Temorsth rushed forward without a word.
He already knew his father would not be the first to move.
If he waited, the fight would become a staring contest, and against Xalier, that was the same as losing before the first strike.
So he attacked.
The title, Experienced the Singularity, had more than doubled his total ability. His body felt lighter, faster, stronger. Even though it still hurt a bit, even though he had only just woken from three weeks of sleep, there was power in his limbs that had not been there before.
And now that the barrier's suppression had been loosened, he could feel something else too.
Faint.
Unstable.
Slippery.
But there.
Mana.
"Oho."
Xalier's eyes sharpened slightly as Temorsth closed the distance faster than expected.
At the moment, Xalier had sealed himself down to a level only slightly above where Temorsth had been before he and Elah left.
Before the Waters of Singularity.
Before the title.
Before all of his training.
In other words, Xalier was now weaker than Temorsth in raw physical ability.
Yet he did not increase his power.
He did not step back.
He simply tilted the tip of his wooden sword.
Temorsth's slash struck.
Xalier received it and slid the force downward with almost no effort.
"Strong," Xalier said.
His tone was light, but no longer playful.
It was a teacher's voice.
"But the course is off."
Temorsth's sword dug into the grass.
Xalier's foot moved.
"You are wide open after big attacks—"
"Ugh!"
Before Xalier could step behind him, Temorsth kicked upward.
The small heel nearly struck his side.
Xalier's eyes widened a little.
Temorsth grinned.
"Don't look down on me just because I'm small!"
He knew his father was better with the sword.
Far better.
So he used everything else.
His size.
His weight.
His flexibility.
His strange little body had more strength and agility than any normal child, no, even adult humans would not possess this much power.
With one hand on the hilt of the wooden sword stuck in the ground, Temorsth pushed himself up and twisted his body, using the sword almost like a pole.
He kicked again.
Or tried to.
Xalier caught his ankle with his free hand.
Temorsth froze upside down.
Xalier lifted him easily.
Every advantage had a weakness.
His small body was fast, light, and hard to catch.
But once caught, it was very easy to move.
"This is not swordsmanship."
A smile appeared on Xalier's face.
He was handsome.
But that smile was not kind.
Temorsth twisted his upper body and swung his sword toward Xalier's head.
"You said it."
Xalier leaned back slightly.
The wooden blade passed in front of his face.
"What?"
His question had barely left his mouth when blue light gathered near Temorsth's fingertip.
Temorsth's eyes widened.
'Work, damn it.'
The mana trembled.
It did not flow smoothly.
It did not obey fully.
It gathered unevenly, like water trying to hold the shape of fire.
Still, it gathered.
'Fire.'
A small blue orb formed.
Clumsy and weak.
Not even a true first-level spell.
At best, it was mana forced into the shape of the element closest to him in that moment.
But it was magic.
His first magic.
Xalier's expression changed.
'Magic?'
The small blue orb shot toward his face.
Even with his strength sealed, Xalier's reaction was absurd. His head tilted left, and the orb passed by his cheek.
'Water?'
His thought had barely formed when instinct warned him again.
Something silver-white flashed toward him.
Xalier moved.
A thin, metal-like strand of mana passed where his eye had been.
'Metal?'
Suppressed so much, his perception and even his thinking slowed.
*Thud.*
Temorsth's wooden sword struck his side.
Xalier looked down.
For a moment, even he seemed genuinely surprised.
The blow had not hurt much.
But it had landed.
"Hah!"
Temorsth's grin widened.
"Got you."
Xalier's smile returned.
Then he threw Temorsth upward.
"Good."
The word was praise.
The strike that followed was not.
Xalier's sword came toward him in the air.
Temorsth pushed mana through both palms.
A fist-sized ball of water shot downward.
It was messy, unstable, and wasteful.
But it pushed his body away just enough.
Xalier dodged the water without changing expression.
Temorsth flipped and landed on his feet, just in time to raise his sword.
*Clack.*
The next attack arrived.
Then another.
Then another.
*Ugh.*
Every strike was clean.
Every movement was simple.
Every correction hurt.
Temorsth defended.
Countered.
Changed angle.
Mixed sword strikes with kicks.
Tried to gather mana again.
Water.
Metal.
A burst from the palm.
A thin shard from the finger.
None of it mattered for long.
Xalier adapted too quickly.
A light tap to the wrist broke his grip.
A step to the side ruined his balance.
A small shift of the sword turned Temorsth's strength against him.
*AGH!*
A flawless strike hit his stomach and sent him sliding several meters back across the grass.
Temorsth coughed and pushed himself up.
His breathing was already uneven.
'What can I...?'
He knew swordsmanship.
He knew movements.
He had memories of training.
But knowing techniques was not the same as knowing when to use them.
He did not react like a warrior.
Not yet.
Feral: 'Let me out. I can do it. Just let me out!'
Original: 'No. All of us need to learn how to fight, especially Persona.'
Feral: 'I know how to fight... just let me!' Feral growled somewhere inside.
Temorsth held his stomach and forced himself to breathe.
His father was sealed.
Weaker than him in raw power.
And still, the difference felt enormous.
This was what using strength properly looked like.
*Inhale.*
"Alright..."
Temorsth raised his wooden sword again.
"Let's go."
They clashed again.
For several more minutes, Temorsth attacked with everything he could think of.
Sword.
Kicks.
Water bullets.
Metal shards.
Sudden bursts of mana to change direction.
None of it reached Xalier cleanly again.
Finally, Temorsth staggered back, panting.
His arm felt too heavy to lift.
The tip of his wooden sword pointed toward the ground.
Xalier rested his own sword against his shoulder.
"What is it? Tired already?"
Temorsth glared at him through messy breaths.
"Just..."
He swallowed.
"Just a scratch."
Xalier raised an eyebrow.
"A scratch?"
"One scratch."
Feral: 'Persona hit him! Aren't hits enough!? Now let me out!'
Temorsth's eye twitched.
'Fine. Just shut up.'
Feral's presence surged closer to the surface.
Not fully out.
Just enough to sharpen the body.
Temorsth rushed forward with the last of his strength.
"Ahhh—Mom!"
Xalier did not look away.
"Good try. It will not work."
"Now!"
Temorsth fired everything.
Water bullets.
Small metal points.
A messy burst of mana from his palm.
Xalier deflected them all.
At the same time, Temorsth threw his wooden sword.
It spun toward Xalier's face.
"Hm. Useless."
Xalier caught the sword with ease.
But the sword had never been the real diversion.
The door to the house creaked open.
"Yeah? What is it?"
Elah's voice came from behind Xalier.
For the first time, the sounds overlapped.
The door.
Elah.
The sword.
The magic.
The rustle of grass.
Xalier's already extremely slowed perception and mind were overwhelmed for just a moment.
His eyes shifted downward a fraction too late.
Temorsth's small body slid across the grass beneath his line of sight.
"Got you, Dad!"
Several metal bullets shot upward from almost point-blank range.
Xalier moved his head.
One passed too close.
A thin red line appeared across his cheek.
Silence.
Then Xalier smiled.
Not proudly.
Not mockingly.
Warmly.
Truly.
Some would say it looked strange on the face of a bloodsucking monster.
But Elah stopped by the door and stared. She saw that expression, the one that man showed her once upon a time, and made her feel like there was someone on the same path as her.
It was the exact expression that made her fall in love.
"Uh...?"
Temorsth rolled to his feet behind Xalier, breathing hard but smiling like he had conquered a kingdom.
"Mom, Mom! I scratched Dad! Look!"
He ran around to Xalier's front.
Xalier looked down at him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I see. You did not train for naught—"
Then he stopped.
The scratch was already gone.
Xalier blinked.
"Ah."
Temorsth's face froze.
Then slowly darkened.
Persona: 'AHAHAHA! You talked so big, Feral. You are nothing either!'
Feral: 'Shut up! I did not have full control, give me, next time for sure...!'
Xalier cleared his throat.
"Oh no, son. You did scratch me. I simply healed too quickly because I forgot to turn off my regeneration."
Temorsth stared at his cheek.
Then turned away.
"Don't console me, Father."
Xalier opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Temorsth pulled his sword from Xalier's hand, walked back, and resumed his stance.
"I said a scratch. I will make a scratch!!"
Xalier looked at him for a moment.
Then he smiled again.
This time, he turned off his regeneration.
"Very well."
Elah sighed from the doorway.
"Both of you are idiots."
"Your idiots," Xalier said.
"Unfortunately." She looked at them, her smile heartfelt...
Seeing her husband and son like this, it was almost like falling in love again.
The fight continued, now with a spectator.
...
When it finally ended, Temorsth fell onto his back.
No strength to stand again.
The sky above the barrier had begun to darken with the setting sun.
His chest rose and fell quickly.
Every part of him hurt.
Still, his eyes remained open.
"I need..."
He swallowed.
"More power."
Xalier laughed.
"Ahahaha! You are already stronger than most talents your age, son. No, you exceeded even those much older than you. You just need a little more time to grow."
Temorsth did not answer immediately.
His fingers curled weakly against the grass.
"How long do I have to wait...?"
Xalier's smile faded slightly.
Temorsth stared at the sky.
He was not stupid.
He knew why his parents never took him outside.
He knew why the barrier was so large.
He knew the war mattered.
And somewhere in the depths of memory, he still remembered voices from before he was even born here... he needed even more strength.
If the war ended, maybe his parents could stay.
If he became strong enough, maybe he could go outside.
If he became strong enough, maybe the world would stop being something he had to be protected from.
'Aidana.'
[Yes?]
'How do I get strong as fast as possible?'
There was a short pause.
Then two windows appeared.
[The Host has already become stronger. Check these first.]
[Name: Sword Mastery]
[Type: Passive]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Rarity: Uncommon]
[Skill Proficiency: Intermediate]
[Description: The user's damage multiplier with Strength and Dexterity-based sword skills and attacks increases with proficiency.]
A second window appeared beneath it.
[Name: Elemental Magic Mastery]
[Type: Passive]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Rarity: Uncommon]
[Skill Proficiency: Conceptualization]
[Description: The user's damage multiplier with Intelligence-based elemental magic skills and attacks increases with proficiency.]
Temorsth stared.
'Why now? I trained with swords for years.'
[The Host used Mana during combat.]
[The body memorized the action properly.]
[Because of previous sword training, Sword Mastery immediately reached Intermediate.]
[Because Elemental Magic was used for the first time, it was only acquired at the beginning.]
'So until now you just predicted I reached Intermediate...'
Temorsth closed his eyes.
'Still not enough.'
[No.]
He opened one eye.
'You could at least lie.'
[I am bad at that.]
'True.'
He stared at the sky again.
'Is there no shortcut?'
[The Host should already know there are no real shortcuts to true power.]
The next line appeared after a small pause.
[But there are choices.]
Temorsth slowly sat up.
'Choices?'
[The Host can choose a Class.]
His eyes sharpened.
[A Class can accelerate growth, guide skill development, and provide specialized benefits.]
'Then why haven't you told me to pick one already?'
[Because I advise against it for now.]
'Why?'
[The Host may gain better opportunities by waiting.]
[If the Host chooses a Class the Host later dislikes, it cannot simply be changed.]
[The Host may obtain another Class later, but doing so would put the Host behind others who followed one path from the beginning.]
Temorsth frowned.
'So it is permanent enough that I should not pick randomly.'
[Exactly.]
'And if I choose wrong, I drag myself down.'
[Yes.]
Temorsth looked at the wooden sword lying beside him.
A sword was familiar.
Magic was interesting.
But now that he had actually felt Mana and fought properly, the world felt wider than before.
Weapons.
Elements.
Cultivation.
Classes.
Paths.
Too many things he had not tried yet.
'I don't know what I like.'
[Then learn.]
'That is your advice?'
[It is good advice.]
He sighed.
'Annoying goddess.'
[Impatient Host.]
Temorsth smiled. 'Fine. I will wait.'
[Wise.]
'Don't sound surprised.'
[I am pleasantly surprised.]
He ignored that.
A little later, Xalier helped him stand, and the three of them entered the house.
As always, once the sparring was over, Xalier became a teacher again.
He pointed out everything.
The overextended slashes.
The wasted mana.
The predictable kicks.
The way Temorsth's body moved faster or slower than his instincts could control.
The way his eyes followed the weapon too much and the body too little.
Temorsth listened to every word.
This was not like reading a manual.
This was experience.
Real experience.
And he needed it.
"...and finally," Xalier said as they reached the dining room, "never let your enemy prepare."
Temorsth blinked.
"When did I do that?"
Xalier smiled.
"You let me take off my coat."
"That was before the fight."
"We were already positioned. Both of us knew the fight was inevitable. At that point, giving me time to remove anything that restricted me was a mistake."
Temorsth opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
He had never thought of it that way.
In his previous life, he had learned martial arts, yes.
But he had only used them a few times in a real fight.
From birth, he was stronger and faster than any human.
With a few exceptions, he seldom had something worthy to be considered a real fight.
'I was not a warrior.'
The thought was not bitter.
Only true.
Temorsth lowered his eyes. "I understand."
"Good." Xalier ruffled his hair. "Then remember it."
"I will."
A few seconds passed.
Then Temorsth looked at Elah.
"Oh, right. Mother."
"Hm?"
"Please teach me how to use a bow."
Elah tilted her head.
"A bow?"
"Yes."
"Why so suddenly?"
Temorsth looked down at his hands.
"I have mostly used swords. And now a little magic. But if I need to choose a Class someday, I should not choose before knowing what actually suits me."
He looked up again.
"So I want to try other weapons too."
For a moment, Elah said nothing.
Then her smile softened.
"Of course, sweetie. I will teach you."
Xalier crossed his arms.
"You know, your father is also very skilled with many weapons."
Temorsth looked at him.
"Can you use a bow better than Mother?"
Xalier became silent.
Elah's smile became dangerous.
Temorsth nodded.
"Then Mother."
Xalier placed a hand over his chest. "My own son..."
"You taught me not to let the enemy prepare."
"I did."
"You were not prepared for that."
Elah laughed.
Xalier stared at Temorsth.
Then, slowly, proudly, he smiled.
"Good."
And with that, training began again.