The Moonlight Swordsman

"Aizellll.....hurry up!" A lovely voice interrupted Aizel's thoughts.

Aizel turned around to see Irene standing nearby, dressed in a light blue long skirt and looking stunning. She smiled at Aizel and said, "Come on, we're going to be late for the movie if you don't hurry up!"

"What movie and where am I? Wasn't I trapped in the cage, and what am I doing here with Irene?" Aizel silently thought while looking around, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

"Why are you acting so strange? Are you going to make us late for our first date?" Irene pouted to appear angry, but it only made her look cuter.

"What the fuck, what date? I don't remember anything," Aizel muttered as he rapidly moved away from Irene. "What is Larisa up to? Is she forcing me to witness things like this?" Aizel began to feel anxious. Aizel had no idea what was going on.

"Aizel, what happened?" Irene approached Aizel, and as she placed her hand on his checks, Aizel suddenly screamed, "Don't stay away from me; don't touch me!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, it's me. Calm down," a cranky voice resounded in his ear, and Aizel noticed the old man attempting to calm him down.

Aizel sighed with relief upon seeing the old man's face. "What the fuck is going on? Having a dream within a dream seems surreal; have I truly been transported to another world?"

"Bad dream?" Henry inquired of Aizel.

"Something like that," Aizel said, standing up from the corner.

"Forget about that; we should now concentrate on our escape strategy." Aizel cleared his mind and directed his attention toward finding a way out of their predicament.

"Let's start with Larisa: can she utilize anything other than fire?"Aizel inquired about the greatest obstacle to their plan.

"No, I have never seen her using something else." While trying to think more about Larisa, the old man said, "Maybe she can use weapons as well." Henry stated while looking towards the weapon rack.

Aizel agreed, clearly wanting to avoid Larisa as much as possible, but he needed to be prepared for anything.

"You said yesterday that I was able to manipulate mana towards the dagger? What does it mean?" Aizel clearly wanted to know more about mana and how he could use it well.

"Sure, you can manipulate mana towards any weapon once you get used to it; it makes your weapon sharper and stronger, and some of them can even enhance their bodies," Henry replied plainly.

Aizel's eyes widened in surprise as he learned about the strengthening of their bodies using mana.

"That's it. I've read in several novels that some main characters can use mana to improve their movement speed or strength." Aizel pondered while considering more straightforward ways to use mana in his current situation.

"First, I should start with the dagger," Aizely thought silently, as Henry went into the corner to give Aizel some space to practice.

And with that, Aizel practiced using the dagger and attempting to manipulate mana by imagining the various tactics and sharpness of the dagger. This made manipulating mana easier for him. After a while, he began to notice something odd.

He was able to employ the tactics he imagined from other novels relatively quickly, but when it came to more difficult techniques, a tinge of pain crept into his mind, causing him to lose focus on the mana.

"That's odd." Aizel came to a halt while walking towards the spherical jar of dirt that was placed near the cage's corner. It was completely filled with water.

While thinking about something, Aizel began sipping water. "It appears that I will be unable to use any difficult techniques or martial arts with a dagger for the time being."

"But that pain, that was the same when I tried to remember my past memories." Aizel let out a sigh.

"Well, I'll think about it later, but for now, let's concentrate on body enhancement." Aizel's eyes glowed just thinking about body enhancement.

Aizel cleared his head and began considering ways to enhance his body.

Aizel attempted to channel mana into his arms, making them as heavy as steel. Nothing happened after several attempts.

"Should I just think about how I did it with the dagger? Is that the correct way for me to use mana?" Aize questioned himself before trying the new method.

Aizel began to imagine pulling mana from his surroundings to gather around his arm and make it as heavy as steel once more.

A tingly sensation began to form in his hand, and it became slightly heavier than before, but it was still far from what Aizel expected.

"That's it, but more practice is needed." Aizel examined his hand. "Maybe I didn't imagine things correctly."

"Well, if it's up to the imagination, then, hehe " Aizel chuckled and began to consider innovative body enhancement methods from the novels he has read thus far.

And just like that, Aizel spent the rest of his days experimenting with various dagger tactics, body enhancement methods, and so on.

Meanwhile, Henry remained in the corner, his jaw agape, observing everything. "How did he become so skilled with mana in such a short period of time using so many different methods?"

"Such a fucking monstrosity."