Once the battle had ended, Rion and Lie returned to the tree where they had been resting before.
Rion lay on his back in the grass, while Lie leaned against the trunk, her head tilted slightly as she caught her breath.
"I'm surprised you thought to send magic through your legs," Lie mused. "Much less pulled it off."
Rion let out a brief chuckle. "Hah, I didn't see a reason why it wouldn't work."
He then sat up and began rubbing his feet gently. "Didn't think it'd hurt so much, though."
Lie nodded. "Yeah, that's the downside to casting magic without a wand or staff. If you don't execute it perfectly, it hurts. And if you really mess up… well, depending on where you channel it, it could be dire—or even fatal."
Rion glanced at his shoes, which sat beside him in the grass. They were tattered and torn from the battle, though they still held their shape—for the most part.
"Ahh, looks like it messed up my shoes too. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, so I didn't have time to properly channel the magic through them."
Lie chuckled. "That's another reason most people cast through their hands. If they do use their feet, they either go barefoot or wear super-thin shoes to avoid interfering with the magic flow."
"Welp." Rion sighed, stuffing his ruined shoes back on his feet and flexing his toes. "Guess I'll just have to deal with it until we reach Waneir."
"Ready to go?" Lie asked.
"Yeah, let's—"
They continued down the forest path until eventually they spotted light filtering through the trees.
"It's the exit!" Rion announced.
Stepping through the clearing, they were greeted by a stunning meadow, a sea of vibrant flowers swaying gently in the breeze. As they walked through, Lie shared various facts about different flowers, recounting things she had read from various books.
At one point, Rion picked two bouquets—one for her and one for himself. Lie graciously accepted hers, but after about five minutes, both of them discarded the flowers, finding them annoying to carry. Eventually, the flowers thinned, giving way to rolling grasslands.
"Hey, Lie, I forgot to ask—how did you control that water sphere from earlier?" Rion asked.
"Earlier?"
"Yeah, the one on my hand."
"Oh, that." Lie nodded. "It's a technique. The one you know simply fires off magic, it's called 'Emission." The one I used is called 'Control' lets you use manipulate previously fired magic.
"Interesting… Gotta learn that next."
Lie smiled. "I'll teach you—if you can land a hit on me in a spar."
Rion immediately turned to her, eyes gleaming. "REALLY!? Then let's spar right now!"
"Nope. I'm tired."
"But—"
"Nope."
"…Okay, fine."
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, painting the horizon in warm hues, a salty breeze drifted through the air.
"Ah, I smell the sea!" Rion remarked.
Lie raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you even remember what the sea smells like."
"Haha, I'm surprised too."
The road then began to climb up steep hill. Reaching the top they finally saw it—the Port Town of Waneir.
(And thus, Rion's adventure continues…)