Training began again.
This time, not with one weapon.
If Temorsth was going to choose a Class one day, then choosing before knowing what suited him would be stupid. A Class was not as easily taken off as a shirt he disliked.
So Xalier and Elah began testing him properly.
Daggers came first.
"Let's try something small."
Xalier placed a pair of wooden daggers in Temorsth's hands.
Temorsth held them.
Swung them.
Turned them.
Then lowered both.
"No."
Xalier blinked.
"Already?"
"It feels like I have to get too close for too little."
He paused.
"No, not too little. I mean... I feel like I could kill with these very well. But that's it. They're cold tools. There is no joy in holding them."
"That is a fair complaint."
Daggers were quick.
They were sharp.
They were dangerous.
Temorsth understood that much immediately.
But they did not feel like something he wanted to live with. They felt like something meant for dark corners, silent throats, and hands that never wanted to be seen.
Most of all, they reminded him of cold and lightless places.
That was not right.
He was searching for something to live with, not just use.
Longswords came next.
Those went better.
Much better.
Temorsth already understood swords more than anything else. The balance, the guard, the slash, the thrust. A sword was simple enough to understand and deep enough to respect.
But even then, something was missing.
"It is good," Temorsth said after several days of practice.
Xalier raised an eyebrow.
"But?"
"But it feels... normal."
Xalier smiled.
"Normal is not always bad."
"No," Temorsth agreed. "But it is not mine."
Sabers followed.
Then heavier blades.
Then, finally, the greatsword.
The first time Temorsth held one, his eyes changed.
It had weight.
Real weight.
Not just physical heaviness, but presence.
When he raised it, his whole body had to move. His arms, shoulders, waist, feet, and even his breathing. The weapon punished weak commitment, but when he put everything behind a swing, the air itself seemed to move aside.
This, he liked.
"Ah..."
Xalier noticed immediately.
Temorsth swung again.
The wooden greatsword tore through the air with a heavy sound.
Again.
Again.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"It feels strong."
"Because it is strong," Xalier said.
Temorsth nodded.
"It does not pretend."
That made Xalier laugh.
For a while, it looked like they had found it.
Then reality ruined the mood.
"Ugh..."
Temorsth dragged the tip of the greatsword through the grass.
"My body is too short."
Xalier crossed his arms.
"For now."
"For now," Temorsth agreed, annoyed.
The greatsword fit his taste.
Strength.
Weight.
Pressure.
A weapon that could force the enemy to respect every swing.
But liking a weapon and using it properly were not the same thing.
His body had grown quickly after he began using Mana, but he was still too young. The reach was awkward. The recovery was slow. The angles were wrong. He could use it, and probably better than most could ever dream of, but it asked for a body he did not have yet.
And even then, something was still missing.
Temorsth stared at the greatsword for a long moment.
"I think... I am missing something more too."
Xalier studied him carefully.
Then nodded.
"If we do not find anything better, we will return to it later."
Temorsth looked at the greatsword one last time.
Then nodded.
"Later."
And so they moved on.
Elah took over after that.
Rapier.
Scimitar.
Curved blades.
Thin blades.
Weapons that relied more on precision, rhythm, footwork, and control.
To Temorsth's annoyance, he was good with them.
Very good.
His body moved lightly. His hands were accurate. His steps adjusted quickly. His reactions were sharp enough that Elah stared at him more than once with narrowed eyes.
'Why is my baby so agile...?'
He was an elf, true, but he had trained mostly with strength and short swords.
Yet the moment he held a nimble weapon, his body understood more than it should.
That only made the result stranger.
Because Temorsth hated it.
After another session with a rapier, he lowered the weapon and sighed.
"No."
Elah tilted her head.
"No?"
"It is too light."
"You used it well."
"I know."
"Then?"
Temorsth looked at the rapier in his hand.
"If I have to use something this light, I would rather use my fists."
Xalier made a sound from the side.
Elah turned her head.
He immediately looked away.
Temorsth continued, trying to explain the feeling.
"It is fast. It is accurate. I understand that. But it feels like the weapon wants me to win by avoiding force instead of meeting it."
Elah's expression softened slightly.
"And you dislike that?"
"I dislike having to choose."
That answer made both parents pause.
"Choose?" Xalier asked.
"Strength or movement. Weight or speed. Pressure or precision."
Temorsth looked at the rapier, then at the greatsword resting nearby.
"Why does one have to abandon the other?"
Neither parent answered immediately.
Instead, Elah smiled and continued a bit later.
"Then let us try bows."
Bows went very well.
Almost too well.
"Pull."
Temorsth pulled.
"Hold."
He held.
"Release."
TWANG.
The arrow struck close to the center.
Temorsth blinked.
"Hm. Did I hit the middle?"
Elah stared.
Then handed him another arrow.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Longbows.
Great bows.
Heavier bows.
Temorsth learned them quickly. His aim was excellent, his control was steady, and his body handled stronger draw weights better than it had any right to.
For a moment, Elah looked genuinely hopeful.
Then she saw his face.
Temorsth lowered the bow.
"I don't like it."
Elah blinked.
"...You are good with it."
"I know."
"Very good."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Temorsth stared at the target.
The arrow was there.
In the center.
Far away from his hand.
"I feel like a coward."
Elah's eyes changed.
Temorsth frowned, searching for the right words.
"The bow is strong. I can tell. It has reach. It has killing power. It can strike before the enemy reaches me."
He looked down at his hands.
"But the strength leaves me, and I feel like I am not even facing my enemy. If I kill someone without looking into their eyes, without seeing their expression when they die, then am I not just removing a target?"
Xalier and Elah listened quietly.
"When I use a sword, the force is in my hand. When I use a greatsword, it is in my whole body. Even with fists, the strength is mine. In battle, our eyes meet, our breath and blood mingle in the haze, and we experience death and killing together. Isn't this what it means to face someone?"
His gaze returned to the target.
"But with a bow, the moment I release, the power is gone. It is over there. If I cannot even see them properly, if I cannot meet them at the end, then it feels like I have discarded honor and pride because I did not dare face them."
He pointed at the arrow.
"I don't hate bows. I know I should learn them. If one day I can see that far, if distance no longer turns an enemy into only a shape, then maybe it will be different. But right now... I don't want it as my main weapon or to use it unless I must."
Elah nodded slowly.
That made sense.
More sense than she expected.
He was not rejecting the bow because he was bad at it.
He was rejecting it because, to him, it separated the killer from the moment of killing.
Temorsth wanted reach, but not distance.
Power, but not slowness.
Dexterity, but not fragility.
Xalier's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Dexterity in strength...'
Elah's fingers tapped against her arm.
'Strength in agility...'
Then both of them seemed to realize something at almost the same time.
"Oh," Elah said.
Xalier looked at her.
Then smiled.
"Yes. That might work."
Temorsth looked between them.
"What?"
Elah waved her hand.
Two weapons appeared in her grip.
One was long.
Far too long.
A spear nearly eight feet, almost two and a half meters in length.
The other was shorter, closer to a longsword in size, but with a longer handle and a narrower blade-like point.
Temorsth stared.
"Are those spears?"
"More specifically," Elah said, "a spear and a short spear. Or a javelin, depending on how you use it."
Temorsth frowned slightly.
He knew what spears were.
Of course he did.
But knowing what something was and understanding it were different things.
At first glance, the long spear did not look promising.
It was too long.
Too inconvenient.
Too awkward for his current body.
By now, months had passed. Temorsth was over six years old and close to seven. Since he had started actively using Mana, his body had also grown even faster. He was taller now, stronger, and looked older than he should have.
Even then, the spear was almost ridiculous beside him.
So he reached for the shorter one.
The javelin.
"Hm..."
At first, he held it like a sword.
Wrong.
His hand shifted.
Still wrong.
Then, without thinking too deeply, he moved it to his left hand.
The shaft rested along his arm, the back of it touching near his shoulder blade.
Temorsth became still.
'What...?'
He tried a small cut.
Then a thrust.
Then a turn.
At first, it felt strange.
No.
Not strange.
Too natural.
The javelin did not act like the rapier. It did not feel fragile.
It did not act like the bow. Its strength did not leave him unless he chose to throw it.
It did not act like the greatsword. It had weight, but not the kind that chained him down.
Temorsth moved again.
A thrust from the shoulder.
A short cut across the body.
A step back, point forward.
A twist, shaft sliding along his arm.
The weapon changed with each motion.
Long when he needed distance.
Short when he choked the grip.
Fast when he moved lightly.
Heavy when his body turned behind it.
His eyes slowly widened.
'It does not force me to choose.'
The thought came before he fully understood it.
A sword had one edge and one reach.
A greatsword demanded commitment.
A bow gave distance but took touch away.
But this...
The javelin could be held close, extended far, used to thrust, cut, hook, redirect, or strike with the shaft. It could guard space, enter space, or leave his hand entirely.
Range, but not separation.
Strength, but not stiffness.
Dexterity, but not weakness.
Temorsth looked down at it.
'It feels good.'
Too good.
His eyes moved toward a tree about twenty meters away.
Then a smile appeared.
'It is a javelin, right?'
He changed his grip and raised it over his shoulder.
He had never thrown a weapon like this before.
So he borrowed from the bow.
'Pull.'
His body drew back.
'Hold.'
His muscles tightened.
His left hand hovered behind his head, aiming through instinct more than knowledge.
'Release.'
He stepped forward.
The javelin left his hand.
At that exact moment, the System rang.
[Notice: Acquired Skill "Javelin Mastery"!]
"What?"
BANG.
The tree split.
Not cracked.
Split.
Wood burst outward as the wooden training javelin tore through the tree with terrifying force, burying itself deep in the ground behind it.
Temorsth stared.
Xalier stared.
Elah stared.
No one spoke.
Then Temorsth slowly turned toward Elah.
His eyes moved to the long spear still in her hand.
Without a word, he walked over and took it.
'I have to make sure I'm not dreaming.'
The long spear was worse for his current body.
Too long.
Too demanding.
Too large.
And yet, the moment he held it, his expression changed.
He placed the shaft along his shoulder, the same way he had held the javelin, with only more shaft reaching for the sky.
Then he moved.
A thrust.
A sweep.
A turn.
The weapon resisted him more than the javelin.
Of course it did.
His body was still too small.
But even that resistance felt correct.
Not rejection.
Not awkwardness.
Just a weapon telling him he was not grown enough yet.
Temorsth's breathing slowed.
'This one too...'
Mana gathered in his grip.
Blue and silver light wrapped around his fingers.
Energy.
Water.
Metal.
The spear moved again.
A silver-blue line followed its edge.
Then the System sounded.
[Notice: Acquired Skill "Polearm Mastery"!]
[Notice: The Host has acquired and mastered the "Spear Mastery" Skill!]
[Congratulations: Mortal Rank Skill "Spear Mastery (Mastered)" has evolved.]
[Congratulations: Immortal Rank "Spear Mastery" acquired!]
Temorsth froze.
"What the..."
More windows appeared.
[Congratulations: Hidden Talent realized!]
[Notice: The Host's Potential has increased!]
[Notice: The Host's Luck has increased!]
[Notice: The Host's Existence has become more prominent!]
Silence.
The spear rested in Temorsth's hand.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Temorsth was too shocked by the notifications to react properly.
Xalier and Elah were shocked for a different reason.
They felt it.
Not the skill.
Not the Mana.
Something deeper.
Temorsth's existence had grown.
The world itself had taken sharper notice of him.
It was not power.
Not yet.
The Immortal Rank Mastery did not mean his small body could suddenly fight like an immortal spear master. It did not give him the strength, speed, stamina, experience, or Realm needed to express that level.
It was a door.
A path that had opened.
A recognition that, if the body, energy, and experience could one day catch up to talent, the spear would not reject him.
He could learn what others could only imitate.
He could reach for spear techniques that would be meaningless to those without the proper Mastery.
That was what the System had seen.
That was what the world had noticed.
Xalier exhaled slowly.
"...Looks like we found it."
Elah nodded.
"Yes..."
Her eyes remained on the spear.
"It seems we did."
The tension should have faded.
It did not.
Because the moment those words left Elah's mouth, the sky changed.
[Attention!]
[Attention!]
[Warning: A Great creature is observing the Host!]
[Don't do anything stupid!]
Aidana screamed through the System.
Xalier and Elah's heads snapped upward.
Temorsth looked up a breath later.
He could not see anything.
Not really.
But even he felt it.
Something was looking down.
From far away.
From impossibly far away.
Yet close enough that the grass trembled beneath his feet.
[Notice: The Great being has revealed his name.]
[The Great God of Spear is looking at you.]
The world shook.
"Interesting."
The voice did not come from one direction.
It came from the sky.
The ground.
The air.
The spear in Temorsth's hand.
"Truly interesting."
Temorsth's knees almost bent as the spear fell from his hand.
The only reason he remained standing was that Xalier's hand appeared on his shoulder.
Elah stepped in front of him at the same time.
The Great God laughed.
Thunder cracked across the barrier.
"A spear that has not been taught..."
The pressure deepened.
"...yet remembers the hand."
The laugh rolled over the training ground like a storm.
"Strength seeking reach."
The spear on the ground trembled.
"Reach seeking blood."
Temorsth's fingers tightened, a feeling like the shaft wanted to be in his hand.
"Good."
Xalier's expression darkened.
Elah's eyes sharpened.
Neither of them spoke.
They could not act rashly.
Normal divine beings should not be able to perceive this separate space, let alone reach in so easily.
"Your talent..."
The Great God's voice slowed.
"Yes."
The air pressed downward.
"You are worthy."
The System flickered.
[Notice: Ultimate Quest "The Ch%$e# o@ a Gr3@t Gd f$r th@ P@l3..." has been...]
[ERROR!]
[ERROR!]
[Warning: The acquired Quest is outside the scope of the System!]
[Warning: Quest deletion commencing!]
The Great God paused.
"Hm?"
For a moment, it felt like the entire world held its breath.
Then the voice laughed again.
"Oh, I see."
The pressure lessened.
Only slightly.
"Too early."
The words were amused.
Not disappointed.
"Then let me give you something more suitable."
The sky split with light.
Something fell.
No.
It arrived.
One moment, it was a distant star.
The next, it was directly above the barrier.
"Do not forget to repay me when we meet someday, little child."
[Notice: Legendary Quest "Repayment to a Great God" has been acquired!]
[Congratulations: From now on, the Host can acquire Quests from natural occurrences and external interventions!]
The light struck the barrier.
For a fraction of a second, the barrier held.
Then—
CRACK.
Xalier and Elah both collapsed to one knee.
"Mother! Father!"
The light pierced through.
BOOM.
Dust and smoke exploded across the training ground.
Temorsth covered his face with one arm, coughing as wind and dirt rushed past him.
When the smoke began to clear, something stood in the ground before him.
A long piece of wood.
No.
Not wood.
A branch.
A spear.
It had buried itself into the earth like a divine judgment.
The Great God's voice descended one last time.
"Grow."
The ground trembled.
"Grow more."
The spear hummed softly.
"Become strong."
The pressure began to fade.
"Let us fight one day..."
The voice grew distant.
"Little child."
Then it was gone.
For a few seconds, Temorsth could not speak.
The world felt too quiet after that voice.
Then he saw his parents still kneeling.
His face paled.
"Mother! Father!"
He grabbed Elah first by her shoulder.
"Are you hurt? What happened? Can I help?"
Elah's breathing was uneven, but she forced herself to smile.
"No..."
The word came out strained.
"Nothing serious, baby. Just... give us a few seconds."
Xalier exhaled slowly through clenched teeth.
His face looked calm.
Too calm.
That was how Temorsth knew it hurt.
"What happened?"
"The barrier," Xalier said after a moment. "It was made from our magic and energy. When that thing broke through it, the shock reached us too."
Elah nodded faintly.
"It sent part of our power into disharmony."
Temorsth looked between them.
"Can you fix it?"
"In time," Xalier said.
That was not as comforting as he clearly intended.
Temorsth turned his head.
The barrier.
Broken.
For the first time in a long time, the world beyond it was visible without distortion.
He saw the forest he remembered.
Then much farther.
The land beyond the trees.
The barren ground.
The scars.
The dead places where the war had passed and left nothing worth naming behind.
Not much had changed.
The world outside was still wounded.
Still ugly.
Still waiting.
Temorsth's hand tightened.
'I don't need much more time.'
The thought came quietly.
Then his eyes moved back to the thing in the ground.
The gift.
The debt.
The spear.
'Aidana.'
[Yes.]
'What is that?'
A window appeared.
[Heart Wood Spear]
Temorsth stared at the name.
Then another line appeared.
[Go on.]
A short pause.
[Take it.]