Both Kaya and Eloise watched mostly in silence as Delia’s introduction to the Von Helsing Regimen continued.
"Did you think it would look that difficult?" Eloise asked with her hands clamped together and concern on her face as she watched Delia’s body tremble under the intense strain.
Clearly, despite how Delia had annoyed her with her sacrilegious claim that Caius was average, Eloise still cared for her as a friend. And seeing her friend so clearly in pain wasn’t at all fun.
Kaya nodded, her brows furrowed and her eyes looked like they were analyzing. Whether the analysis was about the training in front of her or something else was not entirely clear.
Still, she opened her mouth to say,
"You know, I sometimes think we Mages got the better deal."
"You don’t mean that," Eloise said turning her head to look at Kaya as she continued with a gesture towards the stage,
"I mean that looks stressful and painful but so is mediating on the Arcane Codex..."
"Mage-Knights meditate on the Arcane Codex too," Kaya pointed out.
Eloise paused then. In her haste, she had forgotten that the ways of advancing in Magic circles were the same regardless of what combat path a person chose. But as quickly as she had been countered, she was already coming up with a second, more sound argument,
"But, we also have to study Mana management and the intricacies of spell casting. Almost as mentally draining and mind-bending as meditating on the Arcane Codex. Essentially, our brain suffers twice as much to their once.
If anything, I’d say that unlike Mages, Mage-Knights get to let their mind rest and focus on their body, reducing their overall mental strain."
When she was done, Eloise kept looking at Kaya, waiting to be countered but Kaya just nodded.
"You’re right," she said and then smiled a little, "But, may I just point out that it was you who pointed out how difficult the training looks. Feels a bit strange to hear you so quickly change your mind."
"Oh, I haven’t really changed my mind. That still looks like nothing I’d ever want to do. I’ll take double the mental strain than having my veins bulging out like that. And you heard what Caius said; That’s only the beginning.
Like how much worse could it get?"
Kaya just smiled. She was actually very fascinated by what she was watching. She was of the same sentiment as Eloise though. As much as double the metal strain is something any Mage will acknowledge, it also feels more natural to the vast majority of humanoids compared to training one’s body.
After all, advancing in magic circles strengthens one’s body to some degree anyway, and while it’s nothing compared to what a Mage-Knight becomes capable of, it’s more than enough when one is already dedicated to letting their magic do all the ’talking’ for them in combat.
"You know," Eloise said then, pulling Kaya out of her thoughts, "I think the difficulty took me by surprise because I always saw being a Mage-Knight as more of an easier alternative to just being a Mage. If it looks so painful and feels so unnatural, why bother with it?
Double the mental strain can’t feel that bad to them, could it?"
Kaya shrugged.
"From what I’ve learnt, at the start, Mage-Knights came to be out of necessity and not because of a search for an easier alternative.
Not everyone is good at spell casting. It’s harder for some to keep note of all the calculations involved in spell circles and their minds don’t grab and store spells as naturally as they should for a Mage. The Mage-Knight way came to be because of that.
It takes away the need to use your brain as much. It takes away the need to store spell circles and is more about making the body stronger and boosting it further with mana for combat. It relies more on instincts and reflexes than a good recollecting mind."
Eloise nodded along with the information she was receiving and then gestured with her pretty jaw at Delia.
"I find it hard to believe Delia finds spell casting difficult. I’ve seen her cast them with ease," she said.
"Well, for her, it doesn’t seem to be about necessity as it had been when the Mage-Knight practice first began. Delia wants to be a Mage-Knight because she wants to be a Mage-Knight.
And if she’s ready to endure all that for it... Well, I can’t but admire her for it."
Eloise nodded while making a sound of agreement and then her eyes were on Caius as he kept a very serious instructor expression on his face while directing Delia on what she should do. As impossible as it seemed, he somehow looked even hotter with that expression and seriousness than he normally did.
"What do you think about Caius?" Eloise asked Kaya.
"What do you mean?" Kaya asked.
"Mage or Mage-Knight?" Eloise asked.
"Obviously trying to do both," Kaya said.
"And what do you think of that?" Eloise asked.
This must have been the question Eloise actually meant to ask so she could hear Kaya’s opinion. After all, Eloise already knew of Caius’s likelihood of trying to do both from how he seemed uninterested in dropping Combat Magic to focus only on Mage-Knight Training. And vice versa.
Kaya shrugged.
"It’ll likely be easier for him to do than anyone else," she said.
Eloise’s face beamed at hearing that as she nodded emphatically with pride,
"Yes. Yes, it would be."
Hearing Eloise’s tone, Kaya looked to the side at her friend and could tell that Eloise had assumed she had been referring to Caius’s talent when she talked about how easy it would be first him to be a Mage as well as a Mage-Knight. And while that wasn’t entirely wrong (Caius WAS very talented, that couldn’t be denied), it also wasn’t the entire truth. The ease was in part due to Caius’s true nature.
As a Vampire, so long as one had the mental capacity required to be a Mage, they could be both a Mage as well as a Mage-Knight.
Her mind getting moved down that line of thought reminded Kaya that Eloise was still in the dark about what Caius really was.
The Training on the basics of the Von Helsing Regimen lasted an hour. It was very impressive and only ended because Delia hit her limit and fell flat on the ground, rolling onto her back so she could more easily take heaving breaths.
"How was it?" Caius asked.
"Horrible," Delia answered still taking breaths with her eyes closed, and then she opened them and looked up at Caius’s face, unable to hold back a smile from breaking out on her face,
"Horrible, incredible, and exhilarating all at once."
Caius chuckled and nodded as he lay down on the ground beside her.
"Yes, it has that effect," he said, "But I must warn you, the ’horrible’ aspect will only become more prominent as the hours pass."
"You mean ’Delayed Muscle Soreness’?" Delia asked sounding like she knew that well enough and was used to it.
"Worse," Caius amended still with a smile.
Delia paused.
"Well, it was worth it," she eventually said and it was clear from her tone that she meant it.
Her arms ached but she managed to raise one and moved her hand this way and that, finding herself taking note of muscles she never would have known she had or were important to building her strength to the true peak of the Third Circle.
That was what made the Regimen so much more difficult for her than it was for Caius when he had done it;
He was already at the peak of the Third Circle’s physical might and only needed to learn how to involve his muscles and harness the true strength of such a peak.
On the other hand, Delia, like any other human, by default, was far from that peak. Her muscles still had room to grow so the exercises were serving the purpose of growth, strengthening, and muscle training all at once.
"I feel... incredible," Delia voiced, and then her voice began to become somber as she added,
"A shame I’m starting to lose the feeling."
"Yeah, it’s not permanent. Not yet anyway. But it can be," Caius said.
"I damn well hope so," Delia said and then she looked to the side at him as she asked,
"Will you get in trouble for teaching me this? This has to be a family secret."
Caius smiled even more.
"It’s only the basics, Delia. Besides, I don’t think it’s at risk of spreading. I mean, who would you show? The Kragstens?"
Delia chuckled,
"You never can tell, this may change their mind on Mage-Knights."
Caius chuckled along with her and then he let out a sigh.
"Nah, I don’t think it will. And even if it did, I know they won’t learn about it anyway. I know you won’t share this with anyone. I know you’ll treasure it as it should be treasured.
I know this, because I trust you."