Eldraven Household – The Next Day
The sterile glow of the all-white training chamber hummed quietly, its walls pulsing faintly like the heart of a beast waiting to awaken. Jin stood calmly at its center, wearing a black tank top that exposed his lean but defined arms and shoulders. In his hand, he held a long sword, its blade gleaming silver under the artificial lights, the hilt etched with swirling gold and white outlines an elegant but deadly work of art.
Across from him stood his father.
Same black tank top. Same sword style. But older, taller, more rugged. His jet-black hair was slicked back, revealing piercing blue eyes that reflected countless battles. The sharp jawline, stubbled with shadow, gave him the air of a warrior king.
"What do you think of the new sword I gave you?" his father asked, voice calm yet heavy with pride.
Jin's cold expression didn't shift. "I appreciate it a lot, Dad."
"It was hard to get. A Muramasa it's strong and very loyal to the wielder's will."
Jin nodded silently.
"Let's not waste time. This chamber morphs into any landscape you want. Perfect for real combat simulation." His father raised a hand.
The white walls began to ripple, the light warping and folding around them. Within seconds, the room transformed into a mountainous terrain. Jagged cliffs, uneven slopes, scattered boulders, and rushing wind formed around them like the set of an ancient battlefield.
Jin's eyebrows twitched slightly, the most emotion he ever showed.
"Let's begin," his father said, stepping forward. "Don't worry about hurting me. The damage is simulated. Even death doesn't exist here."
Jin entered his stance, blade drawn low, aura focused.
Killing him...? Even getting him to use 50% might be impossible...
SWOOSH.
A horizontal slash came out of nowhere his father was already there. Jin barely managed to block it, the force sending him skidding across the rocky ground.
"Too slow."
Another blink. His father reappeared this time Jin parried. He countered with a slash to the neck, but his father vanished.
Behind me!
A sharp kick came for Jin's ribs he spun, blocking with his arm and counter-kicked. His father raised his guard, but Jin twisted mid-air, turning the strike into a Brazilian kick, snapping across the elder's neck.
A clean hit but no visible damage.
Jin jumped back and fired a blast of fire from his left hand. Smoke exploded outward.
His father emerged, slightly dirty. "Improved in close combat, I see."
Jin didn't respond. He dashed forward, wind-enhanced, blade gleaming. The air screamed around them as father and son clashed swords in a blur of motion.
The Eldraven sword style fluid, airborne, elegant yet brutal came to life between them. Their blades sang with mana and steel, each movement echoing like thunder.
Jin summoned light, fire, wind, and earth to attack from all angles pillars of flame, spikes from the ground, wind crescents, and blinding flashes. But his father danced through them like a ghost, striking with precision and minimal effort.
Shit. I'd use the others... but no one knows I have more than four cores: fire, earth, wind, light...
He was interrupted.
His father dashed in with a powerful aura strike, coated in golden light. Jin instinctively released his own aura to block it.
"Hm... your sword aura has matured. But it's not good enough yet."
CRACK!
A brutal kick slammed into Jin, sending him crashing into the mountainside. Dust exploded. A crater formed where he landed.
Before he could rise, his father lifted his blade, infused it with light magic and aura, and slashed.
A beam of light tore through the sky, splitting the mountain cleanly in half.
Jin barely dodged, leaping into the air. He retaliated by firing rapid light laser blasts, dozens of them, like streaking stars. His father summoned a radiant shield, absorbing each one.
"More."
Jin gritted his teeth and surged forward. Flames danced across his sword. He mixed fire with wind for explosive slashes, then transitioned to earth-based footwork, causing tremors as he moved.
For ten minutes, the terrain suffered. Mountains collapsed, air burned, stone cracked, and mana exploded.
But finally, with a sweeping aura strike, his father sent Jin flying one last time. Jin's back slammed into a cliff wall, coughing blood. He collapsed to one knee, sword in the dirt, chest heaving.
His father, only lightly scratched, lowered his weapon. "End simulation."
The mountainous terrain dissolved into glowing particles, returning to the sterile white chamber. Both of their wounds vanished with the illusion.
A door materialized.
They walked through it together.
"You did well," his father said.
"You held back... massively," Jin replied, straightening his back.
"Well, of course. The fight would've been over in a blink otherwise."
"Yes. Still... thank you for the duel, Father."
"No I should be thanking you. That was actually fun." His father smiled.
And for the first time in a while... Jin did too.
---
Back at Kael's Home
Kael lay on his bed, legs crossed in the air, flipping through a book on Magic Sigils. Soft music played through his earphones, bobbing his head slowly to the beat.
He paused, took one earbud out, and muttered, "Tomorrow... I'll need to head to the Hunter's Association. Get a hunter's card. That'll let me level up... unlock more of my mana..."
His eyes narrowed as he stared at a sketch of a summoning circle. "Once I unlock enough, I can summon the Meta Being."
He looked out the window. The clouds rolled lazily across the sky.
"I wonder what Belle is doing..."
---
Meanwhile, in Europe
Belle sat near a campfire in a European outpost, wrapping a blanket tighter around her shoulders. The wind howled.
She sneezed.
"Huh...? Is someone talking about me?"
She blinked up at the stars... wondering.