A bit of training and learning

'...what's an Electromancer?' Youngwoo looked with a glint of confusion between the blue and red haired girls. Still, as etiquette would demand it, he also bowed his head a bit and said:

"I'm Lee Youngwoo, a swordsman. Nice to meet you." He formed a little smile, trying to seem as friendly as possible.

Holly seemed... reserved towards him. Well, this much was within his expectations. It was natural to feel reserved towards people you just met. Still, he was thankful that there wasn't one bit of wariness towards him anymore. It seemed that basic etiquette really did wonders, didn't it?

"Y-Yes, mister Youngwoo, likewise." She seemed to quell her energetic nature. She seemed much more collected now. "Aunt Hilda." She turned to the red-haired woman. "Do you know where aunt Ieva's pack is?"

"Youngwoo, can you give it to her?"

"Sure." He quickly took the pack off his shoulder, and handed it toward Holly. However, he immediately noticed the girl's mixed look. She seemed a little mad, offended, and surprised, all at once.

"Aunt Hilda! I-I know you know mister Youngwoo for longer than me, but isn't calling him by his surname impolite?"

"...but that's my name?" He didn't like to barge in a conversation, but he felt like that was the thing he was supposed to do. In the end of the day, who else could clear this misunderstanding as well as he could? "I'm Korean, so I say my surname first." He couldn't count how many times he had to explain it. Well, he got used to that anyway.

"...kore-what?" Holly looked at him funny. "Mister Youngwoo, what does that mean?"

"...?" His expression betrayed his momentary shock. "It means I'm from Korea...?"

"...what's a korea?" She asked, completely bluntly.

"...a country?" He wasn't certain what was going on. Was this girl playing a prank on him? Then why did she look so... serious?

"A country? Oooooh. Is it like that Litania thing where you say you're from, aunt Hilda?"

"Yes, it is." She completely ignored the fact that she butchered spelling of Lithuania, and answered with a smile. Noticing Youngwoo's shocked gaze, she decided to put an end to this talk. "But he's right. His name is Youngwoo, and Lee is his surname. He just introduces himself the other way around. Now, how about you take this gift from aunt Ieva and put it away?"

"...Oh, alright! Be right back!" Suddenly, as she grabbed the pack, small lightnings started arcing on Holly's body. In an instant, she started running towards the smithy, passed by Ieva at around halfway mark, and reached the destination within just about 15 seconds. Truly, she was very fast, but... Youngwoo couldn't wrap his head around the situation. Just why was that girl so adamant on playing dumb?!

Suddenly, he heard Iris' voice:

"And there's the 1st generation."

He looked at her momentarily, but didn't ask what she meant. Instead, he asked Hilda:

"Do you mind if I talk alone with Ieva a little before she comes here?"

"Sure, go ahead." She looked at him weirdly, but didn't inquire. Well, she trusted him not to have any ill will towards her sister.

"Be right back." And then, he started going away.

He took his steps carefully, and once he was sure Ieva would hear Iris, he asked Iris:

"What do you mean '1st generation'? What's that?"

"...?" White-headed woman looked at him with surprise for a long moment, before she combed her hair a little. "Che. I'm forgetting that this world is still very young. 1st generation is simply generation that was born in the Tower, children of people who first entered this place."

"...wait. Holly's clearly older than 9 years. She couldn't be born here."

"Iris's right though." Replied Ieva, stopping just opposite of him. "Well, partially at least. Holly might be 14, but for all intents and purposes, she doesn't remember her life outside of Tower. To her, this place is home and birthplace."

"...what? But how?" He asked, noticing how Holly rushed out of smithy again.

Ieva patiently waited until the girl passed by them and stopped by Hilda before she continued talking:

"She was with the 1st researchers group when she was 5. Her parents didn't want to leave her in Iceland, so they took her with them instead. Well, that was a mistake on their part, I guess. From then on, Holly has been living in the Tower."

"But... why doesn't she know what Korea and Lithuania are? Isn't it natural for her to read stuff in Internet?"

"Well... she was raised in this place. To her, concept of nationality, language and country... they don't exist. To her, Earth is science-fiction. She doesn't believe it exists, because she can't just go there and see it like she can go and see floor 2 or 5. She believes people make it up like some sort of heaven where they will go and skills will no longer matter, because everyone will be equal there." Explained Ieva. "She's a kid indoctrinated to be, live and die in and for the Tower. To her, a concept of people not having skills is ridiculous, just as ridiculous as concept of people having skill would be to us 10 years ago."

"..."

"I know, a lot to wrap your head around. Well, it doesn't really get much better from here, so you better get used to it."

"...but why does she call Hilda 'aunt'?"

"...haaah." Ieva sighed deeply. "I'll keep the story brief. Basically, her mother was a Tinkerer. She figured out a way to manufacture generators from magistones, and it's safe to say it's thanks to her that you have electricity here nowadays. But she died when Holly was 7. Her dad is a blacksmith, so he tried teaching her a thing or two. But the Tower gave her an electromancy skill instead. Long story short, when she was about 10, I came around and met her and her dad. And to be honest, when it turned out she had a good synergy with my abilities, she was very adamant to know if I knew her mother. Well, I didn't have the heart to tell her that I just happened to have the same skill, so I told her that she taught me tinkering, and since she's been calling me and Hilda aunts, and Idan an uncle. She really loved me telling her how her mother was a great person, even if I just made it up."

"I see." He nodded a little grimly. "What happened to her mother?"

"Died to some monsters outside of city." She replied, looking at her feet. "Let's not talk about that."

"I see."

"Now, let's go and test that skill you got, alright?"

"...sure." He nodded, and the two of them started going towards Hilda and Holly.

Getting closer, Youngwoo could notice how Holly was very quickly and happily chatting about something, and Hilda responded to her with a gentle smile. Truly, she must've felt like a mother figure to the girl. Suddenly, he felt Ieva strike him lightly in his arm. Turning around, he noticed a text on her phone.

"I'll borrow Iris and she'll tell me things about your meeting, alright?"

"Che. Borrow." Iris put on a pout. "Fine, I'll go with you. But keep within range."

Youngwoo nodded to Ieva, and she reciprocated the nod. Then, she said to Holly:

"Hey, can you turn on the barrier? Lee wanted to practice his skill."

"Oh, of course, right on it!" Holly quickly took a hand into her pocket, and quickly got hold of her phone. "Mister Lee, do you want to train here?"

"Uh, sure." He shrugged, looking at Hilda. She nodded lightly.

"A-Alright." Blue-haired girl quickly turned her attention to the device. "Let's see... we're near section 304... so... 300 to 310, activate." She tapped at the phone, and suddenly, a buzzing sound of electricity went through the air.

In a short moment, space between cables in fence segments if front of them got filled with blueish aura that waved lightly like water before becoming still like a rock. Youngwoo whistled lightly at the sight.

"Impressive."

"Oh, isn't it, right?" Holly jumped a little with joy. "I always love this effect when it activates!"

"How does this thing work anyway?"

"Well, it's kind of complicated." The girl scratched her head a little. "But in simple terms, it converts energy from Magistones into electricity, and in the poles there are magical units that convert it into aura that is stretched between these cables." She said quickly.

"...I see."

"Alright." Said Ieva, visibly a little impatient. "Before I go and check my messages, I want to see that skill of yours, Lee. Will you finally hurry up?"

"Yes, of course." He nodded towards Hilda's sister. "Can I ask for a bit of space?" He turned to the red and blue-haired girls, to which they nodded and quickly moved back a little.

Youngwoo took a breath. Finally, it was time. And he already knew what skill to open this with.

"Pagma's Sword Dance..." He activated the skill, connecting the footwork.

'What?' Hearing the name, Hilda raised an eyebrow. 'That's his everyday swordsmanship... but why's his sword covered in aura?' She asked herself as she saw blueish, smoke-like vapor emanate from the blade.

"...Flower." His personal favorite, for a few reasons. First was, it had amazing synergy with fusion dances like Pinnacle Kill Flower or Linked Flower Kill Pinnacle. Second was, it simply would look nice, and he knew it. And third was, when he read the book, it was the first sword dance that made him completely hyped to hear more about. Yes, it was a good choice.

He slashed his sword in a spiral, and immediately, a dozen or so flower petals emerged from the blade. They were rather small, comparable to cherry's blossom petals, but their color was blue, and they quickly rotated around him before shooting forward at the barrier.

"Woow... so pretty!" Said Holly, completely mesmerized by the scenery. There might've not been many petals, but they sure looked nice.

"..." Hilda wasn't able to squeeze a word out of her mouth. 'Was he never activating the skill???' A thought erected in her mind... No, wait. 'No, he said he got it today... but that seems weird, doesn't it?'

"..." Ieva didn't respond, either. Well, she actually already knew what to expect. Youngwoo had told her about Pagma's Sword Dance which he would be receiving, so she wasn't surprised at all. "Alright, Imma head out." And then, she went away, Iris floating just above her and relaying to the Tinkerer Aliki's looks and everything else that transpired during the talk her and Youngwoo had.

"That was amazing mister Lee!" Holly seemed ready to jump with joy. "Where did you learn a skill like that?"

"Oh, well, I used this swordsmanship for a long, long time, and I think the Tower just decided to give me an effect with it. Well, you know, Tower, its whims." He shrugged.

"It's... splendid." Hilda formed a tiny smirk. "The Tower granted you a good skill."

"I sure hope it will pay off."

"So, did you only learn Flower? What about other sword dances?"

"I have them all. I just wanted to open with Flower, because I find it to be the best."

Him, Hilda and Holly kept on talking between themselves for a few more minutes. He did his best to explain how Pagma's Sword Dance worked, and even carried out footwork for all of them one by one. The younger girl seemed to be transfixed by the spectacle, while the older one seemed to be thinking about something all the while.

After some minutes, he finished the explanation, and Youngwoo decided to showcase Chop, Drop, Link and Restraint in action. He earned himself a few stars in Holly's eyes, and a plead to use Flower again, which he did after the cooldown ended.

Soon enough, he thanked the blue-haired girl for turning the barrier on, and when she turned it off, the three of them turned towards Ieva. She was still digging in her phone, listening to words Iris spewed. Deciding to leave her alone, Holly said:

"Please, aunt Hilda, mister Lee. Will you come in for a coffee?"

They looked at each other, and simply nodded.

[A/N: 1 day, 3 chapters again, because what won't you do just to not work on your engineering degree work. That's a lul from me.]