He came at me faster, much faster.
I barely dodged the first strike. His claw raked the building behind me and destroyed it.
He struck again, and this time it caught my shoulder.
I could barely block the third strike, even with both swords; his strength sent me skidding back, and my arms screamed.
He's stronger and faster.
But
He's also out of control...
The pill is making him powerful, but sloppy.
I can use that.
I stopped retreating.
I remember when watching the anime Cid aura farmed in a certain episode where one of the characters was using an overpowered weapon.
He was like, "I don't fight people with borrowed power."
That was a holy ragebait, but now that I am in a similar situation, I kind of get him.
He came again at me with claws and wind, screaming.
I moved inside his reach, and we fought.
He was stronger, but I was faster; he had magic, and I had skill.
Each exchange of blows sent waves of destruction around the area.
Claws vs swords and wind vs will.
I took hits, deep ones at that, and my blood painted the ground.
But I kept striking. I kept finding gaps in his wild attacks.
He was tiring. It seems the pill's effects have begun fading.
He screamed and began swinging wildly. I ducked and came up inside his reach and aimed both blades at his heart.
He saw it coming, and he could not stop it.
This is it.
This is—
His eyes met mine.
And in that moment, that single, frozen moment—
I smiled.
[FLASHBACK: Four Months Earlier]
The cave was cold. It was always cold.
I sat in the darkness, my back against a stone, and I was staring at... nothing.
Three hundred twenty-seven days since I'd left home. I have trained and bled...I even broke myself. Yet nothing.
No magic. I was anything but a boy with swords.
Why?
Why am I different?
.....
Months ago, I crawled into this place half dead. Now the walls are covered in sword marks, this is proof of how every day I forced my body to move when it wanted to collapse.
I stood in the centre of the cave with my two swords resting in my hands.
I moved,
One strike.
Two.
Three.
And my blades had carved through the space with precision that once would have seemed impossible to me. Every movement flows into the next without hesitation.
It was faster, sharper and stronger.
I stopped, and the silence returned,
My breathing is steady, but my hands feel heavy.
I look down at my swords.
In my old world… this level of skill would have made me terrifying.
But here?
I tightened my grip on the swords and drove them into the ground.
"Skill alone isn't enough."
My voice sounded small inside the cave.
"In this world… the blade means nothing without magic."
During my time exploring, I learned something about how magic works.
Every mage in this world talks about the same thing.
Meridians.
Channels inside the body where mana flows.
At the centre of those channels lies the core.
A mage's heart.
Without open meridians… mana cannot move, and without mana… the core never awakens.
And without a core…
You remain weak.
I sat down slowly and closed my eyes.
Mana exists everywhere.
In the air. On the earth.
Even inside living things.
But sensing it is the first step, and control comes later.
I inhale slowly.
Then exhale.
I do it again and again.
Gradually, the world grew quieter, and my senses began to sharpen.
At first, I felt nothing.
Then instantly, something brushes against my skin.
It was cold and faint.
Mana.
My heart began beating faster.
There it is.
I focused and slowly tried to pull it towards me.
The moment it entered my body, pain exploded through my chest.
My eyes snapped open.
"—GH!"
My body begins jerking violently.
The mana slammed into something inside me like a hammer hitting stone.
A closed meridian.
My entire chest was burning with pain.
It felt as if something inside my body was trying to tear itself apart.
My breathing becomes ragged.
My instincts screamed at me to stop and push the mana out.
But I gritted my teeth.
"No."
My voice shook.
"Again."
I reach out for the mana once more.
Another thin strand enters my body.
The pressure doubles instantly.
And my veins burned and my muscles locked.
Then—
CRACK.
The sensation is unbearable.
It feels like something inside me just split open.
I collapse forward.
My fingers clawed at the dirt.
Pain flooded every nerve in my body.
So this is it.
This is what it means to force open meridians.
My body was screaming with pain, and my vision was blurry.
Blood dripped from the corner of my mouth.
I should stop.
Anyone with common sense would stop.
But common sense never made anyone strong.
"If this world belongs to those with magic…"
My voice is barely a whisper.
"Then my body will learn to carry it."
I drag more mana into myself, and instantly another meridian tears open.
Then another.
Each one felt like bones snapping beneath my skin.
Purple sparks flicker across my arms, and black streaks follow.
The air inside the cave began to tremble.
My heart pounds violently in my chest.
All the mana rushing through my body began to gather at one place.
My core.
But it's still dormant, and the pressure continued building.
It felt like my body was about to explode, and my vision darkened.
My body collapsed again.
So this is how I die.
Trying to awaken magic like a fool.
But then—
I remembered that day.
The humiliation of losing.
My eyes snapped open.
"No."
My fingers dug into the ground.
"I refuse."
I forced more mana into my body.
The pressure reached its limit.
Then—
Something inside my chest ignited.
A violent surge exploded outward.
My core awakened, and lightning erupted from my body.
Purple and dark.
The cave shook violently, and racks spread across the walls.
The swords beside me rattled against the stone.
I slowly pushed myself to my feet.
Lightning was crawling across my arms like living serpents.
My entire body trembled from exhaustion.
But the mana obeys me now.
I stared at the storm dancing in my hands.
Purple lightning… threaded with black.
"This…"
My voice is hoarse.
"…is my magic?"
The lightning crackles louder.
A slow smile spreads across my face.
"So this is the power that rules this world."
I clenched my fist.
The storm tightened around me.
My eyes lift toward the cave entrance where the storm outside rages against the mountain.
"Because now…"
Lightning exploded around me.
"I can finally reap."
FLASHBACK END.
TO BE CONTINUED...