
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(End of Chapter)
